#WHERE IF I MAKE A MISTAKE WHILE TYPING IT CAB ACTUALLY FUCK SOMETHING UP

[shouldering-worlds]

I think it's a crime that autocorrect doesn't work in tags

[babayagakeanu]

How Will I Know? -part one

Pairing: Jethro Gibbs/reader 

Summary: in which the reader is hopelessly in love with her boss, who is completely oblivious.

Warnings: none for now

Word count: 1397

A/N: This is my first chapter fic/Gibbs fic ever so pls be nice 🥺

Your boss was known for his elusiveness to technology. He still didn’t know how to properly search the internet on his phone, nor send a comprehendible text. The team and you had teased him for months about his typo on “Caesar salad” in which he actually typed “sexual salad”. You all were confused as to how he managed to type that bad of a typo, but nevertheless, teasing ensued. Tony was doing the most of it while you and Kate were giggling into your paperwork. Gibbs had managed to crack a smile while also getting up to smack  Tony in the head. You were just finishing up the case that the team just solved, and you were looking forward to having a few drinks with your co-workers. You were going to Kate’s after you finished up at your desk to get ready with her before carpooling to the pub that McGee and Abby picked out. 

“Gibbs, are you coming to the pub with us?” Abby asked Gibbs, sitting down in McGee’s lap as he typed some things into the computer. Gibbs grunted, looking up from his papers, stopping to sip his coffee before answering. “Uh, yeah. Sure, why not?” Your stomach sank, knowing that Gibbs was going to be there tonight worried you. Now, you really had to figure out what to wear and how to style your hair. “I might even bring the red-head I met while on the job last week.” You couldn’t stand to hear another word of this so you moved from your desk, setting the file down on Gibbs’ desk, and walking out of the office without a word. Gibbs noticed this, and watched as you left, a pang leaving his gut feeling empty. 

Kate’s apartment was cute, decorated well and felt homey. You had entered with a large duffle bag stuffed with different outfit options and all the makeup you had. 

“Jeez, Y/n, are you going away for a week?” Kate snorts, leading you into the large bedroom in which you two would get ready in. “How are you feeling after today?” You sighed, knowing full well that she would bring what happened between you and Gibbs up when you were to get ready together. “I don’t really know, Kate. I’m disappointed because for once, I thought we were finally getting closer to each other. I mean, he told me about his first wife!”

“Wait! He did?” Kate’s eyes almost bulge out of her head and your response to her is nodding while finishing the final touch of your makeup. Gibbs had opened up to you about his first wife while out on lunch with you. Part of you hoped he was taking you on a date, but then he didn’t ride back home with you after, instead he hopped into a Mercedes with some red-headed chick and sped off. 

“Yep. Then he got up after we finished and left with some other girl.”

“Ouch, wrong move, Gibbs.” You nod, sighing as you looked down at her bed, her sheets forgotten under the mile-high pile of clothing. You opted for some bell bottoms that hugged your curves, and a tube top that tied at your waist and shined under the moonlight. You looked as good as you felt, and were ready to show up Gibbs female toy. You paired the looks with chunky earrings and heels and you and Kate called a cab to make your way to the pub, letting Dinozzo know in the process. 

——

“Gibbs!” Tony called out, watching as his boss lugged beers back to the table in preparation for the others to come. “Y/N and Kate are on their way here!” Gibbs nods and Tony doesn’t know if it’s nerves or Gibbs just hates going out, but he looked worried, like he was hoping for someone to be there. It wasn’t any longer than 10 minutes of awkward silence between Dinozzo and Gibbs before you guys showed up, ironically saving the day. You two looked around the room before you spotted Tony and Gibbs.

“Wow, Y/N looks sex-”

“Wanna finish that sentence, Dinozzo?” Gibbs shoots him a hard glare, a mechanism he can’t control all that well. Tony was right tho, you did look sexy. Your skin glowed even under the dim lighting of the bar and Gibbs eyes gave you an inspection as you walked to the table. He looked on as your hips swayed, your navel looking absolutely sinful. You reached the table and Gibbs cleared his throat, greeting the two of you with a small smirk and a nod. You were relieved to find that Gibbs’ lady friend was there, so you could get tipsy without being so uptight about her being in your general vicinity. You look at your beer, before shaking your head and returning it to the bartender, asking for something else.

“A glass of Bernheim. Neat.” You tell the bartender, and you feel a presence slide in next to you. Hoping it’s not some random, you look to your left to be meet with Gibbs. 

“Didn’t take you for a bourbon girl.” He notes, ordering himself a glass. 

“Correction, bourbon woman.” You point a finger at him, laughing as he rolls his eyes. “My mistake, y/n.” He adds, and there’s a subtle warmth to his tone, like your name was meant to roll off his tongue. There’s a moment of silence before you speak. “Where’s your little lady friend?” His head turns to you and you shrug. “I thought she was coming.” You sip your glass, eyes not moving to glance at him as you finish your sentence. There’s an edge to your voice, and you’re pretty sure Gibbs notices this, but he doesn’t seem to say anything. 

“I’m not seeing her anymore.” he says, signaling the bartender for another round, which you gladly accept, gulping down the amber liquid, not even realizing the agonizing burn in your throat. 

“Oh,” was all you said, and you were glad because while you knew she was Gibbs type, she was uptight and needy, as if she wasn’t her own person without Gibbs. You knew Gibbs’ type. Laidback, easy on the eyes, independent and strong. All things you knew you were yet he still never made a move, insert rule number twelve. 

———————————————————————————————————-

You were on your fourth bourbon and you were edging drunk, but still managed to have your coordination and your voice never slurred. Your arms brushed against Gibbs’ a little, and he got a hint of your perfume; smoky, with a singe of vanilla at the end. You smelled like a warm campfire, and God help him if he didn’t get a little stiff in his pants. 

You stared at him, looking deep into his steely blue eyes and you think back to all the missed lunch dates with him, the flirtatious glances and remarks, his hand brushing against your lower back as he passes you in the office, everything single thing he does, it bothers you because you can’t tell him how you feel because of that fucking rule #12. 

“You know, Gibbs...” You start, “I have to get something off my chest.”

His head turns to you, “Okay.” 

You took a deep breath, letting it out as you spoke. “For a while, I was quiet and apprehensive towards you. It wasn’t because I feared you, but because I respected your work ethic and your boundaries. It wasn’t until we started to go out to lunch together, talking about our daily lives and getting to know each other as more than boss and employee.” You look at him, and find him gazing intently at you. You clear your throat again. “I’m in love with you. All of you, Jethro. You make me feel things that I haven’t felt since my junior year in college. I know about rule number twelve, and if that’s something you can’t break, then consider me gone from this team and you won’t see me again.” A tear slips from your eye, and you quickly wipe it away. 

“How long have you felt this way?” he asks, and you knew you were screwed once you tell him. You were silent, but begrudgingly answer. “Ever since I joined.”

It’s painfully silent, you could hear a pin drop. Your heart breaks when Gibbs gets up from the table, and leaves you to sulk in your bourbon.

[rjhpandapaws]

Bad to Work With

Ch 3: Things to (Never) Learn from Hindsight

//Going to preface this with the fact that I didn’t mean to write angst, it was supposed to be fluff

Gavin wasn’t one to learn from his mistakes. A considerable feat considering the sheer number of mistakes he’d made just in recent history. He would suffer the consequences and come out on the other side only to make the exact same mistake or one that was worse. Hindsight wasn’t something he benefitted from. He looked back on most of his mistakes with the knowledge that it would only be a matter of time before he did it again. Up until recently he wasn’t a victim of situational regret. This was one of the few times he wished he could go back and undo something. Not so much the night itself, that wasn’t what he had come to regret; but the elevator ride. If he had managed to keep his mouth shut for once in his life he wouldn’t be staring down yet another coffee cup adorned with a sticky note. It was a different cafe this time, they always were. It seemed like whenever Gavin left his desk there would be a coffee waiting for him when he got back. This was the first one he had ever gotten that was waiting from before he’d arrived.

It wasn’t even that it was bad coffee. These niche cafes Richard was finding had amazing drinks. Gavin had even gone to some of them on the weekends. The thing of it was that he had a system despite the fact that his desk looked like a bomb had gone off. Richard didn’t know what the system was and he would set the cups in whatever open space was available and then leave. On the few occasions Gavin didn’t notice them in time they wound up getting knocked over. When they fell it was either onto the other papers or into his computer terminal. The papers were usually salvageable; but he was pretty sure Silas was ready to murder him. He probably had it plotted out and everything. Gavin sighed quietly and picked up the foam cup. There was no logo on this one, so he found it safe to assume it was from one of the newer cafes in the area. The sticky note on the other hand was short and simple. Gavin would have even dared to call it sweet if it were from anyone other than Ricard. He stuck his note to his monitor like had with all the others and settled in at his desk for another long day.

The issue was Gavin was almost endeared by it. He hadn’t been in a romantic relationship since high school, and no one had ever tried like this. Not for him anyway. It was making what was left of his resolve wear thin. Richard had learned exactly one thing about him and ran with it. The level of emotion to it all was what had Gavin on edge. He didn’t do feelings because he wasn’t good with them. It was less draining to just have a night with someone and then go their separate ways. He’d never had to resist his own wants like this. He avoided repeats for a reason, he wasn’t about to change that. He wouldn’t let things get beyond coffee. Except, as he waited for his computer to boot up he texted Richard.

Me: Thanks for the pick me up. Coffee Supplier: Of course, I’ve been meaning to try out that cafe for a while. Me: It’s pretty good Coffee Supplier: Definitely. Coffee Supplier: Have a good day Gavin. Me: Thanks, you too

It was the first time he had actually messaged Richard. He had saved his number to be polite, but never planned to actually use it. He hadn’t expected to have a normal conversation. It was nice in a way.

That’s where it should have stopped, would have stopped if Gavin had been stronger. The short text conversations became just as routine as the coffee and sticky notes. They didn’t really talk about anything meaningful, and made a point not to talk about work. It was almost like talking with Tina; if there wasn’t that unspoken something hanging over them. The temptation lingered, as it always did. The easiest excuse to use was that Richard was his superior. The truth of it was that Gavin was scared. The last time he had loved someone he wound up burned with his heart in pieces on the floor. He’d been younger and dumber then, but he still wasn’t sure this was a risk he was willing to take again. So it stayed small. Limited to brief conversations at work, notes passed through coffee, and text messages when they had the time. He stopped keeping the notes on his monitor after Hank had asked about them. They had their own desk drawer now. If he kept these things compartmentalized he could pretend that he wasn’t slowly being pulled in.  Gavin was short sighted, so at the time it had seemed like a full proof plan. Out of sight out of mind, that sort of thing. Even though he knew ignoring his problems only made them worse. Just this once he hoped it would work.

It turned into a bad week. The kind when he was just praying to make it to Friday. He made plans with Tina to meet up at Eden on Friday night. He just wanted to have a night to let go for a while. Be someone else. Monday was fine, but Tuesday marked the start of everything going wrong. It started with his computer crashing; it wasn’t coffee related for once, and things kind of stock piled from there. The heat went out in his apartment complex, and then his car decided to finally die on him. He had ignored the Check Engine Light for too long. He was at the point that if anything else went wrong this week he was going to fucking lose it. Friday, thankfully enough, was his half day. He wasn’t in the office long enough for things to go wrong. He worked through the morning and pulled a disappearing act the moment the chance arose. He planned to sleep for a while before meeting up with Tina at Eden and then leaving with a stranger. He had things he wanted to forget, and blue eyed problems to ignore. Eden was packed, like it always was on Fridays. Business types and the lucky public who could manage the cover charge were all out to get relief from their weekly boredom, and Gavin was right in the middle of it. Dancing with strangers and accepting any drinks that were offered to him. Anything to take his mind off of his problems. Especially the blue eyed one that had been haunting him recently.

He was in the sweet spot. Just past too drunk to give a shit, but not absolutely wasted yet. Which also meant that he was just beyond sober enough to recognize the steel blue eyes of the person he was dancing with. That they were the same eyes he was drinking to drown out. All he was concerned with was how well they fit. In any other circumstance the fact that this felt so familiar would have been cause for alarm. He was a little more sober by the time they managed to stumble out to a cab. Not enough to care, but enough to confirm that yes, this was something he wanted to do. Gavin was more caught up in the moment than he was concerned with the mild prickle of familiarity in the way this man said his name. He chalked up the ease with which he was unraveled to desperation. Anyone could be an expert in Undoing Gavin Reed if he was desperate enough for an escape. Tonight happened to be one of those nights and every red flag was excused and brushed aside in favor of chasing the pleasure. They were a problem for Sober Gavin. He would have the rest of the weekend to deal with them.

Consciousness came back to him slowly, like it always did after a night of drinking. He was rested and contentedly sore in ways that meant he had followed somebody home. Whoever his companion had been, they weren’t one for cuddling. He rolled over and found himself alone. It was slow to sink in that this particular room was a little too familiar. Once the thought made it through the haze of his hangover Gavin cursed under his breath. His memories of the club were hit and miss at best, he remembered dancing with strangers and drinking more than he probably should have. There were stern blue eyes sprinkled into them here and there. Gavin had done a repeat. That moment of clarity was accompanied to the door of the room quietly opening. From the look on Richard’s face he clearly wasn’t expecting Gavin to be awake yet, “Oh. Good morning.” “Hey.” He replied groggily as he sat up. There was a stretch of uncomfortable silence as Richard set Gavin’s now clean clothes on the bed. He gave him a onceover before retreating from the room like the devil himself was on his heals. It made Gavin feel sick to his stomach. He had definitely fucked up this time.

He got dressed slowly and tried to figure out what to do. Apologize was the obvious answer. But for which thing? All of them? The list of things he hadn’t done wrong was probably shorter at this point. When he finally gathered the courage to leave Richard’s room he was met with the strong smell of coffee. This was the moment of truth. “Your friend Tina says you owe her fifty bucks.” Richard said without looking at him, “And if you ever leave without talking to her again she’ll take your coffee money.” Gavin flinched, “Sorry you had to deal with her. Sorry for everything really. I didn’t mean for this to happen.” “Which ‘this’?” He asked as he turned around with two mugs of coffee and held one out to Gavin, “Sleeping with me again, or being so drunk that you didn’t notice who you were with?” “All of it.” He admitted and held the mug with both of his hands like the warmth would protect him from his mistakes, “From the first time till now. For the text messages. Everything.” “Did you even mean any of it?” There was an emotion to Richard’s voice that Gavin didn’t want to dwell on. He was being given an out, and he wasn’t about to pass it up.

If he were a better person he would have been honest. Instead, he set the mug down and reached for his phone. “No.” He said as he stood. He didn’t look at Richard as he walked to the door, “It’s been fun though.” When the apartment door clicked shut behind him there was an air of finality to it. Another mistake he wouldn’t learn from. There was no coffee on his desk on Monday morning. Things were finally back to normal, so he didn’t understand why it felt so empty.

[faery-moss]

Warm

Tianshan fanfiction, as requested

This is my first fanfiction, I mostly wrote it to satisfy my own desire for intimacy and closeness. Watching these two interact strangely fills a hole in my heart. I probably shouldn't depend on it too much

Anyway, ENJOY💓

BEWARE OF TYPOS

“Stay with me”

Mo guan shans' heart flutters, he feels heat rising to his cheeks and feels the warmth of he tians face in his hands,  he notices how his body is shaking, shivering . As if he were to break down in any moment.

This happens from time to time. He tian being open, stepping down from his cold, condescending demeanor into a more softer one. A frail person, with deseperate needs to be met and a strong desire to be loved. Mo guanshan wants nothing more than to embrace the guy, to be the shoulder he cries on. But Guan Shan was too scared, too much of a coward. Scared of closeness, just as Much as He tian wanted it. He didn’t know what to do, they were too different of people.

And so he just waited, for the silence to be filled, for He tians moment of vulnerability to pass. He didn’t know what else to do, he was awkward, and feeling uncomfortable with He tian trusting him. He felt like there was little he can do to make him feel better. 

So he settled for the bare minimum

“Alright.” he said, reluctantly

He tians eyes widened and he looked up to meet the gingers avoidant gaze. He noted the pink flush spread across Guan Shan's cheeks. The adorable way he's shifting nervously in his place.

“I'll stay, but just for a little bit okay…?” Mo's voice was small and gentle, as if he was speaking to a baby. It was soft, whispery. He tian wanted nothing but to embrace him, to place his head on Mo guan shans shoulders. He was being met half way

He tian smiled and his eyes were warm.

“Thank you.”

There was a moment of stillness, where neither was hiding anything from anyone, trusting within the presence of each other's eyes,open.

But one of them had to break the spell eventually, or esle this would turn into another therapy session.

So He tian let go of his arms and began to walk towards the living room.

“So what do you wanna do? I have uh.. Magazines?”

Mo guanshan scoffed

“What the hell? You mean you have nothing else to do in this place? Not even a tv?!”

He tian laughed sheepishly rubbing his neck

“Eh I never really found the point in buying one, I mostly just.. Read and.. Sit around.”

Guanshans face contorted into a look of confusion, he made his way over to the couch of the dramatically spacious apartment and took out his phone. 

"You’re ridiculous, you don’t cook, you don’t clean, you have no hobbies. I’m beginning to believe your only hobby is to annoy me.’ he says, while typing out a message for his Ma.

He tian laughed wholeheartedly and walked over to the couch, sitting next to Mo guan shan “That’s definitely one of my hobbies” then leans into Mo guan shan and heatingly whispers into his ear “and my favorite too.”

Mo guan shan shivers and jumps up

“FUCK” he falls from the couch and He tian rolls his head back laughing. Mo stands up immediately and retreats away from the couch in caution, He tian sees this and pats the seat next to him. 

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding, come back.”

Mo guan shan shoots daggers at his direction

“So what? So you can be a pervert and molest me ? No thanks!” Mo creates more space between him and He tian, despite his prior moment of vulnerability he still doesnt trust him enough to relax.

“Alright, Alright” He tian begins, then softens his gaze and extends his hand out to him.

“I’ll stop teasing you okay? It’s just so entertaining, but I’ll keep my hands to myself.” He tian says

“Y-you promise? No more funny business?” Mo guan shan asks , hesitantly  making his way back over to He tian

“Yeah, pinky promise” He tian raises his pinky to Guan Shan,  waiting with a innocent smile on his face. Mo guan shan sighs, tired and still a bit mistrusting, he gives up and interlocks his pinky with his. He tians expression relaxes  and he begins to wave their hands back and forth while fondly looking at Moguanshan. He tians gaze bored into his skin, why is he always looking at him like that? What is he thinking? What does he want?

Moguan shan doesn’t understand. He breaks his hand away and looks down, shuffling his feet.

“Why are you always looking at me like that? “ he asks with a breathy tone, timid and unsure.

“Like what?” He tian asks, perking his head to the side in confusion

“Like I dont know, like you see something or..”

He tian shifts closer to mo guan shan, but not too much to invade his boundaries

“I do see something little mo, I see a person who is very important to me.”

At that Mo guan shans eyes widen and he flinches back again, his cheeks glowing a bright red. He looks at he tian with questions in his eyes

“W-WHO? ME? THATS-” Mo guans shan stutters at his words and struggles  to understand the fluttering sensation In his stomach and the feeling of warmth arising in his heart.

He tian laughs again freely

“Yes idiot, you’re precious to me.”

Mo guan shan looks confused “B-but why? What the heck have I done for you?”

He tian sits back and looks introspective, his gaze wanders far away and a soft smile perched on his features. 

“You make me feel.. I don’t know. Alive. I’ve never felt this way with anyone before. You make me feel safe and happy."

He continues

“Your the type of person that has a kind heart, even if you try to hid it, it makes me feel loved. ” He tians expression then turns sad, as if he’s remember something. Mo guan shan again, did not know how to deal with this level of sincerity. 

‘Me? Make him feel loved? But I just push him away. I don’t get it’

So mo guan shan sits down on the seat next to him, after a couple beats of reflective silence

“You don’t.. Feel loved?” Mo begins awkwardly, looking at everything but he tians expression. 

He tian sighs and sits into the question “I don’t know. How is it supposed to feel like?”

“I dont know..” mo guan shan continued, rubbing the back off his neck

“Warm.. i guess. I feel that way with my ma, when she takes care of me. Other than that, I don’t really know.” They both sit back and watch the sky above the city from He tians pent house. The stars were gleaming in the night and the city life was loud under the darkness.

He tian sighs. “Warm. ” he breathes out, relaxing his gaze

 “I guess, i’m feeling it right now then.” 

He tian looks to the left and watches as Mo guan shans eyes widen again, he can never get tired of those cute, shy expressions.

Mo, to his mistake, turns to the right and catches he tians gaze on him. The same way he was looking at him before, but it was more intense this time.

His heartbeat speeds up, he feels hot from the inside, flustered, embarrassed and… he doesn't know what else, something tingling.

“I guess…” He tian continues, while looking into Mo's auburn eyes “that means I love you.”

Both their eyes widen and they lean back from eachother in shock. Confusion, fear arising. Mo guan shan for one, did not know how to feel. Disgust, confusion, judgement, all these emotions were spiraling within his body,  he froze there paralyzed, unknowing of how to react or respond, 

“I..” He tian started, trying to cover, to fix what he just said “I mean uhh..” After desperate attempts to reorganize his mind, he just sighed and dropped his shoulders down in defeat.

“I’m sorry” He whispers “that was probably too much, I dont even know what I’m doing.” he says exasperately, running his hands through his hair. He’s shaking. “You probably want to go home now.” He tian has made things worse, He wanted Mo guans shan to stay, but didn’t know how to calmly deal with his presence if it’s not getting overly emotional and attached all the time. He knows he has to learn to give him space, to breathe and relax, but He tian likes being around him too much. He has no self control.

“I’ll call you a cab. ” He tian begins to stand up from the couch when he feels something pull at his jacket, mo guan shans hand tugging at his sleeve. Both remain still, so much calculation, overanalyzing in the air, they dont know how to stop

Mo guan shan then retreat his hand hurriedly and coughs awakwardly,

“It’s fine.. It’s fine okay? Let’s just watch a movie.

He tians shoulders slump in relief. Thank god, he didn’t mess up his chance to be with him. Okay.. he can handle a movie. He can control himself.

“Okay,” He tian whispers and sits back on the couch, tentative seconds pass and he asks “uh.. What movie?” Mo guan shan seems flustered too, overly conscious of his presence.

“I dont know. I’m assuming you dont watch movies. let’s just scroll through netflix and see whats good.”

Netlfix and chill? He tian almost says but he stops himself, he know it’s too soon to be making jokes like that.

Guan Shan takes out his phone and begins scrolling

“Uh.. fast and the furious?” He asks. He tian shrugs “Sure.” He doesnt really care for it, but if Guan Shan wants it, he’s alright with that.

They begin to watch the movie and He tian notices something. Mo keeps casting looks at him throughout the movie. He hastedly flicks his gaze back onto the movie before he is caught, but it still evokes his curiosity

“What?” he tian laughs at his shyness

“Uh.. arent you cold? It’s like 30 degrees in here.”

He tian shrugs “Nah, I’m used to it.” he replies and he watches as Guan shans face contorts, his eyebrows strewn together

“What the fuck? You’re shaking.” He tian notices how he actually is cold, and is happy that guan shan took awareness of this

“Warm me up then, little Mo” He tian wiggles his eyebrows and to his surprise Mo guan shan, stands up and walks towards his bed. 

“Where are you going”

“Shutup  ” he was responded with

Moguan shan then came back with a big cover blanket and He tian insides swirl in excitement, awe and fondness.

Shan sits back on the couch, with an indignant expression in his face, cheeks flushed and to his surprise, places the blanket gently on He tians body. He tian was frozen, in shock, overwhelmed with happiness.

“What about you?” He tian asks, more like a statement than a question

“Im fine.” Shan replies still feeling really embarrassed and was about to pick up his phone to continue watching when he feels two warm hands cover him under the blanket. Mo stiffens, his shoulders tense, but then he relaxes into it, his body  welcoming the warmth. It was almost, as if he was overthinking the whole thing. As if this is what he wanted all along. He feels protected almost. Safe. 

Mo guan shan then feels two hands touch at his face and he looks to the left to see he tian smiling happily.

 “Now we’re both warm. ”

The implication of his words sent another shiver down his spine. Did he feel warm? I guess he did, he was just too busy fighting to feel it. 

“Y-yeah. I… feel warm” He tians smile.. If even possible, widened some more and insexplanably, surprisingly, tears starting welling up at the corner of his eyes until He tian began to cry. Quiet snuffles, he turned his head away slightly, snuggling deeper into the blanket, shaking. He felt loved, so so loved

“H-hey.. What- what happened? Dont cry.” Mo guan shan shifts closer to he tian and takes his wet face in his hands, he feels the tears running down his cheeks, “It’s okay” Mo whispered quietly and he tian leans into his touch, then leans into mo guan shans body and tucks his face under the crook of his neck. Mo stiffens up, feels the wetness at his skin. Without thinking, He reaches his hands up and softly strokes he tians hair. 

“I’m here” he says which made he tian cry even more.

Mo guan shan wasnt sure what was going on, all he knew is that he felt a deep fondness for He tian, and he wanted to shield him from all his fears. He wanted to stay. With him. 

After a few minutes, he tian calms down and guan shan feels fingers attempting to interlock with his, beneath the blanket,. Hesitant, shy, he interlocks them. It feels like home

“Stay with me, forever” he tian whispers, guttural, rough and gentle

Mo guan shan settles further into the warmth of of the blanket and rubs his thumb over He tians hand. Warm.

“Alright” he says

He feels warm

[crescentsteel]

Just Friends - Part 7

plot: fubu set up with Kuroo , model fem reader warnings: sexual tension, slow burn word count: 7.2k 

A.N:

- Finally!! I'm so glad to finally release this. October was so hectic and I'm a very slow writer. - I'm so sorry for the mistakes on the previous chapters. No one beta reads for me. So I went back and edited Chapters 3-6. - So sorry for the word vomit on this chapter. I was out of control. - Thank you for all the nice comments!! I swear. They keep me fired up and inspired.  - As always, lmk if you want to be tagged in any of my works,

Part 6 | Part 8 |  m.list

“No! It’s not what you think!”

Kuroo almost laughs at how cliche you sounded, a typical response of someone who’s been caught red-handed. You’re about to chase Kenma, but he grabs your wrist to stop you.

“Maybe you should wear your shirt before you go after ‘im.” He tries to hide the mirth in his expression and tone. Your face is so red, you look like you’re about to burst. He also doesn’t want to add up more to the awkwardness you might feel later, so he’s gonna let this one slide. He’ll just pretend that the massage thing was as harmless as it should be. 

You put your shirt in a jumble and walk briskly to Kenma. He follows at his normal pace, settling behind you when he catches up to you and Kenma.

“Sorry about that,” you laugh nervously. “He was just giving me a back massage.”

It was kinda the truth, but Kenma looks dubious. 

“It sounded more than a massage.”

He covers his lips with his back hand so he wouldn’t laugh. Although his rascal self wants to tease you more, he can’t let you feel any more embarrassed than this. He looks at Kenma and shakes his head minutely with a knowing look, hinting not to push the subject any further. 

“Naah. Y/n here is just really stressed so she moans like she’s being fucked.” Okay, maybe he couldn’t completely let it slide after all. 

You irritatedly look at him and punch his arm with more force than usual. “Piss off,” you hiss. 

He dramatically rubs the arm you just hit. “Ow! So violent.”

Kenma ignores the antics and just passes by you two. He’s about to plop himself on the couch, but pauses. He instead gets a chair and seats himself there.

You couldn’t overlook that. Obviously, in Kenma’s mind, you and Kuroo were doing something indecent there so he doesn’t want to be in it. You want to clear it up to Kenma that you really weren’t doing anything of that sort. Well, you were about to pounce on Kuroo, but still, it didn’t actually happen. 

In a way, you’re relieved that Kenma interrupted at the right time. You might have done something you will harrowingly regret afterwards.

“Don’t sweat it, y.n. He just misinterpreted it.” Kuroo’s unusually magnanimous today. It’s strange. He wouldn’t have lived this down on a regular day. Maybe it's because of your no sex relationship? Still, this is aberrant of him. He shouldn’t fail to notice how that last  moan of yours was not of comfort. 

“Right?” He adds, his eyes gauging your own.

So that’s how it is. He is aware. But he’s giving you the option to disregard what just almost happened. You’re relieved, but also confused at the tiny shards of disappointment prickling in your chest. This is what you wanted, for you to avoid sex and Kuroo in the same room. It shouldn’t be confusing.

You look down and break away from the eye contact. You put a hand on your hip and the other on your temple, which then moves to brush your hair back.

With a long, audible puff, you speak.

“Of course, it was nothing,” you return to his gaze with a dry expression to camouflage the lie behind your words. But at the same time, you also wait for him to say something or for his eyes to show something other than indifference. You don’t know what it is you want or expect, but you wait for it. You’ll know it when you see it. 

It doesn’t come though as he shrugs it off like it was nothing. 

Disappointed, that’s what you are. You don’t like the feeling, but you are.

—

You ring your driver again, hoping that this time he’ll finally answer. If he doesn’t get to you any soon, you’ll be late for your shoot. You can’t be late for this shoot in particular. Mitsuki’s the creative director. She’s a very pleasant one, but she absolutely hates tardiness. No exceptions. She gets all sour and crank when someone’s late. 

The other end of the line picks up. “Ms l/n. I’m so sorry. One of the tires got flat. I need to change it, but I’m still stuck in traffic.”

Of all the days to get a flat tire on a heavy traffic, it had to be this day. You exhale heavily to clear the irritation getting under your skin. 

“How long before you’re here?”

“I think about an hour, Ms.”

You aren’t the type to get mad at hired help, but you’re really in a pinch. In an hour, you should be in hair and make up already, not arriving only then. Mitsuki gets enraged when someone’s 15 minutes late. To be late an hour, you can’t imagine how she’d be. There’s no way you’re going to wait here for an hour.

“Don’t come anymore. Just get it fixed.” You say coldly before you end the call. It wasn’t the driver’s fault. You wouldn’t bother getting a driver if your car hadn’t been acting up recently. Being dumb this morning, you forgot about your busted car and was late in this morning’s meeting with a client. You found yourself brisk walking in heels at the hotel’s lobby earlier just to save yourself from any more delayed minutes. And now, even your driver’s car is jacked up. 

“Y.n?”

You turn around at the recognizable calm voice you heard. It’s Kenma, except he wasn’t alone. Kuroo is right there beside him. It was kind of weird to see them together at this place and both in business wear. 

“What’re you two doing here?” 

“I’m working with Kenma here to sponsor our next promotional video.”

You just stared at the two of them. You’re used to the three of you just fooling around when you’re together. Meeting like this when you’re all in the middle of doing your jobs is something new to you. 

“And who might you be giving a hard time on the phone, hmm y.n.?”

They heard that? They must both be near while you were getting bummed out from being late this morning and potentially late this afternoon. 

“Ah! I need to go. My driver can’t make it. I’m going to be late,” you spiral back to your hectic schedule. “Bye.” You give them a quick wave, and despite your heels, you walk as fast as you could towards the entrance of the hotel. 

You try to hail cabs that were passing by, but almost every cab was occupied. And for some reason, someone always managed to get the empty cabs before you can even spot them. To worsen your luck, it began to rain. You frantically tap your left foot on the concrete as the panic sets in you.

Mitsuki’s gonna kill me.

You bite your lip and contemplate how you’re going to arrive in the venue on time. The answer you found made you turn back on your heels to go back inside the hotel, only to find them already there behind you. 

“You’re here,” you exhale, relieved that they haven’t gone anywhere out of your sight. “I’m in a bind. Can anyone give me a ride?” 

The two men exchanged pithy looks, but you don’t bother figuring out what that could’ve meant. You just need the help you typically won’t ask for since you’re always doing things on your own.

“I can’t. I have a stream coming up. Sorry, y.n.” Kenma first spoke. You shift to Kuroo, hoping that he can give you the time of day. “Yea, sure. Am free for the rest of the day actually.” He says with a brief smile. 

“Oh, thank God!” The panic and nerves were clearing out of your system. Despite the awkwardness of your previous massage fiasco, right now, you’re glad that he can help. 

“Bye, then.” Kenma quickly took his leave as the hotel valet stepped out from his car and handed him his keys. 

“Should we go now?” Kuroo asked. “Aren’t we waiting for your car?” “No. I don’t want strangers handling my car.” “Then why did you go here?”

Amusement shows on his face at your question. “I saw your cute attempt to hail a cab. Is that how rich kids do it? Let someone else steal their ride for them?” You smile sweetly, disgustingly sweet, then roll your eyes before saying, “Let’s just go.”

You told him the location of the shoot. The drive was comfortable as you both share work conversations with your usual banters on the side. Being friends with Kuroo is confusing and reassuring at the same time. With the history you two shared, you need to tread the waters of your friendship carefully every once in a while. If it wasn’t the sexual tension, it was the affection you felt towards him that would sometimes seem like resurfacing. Even with all that, you can’t bear to walk away from what you presently have. You feel like you really found genuine company with him and Kenma.

“We’re here. Let me just get an umbrella.” He looks back to the back seat and stretches his right arm to reach for it. The current angle of his face emphasized his sharp jaw and the length of his neck. You were just thinking how you need to tread carefully, but easier said than done when you know exactly how your fingers have grazed that jaw, how your tongue has tasted that neck, and much more. 

“What’s taking you so long? I might as well get drenched from the rain,” you snap because you can’t stand your own indecent thoughts. 

“Found it.” He says and returns to his normal sitting position. “Why the hell are you suddenly cranky? Geez.” You feel bad for being suddenly grouchy. He was just being nice and you were being nasty for reasons you can’t tell him. “Sorry. Just don’t want to be late,” you apologized.

He shrugs it off nonchalantly. “Hey. Where’s my umbrella?” You ask when you see him reaching for the door with only one umbrella in his hand. 

“We’re sharing this. I only have one.”

You purse your lips to the side and sharply avert your eyes elsewhere, your irritation resurfacing again. You feel uncomfortable with the idea of being that physically close to him. You’ve pushed the massage incident behind, but that doesn’t mean you’ve forgotten about it. 

“What is up with you? What are you so pissed about?”

“Nothing. Can we go now?”

He stares at you for a good 3 seconds before getting out and opening his umbrella. He moves to your side of the vehicle and opens the door. You get out and try to avoid any raindrops. He closes the door and presses his car keys to lock the vehicle. 

You both start to walk towards the entrance of the place. You’ve never felt more awkward in your life. You’re avoiding getting past the edge of the umbrella while also avoiding Kuroo’s body. 

“Why is your umbrella so small?” 

“The heck are you talkin about? This is the standard size.”

You don’t answer him. The umbrella isn’t small. He’s just huge and his whole body occupied almost all the space under the shade. You flinch when he suddenly grabs you by the shoulder and pulls you close, so close that you can feel the firmness of his body pressed onto yours. 

You raise your gaze to him with a raised eyebrow. 

“You’re gonna get wet if we don’t huddle closer.” You could accept his reason, if only you didn’t catch the miniscule curl of his lips and the skittish glint in his eyes. It was so typical of him really. Maybe you should stop being so worked up all the time. 

“Fine.” Even though he was messing you, you can’t deny that it’s much more comfortable. You’re safe from the rain and his body provided heat from the coldness of the downpour.

He doesn’t do or say anything more as you both get to the doorway of the bar where the shoot will be held. He puts down the umbrella when you reach the shade of the building. Before you’re able to get away from Kuroo’s hold, the door opens. Mitsuki was holding her phone to her ear when she met your eyes. 

“I was calling you and you weren’t — oh.” Her eyes flew to the hand on your shoulder and traveled to its owner. “Well, well, y/n. You leave for a good while, then come back loaded.” You can always count on Mitsku to not hold her tongue. You gently release yourself from Kuroo’s hold to avoid looking defensive. “It’s not like that,” was your thrift reply. 

“Kuroo, this is Mitsuki, my creative director for today, sometimes my friend too. Mitsuki, this is Kuroo.” 

Both of them exchange casual greetings for meeting the first time. 

“How come you mention our relationship, but not yours?” referring to you and Kuroo. You sigh. “He’s also a friend.” You turn to Kuroo and thank him for the ride and his time. 

“Is your driver picking you up?” he asked.

You seal your eyes shut at your own stupidity. Because you were panicking and irritated, you sent your driver home. You open them again and purse your lips in a straight line. “No. I’ll just take a cab.”

“With your cab-hailing skills in this rain? Good luck with that.” he snorts. “Haha. Real funny.” From the corner of your eyes, you see Mitsuki with an entertained grin on her face, obviously enjoying the exchange between you and Kuroo. 

“Call me when you’re done. I’ll come pick you up then.” You want to protest but it will just drag on. You don’t want Mitsuki seeing more of the dynamics of your relationship, so you thriftly say “Okay.”

“Kuroo-san, right?” Both of you shift your attention to Mitsuki. “Actually, we need a male model because the scheduled one today is a total wimp and cancelled last minute.” She shamelessly eyed Kuroo from head to toe. So that’s why she was about to call you. The shoot was cancelled. 

When she looks at you, you mouth the word “no” to let her know that she shouldn’t do what you think she’s about to do. The reaction you got was her smiling widening before speaking to Kuroo. “Do you have an agent? Can we talk over the phone right now to discuss?”

That’s when you step forward. “Uhhh. He’s not a model. He used to be a volleyball player, hence the height and build.” You say defensively. You nudge Kuroo with your elbow so that he’ll back you up, but he doesn’t say anything. He’s just there waiting for Mitsuki’s next words. 

“An athlete, I see.” She nods approvingly. “That’s perfect! I don’t have to talk to anyone. It’s completely up to you then.”

“Errr. I don’t really know anything about modeling. Sorry.”

Your relief was short-lived when she tugs you to her direction and grips both of your shoulders. “Then your friend here can guide you. She’ll be your co-model anyways.” 

He probably figured out by now why you were so apprehensive during the conversation just now. You don’t want him as your co-model. 

His grin just confirmed your thoughts. “I’ll go for it then.” His eyes sparkling with mischief made you surrender. You already admit defeat in your head even though the shoot is just about to start. 

You both get in hair and makeup. Being a woman, you take longer to finish. The clothes the stylists are arranging on you are taking while as well.  They let you wear a very long, elegant gold dress that fits your upper body like your second skin, but the material is flowy from your waist down. When you arrive at the set, he’s already there talking with Mitsuki while waiting for you. Mitsuki notices you first. “Alright! We’re good to go.”

When Kuroo faces you, you almost don’t recognize him. His usual emo bangs were gone. They brushed his hair up cleanly. The suit he was wearing earlier was replaced by gray slacks and white long sleeve polo that has two top buttons open. You have conflicted feelings towards the hair and make up staff that did the work. They did a remarkable job with his overall style. He does look like a model like this. But also, why the hell did they make him look this damn good? The regular Kuroo was bad enough for you.

“This feels weird. I feel like I have too many things on me.” You scowl at his remark. “Too many? Wanna try being a girl?” He’s about to retort but Mitsuki claps twice which calls both of your attention.

“So our client is a liquor brand and the theme is something like wild love at the bar. What I want is you two giving the impression of having a passionate first encounter while you’re out drinking. Give me something and we’ll work it out as we go on, mkay?” 

You knew you’d be working with a male model for this brand, but you didn’t expect that they’d go with something like this. You thought it was just going to be glamour shots to showcase the drink.

But what Mitsuki said, ‘Wild love at the bar’?? That is not something you’d want to be doing with him. It reminded you of the first night you met. 

“I’m all ears on what to do, y/n” His haughty smile doesn’t help the situation one bit. You take a deep breath. This is not the time to muck around. You’re the experienced one, so you’ll be taking the lead. “Swear to me that you’ll take this seriously.” You glare at him, no trails of humor apparent. The change in his demeanor surprised you. You forgot how intimidating he can get when he’s serious. You’re so used to him being an idiot all the time that it catches you off guard. But for today, you’re glad to have it.

You explain to him how the whole shoot will go. For the first shot, you ask a staff member for a chair and tell Kuroo to sit on it. “Get the glass with the liquor and look at the camera while holding it.” He did as you told, except he has this perplexed look on his face with a noticeable discomfort from the way his lips curled in a corner. 

“On second thought, maybe this is a bad idea,” he said after trying the first time. You want to agree with him, but the shoot is already happening. You just want to get over it already since you’re already there. “Nooo. Uh-uh.” Mitsuki’s tone took a sharp turn. She wasn’t happy with what Kuroo said. “Just imagine you’re in a bar, chilling with your favorite drink and you just snagged the hottest girl in the place.” 

“Hottest girl aka me,” you comment on her instruction. That seemed to work because he changed back to his normal self and looked at you with amusement. “Just like the night we met, huh?” He said it low enough for only you to hear, but you still glanced nervously to Mitsuki if she caught any of it.  

“That’s a nice expression, Kuroo! Keep looking at her like that.” You ease up since it looks like she didn’t hear it. You put your elbow on his shoulder and tilt your hips to give your waist an S curve while angling your body towards him at the same time. You lift your chin up a bit and look at the camera with parted lips.

“Yep. Looking good dear.” Mitsuki signals the photographer to start taking the shots. You both slightly alter your angles so the pose will have variations. Sometimes you look at Kuroo, smile flirtatiously at him, or look at the camera in a sultry way. Every time you two would look at each other, you’d ‘cheat’ and look at the bridge of his nose to give the illusion that you’re actually looking at his eye. 

While looking at the shots from a separate screen, she suddenly asks the photographer to stop. You both straighten your bodies while awaiting instructions.  “It looks nice,” she said before looking at your direction. “But it’s boring. There’s nothing wild about it.”  You space out for a bit because for the first time, you don’t know how to proceed. You’re used to fashion shoots and runway. You’ve never had an ad with this theme. “Y.n, dear, can you be a bit aggressive towards him?”

You raise your eyebrow from disbelief. “A-aggressive?”

Mitsuki nods. “Throw yourself at him, dominate him, take control. mkay?” You feel a bit pressured when she’s just looking at you two and waiting for you to start posing for the camera. You don’t have a solid idea in your head, but you just go for it. You try to prop yourself up on the bar counter, but your dress won’t allow you.

Kuroo notices your dilemma and gets up from his seat. “You could’ve asked for help, you know.” He positions himself in front of you and grabs your waist. His hands were strong yet gentle. With your palms still on the surface of the counter, he lifts you up while you put weight on your arms so you can usher yourself properly. You’ve been deliberately avoiding his gaze, but right now, your eyes are glued to his face. 

“Yes. Like that.” You both flick your gaze towards Mitsuki. “Do that.” She instructs the photographer to move the side so the angle of the shot captures you both without him blocking you completely. You realize the position you two have. “I agreed to this to make you uncomfortable, but I’m not gonna lie. I’m the one extremely uncomfortable right now.” Kuroo whispers with a hint of regret on his face. The camera flashes start going off but something clicked between the two of you that you two end up laughing. It’s probably the awkwardness and the nerves that’s been hanging on the air that something so shallow as Kuroo admitting his uneasiness, cracked you both up.

It was just a brief exchange of laughter but you feel relaxed. Even though Mistuki is pretty cool for a creative director, she’s still as serious as any professional. So when you see her smiling as you apologized for the delay, you’re a bit shocked.

“No worries dear. Let’s continue then.”

You feel more confident now. You’re you. The reason you became successful on an international level is because of your professionalism and ability to produce quality results.

From being seated on the counter, you’re a few centimeters taller than Kuroo. That completed the idea in your head. You took the glass drink and placed it on your right hand. “Put your hands on my hips,” you tell him then lightly lift his chin with your index finger, “and look at me like you worship me.” The command earned a raised eyebrow from him but you pay no heed to it.

You extend an arm over his right shoulder, the glass dangling on your fingertips. With your index finger on his chin, you look to the camera with provocative eyes. If anything looks wrong with Kuroo, you’ll just let Mitsuki handle it. After all, she’s the one who asked him to be a part of this. 

“Oh yea! That’s really good.” Compared to before, she looks pleased with the shots now. The pose was captured a few times before she speaks again. “Instead of using your finger, grab his hair to tilt his head back.” You comply immediately and tugs his locks downwards. You might’ve done it a bit rougher than you wanted because you heard a raspy grunt from his throat. You got distracted, so instead of looking at the camera, you look at him. 

You regret it. When you said he should look at you with worship, you didn’t think he’d do it this well. Because his hair is pushed completely all the way back, you see every aspect of his face. Nothing was blocking his eyes that were full of yearning and desire. He’s looking at you like you’re not just the hottest girl in the bar, but the most beautiful person he’s ever laid eyes one. 

“Pull him closer and look here y.n.” You do as you’re told, thankful that you needed to look somewhere else. “Damn. You two look so good right now.” She gently claps her hands while looking at the monitor.

“I’m already satisfied, but let’s just do one more for another option. Umm, Kuroo. You be the aggressor this time. Y/n, …. you know what to do.” She winks after.

Well, not really you don’t. She just wants you to do the thinking on what to do. You put the glass down and put both your hands on his shoulders. “Help me down?” You ask with an easygoing smile. You don’t want to ruin the momentum of the shoot, so you decide to be nice to him for now. 

 “You got it,” then his hand travels up your waist and guides you down back to the floor. You tell him to lean on the counter. He follows with no complaints. You get his arm and ushers him to wrap it on your waist. When he goes along with your silent instruction, you raise your leg to his side.   

“Tug my skirt up to my thighs.”

He doesn’t react and just squints at you.. “Huh?” Since he did not grasp what you meant, you take it to yourself to do it and slowly gather the material at the ends. Then, you yank it up to your thigh. “Get it?” He whistles as he gets the cloth from your hands. “Hey. Don’t do that. If you’re a real model, you’d be in trouble if I report that behavior.”

“But I’m not a real model, am I?” You glare at his provocation. You won’t be having any of his crap at your workplace. “Kuroo,” you say with a menacing glare and he immediately gets the threat behind it. “My bad, my bad. I’ll behave again, kay? Stop scowling now.” You relax your face and take a deep breath. “Moving on then.” You enclose your left arm on his neck while you plant your right on his chest. You don’t want to direct him any further than this. If this is unsatisfactory, Mitsuki will say something. 

Aaaand she does. “Kuroo-san. Aggressive please. Own her. You don’t want her to get away from you.” Upon hearing Mitsuki’s additional instructions, everything about him intensifies three folds. He pulls you even closer, causing your breath to hitch when his face is dangerously near yours all of a sudden. His sleeves don’t do anything to mask the firmness of his arms. And even with the velvet fabric, you can still the strength of his thighs as they’re pinned on yours. The heat of his hand ignited the skin of your thigh as he clutched the fabric and your flesh forcefully. And his eyes, they no longer worship you. They spoke of something similar, but not quite. 

He wants to devour you whole. 

It was too overwhelming for you, so you look away and close your eyes dramatically to make it seem like you’re being swept away in the moment. After one camera flash, “Okay dear, but I need you to look at him this time.”

The few seconds of breaking away from his fiery stare did you some good. You were able to collect yourself again, but not enough to truly look at him. You just focus your gaze right between his eyes as you did earlier.  

“Nooo. When I said look at him, I meant really look at him. Respond with your own passion. You’re looking a bit of a scared vegetable right now, honey.” You’ve never had feedback like that in forever. Maybe when you tried modeling the first few months, you received something similar to that. But never when you started doing it full time. 

You don’t want to, but you have to. You finally meet his gaze and tap into something inside yourself that you’ve been holding back. You let your desire for him deluge you, let it surge through your veins until you’re aching for him. You push yourself even closer to him, not allowing even air to pass between your bodies. 

“Yes! YES! You want him so much, but you shouldn’t.” 

It was just as she said. You want him so much, so much that it almost hurts. You part your lips slightly as you get lost in the moment.

“Oh my God.” Her words sounded distant. It was there. You can hear it, but what clouded your senses was your heart pounding hard against your chest, his hot breath mingling with yours, and the way his eyes are now devoted to your lips. Not long after, he angles his face so that your lips are almost touching. Just a tiptoe and a kiss will already take place. You clench your fingers on his shirt, holding yourself back from that one tiny push that will allow you to feel his lips on yours again. 

“Holy Shit! HOLY SHIT! That was it. That was the money shot.” Mitsuki’s shrill voice which was followed by her squeal broke the trance you were in. You know what she meant. The shoot is done. Yet, you still feel hot. The heated atmosphere around you two still hasn’t caved in. He let go of your thigh as you put some space away from him. You settle your hands on his shoulders while you rest your forehead on his chest. He doesn’t move either. His hand remains on your waist, but without the force this time. With his other hand, he caringly skims the curve of your shoulder. 

“You okay, kitten?”

His voice is so gentle, you nearly convince yourself that it sounded loving. You nod weakly before heading back to the dressing room without saying anything. 

Kuroo’s gaze followed your back as you disappeared. He was amazed but also bothered at what just happened. You looked really into it, like you really wanted him. If the shoot didn’t finish any sooner, he might have closed that tiny gap that separated your lips from his. He’s been aching for you for so long that his control is slipping inch by inch every time there’s an opportunity to cross that line of friendship you set. When he saw you let go and completely relent within his hold, it was maddening at how he couldn’t have you at the moment. What’s worse is that even without the glamorous set, he knows you’re still not his to have. 

He walks towards the room where his clothes were hung and changes back to his usual suit. He asked the make up staff to remove everything on his face. He doesn’t like the feeling of having a layer of cosmetics on his skin. The hair they couldn’t do anything about because they used a lot of product to fix it up. 

When he gets out of the room, Mitsuki approaches him with a satisfied look on her face

“You did so well for someone with no experience at all. Do you have a card? I can hook you up for other gigs. You’ll do great.”

He smiles graciously at her generous offer, but he doesn’t want it. “Sorry, but I’m not really interested. I only did it cause it was her.” He said truthfully. Mitsuki’s mouth curled in amusement. “You know, y.n’s really good to work with. She always had this cool facade that never went down, and it works for her. We love her for it. But today,” she pauses as she gives him a meaningful look. “I’ve never seen her show such vulnerability and rawness. It was,” she sighs with admiration for you.

“Beautiful, wasn’t it?” He knows exactly what she’s saying. After all, he has seen several times how captivating your authenticity can be. 

“Soo, are you two dating or what?” Her eyebrows twitch up and down from anticipation at what he’s about to answer. He badly wants to say yes, but he doesn’t have that luxury. “Naaah. Like she said, I’m just a friend.”

She’s obviously dissatisfied with his response. He is too, but that’s the lousy truth. Out of the blue, she takes her phone out. “Too bad though. You two looked really good here.” She showed him the photo and it was you and him earlier. You were seated in the counter with your arms on his shoulders and his hands on your waist. It was when you were both laughing at his stupid statement.

“Can you send me that photo?”

“Why should I?”

He’s well aware of what she’s trying to do. It’s a business transaction, except for the lack of formality. She wants to get something in return, and he knows exactly what it is. 

“You’re good.” He admits with an impressed glint in his eyes.

“I am. So what’ll it be?” He knows that she knows she has the upperhand of the negotiation. She could probably tell that there’s something going on with the two of you. It’s just a matter of deciding which information to give her. But he didn’t have the fortune of having too many options. He didn’t want to reveal the nature of your relationship before. He wasn’t sure of your feelings for him. He can only speak for himself. 

“Fine. I sorta like her.” 

Her eyes brighten up. “Aha! I knew it. You should totally ask her out, kay? You’re gonna have tall and beautiful babies.” She put one hand on her cheek and closed her eyes while screeching at her own daydream of you and him getting together. When she calms down, she sends you the image file. “For real though. I’ve never seen her like that,” she points to your dazzling face in laughter in the photo. 

“Hey. What’re you two talking about?” You’re back to your normal clothes, but your hair and makeup was still there. 

“Nothing. Let’s go now?” He spoke immediately before your nosy director could say something. He walks to your direction before heading out together. “Bye! Update me, Kuroo-san!” Mitsuki said as she waved goodbye. You couldn’t help but be curious on what he should update her about. 

The rain stopped so no more umbrella horseplay. When you both get inside his car, you immediately ask him, “What was that about?”

“Uhh. She asked if I wanted to do other modeling projects.”

“Do you?”

He didn’t hesitate before answering, “No. That sort of stuff is not for me. I only did it to piss you off.” He starts the engine, then pivots his body to face you. “I must say though. I enjoyed seeing you eyefuck me.” Just when you are getting used to the peaceful, non-smug Kuroo, his true personality kicks right back in. Good thing you took your time getting changed and basically just calmed yourself down. 

“Glad you did. That’s the most you can get from me after all.”

His smile turned upside down at your remark. “Tch.” Your lips tug upwards at the side from his lack of retaliation. 

“I haven’t told you yet, but it wasn’t my first modeling experience.” 

You’re a bit surprised. Even though he has the appearance of a model, you didn’t think he’d do it. You agree with what he said just a while ago. It wasn’t for him. He’s best at his job right now. 

He gets his phone and scrolls up. He must be looking for a photo to show you as proof. When you see his screen, your heart swells. It was you and him a year ago. The neckline of your shirt was pulled to your shoulder for a makeshift off-shoulder while he knotted his t-shirt to form a crop top. You two wore large smiles while posing silly in front of the cam. It was right after when you told him that you’re a model.

“I- you... umm. You kept these?” You swipe the screen and see every single photo you took that day. Not one was deleted. You remember the laughter and absurd joy behind each frame. 

“Yea. Why wouldn’t I?”

One more swipe and there’s no other photo after yours. That’s when you notice that the photos are in the Favorites album. You felt like you were about to tear up. You’ve never felt so cherished in your whole life. Even though you left without saying a proper goodbye and no indication of going back, he still kept them. You tried so hard to forget about him, yet there he was, keeping these small tokens of what you had - proof that you really had been a part of his life.You felt something inside you crumble piece by piece. You should be scared, but at the moment, you don’t feel any fear. Instead, you were enraptured. 

You can feel your cheeks hurting from how wide your grin is. You don’t bother hiding it from him. 

“Can you send these to me?” You turn to him with the smile still plastered on your face, but he frowns at your question. 

“Those photos came from you.” 

You look back at his phone, your big smile reduced into a faint one that’s traced with melancholy. “I deleted them when I went to the US.” If he asks why, you wouldn’t know how to answer. Fortunately, he doesn’t. He gets his phone back from your hand and fiddles with it a bit. A few seconds later, you hear a notification from your own phone. When you open it, all the photos are sent to you. 

He looks at you warmly, his face devoid of anything but heartfelt fondness. “There. Like you never got rid of them.”

---

You lie on your bed with bottomless thoughts that night. Kuroo’s words weighed more than they should in your head as you stare at the photos. 

You deleted them to completely erase any trace of his existence in your life. Now they’re back in your phone with not a single photo missing from the stack. Ironically, it’s also you who asked for them back. Yet, you don’t mind. You came to accept that those memories existed. They happened. There’s no use trying to forget they did when he’s already back in your life anyways.

Looking at you and Kuroo in the images, you can’t avoid thinking how simple those times were. You were just two cool people who had sex for fun. You had no clue things would happen as they did - falling for him, leaving, and for some reason - destiny or whatever, meeting him again. The past you tried to leave behind crept up to you and there wasn’t anything you could do about it.

You thought you’ve moved on. You’ve thoroughly convinced yourself that you’ve disposed of all unnecessary emotions that involved Kuroo. You thought that whatever it is that you felt when you met him again was just remnants of yesterday. You were so wrong. That‘s just what you tried to tell yourself, repeating the idea over and over in your head until you believed it. 

But it never really happened. You haven’t forgotten about him. When you went on dates in the U.S., you’d remember him. So you stopped trying to see anyone and attributed that to being scared of getting hurt again. Hence, you shut yourself out to anyone until you no longer found dating to be interesting. You told yourself getting in a relationship would just get in the way of your career. 

That wasn’t true. 

The truth is just as he said. Your feelings for him are still there, you never did get rid of them. The question now is how to proceed from here.

You jerk when your phone rings right at your hand. 

‘Kuroo’

You don’t want to answer it. You basically just admitted to yourself that you’re still in love with him. Hearing his voice right now would be dangerous for your fragile heart.

But it might be something important. He doesn’t usually call.

You press the answer button. You were about to say hello, but your heart was beating so fast that you were unable to get any word out.

“Hello?”

You swallowed the lump in your throat so you could speak. “Yeah?”

“Is something wrong? You sound a bit off?” How he could tell even through a phone call is unbelievable. “Everything’s fine. Why’d you call anyways?” You do your best to sound normal. “Block your Thursday next week. I’m throwing a party.”

“What for?”

“Mmm. Just felt like having one.”

You minimize the call to check your calendar if you had any plans that day. “Alright. I have an event in the morning, but that night’s free.”

“Nice!!” He sounded a bit too glad. 

“Is that why you called?” It’s a bit suspicious that he rang you just for that. It’s just a party. He could’ve texted you instead. 

“Why? Am I not allowed to call when I want to?” Your heart skips a beat from the playful tone in his voice. You picture him smirking on his phone while he’s lying in bed. You bite your lip at the image in your head. 

Screw you and your stupid imagination. 

“Good night, Kuroo.” You said dismissively. It doesn’t seem like he’s going to say anything else important anyways. He chuckles from the other line before speaking so ever softly with tenderness that gives you butterflies in your stomach.

“Good night, kitten.” 

It was just a simple good night but you were reeling. You fight the smile that was forcing itself to form on your lips. You look at your photos one more time and sigh. 

You are so in love with him. 

On the other end, Kuroo is all smiles to himself. Nothing beats hearing your voice after a long day. Once again, he stares at the photo Mitsuki gave him that afternoon. He wishes it was real. He wishes you were smiling for him, laughing with him, and happy with him. If only you gave any indication that you like him more than a friend, he would’ve made his move. 

Even though he knows you still desire him, he wouldn’t settle for just sex. He doesn’t want a repeat of the past. He wants something further than that and more importantly, you deserve better than that. But so far, he could tell you were enjoying the friendship and companionship only. Even if he wanted to take things forward, he’s not sure that that’s what you want. You haven’t given anything away for him to make his move. He doesn’t want to risk it and have you running for the hills. 

Will he ever make you fall for him? Should he just leave things as is or do something bolder for you to realize that to him, you’re not just a friend?

He sighs. 

He’s so in love with you.

Part 6 | Part 8 |  m.list

taglist: @lia-faerie-queen​ @mkkhaikyuu @fastidious-and-precise @winunk @feelkindahorny @cece-lives-here @babythotshq​ @arendizzle​

[jjk-emotrash]

Blood and Gasoline - Chapter 12

Type: Mafia!AU

Group/s: Mainly BTS, Got7, Blackpink

Pairing: Yoongi x Reader (OC), Jikook x Reader (OC)

Safety: NSFW

Warnings (Whole Fic): Swearing, Violence, Prostitution, Misogyny/Anti-Feminist Views, Torture, Smut, Non-Con/Rape, Death, SOME Fluff

Driving down into town Y/N was giddy with anticipation, ready for whatever the men had in store for her. Jimin decided to call a cab to take them instead of driving himself, wanting to fully enjoy the night. Sat between them in the back of the taxi, Y/N felt her stomach flutter - she wasn't used to getting dates from one man, let alone two at the same time. Jimin rested a hand just above her knee as she leaned her head on his shoulder, and Jungkook had his fingers laced with hers, simply enjoying each others companionship as soft music from the radio played on the background. After half an hour, the taxi pulled up in front of a charming restaurant, with vines growing up the walls, lit by candelabras attached the old building, like something out of a fairytale. Jungkook paid the taxi driver before guiding Y/N to the entrance where they were met by an older lady.

"Ah, Jungkook, Jimin - it's good to see you again!" she spoke warmly, greeting the men as old friends.

"You too, Eunjin," Jimin replied with a full grin.

"And I see you've brought someone with you?" Eunjin looked Y/N up and down appreciatively making her smile.

"This is Y/N, our date for the evening," Jungkook introduced, "Y/N this is Eunjin, she's basically family to us and owner of the restaurant."

"It's lovely to meet you, your restaurant is beautiful." Eunjin grinned widely with a small chuckle.

"Thank you dear, so table for three, your usual spot?" Eunjin asked, leading the trio into the candle-lit restaurant.

"Yes, please," Jimin said excitedly before leaning in to Y/N and whispering "it's our own private balcony overlooking the city. We usually use it for official dinner's."

They came to a stop on said balcony and Y/N's breath caught.

"Oh my..." the view was beautiful, all the lights from the city bellow shone like fireflies in the night. The moon high in the sky above was curtained my the giant willow trees surrounding the restaurant. Jungkook pulled out a chair for her and as she sat was handed a menu by Eunjin.

“A waiter will be through momentarily to take your orders,” She spoke, smiling at the trio before leaving them alone.

“This place is…just, wow.” Y/N couldn’t find the words to properly express how she felt, eyes shining as she took in her surroundings. “It doesn’t feel real.”

“I thought the same on my first trip here,” Jungkook said contemplatively, scanning the menu as he did. “It was a few years ago now, I was still pretty new to the business. Yoongi paid for everything of course and I ate and drank until I could fit anything else in. Best nights sleep I’ve had in a while.”

“I remember my first trip, the Scorpions weren’t a thing back then, Taehyung was actually a close friend…” Jimins thoughts drifted before snapping back to reality, “But anyway, that’s a story for another night. This evening is about you. What do you like the look of?”

The menu had an eclectic mix of different foods, from Korean, to Italian, to Spanish, there was a lot to choose from, and all sounded delicious. By the time the waiter came through, young and looking nervous, Y/N had finally settled on an old favourite of hers that she spotted. The men ordered an expensive sounding bottle of champagne with their meals and told the waiter to, “keep it coming.”

They ate and drank and laughed for hours, getting drunk on champagne and full on the most amazing food Y/N had ever tasted. After getting a creamy dessert that Eunjin had suggested whilst coming through to check on them, they paid the check and headed into town. As they took the short walk down the hill to town in the moonlight, Y/N plucked the courage to ask about something she had been wondering about.

“So, what’s the deal with Taehyung? From the sound of it, it seems like he used to be a Viper?” Y/N asked as she swung her laced hand with Jimin’s by her side. The man sighed and ran his free hand through his hair as Jungkook kicked a rock down the hill. She had hit a nerve.

“Yeah, he was.” Jimin said, slightly irritated, “He left after Yoongi and Hoseok had their big argument, took Hoseok’s side.”

“Wait, what? What argument?” Y/N asked, confused.

“Hoseok used to be Yoongi’s right hand man. They did everything together, until one-night Hoseok snapped and tried to kill Yoongi.” Jungkook explained, frustrated, “I still don’t understand what actually happened though.”

“Nobody does,” Jimin shook his head, “I’ve tried to pull answers from Taehyung but he won’t budge. Either he’s taunting us or is just as clueless.”

“So no one in either gang knows why Hoseok snapped?” The men nodded.

“It’s a mystery to us all.” Jimin rubbed his temple as he thought hard. Y/N stopped in her tracks to kiss his temples softly, wanting to soothe him, before meeting his lips. He sighed into it and pulled her close, “That was better than the first time.” He smiled after pulling away and Y/N giggled.

“You’ve kissed before?! How did I not know about this?” Jungkook exclaimed, making Jimin laugh heartily at Jungkooks pouty expression.

“It was a while ago at the club, a drunken mistake on my part. I basically pounced on him,” Jimin nodded and blushed slightly remembering the night fondly, “He just wanted to convince me to come back to the house when I was staying with the girls cause you were getting irritable.” She put her hands on his chest as she spoke and he pulled her closer by her hips.

“Drunken mistake or not, I’ve still missed out,” Jungkook playfully stated brushed her nose with his.

“That’s easily fixed,” Y/N murmured before closing the gap between them and moulding their lips together. Her hands slid up his chest to tangle in his hair. He groaned she tugged slightly and let his hands fall down her body to squeeze her ass gently. The gasp she made allowing him to snake his tongue into her mouth. As they got lost in the kiss the world faded around them until, Jimin cleared his throat behind them. Now leaning against a light-post with his arms folded over his chest, Jimin had watched them intently, thoughts running wild.

“Let’s get into town before you two start fucking in the bushes.” Jimin slyly said with a shit-eating smirk. Y/N let out a noise that sounded halfway between a laugh and a gasp as Jungkook hit Jimin’s forearm playfully before his eyes dropped and he chuckled.

“Well, it looks like if we did, you’d want to join us.” Jungkook spoke, cocking up and eyebrow but Jimin didn’t flinch as he flirted back.

“You’d like that, though, wouldn’t you?”

“Shut up.”

“Okay, let’s get to a club, I need a drink.” Y/N laughed and continued walking down the hill into town.

The booming bass of the club surrounded them as people danced by but they hardly noticed. Y/N was locked between Jimin and Jungkook on the dancefloor of a small bar in town, grinding against them in the flashing lights. As soon as they found the bar they headed straight for the bar, got a round of shots then found themselves on the dancefloor. Her arms hung around Jimin’s neck in front of her as both his and Jungkooks hands slid up and down her waist and hips - pulling each other tighter as they danced.

Head falling back against Jungkook’s shoulder, he quickly took the chance to press his soft lips against her exposed neck and pulled a soft moan from her. Jimin smirked at the sight in front of him, catching her eyes now blown wide with lust. His hand reached out the cup the nape of her neck and pulled her lips to his, locking them in a passionate kiss; Jungkooks lips, still attached to the crook of her neck determined to replace the already fading marks previously left by Yoongi.

"Fuck, Y/N," Jimin moaned softly as she grinded harder against him, their foreheads now pressed together as his thigh slotted between her legs to gain more friction, his hands gripping her hips tightly.

"C'mere," she heard Jungkook whisper as he pulled away slightly to spin her round to face him, quickly attaching their lips as his chest connected with hers. Y/N could feel herself grow hotter and hotter as she tangled her hands in his hair, his tongue now stroking against hers. She pulled away breathless and felt wetness pool slightly in her underwear, suddenly becoming hyperaware of their surroundings. Luckily nobody else in the club had noticed, most in similar circumstances themselves.

"Let's get out of here, now." Y/N grabbed both of men’s hands and practically dragged them outside without a second thought to hail a taxi back home.

The journey back felt painfully long as the men traced her thighs and whispered all the things they wanted to do to her once they got back the mansion. She bit her lip to stop the whimpers from escaping as Jimins hand crept higher and rubbed gently at the apex of her thighs, so close to where she needed him.

"It'll be okay, baby," Jungkook softly spoke so only they could hear "You'll get what you need soon enough, we'll give you everything you want until your begging us to stop."

As the last few words fell out his mouth, Jimin pressed his thumb against her clothed clit, rubbing in slow circles and making Y/N squirm on her seat. The car pulled up to the gates just as Y/N was about to cum, and Jimin pulled his hand away from her completely with a sly grin. Y/N whined softy, pressing her thighs together, as the men chuckled either side of her opening the car doors. She slid out of the taxi, thanking the driver, as Jungkook paid and Jimin pressed in the password to unlock the gates.

They stumbled into Jimin’s bedroom, a mess of lips and limbs, trying to undress each other as quickly as possible – clothes thrown aside and shoes kicked off. As soon as the door was shut and locked, the men turned to face Y/N - now sat in the bed clad only in the lingerie that Lisa had picked out for her, leaning back against the soft mattress.

"Well, Jungkookie, look what we have here..." Jimin’s voice was thick with lust as his eyes traced the figure of the beautiful woman on his bed.

"She's sitting all prettily, ready for us." Jungkook stalked over to the bed, his shirt thrown to the side, exposing his toned torso, before crouching in front of her, fingers tracing her thighs, "What do you want, huh? Do you want Jimin to finish making you cum with his fingers? I know you were so close to finishing."

All she could do was nod as she locked eyes with Jungkook, unable to look away from his gaze as he stood up. Jimin came to take his place kneeling in front of her, as Jungkook rounded the bed to sit behind her, her back against his chest once more. She gazed down at Jimin as he ran his hands up her thighs before tugging down her panties and spreading her legs. The cold air against her made her back arch into Jungkooks chest as Jimin groaned at the sight of her wetness.

"So fucking wet, God your body is just begging to be touched," Jimin spoke as his kissed his way up her thighs, his thumb finding its spot back on her now fully exposed clit. She choked on a moan as Jungkook cupped her breasts and tugged at her hardened nipples now poking through her bra.

"Don't hold back baby, let us hear you," Jungkook encouraged as more moans slipped from Y/N's lips, two of Jimin’s fingers pushing knuckle deep into her as his lips replaced his thumb at her clit, sucking at it harshly. Her hands immediately went to Jimin’s head as he smirked up at her, his fingers pumping into her at a steady pace making moans fall from her lips uncontrollably. Jungkook disposed of her bra quickly and pulled harder at her nipples one hand as the other pulled her hair, exposing her neck again for him.

"Jimin...fuck, I'm so close..." Y/N bucked her hips against him gently as she grew closer and closer to release.

"Cum for me." He moaned against her pussy, as his fingers moved faster, tipping her over the edge with a load moan. He eased her though her orgasm before pulling back and leaning in for a kiss which she happily gave. Y/N reached immediately for his trousers and tugged them off along with his underwear as they kissed, finally freeing his hard cock.

"Jungkook, lay with her head against your chest, your head on the pillows." Jimin instructed between groans as he stroked his cock. "I want to fuck her from behind."

They immediately got into position on the bed, the remaining clothes now thrown in a pile with the others. Y/N kneeled with the ass high in the air, her head resting on Jungkooks abs, kissing and nibbling at the soft skin as Jimin gripped her hips from behind. She heard the tell-tale rip of a condom wrapper as Jungkook stroked her hair before she felt the head of Jimin’s cock pressing against her entrance.

"You can still back out, princess. We won't do anything you don't want to do." Jimin spoke softly all of a sudden, a hand tracing her body gently, leaning down to leave kisses along her spine

"I want this...please, fuck me, Jimin." She assured him, and he didn't need telling twice. The softness of a second ago now gone as he pushed himself into her with a throaty moan. Her nails clawed at Jungkooks chest at the feeling of him stretching her out, the burn feeling so damn good. His grip on her hips behind her tightened as he began thrusting into her at a brutal pace, steady but hard and hitting all the perfect spots inside her.

"Fuck! Jimin...you feel so fucking good..." Y/N moaned as he increased his pace slightly, chasing his high.

"Such a good girl for us, look at you, taking Jimin’s cock so well," Jungkook said as he cupped her face, eyes dark as he watched her ass jiggle with every thrust of Jimin’s hips. He moaned as Y/N wrapped a hand around his neglected cock and gently rolled his hips into her hand.

"Shit, Y/N, you're so tight around me - fuck, princess, you're going to make me cum so quickly." Jimin spoke through moans. The filthy words coming from their mouths only pushed her closer to orgasm again and soon her legs were shaking as she hit her high, moaning Jimin's name. He wasn't far behind, only a few more thrusts before he was spilling into the condom, as her name fell from his lips. He pulled out of her panting, before standing up and throwing the condom in the trash and passing a second to Jungkook, which he put on immediately.

Y/N straddled his hips before leaning down to kiss him, gently grinding her aching pussy along his hard cock. He wrapped his arms tightly around her waist as they passionately kissed. Once they pulled away, Jungkook positioned them on their sides facing each other, with one of her legs hitched over his hip. Jimin came up behind her again and started kissing her jaw, sucking marks into the soft skin. Gripping her thigh, Jungkook slid into Y/N's drenched core with a guttural moan, head falling back in bliss. Y/N locked her fingers with Jimin’s, squeezing his hand tightly for support.

"Fuck, Y/N, you feel so perfect around me, you drive me crazy, baby…" Jungkook moaned out as he pistoned his hips into her, feeling her clench around him as he spoke, spurring him on "Jimin- fuck- you were right, shes so fucking tight and wet, desperate for a good fuck,"

Y/N writhed in pleasure between the men, overstimulation making the sensation all too good.

Whimpering and whining, she begging for release. "Please...it's too much, let me cum...please..."

"I don't know...do you think we should let her cum?" Jungkook asked Jimin with a particularly hard thrust, making her almost scream.

"She has cum twice already," Jimin responded cockily, massaging her soft breasts "do you deserve to cum again, princess?"

"Yes! Please, I've been so good! Please let me cum, please!" Y/N begged for release. Jungkook continued to roughly fuck her as he pretended to think, tracking his eyes over her writhing body, cursing repeatedly under his breath at the sight.

"Okay baby, cum." with those three words she let go with a scream as the two men held on to her body.

"Fuck-" Jungkook came soon after, the feeling of her pulsing pussy cumming around his cock overwhelming.

“Such a good girl...” Jimin stoked her hair as she whined, Jungkook pulling out of her carefully. After Jungkook disposed of the condom, he flopped back down on the bed and pulled her onto his chest, kissing her forehead softly as Jimin spooned her from behind. Safe in their arms, she drifted off to sleep.

“She’s so beautiful,” Jungkook whispered, gently stroking her body as she slept soundly on his chest.

“Yoongi doesn’t deserve her,” Jimin added as he nuzzled into her neck and kissed all the marks they had left. “Did you see her face at the restaurant? She practically glowed.”

“God, don’t remind me, I haven’t seen her so happy in so long, I wanted to kill everyone who’s ever hurt her,” Jungkooks arms tensed around her, “We need to keep her happy, whatever it takes.”

[bluesfortheredj]

Green eyed monster.

The flat was dark and quiet as you step inside and shut the door softly behind you, and you knew that Ben was hiding in here somewhere which made you jumpy. You flick the switch for the lights but he’d turned them off from the fuse box to give him an unfair advantage, and you audibly groan at the realisation that he’s definitely cheating.

“That’s not fair!” you call out into the darkness, but of course Ben wasn’t one to play fair so what did you expect?

There’s no noise as you tentatively step further into the flat as quietly as you possibly can in an attempt to not get scared shitless by your best mate, and as you approach the kitchen you press your back against the wall and slide along it until you can peek around the corner to check no one was inside.

“For fuck’s sake Ben, we’re going to be late for the party, can you just come out already please?” you ask as your eyes move from the kitchen to the lounge, looking for any sign of movement.

Yet more silence greets you and you know he’s not going to give up that easily; he was determined to scare you before the two of you went to the party and you were already less than impressed with the inevitable outcome of this game. You enter the living room and squint into the darkness before bumping into the side board, then you hear a short shuffle before feeling hands on your waist which makes you scream out loud.

“Gotcha!” Ben laughs.

“Get off of me you absolute dickhead,” you half scold, half laugh.

Ben continues laughing at your reaction as he walks out and down the hall to flick the switch for the lights back on, and suddenly you’re shielding your eyes from the bright light that’s now flooding the lounge. He comes back into the room and you get to see his costume for the first time; a pinstripe suit and a matching bat shaped bow tie just like his muse Jack Skellington.

“What do you think?” he asks, noticing you looking him up and down.

“Brilliant,” you smile.

“You haven’t put much effort in with the sexy witch costume though,” Ben tuts before rolling his eyes.

“It’s just a regular witch costume you idiot! But thanks for the compliment.”

Ben winks at you then the doorbell rings and you jump once more much to his amusement.

“That’ll be Joe. You ready?” he checks, and you nod in response.

You’d heard and seen a lot about Joe but never had the pleasure of meeting him until now thanks to Ben’s insistence that the two of you finally get introduced, and you were quite excited about the prospect of it all after seeing what a fun guy he appeared to be. Ben buzzes him up and opens the door ready for his arrival while you stand there straightening out your dress and trying to act casual.

“Come here you!” Joe greets Ben, quickly pulling him into a tight hug, “now where’s the infamous (Y/N)?”

You wave as his eyes scan the room before landing on you, and he’s just as friendly with you as he was with Ben; striding over and giving you a cuddle along with a kiss on the cheek as he says hello.

“It’s so lovely to finally meet you,” he smiles as he pulls back, “I feel like I already know you with how much Ben has told me though.”

“And you too! All good things I hope...”

“Could it be anything other than good?” he winks, “I must say though, he didn’t warn me about how beautiful you are, and I’m quite taken aback.”

You giggle at his compliment and look away, “oh, stop!”

Ben rolls his eyes again before interrupting, “right, shall we get going then?”

Both you and Joe nod then all head out for the chilly walk to a friend’s house a few streets away and although you’re huddled against Ben, the conversation you have with Joe barely seems to stop and the poor blonde you’re holding on to doesn’t get a word in edge ways. You squeeze his arm comfortingly during the walk but when you arrive at the party you have to part to greet the hosts, and once you’ve caught up with people you hadn’t seen in a while you’re soon at Joe’s side as he regales you with stories about his time with Ben.

“You two are usually joined at the hip,” your friend Alex points out as he comes up beside Ben and hands him a fresh drink, “what’s going on here?”

“Don’t,” he sighs, “I’ve been going on about these two meeting for so long and now it’s happened I’m not entirely sure it was a good idea.”

“But they seem to be getting along well!”

“Too well,” Ben grumbles.

“Ah, so you’re jealous.”

“Jealous? Ha! No… definitely not… jealous? Nah…”

“The man doth protest too much, methinks.”

This was an unusual feeling for Ben, especially when it came to you, but then when he thought about it he’d never actually seen you with a guy before and you’d always kept any relationships away from him even though you were so close. He sips his drink slowly as his eyes flick from your face to Joe’s while the two of you laugh in the corner, and there’s a feeling right in the pit of his stomach that’s shouting out for him to go over and interrupt so he can get you all to himself. It was a selfish thought but this sudden wave of jealousy was bringing all sorts of thoughts into his mind which he’d never had to deal with when it came to you.

“So what are you going to do about it?” Alex presses, noticing Ben’s hard stare.

“Nothing… yet.”

Ben keeps his distance for the rest of the night, letting you and Joe get to know one another better as he himself had insisted on, and tries his best to enjoy the Halloween party despite being able to fully let himself go with you on his mind. He works his way around the room until he catches your eye to give you a small wave, then you gesture for him to join you both now that the night was nearing the end.

“You two had fun?” he asks.

“You lied to me about (Y/N),” Joe frowns, “you said she was probably one of the best people you know, but I have to say that there should be no ‘probably’ about it.”

“Yeah, I’d agree that I made a mistake there,” Ben nods, looking over at you, “wanna get out of here?”

You nod and the three of you exit the party and begin the even colder walk back to Ben’s flat while Joe phones for a taxi to take him back to the hotel, then by the time you reach your destination there’s already a cab waiting. Joe takes far too long to say goodbye to you in Ben’s opinion and he narrows his eyes a little when you laugh at something Joe says before he gives you yet another hug and a kiss on the cheek.

“See you tomorrow!” he waves as he gets into the taxi.

“Tomorrow?” Ben questions as you walk into the block of flats.

“I said we’d all go for lunch.”

“You sure he didn’t want it to just be the two of you?” Ben scoffs.

You turn to look at him once you get through the front door and smirk, “is that a little jealousy I hear?”

“Pfft,” he dismisses.

“It is isn’t it?!”

“It’s not.”

“Okay, so you wouldn’t mind if just I went then? I mean we were getting on so well tonight, he’s such a funny guy and very complimentary-”

“I would mind,” he cuts you off, “I would mind a lot because bloody hell (Y/N) you’re my best friend but I really want to be more.”

You stand in a stunned silence and slowly slip your witches hat from your head so you could see him a little better, then he shrugs and walks off into the other room and leaves the words hanging in the air in front of you.

“Hey, Jack Skellington, you can’t just drop a bomb like that and walk away… you didn’t even give me a chance to respond.”

He turns slowly but avoids your gaze.

“And what would your response be?”

You laugh and shake your head with how embarrassing your next words would be, “this is super cheesy… but… it is plain as anyone could see, we’re simply meant to be.”

Ben breaks into a grin at your quote from the nightmare before christmas then steps towards you and envelops you into a tight hug, “that was the cheesiest thing I’ve ever heard, and I absolutely love it.”

if you could write something about ben having a best friend (that he’s obviously in love with!) that he really wants to become friends with joe. but they end up getting along very well, much more than ben thought. and that makes him veeery jealous, which is a new feeling for him & a first day of fall/halloween type fluff with ben – @rosesvioletshardy

@lv7867 @aynsleywalker @pink-lemo @painthatiusedto @itisjustmethistime @mamaskillerqueen @queenslandlover-93

[wiypt-writes]

Leave No One Behind

Ch2- The Red Sea Diving Resort: Part 1 Co written with @icanfeelastormbrewing​

Episode Summary: Ari and his team arrive at their Resort and begin making plans for the first mission. Episode Warnings: Bad Language words. Allusions to death and serious injury.

Episode Pairings:  Ari Levinson x OFC Hannah Horowitz

Leave No One Behind Masterlist // Main Masterlist

Chapter 1

 “What the fuck is he wearing Cracker?” Max asked Hannah as he nodded over her shoulder. Frowning, she turned to see Ari had walked in, briefcase in hand, dressed in a dark brown velvet suit and a white and gold striped shirt with a large, open necked collar.

Hannah snorted “He looks like John Travolta.”

“Walking like him too…” Sammy mumbled.

“Night fever, night fever…we know how to do it…” Jake sang softly, and the rest of the group all started to chuckle, hastily turning away as Ari walked towards the table and dropped the briefcase down on it.

Ari greeted Ethan with a nod of his head and looked around the room. His team was already gathered standing around the oval metal table, chatting idly.

Max and Jake were sniggering about something and Ari could clearly see Sammy was trying to keep a straight face, hands in his trousers pockets and looking at his feet while bouncing on them. Did he want to know? Probably not.

And then he noticed Hannah. She was chatting with Rachel who was admiring the brown leather knee high boots she was wearing. Ari heard Rachel comment something about her loving chunky heels as Hannah twisted her left foot so that Rachel could have a better look at the boots.

But Ari wasn’t interested in the boots, well, ok he was, but his gaze then travelled upwards, following her black tights clad legs and thighs, until his eyes mid-thigh met the hem of the skirt of her maroon pleated chord pinafore. Luckily for him, when his eyes continued past up her waist and the long sleeved polka dot blouse she was wearing, and he could take in the delicate features of her face, she was still engaged in some sort of fashion conversation with Rachel.

She was stunning, but what was new there? He had to admit to himself he had felt his chest fill with warmth when he had been running through the fake passports Ethan had given him the previous evening. He had opened hers first, sitting on his bed in the privacy of his hotel room, tumbler of Scotch in hand. His eyes scanning Hannah's passport photo over and over again.  Those big round blue eyes looking directly at him. 

Firefly, he had muttered running his thumb over the photo before gulping his drink.

Thus, Ari knew which would be the one on top at the deck of passports he was now pulling from his briefcase. He was going over the questions he would be asking each one of them in his head when he heard Max asking him something.

“You got chills Ari?”

“What?” Ari frowned, his head turning to Max and in the corner of his eye he noticed that Hannah turned to watch, biting her lip as behind her Sammy laughed and hastily started coughing to cover it up.

“Are they multiplying?” Jake chipped in.

“Are you losing control?” Max continued

“Coz the power, you’re supplying…it’s electrifying!” the two men sang together as Ari looked at the pair of them rolling his eyes, a smirk playing on his face. Behind him Ethan groaned.

“Yeah, yeah, laugh it up…” Ari’s mouth curled into a crooked smile. “I’m Guy Thomas…he wears this shit…its fashion. And besides, Max, you’ve no room to talk!”

Hannah snorted and turned to look at Max, taking his outfit in in more detail. Because they were all in Zurich at the NATCOR HQ under the guise of a simple Mossad business meeting, Ari had instructed the team to come dressed as they felt their Alter Egos would dress for work. Sammy and Jake were both dressed in suits and ties, Max was in a suit with an open collar pinstriped shirt.

“He has a point…” Hannah conceded “You’re like the Kenickie to his Danny…”

“Grease was based in the 50s.” Max narrowed his eyes at her.

“Yeah, which is when that shirt was in fashion.” Jake said, slapping Max on the shoulder. Hannah and Ari snorted before they were cut off by an angry noise from behind them.

“Save the outfit discussions for later.” Ethan snapped “You lot are going to get yourselves killed for fucks sake.”

“Ethan, Ethan…” Ari turned to him, his voice soothing “Just, calm down…we’ve not even started the meeting yet.”

“Exactly, and we’re already behind schedule so if you don’t mind…” He nodded his head in the direction of the table and everyone, suitably chastised, took a seat.

Ethan and Ari ran the group through the plans regarding the next few months and how the deployment was going to work. They were to fly out on the 4th January, from Zurich, where Ari and Rachel would meet with the Sudanese Government and get the paper work and everything signed for the lease on the diving resort. Whilst they were there Max, Hannah, Jake and Sammy were to pair off and head to 2 different places to pick up 2 different cars which would be ready and waiting with supplies from 2 in country contacts. Once the explanations were finished, Ari then picked up the false passports.

“So you’ve all had enough time to read over your covers.” Ari said, flipping through the pile of passports, selecting one “Remember, the point of being undercover is you keep it simple. So you should have memorised the basics, your name, date of birth, parents names, address, hometown that type of thing. Everything else you can make up on the spot but nothing too elaborate. Don’t take it too far from the actual truth because whatever you tell one person you need to remember to tell another.”

He paused and cleared his throat. “Ok, let’s see how you fare under questioning.” he looked at Hannah “Firefly, you first… Name?”

“Rosa-Maria Gomez” Hannah repeated back, without so much as batting an eyelid, her Spanish accent flawless.

“Where are you from?”

“Valencia.”

“What did you do?”

“Bar manager at a local hotel.”

“Which hotel?”

“Sidi Saler”

“How long for?”

“Just over 10 years. Travelled for a year or so after University, settled back home when I was 19. Never looked back.”

There wasn’t so much as a hint of hesitation when she spoke. Ari smiled at her and tossed the fake passport down in front of her. “Good job.”  he said and with a faint smile she reached for the passport.

Next he put Rachel through her paces, picking her up on the slight hesitation she had over her address and then Jake’s mistake over his elementary school name. He then turned to Sammy.

“Sammy…name. Where are you from? “

“I'm Liam Anderson. Australia.” Sammy said, picking up his passport

“First girlfriend.”  

“Mary”

“Tell me about her.” Ari said, stopping at the head of the table.

“Mary Rose. Took my virginity and broke my heart.”

At that, Ari saw Hannah, who was sat at the far end of the table next to Sammy shift slightly. Despite himself he glanced at her and she caught his eye before she looked down at the table. Ari turned back to Sammy who was still speaking.

“We met at the University of Queensland in Brisbane.  I was 19. Later died in a car accident.”

“It's good.  Good work, Sammy.” Ari turned to Max “You're up.”

There was a pause as Max stared straight ahead before he glanced at the passport.

“I still think this is a stupid name for someone from Malta.” Max protested “Why Malta?”

Rachel gave a little chuckle as Ari looked at him, rolling his eyes as his hands fell to his hips.

“Max, when you learn a second language, that's where you can be from. Till then you're from Malta. No one knows what people from Malta speak.”

“What do people speak in Malta?”  Rachel asked.

“Maltese” Hannah supplied and sniggers rang round the table.

“See, no one knows, that's the point.” Ari said with a smile before he looked pointedly at Max “Name”

“Hello, everybody, my name's Irving Wilmington.” Max said in a ridiculously, fake European accent which made everyone start to laugh “And I'm from Malta-“

“You think this is funny?” Ethan’s angry voice cut across the laughter and everyone looked up at the man as he strode around the table. “Just for the record, there's not one person in this group that I would have chosen for this type of mission. You're all too reckless.” Hannah looked at Max who raised his eyebrows as if to say, he has a point…which to be fair, he kinda did.

“I've gone against every instinct I know.” Ethan continued as Ari looked down at the floor “broken every risk management rule I believe in, including sending two women to a Muslim country.” Ethan said, looking directly at Hannah then Rachel “So let's be very clear.  This mission has no backup.  There's no exfil plan for you.  You're going in without guns, or any other weapon.  If this goes wrong, you'll all be hanging from cranes in Khartoum.”

With that Ethan left the room and there was a moment of silence.

“Can’t wait…” Jake said, leaning back in his chair.

*****

Of course, nothing every runs completely smoothly. Jake was stopped by the Sudanese Immigration, simply to be released once he had paid the ‘bribe’ the officials wanted. Ari spotted him joining the others in the queue for cabs as he and Rachel departed in the car to the Tourism Board.

Then, they met with their contact in the Sudanese Government, Colonel Madibbo and embarked on the anticipated haggling over the price. The man looked Ari in the face and told him that the lease was five hundred thousand, to which Ari replied simply that they had agreed Two-Fifty. After a little bit of negotiation, Ari moved up to three-fifty, informing the Colonel it was their best offer, but then loaded told the man that could write it down as two-fifty and then take the rest and do something beneficial for the people of Sudan.

“You may not speak Arabic, Mr. Thomas. But you do speak the local language.” Madibbo laughed, and Ari simply glanced at Rachel before smiling back, fully understanding that the “local language” meant he’d given the man a bung, and that the extra hundred thou was going straight into the  Colonel’s own back pocket.

Bent bastard.

A few hours later everything was sorted, they’d been given everything they needed and Ari and Rachel walked out of the building, climbed in the arranged car and were dropped off on the main high-street where they headed to the inconspicuous Café that had been allocated as a meeting spot. Remaining in character, Ari and Rachel, or Guy and Angela, greeted their team loudly, as if it was the first time they had seen each other for a while, and then they all settled down at a table outside on the packed market square, and Ari briefed them as if he was briefing resort staff. They all listened, picked up on his cues and after a quick coffee each they all stood up to leave.

As they were leaving the Café, Max tossed one of the jeep’s keys at Ari, who caught them with a swift movement of his hand.  Once they reached the spot where the vehicles were parked Ari opened the driver's door to one of them and turned to see his team had stopped and were looking at the trucks as if deciding who was going to ride in each one of the trucks.

"Ride with me?" Max turned to ask Hannah waving the other set of keys in the air.

"Yup. I call shotgun!" she said as a reply as she walked round to open the passenger side door.

"Right, I'll be on the back seat." Jake quipped as she pulled the seat forward and gestured for him to get in the back.

Ari shook his head, hands on his hips, as he looked at Sam and Rachel through his shades before opening the back door of their jeep for Sam to jump in, tossing his backpack on the floor of the car as Rachel went to the side of the passenger seat.

"Guess the three musketeers have decided for all of us." Ari said as he jumped up in the truck, a trace of bitterness in his voice which wasn't undetected by Sammy.

"Oh my. The great Ari Levinson scorned by part of his team." Sam said, amused and Rachel chuckled.

"You're hilarious Sammy." Ari deadpanned as he fixed the rear view mirror for the third time in the last couple of minutes before he set off.

"Maybe you should keep an eye on Jake." he spoke again a minute later, turning to look at Sam as if trying to make sure he understood what he was implying. Sam examined him for a few moments before speaking

"Yeah, maybe. And maybe you should keep an eye on the road and stop looking through the mirror." Sam deadpanned turning his head slowly to the side window.

***** A few hours later, they had a quick pit stop to stretch legs and changed drivers. Ari was keen to make as good time as possible so it was only for a few moments, Max taking a well needed pee at the side of the truck, groaning in relief. Hannah shook her head, before she climbed in the back of the jeep. They set off again, and their gentle chatter struck up once more.

"So..." Jake said, turning to glance over his shoulder at Hannah, one eye sort of remaining on the road. "I've been dying to ask. Your nicknames..." "What about them?" She asked, turning her head to face him from where she had been looking out of the window. "Why does Ari call you Firefly when the rest of the team seems to call you Cracker?"

Max snorted and looked at Hannah who was grinning. "Ok so the cracker thing came from a mission." She said, thinking fondly back "it was the first one we all actually ran together...me, Max, Sammy, Ari...Andy..." she trailed off for a moment before she continued "we were sat round the fire one night and Andy had a pack of those little savoury fish cracker things. We started playing a game as to how many each of us could fit in our mouths. Max insisted he would win...but who in fact did win Maxwell?" "You..." Max sighed "by 2 crackers" "So Andy started calling me crackers which became cracker and it stuck..." she shrugged. "Well, with everyone but Ari that is..." "Yeah, so explain the Firefly thing..." Jake pushed. "The first time I met Ari was when he came over one evening with Sammy. It was just before Sammy moved out." Hannah said "I was 17 and we were sat out in the garden at the back. It wasn't a huge garden, communal like, shared with 3 other houses but I loved it because there was a colony of lightning bugs, or fireflies that frequented it. It was a few months later Sammy was being an ass-hat about something and I flipped out at him and threw a mug at his head. It missed and smashed against the wall but Ari found it hilarious. Told I was just like those little fireflies I admired so much. Such an ordinary, unassuming thing on the outside with a hell of a surprise packed away underneath..." Jake paused and then started laughing "Now that's a back handed compliment if ever I did hear one." Hannah grinned "I know. When I asked him what he meant by ordinary you should have seen his face. He was all flustered and stammering and worried he'd offended me. Lasted all of 2 minutes until I cracked up laughing and told him I understood." "Well, fireflies are pretty awesome..." Jake smiled "A symbol of light in the dark, hope, warmth" "Yup, all things Ari said to me when he was back pedalling over the whole ordinary thing" Hannah smiled with a shrug "either way, it stuck."

My little firefly…

“Tell him what you call Ari.” Max said and Hannah snorted.

“El Lobo hambriento” She replied after a moment’s pause “Or Lobo for short.”

“And that means…” Jake looked at her again for a second.

“Spanish for the hungry wolf…” Hannah said “It came from when he used to eat my Mama out of house and home whenever he came round with Sammy. And over time it got shortened to Lobo…just wolf…”

Jake laughed “Well, he is kinda hairy…but you know, that should be my nickname given that I am actually a Wolf.”

“By name…” Max teased “You look like more of a poodle.”

Hannah laughed and leaned forward, so that her head poked between the front to seats in the car “You can be Loop.” “Loop?” Jake frowned.

“Short for Lupin…Latin for Wolf, or there or thereabouts anyway. Or it could just mean you’re a total fruit loop, take your pick…”

Jake gave a huge guffaw of laughter and looked at her “Does that make you Little Red Riding Hood?”

Hannah snorted as Max shook his head, looking out at the window “That’s the shittest chat up line I’ve ever heard” he spoke, turning back to Jake.

“Can’t blame a man for trying” Jake winked.

After a total of six hours and a couple more stops to stretch and freshen up, if that was even possible in the middle of the desert, they arrived in the resort. But they couldn't properly see it until they got out of the trucks, the windows being partly covered by dust as they had taken shortcuts over sand dunes to save quite a few hours more off the travel time should they have opted to use the main roads. 

When they finally got out of the car they took some clumsy steps on the sand after being into the confined space of car for that many hours. Jake lit a cigarette and as he looked at Ari he couldn't help but make a howling noise to Hannah who started laughing immediately. As if on cue, Max started howling too and the three of them were caught in a fit of hysteric laughter,  Max bending his body for balance and Hannah leaning on Jake's arm.

Ari, Sam and Rachel stood there watching the three of them, dumbfounded. Ari shared a glance with Sam before he shot his sister a look and she pulled herself together still trying holding back laughter. Ari sighed before he took a few more steps towards the main entrance of the resort and the rest of the team followed suit.

They all stopped still, looking at the ram-shackled building in front of them, the words Red Sea Diving Resort were descripted in fading red paint above the large, archway shaped door. Hannah removed her shades, looking at it, and she let out a loud breath from where she stood at the end of the line they seemed to have formed, next to Max.

“It sure doesn't look like the brochure.”  she said, and everyone turned to look at her, Max giving a small huff of laughter. After a second or so, Ari moved to the trucks to retrieve their luggage and the rest of them followed suit before they headed towards the entrance. Ari wrestled with the wooden trellised screen doors before he gave one a harsh push and it fell forward off its hinges, crashing to the floor sending up a cloud of dust and sand. He turned to look at them all, giving a shrug before he headed inside. They all followed and Hannah cast her eyes around as they hit the main room. All the window screens were shut, leaving it quite dark despite the bright late afternoon sunshine outside. Chairs and tables were piled haphazardly around the edges of the main room of the resort, various other pieces of furniture dotted around.

“It needs a little TLC.” Ari said, turning to the team.

“Nice.” Rachel chuckled.  

“Oh, yeah?” Sammy snorted, pushing the shaded lenses on his glasses up as he looked around with a laugh. “What a dump.”

Hannah watched as Jake moved to open one of the sets of doors which led out onto the beach and instantly the place was flooded with light. She glanced at Max who smiled and they followed him out onto the beach.

“This is paradise!” Jake sighed. Max looked at him, incredulously, but Hannah had to admit, outside it was beautiful. A secluded cove of The Red Sea right was in front of them, the sun bouncing off the blue water, waves softly lapping at the shore.

Max pushed his glasses back up his nose and headed away to his right, Hannah following as they walked round the side of the resort and up a small boardwalk which led to a small pier of sorts.

“Well, hello, gorgeous…” she heard Max say. Hannah turned to see him examining a spear gun which was leaned up against the glass windows in front of him. She rolled her eyes.

“Your obsession with sniping weapons is worrying.” she arched an eyebrow.

He turned to face her with a grin before he tucked his shades into his shirt and picked up the fishing spear, holding it like a gun, checking down the sight target. The two of them stepped further round and Hannah frowned as Max stopped under a wooden shelter of sorts and the pair of them spotted the large, silver fish hanging from the structure. It had been beheaded, the head laying on a grill, and Max turned to look at her.

“This fish is fresh.” he frowned.

“Don’t eat it…” Hannah said instantly, teasing him about his obsession with food.

“Don’t eat…it’s fucking raw.” he rolled his eyes at her.

“Never had sushi?” she shot back.

“Don’t care for it much…” he mused before they both exchanged a glance, the seriousness of the fact that the fish, was indeed newly caught sinking in as Max turned to call back to the resort.

“Hey, yo, this fish is fresh!”

Ari who had been walking along the shore, heard Max’s call, along with Rachel’s which informed everyone she had found a newspaper from this week .He stopped and glanced back into the resort before he opened the door into one of the bedroom huts. Taking a glance round he threw open the wooden window screens, turning his face away as the sand and dust from outside blew into his face. It was then a familiar smell hit his nose and he glanced down to his left and saw that there were cigarette butts in an ashtray. One was still smoking slightly.

And then, someone jumped up from behind a pile of furniture in the corner of the room and shot out of the door. Ari turned and sprinted after him, yelling for him to stop and calling to the team. They all joined him, sprinting around the corner where Ari stopped at the sight of a group of what they could only assume were locals.

“Hello.  My name...” Ari began, before he whipped off his sunglasses, figuring they might trust him more if they could see him eye to eye “My name's Guy Thomas.  I'm the new owner of this hotel.”

The locals didn’t speak, and Hannah noticed that the woman at the front, adorned in bright yellow local dress was glancing at Max nervously.

“Max, lower that thing…” she said softly, as he had the spear gun raised.

Ari turned to face him and nodded, gesturing with his hands “Come on.”  

“Sorry.” Max said gently, as he slowly lowered his weapon.

“Abu Hamid.” the man at the front of the group spoke to them.

“Hello.” Ari greeted him kindly.

“What the hell's going on?” Sammy spoke gently through his smile.  

“I think we just met the local staff.” Ari said softly, looking round at everyone.

Part 2

[voltagesmutter]

Victor - Je t'aime Victor [Smut]

THIS WAS MEANT TO BE A SHORT ANGST BUT BECAUSE I HAVE NO SELF CONTROL IT TURNED INTO A ANGST, SMUT AND FLUFF - SOMEONE STOP ME.

Bella (OC) doubts herself with Victor as he struggles with the balance between CEO and boyfriend mode.

Song prompt: Escape (Pina Colada)

NSFW and smut 

FEATURES SLIGHT REFERENCE TO STORYLINE IN CHAPTER 5

You had a week from hell, one of the worst days of working at the company, a preview of your new release had been leaked and it set chaos amongst the workers. Like always you was the one running around, calming everyone and sorting everything out. You were exhausted, beyond exhausted, you hadn’t slept for two nights too busy trying to fix this mess. All you wanted was to cuddle up into your boyfriend's arms and feel your worries disappear, but this was Victor and that was never going to happen. 

You pushed the doors open to his office, it was after work hours and you had just finished up, finally getting on top of the mess. One of your staff had leaked the footage for a profit from a rival company and you had to get rid of them, you’d never fired someone before and it drained you. Victor didn’t even acknowledge your presence as you walked in, his eyes sternly on the documents in front of him.

“Your report is sloppy, it was barely unreadable,” He muttered. God damn Victor don’t. 

“Victor don’t okay I’ve had a really bad week, its been really tough today,”.

“The leak, I saw that you need to handle it and get it under control,”. You had the situation fully under control now, he knew how to piss you off.

“No, I thought fuck it, let’s just sit back and do nothing!” Your voice rings in sarcasm.

“Well maybe if you spent more time focusing on your staff and work you wouldn’t have this issue,” Was he really settling the blame of this on to you?

“God, you know what. I don’t need this for my boyfriend, fuck you Victor,” You said and stormed out of his office, not in the mood for him and his CEO attitude tonight. He never let it drop, he never seemed to be Victor Li your boyfriend, only Victor Li your CEO. You made your way out of the building, him calling after you and you could hear his feet running after you. Normally you would cave in and run into his arms, but not tonight. He knew how stressful this had been on you, how you'd lost sleep putting countless hours into fixing the mess and here he was acting like a smug asshole over you. You were sick of it, you were sick of him constantly belittling you. 

“Bella stop!” He yelled as he took hold of your wrist gently, finally catching up to you as you stood outside the building. Your eyes didn’t even flick to meet his face and you simply shook his hand off you.

“Goodnight Mr.Li,” You spat before heading into the cab that pulled up in front of you. You never called him that and he released how bad he screwed up. You’d spent the last few days slaving over the mistake, that wasn’t even your fault, and here he was making you feel like shit for it. It didn’t matter you were his girlfriend, he always treated you like an employee.

The cab pulled outside your apartment, you couldn’t actually remember the last time you stayed here since you spent more of your time with Victor. But you didn’t want to think about him, all you wanted to do was have a bath and unwind. 

“Hello neighbour, long time no see,” A familiar voice said as you put the key in your apartment door. 

“Lucien, hello! I guess it’s been a while,” You smile and turn to the see the handsome as ever scientist coming out his door, perfectly timed as normal.

“I could sense something didn’t seem right and it appears I am correct,”. You sigh slightly at his comment.

“Correct as always professor,”.

“Do you care to talk? I can make tea,” His words made you smile at him, he was also kind to you, he always praised you like he worshiped you. Unlike Victor who seemed to thrive on making you feel beneath him. No that’s not true, he was never harsh to you, he just never seemed to leave his boss mode and would be more critical to you at times that weren’t relevant. For example this evening, Lucien would have cared for you, comforted you and praised you on the excellence of your strength before ensuring you rested to make up for your lack of sleep. But Victor, he makes snide comments about how it's your fault and points out the wrongdoing of your situation and it wasn’t the first time he had done this. Normally you would roll over like a puppy and take his words, striving to prove him wrong but you grew sick and tired of trying to impress him because he made you feel like you never would be able to. 

“That’s very kind Lucien, but it’s been a really long week and I just want to soak in the bath with a book,” You softly reply.

“Well that's a good idea, baths are proven to help relieve stress due to the release of endorphins, if you feel stressed after remember just pick up the phone and call ‘Lucien’, he’ll make you feel better,”.

“Thank you Lucien, I feel better already,” You say with a light laugh before entering your apartment, not turning back to see the man whose eyes were pinning after you. 

As your bath was running you flicked through your phone every couple of minutes debating to text Victor, but your thoughts stopped you each time. Why should you text him and go running back for his attention? He was being a complete arsehole, let him come after you. But this Victor, he didn’t apologise so why should you expect it from him now. You scoffed only making yourself angrier, you loved him, you thought your heart could physically explode from how much it pounded for him.

He wasn’t always such a tyrant, in fact you shared so many memories with him and got to see his sweet side that was only for you. Like when he took you to the Astra Circus and brought you the most beautiful rose and you shared a tender moment enjoying the candy from the stalls. Or when he taught you to dance, his chest was close to yours, you were positive he could hear it beating. Your first kiss when he rescued you after you fell into the pool, or the first time he told you he loved you. The first time you had sex which was in his office because he was so desperate to have you. The memories of him set your skin on fire and your heart melted, you truly loved him but was it enough?

You sunk into the bath as you flicked on your music, nothing made you feel more relaxed than music especially the ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ soundtrack. You let the aroma of your bath salts intoxicate your nose, your mind sparing all thoughts for the time being, sinking deep into your relaxing state. 

By the time you got out of the bath, dried and threw on some fresh shorts and a pyjama top, a song that made your heart instantly throb came on. It was the song that had been playing when Victor had told you he loved you, you had been around his house and was determined to make him a Pina colada as he had never had one. The song Escape (The Pina Colada) had been playing and it made you crave one, he had stood there mesmerised as you sung, slightly tipsy re-creating one of your favourite drinks. 

“For a dummy, you're pretty damn irresistible,” He words ran crisps through your ears.

‘If you like Pina Colada’s” You sang to him, giggling to yourself at your fun.

“And getting caught in the rain,” You continued, mixing together the ingredients, licking your fingers clean from the sticky mess they made. You continued to sing and gently swing your hips to beat, he let out a light laugh at the line, “If you have half a brain’. You continued your fun as the man watched you before standing behind you and wrapping his arms around you. 

“Then I'm the love that you've looked for, Write to me, and escape ” He hummed ever so softly into your ear as he placed a kiss behind your lobe. You turned around and met his loving gaze.

“Hehe your singing! I never thought I’d see the day Victor Li singing” You giggle as you wrap your arms around his neck. 

“For you, I would do anything,” His face slowly inching closer to yours, your heart beat pounding against your chest.

“I love you,” He ever so softly whispers against your lips.

“I love you too,” You instantly replied before his lips met yours. It grew deeply passionate and he spent all night making love to you, the drinks you had been making instantaneously forgot about. 

You smiled beamed at the memory, how loving Victor really was, how when he wasn’t in his boss mode what a breathtaking human being who you loved beyond words. You knew Victor had worked so hard to get to his position and you completely admired him for it, you just wished he could find a way to switch it off and enjoy the moments you had. For someone who could control time, he had no idea that it was slipping away in front of his eyes.

Caving ever so slightly, the song had completely filled your heart with love, you took your phone and typed to him, ‘I’m home, I got back safe’ just so he wouldn’t worry. Settling into bed, at least you weren't at work tomorrow, you turned off the lamp next to you and settled down to sleep. Your heart raced when you heard a ping and you checked it to see a message, but it wasn’t Victor it was from Lucien. You sighed slightly, you knew Lucien meant well but he wasn’t who you wanted to hear from right now. 

You awoke to a soft knock at the door and you quickly ran to it.

“Victor?” You called out as you opened the door but no-one was there and your sank a little. You looked down and noticed a bouquet of red roses and white lilies, your favourites with a note attached saying ‘I’m sorry’. There in black and white in Victor's handwriting was an actual apology you would frame it, of course making multiple copies first. You ran down the stairs in a hurry, trying to find him but you couldn’t see him.

“Victor!” You yelled as you ran out of the building, your body shivering slightly due to just being in your pyjamas but he wasn’t there. 

“Dummy, you’ll catch a cold,” You hear, all other noises had stopped and you faced where the voice was coming from.

“Victor,” You ran into his arms, him catching you and holding you tight to him. The normally bustling street was silent, birds in mid-flight and passerbys stood frozen in time. Not even allowing him to say a word you kissed him, your fingers entangling in his hair.

“I’m sorry for yesterday,” He says with a slight struggle and you giggle, resting your head against him.

“Mr. Li apologising and I’m the only who can hear it,” You smile and you see the corner of lips move into a smile.

“You’re the only person I will apologise to, I don’t mean to be harsh I just want you to strive and achieve your all potential, you are fantastic at your job,”. You were glad he was holding you because if you had been standing you would have been floored from his words. 

“Can you repeat that at work on Monday, in-front of everyone?”.

“No chance dummy,” He responds with a slight squeeze to your waist. 

“I know your set in your ways, but I just wish you could enjoy our time together and not be in work mode all the time, I want to enjoy you Victor, not my CEO” You pout slightly, as your fingers mess with his tie. Seriously, it was like 9 am on a Saturday and he was in a suit, not that you were complaining god bless this man and his fashion choices.

“It hurt seeing you so upset yesterday, I thought I almost lost you, going home and you wasn’t there… I never want to experience that again, never,” He says as he presses kisses around your face, your heart fluttering with his words.

“I promise to you I will work on turning off work mode and focus on what is important to me, but I need you by my side to do that,” He adds, one hand stroking your cheek.

“Victor, I admire you for your work, I think you're incredible, I just want a balance between work you and my boyfriend, I don’t want to come to your office after a hard at work and have you nag me about my report, I just want you to hold me and kiss me, just savour our time,” You smile, finally glad this talk is happening.

“Well, what if we made a deal?” His eyes meet yours.

“I will focus on leaving work mode at work, if you move in with me and help me to focus on only you,”. Your heart could explode, you feel it beating so profoundly against your chest it might break out of you.

“I’d really like that,” You whisper and you share a passionate kiss which quickly gets heated. All your anger from last night had melted and been replaced with a need for him. Your fingers undid his tie and began to undo his shirt. 

“Here? My I never expected you to be so ballsy with an audience,” He chuckles, your face going red realising you was outside, everyone frozen around you. 

“Take me to bed,” You whine as you kiss him once more, your tongue brushing over his lip and you didn’t have to tell him twice. He held you tight, your kiss not breaking as he carried you up to your apartment. 

“You left the door open, you really are a dummy,” He mumbled against your lips.

“Shut up, I came running out to see you after you left them flowers,” You replied, your hands throwing his tie across your apartment and returning to undo his shirt.

“You liked them?”, He whispered between kisses.

“I loved them, but the note I’m framing that,” You giggle slightly before crying out a moan as his lips attack the sensitive spot on your neck.

“Like I’m the only person who can hear you moan, you're the only person who will hear me apologise,” He mumbles against your skin. He shuts your apartment door and presses you against it. You were positive you had fucked on every surface of his office, house and your apartment, you rarely made it to a bed as when you had to have each other, you had to each other right there and then. 

You both made quick work of your clothes, them flung around your apartment. With one hand wrapped around your lower back, your legs around his waist, he dripped his hand between you and teased your clit before pumping two fingers into you. You threw your head back with pleasure against the door with a slight thud. 

“You can’t even do nothing and you manage to hurt yourself,” He smirks ever so lightly, his fingers working inside to you, making your brain lose all thoughts unable to make a comment back as all you can manage is ‘oh’ and his name. He removes his fingers from you, much to your whimpered moans before sucking them clean, his throbbing member pressed fiercely against your thighs. He keeps his hand tightly on your lower back and puts the other one behind your head, to hold your head close to his chest, you wrapping your arms around his neck. You lift up slightly, allowing him to enter into you before he sinks into you, both of you moaning in pleasure. Your legs around his waist tighten as you begin to rock against him, him thrusting himself deeply into you, holding on to you with all his strength. 

“Oh god Victor,” You moan against his chest, your eyes searing with lust and pleasure, your fingernails digging into the area just below his neck. 

“Thats it, g-good girl,” He groans into your ear as his thrusts quicken in pace, your wetness spreading from his cock against your thighs and his balls, the sound of slapping skin mixed with moans filling the air. His fingertips press lightly into your lower back where he was holding you as your back arches as he hits your desired spot. You became a quivering mess in his arms and he knew what you needed for your desperate release. Tilting your hips slightly, his angle deepened and his tip was prodding against the nerves inside you that would unravel you in moments. Freeing one hand from around his neck, you reach down between you and circle your fingers against your clit, you muscles contracting and tightening around his cock. You felt the humming groan from his throat at your actions and your legs began to tremble.

“Victor!” His name looping on repeat from your mouth as your orgasm released, pulsing tightly, your body clinging to him. His jaw clenched and he let out a struggling groan, his hips slapping harshly against yours before he stilled, your name desperately crying his lips as he came inside you. He held you tight to him as your body was still shaking, coming down your intense release, unable to say a word. Your face buried into his chest as you wiped your mouth ever so subtly against his chest, playing it off as a kiss but really the sensation had caused you to drool out of your mouth slightly. He ever so slowly removed himself from you before carrying you over to the sofa, sitting you in his lap as you both held each other. 

“New deal,” You softly panted, running your fingers through his hair.

“Every time you bring CEO Victor home, we do that,”. He smirked slightly, his charcoal eyes gazing into yours as he brushed a strand of hair out of your face.

“I’ll bring CEO mode home every night if that's what I have to look forward to coming home too,”. You giggle slightly as his hand interlaces with yours.

“Although, knowing you will be there waiting for me, makes me never want to leave our home again,” He whispers as he presses a kiss to your wrist. Oh my love, my Victor, je t'aime Victor.

Enjoy my work, visit my masterlist here. 

[exoticarmyofcrowns]

dilwale | pjm [m.]

pairing: jimin x fem!reader

summary: a trip across europe turns a bit more interesting when you meet park jimin, a shameless flirt with a penchant for trouble. dilwale (dil-wah-ley): [hindi] the good-hearted, the strong-hearted, lover

genre: romance, fluff, minor angst (pining), smut, dilwale dulhania le jayenge!au (this is not a thing but i made it one oop)

warnings: LOTS of pining (god so much pining) / some cursing / copious amounts of fluff / (bad) flirting / banter / allusion to being taken advantage of BUT IT’S FALSE / lots of feelings / lots of consent (bc consent is sexy) / switch!jimin / switch!reader? / the smut is pretty soft ngl / praise kink sorta? (bc come on is it a jimin fic w/o it) / creampie / excessive use of the word sweetheart / thicc!jimin / unprotected sex (WRAP IT BEFORE YOU TAP IT PLSSSS) / tease!jimin / riding / aaaaand i think that’s it??

word count: ~15.6k

a/n: hello ya girl is BACK w another self-indulgent fic hehe THIS ONE’S FOR MY FELLOW DESIS AND BOLLYWOOD LOVERS!!!! ddlj is my absolute favorite movie in the entire world and i just wanted some representation dammit lol this is heavily based on the plot of that movie but obviously with some changes for my own artistic purposes. shout out to @moonlytae​ for helping me decide which member it should be and @joonies-girl-08​ for the fountain scene u guys are the best! as always, a big thank u to @jooniecult​ for ur expertise, u da best! i hope you all enjoy this, i had so much fun writing it!

“Shit shit shit!”

You’re sprinting through the terminal, checking the directory clutched in your hands as you try to both watch where you’re going and find the damn platform you’re supposed to be on. Your friends and you have been planning this trip for weeks now and you’ve already fucked up by waking up late with barely any time to spare as you frantically waved down a taxi to the train station. You and your friends are taking the Eurail across Europe to celebrate your college graduation and you really should have been at the station about 20 minutes ago but you can blame your overexcitement—and the subsequent lack of sleep—for that.

Of course, luck was not on your side as there was an accident mere minutes from the station. London traffic at its finest. You made the split-second decision to abandon the cab, throwing an apology and a few bills over the divider before running the rest of the way. A glance at your watch says that you’re mere seconds away from missing your train and the thought pushes you to pump your legs faster, backpack slapping against your back with bruising force as you attempt to drag your small carry-on behind you.

Turning a swift corner, you catch sight of the platform you’re looking for. The train doors are still open, thank god, but you know they will close any second. You’re not sure that you’re gonna make it when you see a hand pop out of the open doors, beckoning you to grab hold. Figuring you have nothing to lose now, you take it, arm jolting you through the automatic doors just as they slide shut.

Collapsing with relief, you rest your hands on your knees as you try desperately to catch your breath. The latch on your suitcase has snapped open, spilling the contents onto the floor. You curse, frantically stuffing the carrier full again. You don’t necessarily have anything to hide but you’re not really looking to literally air out your laundry to strangers. Speaking of, you remember you never actually thanked your savior for pulling you to safety. You look up, an expression of gratitude on your lips when you catch sight of the person who helped you onto the train. Your mouth dries as you struggle to form a coherent sentence.

To say he’s gorgeous would be the understatement of the century. He’s absolutely stunning, almost fairy-like with his delicate features and mischievous eyes. It’s a direct contrast to the way he’s dressed, t-shirt tucked into sinfully-tight jeans and a leather jacket thrown over his shoulders. His hair is the softest shade of pink you’ve ever seen and you’re tempted to run your fingers through it.

The sound of someone clearing their throat snaps you out of your reverie. You glance up at the man’s face to see his eyes glimmering with mirth and you know you’ve been caught checking him out. You straighten abruptly, cheeks warm with something other than exertion.

“Um,” you begin, cursing yourself internally for how lame you sound, “th-thank you. You know, for pulling me in.”

“It was no problem.” The words come out like a purr and the effect is not lost on you, heart pounding just a little harder in your chest. 

You clear your throat nervously and look away from his piercing gaze. You realize you’re both standing in the gangway connection. The handsome stranger seems to realize this at the same time because he glances over to the door and drops his own bag to try and pry it open. He struggles for a moment before knocking loudly on the door.

“Anyone over there?” He tugs uselessly on the door one more time before stepping away, hand running through his pink strands in frustration. He glances over to you looking a little sheepish. “Looks like we’re stuck here for a little.”

“Ah.” You sigh, not sure what else to say so you remain silent. You go to check your phone but remember that it had died midway through your taxi ride. Flopping down onto the ground, you figure you’re gonna be here a while so you pull out the book you brought to keep yourself entertained and flip to where you left off.

Just as you’re getting back into the story, you see the stranger settle down next to you a little closer than you would have liked. While you can admit the man is attractive, you’re still strangers. You have no idea who this guy is; he could be a mugger for all you know! Okay, that was probably not very likely but you can never be too careful.

“So,” he begins, leaning his head back to peer at you, “have we met before? You look awfully familiar.”

You frown. Of course you haven’t met him before, you’re sure you would have remembered such a stunning man. Not that you’d admit that out loud. “Uh…no?” It comes out a bit harsher than you intend but he recovers well.

“Ah, I see. My mistake.” He flashes you a sweet smile and you return it, albeit a little uncomfortably. You try to return to your book but he interrupts you yet again. “It’s just that, your eyes…”

“What?” you practically snap. “What’s wrong with my eyes?”

“Nothing,” he simpers, eyes boring into yours. “They just remind me of someone.”

“Oh? Who?” The beginnings of a sneer are curling at the corners of your mouth but you manage to bite it back. You cannot, however, keep the impatience from leaking into your tone.

“My mother,” he answers back, gaze turning fond if not a little dreamy. “Her eyes are just like yours, soft and warm and—”

“Listen, that’s very sweet and all but I’m just trying to get back with my friends so if you could, just please leave me alone?” You’re trying really hard not to get tight with this guy but you know his type—pretty boys with an agenda. This trip is for you and your girls and you’re not about to let some schmuck ruin it for you.

He raises his arms in a gesture of defeat. “Alright, alright. I was just trying to break the ice. No need to worry.” Settling back against the wall, he tips his head back to close his eyes and you relax slightly.

Out of the corner of your eye, you see him shift uncomfortably but choose to ignore him in favor of your book. 

“Excuse me, are these…?” You feel a nudge against your arm and you frown, directing your attention back to him.

Dangling from his fingers is a thong. Your thong, to be exact. 

A gasp of mortification tears itself from your throat as you rip the offending garment from his grasp, rushing to shove it back into your backpack. The man has the nerve to laugh at your embarrassment.

“I thought so,” he chuckles, a dangerous smirk curving at the corners of his plump lips. Even his mouth is a pretty pink. You catch yourself staring again and quickly curse yourself, pushing yourself further against the wall of the gangway and away from him.

“Wouldn’t have pegged you for a black lace kind of girl.”

You whip around to fix him with your most annoyed glare. The fuck was wrong with this guy? “Excuse me?”

He’s still wearing that insufferable smirk and you have to fight the urge to slap it off his stupid face. “It’s just…you seem so pure. Sure that ain’t a little out of your league, sweetheart?” 

Mouth agape, you can’t even formulate a proper response to that. “I don’t see how that’s any of your fucking business?”

You congratulate yourself a little when you see his eyes widen fractionally, clearly taken aback by your response. Serves him right, creepy bastard. He drops the subject and you raise your book again to resume reading, albeit with a bit more force than necessary. You can hardly focus on the words, too caught up on the last few minutes to read properly. 

You’re halfway through a mental smackdown of Cotton Candy Headass when you feel something making its way into your lap. Startled, you look down only to see the little gremlin squirming his way into your space and under your book. You shoot him an incredulous look, unsure whether to laugh at the sheer gall or scream in his face. 

“Don’t stop on my account.” He smiles disarmingly bright and you would be entranced if you weren’t so annoyed. “I was just curious to see how you could read a book upside down. Very interesting style!”

You glance at the way you’re holding your book, face warming at the realization that you were in fact holding it upside down. Fuck.

“Alright, jackass,” you begin, pushing against his shoulders in an effort to dislodge him from your lap, “enough is enough—”

Just then, the cabin door slides open revealing one of your friends. You and Cotton Candy Creep turn your heads to your friend at the same time. Your friend raises a brow at you in a silent question.

“___? What are you doing here?” You sigh, opening your mouth to answer her, but a low voice beats you to it. 

“Why hello there, my dear. Did I keep you waiting?” Picking yourself up from the ground, you roll your eyes as you gather your bags. First you, now your friend? This guy doesn’t give up.

“I was scared you had missed the train.” Your friend, Sheena, says the words to you but is looking at your strange companion, eying him up like she wants to devour him. 

“Oh, not to worry, darling, I caught it just in time.” He sidles up next to Sheena, leaning against the wall with one arm.

“Good, I was…worried.” She twirls a lock of hair around her finger and you have to remind yourself that you love your friend more than you want to throttle her at this moment.

You sling your backpack across your shoulders before picking up your suitcase. If you had gotten the chance to eat breakfast this morning, you’re sure you would have thrown it up already.

“By the way, what’s your name?” He holds a hand out like a gentleman, as if he weren’t just commenting on your lingerie not ten minutes ago.

“Sheena…” 

“Park Jimin, at your service” he returns, grasping Sheena’s proffered hand to kiss the back of it, and you decide you’ve finally had enough.

“Oh, Sheena~” you sing-song, wiggling your fingers in a mock wave. “I’m over here. Shall we go?”

She has the decency to look sheepish as she turns to you, reaching out for  your arm so she can pull you to her side.

“Allow me.” Jimin, the little imp, slides the door open with a flourish, sending a last wink at your friend. You usher your friend through before she can get another word in edgewise. As you step through the door, you make sure to knock his knees as hard as you can with your suitcase, taking pleasure in the hiss of pain that escapes him.

As the door shuts behind you, you can’t help but mutter, “I hate men.”

“___, come on! Are you ready?”

You have just finished placing the finishing touches on your makeup when Sheena calls you from the bedroom. Sending one last appraising look, you deem yourself ready and make your way out of the bathroom.

“I’m here, I’m here,” you chuckle, throwing your small purse over your shoulder. “Let’s go!”

Grabbing your other friends, your small group makes its way down to the lobby. The hotel is having a party sponsored by Eurail in the middle of Paris and you can’t help but feel a little excited. You’re having a great time so far, surrounded by your girls, in the city of love no less, and you feel giddy at the thought of what’s to come.

You follow the directions on the invitation and find yourselves in a ballroom located in the back of the hotel. The doors open and the sight that greets you is—

Underwhelming.

The room is dotted with tables and waiters traverse the space, glasses full of bubbling liquid balanced skillfully on trays. It’s almost unnervingly silent as a drab opera singer sings on what you think is actually a dance floor that has been repurposed into a stage. You exchange wary glances with Sheena and the other girls before making your way through the cluster of tables and settling on one closest to the bar and furthest from that damned opera singer.

“Oh god, this party is so boring,” Sheena whines beside you, picking up a menu and flicking through it.

“I told you it would be,” one of your other friends, Jennie, pipes up.

“Yeah well, you also said that the train would get into an accident, the hotel would burn down, and we’d be poisoned by the food so forgive us if we were inclined to ignore your premonitions.” You roll your eyes playfully, nudging her with your foot to let her know you were joking,

“Hey, hey, ___. Look.” Sheena shakes you as you scan the appetizers, prompting you to look up to where she’s pointing at the entrance. “It’s your loverboy. And he brought friends.”

“Oh crap,” you whine, whipping back around and sinking lower in your seat. You hope he hasn't seen you.

“‘Loverboy’?” Jennie asks with a frown.

“I found him curled up in ___’s lap when I went looking for her.” Sheena smirks at you while you try to melt into the floor.

“Shut up, Sheena, you know it wasn’t like that. Especially considering the fact that the two of you started flirting right in front of me.”

“Oh. come on. Lighten up, it was only a bit of harmless fun. I wouldn’t dream of taking your man.”

You splutter. “He’s not my anything—”

“Hey! We should invite them over!” Jennie smiles obliviously. You love the girl to death but sometimes she can be a bit…airheaded.

“That is a great idea, Jen,” Sheena shoots you a devious look and before you can stop her, she’s already flagging the group over. You wish the earth would open and swallow you up—better yet, take both you and Sheena so you can have the pleasure of throttling her yourself.

The boys make their way over to you before you can think of an escape plan and you stare resolutely at your menu in an effort to block them out.

“Hi, Sheena.” His voice is just as soft and seductive as you remembered and it sends a familiar heat flashing across your skin but you quickly stifle it. He looks good, you notice begrudgingly. He’s wearing black slacks and a black blazer with a white t-shirt to give a casual vibe. He’s topped off the look with pink tinted glasses that make him look like some celebrity. You think it would be pretentious if it were anyone else but unfortunately, he makes it work. The slacks hug his legs almost sinfully tight, highlighting the strong muscles of his thighs and the rounded curve of his— 

Snap out of it! You abruptly stop your scrutiny there, shoving your face back into your menu. You will not let him affect you like he did in the train. You won’t. Still, you can’t help sneaking a glance over to him only to find he’s already staring at you. “Hello, sweetheart.” He shoots you a devastating smile along with a wink and you sneer, abruptly turning away.

“Hey, Jimin.” Sheena simpers and she’s laying it on a little thick, you think, but you know it’s all for show. “Who’re your friends?”

“Ah, this is Jung Hoseok and Jeon Jeongguk.” Jimin points first to a young man with the brightest smile you’ve ever seen and then to a slightly younger man whose eyes and nose crinkle cutely as he waves in greeting. The three of them are stunning and you’re left wondering how all the attractive people seem to find each other.

Birds of a feather, you suppose.

The boys make themselves comfortable at your table and you try your best not to grimace. Jimin may be an asshole but the other two have done nothing wrong. You actually quite like them. You’re enjoying listening to a story about the time they got kicked out of a karaoke bar when you overhear parts of another conversation happening across the table.

“You know, Sheena, I think I’ve seen you before.” Jimin is leaning close to your friend as if they are sharing some sordid secret. An unknown emotion churns in your stomach.

“Oh, really? What makes you say that?” 

“Your eyes. They remind me of someone.” You stiffen. Now, there’s a familiar line. The nerve of this bastard, reusing pick up lines? How much more pathetic can you get? You clear your throat, trying to appear interested in your conversation with Jeongguk and Hoseok while also keeping tabs on your friend.

“Oh? Whose?”

Jimin has a coy smile curving the corners of his plump lips. “My mother.”

Sheena coos at his words and you can’t bear to hear any more. You stand up abruptly, glasses clinking on the table with the force of your exit. 

“I’m going to get a drink,” you murmur to no one in particular and stalk over to the bar. You’re craving the burn of a shot or even the dim haze of wine but you abandon those notions in favor of a water, flagging down the bartender. You chug it a little desperately, relishing in the cooling effect as the water tempers the annoyance you feel for your unwelcome companion. Taking a deep breath, you push away from the bar and make your way back to the table where you find Jeongguk and Hoseok complaining about the music choice.

“I’m just saying, this party could be bumpin’ if the music wasn’t shit.” Hoseok glances over at the poor woman singing her heart out on the dance floor. 

Jeongguk sits up suddenly, a devious smile lighting up his face. “Let me see what I can do. Come with me.” He grasps Hoseok’s arm as he gets up, hoisting the man out of his seat.

“Where’re you going?” you ask Hoseok but he looks just as lost as you do. The younger man tugs at his arm, dragging him off to the other side of the room.

“Beats me.” Hoseok shrugs and he disappears with Jeongguk in the sea of waiters and tables.

You’re left a little dumbfounded as the pair leaves you but you shrug it off. You try to enjoy the evening before remembering that Jimin is currently flirting his way into your friend’s pants and your mood sours once again. Just as you’re in the middle of planning your escape, the lights dim and a voice comes on the loudspeaker.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” you recognize the voice as Hoseok’s and you can’t help but laugh in disbelief. “We are now going to progress to some beats that are a bit more…exciting. Ready, set, and begin!”

A song with a heavy bass and a pleasing trap beat bleeds from the speakers and the room seems to buzz with life all at once. A few squeals and cheers fill the air as people rush to the dance floor at the center and begin dancing wildly. You laugh, shocked that the boys managed to liven up this party in a matter of minutes.

They walk back over to your table with self-satisfied smirks on their faces. You smile widely at them as they approach. “That was awesome! How did you manage that?”

“I just hacked into the speaker system and synced up my music playlist.” Jeongguk looks rather bashful but still proud as he flashes you a sweet smile.

“Shall we dance, then?” Hoseok bows with a flourish and you giggle fondly, nodding excitedly. You glance over your shoulder and spot Sheena still with Jimin except now he has his hand out in a question and she takes it before following the pink-haired man to the dance floor. 

You don’t feel so good anymore but you’re determined not to let some prick ruin your night. So, you turn back to the boys resolutely and lead them into the throng of writhing bodies.

Jeongguk and Hoseok, you quickly learn, are incredible dancers. The power with which the two of them move is truly a sight to behold and you’re having a hard time keeping up. You manage to have a good time, though; when Jeongguk sees you struggling, he strikes a ridiculous pose and makes up the silliest moves, making you laugh merrily. 

Unfortunately, you can’t keep your gaze from flitting over to Jimin and Sheena every so often. They seem to be getting awfully close, you think as Jimin pulls your friend close to him and the sight is almost too much. Why, you’re not sure and you don’t want to let yourself think about it. You thought you were being discreet about it but Hoseok seems to notice your shift in demeanor.

“You’ve been moping for the past few minutes now.” He nods at something over your shoulder and you know exactly what he’s referring to. “Why don’t you go ask him to dance?”

Your eyes flicker back to the happy couple of their own volition and you spot Sheena leaning up to whisper something in Jimin’s ear. You wish you were anywhere but here.

“What? No, I— That’s not…no,” you finish lamely, knowing full well that was not the least bit convincing but not finding the will to care. Hoseok looks unimpressed and you’re about to reassure him when you feel a gentle tap on your shoulder.

“May I cut in?” The velvety smooth voice caresses your skin and god you wish he’d stop appearing everywhere. You’re almost rendered speechless as you stare into Jimin’s eyes, soft and playful with an undercurrent of mischief that both intrigues and irritates you. You glance at Jeongguk and Hoseok but they merely share a look, smirking at each other as they not-so-subtly back away from the two of you. Left with no other option, you gently sway to the beat of the song, allowing yourself to fall in rhythm with Jimin.

It’s awkwardly silent for the first few moments before Jimin finally pipes up.

“Why do you hate me so much?” He steps minutely closer to you and all you can see is Sheena pressed up against him as she whispers in his ear. An inexplicable anger flashes through you.

“Why do you make it so easy to hate you?” you fire back.

Jimin raises a brow at your tone but otherwise shows no outward reaction to your hostility. It only serves to irritate you further.

Just to make matters worse, he starts laughing. It’s a soft, tinkling sound and you hate how much you like it. “I think I know why.”

“You don’t know shit,” you spit, fists clenching at your sides. You have half a mind to smack him right there on the dance floor but you know it would only cause a scene. That’s the last thing you need on this night from hell.

Suddenly, he grasps your waist and spins you around so that your back is pressed to his front. You try to squirm away but he’s surprisingly strong, keeping you locked in place with one hand around your waist and the other caressing up the length of your body. You tremble as he begins to sway.

“I think you like me.” The words are nothing but a whisper, soft breaths fanning out across your skin and creating goosebumps in their wake. The music has slowed significantly and you can feel the bass reverberating through your chest.

“L-Like hell I do!” You curse internally at the way your voice stutters but he merely laughs, sending shivers up and down your spine.

“Then why can I feel you shaking?” Jimin guides your hips with his, coaxing your body to move according to his whim. You feel him along every dip and curve to the point you’re not even sure where he ends and you begin. It’s sensual and dizzying and ridiculously sexy.

“Because I can’t stand the feeling of your hands on me.” You’re desperate to hold onto some shred of your dignity, no matter how slim,  but then you feel the tip of his nose glide up the length of your neck and your brain short-circuits. You only just manage to reign in the urge to bare yourself to him, to submit, but you’ll be damned if you let him have any more control over you.

“Then why haven’t you pulled away yet, hmm?” You swear you feel his lips brush your shoulder and your eyes slip closed of their own accord. “I’m not even holding you anymore.”

It takes a second for his words to register but when they do, it’s as if he’s dumped a bucket of cold water over you. Your eyes snap open as you realize his arm is no longer holding you in place but merely draped across your middle in a loose embrace. You could pull yourself free if you just moved slightly forward. 

You’re not even sure when that happened and you know he knows this. This is just a game to him and you? You’re just another plaything at his disposal. The thought leaves a bitter taste in your mouth and you practically rip yourself away from Jimin as if you’ve been burned.

“I-I have to go.”

“Wait—” Jimin starts to say but you don’t wait around long enough to hear him out. You’ve seen and heard enough for one night,

Grabbing your purse, you all but run out of the ballroom, barely remembering to shoot Sheena a text that you were heading back to the room early. Tears sting at your eyes but you refuse to let them fall, especially not over the likes of Park Jimin. He’s nothing more than a pathetic excuse for a man looking for a quick lay. He’s not worth it, you desperately try to remind yourself.

But somehow, as you wait for the elevator, as you feel the ghost of his touch on your waist and the soft caress of his breath on your skin, your heart refuses to believe that as the truth.

It’s been 3 days since what you’ve deemed as The Incident, and you’re happy to report that you have yet to see Park Jimin.

Of course, you’ve seen him—you’re on a tour together after all—but you’ve made it a point to actively ignore him any chance you get. Sometimes you’ll run into Hobi (as he’s reminded you numerous times to call him) or Jeongguk and talk to them for a while but you don’t linger too long, for fear he’ll just pop up out of nowhere. You feel bad because you genuinely like the other boys but every time you catch sight of Jimin’s pink cotton candy head, your heart beats a little faster and your skin runs a little warmer and you just can’t handle that headache right now.

The Eurail train has stopped in a quaint little town on the way to Zürich and you decide to take the opportunity to stretch your legs. Besides, the sooner you get off the train, the less likely you’ll have an encounter with the object of your (des)ire.

Stepping down gently, glance around the station and spot a little road that leads further into the town. You don’t really have a destination in mind, figuring you’ll just walk for a little and then make your way back. You walk until you spot a quaint little souvenir shop and decide to check it out.

A familiar head of pink by the cashier makes you pause in the doorway and you nearly turn around to walk right out but he sees you and calls you over.

“___! Come over here, I need your help.”

You shift from foot to foot. You could just ignore him and continue on your way but the guilt that would follow would be unbearable. So you swallow your pride and make your way over to him, silent and cautious.

As you approach, you see him pouring over a small spread of trinkets. They’re little handmade pieces of jewelry—rings, bracelets, necklaces, you name it. They’re quite cute and would normally have you grinning and cooing but your present company puts a bit of a damper on that for you.

“Haven’t seen you in a while,” he begins nonchalantly. He doesn’t look up as you approach and you’re not sure if you’re annoyed or grateful.

You clear your throat awkwardly. “Uh, yeah, I’ve been…busy.”

Jimin looks at you then, a single brow raised that tells you he doesn’t believe you, which is fair. You don’t even believe you. “We’re on a tour of Europe together. What could you possibly be doing?”

You don’t really have an answer for that so you remain silent.

“Okay, nevermind that,” his voice brightens up significantly and you’re marginally grateful for the fact that he’s changing the subject. “Help me pick out a souvenir to take back home!”

A smile plays around the corner of your lips and you quickly bite it back. You will not be endeared by him. Your eyes catch on a small bracelet and you can’t help but fall in love instantly. It’s a delicate gold chain threaded with beautiful black pearls, a small pink flower resting on the end near the clasp. Your lips part as you stare at it for a little too long and you quickly snap yourself out of it to look back at Jimin. He’s already staring at you with a soft look in his eyes. The expression makes your heart clench so you look away, clearing your throat again.

“I-I don’t know,” you dismiss, glancing out the window where you can just barely make out the train. “Just pick something, we’ve gotta get back to the train soon.”

“Alright, alright. Calm down, sweetheart. Gimme two minutes.”

You check your phone impatiently, noting the time. The conductor had said you were stopping for about half an hour before you would be on your way again. You don’t remember the exact time you stopped but you know it’s getting close to the time you should be leaving.

“Sweetheart, can you come here a second? I always forget which coins are which.” Jimin beckons you over, a collection of francs in his palm and you send another despairing glance at the train.

“Jimin, I have no clue but come on, we’ve gotta go!” 

You decide to stop waiting on his slow ass and run out of the shop. You make it to the platform just in time to see the train pulling away. Jimin takes a bit longer than you, practically having to sprint after you, but he stops abruptly as he notices the retreating train. 

He starts to laugh in disbelief and you can’t help the tears that well up in your eyes. All your luggage and most of your money is on that train. And now you’re stranded out here, with Park Jimin no less. You try to hold back but you feel a few tears slip down your cheeks as the train disappears from view.

Jimin seems to notice your distress because he begins to panic a little himself. “S-Sweetheart, come on. It’s okay! Look, at least you’re not alone. I’m here with you!”

That only makes you cry harder, a small sob escaping your lips as you smother your face between your hands. Jimin falls silent, unsure how to handle your emotional display but doesn’t leave your side. It’s both comforting and confusing.

It takes a few minutes but you eventually regain your composure, adamant in avoiding Jimin’s probing gaze. You can’t believe you cried in front of him like a child. You’re embarrassed and annoyed and tired but you channel that energy into fixing yourself up to look like a functioning human being and marching over to the ticket booth and finding out the next train to Zürich. Just your luck, the next train isn’t until tomorrow morning. You quickly text your friends what happened, letting them know you’re safe and that you’ll meet them in Zürich tomorrow afternoon. You sigh, wondering how what should have been an exciting trip turned into such a mess.

“So what’s the damage?” Jimin asks. Oh, right. That’s how. You fight not to roll your eyes as you relay the information. “Oh, that’s no problem! We can just—”

“Oh no,” you cut him off abruptly, seething with annoyance. He thinks you want to spend any length of time with him after he made you both miss your train? Not a chance. “We are not  doing anything, I am going to find my own way to Zürich. You’re the reason we’re stuck here in the first place. I want nothing to do with you.”

Jimin looks taken aback but then his expression hardens. “Listen here, sweetheart, I know you’re pissed but you’re being a bit of a bitch. I’m sorry I made us miss the train but splitting up is the literal worst thing we could do right now. This is not to patronize you but you are a woman alone in a foreign country, I’m not about to abandon you just because you don’t like me. Now let’s just play nice and try to find a place to stay for the night so we can catch the first train out of here and be on our merry way. Deal?”

You blink, surprised by the force of his outburst. Fuck. He’s right. You know he’s right and the wave of shame that overtakes you is well-deserved. You duck your head, thoroughly chastised, and nod at him, following his lead as he turns around and begins walking back in the direction of the town. Glancing at him timidly, you murmur a soft apology.

He turns his head in your direction but doesn’t look at you. “What was that?”

You huff, squaring your shoulders. “I’m sorry, okay? You were right.”

Jimin looks at you then, a blinding smile on his face and you feel your body relax a little. At least he’s not mad at you. 

“No problem, sweetheart. Things like this happen. We just gotta make the most of it.” He falls in step with you so that you’re no longer trailing slightly behind and the gesture warms your heart just a bit.

“Why do you keep calling me sweetheart?” You thought it was just a cheap way to endear himself to you, especially back when he didn’t know your name but the way he says it doesn’t feel gross. It feels almost…nice.

“Oh, uh,” Jimin rubs the back of his neck a little shyly, the beginnings of a blush staining his cheeks, and you can’t help the swell of affection. “Sorry. It just kinda…stuck?”  

“No, it’s…it’s fine.” You look away, suddenly finding the scuffed material of your shoe very interesting.

Clearing his throat, Jimin forces out a gruff, “Good,” and the two of you fall into a companionable silence. 

Eventually, you stumble across a small inn a little ways into town, about a 25 minute walk from the train station. Jimin ducks inside, asserting that he’ll handle the cost of the room to make amends. You try not to smile after him as he leaves.

Key in hand, Jimin leads you to a small but cozy room on the third floor. It’s very quaint, a single bed dominating the room with an old settee off by the window. There’s even a small fireplace and a tea set. You slip your purse off your shoulder as you settle near the mantle.

“Wow, what a cute room!” Sitting on the couch, you marvel at its soft texture. “Where’s yours?”

“Yeah, about that…” Jimin hasn’t really moved from his spot by the door, rubbing at his neck again in what you recognize as a nervous tick. “This was the only room they had so, uh, we gotta share?”

“What?” You blink, hoping that he’s joking. 

“I-I know that it sounds weird but there really was no other option. I’ve already decided to sleep on the couch and you can—”

“Listen, I am fine with sticking together and getting back to our friends but this is just— I can’t…I can’t share a room with you.” You stand up abruptly but you don’t have any idea what to do with yourself.

“Why not?” Jimin seems confused and honestly, you are too. It shouldn’t be such a big deal, especially since you’ve kinda-sorta made up but this is little more than you can handle.

Glancing at him, you shake your head, words failing you. How can you explain that you just feel too much for him to be comfortable around him? How do you tell him that you’re having second thoughts about him being a total pain in the ass or about the stutter in your heart whenever he so much as glances at you? You can’t so you just send him a helpless look before storming out of the room, a flush on your cheeks and a heaviness in the pit of your stomach.

You don’t know where you’re going but anywhere is better than in there with the man that forces you to confront your feelings. Shaking your head, you figure you’ll explore the town a little. You could use the fresh air.

Jimin doesn’t know what else to do.

He’s willing to admit he fucked up with you at that party. He never should have come on that strong but you had looked so beautiful and, even though they were his friends, seeing you with Hobi and Jeongguk had ignited such a strong feeling of jealousy that he was helpless to do anything but whisk you away in his arms. He had spent that night tossing and turning in his bed. Now that he knew what you felt like in his arms, his mind refused to think of anything else.

But then you had run away and Jimin knew that he had crossed a line. He just wanted to tease you, maybe fluster you a bit, but never had he wanted to scare you off. You intrigued him. You were funny and sweet—to your friends at least—and it was quite fun to fluster you with his charms. He knew it was simply a physiological reaction, having nothing to do with any actual attraction to him as a person, but he was willing to take what he could get from you.

That, as it turns out, is absolutely nothing.  He thought he was making progress with you. First and foremost, he realized at some point, he wants to be your friend. He enjoys your company and likes your attitude. It doesn’t hurt that he finds you absolutely stunning but he figures he’ll cross that bridge when he gets to it. Right now, his main focus is getting you to like him and every time he thinks he’s close, something happens and you’re back to despising him. One step forward, two steps back.

Speaking of you, it’s been a few hours since you’d stormed out of the room in a flustered mess. Jimin didn’t understand why sharing a room with him was such a big deal but he respects you enough to recognize that your feelings are your feelings and he should just accept them. He’s beginning to grow worried, though, as the sun has just set on the horizon. It’ll be dark soon and he doesn’t even want to think about what could happen to you, a beautiful young woman, alone on the streets of an unfamiliar town in the middle of the night. 

He checks his phone and curses when he realizes that he still doesn’t have your phone number. It’s decided then; he has to go looking for you. Jimin leaps off the bed, grabbing his wallet from his bag and stuffing the room key inside, before practically sprinting out of the inn. 

Jimin’s not sure how long he searches for you but the light has long-since faded from the sky and the street lights have come on. He’s pretty sure he’s stopped in every shop and establishment along the length of the main road but he has yet to see any sign of you. He wants to keep looking but his stomach gives a ravenous growl and he forces himself to stop and take a break. You’re out here somewhere; he can just stop quickly and then continue his search once he’s gotten something into his stomach.

Ducking into a random bar, Jimin runs a tired hand through his hair. He’s about to head to the bar at the back of the place when he spots you sitting on one of the stools, hunched over a drink. Jimin’s not religious but he thanks every god above that you’re alright. All thoughts of food vanish as relief floods his body, nearly knocking him over with the force of it.

“Hey, sweetheart, you nearly gave me a heart attack. You can’t just run off  like that—”

“Jiminie~!” you cry with a dopey grin on your face as you swivel around to look at him. And, you’re drunk. Figures. 

“Jiminie, I saw the cutest puppy when I was outside and I wanted to take a picture but my phone died and so I couldn’t and I was so sad—”

You start rambling about how much you love puppies and Jimin just rolls his eyes fondly as he pays the tab and decides to get you home, hunger long-forgotten. Eventually he gets you out of the bar and the both of you start walking back to the inn albeit a bit slowly.

You suddenly speak up out of nowhere. “You know, I don’t like you.” 

“Yeah, I know.” Jimin can’t help the bitterness that creeps into his tone but he keeps his expression neutral.

“It’s because of your face.” 

“What about my face?” 

“It’s too pretty. Like what the fuck?? It’s not fair. You’re pretty and handsome and sexy as fuck and it’s just not fair.”

Jimin smiles to himself but tries to sound teasing. “You think I’m sexy?”

“Duh, I may hate you but I’m not blind.” A beat. “Okay maybe I don’t hate you. I hate that you make me feel things.”

“Things?” 

“Yeah, things.” 

“What kind of things?” 

“Bad things. My heart hurts when you talk to me but also when you talk to other girls? But I can’t like you. You’re a flirt. And I don’t like flirts. But I like you.” You seem to realize what you just said because you gasp dramatically. “WAIT, NO I DON'T! Well… kinda. Woah, I’m dizzy.”

You stumble and Jimin catches you, amusement swimming in his eyes as he gazes fondly while you struggle to keep yourself upright. As the pair of you walk towards the inn, you catch sight of a fountain in the middle of the town square and bolt upright, running over to it.

It’s quite pretty, even Jimin will admit. It’s relatively small, carved out of a sand-colored stone in a pretty, almost chalice-like design. Water trickles from a spout on the top where it makes its way down to the pool. Spouts surrounding the round rim all spray a thin stream of water toward the center and little lights within the pool illuminate the coin-covered bottom.

“I’ve always wanted to jump into a fountain!” you say as you stop in front of the structure to admire it.

“Why?!” 

“I don’t know, I saw it in a movie once and it looked fun!” 

Jimin glances over to you nervously and tries to grab your arm surreptitiously. “Well, maybe we should do that another time. You know, when you’re not—” 

SPLASH! 

“—drunk,” he finishes with a sigh.

You giggle in delight as you splash around, fully clothed, in the shallow fountain and Jimin can’t help the swell of affection as he watches you smile brightly. He’s never seen you smile like that before and he wishes he could be the cause of it.

You catch sight of the coins resting on the bottom of the fountain and you gasp dramatically, begging Jimin for a franc to toss in. Jimin laughs but acquiesces, lending you a hand as you struggle to get out of the fountain, dripping water all over the pavement. He watches you fondly as you clutch the coin with both hands up to your face and whisper into it like a prayer, swaying slightly because you are still a little drunk after all, and all he can think is he could watch you forever.

You abruptly open your eyes and throw the coin in, smiling softly as you wave at your coin. God, you’re precious.

“So… What’d you wish for?” 

You look scandalized. “I can’t tell you!” 

“Why not?” 

“Then it won’t come true,” you say as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world and Jimin wonders if it’s possible to die of smiling too much. 

“Ah, I see.”

You start shivering. “I’m cold.”

“That’s what happens when you jump into a fountain in the middle of the night, sweetheart” Jimin shrugs off his jacket and wraps you up in it. It’s not much but it’s better than nothing. You snuggle into the fabric, shivering again.

“I like when you call me that. My heart doesn’t hurt anymore when you say it.” 

Something tightens in Jimin’s heart and he’s overwhelmed with it, petting your hair softly. “Then I’ll say it for the rest of your life, sweetheart.” He whispers the words like they’re something sacred. He thinks they are.

Going slack in his hold, you lean heavily against him and your eyelashes flutter prettily as you struggle to stay awake.

“Come on, sweetheart,” Jimin says and he can’t stop the tender way his voice caresses the nickname or the reverence in his touch as he slips an arm around your waist. 

“Let’s go home.”

You’ve only been awake for a matter of seconds and you already want to die.

You have a splitting headache and your mouth feels like sandpaper. Well yeah that’s what happens when you drink too much, genius. You don’t even remember what happened after your visit to the bar but you figure it was nothing good.

You glance down at your clothes and find an unfamiliar t-shirt and a pair of shorts on your body. There’s clothes strewn across the room, on the bed, on the floor and your heart crawls into your throat. Now you’re concerned. What the hell happened?

Just then Jimin comes in with breakfast, some water, and, bless his soul, ibuprofen.

“Morning, sweetheart. Did you sleep well?” his voice sounds soft, softer than you’ve ever heard and you’re confused but also swooning? It’s a strange combination.

“Uh yeah, I-I guess I did. What happened last night?” You wince as you move to sit up. Damn, what did you do to make you so sore?

“Last night did quite a number on you, I’ll tell you that.” He laughs as he sets down the tray on the side table, perching himself on the edge of the bed as he looks at you. “How much did you have to drink exactly?” 

“Uh, I kinda lost count after my fifth or sixth vodka soda.” You scratch your head in embarrassment.

“Jesus Christ, how are you alive?” Jimin shakes his head in disbelief. Leave it to you, he figures. 

He hands you some water, which you chug gratefully, and take care to swallow the pills. He watches you, irises warm and pretty and you don’t like the way your heart flutters against your ribcage.

“You were incorrigible last night,” Jimin chuckles and you stiffen. What the fuck does that mean? “You kept pulling me in every direction, hanging off me at any given chance.” His voice is light and teasing and far too casual for what he’s suggesting.

Suddenly it clicks. The clothes strewn everywhere, the soreness, the strange tenderness in Jimin’s voice. 

Holy shit. Holy fuck. 

You slept with him. 

You fucking slept with him.

Jimin is still talking but you can hardly hear him over the ringing in your ears.

“We slept together,” you whisper in disbelief and Jimin immediately stops rambling about whatever the fuck and you’re still reeling with the realization that you fucking slept with him.

“What?” He seems confused but you can’t think about his emotions when yours are swirling around violently in your head, increasing the pounding against your skull and making you want to throw up.

“You fucking slept with me while I was drunk? What the fuck is wrong with you?”

Jimin’s eyes widen so much that it would be almost comical if you weren’t absolutely devastated. “What? What the hell are you talking about?” 

But you’re not listening anymore. You can’t, not with the way the blood is rushing too loudly in your ears, or the way your heart has crawled so far up your throat you think you could choke. 

Logically, you know this is not the worst thing in the world, that it may be a bit of an overreaction, but you can’t shake the feeling of wrongness that permeates your body when you think about what a vulnerable position you were in last night. Stupid, you think. How could you be so stupid? A desperate sob meets your ears and you’re all too aware that the gasping breaths are coming from you.

You can hear Jimin trying to reason with you but your body reacts violently, slapping his hands away every time he tries to reach for you. You cry, arms wrapping around your body in an attempt to hold yourself together but you can’t stop the tremors wracking your frame.

“___! Sweetheart, please, will you just—!” 

“No! Get away from me!”

You try to push him, shove him, hit him, but it’s futile and you only cry harder. Finally, Jimin decides enough is enough.

“Listen to me, ___. Listen to me.” Jimin’s hands come up to cradle your head, gentle but firm. His voice leaves no room for argument and you let out a pathetic whimper but look into his eyes nonetheless.

“I know what you think of me. I know you think I’m the scum of the earth, that I'm a flirt and a tease, and maybe I am those things but I am not a monster. Do you hear me? I may push boundaries and irritate you but I would never, ever dream of crossing that line without your explicit and enthusiastic consent.” 

His eyes blaze into yours with a passion you’ve never seen before. He looks serious and stern, but most of all he looks hurt. You did that. Before you can go any further with your self-hatred, he continues. “You were drunk and wet and I needed to get you into a change of clothes. I am telling you the truth when I say nothing happened last night. Believe me, please?”

You stare into his eyes for an immeasurable amount of time, back and forth between his irises and you feel all the tension within you release, as if his touch is a balm you never knew you needed to an ache you never knew you had.

Another whimper escapes you and you throw yourself into Jimin’s arms then, whispering, “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” over and over again and he just embraces you, shushing you as he strokes your hair oh so gently.

You stay like that for a long time, simply relishing in the warmth of his body, before you realize what you’re doing. Jimin seems to come back into himself as well because you both pull away from each other at the same time, albeit a bit bashfully.

“Um, so. Why don’t you go get dressed, hm? We’ve got a train to catch.” He starts to move off the bed but turns back to you with a glimmer in his eye. “I will be needing my shirt, though…” He goes to move closer to you as though he were going to take the shirt himself. You lean back instinctively but relax at his wide grin, soft giggle escaping his lips as he leaves you to it.

You gaze after him, a fond smile curving at your lips as you wipe at your tear-stained cheeks, and your heart is too light to worry about anything else.

Refreshed and ready to go, you pull up to the train station almost an hour before your scheduled train. It may be overkill but you are not missing another train, thank you very much. 

While you wait, Jimin gets you both coffee, for which you are eternally grateful. You sit on one of the benches, swinging your legs happily as you sip your drink. Neither of you speak but it’s a comfortable silence. Who would have thought you would get to feel so comfortable around Jimin?

“Let’s play a game” Jimin pipes up out of nowhere. You laugh at his innocent suggestion and decide to humor him.

“Alright I’m down. Whatcha wanna play?”

“Twenty Questions!” He looks so excited you can’t help but tease.

“What are we, 14?”

“If you don’t wanna play, all you have to do is say so, you don’t have to be mean about it.” He pouts and you laugh if only to stifle the urge to coo at him and pinch his cheeks.

“Fine I’ll bite. You go first.” 

“What’s your most embarrassing kink?” 

You smack him upside the head and roll your eyes. “Next.”

The questions continue back and forth for a few minutes, some of them serious, most of them anything but. You laugh until your stomach hurts about the time he got into an argument with his best friend over a dumpling incident.

“Listen, it was a very serious argument—” 

“Over dumplings.” 

“Excuse you, dumplings are very important, I’ll have you know—”

You laugh as he puffs his cheeks out at you. He even looks like a dumpling and you tell him as much, earning another pout from the man. Eventually the topic shifts to more personal things.

“Okay, okay, serious one now,” Jimin says and there’s an unreadable look in his eyes. “Have you ever been in love?”

The question is unexpected and you have to think for a moment. Have you ever been in love? You’re not really sure.

“Dunno,” you shrug. 

“You don’t know? How could you not know?” 

“I’m just not sure if what I felt was love or…something else.”

“Valid, I guess.” He falls silent for a moment before speaking. “I know for a fact I never have.”

This surprises you. “What? A guy like you? Surely, you’ve been in love before.”

“A guy like me?” Jimin smirks as he side-eyes you.

“Y-Yeah you know flirts with anything with a pulse.” 

“Okay, rude.” You both laugh but sober up pretty quickly. “But yeah no. I’ve had a few flings or whatever but never anything I could call love, you know? Just…never really met the right person.”

“What kind of person are you looking for?”

“Well…” He sits up a little straighter in his seat. “I don’t have, like, an ideal type or anything but…all I know is, that when I see them—the person I’m meant to be with—all my heart’s desires and dreams will come true.  And maybe that makes me naive or whatever but I feel like I’ll know when I see them. Maybe not immediately, it might take some time, but I believe my soul will recognize its other half.”

You sit there, shocked and dazed. You hadn’t expected such a serious answer from him. “I— That’s…that’s beautiful.”

“You should hear Jeongguk talk about it.” He laughs softly as he rubs the back of his neck. “Says he’ll hear bells or something. He’s a cute kid.”

“Yeah he is…” You’re still a little dazed hearing him speak so passionately about love. It makes you feel painfully inadequate.

“What about you? What kind of person could sweep the ever-elusive ___ off her feet?”

You pause, unsure how to answer. “Oh, uh… I’ve never actually thought about it? I don’t know, I’ve always felt like, if I think about it too much, I’ll get too excited. I’ve always been the overexcited type.” Jimin chuckles, remembering the other night. He knows that all too well.

“But, uh, yeah. If I think about it, I’ll anticipate it, I’ll wait for it, and if it doesn’t come well… that’ll make the disappointment that much more upsetting.”

Jimin frowns. “Why wouldn’t it come?” 

“I-I don’t know.” You fidget with your fingers, insecure. “What if… What if I never meet someone? What if I do and my heart—my soul—never recognizes its other half?” You look into Jimin’s eyes. “What if I’m just alone?”

His gaze holds yours for an immeasurable amount of time. 

“I think,” he says slowly, and you find yourself hanging off of every word, “that you’re overcomplicating it. Sure, life has its disappointments but it comes with the territory. Having things to look forward to makes life worth living, even if it’s something as simple as waking up the next morning.”

Jimin inches his hand slowly over to where yours rests on the grainy wood of the bench. He nudges your pinky with his own, wrapping your digit with his. It’s a small gesture but it fills you with an inexplicable warmth.

“All I’m saying is, it’s okay to want.” He says it with such conviction that you desperately want to believe him. “And it’s okay to feel disappointed if you don’t get what you want. But don’t let that stop you from doing it.”

You’re silent again but you can’t look away. The words come rushing out before you can stop them. “And what if I already do? Want, I mean.”

His eyes flick between both of yours and you fight a shiver. “Then it’s your job to do something about it.”

The sound of the train’s whistle breaks the moment and you find yourself taking in a breath you didn’t know you were holding. You glance at the approaching train before looking shyly at Jimin.

“The train is coming. Wouldn’t wanna miss it again.” You try to joke but you can’t seem to shake the residual tension from before.

“And yet,” Jimin hums, barely above a whisper, “I find that I want to miss the train again and again.”

The trip wraps up almost too quickly for your liking.

When the two of you reunite with your friends in Zürich, it’s as if something has changed. You find yourself glancing at Jimin more often than not, and he’s almost always staring right back at you. It should unnerve you, you think, but you feel…calm, almost peaceful knowing his eyes are on you. Powerful. You also find yourself thinking about him a lot, often at night once the lights are cut and all your friends are asleep. You can’t shake his words.

It’s okay to want.

It seems obvious; of course it’s okay for you to want things. But when he said it, it was as if he had opened up a whole new world to you. Had you been unintentionally stifling your own desires? What did you want? You can feel something niggling at the edge of your consciousness but it disappears when you try to pinpoint the feeling, like stars when you look too hard at them. It frustrates you and you want to talk to him but where you actively had to avoid him before your little detour, you can’t seem to find him alone for longer than a cursory greeting. An ache has settled low in your stomach and the feeling of something missing pervades you for days after. You don’t sleep well until the end of the tour.

You’re sadder than you thought you’d be to leave this trip but you chalk it up to how much fun you’ve had over the last two weeks. Definitely does not have anything to do with a certain pink-haired man. Absolutely not.

“Be sure to keep in touch, yeah?” Hobi smiles his beautiful sunshiny smile and you can do nothing but return it, pulling him into a warm hug.

“Of course! We’ll have to hit up a karaoke bar together. You know, one that you haven’t been kicked out of.” You elbow him in the ribs playfully.

“That was one time and I told you that to bond! You can’t make fun of me!” But his smile is just as bright if not brighter and you’re really going to miss him. 

You turn to Jeongguk and pull him into a hug as well. “It was so great getting to meet you. Now I know who to call when I need to liven up a party.” 

Flashing you his signature toothy grin, he practically bounces in place. “Anytime, ___. We should definitely hang soon!” After nodding your assent, you wave a final time as he joins Hobi and leaves the platform.

Your friends hug you and tell you they’ll see you later. With a wave, you send them off until you’re left with only one other person. Bracing yourself, you turn around and face Jimin with a shy smile. Your heart gives a dull throb but you ignore it.

“So,” you both begin before collapsing into nervous giggles. God, were you always so awkward? “You first,” he smiles.

“This is it, huh,” you marvel, reminiscing over the last few days. You can’t believe just two weeks ago you two were strangers, enemies even, and now you’re… Well, you’re not sure what you are but it’s definitely an improvement from your first encounter. “Can’t believe two weeks went by so quickly…”

“I know. Seems like just yesterday I was pulling your late ass onto the train,” Jimin smirks at you and you shove his shoulder.

“Yeah and making inappropriate comments about my underwear.” You glare at him playfully but it dissolves into a smile when you see his sheepish grin. 

“I never did properly apologize for that, did I?” He scratches the back of his head and you melt at the familiar gesture. 

“Hey, no worries. We’re cool.” Silence befalls the two of you. It seems to happen a lot recently, but it’s not a bad silence, just a thoughtful one. “Thank you. For everything.”

“It was no problem, sweetheart.” There’s something lurking in the depths of his eyes but you don’t dwell on it.

“Friends?” You stick out your hand between you. You can’t discern why Jimin’s face looks so drawn but the expression disappears just as quickly as you notice it, replaced by a beautiful smile. 

“Friends,” he repeats, soft as he grasps your hand almost reverently.

You look into his eyes and you once again find yourself trapped. The seconds tick on and you can’t bring yourself to remove your hand from his. His grip feels warm and comforting. Right. You don’t know if you want to think about what that might mean.

Inhaling deeply, you finally muster up the will to let go of his hand, albeit a bit begrudgingly. Jimin looks just as reluctant but plasters a smile. You return it, confused as to why there seems to be so much tension but you figure it’s the sadness of parting. Sending a last lingering wave, you go to turn when you feel a hand grip your wrist. You turn in surprise, a question in your eyes.

“I just… I have something for you.” Jimin lets you go for a moment to pull out a small box. He hands it to you, bashful. You accept it gently and slide the lid open. Inside, is the bracelet from that souvenir shop. The black pearls gleam back at you in the fluorescent light of the station and you have the strangest urge to cry. You look up at him, touched beyond belief.

“You—”

“May I?” He gestures to the bracelet and it takes a second for you to understand what he’s asking, too caught up in his thoughtfulness, but you nod silently when you do. You’re not sure you trust your voice right now.

Jimin beams, delicately taking the bracelet out of the box and wrapping the thin gold chain around your wrist. He clasps it securely so that the pink flower just brushes the inside of your wrist. Your skin tingles where he grazes you and the warmth spreads throughout your body until you’re filled with it. You look up at Jimin, eyes shining a little and you do your best to blink them back.

“I saw you looking at it back at the shop. Figured you’d like it.”

“I love it,” you whisper and you feel like it means so much more.

“Well…” Jimin clears his throat and steps away to a more appropriate distance. You hadn’t even realized you were practically on top of him. “I guess I should get going.”

“Yeah, you— I-I should head out, too.” You don’t want him to go, you realize, but you have nothing to convince him to stay. So you let him go.

“Bye, sweetheart.”

“Bye, Jimin.”

You both back away slowly from each other, as if to extend the moment just a bit longer. He doesn’t look away from you and so you don’t either. Eventually, you have to turn around to actually watch where you’re going. When you look back, he’s gone.

There’s a lingering emptiness in your chest as you walk home, not even bothering with a taxi this time. The feeling of something missing has only worsened, and now it’s at its peak. You’re worried that you’ve missed your chance to find it and the knowledge that it might be too late lingers like an intrusive thought.

You deflate, shoulders hunching protectively as you make your way through the city. From what you’re protecting yourself from, you’re not sure. The bracelet on your wrist feels heavy, like a shackle, and you wonder if you’ll ever be able to look at it without feeling the ghost of his touch on your skin.

Just under two weeks have passed since the Eurail tour and you haven’t felt the same since.

You expected it somewhat. That’s what traveling does to you. It makes you appreciate the beauty of the world, shows you a new way of life, and changes your perspective and you never leave a new place the same as when you enter it. But the reason for this change has nothing to do with the wonders of a new country.

No, it centers on one person. Park Jimin.

It doesn’t take you long to realize what the emptiness means, to recognize the shape of the hole that has permanently taken up residence in your heart. You find yourself plagued by it at night, tossing and turning until you eventually fall into a fitful and restless sleep. 

He starts to permeate every facet of your life. It first begins with the dreams, your memories teasing you with glimpses of his round face and delicate cheeks, of warm brown eyes that seem to look right through you to your core, smoldering. Then it escalates quickly to lingering touches on the back of your hand when you know you’re alone or the bracelet on your wrist will suddenly feel too hot, like a brand, and it’s like he’s surrounding you—his arms around your waist, his scent filling your lungs, his breath cooling your feverish skin. You feel suffocated but the illusions leave you more empty each time.

Finally it gets worse; you start to see him everywhere. On your way to work, to the grocery store, to the bank—it doesn’t matter but your mind always tricks you into thinking you’ve caught sight of the familiar shock of pink hair or his signature leather jacket. Each time sends you reeling and you reach out briefly only for the haze to clear and you remember how very much alone you are. You even start to hallucinate his voice, the way sweetheart would flow so easily from his lips, a balm to your searing heart, and you think you might need to start seeing someone about this. It can’t be healthy.

Still, life goes on and so do you—for the most part anyway. You still work at the little convenience store around the corner from your apartment just to fill the time since there are no classes for you to take. You’re still waiting to hear back from schools about graduate programs but you don’t worry about it too much. You’re confident in your grades and your abilities to know you’ll be okay, it’s just a matter of time.

Your shift passes relatively quickly, time seeming even more meaningless since returning from your trip. You fiddle with your phone, shooting a quick text to Sheena confirming that you’ll see her tomorrow for dinner. You’re not really up for it but you haven’t seen much of anyone in the last two weeks and you miss her so you decide to go. 

Which reminds you, Hobi had managed to get your number and text you, asking if you wanted to go out next weekend with him and Jeongguk. You want to go but you’re not sure if you can get through an evening of them without thinking of a certain pink-haired man. Sighing, you glance at the time and note that it’s time to shut down the registers and begin closing. 

Just as you turn around the grab the money bag from underneath the counter, you hear the bell of the door tinkle open.

“Sorry,” you call, straightening as you reach for the register keys, “we’re actually clos—” Your breath catches in your throat. “Oh, god, I’m actually going insane,” is what makes it out of your mouth before you can stop yourself.

Before you stands the object of your hallucinations in all his pink-haired glory. You blink several times, hoping the image will disappear quickly. When it doesn’t, your jaw goes slack.

Jimin looks just as shocked as you do but recovers faster. Of course he does. 

“___?”

You inhale sharply, trying to focus but it’s hard when he’s right in front of you and god, you’re not prepared for this—

“Hey, hey, sweetheart, are you alright?” The nickname rolls off his tongue so easily, like a gentle caress, and a strange feeling of relief fills you. Jimin approaches the register carefully, as if worried he’d scare you away if he moved too quickly. Maybe he’s right.

Your eyes drink him in greedily despite everything. He looks…good. An orange short-sleeved shirt with white and navy blue accents is tucked stylishly into a pair of black jeans that hug his legs nicely. You feel very insecure all of a sudden in your work uniform and you duck your head shyly. Finally, you find your voice as you clear your throat and tuck a stray hair behind your ear.

“H-How are you?” You wince at how small your voice sounds. Your heart flutters so fast in your chest you struggle to catch your breath but at the same time…it’s the first time you’ve been able to truly breathe. 

Jimin’s eyes soften and he smiles that smile that makes your knees weak. “I’m good. Very good. I— Are you closing up now?”

“Yeah, I’m, yeah. If you give me, like, 20 minutes, we can head out, together?” It comes out like a question but Jimin is nodding before you can even second-guess yourself and you’re running around like a madwoman trying to clear the register and finish restocking the last box from storage. After a final cursory glance and a mental run-down of your closing checklist, you deem yourself ready to leave. You spare Jimin a quick smile, motioning him to follow you out and you close up shop. 

“My, um,” you begin, unsure if it’s too forward for you to say this but you’re tired of constantly running around in circles to avoid your emotions. It’s time to face them head-on, dammit! “My apartment is just a few blocks over if you…if you wanted to stop over for some tea?”

You hold your breath for some reason as you wait for his response. His answering smile is dazzling. “Tea sounds wonderful. Lead the way.”

You don’t remember the walk to your apartment, which is literally around the corner, ever feeling so long. You’re all too aware of his proximity, can feel the faint warmth he emanates from his body, and you find yourself too preoccupied with the way his arm brushes yours as you walk side-by-side. Neither of you speak but it’s comfortable, just like it was when you parted. Though you are anxious to see him, a sense of calm pervades deep within you and you welcome instead of ignore the feeling.

As you step into your apartment, you panic slightly as you struggle to remember if you’ve cleaned up enough while toeing off your shoes. You send a surreptitious glance around, satisfied that nothing looks too out of place as you lead Jimin into your small kitchen.

“Black or green?” you ask him, gazing up at him only to find him staring unabashedly at you. He startles, seemingly embarrassed to have been caught but does not look away.

“Black would be great.” You smile, nodding before setting up a kettle to boil on the stove before turning to him. You’re not sure where to begin but it seems you don’t have to. 

“I missed you.”

Those few simple words send a pang through your heart and any resolve you had bleeds through you as you try not to melt into the floor.

“I missed you, too,” you whisper back, scared to speak too loudly and break the beautiful tension that’s building around you.

Jimin looks down at the floor, as if the knowledge that you missed him too was too much for him. “I-I thought about you. All the time.”

You soften, shuffling closer to him where he is braced against the fridge. His eyes are swimming with that familiar tenderness and you can actually recognize it. He looked at you the same way on that morning in the inn.

“I thought about you, too.” You feel more confident now. Something about knowing that he’s just as shy and uncertain makes you relax significantly. “God, I saw you everywhere. I thought I was going crazy.”

“I dreamt about you.” He says this in a rush, as if he thinks he needs to get to words out in case you stop him. With the way you’re hanging off every word, you think it’s safe to say you’re just as eager to listen as he is to speak. “About you, about us. I— I kept replaying the moment at the train station, thinking how stupid I was for letting you go—”

“Hey, hey, shh.” You close the distance between you, placing a gentle hand on his chest. “I let you go, too. We’re both a little stupid.”

Jimin breathes a laugh, tense shoulders relaxing as he fixates on your hand on his chest. “You’re still wearing it,” he breathes in wonder, bringing his own hand up to clasp yours as he inspects the bracelet still on your wrist.

“Yeah, I— It’s my favorite thing I own.” Jimin’s eyes practically melt into yours, the warm chestnut irises looking down at you with such fondness you can’t stop the swell of affection from rising within you. You think you’re going to burst from the amount of adoration and feelings swirling around inside you but it’s pleasant. You’re buzzing with excitement, no longer heavy with what ifs. 

Jimin seems to realize how close you two actually are at the same time you do because his bright smile gradually fades as his gaze flickers down to your lips. The air stills around you and your breath hitches. Anticipation swirls in the pit of your stomach, cloying and intoxicating.

“___,” he calls and you shiver a little at the sound of your name dripping from his lips like honey. “Sweetheart, may I kiss you?”

You nod, inhaling deeply. “Yes, please.”

Beaming, Jimin grasps the hand on his chest firmer and moves his other hand to cradle your cheek tenderly. He bends his head down, brushing your noses together sweetly. Your eyes slip closed of their own accord and you wait, lips parted as you feel his breath wash over you. A beat passes and suddenly you’re kissing, those plump lips that you’ve been dreaming about for days finally on yours. A tingle passes between your lips and you gasp, mouth parting more under the soft pressure of Jimin’s. He kisses you sweet and slow, as if savoring the taste of you. You feel his fingers thread their way into your hair to hold you in place more securely and you hum in satisfaction. Your other hand is gripping the material of his shirt at his waist and you shuffle a little closer, all too eager to feel his body against yours.

You melt into each other as you kiss, hardly breaking apart for air as you suck in greedy, rushed breaths from your nose. You’re content to just stay here forever but the loud screech of the kettle startles you into breaking the kiss. You both chuckle, exchanging a quick peck before you pull away gently to turn off the stove.

Jimin is not far behind you, wrapping his arms securely around your middle once the stove is off and you’re sure you won’t burn down your apartment. You smile to yourself before turning in his arms and wrapping your own around his neck, reaching up to nose along his jaw. 

“Now where were we?” You smirk lightly against his skin when you feel him shiver beneath your hands. A rush of heat flashes through you as you think of all the ways you could have him now that he’s here, finally. 

Jimin seems to be thinking the same because the hands on your waist tighten and you hiss in pleasure. “I believe I was kissing you breathless.” It’s his turn to tease this time as he grazes down the length of your neck and you bite back a moan at the soft, almost ticklish feeling of his lips against your throat.

“Hmm, I might need you to show me again. I don’t think I was breathless enough.” The words are false of course, compounded by the fact that you are currently struggling to get enough air.

“As you wish, sweetheart.” And with that, Jimin is on you again. You sigh into his mouth, reveling in the plush feel of his lips. He swallows the sound, pressing you further against him and you practically turn to jelly in his arms. He kisses you with a passion you had only just begun to feel before you were briefly interrupted and you can feel yourself getting swept up in it. You wouldn’t have it any other way.

Jimin swipes his tongue along the seam of your lips in a silent question and you swear your knees buckle from underneath you. You can’t stop the moan that escapes, humming into his mouth as you open up for him. Things turn hot and heavy very quickly and you find yourself backed into your kitchen counter as Jimin positively ravages you. 

You pull back for a moment, panting and your stomach tightens as you catch a glimpse of him. Jimin looks just as wrecked as you feel, pupils blown wide in desire and chest heaving with the effort to breathe. His lips are a swollen, pretty pink mess and a desperate whine tears itself from your throat when you notice. 

Leaning his forehead against yours, Jimin closes his eyes and catches his breath. “Do you want this, sweetheart? Say the word and we can slow down. I won’t be upset.”

“It certainly doesn’t feel like you want to slow down,” you tease, rolling your hips into his where you can feel the evidence of his desire against your stomach. His answering groan has you grinning wickedly.

“Sweetheart,” he moans, panting into the skin of your shoulder as you build up a steady rhythm and you can feel him stiffen further at the stimulation. “Please, answer me.”

“Yes, Jimin, please.” You punctuate the request with a final roll of your hips, pulling his head away from your shoulder so you can look him in the eyes. “Make me yours.”

A beat. Then, Jimin lets out the most animalistic growl you’ve ever heard and your thighs clench pathetically as you feel your wetness dampen your underwear further.

“You are going to be the death of me.” Pulling you to him, he crouches slightly until his fingers are brushing the backs of your thighs. “Jump,” he grunts.

You’re hesitant but you do so anyway and he catches you, taking a moment to steady you both before busying himself with placing kisses along your jaw.

“Where are we doing this, sweetheart?” Jimin murmurs against your skin and you have to take a second to focus yourself, a haze beginning to cloud your mind.

“Second door on the left,” you manage to choke out, whining as you feel his tongue leave a wet trail along your collarbone. You hardly remember the walk to your room but you certainly feel when Jimin deposits you gently on the bed. Backing up toward the headboard, you eye him greedily as he tucks his shirt to raise it over his head. You feel your mouth run dry and you lick your lips in anticipation.

“Something the matter, sweetheart?” He’s teasing you as he crawls on the bed, stalking. 

“Not at all,” you return breezily. “Just wondering when you were gonna come over here and make me forget my name.”

“Oh, not to worry. You won’t be able to think of anything else but me.”

Lunging at you, Jimin connects your lips together once again and your hands wander over the exposed skin. You marvel at the toned muscles of his stomach, humming and running your nails lightly over them. He shudders over you, breaking the kiss to pant in your ear. You use his momentary distraction to flip you both over so you’re on top.

“My turn,” you whisper. In a surge of confidence, you grasp the ends of your shirt and practically rip it off you. Jimin stares, mouth agape, at the newly exposed skin. He seems to snap himself out of his trance because he dives in immediately, littering your chest with kisses and nips. Your hips buck against his as he moves to unclasp your bra, cupping the flesh once he’s removed the offending garment. 

“Beautiful,” he murmurs, awed. “I could look at you forever.” 

Your ears burn hotly but you try to hide your embarrassment. “You just gonna look?” 

Jimin fixes you with a look. “I plan to do a lot more than just look, sweetheart. But I am patient. Something you should learn.”

“I’ve missed you for weeks now,” you gasp as he pinches one stiff peak as punishment for your mouthing off. “So forgive me if I seem a little eager to get to it.”

“There’s nothing to forgive.” He presses a kiss over your heart and if you weren’t already a puddle on the floor you would’ve melted. Somehow the words seem to refer to more than just your impatience.

You choke on a moan when Jimin pulls a nipple into his mouth, fingers tweaking the neglected one. The stimulation has you arching into his mouth and you grind down onto his lap, reveling in the feel of him, hard and thick, under you. You shiver at the thought of him inside you.

Jimin switches then, his other hand sliding down your back to aid your hips in their movement against his. You’re sure you’ve soaked through your underwear at this point, fabric slippery as you move. Finally satisfied, Jimin pulls back, admiring the wet, flushed mess he’s made of your chest, and ventures lower. Kissing down your sternum, he gently guides you down onto your pillows. You don’t even fight him, too excited to slow him down for even a second.

“Won’t be needing these, now will you?” He tugs at the waistband of your jeans and you scramble to undo them, lifting your hips as you help Jimin tug them down and off your legs. You’re left in your underwear as your only defense against his gaze and you shyly close your legs. Jimin clicks his tongue in disapproval and places a hand on both knees. “No hiding, sweetheart.”

He makes quick work of your underwear until he’s staring at your glistening folds with reverence. You mewl as he swipes a finger down your slit, collecting the growing wetness. Jimin circles your clit and you groan, back arching off the bed as you seek more friction.

“Jimin, please,” you gasp. “Want your fingers.”

“Oh, sweetheart. Since you asked so nicely…” Jimin grins deviously before slipping his fingers down to your fluttering hole. Sinking one finger in, he allows you to adjust before thrusting shallowly. He adds another finger after a minute and curls them upward, massaging the soft spot with purpose. 

“Jimin, ah, please!”

“Patience, my dear,” he chuckles. “I’ll give you what you want soon.”

You want to yell at him to get on with it but then he sinks a third finger in and the stretch burns so deliciously that you’re rendered speechless. The sound that reverberates around the room is obscene, filthy, but you can’t feel embarrassed as the fire in your stomach burns bright with each curl of Jimin’s fingers. He dips down to swallow your whines and cries in a searing kiss and you wrap your arms around him to crush him to you, eager to feel him.

“Now, Jimin, now. I’m ready.”

“Okay, sweetheart.” Kissing your forehead, he pulls his fingers out of you gingerly before moving to remove his own pants and underwear. You watch as he revels each inch of perfect skin, mouth practically salivating as he removes the final layer and bares himself to you. He’s not ridiculously long but he’s thick and you can’t wait to feel him inside you.

You spread your legs in an open invitation but Jimin shakes his head with a smile before settling on the bed next to you. You’re confused until he pats his lap, beckoning you over. You move quicker than you ever thought you could and straddle him.

“Want to watch you. Use me as you need to. I’m yours.” He looks deeply into your eyes when he says this and you shiver at the conviction in his voice. You grab him by the base, making him hiss, and line him up with your entrance. 

“And I’m yours,” you sigh, sinking down fully onto his swollen length. The stretch burns wonderfully and you can’t help the drawn-out whine that rips itself from your throat. Jimin doesn’t seem to be faring much better.

“Oh, sweetheart. You feel so good.” He tips his head back, eyes glazed and unfocused. You’re not faring much better but you’re determined to give him the ride of his life.

Bracing yourself on his shoulders, you push yourself up and you can’t stop the cheshire grin from curving your lips when he moans softly. His hands grip your waist tightly as you begin to build up a rhythm, guiding your hips as best he can. 

“S-So good, Jimin. So big.” And you’re not just stroking his ego. The stretch has you groaning into his neck as you swivel your hips in a torturing motion. The hand on your hip tightens and keeps you moving steadily, no matter how much you wanna speed up.

“What did I say about patience, baby?” He clicks his tongue playfully and you want to wipe the smirk off his face. Purposefully, you slow down your hips even more and clench tightly, dragging yourself up and down. Jimin chokes on air as you do so.

“What was that?” You flutter your eyelashes prettily at him and he growls.

“Don’t test me, sweetheart.”

A twinge of arousal flashes through you at the thinly veiled threat and you wonder just how dangerous Jimin can get. But, you suppose, you can save that for another time. Sufficiently placated, you resume your pace, taking care to kiss and bite at his neck, his jaw—whatever you can reach. His breath stutters as you continue your ministrations and you take pride in yourself for making him react so strongly. 

Eventually your thighs start to feel tired and the fire in your core, while burning pleasantly, has dulled to a frustratingly low simmer. You whine into Jimin’s neck, begging him to let you go faster.

“Please, Jimin. I wanna cum.”

“Go ahead, sweetheart,” he acquiesces. “I wanna see you fall apart on my cock.”

His words spur you on and you begin a desperate pace, soreness long forgotten. The blunt tip of his dick nudges against the deepest part of you and you gasp as if you’ve been shocked. The pleasure begins mounting and your hips piston faster of their own accord. You feel his pelvis bump against your bundle of nerves with each drag of your hips, sending ripples of liquid heat traveling through your body.

You lean down to kiss Jimin but you can do little more than pant into his mouth, especially as he begins to buck up into you and meet your hips with every downward stroke. “H-ah, Jimin, close.”

“Atta girl, sweetheart. You’re so beautiful.” The way he whispers into your hair, as if you’re something precious, something to be treasured, sends you into another frenzy and you let out an answering cry. “Come on, cream my cock, baby. It’s all yours.”

That in combination with a punctuated thrust has you hurtling so fast into your orgasm that you’re blindsided, mouth opening in a silent scream as the pleasure overtakes you. You hear Jimin grunt as your walls squeeze him for all he’s worth and you’re suddenly desperate to make him feel just as good.

“Y-You too, baby,” you manage to choke out. “Wanna feel you.”

Jimin groans, clutching you tighter to him. “Yeah? Sweetheart wants my cum?” You nod and that’s all he needs to buck up into you mercilessly. He lasts one stroke, then two, before he’s moaning out loud, pulling you in for a desperate kiss as he releases inside you. You swivel your hips for as long as you can stand it until the oversensitivity becomes too much and you have to stop. 

You both stay there for a moment, breathing in each other as you come down from your highs. Looking shyly into his eyes, you find him looking at you with that same adoring stare and your heart throbs in response. You’re sure you look just as smitten.

“Hi,” you whisper. 

Jimin smiles and you swear you’ve never seen anything more beautiful. “Hi.”

“We’re a little sticky.” You grimace as you shift slightly, feeling the combination of your fluids leaking from inside you and onto his skin. Not to mention the thin layer of sweat that’s left on your skin.

“That we are.” He laughs goodnaturedly, fingers trailing a soothing path down the length of your back and sending pleasant tingles down your spine. “Shall we clean up?”

“Yes, please.” You wrinkle your nose at him and he laughs, kissing it lightly as he shifts. Jimin removes you from his lap so tenderly you blush under the attention despite your previous activities. 

Cleaning up turns into a full-blown shower, the two of you crammed into your small tub and taking turns under the spray as you lather each other’s bodies with soap. It’s comfortable, you realize—almost too comfortable—but you let yourself enjoy it, relishing in the feeling of wanting and being wanted in return.

Once you are clean and dressed in a thin nightgown and some sweats that you managed to find for Jimin, the two of you make quick work of changing the sheets and soon find yourself curled up around each other in a comfortable silence. You’re lying across his chest, hand clutched in his while his other arm is wrapped securely around your shoulders, holding you to him. Your thoughts wander to the Eurail trip—the trip that changed everything. You think about what would have happened if you hadn’t hadn’t been late and reached out for his hand that first day, if you hadn’t missed the train in that small-town station. You remember what Jimin had said about wanting, about finding his soul. Everything rushes back to you all at once and you can’t help the swell of emotion that rises within you.

“Jimin, I…” you begin, but you have no idea where to start. Everything feels so intense right now, so overwhelming, but Jimin seems to know exactly what you’re trying to say. 

“I know.” He says it so calmly, like he’s had time to think about this, about you, and you realize he probably has. Just as you did. You smile softly, looking deeply into his eyes as you move to cup his cheek.

“I’m sorry it took so long for my soul to recognize yours.” 

“Don’t worry about it, sweetheart.” Jimin cradles your face, gazing at you fondly and you have trouble remembering how to breathe. “I found you, and I’m never letting you go again.”

© exoticarmyofcrowns 2020

[transsergio]

Emotions That I Simply Do Not Have (Read on AO3)

Chapter 2 - I'm Not Gonna Repeat Myself Chapter 1 - More Like A Relapse

Penemily + Hotchreid / Mature / 1747 words in this chapter

As Emily and Penelope grow closer, Hotch becomes more desperate.

Three months. It’s been three months of Penelope in Emily’s apartment, Emily in Penelope’s, of spending every second that they can together. Emily is having a hard time calling Penelope everything but baby in the middle of an investigation, and Penelope’s flirting has grown stiff.

“Why could you say all that stuff before but not now?” Emily asks one night, two glasses of sparkling cider on the coffee table before them. They’re sitting at opposite ends of the couch with their legs entangled.

Penelope rolls her eyes. “I mean, I could, but it feels weird! Like, I flirt with Derek, but that’s just banter between two very, very sexy friends. It’d be like…saying you’re the same.”

“The same as Derek? I hope so. He sees a lot of action,” Emily teases. Penelope kicks her lightly, with love.

“You think you’re so cute, huh? No, not like that. You’re special, and I don’t want to cheapen what we have.”

And Emily crawled her way up Penelope to kiss her.

Still, the team was perceptive. They were picking up on the energy shift between them and pretending not to notice. Emily figured a talk was coming sooner or later, probably led by Rossi. The only one who seemed oblivious was Hotch.

That may have had to do with the texts he continued to send. They were cracked windows into his life post-Haley, and Emily hadn’t responded to most of them. She had no idea what to say, or how to reject a widow, if she was even allowed? And they kept coming in. “Seeing a movie with Jack. Phone will be off,” and “Good morning,” when they were already at their separate desks, and “Our hands touched when you passed files yesterday. Intentional?” and “Do you like champagne?” They buzzed over and over, like a form of slow torture.

The last one, “Do you like champagne?” comes on one of Penelope’s nights at Emily’s. They’re lounging in her bed, Emily flicking through a magazine and Penelope stationed over an old lap desk as she paints her nails. Emily opens the message, sets it down, and tries not to think about it. She glances at Penelope.

“Pink and green?” Emily asks.

“Yeah. I’m embracing spring themes.” Penelope waves her careful manicure. White daisies are studded with a rhinestone overtop each finger. She wiggles them under Emily’s nose. “Blow.”

“Excuse me?” Emily laughs.

“Blow,” Penelope repeats, raising her eyebrows and looking between her girlfriend and her nails. “They’re not dry yet.”

Emily sighs and lowers her magazine. “Anything for you, princess.” She delights in Penelope’s big, perfect smile, and blows a steady stream of air over her work.

“Is that enough?” Emily tugs at Penelope’s wrist so she can kiss the back of her hand. “Penelope?”

Penelope’s gaze is far adrift, and she startles back to the present. “Sorry, I just… I was thinking.”

“About what?”

“I love you.” Penelope declares it with a certainty, a finality, like she’s made her choice.

When Emily freezes in place, Penelope’s hand still in hers, Penelope tacks on, “I know it’s soon. You don’t have to say it. But I know I love you, and back then you said we don’t know how long we have, so I figured I should say it sooner, not later. Are you okay? Em?”

“Uh, yeah,” Emily nods. She lets Penelope go. “Sorry, I have something in my eye.”

Penelope looks at her. She knows better. “Are you crying, Em?”

“Maybe. Shut up.”

They burst into a fit of giggles, and Emily clamors for Penelope. “I love you too,” she says, and takes Penelope’s face in her hands. She memorizes every detail, every crease, every bit of Penelope as she holds her whole world. “I love you so much.”

Before they can take another breath, someone pounds on Emily’s door. Emily wipes her face clean and adjusts her sweatshirt. “I’ll get it. Be- be right back. Stay.”

Penelope smiles through her watering eyes. “Aye aye, captain.”

And Emily swears up and down that this better be good and not some kid on her floor playing ding-dong ditch, or she’ll have to call the building manager and tell them all about how her girlfriend loves her, she actually loves her when Emily loves her too, and these kids interrupted –

“Hotch?”

Fuck. Emily should’ve looked through the peephole. But Penelope loves her, so she forgot.

“Prentiss. May I come in?” he asks. He doesn’t allow her to answer and barrels inside. Okay, so this is worse. If he sees Penelope, it’s over. They’ll have to tell Strauss, and internal affairs, and they could both lose their jobs. Emily herds him into the living room and puts the bedroom out of sight.

“What’s going on?” Emily asks. She crosses her arms over her chest and stands rigid.

Hotch is holding a bottle of wine. He’s wearing sweatpants and a college t-shirt, and he looks hazy. “I know you’ve gotten my texts. Your phone works, I’ve seen it. You answer calls from Garcia, Morgan, Reid – why not me?”

Emily frowns. “I answer you.”

“Do you? Because I asked you a question tonight and still haven’t received a response.”

Emily clarifies, “I answer you when we’re working. I told you. What happened, happened, and I don’t want to do it again.”

Hotch wavers, not in his position, but to the point that he lands on Emily’s couch. His cheeks are bright red. “That’s what was said. But what about the signals you’ve been sending?”

Emily scoffs. “Signals, really? What signals?”

Hotch clinks the bottle onto Emily’s table. He passes over the room’s low lighting, seeming to take in that Emily only has a few lamps and her vanilla candles lit. He makes Emily wait for his answer. “You – you’ve protected me. And you realized I was gone when Foyet came. You care about me, Emily, and you proved it the night we had sex.”

“I was drunk and in a low place. That’s all it was.”

“I don’t believe you,” Hotch says, quiet. His head is bowed, and his elbows rest on his knees as he hunches over. “Haley and I never felt like that.”

“Maybe because you’ve only slept with one person since high school? And, honestly Hotch, you’re not my type. I think you experienced something new and made it more than it was.”

He looks up at her through the dark flop of his hair. “If you honestly have no feelings for me, tell me and I’ll be g—”

“I have no feelings for you.”

Hotch sighs. “You’re not going to let me finish that sentence, are you?”

Emily shakes her head. “I already know the answer.”

He leaves the wine as he stands, and hesitates in the threshold. “You’re good at your job, Prentiss. This won’t impact your position.”

“I didn’t think it would.” Emily purses her lips.

Hotch gives her a curt nod, and the door shuts silently behind him. Which would’ve been the end of it if Emily didn’t have thin walls and good hearing. The sound of someone slumping down the hall, curling into a fetal position, and trying to stifle his weeping permeates her apartment. It tugs Emily towards the doorknob, to comforting her co-worker who she admired before they shared pathetic sex.

Penelope comes to her side, still gingerly avoiding the use of her fingernails. “You and Hotch?”

Emily turns to Penelope, wide-eyed. “I, yeah, once. I was blackout drunk. I don’t remember it, I swear.”

“No, I heard. It’s okay. We hadn’t done anything yet anyway, right?”

“Not…particularly?”

“Oh no, no, no. Elaborate. Now.” Penelope insists. Emily keeps herself moving about the kitchen, making tea while she explains. She tells the whole story, including the way Penelope has always made her feel, how she hated Kevin but he seemed to make her happy, the crush she harbored for years, and the realization that Penelope was never going to return the sentiment. That Penelope didn’t have what she felt. That Penelope went to bed early that night with her boyfriend by her side, who got to make her breakfast and see her with her bedhead and know what she was like before she entered the building and binge reality shows with her late at night when she’d already left the team where they were. And Emily, evidently, lost it.

“Hotch offered me a ride back. He was tipsy, of course, so he called a cab for us. I woke up naked and he was making breakfast.” Emily says. She sips at her mug, though the drink’s gone cold by now.

Penelope waits. “And?”

“And,” Emily tenses, “I was disgusted. It was one of the worst mistakes of my life. I thought about it, and I realized I was trying to punish myself for something. For being too much of a coward to ask you out in the first place, I guess. I had plenty of time before Kevin got there. I could have tried, but I didn’t. That’s when…”

“When you came into my cave,” Penelope finishes. She traces one of the rings stained into Emily’s kitchen table. Emily wants to let her process, to think, but the terror overrides her patience.

“Are you mad?” she asks.

Penelope’s eyes are loving, but wilted. “No,” she says. “I’m sad that I made you feel like that. Before you say it’s not my fault, I get it, but still. Because I liked you too, and I liked being your friend, and I didn’t want to jeopardize us on the slight chance that you were straight as an arrow. Which you should really work on if you want our private life to stay private. You’re like, the gayest agent I’ve ever met.”

Emily snorts. “Thanks, I’ll try.”

Penelope draws Emily’s hands into hers. It’s been long enough that her fingers aren’t even tacky anymore. “I think you might’ve been punishing yourself for something else, too. Maybe you were mad about why you couldn’t have me?”

“…Yeah. Yeah, there’s that.” Emily drags her chair closer to Penelope’s. She leans her cheek against Penelope’s shoulder, and allows Penelope to lay an arm around her back. Emily says, “I would’ve had hurt, angry sex with someone regardless, but the Catholic guilt didn’t help.”

Penelope rests her chin on the top of Emily’s head. Their breathing becomes inseparable. “You know I still love you.”

“I know.” Emily worms her way closer, practically into Penelope’s lap. She doesn’t hear crying anymore.

[what-is-your-plan-today]

Leave No One Behind Ch2: The Red Sea Diving Resort

Part 1

Co-Written with @icanfeelastormbrewing​

Episode Summary: Ari and his team arrive at their Resort and begin making plans for the first mission.

Episode Warnings: Bad Language words. Allusions to death and serious injury.

Episode Pairings:  Ari Levinson x OFC Hannah Horowitz

Song for Episode:  Night Fever by the Bee Gees

A/N: This is a long Chapter so we have split it into two Parts. P2 will be up tomorrow. J Again, we’re not historians, nor do we know Sudan in any detail…so if anything in here is factually incorrect, we mean no offence. Take it as slight creative license.

As always we live for re-blogs and comments

Series Master List   //  Main Masterlist 

And that sweet city woman, She moves through the light, Controlling my mind and my soul

“What the fuck is he wearing Cracker?” Max asked Hannah as he nodded over her shoulder. Frowning, she turned to see Ari had walked in, briefcase in hand, dressed in a dark brown velvet suit and a white and gold striped shirt with a large, open necked collar.

Hannah snorted “He looks like John Travolta.”

“Walking like him too…” Sammy mumbled.

“Night fever, night fever…we know how to do it…” Jake sang softly, and the rest of the group all started to chuckle, hastily turning away as Ari walked towards the table and dropped the briefcase down on it.

Ari greeted Ethan with a nod of his head and looked around the room. His team was already gathered standing around the oval metal table, chatting idly.

Max and Jake were sniggering about something and Ari could clearly see Sammy was trying to keep a straight face, hands in his trousers pockets and looking at his feet while bouncing on them. Did he want to know? Probably not.

And then he noticed Hannah. She was chatting with Rachel who was admiring the brown leather knee high boots she was wearing. Ari heard Rachel comment something about her loving chunky heels as Hannah twisted her left foot so that Rachel could have a better look at the boots.

But Ari wasn’t interested in the boots, well, ok he was, but his gaze then travelled upwards, following her black tights clad legs and thighs, until his eyes mid-thigh met the hem of the skirt of her maroon pleated chord pinafore. Luckily for him, when his eyes continued past up her waist and the long sleeved polka dot blouse she was wearing, and he could take in the delicate features of her face, she was still engaged in some sort of fashion conversation with Rachel.

She was stunning, but what was new there? He had to admit to himself he had felt his chest fill with warmth when he had been running through the fake passports Ethan had given him the previous evening. He had opened hers first, sitting on his bed in the privacy of his hotel room, tumbler of Scotch in hand. His eyes scanning Hannah's passport photo over and over again.  Those big round blue eyes looking directly at him.

Firefly, he had muttered running his thumb over the photo before gulping his drink.

Thus, Ari knew which would be the one on top at the deck of passports he was now pulling from his briefcase. He was going over the questions he would be asking each one of them in his head when he heard Max asking him something.

“You got chills Ari?”

“What?” Ari frowned, his head turning to Max and in the corner of his eye he noticed that Hannah turned to watch, biting her lip as behind her Sammy laughed and hastily started coughing to cover it up.

“Are they multiplying?” Jake chipped in.

“Are you losing control?” Max continued

“Coz the power, you’re supplying…it’s electrifying!” the two men sang together as Ari looked at the pair of them rolling his eyes, a smirk playing on his face. Behind him Ethan groaned.

“Yeah, yeah, laugh it up…” Ari’s mouth curled into a crooked smile. “I’m Guy Thomas…he wears this shit…its fashion. And besides, Max, you’ve no room to talk!”

Hannah snorted and turned to look at Max, taking his outfit in in more detail. Because they were all in Zurich at the NATCOR HQ under the guise of a simple Mossad business meeting, Ari had instructed the team to come dressed as they felt their Alter Egos would dress for work. Sammy and Jake were both dressed in suits and ties, Max was in a suit with an open collar pinstriped shirt.

“He has a point…” Hannah conceded “You’re like the Kenickie to his Danny…”

“Grease was based in the 50s.” Max narrowed his eyes at her.

“Yeah, which is when that shirt was in fashion.” Jake said, slapping Max on the shoulder. Hannah and Ari snorted before they were cut off by an angry noise from behind them.

“Save the outfit discussions for later.” Ethan snapped “You lot are going to get yourselves killed for fucks sake.”

“Ethan, Ethan…” Ari turned to him, his voice soothing “Just, calm down…we’ve not even started the meeting yet.”

“Exactly, and we’re already behind schedule so if you don’t mind…” He nodded his head in the direction of the table and everyone, suitably chastised, took a seat.

Ethan and Ari ran the group through the plans regarding the next few months and how the deployment was going to work. They were to fly out on the 4th January, from Zurich, where Ari and Rachel would meet with the Sudanese Government and get the paper work and everything signed for the lease on the diving resort. Whilst they were there Max, Hannah, Jake and Sammy were to pair off and head to 2 different places to pick up 2 different cars which would be ready and waiting with supplies from 2 in country contacts. Once the explanations were finished, Ari then picked up the false passports.

“So you’ve all had enough time to read over your covers.” Ari said, flipping through the pile of passports, selecting one “Remember, the point of being undercover is you keep it simple. So you should have memorised the basics, your name, date of birth, parents names, address, hometown that type of thing. Everything else you can make up on the spot but nothing too elaborate. Don’t take it too far from the actual truth because whatever you tell one person you need to remember to tell another.”

He paused and cleared his throat. “Ok, let’s see how you fare under questioning.” he looked at Hannah “Firefly, you first… Name?”

“Rosa-Maria Gomez” Hannah repeated back, without so much as batting an eyelid, her Spanish accent flawless.

“Where are you from?”

“Valencia.”

“What did you do?”

“Bar manager at a local hotel.”

“Which hotel?”

“Sidi Saler”

“How long for?”

“Just over 10 years. Travelled for a year or so after University, settled back home when I was 19. Never looked back.”

There wasn’t so much as a hint of hesitation when she spoke. Ari smiled at her and tossed the fake passport down in front of her. “Good job.”  he said and with a faint smile she reached for the passport.

Next he put Rachel through her paces, picking her up on the slight hesitation she had over her address and then Jake’s mistake over his elementary school name. He then turned to Sammy.

“Sammy…name. Where are you from? “

“I'm Liam Anderson. Australia.” Sammy said, picking up his passport

“First girlfriend.”

“Mary”

“Tell me about her.” Ari said, stopping at the head of the table.

“Mary Rose. Took my virginity and broke my heart.”

At that, Ari saw Hannah, who was sat at the far end of the table next to Sammy shift slightly. Despite himself he glanced at her and she caught his eye before she looked down at the table. Ari turned back to Sammy who was still speaking.

“We met at the University of Queensland in Brisbane.  I was 19. Later died in a car accident.”

“It's good.  Good work, Sammy.” Ari turned to Max “You're up.”

There was a pause as Max stared straight ahead before he glanced at the passport.

“I still think this is a stupid name for someone from Malta.” Max protested “Why Malta?”

Rachel gave a little chuckle as Ari looked at him, rolling his eyes as his hands fell to his hips.

“Max, when you learn a second language, that's where you can be from. Till then you're from Malta. No one knows what people from Malta speak.”

“What do people speak in Malta?”  Rachel asked.

“Maltese” Hannah supplied and sniggers rang round the table.

“See, no one knows, that's the point.” Ari said with a smile before he looked pointedly at Max “Name”

“Hello, everybody, my name's Irving Wilmington.” Max said in a ridiculously, fake European accent which made everyone start to laugh “And I'm from Malta-“

“You think this is funny?” Ethan’s angry voice cut across the laughter and everyone looked up at the man as he strode around the table. “Just for the record, there's not one person in this group that I would have chosen for this type of mission. You're all too reckless.” Hannah looked at Max who raised his eyebrows as if to say, he has a point…which to be fair, he kinda did.

“I've gone against every instinct I know.” Ethan continued as Ari looked down at the floor “broken every risk management rule I believe in, including sending two women to a Muslim country.” Ethan said, looking directly at Hannah then Rachel “So let's be very clear.  This mission has no backup.  There's no exfil plan for you.  You're going in without guns, or any other weapon.  If this goes wrong, you'll all be hanging from cranes in Khartoum.”

With that Ethan left the room and there was a moment of silence.

“Can’t wait…” Jake said, leaning back in his chair.

*****

Of course, nothing every runs completely smoothly. Jake was stopped by the Sudanese Immigration, simply to be released once he had paid the ‘bribe’ the officials wanted. Ari spotted him joining the others in the queue for cabs as he and Rachel departed in the car to the Tourism Board.

Then, they met with their contact in the Sudanese Government, Colonel Madibbo and embarked on the anticipated haggling over the price. The man looked Ari in the face and told him that the lease was five hundred thousand, to which Ari replied simply that they had agreed Two-Fifty. After a little bit of negotiation, Ari moved up to three-fifty, informing the Colonel it was their best offer, but then loaded told the man that could write it down as two-fifty and then take the rest and do something beneficial for the people of Sudan.

“You may not speak Arabic, Mr. Thomas. But you do speak the local language.” Madibbo laughed, and Ari simply glanced at Rachel before smiling back, fully understanding that the “local language” meant he’d given the man a bung, and that the extra hundred thou was going straight into the  Colonel’s own back pocket.

Bent bastard.

A few hours later everything was sorted, they’d been given everything they needed and Ari and Rachel walked out of the building, climbed in the arranged car and were dropped off on the main high-street where they headed to the inconspicuous Café that had been allocated as a meeting spot. Remaining in character, Ari and Rachel, or Guy and Angela, greeted their team loudly, as if it was the first time they had seen each other for a while, and then they all settled down at a table outside on the packed market square, and Ari briefed them as if he was briefing resort staff. They all listened, picked up on his cues and after a quick coffee each they all stood up to leave.

As they were leaving the Café, Max tossed one of the jeep’s keys at Ari, who caught them with a swift movement of his hand.  Once they reached the spot where the vehicles were parked Ari opened the driver's door to one of them and turned to see his team had stopped and were looking at the trucks as if deciding who was going to ride in each one of the trucks.

"Ride with me?" Max turned to ask Hannah waving the other set of keys in the air.

"Yup. I call shotgun!" she said as a reply as she walked round to open the passenger side door.

"Right, I'll be on the back seat." Jake quipped as she pulled the seat forward and gestured for him to get in the back.

Ari shook his head, hands on his hips, as he looked at Sam and Rachel through his shades before opening the back door of their jeep for Sam to jump in, tossing his backpack on the floor of the car as Rachel went to the side of the passenger seat.

"Guess the three musketeers have decided for all of us." Ari said as he jumped up in the truck, a trace of bitterness in his voice which wasn't undetected by Sammy.

"Oh my. The great Ari Levinson scorned by part of his team." Sam said, amused and Rachel chuckled.

"You're hilarious Sammy." Ari deadpanned as he fixed the rear view mirror for the third time in the last couple of minutes before he set off.

"Maybe you should keep an eye on Jake." he spoke again a minute later, turning to look at Sam as if trying to make sure he understood what he was implying. Sam examined him for a few moments before speaking

"Yeah, maybe. And maybe you should keep an eye on the road and stop looking through the mirror." Sam deadpanned turning his head slowly to the side window.

***** A few hours later, they had a quick pit stop to stretch legs and changed drivers. Ari was keen to make as good time as possible so it was only for a few moments, Max taking a well needed pee at the side of the truck, groaning in relief. Hannah shook her head, before she climbed in the back of the jeep. They set off again, and their gentle chatter struck up once more.

"So..." Jake said, turning to glance over his shoulder at Hannah, one eye sort of remaining on the road. "I've been dying to ask. Your nicknames..." "What about them?" She asked, turning her head to face him from where she had been looking out of the window. "Why does Ari call you Firefly when the rest of the team seems to call you Cracker?"

Max snorted and looked at Hannah who was grinning. "Ok so the cracker thing came from a mission." She said, thinking fondly back "it was the first one we all actually ran together...me, Max, Sammy, Ari...Andy..." she trailed off for a moment before she continued "we were sat round the fire one night and Andy had a pack of those little savoury fish cracker things. We started playing a game as to how many each of us could fit in our mouths. Max insisted he would win...but who in fact did win Maxwell?" "You..." Max sighed "by 2 crackers" "So Andy started calling me crackers which became cracker and it stuck..." she shrugged. "Well, with everyone but Ari that is..." "Yeah, so explain the Firefly thing..." Jake pushed. "The first time I met Ari was when he came over one evening with Sammy. It was just before Sammy moved out." Hannah said "I was 17 and we were sat out in the garden at the back. It wasn't a huge garden, communal like, shared with 3 other houses but I loved it because there was a colony of lightning bugs, or fireflies that frequented it. It was a few months later Sammy was being an ass-hat about something and I flipped out at him and threw a mug at his head. It missed and smashed against the wall but Ari found it hilarious. Told I was just like those little fireflies I admired so much. Such an ordinary, unassuming thing on the outside with a hell of a surprise packed away underneath..." Jake paused and then started laughing "Now that's a back handed compliment if ever I did hear one." Hannah grinned "I know. When I asked him what he meant by ordinary you should have seen his face. He was all flustered and stammering and worried he'd offended me. Lasted all of 2 minutes until I cracked up laughing and told him I understood." "Well, fireflies are pretty awesome..." Jake smiled "A symbol of light in the dark, hope, warmth" "Yup, all things Ari said to me when he was back pedalling over the whole ordinary thing" Hannah smiled with a shrug "either way, it stuck."

My little firefly…

“Tell him what you call Ari.” Max said and Hannah snorted.

“El Lobo hambriento” She replied after a moment’s pause “Or Lobo for short.”

“And that means…” Jake looked at her again for a second.

“Spanish for the hungry wolf…” Hannah said “It came from when he used to eat my Mama out of house and home whenever he came round with Sammy. And over time it got shortened to Lobo…just wolf…”

Jake laughed “Well, he is kinda hairy…but you know, that should be my nickname given that I am actually a Wolf.”

“By name…” Max teased “You look like more of a poodle.”

Hannah laughed and leaned forward, so that her head poked between the front to seats in the car “You can be Loop.” “Loop?” Jake frowned.

“Short for Lupin…Latin for Wolf, or there or thereabouts anyway. Or it could just mean you’re a total fruit loop, take your pick…”

Jake gave a huge guffaw of laughter and looked at her “Does that make you Little Red Riding Hood?”

Hannah snorted as Max shook his head, looking out at the window “That’s the shittest chat up line I’ve ever heard” he spoke, turning back to Jake.

“Can’t blame a man for trying” Jake winked.

After a total of six hours and a couple more stops to stretch and freshen up, if that was even possible in the middle of the desert, they arrived in the resort. But they couldn't properly see it until they got out of the trucks, the windows being partly covered by dust as they had taken shortcuts over sand dunes to save quite a few hours more off the travel time should they have opted to use the main roads.

When they finally got out of the car they took some clumsy steps on the sand after being into the confined space of car for that many hours. Jake lit a cigarette and as he looked at Ari he couldn't help but make a howling noise to Hannah who started laughing immediately. As if on cue, Max started howling too and the three of them were caught in a fit of hysteric laughter,  Max bending his body for balance and Hannah leaning on Jake's arm.

Ari, Sam and Rachel stood there watching the three of them, dumbfounded. Ari shared a glance with Sam before he shot his sister a look and she pulled herself together still trying holding back laughter. Ari sighed before he took a few more steps towards the main entrance of the resort and the rest of the team followed suit.

They all stopped still, looking at the ram-shackled building in front of them, the words Red Sea Diving Resort were descripted in fading red paint above the large, archway shaped door. Hannah removed her shades, looking at it, and she let out a loud breath from where she stood at the end of the line they seemed to have formed, next to Max.

“It sure doesn't look like the brochure.”  she said, and everyone turned to look at her, Max giving a small huff of laughter. After a second or so, Ari moved to the trucks to retrieve their luggage and the rest of them followed suit before they headed towards the entrance. Ari wrestled with the wooden trellised screen doors before he gave one a harsh push and it fell forward off its hinges, crashing to the floor sending up a cloud of dust and sand. He turned to look at them all, giving a shrug before he headed inside.  They all followed and Hannah cast her eyes around as they hit the main room. All the window screens were shut, leaving it quite dark despite the bright late afternoon sunshine outside. Chairs and tables were piled haphazardly around the edges of the main room of the resort, various other pieces of furniture dotted around.

“It needs a little TLC.” Ari said, turning to the team.

“Nice.” Rachel chuckled.

“Oh, yeah?” Sammy snorted, pushing the shaded lenses on his glasses up as he looked around with a laugh. “What a dump.”

Hannah watched as Jake moved to open one of the sets of doors which led out onto the beach and instantly the place was flooded with light. She glanced at Max who smiled and they followed him out onto the beach.

“This is paradise!” Jake sighed. Max looked at him, incredulously, but Hannah had to admit, outside it was beautiful. A secluded cove of The Red Sea right was in front of them, the sun bouncing off the blue water, waves softly lapping at the shore.

Max pushed his glasses back up his nose and headed away to his right, Hannah following as they walked round the side of the resort and up a small boardwalk which led to a small pier of sorts.

“Well, hello, gorgeous…” she heard Max say. Hannah turned to see him examining a spear gun which was leaned up against the glass windows in front of him. She rolled her eyes.

“Your obsession with sniping weapons is worrying.” she arched an eyebrow.

He turned to face her with a grin before he tucked his shades into his shirt and picked up the fishing spear, holding it like a gun, checking down the sight target. The two of them stepped further round and Hannah frowned as Max stopped under a wooden shelter of sorts and the pair of them spotted the large, silver fish hanging from the structure. It had been beheaded, the head laying on a grill, and Max turned to look at her.

“This fish is fresh.” he frowned.

“Don’t eat it…” Hannah said instantly, teasing him about his obsession with food.

“Don’t eat…it’s fucking raw.” he rolled his eyes at her.

“Never had sushi?” she shot back.

“Don’t care for it much…” he mused before they both exchanged a glance, the seriousness of the fact that the fish, was indeed newly caught sinking in as Max turned to call back to the resort.

“Hey, yo, this fish is fresh!”

Ari who had been walking along the shore, heard Max’s call, along with Rachel’s which informed everyone she had found a newspaper from this week .He stopped and glanced back into the resort before he opened the door into one of the bedroom huts. Taking a glance round he threw open the wooden window screens, turning his face away as the sand and dust from outside blew into his face. It was then a familiar smell hit his nose and he glanced down to his left and saw that there were cigarette butts in an ashtray. One was still smoking slightly.

And then, someone jumped up from behind a pile of furniture in the corner of the room and shot out of the door. Ari turned and sprinted after him, yelling for him to stop and calling to the team. They all joined him, sprinting around the corner where Ari stopped at the sight of a group of what they could only assume were locals.

“Hello.  My name...” Ari began, before he whipped off his sunglasses, figuring they might trust him more if they could see him eye to eye “My name's Guy Thomas.  I'm the new owner of this hotel.”

The locals didn’t speak, and Hannah noticed that the woman at the front, adorned in bright yellow local dress was glancing at Max nervously.

“Max, lower that thing…” she said softly, as he had the spear gun raised.

Ari turned to face him and nodded, gesturing with his hands “Come on.”

“Sorry.” Max said gently, as he slowly lowered his weapon.

“Abu Hamid.” the man at the front of the group spoke to them.

“Hello.” Ari greeted him kindly.

“What the hell's going on?” Sammy spoke gently through his smile.

“I think we just met the local staff.” Ari said softly, looking round at everyone.

Part 2

[purplesurveys]

1147

Have you ever overflown a bathtub? Hmm, I can’t remember ever doing that.

Why did you ignore the last person you ignored? My new manager, Kata, messaged me a bunch of links to EXO’s videos to get me into them – I looooove that she’s friendly and we vibe super well so I have a feeling will be close soon enough, but I’m still a bit shy so I ignored her for a bit while I was thinking of a reply haha. I’ve since gotten back to her, though.

What's your favorite pizza place? Yellow Cab’s pizzas have never failed me. Mama Lou’s is good too, but they don’t deliver to my area so I haven’t had their pizzas and any of their food in over a year now.

What was the last stupid thing someone talked you into believing? That we can stay friends. I believed it for a while and it was so mentally and emotionally deteriorating for me, so I did the right thing and let go instead.

What's at the top of your to do list in life? Save. I’m superrrrr frugal with my money and hate spoiling myself. I’d rather enjoy everything in the future once I feel like it’s right to settle down.

What's a song that would describe your life at the moment? What Type of X by Jessi. Maybe not my life, but the song certainly matches my mood these days.

Do you ever scream at inanimate objects? Occasionally, if they’re not working or if I accidentally hurt myself with them.

What was the last thing that you shared? I just had lunch delivered to Angela’s place as a surprise, if that counts. I got her chicken wings and these chocolate chip cookies she’s always wanted to try. It feels really nice surprising people with gifts; I might start making it a habit :) I have to credit my director Bea for it - she’s been having food delivered to mine and Kata’s places recently and I just want to pay it forward.

What smell/s can you absolutely not stand? Fruits. We constantly have a stock of oranges because my parents and sister like having them after dinner, and the smell is nauseating. Spoiled food is also high up on my list, and the general smell in Manila is also very foul. Go to other places in the Philippines if you’ll ever visit!!!

Do you ever eat leftover pizza cold? Yessssssssssssssss. Idk why but I find it really good? like even if I eat it straight out of the fridge.

Where are you the most ticklish? The sides of my stomach and around my neck.

Would you put your life in danger to rescue someone? Someone absolutely important to me, yes.

When you're wanting a midnight snack, what do you normally get? I usually don’t really like the snacks we have in our pantry so unless I already had food delivered earlier in the evening I just let the hunger fade because I don’t like having food delivered that late anyway.

Which cartoon character would you want to keep as a pet? Buster from Toy Story. Or Maximus from Tangled but in dog form, because I don’t know how to care for a horse.

What color best represents you? Something peaceful like off-white, or a pastel shade.

Do you like marshmallows? I hate them.

What is your favorite flavor of candy cane? I also don’t like candy canes, or candy in general. Too sweet and I can always feel how unhealthy they are whenever I have to have them.

Do you have any shoeboxes full of old photos/letters/other memorable stuff? My mom has several plastic bags filled with photographs over the last few decades. As for me, I don’t own any memory boxes; but recently, I’ve been sticking up notes from my friends and co-workers up on my corkboard.

Are you in any way double jointed? Nope.

Have you ever considered a career in music/acting? Never. I never liked singing in public and I’ve never considered acting.

When was the last time you felt seriously embarrassed? A few days ago when I accidentally turned my camera on during a work Zoom meeting while I looked completely unpresentable. Luckily I knew I clicked the button and immediately un-clicked it, but my video still showed up for like 0.001 seconds lol.

Have you ever liked a song, looked up the lyrics to it, then hated it? I don’t think I’ve gone so far as to hate it. I have felt slightly disturbed upon hearing the lyrics of some songs I’ve taken a liking to though; and Cherry Wine by Hozier certainly ticks off this box.

Which is worse for you: being hot, or being cold? Hot, which is why living where I do doesn’t work with me well for the most part.

What would be the icing on the cake for you this Christmas? Get nicer gifts for my loved ones. I was able to get everyone presents last Christmas, but given that I had just received my first-ever salary then, I wasn’t able to go all out as much as I would’ve liked. I’d love to spoil my loved ones even more for next Christmas.

If you had the opportunity to live forever, would you take it? Probably, as long as I was guaranteed to live comfortably. I’d love to see how else technology can continue to improve.

Have you made someone happy today? I hope so, when I got Angela food earlier.

Do you generally watch a lot of television? I do watch my favorite shows a lot, but not on television. Most of my content I already consume online.

If your bedroom walls could talk, what would they most likely say? They’d probably go over all the shit I had to go through and the ensuing breakdowns they’ve had to watch from me over the years.

What's your favorite Christmas song? It’s Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas, because it makes me feel festive.

Did you ever really believe in Santa Claus? Only for a brief moment when I was introduced to the concept, but kid-me never bought it because he never showed up.

Do you like the band Relient K? I’ve heard of the band name but I’m largely unfamiliar with them.

Have you ever seen a movie that was better than the book it was based on? Maybe, but for the most part I usually find the books to be better.

Do you like quesadillas? Yes, omg and with jalapeños and cheese *chef’s kiss*

Did you like the show Invader Zim? Nope.

Do you think tomorrow will be a good day? I feel like I’ll be sullen because it will be Sunday again, but I still plan on making the most out of it.

Do you ever talk to yourself? A lot.

Whose butt did you last slap? Idk, probably my ex.

Do you think that chivalry is dead? I don’t think so, but I also think it’s a bit outdated.

What's the greatest/most influential song you've ever heard? That’s a lot of pressure on a song... as much as I don’t really like The Beatles, I’d say Hey Jude has been pretty influential.

What's the weirdest thing you've seen in a grocery store? Not sure. If I had thought something I’ve seen was the weirdest thing ever, I would’ve taken a photo.

What is true love to you? Sacrifices.

Do you like chocolate milk? YES, lactose intolerance be damned.

Have you ever bought yourself a present on Christmas? Not yet. I hope to be able to this year!

Have you ever been on a mechanical bull? Nope, but I’d definitely get on one if I find one here.

Do you prefer to pull off band-aids slowly or quickly? Slowly. Actually, I prefer running water over it until it just slides off.

Have you made a mistake in the past week? I am constantly making tiny mistakes at work.

What was the last weird thing you said to someone? Idk, I feel like all the conversations I’ve had recently didn’t involve any inside jokes or general weirdness.

Have you ever met any bands/band members before? I got to work with one - Redd is the drummer for a local band but he’s since resigned to work with another company.

Have you ever sat on a copy machine and made copies of your butt? No. I’ve never even used a copy machine.

Are you a camera whore? Not at all, I hate posing for the camera.

Have you ever purposely dropped someone's toothbrush in a toilet? Never even considered it.

What kind of mood are you in right now? A little sad because it’s the weekend and I can’t even do my weekend coffee shop trips anymore because Covid cases are experiencing another surge (9000 cases a day!!!), protocols are everywhere again, and my parents already told me I can’t go out...those moments were my rare time alone where I can take walks and reflect and whatnot (and not to mention experieince air conditioning for a few hours), so it sucks to have to be stuck at home again. There’s not much to do at home to begin with, so now I’m just stuck in a cycle of taking surveys and finding videos to watch on YouTube.

What was the last thing someone told you that had you at a loss for words? I was ranting to Andi about how I started despising Diane from BoJack Horseman the moment she flipped out over Mr. Peanutbutter gifting her an entire library. I get where she’s coming from, of course, “understand people’s love language” and all that; but I felt like the very hostile reaction was super uncalled for and it reminded me a lot of my relationship with Gabie – I liked giving and giving, but it was either 1) never enough or 2) apparently the wrong way to show her love, and I was always the one punished for it in the end. I told Andi that because of my experience with her, I don’t even feel like giving a library (metaphorically speaking) to any future significant others anymore because of how hard I had it with her. 

Anyway, they gave me some advice about it and in the end they told me, “One day, someone will tell you, “Thank you for your library.’” It was very beautifully put and I struggled to find the words to reply.

What's something that always makes you smile, regardless of what’s going on? I’m not sure there is such a no-fail thing.

What was that last thing that you bought online? Food for Angela.

Do you enjoy riding around town looking at Christmas lights? Yeah, but the general mood for last year obviously wasn’t super festive and there weren’t as much lights, so it’s been a while since I’ve seen my village all decked out.

Is there someone that you're mean to for no good reason? No, that’s terrible.

What was the last thing you got out of the freezer? The coffee ice cream that I bought from Leigh yesterday! It’s crazy fucking good and I already feel a repeat order coming through.

Are you currently reading anything? No.

What's a good book you'd recommend? I don’t read anymore. I know child/teen-me would be very disappointed.

[queen-rogah]

Heartbreak Weather (part 2)

Roger Taylor x Reader

Series Summary: It's the story about the unexpected love between you and Roger Taylor that had lasted through thick and thin, through the challenges and darkness as you both find a way to prove that love is unbreakable...

In this part: The night in the club goes on with you spending your time with Roger. You really want to avoid your feelings to him but it seems like it does not go away—same goes to Roger too.

Warnings: language, lots of fluff, angst, a lot of alcohol consumings, mild smut (not that graphic)

Word Count: 7.7k+ words

Note: more grammar and spelling errors. more time jumps and fast-forwarded scenes. prepare for a sappy roger/cute reader in this part

HEARTBREAK WEATHER MASTERLIST | QUEENROGAH’S MASTERLIST

PART TWO: "BLACK AND WHITE"

"Finally, you're flirting with me." The drummer chuckles.

You blushed in his words as you let out a chuckle too, "I don't think I'm flirting with you Roger." You denied his words.

"What a shame because I wish you had been."

Your heart skipped a beat when he said that to you, with his ocean eyes staring right at you—Roger fucking Taylor, a famous drummer, a lady-magnet and a good-looking bloke enjoys that you're flirting with him, without even noticing that you're flirting. The way he said that was almost made you want to kiss him, but you're only a woman that is intoxicated with different types of drinks and alcohol is already running in your system.

Roger in the other hand waits for your reaction, and your reaction?

You just laughed. Again. Like a fucking maniac.

"I–I..uh..." You soon gulped and put your glass down on the counter, "Roger, I have a question..." You dodged the awkward situation as he hums, letting you tell him your question.

You saw his body moved closer to you and you feel something weird in your body, all because of just his aura.

"I know I saw you back there with two good-looking girls in your place and...I don't want to sound rude here but, are you just here talking to me—flirting maybe just to make me be like those girls? Do you want me under your spell or a one night stand thing because Roger...I am not that kind of a woman. I may be dressed like this, but that's not what I'm planning to do tonight. Or—"

"—I'm not that kind of a man Y/N. I'm not a man that meets up with a girl, sleep with them and just forget all about it in the morning. I really am not, but I respect on what you just said because I guess that's just the only thing you may think of when the name Roger Taylor pops into your head." He responds, sarcasm filled his voice after he said that.

You didn't know this turned out to be...personal.

And you think you just broke Roger Taylor's heart right there.

You absolutely regret on asking him that question in the first place, but your thoughts is that you're just making sure about everything because you really don't want to ruin a night like this in your life. You don't want to give all of you to a man you just met.

"I–I didn't mean to put it that way, I–I'm just making sure." You stammered as you apologize to him.

Roger just nods his head at you, knowing that he's not listening—just your words going through his ear and out in the other ear.

Roger thought you're different.

And all that he's been thinking about is to go back to those two girls in their booth.

"It's nice meeting you Y/N." He finally dismissed himself from you—to clearly avoid any drama as you watch him walk away like nothing had happened. You let out a huge breath when he just ditched you here, but you did get to the point that you're already offending him earlier, so you think it's your fault that he felt bad about himself. You called on the bartender again as you ordered a shot. You never drink too much in your whole life and you think this is the night wherein you'll get shitfaced—like Eleanor said to you earlier.

Speaking of Eleanor, you haven't found her since the time you saw her with that guy. Kelsey too had disappeared in the crowd and Cleo, she's still with John—clearly flirting with him back there.

The bartender came back with your drink as you stare at the alcohol right in front of you, "I guess it's just you and me again." You muttered and drank it all in one sip, then you ordered a second one again, a third one, a fourth one until you didn't count how many shots you've ordered.

When you're drinking all of those shots you've ordered, Roger is walking towards the booth to find the girls already gone, so he didn't get back there, instead he went back to the bar but he's in a far away distance from you, not seeing on what you're actually doing in your life right now. He didn't notice you pushing your way to the dancing people and started dancing with them too. You managed to find Kelsey with two men groping her while they dance as you also dance with them. One guy had his hands around your hips, your back pressed on his chest—dangerously close to him.

Roger wasn't intoxicated, he doesn't feel drunk after all those shots since it's been two hours since those round of shots occurred and the alcohol just faded out. He just had to leave the bar when he suddenly found someone entered the club that he recognizes, they are with their group of friends, wearing those skin tight dresses and revealing clothes to attract men.

Reese.

After that breakup and confession that she's been cheating on him for 5 months, she also planned to go here, with a couple of friends. Just like Roger had also planned after his mini tantrum onstage earlier. And he's still not ready to face her after the words he said to her, but he also wants to face her and say the other things he wants to say.

The words that is better left unsaid.

When her group is closely approaching to where Roger is, he suddenly decided to turn away and never face her, like ever again as he left the bar, walking back to their booth—but only to bump someone on his way there, he looked at the person to suddenly see you, looking completely wasted and your hair is sticking on your face because of your sweat that built up because of those body heat in the dancefloor.

"Roger—" You stopped and suddenly felt the bile slowly rising up to your throat. You cover your mouth as you pushed the drummer away, stumbling towards the restrooms. Roger, who's concerned if anything would happen to you, followed you.

Then he saw you going for the men's restroom, that's why he grabbed your hips and guide you to the ladies, "How many drinks have you consumed?." Roger whispered to you, you just ignored him and entered the restroom to let it all out.

Roger waited for you to finish up, his back leaning on the wall across the ladies' restroom.

After a couple of minutes, you are still inside the restrooms, sitting on the floor of one of the cubicles inside. You flushed the toilet two times and regret every ounce of alcohol you've consumed tonight, thinking that it's already in the middle of the night and you have work by Monday. You slowly stood up from the floor, trying to stand up properly this time. You left the cubicle and look at yourself in the mirror, the makeup you've put on is now fading away, so you just put on your strawberry lip gloss on and fix your hair. You stayed inside the restroom for a moment—not knowing that Roger is waiting for you outside.

Roger, who's looking at his watch a couple of times—not caring that it's already 1 in the morning, is still waiting for you to come out. He's already sober and not planning on drinking more again.

"Roger?."

Roger turn to his left to see her again, wearing a flowy kimono top, his eyes grew soft as he remember the words he said to her in that phone call.

"Reese..." He sighs, eyes softening.

"So you're drinking again? I thought you changed already—"

"—change? After that phone call earlier? After you fucking broke my heart through the phone? You're completely unbelievable Reese." Roger disputes, facing away from her.

Reese regrets that she followed him back here since she saw him—his hands holding you earlier. That left her curious about her own ex-boyfriend.

"Roger, always remember that breaking up with you doesn't mean that you will just go back to do the habits that I hate so much. I just want you stay the way you were when we got together." Reese tries to calm the drummer down as he shrugs her off.

"Why are you always pinning everything to me and my mistakes? Well look who fucking cheated in the relationship." Roger defends himself.

"Roger, I—"

"You don't know how you broke me so much when you said you found somebody else and it—" Roger trailed off, "—it made me think of the things that aren't good enough for you to love me."

Reese never see him so vulnerable. The one that he loves so much turns out to be the one who hurts him so much.

"Rog—"

The conversation stopped when you stepped outside the restroom, alcohol still running in your veins but manage to take care of yourself.

"Roger, are you–are you waiting on me?." You asked the drummer. He didn't say anything, he just approaches you, took your hand and left the hallway—leaving Reese all alone and dumbfounded.

Roger leads you back to their booth wherein they are still talking to each other and meeting more people, then watch him walk away from the booth.

You took your fur coat that is laying on the couch beside Cleo, "Where's Eleanor? She needs to drive us home, it's so late." You slap her forearm to get her attention to you.

"Oh, I think Eleanor already left with that guy earlier." Cleo slurred and your eyes widened.

You cursed under your breath, "Then who will drive us back? It's already 1 in the morning." You argued.

"Still early." Cleo replied to you and continue chatting with John and the others. You gave up and put on the fur coat and took your bag.

"Then I'm going alone." You stomp your way towards the exit to see multiple people still coming inside this club. You look around the street to see no cabs—just their own fucking cars. You think of something of how you can go home.

Hitchhike can be dangerous. Waiting for some cabs will never give you hope. Walking is the only way, but it'll take you hours to get back to your flat.

"Walking it is." You groaned, started to take off your heels. You suddenly stopped when the people in line became loud and see Roger walking out of the club with a man who protects him from the raging fans. You watch them making their way to a car parked by the street. Seeing him already hopping inside the car.

And you know just what to do.

"Roger! Roger it's Y/N!." You shout at the far distance and start to walk towards them, but only to be blocked by the man with him. "Wait—"

"Roger's off limits." He said to you and you scoffed.

"Excuse me please, he knows me! Roger, hey!." You wave your hand at the closed window. And then for a couple of seconds of you getting his attention, the windows rolled down with Roger looking right at you.

"What are you doing Y/N? Why aren't you with your friends inside?." Roger asked. You glared at the man, giving him the proof that Roger Taylor really knows you as he loosen his grip on you—letting you stand close to the car. Close to him.

"I–I need a ride home, my friends are already screwed up and shitfaced with alcohol or whatever it is. My friend who has a ride ditched us so, I really need to get home. I'm just by Waterloo Road, you can drop me by the park." You pleaded, watching him think of his answer.

"Alright, get in. We'll drive you home." Roger said and a smile appeared on your lips as he opened the door, letting you in the car. Sighing deeply as you finally will go home. Safe and sound in your home.

The car drives away from the street as you lay your head on the window, watching the streets and it's lights. This night out is truly one of the tiring and stressful—but it's damn memorable. Roger is also silent and looking out on the window by his side too.

You look over to him, feeling like he's not a celebrity but instead just a normal person. Tired, stressed and damaged—all because of the consecutive days of performing and touring from all over the globe. Hands calloused, muscles tight and uncomfortable for the drumming. You can't imagine how much pain he's going through—but probably you know every all of that is worth it to him.

And it left you wondering—who was the girl he's talking to when you stepped out of the restrooms?

"Roger?." You speak in the silence as he look at you, those tired eyes looking right at you.

"Hm?." He hums.

"I've been meaning to ask you. Who was the girl you've been talking to when I finished...you know...throwing up in the restroom." You asked him and you heard him sigh deeply, then you felt him being uncomfortable in that question, "Uh...forget about it, you don't need to answer it—"

"—she's my ex-girlfriend and uh...we just broke up through the phone earlier...before I performed in front of thousands." Roger cuts you off and answered your question.

You gape at him and let his words play along in your head again. That girl, was his ex that broke up with him through the phone.

"I mean...that's an impractical thing to do—breaking up with somebody through the phone." You commented.

"Psh—I know right. She found someone else and get in a secret relationship with that man behind my back for the last 5 months." Roger replied.

"That's fucking terrible." You reacted, then start to wonder again, "But why are you still talking to her earlier? Aren't you feeling a bit off with her with what happened?." You asked.

"I am a bit off of her but...the break-up is just so fresh and...you know, she's my first love. We shared years together, she moved in with me too but it turns out it's just a one big sham." Roger answered.

You didn't asked anything else to him anymore as you felt that he finally let it out. The burden, the pain, the heartbreak.

You took an intake of breath before you suddenly lay your hand on top of his. He reacted on your touch as he looked back at you, seeing his surprised face. Instead of what you thought he would do, his hand that's under your's slides off and took yours too, letting your fingers fully intertwined with his own. You can't stop staring at your hands together and just gave him a small smile, letting it be.

It's nice. The silence. And hands tied together.

...

The car finally reached the park. The hand holding also turned into something different—it's now your head laying on his shoulder when you took a small nap while on the road earlier. You woke up just before the car would arrive and now you're finally here, only a few steps away from your flat. Before leaving the car, you faced Roger.

"First of all, you're the celebrity I've ever met in person..." You chuckled.

"Oh really?." Roger raises his brows at you as you nod your head.

"Well, I nearly met Mick Jagger but there's just a lot of girls before wants to meet him and me and my friends gave up on it," You said, "And um, Roger?."

"Yeah?."

"Do you...want to come inside? Give you food and maybe painkillers for the hangover...as a way of my thank you for the help and the ride home." You shyly asked the drummer.

Roger was astonished on your offer, but the time breaks everything off. He really wants to come with you.

"I love to but it's so late Y/N, and I am on tour. I'm a busy man, perhaps, I can walk you there. I can't stand seeing you walk alone in this street." Roger said as he is now taking off his seatbelt.

"Roger, you don't have to—"

"—but I want to." Roger cuts you off.

You know you can't argue with him, "Okay." You gave him a small smile and took your seatbelts off too. You both left the car then started walking together towards your flat that is only meters away from the park where the car stopped.

You have your arms crossed in front of your chest, warming them in your fur coat. Roger has his hands stuffed in his pockets.

There's a distance between you two while walking there. Silence. Only hearing the barking dogs nearby—and crickets too.

"You know what," Roger suddenly spoke first amidst the silence, "I actually called this night the worst night of my life because our show earlier is bullshit, my long-term girlfriend broke up with me then I met her again and I broke my drumset—almost hitting Freddie onstage. But—"

You furrowed your brows when he stopped talking, "—but?."

"I don't know..." He trails off.

You finally stopped in front of your flat, Roger looking around the place and then right back at you.

"Well, are you sure you don't want painkillers?." You asked again.

Roger chuckles, "I'm fine Y/N, and you should be the one who needs to drink the painkillers. I saw what alcohol did to you." He smirks.

"Ugh, I'm horrible when I'm drunk." You replied, regretting that you consumed a lot of drinks tonight.

"So don't drink a lot next time. You seriously need a full-time nanny to take care of you when you're drunk." Roger again teases you.

"Oh fuck off." You laughed, "So this is goodbye, Roger Taylor."

"Don't say goodbye to me like you'll never going to see me again. We'll meet again soon, I promise that. You're–you're something to me Y/N." Roger said. You can literally feel your heart thumping loudly in your chest.

"Well then it's not goodbye Roger. I'll see you soon." You softly smiled at him before taking steps closer to him and plant a soft kiss on his cheek. The drummer was frozen shock when you showed that affectionate side of yours as he just watch you lean away and step inside your flat—making sure to wave goodbye before closing the door behind you.

You really are something to him.

...

NOVEMBER 27, 1974 — OLYMPEN: LUND, SWEDEN

Ever since that night, Roger wasn't over you.

You're in his mind all the time. Even though he met several girls on tour—slept with the others, but his mind was still glued to that moment you plant that kiss on his cheek. He was never been so sappy his whole life ever since him and Reese are sti together. Now those feelings he felt towards Reese before—he felt that again when he's with you.

And he loved that. Every bit of that.

And now that they've left the UK again, Roger knows that it's going to be a long time that he'll meet you back there. His body is focused on drumming and performing their music in front of the people who adore them, but his mind was clearly all about you. Not with the groupies who always comes with them on tour and tries to entertain the drummer.

"Earth to Roger Taylor!."

Roger snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Brian's voice echoed through this empty venue that'll soon be filled with loud and excited people that loved their music. They all heard most of the people in Sweden today are loving their works and Freddie—also the other boys don't want their performance a load of bollocks again. They want it to be perfect.

"Sorry—just thinking of somethin'." Roger muttered and gripped his drumsticks again as he steps on the bass—playing the queue.

But Brian suddenly interfere, interrupting the sound check, "It's so weird that you are so suddenly quiet and always thinking things. What's gotten into you lately after that night in the club back in London? What is uh, Cleo's friend—"

"—It's Y/N." Roger corrects him.

"Oh yeah, Y/N, that's her name." Brian said. Roger has his brows furrowed in confusion at the guitarist right now.

"And what about her?." Roger asked him.

Brian stood on the drum risers as he stared at him for a few good seconds—like he's reading his mind through staring in his eyes, "You're in love with her." He smirks.

Deacy lets out a snorted laugh and Freddie was shocked. Had his mouth agape.

"W–what? No! I–I am not in love with her—"

"—okay cut off the teases and let's just finish this sound check. Get off the drum risers Brian." Freddie stopped Brian's tease as Roger glared at the guitarist, who's clearly having fun bugging Roger—a clever liar.

"Yeah, get off the bloody risers and play your part. Come on let's start over." Roger said then played the tune of the music again.

Freddie sang the lyrics.

Brian and John joins in again with their electric and bass guitar.

Roger perfectly played his part—not zoning out anymore.

By the time the soundcheck ended, they all got inside the dressing room. There's still two hours before the show and to spend the time—Freddie sets up the scrabble that he always brought on tour so that he'll play with the others.

Of course, Freddie always wins.

Brian and Roger is always pissed off. John was just amused on their reactions while playing the game and Freddie beating the shit out of them.

"Brian! You promised we will have that rematch." Freddie teases Brian as he sighs, soon sitting down with him—picking his letters.

Instead of Brian's usual frowning face in seeing his letters, he's wearing a smirk—feeling that he might win this one.

Roger didn't joined the game. He found himself his own distraction-the blonde groupie that's been following the band since day 1 of the tour. He found himself a cigarette, now sitting on a chair where the girl is sitting behind his chair with her arms wrapped around his shoulder, her head resting on his neck.

He's just thinking about you earlier and now he have himself wrapped around the arms of this girl.

He really don't know what to do with his love-life anymore after that break-up. Tabloids have already known the break-up where it is shown in every celebrity page of a magazine or newspaper. It's always been Roger and Reese's face on that page, flashing to every reader that they got into separate ways.

He also saw Reese pictures with her new boyfriend. Hand in hand while walking around London.

Roger was still jealous. He still have that heartbreak inside of him.

"Want to have fun before you guys go onstage?." The blonde groupie—not sure if her name was Corinna or Karen but close enough, whispered in the drummer's ear.

Roger didn't said anything, he just stood up from his chair, holding the groupie's hand and led her inside the bathroom—locking it afterwards to prevent disturbance. He cups her face then kissed her hard, also pushing her back until her back was pinned on the tilted wall of the bathroom. He felt her hands reached down his crotch, soon groped his bulge while he's making out with her. Teeth clashing together in that heated kiss.

She soon slowly got down on her knees, facing his crotch as she unbuttoned his jeans and pulled his fly down and finally pulled his jeans down, wrapping her hands around him—giving it a few pumps.

"You like that?." She moans out her words, her hand still doing all the work.

Roger had his eyes closed—but all that is in his mind is you.

And that's where he lost it.

"—I'm sorry...I'm–I'm suddenly not in the mood." Roger mutters as he stops the girl, putting on his jeans again and looking at himself in the mirror. Clearly asking himself why did he just thought of you while this chick will almost give him a blow job.

"W–what? Roger?—" She stammered but he was now out of the door, walking back inside the dressing room where the boys are already getting ready.

Roger showed them a restrained smile, "How's the game?." He asked Brian as he reaches out to John's cigarette box, lighting up the cigarette resting between his lips.

"For the first time in history, I had beaten the shit out of Freddie in scrabble." Brian laughed at the lead singer—Freddie still giving him an annoyed look.

"Not that he won over Freddie tonight, he also beaten Freddie's highscore." John said. Brian was beyond proud of himself.

"What's the high score now?." Roger asked.

"One—fucking—sixty-eight hundred points in just a single word." Brian boasts with that wide smile. Freddie is still annoyed that someone finally beats him in the game.

"What's the word again?." John asks the guitarist.

"Lacquers. With a Q on the triple, all seven letters, triple word." Brian answered the bassist.

"Enough with the bragging, we got a show in 30 minutes. Let's all get ourselves ready and Roger..." Freddie stood up from his chair and start to look for his stage clothes.

"Yeah?." Roger replied.

"...your fly is undone." Freddie smirks at the drummer then left the room.

"Fuck." Roger groaned and zip himself up.

...

DECEMBER 8, 1974 — LONDON, ENGLAND

"Thank you." You thanked the vendor as she handed you the bag full of the clementine that you bought.

Christmas will be three weeks from now. People have been in and out of the markets to buy some Christmas gifts, and some are buying foods for the holiday—just like you. Avoiding the Christmas rush soon.

Your parents cancelled their visit to your place since they have this Christmas and New Year's party with the other neighborhood back home, completely leaving you all alone in the holidays. They will just visit just after the New Year's Day.

No parents in the holidays this year. So your plan this holidays is to eat your favorite dishes and get drunk while dancing to Elton John.

That sounds perfect.

You walk around the marketplace, looking and buying for more foods to cook and a wine to drink for Christmas. Then something catches your eyes, it's the newspaper where you saw the huge Queen plastered on the first page. You approached the booth where the newspapers are and took it, reading the headline that it's Queen selling out more venues around the world.

The new rock royalties dominating the world—yes, you heard them! It's Queen!

The photograph was Freddie singing out in the crowd, Brian on his left playing his guitar, John on his right playing the bass and on the drum risers is Roger who have his arms up while holding the drumsticks.

A small smile appeared on your lips, remembering your small time with the drummer that one late drunken night.

And then your eyes trained over the side of the paper, reading that it's about Roger along with a paparazzi picture of him and a beautiful lady trailing behind him as they leave the band's after party in Hamburg. He's holding her hand—guiding her out of the paparazzis.

Then you just imagined yourself being with him like that wherein cameras are flashing around. Being a couple, hands intertwined and both wearing fur coats.

You sighed and just put the newspaper back on it's shelf and carry on walking around. That night was three weeks ago—but felt like it's just yesterday.

You returned to your place, putting the bags filled with what you'll cook for Christmas on the small dining table in the kitchen. You took the phone and decided to call on Cleo.

"Hello?." Cleo answered on the second ring.

"Can you come over? I need someone to share the wine with." You replied, fingers looping around the phone cord.

"Nobody's stopping me for a free wine. Be there in 5." Cleo chuckles in the other line and hang up.

While waiting for Cleo, you took the wine that you just bought together with two glasses. You also played some music. The soft tune of the song filled the room.

"Blue jean baby, L.A. lady, seamstress for the band. Pretty eyed, pirate smile, you'll marry a music man..." You sang along while you open the wine and poured it on each glasses.

Just in time for the doorbell to ring.

You open the door to see Cleo before you-inviting her in. She take her jacket off and look around your place. Your tiny flat that you've been living for almost three years now.

"Free wine and Elton John playing," Cleo said and looked back at you, "You're going through something aren't you?."

You sighed, looking back on the newspaper where the picture of Roger and that girl with him then suddenly went all the way back when he driven you home. And your cheek kiss.

"It's nothing, it's just all about the thing I've said to you about Roger that one time." You said, now sitting on the couch with her while drinking the wine.

"I still can't believe you kissed Roger Taylor's cheek. Many girls are trying so damn hard to be on your place." Cleo smirks.

"It's hard to forget him because he promised me that night won't be our last night and soon to meet him again." You replied.

Cleo stopped drinking her wine, "Wait, you didn't told me that part though." She said.

"Oh, I didn't?." You asked. Cleo nods her head to you. "Then now you know. Roger promised he'll see me again and I can't believe I'm holding on to that even though it's been three weeks since that night and there are already pictures of him with a girl."

"Roger Taylor is a rockstar and rockstars meet a lot of women. He can't avoid a little distraction while on the road, especially for those groupies." Cleo said.

And that left you thinking how Roger was doing while on the road together with those groupies.

...

DECEMBER 13, 1974 — PALAU DELS ESPORTS: BARCELONA, SPAIN

Roger arrived late in the venue with a hangover because last night's happenings. When the time they landed in Barcelona, Freddie already planned on throwing a party for the last day of European tour. So, he rented a whole pub for them to invite all the people they know.

The management team. Some lucky fans. Roadies. Groupies.

A lot of alcohol was consumed by everyone in the room. A lot of people also dancing together—skin to skin, a lot of touches and sexual tensions.

They're all making the best out of it. It's the last show of the European tour, then everyone will be on their way home again to celebrate the holidays with friends and families.

Roger spent his time last night with a lot of alcohol and dancing. He soon found himself a girl to spend his night with. That's why he woke up late with a naked girl on the right side of his bed in his hotel room.

And that led him here arriving late in the venue where their last European leg show will happen. He was soon greeted by the others where the roadies are setting up the instruments for the soundcheck. Roger heard Brian playing the intro of Now I'm Here while Freddie is singing the song without the microphone. John was sitting on the stage while playing the bass.

"Thank god he's here." Freddie exhales as he smirks at him, "Rough night?."

Roger took his sunglasses off as he looked at Freddie, "Well it is your fault you threw that party in that club." He said, blaming him.

"You're welcome." Freddie said in sarcasm before turning his heel away from him and towards the stage again.

Roger chuckled and made his way towards the drum risers, playing his part even though he have this massive headache. Brian was also hangover and heard the wrong chords throughout the song.

And the song suddenly have that slow tempo unlike the original tempo of it.

Well, throwing that party would be one hell of a problem today.

Roger was getting pissed—hence the headache.

Freddie also heard the flaw.

"Brian! You're slowing down, we can't slow down!." Roger already argues. Completely stopping playing the drums.

Freddie and John looked at each other, but Freddie tried to break the tight tension.

"Alright, break off—let's have take two." Freddie laughs, trying to lift up the mood.

"I'm trying to slow it a little down—" Brian said, now facing the drummer.

"Well, it doesn't need slowing down. It's—god—it's creeping at the moment!." Roger disagrees.

"Alright, try—" Freddie was cut off, again.

"—God, it was so slow! And it's getting even slower. You always try to play this like I've never—"

"Come on, take two!." Freddie shouts, trying to silenced the hot-headed drummer.

Roger closed his eyes as he massaged his temples, trying to regain his composure, "Alright then, I'll follow you!." Roger said then look away from Brian.

Brian soon mocks him by making crying noises, but Roger didn't hear that.

"Done?," Freddie stare at the both of them as he finally received their silence, "Alright then, let's have take two."

...

"Oi! They're cheating!." Harold shouts as he pointed at Sheila's team while they are arranging the plastic cups pyramid on the table. He saw one of their teams still arranged the cups even though they already passed on to the other station. Completely breaking the rule of following the timer of arranging the pyramid.

It's the Six Stations—a popular team building game in this accounting firm.

A Christmas party is happening right now and you're just standing by the wall, watching them have fun and constantly cheat on the games. They don't care either. As long as they are having fun.

All what matters is that Fauna—your boss offers delicious champagne every Christmas party.

You saw Sheila laughing off her ass as she teases off Harold in being a killjoy about telling that they cheated. Like you just said, they don't care if anyone cheated. They're just here to have fun and receive gifts.

You also have a gift for the annual Kris Kringle gift exchange. You had picked Lorraine on the bowl last week and you just bought her a scarf since it's only suitable for your budget. But the scarf is one of the beautiful scarf you've seen in the market—Lorraine is lucky.

You saw Sheila approaching you while still recovering from her huge laughs in playing the game, "God, Harold is such a dick." She laughs off.

"Why do you always have to cheat? That's why no one really even likes you in this department." You replied to her as you finished off your champagne.

"Yep, no one likes me," She sighs but soon smirked at you, "But not you Y/N." She chuckles.

"Oh fuck off Sheila." You laugh, rolling your eyes at her.

"I've been one of your oldest friends since college. We took the same course, had the same classes since the end of college and even worked on the same accounting firm." Sheila smirks as you finally gave up, showing her a smile on your face.

Sheila Priest. One of your truest friend, but sometimes a pain in the ass.

"Wipe that smirk off your face now and let's join the others. I heard they are already doing the Kris Kringle." You said as you put your arm around her shoulder while walking towards the large conference room of the firm.

Everyone is there, having fun and dancing around. Then you always have to find him talking to someone in the crowd.

Damien Scott.

He's also one of your college friends—but only met him in your last year and you didn't know he will also work here to be an accountant too. He mentioned to you before that he didn't want to be an accountant even though he'll be graduating the accountancy course. All that he wants to become is a music producer. He wants to be behind the procedure of great music from great artists.

You really didn't expect he would turn his dream down to something like this. Just his plain old decision.

You both soon looked at each other as he shoots you a smile. You never talked to him that much, only some simple conversations will rise while taking a break or having coffee. Nothing much had happened.

"Alright people, gather around is we will finally start the Kris Kringle! I hope no one ever bought someone a risqué gift here." Fauna teases. You all laugh around, pointing at any suspects who would probably buy some sex toys.

"That's clearly one of my planned gifts though," Sheila laughs beside you, "And I picked Gerald." She snorts.

"What are you going to give him? A dildo for sure? That one that vibrates." You elbowed Sheila as she's trying to stop her laughs.

"Oh god, I regret getting him a shirt. That dildo would be the best thing ever." Sheila said as she catches her breath. "Well, who's yours?."

"Lorraine." You replied.

"Ugh, she's been a huge problem in getting gifts since she can afford anything." Sheila commented, now looking over Lorraine who's talking to Damien.

No she's not just talking, she's fucking flirting.

"She can afford anything, she can get anything." You said while your eyes are glued to the both of them.

Sheila noticed your stare, then a smirk appeared on her lips.

"Don't tell me you still have a crush on Damien?—"

"—I don't." You quickly replied and just silently sit there.

The Kris Kringle finally starts. Fauna will pick on the gifts that's on the table in front. Those gifts were labelled to the person who will receive it but the Secret Santa won't reveal itself until the receiver will open the gift and look for the person's name inside. Fauna picked the first gift and read who's the receiver.

"Come in front now Hilda!." Fauna said, watching Hilda stood up from her seat with a huge smile on her face.

Hilda receives her gift, opening it in front to see who's her Secret Santa. Then she squeals in happiness, "Jimmy!." She claps her hand, pointing at him and thanking him.

The gift giving goes on, Damien received his gift from Amanda and Sheila already received a gift and it's surprisingly from Lorraine. She got her a designer bag which sent Sheila to cloud nine and kept asking her if Lorraine's serious about the gift. Of course, she's serious. Your self-esteem and confidence lowered for your gift to her—hoping she would like it.

"Let me have Lorraine here in front!." Fauna again announced a name and that probably froze you in your seat.

You watch her made her way towards Fauna in front and gave her the gift, that turquoise colored gift bag that you used came from Eleanor that she also used for your gift in Christmas last year, Lorraine already have it in her hands and excitedly opened it.

"God I hope she likes it." You whispered to yourself.

"I love it!," Lorraine reacts as she pulls out the scarf you've bought, then came on your name inside. "Y/N, Y/N's my secret Santa." She smiles.

She walked up to you with the scarf already around her neck that completely suits her outfit, "This scarf is the same scarf that my dad gave to me before he passed away when I was a little girl. My mom, which is a monster, threw away that–that priceless scarf. And then now you're here, giving me this scarf again gives me life Y/N. So, thank you so much." Lorraine tears up as she tries to wipe away the tears so that it won't ruin her makeup.

Your heart flutters when you heard her story as you suddenly pull her in a warm hug, "You're welcome Lorraine." You smiled while rubbing her back for comfort.

"Fuck, I bloody cried." Sheila said and look over her wiping off those small tears of her's too. You let out a quiet chuckle and Lorraine finally pulls away from your embrace.

The moment was interrupted when you suddenly heard your name from Fauna. All eyes are on you when you are walking up front to receive your gift. A smile crept up your face while looking at the gift and finally open it up, revealing a book inside.

You pull it out and it's the book that you've been reading back in college—since you always go to the library after finishing a class.

Gustave Falubert. Madame Bovary.

You look for the name inside the bag but it's not there, but when you turn over the page of the book—there it reveals a small letter inside.

You remember it was a line from the book itself.

It was the fault of destiny!

You look at the bottom to see your secret Santa.

Damien.

"Damien," You muttered as you find him in his seat to see him already looking at you, "Damien's my secret Santa." You smiled.

You also smiled at Fauna before walking back to your seat with Sheila, Lorraine already got back to her own seat beside Damien. The brooding brunette man still has his eyes on you—deciding if he would talk to you or not.

"Madame Bovary. I remember that book you always read back in college when we visit the library. I think you already read that book a million times now—"

"Well, it's only been 7 times that I read this book over and over." You corrected her. Sheila shrugs.

"Still feels like a million times to me. I can't even stand reading Romeo and Juliet before and I didn't even finished it!." Sheila said as you laughed at her, reminiscing the time when she gave up reading Romeo and Juliet because of the deep English words that's out of her vocabulary.

You and Sheila goes on talking about your college life until the Kris Kringle is done. Everyone's got their own gifts and finally wrapped up the party since it's already 9PM. You can always catch Damien's look on you while you're arranging and cleaning the conference room. So you decided to make the first move.

You walk up to him and saw you coming towards him too, "Damien, hey uh...I'm just here to thank you for the gift you've got me. Madame Bovary is...close to my heart. I'm glad that um...I finally own a copy of it." You showed him a smile, feeling like it's an awkward one.

"You're welcome Y/N. You know the thing is, I know that book is very important to you." His deep Irish accent again fills your ears and what he said caught you off guard.

"W–what? Does it mean..." You try to remember your first year in college, where you still didn't even know him, "...are you the student librarian before?."

Damien broke off a smile, "Yes, yes I am. I remember that book is always the one I have to write down in your library card." He chuckles.

"God, I'm sorry. It must've been a tough time for you always writing down Madame Bovary in my card," You laughed as he laugh along too, "So uh, again, thank you Damien. It really mean so much to me."

"Anything for you Y/N."

The conversation ended there.

Your heels turn away from him again, walking away as you approach Sheila who's waiting for you in the main entrance of the building.

"Aren't you be heading home?." You asked her.

"Sleepover at yours? It's been a year since I slept in your flat again." Sheila asked with that pleading eyes again.

"Fine. You can stay at mine's." You said and Sheila throw her arms around you while walking down the block—already excited and planning on hanging out in your place until midnight.

...

Doorbell.

The doorbell was ringing—it's already 10AM.

You and Sheila are still enjoying your sleep. Her legs are resting on top of your hips as you kick her legs out from you.

"Sheilaaaaa, can you get the door for me please?." You slurred in your sleep, saying that with your eyes closed.

Sheila groans but you still slap her arm to wake her up.

"Sheila." You groaned and turn to your other side, pulling the covers off her.

Sheila opens her eyes and glared at you before leaving the bed, still sleepy and tired. She pushed the stray hairs away from her face as she reach out for the knob, opening the front door.

Your friend was shocked to what she's just looking at.

"Y/N!." Sheila shouted from the front door.

You heard it as you slowly open your eyes, but never leave the bed. Maybe the whole neighborhood also heard Sheila's scream.

"Y/N! Roger fucking Taylor is outside your door!." Sheila screams again.

And that made you jolt up from your bed.

"What?!."

___________________________ FINALLY I FINISHED THIS PART! It's been days since I've been working this part though—it's kinda tough.

Anyways, DAISY RIDLEY as Sheila Priest

And NIALL HORAN as Damien Scott (ok guys i had to. I HAD TO!)

Then this is Reese's outfit in the club:

taglist: @peter-sue-the-management​ @beatlesdotcom​ @rogahs-drowse​ @winchestergirl13-27​ @ixchel-9275​ 

IF YOU WANT TO BE IN THE TAGLIST, PLEASE LET ME KNOW!

[ramblinganthropologist]

N7 challenge 18 and 19 - Blue and Substance

Yep, doubling up prompts again... it’s Nano, I’m only human. 

Summary: Extra, extra... Commander Shepard’s gotta engage in some mild censhorship after a tabloid leaks a photo of him imbibing a mysterious substance. Just what is it... and why does it smell like blue raspberry? The hell is the Alliance up to these days? 

---

…

Why did he get the feeling he was being watched by more than just hamsters?

It was probably just a feeling, but Alistair couldn't shake it as he entered Citadel Critters that afternoon.  Normally this was his favorite place on the station, but... well, the walk over from the docks had been unnerving to say the least. If anyone caught sight of him, they stared. A few even whispered, but it was all too low for him to pick up.

Great, who was he fucking now according to the media?

“Good to see you, Al.”

At least Mike looked normal and happy to see him. Alistair was glad for that as he raised his hand in a friendly greeting. That was of course a mistake – from the wrist almost to his elbow he was still bandaged up like a mummy. At least the bandages had stopped bleeding.

Normally medigel would be the thing for this, but the wound type needed healing the old fashioned way. As a medic he understood it... but as a twitchy biotic, it was itchy as hell and he hated every moment of it.

The shopkeeper winced at the sight of him. “Am I allowed to ask what happened there, or is it secret Spectre shit?”

“I got too close to a krogan on Tuchanka and we traded paint. Their bacteria is pretty toxic, so I can't seal it up with medigel.” He shrugged. “Least I didn't break anything. Then that would have to heal the old fashioned way too.”

He was kind of glad that krogan was dead, all things considered. Not just because he tried to kill him, but he tried to kill his nephew during his Proving. Nobody messed with Grunt and got away with it; didn't matter what it was. Shit, he'd taken on a thresher maw for the kid and he still had to go to therapy considering them. If that wasn't proof he liked the guy, nothing was.

But anyway, he was glad that fucker was dead. Asshole.

“Now you're fighting krogan hand to hand? Maybe there's something to that tabloid story after all.” Mike winced as he seemed to bite his tongue. “Shit, I said I wasn't going to ask you about that, it's clearly bullshit...”

…

What was clearly bullshit?

Alistair frowned as he checked his omni-tool, going to a site he knew fairly well. It had been a while since he had checked in with Citadel Daily, but it looked like for the most part they were still behaving. Sure, he wound up there – but they weren't mentioning who he was fucking or anything.

The answer was nobody, by the way, because the universe hated him.

“Well... it's not from Citadel Daily, so I think you're going to have to fill me in.”

The shopkeeper looked uncomfortable as he rubbed the back of his neck. “It's from some smaller paper, but it's kind of gone viral. They ran it in last week's Spec-Check.”

Ah, he'd heard of that. Hell, he'd been in it once or twice. Half the time it was getting censored by the Council for accidentally falling ass first into the truth, and the rest of their stories were so obviously fake that they provided excellent cover. The ones about him had all been fake... but maybe it would explain the stares.

Mike grabbed his datapad from a nearby table and tabbed over to an article he had clearly read a couple times. He wasn't looking Alistair in the eye as he handed it over, and his hand trembled a bit. Clearly, someone was feeling a little guilty...

“What the hell?”

There, in bright font, screamed out “Commander Shepard: Under the Influence of Biotic Boosting Substances?” with a picture of him in armor. His eyebrow zoomed to his hairline as he realized it was taken on Tuchanka. How had he missed a krogan taking a picture of him?

More importantly, who had sold him out and why did he need to tan their hide?

“So this story...” he flicked through. “Implies that I'm on some illicit substance to boost my biotics. They know red sand is a thing, right?”

The shopkeep shrugged. “Keep reading, they imply it's some purified Alliance version they're testing on you. The paper called it blue moon...”

Alistair's vein throbbed as he flipped to the picture. Clear as day, there was a picture of him opening a tube of a obnoxiously colored, bright blue powdery substance and swallowing it down. Judging by the scenery... he had gone after a thresher maw not long after it was taken.

Ok... he could kind of see the hook there, but come the fuck on.

“I told people it was bullshit, the Alliance isn't going to risk its first Spectre on shit like that...” Mike's voice wavered. “But then more pictures showed up.”

Now he really had to pinch the bridge of his nose. “Mind telling me where I can find these guys? I think I need to give them the Citadel Daily special.”

“Is that the part where you toss them out a window?”

No, it was the part where he let Bo threaten someone with defenestration. Problem was that his XO was still back on the Normandy with her adoptive son. They were having a bonding moment after what had gone down on Tuchanka. He was eventually supposed to bring them back snacks, but... well it looked like he had to make a pit stop first.

“We'll see. Now, I gotta get to tracking them down...”

---

Unlike Citadel Daily, the office of Eye on the Citadel was much smaller and in a more run down part of the Wards. Some might have called it seedy, but Alistair didn't care as he got out of the cab and checked his omni-tool. On it flashed the details he needed and had acquired from EDI when he had informed the Normandy where he was going.

“You packing your blue moon, Commander?”

Alistair rolled his eyes as he touched the piece in his ear. “Joker...”

“Sorry, Commander. I know you're touchy about it and all. Just don't throw anyone out a window with your mind.”

Yes, yes he was. Regardless, the Spectre sighed as he approached the front door. The sign said to knock, which he did. He even stepped back, waiting. For a long while, he wasn't sure if anyone was home.

Then he heard the skittering in the background.

“Shit, it's Shepard!”

Someone wasn't very subtle. They were also looking through the peep hole directly at him. Despite himself, he gave a little wave as he waited for the door to open. Whoever was there squeaked, and it sounded like they fell down.

Hopefully they hadn't broken anything before he got the chance to try.

“Hello, are you alright in there? It sounded like you took a nasty fall. I'm a medic if you need some first aid.”

Someone was sniffling behind the door. It was so damn pathetic that Alistair sighed and reached for the doorknob. In a few seconds, his picking program had made short work of the lock. That allowed him to gently twist the handle and open the door.

Just like he thought, there was a person on the floor, holding their ankle with big tears in their eyes. From where he was standing, it just looked like a bad sprain. It was nothing a little medigel and some rest couldn't handle, and luckily he had the first ingredient on hand.

Problem was, the person who had just entered the hallway looked as though he had murdered someone.

“So Commander Shepard breaks and enters on top of consuming illicit drugs.” Their camera was out. “Eli, did he hurt you?”

Alistair's tone was as dry as Tuchanka as he motion to the prone human. “I'm no doctor, but I'm pretty sure they sprained their ankle falling.”

The man with the camera looked from his partner to his subject a few times. He still took a few pictures before he put it away – note to self, blast that late. A few seconds later, he was helping Eli to his feet – somewhat unsuccessfully. He was way off balance.

“If you do it that way...” He winced as both men went tumbling. “... that's going to happen. Did you break something too?”

Camera man wasn't amused as he tried to free himself from underneath his prone friend. “I'm fucking fine, what the hell are you doing here? You broke in!”

Alistair gestured to the fact he was still on the other side of the door. “I haven't even entered the house yet, good luck proving that.”

Clearly, he was dealing with a real genius. He doubted this was the man who had written the article about him – not enough imagination. Maybe it was his photos, but definitely not his words. That he attributed to Mr. Sprained Ankle, who was still trying to get up on his own power. With his luck, he probably sprained the other one...

Just what he needed, a rescue mission when he was trying to be intimidating.

He sighed and let his anger trickle out. “May I enter so I can administer first aid? You've followed me enough to know I'm a medic.”

“Yeah, a medic tripping balls on blue moon!” Camera man pointed at him. “I saw you take it twice on the Citadel, once with your fucking niece! You have a problem, and I'm going to expose you so people know not to-”

The beeping from Alistair's wrist drew the Spectre's attention. He frowned and flipped it over. A familiar program was warning him that his sugar was currently in the low 60's. If this kept up, he was going to risk really becoming a space cadet.

Talk about appropriate though.

“You're about to see another dose, actually.” He pulled the paper tube from his jacket pocket and ripped off the top. A few seconds later, down his throat it went. All he tasted was sour blue raspberry as it traveled down his throat.

He really hated blue flavors... green apple was where it was at.

On the floor, Eli sniffed. “Is... that candy?”

“Homemade pixie stick mix. It's cheaper than buying the individual tubes.” He tossed Camera Man a packet. “Test it if you don't believe me. Mine's a little more sour than the commercial mix, but it's still basically sugar, citric acid, a little bit of flavor with the color.”

Somewhere, he was pretty sure a thousand 'don't do drugs, kids' infomercials went through both men's heads as they examined the packet. The vein continued to throb as he waited for his sugar to creep back to normal levels. At least it wouldn't take long – he had caught the low fairly early.

It was Eli who took the packet, giving a little bit of the powder a cautionary lick despite his coworker's protests. When his face contorted in the classic sign of sour, the Spectre sighed in relief. Still, it was hard to resist pinching the bridge of his nose.

“He's telling the truth, Sam. It's like a high powered pixie stick.” And then the man wasn't looking at him. “Shit... you've been eating these the whole time, haven't you?”

Alistair held up his wrist, showing the blood meter reading. “Have to or I go into hypoglycemia. It's part of being a biotic for me. So I guess we can say you were kind of right about it being a biotic booster. However, I don't think anyone outside an elementary school classroom is going to call it illicit.”

He at least allowed a smile. “So, you going to let me in now to help with that ankle, or are you just going to live on the floor from now on?”

---

“So, did you throw him out a window?”

“No, and did you want the Cheetos too?”

Alistair could hear Bo groaning on the other end of the line as he picked out snacks for his trip back. He had quite a few – enough to fill the basket. That was understandable, given he was helping to feed a krogan and a high powered biotic. Between the two of them, he wasn't sure who could eat more. Some days it was a toss up.

So he added the Cheetos anyway. If she didn't want them, he'd eat them later.

“You're such a fucking boy scout sometimes, Al. You could've at least fucked with him a little bit.”

The Spectre shrugged his shoulders as he added a few more things to his basket before heading for the self check out. Given the time of day, the store was pretty packed. He still felt eyes on the back of his neck, but not as many as before.

The blog post had gone out while he was checking Eli's ankle. He had been right on the credits about who wrote for that duo...

“I got my retraction, and he learned not to stand on things while you're spying on a Spectre. Everyone walks away happy.”

“Yeah, except the people who bet you'd throw them out the window.”

Well, that was their mistake. After all, he WAS known for being the boy scout. She had said it herself. Though, he knew she hadn't bet on him, though not because she knew him well. Bo wasn't allowed to bet on anything involving him, due to the fact she was usually involved. This was a rare technicality that had kept her out of the pool.

Too bad, she could've cleaned up.

“Who managed to take the pot home?”

“Garrus. He better be taking you on some kind of date with that money when this is over.”

The thought of it made Alistair's face heat as he started scanning things through the self checkout. “Come on... we're not...”

“Not with that attitude. Also, did you get the nuggets? We were going to watch Jurassic Park next, they'd be a good theme snack.”

He sent her a picture of the massive sized bag of dinosaur-shaped nuggets before finishing up. Soon, he was out the door and blending into the crowd as he put his hood up to avoid the lingering gazes. Hopefully with time, it would settle down.

As he headed back to the Normandy, Alistair was glad for one thing... that he hadn't told anyone the thought of throwing someone out a window had crossed his mind more than once as he healed Eli's ankle. That would've probably lost the pool for Garrus, and maybe he was hoping for that date sometime this century.

Well, that and being cleared of being on weird Alliance drugs like a guinea pig. That was good too. But seriously, how the hell had they come up with that? Anyone with a brain in their head knew as a Spectre he technically wasn't part of the Alliance anymore. If they had any neat substances to test out, it would be on people they actually held marching orders for.

Oh well... at least he'd been able to get the green color this time. No more blue moon for him. Maybe he'd keep the name for the blend, though... it was kind of catchy.

[suhoexcollector]

Rivals pt 3

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4..

Pairing: CEO/Lawyer!Jaehyun x fem reader

Genre: Smut, angst, fluff, the holy trinity

Word Count: 5.9k

Warnings: Unprotected sex, uhhhhh its pre vanilla, babygirl??? 

Author: Admin Yugyeom

A/N: ejfnrjwfn this took forever i’m so sorry and also i’m trash at editing so if there’s any mistakes, that’s my fault sorry 

Taeyong’s lips molded with yours and you froze, you wanted to enjoy it, but you couldn’t. Not when you felt Jaehyun’s gaze pierce you from the gap in the door.

Your hands snaked around his neck and you tried to act like nothing was wrong, even though everything was wrong.

Taeyong pulled away, slightly breathless, his warm hands running up and down your sides.

His lips found your jaw, where he placed a light kiss.

You weren’t sure what to do or what to say as Taeyong’s hands snaked around your waist, pulling your bodies closer together.

“Who gave you all the hickeys?” He mumbled into your skin, his lips ghosting over the marks Jaehyun gave you.

You felt like tearing away from Taeyong, your whole body reeling at his unfamiliar and unwanted touch.

How the fuck did you get yourself in this much of a mess.

“No one,” you mumbled.

At your words you felt Jaehyun’s gaze become more ablaze, you could feel him fermenting in anger and rage through the door.

It scared you, giving you flashbacks to what he did to the guy who hit on you at the bar. And you hoped, you fucking prayed, that he wouldn’t burst out of your room and beat the shit out of Taeyong.

“You don’t have to tell me,” he hummed, still trailing light kisses over the marks.

His lips started to trail dangerously low, until they were planting kisses just above the hem of your blouse. “What if I left my own mark?” he asked, his breath fanning over your skin.

He was too warm, his fingers like scorching embers and you felt them wherever he touched. It was such a contrast to Jaehyun’s inviting embrace that made you long for his arms around you, to pull you into his body.

Taeyong’s hand travelled to the collar of your shirt, popping the first button and skimming your boob in the process, his fingers lightly pulling the fabric back to expose your unmarked collar bone.

You felt a light nip at the skin, making you bite your lip trying to hide your surprised gasp.

Taeyong lightly sucked at the flesh, slowly building up to a purple mark.

You hated how gentle he was, how his touch was so light on your hips and his lips were tentative, as if he could break you.

A tight squeeze on your hip brought your attention back to his grasp on you.

Taeyong pulled away, admiring the purple mark he left behind on your collar bone.

His eyes met yours, sparkling with arousal as he surveyed your disheveled form.

It caused a wave of disgust to flow through your body, every cell seeming repulsed by his hungry gaze.

“Are you-” Taeyong was cut off by a ding sounding from his pocket, indicating he got a notification, which he was quick to act upon, pulling out his phone and reading the message he received.

“I have something to do at the office,” he breathed, his lips swollen from kissing your neck.

“Alright,” you said with no emotion, wanting nothing more than for him to leave.

He brought his lips to your cheek lightly “See you Monday,” Taeyong whispered to you before getting up and officially leaving.

The door closed behind him softly and you let out a sigh of relief.

The door of your room banged open to reveal a fuming Jaehyun bringing your attention to his angry form

“Taeyong marked you,” he growled, anger sparking in his eyes as he surveyed your partially unbuttoned blouse.

Your head hung low as you got up and walked over toward him, close enough to see his tanned chest rise and fall angrily under the burgundy silk that adorned his upper body.

His hand reached for your collarbone, fingers lightly grazing the mark. A scowl crossed Jaehyun’s features and you could feel the jealousy radiating off of him like a toxin.

“Bukhansan scum,” He mumbled before pushing past your shocked form.

The words burnt and you could feel them already resenating in the back of your mind.

“No, Jaehyun,” you grabbed his wrist, halting his retreating form, causing him to look back to you. You weren’t sure why you stopped him, you just didn’t want him to leave.

The look of utter betrayal and anger on his face pained you, especially since you were the source of it all.

“What do you want me to say?” he asked, rage lacing his words.

“I just don’t want you to leave me,” tears welled in your eyes as you spoke your fear.

“Well I’m leaving,” Jaehyun spat before he pulled his wrist out of your grasp with ease and headed for the front door, leaving you behind.

Something in you was not surprised, not shocked that he dropped you so quickly. You felt stupid more than anything. Stupid that you fell for him, yet he obviously just felt like you were a hook up. It was dumb, but you let a stray tear fall down your cheek as you watched him leave.

Guilt washed over you, the feeling making your chest cave into a wretched wound that fueled your sensation of sadness.

You lasted like that for 2 whole days.

A zombie took over your form, making you go through your weekend numbly. Not bothering to look at the case you had been assigned, barely having the energy to do anything but mope.

It was an effort to do anything. Getting out of bed was harder than it was on the freezing winter mornings. Eating only became necessary when your stomach grumbled, begging you for food and the only time you used the bathroom was to use the toilet. A worn out, grey sweatshirt and matching sweatpants seemed to be the only items of clothing you owned as you moped around the whole 2 days.

And it made you feel pathetic.

The pathetic feeling building up until you snapped.

Snap and decide to do something about the situation.

It was the most rash plan you’d ever come up with in your life, but you weren’t about to lose Jaehyun because of Taeyong.

Confidence ran through your veins instead of the leaded guilt that had weighed you down these past few days.

The lipstick lid came off with a pop as you painted your lips a glossy red.

It was Monday morning and you were ready to execute your plan, the butterflies fluttering around your stomach reminding you of the anxiety coursing through body.

The make up you wore accentuated your features subtly and your skirt and shirt, while business like, still made you look sexy, the white silk clinging to your breasts and curves and the skirt barely long enough to be considered appropriate.

It was scandalous, but it was part of your plan to get Jaehyun back and not let him slip through your fingers.

And that’s how you found yourself pulling up to the Seoul law firm in a cab.

A muttered thanks fell off your painted lips as you handed the cab driver the money and got out.

The skyscraper loomed before you, even more glorious as the sun light reflected off the silver tinted windows, contrast to the darkness they enveloped in the covert of night.

A breath of fresh air rushed into your lungs, trying to soothe the nerves that run through your body.

Every possible way your plan could go wrong ran through your head, every ‘what if’ running a circuit of anxiety in your mind. The only way to ease the roaring of your thoughts and the thud of your heart was to breathe. The fresh oxygen hopefully providing some remote relief.

The click of your heels on the pavement rung through your ears and you used the noise as a distraction, focusing your thoughts on keeping a confident posture and putting one leg in front of the other to lead you to the entrance of the menacing law firm.

You walked through the doors with ease into a large, open plan foyer with marble flaws. Modern architecture and marble finishes added to the luxury of the expensive building.

Your entrance caught the attention of a tall young man with an expensive suit and combed back hair. He was behind the desk with the receptionist who was typing furiously away at her computer, too engulfed on her work to notice you walk through the doors.

“Hello ma’am,” The man said, his chocolate eyes taking in your figure and clothes, “Can I help you?” A smirk fell across his features as his wandering gaze worked its way up to your eyes.

You smiled sweetly, your confidence fueled by his lingering stares. “Yes, actually, I’m looking for one of your associates, Jung Jaehyun,” Despite your erratic heart beat, your voice was steady.

The man quirked an eyebrow, obviously intrigued by the seemingly bold statement.

“May I ask your business with him?” His voice was smooth as honey as he spoke the words, seemingly lured by your boldness.

“I believe it’s regarding a case,” You tried to keep your voice clipped and professional, as if you had to be somewhere else.

A spark lit in his eye at your words, “I’ll take you to see him,” he said before gesturing for you to follow him, which you did, walking behind his tall frame toward the elevators.

“I’m Johnny,” The man said, breaking the silence between you as he pressed the elevator button.

“My name’s y/n,” Your tone was steely as you tried to keep this professional facade going.

The elevator arrived with a soft ding, the doors sliding open smoothly indicating for you both to enter.

“That’s a pretty name” Johnny said flirtatiously, his relaxed demeanour walking into the elevator, you once again following him.

You felt your eyes roll as he hit the floor of Jaehyun’s office, causing the doors to close and the carriage to begin its ascent.

“Are you talking to Jaehyun about the most recent… case?” His tone turned harder and less light hearted as he asked you the question.

“I’m not too sure what you mean by that,” you answered honestly, not quite grasping the serious undertone to his voice.

Johnny scowled at your words. “Don’t worry about it then.”

Something was off about the case between Seoul and Bukhansan, though you hadn’t looked at the files yet, so you were completely oblivious.

The doors opened with a ding as you arrived at the top floor, Jaehyun’s office.

And there he was, sitting at his desk, invested in paperwork sprawled across the surface.

A white cotton button up adorned his chest, rolled up at the sleeves with the first few buttons undone at the chest, revealing some of his honey skin. His hair was mussed as if he had been running his hands through it too much and his bottom lip was tugged between his teeth. It made your breath hitch lightly, not prepared for his presence, especially when he looked so effortlessly handsome.

Jaehyun looked up when the doors open, a scowl forming on his features when he noticed you and Johnny.

You felt the warmth of a hand on your lower back as Johnny led you alongside him into the office.

It shocked you how confidently and absent mindedly he touched you, though you went with it, your deafening heart beat blocking out anything else but the nerves that coursed through your body.

“She said-”

“Leave us,” Jaehyun interrupted Johnny, his eyes trained on you, his gaze taking in every curve and dip accentuated by your clothes.

Johnny nodded, turning back toward the elevator and leaving you both.

“Why are you here?” He spoke, his tone gravelly and annoyed.

“I’m here to talk about Saturday,” You replied blandly, as if it were an obvious statement.

“There’s nothing to talk about, it's obvious you’re whoring around with your boss-” “Jaehyun! I’m not whoring around with anybody.” Anger laced your tone lightly.

“Then what would you call what happened?” He stood up from his chair, slightly angry.

“I don’t know, but I do not have the same feelings for Taeyong.” Jaehyun scowled at your words slightly.

“You let him use you like a little puppet, and you knew I was watching,” His eyes narrowed and turned dark lightly, like he was reliving watching you through the door crack.

“I didn’t know he was going to do that! I just-” “Don’t know how to stand up for yourself, or maybe tell him you were with someone. Or maybe Taeyong is just an ass that forces himself on his employees. He saw those marks on your neck and he didn’t think for one second that maybe you had a boyfriend?” Jaehyun spat the words, clearly angry.

“You’re not my boyfriend!” You spat back.

“Well maybe I want to be!” His response was not one you were expecting and your eyes widened as the 6 words processed through your brain. Your body wasn’t sure how to react, opting on just staying frozen to the spot, like some invisible force held you there under Jaehyun’s gaze.

He didn’t move, instead just watching you from behind his desk.

He sighed, the sound filling the silence between the both of you.

“I think you should leave,” His tone was clipped, his eyes turning to steel and expression unreadable.

This time you didn't argue, turning on your heel wordlessly, exiting the lavish office.

You felt slightly at ease, though it was hard, impossible almost, to shake him from your mind, from your very self. It took a tiring amount of effort to divert your thoughts from him, the way his touches would linger and his breath would fan over your bare skin. All it took was a night and you were under Jaehyun’s spell, like he was a drug, and you needed your dose. Though you couldn’t have him, because like a drug, he was off limits. Illegal. Taboo. So you tried your hardest to stop, cease your thoughts of him.

It took you in an effortless spiral, your mind wandering as you went about your way home, thankful you called in ‘sick’ to work.

In some sense you believed you were sick, love sick. So effortlessly doped up on your experience of Jaehyun, it was hard to not get sick with his contagious love fever.

Finally, you had somehow ended up back at your apartment, walking in through the front door to sprawl out on your couch.

And you did it again, your thoughts spinning into an ocean of Jung Jaehyun, his very existence consuming you like a wave of emotion.

It wasn’t necessarily bad, just your last bit of hope holding onto him before reality sets in and you have to face the fact that you and Jaehyun couldn’t be together due to some dumb rivalry.

The feelings made you feel like a teenager desperately falling for their crush. Everything you do reminding yourself of the person you’ve fallen down a wormhole of emotion for.

It could have been hours you sat there mulling Jaehyun over in your head before a light knock on the door startled you out of the doze you’d settled into.

The clock hanging on your wall displayed you had dazed off for about 5 hours.

A sigh fell off your lips and you shuffled over to the door, pulling open the heavy wood to reveal Jaehyun standing in front of it.

A surge of emotion rose in your throat, bringing with it a tidal wave of shock that caused your muscles to involuntarily lock up and freeze.

“Jaehyun?” You finally managed to speak, confused at his presence.

“I need to, uh, apologise,” Guilt washed over his features and you could tell he felt bad.

You cocked your eyebrow looking at him quizzically.

“Well go ahead,” You spoke, leaning on the door frame.

Jaehyun breathed in a shaky breath through his mouth and exhaled through his nose.

“Look, it's not lie I’m into you and I shouldn’t have treated you like I did when I found out about you being from Bukhansan, I just, snapped.” He reached out, lightly taking your hand in his, “I’m so fucking sorry, I really shouldn’t have called you scum when you’re anything but.”

His sincere tone hit you, making you look to him, his face bearing all the guilt that leaked out with his words.

“I thought I lost you,” Jaehyun’s eyes portrayed all the anguish he must have felt, his facade crumbling away in front of you, leaving him vulnerable, for you. “I don’t care anymore, I’m over the stupid rivalry, I’m done with it.”

You went to open your mouth to respond, but you were interrupted by Jaehyun.

“I just can’t stop thinking about your heart beat,” His voice trailed as his hand travelled up to rest over your heart, like you showed him on Saturday.

The warmth of his hand seeping through the thin silk, sending your nerves on fire, your senses honing in on his touch, causing your breath to hitch in your throat.

His palm flattened against your erratic heart beat, the pulses reaching his warm skin.

“I can’t stop thinking about you, you drive me mad, you’re all I can think about, how your heartbeat mimics mine,” Jaehyun was somehow almost pressed up against you, closing the gap as he spoke.

His hand moved from your chest to grab your own hand, guiding it up to rest over his own heart.

Your palm flattened against the cotton of his shirt, feeling his warmth seep on to your skin.

“Do you feel it?” Jaehyun asked, his breath tickling the skin of your cheek lightly.

And you did, his pulse coursing through his bronzed chest to your palm, the erratic thundering shocking you.

Jaehyun was just as nervous, just as love sick and you felt it in the way his heartbeat banged against his chest.

“I-” You tried to speak but he interrupted you.

“You don’t have to say anything,” He whispered into the small space between you both.

And you didn’t, not when actions said things words never could.

You leant up, catching Jaehyun’s lips in a light kiss, his lips tentative to push back.

“You don’t need to be sorry-” Once again you started to speak but he cut you off.

“Yes I do. You fucking walked into my office, looking like a hot piece of ass to get me back. Even after I had been a complete asshole to you,” His mouth was incredibly close to your own as he spoke, the warmth of his breath tickling the flesh of your lips.

A choked gasp escaped your lips as he started placing tentative kisses down your jaw, his hands running up your sides, displacing the silk blouse you wore. Your hands were already instinctively running up his clothed chest, entwining in his hair, the muscles tightening to bring you in closer to his warm body. His own muscles responded to you, arms wrapping around your waist, pulling you into him.

The smell, the touch, the sheer feeling of him shook your body, taking your breath away, making you gasp in his ear lightly. It was like you were finally getting your fix and Jaehyun was the drug, his being overwhelming your senses. The way his hands melted into your body, his perfect lips placing perfect kisses on your neck, his breath coming out of his nose to brush against your skin.

It excited you, being so close to him, feeling him, touching him, getting your fix, soothing the addiction that filled your entire body.

You stumbled back a bit, Jaehyun still glued to you.

“Jae,” You whispered the nickname in his ear lightly. “The door is still open.”

In response Jaehyun kicked out his foot, making the door close behind him.

“No its not.” He mumbled into your neck with a smirk, one hand travelling to grip the curve of your ass and the other coming up to cup your cheek.

Jaehyun’s lips left your neck, only to come crashing into your own passionately.

“I need you,” He muttered into your lips, “I like you, I want you and I need you.”

A smile formed on your lips and you kissed him lightly.

“Then be my boyfriend,” You said smiling and looking into his eyes.

His face softened and he smiled brightly.

“Gladly,” Jaehyun whispered before kissing you again passionately.

His tongue swiped out of his lips lightly, urging for you to open, which you did, inviting him in and deepening the kiss.

All you could taste was him, feeling him brush your tongue lightly sent you mad.

Jaehyun’s grip tightened on your ass and you could feel him grinding you into his hardening bulge.

Your senses anticipated him pushing you, urging you to your bedroom, the weight of him causing your feet to stumble toward the already open door of your room.

His body pressed against you, causing the back of your knees to buckle against the edge of the bed and you to land on the soft quilt.

A gasp escaped your lips as you felt Jaehyun plant needy kisses down your neck, caging you to the mattress, hands roaming your body.

It was hot and fast as his lips travelled lower, hands moving up to rip your silk blouse open, exposing a lace bra.

Jaehyun’s lips curled into a smirk as he surveyed your lingerie.

“What’s this?” He asked, the question rolling off his swollen lips.

A smirk tugged at your own lips as you met his eyes.

“Just something to boost my confidence,” You replied, cocking your head and looking at him innocently.

Goosebumps arose on your skin as Jaehyun ran his fingertips lightly over the skin above your breasts.

“You should wear lingerie more often, I like it,” He said before placing a featherlight kiss above the light pink lace adorning your breasts.  

“Noted,” You replied, a smirk once again tugging at your lips.

Jaehyun replaced his wandering fingers with his mouth, placing light kisses over the skin above your boobs, his hands moving to tug at your skirt.

His hair was soft as you tightened your fingers in the brown locks, eliciting a gasp as he pulled down your skirt, leaving you in your panties and bra.

A shiver went up your spine as you felt his fingers trace circles into the skin of your hips, inching impossibly closer to the hem of your panties.

Your lips parted slightly to let out a gasp when you felt Jaehyun’s fingers hook the sides of your underwear.

“Can I?” He said tentatively, lips brushing your neck slightly.

It took you no time at all to decide on your answer, a simple syllable that had him pulling the fabric down to expose your soaked pussy.

Jaehyun traced a finger along your inner thigh, teasing you, making anticipation claw at your nerves, your whole body focusing on the slight touch of his digit on the sensitive skin.

You wanted to whine, to plead for him to touch you, to ravish you but you didn’t, even though all you desired was him. The feeling was taking over you, blurring the line between need and want as his finger lazily teased the skin of your thigh.

A smirk formed on his lips as he felt your muscles tense, sending your hips upwards in desperation lightly.

He stopped eventually, caving to your desires, sending his finger straight for your clit, rubbing lazy circles into the sensitive nub.

You choked out a gasp, the anticipated stimulation sending your thoughts to mush, your focus entirely on his finger tracing your clit lightly and his lips sucking gently at your neck still.

“Jaehyun,” You practically moaned, his name rolling off your lips as a lewd sound.

“Let me please you,” He said in response, his own lips fixed in a smirk as his kisses trailed south.

Anticipation was back again, filling your body with a sensitivity that never seemed to appear around anyone else, almost becoming too much to bear as you watched his mouth trail down your stomach.

You felt a comforting warmth under his touch, fighting back the neediness that clouded you, his hand reaching up to intertwine your fingers together while his other still traced your clit.

A blush fell across your cheeks lightly and you squeezed Jaehyun’s hand back lazily.

His lips placed delicate kisses on your inner thighs, though not in a teasing manner, as if he was worshipping the skin, living to satisfy you.  

Even though you knew it was going to happen, the pleasure still surprised you as Jaehyun brought his lips down onto your clit, moving his finger to prod at your entrance tenderly.

You moaned lightly, the noise coming from deep in your throat as you felt him suck serenely at the nub.

As you let out the moan, he plunged his finger into you, pumping it easily through the wetness, soon adding another to scissor you, stretching you out.

Another moan fell off your lips, lewder than the initial one, only fuelling Jaehyun to go faster at the pornographic noise.

Your muscles tensed lightly as you ground into his face, sending streams of pleasure to shoot through your body. He caught on and took his hand out of your own to grasp your hip and bring you into his face harder.

You could tell he was enjoying it, his eyes were closed and his tongue was messily licking through your folds, alternating between kitten licking and sucking on your clit.

The pleasure was beginning to intensify as you felt yourself inch toward the edge, so close to plummeting into the abyss of an orgasm.

“Jae,” You moaned the nickname, tugging on his hair lightly, indicating your impending release.

Though, instead of continuing, like you expected him to, he stopped, pulling his face and hand away.

Confusion laced your words as you spoke, “What are you-” “I want you to cum on my cock,” Arousal darkened in his eyes as he looked at your partially naked form laid out before him.

“Please,” You replied, the want that you had been bottling up spilled out in the tone you used.

Jaehyun was still clothed, kneeling between your spread legs to tug his suit pants and briefs down, pulling out his hardened cock, precum already leaking off the tip.

You felt a drip down your thigh, your clit throbbing in anticipation for his cock, your eyes taking him in greedily.

He noticed, his own eyes meeting yours, half closed and blissed out as he moved his hand lightly over his shaft, pumping himself.

Your tongue darted out, moistening your lips at the sight, lust and want clouding your thoughts as you saw him in front of you, though you soon snapped out of it as he stopped pumping, maneuvering himself to line up with you.

Jaehyun’s lips met yours for a passionate kiss before pulling away.

“Ready?” He mumbled, already teasing your folds with the head of his cock.

“Yes,” You gasped out, too focused on the feeling off his dick prodding your entrance.

At your words, he thrusted into you slowly, relishing in the feeling of you encasing him, inserting himself all the way.

Your moans mixed with Jaehyun’s, the lewd sounds echoing off the walls of your room as he continued to thrust, hitting deeper and increasing his pace with each pound into you.

His increased pace brought back the rush of pleasure, the stimulation from earlier, his cock already causing a coil of bliss to form in your abdomen. You raked your nails down his clothed back, letting out a particular loud moan as the tip of his cock brushed your spot, pushing you closer to the edge.

Jaehyun thrust faster and harder, placing sloppy kisses down your exposed neck, the raw sound of his hips slapping into yours replacing his moans.

“I’m close,” He mumbled into your skin, breathless and panting, the warmth from his breath fanning over your neck.

You felt yourself involuntarily clench around him, getting impossibly closer to the edge. Jaehyun groaned at the unexpected clenching, thrusts stuttering lightly.

“Same,” You managed to gasp out, fingers digging into his back harder, clinging to him as your body tensed, preparing for your orgasm.

“Can I cum inside of you?” Jaehyun asked, breathing in your ear lightly, letting out small moans occasionally.

“Yes, please,” You whispered breathlessly, arching into him, lost in the feeling.

At your words his thrusts sped up slightly, getting engulfed in the feeling of almost-release, until his cock twitched and he came in you, burying to the hilt, and letting his seed pour out.

The feeling off him filling you up was amazing, your fingers digging into his back and arching into his tensed stomach as you felt the sticky cum coat your walls.

He kept thrusting though, reaching a hand down to rub at your clit, urging you to orgasm, not wanting to finish without you.

“C’mon baby girl,” He whispered in your ear, moaning lightly at the sensitivity.

The pet name sent arousal shooting down your spine, your back instinctively arching into him again as you clenched and plummeted into the abyss, letting the pleasurable black engulf you as your orgasm took over.

Jaehyun stopped thrusting, pulling out to flop next to you, making the mattress shift lightly.

Only after he had pulled out did you realise the sweat coating your skin, hair sticking to your face and neck from the moisture, your breath coming out in deep pants.

You felt him go to roll off the bed, the mattress once again shifting to accompany Jaehyun’s movement, the soft sheets rubbing your sweaty skin.

“I should go,” He said, tugging up his pants and tugging his cock back in.Your eyes widened at his statement and you sat up suddenly.

“No!” It came out more forceful than you intended, making a blush litter your cheeks as he looked to you with an eyebrow raised.

“No?” Jaehyun repeated, his signature smirk plastered in his face.

The redness in your cheeks deepened lightly. “I just thought you’d want to stay the night,” You spoke shyly, nervous for his answer.

Jaehyun’s smirk turned into a smile as he looked at you on the bed. “Of course, though we’ll have to get cleaned up,” He spoke, extending his hand toward you for you to take.

And you did, slipping your palm in his to help you off the bed and stand.

“Bathroom?” He breathed, pulling your body into him lightly, his lips meeting your cheek in a soft kiss.

You pointed toward the ensuite door on the other side of your room, which he led you too, opening the door to your bathroom.

Being a lawyer did come with its perks, meaning you could afford a high end apartment, which reflected in the marble finishes and pristine porcelain accentuating your bathroom. The tub being more than large enough for two people and the shower also being quite big. Your makeup still littered the counter from this morning and you had some dirty laundry thrown into a basket in the corner, the only things looking out of place in the immaculacy of the bathroom.

Jaehyun sat you down on the toilet seat gently as he walked over to bathtub, turning the knobs, causing a stream of warm water to flow into the porcelain tub. You walked over to him, unclipping your bra and chucking it in the direction of the basket vaguely before grabbing your favorite body wash.

The bath mat shifted slightly as you kneeled down next to Jaehyun, squeezing some of the soapy liquid into the water, causing the sweet smelling suds to arise. He casted a glance at you as you settled next to him to pour soap into the water.

“You need your clothes off for a bath,” You giggled, looking back at him, still in his mussed up suit.

“Probably,” He smirked back at you, hands moving to unbutton the fine cotton that adorned his chest and once again tug his suit pants down, this time all the way, undressing himself fully. As he was doing so, you slipped a leg into the water, letting the silky suds lap at your skin soothingly before settling into the perfumed liquid, resting your back against the wall of the tub. Jaehyun followed you in soon enough, settling in opposite of you, letting your legs tangle under the soapy bubbles covering the surface.

A content sigh fell off his lips as he leant back into the tub. “This is possibly the best bath I’ve ever had,” He breathed lightly, relaxing further into the water.

You chuckled lightly, reclining and letting your muscles relax. “I agree,” You breathed, letting the relaxed state you both shared fill the need for conversation.

Jaehyun’s hand lightly traced shapes into your knee, soothing you further. “Can I come over?” He asked tentatively, looking at you innocently through the bubbles. “I wanna cuddle,” This time he had a slight whine to his voice, making you breathe out a mock sigh of frustration and maneuver yourself to rest against his toned chest. Jaehyun wrapped his arms around you with a wide smile, placing a small kiss on the crown of your head.

“I’m glad I got this night with you,” He whispered into the silence, his comforting embrace lulling you to sleep. You smiled up at him sleepily, leaning up to plant a light kiss on his lips.

“Then let’s do it again sometime,” You mumbled into his lips, smiling the whole time.

“Definitely,” Jaehyun replied, squeezing you tighter against him.

You both lazed in the tub, lightly dozing against each other until each bubble caused by the scented soap popped and the water became cold. Once it did, you both got out, barely having the energy required to dry yourselves off with a towel, let alone to find something to wear to bed. So you both curled up in the sheets naked, Jaehyun once again pulling you into his chest to cuddle, leaving you with a brief kiss on your forehead and a muttered ‘good night’ before falling asleep.

It was only the sharp ringtone of your phone in the morning that roused you both, your hand groping the bedside table to pull it over to your ear, answering it.

“Hello?” Your voice was groggy and heavy with sleep. Jaehyun groaned lightly in protest, half asleep snuggling into your side lightly.

“Y/N!? Where have you been!?” Taeyong’s annoyed voice blasted through the receiver.

Your eyes shot open at his voice, shooting straight up in bed, knocking Jaehyun off you, making him let go of you and sit up beside you.

“Oh, I had an appointment,” You lied, panic spreading through your veins like ice.

“Well, you need to come in today we got some… interesting news on the case.” Taeyong sounded constricted, as if he had gossip to spill but he needed to be professional.

“I’m sorry Mr Lee, it won’t happen again, but what’s the news?” You asked curiously, dismissing your mistake, though hoping the question wouldn’t expose you for not reading the case files just yet.

Taeyong sighed on the other side of the phone. “Jaehyun’s the main suspect of the murder,”