#and i'm often disappointed when i see it turn into romance

[livinginshambles]

Not ridiculous at all | James Potter

Pairing: James Potter x fem!Reader

Word Count: 3.5k

Summary: You are part of the marauders, always having felt special when they called you part of the gang, but also consequently too embarrassed to admit to wanting to be more feminine, afraid that they would no longer deem you cool enough to hang out with you. You are hurt by James' comments and James might realise something when you're avoiding him.

Notes: Best friend!James, he's a bit stupid, Lily is a sweet friend, arguments, so maybe a little angsty, but not really, classic cliche tropes like friends to lovers, misunderstandings, pining (I literally just dreamt this so it's a bit patchy) and I know it's very stereotypical but that's why it's just fanfiction :)

(PS) I haven't written before, just wanted to get this out of my system. English is my third language, and this fic is not proofread because I'm way too lazy for that! Enjoy!

Part two Masterlist

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You've grown up with James Potter and have been part of the marauders since the very beginning. You always took 'being one of the guys' or 'part of the gang' as a compliment, it left you feeling giddy as if you were included in some secret group that only you had the privilege of belonging to.

But sometimes you would sit in the girls dormitory and despite your friends laughing and chatting about, you would feel a wave of loneliness wash over you. They often did activities together and by now, 6th year at Hogwarts, they've managed to stop asking you to join them as you've always dutifully replied that it 'wasn't your thing'.

I mean, what would the guys think of you? It would be too embarrassing to admit to them, or anyone for that matter, that you would love to be dolled up for once. To go shopping with your friends, be included in movie nights, asked by Alice if she could test some makeup on you, or read and gossip about the new romance novels that were the new hype.

Especially now when you sat on your bed, part of the circle in which they were discussing plans to go dress shopping.

"You should absolutely join us!" Alice squealed in delight. You were shaken out of your train of thoughts with a huh and realized the conversation had taken a turn somewhere and now included you too. Marlene and Lily nodded fervently in agreement but you bashfully shook your head.

"Nah, can you imagine me in a dress?" You joked, but Dorcas caught the curious and somewhat longing look in your eyes at the mention of getting ready for the Yule ball.

"I think you would look great actually. And besides, you can treat yourself too sometime you know. You're not obligated to stick with the marauders all the time." The girls in the dorm once again all agreed and you smiled at their kindness.

"Since when are you interested in things like the Yule ball?"

You snapped your head up at James to see his questioning eyes and then quickly averted your own in a flustered manner as if one of your greatest secrets had just been uncovered. "I just think it seems nice, that's all, I'm not even going or anything", you defended. You felt slightly embarrassed by James' face which wore a weirded out expression.

"Well you're not really the type to go to such an event anyway right?", James remarked. You did your best to hide your frown at his immediate agreement. Was it that bad that you'd hoped he would say something along the lines of 'what are you talking about, go enjoy yourself at the party' or something like that?

"Besides I can't imagine you in a dress, all made up, it'd just look so ridiculous." James continued. Remus, ever the sweet and attentive boy glanced at you and noticed your slightly sacked shoulders in disappointment at his words.

"I mean you're just not that type of person, you know? Like completely opposite of Lily."

And with that your face felt like it burned from embarrassment. As if you didn't already know. That didn't mean you didn't want to be more like her sometimes.

Peter's eyes flicked with concern from James to you and back.

You felt hurt and forced yourself to stop tears welling up at his words, mustering up a grin, ready to agree with him but were interrupted by Sirius who had now also caught your change in mood.

"Prongs, you really have no tact at all, how are you expecting to even win Evans over with that?" He said in a playful manner as to not offend their whipped friend, but not fully succeeding.

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" James looked slightly offended and Remus jumped in the conversation.

"That's just not a nice thing to say. It's different if you call me an ugly toad, but not Y/N! If she wants to go to the Yule Ball all dolled up, she definitely should." He shot you a supportive smile which you returned.

Peter nodded in agreement. "I don't think you'd look ridiculous at all," he told you sincerely. You subtly scooted a little closer to him and Remus.

"But it's Y/N, it'd just look weird, cause she's just not a proper girl like that, no offense." James shot back and gave you a smile at the last two words.

You saw Remus opening his mouth to retort but quickly intervened. "He's right." You told them. You just wanted this conversation to be over with already. It was awkward and painful for you as it was.

James didn't seem to get the memo, however, and kept on going, drilling your confidence further into the ground.

"See, she agrees." He turned to you. "It's not like you're ugly or anything but it'd be ridiculous. Like I said, you're not the type to be all beautiful and dressed up, hair done and all. I mean you're cool, but not pretty like that." He was clearly not done yet and started talking about Lily and her beauty at which point you abruptly got up and left.

"What's gotten into her?" James remarked with a frown.

Sirius and Remus didn't even bother to answer and just stared at him in disbelief.

The girls comforted you as you cried. Marlene barged in with ice cream, stolen from the kitchen in one hand and 5 spoons in the other. "What a jerk." She commented and thrust a spoon in your hand before plopping down in front of you with the rest of your friends.

Lily sighed frustratedly. "See this is why I don't like him at all. He's so rude and arrogant, and he-"

"- is right." You answered dejectedly. "I'm your friend, but not the type to join you guys and belong to your circle."

"Well that's only because you hang around the boys all the time," Alice argued. She nudged you. "But you know what, now that James is being a git, you can hang out with us!"

Dorcas gasped dramatically. "We could do a girls night! Treat ourselves a little", she jumped up. "I'll get the face masks and nail polish!"

Lily let go of you too and told you to sit up. "Come on, let me do your hair," she smiled.

With Marlene feeding you ice cream, your nails being polished by Alice, hair done by Lily and Dorcas reading the latest romance novel out loud while you were all wearing a facemask, you couldn't help but feel all warm inside.

"I love you guys."

"Don't talk with your mouth full."

You laughed and pushed Marlene teasingly off the bed.

"Hey, watch it! I just finished your right hand." Alice complained.

James was a moron. He was kind hearted (to most), popular, captain of the Quidditch team, good looking but a moron nonetheless. So he was absolutely clueless to find you missing from the common room yesterday evening and even more clueless when you were missing from your usual spot next to him at the Gryffindor table in the great hall, because he could not for the life of him think of a reason why you would sit with Alice and Frank instead.

He frowned and felt uneasy at the fact that you hadn't even looked at him, let alone come for a hug with your smile and said 'good morning' like usual. He shook the thoughts away. You were obviously allowed to have your own friends as well and not obligated to spend all your time with him.

The door of the great hall behind him opened and Lily Evans walked in, which was why instead of walking up to you to say something, he habitually turned to Lily instead.

"You look beautiful this morning as usual. I could put in the effort to match you when we go out together?" He shot her a wink and a coy smile but faltered slightly when his attempts at flirting got even less of a reaction out of her than usual.

James turned to Sirius with a questioning look, as if to ask 'you noticed that too right?' but Sirius simply shrugged. When James looked back at Frank and Alice, you were gone, having left the moment you felt his stare.

James started to ponder. 'Were you avoiding him? Surely you wouldn't, right? You two were friends after all, childhood friends. Childhood best friends even, for Merlin's sake! If you were upset with him, you'd definitely let him know.'

A week passed with you, sitting on the opposite sides of the classroom, seemingly having picked partners long before class because how else would you team up with random students before James could even blink?

He had now fully accepted that you were avoiding him. And with that, he meant 'accepting the possibility of that occurrence'. He was by no means going to accept your strange new behavior without doing anything.

The last drop though, was when he heard the news from Peter that you'd already left for Hogsmeade with the girls.

He frowned. 'You were kind', he reasoned. If you were upset with him, then he'd have to apologize. Quickly. Because it's been far too long without his best friend and he realized he missed you. Especially seeing you hang out with others.

"What did I do?" He finally asked his remaining friends.

"Really Prongs?" Remus couldn't help but ask. His friend just gave him a look that said 'well go on then, what is it'.

"How about you think about what you said last week, you know, those rude comments about the Yule ball."

"Yeah, but I already apologized yesterday and told her that I didn't mean to offend her!" James flailed his arms around when he exclaimed it.

"But she's still only hanging out with anyone but me," he whined. "Peter studied with her, Pads got a 'good morning' this morning and you're still talking to eachother.

Remus gave him an unimpressed look at his whining but James was not done complaining yet.

"She keeps spending all her time with the girls while she doesn't even seem to be fully enjoying herself"

This was true. You dearly missed James, so despite your newfound hobbies, a look of sadness sometimes fell over your face, which hadn't escaped James' attention.

"And I just don't understand why she would-" He started but never finished, something dawning on him. "Oh of course! Merlin, I'm so stupid!" He shouted out in epiphany.

"Your words not mine," Sirius quickly took the opportunity.

"Oh bugger off Pads", James laughed and pushed Sirius' arm. And with that, he took off to find you.

Sirius and Remus watched him leave and sighed at the same time. "Do you really think he got it?"

"I bloody hope so, Moony."

"But it's James."

"Yeah, but I mean it's not my fight but even I realize that she's sad that James made fun of the idea of her being more girly when she secretly wants to be. Now she's trying out what she likes, without having to stay within the role of 'one of the guys'. I mean, it's pretty straightforward. I guess a genuine apology and show of support is the solution."

"But it's James."

"Yep, you're right."

Though he hadn't been able to find you, he'd waited patiently for your return in the common room. Staring at the ceiling from his laid back position on the couch.

"Oh there you are, Y/N," He rushed to sit up to face you when you entered the room. If you were surprised by his presence, you didn't show it.

"We need to talk, I wanted to apologize." He breathed out, relieved at himself for having figured it out. "Also, I've missed you so much."

You felt a weight fall off your shoulders. You didn't want to be upset with him and felt incredibly relieved to hear him say that.

"I'm sorry for the things I said. I didn't mean for you to get offended or anything," James began.

"Yeah, you already said that." You frowned. "And I remember I told you that that was not a proper apology."

"I know, I know. It was shitty of me so I wanted to apologize. Properly you know? I'm really really sorry. I was a terrible friend and shouldn't have said the things I said. Please forgive me?" He proceeded to give you Bambi eyes in an attempt to convince you. It unsurprisingly worked.

You softly smiled up at him. "Okay". You barely got the word out before he pulled you into a bone-crushing hug.

"Great," he said, cutting through the comfortable silence that you two had been hugging in.

"Now you don't have to avoid me anymore, and you can stop sitting with the girls to prove your point, and join us again instead." He triumphantly continued.

What now?

You blanked. "I'm sorry?" You managed to ask.

"I get that I hurt you by saying your weren't a proper girl, but you don't have to pretend to prove your point by trying to be one." James stated, proud of himself that he figured it out.

"Because I can see that you don't like it, like your face gets all gloomy which is understandable because it isn't really your circle of people."

You stared at him, an incredulous look on your face.

"Fuck you James." You said, your voice coming out softer than you'd hoped. Tears were welling up again, but you couldn't help yourself.

"Has it ever occurred to you that maybe I do want that to be my circle of people? That I don't just want to be one of the guys all the time? Is it that crazy to think that I'm still a girl with feelings? That I want to feel pretty too? That I don't like being told by my supposed best friend that I'm basically ugly? That I hate to be compared to other girls like that?"

You were ranting and James had taken a step back, surprised by your outburst.

"No, that's not what I-", James tried to salvage the situation but you weren't having it.

"You've told me that stuff for as long as I can remember and I never told you otherwise because I was scared that you'd no longer want to hang out with me for not being a 'chill friend'. But you know what, I no longer want you to."

At this point, you angrily wiped your eyes to get rid of tears that were threatening to spill. "So fuck you". With that, you brushed past him, escaping upstairs to your room.

James Fleamont Potter felt absolutely miserable.

If anyone told James that you'd ever be more on his mind than Lily, he would call them ridiculous. But here he was, another week had passed and he was staring at your back as you were leaving with your friends for Hogsmeade again.

You weren't wearing your school uniform and robes anymore and James was surprised to see you wearing one of what he knew to be Lily's dresses.

'It suited you more than it suited Lily.' The unwarranted thought flashed through his mind and he shook his head with a scoff to himself. What was going on?

James also noticed that your hair was brushed and shining with a butterfly clip holding your hair in a bun. He wondered when you decided to change your hairstyle because he found that it framed your face perfectly.

'Not ridiculous at all,' he understood.

You looked absolutely perfect.

You turned your face a little and James could feel his head reeling. Have you always been this glowing? Was he just simply missing you? He didn't even realize that he hadn't spared Lily a glance- until Sirius mentioned her while they were having a drink - and a strange feeling washed over him at the thought.

You were running from Filch.

'Fuck I shouldn't have studied after hours, curfew was probably hours ago," you cursed to yourself and took a sharp right turn. You were trying to reach the secret passage right behind the big statue on the fourth floor when you saw the hallway light up because of Filches torch.

Forcing your legs to move faster, you were suddenly grabbed by the wrist. A hand was clasped over your mouth and you felt a heavy cloth fall over you.

You recognised the person pressed to your back immediately and tried not to melt in his embrace as Filch walked straight past the two of you, covered in the invisibility cloak.

You could feel his breath against your temple. His hand had dropped from your mouth, instead draping across your stomach now to rest on your side. The other held out in front of you to create space under the cloak. You shifted a little and finally turned your head and lifted it to look at him and thank him but you were unable to say anything for a moment.

You simply admired him.

The proximity of the two of you in that intimate embrace had something fluttering in your stomach and you harshly jerked away in denial when your feelings hit you.

Oh no.

Now, all suddenly? What changed? Does it really take one random moment to flip your world upside down?

You rushed to push the invisibility cloak out of your way and then left without sparing James another glance.

James couldn't force his legs to move to run after you, still reeling from about the exact same epiphany that you'd just run away from. Your gaze, his fast beating heart and the urge he had felt to lean down for a kiss had confirmed his conflicted feelings of the past few days since he'd seen you leave for Hogsmeade.

The following morning, you'd had the chance to properly process the happenings of last night.

Your conclusion was that you felt guilty that you hadn't even expressed your gratitude. It was rude, you figured. Even if you were overwhelmed by the sudden wave of realization that came crashing down on you, it was rude.

So you pushed your confused feelings aside and marched up to him when you found him in the great hall.

"Thanks, I owe you." You awkwardly said, stopping at his spot at the Gryffindor table. All while absolutely not having forgotten about the fact that the last time you had said something to him, you'd flipped him off and told him to go fuck himself.

James was absolutely beaming. "Yeah you do, but no worries, I'll cash it in right away." This was his chance. He would make up for his behavior and act on his feelings right now.

"How about a date?"

There was a long silence. Your heart plummeted to the ground. Right. James. Lily. Lily and James.

"What am I a magician?" You finally managed to sarcastically retort. "I'm a convincing person but not a miracle worker." You pulled your hand through your hair as you looked around the great hall to see if you could spot Lily.

"Alright, I'll see what I can do." You forced a smile.

James, who had been mostly confused at your words, disregarded it completely in delight at your acceptance to go out with him, even if it seemed somewhat reluctant. Not that it would matter because he was going to prove what an amazing boyfriend he could be. If you'd accept him, of course.

He was grinning from ear to ear, which you mistook as excitement at the prospect of a potential date with Lily. So when you abruptly turned on your heels and marched over to Lily, James watched you confusedly.

And when he heard you try to talk Lily into going out with him, he wanted to crawl in a ditch and die. He stood there, frozen and recounting how you could've interpreted that wrongly.

You returned to him after a while with an apologetic smile. "Yeah sorry Prongs, she-"

"You", he blurted out.

You raised your eyebrows. "Me?" You repeated back.

"The date, I meant you. A-and me of course. Us, like you and me on a date. Together. I thought maybe Hogsmeade?" He managed to force the words out nervously.

There was a long silence and James' shoulders slumped a little. Even more when you finally answered.

"Uh, no?" You said in a questioning manner. James officially wanted to die now.

"You're sweet James, and I don't think you do it on purpose but you're not interested in me like that." You began, trying to convince not only James, but yourself as well.

James opened his mouth to argue but you quickly interrupted him before he could properly do so.

"James, you really don't. And you asking me out on a date when you've quite literally been drooling over Lily just last week as you have been doing for the past 5 years, that's not very nice to me." You frowned.

"Oh." He whispered. He was once again at a lack of words for a moment. Terrible new habit, he thought. This was not how he thought it would go.

"I'd still gladly go with you to Hogsmeade though?" You offered. "Just you know, not as an easy second choice date while you are obviously head over heels with her."

'I'm not', he wanted to tell you, but it was obvious that you wouldn't believe him. "Yeah okay," he weakly smiled. "Just the two of us though."

You nodded and stepped forward, wrapped your arms around him and he leaned into you, returning the hug.

With his face pressed in your hair, eyes closed, he decided that this situation wasn't too bad. He's fought for Lily's affection for years. He'd fight harder for yours.

Part two

[mercy-burning]

A Kindness You Can't Afford

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Fem!Reader Summary: Something that started out as 'stress relief between co-workers' is now a little concerning to you, but for some reason you can't help but keep letting Spencer walk through your door... Rating: Mature (18+) Content: Strong language, unprotected sex, rough sex, fingering, blink-and-you'll-miss-it choking, squirting (As always, let me know if I missed anything!) Word Count: 2.7k

MASTERLIST

NOTE: @imagining-in-the-margins sent me lyrics to Hozier's It Will Come Back to entice me to write something for her monthly challenge (which is themed Friends With Benefits), and then this happened. You can thank her for this. And also Emily Henry, because I read Happy Place and Beach Read back to back recently, and DAMN IT if I wasn't itching to do some romance-writing of my own. Sure, this one is less romance and more porn without plot, but I digress. The inspiration is there and that's all that matters. Plus I've started working on something else that probably won't see the light of day for a long while, but it's nice to feel the motivation. I'm starting to feel like myself again :) I don't know how long this creative sparkling cloud of dust is going to last, but I'm grateful to be living in it, if at least for a little while. It feels good to be there again <3

Enjoy!!

*******

There's a small pit in your gut that only deepens when you hear a knock at the door. A chill permeates your nervous system and sends you off on shaky limbs until you reach it, and as your palm comes in contact with the cool metal of the doorknob, you're disappointed to discover that the contrast does nothing to comfort the hot and clammy skin. Unless the person behind the door turns out not to be who you think, you will not know that comfort.

You open the door anyway, already used to this feeling of unease. It's a feeling you've come to tolerate, and sometimes even crave in desperate moments. Tonight has not seen one of those moments, but you suppose that doesn't really matter because you've already agreed to his terms, and unless you call it off, you're stuck. You've seriously considered doing it a few times, but something deep inside tells you he might not like it very much, and you're unsure of how he'll react.

It isn't a risk you're willing to take.

And so, you meet Spencer Reid with a bright smile, pretending not to know why he could possibly be outside your door past 9pm. He looks a little sleep deprived, but it's nothing new. Your work is exhausting. It was a major deciding factor and is the driving force behind your agreement in the first place. A way to relieve stress. Somewhere along the way, it seemed to have turned into something darker, though in retrospect that darkness has always been there. You often think back to the first time you initiated intimacy— how excited you were that he seemed willing to take you up on the offer... How your head swam through glittering mist and your heart beat quickly at his words.

"God, Y/N, I need you to be sure... Because once we go there, once you let me in... Even after I leave, I'm always going to be there... You're going to feel me everywhere you go, and that's a promise..."

In the moment it even sounded romantic, and in some twisted way, it might still be. But you don't want to let your brain misconstrue this whole situation. You've promptly decided to take it for what it is and accept the fact that he has some deep desires he needs to expel, and you're just a convenient companion for the journey.

"Spencer, you're here late..."

He exhales through his nose. "No later than usual."

"Right... Come on in." You widen the door and confidently step aside like you wouldn't know any different.

Rather than let you close the door, he'd taken your words as an invitation to make himself at home, pushing it shut with his foot and jolting you forward with it, subsequently pulling you towards him. His hands are quick to guide your face to his own, and without a second more in passing, the night has officially begun.

Electricity is immediate, sizzling through your core at Spencer's drive. It's true that when you're alone, it's difficult not to overthink the situation and rope the emotional and logical side of it to the forefront of your mind. But being with him like this dissipates the thinking entirely. All you know is that it feels so good, and it's absolutely worth all the turmoil you put your brain through.

It's worth it when his tongue possesses your own and coaxes the most sinful, desperate noises from the depths of your chest, and when your delicate fingers find purchase in his hair. It's worth it when your back is up against the door with his knee wedged between your thighs. It's worth it when his hand glides down your jaw until each finger curls around your neck, not choking you but simply resting there like a necklace would. He squeezes gently for a second each time you twitch your hips, desperate to feel friction, and you whimper.

You've come to learn that the more noises you make, the more he rewards you with... well, more. So it doesn't take very long for him to decide that enough is enough, and he pulls away from you to turn you around. You brace your arms on the door and lean your head to the left so he can work.

Warm lips attach to your neck as nimble fingers snake around your front and dip below the band of your lounge shorts and underwear. Your insides hum to life, and your legs naturally spread apart a little further, making Spencer laugh against your skin. You half expect him to tease you, but the surprise leaves your body in the form of a rather whorish Oh! when he spreads you apart and glides his fingers through your warm cunt. He explores you thoroughly, circling and spreading and plunging his fingers inside you, until eventually he continues a slow and steady pace running up and down your clit. You can feel it in his breath, in the way it stutters over your neck— He's about to give you your first orgasm of the night. If his skilled hands wouldn't do it (which you know they will), his words definitely would.

"Mmmm, I love how warm you are, Y/N," he slurs into your neck. Then he lightly nips at your shoulder and quickens the pace and pressure on your clit. "And how fucking messy you get for me..."

You know what he wants, but even if you hadn't, it still would have happened. The first time he made you squirt, he'd been determined to do it again. And again. In every different way possible. Over the course of your stress-relief-escapades you've come to learn that this particular way (with his hand down your loose-fitting shorts) is his favorite. He never strives to do it anymore unless you're wearing a pair. Perhaps it's the sounds, or the feeling of your damp clothes and the desperate need to peel them away in favor of something more solid, but it's become your favorite way, too.

Your nails scratch at the door as you pant and sigh your way through an intense building orgasm, and Spencer leans forward with you, using his free hand to assist in holding you up as he furiously works at your clit with the other. His chin rests on your shoulder as he huffs out, "Go on, baby, let it out..."

He knows you're close, and those final encouraging words seem to snap the coil tightening inside you. Your thighs tense for just a second before you feel every wave of pleasure crashing into every limb. And then, you're able to relax and ride it out, letting him hold you up and pull the orgasm out of you like magic. It's wet, it's warm, and it's fucking sensational...

You can practically see the wild look in Spencer's eyes even if you couldn't actually see him at all. His presence is always, as promised, so inherently there, that even now it's a vivid image. His pupils are an empty abyss, and if you look too closely you're sure to fall in. Hell, you're not even positive that you haven't already fallen in, because the thought of calling it all off when it feels this good seems, simply put, wrong. Why would you ever want to deprive yourself of this feeling? His possessive, damn-near monstrous way of loving you as concerning as it is, had taken you to the highest places you'd ever known. Even if it isn't 'love' on paper, you certainly love it anyway. And he must love it, too, otherwise he wouldn't keep coming back.

He only comes back because you let him in in the first place, the rational part of your brain tries to reason, though it can't quite break through the fog of lust. At this point, it's so thick that you aren't sure it's ever going to clear.

Not that, right now, you'd mind...

Once your breathing slows and your legs gather the strength to pivot, Spencer removes his hand from your shorts and gently guides you to turn around. His lips are on yours immediately, and he's tugging at your shorts and underwear to pull them down. They drop to the ground and without a second to spare, he tugs you along through your living room and over to the couch. It's practically a straight shot to the bedroom from here, but apparently time is not a luxury he can afford this evening, because you barely have time to anticipate what his next move might be before he makes it.

Mouths still attached, the two of you nearly fall on the couch, and Spencer's weight covers you like a blanket. His hips pin yours down and his arms have taken to pinning your own above your head. He nips at your bottom lip and pulls away for a moment, but you chase him, trying to lean up and keep kissing him and whimpering when you can't.

A low laugh exhales from his chest. "And I thought I was the needy one in this relationship..."

He shifts then, getting up and kneeling between your bare legs to start undoing his pants. Meanwhile you lift your shirt over your head, grateful you'd already ditched the bra earlier in the afternoon. Less time to waste.

Seeing you completely bare from head to toe and ready for him seems to amplify that animalistic quality in Spencer that's so unlike the aura of the boy you met years and years ago. Whether he had that quality before he'd met you is unknown, but it's hard to imagine. You like to think that you and you alone have single-handedly created this primal sexual being simply by expressing interest in what youcould offer him amongst the joint understanding of the daily hardships that leech onto a BAU agent. Regardless of the truth, the sheer sense of power it fills you with... In every deep stroke of his cock, in every mark left behind, and in every praise sung, there is this irreplaceable strength that you cling to long after he's gone.

No hard truth would ever take that feeling away, and so you can't help the grin that manifests at his urgency. You can tell he wants nothing more than to sink into you immediately; he visibly struggles for a moment before opting to fully slide his pants and underwear off together until they're tossed over somewhere into the abyss. You half-expect him to whip his shirt off to join them, but instead he lunges forward and covers you again, muffling your whimpers with his mouth as one hand guides himself into your slick cunt.

You can feel the rumble in his chest the moment he's all the way in and you clench around him. He rests his forehead to yours and kisses you deeply before asking, "You ready for me, Y/N?"

The low echoing tone in his voice seems to answer in the momentary silence that follows.

You better be... 

It sends a chill down to the marrow of your bones.

You barely whisper out, "Yes," and before the last letter leaves your mouth, Spencer has pulled back and snapped his hips forward, starting a slow and brutal pace inside you. Your legs spread wide naturally, giving him all the room in the world to position himself to handle you however he wants. He opts for holding your breasts in his palms, holding himself steady and pinning you down firmly to the couch cushions.

It doesn't take long for your eyes to start their descent to the back of your head, until they flutter shut and you're seeing stars behind closed lids. His pace quickens, still hard and determined, and yet you know he has more in him. Part of you itches to whine and beg for him to go farther, to push him to his limits and make him fuck you until you're nearly unconscious and delirious. And truthfully, that's still a high possibility, but you also wouldn't mind staying like this forever.

Then, one of his hands shifts and glides up to your neck again. You open your eyes and find Spencer staring down at your body with hair falling down in front of his face and sweat forming on his brow. His mouth hangs open and then grins when he catches you staring, the sight making you sigh out and grip the bottom hem of his shirt with your fingers for any kind of stability.

You're teetering on the edge of another orgasm, and by the way his face is slightly scrunching you can tell that he's not far behind you.

Just the flash-forward thought of him filling you up sends a jolt through your body, and before you know it, your legs are tensing again, and you're yelling out his name in broken syllables as a flood of warmth spreads through your body. For a split second you wonder if you've both come undone at the same time, but this feeling is different and more intense. Familiar.

The sounds filling the room only confirms your conclusion, and then Spencer's words as he pauses and feels you twitching around him.

"Twice in one night, huh?"

You force yourself to look at him, to see the unhinged pride pooling in his eyes as you finish and wait for him to follow suit. It both empowers and frightens you at the same time, an odd combination of feelings that you're sure to have a crisis about in the morning. But for now, you can't help but lean back and watch the ceiling as Spencer grips your hips and starts fucking you relentlessly into the couch.

Finally, he pauses at the hilt inside you and holds himself there, stuttering out expletives and coming. He pulls back and then forwards a couple times, gently rocking himself through it, and then his grip on your body loosens and you're able to pull him down to you.

You wrap your legs around him to keep him still, unwilling to let go of this feeling quite yet. It's there— that strength that he gives you, whether he knows it's there or not.

And in about an hour after you wash up and go to bed, he will be gone, and that strength will slowly fizzle out overnight, and like clockwork, you'll long to feel it again some time after the concern runs its course— After you replay the night in your head, over and over, analyzing every look and every touch and every reaction. After you frighten yourself into believing that he must be in tune with some level of evil to use you for rough sex and then leave you alone during the day and act like it never happened, even though it's literally what you agreed to.

The back and forth will only make living harder, and so you'll push it all away and focus on work. Until Spencer eventually brushes your arm with the back of his hand as he passes you, or hands you a cup of coffee with a kind smile, and then you'll come right back to wondering how such a gentle soul could hold such intensity. It will unnerve you until you tell yourself that it's just the complexities of the human condition and that every soul contains multitudes. You see it every day. It's not uncommon. It's completely normal.

The thought will calm you enough to get you through the rest of the afternoon, and when you get home, you'll settle in for the night without a second thought. You'll make dinner, watch a show, read a book, endlessly scroll online, or talk to Penelope about whatever show she's watching... You'll keep yourself busy.

And then the sun will set. Your house will grow quiet. You'll start to feel it: the small pit in your gut that only deepens when you hear a knock at the door. You'll meet Spencer Reid with a bright smile, pretending not to know why he could possibly be outside your door past 9pm.

So, yes. For now, you will hold onto him a little longer and bask in the afterglow of this exercise in 'stress relief'. Because even if it doesn't mean anything greater, and whether there's even anything within Spencer's motivations to decode in the first place... This moment in time, each time, is the most relieved you ever feel.

Your fingers flex gently over his shoulders, and through the soft, even exhaling of his breath across your cheek, you know for certain he feels the same.

*******

PERMANENT TAGLIST (tags not working are struck out): 

@starrylang @xoxospencerreid @lovejules888 @awesomebooklover17 @yourmisosoup @gubswh0re @venomsvl @this-is-doctor-and-its-calm @umbreonwolfy @hotchandspencearedilfs @spencerreidsmommy @abby2661 @youabitchhhh @reidsbabe @shemarmooresfedora @donald4spiderman @moonlight-2-6 @chaoticcatie @flipperpenguins @muffin-cup @centiaaa @foreveryoungxx3 @happymangospot @matthew-gray-gubler-lover

If you would like to be added to or removed from the taglist, feel free to message me or leave a comment and I’ll get on it right away!

[kateksmallcuteowl]

June 26: Soulmates/Soulmate Marks AU

Your mark shows how old will your soulmate be when you fall in love with them. (Meaning both romantically and sexually)

For an event by @bagginshieldweek24

More headcanons after the cut. Seriously, there’s a lot, as I developed a whole idea but had no time to write a fic because of exams.

— Dwarfs come of age in around 80 y.o., having a soulmate from another race is a very rare occurrence; throughout the history of Middle-earth, there have been at most a dozen such cases, so most dwarves are unaware of this possibility. Having a mark with a number younger than the age of majority is a lifelong shame, essentially an admission of pedophilia. Unfortunately, this happens more often than having a soulmate from another race.

— Thorin spent his entire adult life, from the moment the mark appeared, wearing an extra layer of bandages under his bracers to prevent anyone from seeing the number. Fortunately, among dwarves, it is not considered inappropriate to hide the marks, as many value their privacy.

— The mark and thoughts about it were the reason why Thorin often appeared especially gloomy when the topic of romance came up.

— He truly tried to compensate for his "defectiveness" with his virtues.

— Of course, Thorin is a virgin.

— Bilbo, on the other hand, didn't think much about this; hobbits don't see anything wrong with living without their soulmate or seeing their soulmate as a friend. They are generally a loving people and don't worry about the concept of "the one and only."

— Although the topic of soulmates is considered highly romantic in hobbit literature, Bilbo was somewhat disappointed when he realized he would likely never meet his soulmate. (Hobbits are also unaware of inter-racial soulmates.)

— I tried to make young Bilbo look more like Frodo, so here he has smaller curls and a different style of shirt.

— Thorin and Bilbo both hid their marks, so when they felt an attraction to each other, especially after the Carrock, both were initially upset, thinking they weren't soulmates. Thorin, of course, was much more upset.

— During the two weeks they stayed with Beorn (yes, I'm mixing the movie and the book, what are you going to do about it? Slow burn needs time to be slow), they managed to reach the point of kissing near the river or something like that. But when Bilbo tried to unlace Thorin's tunic, Thorin stopped him and said that, unlike hobbits, for dwarves, sexual interaction is a very serious step in emotional attachment. It wouldn't be fair not to tell Bilbo what kind of monster he was getting involved with, because after seeing what Thorin had to show him, Bilbo might not even want to look him in the eye. Bilbo was honestly frustrated. (It is implied that Thorin used some term characteristic of a pedo... ahem)

— With a terrifyingly serious face, Thorin unwrapped the bandages on his wrist, and Bilbo, with a sinking heart, prepared to see a number like 5 or 12. Instead, there was a very respectable and completely normal age. Thorin turned away, not wanting to see the disappointment in the hobbit's eyes. Bilbo spent a few seconds calculating how long dwarves live and how old Thorin actually was.

— Thorin thought Bilbo wanted to shame him for having the audacity to enter into a relationship at such an age, knowing his soulmate's extremely young age. With closed eyes, he forced out that he was 195 and knew how disgusting he was because of it.

— Instead of a slap or something worse, which Thorin wouldn't have opposed, thinking any normal person had the right to treat him like that after seeing it, Bilbo reached for his own wrist and, with suspicious enthusiasm, pulled off the leather bracelet he had worn since the Shire. On the pale skin was clearly marked Thorin's age, written in dark ink with characteristic dwarvish notches.

— Some time passed in silence as they both realized that such a coincidence simply couldn't be.

— They were in for a very pleasant evening away from the company🌚🌝

— Later, when the entire company gathered by the fire, Bilbo and Thorin would come to them, holding hands, the hobbit nearly glowing with happiness in front, and a red-to-the-tips-of-his-ears Thorin slightly behind. This would be the first time anyone in the company saw Thorin without bandages, and if not for the matching age on Bilbo's wrist, now also not hidden by a bracelet, they wouldn't have believed Thorin could be normal with such a number on his skin.

— And the dwarves would realize how young Bilbo was by their standards.

— Truly, the ways of the Valar are mysterious.

— At the very end of the night, Fili would nudge Kili with his elbow and hint that since their uncle had an inter-racial mark, he might not be so angry and yell when he finds out that his brother has a four-digit number on his wrist.

[clairedaring]

if you're hoping for joe 2.0 to get his 'revenge' in the second half of the series...

warning: mild novel spoilers (but also not really because i'm just discussing things that have been shown in the trailer)

i really think you should either drop the series or give up the hopes of a satisfying makjang revenge storyline in my stand-in instead of setting yourself up for disappointment. because that simply isn't the story that my stand-in is trying to tell.

so what is my stand-in about really?

well, for me i think its a romance tragicomedy drama about an idiotic scum male lead losing the person he loves most because of his own arrogance and refusal to listen to his heart and the series of unfortunate events that happened consequently for our protagonist who was living a peaceful and quiet life as a stunt actor before the scum male lead entered his life.

joe 2.0 and his approach to life

i've mentioned it twice now that one of my favorite traits of joe/zhou xiang is that kindness in his strength where even if he can be choose to be mean or cruel, he simply doesn't because he has such a soft heart and he's weak to see others in pain (joe is my fellow enfp people pleaser okay) (⁠っ⁠˘̩⁠╭⁠╮⁠˘̩⁠)⁠っ which is why even in his 2.0 life, you won't get to see joe turning 180 degree and going around to hurt everyone who's ever hurt him like it's some makjang kdrama.

and while that seems like it could be fun, i think the reason why i loved professional body double (my stand-in novel) so much in the first place is because that very distinction between joe and other rebirth/second chance at life protagonists that you often see in revenge kdramas/cdramas/thai lakorns.

logically, if my stand-in was a 24-episode one31 lakorn/thai soap opera, joe would be full of hatred and burning rage after his rebirth and started his intricated revenge plot while still falling in love with ming whom he should hate the most.

and yet he isn't (or at least it seems to me so far).

if you read the lyrics 'Die For You' - the opening ost of my stand-in, i think you can have a good guess of what the second half of the story will be like.

Even running away to death can't help. If my heart had chosen to stop at you I'll have to surrender with the confusion I feel. To come back to the same old place. Even if I have to die, disappear and then be reborn But the love is still buried deep inside, even if it's been shattered into pieces Even if my life ends, I can't stop my heart from calling out to you Because this whole body, life, spirit It is yours only, for all eternity.

and even from the trailer of my stand-in, you can tell that joe 2.0 has a lot of internal conflicting feelings about whether he could trust ming again after the betrayal he faced in his 1.0 life. and i feel like essentially the journey of ming proving to joe 2.0 that he really does love joe is very much the central plot in the second half part of the story.

so i'd like to take this part to note how well the series has done to adapt the novel so far. i think a good adapted change they've made is this early realization of feelings for ming in the joe 1.0 timeline. i do think the novel made him realized his feelings a little bit later but my stand-in did well to show within ep.3 what happiness could have looked like for joe 1.0 and ming and i think it rationalizes a bit more more for why joe 2.0 would still have feelings for ming 'buried deep inside' even when he's been badly hurt the first time around. and reading the story i've always found it interesting that they took this route to focus on the re-entangled complex relationship between mingjoe rather than going for a joe-centric revenge makjang plot (i swear if this was your typical thai lakorn, joe would seduce ming while planning to take down his whole family or something).

of course, that's not to dismiss that there's a lot of character growth for joe in the second half of the story, especially in his building of self-confidence, self-worth, the ability to put himself first and the fight for his own happiness above all. but like i've mentioned above, his growth journey is not at the expense of a drastic personality change in regards to the kind hearted joe we saw in his 1.0 life. instead, we get kind hearted joe 2.0 who quickly adapts to his new life and attempts to start anew while conflicted feelings resurface for him as he is pulled back into the relationships he once had.

all in all, my stand-in is still at the heart of it, a love story. perhaps, a dark romance as my friend @dragonsandphoenix would call it, but a romance nonetheless. i think that is what also makes professional body double such a compelling read too, because the progression in the feelings and complex emotions of these characters are so tightly written that it's convincing enough for me (maybe not for others though) to believe that yan ming xiu has/will always love zhou xiang (to the point ymx would probably eliminate anyone else who dared to steal zx from him). obsessive love? yes. do they both need therapy? probably. yet i still believe in their happy ending? of course.

final note/disclaimer: then again, this is just my PERSONAL opinions based on the novel and up til 3 episodes of my stand-in (which seems to be very faithful to the novel so far), who knows maybe they can anger novel fans and adapt it completely differently later on (something i sure hope they don't but we'll seeeee) ƪ(˘⌣˘)ʃ

[hyuny-bunny]

Hi Rose!

Can you do a fic where SKZ are in an interview and one of the questions for each of them is, "If you have a sister, whom would you want her to date?" And Minho vehemently objects to his metaphoric sister dating his friends, then notices Changbin looking all suspicious. Turns out Changbin has been chatting up Minho's cousin. Juicy, juicy.

Thank you! But please, please don't feel obligated if you're not comfy writing this, okay?

of course ! thank you so much for the request and i hope this does it justice :') i did tweak the details abit and kinda ran with it 😅. i hope not too much to disappoint. if you want something a little more spicy feel free to submit again and i can do a follow up pt 2☺️

i'll wait | C.B. ft minho

genre: fluff overload, friends to lovers, slow burn romance

content warning: cuteness overload, kissing, slightly upset minho, minho threatening to break changbin.

Minho had always been like an older brother to you. You weren't too far apart in age, you were glued to the hip at 3 and it's always been that way. Both sets of parents had to have a difficult talk with the two of you, explaining you weren't siblings. It didn't stop him referring to you as his sister and for you your brother.

Even during his time as a trainee, you were always there supporting. Whether it was dropping by the company building for a 15 minute break to have coffee and catch up, you'd always make time for him. When he was recruited by Chan to be a part of a group, you were ecstatic for him but your time together was cut down significantly when he went on to do the survival show.

After getting his big break to debut, he spent a lot of time out with his group doing street performances and advertising their group. You'd often join him with passing out flyers or just helping them record videos as they hadn't been supplied with staff just yet. You got more familiar with the rest of his group but you were always shy around them, not really knowing your place in how to interact with them.

Changbin and Jisung were the first ones you warmed up to. Han was always respectful but treated you like a friend, always making you feel comfortable around them. Changbin was much shyer with his approach. He found you pretty the moment Minho introduced you to all of them. He'd always crack jokes to you when you were around. Teasing your camera work when they were going back of their vlogs. It wasn't until one afternoon, you were supposed to be meeting Minho & Changbin for lunch, Minho had been running behind with his dance practice. This was the most nervous Changbin had felt in a long time, not even his performance review came close to he felt knowing he'd be alone with you until Minho would arrive.

All his worries washed away when he saw you sitting out on the terrace of that cafe. You were wearing a grey sweater with a black skirt. It was fall so the cold hadn't set it but he could see your legs shivering. Without thinking about it, he was already pulling his jacket off. He walked over to you seeing the way you beamed at him melted his heart.

"Here, for your legs." He extended the jacket out to you.

"Oh... it's fine, binnie," His heart skipped a beat at the nickname, "I'm not that cold! I don't want you getting cold either."

He cocked an eyebrow at you before laying the jacket over your lap himself, he didn't know where the confidence to do that came from. Your heart swooned at the gesture, your legs find a new found warmth from the heat that came from the worn jacket and the blood rushing in you. From that day on you had kept a close friendship to him, one Minho himself would've seen.

Much later down the line your friendship grew closer but never anything more. It wasn't until a few months before their new comeback, Changbin was stressing beyond belief. The pressure to have a big impact on the music charts this time around was getting to his head. He was practically calling you every night to talk. One night he couldn't take it anymore, he needed to see you. It was 2 in the morning, he was letting his legs were move and think for him.

He's standing at your door debating on whether or not to ring your bell, not a second is able to pass before you're already there opening the door. The next moment we're all a blur because once he's stepped into your apartment, his shoes kicked off, his lips are on yours. After a moment or so he stops, apologizing for not having asked for your permission but you're already pulling him back down to kiss him some more. After the night he swears off kissing, he wants to be able to date you properly. The other obstacle you face is your beloved cousin. You know the one who brought you two together, the one who doesn't know the details of your relationship with his group member.

From then, you both find time to sneak off for dates. Your dates mainly consist of eating dinner at his studio, or he's bringing you food to your place for a movie night. You're trying you best to make things work, away from prying eyes, deranged fans, and most importantly, from Minho.

The truth about the two of you comes spilling out suddenly and unexpectedly when SKZ is on a variety show. Their staff at this point had a vague idea of you relationship status to Binnie but it was unbeknownst to them that Minho did not know. Minho had invited you to come watch the variety show so you could all grab dinner afterwards. Things took a turn when the host was going around asking about the members siblings.

Lee Know candidly spoke about a cousin that was practically his sister, you could see Binnie glancing your way past the camera.

"Would any of you let your sisters date another member of the group?" The host asked.

Seung is the first to adamantly say 'no'. He's waving and shaking his head no in disgust, they're all laughing at his reaction but Minho soon joins in on him.

"Nope, never. Not happening, maybe when I'm dead." Minho deadpans looking across his members but his eyes land on Changbin who is dead staring at you.

He clocks it then. Minhos eyes are darting back and forth between you two. It takes Chan kicking the back of Changbins chair for him to snap out of his daze letting out a loud 'huh'. Minho's eyes are narrowed on him.

He knows something but he doesn't know for fact.

"Would you let your sister date any of the members?... Or better yet would you date any of the members sisters?" The host is laughing while repeating the question. Minho isn't laughing though.

Changbin flusters out a 'no' but his cheeks are a tint of pink now that he was caught staring you down. The filming wraps up and staff are asking the production to send them over the final product before they release it, just as an extra precaution. Minho says nothing when he brushes past you. He's pissed.

Shit maybe he does know.

You're standing out by your car waiting for Minho. It was supposed to be 4 of you. Jisung, Minho, Changbin, and you. You wave your goodbyes to rest of the members, finally seeing the three of them walking out together. You can tell Jisung is yapping about something based off the way he's moving his hands while talking. Changbin walks beside him head low and Minho walks on the opposite side of Han. He's staring you down all the way till he gets to you.

You're all standing outside the car but no one is moving.

"Do you have something to tell me?" Minho's never had such a cold tone with you, it makes you straighten up.

"I uh... We wanted to... I just..." You can't find the words but Changbin steps up.

"Take it out on me," He's stepped in between you two now. "We didn't know how to tell you, I asked to keep it quiet until the time came."

"And when was that time? Because I just had to find out in front an entire production crew and our staff. Was that your ideal time?" He's pissed but he's also hurt. Hurt that you would hide this from him.

"I'm sorry, Min. I am really. I was just scared that you wouldn't..."

"That I wouldn't what?" He snaps at you.

"You wouldn't approve of it."

beat

His eyes soften looking at you. He looks to Changbin.

"Do you love her?"

"I love her"

It was the first time you heard him say he loved you. It wasn't the way he imagined it going. Minho sighs looking at you again, he can tell it was your first time hearing this too.

"Okay.... If you so much as lay a hand on her or do anything to break her heart, i will break your fingers off one by one, and you'll never lift a weight again, got it?" Minho has a hand on his shoulder and a finger pointing in his face like a parent scolding a child.

Jisung has been stuck in same pose for the last 20 minutes with his jaw slack to the floor while clutching his hand over his heart. You're right there with him ever since you heard Changbin say 'I love her'.

Minho moves to open the car to put his bag in the back, unfortunately you're still frozen in place and haven't unlocked.

"You know the least you could do is feed me now?" He looks at you gesturing the car keys in hand. He grabs the keys from you to unlock the car now. He hugs you for a moment before patting changbin on the shoulder.

You look at Changbin who is matching the flush on your face. He kisses your forehead trying to bring you out of your state of shock.

" You know 'I love you, too' would've been nice to hear ," He laughs taking the keys and walking to the passenger side to usher you in "But I'll wait."

[fsfghgee]

Warning: Long dive. Bi-Han and Sektor's relationship part 2 (+ Bi-Han's redemption)

Honestly, I think people who are expecting to see Bi-Han flirting with Sektor in the expansion will be disappointed, 'cause Bi-Han isn't like Johnny Cage or Kung Lao. He really is not that kind of guy…

And he's damn far from it. Even if Bi-Han and Sektor do have a romantic relationship, I'd bet anything that in the intros they'll just be praising each other, reaffirming vows of loyalty, talking about the clan's defectors, making more plans together, giving each other advice, and hopefully talking about their parents. And that's it.

'praising her is something he does often"

I don't know about our new Sektor, but Bi-Han is not the type who flirts and the way he doesn't like to follow traditions, does everything together with Sektor and treats his female subordinates as if they were any other subordinate (I think everyone saw how he got a face-to-face with Cyrax… And if Frost really is already part of the Lin Kuei, I doubt she's getting any special treatment either…), I'd say he takes gender equality really seriously and chivalry in Bi-Han's language is letting her shoot first.

And most importantly…

He takes his position very seriously. The fights between Bi-Han and Sektor will be just sparring, but I doubt he would treat even that lightly. If he is romantic, which I personally doubt (I wouldn't put my hand in the fire for that), we will never know because even his perception of romance is independent. I believe that his romanticism comes down to heroic acts, like probably giving his life for Sektor's…

I mean, the person who built the armor was Sektor, so the woman who is fighting alongside Bi-Han in OutWorld can only be Sektor. And to me, it looks like they were about to take her instead of Bi-Han (and remembering that their target was Geras who they also take with them).

.... Or stroking her ego (which is almost as big as his), promising heaven and earth, giving her expensive gifts, maybe calling her his queen when they're alone, being a bit too touchy-feely when he's needy…

I imagine that as a self-centered mama's boy (I love him, but that's just who he is), he must prefer people to give him attention instead of giving attention, I can even imagine him enjoying a cuddle with a gentle petting, honestly.

And the way Sektor seemed surprised by Bi-Han's reaction to Cyrax... I believe she's not used to seeing him angry around her, I doubt she hears anything from him other than compliments.

After all, Bi-Han was the one who sensed that she was his kindred spirit…

What are kindred spirits?"Kindred spirits are like-minded and like-souled people with whom an instant connection of love and understanding is mutually experienced," clinical psychologist Carla Marie Manly, Ph.D., tells mbg. "The connection is inimitable and often defies verbal description."

People who share common interests, values, or worldviews might be described as kindred spirits. "In more spiritual words, we could say that they resonate at the same frequency, and there is matching energy between them," Katherine Bihlmeier, a relationship coach specializing in energy work, tells mbg.

And it's Sektor who rescues Bi-Han in the story mode, not Scorpion, her lines don't appear like all the dlc, but she's clearly the one rescuing him. She joins KuaiSc's mission to rescue Geras just to rescue Bi-Han.

You can hear that she's the one who recognizes him first and sounds really worried about him…

In fact, in the first trailer for the story mode expansion, you can see Sektor fighting alongside Bi-Han already turned into Noob Saibot but with his mind under his own control again.

He's fighting the khaos versions of Cyrax and Sektor...

We can see Bi-Han fighting alongside Liu Kang too, fighting SubZeroChaos, TakedaChaos like in the datamined script…

And again, although I'm still a little bit confused about their fate…

Will Sektor really sit back and accept the Lin Kuei being punished by Liu Kang and leaving Bi-Han locked up in the temple? Honestly, I highly doubt it.

I have no problem with the nature of their relationship, whatever it is. I'm a Lin Kuei fan, so Sektor getting some love kinda warms my heart since it never happened before...

And I think if it's well written it could be really interesting and make Bi-Han's character more multidimensional. Since he literally has no one else besides Sektor to lean on... Cyrax will desert them.

Hopefully, Noob Saibot ending will show us what will become of Bi-Han Sub-Zero in mk1.

...

edit: With the revealed Sektor trailer, we saw that Bi-Han ended up in Havik's hands when he jumped after him trying to strike him and accidentally ended up entering the portal that Havik had opened.

[mybelovedwoo]

Boyfriend hongjoong or mingi PLEASE?

Thank u so much for your request! I will do Hongjoong now as he was the first one you wrote, but I will do Mingi in the future too!!

kim hongjoong as boyfriend - headcanon

headcanon, romance, fluff, smut

gn!reader x bf!atz

wc. ~0.8k

an: you can request headcanons if you want to (please only headcanons)!! if you want to be tagged in any of my fics you can apply here <3

masterlist

-the always admires you from far away type of boyfriend

-like he always has such heart eyes for you whenever you go somewhere together, you are talking about something in a group setting, he always listens to your every word carefully, he never disappoints you, or he sees how good you're getting along with his members, he smiles at you with that lovesick smile of his

-but sometimes he can get a little jealous too, we know he's an extreme scorpio, like is anyone surprised honestly?

-probably spends most of his time at the studio, but doesn't mind when you accompany him, indeed loves it, he can get a little distracted with your presence sometimes tho

-you always feel so special, because you're the first person to hear some songs of his, in return, you always try to encourage him and tell him how amazing of a producer and songwriter he is (it's not a lie)

-after he is done working in the studio, he usually takes you out for dinner, refuses you to pay for anything, and gets mad when you tell him that you want to pay this time

-you would think he is not much of a fan of physical affection, but it's so different with you, the only place he wouldn't give you that much of it is in public places and in front of his friends and family

-he would hold your hands wherever you go, occasionally he raises yours to his mouth and gives it a quick peck, so you can feel his love even when you're in public

-you wouldn't know this, but he likes to brag about you, telling his friends how wonderful his significant other is

-very protective of you, because he thinks you are his treasure. he would dead-stare everyone who would even look at your way

-would think about your future together, and moving in with you the first month of dating, but would never actually tell you, because he doesn't want to scare you off or something

-his biggest fear is that he can't show you how much he loves you. if he can see any doubt or insecurity, he will reassure you with the most meaningful words and wouldn't ever leave your side in a moment like this

-you two often joke around with "being mean" to each other. it's just you guys' thing. he is definitely into it when you are being mean to him

-always asks you to paint his nails, and he always does the same for you. picking out the colors for each other. also picks out the other's outfit just for fun, but ends up changing the whole thing because it "wasn't him"

-the type of boyfriend that would give you his jacket, saying he isn't cold, but would actually be freezing

-he brings you home little gifts from everywhere he goes around the world, saying "I had to buy it, it reminded me of you baby"

-would stare straight into your eyes before he kisses you, holds your face with one hand at your jaw. also the first thing he does is kiss you every time you two wake up together in the morning, he thinks it's really important and the best way to start the day

nsfw +18!!!

-okay hear me out he is a very emotional lover and sometimes he can get carried away by his feelings, but he is definitely a dom in the bedroom, not a hard dom, but not a soft dom (you know what I mean)

-he prefers intense sex, where can get everything out of his head, and the bedroom is the safest place for him to share it with the person he loves the most, he desires passion and intimacy

-doesn't mind trying out new things, as long as you are okay with it too, very open and adventurous

-his biggest turn-on is direct eye contact I'm telling you, this boy is a sucker for it. he loves how he can see every emotion on your face, it is very intimate and vulnerable for him 

-biggest turn off probably power play, he just doesn't like it when somebody is trying to control him, and probably everything that involves pain

-i feel like hongjoong would be very vocal in bed, sometimes having full-on conversations with you, and also even dirty talk, but only in a loving way, he would never be mean to you in such a vulnerable moment

-this man's sex drive is high af, you would have sex at least four times a week, but it's probably more than that, to be honest, literally doing it in every part of the house, in the kitchen, bathroom, living room, on the floor, literally everywhere

-so for positions, i think he would love a classic missionary where he can keep that eye contact but would love a good flatiron where he is doing you from behind but still stays close to you, also one of his favorites would be just scooping you up from behind, just cuddling up and kissing your face all over

-he would get all sleepy after sex, so he forgets aftercare sometimes, he just falls asleep with you in his arms (who would blame this man, he works too hard)

[anxiouseldergod]

hiii I love the premise of your au ✨️

I was wondering about a couple things..

1. is grim part of it?

2. what about ace and Deuce? what do they do? I think it would cute if they were still super close to reader (I'm totally NOT a huge fan of the heartshackle dynamic /s)

I wrote way more on this then I meant to lmao

While I do intend for this to be an x reader series thingy, this is more of a "how you met" scenario, so it doesn't really have any romance.

It's kind of long, so it's all below the cut!

I had planned to include Grim in my post going over my au, actually! I ended up writing it in the middle of the night though and completely forgot to add him there lol

In my au, Grim lives with the reader as their familiar! Maybe it's an overused trope to make him their familiar in au's, but I have this cute image in my head of him trying to help around both the shops.

struggling to reach certain shelves to fill them with books of magical items, napping on the counters next to you while you're working, going out with you while collect herbs...

I adore my dumbass son.

as for adeuce? I feel like they would be regular customers at the magic shop, always stocking up on healing items.

I see them as rookie (but surprisingly successful) adventurers.

They were trained by family members, Ace learned from his older brother and Deuce from his mom (a now retired adventurer).

They ended up joining the same guild, Heartslabyul, which is based in one of the cities nearby.

As the two newest members, they often get paired up together, much to their dismay.

I feel like they heard rumors of the magic shop in the woods and got curious, wanting to know if it was actually real.

So, they set out, going deeper and deeper into the dark woods. Just when they thought maybe it wasn't real, they stumbled across you.

They were certainly surprised to find you living in the woods with just your familiar to keep you company.

Entering your shop, they were immensely disappointed to see a bookstore instead of a magic shop.

You greet them politely, smiling from behind the counter.

"Welcome! Feel free to look around, let me know if you need anything."

While neither of them are at all interested in the books you have, they decide to look around anyway. They came all this way, after all.

The two boys disappear from you line of sight, conversing quietly as they browse the shelves despite their lack of interest. Grim looks up from the can of tuna he was eating, ear twitching as he stares in their direction curiously.

After finishing his snack, Grim wanders away from you, toward where the two had gone. He weaves through the maze of shelves, peeking out from behind one. He watches the boys argue quietly.

"No, I told you it wasn't real! But you just had to come see!"

"What? How is this my fault? You wanted to come too.."

The back and forth continues for a moment as Grim watches from the side. The whole scene is greatly amusing to him and, without realizing, he lets out a small laugh.

Ace and Deuce pause in their useless bickering, turning to stare at the laughing creature. They look thoroughly confused by him, clearly never having seen anything like him. Ace speaks up first.

"Hang on, is that weird cat laughing at us–"

Grim's face immediately changes as the fire coming from his ears burns a little brighter. He stomps his little foot, tail swishing angrily.

"I am NOT a cat!"

The boys jump a bit, deuce accidentally backing into the bookshelf behind him.

"Why can it talk?!" He shouts, before seemingly remembering the sign that told him to keep quiet. He tries again, whisper shouting this time. "Why can it talk?!"

Grim looks even more upset at this. "Why can you talk? Clearly you don't have anything smart to say!"

Ace laughs at this, snorting before covering his mouth in an attempt to hide his amusement. Deuce notices this and elbows him.

Grim turns to Ace, hands on his hips as he speaks to him. "You don't seem much smarter, you know."

Now, Ace is upset. He yells at Grim, not worried about keeping his voice down. "What would some ugly kitten know about me anyway?"

Grim is even more offended now. In his upset, he gets the bright not idea to scare the two with with his fire magic. He breathes a blue flames toward them, successfully scaring them like he had intended.

However, he didn't account for Deuce's reaction.

"I summon thee, cauldron!"

A large cauldron comes crashing down from seemingly nowhere. It hits the bookshelf beside them and sends it crashing to the ground,

Grim manages to mostly avoid the disaster, but ends up getting his tail smashed by a stray book. A rather large one too. He yelps in pain, shooting more fire magic out reflexively.

Ace and Deuce look on in horror as the book shelf falls over completely, Grim's flames catching on the books. The smoke builds up around them, making it hard to see.

Suddenly, the fire is put out all at once.

As the smoke clears, the three of them see you angry face as you survey the damage they caused.

Grim scrambles behind your legs, holding his sore tail and glaring at the adventurers.

Deuce is practically tripping over himself trying to apologize, but is abruptly stopped as you inspect the cauldron on the ground.

"You use magic?"

You can see the color drain from their faces at your question. Their both stammering, coming up with lame excuses or trying to change the subject.

Ace is sure you'll snitch about Deuce's magic, and he'll get busted for keeping it a secret. He's (overly) confident that he can escape the law if he has to, but he's more worried about how his brother will react.

Deuce is sure he'll never go another quest, then he'll never achieve his dream of becoming a legendary adventurer! He can already see his mother's disappointed face when she hears that her only son was locked up due to illegal use of summoning magic. Which is why he's so confused when he hears you laugh.

"What a terrible display! You're not very experienced are you?" You say, a smile growing on you face. You turn to Ace. "I'm assuming you use it too, right? Actually, no need to answer, I can sense your magic energy."

Grim looks up at you incredulously. "Why are ya laughin'? Aren't ya gonna tear into 'em for the mess they made?"

You smile to yourself, closing your eyes as you think for a moment. "Oh, you're all in trouble, Grim. But I think this might actually work in my favor."

You turn back to Ace and Deuce, who stand there in confusion. "You were here looking for The Moon's Alcove, right? Come with me!"

Bewildered, the boys and Grim follow you from the chaos of your destroyed bookshelf. They watch as you unlock the door in the back. You lead them through it, into your magic shop while ignoring their awed expressions.

"Here it is!" You exclaim, arms out as you gesture to your secret shop. "I run the place. Here lately I've had more customers than usual. It's difficult for me to mange the shops and gather materials for potions and other items. Obviously, I can't trust Grim to go alone."

Your familiar makes an offended sound from beside your feet.

"As payment for the damage you've caused here today, I'd like the two of you to gather my materials." You explain.

"Like, a job?" Ace asks, sneering at the thought of extra work.

"Mhm! Should be easy since adventurers like you are always exploring and foraging anyway. I'll even pay you, you'll get extra if you can find me some magical items or artifacts."

Deuce puts his hand to chin, looking around the colorful shop as muses aloud. "I mean, if it keeps us out of trouble..."

You clap your hands together, magic flying from them in little sparkles due to your excitement. "I would never snitch! I'm in no position to anyway. So, do we have a deal?"

The boys look to each other, shrugging as they come to a silent conclusion.

"I guess?"

"Great!" You clap again. "I actually forgot to mention something though, since this is to repay me for the damage to my precious books, I actually won't be paying you the firs two weeks."

"What?!" They exclaim in unison.

Ace crosses his arms. "Repayment of not, what makes you think we'll do this for free? What if we just run off and don't come back, huh?"

Before they can complain further, you take a small pouch from your pocket. Carefully, you pour a small amount of red powder into you hand and then toss it into the air above their heads. It drifts down onto them as you say a few mysterious words with your hands clasped together, they glow slightly.

"There! Now if you try to weasel out of this, your heads will explode!"

The boys look horrified at this statement, backing away from you quickly. Ace takes back his previous words, assuring you he they'll do their job well.

Eventually, a few more terms are worked out between you and them and they leave. It's agreed that they'll spend the next few days searching for the materials you listed and then bring them to you at a specific date.

Not long after they leave does it begin to grow dark out. You sit on your bed, gently applying a mild healing ointment to Grim's sore tail.

After a moment of silence, he speaks. "Are ya really gonna explode their heads if they don't listen?"

You laugh, shaking your head. "Of course not, that's way too far."

"Then what was that powder you put on 'em?"

"Paprika."

[bbhyeoliskooks]

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐎𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐖𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧 | csb

✥ genre: soobin x reader (f), the other woman, forbidden romance, pretty much angst, 1.5k+ words

✥ warnings: infidelity, suggestive

✥ song rec: The Other Woman -- Lana Del Ray

Soobin's fingers lightly traced the upper part of your cheek, gently waking you up as if the sun's meager rays weren't enough. He didn't manage to get very far, your eyelashes barely fluttering as you tiredly opened one eye. His touch was soft, absolutely warm as it glided lower to cup your cheek.

You glanced at the alarm clock behind him, noticing the bright red letters that yelled 5:03am. Typical, you thought, rolling on your other side so that you could prolong Soobin's departure. He would always leave around this time when you finally got to dream, waking you up so he could muster a quick goodbye. While you appreciated the effort, you were always too tired to realize that he was going away. Again.

This time however, you hadn't entered the REM stage of sleeping, with only 2 hours of sleep under your belt. Soobin had treated you to a wonderful night, clothes scattered on the floor haphazardly that it kept you up, euphorically biting your lip. The whole night his arm was wrapped tightly around you, letting you know that he subconsciously wanted you near. Because of your lack of sleep, you were able to open your eyes easily, being woken up by Soobin's many kisses and physical touches.

You groaned and tried to look at him as he peppered soft kisses against your cold shoulder. Of course you hadn't gone to sleep wearing anything, but that was the usual with Soobin. He always wanted them off you when you went to sleep, arguing that sleep was warmer this way. It's not like you cared anyway as you were desperate to have him near you in any way possible- as pathetic as that sounded.

"Hey love, I have to go," he mumbled, his voice breathy against the stark contrast of birds chirping outside.

You hummed, turning around once again to bury your face in his neck, "can't you just stay a little longer?"

Although you already knew the answer to that foolish question, you wanted to take your chances, to have him here until the sun actually warmed the room. He never did, the moon being his companion whenever he drove to your house in the silence of the night. Being here, under the simultaneous light of the sun and moon, made him look like a painting from the golden age of the Renaissance. He was perfect here, a source of your personal heat and more so, your love. If anything, Soobin belonged in your room; he belonged with you.

The dimple on his cheek appeared when he frowned, eyes falling onto your body that was lazily covered in the heavy bedsheets. "My wife will notice I'm gone. I'm sorry, I can't."

How could you be surprised at this point? Countless times he was wrapped within you, his body extremely close to yours so often that they molded together so easily. His legs would fit with yours perfectly, his chest flush against yours in a way that provided comfort. You were made for him, how could he not see that? Then as always, the next day he would be taken away from you- to her, the woman that didn't get this vulnerable side of Soobin at all.

You didn't care that you were the other woman, as harsh as it was. You knew Soobin loved you more. You put more effort in your appearance, you kept your house tidy at all times for his arrival, you did everything that made him love you more. She, on the other hand, never put much thought into it and took him for granted. Because of this he loved you more and if you were going to be cocky, you didn't even have to lift a finger. Despite knowing this you felt disappointed, your heart sinking involuntarily at his expected answer.

"It's fine, Soobin... but can I ask something?" You whispered, looking up at him through your eyelashes.

A gentle smile fell on his face as he gazed at you as well, admiring the way the light hit your eyes. For a couple of seconds he stared at you, before reluctantly getting up.

"Of course, love." The cold air hit him and he hissed, looking around for his clothes that were scandalously thrown off to the side.

You began to toy with your fingers, a line drawn tightly on your lips as you watched him loop his legs through his pants. It had been a question that you were pondering for so long ever since the affair started. Now that you were awake enough, you could finally receive an answer that would probably leave you tossing and turning the next night.

You started before pausing again, glancing at his bare chest. The sight was better than looking at his face- you knew his clouded expression would crush you with the words you said next.

"Why can't you leave her? I mean, we love each other but it's still wrong."

An awkward silence filled the room, taking the place of the sun rays. You got up as well, opting to wrap the blanket against your naked body, his warmth already fleeting from it. The only thing that could be heard was the tired breaths between you and Soobin, plus the rustling of him trying to buckle his pants. You shut your eyes as if the action would shield the hurt you knew you were going to feel in a couple of seconds, if he actually decided to answer.

"It's not that easy," Soobin sighed wistfully, grabbing his shirt- the last thing to be put on, "my parents will be unhappy and I'll lose a long marriage of 5 years."

You felt your throat dry up and become parched at his words. The dizziness of barely getting sleep seemed to be affecting you, and you felt your jelly legs falter from being glued to the floor. Before thinking, you said the words on the tip of your tongue.

"But don't you care that you'll lose me too if you keep this up? I want to be with you, Bin," you pleaded desperately, hoping that he would see your heart, "and- and I know you love me more than her." It was no use, the knowing, abandoned look on his face telling you everything his voice couldn't.

"I'm sorry... I'll text you when you wake up, okay?"

But you weren't going to give up without a fight. You ran over to him, who was already at the door of your bedroom. You grabbed onto the ends of his shirt, willing to do whatever to keep him here- even if that meant arguing.

"Then you'll just delete it? Hide me from your wife and everyone else?"

Turning around, Soobin's hand found its way to ruffle your hair softly before falling and cupping your cheek. You melted into his touch, letting half of your weight fall onto the left side of your leg. Momentarily you felt your dizziness pass, thankful that he was here for just a second more.

"Listen, sweetheart," he coaxed, his thumb delicately rubbing against your cheek, "you know I love you, but no one can know besides us. You also know that I want to be with you too; the circumstances just make it very hard."

If it was even possible, your heart seemed to shatter a little bit more, a physical crack running down through the middle. Tears prickled at your eyes, threatening to spill over. Crying was usually your last resort- he would never deny you when you were on the verge of tears. And although crying worked in your favor, sadness was truly what you were feeling as well. His words were a dagger to the heart, even though they were simultaneously sweet, calling you that pet name he specifically kept for you. They were the meaning of bittersweet, keeping you with a married man longer than what your self-respect demanded and what his poor wife deserved.

"Please choose me. I love you, Bin. I have loved you longer than her and I make you happy, don't I?" Your voice faltered, cracking at the end of each sentence. This time you let a tear fall, no shame in getting the waterworks flowing. It's not like you had a choice anyway; whatever Soobin did, your body involuntarily reacted at.

The married man stood in front of you, his tall stature merely towering over you as you looked at him with hopeful, sad eyes. He pressed a kiss against your forehead, hoping that the sweet action would soften the cruel words that he would say next. When you saw his hand cradling the doorknob, your eyes electric to analyze his every action, you knew. He was going to leave you in the night again, utterly alone and useless.

"You do... I'm sorry, sweetheart. I have to go," Soobin whispered as he regretfully opened the door.

You watched as he left, ruthlessly taking your heart with him to bring home to his naive wife. As always, this is what the other woman experienced daily. Wrongfully having his attention but unfortunately never his love.

Released: July 11, 2024 (9:22pm CT)

Thoughts: pls know that I do not condone cheating!! I just got this idea from listening to the other woman from Lana del Ray, which is what led me to writing this. even though it's wrong, I can't help but feel my heart break and feel sympathy :( not at the cheating part, rather doing whatever to make someone stay even though you know they won't :( anyway hope y'all enjoyed!

Tags:

[from-the-coffee-shop-in-edoras]

Three Weeks on the Nimrodel

Well, here it is. My first (and oldest) piece of fic. I'm going against my brand here by posting something set in Lorien when Rohan is really my jam. But this is the first thing I ever wrote, so it seems fitting that it should be the first posted, too.

Pairing: Haldir x reader (The reader is gender neutral beyond 2 uses of the descriptor "beautiful", which is still neutral to me but your mileage might vary.)

Genre: Romance, I guess

Summary: Two elves who are frequently misunderstood by others find the joy of having someone really see and value them for who they are.

Inspiration: This all came from the well loved gif above, in which Craig Parker does beautiful work communicating a whole emotional arc (surprise, confusion, acceptance, appreciation) when Aragorn unexpectedly shows Haldir some loving affection. In that half-second of screen time, I see an entire book of backstory about Haldir's character--about being someone who is very reserved by nature, who isn't necessarily comfortable freely expressing feelings and innermost thoughts, but who still feels deep emotional connections to others that can come out under the right circumstances. As a very reserved person myself, I can relate--if you tend to keep your thoughts and feelings close to the vest, people will make a lot of assumptions and judgments about you that probably aren't right, and that can be exhausting. When someone finally does understand you and allows you to be comfortable enough to open up on your own terms, it's a life changing experience. So that's what I tried to write.

Word count: approx 3200 (~ 6 pages)

**********

It is still early when you arrive in the center of Caras Galadhon, joining the crowd of elves waiting to find out where they will be posted for the next few weeks of guard duty. Most in the group are veteran marchwardens, deeply familiar with each other and the daily routine of life near the borders. By contrast, you are a city warden, often dedicated to the direct protection of the Lady of the Wood. But you have been asked to serve a temporary rotation on the borders while several of the regular marchwardens are away with Lord Celeborn on a visit to Mirkwood.

The change of pace is not unwelcome to you. While you love Caras Galadhon and are honored to spend time in the service of Lady Galadriel, you frequently find yourself craving distance from the city in favor of the quiet outlying areas, where it is easy to hear clear birdsong, the rustling steps of small animals scampering by, and the patter of light raindrops falling on mallorn leaves.

The crowd begins to murmur as the deputy captain appears and begins handing around sheets of paper with duty assignments. As the pages spread through the crowd, the murmurs turn to both sighs of disappointment and quiet expressions of satisfaction.

“All I want is to avoid the Nimrodel,” you overhear the elf next to you mutter to a friend of his. You recognize him as Calendil, who, like many of his companions, is well known for carousing around Caras Galadhon any time he is home on leave. As a group, the marchwardens are a boisterous company who seem always determined to pack several weeks of fun into the few days of free time they’ve been given. “Three weeks posted with the captain is more than can be asked of me.”

Your eyebrows shoot up in surprise at this mention of Captain Haldir. You know him a little–everyone in Lorien knows the leader of the marchwardens–and have never before heard a negative word uttered about him. Your path does not often cross with his, but you admire his impressive record of achievements and have never seen him treat another elf with anything but courteous respect.

“You speak truly,” replies Calendil’s companion. “I cannot spend so much time with someone who has so little to say. That much silence is enough to drive one a little mad.”

A wave of indignation rolls through your body. It is undeniably true that Haldir is very reserved. He says little that isn’t necessary to the conduct of his duties, and what he is truly thinking behind his large blue eyes is often a mystery. But that has never seemed a negative trait to you. Indeed, you appreciate that he does not talk simply for talk’s sake and that he does not seem concerned with always making his own opinions known. What’s more, you recognize a fair amount of his inherent reserve in your own nature. If you didn’t often force yourself to satisfy others’ expectations by taking on a more outgoing, sociable persona, perhaps your own wardens would describe you just as these elves have described their captain.

Calendil’s conversation comes to an abrupt end as a copy of the assignment sheet makes its way into his hands. Peering over his shoulder, you quickly find your own name allocated to a remote post near the edge of the Dimrill Dale. A glance further down the list confirms what you already know from the quiet groan that has just escaped from Calendil’s lips: he has been assigned to the Nimrodel post.

An idea quickly forms in your head, and you tap him on the shoulder. Why should he spend three weeks feeling miserable with his posting–and, no doubt, making anyone around him miserable as a result–when you have no particular attachment to your own assignment? Calendil can go to the Dimrill Dale, and you will spend your posting with Haldir instead.

“If such a trade is permitted within your ranks, I will gladly make the exchange,” you offer. “I have always loved the river. And I have no objection to the company of someone who takes his duty seriously and does not revel in idle chatter.”

Calendil’s face registers a moment of regret as he realizes that his prior conversation has been heard by others, but it is quickly replaced by a wide, beaming smile that reflects his rapid change of fortune. “It is permitted,” he says, “and I happily accept. Remind me the next time we are both on leave, and I will reward your generosity with some of my own!”

You doubt that whatever reward he has in mind will suit your inclinations, but there is no need to worry about that now. Calendil has already sprinted off toward the deputy captain to report the change, and you turn toward home to gather your supplies.

****

Two days later, you are approaching the Nimrodel post, which is located in a lovely old mallorn tree with twisted roots that hang over the river’s edge. You raise your hand to your lips and whistle the signal. The return call echoes off the trees before a slim rope ladder drops from the branches above you. You run lightly up the rungs, making easy work of the climb to the talan perched near the great tree’s crown, where it commands a wide view of the river and much of the western section of the border.

As you hoist yourself and your pack onto the platform, you look up to see a single figure standing a few feet away. It is Haldir, leaning against the wind screen with his bow slung loosely over his shoulder and his white-blonde hair blowing gently in the breeze.You are surprised to see him there alone; wardens generally keep watch in pairs or groups of three for safety. You are there to relieve Arthalion, who is due now to return home for a break, but there is no sign of Arthalion or his things.

“Mae govannen, Captain,” you say, placing your hand on your chest and bowing your head slightly. “Is everything well?”

Haldir returns the gesture with a small smile. “Yes. It has been blessedly uneventful. Perhaps it is the threat of the weather.”

This makes sense. Just last month, an orc party attempting a surprise attack during a thunderstorm found themselves nearly washed away by sudden flooding from the Celebrant. Since then, even the hint of rain has tended to keep them at bay.

“And Arthalion? Is he out on a task?”

Haldir shakes his head. “I sent him back early. You might have passed one another in the forest except that he planned to meet a small hunting party further north. As I said, things here were quiet, and he was anxious to join his friends.” He gives a small shrug and looks down. “I will do the same for you, if circumstances allow and you desire it. I do not wish to keep anyone from their enjoyments unless duty requires it.”

You permit yourself a brief moment to wonder what Haldir’s own enjoyments might be. You have heard that he is a talented artist, making detailed pencil sketches of the forest, but he does not often show his work to others.

“That is a thoughtful offer,” you say. “But I have no pressing need to return, and I would not have you out here alone, even if there is no other elf in Lorien better able to protect himself.”

He acknowledges this compliment with a modest smile and gestures toward a small shelf where you can store your belongings. His own are few in number but neatly stacked or folded with military precision. You note that he does, in fact, have a small bundle of pencils and a notebook, but, as expected, there is no sign of any actual drawings.

After stowing your things, you settle into a position opposite him on the talan, and a silence ensues. It is of no bother to you–you’re enjoying the smell of the damp air and the touch of the light wind on your face–but you soon notice that Haldir is looking increasingly discomfited as the quiet minutes slip by. His gaze shifts frequently between the horizon, his hands on his bow, and your face.

“Was…your journey here pleasant?” His face is studiously neutral, but his voice sounds strained and he picks at a splinter on his bow. You realize that he is trying to make conversation for your benefit, to fill in the noticeable silence with casual talk that clearly does not come easily to him. You feel a sudden rush of affection for him, this intensely quiet being who is making himself uncomfortable so that you will feel welcome. You wonder how best to put him at ease.

“It was very pleasant,” you reply. “I am so rarely outside of the city these days that any chance to enjoy the forest is a gift. I can understand why being a marchwarden is an attractive job, at least during times of relative peace.”

He looks up, reappraising your face, and nods his agreement.

You hesitate before speaking again, unsure about how directly to address his uneasiness.

“Captain,” you begin, “it sounds like we may have an uneventful tour here. If that is the case, please do not feel that you are obligated to occupy my time. I am quite comfortable with quiet activity and my own thoughts and would gladly afford you space for the same if that is something you wish.”

His cheeks and ears flush slightly but, despite his apparent embarrassment at being accurately perceived, he seems immediately relieved as well. “Thank you,” he says. “If you are as good a warden as you are a reader of people, I feel myself in safe hands indeed.”

The next several days pass by peacefully. Between occasional scouting trips up or down the riverbank and regularly monitoring the view from the talan, you mostly spend the time together in companionable silence. You take turns preparing simple meals, and during breaks in the intermittent rain you make minor repairs to nearby rope bridges and other hidden defenses in the area. In the evenings, you read a book by lantern light while Haldir sits next to his own lantern and sketches in his notebook, occasionally transferring completed drawings into a closed leather folio at his side. Every so often, you both glance up at the same time, and you give him a warm smile when your eyes meet before turning back to your respective pages.

*****

One evening, as you clean up the remains of your small dinner and take out your book again, Haldir lightly clears his throat.

“That book seems to engage you much,” he says. “May I ask what it is?”

Surprised, you hold it out to him, and he takes it, examining the cover and flipping through a few pages.

“I do not recognize this script,” he says, looking at it with curiosity.

“It is a representation of Rohirric,” you tell him. “My brother was a skilled linguist who passed on some small portion of his knowledge to me. He spent many months visiting a friend in the court at Edoras and helped them to start preserving some of their oral traditions with a system of letters. This is a copy of one of his first completed projects–the story of the founding of Rohan–which he sent to me as a gift.”

Haldir looks again with renewed interest at a few pages before handing the book back to you. “Your brother sounds like an impressive scholar,” he says. “Does he remain in Rohan?”

You hesitate slightly before responding. “In a way. Two years ago an orc band in search of horses raided a village near the Limlight while my brother happened to be visiting. They caught him and his hosts unaware. The Rohirrim buried his body in a place of honor with their people, though his spirit has surely gone to Mandos.”

You relate this with downcast eyes, tracing over your brother’s name on the cover of the book with your thumb. After a few moments, you look up again, expecting to see Haldir withdrawn from the conversation. You know that many elves are uncomfortable with death, which is an unnatural state for your kind, and there is nothing in your interactions so far to indicate that Haldir will want to continue such a personal discussion. You are surprised once again, however, to find that he is looking at you intently.

“I am deeply sorry,” he says. “Working as I do, I have known many elves who met a similar fate in battle, and it is never easy. My own brothers are a treasure to me, and I cannot imagine losing them. I hope I have not contributed to your suffering by unwittingly bringing up a painful subject.”

You blink back a few tears and smile. Through your sadness, you are moved by the warmth of his response and honored that he was willing to share something personal of himself. “Of course not,” you say. “Talking about my brother is one way to keep him with me. Thank you, Captain.” You reach forward and squeeze his hand. He flinches slightly at the unexpected touch, but then gently returns the squeeze.

“Please,” he says, “call me Haldir.”

*****

After that night, things are different between the two of you. You both speak more often, tentatively at first but then with increasing comfort. You trade stories about old adventures and talk about the joys and frustrations of your daily lives. You discover that he has much to say when he finally feels more at ease. He is even quite funny, with a dry wit that you did not expect but thoroughly enjoy. You walk together in the forest and rest your feet in the waters of the Nimrodel during the day, and in the evenings he asks you to read to him from your book. You happily relate tales of Cirion and Eorl and the coming of the Northmen to Calenardhon as he draws quietly, occasionally interjecting a question or a brief comment.

The time passes quickly and easily, and soon your rotation will be at an end. You realize there is a growing pain in your heart each time you think about your imminent departure. Your old life suddenly feels dull and uninteresting to you now. You do not want to go back to a time without his companionship. You debate whether to say this to him, but you cannot imagine how he might react to such a confession. Paralyzed by uncertainty, the last days of your assignment tick by.

On your final evening, you are preparing for one last opportunity to enjoy what has become your nightly routine. Just as he is about to settle with his notepad and folio, however, he notices your canteen is empty and insists on climbing down to fill it for you. As he reaches the ground and disappears over the riverbank, the wind changes direction and a sudden gust rips across the talan, flinging back the cover of the folio and sending papers flying out in all directions. You cry out in dismay and throw yourself desperately onto the pages whipping around you, seeking to hold them down long enough to gather them safely together.

It is only after you have retrieved all the loose pages and are preparing to neatly stack them that you first look at the drawings themselves and are stunned by what you see: beautiful illustrations of the stories you’ve been reading to him, the words of your brother’s book brought to vivid life in graceful pencil lines and delicate shading. You leaf through the stack in awed amazement only to nearly drop the whole pile again when you turn a page and find an image of yourself as you must look to him each night, sitting by your lantern with your book in your lap. You keep turning pages and find more of yourself…braiding your hair first thing in the morning, standing at the wind screen and scanning the horizon, unlacing your boots at the end of a day. Your breath catches in your throat as you absorb these images. You have never looked more beautiful than you do here, seen through his eyes.

A sudden noise behind you tears your attention from the papers in your hand, and you turn to find Haldir standing there. You are immediately overwhelmed by panic and begin to stammer out an explanation for how you came to be holding his personal things, violating his privacy. “I…the wind…they were blowing away and…”. Hot tears well up in your eyes and are soon spilling down your cheeks, partly from embarrassment at the situation but mostly as the feelings you’ve been keeping pent up threaten to come flooding out all at once. “I was not trying to…I…”. An involuntary sob robs you of the ability to finish your sentence, though you aren’t sure how you would have finished it had you been able.

At the sound of your sob, he moves forward, quickly closing the distance between you. He hesitantly cups a hand under your jaw and uses his thumb to brush a tear from your cheek. “Please do not cry,” he says. “I would not ever see you in pain if it were in my power to prevent it. I am not upset. These drawings were for you, for your book. You were meant to have them, except the last few, which I hoped to keep as a reminder of these days and how happy I have been.” Your eyes snap up to his face, searching for confirmation that you have correctly understood his words.

“You know that I am not much for talking,” he continues. “But I am a very good observer. I know that you see me for who I am, just as I see you. I see all of the ways that you are kind and interesting and intelligent and beautiful. I have no expectation that you return my feelings, and if all I ever have with you are these three weeks then I will cherish the memory of these weeks through all the long ages of my life. But I would….”

Before he can complete his thought, your body reacts on its own impulse, a pure release of elation. You throw your arms around his neck and bury your face in his broad chest, still crying but now with tears of joy. You hear a sharp intake of breath as he processes your reaction, and for a fraction of a moment he stands motionless and silent before breaking into a smile and wrapping you in his arms. You could live in those arms forever, and now perhaps you will.

[vapolis]

Genuinely love that you said none of the routes are gonna be particularly healthy due to the nature of the circumstances as well as who the characters are. It’s always so disappointing to start reading an IF and then romancing a character/characters that very clearly has Problems with an MC that also has Problems and the route is just like… super Good and Healthy. Not saying those type of narratives can’t be compelling in their own right, but the story as a whole loses some of its teeth for me when that happens. Like 9/10 if I’m romancing a character, I probably just wanna see how much worse/complicated it would make things with little regards to how “healthy” it is.

I think that would be a bit of a disservice to the kind of characters I've created and how they operate within the city/what made them that way and I've never been a fan of books ending with romance or a partner fixing someone else in fiction or otherwise.

to me it's a bit of a cop out. you went to the lengths to stress that this story isn't a happy one and it's visible in the text and then turn around make romance the thing that fixes it? it cheapens the story imo and while romance can save and salvage things and keep someone from losing themself in some instances, I don't like how it's often used as a way to fix everything and give the story a neat bow before ending it.

so, I'm glad to see we're on the same page in that regard!

this is meant to be a heavy story with romance elements first and foremost and not a romance story with some heavy elements and I want that to be reflected in the characters themself :)

[the-badger-mole]

But FWIENDSHIP!!!! 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺

Okay, so you all know how I get when something gets stuck in my head, but yesterday I saw a post talking about how Katara and Zuko's potential romance messes with their friendship, and I don't understand how, but that's beside the point. This is an anti-Kataang post.

I will once again admit that I don't spend a ton of time in Kataang/anti-Zutara spaces (cause I'm respectful like that), but every so often, I see one of those takes pop up in my safe area (because respect isn't always a two way street, unfortunately). It's interesting to see how many times this take seems to crop up. Katara and Zuko falling in love would ruin their friendship, yet those same people fail to acknowledge that Bryke went ahead and ruined their friendship anyway out of jealousy. These same people also tend to hold Kataang as a prime example of Friends to Lovers, the only problem is, Aang isn't Katara's friend at any point.

Throughout the series, it's made very clear that Aang likes Katara, but for most of the series (until literally the last few seconds, in fact) it's also clear that Katara only sees him as a friend. This should have been an object lesson that sometimes crushes don't work out, but friendship can be stronger than temporarily disappointed feelings. However, that's not what we get. Aang doesn't care about Katara's friendship. He doesn't want Katara in his life unless it's in a romantic capacity. We see it in how he reacts when he feels romantically rejected (lava fissure, EIP). The narrative doesn't give Katara any space to say no to Aang without it permanently damaging their relationship, because they never had the relationship Katara thought they did. Katara thought she was Aang's friend, but for Aang, their 'friendship' was just a precursor to romance. In this, the year 2023, I know we all understand why this is a problem.

Aang can't even conceive of a world where Katara does turn him down. He dreams about her enthusiastic response to his declaration of love; he assumes that since they kissed he kissed her and staked his claim, they should be together, despite there never being any sort of conversation, and the fact that the one time he did try to talk about it, she changed the subject very quickly. Katara's feelings are an afterthought for Aang, which is terrible for any relationship, but particularly in a romantic one. There is never a moment where Aang puts Katara's emotional needs ahead of his own. He never puts a value on her platonic friendship. There's never a moment where he decides that despite his feelings for her, having Katara in his life as a friend is better than not having her at all. That moment should have happened regardless of whether they ended up together or not, because friendship is the most important component of the Friends to Lovers trope.

By comparison, the friendship Katara eventually forms with Zuko is much deeper, and based on a mutual respect, understanding and emotional support for each other. This is a fantastic foundation for a romance, although bafflingly, people who laud Katara and Zuko's deep friendship don't seem to agree. Them potentially falling in love doesn't cheapen their friendship because they actually were friends first. On top of that, their Enemies to Friends journey ending romantically would not only not cheapen their friendship, it would tie into the themes of the show beautifully (the illusion of separation; love being stronger than hate; learning to respect other people's differences etc).

Let's be real, what Kataang actually represents is The Hero Gets the Girl, and I think deep down we all know that, even the ones calling it Friends to Lovers. In the Hero Gets the Girl trope, the Girl in question doesn't really matter. She's less of a romantic partner and more a prize for the Hero saving the day. Her emotional journey to falling for the Hero mostly plays out off screen, even though she may not have even liked the Hero like that initially, and the hero doesn't ever show that he respects her as a person. For the most part it works (arguably) because the Girl isn't a character in her own right, she's just part of the Hero's story. The reason it doesn't work with Kataang is that Katara is a character. She does have her own journey, and as passionate and outspoken as she is in pretty much every other aspect of her life, it doesn't make sense for her journey to falling for Aang takes place largely off screen. Not unless you understand how little Katara's feelings matter to their relationship. Had Katara actually rejected Aang, their friendship would have ended because Aang was never interested in her friendship.

It's interesting to me to see people who claim to value friendship over romance spend more time complaining about a romance that isn't canon over the actual canon ship that really does cheapen the friendship. But then again, I guess that was never the problem in the first place.

[trina864]

Try | J.JK

Summery: The infamous playboy tries to ask you, the good girl, on a date. Paring: Playboy! Jungkook x GoodGirl! Reader Genre: Fanfiction, Romance | Fluff, Angst? Word Count: 1 k Warnings: kissing, mentions of loneliness, Jungkook is a mild playboy. But seriously this one is pretty soft.

"No thank you." You said, your head buried in the book which sat comfortably in your hands.

"Come on, good girl, one date." Jungkook asked again, with the same cocky smile as he was bound to keep, the nickname he was fixed on calling you by, only further annoyed you.

"Not interested." You said again with the same voice still not looking at Jungkook. This annoyed him further, he wasn't used to this, being turned down wasn't in his vocabulary. Yet you seemed to be dedicated to exactly that.

When in anger Jungkook could hardly control himself, maybe that was the explanation to why he took the book from your hands and threw it to the floor successfully ripping a few pages out - not a very good explanation though.

Jungkook didn't mean anything with it, he only wanted your attention - funny enough, when thinking about how you two were like north and south. But when he saw the look on your face as you looked down at your favorite book torn in the old and worn pages, he knew he had fucked up.

How many times haven't you turned these pages with the most careful fingers and a mug of tea placed besides you? The answer was many times.

You had to take a deep breath to compose yourself before you looked up at Jungkook. "As you yourself called me I'm a 'good girl' right? Let's say I went out with you, I had sex with you, and then you became uninterested in me and found someone else as you always do, and I, the good girl, would still be thinking about you while you wouldn't spare me a second thought. Do you really think I want that? That I want to fall in love with you only to be thrown away?" You said.

It scared Jungkook how you kept composed in front of him like this when he saw angry tears in your eyes just two seconds ago - not a twist on your eyebrows or a break in your voice, just you who calmly explained your thoughts to him.

"And what makes you think you would fall in love with me?" Jungkook asked in the quietest of voices you had ever heard from him.

"Everyone can fall in love with anyone, if you try hard enough Jeon." You said and gathered the destroyed book from the floor together with the rest of your things. "I always try my hardest, Jeon." You said before you walked away.

"I can't." Jungkook whispered behind you thinking you wouldn't hear. You stopped with your back still facing Jungkook.

"Yes you can, you're just too scared to try." You whispered back and walked away.

The next couple of days you didn't see Jeon. Somewhere inside you it disappointed you that he actually gave up, especially because he had once promised you he wouldn't ever give up.

He had been going around you for quite some time keeping you company and even reading with you. You thought he was serious with you, but apparently you were wrong.

Jungkook had always been a tough nut to crack, he kept his emotions to himself and shared his talents with the world. But with the observant eyes you had, you had him all figured out.

He always had to be center for attention, a new girl on his arm every other day, and a reputation everyone knew, yet when no one looked Jungkook often had gloom in his eyes, a lonely blank stare, he would often watch over his latest girl for a day or two to see how she was holding up.

Jungkook was simply lonely.

After school you walked to the bus station with your backpack heavy from the dripping rain. Before you reached even halfway though, you heard the familiar sound of a bike behind you.

When you turned you saw Jungkook step off his motorbike and run towards you with a helmet holding it out to you.

"Just take it Y/N, the bus is coming in thirty minutes and with no shelter you'll catch a cold, at least let me get you home before you catch a cold." He said and gave you the helmet which you accepted after some consideration.

On the ride you could feel Jungkook breathe heavily with your hands wrapped around his torso. This wasn't the first ride you have had on his bike, but it felt just as good as it did the first time.

When you were home and about to walk into the house for cover Jungkook grabbed your wrist and turned you around. He held eye-contact with you before handing over a blue tote bag, "I'm sorry I destroyed your old one, I- I really didn't mean to do that Y/N. I've spent the last couple days searching for this, it's a first edition with a signature from the author, I found out my dad was friends with them." He explained.

Both of you were drenched in the unforgivable weather yet no one moved to a dry place. You gulped looking down at the bag in your hands. You knew it was the book he had destroyed. No one had ever cared this much, not as much as Jungkook.

No one you knew off would ever take the time to get a first edition of a book if it wasn't for love.

"Y'know, You said you can't fall in love because you don't try hard enough... but I think you're doing pretty amazing with the tries." You said looking into his ebony colored eyes.

Jungkook couldn't help his hand wandering up to your cheek filled with sticking hair and raindrops. How could you always find the perfect words?

"I wanna try, for you." He said and pulled you down to him in a sweet kiss which you accepted. His hands held your jaw to angle you right, yours were grabbing into his wet hair. Lips dancing against each other you smiled forgetting all about the book, the rain and your parents who were probably watching from the kitchen window.

There by Jungkooks motorbike it was only you and him frozen in a moment where everything was perfect.

Breaking the kiss with a giggle you whispered against his lips, "You don't have to try anymore, Jungkook."

[berry-club]

- Muse -

Minors dni

Inspired by the manga "Museru Kurai no Ai o ageru"

Contains: reader x sungchan, college romance, afab reader, thigh job, virgin reader, 2.5k words

It's a new month, and as usual it's time to change the paintings exposed at the entrance of the college building. You take your painting off the wall before going into the art studio. You put it on the easel and prepare some white paint to start fresh before painting something new over it. When suddenly you hear the door open abruptly making you turn your head towards it. You see a man looking at you with his eyesbrows frowned.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

"Hum.. who are you?"

"That's not the question. Don't touch that painting."

"Why??"

"I took the habit of looking at it everyday, I got scared when I saw it missing from the entrance, why would you paint over it? That's terrible."

"Well, first of all it's my painting and canvas this big are quit expensive, so I'm trying to re-use it, plus I don't have enough room in my apartment to store it anyway."

"Wait.. does this mean if I bring you a new canvas of the same size I can take it?"

"Sure... I guess"

"Okay I'll bring one tomorrow."

The man takes the painting off the easel and leave the room without even looking back. You stay dumbfounded trying to understand what just happened, what a strange man, why would someone want your painting that bad. You decide to just go home early, not knowing what to do with this change of plan.

The day after, you're in the art studio doing some sketching when you hear the door opening, this time way more gently than the last time. The same man from yesterday is entering with a brand new canvas.

"Hey! I brought it."

"Thank you, you can put it on the easel."

He does as you say before turning around to face you.

"By the way, my name is Sungchan, I'm sorry for yesterday I probably scared you, I didn't think you were the one who did the painting, they were no name on it like the others."

"It's okay don't worry, yeah I wanted to stay anonymous "

"I see..."

The mood becomes awkward, you don't know why he didn't left yet, he starts walking around the room, looking at each details, the decorations on the wall, all the drawings equipment, the few sketches you just did. After taking a good look at the room, he looks at you, being the only last thing he didn't glace at.

"You didn't tell me your name."

"Y/n."

"You know I really like your painting, I usually don't have any sensibility when it comes to art, so it's really precious for me."

"I appreciate that, thank you."

"Y/n, I have a request. Can I come here again to see you work?"

"...I mean, this studio is open to anyone, I can't really forbid you from coming... there is nothing interesting to see tho."

"I'm really interested by the creative process, and I'm curious to learn more about the person who did the painting."

"You're just going to be disappointed by both."

"I'm sure not."

Sungchan smiles and head himself to the door before waving you good bye and leaving the room.

Well of course, all compliments about your art warms your heart but, what you love about this studio is that barely anyone comes, you were often with yourself. Having trouble socializing, this was a room for you to get some peace. You start thinking that maybe, you should have just say "no" to him, but you didn't really had the time to think that much.

After that day, Sungchan came almost every afternoon. Asking you a lot of questions about your work, he seemed always very interested by your explanations, looking at everything you did. It sure was awkward for you at the beginning, but as the weeks passed, you became really comfortable around him, sometimes even teasing each other. You two became really close. At one point, you realised you had feelings for him, but you quickly pushed them aside, remembering you were only seeing him in the studio. Everytime you saw Sungchan left the room, it was like he was going to another world, and he suddenly felt so far away. He had his own group of friends, sometimes you saw him in the hallway with them, but you both took the habit of ignoring eachother, only talking in the studio. It didn't really bother you, thinking that he probably had his own reasons, and you didn't try to talk to him outside the studio either.

One time in the studio, Sungchan was here and as usual, he looked at you drawing, but this time that was different, normally he was looking at your hands, the movement you made or how you were holding the pencils and the brushes. But this time, he was straight up staring at your face. You were thinking about something to say, and before you could open your mouth:

"You know, you're even more captivating than your art."

You sigh, thinking that he was probably just teasing you. "What are you saying? Stop messing with me."

"Messing with you? I'm just saying what I'm thinking."

You look away and your hand stops. Silence fill the room. You know you probably should just thank him and move on, but something about what he said really made an impact on you. Sungchan puts his hand over yours, making you look at him. A beam of sunlight was going over his face, making his skin golden. His eyes, usually a deep brown, were now the color of amber, making him the most beautiful thing you've ever seen.

"Why did you stop drawing?"

His voice makes you regain consciousness, you feel your heart beating loudly in your chest, you put your eyes back in the paper thinking that if you saw him 1 more seconde, you wouldn't be able to stop the wave of feelings inside of you.

"Sorry, I have to go home."

You quickly pack your stuff and leave the room without even saying goodbye, you think you heard sungchan say something but you are so overwhelmed, the only thing in your mind right now I how you want to go as far away from him as possible.

The day after, you spend your time collecting your emotions to be able to meet him like normal when he comes back. Almost a week passes and sungchan didn't came at all, you were thinking that he finally got tired of you, maybe now you were going to live your life like you did before meeting him, you let out a long sigh, when suddenly you see him push the door. He starts speaking to you like he always did and you feel so relieved you could almost cry, then after spending some time together he says,

"Do you wanna come to my place? I have something I want to show you."

"Unh? You want to see me outside the studio?"

"Yeah? Why wouldn't I?"

"Well you ignore me everytime we see eachother in the hallway. So I though-"

"It's not like that! Everytime we see each other i'm with friends, I know you're not comfortable talking to people so I thought it was better to talk to you when we are only together."

"Oh..I see, thank you."

"Soooo, are you coming? It's really important."

His puppy eyes begging you to say "yes", you have no other choice than to agree. You leave the room together, and you follow him to his apartment near the college building. Just a few steps in his apartment and you end up in front of the painting that he took when you first met him, exposed on the wall with nothing else around it that could distract you, a light over it illuminating the canvas. You can't help but smile wide seeing that, your art being exposed in his apartment like it was the most precious thing in the world. You never thought the day would come where you could see your work being treated with such care.

Sungchan sees you and jokes around, "Oh you like it? It's by my favorite artist."

You chuckle and follow him to the living room where he makes you sit on the couch. You can see him fidgeting in front of you.

"You want something to drink?"

"No thanks, i'm good."

"Are you hungry maybe?"

"I'm fine."

"Are you cold? Do you want me to turn on the heater?"

"Sungchan. Everything is perfect, show me the thing you wanted me to see."

"Sorry... I'm a little nervous.. it's here follow me."

Sungchan tilt his head and you follow him to a door. He looks hesitant for a second and push it. The room is filled with art stuff, some sheets on the ground to prevent paint from falling on the wooden floor. You see a stool in the corner of the room in front of an easel, with a canvas covered with a white sheet. Without a word, Sungchan gets closer to the easel and slowly removes the sheet. The feeling you got seeing this painting was indescribable, like it was suddenly the only thing on earth, your eyes got lost in it, every brush stroke looked intentional, meticulously placed. Sungchan's voice takes you out of your bubble.

"What do you think? I'm sorry for not coming to the studio the past few days, I've been coming home early to work on it."

"That's... amazing"

"No.. you are amazing, you were my inspiration for it."

"Me?" You look at him, puzzled.

"Yes, I guess you're what you call a muse."

Sungchan smiles at you, you never thought a day would come where you could be a muse, no matter where you went you were always the artist. You put your eyes back on the painting, thinking that the deep connection you had with it made sense now, when suddenly you feel a hand in your cheek, making you turn your face towards sungchan, he looks straight into your eyes, slowly caressing your cheek before puting his tumb over your lips.

"But no matter how hard I try, even in a thousand years, I could never make a painting half as pretty as you."

He slowly leans over you and his lips touch yours, you kiss him back putting your hand on his cheek, you feel like you can finaly set free all the feelings that was building for him inside of you. You lose yourself in his arms and your kisses become deeper and more passionate. Sungchan takes a step back from you and stares at your face before taking your hand and bringing you the his bedroom. You sit on the bed and he starts kissing your neck, slowly going to your ears, while sliding his hand under your shirt to touch your breast over your bra. He makes you lay on the bed and raises your shirt to your neck before putting kisses all over your belly. He puts his hands on your pants, removing the button and unzipping them. Making them slide down on your legs and fall on the floor. He raises one of your legs and puts your calf over his shoulder before kissing the inside of your thigh. Sungchan doesn't lose a single seconde, going everywhere, like he didn’t know which part of your body he wanted the most, you suddenly realise how ambarrassed you're feeling.

"Sungchan... It's akward being the only one undressed."

"Oh right, sorry."

Sungchan removes his clothes and stays in his underwear before helping you completely remove your shirt and your bra. He caresses your stomach before slowly going over your cunt, sliding his longs fingers against the fabric. You grab the sheet, trying not to go completely crazy over his touch already. He slides your panty to the side and immediately goes to your clit with his ring and middle finger, you moan at the stimulation.

"Even the sounds you make are pretty."

Sungchan removes your undies before going in with his tongue, going all over your folds with more attention to the clit. Making you curl on the bed, you put your hand on his head making his tongue go even deeper and rougher on you, his thick tongue stimulating all the right places, going in and out your hole, his soft lips sucking on your clit making all kind of dirty noises and you can feel yourself about to finish, sungchan grabs you by the waist, making sure you don't get away from him while you cum on his face, he keeps licking you while your hips go crazy. Your hand grabbing his hair so hard you're pretty sure you're hurting him.

He releases you from his grip, and you can finally catch your breath, sungchan stands up and removes his hard dick from his underwear. You suddenly realise what's about to happen. You had a lot of first times with sungchan today, but you're not sure you can handle that yet. You close your eyes shut, and your body starts shaking thinking about the pain you're about to feel, when sungchan leans over you and gently puts his lips on your forehead.

"Don't worry so much, I won't put it in."

He grabs your ankles, close your legs before raising them, put his warm cock between your thighs and starts going back and forth. Your pussy was still throbbing from earlier and the movements of his warm dick against it was sending you to heaven.

"Ugh, why does it feel so good."

Sungchan smiles, happy that you feel the same way as him, he starts going faster. The sound of your skins hitting against each other and the vision of sungchan's sweating with his mouth half opened while panting loudly is starting to drive you insane. You watch his dick quickly appear and disappear in your tighs, like your legs were eating him. Sungchan groans and you can feel his dick twitching against your pussy, his cock hitting your clit at every move. He removes himself from you, letting your legs slowly fall on the bed and gives himself a few strokes to cum on his own dick while breathing heavily, you start calming down again while he whipes himself and puts his underwear back. He gently brings a blanket to your neck and goes under the sheets next to you. He makes you go on your side so he can hug you tightly, putting his face in the crook of your neck. You stay like that for a moment, none of you daring to move the slightest, almost trying to merge your bodies together.

He whispers in your ear: "You know, when I explained to you why I was ignoring you in the hallways, it wasn't entirely true.. I didn't want to bring any attention to you because I was scared that if someone was looking at you for too long, they would fall in love with you too. I wanted you to be my secret."

"Sungchan.."

You tighten the hug and put your hands through his hair, trying to convey your feelings for him, making him understand that he's the only one in your eyes.

Sungchan distant himself from your neck to look at your face. He slowly tucks your hair behind your ear and smiles.

"I should have asked sooner but, will you go out with me?"

"Do you really have to ask?"

You smile at Sungchan while looking at him in the eyes, sure that right now, no one loves someone as much as you love him.

[blueraineshadows]

Hi! So this is the request, if I can actually put it into words 😅

MCs first time (Ever) and it happens with Garreth.

They've all left Hogwarts and gone on to do their own thing. They are around the age of 20/21?

All through their time at Hogwarts Garreth and MC had strong feelings for each other, but neither of them had the courage to actually act on them.

MC is working somewhere in the ministry and so she had moved to London. Garreth maybe pursued his passion for potions but stayed close to Hogsmeade or one of the surrounding Hamlets. They lost touch for a few years. I'd like Garreth to have had a few romances with other witches, but none of them really stuck because he still thinks about MC often.

One of their Hogwarts mutual friends holds a party and invites them both. (Poppy? Natty?)

MC and Garreth reunite and get drunk together, having loads of fun. There's obvious sexual and emotional tension between them.

They end up confessing their feelings and things start to get heated between them, but MC is very worried and embarrassed because she's actually a virgin. She just didn't feel right being with anyone else that way.

Basically I need Garreth to give her her first time, him being experienced and she's not. But it will be lovely and sexy and beautiful because its with him. 🙈🫣💖

Love you! 💖

What a lovely Garreth request!! 😍 ❤️ A perfect fic for Weasley Wednesday ❤️

Garreth Weasley x F!MC ❤️🌶

Fluff - lots/virginity loss/smut

Garreth lay awake, watching the dawn light break around the edge of the curtains at his window, the steady sleeping breaths of a woman beside him. He looked down at her. She was pretty. Raven black hair, full lips. Last night had been fun.

But, that's all it was. Nothing more.

She had hopes for more, if her hints were anything to go by, but he just couldn't bring himself to make that next step. Not with her, nor the others that had come before her.

Maybe he was a rake, happy to bed them, but never to wed them. But he didn't want to 'settle' with just any girl. None of them made his heart pound that little bit faster, none of them had ever made him ache to be with them again once parted. None of them were her.

He was making tea when his bed mate came down, wrapped in a bath robe. He frowned a little. He had hoped she would have dressed by now. He had to open the shop this morning and he hated these awkward mornings after the night before. Guilt was a slippery thing and he didn't think it suited him.

She moved towards him, slipping her arms about his waist. He tensed a little. "Tea?" He asked. "I can pour you a cup. But I can't hang around I'm afraid. I've got to open up."

She pouted. "No more time for fun?"

"No, sorry," he said. He hated being so cold, but he stepped out of her grasp.

He tried not to focus on the disappointment clouding her face as she tugged the robe a little tighter about herself. She took the offered tea mug and sat at the table. She picked up an invitation card that was laying there. "What's this? A party?" Her eyes grew hopeful. "Do you have a date?"

Garreth inwardly groaned and leant forward to pluck the card from her fingers. "I wasn't going to attend. I'm...er...that's a busy weekend for me."

She eyed him, sipping her tea. He shoved the invite into his pocket, cringing at his terrible lying, and drained the last of his own tea. He glanced at the clock. He was going to be late.

She got up with a sigh. "Don't worry, I will see myself out."

He winced. "Sorry," he said, awkwardly.

....*....

After a long shift pouring over ancient parchments, MC was looking forward to a soak in the bath, and some sleep. If she had to read the words 'Ancient Relic' one more time, she thought her eyes might actually start to burn out of their sockets.

Usually, she loved her job. Keeper of Ancient Archives had it's moments, turning up some fascinating history and lore. But, just lately, MC had felt like she was sinking under it all, losing her passion for it. Maybe she spent too long in her cramped office. It was that, or face her time alone, because that was the truth of the matter. She was alone.

The last man who had tried to court her had been sent away, tail between his legs, her cold refusal ringing in his ears. She wasn't interested. And half the men who tried were only interested because of who she was, because of what she had done when she was 15. It was tiresome.

Not even the handsome ones turned her head. It was hard not to compare them to the one she had regretfully let slip through her fingers. But, she had to stop dwelling on him. No doubt he had married some comely witch, set up home and maybe had a child already.

She wouldn't know. After chasing a career in the Ministry and moving to London, she had slowly severed most of her ties with her teenage past. If Garreth Weasley had indeed married, then she would rather not know. Her heart didn't want to be reminded of what she had left behind.

Her apartment was small, piles of books leaned precariously on every surface, clothing was draped over a chair. She was a tad untidy, easily distracted, but mostly, it just didn't feel like home and she lacked the enthusiasm to care for it. She attempted to tidy the table, shuffling papers and books. A pretty card slid to the floor and she bent to retrieve it.

It was the birthday invitation from Poppy. MC smiled down at it. The one friend from school she had kept regular contact with. She looked at the date. It was this weekend! MC bit her lip. Poppy would be most cross with her if she didn't attend. MC made a mental note to go shopping. She needed to buy a gift, and perhaps even a new dress.

....*....

The shop had been busy all morning and Garreth stifled a yawn as he restocked some Potions on the shelf. Up half the night entertaining, and then watching the day break, was catching up with him.

The bell above the door rang and he turned, his face lighting with a smile. "Good morning, Poppy!" He said. "What brings you to sunny Hogsmeade today?"

"Party preparations, of course," she said. She moved towards the counter. "You are coming aren't you?"

His hand fumbled over the pocket where he had stuffed the invitation just that morning. "Oh, yes, of course. Wouldn't miss it."

She beamed. "Great! It will be lovely to catch up with old friends."

He moved towards the counter, his step slowing a little at her words. He stared at her, a little nervous all of a sudden. "Who else is going? Anyone I know?"

Poppy's smile was excited. "Quite a few from our classes, actually," she said. "I can't wait to see them. I'm a little sad that Natty can't be there though, but her baby is due any day now, and she didn't want to travel."

He shook his head and flashed a small smile, his bachelor lifestyle seeming rather lonely at that news. "It's hard to believe sometimes that we're all grown up and starting families."

"I suppose it is, yes," she said. She gave him a curious look. "Did I mention that MC is coming too? She is actually going to tear herself away from the Ministry for the weekend."

Garreth's heart picked up it's pace. "MC? Gosh, I haven't spoken to her in years," he said. "I suppose she is married now, too."

Poppy tilted her head a little, her lips twitching into a smirk. "Actually, no," she said. "She is far too buried in her books and work. She works far too hard that one. I'm always telling her she needs more fun."

Garreth was surprised. MC was beautiful, powerful, well liked. One of life's great achievers. How no charming wizard had snapped her up yet was a mystery. If he hadn't been such a coward, perhaps he would have tried to win her heart himself. Merlin knows she had his. If only she knew it.

But then, he was just a humble shop keep, not some fancy Ministry man. What did he have to offer her?

Clearing his throat, he served Poppy her Potions she required and then went back to stocking the shop. He hadn't given a lot of thought to this party, but now he was suddenly nervous. Perhaps a visit to purchase a new jacket would be in order. It wouldn't hurt to look smart now, would it?

....*....

The large white tent had been enchanted to keep warm against the chilly evening air. Garlands of flowers decorated the poles, firefly lanterns and floating candles lit an ambient glow, and a five piece band were set up in front of the dance floor.

Tables laden with food were available, along with a bar for drinks. Guests were milling around, chatting, some at tables, whilst children ran and played outside, making the most of the fading sunset.

MC hovered in the entrance way, her hands on the skirt of her dress. It was a deep blue silk, the neckline much lower than she was used to, the sleeves delicate and just off the shoulder. She had worn long, black gloves too to compliment the lace on the dress. There were a few others wearing similar necklines, but MC felt a little self conscious, exposed.

Opting for some courage, she headed for the bar in search of something that would burn on the way down.

"MC!"

She turned and a little flurry of white and yellow hurtled to embrace her. A laugh huffed from her lips as she hugged the birthday girl back. "Happy Birthday Poppy!"

Poppy beamed up at her. "It is so good to see you! It seems such a long time since Ominis and I visited with you in London."

"And where is that devilishly handsome husband of yours?" MC said, gazing about them.

Poppy pointed Ominis out, her face unable to hide her adoration for him. MC felt a pang of envy, not because of who, but more a case of what, she was missing. Ominis was as dapper as ever. He was chatting with another man and her jaw dropped. "My goodness, that's never Sebastian Sallow with Ominis."

"Ooo yes!" Poppy said. "Doesn't he look utterly handsome! I never thought he would come, but here he is! Last I heard he was working in America as an Auror. He has quite the reputation I hear, for duelling, and with the ladies!"

MC huffed a laugh. "Some things never change, he was always quite the charmer."

"Didn't he charm you?" Poppy raised an eyebrow.

MC laughed. "He may have tried, but I wasn't falling for it," she said.

Poppy hummed, thoughtfully. "No, you were far too busy pining for a rather impish Gryffindor, if my memory serves me correctly."

MC felt a blush warm her cheeks, she took a sip of her firewhiskey, her eyes not quite meeting Poppy's. A cheeky little smile lifted Poppy's lips. "Speaking of which...Garreth over here!"

MC nearly choked on her firewhiskey, she coughed and spluttered, patting her chest with her hand. "What?" She squeaked.

Poppy gave her a wink and waved over the man in question. MC turned watering eyes in his direction, trying to steady her breaths as he headed their way. Taller, broader, his hair as unruly and glorious as ever, Garreth Weasley still had the power to turn her insides into a flurry of butterflies.

His eyes widened at the sight of MC, his cheeks colouring up a little, but he smiled.

Oh, gods, that smile!

"Well, look who it is," he said. He took her hand, dropping a kiss onto the back of it. She cursed herself for wearing gloves, wishing she could feel the press of his lips on her skin. "MC, you look absolutely stunning."

Poppy was practically beaming with glee. She gave MC's arm a squeeze. "I'll leave you two to catch up," she whispered. Then she turned and disappeared into the crowd.

"Garreth," MC said. "How good to see you. And thank you, you look rather dashing yourself!"

Did her voice really sound as breathless as she thought? She wasn't really one for being giddy or flirty, at least she didn't think she was. It had certainly been a long time since she had tried.

"How's the Ministry treating you?" He asked.

MC gave a little sigh, and then they were chatting away, just like they used to at school. The years between then and now melting away as she told him about London, her work, laughing as he made funny quips.

"Would you like another drink?" He asked.

She looked down at her glass, empty for the third time, and nodded. "Why not?"

He got up from the table they had managed to secure and went to fetch more drinks. She watched him go, admiring the way he moved, her eyes dropping for a daring peek at his bottom. She blushed and quickly averted her gaze. It suddenly felt very warm in the tent and she fanned her hot cheeks.

It was then that the band began to play. They struck up a lively jig, the singer had a pleasing voice and MC found herself tapping her foot along to it. People began to drift onto the dance floor, taking up partners to dance with, their steps quick and lively with the beat.

Garreth returned with their drinks. "This band is rather good," he said. He had to lean closer to her ear to be heard, his breath warm against her skin, sending tiny flutters to her pulse points. "They played at my brother's wedding last summer."

She sipped her drink, her gaze dropping to his left hand. "You're not married yet, then?"

He shook his head, his eyes lingering on her. "I've not been lucky enough to catch the right girl," he said. Their eyes locked and her heart did a little flip. "What about you?"

"I haven't even been looking," she said, quickly.

He nodded. "Poppy said you work too hard."

"You and Poppy were talking about me?"

He grinned. "Only good things. She said you needed more fun in your life."

"Did she now?" MC gave a little frown. Then she gasped as Garreth took her glass from her hand and set it on the table. He clasped her hand in his and tugged her up to her feet, a playful grin on his lips. "Come on."

"What are you doing?" She asked.

He leant in close to her ear again and she shivered deliciously. "Having some fun. Let's dance."

Then his hand was at her waist and he was twirling her onto the floor. Her heart was in her mouth, she didn't dance, and the music was lively, a thundering beat. Couples swung by them, MC glancing about, a little nervous, to make sure they didn't collide. Garreth just laughed, lifting their arms to spin her about, her dress fanning outwards.

MC was getting breathless, keeping up with the pace, her heart was pounding, her face was flushed, and Garreth kept going. When the song was over, she took a breath, a hand to her chest, thinking they would stop now. But then, the band struck up the next song, the chap on the fiddle stomping his foot energetically.

Garreth caught her up in his arms again and she found herself laughing, her head falling back as they spun wildly. Her hair, once neatly coiled and pinned, was now slipping free of it's bonds, strands framing her flushed face.

MC thought of the few stuffy gatherings she had attended in London, people sipping their drinks and making polite chatter. It was a whole other world. Here, people were dancing as if their lives depended upon it, laughing freely. The room felt alive, and slowly, MC was beginning to feel the same way.

One dance had couples linking arms, spinning in light footed circles, before switching to a different partner to skip in the other direction. Men and women switched back and forth across the floor, delighting in the friendly exchange. MC tried to track where Garreth had spun off to, but it was hard, the pace of the dance making her lose track.

Then she found herself linking up with Sebastian, her eyes met his brown ones as they spun. He gave her a wink and a smirk, just like he used to years ago, and she giggled delighted, her heart feeling lighter than it had in years.

Then he was gone, and she was linking arms with a woman she didn't know, the sound of dancing feet, and the thrum of the drums keeping them forever on the move. She had forgotten what it felt like to be this free, this caught up in a moment, and it felt good.

Finally, the song ended, and the dancers could catch a breath. Panting, but smiling, her and Garreth finally paused to take a drink and a breather. She looked up at him, smiling as she met his sparkling green eyes. "You're right, this is fun," she said.

....*....

Garreth washed his hands in the bathroom, taking a quick glance at his flushed face in the mirror. He tried to calm his unruly locks, but sighed, knowing it would always be a losing battle.

MC had said she was having fun. He wasn't going to lie, holding her in his arms was the highlight of his evening so far, and he didn't want it to stop. That last song had meant sharing her with everyone else on the dance floor, and all he had wanted was to get her back in his arms where she belonged.

He had caught the moment when Sebastian had been holding her, the way she had looked up at him, delighted laughter spilling from her lips. He felt 16 again, watching her from afar, always with the Slytherin by her side.

Garreth didn't dislike Sebastian, but it certainly made his hackles rise whenever he got close to MC. He couldn't help it. He had no right, but he felt a strong sense of protection when it came to her. It was laughable really, she was blessed with her Ancient Magic, powerful and strong. And yet, he wanted to hold her like she was made of the finest porcelain.

He shook his head. Gods, he had it bad.

Returning to their table, he found her gone. He scanned the room, his eyes narrowing when he saw her, dancing with Sebastian. The music had slowed a touch, enough to mean they were moving together, closer than Garreth liked.

Sebastian was speaking into her ear, she laughed, her head bowing to graze against him. Garreth's mouth tightened. Jealousy bit at his insides. He turned away, snatched up his whiskey and downed the lot in one go.

He should go over to them, cut in, take her back in to his own arms. But he didn't. Why would she want to? Why dance with him when she could dance with a renowned Auror? Instead of going to her, he decided he needed some air, and he left the tent.

....*....

When the song ended, Sebastian gave MC a little bow and pressed a kiss to the back of her hand. "Thank you for dancing with me," he said. "It really has been good to see you again."

"Same to you," MC said. She gave him a little curtsy.

Sebastian released her hand, placing his at her elbow as he escorted her back to her table. "I meant what I said, by the way," he said. "If London and the Ministry are not living up to the dream, then it's not too late to make changes."

She nodded. "I suppose its taking that leap into the unknown," she said.

"Speaking of which, isn't it about time you put Weasley out of his misery?" He smirked.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Sebastian rolled his eyes. "I reckon you and him are the only two in the room who can't see it," he sighed. He leant closer to her ear. "Go and give him a damn good snog, for Merlin's sake!"

MC flushed scarlet. "Sebastian!"

He laughed and began to back up away from her. He pointed a cheeky finger at her, and dropped her another wink. "I guarantee he won't say no."

MC sat, her tummy fluttering at what Sebastian had suggested. She drank her whiskey, eyes seeking out Garreth but he was nowhere to be seen.

Could she suck up the courage to kiss Garreth? Her heart pounded so fast at the idea that she almost felt dizzy with it. She pressed gloved fingers to her lips. How would it feel to press them against him? She felt the breath in her lungs dissipate, her chest heaving in air at a quickened pace.

She stood. She needed to find him.

....*....

Poppy had sent her out into the cool night air in the direction she had seen Garreth go. She had given MC a squeeze on the arm. "Don't be afraid to grab happiness with both hands, MC," she had said.

MC wandered across the grass towards some trees, the trickle and gush of a stream drifting through the night. When it came to dark wizards and creepy forests, she would charge right in, wand blazing. But seeking out Garreth had her gritting her teeth, nerves making her feel foolish and well out of her depth.

He was sat on a fallen tree, head down, hands clasped. Her heart clenched. He looked rather dejected. Nerves forgotten, she hurried towards him. When he looked up, he looked surprised to see her there. "MC, everything alright?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing," she said. Her heel sank into a soft piece of grass and she wobbled, staggering to right herself. "Oh, these blasted heels," she hissed.

He smothered a laugh. "MC, you are not drunk, are you?"

She straightened and swiped at the strands of hair around her face. "Absolutely not!" But she struggled to keep up her attempt at being a sober, proper young lady and a giggle burst from her mouth.

Garreth got to his feet, his hands reaching to cup her elbows. "Well, well," he said. "What would the Minister of Magic say?"

She looked up at Garreth realising that standing here with him like this felt more real than anything in London had ever been. "Fuck what he thinks," she said. His eyes widened. "In fact, we should go inside and get more drinks, many more, until we are rip roaring, filthy drunk. So drunk, I could dance on the tables, lifting my skirts and not caring who sees my ankles."

Garreth laughed, his head tilting back. "I would pay to see that."

She laughed with him and her hand was now gripping the front of his smart jacket, the fabric pleasantly smooth against her gloves. "I suggest you get your wallet out then, Weasley. Because I am feeling the urge to be reckless and wild."

He stilled, staring down at her, lips parted. She stared at that mouth, thinking about what Sebastian had said. She could kiss him. Now, that would be reckless and wild. Just do it, woman! He is so close!

"Have you ever been in love, Garreth?" The words rolled off the end of her tongue to hang in the air between them. His fingers tightened at her elbows and she looked up at him, heart in her mouth, his eyes a starry glitter in the dark. "You know, the kind of love that steals the very breath from your lungs."

His mouth moved, but no words came out. She saw his throat work as he swallowed, his Adams apple bobbing beneath his skin. With a will of its own, MC's hand smoothed up the front of his jacket, a distracted thought in the back of her mind wondering what his skin felt like there. The soft silk of her gloves brushed against his throat and a strange, strangled breath left his mouth.

Her eyes flew to his. "Sorry," she muttered. "Forgive me."

She made to pull her hand back but he caught it with one of his own, grasping her fingers tightly. "No, wait," he said. He looked at her hand and then began to slowly tug the silk from the ends of her fingers. She watched, mesmerised, as he slid the glove free from her arm, goosebumps chasing the silk as it slid free. "Try that again," he whispered.

Anticipation made the ends of her fingers tingle, a fiery rush of warmth beginning to gather deep inside of her. It made her feel a little lightheaded. Recklessness wasn't the word, and she felt a deep, ravenous craving claw at her.

Slowly, she pressed her finger tips against the warmth of his neck. He swallowed thickly. She slid them against the slight roughness there, upwards towards his jawline. She was trembling, but couldn't have stopped if she tried.

Her thumb swept along the curve of his jaw, her fingers beginning to welcome the softness of his hair near his ear. He closed his eyes, savouring the feel of her delicate touch.

"There is this one girl," he whispered. She paused but kept her hand where it was, reluctant to leave his warmth. "In answer to your question, there is this one girl. She stole my heart years ago, and I don't think I will ever get it back, in fact I don't want it back. It's hers, for always. Even if she doesn't know it."

MC tried to swallow down a wave of disappointment. She cleared her throat and he opened his eyes to look down at her. Her heart squeezed tightly, wishing more than anything to know that kind of devotion. "Then she is incredibly lucky," she said. She lowered her gaze.

"MC," he said. He caught her chin and guided her back up to face him, but she kept her gaze lowered. "It's you. It was always you."

This time when she looked at him she could see the fire, the open honesty on his face, and the fear. Her breathing stilled. "Me?"

His face lowered to hers, so close she could feel the warmth of his breath on her face. But she still couldn't breathe, her fingers gripping up into his hair as his mouth brushed softly against hers. A tingling shock speared right through her at that touch. And then, his lips pressed more firmly into a proper kiss and the air rushed from her, all at once.

One hand on his jacket, one in his hair, she tugged his whole body closer. She inhaled sharply, the scent of him driving her pulse into an untamed, wild thing. The feel of him pressed up against her made her moan against his mouth as he kissed her more firmly, his lips claiming hers for his own.

As she breathed out again, lips parting, his tongue swirled in to taste her. She had never been kissed so intimately, never wanted or trusted anyone enough to allow such a thing. Her tongue tentatively moved against his, nerves making her tense a little. What if she did it wrong?

He eased the kiss, reigning in his lust to press soft kisses against her lips. She whimpered, the ache building deep within her feeling abandoned. She slid her tongue out, catching his bottom lip. "Don't you dare stop," she breathed.

But he did stop, breathing a little harder, his forehead pressed against hers. "I don't want to take advantage of you," he said softly. "We have both been drinking..."

She took his face in her hands. "I am feeling so much right now, all kinds of reckless and madness, but I do know one thing for sure. I love you, I've always loved you, and to hear you say the same makes me want to burst into a million pieces."

He huffed a laugh. "Well, don't do that. Think of the mess!"

She giggled, the fingers of her bare hand moving to his lips. "You always were good at making things explode," she murmured. "When you kissed me just now..." She closed her eyes and sighed.

"You really love me?" He asked.

The vulnerability in his voice made her eyes burn with tears. She nodded.

He hesitated, wincing a little. "What about Sebastian?"

MC gaped. "What?"

He looked awkward, looking anywhere but at her. "I er...well, I always thought you and him...You looked so happy dancing with him."

MC laughed. She couldn't help it. Poor Garreth, he looked so awkward, so pained by his words, but she couldn't stop her giggling. "Oh, no, no, no," she laughed, shaking her head. "Oh, Garreth, absolutely not! He was the one who sent me out here after you, for Merlin's sake!"

Now, it was Garreth's turn to gape. Another giggle erupted from her mouth and she buried her face into his chest. She quietened her laughter, breathing him in, her hands holding on to him, terrified to let go. "There has never been anyone else," she said into his jacket. "Only you."

If she had thought the previous kiss rather heated then she wasn't prepared for this one. If she hadn't been clinging on to him, she would have melted to the ground, a thoroughly hot mess. He pulled her hips against him, grinding against her and she gasped at the feel of it, her own hips wanting to writhe and flex with his.

A flush swept up her chest and neck, warmth blazing in deep secret places, threatening to devour her. She let herself drift into it, welcoming the abandon, starved for it.

Forgotten was the party, her friends, the whole world. It was just Garreth, his scent, his taste, and his hands on her body.

She felt the scratch of tree bark against her back. She hadn't even realised they had been moving. Garreth began to spread his teasing kisses along her jaw, his mouth sucking at the flesh of her neck. Her most secret, most entoxicating dreams, were being realised, and she moaned desperately at the feel of his tongue along her collar bone.

He pressed her against the tree, his hips grinding, and she felt the hot, throbbing press of his arousal, thick and hard. The ache between her thighs sharpened, her heat desperate to claim that wicked lust, her mind spinning at this wholly new feeling. "Oh!" She cried, breathlessly.

He paused, his eyes searching out hers. "Are you alright? Did I hurt you?"

She shook her head. "No, no, it's just..." She felt her cheeks flush hotly. "This is all so new. I...I'm afraid I am not very experienced with...all of this."

His brows drew together. "You're...a virgin?"

She nodded. "I'm so sorry."

He gasped. "Whatever for? Don't you dare be sorry!" He kissed her nose, her forehead, her lips. "Don't you dare apologise for such a thing. I'm so glad you told me before I took this any further."

She gripped him, eyes wide. "You're not going to stop are you?" Her voice had an edge of panic.

"I am not going to let you be taken for the first time up against a blasted tree!" He looked shocked. "You deserve so much better than that."

Her breath hissed through her teeth as she gritted them against her desperate need to have so much more from him. He was so damned lovely, so perfect, so everything and more that her heart desired. She thought she might even cry at how much she ached for him.

"Well then, Mr Weasley, seeing as you are trying to be the perfect gentleman. I suggest you take me somewhere much more to your liking, because I am fully expecting you to finish what you have started before I really do explode everywhere."

A startled laugh left his lips. She gripped the front of his jacket. "We need to relieve you of some clothing as well," she breathed. "I wouldn't want to make a mess over such a lovely jacket."

He kissed her, hard, demanding, his teeth catching hold of her bottom lip. The groan he made into her mouth made her toes curl. "As my love commands," he said roughly.

He held her firmly, and with a crack through the air, they were gone.

....*....

In romance novels she had read, it was always so charming, so perfect, flawless one could say.

When MC and Garreth arrived at his home, they stumbled, both of them gripping each other and reluctant to let go. Their balance was shot and they tumbled, a heap of limbs, onto the wooden floor.

MC landed on top of him, he grunted at the impact, her face mashed into his chest, her skirts wrapped in an awful muddle around her legs. "Oh, fuck!" She exclaimed.

She scrambled to check on him, writhing against him and he tensed, his hands grabbing at her hips. "Are you alright?" She asked.

He peered down at them both squished together on his kitchen floor, an eyebrow lifting at the delightful view down the neckline of her dress. "Well, this is sexy," he quipped.

She paused to consider their predicament, her lips pressing together against the laughter bubbling up her throat. He grinned before his face transformed into a mockery of seriousness. "Don't drink and Apparate," he warned.

Her laughter burst free, loud and joyous. He laughed too, holding her against him, pressing a kiss to her hair. Then he was giving her a nudge. "Come on, get me up, the floor is not where I'm planning on deflowering you," he said, cheekily.

She lifted herself up onto her arms to look down at him. She tilted her head slightly. "Deflowering me? How very proper!" She giggled. She leaned down, feeling much braver now and kissed him slowly on the mouth. She whispered against his lips. "I'm not feeling very proper right now."

As if to emphasis her point, she flexed her hips, grinding against his hip. The friction sent flame swirling outwards and it hit harder than any firewhiskey.

"Oh, fuck...Oh, fuck," he groaned. His grip on her tightened. "Upstairs now!"

MC tugged her heels from her feet, not wanting to risk any more tumbles as they ran up the staircase, hand in hand. Once in his bedroom, he paused, taking her face in his hands. He wasn't laughing now, his eyes were burning with an intensity that stole her breath.

"This feels like a dream," he said. "If it is, don't wake me, not yet."

She put a hand over one of his, the one without the glove, she stroked his knuckles, sliding tenderly along the backs of his fingers before turning to press a kiss against the inside of his wrist. "It's a dream come to life, and I'm not going anywhere," she said quietly. "This is right where I am supposed to be."

She looked up at him, her heart stuttering at the tears that shone in his eyes. "I love you," he whispered.

She moved his hand down to her chest, placed it right over her heart, thudding madly. "I love you, too."

His kiss was slow, deep, and she could feel his hunger for her. She moaned, her very bones melting into him. Piece by piece, clothing was dropped to the rug beneath their feet, mouths barely parting, fingers tugging blindy at fastenings.

The feel of his palm sliding up her bare back made her shiver, her head tilting back to allow him access to her throat, his kisses burning into her skin. Then he was releasing her hair, the freedom of her flowing locks adding to the vulnerability of her nakedness.

She felt a shyness, a lack of confidence in her own body, but his eyes were hungry, his mouth eager to press his affection against soft curves. He whispered his appreciation, breath hot against her skin, and she returned the favour. She kissed him on the neck where he had kissed her, wanting to make him feel the same burn she had.

Laying with him on the bed, his warmth a comfort and an irresistible pull, she wanted to press herself as humanly possible against him. Her breasts were crushed against his chest, the friction making her gasp. She wound a leg around his waist, hungry for something deeper, to be even closer.

He shifted, leaning on his elbows to look down at her. "Are you nervous?"

MC stared at him. "I've never felt safer," she said.

He smiled softly. "Do you have any expectations? I want you to feel comfortable with everything."

"I trust you," she said. "I know the basics, obviously, but as for the rest..."

He nodded and kissed her. "I'm going to touch you. Stop me at any point if it hurts."

She nodded, her breath shaky, and his hand slid downwards, ghosting across her skin, and gently guiding her leg outwards. His fingers brushed gently upwards against her heat, not probing, just the briefest touch. Her breath hitched and she licked her lips.

He did it again, but this time, he started lower, pressing a little more firmly, and the tip of a finger slipped between the folds, catching against her slick. Her lips parted and her eyes fluttered closed, a soft sigh leaving her.

Each stroke of his hand saw him dip a little more, spreading her, until she could hear what he was doing to her. A cry left her and her hips rolled against his hand. He pressed soft kisses to her neck, her shoulder, his finger pressing more firmly to swirl against her most sensitive part.

Her hand fisted into the bed sheets. "Garreth," she gasped.

He did it again, the ache of it so sharp and intense that she arched her back, and he wasn't stopping, in fact he swirled faster. "Ahh...oh..."

He swirled a tongue over her nipple, mirroring his fingers and a cry left her throat.

"Is that good?" He whispered into her ear.

She nodded, words a forgotten concept as she felt the fire of his touch twist sharper and faster, she felt her legs begin to tremble and she panted. She could feel the grip on her control sliding, she was climbing ever higher and the fall gaped beneath her, she just had to let go and she would fly.

"Garreth," she panted. Her hand gripped his shoulder, fingers sinking in. "Oh...I'm going to...I can't hold on anymore."

"Let go," he urged. His fingers worked even faster and her eyes flew wide. She let go, and the flames consumed her, rolling up and outwards, leaving her a panting, flushed wreck in his arms.

She tried to catch her breath, watching him, stunned, as he shifted between her legs, two fingers sliding slowly inside of her, pumping slowly before spreading her arousal all over her folds. She moaned at the feel of the intrusion.

"I need to make sure I don't hurt you," he explained. She stared at the swollen length of him, watching in fascination as he took hold of it, swirling his soaked fingers along it and up over the tip. She swallowed. "Will you fit? That looks rather big."

He chuckled and kissed her. "Well, thank you."

She bit her lower lip, smiling up at him. He settled between her legs and she felt the tip of him brush against her. She twitched her hips and he held one, steadying her. "Easy now, just relax, let me do the work, okay? You just concentrate on relaxing your muscles."

She nodded. "Okay, I'm ready."

"Eyes on mine," he said.

She met his gaze. Oh, how she loved those eyes! She steadied her breathing and then he began to push into her, his other hand holding himself steady. She felt the stretch, the sting, and gasped.

"Breathe," he whispered. "Just keep looking at me."

She did, unable to tear her gaze away as he slid slowly, carefully, deeper inside of her. Her body welcomed him, the sting easing, her walls clenching around the pressure of the intrusion into her most intimate place.

Fully seated, he exhaled a long breath, pausing to savour the moment and she brought her hand to his face. "You didn't hurt me," she assured him.

He smiled and kissed her, long and slow. She arched a little, the movement felt deep within and they both moaned. "I can't wait any longer," he said, tightly. "You feel so fucking good."

It felt kind of empowering knowing that she had that kind of effect on him. A naughty smirk curved her lips and she flexed her hips, he grunted in surprise, his eyes growing dark and dangerous. Anticipation made her breathe a little harder.

His gaze burned into her hers as he slid back and thrust deeply, a satisfied smirk spreading across his mouth as she cried out. "Again," she panted.

He began to roll his hips, his lips parting, colour flooding his cheeks as she began to moan beneath him, her hands reaching to grasp at his back and shoulders.

The pleasure of his thrusts washed over her, reawakening that burning ache for him that felt so good, too good to let go of, but she found she was building right back up towards that limit again.

Watching his own pleasure play out across his features was just as arousing as his touch, and they climbed together, Garreth gritting his teeth as he barely contained himself. He shifted her hips, his arms winding around her to support her at this new angle and he thrust harder, cries spilling from her lips as she felt the limit rushing towards her.

Her head fell backwards as she abandoned herself to it, her climax making her bear down onto his length, clenching tightly around him as he groaned into her ear.

....*....

Rosy dawn sunlight filtered through his bedroom window and a lazy smile tugged at his mouth as he turned his face into the soft spill of hair on his pillow. He bent to nuzzle his nose under one delicate ear, his lips pressing softly against the warmth of MC's neck.

She moaned and shifted in her sleep, but she wasn't going anywhere, he would make sure of that. His arm wrapped tightly around her, pulling her back up against him, his growing arousal settling snugly under her arse cheeks.

Twice now he had taken her, each time making him more sure that she was the beginning and the end of him. She was just the most perfect fit.

Her hand smoothed up his arm and she sighed his name, snuggling against him. "Is it time to get up?" She mumbled.

"No," he said, immediately. "We're never getting out of this bed, ever again."

A little frown creased her brow. "But I'm hungry," she said. She turned to look up at him, blinking sleepily.

He pressed a kiss to her shoulder, humming thoughtfully. "Breakfast in bed?"

She smiled, twisting to face him, her hand sliding down his chest, lower. The feel of her fingers around his now solid length making him groan. "Does breakfast come with dessert?" She teased. Her mouth pressed kisses to his throat.

Garreth tugged her leg up around his hip, rolling her flat against the mattress. "Breakfast can wait," he said. "I've always been a sucker for something sweet."

She giggled and wrapped herself around him, soft and willing. His dream come to life.

[angelasscribbles]

What Happened in Vegas

Series: None, this is a one-shot and you can find those here.

Fandom: The Royal Romance

Pairing: Riley x Liam x Drake

Rating: MA

Warnings for this chapter: mature themes I guess

Word Count: 1,796

A/N: Credit/blame goes to @aussiegurl1234 for putting this in my head with the simple statement that the Vegas fling should have been a threesome. To be clear: There is no smut here, this isn't set in Vegas, but rather the aftermath and results of what happened.

My other stuff: Master List.

Liam's head guard entered the council chambers to whisper in the king's ear. "Sorry to interrupt, but the Duchess of Valtoria is asking to see you. She says it's important."

Riley was on the short list of people that had unrestricted access to him at all times. "Thank you, Alec." He nodded to dismiss the guard, then turned back to the council members. "Are we about done here?"

"Well, there was one last item—" The Earl of Dunwick pointed to the line item on the agenda about a proposed construction project and a lake full of some protected fish.

"Anything that can't wait until next week?"

"Well…. The project management company has been waiting for an answer for six months already…"

"So, what's one more week?" Liam grinned. "Meeting adjourned!"

The king of Cordonia damn near skipped through the halls to the private sitting room where the woman who made his heart beat was waiting.

His smile faltered when he found Drake waiting with her.

He had hoped Riley was there to spend some quality time with him. He didn't see her near as often as he would have preferred. Ever since the advent of her marriage to his best friend, their trysts had diminished. Not ended mind you, but it wasn't like it had been during the social season when they had been sneaking off every chance they got to the hedge maze, the rooftop, or an empty guest room.

Then the coronation debacle had happened and everything had gone sidewise.

He had hoped to be able to repair their relationship during the engagement tour and he had, to some extent.

Riley had told him up front when she started sleeping with Drake, but somehow, every time she reminded him of her new relationship, the two of them ended up in bed together. "I'm with Drake now, remember?" Always ended with her screaming his name.

Pushing his disappointment aside, he embraced and kissed her on the lips before turning to acknowledge Drake's presence. Greetings were exchanged, then he directed his attention back to Riley. "Not that I'm complaining, in any way, I am always happy to see you, but why are you here?"

Riley cut straight to the chase. "I think I'm pregnant. My period is late, and I can't remember if I had it last month or not." Life had been busy since assuming the mantle of Duchess and starting married life with Drake.

Liam did some quick backward math. His eyebrows shot up as he looked from her to Drake and back again. "Vegas?"

"Vegas," she nodded.

"So…whose is it?"

Riley threw her arms up in the air. "I don't know. Does it matter?"

"Of course it fucking matters, Riley!"

"Not to me it doesn't," Drake broke in. He moved closer so he could wrap both arms around his wife. Nuzzling into the side of her neck, he told her, "I love you either way."

"I didn't say I wouldn't still love her!" Liam exploded. "Don't put words in my mouth!"

"Oh, calm down," Riley admonished. "I don't even know if I'm pregnant yet. I thought you should both be here when I take the test, given that there's no way to know which one of you knocked me up."

Liam took a deep breath and tugged at his tie as mentally collected himself. An out of wedlock heir to the throne would be a scandal of epic proportions, but the thought was not entirely unwelcomed. "Right. Thank you for that. If this child is mine, I want to be involved every step of the way."

Riley gave him an affectionate smile. "See? I knew that, and that's why we're here, Right, babe?"

"Right." Drake released her and stepped back. "Are we sure it happened in Vegas? Because if it happened on our wedding night or during the honeymoon—"

"Or in the weeks leading up to the wedding?" Liam interjected. He had spent quite a bit of time helping the new duchess settle into her role. He had also helped her out of her clothes more often than not after a long day of diplomatic lessons.

Riley waved him off. "I had a period just before Vegas, that I remember. So if the baby is yours, it almost had to have happened in Vegas. After all, you were both inside me that night. When you weren't inside each other, that is." Her hand went to her mouth to stifle a giggle.

Drake's eyes met Liam's over the top of her head. Both men froze for a second as both faces flushed red, then both sets of eyes dropped quickly to the floor.

The night in Vegas had been wild, but they had never discussed it after the fact. Liam was out as bisexual, but it had been Drake's first and only experience with a man.

Drake was well aware of his wife's extracurricular activities with his best friend. He had no issues with it. In fact, images of Liam and Riley together fueled more of his fantasies than he liked to admit.

"Okay, I'm going to pee on this stick now!" She brandished it in front of them like a kid with a magic wand before disappearing into the attached bathroom.

The men made awkward small talk as they waited, both of them breathing out a sigh of relief when she returned, alleviating the danger of them having to address the elephant in the room, at least for the moment.

"Now we wait," she chirped. "Could one of you set a timer for two minutes?"

Liam had his phone out first. "Done!"

It was the longest two minutes of his life. He paced the floor, deep in thought as Riley and Drake sat on the settee, making plans for the weekend, laughing and touching each other frequently.

The timer dinged and all three heads snapped up. Three sets of eyes flitted from one person to the other to the bathroom door.

Riley stood and went to retrieve the answer to their question. She returned from the bathroom to both men's gazes locked on her with anticipation.

"The moment of truth…" she glanced down at the stick in her hand, feeling disappointment wash through her in place of the relief she had expected to feel. "It's negative. I'm not pregnant."

Drake's brows furrowed as he moved closer to her. "Are you okay? I thought that's the result you wanted, but you look sad."

Liam backed away from them. "I… just need a moment to process…"

He resumed his pacing as he grappled with an onslaught of mixed emotions.

No scandal, no awkward questions, no figuring out how to juggle schedules between three adults and two homes… but also no heir, no biological tie to the woman he loved, and no relief from the unrelenting pressure to marry and produce offspring. He stopped pacing and spun to face Drake. "Did you mean what you said earlier?"

"What did I say earlier?"

"That you didn't care whose baby it was."

"Right. Yeah…." Drake's eyes tracked from Liam to Riley and back again. "Why? There is no baby—"

"What if there were?"

Drake blinked. "What do you mean?"

"I mean…." He crossed the room quickly and took Riley's hands in his. "Have a baby with me, Riley! On purpose!"

Giddiness bubbled up inside of her at the prospect. But he couldn't be serious, could he? "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"Do you want to see me married to someone else?"

Riley's gaze slid to Drake as she considered if her answer would hurt him. But they had promised each other unrelenting honesty, no matter what. She returned her attention to Liam and shook her head.

"Then give me an heir so I don't have to marry…. Anyone, ever!"

"Is that even a thing that we can do?"

"Yes! It's not totally without precedence. I simply have to acknowledge the child and publicly legitimize him or her. Which I will!" He dropped down on one knee. "I know you're already married, but consider this an official proposal to be my royal consort. Openly. Move back to the palace. Take your rightful place by my side!"

Drake's throat cleared. "Um… hello? What are you doing?"

"Sorry!" Liam scrambled to his feet. "I may have gotten carried away there, but I'm serious. Do you honestly like living in Valtoria?"

"Not really," Drake admitted, "But I'd live in Antarctica if that's where my wife was."

"Then you're open to moving back home?"

A spark of jealousy flared through him, followed almost immediately by a pang of longing.

There was no doubt that he was in love with his wife. Helplessly, hopelessly, head over heels in love with her. But the night in Vegas had opened a door he had been avoiding peaking behind for his entire life, leaving him questioning the nature of his feelings for his best friend.

His mouth opened, closed, then opened again. "I… what exactly are you proposing? That my wife shacks up with you? Where does that leave me?"

"I'm sorry if I wasn't clear. I meant both of you."

Drake's entire body stilled as his mind raced to interpret Liam's meaning. "Both of us…. what?”

Liam shrugged. "Whatever you want, whatever you'll allow. I want you both to move in. We've already agreed to this situation we find ourselves in with Riley. We can continue as we are, with her splitting time between our bedrooms or…"

"Or?" Drake struggled to keep the note of hopefulness out of his voice, sure that everyone in the room could hear the pounding of his heart.

With a smirk, Liam moved closer to him. "Or you and I can continue what we started in Vegas and see where it goes."

Blood rushed to his face, heating his cheeks as he nodded, then looked away.

"Great!" Liam turned back to Riley. "You don't have to answer right now if you're not ready. Take your time and—"

"Yes! I'll do it! We'll move in, I'll be your consort, we can have a baby! As long as Drake is okay with all of it, that is."

"I'm okay with it."

Liam felt a rush of happiness crash over him. "Can you stay tonight? I'd like to start working on that baby right away."

"Oh, I don't know if—"

"It's okay," Drake assured her. "If you want to stay, I can go pack some of our clothes and—"

"Actually," Liam interrupted, "I was hoping you could join us."

Drake's eyes widened, slid down Liam's body, then closed as he drew in a deep, shuddering breath.

The trajectory of his life was about to change. And he couldn't wait to see where it would take him.