#OR… I could go in the opposite direction

[em1i2a3]

Got You (Where I Want You)

Pairing: Bob/Robert Reynolds/The Sentry/The Void x Thunderbolts!Fem!Reader!

Summary: You walk in on Bob staring at himself in the mirror.

Warnings: Fluff, with some intimacy thrown in there for good measure, because why the hell not, right? The sweetness is cavity inducing lol

Author’s Note: Had this idea yesterday and had to put pen to paper y’all, I don’t know what the hell got into me that made me push aside my other stuff for this idea, but I liked it too much to not go absolutely bonkers on my keyboard lol…Anyways, enjoy <3

Word Count: 4,785

Subject: FINAL HR WARNING - CONDUCT REVIEW (Walker/Starr Conflict)

From: HR Officer Marshall Greene

“Agents Walker and Starr are now under internal review for insubordination, hostile communication, and repeated disregard of team mediation protocols. One more infraction and we’ll initiate temporary removal from field rotation. Val has been informed. There will be no further email warnings.”

Walker (Reply All):

“Good to know HR thinks performance under pressure is ‘hostile communication.’ No wonder no one trusts leadership anymore.”

Ava (Reply All):

“Glad we agree that nobody trusts you.”

Yelena (Reply To: Ava and Walker):

“I swear if you get us all sent to HR group therapy again we are going to leave you both at the next extraction site.”

You choked on your own laugh, face half-buried in your pillow as your tablet buzzed again. Notification after notification trickled in like popcorn kernels catching heat–erratic, chaotic, and loud as hell. The entire thread was spiralling quickly, and all you could do was watch the digital tornado unfold before your very eyes. You sat up quickly, nearly dropping the tablet in your lap as you scrolled through the influx of new messages. One leg was tucked under you, while the other bounced with that familiar blend of amusement and secondhand dread.

Ava’s spelling had deteriorated into pure adrenaline–half her words missing vowels, full of heat and fury and thinly veiled threats. Walker had officially gone full defensive, slinging phrases like “operational leadership failure” and “compromised team integrity” like he was writing a dissertation for Val.

You snorted as Yelena replied again but to everyone this time with a simple:

“You guys are literally down the hall from each other, there’s no need to continue to document the arguing, just kill each other now.”

It was definitely a full-blown HR meltdown, and it was definitely going to warrant group therapy again, but the thread was just too good to keep to yourself.

Your thumb hovered over the screen for one more second, then you grinned, tossing the tablet to the side of the bed, because you knew exactly who would enjoy this as much as you.

Bob.

He was never in these threads–more because he didn’t even think to check them anyways. He was never mentioned, never cc’d. He just floated above the chaos like a gentle cloud of soft-voiced concern. He was never involved enough to be a direct problem, but he was always tuned in enough to notice when issues were brewing. He never participated in the drama, but he loved hearing about it. Only from you, though. Only when you read it out loud with your overly expressive hand gestures and dramatic reenactments–like you were performing Shakespeare in the park…But only for him.

It was a tradition. A rhythm that only belonged to you and Bob alone, because every time a thread decided to spiral into a tailspin of arguing, you sought him out immediately.

Sometimes it was in the kitchen over cereal. Sometimes it was on the roof, sitting hip to hip with your legs dangling in the wind. Sometimes it was huddled on opposite ends of the couch with your legs draped over his lap…And sometimes–like right now–it meant running to his room like you were delivering urgent news straight from the battlefield.

You glanced down at yourself–sports bra, and underwear–and let out a low huff. Bob had seen you like this before, technically. That’s what came with the territory of shared safehouses, mission recovery stations, and walking around the compound late at night when you thought nobody else was awake. Those were different situations though.

You padded across the room and yanked open your dresser drawer, rifling through your exercise shirts until you settled on a worn black t-shirt–oversized and thinning with age. You tugged it over your head in one swift movement, letting the hem fall just past your hips, then you grabbed a pair of navy basketball shorts off the back of your desk chair and shimmied into them with a quick hop-step, tightening the strings as much as possible so they wouldn’t fall as you rushed down the hall.

You scooped the tablet back up in your arms, the screen still glowing with the madness you’d left behind.

HR Officer Marshall Greene (Reply All):

“This is a formal thread, please refrain from using inappropriate language and making unfounded comments on others performances.”

The excitement only grew, as you slapped the tablet against your thigh, and bolted into the hallway.

The compound was quiet except for the distant clack of someone’s boots echoing down from the other wing–probably Ava pacing while she types another scorched-earth reply to the recent email. Regardless, you padded forward, barefoot but quick. The hum of the overhead lights casted your shadow along the wall as you rounded the corner toward the kitchen for a quick pit stop.

The fridge gave a quiet suction-pop as you pulled it open and reached for one of the bottled iced teas Bob always hoarded–hibiscus and lemon honey, the kind he insisted was the best. You grabbed one–already cool against your palm even though you had restocked them an hour ago–and tucked it into the crook of your arm as you shut the fridge with your hip.

”What’re you? A professional basketball player?” A voice from behind you asked.

You didn’t need to turn to know it was Bucky–leaning against the wall just outside the kitchen like he’d been planted there to deliver commentary on your outfit. His arms were crossed, dog tags peeking beneath the neckline of his exercise shirt. The glint in his eyes showed unmistakable amusement as he raised a brow at what you were wearing. You didn’t slow your pace though, you just tossed him a look over your shoulder.

”Careful Barnes, comments like that are how group therapy gets scheduled.” That earned a bark of laughter from him–rough and low.

”I’ll tell HR you threatened me with that iced tea bottle,” He called out as you walked off. You raised it above your head in mock-warning without looking over at him.

”Weaponized refreshments fall under Walker and Ava’s jurisdiction. Not mine.” You heard his chuckle echo faintly behind you, but your attention was already zeroed in on the familiar stretch of hallway that led to Bob’s room.

It was quiet here. Soft, almost. The air always felt a little warmer around his end of the corridor–in heat and in emotion in general, there was less tension, less noise, it was very…Bob. use him, his stacks of books, and the faint sound of whatever playlist he decided to put on.

You didn’t knock, you never knocked.

Your fingers wrapped around the handle and turned it without ceremony, pushing the door open like it was your own room, like it was a shared space you were both too sentimental to label.

“Bob! You are not gonna believe this thread..” You said as you were stepping into the room, clicking the door shut softly behind you before turning around.

And that’s when you saw him…And he nearly jumped out of his skin.

”D-Don’t you knock?!” He stammered, jolting like you’d fired a dart into his shoulder. His hands scrambled for the shirt slung half-off his desk chair, eyes wide, and cheeks flushing crimson, “I-I could’ve been–!”

”Naked?” You offered helpfully, lifting a brow as you stepped more into the room, “I think I’ve survived worse than accidentally walking in on someone mid-change.” Your voice had trailed off a little by the time you got to the middle of the room, because it hit you then–just how good he actually looked.

He wasn’t even trying, and that was probably the worst part–because you didn’t want to see him when he was…

The golden hour light poured through the west-facing window like warm syrup, catching the faint dampness along his skin and the light brown locks that his head sported. The light turned the droplets of water that still trailed down his back into halos of shimmer. His chest was broad and high with clean muscle, sharp and thick, and a bit swollen. There were red marks stretched faintly across his collarbones and the tops of his biceps, fresh from a too-hot shower–evidence of his notoriously sensitive skin. A small pink scar marked the space just under one of his ribs, thinned out from more than a decade of bearing it.

You had always known he was strong–he had to be because of the serum–but this was not what you were expecting.

Bob was built like a cathedral. Sturdy like he’d been carved from something permanent, and yet somehow he still stood like he was embarrassed of that.

”Bob.” You started, but he was already trying to pull his shirt over his head and failing–his arms were moving like they had forgotten how sleeves worked. Then after a second of struggling, he gave up with a frustrated sigh and just pressed the cotton against his bare upper torso like a towel.

“I-It’s really nothing…” He insisted, voice strained and high with shyness, “I-I was just…Looking at something.” Your brows raised as you padded even further into the room, placing the iced tea gently on the nearest stack of books.

“Got a rash or something? I know that Sentry suit probably isn’t a pleasant experience. It’s basically painted on…Probably got chafing in all the wrong places.”

“W-What? No! I–I don’t have a rash,” He sputtered, a nervous laugh catching on the tail end of his words. You could see his ears turning red, then watched as the flush crept down his neck and beneath the top he was holding against him. You grinned, leaning against the footboard of his bed, crossing your arms over your chest.

”So what were you looking at then?”

“I-It’s nothing…I swear…” His gaze couldn’t even meet yours, it just darted everywhere but your face: the floor, the ceiling, the bottle of iced tea, his desk lamp. His throat worked as he swallowed, and he shook his head, “It was n-nothing.” You sighed and, without another word, turned and sat on the edge of his mattress, tablet still in hand as you looked around the room–deliberately taking your time, giving him space to breathe. To maybe cool down a little before you asked him the same question again.

His room was neat, but not in a sterile fashion. He had bookshelves stacked high with paperbacks and limited edition copies of stories–science fiction, poetry, philosophy, he even had a few battered field manuals, but they looked like they hadn’t even been opened. A few of the books had some sticky notes jutting out in soft yellows, greens and blues, all in varying shades. There was a well-kept ficus in the corner by the window, catching sunlight in its leaves. One of his walls held a corkboard filled with photographs of places he had been with the team, with little notes he had kept from you–handwriting scrawled on torn napkins or on the backs of receipts. His Sentry suit hung off a hook like a molded second skin, and a flannel blanket was folded with precision at the foot of the bed.

“W-What are you doing?” Bob’s voice cracked with a soft, almost wounded hesitation. You didn’t look up from the bed right away, instead dragging your thumb along the edge of the tablet as you let the silence sit. Then you finally lifted your gaze, brow raised with soft mischief.

“Waiting for you to move,” You said simply. “So I can see what you could’ve possibly been looking at so intently before I barged in.” He shifted on his feet, his toes curling against the floorboards like he was trying to plant himself there and disappear.

”Y-Y/N, I wasn’t looking at anything…” You bit the inside of your cheek, eyes dropping from his for just a second–slowly taking his body in again from the reflection of the mirror behind him, the long, broad line of his back, the way the light caught in every indentation of muscle like it was sculpted for this hour of the day and no other. Then you looked back at him.

”So why’re you hiding from me then?” You asked softly, “You’ve seen me topless before…Thought you might’ve been comfortable returning the favour.” You joked. His eyes flickered to yours, then away again, lashes fluttering like a startled heartbeat. His grip tightened on the cotton he still held over his chest, the fabric slightly damp now from where it met his skin. You set the tablet down with a quiet tap on his nightstand, fingers curling loosely at your sides as you pushed off the bed and stepped toward him. The floor creaked softly beneath your bare feet. His breath hitched–just barely audible–but you caught it. His whole body tensed, like prey too stunned to run, and yet… He didn’t back away.

“Let’s look together, hmm?” You said, voice soft, it wasn’t a command…It was more of an invitation, “Turn and look in the mirror.” Bob’s eyes darted down to yours, nervous and questioning, the light in them flickering gold just for the briefest moment.

“W-What…?”

”Just…Trust me,” You whispered, inching close enough for your hand to find the edge of the shirt he was still holding to his front. You pinched the soft cotton between your fingers, “Turn and look in the mirror…And move this.” He stared at you, searching your face as if trying to find the trap. But there wasn’t one–not with you. So, with hesitantancy, he turned back toward the full-length mirror beside his bookshelf. His broad shoulders squared, his spine straightening instinctively like he expected to be judged, and slowly, he shifted the cotton away from his chest. He didn’t let it drop–he held it against his side like a safety net–but it no longer blocked his reflection.

You stepped behind him carefully, and rose up on your toes, putting your chin on his heated shoulder, eyes flickering over both his reflection and the way his skin flushed beneath you. The heat coming off his body was tangible, like the golden hour sun had been sucked up by his skin and refused to leave. His damp hair curled at the end where it had dried, and the slope of his shoulder tensed beneath your chin.

Up close like this, with nothing but the mirror before you both, it was impossible not to take him in fully–not just the parts you’d glimpsed, not just what the suit hinted at beneath all that gold-threaded armor and pressure. But this. Him.

The soft curve of his clavicle, just beginning to dry, still slightly pink from the heat of his shower. The small cluster of faded stretch marks that swept just beneath his chest, curling slightly toward the soft ridges of his ribs. They looked like pale lightning, half-silver in the light–evidence of how fast he’d grown into himself, into this body he never asked for. Another quiet mutation to accommodate the weight of what lived inside him. There were more across his lower stomach, ghosting down either side of his abdomen where the muscle swelled thicker. They branched just beside his navel and disappeared beneath the waistband of his joggers, pale and delicate, like silk run beneath sharp fingers. You wanted to trace them. God, you wanted to press your mouth to every single one.

His skin was smooth in some places, textured in others, but all of it was flushed with heat. And that light trail of hair that you’d never seen before–white blonde, so soft it nearly vanished unless you were this close–drew a path down the center of him that had you unconsciously tightening your arms just slightly where they curled behind his back.

“You definitely don’t have any rashes,” You said softly, voice light with teasing but thick with something warmer. “You’re just a handsome guy…That’s built like a house.” You gave a small shrug against him, trying to diffuse the sincerity with humor, but it still rang true. Bob’s shoulders stiffened immediately, and his reflection turned red so quickly you thought it might spread across the mirror itself.

“S-Stop it,” He muttered, ducking his head just slightly, like that might shield him from your words.

“Why?” You murmured, brows lifting gently. “It’s not like I’m lying to you.” He didn’t answer right away. The silence stretched for a second too long, and then his voice came–rougher, smaller.

“I-I don’t see it… I just see this…This person who’s not themselves anymore.” His jaw clenched a little, eyes glued to his reflection like it betrayed him. “Not like I u-used to be. Everything’s just…D-Different.” Your frown came slowly, spreading across your face with a heaviness that tugged the corners of your mouth down and softened your eyes into something deeply pained. You finally connected the dots.

He hadn’t been admiring himself in the mirror. He wasn’t checking for a rash or even trying to catch a glimpse of some half-healed wound. He was judging himself–tearing himself apart with every second he stared. Comparing himself to the man he used to be. The one he probably thought he lost the day he became more myth than man. Your heart twisted with it. That quiet kind of ache that came from loving someone too much to let them stay hurt.

“…Can I touch you?” you asked gently, voice barely above a whisper.

Bob’s eyes met yours in the mirror, startled like you’d touched a raw nerve instead of just offering kindness. His lips parted slightly, breath catching in his throat.

“O-Okay,” He said, like it was foreign–like no one had ever asked that before. You moved even closer to him, your chest now pressing against his back. You lifted your hand and just…Touched him.

Your fingertips met the warm skin of his stomach, just above the waistband of his joggers, feather-light. He inhaled sharply. Not in fear–just surprise. His stomach tensed for a second, then loosened, like his body didn’t quite know how to receive affection that came without demand. You smoothed your hand upward, tracing the soft rise and fall of his abdomen, the slope of strength beneath the surface. His skin was warm and velvety under your touch—damp in places from the shower, and soft in others from where his skin had healed from stress and strain and godhood.

“You’re so…” You breathed, thumb sweeping just beneath his ribs, “Unbelievably beautiful, Bob.” He blinked like he hadn’t heard you right. Like that word had never belonged to him.

“I mean it,” You said softly, your hand traveling up his chest now, resting briefly over his heart–feeling the beat pounding steady and strong beneath your palm. “You have no idea what you look like, do you?”

His breath shuddered. “N-Not like this…”

“Then let me tell you.”

Your voice dropped, low and tender, like a vow.

“This body,” You whispered, your fingers tracing the faint stretch marks just below his pecs, “This is a testament. To everything you’ve carried. To how hard you fought to stay here. How strong you’ve had to be. You didn’t just survive…You built this. And you built it with love. With the way you protect people. With how gently you hold things, even when you could crush them.” You leaned in, lips brushing the curve of his bare shoulder, kissing him once. Then again, higher, where the tension lived tight beneath his neck.

He shivered.

Not out of discomfort–but because he knew you meant it. Because your mouth on his skin felt more like an affirmation than anything anyone had ever said to him. His skin jumped beneath each press of your lips. Your other hand slipped around his waist, palm resting over his stomach again–feeling the subtle flex as he tried and failed to keep still.

“You’re real, Bob,” You murmured between kisses. “You’re good. You’re so good. And every inch of you–every mark, every muscle, every breath–is deserving of love.”

He made a sound then–a quiet, choked breath like he was holding something in his throat. His chest hitched slightly under your hand, and when you peeked up at his reflection, his eyes were glossed, gold flickering around the rims like he was lit from within. You tightened your arms gently, holding him from behind like a tether, your forehead pressing into the curve of his shoulder. Your lips grazed the top of his spine.

“Even if you can’t see it… I do.”

The silence that followed wasn’t empty. It was full. Of breath. Of tension. Of emotion so thick it filled the space between your ribs and his.

After a few long seconds, his hand moved. Trembling at first, like he didn’t know what to do without being awkward, before lowering it to cover yours.

His palm was big, warm, and dampened with sweat, but you didn’t mind the way it felt. He held your touch in place like he didn’t want you to stop. His thumb swept softly along the edge of your hand, nervous but desperate to keep you there.

When he turned to face you, his breath hitched again. His eyes didn’t look away this time. He just stared at you like he was memorizing the moment.

You were still holding his waist. Still close enough that the warmth of him surrounded you like a sun. His hand lifted–slow, hesitant, like the moment might shatter if he moved too quickly. You didn’t breathe. Couldn’t. Not when his fingers brushed your jaw and then curled so gently against your cheek it made your eyes sting.

He held your face like it belonged in a museum among the works of art. His thumb grazed the space just beneath your eye, sweeping along your cheekbone with the softest pressure–as if he was trying to memorize the way you felt beneath his touch. Like if he just held you long enough, maybe he could believe this was real. That you were real. That someone had truly looked at him–all of him–and still wanted to stay.

Neither of you blinked.

The air shifted–thick with something golden and unspeakable, heavy in your lungs but light in your chest. Like standing on the edge of something vast and beautiful and knowing, this is the moment it all changes.

And then he leaned in.

Not in a rush. Not in some burst of passion where your teeth could possibly clash together. But slowly–like the sun melting into the sea. Like a secret unfolding, tender and certain, inevitable as gravity.

His lips met yours with gentleness you didn’t know you were starving for.

It was so soft it almost didn’t feel like a kiss at first. Just a breath of warmth, and a quiet hum of surrender blooming behind your ribs. His mouth moved against yours with cautious wonder, wanting more but keeping his thoughts under control just for this one moment–just so he could display his secret devotion to you.

The world narrowed to the press of his lips, the curl of his fingers that were still on your cheek, the faint tremble in his shoulders, and the heat of his bare skin where your hands moved now–trailing up his sides and over his back. You traced the soft slope of muscles with your palms, admiring, until your fingertips danced along the small of his back.

And that’s when he gasped.

The kiss broke as his body flinched against yours with a startled breath, a laugh hiccuping through the sound.

”I…Sorry,” He stammered, half-flushed, half-laughing, his hand falling from your cheek like he had ruined it. You grinned, still feeling your heartbeat throughout your entire body, your eyes shining.

”Don’t you dare apologize for a kiss like that,” You whispered, and before he could respond back to you–before he could shrink away or stumble over a hundred more nervous syllables–you leaned in and kissed him again.

It was just a quick one. A seal on the moment, something that could contain it. His breath hitched like he hadn’t expected it–like he still couldn’t quite believe you were touching him so freely, so warmly.

You pulled back just enough to smile against his lips and murmur, “Only you would apologize for something that sweet by the way.” Another blush lit his face instantly, rising to the tips of his ears like fire spreading across his skin. You laughed softly and pressed one last kiss to the corner of his mouth. Then you wrapped your arms around his waist and pulled him into a proper hug, letting your cheek press to his chest as he melted into your touch.

His arms folded around you slowly, his forearms curling tightly around your waist, his palms flattening against your spine, pressing your body flush to his like he wanted to make sure there was no space between you at all. You melted into the hold instinctively, sighing against his chest as the tension slid out of you like sand between fingers. Your cheek rested against the warm pillow of muscle just over his heart, and there it was–the steady galloping rhythm, thumping firm and fast beneath your ear. You closed your eyes for a moment, just breathing him in.

The scent of his shower was clinging to him and invading your senses now, there was sage, and a hint of pine, he smelled like a forest, or the wilderness–he smelled like the safest place you would ever come to know.

For a long beat, neither of you moved.

His chin dipped until it came to rest lightly on the crown of your head, a sigh escaping him–low, content, full of something that bordered on reverent. When he hummed, it was quiet and barely even a sound–just a vibration in his chest that pulsed through your cheek and down your spine like a tuning fork finding your frequency so he could slip in and be one with you. You smiled against him.

“So…” You started, voice muffled slightly by his skin, “Is there any chance you’ll start walking around shirtless more often now that I’ve thoroughly showered you with compliments?” He let out a soft, incredulous laugh–half embarrassed, half endeared–and you felt it echo all the way through your ribs. His hands tightened slightly at your back as he ducked his head a little further, his voice feathering warmly against your scalp.

“I-It’ll be u-under heavy consideration now, I think…” He mumbled, voice playful but still laced with that soft-spoken sincerity that was so uniquely his. You smirked.

“Hmm,” You hummed back, fingers curling gently against the thick muscle of his upper back before giving him a teasing squeeze. It made him jolt, just slightly–a tiny gasp of a flinch, like you’d shocked him. He barked out another laugh, and you pulled back just enough to look up at him.

“I’ll take that as a very soft yes,” You said, grinning up at him, your fingers still resting against the planes of his back. His eyes met yours–wide and dilated, but glowing now with something unguarded and bright.

“Y-Yeah,” He said shyly, a smile tugging at his lips, “I guess…I-If it’s for you, it might be okay.” He scratched nervously at the back of his neck with one hand as he looked down at you, then added sheepishly, “B-But you have to promise not to look at me like I’m a sculpture again…I-I almost combusted.” You laughed, arms still around his waist, resting your chin on his chest now so you could meet his eyes directly.

“No promises,” You whispered. “You are a sculpture. Just one that happens to blush when I compliment him.”

His face turned a glorious shade of red, and you watched the smile spread helplessly across his lips even as he tried to hide it. His hands came up again, this time cradling your jaw like it was something precious. His thumbs brushed softly against your cheeks, and he leaned in again–this time a little more sure of himself.

And when he kissed you again, it was with a quiet hunger. Still gentle, still sweet, but layered now with the quiet thrill of knowing that you saw him–really saw him–and loved every part you found.

[4kozy]

daniela as ur monster gf hcs

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━━━━━━ ★ ━━━━━━ ★ ━━━━━━

daniela is a werewolf, which means there’s hair everywhere. and i do mean everywhere.

were-dani is louder than normal daniela, if that’s even possible… every scream trails off into a howl, regardless of if the scream is happy or sad. you wear earplugs, but like to remind her that yes, you have neighbors and yes, you would very much not like to be evicted.

were-dani keeps small wolf-like traits even when not completely transformed. she’s got small whiskers, large canines, and long claws. you like to paint her claws purple.

were-dani will sulk to get what she wants, and does it knowing that you’ll cave in 2.3 seconds.

as much as i’d love to say were-dani doesn’t get jealous, she definitely does. daniela is as territorial as it gets, often choosing more extreme measures to show how off-limits you are. ( do you know how bad she had to beat that man to get banned from the waffle house on 10th St? )

on that topic, were-dani marks you. a lot. and it’s not very sexual to her, just pure instinct–second nature. she wants people to know that you belong to somebody, the way she belongs to you. you could be relaxing on the couch together one minute, and the next, her teeth are grazing the back of your neck, hands rubbing your thighs softly to distract you from the fact that it’s gonna hurt! ( you’ve told her it’s okay to bite. she’s very grateful. )

were-dani is super high energy! expect your dates to be very, very, physically intensive. ( this will apply to other things. )

were-dani likes to be with you at all times, and not in the way that gf!franken megs is ( one of her body parts in ur damn pocket…🙄 ) . it’s literally that she’s ALWAYS with you. you end up working from home because of the face she used to make when you got back home late. you hate disappointing her.

she will never ever share this, but you know were-dani likes being pet.

if you’re tired, or not in the mood to do bungee jumping for the fourth time that week, were-dani is not opposed to taking small hikes as an alternative. she likes to talk, so you choose to listen to her instead of your music, even if you’ve heard the story so many times before.

you don’t allow were-dani to go to the gym anymore. she broke the vertical row somehow… ( it cost a fortune to replace. you don’t say this because it’ll make her feel worse. )

were-dani fucking despises cats. even more, she despises werecats. it takes a prayer, a soft pat to her back, and a quick turn in the opposite direction to MAYBE avoid another issue out in public. ( during the new moon and waning phases, this doesn’t happen at all. )

were-dani’s more extreme behavior only happens during the waxing phases and full moon. she can’t explain it to you, but does understand why you like to go out more when it’s not taking place.

sometimes were-dani gets scared that you’ll leave because she can’t control herself sometimes. you have to remind her it’s part of her curse, and that you don’t blame her for anything. ( you won’t say it because she doesn’t like to hear it, but you genuinely love every part of her. even the curse. )

during your first full moon together, were-dani almost ripped you apart, like some of your poor furniture. somehow, she stopped herself just before, letting her terrified girlfriend pet her as if nothing happened before you passed out. you’ve got deep scars on your back from the incident, and if it weren’t for your neighbors, megan and her girlfriend, you’re pretty sure you would’ve died. daniela never remembers her transformations, so even when she begs you to tell her what happened, you don’t. ( you know she knows )

ever since that night, turned were-dani is more like a dog than the hulking 9ft tall beast that you first met. you had to buy a much bigger couch–she broke it trying to lay with you. ( you also have to pet her a lot, or she’ll get crabby. )

turned were-dani is even clingier than the normal one, and way more slobbery😞 you find it super gross but put up with it for your poor girlfriend’s sake. you know that no matter how disgusting it gets, she’s in infinitely more pain than you are, and even more considerate of her, before she turns, she chooses to lock herself in the spare room–hoping to keep you out of it. your neighbor, megan, built a steel door for you guys after the first incident, but when daniela smells you, it doesn’t last long. ( megan takes the time out every month to replace it. )

you keep raw meat in your fridge. though were-dani won’t admit it, she does eat it–and likes it a bunch.

were-dani, no matter how ironic it is, can sometimes be unaware ( it’s the human in her ) … but with her heightened senses, always knows when you’re upset. once she gets the idea that you are ( she’s always right ), expect to be taken care of like the royalty she knows you are. NOT that she doesn’t always, but even more when something’s going on. trust, when daniela gets into that mode, there’s no end. ( it’d be overbearing if you didn’t know she was 100% or nothing )

were-dani has a bunch of hair all over her after she turns. you let her have the bathroom for the day so she can take care of it.

and when she’s not turned, were-dani just naturally grows hair like weeds! you give her haircuts every friday, while you two watch a movie together.

were-dani’s favorite hobby is carving, surprisingly. it’s the only one that absorbs all her attention once she starts, so make sure you’ve had all the time you wanted with her beforehand. of course, she’s fucking amazing, so you have a crazy amount of wood pieces everywhere. ( your favorite is the heart. it has both of your initials in it. )

when you and were-dani kiss, it’s very frantic. it’s not soft ever, and it might just be the fact that she’s cursed with a wild animal, or the fact that she’s very in love with you and needs you like the air she breathes.

were-dani is like one of those mascs that can’t tell when someone’s flirting with her or being friendly–you can and she thinks it’s very attractive when you get jealous, even when she laughs at you. don’t bring up her jealous freak outs though, or she’ll be irritating.

were-dani likes try new things all the time, but because of her hypersensitivity she has to be careful. strong smells, bright lights, loud noises ( ironic ), and harsh tastes hurt her. your first date, she was wearing sunglasses, earplugs, and kept covering her nose. you thought it was because you stank, and after a ton of explaining–and a second date–you realized it was the fair itself.

were-dani tends to get upset when she looks at pictures of herself before she was cursed. you never say anything, choosing to give her a hug instead. there’s deep claw marks in her legs and arms, eerily similar to the ones in your back. she doesn’t like to think about it, but deep down she knows she hurt you–if any saliva had gotten into your wounds, you would’ve ended up like her. ( she always apologizes for it when you’re asleep, tracing the scars lightly with the pads of her fingers. she’d apologize when you’re awake but you get mad at her for it. )

━━━━━━ ★ ━━━━━━ ★ ━━━━━━

anyway daniela is my WIFE i love her so much 😍ignore the fact that i only made daniela a werewolf because bushes are better than bare… BUT STAY W ME!!l werewolves AND daniela serve charisma, uniqueness, nerve, and freaking talent🙏

[epistemebabu]

(As it goes with 'queer scenes being better with people being weird'; this has been the exact opposite of my experience in person, though it is possible I've drawn a bad hand)

Between us, I feel like we have a disjoint enough concept of 'homophobia' that the pieces are not falling together well enough for the conversation to be straightforward.

There was a particular book that was really impactful on my conception there, and which I would recommend if I could remember what it was called; it was written by an anthropologist working inside a modern (-ish, I think somewhere in the 2000-2015 period) American high school, trying to describe the culture.

Not being 'gay' (in the sense of reluctance to engage in violence, displaying emotions, not using various slurs, and so on) was the social occupation of every male student, except for those people who were actually gay. It's not as though the genuinely queer had a good time particularly, it's that they were not seen as a valid subject for the "try not to be gay" social competition.

(I can remember a friend in high school claiming that she was spelling it 'ghey' when she called dudes gay, by which she meant cringe, and that this meant she was not homophobic; I didn't go to the same place as the anthropologist, but would vouch for the vibes being similar).

So, the argument is that the complex of 'not being gay' hasn't actually weakened much, even in progressive spaces, it's that the people who are gay are understood not to be valid targets if you subscribe to a worldview in which homosexuality is fine (as you should).

Downstream of that is a lot of the way we attribute responsibility for 'gendered outcomes', like the reasonably popular idea that incels in particular are responsible for cultural misogyny, being that that's what we now call people who are failing the 'don't be gay' task.

(incels exist, but they aren't usually played by Rami Malek or Adam Driver, you know?)

It's more materialist-seeming, but has the same kind of connection to reality as the 'gay marriage caused Katrina' reasoning you saw conservatives employ, that being that failure to enforce a narrow view of what masculinity is is the cause of a common ill that can't meaningfully be attributed to an individual.

(you could also take the TME/TMA discourse as being another instance of men (bad variant) being responsible for the failures of the world)

Wrapping it together; I responded so aggressively because I was triggered by the alikeness of the response to exactly that experience of hegemonic masculinity I grew up inside. This is not usually a good thing, but I will endorse it in this instance, in that it is right to be unhappy about, even if aggression is unhelpful for convincing anyone of anything.

(I was planning to delete the responses fairly quickly after writing them, but you had reblogged it by the time I got there, so I figured I might as well commit on this thread)

Expanding more would probably require going through the post I initially reblogged line-by-line and critiquing it, which seems impolite given that they're not participating in the conversation presently. Similarly, a shared sense of interpretation such that you can prospectively choose to see it as I do for the purposes of critique would be difficult to create.

Hopefully this at least demonstrates the direction of the interpretation?

It is perplexing how "try to be someone people enjoy spending time with and would want to date" is basically hidden esoteric knowledge to a certain type of conservative but "try to make her your prisoner through financial dependence" just goes completely unquestioned.

It's no wonder the divorce rate is what it is when the only thing so many people think to offer is basically a threat. They don't even seem to like their spouses as people.

[dolliewon]

ENEMIES s.jy

PAIRING: arrogant!jake x fem!reader

SYNOPSIS: You attended your best friend Wonyoung's birthday party. You knew he'd be there, not only because the world was against you, but also because you shared the same social circle. But you didn't expect him to end up confessing things you'd never believe from someone like him after seeing you leave a room with someone who wasn't him.

WORDCOUNTER: 19k

WARNINGS: not reviewed!!!, enemies to ??, unprotected sex, mentions of alcohol & smoking, reader fucks jungwon before jake!, nicknames ( Pretty girl, princess, darling, little slut, vixen and I don 't remember how many more! ) , choking, jake!obssesive, sucking cock, compliments, jake does not provide aftercare to reader, and I don't think I forgot anything!

dolliewon's notes: english is not my mother tongue. mdni.

You closed the door of Heeseung's sports car as you got out, scanning the family home. Music could be heard outside, and judging by the number of cars parked outside, you knew your friend had invited the entire campus and any of their friends.

It didn't take long for Heeseung to walk around the car and walk to your side, his hands stuffed into the pockets of his dark jeans and a smile on his lips.

"Let's go" He said happily before starting to walk a cross the green grass, surrounding his huge house. You followed behind him, already beginning to feel the euphoria slowly entering your body as you got closer to the number of people outside and the music felt more intense.

There were some in the pool, others drinking, and one or two couples kissing desperately in some corner of the place in the back garden. From outside you could see the number of people inside the house, dancing everywhere.

"Wonyoung must be inside, I'll go with Jay" your friend warned you, speaking loudly, so that you could hear him over the music. Giving him a smile and an 'okay' was enough for him to start walking in the opposite direction to where you planned to go.

You walked through the sweaty bodies, the smell of alcohol and sweat was the only thing you could feel as you continued rubbing your body against the others, causing the short dress you were wearing to rise to the top of your thighs.

It didn't take you long to fix it when you managed to feel the fresh air again when you stood inside your best friend's living room. It didn't take long for you to recognize her, standing a few meters away from you with her boyfriend at her side and a familiar figure with his back to you.

You walked on your heels towards them, your eyes met the bright ones of Wonyoung who soon showed you his beautiful smile, causing his eyes to turn into bright crescents. Her makeup was subtle just like yours, just a little glitter on her eyelids, matching the white dress she was wearing.

He quickly launched himself on your body when he managed to get close enough. She wrapped her arms around you, laughing and holding you close to her.

"You're here! , I was missing you, was Heeseung late in coming to pick you up?" She spoke quickly, as his hands found their way to your cheeks.

"I'm fine, perfect." You smiled at her, before arranging the light bangs that fell over his forehead a little. "Happy birthday, my cupcake," you said, placing a scant kiss on her nose.

His cheeks soon took on a rosy color and his lips curved sweetly, her left a tap on your arm, before taking your wrist.

"We have to say hello," she said smiling as she guided you to where her boyfriend and apparently, Jake, were. Wonyoung knew about your notorious 'rivalry' with Jake, but you both had the same circle of friends, you couldn't just go around ignoring and insulting each other or so your friend said.

"I need some drinks first," you said, stopping your steps, your brown eyes watching her. "You'll have all night to drink." Wonyoung told you smiling, before approaching the male duo again.

Sunghoon's curious eyes went to you, and he greeted you with a slight smile, before raising the disposable cup to his lips again, drinking whatever liquid he had chosen. On the other hand, you felt the familiar gaze, which seemed to pierce your being with the intensity of it, you didn't even have to see it to know that it was him, Jake, with his arms crossed over his chest and a mocking smile that you had gotten used to.

see since you met him.

His eyes did not stray from you, you knew that he was only looking for you to get upset so he could mock you and look away. You wouldn't do it, of course not. You ignored how intense it was, and how irritating that chuckle he let out when you opened your mouth to speak managed to be; you sighed heavily, before refocusing on your friend, who was now wrapped in her boyfriend's arm.

"Then I fly." You told her along with a forced smile before disappearing from that circle as quickly as you could.

It didn't take long for Wonyoung to run after you, wrapping him arm around yours, making both steps between the bodies enjoying the music.

"They would have to stop that rivalry someday" Wonyoung spoke, making you spin around and your back playing their song, while both began to move to the rhythm that was heard through the speakers scattered throughout the place.

You ignored his comment, letting yourself go as you drank the liquid from the glass that Wonyoung had given you seconds before. You closed your eyes, trying to get used to the familiar burn of the vodka that you and your friend always drank; your hips swayed next to your friend's, the slight discomfort you had taken a few minutes ago had disappeared, as you felt the effect of the alcohol already in your system, slightly.

The minutes continued to pass, as did the different topics, each one of which was experienced by you and Wonyoung.

You were with your neck resting on his shoulder, when you felt the third presence of someone between you, it was too obvious that it was his boyfriend, did you care? Of course not. Your hips continued to move regardless of the fact that she had walked away with her lovers without first whispering over the music: "I'll be back later" although you would know that she wouldn't come back and leave you stood up for the rest of the night just for preferring a couple of kisses with her boyfriend.

Your left hand was still holding the small bag you had never taken out. You preferred to ignore the detail, while your mind became clouded with some kind of peace and tranquility, your hips moving like the rest of your body. Collide with bodies? It would always happen and you were more than used to it.

Without paying attention to the time that continued to pass, your body asked you for more alcohol if you wanted to continue dancing. You made your way between the euphoric bodies, trying to get out of them and be able to walk to the kitchen.

You pushed open the kitchen door with a sigh, finding heeseung and your other friend, karina inside it, practically eating each other. You adjusted your bag on your shoulder as a slight frown appeared between your brows in confusion; "He said he was going to see Jay," you said to yourself, remembering what your friend's brother told you an hour ago; before downplaying it and making your way close to where you appreciated varieties of bottles. Whether they have a relationship or just don't know each other now wasn't your business, anyway... you always shipped them both to each other.

"Your name is Jay now, Rina" you spoke smiling in the silence apparently uncomfortable for them, while you filled the red plastic cup; Their faces were slightly flushed under the dim white light of the kitchen. Karina seemed to get slightly confused although she only sounds like Heeseung did in your direction.

You finished pouring the clear liquid and turned to your friends with a smile again. You winked at both of your friends, before taking the glass in your empty hand and beginning to back away towards the door you entered moments ago.

"I won't bother you anymore" was the last thing you said before leaving the kitchen and hearing the music booming inside there even louder. Your orbs scanned the room, focusing on the familiar couch in the middle of the room, where your group of friends were sitting, except three presences were missing from there: Karina, Heeseung, and... Jake.

You sighed happily at the absence of the last named before approaching them, Chaewon, who soon gave you her smile before taking a sip from her glass again. You left a kiss on her cheek in greeting just like she did with you.

"Where were you—" the short-haired girl tried to continue asking before a question from Jay interrupted her. "Or who were you with?" His sideways smile highlighting his single dimple made you smile and you could only roll your eyes at his question.

"I was there, alone, since someone preferred to leave me for the boyfriend and his kisses" You said, staring at Wonyoung making him laugh.

"You've left me for your boyfriends too!" wonyoung exclaimed, a pout on his lips.

"Of course not!" You said quickly, before the other boys burst out laughing.

"Of course!" Chaewon spoke, as she playfully bumped your shoulder with hers.

After having had a couple more drinks with the boys, you wanted to go out to smoke a little and get some air. Since none of your boys shared the same vice as you, except Jaeyun and Heeseung, but one had taken your friend to his room and the other you couldn't even see from less than five meters away, which already generated that bitterness in your stomach and something else that you thought was indecipherable.

You raised your shoulders while stretching your neck slightly and began walking around the room, surrounding the round of sweaty bodies, if you will. You walked along the immense walls that continued to connect the spacious room, recognizing some faces along the way, which you had seen more than a couple of times in a class or campus team game.

The tips of your heels made a dull sound against the carpeted wood of the stairs as you continued climbing its steps, seeking to reach the second floor that somehow you knew would be full of couples up there.

Walking along the polished wood of the floor, noticing the couples that were there as you assumed. "Looks like some were luckier tonight," you thought as you let out a light, low chuckle to yourself.

You continued with your steps forward. Your attention was caught by one of the many white doors opening, from which a couple came out laughing, you recognized his figure: jaeyun. Idiot number one with his arm wrapped around the shoulders of an apparently dyed blonde since her roots were a dark raven hair. His smile seemed to be bigger than that of a child with a new toy; She was a new toy.

He winked at you arrogantly as you passed by him, to which you could only roll your eyes, whatever you did whenever he was around. You lightly squeezed the plastic cup in your hand after you were able to get it out of sight. Maybe it was just his shitty smile, right? Yes, it was surely that arrogance that he showed you that caused a sour feeling inside you.

You turned to your left, wanting to enjoy its balcony, although a person had already taken your place.

He had his back to you, hunched over the railing, apparently smoking, obvious by the cloud of smoke above him, which quickly mixed with the cool night air.

You tried not to pay so much attention to him, before turning to the small table and pair of chairs on the same balcony; You sat down in one of them, left your bag on the table and turned your gaze now to the face that was watching you in silence.

It seemed somehow familiar to you, you should have seen it at some of the basketball games that your friend forced you to attend because of her boyfriend. His attractive features, his slight smile or his aura itself, he looked better than you could ever remember and he looked damn beautiful while smoking.

Maybe it was just the alcohol you drank that was now in your system, or it was just the way the moonlight highlighted his slightly tanned skin, highlighting his features that matched perfectly with his dark clothes and slightly messy hair.

His cat-like face and how intense his dark eyes were from the lack of light out there, how well the shirt fit him and the position only made his toned body stand out more, made something other than your heart start to beat.

Your mind kept trying to think of where you had seen him, you knew that you knew his name better than you thought, but something in your mind couldn't finish putting the puzzle together; Did you see it elsewhere? surely. Had you ever had a chat with him? I don't know, did he seem too familiar and not being able to remember his name started to create some kind of anxiety in you? Yeah. The more you thought, their gazes continued to intertwine, both of them in a somewhat comfortable silence, so to speak.

But you still didn't remember him from the background, you kept putting pieces together, his name? You were more sure that it started with the letter 'j' or 't', Taesan? Jonmin? Jaewon? You didn't know, but you kept watching him so directly, wanting to know, you needed him.

Suddenly, you remembered. You felt too worthless not to recognize him as soon as you saw him, maybe the alcohol made you like that? Maybe it hasn't happened to you before.

Yang Jungwon. You repeated yourself. And you repeated yourself about fifty times.

He was popular on campus, as the group you surrounded yourself with was popular, you knew he was friends with the boys or so you saw during lunches that he sat next to them, but you never got close enough to him to know him more than at first glance. He was on the team with the boys, did you give him the attention he needed during those games? No, and you were realizing it now. Regretting it for paying too much attention to Jay as if he were your father.

Jay had always forbidden you in a certain way, of all his friends, jungwon was forbidden just like Heeseung. But you were never really interested in heeseung. But Jungwon? He was on the list of those who created a wetness between your legs with just one look.

His dark brown orbs observed you, stopping at the delicate necklace that decorated around your neck, resting under your collarbone, before going down to observe your black dress, which clung to you like a second skin and going over you again until they joined their gazes again.

"Why are you here?" He said, not meaning to sound bad, although to your ears it sounded better than you could explain. "Alone and without some boy chasing you?"

If it were anyone else and you hadn't ingested so much alcohol, you'd know damn well he would have gone for the jugular with your rude answers, but you just scoffed at his last question as you closed your eyes, before taking a cigarette from the box you left next to you next to your drink. You let it rest between your lips as you turned it on, never taking your eyes off of him.

"I prefer fresh air," you said, exhaling the air from your lungs, with the smoke getting lost in the darkness of the night, before your gaze lost itself in the dark starry sky above you.

You smiled for no reason, turning your orbs towards him.

A smile curved his thin lips, highlighting the dimples on the sides of both cheeks. He turned to you, now with only one arm resting on the railing, giving you his full attention.

He looked better, his shoulders broad and his waist smaller, his worked muscles that stood out under the fabric of the dark shirt and that you were now dying to see without it.

"You just didn't get anything yet?" He commented smiling, as if he was reading you like an open book. The crooked smile on his face looked better than you could express, his dark eyes examining you making you weak in the knees. If you had to go home with someone you would definitely go with them.

You laughed, bringing the cigarette back to your lips, inhaling the minty flavor of it. Your lips twisted into a smile as did his, as you got up from the seat and walked to his side, or rather his front.

Your arms rested on the railing and you took a panoramic view of the backyard of Wonyoung's house.

"Of course not," you lied, looking down at the pool below, where there were still more people.

"Of course," he commented smiling, as if he were close to you and knew all your movements.

The silence prolonged again in you, who observed the view that could be seen from the same balcony. The light of the full moon illuminated between you, as if wanting to encourage you to continue talking, but the silence spoke for you.

You watched as he threw away the butt of the finished cigarette; the strange thing? He didn't seem to want to go downstairs to drink or maybe look for a girlfriend, if he had one, but he stayed there with you. In silence. As if it were something cozy for both of them and at the same time normal. His presence shook you but at the same time made you feel warm.

You don't know how it happened, maybe it was the spontaneous topics that began to arise as the minutes passed or it was just the tension that continued to build up between you every time your eyes met and you intertwined with something more than a simple smoking chat on the balcony.

His mouth was on yours, kissing you with that roughness and at the same time care that you always liked. His arms wrapped around your lower back, resting on the curve of it and your plump ass, which on more than one occasion he had given a squeeze that only made your core throb more desperately.

He seemed to read you too well, his precise hands touching places that made your head cloud more than the alcohol could do to you. Your fingers buried between the roots of his hair, as you continued to mess it up as you pulled and squeezed it between your fingers at the provocation caused by his knee pressed firmly against your clothed cunt.

His warm muscle ran through your entire cervical spine, without leaving a single space that he couldn't touch. He intertwined with yours, sucking on your tongue only for you to continue gasping against his mouth at his simple action, which went straight to his ego.

You wanted to push him and take him to any room or bathroom nearby, but you thought that if you walked away you wouldn't be able to take a single step before falling to the floor. Because? because your legs turned to jelly since he started kissing you, if it weren't for his arms holding you up you would know you would be on your knees right there, but maybe it would be good to be on your knees, right? if you would be sucking his cock instead of letting him devour your mouth like a hungry animal and have complete control over you.

The lack of air only made everything more intense than you thought, your back was still pressed against the balcony railing while he continued devouring your lips. Their reddish lipstick? you would know it would be spread all over your lower face and he would be just like you.

You separated your swollen lips from his slightly, only for him to begin trailing kisses down your jaw, following your jawline, and beginning to decorate your neck with his kisses.

He sucked on the sensitive skin, causing your hands to now clench the fabric of his shirt between your palms at the overwhelming sensation of his teeth scraping against your skin. You had always known that your sensitive spot was your neck, but the way he applied that pressure enough to make you dizzy made you let out another gasp that wasn't caught by his lips and reached your ears softly like a choir of angels.

He giggled, now with his teeth again pulling at your skin elsewhere. You would know that it would leave more than one mark, but it was the thing that interested you the least right now.

Your hips rocked on his thigh, rubbing your neglected pussy, looking for something that could soothe the ache between your legs that you've been enduring for several minutes now. Your moment wasn't as long as you would have expected, as his arms stopped your hips, making your big doe eyes look at him with some kind of confusion.

"C' on princess, I need somewhere more comfortable for you." His cheeky words only made the stain on your panties intensify and stick uncomfortably to your center as you tried to match his footsteps.

He dragged you behind him, leaving the balcony and walking down the second floor. He approached one of the many white doors on the second floor. He knocked on the door before entering, and finding a guest room, which you would know there were many more due to the number of doors in the immense house that you knew perfectly well.

Jungwon wasted no time in dragging you back inside the four walls, closing the door behind you. His eager lips joined your still swollen lips again, you returned it to him with the same enthusiasm that he gave you while you threw your bag somewhere in the room. guiding your body towards the double bed in the room. The back of your knees collided with her, before your body fell gently onto the sheets.

Your fingers wasted no time in starting to unbutton the buttons on his shirt, wanting to quickly feel his skin. He just smiled, separating himself from your lips, leaning on his two arms on the sides of your head while you took care of throwing his shirt somewhere in the room, just wanting to appreciate it.

Your eyes watched him carefully, his abs worked like the rest of his muscles, marked arms, and beefy chest. His muscles hit another sensitive spot inside you.

Although before your saliva escaped your mouth, his hands moved up the skirt of your dress to your stomach, before finding their place between your already open thighs.

The stain that ran the length of your lower lips, which only explained how good his simple actions felt to you. The thin fabric clung completely to you.

"How beautiful," he whispered towards you, before attaching his lips to your cocoon, with the cotton of your clothes impregnated with your scent.

His warm hands ran up the sides of your thighs, while his mouth savored your sweet taste through the fabric that covered him. A loud gasp escaped your lips, as he licked all over your clothed slit.

Your fingers quickly found their place in his hair again, as you lightly tugged at the strands while your teeth took your bottom lip between your teeth, trying at least to hide your sounds.

His fingers found the waistband of your panties, dragging them teasingly over your legs until he finally removed them and stuffed them into the back pocket of his jeans before opening your legs wide for him again.

His hands found their place halfway between them caressing them and teasingly bringing them closer to your center that was craving attention before moving away again.

"Wonie, do something," you spoke, trying to hold back the gasp that tried to escape your throat when you felt his fingers dig into your soft flesh as you looked up at him.

"What do you want, pretty girl?" He purred, leaning into your face as his lips intertwined with yours.

A moan was torn from your chest at his clothed erection pressed against your dripping pussy. His lips continued to devour yours before leaving small kisses on your jaw again.

"W-wonie" you stuttered, your hands pushing the back of his neck towards your face wanting to kiss his lips again.

Low, yes he did but not to kiss you. His hands slowly lowered the straps of the small dress you were wearing. Kissing your collarbones, and covering them with his wet muscle.

How did you get here? You wouldn't know it, your mind was so overwhelmed by the obscene sounds of his cock moving in and out of your pussy at an animalistic pace, hitting all the right spots. His pelvis rhythmically slapped against the plumpness of your ass, while your face was still buried in the pillow beneath you.

The dress was left lying somewhere in the room and it was the last thing you thought about because you knew you couldn't... you couldn't be under it, while you let him fuck you however he wanted, using you? I don't think so, he just wanted to reach his release and you knew it well by the raw way his hips moved against the plumpness of your ass. You had already had yours on his cock; now with a second forming in your stomach.

But he was still friends with Jay, you couldn't have him with his cock buried in your velvety walls that sucked him in like a vise. Would Jay get angry? It was the thing you least thought about, your mind was full of: Jungwon.

His grunts only made more juices gush out of you, pooling in the white ring around the base of his cock that your other releases formed. Maybe it was just that no boy had ever made you run around as much as Jungwon was doing now, but you also tried to tell yourself that you had been too neglected in the last few weeks, that was why, right? Or it was just because its tip kissed your cervix in the best way.

"Fuck, you're so perfect," he growled, his nails digging into the soft marked flesh of your hips. Although he seemed to speak more to your pussy than to you.

What could you do? Nothing, just enjoy everything he gave you. His muffled gasps in time with his thrusts into you only caused the band inside you to stretch further.

Your thighs began to tremble, feeling like your threads would no longer resist the rough intensity in which he claimed you, because he was claiming you.

His thrusts began to falter, as one of his hands came down to caress your swollen clit. Another moan came from him, as his warm jets of his release painted all over your insides before his orgasm triggered yours.

Your flaccid body wanted to fall to the bed, exhausted. But his arms around your hips held you up, as jungwon withdrew his softened cock from your used hole.

He let your lower body press into the crumpled sheets beneath you as he took a spot next to you.

His right hand supported his head, while his eyes appreciated your happy face. His fingers gently ran up your back, tangling with your hair along the way.

Your eyelids opened again, meeting a smiling Jungwon and a light pink on his cheeks.

He smiled comfortably at you, leaving a kiss on your forehead as if it was normal in their relationship, but theirs wasn't a relationship.

The mere act or was it just his smile made your heart flutter in your chest. He walked away again and continued watching you just as you watched him.

He got out of bed, looking for your dress and his clothes. He put on his clothes haphazardly and without buttoning himself up, he approached the bed again, taking a place on the edge of it and patting one of his thighs.

You drew strength from where you couldn't to crawl towards him and sit on one of his legs before he left a kiss on the skin of your shoulder and began to messily place your dress on.

He stood up with an arm around your waist, after buttoning up his shirt with you still sitting staring at him like he was the most interesting thing in the world instead of getting up to look for your discarded bag.

"Okay, pretty girl," he murmured, smiling before handing you the small bag he grabbed from the floor seconds before. "It's time to go down."

He smiled opening the door and pulling you out with his arm still wrapped around you. You followed his footsteps, leaving the room to the second floor. His warm arm wrapped around you brought security in a strange way.

His different comments and funny things he would say at random, making you laugh at every thing Jungwon said. Who apparently only talked about that kind of thing to hear your soft laugh.

You walked with him down the second floor, smiling and with your eyes fixed on jungwon as if he were the only thing worth looking at in the hallway. Not until a familiar figure quickly stopped his steps in front of you.

Your eyes drifted from Jungwon to the static figure in front of you seemingly coming out of the bathroom. Jake. The smile on your face disappeared as did the expressions of happiness for having received one of the best fucks of your life.

His eyes were darker than normal as they scanned between you and jungwon. You could tell how tense his jaw was and the fists formed at his sides, but you just chose to ignore it.

You wanted to keep up with Jungwon, trying to go around Jake, only for him to grab your wrist, leaving a slight pressure that made you turn your head towards him in disbelief and at the same time annoyance, always annoyance.

"What the fuck are you doing?" you ask, raising an eyebrow at him. Jungwon behind you did nothing but watch the scene in front of him silently.

"Wonyoung sent me to find you," he lied. He probably lied. You would never believe anything that came out of his mouth.

You would never do it.

"I don't believe you," you rolled your eyes, before trying to get out of his grip, only for him to increase the pressure on the area.

"I'm serious," he questioned with his frown looking so hot, as he tried again to pull you towards him.

"She said she doesn't believe you, leave her already" Jungwon questioned with a frown now standing next to you, trying to pull you behind him.

An arrogant smile formed on his lips after hearing Jungwon's response. Jake could only let out a wry chuckle before facing Jungwon. Her eyes never left his.

—Just because you fucked her doesn't mean you know her completely. "The friend sent me, that's all," he mocked, raising both eyebrows slightly, after Jungwon let go of you and turned to look at you.

His eyes scanned yours, before leaning closer and whispering against your ear, his lips brushing against the shell of it. His warm breath reminded you of what happened less than a few minutes ago, to which you just gasped silently to yourself.

"I'll wait for you downstairs, pretty" with a kiss on your cheek and bumping his shoulder roughly with Jaeyun's, he left you there.

Alone.

And with the being you least wanted to see in your life.

You turned on your heel towards Jake, parting your lips to try and say something but he silenced you only with his hand wrapped around your neck.

—Jungwon? "Mhm?" he asked. His eyes seemed to pierce your face due to the intensity with which he looked at you, his fingers with a certain pressure on your neck that cut the air slightly.

Your hands traveled to hold his wrist, wanting to get it away from your neck. But his strength surpassed yours by thousands of times. Now you did believe that his biceps were that wide because of weights and not because of keratin for the muscles.

Your lips parted to say something, but you could only take a breath, doing nothing but staring at the darkness in his eyes.

—Aren't you talking, little whore? "Too bad," he smiled sarcastically before loosening his grip on your neck and shoving you into the first door his desperate eyes saw.

He wanted to take it all in when you watched him lock the door, the small frown on your brow made him laugh as his steps approached you, as if you were just a little deer in front of the wolf.

"And wonyoung?" you asked, wanting to avoid paying attention to the growing hunger in his eyes.

—Wonyoung must be fucking Sunghoon, like you did with Jungwon and just like Karina did with Heeseung—, you rolled your eyes. He always had eyes everywhere and claimed to be right about everything?

You wanted to go around him and leave, but again he grabbed your wrist with such force that he would leave some mark on your sensitive skin. Your frown was still there, your eyes narrowed as he seemed to just enjoy seeing you like this.

"What the fuck, jaeyun? What's wrong with you today?" You asked sharply, before his lips came to rest on yours with animalistic desire.

Jaeyun didn't respond immediately. His lips moved over yours with a desperation that bordered on madness, as if he wanted to devour you in an attempt to reassert his dominance. His hands gripped your waist, pulling you towards him, as his ragged breath brushed against your cheek.

You tried to push him away, but his grip became firmer. His strength immobilized you, and although your body reacted with a mixture of fear and adrenaline, something in his dark eyes captured you. It was anger, desire, frustration... a whirlwind of emotions that you didn't quite understand.

"Jake, stop it..." you murmured, your voice shaky but firm.

His jaw tightened. For a moment, he seemed to be torn between letting go or continuing. Then, his grip on your wrist loosened, but not enough to let you go.

—Enough? —he repeated with a bitter smile—. Just like when you decided Jungwon could touch you? Or when you pretended you didn't want to jump at me when you saw me?

His words were like sharp daggers stabbing into your chest. You didn't expect him to mention that, much less in that resentful tone. You tried to pull away again, but he held his ground, his fingers caressing your skin with a disturbing softness.

"It's not what you think..." you tried to explain, but Jaeyun let out a short, humorless laugh.

—You always say the same thing. But you know what? I don't want to hear excuses anymore.

His lips slid to your neck, his hot breath tingling your skin. An electric current ran through your body as his hand slid to your back, trapping you against the wood of the door.

"Tell me to stop," he whispered, his voice deep and heavy with desire. Tell me, and I will do it.

But you didn't say anything.

The silence between you became dense, as thick as the tension that hung in the air. Jaeyun pulled away just a few centimeters, his eyes exploring yours, searching for something in your gaze.

"I thought so..." he muttered before leaning towards you again, determined to claim what he thought was his.

His proximity burned your skin, his every breath intermingled with yours in a dangerous swing that you knew wouldn't end well. You felt his firm grip on your back, the pressure of his body against yours, and although your mind screamed for you to get away, your body remained motionless.

Jake waited, his lips barely brushing yours, giving you the chance to speak, to tell him to stop. But you didn't. Not because you didn't want to, but because you knew that, deep down, a part of you was trapped in the intensity of his dark gaze.

His hand slowly slid to your jaw, forcing you to stare at him. His eyes were full of rage, of desire, of something you couldn't quite decipher, but he looked like he was always trying to hold back some carnal desire.

—Why do you always run? —he whispered with a mixture of frustration and desperation—. Tell me, do you really want me to stop?

The lump in your throat grew heavier. You felt like you were walking a tightrope, about to fall into the abyss of everything Jaeyun stood for.

You took a breath and, with a trembling voice, barely a murmur, you responded:

"Don't know..."

That was enough for him.

Jaeyun didn't wait any longer. This time, his lips took hold of yours with a fierceness that left you breathless. His hands explored your body with a mix of urgency and devotion, as if he wanted to memorize every inch of your skin. His tongue slid into your mouth, claiming you in a way no one else had before.

You tried to hold on to your sanity, but it was getting harder. His aroma, his touch, his heat... everything enveloped you like a storm that you couldn't avoid.

But then, a noise from the other side of the door made them stop.

Jaeyun stood still, his breathing labored. His eyes narrowed and his jaw tensed as he heard the sound of approaching footsteps.

"fuckt..." he whispered, with a mix of anger and frustration.

Your hands shook as you gently pushed him away, trying to catch your breath.

"We have to get out of here..." you said, trying to gather your thoughts.

But Jaeyun didn't let go of you immediately. His fingers slid over your wrist, his gaze still locked on yours.

"This is not over," he said hoarsely. I'm not going to let you continue running away from me.

The sound of the door opening forced them to separate completely. Your heart was racing as you tried to act normal. But you knew that after this, nothing would be the same again.

—What were they doing here? —asked a curious voice.

And seeing who was standing in the doorway, you knew the situation had just gotten a lot more complicated.

Your body tensed as you saw the silhouette at the entrance. The light from the hallway illuminated the figure of Jungwon, who was observing them with a suspicious expression.

"What were you doing here?" His voice sounded neutral, but his eyes locked on you for a second too long.

Jaeyun didn't move. His grip on your wrist tightened, as if he was afraid you were going to run right then. His stance remained firm, his gaze dark and calculating.

"Nothing that matters to you," Jaeyun replied coldly, his voice dripping with danger.

Jungwon raised an eyebrow, but his attention returned to you. You felt his expression change, his jaw clenching as he noticed how upset you were. Before you could say anything else, Jaeyun roughly pulled you up and placed you behind him, as if he was claiming what was his.

-Let's go. —His voice brooked no discussion.

You didn't have a chance to react when Jaeyun intertwined his fingers with yours and practically dragged you out of the room. He walked with firm steps, his knuckles white from the strength with which he held you.

"Jake... let me go," you protested, trying to get away.

But his grip only grew stronger.

-No -. His response was curt, lacking patience.

When they reached a more secluded hallway, he gently pushed you against the wall. His body leaned over yours, locking you in with no escape. His eyes were clouded by something darker than simple desire.

—Why do you keep doing this to me? —he murmured, his voice barely a whisper laden with reproach—. I've given you everything, I've protected you from everyone... and yet, you still act like you can escape me.

You gulped. Something in his tone made you feel like you were dealing with someone much more dangerous than you had imagined. Something deeper than an enmity or obsession.

"I'm not yours, Jaeyun," you managed to say, your voice shaking. "I never was and I never will be"

His laugh was dry, full of disbelief.

"Aren't you mine?" —he repeated, leaning even closer, until his warm breath hit your skin—. Tell me then, why does your body always respond to me? Why don't you stop me when I touch you?

Your breath hitched as his hand slowly slid down your arm, leaving a trail of fire in its path. His touch was firm, demanding, as if he were etching his presence into you.

—I'm not interested in what you say. His voice dropped to a venomous whisper. You are mine. And I'm not going to let anyone else touch you.

His lips brushed the curve of your jaw with torturous slowness. Each word of his wrapped around you like invisible chains that tightened more and more.

"I'm going to make sure no one else comes near you." Not Jungwon, not Riki... not anyone.

His hand moved up to your neck again, not squeezing, but enough to remind you that there was no escape.

—I'm going to make you understand that I'm the only one who can have you.

His words were a dangerous promise. And worst of all, deep down, you knew they weren't just empty threats.

You knew Jake would do whatever it took to keep you by his side...even if it meant breaking you completely.

He walked again towards another room, when he heard muffled footsteps approaching. His fingers now wrapped around your wrist as he dragged you behind him and into the room.

Your eyes watched her: basic as always. Of guests. You heard the door being locked before Jake's dangerous steps approached.

"On your knees," his tone was harsh. An order, that you knew deep down you had to comply, if you didn't want consequences. You took too long, processing your thoughts before hearing his voice again with a few octaves lower. - Now -.

Your knees touched the cold floor, a shiver ran down your spine, but you didn't dare move. Jake stood in front of you, watching you with a dark, almost hungry gaze.

"This is how you should be," he murmured, leaning slightly to brush his fingers against your chin. At my mercy.

The silence between them was thick, suffocating. His labored breathing filled the room, as every second became latent torture. Your eyes remained on his face, no matter how much you wanted to move them away, his orbs were an invisible magnet, leaving your gazes connected.

—Are you going to be good for me? —he asked with a crooked smile, waiting for her answer.

But you couldn't speak. Not yet. Your mind was still struggling to understand the danger you were in, to find an escape. However, when Jake slid a hand through your hair, pulling it firmly, he understood that he had no choice.

"Answer." His voice was a poisonous whisper against her ear.

"Yes..." you whispered, with a thin voice.

Jake smirked.

—That's what I thought.

The door was still closed.

There was no escape.

And deep down, you knew that Jaeyun had no intention of letting her go.

Jake released you slowly, allowing the burning on your scalp to remain as a reminder of his dominance. He stood up and looked at you from above, as if he were assessing your fragility, enjoying the imposed submission.

-Good. Now, stay still. —His tone was low, but laden with an implicit threat.

The room was dim, only illuminated by the dim light filtering through the door frames. Jake's shadow lengthened on the walls, as if even those around him knew that he was the only one in control of the situation.

The seconds dragged on before he moved again. He leaned down slightly and his fingers brushed your cheek with a deceptive softness.

—You know this is the best for you, right? —he murmured, as if he really expected me to believe it.

You didn't answer. You couldn't.

Jake clicked his tongue and in an unexpected move, grabbed her wrist and forced her to her feet. The closeness between their bodies made your breathing quicken, but it wasn't fear that Jake reflected in his gaze; It was something darker, something more possessive.

—I don't want to repeat things again. "I don't want to have to remind you who's boss here," he warned, sliding a hand to the back of your neck, holding it firmly.

The silence was broken by a knock on the door.

They both remained motionless.

"Jake," the voice on the other side of the door sounded harsh, impatient.

Jungwon's voice caused your body hair to stand up, to which Jake noticed the shudder. He closed his eyes for a moment, as if the interruption deeply disgusted him. Then, without letting go, he exhaled in frustration.

"How inopportune," he murmured before fixing his gaze on you once more. Don't move.

You nodded barely.

It wasn't like I had a choice.

Jake let go of you and walked to the door, turning the lock with a sharp movement.

The atmosphere was charged with tension, and Jake's mere movement to open the door would be a mistake when he saw Jungwon again... or his only chance to escape.

Jake stood motionless in front of the door, staring at the lock. One more knock sounded, but this time, he didn't even blink.

Instead of opening it, his hand slowly slid away from the doorknob, as if the person on the other side had suddenly ceased to exist. As if the only thing that really mattered was inside the room.

His head turned slowly until he fixed his eyes on your being again. This time, his expression had changed. Something in his dark gaze shone with a different intensity. Something he had tried to contain, but couldn't hide anymore.

"I'm not going to let anyone interrupt this," he murmured, his tone thick with suppressed emotion. Not this time.

His steps were slow as he approached, each one imbued with unwavering purpose. As if every movement brought him closer to something he had been avoiding for too long.

—Do you know how long I've waited? His voice was low, but it burned with suppressed fire. How much have I had to keep quiet, pretend that I could move on without this?

He stopped right in front of you, just a few inches separating you. But you didn't answer, not because you didn't want to... you couldn't.

-I love you. I have always loved you. —His confession fell like an unbearable weight in the room—. But it was never just that.

One of his hands reached up, brushing the backs of his fingers along your jawline. His touch was contradictory: soft, almost trembling, as if he feared you would disappear; but at the same time firm, as if he were never willing to let you go.

—I've needed you. From the first moment. —His breathing mixed with yours as his other hand rested on your waist—. And every day that passed without you only made me want you more.

Another knock on the door. Stronger. More impatient.

But Jake didn't flinch. He didn't look away from you for even a second.

—Let him wait. —His whisper was an absolute command—. Because this time, I'm not going to hold back anymore.

The intensity in his eyes was overwhelming, as if he were about to be burned by everything he had been hiding. As if the only way to ease the pain was to finally reclaim what he had always considered his.

And this time, he wasn't going to let anything or anyone get in the way.

Jake didn't move an inch when there was another knock on the door. His world, his center, his obsession, was right in front of him. And I had no intention of letting you go.

His hands slowly descended to your shoulders, and with a single controlled push, he forced you back to your knees before him. His breathing was deep, his gaze dark, his presence overwhelming.

"This is how you should be," he whispered, looking down at you with a mixture of desire and suppressed fury. Always like this. Just for me.

He watched you in silence for a few seconds, his lips parted as if he were about to release something he had been holding in for too long. His eyes burned, his chest heaved, and when he spoke again, his voice trembled with the intensity of his emotions.

—Do you know how difficult it was? —His jaw tensed, and his hand slid to your chin, forcing you to look at him—. I tried. I tried to hate you. I wanted to erase you from my mind, tear you from my skin, convince myself that you meant nothing.

He gritted his teeth, his thumb grazing the softness of your lips as if punishing himself for what he was about to admit.

The weight on your chest grew heavier as more words left his lips. The contact of the cold wood against your bare knees caused that burst of electricity, from your knees, continuing through your femurs and continuing to your hips until it began to go up your spine.

—But the more I tried to hate you, the more I loved you.

His words fell with the weight of a desperate, broken confession. One that he had suppressed with all his might, only to end up eating him from the inside.

"No matter how hard I tried, no matter how many times he told me to stay away..." he tilted his head, his warm breath brushing against your skin. I always, always loved you.

His thumb trailed down your chin, his touch now more possessive, more needy.

"And now that you're here..." His eyes darkened even more. There is no force in this world that will make me let you go.

The knock on the door became louder, more insistent. But Jake just smiled, a crooked, dangerous smile.

—Keep waiting. Because this time, I'm not going to give up on you.

And deep down, you knew that those words were not just a promise... but a sentence.

Your heart was pounding, too fast, too loud. Jake's every word was an invisible chain that wrapped itself around your body, trapping you in a whirlwind that you didn't know if you wanted to escape or completely lose yourself in it.

No. He couldn't let himself get carried away by that.

You looked away, turning your face away from Jake's touch, ignoring the way your skin still burned from his touch. Your hands trembled on your thighs, and you didn't know if it was out of fear or another emotion you refused to accept.

"Jake..." your voice was a breathy whisper, trying to find the courage to speak, to deny what was happening.

But he didn't let you.

"Don't call me that with that voice," he growled, his grip becoming firmer. Not when I know what you're thinking.

You gulped, your mind working at full speed, looking for a way out. If you managed to distract him, if you used his words against him... maybe you could buy time.

"None of this makes sense." You tried, your tone forcefully firm. "What you say... what you feel... it's just an obsession. It's not real. You hate me, Jake... you always hated me"

Jake remained silent. For a moment, he thought he had lost his bearings.

But then, something in his expression changed.

You closed the door of Heeseung's sports car after getting out while your eyes scanned the family home. The music could be heard from outside and from the number of cars parked outside the house, you knew that your friend had invited the entire campus and any of their friends.

It didn't take long for Heeseung to walk around the car and walk to your side, his hands stuffed into the pockets of his dark jeans and a smile on his lips.

"Let's go" He said happily before starting to walk across the green grass, surrounding his huge house. You followed behind him, already beginning to feel the euphoria slowly entering your body as you got closer to the number of people outside and the music felt more intense.

There were some in the pool, others drinking, and one or two couples kissing desperately in some corner of the place in the back garden. From outside you could see the number of people inside the house, dancing everywhere.

"Wonyoung must be inside, I'll go with Jay" your friend warned you, speaking loudly, so that you could hear him over the music. Giving him a smile and an 'okay' was enough for him to start walking in the opposite direction to where you planned to go.

You walked through the sweaty bodies, the smell of alcohol and sweat was the only thing you could feel as you continued rubbing your body against the others, causing the short dress you were wearing to rise to the top of your thighs.

It didn't take you long to fix it when you managed to feel the fresh air again when you stood inside your best friend's living room. It didn't take long for you to recognize her, standing a few meters away from you with her boyfriend at her side and a familiar figure with his back to you.

You walked on your heels towards them, your eyes met the bright ones of Wonyoung who soon showed you his beautiful smile, causing his eyes to turn into bright crescents. Her makeup was subtle just like yours, just a little glitter on her eyelids, matching the white dress she was wearing.

He quickly launched himself on your body when he managed to get close enough. She wrapped her arms around you, laughing and holding you close to her.

"You're here, I was missing you, was Heeseung late in coming to pick you up?" She spoke quickly, as his hands found their way to your cheeks.

"I'm fine, perfect." You smiled at her, before arranging the light bangs that fell over his forehead a little. "Happy birthday, my cupcake," you said, placing a scant kiss on his nose.

His cheeks soon took on a rosy color and his lips curved sweetly, her left a tap on your arm, before taking your wrist.

"We have to say hello," she said smiling as she guided you to where her boyfriend and apparently, Jake, were. Wonyoung knew about your notorious 'rivalry' with Jake, but you both had the same circle of friends, you couldn't just go around ignoring and insulting each other or so your friend said.

"I need some drinks first," you said, stopping your steps, your brown eyes watching her. "You'll have all night to drink." Wonyoung told you smiling, before approaching the male duo again.

Sunghoon's curious eyes went to you, and he greeted you with a slight smile, before raising the disposable cup to his lips again, drinking whatever liquid he had chosen. On the other hand, you felt the familiar gaze, which seemed to pierce your being with the intensity of it, you didn't even have to see it to know that it was him, Jake, with his arms crossed over his chest and a mocking smile that you had gotten used to. see since you met him.

His eyes did not stray from you, you knew that he was only looking for you to get upset so he could mock you and look away. You wouldn't do it, of course not. You ignored how intense it was, and how irritating that chuckle he let out when you opened your mouth to speak managed to be; you sighed heavily, before refocusing on your friend, who was now wrapped in her boyfriend's arm.

"Then I fly." You told her along with a forced smile before disappearing from that circle as quickly as you could.

It didn't take long for Wonyoung to run after you, wrapping him arm around yours, making both steps between the bodies enjoying the music.

"They would have to stop that rivalry someday" Wonyoung spoke, making you spin around and your back playing their song, while both began to move to the rhythm that was heard through the speakers scattered throughout the place.

You ignored his comment, letting yourself go as you drank the liquid from the glass that Wonyoung had given you seconds before. You closed your eyes, trying to get used to the familiar burn of the vodka that you and your friend always drank; your hips swayed next to your friend's, the slight discomfort you had taken a few minutes ago had disappeared, as you felt the effect of the alcohol already in your system, slightly.

The minutes continued to pass, as did the different topics, each one of which was experienced by you and Wonyoung.

You were with your neck resting on his shoulder, when you felt the third presence of someone between you, it was too obvious that it was his boyfriend, did you care? Of course not. Your hips continued to move regardless of the fact that she had walked away with her lovers without first whispering over the music: "I'll be back later" although you would know that she wouldn't come back and leave you stood up for the rest of the night just for preferring a couple of kisses with her boyfriend.

Your left hand was still holding the small bag you had never taken out. You preferred to ignore the detail, while your mind became clouded with some kind of peace and tranquility, your hips moving like the rest of your body. Collide with bodies? It would always happen and you were more than used to it.

Without paying attention to the time that continued to pass, your body asked you for more alcohol if you wanted to continue dancing. You made your way between the euphoric bodies, trying to get out of them and be able to walk to the kitchen.

You pushed open the kitchen door with a sigh, finding heeseung and your other friend, karina inside it, practically eating each other. You adjusted your bag on your shoulder as a slight frown appeared between your brows in confusion; "He said he was going to see Jay," you said to yourself, remembering what your friend's brother told you an hour ago; before downplaying it and making your way close to where you appreciated varieties of bottles. Whether they have a relationship or just don't know each other now wasn't your business, anyway... you always shipped them both to each other.

"Your name is Jay now, Rina" you spoke smiling in the silence apparently uncomfortable for them, while you filled the red plastic cup; Their faces were slightly flushed under the dim white light of the kitchen. Karina seemed to get slightly confused although she only sounds like Heeseung did in your direction.

You finished pouring the clear liquid and turned to your friends with a smile again. You winked at both of your friends, before taking the glass in your empty hand and beginning to back away towards the door you entered moments ago.

"I won't bother you anymore" was the last thing you said before leaving the kitchen and hearing the music booming inside there even louder. Your orbs scanned the room, focusing on the familiar couch in the middle of the room, where your group of friends were sitting, except three presences were missing from there: Karina, Heeseung, and Jake.

You sighed happily at the absence of the last named before approaching them, Chaewon, who soon gave you her smile before taking a sip from her glass again. You left a kiss on her cheek in greeting just like she did with you.

"Where were you—" the short-haired girl tried to continue asking before a question from Jay interrupted her. "Or who were you with?" His sideways smile highlighting his single dimple made you smile and you could only roll your eyes at his question.

"I was there, alone, since someone preferred to leave me for the boyfriend and his kisses" You said, staring at Wonyoung making him laugh.

"You've left me for your boyfriends too!" wonyoung exclaimed, a pout on his lips.

"Of course not!" You said quickly, before the other boys burst out laughing.

"Of course!" Chaewon spoke, as she playfully bumped your shoulder with hers.

After having had a couple more drinks with the boys, you wanted to go out to smoke a little and get some air. Since none of your boys shared the same vice as you, except Jaeyun and Heeseung, but one had taken your friend to his room and the other you couldn't even see from less than five meters away, which already generated that bitterness in your stomach and something else that you thought was indecipherable.

You raised your shoulders while stretching your neck slightly and began walking around the room, surrounding the round of sweaty bodies, if you will. You walked along the immense walls that continued to connect the spacious room, recognizing some faces along the way, which you had seen more than a couple of times in a class or campus team game.

The tips of your heels made a dull sound against the carpeted wood of the stairs as you continued climbing its steps, seeking to reach the second floor that somehow you knew would be full of couples up there.

Walking along the polished wood of the floor, noticing the couples that were there as you assumed. "Looks like some were luckier tonight," you thought as you let out a light, low chuckle to yourself.

You continued with your steps forward. Your attention was caught by one of the many white doors opening, from which a couple came out laughing, you recognized his figure: jaeyun. Idiot number one with his arm wrapped around the shoulders of an apparently dyed blonde since her roots were a dark raven hair. His smile seemed to be bigger than that of a child with a new toy; She was a new toy.

He winked at you arrogantly as you passed by him, to which you could only roll your eyes, whatever you did whenever he was around. You lightly squeezed the plastic cup in your hand after you were able to get it out of sight. Maybe it was just his shitty smile, right? Yes, it was surely that arrogance that he showed you that caused a sour feeling inside you.

You turned to your left, wanting to enjoy its balcony, although a person had already taken your place.

He had his back to you, hunched over the railing, apparently smoking, obvious by the cloud of smoke above him, which quickly mixed with the cool night air.

You tried not to pay so much attention to him, before turning to the small table and pair of chairs on the same balcony; You sat down in one of them, left your bag on the table and turned your gaze now to the face that was watching you in silence.

It seemed somehow familiar to you, you should have seen it at some of the basketball games that your friend forced you to attend because of her boyfriend. His attractive features, his slight smile or his aura itself, he looked better than you could ever remember and he looked damn beautiful while smoking.

Maybe it was just the alcohol you drank that was now in your system, or it was just the way the moonlight highlighted his slightly tanned skin, highlighting his features that matched perfectly with his dark clothes and slightly messy hair.

His cat-like face and how intense his dark eyes were from the lack of light out there, how well the shirt fit him and the position only made his toned body stand out more, made something other than your heart start to beat.

Your mind kept trying to think of where you had seen him, you knew that you knew his name better than you thought, but something in your mind couldn't finish putting the puzzle together; Did you see it elsewhere? surely. Had you ever had a chat with him? I don't know, did he seem too familiar and not being able to remember his name started to create some kind of anxiety in you? Yeah. The more you thought, their gazes continued to intertwine, both of them in a somewhat comfortable silence, so to speak.

But you still didn't remember him from the background, you kept putting pieces together, his name? You were more sure that it started with the letter 'j' or 't', Taesan? Jonmin? Jaewon? You didn't know, but you kept watching him so directly, wanting to know, you needed him.

Suddenly, you remembered. You felt too worthless not to recognize him as soon as you saw him, maybe the alcohol made you like that? Maybe it hasn't happened to you before.

Yang Jungwon. You repeated yourself. And you repeated yourself about fifty times.

He was popular on campus, as the group you surrounded yourself with was popular, you knew he was friends with the boys or so you saw during lunches that he sat next to them, but you never got close enough to him to know him more than at first glance. He was on the team with the boys, did you give him the attention he needed during those games? No, and you were realizing it now. Regretting it for paying too much attention to Jay as if he were your father.

Jay had always forbidden you in a certain way, of all his friends, jungwon was forbidden just like Heeseung. But you were never really interested in heeseung. But Jungwon? He was on the list of those who created a wetness between your legs with just one look.

His dark brown orbs observed you, stopping at the delicate necklace that decorated around your neck, resting under your collarbone, before going down to observe your black dress, which clung to you like a second skin and going over you again until they joined their gazes again.

"Why are you here?" He said, not meaning to sound bad, although to your ears it sounded better than you could explain. "Alone and without some boy chasing you?"

If it were anyone else and you hadn't ingested so much alcohol, you'd know damn well he would have gone for the jugular with your rude answers, but you just scoffed at his last question as you closed your eyes, before taking a cigarette from the box you left next to you next to your drink. You let it rest between your lips as you turned it on, never taking your eyes off of him.

"I prefer fresh air," you said, exhaling the air from your lungs, with the smoke getting lost in the darkness of the night, before your gaze lost itself in the dark starry sky above you.

You smiled for no reason, turning your orbs towards him.

A smile curved his thin lips, highlighting the dimples on the sides of both cheeks. He turned to you, now with only one arm resting on the railing, giving you his full attention.

He looked better, his shoulders broad and his waist smaller, his worked muscles that stood out under the fabric of the dark shirt and that you were now dying to see without it.

"You just didn't get anything yet?" He commented smiling, as if he was reading you like an open book. The crooked smile on his face looked better than you could express, his dark eyes examining you making you weak in the knees. If you had to go home with someone you would definitely go with them.

You laughed, bringing the cigarette back to your lips, inhaling the minty flavor of it. Your lips twisted into a smile as did his, as you got up from the seat and walked to his side, or rather his front.

Your arms rested on the railing and you took a panoramic view of the backyard of Wonyoung's house.

"Of course not," you lied, looking down at the pool below, where there were still more people.

"Of course," he commented smiling, as if he were close to you and knew all your movements.

The silence prolonged again in you, who observed the view that could be seen from the same balcony. The light of the full moon illuminated between you, as if wanting to encourage you to continue talking, but the silence spoke for you.

You watched as he threw away the butt of the finished cigarette; the strange thing? He didn't seem to want to go downstairs to drink or maybe look for a girlfriend, if he had one, but he stayed there with you. In silence. As if it were something cozy for both of them and at the same time normal. His presence shook you but at the same time made you feel warm.

You don't know how it happened, maybe it was the spontaneous topics that began to arise as the minutes passed or it was just the tension that continued to build up between you every time your eyes met and you intertwined with something more than a simple smoking chat on the balcony.

His mouth was on yours, kissing you with that roughness and at the same time care that you always liked. His arms wrapped around your lower back, resting on the curve of it and your plump ass, which on more than one occasion he had given a squeeze that only made your core throb more desperately.

He seemed to read you too well, his precise hands touching places that made your head cloud more than the alcohol could do to you. Your fingers buried between the roots of his hair, as you continued to mess it up as you pulled and squeezed it between your fingers at the provocation caused by his knee pressed firmly against your clothed pussy.

His warm muscle ran through your entire cervical spine, without leaving a single space that he couldn't touch. He intertwined with yours, sucking on your tongue only for you to continue gasping against his mouth at his simple action, which went straight to his ego.

You wanted to push him and take him to any room or bathroom nearby, but you thought that if you walked away you wouldn't be able to take a single step before falling to the floor. Because? because your legs turned to jelly since he started kissing you, if it weren't for his arms holding you up you would know you would be on your knees right there, but maybe it would be good to be on your knees, right? if you would be sucking his cock instead of letting him devour your mouth like a hungry animal and have complete control over you.

The lack of air only made everything more intense than you thought, your back was still pressed against the balcony railing while he continued devouring your lips. Their reddish lipstick? you would know it would be spread all over your lower face and he would be just like you.

You separated your swollen lips from his slightly, only for him to begin trailing kisses down your jaw, following your jawline, and beginning to decorate your neck with his kisses.

He sucked on the sensitive skin, causing your hands to now clench the fabric of his shirt between your palms at the overwhelming sensation of his teeth scraping against your skin. You had always known that your sensitive spot was your neck, but the way he applied that pressure enough to make you dizzy made you let out another gasp that wasn't caught by his lips and reached your ears softly like a choir of angels.

He giggled, now with his teeth again pulling at your skin elsewhere. You would know that it would leave more than one mark, but it was the thing that interested you the least right now.

Your hips rocked on his thigh, rubbing your neglected pussy, looking for something that could soothe the ache between your legs that you've been enduring for several minutes now. Your moment wasn't as long as you would have expected, as his arms stopped your hips, making your big doe eyes look at him with some kind of confusion.

"Come on princess, I need somewhere more comfortable for you if you want me to fill your pussy." His cheeky words only made the stain on your panties intensify and stick uncomfortably to your center as you tried to match his footsteps.

He dragged you behind him, leaving the balcony and walking down the second floor. He approached one of the many white doors on the second floor. He knocked on the door before entering, and finding a guest room, which you would know there were many more due to the number of doors in the immense house that you knew perfectly well.

Jungwon wasted no time in dragging you back inside the four walls, closing the door behind you. His eager lips joined your still swollen lips again, you returned it to him with the same enthusiasm that he gave you while you threw your bag somewhere in the room. guiding your body towards the double bed in the room. The back of your knees collided with her, before your body fell gently onto the sheets.

Your fingers wasted no time in starting to unbutton the buttons on his shirt, wanting to quickly feel his skin. He just smiled, separating himself from your lips, leaning on his two arms on the sides of your head while you took care of throwing his shirt somewhere in the room, just wanting to appreciate it.

Your eyes watched him carefully, his abs worked like the rest of his muscles, marked arms, and beefy chest. His muscles hit another sensitive spot inside you.

Although before your saliva escaped your mouth, his hands moved up the skirt of your dress to your stomach, before finding their place between your already open thighs.

The stain that ran the length of your lower lips, which only explained how good his simple actions felt to you. The thin fabric clung completely to you.

"How beautiful," he whispered towards you, before attaching his lips to your cocoon, with the cotton of your clothes impregnated with your scent.

His warm hands ran up the sides of your thighs, while his mouth savored your sweet taste through the fabric that covered him. A loud gasp escaped your lips, as he licked all over your clothed slit.

Your fingers quickly found their place in his hair again, as you lightly tugged at the strands while your teeth took your bottom lip between your teeth, trying at least to hide your sounds.

His fingers found the waistband of your panties, dragging them teasingly over your legs until he finally removed them and stuffed them into the back pocket of his jeans before opening your legs wide for him again.

His hands found their place halfway between them caressing them and teasingly bringing them closer to your center that was craving attention before moving away again.

"Wonie, do something," you spoke, trying to hold back the gasp that tried to escape your throat when you felt his fingers dig into your soft flesh as you looked up at him.

"What do you want, pretty girl?" He purred, leaning into your face as his lips intertwined with yours.

A moan was torn from your chest at his clothed erection pressed against your dripping pussy. His lips continued to devour yours before leaving small kisses on your jaw again.

"W-wonie" you stuttered, your hands pushing the back of his neck towards your face wanting to kiss his lips again.

Low, yes he did but not to kiss you. His hands slowly lowered the straps of the small dress you were wearing. Kissing your collarbones, and covering them with his wet muscle.

How did you get here? You wouldn't know it, your mind was so overwhelmed by the obscene sounds of his cock moving in and out of your pussy at an animalistic pace, hitting all the right spots. His pelvis rhythmically slapped against the plumpness of your ass, while your face was still buried in the pillow beneath you.

The dress was left lying somewhere in the room and it was the last thing you thought about because you knew you couldn't... you couldn't be under it, while you let him fuck you however he wanted, using you? I don't think so, he just wanted to reach his release and you knew it well by the raw way his hips moved against the plumpness of your ass. You had already had yours on his cock; now with a second forming in your stomach.

But he was still friends with Jay, you couldn't have him with his cock buried in your velvety walls that sucked him in like a vise. Would Jay get angry? It was the thing you least thought about, your mind was full of: Jungwon.

His grunts only made more juices gush out of you, pooling in the white ring around the base of his cock that your other releases formed. Maybe it was just that no boy had ever made you run around as much as Jungwon was doing now, but you also tried to tell yourself that you had been too neglected in the last few weeks, that was why, right? Or it was just because its tip kissed your cervix in the best way.

"Fuck, you're so perfect," he growled, his nails digging into the soft marked flesh of your hips. Although he seemed to speak more to your pussy than to you.

What could you do? Nothing, just enjoy everything he gave you. His muffled gasps in time with his thrusts into you only caused the band inside you to stretch further.

Your thighs began to tremble, feeling like your threads would no longer resist the rough intensity in which he claimed you, because he was claiming you.

His thrusts began to falter, as one of his hands came down to caress your swollen clit. Another moan came from him, as his warm jets of his release painted all over your insides before his orgasm triggered yours.

Your flaccid body wanted to fall to the bed, exhausted. But his arms around your hips held you up, as jungwon withdrew his softened cock from your used hole.

He let your lower body press into the crumpled sheets beneath you as he took a spot next to you.

His right hand supported his head, while his eyes appreciated your happy face. His fingers gently ran up your back, tangling with your hair along the way.

Your eyelids opened again, meeting a smiling Jungwon and a light pink on his cheeks.

He smiled comfortably at you, leaving a kiss on your forehead as if it was normal in their relationship, but theirs wasn't a relationship.

The mere act or was it just his smile made your heart flutter in your chest. He walked away again and continued watching you just as you watched him.

He got out of bed, looking for your dress and his clothes. He put on his clothes haphazardly and without buttoning himself up, he approached the bed again, taking a place on the edge of it and patting one of his thighs.

You drew strength from where you couldn't to crawl towards him and sit on one of his legs before he left a kiss on the skin of your shoulder and began to messily place your dress on.

He stood up with an arm around your waist, after buttoning up his shirt with you still sitting staring at him like he was the most interesting thing in the world instead of getting up to look for your discarded bag.

"Okay, pretty girl," he murmured, smiling before handing you the small bag he grabbed from the floor seconds before. "It's time to go down."

He smiled opening the door and pulling you out with his arm still wrapped around you. You followed his footsteps, leaving the room to the second floor. His warm arm wrapped around you brought security in a strange way.

His different comments and funny things he would say at random, making you laugh at every thing Jungwon said. Who apparently only talked about that kind of thing to hear your soft laugh.

You walked with him down the second floor, smiling and with your eyes fixed on jungwon as if he were the only thing worth looking at in the hallway. Not until a familiar figure quickly stopped his steps in front of you.

Your eyes drifted from Jungwon to the static figure in front of you seemingly coming out of the bathroom. Jake. The smile on your face disappeared as did the expressions of happiness for having received one of the best fucks of your life.

His eyes were darker than normal as they scanned between you and jungwon. You could tell how tense his jaw was and the fists formed at his sides, but you just chose to ignore it.

You wanted to keep up with Jungwon, trying to go around Jake, only for him to grab your wrist, leaving a slight pressure that made you turn your head towards him in disbelief and at the same time annoyance, always annoyance.

"What the fuck are you doing?" you ask, raising an eyebrow at him. Jungwon behind you did nothing but watch the scene in front of him silently.

"Wonyoung sent me to find you," he lied. He probably lied. You would never believe anything that came out of his mouth.

You would never do it.

"I don't believe you," you rolled your eyes, before trying to get out of his grip, only for him to increase the pressure on the area.

"I'm serious," he questioned with his frown looking so hot, as he tried again to pull you towards him.

"She said she doesn't believe you, leave her already" Jungwon questioned with a frown now standing next to you, trying to pull you behind him.

An arrogant smile formed on his lips after hearing Jungwon's response. Jake could only let out a wry chuckle before facing Jungwon. Her eyes never left his.

—Just because you fucked her doesn't mean you know her completely. "The friend sent me, that's all," he mocked, raising both eyebrows slightly, after Jungwon let go of you and turned to look at you.

His eyes scanned yours, before leaning closer and whispering against your ear, his lips brushing against the shell of it. His warm breath reminded you of what happened less than a few minutes ago, to which you just gasped silently to yourself.

"I'll wait for you downstairs, pretty" with a kiss on your cheek and bumping his shoulder roughly with Jaeyun's, he left you there.

Alone.

And with the being you least wanted to see in your life.

You turned on your heel towards Jake, parting your lips to try and say something but he silenced you only with his hand wrapped around your neck.

—Jungwon? "Mhm?" he asked. His eyes seemed to pierce your face due to the intensity with which he looked at you, his fingers with a certain pressure on your neck that cut the air slightly.

Your hands traveled to hold his wrist, wanting to get it away from your neck. But his strength surpassed yours by thousands of times. Now you did believe that his biceps were that wide because of weights and not because of keratin for the muscles.

Your lips parted to say something, but you could only take a breath, doing nothing but staring at the darkness in his eyes.

—Aren't you talking, little whore? "Too bad," he smiled sarcastically before loosening his grip on your neck and shoving you into the first door his desperate eyes saw.

He wanted to take it all in when you watched him lock the door, the small frown on your brow made him laugh as his steps approached you, as if you were just a little deer in front of the wolf.

"And wonyoung?" you asked, wanting to avoid paying attention to the growing hunger in his eyes.

—Wonyoung must be fucking Sunghoon, like you did with Jungwon and just like Karina did with Heeseung—, you rolled your eyes. He always had eyes everywhere and claimed to be right about everything?

You wanted to go around him and leave, but again he grabbed your wrist with such force that he would leave some mark on your sensitive skin. Your frown was still there, your eyes narrowed as he seemed to just enjoy seeing you like this.

"What the fuck, jaeyun? What's wrong with you today?" You asked sharply, before his lips came to rest on yours with animalistic desire.

Jaeyun didn't respond immediately. His lips moved over yours with a desperation that bordered on madness, as if he wanted to devour you in an attempt to reassert his dominance. His hands gripped your waist, pulling you towards him, as his ragged breath brushed against your cheek.

You tried to push him away, but his grip became firmer. His strength immobilized you, and although your body reacted with a mixture of fear and adrenaline, something in his dark eyes captured you. It was anger, desire, frustration... a whirlwind of emotions that you didn't quite understand.

"Jake, stop it..." you murmured, your voice shaky but firm.

His jaw tightened. For a moment, he seemed to be torn between letting go or continuing. Then, his grip on your wrist loosened, but not enough to let you go.

—Enough? —he repeated with a bitter smile—. Just like when you decided Jungwon could touch you? Or when you pretended you didn't want to jump at me when you saw me?

His words were like sharp daggers stabbing into your chest. You didn't expect him to mention that, much less in that resentful tone. You tried to pull away again, but he held his ground, his fingers caressing your skin with a disturbing softness.

"It's not what you think..." you tried to explain, but Jaeyun let out a short, humorless laugh.

—You always say the same thing. But you know what? I don't want to hear excuses anymore.

His lips slid to your neck, his hot breath tingling your skin. An electric current ran through your body as his hand slid to your back, trapping you against the wood of the door.

"Tell me to stop," he whispered, his voice deep and heavy with desire. "Tell me, and I will do it."

But you didn't say anything.

The silence between you became dense, as thick as the tension that hung in the air. Jaeyun pulled away just a few centimeters, his eyes exploring yours, searching for something in your gaze.

"I thought so..." he muttered before leaning towards you again, determined to claim what he thought was his.

His proximity burned your skin, his every breath intermingled with yours in a dangerous swing that you knew wouldn't end well. You felt his firm grip on your back, the pressure of his body against yours, and although your mind screamed for you to get away, your body remained motionless.

Jake waited, his lips barely brushing yours, giving you the chance to speak, to tell him to stop. But you didn't. Not because you didn't want to, but because you knew that, deep down, a part of you was trapped in the intensity of his dark gaze.

His hand slowly slid to your jaw, forcing you to stare at him. His eyes were full of rage, of desire, of something you couldn't quite decipher, but he looked like he was always trying to hold back some carnal desire.

—Why do you always run? —he whispered with a mixture of frustration and desperation—. Tell me, do you really want me to stop?

The lump in your throat grew heavier. You felt like you were walking a tightrope, about to fall into the abyss of everything Jaeyun stood for.

You took a breath and, with a trembling voice, barely a murmur, you responded:

"Don't know..."

That was enough for him.

Jaeyun didn't wait any longer. This time, his lips took hold of yours with a fierceness that left you breathless. His hands explored your body with a mix of urgency and devotion, as if he wanted to memorize every inch of your skin. His tongue slid into your mouth, claiming you in a way no one else had before.

You tried to hold on to your sanity, but it was getting harder. His aroma, his touch, his heat... everything enveloped you like a storm that you couldn't avoid.

But then, a noise from the other side of the door made them stop.

Jaeyun stood still, his breathing labored. His eyes narrowed and his jaw tensed as he heard the sound of approaching footsteps.

"fuck..." he whispered, with a mix of anger and frustration.

Your hands shook as you gently pushed him away, trying to catch your breath.

"We have to get out of here..." you said, trying to gather your thoughts.

But Jaeyun didn't let go of you immediately. His fingers slid over your wrist, his gaze still locked on yours.

"This is not over," he said hoarsely. I'm not going to let you continue running away from me.

The sound of the door opening forced them to separate completely. Your heart was racing as you tried to act normal. But you knew that after this, nothing would be the same again.

—What were they doing here? —asked a curious voice.

And seeing who was standing in the doorway, you knew the situation had just gotten a lot more complicated.

Your body tensed as you saw the silhouette at the entrance. The light from the hallway illuminated the figure of Jungwon, who was observing them with a suspicious expression.

"What were you doing here?" His voice sounded neutral, but his eyes locked on you for a second too long.

Jaeyun didn't move. His grip on your wrist tightened, as if he was afraid you were going to run right then. His stance remained firm, his gaze dark and calculating.

"Nothing that matters to you," Jaeyun replied coldly, his voice dripping with danger.

Jungwon raised an eyebrow, but his attention returned to you. You felt his expression change, his jaw clenching as he noticed how upset you were. Before you could say anything else, Jaeyun roughly pulled you up and placed you behind him, as if he was claiming what was his.

-Let's go. —His voice brooked no discussion.

You didn't have a chance to react when Jaeyun intertwined his fingers with yours and practically dragged you out of the room. He walked with firm steps, his knuckles white from the strength with which he held you.

"Jake... let me go," you protested, trying to get away.

But his grip only grew stronger.

-No -. His response was curt, lacking patience.

When they reached a more secluded hallway, he gently pushed you against the wall. His body leaned over yours, locking you in with no escape. His eyes were clouded by something darker than simple desire.

—Why do you keep doing this to me? —he murmured, his voice barely a whisper laden with reproach—. I've given you everything, I've protected you from everyone... and yet, you still act like you can escape me.

You gulped. Something in his tone made you feel like you were dealing with someone much more dangerous than you had imagined. Something deeper than an enmity or obsession.

"I'm not yours, Jaeyun," you managed to say, your voice shaking. "I never was and I never will be"

His laugh was dry, full of disbelief.

"Aren't you mine?" —he repeated, leaning even closer, until his warm breath hit your skin—. Tell me then, why does your body always respond to me? Why don't you stop me when I touch you?

Your breath hitched as his hand slowly slid down your arm, leaving a trail of fire in its path. His touch was firm, demanding, as if he were etching his presence into you.

—I'm not interested in what you say. His voice dropped to a venomous whisper. You are mine. And I'm not going to let anyone else touch you.

His lips brushed the curve of your jaw with torturous slowness. Each word of his wrapped around you like invisible chains that tightened more and more.

"I'm going to make sure no one else comes near you." Not Jungwon, not Riki... not anyone.

His hand moved up to your neck again, not squeezing, but enough to remind you that there was no escape.

—I'm going to make you understand that I'm the only one who can have you.

His words were a dangerous promise. And worst of all, deep down, you knew they weren't just empty threats.

You knew Jake would do whatever it took to keep you by his side...even if it meant breaking you completely.

He walked again towards another room, when he heard muffled footsteps approaching. His fingers now wrapped around your wrist as he dragged you behind him and into the room.

Your eyes watched her: basic as always. Of guests. You heard the door being locked before Jake's dangerous steps approached.

"On your knees," his tone was harsh. An order, that you knew deep down you had to comply, if you didn't want consequences. You took too long, processing your thoughts before hearing his voice again with a few octaves lower. - Now -.

Your knees touched the cold floor, a shiver ran down your spine, but you didn't dare move. Jake stood in front of you, watching you with a dark, almost hungry gaze.

"This is how you should be," he murmured, leaning slightly to brush his fingers against your chin. "At my mercy".

The silence between them was thick, suffocating. His labored breathing filled the room, as every second became latent torture. Your eyes remained on his face, no matter how much you wanted to move them away, his orbs were an invisible magnet, leaving your gazes connected.

—Are you going to be good for me? —he asked with a crooked smile, waiting for her answer.

But you couldn't speak. Not yet. Your mind was still struggling to understand the danger you were in, to find an escape. However, when Jake slid a hand through your hair, pulling it firmly, he understood that he had no choice.

"Answer." His voice was a poisonous whisper against her ear.

"Yes..." you whispered, with a thin voice.

Jake smirked.

—That's what I thought.

The door was still closed.

There was no escape.

And deep down, you knew that Jaeyun had no intention of letting her go.

Jake released you slowly, allowing the burning on your scalp to remain as a reminder of his dominance. He stood up and looked at you from above, as if he were assessing your fragility, enjoying the imposed submission.

-Good. Now, stay still. —His tone was low, but laden with an implicit threat.

The room was dim, only illuminated by the dim light filtering through the door frames. Jake's shadow lengthened on the walls, as if even those around him knew that he was the only one in control of the situation.

The seconds dragged on before he moved again. He leaned down slightly and his fingers brushed your cheek with a deceptive softness.

—You know this is the best for you, right? —he murmured, as if he really expected me to believe it.

You didn't answer. You couldn't.

Jake clicked his tongue and in an unexpected move, grabbed her wrist and forced her to her feet. The closeness between their bodies made your breathing quicken, but it wasn't fear that Jake reflected in his gaze; It was something darker, something more possessive.

—I don't want to repeat things again. I don't want to have to remind you who's boss here, he warned, sliding a hand to the back of your neck, holding it firmly.

The silence was broken by a knock on the door.

They both remained motionless.

"Jake," the voice on the other side of the door sounded harsh, impatient.

Jungwon's voice caused your body hair to stand up, to which Jake noticed the shudder. He closed his eyes for a moment, as if the interruption deeply disgusted him. Then, without letting go, he exhaled in frustration.

"How inopportune," he murmured before fixing his gaze on you once more. Don't move.

You nodded barely.

It wasn't like I had a choice.

Jake let go of you and walked to the door, turning the lock with a sharp movement.

The atmosphere was charged with tension, and Jake's mere movement to open the door would be a mistake when he saw Jungwon again... or his only chance to escape.

Jake stood motionless in front of the door, staring at the lock. One more knock sounded, but this time, he didn't even blink.

Instead of opening it, his hand slowly slid away from the doorknob, as if the person on the other side had suddenly ceased to exist. As if the only thing that really mattered was inside the room.

His head turned slowly until he fixed his eyes on your being again. This time, his expression had changed. Something in his dark gaze shone with a different intensity. Something he had tried to contain, but couldn't hide anymore.

"I'm not going to let anyone interrupt this," he murmured, his tone thick with suppressed emotion. Not this time.

His steps were slow as he approached, each one imbued with unwavering purpose. As if every movement brought him closer to something he had been avoiding for too long.

—Do you know how long I've waited? His voice was low, but it burned with suppressed fire. How much have I had to keep quiet, pretend that I could move on without this?

He stopped right in front of you, just a few inches separating you. But you didn't answer, not because you didn't want to... you couldn't.

-I love you. I have always loved you. —His confession fell like an unbearable weight in the room—. But it was never just that.

One of his hands reached up, brushing the backs of his fingers along your jawline. His touch was contradictory: soft, almost trembling, as if he feared you would disappear; but at the same time firm, as if he were never willing to let you go.

—I've needed you. From the first moment. —His breathing mixed with yours as his other hand rested on your waist—. And every day that passed without you only made me want you more.

Another knock on the door. Stronger. More impatient.

But Jake didn't flinch. He didn't look away from you for even a second.

—Let him wait. —His whisper was an absolute command—. Because this time, I'm not going to hold back anymore.

The intensity in his eyes was overwhelming, as if he were about to be burned by everything he had been hiding. As if the only way to ease the pain was to finally reclaim what he had always considered his.

And this time, he wasn't going to let anything or anyone get in the way.

Jake didn't move an inch when there was another knock on the door. His world, his center, his obsession, was right in front of him. And I had no intention of letting you go.

His hands slowly descended to your shoulders, and with a single controlled push, he forced you back to your knees before him. His breathing was deep, his gaze dark, his presence overwhelming.

"This is how you should be," he whispered, looking down at you with a mixture of desire and suppressed fury. "Always like this. Just for me."

He watched you in silence for a few seconds, his lips parted as if he were about to release something he had been holding in for too long. His eyes burned, his chest heaved, and when he spoke again, his voice trembled with the intensity of his emotions.

—Do you know how difficult it was? —His jaw tensed, and his hand slid to your chin, forcing you to look at him—. I tried. I tried to hate you. I wanted to erase you from my mind, tear you from my skin, convince myself that you meant nothing.

He gritted his teeth, his thumb grazing the softness of your lips as if punishing himself for what he was about to admit.

The weight on your chest grew heavier as more words left his lips. The contact of the cold wood against your bare knees caused that burst of electricity, from your knees, continuing through your femurs and continuing to your hips until it began to go up your spine.

—But the more I tried to hate you, the more I loved you.

His words fell with the weight of a desperate, broken confession. One that he had suppressed with all his might, only to end up eating him from the inside.

"No matter how hard I tried, no matter how many times he told me to stay away..." he tilted his head, his warm breath brushing against your skin. I always, always loved you.

His thumb trailed down your chin, his touch now more possessive, more needy.

"And now that you're here..." His eyes darkened even more. There is no force in this world that will make me let you go.

The knock on the door became louder, more insistent. But Jake just smiled, a crooked, dangerous smile.

—Keep waiting. Because this time, I'm not going to give up on you.

And deep down, you knew that those words were not just a promise... but a sentence.

Your heart was pounding, too fast, too loud. Jake's every word was an invisible chain that wrapped itself around your body, trapping you in a whirlwind that you didn't know if you wanted to escape or completely lose yourself in it.

No. He couldn't let himself get carried away by that.

You looked away, turning your face away from Jake's touch, ignoring the way your skin still burned from his touch. Your hands trembled on your thighs, and you didn't know if it was out of fear or another emotion you refused to accept.

"Jake..." your voice was a breathy whisper, trying to find the courage to speak, to deny what was happening.

But he didn't let you.

"Don't call me that with that voice," he growled, his grip becoming firmer. Not when I know what you're thinking.

You gulped, your mind working at full speed, looking for a way out. If you managed to distract him, if you used his words against him... maybe you could buy time.

"None of this makes sense." You tried, your tone forcefully firm. "What you say... what you feel... it's just an obsession. It's not real. You hate me, Jake... you always hated me"

Jake remained silent. For a moment, he thought he had lost his bearings.

But then, something in his expression changed.

His grip on your chin loosened only to slide to your wrist, pulling it in one swift movement, causing you to lose your balance and jerk up from the ground. You barely had time to react before your back collided with his chest.

"Obsession?" Jake laughed, but there was no amusement in his laugh, only a deep darkness. "Tell me, do you think I didn't try to convince myself of the same thing?"

His warm breath caressed your ear as his voice dropped to a low murmur. His tongue came out to lick his bottom lip only to taste the shell of your ear, almost with amusement.

—I told myself a thousand times that this was not love. Which was a mistake. That I could live without you.

His arms wrapped around you, preventing you from moving, holding you down with barely contained desperation.

—But you know what? His tone dropped even further, barely a venomous whisper. I never could.

You felt your own breath catch in your throat as Jake turned you sharply to meet his gaze. His eyes devoured you, consumed you.

"You tried to run away from me here," his fingers brushed your collarbone, "and here," they ran down your arm, "and here," they stopped at your wrist, where his grip tightened. But you could never do it here.

Jake placed your hand on his chest, right where his heart was beating frantically.

—Because, even if you fight, even if you deny it... I have always been inside you.

You opened your mouth to respond, to deny it, to scream, but Jake didn't give you the chance. In a single movement, he released her, letting her fall to her knees before him once more. As if he liked to pick you up and throw you on the ground, like a rag doll.

—And that's where you will always belong.

He stood still, looking at you, as the sound of knocking on the door became more and more insistent. But he didn't care.

Because you were right where he wanted.

And this time, I wasn't planning on losing you.

His hands searched for the belt that held his dark jeans, before yanking it out. His long fingers, which deep down inside you, you always watched more than you should, undid the zipper of his jeans, until they were bunched up at his ankles, like his underwear.

Your eyes looked at him, as if he were something you had never seen in your life.

It was something long, thick, and with its pretty veins coming out from the base of his cock and getting lost in its length. The liquid dripping from his angry red tip only caused your panties to damn well stick to your center.

His hand returned to your hair, and he pulled it hard, getting closer to his cock. You parted your lips in an attempt to take him into your mouth, but the fact that your heart believed that you hated him, which without reason, you wanted to move away from his erection but he just pulled you back towards her. Knowing that you had no other option.

You took his fat head between your lips, enjoying his salty taste. Your tongue left small sheets on its red tip, before taking a little more into your mouth.

A grunt mixed with a moan came from Jake, as his head fell back.

You began to move your mouth slowly, as if you were trying to adapt to him. Your hands placed carefully, almost fearfully, on his thighs.

your eyes closed as his fingers tightened on your scalp, almost painfully. He roughly tried to make you move your mouth faster over him, but you didn't obey. you did it to your mode.

A shaky sigh came out of him, as if he was controlling himself from doing something. but it didn't seem to last long.

With his fingers in your hair, he pulled your head back roughly, making your eyes rise to him and into his eyes.

His hips began to move, ramming into your mouth.

His eyes looked at you. you unclenched your jaw and your nails dug just above his thighs. Your eyes were watching him,

unfortunately.

You wanted to close your eyes and let him use your mouth, but every time you did, he buried your nose in his pubic bone, creating a stronger gag in you, choking you on every inch of him.

His thrusts were violent, fucking your mouth as if he were a desperate canival longing for his prey…his orgasm. His grunts were what could be heard in the heavy air of you in that room aside from your gagging and gasping sobs.

His sudden movements and his head kissing the back of your throat created confusion in your head, as if you were letting yourself be carried away by his thrusts into your warm mouth.

"Fuuuck—, you're so warm," he moaned, his hips slowing just slightly before coming back faster.

Tears began to gather in your made-up eyes as he began to bury himself deep in your vocal cavity, your face pressed tightly against his lower abdomen.

“fuck you, I won’t last,” his hatred seemed to come back faster than you thought.

His harsh tone caused a hint of fire to course through your spinal cord, scoring points for his merciless thrusts that began to become erratic.

He pulled your head back even further with his fingers seeming to tear your hair out with the brutal force with which he held them.

Your tears began to fall, staining your cheeks as you tried not to gag at how deeply he was going in and out of your mouth. Your cheekbones flushed red as water droplets fell on them, your mascara stuck around your eyes and you knew well that you should have put on a waterproof one. But you didn't expect Jake to fuck your throat.

“You should always be like this…” he growled, looking into your teary eyes as one of his hands cupped your cheek in false tenderness that dripped with something darker. "With my cock in your throat if you keep your fucking mouth busy"

His tone is dark, almost obsessive, before a guttural moan escapes him.

His breathing became ragged, and his thrusts into your throat became increasingly erratic, causing tears to stream down your cheeks. He buried your nose in his pubic bone and unloaded down your throat, while you coughed just before he withdrew his cock from your mouth, glistening with your saliva and with barely a trace of his semen at the tip.

"You're a mess. Look how you left my dick. Are you a dog that salivates so much?" he mocks.

He let out a sigh barely above his ragged breathing, and you tried to utter something only to see him push you up. His lips found yours in mere seconds, his mouth devouring yours with longing, with surrender as if he'd truly wanted it for a long time.

His hands on your hips lifted the fabric a little, which had already been raised when you were kneeling, and his abrupt movement wound around half of your belly.

He groaned on his own as he couldn't feel the elastic bands of your panties on your sides, while he laughed mockingly against your swollen lips. "What a slut, and I was thinking that at least you wouldn't be so unpleasant."

—The only unpleasant one is you—, you say, while trying to move away from his addicted lips again.

Oh god, your heart nearly jumped out of its socket as his ejaculation changed 360°, his nails now buried in your sensitive flesh brought you closer to him, rubbing his saliva-soaked erection pressed against your thighs.

"Say it again," he challenge.

—unpleasant

It was the last thing you said before he threw you onto the bed like a rag, like the rag doll you were right there for him. In seconds, and with your heart racing, you had them on you.

his veiny forearms on either side of your head and his cock already brushing against the all too obvious wetness without your panties that Jungwon was left behind.

He pushed. He didn't ask, he didn't speak, he just pierced your wet hole. You arched your back, moaned, and ruffled the sheets, but his tip touched a new spot inside you, one you didn't even know existed.

He was a bit bigger than Jungwon, but he'd gotten quite a few stitches in the thick of it. You felt every hair, every vein, and every inch of him inside your tight walls.

His movements began, and so did your moans. The abrupt rhythm he displayed from the start made your stomach churn. Your back arched in a perfect arc away from the bed.

"jungwonie left you quite open, huh?" he mocked, lifting one of your legs over his arm, messily.

The new angle took your breath away. Your hands, out of inertia, traveled to the back of his neck, tugging, wanting his lips. Another laugh, now arrogant, that same crap he always gave you. That's the real garbage he is.

"No, honey, brats don't get what they want."

"Sure, and look who's fucking me," you manage to mock without interrupting yourself with a guttural moan when it got harder.

You covered your mouth and rolled your eyes. The obscene sounds of skin and skin filled your ears and flooded your already cloudy mind. He kissed you—your jaw, your collarbone, but not your lips. You too. What the hell did you want with him? You didn't know. You just wanted the tightness in your stomach to ease.

The strings were stretching ever further, your euphoria was beginning to build, and you felt the need to release yourself right now. Jake, on the other hand, was too focused, observing everything from your features and body to the junction between your bodies, concentrating hard not to come right there.

"f-fuckk—" A moan interrupted him. His hand quickly wrapped around your sensitive clit, quickening your pace.

You moaned, twisted in his arms, and tried to push him away, but your sudden release, which was just around the corner, came faster than expected. He growled, letting go of your leg and grabbing your hips, thrusting more erratically, his head falling back and his protruding Adam's apple making you clench around his girth more.

"God... what a good pussy" he says, before with a scream he melted inside you, collapsing on your chest.

Their erratic breathing began to slow, as did their pulses at 200 per minute. He walked away without looking, pulling up his dark jeans and slipping on the shirt he'd previously removed.

He walked toward the door and turned slightly toward you. He winked at you.

That stupid wink. His stupid face. His stupid smile. His arrogance, which you urgently wanted to cut with an axe. Everything about him screamed prohibition.

But there you were, filled with his sticky semen, which, if it weren't for your birth control, would surely leave you pregnant with everything he filled inside you.

and you ended up being another one on his long list.

[noo-ox]

"Theo, whose cat is that?"

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Pairing: Theodore Nott x Animagus!Reader

Warnings: Fluff, Established Relationship, Female Reader, Soft Theo, Cat Animagus, Animagus Reader

Summary: (Y/N) and Theo are enjoying a quiet evening that is interrupted by others who are confused about the cat with Theo, but soon the cat reveals their true identity.

Author's Note: I'm not going to lie, I've been obsessed with animagus fanfics while writing this. Theo is also the fan cast version of him. Sorry for any grammar or any other mistakes in the fanfic. If any of the Italian is wrong, I'm sorry. Pictures from Pinterest, and this is also on AO3. Thank you so much for reading; I hope you enjoy it. <3

AO3 Link

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“Theo,” groaned (Y/N), as they walked down the long hallway.

“Yes, love?” he asked, turning his head towards the girl. He chuckled, noticing her eyes were slightly closed and a yawn escaped her mouth. “Tired,” he said.

She hummed in response. Both of them stopped in the hallway. He gently pulled her bag off her shoulder and placed it on his shoulder. He then draped his arms across her shoulder, pulling her closer to him. (Y/N) rested her head against his chest. They started to walk again, Theo leading the way.

Comfortable silence filled the couple as they walked. Surprisingly, not many classmates were walking around. A few minutes went by, and students started to appear, walking in the opposite direction, then (Y/N) and Theo. Some would give them questionable looks but wouldn’t speak their mind, just minding their own business. As the students walked away, Theo stopped in his tracks soon after (Y/N) followed right after.

“Love,” he muttered, glancing down and noticing her eyes were closed. A small smile appeared on his face. “Do you want to get on my back?” he asked, watching as her head tilted up towards him.

“Why?” she questioned, her voice filled with confusion. Her (E/C) eyes opened.

“So, you can sleep for a bit,” he suggested. His eyes softened while looking at her.

She nodded her head. “That sounds like a wonderful idea.”

Theo shifted the weight of his and (Y/N)’s bags so they were on his chest. (Y/N) walked behind him, and he reached out his hands in a silent invitation. Her arms coiled around his neck and hoisted herself onto his back. Theo adjusted his grip while securing her thighs to him.

“You good?” he asked, turning his head towards her.

“Yeah,” she muttered into his ear as she laid her head on his shoulder.

His lips curved into a smile. He quickly adjusted again, then started to walk towards the Slytherin common room. Soon enough, Theo could hear her quiet breathing in his ear. He shook his head but continued to walk towards the room.

Several minutes went by before they finally arrived at the dungeon they called their home. He muttered the password and walked in. His feet carried him down the stairs, but as he descended, he looked around the room.

The Slytherin common room was eerily silent. No one was in the room. The only sound filling the room was the crackling of the fire. A green couch sat in front of the fire, waiting for anyone to come and sit.

Theo walked over to the area, and in a low voice, muttered, “Amore (love).” He nudged her thigh. “Can you wake up for a second?” he asked.

She stirred, opening her eyes. “What is it, Theo?” she grumbled, sleep lingering in her voice.

“Can you let go so I can place you down,” he asked, tilting his head towards the girl.

She hummed. “What if I just let go and I fall on the couch?” she asked, looking at her boyfriend.

His laugh echoed throughout the room, along with a shake of his head. “I can’t believe you, love.”

“So, is that a no?” she teased with a lazy smile on her face.

“Do you want to?” he asked, making sure she was okay with it.

“Yes, Theo,” she replied, her head a little forward, with a smirk on her face. He shook his head.

“Fine,” he muttered. He walked towards the side of the couch and stood so his back was towards it.

(Y/N) looked, glanced over and let go of his neck. Theo let go of her and she fell onto the couch. A giggle filled the room. Theo turned around and noticed his girlfriend was lying down, with messy hair and a bright smile on her face. A smile crept onto his face as he watched the scene, wishing he could take a picture of the moment.

She then sat up and patted the seat beside her. “Come sit, Theo,” she said, looking up at him.

He sighed and followed what she said. Theo went over to the couch, sitting down right beside the girl.

“Sooo, what are you going to do?” she asked with a playful smile on her face.

“Probably read, and you are probably going to take a nap, right?” he said, giving her a smirk.

“Yep,” she said with a thumbs up. “But I’m taking a catnap, though.”

He hummed, reaching down into his bag, digging around trying to find the book. He found it and pulled it out, but when he looked beside him, a cat was there sitting and looking up at him.

At this point, almost everyone in the castle was asleep besides some stragglers walking to their dorm. The common room was filled with the sound of crackling fire and the soft rustle of pages being flipped. With each page, Theo was pulled into his own world.

A sigh escaped his lips as he turned a page. He sat in front of the crackling fireplace in the common room. Flames illuminated his face, casting dancing shadows around the room.

He sat on the dark green couch, one foot over the other. A book rested in one hand while the other gently stroked the cat curled up on his lap. A low hum filled the cat’s ears, comforting the fluffy, white, and gray feline, lulling it to a deep slumber.

Both of them sat in comfortable silence, but were soon disturbed. Suddenly, the main door swung open with a bang, followed by rushed footsteps and low chatter.

Theo flinched at the noise, his peaceful expression, which he once had, disappearing as he heard the group. A sigh left his mouth. He could almost hear his girlfriend’s voice, ‘Told you so, Theo,’ if she knew what was happening right now. He closed his book, about to rise, but a voice stopped him.

“Nott!” shouted Draco, walking closer him. “Leaving so soon?”

“I was just about to go to sleep,” he retorted, glaring at the platinum blonde as he relaxed back into his seat again. Draco’s laugh echoed through the room. The cat, Theo was petting, twitched in its sleep.

“Can you be a little quieter?” Theo suggested, covering the cat’s ear, hoping it would help muffle the sound.

Draco walked closer, standing right beside him near the arm of the couch. “Now, why would I do that?” Draco challenged with a smirk. He peered down, his eyes widening slightly as he noticed the cat curled up on Theo’s lap. “Theo, whose cat is that?”

“Why does it matter to you, Draco?” the brunette said, glaring at him as if his stare alone could kill.

Draco froze in his spot. “Well, I’m just wondering because, after all, you could have kidnapped the poor cat from someone,” he remarked, with a hint of amusement in his voice.

“And why would you care?” Theo challenged, his arms instinctively moving to scoop up the cat, wanting to hide away in his dorm, but decided not to.

“I’m curious. This,” he gestured towards the cat and Theo, “isn’t normal for you, Theo. What I’m seeing right now is quite odd,” he teased with a slight sneer.

Theo rolled his eyes. “Is it really that odd to see me with a cat?”

Another set of footsteps echoed through the room, drawing closer to the two boys.

“Well, yes, Theodore,” Pansy answered, her voice laced with amusement. “Who would have thought you, Theodore Nott, would allow some random cat to sit on your lap? On top of that, you’re also petting the poor creature,” Pansy said with a smirk.

Theo felt a twitch under his hand. “Can you two keep it down? You’re going to wake her up.”

“'Her', what do you mean by 'her'?” Draco shouted, his voice echoing through the room. If anyone were in the room, heads would snap in the direction of the group.

“I told you to lower your voice, did I not?” he commanded, his voice grew louder despite his efforts, glaring at the two. The cat yawned, but didn’t move from her spot. Her bright, (E/C) eyes slowly opened, peering up at the boy she was napping on.

Theodore’s attention completely shifted, his gaze fixated solely on the cat. “Hello, amore mio (my love),” he cooed, gently taking his hand off her.

The cat sat up, stretching her limbs and arching her back. She turned her body so she was facing Theo, along with the other two. Her head tilted, as if confused by what was going on.

“I’m sorry, they woke up, cara (dear),” he muttered to her, scratching her head. A loud purr filled the room. The corners of Theo’s mouth curved upwards, his eyes softening as he watched the cat.

Both Pansy and Draco glanced at each other, not knowing what to do. Should they speak up and interrupt this tender moment, or should they just allow it to happen and then interfere? But neither one of them noticed something very familiar about the cat.

Her (E/C) irises stared deep into both Draco and Pansy’s eyes, as if she could peer into their very souls. Draco felt like he was staring at someone he was familiar with, who was usually with his friend.

“Why do the cat’s eyes look like your girlfriend’s,” Draco spoke up, staring right at the cat.

“Because this is my girlfriend,” Theo confirmed, turning his head to look at Draco. Draco let out a laugh.

“Oh, come on now, you must be delusional or something, Theo, because last time I talked to her, she said she was going to sleep,” Pansy responded, shaking her head and letting out a giggle.

The cat jumped down onto the floor. Before any other words could be exchanged, the feline disappeared, replaced by their dear friend.

“I wish you guys had listened to Theo,” she groaned, her voice still thick with sleep. She crossed her arms, looking at the three of them, but her eyes were fixed on her boyfriend. “I told you we should have gone to the library, or even to your dorm,” she scolded.

“I know, but I wanted to sit near the fire, and I knew no one else would be here at this time of day. Clearly, I was proven wrong by you, love,” he admitted, a pink hue creeping up his neck to his cheeks. “Even if we did go to the library earlier, we would have been kicked out.”

She tilted her head, annoyed. “At least it would be quiet, and you could read without being disturbed.” Theodore shook his head at his girlfriend.

“(Y/N), why didn’t you tell us about being an Animagus?” Pansy spoke up, breaking the moment between the couple.

(Y/N) shrugged, her eyelids droopy and lazy. “I thought you knew, because I’m always with Theo all day,” she responded.

“Well, I never really see you in this form,” Pansy retorted.

(Y/N) looked down at her shoes, then quickly back up as if she remembered something. “Now that I think about it, whenever I do change, Theo usually puts his jacket on me,” she said, a sheepish look crossing her face.

Theo just leaned back on the couch, watching the conversation between all of them, but mostly his girlfriend. His eyes lingered on her, taking note of her movements.

Both Pansy and Draco glanced over at each other, then (Y/N) with a confused expression. (Y/N) quickly noticed the stares from her friends in front of her.

“The only reason he does this is because I didn’t want people to know. I also hate when there’s too much light when I’m trying to sleep,” she defended herself.

“Figures,” Pansy mumbled, looking at her friend with a smile. 

“What do you mean?” (Y/N) questioned, tilting her head. 

“Well, now that you mention it, Theo usually talks quieter when his jacket is placed on his lap, covering something underneath, so I guess it was you then,” she replied.

(Y/N)’s mouth opened slightly, but then closed. “Yeah, that’s probably me then.”

“It is you,” commented Theo with his arms crossed, with a smirk. 

“I wish we knew this sooner,” admitted Draco.

“And why is that?” (Y/N) questioned, turning her head towards him.

“Oh, think about how much information we could get from sneaking around,” Draco said, looking at the girl.

She shook her head. “Even if you asked me to do that, I wouldn’t have,” she responded. “But now both of you know.”

She walked closer to Theo. “I’m going to sleep,” she said, kissing the top of his head, then walking in the direction of his dorm. Theo turned his body, watching as she walked away.

“I will see you guys later,” she replied, waving her hand lazily. Before anyone could tell her anything, she disappeared in a blink of an eye.

“I swear your girlfriend is odd,” Draco commented, crossing his arms.

Theo got up, grabbing his and his girlfriend’s belongings. “Well, I love her so I don’t really care about your opinion.” Draco’s eyes widened, while staring at the brunette.

“Love looks so odd on you, Nott,” Draco retorted, grumbling.

“When you get a girlfriend, let me know how that goes. Because I would do anything for (Y/N),” he responded, walking away from the two.

“You’re whipped,” Pansy commented with a smile. “But I’m going to be honest, you look good being in love.”

“And I agree with that,” he agreed, turning around. “Well, I’m off.” He walked off, bags slung over his shoulder, book in hand, towards his dorm.

Silence filled the room, besides the fire crackling in the background.

“There they go,” Pansy said, breaking the silence, still looking at where Theo had disappeared.

“Yep,” Draco responded, taking Theo’s place on the couch.

“You’re not going to bed yet?” questioned Pansy.

“Not yet,” he responded.

A sigh escaped the girl. “You have to admit, Theo looks good being in love. Plus, both of them complement each other.”

“I never said they weren’t good together.”

“Whatever you say, Draco.”

Every step Theo took felt like minutes being wasted instead of being in his girlfriend’s embrace. A sigh filled the corridor, but he could see the door leading to his room.

He gently grabbed the doorknob and twisted it. The door opened, but the room was pitch black. Snores filled the room from his roommates. His hand went to his back pocket, finding his wand, then raising it.

“Lumos,” he muttered, an orb of light appearing at the tip of his wand.

‘Where is she right now?’ he thought to himself, without reasoning or thinking for a second. ‘Probably lying in bed asleep,’ he responded to himself. He felt like hitting himself with a book for being stupid, but he brushed it off.

“Nott, turn that off,” groaned one of his roommates, who wasn’t asleep.

“Sorry,” he replied, walking further into his room. He set the bags on the floor near his bed and his book on the bedside table. He was about to drag himself to his closet until his eyes noticed movement under the covers, moving towards the end of the bed.

‘There she is,’ he concluded, walking to his closet and grabbing his clothes.

“Nott, I told you to turn that off,” his roommate yelled again.

“Be quiet before you wake someone up. Let me change, and after I walk to my bed, I will,” he responded, heading into the bathroom.

As Theo was changing, a soft scratch caught his attention from outside the door. He turned around, about to open the door, when he saw familiar paws slide beneath it. He gently pressed his foot on the paw. The paw quickly pulled away. He then stuck his foot underneath the door again, feeling the familiar paws press back. A chuckle escaped his mouth.

He pulled his foot away and opened the door. There, sitting innocently in the middle of the threshold, was (Y/N) in her cat form, as if she hadn’t done a thing. Her bright eyes stared at him with innocence. She walked in and jumped onto the counter.

Theo grabbed his toothbrush and ran it under the faucet, dampening the bristles. He squeezed some toothpaste and began to brush his teeth, but he felt piercing eyes on him. glanced down, meeting her eyes.

“What?” He questioned, muffled from the brush in his mouth.

(Y/N) tilted her head at her boyfriend. She then stood up and brushed against his bare chest.

“You’re unbelievable,” he mumbled, the corners of his lips turned upwards.

A few minutes went by, and Theo finished getting ready for bed.

“Do you want me to carry you?” he asked, looking down at the cat. All of a sudden, she leaped onto him. Luckily, he caught her in his arms.

“Don’t do that. I could’ve dropped you,” he scolded, turning off the lights and walking in the dark to his bed. After all, he could navigate to his bed with a blindfold on.

Theo walked to his side of the bed. He pulled back the covers and got in. Soon enough, he felt a soft fur lying on his chest. He looked down and noticed a mound on his chest, then a head sticking out.

“I thought you’d be asleep by now. Sorry if I disturbed you, cara (dear),” he muttered, his voice barely a whisper, meant only for her. (Y/N) moved closer to him, nuzzling his chin. He kissed the top of her head.

“Good night, I love you,” he muttered, closing his eyes. (Y/N) let out a meow, then did the same as she laid her head on his chest. Both of their breathing became synchronized, slowly easing into a dream state.

[dissolved-g1rl]

dante + pizza delivery girl reader >⩊< ⋆˚࿔

“I’m just saying—I think I deserve the refund.” Dante says calmly, holding crumpled bills in his hand. The pizza is already set on the closest counter. You really should’ve accepted the payment first. “W-What? I got it here on time!” You sputter, You hate coming over to his stupid shitty bachelor pad. He always tries to bargain with you, it’s practically everyday that he’s calling, requesting that you are the one to deliver his dinner. “Uh yeah but it’s barely even warm, y’know I think you should come in, gimme your bosses number and we’ll…discuss.” He says brushing his hair back. “As if you creep!” You immediately say, feeling a wave of warmth running over you. He’s a good looking guy, too good looking for a guy that lives off your shitty pizza, worst of all he’s inviting you in. “A creep? You can’t call me that, i’m a paying customer!” He says putting his hand on his chest like he’s offended. “You haven’t paid yet!” You say exasperated. He rolls his eyes, handing over rumpled bills. “Zero stars.” He says bopping your head which makes you grumble. “See you tomorrow!” He calls out when you make your way off his porch. He lingers for a moment, oh how he loves to watch you walk away.

“Just the girl I wanted to see!” Dante chimes, opening the door before you can even knock. “Hot this time?” He hums accepting the pizza before you can take his cash again. “I—yes.” You frown, feeling a weird knot in your stomach because he’s bold enough to answer the door in a towel. “You’re really lacking some customer service skills, y’know that?” He hums, tapping his fingers against his chin thoughtfully “You’re lacking normal guy skills!” You retort “Nice one.” He laughs the wave of embarrassment drags you under, great, “Come inside, it’s…cold out, hafta get your cash.” He chirps, turning on his heel. You contemplate just leaving, the wide pale expanse of his back lulls you in, he must really go to the gym, you don’t know how else he’d have such killer back muscles. Wide shoulders that taper into a thinner waste, he has a few freckles on his back, you wonder if he knows. You’re tempted inside, biting the inside of your cheek as you shut his front door. It’s about what you’d expect, creaky hardwood floors, vaguely dusty but not entirely unclean. He shuffles back into the loft the towel replaced for a pair of sweats, cash in hand. "Y'know I was thinking—" He starts "Uh-oh" You chide half way through his sentence, which earns you a sigh. "I was thinking, I should probably start tipping you for all your hard work. You keep me so well fed y'know?" He hums waving the cash in your face. "The regular is fine, don't wanna put you out." You murmur referring to his lackluster bachelor pad. He rolls his eyes, "Oh c'mon don't be modest, I'm sure there's something I could give you that you'd appreciate." He hums in a way that makes you think you've been transported to some cheap porno. "Umm... I dunno... I mean y'know my boss 'n stuff.' You say stalling for time awkwardly twiddling your fingers, A quick glance down shows the sizable print aching against the front of his sweats, and every reasonable thought gets flushed down the toilet. "See something you like?" He giggles in a way grown men shouldn't be able to do. "What the hell is wrong with you!?" You squeak “Oh c’mon, you looked, don’t blame being a little perv on me.” He chides, placing his hands on his hips, his sweats sag low, showing off his toned adonis belt. You retreat from his front door with a squeal, working at a pizzeria is enough sausage for one lifetime..thanks. “So…i’ll call you!” He says poking his head out the door with a big grin as you tread in the opposite direction. You’ll come around eventually, he’s sure

dividers by @andromeda-graphics

[nanamineedstherapy]

Can you explain why nanago makes more sense than satosugu

OK, sit down, because this isn’t just a ship, this is a post-mortem. I love Nanago/Gonana because it’s the most adult, most tragically plausible what-if in JJK—like something delicate and unsaid that fell through the cracks while everyone was screaming.

First off: Nanami died trying to get to Gojo.

Like, literally. He wasn’t running aimlessly—he was heading toward B5. Toward the prison realm. Toward him. And no one talks about it. No one acknowledges that the final direction of his dying momentum was Gojo. Not safety. Not escape. Him.

That alone speaks volumes.

And here’s the thing: Gojo, with his blinding charisma, never stops performing—even in grief. But Nanami sees through that. And not in the "oh he’s secretly sad" fanon way. I mean deeply, in the kind of way that unsettles Gojo. Like looking directly at the sun and not flinching. That’s why I love scenes where Gojo is radiant, slightly deranged, and Nanami is watching with this unreadable, weary softness—a look that says "you’re killing yourself and calling it duty." Nanami was always capable of seeing what Gojo would never say aloud.

Gojo looks bewitching. Nanami looks at him like he’s already mourning him. And that’s the whole ship.

Now here comes the psychological autopsy:

Nanami is a hyper-functional depressive. All structure, routine, and withdrawal. He doesn't know how to ask for an emotional connection, but he knows how to give care in practical, quiet ways—and he craves a target for that care, or it turns inward and rots him.

Gojo is a charisma-addicted, touch-starved man with abandonment trauma so bad he thinks being needed is the same as being loved. He’s terrified of intimacy but craves validation. Most people either worship him or resent him. Nanami does neither—he just sees him.

They don’t just make sense—they stabilize each other:

Nanami gives Gojo structure and care without demanding performance. He’s the only one who’d tell Gojo to sit down, eat something, and shut up—and Gojo would listen.

Gojo gives Nanami purpose outside of grief. Not as an ideal, not as a child to save, but as a man who is barely holding it together. And that’s what Nanami needed—not another burden, but someone worthy of his attention who wouldn't fall apart if he blinked.

Nanami fusses over people like a dad with no kids, and Gojo is a grown man with the emotional injuries of a war orphan. They would’ve grown into each other like vines if the world hadn’t already broken them in opposite ways.

It’s not about “soulmates.” It’s about missed timing.

Adult Gojo could have been saved if Nanami had survived.

And Nanami could’ve finally lived, if he had Gojo to pull him out of the trench of routine.

So… why Nanago instead of Satosugu?

Because Nanago is what happens after grief—after boyhood, after ideology, after the dream has burned out and you’re left with ashes and still have to wake up at 7 a.m. to go to work you hate even if you were once that wide eyed fool who believed in what they did before the real world sucked that out of you, and now, you are just a shell passing through life. Where once you planned for things, now things just happen to you and you take it with an eyeroll because what else should you have expected.

I don't hate STSG, they make sense in their own ways, but that's what it is at the end of the day, when you grow out of that spring, out of that old hoodie—the one you won’t throw away even though the sleeves are fraying and it doesn’t keep you warm anymore. You keep it because it smells like who you were before life ground you down. It has holes in it—even if it feels soft, it won't keep the cold away.

But eventually, you grow out of that version of yourself.

You need to put on a jacket now if you are to survive the cold.

Satosugu is a ghost story.

It’s young love that died in the womb. A "what could’ve been" that stayed locked in one spring. It’s the echo of a summer that never made it into fall. It's young love that never had to deal with gas bills and funerals, and eating alone.

But Nanago? That’s a relationship that could’ve existed. Quietly. Constantly. Fully adult.

Nanago is what happens when you survive.

Barely. Bitterly. Bored and exhausted and ageing by the hour.

Nanago is that moment in adulthood where you realise love isn’t a miracle—it’s logistics. It’s making space for someone else in your day, in your decisions. It’s Nanami packing an extra energy bar that he knows Gojo will forget. It’s Gojo learning not to interrupt when Nanami is reading. It’s quiet, stable, slow. No anxiety, confused for fireworks all the time. Just… not being alone, forgotten.

And that’s what Gojo actually needed.

Gojo didn’t need a second love. He needed a first real one.

STSG meant to break your heart, and they do.

Not because Suguru didn’t love him—he did. But love isn't enough when you're still trying to outrun the world.

Because at the end of the day, Suguru chose to leave him so that he could create a world where people like him, Gojo, small children—little girls like Nanako and Mimiko, could be saved. But he decided genocide was the way because it was easier then having to fucking stick around to not hurt others while hurting himself.

But if killing innocents would have been the solution, then we wouldn't progress; we would just perpetuate the suffering.

Suguru left. Not just Gojo, but everyone. He wanted to fix the world by ending it. Because destruction felt easier than choosing to stay and suffer with people. Because he thought hurting others might finally drown out his own pain.

Nanami left, too—but only because he had to. Not kill, instead, to do a job he hates, for people who would post a job listing for his position by the end of the day, even if he mysteriously disappeared, or was found dead in his apartment, because the neighbours smelled something weird and called the police.

He didn’t believe in the Jujutsu system after Haibara. He knew it would eat him alive. But he still showed up. He still did the job. He died walking into fire, not because he thought it would fix anything—but because someone had to get closer to Gojo. Even if it meant burning on the way down.

Nanami’s not a revolutionary. He’s a nurse in a war.

And Gojo? Gojo’s the patient nobody knows how to save.

But Nanami would’ve tried.

That’s the difference.

Satosugu was a dream.

Nanago could’ve been a home.

But that being said, if you wanna talk about how powerful of a girl-dad Suguru is, then I will die on that same hill with you. But despite him doing everything, his girls didn't get to live in the world he envisioned. It's poetic because in Hindu religious texts, there's a lot of talk about your parents' karma coming back to bite you.

After all, the debt is still pending.

I love that man. But he left.

Nanami would’ve stayed. That’s the line that divides fantasy from survival.

And Nanami… Nanami needed someone too bright to ignore and too stubborn to let him give up.

Someone who saw his silences and didn’t ask him to explain them. Someone who needed his steadiness without turning it into a leash. Someone who wouldn’t make him feel boring just because he wasn’t breaking apart.

Anyway, I’ll be crying in the pantry again. Please send tissues and financial aid.

Thanks for this amazing ask, Anon :P Hope it was not too raw and adult, but I thrive in looking at things with a realistic perspective.

Hope I made sense :)

The first gif is from @azurepath, they make great renaissance-esque Nanago art :) 3rd is by @nanagoing :) Rest, idk so hit me up for credits or removals.

[sha-biest]

Golden Future DTIYS Winner

Hello everybody! I know it's been pretty quiet here these days and I do want to take the time to apologize for that! My life is going CRAZY at the moment and I don't have the capacity to really interact much on here anymore and some things are just on the back burner for me currently.

Still, some of you guys came around with amazing entries for my DTIYS despite my abscene and I couldn't be happier about the entries I got.

I want to start with the runner ups first of all:

@spacemimz I love the way you implemented Mikey and how he pretty much falls into Sunny's hands! Which is.. story wise rather fitting because it was some lucky events that lead up to him unlocking the deity to begin with xD Mikey is the main focus with the glow around him and I LOVE the way you captured Sunny's smirk! He's pretty mischievous afterall.

@nights-flying-fox I have to admit, seeing a papercraft really blew me away and I absolutely LOVE the whole idea behind it! The whole 3D effect this gives is amazing, especially with Sunny's arms being put into different part as well and seeing how SMALL the parts are is truly stunning. I know out of my own experiences that cutting out tiny pieces can be infuriating and rewarding at the same time so massive kudos for that and the creativity behind it!

@ourlilangeluniverse first of all, shaking your hand in life kicking our butts, because I feel like we are both at the same point there right now 🤣 I'm still so happy to see that you found the time to challenge yourself in doing this DTIYS and the result came out great! I love the darker colors in the backfground in particular and chosing to limit Sunny's facial expression gives him a bit more mystery! Thank you all for participating, I really appreciate it and love every single entry! I can tell you put your hearts into it and that's all I could ever ask for ❤ And now..

The Winners. Yes, as in plural.

@ubebonnie and @thegunnsara I knew the moment you two were participating that you both would make it very hard for me to decide on a single winner. After some back and forth in my own head I was like.. "Why struggle with my own head and decide when I can do two?" And that's what I decided to do! Bonnie, I see so much of myself in you. You put your heart and soul into your art, you make sure to strive for high amount of creativity and getting the colors just right and you stay true to your own artstyle. I can see you put everything you had into this piece and it's really blowing me away. Chosing to draw the marking as the flowers in the beginning piece (which I love, the baby Mikey is adorable), the chain starting at the sun and going to Mikey with the reveal of his new markings.. it's perfect. The hands look amazing, Sunny's smile and the more I look the more details I see and I want to DROWN in it. I love it. Gunn, you KNOW I am a sucker for your art. Your artstyle and understanding of anatomy is on a professional level, there is no doubt about that in my eyes. The moment you posted the first WIP I knew I was in trouble and I KNEW I'd love it, no matter what direction you'd take with it. I love the way Sunny is almost blending into one and Mikey slowly unfolding to his 'final' form. The soft glow of the sun makes the whole piece feel warm and welcoming and while Bonnie's is bolt and colorful, yours is soft and heartwarming in a way. The more I write the more I realize why I had so much trouble chosing, to be honest and at the end of the day I'm still a sucker for opposites going together so in a way I find it very fitting. Thank you both so much for participating!

[mariacallous]

Yesterday’s violent attack in Boulder, Colorado, at a weekly Jewish-community gathering to support the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas, left eight people hospitalized. One of the victims is a Holocaust survivor, according to a local rabbi. Jewish leaders nationwide are demanding greater government action to protect the community, which is still reeling just two weeks after the killing in Washington, D.C., of two young staff of the Israeli embassy, gunned down outside an event hosted by the American Jewish Committee.

The anti-Semitic motivation of these attacks is clear. Such homicidal hate crimes have no justification; indeed, their collateral damage is to destroy the space for any reasonable debate about how Israel has conducted its war in Gaza. The two attacks are linked not only by their motivation, but by their horrific, performative intimacy. Terrorism always aims to shock with the gruesomeness of bloody murder—one thinks of the Islamic State decapitation videos. Yet terrorism typically wields the threat of random violence, the notion that any innocent might be caught in its vortex of cruelty. These attacks are different because they were directed very specifically at people the attacker took to be Jewish. Their intimacy was precisely intended to inflict horror on a particular community and imply that no Jew could be innocent.

In Boulder, the suspect in police custody has been charged with a federal hate crime. He has been named as Mohamed Sabry Soliman, and used a flamethrower and Molotov cocktails to burn his victims. He reportedly yelled “Free Palestine!” during the attack. The attacker’s method had an improvised yet theatrical quality; even if its symbolism was not consciously intended, the effort to incinerate Jews has a hideous historical echo.

In the case of the D.C. attack, the suspect, Elias Rodriguez, drove from Chicago to the Capital Jewish Museum. There, he allegedly found and killed two Israeli embassy staff—according to reports, shooting his victims multiple times like a mob executioner. Authorities say the suspect also chanted “Free, free Palestine” when he was detained, adding, “I did it for Gaza.”

Pervasive anti-Semitism is what enables attackers to believe that they are striking back at Israel by trying to kill any Jew, anywhere. This hateful mindset assigns responsibility for specific Israeli policies to Jewish people all over the world. Jews thus stand condemned purely for being Jewish. This is a sure tell of anti-Semitic unreason—given that neither American Jews, nor Israelis themselves, are of one mind on anything, let alone the Netanyahu government’s Gaza policy.

The Colorado victims were meeting in support of hostages taken by Hamas. The D.C. victims were working to advance their embassy’s diplomatic mission. Both sets of people belonged to the best traditions of dialogue and peaceful advocacy, the absolute opposite of irrational hate. The personal, proximate violence that these attackers used was designed to create a spectacle that makes all Jewish Americans feel vulnerable.

Both alleged perpetrators pointedly had no intention of trying to escape from the scene of these crimes. The attacker in D.C., after all, concluded his attack by going into the Capital Jewish Museum, where people aided him, thinking that he was seeking refuge from the violence outside; he was detained only after he identified himself as the assailant and yelled pro-Palestinian slogans. The Boulder suspect was easily detained after witnesses identified him to arriving authorities. The premise of these attackers’ grotesque performance is that killing Jews, any Jews, is justified and good. Terrorism usually seeks to cloak its hate in a higher cause. But these recent attacks dispense with the pretense. “Free Palestine,” in the mouth of these attackers, is a threat of extermination, the expression of an eliminationist project. With the horrible intimacy of their point-blank shooting or flamethrower immolation, the perpetrators appear to think they have begun that project. Although a graphic description of these attacks—a fleeing victim hunted down or burned alive—may risk the crimes’ glorification or mimicry, their qualitative horror should not be glossed over.

As far as we know, these assailants are not part of a larger terrorist scheme. The “lone wolf” phenomenon makes preventing this kind of violence more difficult; with no organizational footprint for intelligence services to track, nothing in the profile of either suspect raises any obvious flag that would have provided a possible warning of such an attack. Buttressing support and protections for the Jewish community is important, but will be imperfect. The solution is simply to delegitimize, constantly and forcefully, these acts—without qualification or broader discussion. Public discourse must maintain a strong distinction between what Israel does and who Jews are. To do otherwise is to side with this terror.

[everybondyoubreak]

every bond you break

Chapter 1: I'll stick around if you will

pairing: joel miller x female reader

plot summary: You were supposed to leave the past behind when you took Maria's offer to come to Jackson — not get stuck training under Joel Miller’s watchful, unforgiving eye or babysitting Ellie on supply runs. Keeping your distance was the plan. Despite your constant clashing with Joel, there is an obvious attraction between you two, and a few other things revealed along the way that bring you closer together.

warnings: slowburn, seriously, like super slooowburn, mutual pining, blood & gore, tension, competence kink, enemies to friends to lovers, reader is age-appropriate, overprotective joel, eventual smut, eventual romance, found family

AO3

The first weeks in Jackson were peaceful.

You had lived alone in the middle of nowhere for a long time, so any sound of life you heard was something to get used to. This was what having neighbors felt like. At first it startled you a bit, but now you were comfortable enough to get annoyed when they woke you up in the morning.

And people woke up so early here. Your house was close to the center of town, another thing to get used to. There was a dining hall, a daycare, even a bar. People, places, things. It was noisy and new. It was a lot.

This is what you asked for though.

Maria was surprised when you reached out. Well, you didn’t exactly reach out. You came all the way down to Jackson with your two bags fully packed and finally took up her offer.

Your father knew her father before the pandemic. They weren’t close then, but calamity caused the two to join forces. They’d collaborate together, exchanging supplies and directing each other to valuable resources. They were grateful for your father’s support in building their settlement. They even offered your family to join, several times.

Sometime down the line, Maria’s father passed. And soon after so did yours. Around then, Maria asserted that their offer still stands. You cautiously declined, but you got curious.

One thing led to another, and here you were. In this one-story cottage. Sure, the knotty pine paneling was peeling off the wall a bit, but you were determined to make it work. With all the newcomers, they were having trouble refurbishing enough houses quickly and safely. This was the best they could offer with your sudden arrival.

It was already a lot to show up so unannounced, you wanted to be as little of a nuisance as possible.

“You’re sure?” Maria had asked, “I know this is a bit of a downgrade from your old house.” “It’s perfect, seriously.” You insisted.

And it was. The front door had this stained-glass window which let the light scatter in this kaleidoscopic way. The kitchenette had checkered red tiles and a breakfast nook. The living room had a small fireplace along with a window-seat to read in. The house was filled with light and surrounded by sound. The complete opposite of your father’s house.

When you got up to fill your kettle to make some tea, the sink proceeded to collapse in on itself.

Fuck.

-

Maria’s husband, Tommy, came to fix the sink. He had half his body sprawled across your kitchen floor, head under the cupboard, trying to re-install the fixture.

It was surprising to see the life Maria had built here. She had a devoted husband and a baby on the way. On top of it all, she seemed extremely involved with every aspect of Jackson. Despite her extensive involvements, she was still immediately to your aide when you came to her about the sink. She sent Tommy over to help right away.

“So, do you and Maria just do everything around here?” You asked, half-joking.

“You’d think. Maria’s gotten better at delegating though. I was going to send Brian down here but,” He stuck his head out from underneath, “I realized he was the one to install this piece of shit. He did a fuckin’ awful job.”

“I wish I knew anything about plumbing, I would help-” You said, feeling useless, as he stuck his head back under, twisting away. He muttered something telling you to not worry about it. “Well there is this other thing I was going to ask you about,” He said, “Maria says you wanted to start helping out a bit.”

“Yeah, I’d love to.” You were excited to prove your worth. “She said you were a pretty talented artist as a kid, don’t know if…” “I’d be happy to help paint houses, or whatever you need painted around here.”

Tommy laughs at your suggestion, “No, I was thinking more like, teaching the art classes?” You looked out the window above the kitchen sink, out at the scrappy sanctuary ahead, and asked “Do we really need art classes?”

You were surprised, and slightly offended. Weren’t there bigger things to focus on in the community? And why weren’t you allowed to be a part of it?

“We do actually, the schoolteachers have been asking-” “I just don’t think I’m up to the task.” Jesus, you also hadn’t been around a child in what, a decade? You continued, “Maria had mentioned patrols. I’m good at long-range shooting I could really-”

Tommy stuck his head back out from under the sink, “We’re good for patrols right now, really.” The way he said it stung a bit. He could see your hurt and quickly began to explain, “You know, my brother…he just settled down here as well just a few months ago…he’s takin’ up a good amount of the rotations.”

“That’s just one guy though, I’m just saying if you need alternates or-”

Tommy wiped a bead of sweat from his raised brows and continued working, “Then we will let you know. But for now, we are good.”

He worked at the sink in silence for a few more minutes. When he was finished, you thanked him and asked, “Do you want a glass of water? I would’ve offered earlier but, you know…”

Tommy laughed, “I’m fine. Just let me know if you have any more problems with this thing.”

You nodded and kept your arms crossed. There was a confusing twist of gratitude and obligation growing inside you. Tommy and Maria were going above and beyond to get you settled here and you provided nothing.

As if reading your mind, he spoke your name and explained, “People want to live life here. They want to enjoy and create. I know you don’t think art and that stuff is important but here it matters. Really.”

“Thank you, Tommy. I think it’s just a big ask for right now. I also haven’t painted or drawn like that in years…” You stood up straighter, “I’m better at surviving for now, just let me stick to what I know.” “Alright, alright, that’s fair.”

He stuck his hands in his pocket, as if searching around for an idea in there until he came up with something. He settled on just saying, “Let me talk to Maria.”

-

Much to your dismay, you had ran out of your own food at home and needed to retreat to the dining hall for dinner. The dining hall was overwhelming in its quantities. The amount of food it offered. The number of people milling about in there at all times. You liked to keep your visits there quick.  

But as you opened your door to head out, you could spot Maria walking in the direction towards your house.

You held your breath and nervously walked out to meet her, giving a small wave to politely welcome her over. She stopped in front of the short white picket fence that surrounded your house.

“I don’t think pregnant women should be walking as much as you do.” You mentioned, gesturing to her pregnant belly. She smiled, “You’re on the way over into town. I came by to check on things.”

You nodded and crossed your arms, “Things are good."

“The sink working now?” She asked, eyes narrowing. Maria was always kind to you, but she had an interrogatory way about her.

“Yes, thank you.”

Now she stayed quiet, and you kept talking, “It really wasn’t that much of an emergency. You didn’t need to have Tommy do that right away-” Why were you so nervous? You were obviously telling the truth.

“We just want to make sure you’re alright here.” She said, hand resting on her swollen stomach. The care and attention Maria provided so readily put you on edge. Maybe you were waiting for a price to be given. People don’t care like that for free. She must’ve felt that she owed something to your father.

“I’m fine, I feel like you guys think I can’t handle myself.” The words felt sticky on your tongue coming out.

Maria sighed, “I know you can handle yourself, that’s the problem.” You looked up at her with a puzzled expression.

“You’ve been alone for a decade on top of that mountain. I know you want to be part of a community and I trust you’ll be fine,” Maria looked around at the other townspeople walking by, “It just takes people a lot of adjusting here to get back to what life was like before.”

“Is that why you’re hellbent on me doing art therapy or whatever?” “I was just spitting ideas to Tommy. It helps to have something to do here besides survive.” “Let me help you guys. It’s the least I can do, let me earn my keep.”

She put her hands on her hips, “Alright. We’re doing supply runs this week and they’re training one of the other newcomers here. You want in?”

Better than nothing. “Sure.”

“Perfect, I’ll have Tommy tell Will you’re joining tomorrow’s run then.”

-

What Tommy and Maria failed to mention was the age group of the crew. When you arrived to the meet-up, the sun was barely making an appearance. However, you were still the last to show up because you walked past the group a few times at first. You had mistakenly thought it was some school field trip gathering by the gate.

The “adult” of the group called out your name. You approached cautiously with your horse trotting behind you.

“That’s you right? The newest newbie of the crew?” You nodded in response, he stuck out his hand, “I’m Will.”

Will couldn’t have been older than 26 years old. He was stocky and had dirty-blonde hair that skirted the top of his eyes. He was growing out what looked to be a mustache on top of his lip. His horse matched his demeanor, down to the hair color. Well, minus the mustache. You leaned out to shake his hand and peer at the motley crew of juveniles he was leading.

It was three kids. Teenagers to use the proper term. One of them was a small, freckled girl with reddish hair tied messily in a loose ponytail. She looked spry but restrained, like a jack-in the box. One wrong turn and she’d spring at you. The rest of the crew was a pair of teenage boys, looking to be around 16 or 17. The taller one had brown, curly hair, and seemed a bit skittish. The shorter one was a bit more muscular, with a buzzcut faded by red hair. You could tell from his smirk he was gonna be a pain in the ass.

Will pointed at the freckled girl, “I’m gonna have you paired up with Ellie. She just started a few weeks ago so she can show you a bit of what she’s learned so far.”

The two of you glanced at each other, you shrugged and led your horse to stand beside hers.

“Careful,” Buzzcut boy leaned over to you with a grin and loudly pretended to whisper, “She’s a handful. Her last buddy just quit runs because she was such a-”

“Shut the fuck up, Dylan” Ellie snapped. The boy sneered, “It’s Devin. My name is Devin.”

“Like I care,” Ellie growled back, “I have some other names I’d like to call you instead-” You kept your head down, but a small laugh slipped out of you. The girl raised her eyebrows in surprise at your amusement.

“Alright!” Will shushed you all, “Enough. We only have so many hours of daylight to use. We’re heading east today. Patrols this week haven’t had any sightings of raiders or infected but still, no messing around.” He said this looking directly at Ellie. She rolled her eyes.

Will continued, “It’s a long ride to Wilson Valley. During this time, I want you to think about inventory. Things we need. Do we remember the acronym?”

The teens all nodded in unison but stayed silent. Will looked around, “Any of you gonna recite it for the newbie? Greg, you try.”

Greg, the lanky, quieter one, recited carefully, “Yeah, uh, we’re looking for items that are S-A-F-E.”

“Do you remember what that stands for—”

“Supplies, ammo, fire-starters, and electronics.” Ellie interjected, counting off each word on her fingers.

Will sighed, “Right, whatever, let’s just get going.”

-

The first hour riding to Wilson Valley was quiet. Will stayed a few paces behind to keep an eye on the group. You and Ellie rode side-by-side in silence, a few paces behind Greg and Devin who led the way.

Eventually, Ellie began the conversation , “Not to be rude,” You braced yourself as she asked, “But how old are you exactly?”

You dodged an incoming tree branch before answering, “It’s hard to keep track. What year is it again?”

“2034.”

You quickly did the math in your head and said the answer aloud. Ellie whistled, “Oh wow, so you’re like, actually kind of old.”

“Kind of old?” You repeated in disgust, “I’m not old.”

She smiled devilishly, “You’re older than Will, and Will is pretty old. He’s like, twenty-four.”

“Ellie, isn’t your dad like 200 years old?” Devin jeered from up front. Ellie rolled her eyes, “Yeah, and Joel could still kick your ass any day of the week, dipshit.”

You laughed and asked, “So if your dad is 200 years old, then how old are you, pipsqueak?”

“Fifteen.” Ellie answered quickly, “And Joel’s not my dad he’s—” She paused to figure out the wording. Her shoulders tensed up.

“I get it.” You said, leaving it at that. In the far distance, you could hear a mourning dove call out, softening the sudden silence between you two.

Will led the group down one more long, scraggly road, before finally arriving at what looked to be a scattered arrangement of abandoned cabins. A worn-down sign stood solemnly in the midst of the buildings. “Jackson Hole Bible College” You read under your breath.

Greg and Devin went off to what looked to be the campus’s old library. Will directed you and Ellie to take the largest cabin on the far left and search for items to grab.

When you entered the place, it looked to be a cafeteria. Or what used to be a cafeteria. Tables were flipped over, some chairs snapped in half, trays of disintegrated food and silverware abandoned mid-meal. On the front wall, there was a giant calendar boasting a time from over two decades ago. A flyer advertising tutoring services was still pinned up, a few strips of paper dangling out a phone number that no longer existed.

The place seemed eerily untouched in some parts of the room and then completely ravaged the next. Rows of coffee mugs sat peacefully on one shelf. In contrast, the shelf beneath it consisted of only shattered glassware.

It was odd how time behaved now. Destruction and decay weren’t as consistent as you’d think. Of course, most places and things had been completely ravaged as years passed. Yet some things stayed untouched, devoid of any evidence of worth or affection. You couldn’t decide which was worse.

“So, SAFE.” You recited as you scanned the room, “Supplies…”

“Yeah, you know, food, water, medicine…” Ellie began to list out as she rummaged through one of the rickety cabinets hanging off the wall.

“Coffee?” You held up a yellow can of Cafe Bustelo, shaking the contents at her playfully. Ellie’s eyes widened, “Wait, really? Let me see that.”

“You a big coffee person?” “No, but Joel is.” Ellie said, shoving the can into her backpack and zipping it tightly. She looked around, “Don’t tell Will or them. They want us to share all of what we find…but some things,” She smiled, “We can keep for ourselves.”

You nodded along, “I like the way you think.” As you rummaged around more, you found some cans of tuna, an opened bottle of honey, and other non-perishable treasures. Across the room, you saw Ellie head towards a long, thin door by the kitchen. A few minutes passed, and you could hear her loudly cursing at something.

“What’s up?” You yelled over to her, to which she grunted, “This door…it’s fucking locked!” “Hang on…” As you made your way over, you swiftly pulled a pick from your back pocket. You swatted her aside and began to dig into the keyhole, feeling around for the pins that kept it shut.

After a few seconds of shimmying it around, the lock clicked open. Ellie raised her eyebrows,“Impressive.”

It was still dark inside the now unlocked room, but you could faintly see stacks of food lined across the wall. Excitedly, you reached for the light switch, flicking it on to reveal a pair of bare feet dangling in front of you. Your heart shot up into your throat. Horrified at the sight, and the stench, of the body hanging mid-air. Miraculously, you kept quiet. There was a swollen red ring around the dead man’s left foot. The bite marks around it were a bubbly, bright red.

“Oh…” Ellie said lowly, but began to make her way inside to scavenge around the body. Without hesitation, you latched onto her shoulder to pull her back and hissed, “Careful!”

“Why? The guy’s obviously dead—” “He might be dormant…”

On cue, the feet began to wiggle and move in the air. The rest of the body began convulsing and sputtering as it dangled in the air, screeching to free itself from the noose. Ellie stumbled back, “Oh fuck!”

You shoved Ellie behind you, reached for your pistol and immediately shot up at the body, blasting it directly in the neck. The body snapped off from the head and hit the ground with a back-to-back thud. The two of you stared in disgust at the remains. The now severed head laid on its side, looking like shredded cabbage from the blow.

“Fuckin’ disgusting…” Ellie whispered.

“HEY!” Will’s voice came booming in from behind, “The hell is going on? Why did I hear a gunshot-”

Will stopped in his tracks as he caught sight of you both. The beheaded infected behind you. The pistol in your hand. Ellie laying on the floor.

Will’s frustrated face was now overcome by concern, “What happened, are you two okay?”

You nodded, “I’m fine. Ellie…” You reached down to pull her up. She ignored your hand, pushing herself up on her own, “We’re fine, Will.” Ellie’s eyes narrowed and she looked at Will intently, “Do not tell Joel this, by the way.”

“Ellie, I don’t know-”

What was with this Joel guy she kept talking about?

“Do not say anything Will, because nothing happened.”  “I can’t make any promises, Ellie. I won’t say anything but if him or Tommy asks…”

“Let’s just keep looking around in here.” You interjected, “Looks like this guy had stashed himself away with some good stuff.” The two of them nodded and followed you in to carefully collect more supplies.

-

The ride back was oddly tense. You could see Ellie in the corner of your eye mulling things over. A part of you felt for sorry for her. You understood how she felt in some way. Even if Joel wasn’t her father, she was clearly entangled with the man in some way. His stress was her stress. His joy was her joy.

“Hey,” You leaned over to her, snapping her out of her spiral, “I found an extra can of coffee in the pantry back there. Folgers…you can have it.” She looked up at you and gave a small smile, “Really?” “Really, I don’t need it. You should give it to your, uh... Joel.”

She nodded. As you two continued riding, she spoke up, “Joel’s not my dad but we came here together. From the Boston QZ.” “Oh.” “He’s a good guy, he’s just overprotective. Especially right now, he has his brother Tommy on my back too.” Oh. This was Tommy’s brother.

“It sounds like you have a lot of people looking out for you,” You said, “That’s hard to come by.” The air felt colder as a gust of wind traced across the back of your exposed neck.

“And you just moved here too?” Ellie asked. You nodded, knowing she probably wanted more of a response than that. “I lived alone for a while, a couple hours from here.”

“Why’d you come here then?” “I got tired of myself…or being by myself” You were being honest at least, “I’ve known Maria for some time and she always offered me a place to stay here. So I finally moved out here.”

“And look at you now,” Ellie chirped, “Hanging with a bunch of teenagers, scavenging for canned food with me, Greg, and Dylan here—”

“It’s Devin!” He called back.

“Like I care…” Ellie grumbled to herself. She reverted her attention back to you, “What did you mean back there by ‘dormant’?”

“Huh?” “Dormant,” Ellie repeated, “You said that infected guy was dormant back there.”

You looked back at her, seeing the genuine intrigue in her eyes. “Uh, in altitudes like this, especially in rooms with little to no light, the symptoms of infection slows down in some bodies. It’s a lot more subtle. And stubborn. More stubborn than usual.”

Ellie squinted her eyes, “I thought dead people couldn’t get infected.”

You pointed up at your head, “There’s still a body and a brain to work with, so it can still take over.”

“So he wasn’t dead?”

“I don’t know,” You admitted, “I think they’re still alive in there, just at complete loss of their bodies. That’s why you’re better off shooting yourself in the head when you get bit. Leave the cordyceps nothing to work with.” You felt your throat tighten at the thought.

Ellie nodded, taking the information in, “How exactly do you know all this?”

“Trial and error, I guess.”

Ellie let out a small “Hmph” in response and began riding ahead of you with no further questions. Good enough of an answer for her, thank goodness.

-

When you got back to Jackson, Will guided the group to the church hall to drop off the gathered supplies. Once that was over with, you all went down to the gate by the stables.

There was a small group of people eagerly waiting by the south gate. You all slipped off your horses and began to walk in their direction. Devin and Greg made their way to a pair of older couples standing together, presumably their parents.

You stuck by Ellie’s side, knowing she was going to ditch you any moment for her parental figure. The contrast of the surrounding adults versus your place with the group of children brought a wave of infantilization over you. Why did Tommy and Maria put you in this kiddie group?

You could clearly hold your own. You shook off the infected earlier with ease. You had no trouble finding useful items for the supply run. And yet, the hardest thing that happened all day seemed to be this. Watching the happy families reunite and walk off together. You thought you had grown past this forgotten feeling but it was still there. A slow, steady pulse in the pit of your stomach.

Surprisingly, Maria was there in the crowd. Tommy seemed to have tagged along as well. Maria had one hand on her swollen belly, her other hand in the air waving at you. Tommy yelled out your name and gave a smile. You gave the couple a quick thumbs up, hoping that was sufficient for a conversation.

You needed to talk to Maria alone later. You couldn’t deal with being around kids and families like this. There had to be some loners like yourself to work with. Where you could just get shit done and call it a night.

There was another individual standing in the crowd close to Tommy. He was taller and older.

This clearly must be Tommy's brother Joel. He closely resembled Tommy, but he had a certain intensity emanating from him. He had a few more lines on his forehead, and hair that was borderline silver that framed his tense, defined face. With his broad stance and stern expression, he looked impenetrable. Once his dark eyes flicked over you, a rush of heat spread across your face. You raised your hand to deflect his stare, nervously running your fingers through your hair to keep subtle.

He was handsome. Intimidating, but handsome. Those two traits dangerously entwined.

When his eyes went over to the young girl next to you, his gaze immediately softened. He gave a small smile and nod to Ellie.

“Come over here you two!” Tommy called out. You looked behind yourself, sure that Tommy must be yelling to someone else. He laughed and called your name once more for reassurance. You made your way over with Ellie. Your hands holding tightly onto the reins of your horse.

“How’d it go?” Maria asked you. You could feel Ellie’s eyes on you, nervous that you’d mention the slight scare earlier that day.

“Great,” You answered, “I had a good time with the kiddie group today.” Maria raised her eyebrows in bemusement.

“Hey!” Ellie yelped, pretending to be offended. Tommy gestured to Ellie and asked you directly, “Now, how’d she do?”

“She was great.” You felt another pair of eyes holding onto you firmly. Tommy’s brother stood by silently, eyeing you up and down. You looked back at him, waiting for him to chime in. But he kept quiet.

Tommy laughed, “Seriously? I don’t believe you two.” He gave you a wink to indicate that he was partially playing around. “Let me ask Will, hey Will!”

You and Ellie shot a brief, panicked, look at each other. Will nervously scuttled over to the five of you.

“How’d everything go today, Will?” Will gulped and began to talk, “Uh, good. We did find some-”

Your mind scrambled to come up with a conversational diversion. Your hands sprang into your bag, pulling out a red metal tin, “We got you some coffee!” You blurted out, staring up at Joel.

Everyone stopped talking and stared at the sudden interaction. Joel’s eyes landed back on you. For the briefest moment, they looked surprisingly tender. A second later, his expression immediately tensed up again. His eyebrows furrowed, “What?”

You felt your cheeks begin to redden. Why, of all the distractions, was that the one you decided to go with?

“We found you coffee. Your…um, Ellie had mentioned you were looking for some.”

He looked at the others, as if wondering if they were putting him up to something. “So…is that all you found for the group?” He barked.

Yes, he made you nervous, but he didn’t make you amenable.

Your defensiveness swept in, clearing out any shame completely. You glared up at him, “No, I actually found some other items. Just trying to be nice, not an idiot.” Tommy gave a small laugh to try to keep the peace.

You could hear Will chattering to Maria from the side about you, “She really was a big help…you know normally I’d ask her to share those grounds with the kitchen but-”

“Joel, say thanks.” Ellie said lowly.

You eased up and extended the Folger’s can out to him. Holding your makeshift olive branch with both hands. He reached out. As he grabbed the can, his thumb grazed your top finger ever so slightly. You looked down at the ground to steady yourself and heard him mutter out a lowly, “Thanks.”

“Well, okay,” Tommy said, “Let’s walk the horses back to the stables and call it a night, yeah?”

You nodded, staying behind to let Ellie, Joel, and Tommy walk ahead of you. Will gave you a wave and headed off in another direction. Maria stayed by your side, and the two of you started slowly walking.

“So how was it, actually?” She said quietly to you. You looked over at her, perplexed, “It was fine, really.”

“You seem annoyed with something.” “Why’d you put me in the kid’s group?” You finally asked, then lowered your voice again, “I’m a little too old for this group, don’t you think?”

Maria sighed and crossed her arms, staring ahead at Joel and Ellie. “I thought you two would make a good match.”

You kept your eyes ahead, watching as Ellie pulled out her own tin of coffee to gift to Joel. You could see him laugh and place his hand delicately on Ellie’s shoulder, guiding her into the stables. For a brief moment, he looked over his shoulder, locking eyes with you before disappearing into the stalls.

You and Maria had stopped in place further away to keep talking out of their earshot. You snapped your focus back onto the conversation at hand. “What do you mean?”

She guided you over to the fence surrounding the stable, “Ellie was paired up with a girl her age but the two got into some shit. We’ve dealt with kids similar to this before. I think she needs someone like you to work with.” You leaned against the fence and cocked your head to the side, “Really, someone like me?”

“She works better with certain people. Someone like Joel, someone like you…” “Shit, am I like Joel?” You snapped. “No one is like Joel.” Maria replied.

“Thank God.” You huffed. A corner of Maria’s mouth raised in amusement.

Maria put a hand on your shoulder, “I want people here that I can trust to uphold this community.” She looked into your eyes, “I trust you. And I trust Joel is what my husband says he is,” Her head bowed, “But I think there are some things he just can’t move past from.”

Then she added, “I think Ellie needs to see how other people are adjusting to things. How people move on and make a life here, like you have.”

You felt your jaw tense. How bold of Maria to assume such a thing.

“Why me though? Why not someone that’s lived here longer? I just got here too. ”

“She reminds me of you,” Maria finally said, “The way you were back then, with your dad.”

This came as a second blow. You looked away from Maria, mentally rummaging for some sly comment to throw back at her. But it never came. You kept your gaze somewhere far off, looking past the stables, far out as the sun melted into the mountains over Jackson.

A voice came out of you, unusually soft, “I can take her under my wing for a little bit.”

[kuri-karin]

i have things to say abt the hidden inventory leaks….

it’s so heartbreaking to see them happy and it seems crazy to think that… they were just kids- they were teenagers they took silly photos and watched movies and had sleepovers and studied and pulled all nighters together like teenagers do. they had so much life ahead of them and they were failed by the jujutsu society system. it drove suguru to a psychotic break, it drove their group apart, it took their lives later on. looking at the leaks is painful because they were so. happy. the amount of horrors that were ahead of them they never deserved. they didn’t deserve any of this. they were fucking kids… it’s something i can’t get past because i look at them and i don’t see the joy i see the pain that is to come. this is an anime and maybe im thinking too deep about this (i definitely am) but fuck all THIS IS DEEP TO ME.

this is a headcanon of mine that honestly- i think is canon. suguru is the type to hold in his feelings and when he’s in a dark place he keeps it to himself he bottles everything up and he acts like he’s fine. he struggles and it’s so clear that he’s struggling but he won’t tell you he is. he’s going to push everything down until it coagulates into a red giant and explodes to a supernova, and it did. satoru is the type to fear saying the wrong thing, he sees someone is struggling and he wants to be there for them so badly but he’s so scared he’s going to say the wrong thing and offend them or upset them further he just doesn’t say anything at all. he’s loves so deeply and cares so much he’s afraid others don’t and so he just- doesn’t. He could see suguru was struggling he could see how much pain he was in and he was so scared he was going to make it worse to in his mind he thought “well if i don’t say anything, i can’t make it worse” he wanted to say something he wanted to be there he wanted to show his best friend how much he cared but he just couldn’t. satoru never asks, suguru never tells. they walked parallel to each other and never crossed. they saw each other they had each other, but i think at this point they started going in completely opposite directions, and their paths would never cross again. fate wouldn’t let it happen, they missed the chance to merge and now it’s never going to happen. they were destined to have each other but never to keep each other. their story was doomed from the start. i like to think that if satoru just asked… if he got the courage to ask, and if suguru answered, if he got the courage to answer, then maybe things wouldn’t have turned out this way. it’s something i like to think is true, but the odds were always against them.

by attending jujutsu high, they unknowingly set foot onto a path that would lead them to their doom. there is never going to be a happy ending, the cycle is going to continue.

anyways those are my thoughts that came up with the screenshots from the hidden inventory movie :p

[laduenadelswing]

Ex Boyfriend Simon x Reader

Part II The Interrogation

Part one

The ride back was silent, punctuated only by the rumble of the vehicle. You were cuffed, but gently, your wrists aching more from the emotional strain than the restraints themselves. The 141 team, your former family, sat in grim silence, their gazes occasionally flicking to you. Ghost, predictably, sat opposite, his presence a heavy, suffocating weight.

You were taken to a secure, nondescript facility. The room they led you to was sparse: a single metal table, two chairs. This wasn't an interrogation; it was a reckoning.

Soap was first. He walked in, his usual boisterous energy replaced by a weary solemnity. He didn't sit, just leaned against the wall, arms crossed, his gaze fixed on you.

"Why?" he finally asked, his voice soft, almost a whisper. "After everything... after we thought you were gone for good. What happened?"

You met his eyes, seeing the genuine hurt there. He’d always been the most open, the most emotionally honest. You could see the confusion, the betrayal. But you couldn’t give him the answers he sought. You couldn't tell him how deep you’d fallen, how tangled you’d become, what made you leave.

You swallowed, your throat tight. "I... I can't," you managed, your voice hoarse.

Soap pushed off the wall, took a step closer. "Can't? Or won't? We risked everything to get you out of there! You were with him!" He gestured vaguely in the direction of Russia, his voice rising in frustration. "You smiled at him! You told him you'd marry him!"

The accusation hung in the air, heavy and damning. You shook your head, unable to articulate the nuances of your deception, the cold calculation beneath the polite smiles. To explain would be to expose yourself, to break down the walls you’d built to survive.

Soap sighed, a long, drawn-out sound of defeat. He ran a hand through his mohawk, then shook his head. "Alright," he mumbled, turning to leave. "Alright, then." The door clicked shut behind him, leaving you alone with your silence.

Gaz entered next. His approach was different. He didn't ask questions initially. He just sat, opposite you, his expression unreadable. He tapped his fingers on the table, a steady, rhythmic sound in the quiet room.

"We missed you, you know," he said finally, his voice flat, devoid of emotion. "Ghost... he never stopped looking. He thought you are dead."

You flinched. The mention of Ghost, of his relentless search, was a fresh wound.

"We all thought you were dead," Gaz continued, his gaze unwavering. "We mourned you. And then we find you... like that."

He leaned forward, his voice dropping to a low, intense whisper. "Tell me, was it worth it? Everything we put ourselves through, everything he went through, for you to be lying in some Russian's bed, playing house?"

His words were like daggers, each one hitting its mark. You could feel the heat rising in your cheeks, the shame burning. But still, you stayed silent. There was no easy answer, no simple explanation that wouldn't implicate you further, wouldn't expose the true depths of your predicament.

Gaz watched you for a long moment, then slowly rose. "Fine," he said, his voice laced with disappointment. "Have it your way." He left, the click of the lock feeling like the final nail in a coffin.

The door opened again, and this time, Captain Price stood in the doorway. His presence filled the room, not with anger, but with a profound weariness that made your heart ache. He looked older, the lines on his face deeper, his eyes holding a sadness that cut you to the core. He didn't sit. He just stood there, hands clasped behind his back, observing you.

"John," he said, his voice soft, almost a sigh. "I'm not going to ask you what happened. Not yet, anyway."

You stared at him, tears pricking at your eyes. He'd always been a father figure, a constant in a life that had often felt chaotic. His disappointment was a more potent weapon than any interrogation technique.

"What I want to know," he continued, his gaze unwavering, "is if you're going to make this harder than it has to be. Are you going to cooperate? Are you going to tell us what we need to know?"

The silence stretched, heavy with unspoken questions and unvoiced answers. You knew what he was asking. He was offering you a lifeline, a chance to come clean, to explain. But the truth was too dangerous, too complicated. It wasn’t just about you anymore.

You looked at him, your eyes welling up, a choked sob catching in your throat. The weight of your deception, the impossibility of your situation, pressed down on you.

"I'm so sorry, John," you whispered, the words tearing from your soul. "You are like a father to me."

Price closed his eyes for a brief moment, a pained expression crossing his face. When he opened them again, the disappointment was etched deeper. He nodded slowly, a single, decisive nod.

"I understand, (Y/N)," he said, his voice quiet, devoid of anger, but filled with a quiet finality. "I truly do." He turned, his silhouette framed in the doorway for a moment, before he stepped out, and the door clicked shut. You were left alone, the quiet of the room now deafening. The interrogations were over. But the true confrontation, the one you dreaded most, was yet to come.

The comms in the adjacent observation room had been silent since Price left. Ghost stood rigid, his back to Soap and Gaz, who remained quiet, exchanging worried glances. He’d heard it all. Every soft, heartbroken question from Soap, every biting accusation from Gaz, and finally, the quiet, paternal disappointment from Price. And her response. "I'm so sorry, John. You are like a father to me."

He had seen the tears in her eyes, the genuine pain. But he hadn't seen the truth. Not his truth.

When Price's footsteps faded, Ghost finally moved. There was no hesitation, no wasted motion. He didn't speak to Soap or Gaz. He simply walked to the door of the interrogation room, his every step radiating a silent, lethal purpose.

Soap started forward, a hand reaching out. "Ghost, wait—"

But Ghost was already pushing the door open, the quiet click echoing in the tense silence of the observation room. He stepped inside, and the door hissed shut behind him, cutting off the view, the sound.

The air in the interrogation room crackled with a chilling intensity. You looked up, your breath catching in your throat as Ghost entered. He didn't sit. He didn't approach the table. He simply stood by the closed door, a dark, imposing silhouette, his skull mask an unreadable void.

The silence stretched, heavier than any of the previous interrogations. It wasn't the silence of waiting, but the silence of an apex predator assessing its prey. You could feel his eyes on you, burning holes through the mask, dissecting every inch of your being.

Finally, he spoke, his voice a low, gravelly rasp that sent shivers down your spine. It wasn't loud, but it resonated with a controlled fury that made the hair on your arms stand on end.

"They asked you why," he began, his voice devoid of any warmth, any recognition of the shared past. "They asked you what happened." He paused, taking a slow step forward, then another. "And you said nothing."

He was closer now, close enough for you to feel the cold aura radiating from him. "You looked at Soap, your friend, and said nothing. You looked at Gaz, the man who hunted for you, and said nothing. You looked at Price, your father figure, and you gave him some pathetic excuse about being sorry."

He stopped directly in front of the table, leaning forward slightly, his masked face inches from yours. You could feel the heat of his anger, a palpable force.

"You had no words for them," he snarled, his voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. "But you had words for Arek." He spat the name like a curse. "You smiled for him. You told him you'd love to marry him."

The words hung in the air, a raw, brutal accusation. He slammed his gloved hand down on the metal table, the sudden clang making you jump.

"You vanished, I tore the world apart looking for you. I thought you were dead. I thought you were forced. I made excuses. And all this time..." He leaned closer, his voice dropping to a chilling murmur that was more threat than question. "...all this time, you were just lying in a Russian's bed, playing house? Whispering sweet nothings, just like you used to whisper to me?"

His hand, the one that had just slammed the table, slowly reached out. Not to comfort, not to touch. But to grasp your chin, his fingers rough through your skin, forcing you to meet his unseeing gaze.

"You told me you couldn't wait to be Mrs. Simon Riley," he hissed, his voice laced with a pain so profound it twisted your gut. "Look at me, tell me you meant it. Tell me everything was a lie. Tell me you didn't love me. Tell me you really loved him."

His grip tightened, not painful, but insistent. He wasn't asking for an explanation. He was demanding a confession. He wanted to break you, to shatter the carefully constructed facade, to find the truth, no matter how ugly. And the chilling part was, you knew, deep down, he wouldn't stop until he found it.

Likes, comments and critism are appreciated 🥰

Special Thanks to @lolplatzhalter @aceywaycy for the comments 🫶🌸your the best

[justanoasisimagines]

Distraction

Summary: Daryl doesn't want you coming with him to get Merle from the rooftop, unbeknownst to you, a decades-old confession ensures... Pairing: Daryl Dixon x Female Reader WordCount: 547 Prompt: "i'm in love with you, you dumbass." Warnings: Brief mentions of Daryl's past, strong language A/N: 30 Days of 30 Drabbles for my 30th Birthday Credit to cafekitsune for the banner and the divider!

“I don’t care, you’re not goin’”

“I can look after myself. I don’t need permission!” 

“You’re not goin’, that’s final.” You threw your hands up in the air, pacing around the tent. Your heart raced as you glared at Daryl. 

“I am more capable of protecting myself than half of those out there! Merle needs help and suddenly I’m not allowed to go? That’s bullshit!” Daryl growled, crossing the space between you in three long strides. 

Daryl invaded your space, until you had nowhere else to go. You looked up at him defiantly. Everyone around camp preferred to give him a wide berth. Not you. You’d known him before. Before the dead walked amongst us.

“Would ya listen to me just fucking once?” Taking a step to the side, attempting to move away, Daryl matched your movement. You sighed, attempting to move in the opposite direction, Daryl matched you. 

“Get out of the way.” 

“Not until ya tell me you’re not going.” 

“You can’t shield me from all of this, we’re not teenagers anymore! I’m going to help ya get Merle”

“You’re not coming with me! Ya staying here with the others! It’s safe here. Out there it's not. I’m gonna get Merle, bring him back. Merle being handcuffed to the roof is one thing, ya being with me and me worryin’ about ya is another!” 

“So I have to stay here and worry about ya instead.” Daryl sighed, grabbing your hands and forcibly placing them on his chest. 

“Ya feel that. As long as it’s beating, I’m finding my way back to ya. It’s still beating because of you anyway.” Daryl stepped away from you for a moment, your heart and mind racing faster than possible. With his back toward you, you moved to step behind him. Hand, hanging in the air just above his shoulder.  

“I can’t lose you,” You whispered, barely audible. Daryl glanced over his shoulder. In a split decision, you laid your head on Daryl’s shoulder, wrapping your arms around him, resting your hands on his chest. 

“You’d be fine. You don’t need anyone looking after ya. Been looking after me all our lives.” Daryl’s hands placed on top of yours, hanging on for dear life. No one understood him. You’d been there through everything. His Mum dying, everything with his Dad. Merle’s countless prison visits. 

It was a lot. 

Yet you stayed. 

“Not without you… I’m in love with you, you dumbass.” The confession comes out whispered against Daryl’s shoulder. It was almost unbelievable, yet even Daryl wasn’t blind. You’d been the only one to ever love him. Purley, without conditions. You weren’t forced to love him. You just did. It had been unspoken between the two of you for decades. 

“I know…I love ya too. Which is why you’re not coming with us. I can’t be worryin’ about ya while we’re out there. You’d be too distracting.” 

“Distracting?” Daryl could feel your smirk on his shoulder, turning back to glance at ya once more. 

“That’s what ya took from that.” 

“Can ya blame me? I’ve never been a distraction before.” 

“Ya have, I’ve just never told ya. Just like stayin’ here gives me another reason to come back.” 

“Okay, only if you let me come with ya next time?” 

“Deal”

[wittywallflower]

In s2e7 ‘Headspace’, it’s framed to make us sympathetic to Keeley, and make Roy’s ‘clinginess’ a flaw of his.

But I’m rewatching it closely and like… there’s no sin committed, wanting to spend time with someone is not a crime. He's desire for closeness is equally as valid her wanting space. Not every person's not-getting-enough-space is because of another person's problematically clingy behavior.

Like we start off Keeley being startled by Roy in her kitchen. idk why, it’s morning, where else is he going to drink his morning cuppa? but he’s unexpectedly close all of a sudden and so she gives a little jump. And sometimes we get annoyed with ppl who startle us, for no real reason, even if the startling was accidental. No one’s fault.

They ride to work together. Of course they do when their schedules align. It would be stupid, expensive, and bad for the environment not to.

They walk in hand-in-hand, Roy gives her a kiss and heads off - note the absolute zero fuss about separating, no "when can i see you later?", just a quick and completely normal peck of goodbye.

Asking about her detour immediately after they separate - I get how people could read this is a little clingy or controlling. But I’ve also been in enough working environments long term to know that you learn your coworkers habits without noticing. And you don’t even have to be actively paying attention to them to notice when they deviate from routines. If they are walking the opposite direction of where they are supposed to be going, you wonder why. And if you’re close with that person, you ask about it. even more normal in a relationship. This situation is both coworkers and relationship. (My ex was super chill, not clingy or controlling. but if he saw me heading away from my home office when it was reasonable to expect me to be going to the room where i spent most of my time, he'd be curious and just casually ask "what are you up to, baby?")

Roy asks to go with her to get tea. Doesn’t make assumptions, doesn’t presume like ‘good idea, me too, let’s go’. And it’s a simple question “can I come?” no pleading, no passive aggression, no facial expression I read as anything that would guilt Keeley into accepting. There's nothing to suggest Roy has ever made a fuss when Keeley tells him no. I think a Keeley who was on top of her game in that moment would have thought of a smooth excuse that would deflect him without hurt feelings, like “you can if you like but I’m heading to [the opposite direction of Roy’s locker room] right after” or “I’m just grabbing a quick one, then I have to rush to make a conference call in time”. And hey!! Maybe Roy really did just want a fucking tea of his own at that moment. We know he loves it.

Keeley mentions to Rebecca that things were easier when they didn't work together. But Keeley was the one who chose to work there, Roy was not involved, didn't ask her to come work where he works. We see her doing work at home so she probably doesn't need to spend all day every day at Nelson Road.

Roy is not bothered when its obvious that Keeley is gossiping about him to Rebecca or Higgins. He doesn't ask what she was talking about, or try to grill them on it, or really stress out at all about what she might be saying about him. He respects that she has her own feelings/opinions/ideas about her life to talk about and might prefer to talk to other people about them sometimes. He doesn't need to know every conversation she has with other people, even if its about him.

Roy is being all kissy and affectionate while she is trying to get some work done... its sweet, its kinda in her way - neither of them are wrong for that. Its not unreasonable for him to love on his girlfriend when he is at her house for the express purpose of spending time with her. If you have someone over to your house, its not weird that they might expect some of the host's attention.

When Keeley puts her foot down, "no seriously, stop kissing me and let me alone to work" Roy immediately does! He goes and sits quietly with his book! He did exactly as she asked. without complaint or even a grumpy(er) expression on his face about it. Keeley could have gone back to work while Roy read, no problem. Keeley distracted herself there. She chose not to focus on her work.

Keeley hiding in the boot room is also her own choice. Rebecca was correct that Keeley needed to tell the one person who could do something about it. And once again Roy raised no objection to Keeley talking about him to others, even when its a room full of people, some of whom he definitely would prefer not know too much private information about him. (Jamie for sure, and probably Ted just out of principle)

Roy had shit timing in talking about his book, but its not exactly bad boyfriend material to want to share excitement about something new. She is watching a 20 year old show so its highly unlikely its an episode she hasn't seen before and really wants to focus on.

When Keeley finally expresses in words that sometimes she needs to be by herself, Roy is upset not about that fact, he's upset that she was discussing it with others, and about how it made him look, when he never had the option to act any differently because he didn't know she wanted him to act differently. He thought they were enjoying their time together! He was happy! and his "I'm an idiot" was, i think, about that, about blindly going along thinking they had a great thing. Thinking he's doing a great job at this boyfriend thing. (and he probably needed some validation a little bit after his retirement woes) He was really blindsided and hurt, and Keeley really didn't want to hurt him like that, but communication needed to happen a lot earlier, before she built up feelings of resentment about not getting what she didn't ask for.

Ignoring her in the parking lot the next morning was some petty shit, yes, but it is far from the first time the 'clingy' side of the 'i need space' argument has responded with passive-aggressive levels of distance. Its not like anyone elaborated on what 'more space' and 'time to myself' means in concrete terms. Plenty of people might interpret "i need space" as "wait for me to come to you". And whomst among us hasn't practiced awkward avoidance after a confrontation, for any number of reasons? its not 'right' or therapist-approved, but its relatable. Its how many human beings tend to act in similar situations.

We all think Keeley is the cat's pajamas, yeah? And her need for space is perfectly valid. But if we were going to pick sides on this issue...

[pastafossa]

hey Pasta! I’m new to posting on AO3 and wanted to ask a veteran - I was inspired a LOT by you and TRT to start posting my own writing, and I noticed there’s an “inspired by” option. authors don’t find it weird when you reference them, right? like I would be flattered, but that’s just me :) is there any etiquette that I should be following or tips you have for new AO3 authors?

feel free to answer privately if you’d prefer! I hope you’re having a good brain day! 💕

HELLO FRIEND!

First I am SO so happy TRT could help inspire, I fucking love that, and it feels like a lovely way of keeping the chain going from the fic authors who help inspire me to start posting my stuff!

So I can only speak for me for the 'inspired by', but I have absolutely NO issue at all and I'm always super, super delighted when I get that AO3 email that says there's a new work inspired by mine! I can't think of any other authors I know who'd be weirded out by it either, if it helps. There's a reason that function exists on AO3. If in doubt you could ask of course, there's no harm in that either. But yeah at least for me I'm always incredibly flattered and happy that my work could inspire someone.

I'm also happy to share some AO3 tips and etiquette things I've learned over the years!

Etiquette Rules TM I've discovered:

Make sure you're only marking a fic as 'complete' when it's actually complete. Some folks are posting WIP and chapters and have it marked as complete because 'each chapter is done'.

Only tag your fic with things that are actually relevant. So even if there's a background ship that gets 1 line referencing it, I wouldn't tag that ship. You'll just upset the people who are (understandably) searching for that ship and read your fic only to find they get a single line.

No posting 'fic coming soon' or idea placeholders. I've seen this pop up more and more lately, and not only will it get your fic taken down, but it's considered a huge no-no in terms of AO3 etiquette.

This one is a little subjective, and you'll find a few debates about it, but generally speaking, the etiquette rule is that it's better to risk spoiling something if it means you're tagging the fic with relevant warnings and tropes, versus leaving an important tag out to keep things surprising. Examples might be pregnancy, main character death, or self harm. Not only are there people who are hunting for that type of fic (meaning you should be tagging it so they can find it) but it's usually considered rude to just let someone walk into that blind. If you really don't want to have any of those tags, use the 'Author Chose Not To Use Warnings' and then add a tag about how you're choosing not to tag things so that it won't spoil anything. Basically warn them that they could find anything inside the fic.

At the same time, don't blow the page up with 50k tags. That'll annoy people in the opposite direction. There's a fine balance. I generally tag: major relationhips and characters, the genre, major tropes (found family, slow burn, etc), any major triggers, and then a few flavor tags ('human disaster Matt Murdock'; 'watch me make up legal shit', etc). For anything smaller, if it's a trigger I just warn about it in the author's notes.

Do not link to anything like a Ko-Fi or Patreon or anything that involves money in the author's notes. Not only is it against the site rules but it's considered very bad etiquette.

Do not do not do not change your story's publication date after the fact to keep 'pushing' it to the front page, holy hell is that a big etiquette no-no.

Tips TM I've Learned:

Slashes between character names are for romance. & between the character names are for platonic relationships

Summaries can be a bitch to write, but try anyway! And whatever you do, do not put 'lol this is bad' or 'i suck at summaries'. I realize the self-deprecation makes it a little less scary, but you'll absolutely get less people reading (in part because if you imply you're bad, plenty of people will believe you and won't bother reading). Give people a brief sense of what's in the fic, or even a snippet from the fic itself!

Don't bother tracking Kudos-to-Hits too closely, especially as time goes on. Each reader can only leave a kudos once but every time they re-read, they add another hit to the counter.

Sometimes what does well and what doesn't isn't really logical. Over my years on AO3, I've seen fics that logically should do well (massive active fandom, popular ship, well written) have terrible numbers where fics that logically should do terribly (inactive small fandom, less popular ship, writing banged out in 30 seconds at 5 am) do amazing. So as you go forward, be prepared for occasional ???s in either direction.

The Tagging System is your friend, learn the tagging system, love the tagging system! The tagging system is both how the people who DO want to find your work will find it, AND how the people who do not want to read your fic can avoid it. As above, I've found that generally you want to tag the major characters, relationships, tropes, and triggers, because they are what people are either looking for (hooray! your target readership!) or avoiding (why would you want them to open your fic, see it's not what they want, and immediately back out?).

If you're writing your draft in AO3's text editor and saving it as a draft, PLEASE KNOW IT WILL EVENTUALLY DELETE AUTOMATICALLY, IT DOES NOT STAY THERE FOR MONTHS OR YEARS. Safer to write using something like ellipsus (what I use) or docs, or even your phone's note taking system.

Formatting is occasionally wonky when being transferred from one location (say, docs), to AO3's posting system. Always make sure to preview it before posting, to make sure all your italics and paragraph breaks haven't been fucked up. This is an issue that's been here for ages, we just deal with it at this point.

Those are the things I can think of off the top of my head, I hope they help! There's definitely a little bit of a learning curve when it comes to AO3 but it is SO worth it, there's nothing quite like it and it's been amazing as a writer to grow with it!

[doumidas-whumps]

whitetail (part 1)

Port is dragged along on a hunting trip.

next / solitaire masterlist

cw: pet whump (bbu adjacent), multiple whumpers, animal death mention, getting wet in the woods (environmental whump), humiliation

note: this is before sonny's time. part 1 of 3.

------

The rifle slotted perfectly into his hands, lethal and chill to the touch.

“How does it feel?” his master asked.

Port rolled his shoulders, testing its weight. “Feels like I know how to use it, sir.” 

“Attaboy. See, I thought you might’ve.”

A few feet away, Klaus lifted the orange cap off his head and scratched at his hair. “Uh, are you sure that’s a good idea?”

Mr. Oz looked at him. “What?”

“Y’know. Letting a subhuman carry a gun around.”

Subhuman, huh.

“Oh, please. He knows how to handle it, you heard him.”

“That’s what I’m fuckin’ worried about!” Klaus pulled the cap back on, flattening his hair to his forehead. “What if he decides to use it on us and start an uprising?” 

Port tensed as both sets of eyes landed on him. He hadn’t even thought about it until Klaus brought it up. It didn't sit right with him at all.

“Are you trying to give him ideas?” Mr. Oz laughed. “You’re not gonna try to kill us, are you?”

“Of course not, sir.” Port glanced between the both of them. “I’d get in real trouble for that.”

Mr. Oz laughed again. “See? It’s fine.”

Klaus threw his hands up. “Whatever. You’re the one who better watch his back. I’ve got my own gun.”

“Watch my back for you, maybe,” Mr. Oz said, turning to rummage for something in the backseat of the pickup truck.

Klaus shot Port a toothy smile. “We’re friends, right, Porter?”

Friends seemed generous. They weren’t equals, not even close. But it seemed to be what Klaus wanted to hear. “Yes, sir.”

Klaus patted him roughly on the back. “Alright! We’re gonna be best buds.”

~~~

The sun hadn’t yet risen, but the stars were starting to dim. They’d gotten a real early start today, leaving home around 4 AM to get to the spot before dawn.

“It’s slim pickin’s on public land,” Klaus had explained. “But my cousin owns a ranch out here and he’s given me and Parse permission to hunt for the past few years. I can tell ya we won’t be going home empty-handed.”

The grass brushed by his shins, curving under the weight of last night’s rain. He made his way through the field, carefully stepping around a film of fresh spiderweb beaded with pearly drops of dew. The hems of his jeans were well on their way to soaked already. The tips of his ears were a little cold.

He walked in step behind Mr. Oz, Klaus trailing close behind. It struck him how trusting his master was to turn his back on him when he had a weapon in his hands. He never even cast a glance over his shoulder. 

He could feel Klaus’ eyes on the back of his head, however, as they made for the tree line. “The stand is less than half a mile in,” Klaus said. “Keep your eyes peeled. We could run into game on the way.”

The trees had started dropping their leaves. The rain made them pliable— not too much crunch. Mr. Oz pushed past a low hanging branch and some water sprinkled on his head.

They came across a narrow creek that went as far as the eye could see in either direction. A few sticks floated in the current of the dark water. It stretched slightly too wide to simply step across, but could easily be jumped, Port thought.

“Damn,” Klaus said. “Our bridge fell in.” 

Port realized there were a few planks of wood barely sticking out of the water, slanted against the muddy bank on the opposite side.

“We can put it back up,” Mr. Oz said. “I’ll go first. Pass me the gun before you come over.”

“Yes, sir.” Port watched Mr. Oz take a small running start and bound rather ungracefully across the creek. He landed heavily in the dirt on the other side. Porter carefully transferred the rifle to him, standing right on the edge of the creek with both arms reaching over the running water. Mr. Oz turned to rest the rifle against the trunk of a tree as Port calculated his own jump.

Just as he was shifting his feet, there was a mighty shove against his back. He lost his balance, stepping forward into open air. He toppled over and landed on his knees in the water. His hands scraped the bank on the other side, catching stones and exposed roots.

Mr. Oz whirled around at the splash. “For fuck’s sake, Port.” 

Klaus was snickering behind him. “He just wanted to go for a swim.”

Port avoided looking at either of them. His face turned hot, even though it wasn’t really his fault. He stood, boots sinking into the muddy bottom. The water was shallow and slow-running— it barely went to his knees. But his bottom half was completely soaked, now. He blinked away dirty water that had splashed into his eyes. 

“I’m sorry, sir,” he said quietly to Mr. Oz as he made to climb out. Klaus was still chuckling. What was that about an uprising? he thought wryly. Guess Klaus felt safer now that the gun was out of his hands. Port would take the blame for falling— he wouldn't tell. Most people didn’t take kindly to snitching.

“Hold on,” Mr. Oz said. “You might as well fish out those planks while you’re in there.” 

Port aborted his ascent and obediently waded over to the planks. He lifted them out of the water, placing them across the creek as a makeshift bridge. They were rotting a little. Port wasn’t sure how much he’d trust stepping on them.

He climbed out as Klaus hopped across, shotgun slung on his back. Port was all waterlogged and dripping.

“You’re gonna get trench foot,” Mr. Oz said.

Port didn’t know what exactly ‘trench foot’ was but it was probably true. His socks were squelching with every step. 

“And trench dick,” Klaus added.

Mr. Oz raised his eyebrows. “That, too.”

~~~

It wasn’t too long before Port was able to spy the deer stand peeking through the gaps between the trees. It was a tiny wooden thing on stilts, right by the edge of a clearing. They went up the stairs single file, slats creaking with each heavy boot. Inside the little room was nearly too dark to see. What little natural light there was filtered in through the narrow cut-outs in the walls.

Pushed in the corner were two desk chairs on wheels. The fabric of the seats was dingy and pilling. Klaus went straight to one of them and sat down, resting his shotgun against the wall. 

Thankfully, Mr. Oz had spare pairs of socks and underwear in his backpack. “I always bring extras,” he mused as he pulled them out. “You never know when you might fall in a river. Or shit yourself.”

“It’s a good habit,” Port agreed, ignoring the last bit.

He went back outside to change, stepping through the stilts so he could stand directly under the room and have some sense of privacy. He didn’t like the idea of being watched.

He didn’t want to put his soaking pants back on, so he hung them on the X-shaped support to dry. He felt awkward all half-naked, but he figured it was better than being soggy. He took his jacket off and wrung out the wet part of his shirt as best he could. He shivered, cold and miserable, palms stinging with tiny cuts.

He went back into the deer stand, holding his jacket in front of himself in an attempt at modesty. Klaus spun around in his chair at his entrance. 

“Whoa there!” he exclaimed. “Do you always take your pants off on the first date?”

Port forced a smile. “Only if I’m wet enough.”

Klaus laughed really hard at that, and Mr. Oz pointedly looked away. “You’re gonna scare the damn deer off,” he muttered.

Port retreated into the corner of the room as Klaus got a hold of himself. “Hour after first light is prime time,” he said in Port’s direction. “I prefer the walk-and-stalk method. I get real bored sittin’ in this thing.” He crossed his arms, thinking. “Whatd’ya say we try it out?”

Port blinked. “You and me?”

“Yeah. In an hour or so.”

Hiking alone in the woods with Klaus was not the most appealing idea to him. He looked to Mr. Oz for any indication of what to say.

Mr. Oz shrugged. “Go with him. It’ll be fun. I’m staying here, though.”

Port carefully did not make a face. “Yes, sir.”

Klaus smiled wide. “Great! I’ll get a little hunting buddy today. Not that you’re little, Port.” 

He smiled back politely. “A little too tall, maybe.”

Mr. Oz sighed forlornly, staring out into the clearing. “I’ve always wanted a hunting buddy. I tried to get my daughter into hunting, y’know, but she wasn’t interested at all. Wouldn’t even touch the gun.” He tugged his knit cap further over his ears. “She was always kind of a pussy.”

Klaus shared a look with Port, grimacing. Yeesh, he mouthed. Port pursed his lips and looked away. Nothing good ever came of his master thinking about his family. 

Mr. Oz was oblivious, busy in his brooding. “I was really excited when I had a son. I thought he would be more like me. I would’ve liked to take him out here, but…” he trailed off, jaw working.

Port was silent. Klaus was silent. Mr. Oz scowled at the both of them. “Whatever. Neither of you would know anything about that.”

Klaus scratched at his beard. “No siree. Kids sound like a pain in the ass to me.”

“Trust me, they are,” he said darkly.

They were silent for some time after that, keeping watch for wildlife. Port grew chiller by the minute now that he wasn’t moving around anymore, not to mention the starkness of his legs.

Movement outside caught his eye. He peered into the trees, leaves catching the early morning light. He didn’t spot it immediately, but as he squinted— there it was. A buck, two antlers spouting from its skull. Its head swiveled, trying to catch a scent.

“Sir,” he whispered. They both turned curiously. “Look.”

Mr. Oz saddled up beside him, quietly pulling his chair over. “Good eye,” he complimented. They watched the deer’s head dip, lipping at something in a bush. Port was entranced the sight. It was a shame they were supposed to kill it.

“Do you want to take it?” Mr. Oz asked.

Port’s brow furrowed. “Shoot it, you mean?”

“Yeah.” 

When was the last time he had looked at something through the scope of a rifle? What was the last thing he had killed? Something twinged behind his eye. He pressed at his temple with a few fingers, trying to soothe the ache. It was a bad idea to try and think about things from so long ago.

“I think you should,” Port decided.

Mr. Oz’s face flashed with disappointment. Port almost took it back, but Mr. Oz was already slowly setting the rifle on the ledge and peering through the scope himself.

It was a bad shot— the deer was at a weird angle. Mr. Oz stayed still, waiting for it to move. Port listened to the back-and-forth of birdsong in the meantime. The birds were all awake by now, whistling at each other. 

The deer took a few delicate steps forward, nibbling at the vegetation. Content in its own happiness, it bared its broad side to the gun.

Port held his breath as Mr. Oz adjusted the rifle, finger teasing at the trigger. Just then, a bright red cardinal flew out from somewhere within the trees and shot by the buck’s head. It startled, flinging its white tail up and leaping back into the bushes. 

Mr. Oz grunted, leaning back. “There’ll be more.”

------

part 2

taglist: @arobear @paingoes @pumpkin-spice-whump @string-of-broken-hearts @technicallydeliciousdeer @ziptiesnfries