#and it's gonna be like this till i finish my bachelors

[bi-scottsummers]

Hi, hello, just came here to say that I love your fic "trending in Japan". I was wondering if you had headcanons regarding Kenji or Emi or interpersonal relationships and stuff. Many hugs for you.

hi hello, thank you for the encouragement and hugs! After some thought ive realized I do in fact have some hcs about some of the character dynamics in the movie as well as just kenji himself, cause hes captivated my entire brain:

Kenji & Emi

Emi does not have teeth but she does inexplicably have a teething phase. kenji is forced to hide all his (salvaged) fancy cars in the garage bc the corvette's already been chewed to hell and his heart is gonna give out if he has to watch any more classics get wrecked

he reads her bedtime stories. A lot of aesop's fables, because theyre short and fun and hes trying to raise his monster daughter with good morals. emi goes hogwild for these but its unclear if she actually understands what hes saying; kenji's pretty sure she just likes the silly voices he uses for different characters

they go flying together! they go first thing in the morning before breakfast - it helps kenji shake off the grogginess of sleep and emi gets to stretch her wings. shes not able to go very far for very long initially, but as she grows and gets those cardio gainz she almost gets to be quicker than him. they have races and play air tag :)

while she doesnt have the vocal range to speak english herself, it becomes clear that emi does understand it well. (kenji also develops an ear for her chirping/squawks, though body language & facial expressions play a big part in communication for both of them) during her (much later) rebellious phase she'll simply pretend not to know what's being said when kenji is telling her to do something she doesn't wanna do, which frustrates him to no end

Kenji

developed a pretty massive chip on his shoulder after moving to the states. it wasn't just bitterness over his dad staying behind, though that was a part of it. this is canon but he was picked on in school for "how [he talked], how [he looked] and what [he ate]." he felt like he had something to prove to both his father and the world. he threw himself into sports - specifically baseball - and his academics, and he did so well that it forced everyone to shut up about how he was different from them and focus on how he was better than them

^ playing off this: kenji had a bonkers fucking yonkers routine when he was a kid/in highschool. he'd get up hours before school started to practice his swing, go for a ~1hr run, workout, study, etc. He'd go to school, come home, and do it all again. this is exaggerated but my point is that this kid was DETERMINED and had the discipline to see that determination through to the end

didnt have many friends because of all aforementioned things. he had acquaintances, and he was invited to parties and outings and stuff (never went), but he spent most of his free time hanging out with his mom. he never really had a "parents are so embarrassing" phase. he always liked to do anything with his mother: going to the bank, going grocery shopping, watching cheesy telenovelas till ungodly hours in the morning, etc. she was his no.1 supporter, confidant, and best friend

he played for his university's baseball team and got scouted at 19. his mom forced him to finish his bachelor's first so once he graduated with his degree in kinesiology at 21, he was drafted to the dodgers

Kenji & Ami

both of them, up until meeting each other, were totally dedicated to their career (and child) so they had basically 0 time for friends. theyre both borderline losers but theyre juuust good enough at what they do for people to admire them instead of finding them sad and lowkey pathetic

kenji is way more into the idea of being friends than ami is. hes pretty enthusiastic about it; he thinks that they have a kind of rapport, since they share a similar work ethic and are both (unbeknownst to ami) single parents. he calls her to chat abt random things. ami initially isnt superrrr into it; she thinks kenji is kinda lonely and desperate for human connection, & it isnt until her mom points out that she has not spoken to anyone outside of work-related reasons in 10+ years that shes like oh shit, i am also lonely and desperate for human connection. so she grudgingly acquires a friend. theyre both really bad at it

need to clarify that in my mind their dynamic is 95% kenji yapping about work and drama in his personal life (circumventing the 8m baby kaiju hes raising) while ami goes "mhm mhm" and takes notes until kenji notices and is like What are you doing. at which point ami is like...... right . nothing. im listening. and forces herself to put the notepad away. she has a hard time disengaging from the reporter mindset and just hearing something intriguing without turning it into an article. the other 5% are the rare moments where theyre connecting super well - ami's psychoanalyzing the hell out of whatever kenji just said and hes like what are you my therapist. over time she starts opening up to him, too, and eventually theyre comfortable enough to be having philosophical discussions over breakfast just for funsies

before kenji reveals that hes ultraman, ami thinks hes in a gang. he keeps showing up to their lunch "dates" with like bruised eyes and fractured bones and gets all shifty when she tries to ask about what happened. when she eventually confronts him about it, hes so offended that she thinks hed be involved in something like that that he tells her about being ultraman

thats about all i can think of rn, though im sure ill think of more after rotating all the characters in my head for a while. thanks again for stopping in, i appreciate the support :)

[stardewrotsession]

Note: I finally got this done, holy shit. I tried to make these head canons more different than their 10 heart event since I already did something similar, but on some of the bachelors I just couldn’t help it. Either way, I thought this was a neat little premise.

When the bachelors plan to propose, but you beat them to it

Sam

- So I think to think of Sam as one of those “I’m gonna fake it till I make it” and pretend to be nonchalant about it on the outside.

- But on the inside he’s freaking out lol.

- You’re the first person to really get him, without the whole “you’re just a kid, grow up” attitude towards him.

- He doesn’t necessarily wanna make it too romantic. But he wants to make it romantic enough to show you he really does love you.

- Maybe he’ll write a song for you. No, maybe he’ll do something cheesy like bring a boombox to your farmhouse in the middle of a storm. No, maybe he’ll make a poster!

- He’s just a tad bit indecisive lol.

- He was thinking of writing a song about you. Was actually halfway through the song when you randomly went up to him in the middle of fall.

- “Hey, I was gonna stop by the forest to gather some mushrooms… did you wanna come with me?”

- He was planning on taking a walk at some point, so why not?

- As you two walked there, he would mess around with you and tease you while you playfully bickered with him.

- And he loves your little bickers and jabs back at him. You always laugh or smile at him in the end, and it gives him a warm feeling.

- “So, I may not have been honest when I told you I wanted to pick mushrooms with you,” You said nervously.

- “I thought you just wanted to get away from the house,” Sam replied. “Be my knight in shining armor and take me away from my room!”

- Drama queen lol

- “Well, that,” you said, laughing when he grins at you. “But there was also something else. And I wanted to do it when you were taking your fall walks up the river and to the forest.”

- “Okay… now you’re scaring me a little,” Sam says jokingly, although you could hear his tone beginning to shift.

- You took a deep breath and grabbed something in your pocket, revealing it to be a small mermaid’s pendant to him.

- “I know it might not be the most romantic,” you began to say. “If I was as talented as you, I would’ve written a song or something. But… I really didn’t wanna have to wait that long after I got stuck on a few rhymes.”

- This man was flabbergasted lol.

- You knew how to take his breath away.

- “Um… say something,” you said nervously. “Please…”

- It took you by surprised when he immediately hugged you afterwards, spinning you around and cupping your cheeks in his hands.

- “You kidding me?” He asked. “Of course I’ll marry you!”

- You let out a sigh of relief and laughed, smiling against his lips as he leaned in for a kiss.

- After he pulled away, he said, “You know, I was halfway through your proposal song. But I might as well finish it so I can sing it to you at the next concert.”

- “You wrote a song for me?” You asked.

- “Of course I did,” he said while hugging you happily. “Who do you think I am?”

Sebastian

- Sebastian never planned on getting married.

- It wasn’t really on his mind that much. He was so determined to get out of the small town first, away from the countryside.

- But after meeting you, he starts thinking about it. A lot.

- To the point where sometimes he’ll half jokingly bring up liking the countryside more because of a “certain person”, and imagining his life with you and him still in the town.

- He starts to think about his life with you a lot.

- How things would be if he moved in with you, how his life would look if he married you, or even had a family with you.

- Over time he realized he really wanted to do that.

- To the point where he couldn’t stop thinking about it. You were on his mind 24/7, and imagining you getting married to him felt like it could be a reality now.

- Now the problem was where he’d propose to you.

- He could do it maybe on the cliffside where he goes to look out at the city. But that could be weird, considering he used to go there to get away from the town. Now, he wants to stay in it.

- Maybe by the beach, but he only really goes there when it’s raining.

- The Mountain Lake isn’t anything necessarily special for the two of you.

- The whole time he was rack his brain trying to figure out where he’d propose to you. It started getting on his nerves, tbh.

- But the funny thing is…

- …that you end up proposing when you two are relaxing at the farmhouse, watching a movie together.

- “Hey, so I was walking around the beach the other day,” you began.

- “When it was raining?” He asked. “I would’ve gone with you.”

- You smile and shake your head.

- “Yeah, you could’ve. I ended up seeing a frog by the river on my way back.”

- “Lucky,” he said while grabbing some popcorn.

- “But I wanted to go to the beach, for this…”

- You slowly pull out a mermaid’s pendant, carefully holding it out towards him.

- He glanced at it, then looked back at the movie. Then did a double take.

- He immediately paused the movie and turned his body towards you, carefully admiring the pendant.

- “I know this isn’t the most romantic place,” you began. “But I really think you’re something special, Seb. And I really wanted to ask… will you marry me?”

- He couldn’t help but crack a smile, holding out his hands and admiring the pendant in its full beauty.

- “Of course I will, how can I say no to that?”

- He leans in and kisses you gently, as if his words didn’t already tell you enough.

- Sure, it could’ve been done in a more romantic way. But I don’t think Sebastian really needs that.

- He’s honestly just glad you’re here for the ride. With him.

Harvey

- So remember when I said Sam would be nervous about it?

- Harvey’s like, 10 times worse.

- He HAS to get this right, in his head.

- It’s not like he’ll think you’ll dump him if he doesn’t. Even though the thought has crossed his mind once or twice.

- He just thinks you deserve the world. Poor guy barely thinks he’s good enough to be with you, but you’ve comforted him enough to let him know he’s more than enough <3

- With that being said, he’d want to propose doing something out of his comfort zone.

- Kinda like when he took you on a date to the hot air balloon. But even bigger.

- Maybe he’ll take you to a Ferris wheel, or take you somewhere to watch fireworks.

- Or both??

- Harvey never really liked Ferris wheels. But, he was determined to go on it. To give you an amazing view, and amazing memory, and an amazing time.

- Besides, he’s gone on a hot air balloon, right? He’ll be fine.

- So he brought up the mermaid pendant that night with you in hand, planning on proposing once you two hit the highest point.

- …But he didn’t really consider how scared he’d be in the moment.

- Right when the Ferris wheel began moving, his knees locked in place and he kept closing his eyes to stop himself from looking down.

- As you two got further up, you soothed his mind by holding him, giving him soft kisses, and comforting him with words.

- “I’m sorry,” Harvey sighed. “I wanted to make this romantic for you.”

- “We still can,” you say as you start rummaging through your pocket.

- Harvey could feel his face heat up when he sees you pull out a mermaid’s pendant.

- “I wanted to do this when you were more comfortable,” you began. “But I can’t wait any longer.”

- He’s smiling a lot, and nods his head.

- “Yes, of course I’ll marry you,” he manages to say, before pulling you in for a kiss.

- Now can you imagine kissing Harvey while the Ferris wheel hits the highest point, fireworks going off in the background as the rest of the world around you two disappears?

- Stop it, you guys are literally so cute.

Alex

- I’m ngl, I think Alex would definitely want to make his proposal very public.

- He loves you, and he wants everyone to know just how much he does.

- So maybe he’d propose in the Saloon on a Friday night, when he knows everyone will be around.

- Or he’d propose at a gridball game during half time, the cameras glued to the two of you as he told the whole world just how much in love he was with you.

- Either way, he had everything set up. He settled on the saloon so you would be more comfortable.

- He might want to show you off but he also wants to make sure you feel okay first.

- He wanted to ease into his plan. Maybe take you to the beach when the sun’s setting before walking over to the saloon.

- It was so cute, he had this whole thing planned where he wanted Gus to play the violin, like your very first date.

- However when you two got to the beach, you ended up being one step ahead of him.

- Walking over to the beach, he noticed a something drawn in the sand.

- At first he thought it was one of Jas’ or Vincent’s drawings. But walking closer to it, he noticed there was a huge heart with words in the middle.

- “Will you marry me?”

- He was stunned, to say the least.

- I honestly don’t know whether or not he’d slowly turn around to face you, or whip his head as fast as he could towards you lol.

- Either way, he sees you pull out the mermaid pendant from your pocket or backpack while smiling sheepishly.

- “I tried to make it as romantic as possible…” you said.

- He laughs while nodding his head.

- He’d be a fool to not accept.

Shane

- I’m gonna be honest, I didn’t really know how Shane would approach marriage.

- I know if he were to consider it, it’d definitely be because you’ve changed him for the better.

- I just really don’t think he’d know how to go about it.

- He’s never really been the romantic type, has never really thought about dates or serious commitments like that.

- Hell, before he met you, he barely thought he was gonna make it to tomorrow, let alone plan out how he was gonna propose to you.

- But he knew he had to change. Not only for you, though, dating you made him feel like he actually wanted to plan out his future.

- He knew he had to change for him, to make him happy.

- So he got to work.

- Sometimes he’d say he was going to the saloon for Joja Cola or to play Prairie King, when really he was going to ask advice on how to ask you to marry him.

- Obviously Gus was all for it.

- I think Pam was too wasted to care.

- I think Shane would settle on trying to propose to you at the saloon. Gus wanted to support Shane in any way possible, and Shane, surprisingly a romantic, wanted everyone to know how devoted he was to you.

- Unfortunately for him, he didn’t exactly know how to get a pendant.

- Don’t get him wrong, he’s heard stories and tales about it “magically appearing when the time is right.”

- But he wanted it right now, man was impatient af.

- For now, he was just going to accept your offer to go to the movies, and figure out how to get the pendant for you later.

- Jojamart had been long gone since you came, and truthfully? He was happy it was gone.

- Before it was a mixed feeling of not occupying any of his time anymore. But that time was spent with you instead.

- Anyways, two you walked to the movie theater together hand in hand. The fresh smell of popcorn hit the two of you when you entered.

- “Let’s watch It Howls in the Rain,” you suggested.

- You got him his favorite snack and practically ran to the movie room, confusing Shane but ultimately giving him something to chuckle about.

- The whole time watching it, he was reminded of how much he loved you.

- Everytime you tensed up when you got scared, when you held onto him close when a scary scene came up.

- Everything just felt right.

- “Hey Shane?”

- The movie had just ended, and people were starting to leave.

- “Yeah?”

- “I’ve been meaning to ask you this for a while now,” you say, beginning to slip your hand into your pocket. “Close your eyes.”

- “But it’s dark here anyways-”

- “Just do it.”

- He listens carefully as you pull out something, holding his hand out when you’re ready. You close his hand around something small. Something skinny, with a little point at the end. And a string. It almost felt like a…

- He opened his eyes to see the mermaid’s pendant in his hands, and looked over at you.

- “Where did you-”

- “Don’t worry about it,” you said with a grin. “Will you marry me?”

- He looks down at the pendant again, a grin beginning to form on his face.

- “I’d be stupid if I didn’t say yes.”

Elliot

- I’m sure Elliot’s a die hard romantic, he’s gonna want to make sure everything goes right

- I mean, he always imagined a romantic relationship would be as amazing as it is in the books.

- But as cheesy as this sounds, his romantic relationship with you blew those expectations out the park.

- He truly felt loved by you, and every moment he spent with you was nothing less than a dream come true.

- So he planned it all out. Even got the mermaid pendant somehow, from some weird guy on the beach in the rain.

- You two went to the library together later that evening, and he was constantly recommending this romantic fantasy novel to you.

- He was going to plant the pendant at the end of chapter one, and once you got to it, he would get on one knee and ask the question.

- It sounded like an awfully romantic plan, to him anyways.

- However, he was so absorbed in his plan that he didn’t even notice you slipping your mermaid pendent into his pocket in the morning.

- By the time you two got to the library, he began to take out his wallet when he felt something small poke his finger.

- “What is this?” He asked before pulling it out.

- Ngl, at first he was petrified. Poor guy thought he forgot to put the pendant in the book.

- But after you explained to him how much you wanted to marry him, he realize you two were planning on proposing on the same day.

- He couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle, which did make you a little insecure at first.

- “No,” he said, immediately sending your uncomfortableness. “I mean…”

- He grabbed the book he wanted you to read and pulled out his mermaid’s pendant. He smiled at you as you pieced together the puzzle.

- “Really?” You asked in disbelief, a smile creeping onto your face.

- “I say we both wear one,” he says while taking yours in his hand.

- He puts the necklace over his neck and puts the necklace he gave you over yours.

- He smiled looking at you, now wearing the pendant with pride.

- “We really do think alike, my love.”

[eadanga]

Addicted to You Part 9

Summary: Esang is the maid of honor in her best friend’s wedding what happens when she meets the sexy best man?

A/N: This story is for @choicesgodfanatic​​​​​ one of my 500 follower giveaway winners hope you love it

Esang gets ready for the bachelorette party she admires herself in the mirror I love this dress She blushes I hope Shakarree will like it too

Kaitlyn pops her head into the room “You’re look amazing!”

“Thanks how’s our bride to be?”

“She’s almost done just finishing her makeup”

“You sure this place is cool?”

Kaitlyn mock gasps “You would doubt me?”

Esang laughs “No but tell me about the place”

“It’s a really cool place and I reserved the VIP section for us”

Esang smiles “How did you manage that?”

Kaitlyn smirks “It helps that the owner is a huge fan of the band and I promised that we’ll play”

Esang giggles “I hope I’m invited to that show”

“You know you will now let’s see our bride to be” They head to the bedroom where MC is admiring herself Kaitlyn squeals “Oh I love it!”

“You look amazing MC”

MC turns around grinning “Thanks now is everyone else gonna meet us there?”

“Yup I’m glad you decided to combine it”

“Well had no choice Zack wouldn’t stop bugging me till I did” Kaitlyn and Esang laugh as MC grabs her purse “Now let’s head out”

They head out to the club where everyone is waiting for them Chris walks over to MC and gives her a kiss “You look beautiful baby”

MC giggles “Thanks handsome”

****

Shakarree walks over to Esang and kisses her “You look amazing”

“Thanks I’m glad you love it I picked it for you”

“You could wear a paper bag and you’ll still look sexy”

Esang blushes as they head into the club

Zack whoops “This places is awesome!” He grabs MC “Come on let’s dance!”

MC laughs as Zack drags her away

Zig chuckles and he leans into Chris “Looks like someone stole your girl”

Shakarree laughs as Chris rolls his eyes “She knows she mine I don’t even have to say it”

Shakarree turns to Esang and grabs her hand “Shall we?”

“Yes we shall”

Shakarree pulls her on the dance floor and he wraps his arms around her as they dance. He smiles as she wraps her arms around his neck “This is nice”

“You’re so cute”

“You’re cuter” He kisses her softy “You’re amazing”

“So are you”

Shakarree sighs “You know I didn’t really think that I could feel this way about anyone” He smiles “But I’m so glad I met you you’ve made my life complete”

Esang blushes “You’re so sweet so have you”

He grins and kisses her deeply Esang smiles as she kisses him back.

****

MC and Zack continue to dance together till Chris comes up behind him and taps him on the shoulder “Can I dance with my fiancé now Zack?”

Zack playfully pouts “But it’s just getting good”

MC giggles as Chris rolls his eyes trying not to smile “Are you gonna dance with her all night at our bachelor/bachelorette parties?”

Zack mock gasps “It’s your bachelor party since when?” Chris and MC laugh as Chris puts his hands on Zack shoulders and moves him aside “Hey if I don’t find someone cute I wanna dance again!”

MC giggles as Chris chuckles then he turns to her “I thought I won’t get chance to dance with you”

“You know that won’t ever happen babe”

Chris smiles “I know it won’t I love you”

“I love you too Chris”

He kisses her deeply “I can’t wait to marry you Mrs Powell has a nice ring to it”

“I love it as much as I love you”

“I love you too”

They kiss again

The club doors open and MC and Chris spot someone as the door

MC rolls her eyes “Not again with this bitch”

Becca struts in the club and smirks “You missed me?

Chris rolls his eyes “Hell no leave you’re not welcomed here”

Becca scoffs “Like I wanna be included in the wedding that never will happen”

“What are you talking about Becca?”

“You’ll see toodles” She flips her hair and struts out the club

Tags: @indiacater​​ @mfackenthal​​ @the-soot-sprite​​  @choicesgodfanatic​​​​ @jared2612​​​

[duncantashi]

having a breakdown at 1 in the morning because of exams

[needs-to-stop-looking-at-valves]

Merman Felix and Pirate Pepa...please tell me you'll write something for that?

Lucky for you, an idea for them JUST came to me today!

And by idea, i mean i literally have an ENTIRE au (that i will only go in depth on if asked, you guys are just gonna get a snippet here)and story from start to finish. Caffeine ladies and gentlemen, it fuels me.

(Also, design inspiration for Félix is from @pepa-brainrot, check out their stuff, it's just beautiful)

"Bro, come on!"

"Félix, I don't mean to be that fish, but this feels like, the WORST possible idea!"

Félix wasn't listening. He had some time before he was expected home, and he was going to take advantage of it. He swam past the busy crowd, till the city seemed so out of sight. He raised his head above the water, and immediately he felt excitement.

"Look! There she is! Isn't she beautiful?!"

Félix was nuts about things humans made. But nothing was more beautiful to him than ships. Big and grand, he felt like even sharks would be intimidated by their size. Agustín popped his head up out of the water, squinting. His buddy never did have the greatest vision.

"Uh, she's definitely. Big?"

Félix, despite his friends objections, sat up on a rock so he could relax while he watched. The sail fluttered in the wind, the ship gently rocked from side to side. It was was parked right next to an abandoned island, and the idea of humans being so CLOSE, JUST out of reach. It fascinated him. He helped his buddy up on the rock with him, his own blue scales glistening under the moonlight alongside his own golden pattern.

"Humans are just. Incredible. They have no fins, but yet, they want the water. They explore and wander."

"Unlike your folks?"

He winced. His parents were coral farmers, growing anything pretty and colorful. They were used for all sorts of jewelry and decorations, it made his family comfortable. But, he was restless. There was more to life than just having a comfy living.

"I love my family. You know that. But I just. I want MORE."

"Do you have TIME for more?"

He grumbled into his hand. His mom had been bombarding him with finding a wife. Sure, he was sort of old to be a bachelor, but he never found the one. Sure, he's messed around, he found dozens of women who were pretty. But he never loved them. Never wanted to give away his heart. His heart was meant for out there, SOMEWHERE.

"It's hard being the favorite kid, amigo."

Agustín chuckled, nudging his buddy's side.

"Come on. You've had a good look. We should make it home before your mami has a shark attack."

Félix waited. His buddy had already slid back into the water, but something stopped him from joining him. Maybe it was the humans yelling at each other in the distance, maybe it was the way the lights inside drew him like an anglerfish. They haven't had a ship here since he was a young boy. When would he get this chance again?

"Just. One thing first."

He dove into the water, and rushed to the object of his desires. Agustín cried out to him, but he didn't listen. He just swam. He lifted his head up once he was right next to it, and let his fingers strum against the wood. There had to be some way to get up there, SOMETHING. That was when he felt it, the thing they called a 'ladder'. He grabbed onto it, and forced himself out of the water. Was it a lot of effort, using that much upper body strength? Absolutely. But he was too fuelled by curiosity to stop.

He found some relief as soon as he made it to a hole on the side. He peered in, and watched as the humans walked on and off the ship, seeming to move supplies to and fro. There was yelling between them, people telling other's where to put what. Félix sat there, following legs this way and that. That is, until they settled on a very...specific pair. Woah. He didn't know humans legs could look like that. Slender, long enough for him to look at for days. His gaze followed upwards in curiosity, and there she was. The most beautiful creature he had ever seen.

"Hijole..."

She was thin, even for a human (he assumed), she had such lovely hips, and he was jealous of her belt for getting to touch her. He was even jealous of the giant sword that occasionally bumped against her leg. And her voice.

"So there's nothing here?"

"Not that we've seen, captain. Aside from the odd bug and bird."

"Mierda...fine. We'll leave in the morning. Soon as the men finish, give them all a drink. I'll take first shift tonight."

She sounded so confident. Her voice wasn't 'sing songy', it was proud, firm. He loved it. She wanted attention and she had it, especially his own.

"So what I'm hearing is 'everyone shut up and let me drink as I brood in the corner'"

"Oye-watch it."

She chuckled, nudging whoever she was talking to. He watched as her feet brought her closer to him, and realized she had sat down. He climbed himself till he was holding onto the railing, and he didn’t care if it'd be so easy for him to get caught. Not when she was literally RIGHT there. Oh she was prettier up close. Her shoulders were exposed, and her skin was decorated in so many freckles, it reminded him of a sandy shore, kissed by the sun. Golden necklace and golden earrings decorated her, but she didn't need them.

Not when her long, orange, wild hair was more than enough. It was in such a long braid, it stopped just short of her lower back. Even the hairs on her head were wild, untamed and unsettled. Her lips were gorgeous too, and he was jealous of those little fingers as they unscrewed the top of a bottle, to take a swig of the dark liquid. He watched her as she put it down for a second, and looked at her eyes. Oh no. He was done for. Her eyes were firm, almost angry, green, she reminded him of one of those peacock shrimp. And honestly, she could probably beat him up with the same amount of fury.

What does one say to the most beautiful thing you've ever seen? What do you say to a woman so beautiful yet so heavy handed and smelled like sweat and salt? He was usually so good with merwomen. But what do you say to humans? He didn't know. But he knew he had to say something, and mean it. So, he leaned into her ear, and whispered.

"Te quiero, mi tesoro."

He meant it. He wanted her, and he treasured everything about her. He watched as her shoulder's stiffened, as her eyes widened, and her cheeks flared. He swore her face erupted in a mess of mist, and he was ready to have her look at the merman that made her just bubble up like sea foam. Then suddenly Agustín grabbed him, and yanked him down to the depths. They looked up at the ship, at her, who thankfully didn’t look down onto the water. Thunder BOOMED behind her, and the light illuminated her scrunched up nose and snarled teeth.

"Ole-YOU FUCKS. WHO'S PLAYING GAMES WITH ME?! Espera y verás!!!"

She walked off to the other side of the ship, scolding and yelling at her men.

"Holy...where did that thunder come from?"

"...call me crazy, but I think...I think SHE did that."

"Dios...Félix she could've killed you!"

"I...I know."

Agustín sighed as he patted his shoulder.

"I'm just glad I got to you in time. I do NOT have arms like yours, took me a while to reach you. Now, what did we learn?"

Félix thought about it. His heart was pounding, his ear fins were fluttering hard enough to start a whirlpool.

"That I love her."

"EXACTLY, now- wait, what?"

"I...I love her. Agustín I'm in love! I have to go tell mami!"

"Wait Félix!"

Too late, he was already rushing home. He immediately dove into his house, Agustín catching up, but not without some wheezing. He immediately went to hug his mother, who laughed in surprise.

"Oh! Mijo, what's got you so excited?"

"Mami you won't believe it- I know who I want to marry!"

She gasped, hands folded over her mouth, her brown ear fings flapping just as fast as his.

"My little guppy is finally ready to get married?! Oh hold on now, let me relax, tell me all about her!"

Félix couldn't wait. He was swimming in place in the kitchen, running on adrenaline and pure, dumb love.

"Oh mami she's unlike anyone I've ever seen! She's beautiful, she's fiesty, she's LOUD, she has all this red hair and she has all these freckles and her eyes! Oh mami you should've SEEN her eyes! I could get lost in them! And her legs! They go on for-"

"Wait. Legs?"

She looked confused, but he didn't care. Not even when Agustín sighed and spilled the beans.

"Félix met a human. A pirate."

"Oh...oh."

"ISN'T IT FANTASTIC?! I'm in LOVE, mami, I'm in LOVE!"

Agustín and his mom didn't have to be excited, he had plenty of that for the both of them. He didn't know how. But some how, some way, he was going to pilfer that pretty pirate's heart.

[autumnleaves1991-blog]

“Did we fuck last night?” Smut starter w/ our baby boy Santiago ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ love your work :)

A/N: Thank you so much for the prompt and the kind words! I hope you enjoy it! Thank you for every reblog, comment, and like. 

Pairing: Santiago ‘Pope’ Garcia x F! Reader 

Warning: 18 + (For language, oral (F! Receiving), vaginal sex, alcohol use NSFW

My Masterlist 

Last Night at the Party 

Unknown number: Good Morning. 

You: ...Morning...who is this? 

Unknown number: Santiago Garcia, ya know Frankie's friend. 

Fuuuuucccckkkkk

Santiago Garcia: Quick question...did we fuck last night? 

You groan and fall back into the bed, your hand thrown over your eyes as the sunlight fights to sneak through the crack in the curtains. Your head pounds from the amount of alcohol you consumed the night before. Frankie and his fiancé, not wanting to be apart even one night, had a joint bachelor/bachelorette party. 

You worked in the front office at the tour office. Frankie flew for and had quickly become fast friends. He was funny, sweet, and a wonderful friend. But with Frankie came Santiago Garcia, the man who stalked your dreams. He was handsome as fuck, with salt and pepper curls and deep brown eyes. His arms always straining against the fabric of his t-shirts. The man had an ass that was simply divine. Many a night, you had dreamt of kneading it in your hands as he slammed into you. 

But he never noticed you. Not at least in the way you wanted to be seen. You tried on the days you knew he would be coming by. Wearing tighter clothes or shorter dresses and attempting your best at flirting. The only thing gained by any of this was Frankie's amusement as he slung an arm around your shoulder and told you there were better men than Pope. 

That's another thing, the nickname; Pope. You once asked Frankie about it jokingly. Frankie told you it was because Santi in the army brought people closer to God, and all the women he fucked. You had just about given up all hope, till last night. 

********

The party was in full swing when you arrived—wearing a dark blue halter dress that stopped just above your knees, converse, and a black leather jacket. Frankie and his fiancee greeted you with a hug and gave you the rundown of the land. It was casual. They had rented out a private space in the local brewery. You could order anything on the menu and open bar. Thank fuck for that as you watched Santiago flirt with some redhead at the bar. 

You walk down to the opposite end, sit down, motion for the bartender, and ask for an IPA. You try everything in your power to keep from looking over at him, but your eyes stray without your knowledge. Gazing around at the way the denim hugs him in all the right places, the top buttons on his shirt opened up to see the sun-kissed skin peeking through. It's almost magnetic the way his eyes drift up to meet yours across the sea of strangers. You see him smile and turn back to his partner before he grabs his beer and heads over to you. 

"Is this seat taken?" his deep baritone snaps you out of your head, and you look at him, nodding. "You're the girl who works in Frankie's office, right? The secretary?" 

"Yep, that's me, the secretary," you take a deep drink from your beer and try to keep the passive aggression out of your tone, turning snarky instead. "And you're that guy who comes and talks to Frankie and interrupts my office with idle chit chat." 

He looks a little taken aback, but he brushes it off, grinning, "I never knew you had this much fire in you. What's your name?" 

You roll your eyes, "I have told you my name on four separate occasions, and now you want to know it again? Why don't you guess?" 

"Okay," he smiles, taking a drink, "how about ginger?" 

"I think your thinking about your friend on the other side of the bar," you laugh and gesture for another drink. 

"Fuck," he mumbles under his breath, going through a plethora of names, none of which is your own. You've finished two beers before he actually guessed your first name correct—each name sinking the knife deeper and deeper into your chest. 

"Ding ding ding, we have a winner," you sarcastically chime, and he smiles, a real genuine broad smile. Fuck him and his perfect smile. "With how many names you had to guess, I'm actually delighted you never noticed me. I'd probably have an STD." He spits out the drink in his mouth, coughing and patting his chest with his fist. 

He laughs, looking at you wide-eyed, "I do not have any fucking diseases. I get tested regularly." 

"When was the last time?" you can tell he's thinking back. 

"Tuesday," he says triumphantly, "and I haven't fucked anyone since then so." He takes another sip of his drink, grinning at you over the glass. 

"So if I wanted to fuck you, it would have to be tonight?" You casually sip your drink, staring at him, bold from the alcohol flowing through your system. 

He sputters and coughs again, choking on his drink. "Are you trying to kill me?" he puts a hand to his forehead and looks at you. "Are you serious?" 

"I want you to fuck me Santiago," you take his hand down the rest of your drink and pull him towards the back of the brewery. Your eyes connect with Frankie, and you give him a wink pulling a shit-eating grinning Santi behind you. He walks past you and pulls you into the cold night air of the alley. 

It was dark and deserted; the country music blaring from inside echoed off the exterior's red brick wall. For an alley, it was relatively clean. The sidewalk to the public wasn't visible from around the dumpsters. Not the most romantic spot, but when Santiago latched his lips onto the soft skin below your ear. The spicy scent of his cologne overwhelming your senses. 

"Does that feel good?" he whispers huskily in your ear, nipping the lobe lightly. The moan you release has him smiling against your skin, "that's a yes," he chuckles. 

"Stop teasing me," you whine as he gropes your breast through the thin fabric of your dress. He pulls away from your neck and tilts your chin up to look at him. 

"Do you want this?" he whispers, a ghost of his lips on your lips. 

You don't answer, only lunging forward and recapturing his lips in a moan. He uses the opportunity to sweep his tongue into your mouth. You fight in a battle for dominance that he eventually wins. His hands moving beneath the shell of your leather jacket and running over the smooth skin of your exposed back. 

He takes his time moving down to your cheek, your neck, and then sucking hard into the skin of your collarbone. You are sure to have bruises tomorrow, but at this point, you don't fucking care. His hands move further down and cup your ass before moving under your dress, sliding your panties down slowly, he unlatches from your sensitive skin. Dropping to his knees and groaning, pulling down your panties over your converse before pocketing them. 

He throws your dress over his head and dives into your folds, his tongue working against your throbbing clit. You grab the side of the dumpster as you feel the scuffle from his face, scratch against your thighs, as he rocks his tongue back and forth over you. "Fuck," you moan as you feel him slip one thick finger slide into your pussy. Your head drops back, hitting the brick wall. He chuckles, and the vibrations draw another deep moan from inside as you pant. 

The sound of the backdoor of the brewery opening snaps your head to the side. Your bottom half is covered from the dumpster, and you frantically hit Santi on the head. Still, he doesn't stop, instead adding a second finger, stretching you deliciously. Frankie's signature cap pops out into the alley, and he turns to look at you. You try your best to smile and bite down hard on your tongue, almost drawing blood as he sucks your clit into his mouth. 

"Hey! We're about to do speeches, and Santi's my best man. Have you seen him?" 

"N-n-no," you stutter, and Santi reaches a hand on your ass to push you even further into his mouth. "We came out here to talk, but he left like five minutes ago? Maybe he went out f-f-front." 

Frankie looks at you, questioningly, "Are you okay? You're acting kind of strange." 

You yelp, throwing a hand down on top of the dumpster with a laugh, "I am just fantastic, you know, if I see Santiago, I will be sure to tell him he's needed." 

"Okay, thanks," he throws out a wave going back inside with a click of the door. 

"Such a good girl," Santi chuckles from beneath your dress, and you feel yourself cum all over his tongue gushing around him as he adds a third finger pulsing inside you. 

You bite down hard on your lip, and he keeps licking and fucking you with his mouth. His nickname making more and more sense as you literally feel closer to God. You dig your fingers into his curls and pull his mouth away. Dragging him up to kiss you again, you taste yourself on his tongue, and it makes you even wetter. 

He steps back and unbuttons his jeans pulling out his cock. He's thick and rigged, the tip spewing pre-cum. He grabs his wallet and pulls out a condom making you giggle. "Hey, every good soldier comes prepared," he laughs, pulling it on. 

He pushes you back further into the brick, bringing your legs up around his waist and bunching your dress up. He lines himself up, and you look into his eyes, stifling a scream as he slams into you. You've never felt so full in your entire life, clenching around him as he starts to slowly rock into you. 

You converse crossed against his back as he kisses you again slowly and passionately. Not the quick fuck you thought he would give you. For the location and the time, it was strangely intimate. "Are you okay?" you pants against your neck. 

"Yes," you gasp as he hits inside you just right, "just, please don't stop." He pulls away from your neck and kisses you again, licking into your mouth. 

"Don't worry, baby, I'm gonna treat you right." He picks up the place and reaches down between you to your sensitive clit rubbing it in time with his thrusts. 

"Oh fuck, right there, Pope," you moan, and he picks up the pace. The brick digging into your back as he furiously fucks into you. Your orgasm slams into you without warning, and you tug on his curls, throwing your head back as you stile a scream. 

"Yes, cum for me," he praises you through a second orgasm. Three more thrusts and he's cumming, biting down on your exposed shoulder as he groans. You both come down from your high, and he pulls away, smiling at you. You laugh at his mused hair, lipstick smeared across his face, he looks freshly fucked, and you feel a sense of pride knowing you did that to him. 

The awkward, you've just fucked a mutual acquaintance in an alley moment comes faster than you anticipate. He pulls out and ties off the condom throwing it in the dumpster and pulling up his jeans, relatching them. You straighten your appearance the best you can. Running your fingers through your mused hair. You search the alley floor for your panties hoping to throw them away or better burn them when you hear a whistle. 

Santi is standing before the back door holding your panties on the crook of his finger and smiling. "I have to go back and give my speech, but after… I would really love to buy you a drink. Maybe we can go back to my place for another couple of rounds?" 

You bite your lip, nodding, and he smiles, pocketing your panties and going inside. The door latches, and you sigh, closing your eyes and trying not to freak out. The door slams open; you jump as Santi runs back out and closes the distance kissing you again. The kind of kiss you feel down to the tips of your toes. He places his forehead against yours. "I really want to see you again, don't run away, okay?" he whispers before kissing you again and running back inside. 

**********************

You look at the text message again. The perfect night of passion with Santiago, and he doesn't even remember if you...The phone chimes again. 

Santiago Garcia: I'm a moron. I don't know why I said that. I know that we did. It was one of the most incredible moments of my life. 

You: Then what the fuck, Santiago?

Santiago Garcia: I want to take you to breakfast, on a date. It's the least you could do after bailing on me last night. 

You: Well, I'm not sure I want to. 

Santiago Garcia: Well, that makes this awkward. 

You: What? 

Knock Knock 

Taglist: @oldstuffnewstuff @yespolkadotkitty @heythere-mel @justanotherblonde23 @artsymaddie @anetteaneta @a-seeker-of-imagination @aellynera @lucifer- @houseofthirst @phoenixhalliwell @letoartreiides 

Also tagging @josepedropascal Oscar Train toot toot 

[egcdeath]

Since you said we can send in request😄 how about a bachelor party for Steve and reader. Full of fun and romance.

bottoms up

summary: steve tells you all about his wild bachelor party. 

word count: 1.2k 

warnings: excessive drinking, terrible decisions, fluff, basically a crack fic, i barely use dialogue tags in this so you’re just gonna have to guess who’s talking

author’s note: this was supposed to be a drabble. 

you can find my drabble masterlist here and my regular masterlist here <3

It had been a long, exhausting weekend of celebration. Of course, it was exhausting in the best way possible, but between the extensive spa days, bar hopping, and seeing more male strippers in one night than you'd seen in the entirety of your life, you were really looking forward to curling up in bed with your fiancée.

It seemed Steve was feeling similarly to you, as he was already pajama clad and sprawled across your bed by the time you arrived home.

You quickly freshened up and joined him on the mattress, slipping under your duvet and cuddling up to Steve.

“How was your weekend?” Steve asked, rubbing circles on your back.

“Exhausting. I could probably sleep for years.”

He chuckled softly at your statement, “well, don’t do that. Wanna talk about it?”

“I’ll tell you over breakfast tomorrow. I don’t think I have the energy to come up with the words right now,” you aimlessly played with the hem of his shirt. “What about you guys? Why don’t you tell me a bachelor party bedtime story?”

“It was… a lot. I almost called you several times. Let’s just say that Sam... stopped me.”

“That bad, eh? Tell me everything,” you gushed.

“Well we were supposed to go camping. I don’t know who decided that was a good idea. Actually I do, it was Thor. It took about half an hour before Tony was starting arguments with everyone. I think he was getting moody about having to be in the outdoors away from all his tech, and something about how bachelor parties aren’t supposed to be like this. We didn’t even get to dinner before he insisted that we find a nice hotel to stay at for the night, and go to a club.”

“You guys don’t really seem like campers anyway. What happened after that?”

“I was getting there before you interrupted me.”

“There was a natural lull in your story.”

“Whatever. So we pack everything up and go back out to town. There was some boujee ass hotel Tony knew about and took us there, but there were no rooms. So he was like ‘make room’ and the staff told him that they would try but they just needed a minute. So Buck suggested that we go to the hotel bar, and we did. The only problem is that alcohol doesn’t have the same effect on some of us that it does with others, so Thor had to break out the Asgardian mead. And he had a lot of it.”

“Oh no, I feel like this is not going in a good direction.”

“You’re absolutely right, because one second I’m sitting in a hotel bar, and the next I was half conscious on a private jet.”

“Steve! You did not black out. That’s not very responsible of you.”

“I was peer pressured! Besides, I don’t think I did anything too bad. Did you not get super drunk for at least one night?”

You pondered the question for a moment, “hmm. Go on.”

“So I wake up on a private jet, not like a Quinjet, but like, a real plane. No idea where I am or where we’re going. Sam is the most sober among us by the time I’m awake, but still pretty drunk. Keep in mind I’m also a little out of it. I ask him where we’re going, and he told me Las Vegas. At this point I’m not surprised, but I want to call you to let you know that I’m no longer in New York, and I start to take my phone out of my pocket to call you, and he flips his shit. He grabs my phone and dunks it in a glass of water, and starts saying that if I use the phone on the flight, our flight will crash.”

“You’re joking.”

“Nope. Now I’m phoneless, but I’m not really mad. Honestly, I thought it was funny in the moment. My memory’s a little blurry, but I feel like we laughed ‘till we landed.”

“Please tell me that the crazy events end here.”

“Oh, Sweetheart,” Steve chuckled.

“Christ, Steve.”

“So we get off the plane and at this point, I realize that Bruce must’ve left before we boarded. I don’t even blame him. This trip probably would’ve made me Hulk-out too. Anyway, we take an Uber to our hotel. Our poor Uber driver, he was so starstruck and excited to have Avengers in his car, but like, everyone was completely out of it. And to make things worse, Bucky threw up in the back.”

“No,” you gasped.

“Yeah. It’s only a matter of time before tabloids get ahold of that. Remind me to call our PR person in the morning.”

“Got it.”

“We finally get to this hotel, and I guess at some point while I was blacked out, Tony had booked us some penthouse suite at one of those really nice hotels. I can’t really remember how we got up there, but I know it was a struggle. I was just glad to be able to go to sleep in a real bed. By the time I wake up, I desperately need an Advil and a call home. Unfortunately, I can’t have either, since everyone starts insisting that the best way to beat a hangover is to drink more. To be fair, I slept in pretty late. So it’s kind of a reasonable time to drink now. If you consider time zone differences. That aside, I’m sipping on a beer when there’s a knock on the door-“

“I feel like I’ve heard enough of this story.”

“That’s fair.”

“But I’d also like to hear more. But this is stressing me out.”

“I made it back in one piece, what more do you want from me?”

“I want you to get a new friend group,” you whined.

“Is it bad that I want the same for myself?”

“I think that’s perfectly reasonable.”

“Okay, so back to the knock on the door. I’m getting a little nervous, because I specifically told the guys no strippers. That was just a can of worms I didn’t want to open. And I think there’s gonna be a stripper at the door, but nope. Who opens the door? Fucking Loki. I don’t know why they came, or how they found us, but they were ready to party. Suffice it to say I do not remember the majority of that day. All I can say is that there was way too much gambling happening, and if I found out that Tony is filing for bankruptcy, I would not be surprised.”

“That is… wow.”

“I’ll give you one more thing before you go to sleep. Someone got married to a stranger. They’re gonna get it annulled but.. I did attend a wedding ceremony where an Elvis impersonator was the officiant,” Steve leaned over to his bedside table and turned off the lamp that was dimly illuminating the room. “Goodnight.”

“You are such an asshole! You don’t get to leave me on a cliffhanger like that.”

“I need you to be excited and engaged for when I finish my story tomorrow!”

“Fair,” you huffed and snuggled closer to your fiancée.

“Was it Sam?” you asked after a moment of silence.

Steve quietly laughed at you instead of responding.

“Nope. It was definitely Bucky. I’m right, right?” you pressed.

More silence from Steve.

“No way. Thor?”

His snickers became louder at this, and you gasped.

“I said I’ll tell you in the morning.”

“I don’t like when you keep secrets from me,” you prompted, trying to guilt trip your partner.

“Fine. It was Thor. But that’s all you’re getting from me for now.”

“Oh my god. Why wasn’t my bachelorette party as exciting as yours?”

[ladyartemesia]

Fic recs for taehyung? I love your stuff btw I’ve read them all uwu

As a beacon of extra-ness in an already extra world, I am entirely incapable of just recommending fics like a normal blog. No. I’ve got to wax on like a bloomin connoisseur. I have compiled some (but not all) of my favorite works in several different categories and sorted them accordingly. This crazy list is so long I had to add a “keep reading”... but I simply couldn’t bear to leave any of these off the list. They are all so good!

Fics have been divided into 8 categories. Some are under the cut. 

 ▨ FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS and FRIENDS TO LOVERS ▨  ▨ ARRANGED MARRIAGE ▨ ▨ FANTASY ▨ ▨ ANGST WITH A HAPPY ENDING ▨ ▨ HYBRID and ABO (alpha/omega) ▨ ▨ MULTIPLE PARTNERS ▨ ▨ NEIGHBORS AND ROOMMATES ▨ ▨ TABOO THEMES and DARK FIC (Sex Work/Power Imbalance/Very Unsafe Sex) ▨ ▨

▨ FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS and FRIENDS TO LOVERS ▨

Insomnia by @hobiwonder

This is one of those fics I read and literally could not stop thinking about. It is wildly hot and honestly hilarious. Poor reader cannot sleep and the beautiful bro she’s tutoring offers a rather unconventional solution.

(Ego) Hoe Chronicles: KTH by @suga-kookiemonster

Listen. If you find a niche fan blog devoted entirely to Ego Tae... I’m not gonna say it’s mine. But it’s probably mine. I once told suga-kookiemonster that I would literally read a story about Ego Tae going grocery shopping on a Wednesday night and I stand by that. In this lurid romp, the reader falls into the clutches of everyone’s favorite bohemian sex lord and he rails her into another dimension.

Falling, Falling, Gone by @johobi

Pining (mutual or otherwise) is not really my thing, but I would straight up read Jo’s laundry list if she posted it. As usual I was blown away by how everything she does seems somehow better than any other version of it. This reader is really unique as well, and her relationship with the wildly popular soccer star Tae comes to a sexy and hilarious head at a sort of bachelor auction. With sharp dialogue, delightful subtext, and fantastic side characters, you really shouldn’t miss it. It’s pretty much perfect.

A Friendly Favor by @baeseoul

This is the classic “teach me some sex for another woman” trope and it is done so well. Sweet best friend Tae is looking to benefit from your experience, but his is not the only world about to be thouroughly rocked.

Officer Kim and the Criminal Crush by @ddaengyoonmin

This is one of the best twists on childhood friends to lovers I have ever seen. Tae grows up to become a cop and reader grows up to be a societal menace. I won’t spoil it, but it’s the perfect blend of nostalgia, tenderness, and smut. This fic technically doesn’t have a name so I had to give it one to link it. It’s part of an AMAZING series Zoe did that I also highly recommend.

Out of the Blue by @jimlingss

This is one of those stories that blooms throughout the narrative until you are left with this gorgeous flower at the end. I loved the journey of these two characters. It was real and it perfectly captures the experience of finding your soulmate in the person you least expect.

Sin Pijama by @brilliantlybasicb

This fic is a switch culture fic. It is wild wicked hot and this Tae is unreal. I love the way he lets the reader think she is in control just long enough. It is a wild romp with an adorable sequel and honestly you should read it.

Girls Like You by @jjiminah

I was in jjiminah’s asks IMMEDIATELY about this fic because I had FEELINGS. The reader begins wordlessly teasing and tempting Tae on their morning bus ride every day until he is literally losing his mind. Everything that follows is fire. Jjiminah has hinted she will wrote more for these two and I NEED IT.

Sighs and Sonnets by @btsaudge

This fic is beautiful. Like it’s basically art. This is a bad boy who is bad for you. But he has the soul of a poet and the stroke game of a renaissance master. Bittersweet and seductive, this fic is a full experience.

The Text by @taetaesbaebaepsae

Tae is your friend with benefits but it looks like feeling may have been caught by one or more parties. When you attempt to soothe your aching heart with another pretty boy, Tae decides to stake his claim. This was very sexy. The whole fic was sexy.

▨ ARRANGED MARRIAGE ▨

Monster by @neonlights92

Monster and all of its companion series about each of the boys is one of those fics that I reread constantly and also just think about constantly. This is one of the best mafia AUs out there and it’s characters are vivid and unforgettable. Tae’s stubborn resistance to his lovely new wife in contrast with her quiet, clever strength really brings this story to life. A word of warning. The masterlist links are a bit messed up. To read part two you must click on part three. And to read part three must click on part four. The link to part four is at the bottom of part three (or you can just search it on her site. It is definitely all there though).

Dichotomy by @kpopfanfictrash

There is a reason the incomparable Shanna is on this list three times. She is truly incomparable. This is childhood friends-to enemies-to spouses and it is wonderful. I adore this Tae. He is sharp and vulnerable and occasionally heavy handed, but truly a gem. This fic also features one of the best angry sex scenes I’ve ever run my eyeballs across.

▨ FANTASY ▨

Chism by @kpopfanfictrash

The world-building in this story is genuinely awe inspiring. You could write series upon series within this vivid universe. The god of Winter is missing and Summer’s heat burns unchecked for many years. The reader is a warrior with a unique ability tasked with guarding a very interesting prisoner. This story is so good. I mean it is really bloomin incredible. It’s hard to say what I liked best about it, because it was stellar across the board.

Obsidian by @kpopfanfictrash

In the pantheon of delicious Tae incarnations, Obsidian Taehyung is essentially unrivaled as a grey witch who moonlights as a sexy rock star. His extremely erotic clash with a white witch detective plays out as the two of them track down a sinister killer (with the help of some truly memorable side characters).

Out of this World by @ddaengyoonmin

This one is really unique. Tae is a merman scientist on the water planet of Neptune and when the reader and her misguided crew crash into his sea, he takes it upon himself to improve inter-species relations. This fic features excellent world building alongside several twists and surprises. Clever scientist Tae is downright irresistible.

▨ ANGST WITH A HAPPY ENDING ▨

Picking Flowers by @jamaisjoons

So this story is a journey - truly a beautiful one and it’s a gorgeous addition to the hanahaki genre. There is real pain and I cried real tears, but gosh it was so sexy and so worth it. I was surprised by how truly immersed I ended up in this piece. I lost track of everything else. The end is insanely satisfying, but the journey is really what makes this fic unmissable.

Until Yesterday by @jimlingss

This fic destroyed me slowly then slowly put me together again piece by piece. When I say I went through it - I WENT THROUGH IT. The story is loosely based on the movie “The Vow” and it is just fantastic. Beautiful and tender till the last word.

The Foolish Muse by @bibbykins

This is the story of someone who is deeply in love, but knows they deserve better. It is a sexy and evocative work with allusions to mythology that fit seamlessly into the narrative. I think my favorite part is Tae discovering how much the reader meant to him and what choices ultimately lead them to a really delicious conclusion.

Back to You by @ladyartemesia

The last time I did a fic rec list, it got like 700 notes. Ya girl is not makin the same mistake again. I spent hours on this list. My work is comin along for the ride. Kim Taehyung is the love of your life, until one day he disappears without a trace.

Vacancy by @ppersonna

This one is the only idol AU on the list and I normally don’t read those, but Lindy’s work is too good to miss in any setting. I am thrilled I took a look because what I found was a glimpse into a beautiful relationship that weathers and eventually overcomes the challenges of loving in the limelight. There is a LOT of emotional depth and symbolism which really elevates everything about this lovely story. The reader’s internal struggles in the face of her lover’s fame are extremely well done.

▨ HYBRID and ABO ▨ (alpha/omega)

Eye of the Tiger by @opaljm

I am beyond hype about this story which is (very) loosely inspired by Zootopia and features a cocky tiger Taehyung and a fiesty prey hybrid he needs to fake date in order to keep panther Jimin from murdering him. (Tiger Tae got a tad too frisky around Jimin’s mate and now things are dangerously awkward.) This story is already so freakin good. I cannot wait for the rest.

Silver and Blue by @taetaewonderland

What happens when you get on the wrong side of the right werewolf? Very sexy - very crazy times. Chronologically this is the first of the Silver and Blue series which follows barely civilized were-Tae through his courtship and eventually his relationship with the spunky reader. Holla to all my impreg kink homies. This is the fic for you.

Heat Run by @ladyartemesia

As I said before, the last time I did a fic rec list, it got like 700 notes. Ya girl is not makin the same mistake twice. I spent hours on this list. My work is comin along for the ride. Alpha lawyer V is a man of many secrets, but his well ordered reality spirals wildly out of control when he crosses paths with a fiery omega set on saving the world from his wicked ways.

Beautiful Stranger by @interludemoonchild

This was a wild ride from start to finish. Taehyung is a tiger hybrid shifter who escapes from the circus to be close to a veterinary student he bonded with. There is a lot of interesting twists and surprises in this one. I was definitely screaming at the end.

Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell by @jingabitch

A very young wolf hybrid Taehyung adopts you as his pet human when you are just a kid. After Tae leaves to serve in the military he returns to an adult version of his sweet little princess and chaos ensues. Mind the tags for this one folks. It’s excellent, but there are very triggering themes throughout.

▨ MULTIPLE PARTNERS ▨

Level of Restraint by @lemonjoonah

This is not strictly a Tae fic in that he is only one of three major players in this twisted masterpiece. Lemon is the undisputed queen of the surprise twist and this one is truly brilliant. People dropped this fic in the discord calling it the best fan fiction they had ever read and I am not here to argue with them at all. Fair warning, every word - every inch of this fic is sexy and it’s delicious brand of titillation is wrapped around your psyche good and tight by the end.

Four by @luxekook

The quadruplets next door are fueling your very lurid fantasies. It turns out they have some fantasies of their own... You will need water if you read this fic. This is the original patented Kim Taehyung Horny Hive Mind 4D Experience™

▨ NEIGHBORS AND ROOMMATES ▨

The Heat Wave Series by @curly-bangtan

The original story (chapter 1) in this series is definitely famous, but I don’t know how many people have read all 9 chapters and if you haven’t, you are really missing the incredible journey of two very horny idiots stumbling recklessly towards real and amazing love. Everything is set off when the air conditioner breaks and a pair of wild roommates shed their inhibitions along with their clothes.

Flicker by @chimoona

So this fic started out with adorable neighbor dynamics and ended with erotic rope tying. Baby I was ABOUT IT. This was so bloomin hot and also like sweet and tender. Really a sexy and sentimental treasure.

Not Your Typical Flower Shop Story by @jungtaeyoongles

This story goes from “aww” to “WHAT THE-” real quick. Fast paced plot and twist after twist turn the whole flower shop au upside down and then inside out. I can’t say more because spoilers but like - WOW.

▨ TABOO THEMES and DARK FIC ▨ (Sex Work/Power Imbalance/Very Unsafe Sex)

Extracurricular by @ppersonna

One of my favorite professor-student AUs. The reader writes her gorgeous professor a borderline erotic analysis of several major works of art and he feels compelled to discuss it with her privately. Lindy really outdid herself on this one. It is scorchin. Professor Tae is actually really sweet and somehow that just makes the whole thing hotter.

Akrasia by @nitaescence

This is insanely hot. Emphasis on the insane because it’s basically a super erotic romp where you have sex with a man you don’t know (Taehyung) on a crowded public bus. I literally felt my blood pressure going up the longer I read. Whew.

The Client by @jungkookiebus

This one hit me right in the feels. Taehyung is a sweet and lonely man who has a standing Wednesday appointment with an upscale sex worker. As the story progresses, feelings become involved on both sides. When I say I am checking her page thrice daily for part three... This is so engrossing. And this Tae. I just want to hold him.

Daffodil Dreams by @sombreboy

Tread carefully ladies and gents. This story is excellent, but it is easily the darkest fic on the list and, if you choose to read it, please read the trigger warnings carefully. The reader is a psychologist called in to analyze a very dangerous criminal. As their sessions progress, however, several boundaries are crossed.

Obey by @jjkfire

Taehyung is the most feared and ruthless member of the local mafia and you are the world’s most inept escort. You needed a job, but had no real interest in sex work and you’ve managed to fly under the radar as a glorified waitress until Kim Taehyung himself walks into your agency and decides that you’re the only girl he wants. Oh my gosh I loved this story so much. It was downright amazing and there is a surprise at the end that makes everything even sweeter.

[meher-sumedha]

Gwynriel Headcanon - The End

Word Count - 4200 Words (I wrote this in one day idk how)

(yes I know, very long and this is also the end to my series...aaaaa. Also besties, I poured my heart AND soul out in this one so please, for god’s sake - COMMENT and reblog if you like. also this was meant to be like 1500 words but lol)

Gwyn almost shouted at what Eris said, “What!”. Azriel’s surprise could not be hidden. Even his eyes had widened for a second before he slipped back into his cool demeanor. 

Would it be so bad? He started thinking and internally smirking at himself when he saw Gwyn’s red cheeks. Gwyn then swatted him sharply on his arm. Azriel asked, suddenly surprised by her action and brought back to reality, “Ow, what was that for?” he muttered and rubbed his arm.

She replied, “Stop smirking” Even though her lips were twitching upward in a smile. Azriel didn’t bother to hide the amusement in his eyes.

Gwyn then turned to Eris and hesitantly asked, “Why do we need to go as..........a couple?” 

Her blush was so red, it almost matched the colour of her hair. She then started fidgeting with her fingers, nervous to hear the answer. Why the hell was she so nervous? 

Eris replied, his anger barely on a leash, “Well, as much as I hate the idea, it’s our only possible chance of getting in the palace. You see, marriage is like the ‘holy matrimony’ here. If you’re married, your status is immediately higher. It’s even better if you have a child but we don’t need to go that far. I would take you myself but then you would actually have to marry me, as if any of my siblings saw you, they would definitely remember your face.”

Gwyn then stopped fidgeting, “So the only choice we(she said, running her hands between the space between her and Azriel) have is to enter as a married couple?”

Eris took a long breath and said, “Yes”. “Oh” was all Gwyn replied before she started staring at her fingers again. To lesser the tension in the air, Azriel said, “So what’s the plan?”

Eris led them to an abandoned warehouse, saying that there were too many prying ears in the forest.

Eris then told them they’d enter as a couple, right through the palace gates. They would be led to the throne room and then he would make sure they got a room in the palace. As marriages were so rare in the autumn court due to the lack of eligible bachelors, everyone respected it, including the High Lord.

Each couple who was married got to stay at the palace. In the last year, only 2 couples had stayed at the palace. Azriel and Gwyn would pose as a wealthy couple, so that the princes don’t get to suspicious. After the dinner on the first night, they would excuse themselves. Eris told them that the book was on the topmost floor, in.....Beron’s room. 

Gwyn huffed and said, “That oughta go well” and let Eris continue. He said he didn’t know where the book was in Beron’s room. Azriel didn’t have a choice except to believe him and hope that he wasn’t lying. Eris also told them that Beron was not in the court at the time and no one was allowed to enter his room. 

“How do we get out?” Gwyn asked. Eris replied, “I know about some underground tunnels, I’ll lead you through them, but you’ll have to be blindfolded”, “WHAT” Azriel almost shouted.

Eris smirked, “Calm down shadowsinger. I can’t show you those tunnels. It would be too dangerous for me when I would become the High Lord”. As soon as he finished those words Gwyn’s eyes widened and she asked, “Are you gonna be the High Lord of the Autumn Court? Beron chose you already?”

Eris’ eyes shadowed and Azriel could’ve sworn they flashed shamed. But he wasn’t sure as that shame disappeared after a second. Before Eris could reply Azriel cut in and said, “Something like that”.

“Okay. So when do we leave for the palace?” Gwyn asked, eager to change the topic. Eris replied, “I’ll leave and get you a dress right now. You can change here and we can leave at 7pm, sharp, till then you should rest, all your stitches are ripped, I have already applied some magic on you both so that the colour of your eyes and hair are different for other people”

Before Gwyn could reply, Eris disappeared into thin air which made Gwyn gasp. “He can winnow, big deal” Azriel said sulkily and rolled his eyes, which made Gwyn smile for some reason. Azriel’s eyes then turned to the caring and worrying eyes which Gwyn had grown to love so much.

“You should rest, I’ll stitch your wound” Azriel said and before Gwyn could reply, he lift her up bridal style and laid her down on the floor. He then took off his jacket and placed it under Gwyn’s head, so the wood on the floor wouldn’t seem so hard.

“Thank You” Gwyn replied before sleep took ahold of her......

(After quite a few hours)

Gwyn woke up while facing the leg of a table. She then took ahold of her surroundings and she felt a scarred hand on her stomach, Azriel’s hand. She didn’t need to see his face to know it was his hand, she had seen and felt the hands so many times that she had memorized the scars on his hand, like a map. It was the map the she felt touch her whenever she had a nightmare. It was a map the lead her anywhere she wanted to go. She didn’t move, afraid to wake up the shadowsinger whose chest was pressed against her back and whose face was in her hair. 

After what felt like just an hour and her body, which had gone numb from not moving for so long. Azriel groaned and got up, his hand leaving her bare, but well stitched stomach. Gwyn immediately felt the hollowness in her chest when his hand left her body, fuck gwyn. She thought to herself.

Then Eris walked into the room. Azriel must have woken up because of Eris’ presence. Eris had a beautiful dress in hand, one that was modest, as well as beautiful. Eris was slightly blushing while holding the dress, he said “I brought a red one as it is the colour in which people get married in the court. I-I hope you like it” He was stuttering.

The heir to the throne of the Autumn court was stuttering, the thought made Gwyn giggle. While Gwyn giggled and Eris blushed, Azriel was throwing daggers at Eris with his eyes. Gwyn noticed that and said, “I’ll go and change” so that the tension could be minimized. It didn’t.

But that brought Azriel back from his fantasy of killing Eris and he looked towards Gwyn. He said a short “ok” and got up. He then noticed fucking Eris was still standing there. He literally snatched the dress from his hand and gave it to Gwyn.

Gwyn was confused, she asked, “Where should I change?”, Azriel then replied, “You can change here, we can go out”, then Eris butted in, “It’s not safe for her to be here alone in the middle of a jungle-”, “I’ll stay with her then” Azriel replied and Gwyn’s eyes widened. Eris had to surrender, because if he said anything else, his feelings would be known. He didn’t bother replying and walked out of the warehouse.

Gwyn was still confused, she asked, “Wher-where should I change? There’s no room here”, Azriel suddenly realized that and a bright pink blush crept up his cheeks. He said, “Uhh, if, IF, you’re comfortable, you can change here, I-I won’t look.” Gwyn replied with a simple “okay” and Azriel turned around. 

He heard the sound of clothes ruffling and didn’t turn, even though all of his instincts were screaming at him to do so, he would not break his promise to Gwyn. Suddenly Gwyn muttered, “son of a bitch” and he heard her jumping. He let out a dark chuckle and Gwyn suddenly stopped, realizing he was still here.

When he didn’t hear anything else he got worried and asked, “Is everything okay?”, when she didn’t reply he asked, “Can I turn around, are you okay?”. The only confirmation he got was a simple “mhmm” and he turned around. 

This girl was going to be the death of him. The dress she was wearing was magnificent. Red really was her colour.

Her straps were falling from both sides and she was keeping them up with her hands. When she saw him staring she cleared her throat, as to get his attention. It worked and Azriel’s eyes shot up to her nervous eyes. He silently asked “What’s wrong” with his eyes. Gwyn then replied, “My zip won’t get up, I can’t reach it”.

Bile crept up Azriel’s throat and it took a lot of hard work to keep it there. He then gulped very loudly and went towards Gwyn and stood in front of her. He then asked, his voice almost a whisper and thick with desire, “May I?”. Gwyn was completely red right now, like a tomato, but Azriel’s cheek weren’t looking less red either.

He then put his shaky hands on her shoulders and turned her around. He then took her hair and put it over her shoulder, so he could zip her up, but when he saw the sight in front of him, his jaw dropped to the floor and his lips parted. Gwyn’s hands slightly touched his when she moved her hair more forward, giving him more ‘access’ to the beauty that was in front of him.

The zip ended at her lower back, just above her o so perfect hips. He then held her zip with one hand and the end of the zip with his other, pulling her dress down slightly. He then in a very very slow movement, pulled the zip upward. Making sure to touch her skin as much he could without making her uncomfortable. When he was done, Gwyn didn’t move for a minute, his breath hot on her neck.

Then she finally walked forward a few steps, making a bit distance between them which felt like miles for Azriel, and then she turned around.

Fucking Hell. Now that the dress was zipped, it hugged her beautiful curves tightly. Did fucking Eris find no other dress. All the other males would make a move on her. SHIT.

Gwyn was confused. At first Azriel was staring her down like a prize and now he was frowning. Gwyn asked while straightening her dress, “Is something wrong?”. That got Azriel out of his trance. “NO, No. Nothing is wrong” He suddenly said.

Then fucking Eris came into the room, but he stopped short when he saw Gwyn’s hair, she had her back towards him. Gwyn suddenly turned around and met his eyes. He was frozen. Does it really look that bad on me? It would probably look better on Elain. She thought.

“You look beautiful” Eris choked out but it rather seem forced. She tried her best to smile but failed nonetheless. Gwyn said, slight anger laced in her voice, “You both should get changed, I’ll wait outside”. She didn’t wait for their reply and walked out of the warehouse. 

After a few minutes, Eris came out in his robes and Azriel followed. She didn’t even glance at Azriel, afraid that if she did, she would start begging him to kiss her in that suit. Eris didn’t say anything and led the way, Gwyn and Azriel followed. It took them an hour to get there, when they reached the palace, Gwyn slid her arm through Azriel’s trying to smile and appear like a happy wife.

No guard stopped them, only nodded and smiled a little as a greeting and congrats. They then entered the dining room directly. This wasn’t the plan, Gwyn thought but didn’t let the confusion be visible on her face.

She smiled to the other brothers but they just stared at her outright. Eris introduced them and no matter how uncomfortable Gwyn was, she was not going to fail under their stared. Suddenly she felt Azriel loop his arm out of hers and she panicked, for a second before Azriel looped his hand through her waist. The brothers backed up a bit and stopped staring at her, “She’s my mate” Azriel suddenly said and Gwyn’s eyes shot to him.

He was still in his cool demeanor. She didn’t know what to do but the brothers definitely stopped with the staring after that. She ate dinner in silence, not speaking a word, afraid of speaking something wrong. They then excused themselves, sounding eager to go to their bedroom but before Eris could speak, one of the brothers said, “I’ll lead you to your room” and got up. 

The shock was visible on Gwyn’s face because the brother spoke and smirked, “Afraid of a little threesome?” Fuck you, thought Gwyn but didn’t say anything.

Instead she remained cool replied boldly, “Not at all, I’ve actually had a lot of fun in them. You should ask your brothers how it was” and suddenly everyone started coughing and choking. Azriel choked on the glass of water he was drinking.

“Shall we?” Gwyn asked, batting her lashes. The brother didn’t say anything and just lead them out of the room. Eris was just gonna leave them in front of Beron’s room but now she didn’t know what was going on. But, the brother lead them to the topmost floor and stood in front of a door, “The bed is extra large” He said coolly and smirked but Gwyn replied, “I hope it doesn’t creak, wouldn’t want to wake you up from your sleep” 

And before the brother could say anything Eris came and interrupted him, Gwyn saw him touch a specific door and saw that door open a bit. That couldn’t have been a coincidence, right?

Eris took the brother out of the hallway and Gwyn rushed into the room Eris had touched and heard Azriel’s footsteps following her. She walked in the room but when Azriel came, he slammed into an invisible wall. He rubbed his head. Was this a trap?

Gwyn suddenly rushed out of the room but she was able to do so very easily. Even Azriel was confused. But, then Gwyn took his hand and led him to the room, this time, he didn’t slam into a wall. Gwyn laughed slightly, unable to comprehend what happened. Azriel smiled when he saw Gwyn laugh.

Then they both started looking for the book. They checked everywhere for an hour but couldn’t find it. Their clothes were wrinkled and Azriel’s hair was a mess, Gwyn smiled at the idea of her ruffling his hair but suddenly a tiny mistake in the texture of the wall caught her eye. She went towards it and so did Azriel. As soon as she touched it, two small door opened inwards and she saw the book kept there. 

She went inside, holding Azriel’s hand in the tiny cupboard. But then they heard footsteps and Azriel suddenly closed the doors. Gwyn’s confusion was erased when she saw Beron enter the room, but then something else distracted her. Azriel’s laboured breathing.

There was no space in the closet so Azriel had put his hands on Gwyn’s waist and Gwyn had her hands on Azriel’s shoulder. She knew panic when she heard it and Azriel was panicking, He was claustrophobic.

Their bodies were pressed against one another’s and their breaths were mingling. Azriel was panicking and she didn’t know what to do. So, she slightly put her hands on Azriel’s face and moved her face closer to his but stopped just a breath’s inch away. Azriel’s slight nod was the only confirmation she needed before she gently kissed him. His hold on her waist became tighter but Gwyn didn’t speed up the kiss. 

She wanted to feel every part of his mouth before they ended the kiss, cause Gwyn wasn’t sure if she was ever gonna get to kiss anyone else. Azriel never wanted it to stop. Even though he was in a place which he considered his worst nightmare, he would come here everyday, just so that he could feel her lips.

She pulled away first, because she was out of breath, but before she could kiss him again, the doors flew open, revealing Eris. 

Gwyn then walked away from Azriel and before they could say anything, Eris said, “You need to leave, NOW!” before leaving. Azriel held her hand and tried to winnow. “What’s wrong?” Gwyn asked, “I can’t winnow” He said but Gwyn hear people talking out of the room, their voices were becoming louder.

“We need to leave az” She told him but he still wasn’t able to winnow. But before she could say anything Azriel picked her up and flew out of the window.

She immediately wrapped her hands around Azriel’s neck in the loud rain and thunder. She heard Azriel falter when a lightening bolt struck right behind him. The last thing Azriel said to her was, his voice cracking and full of tears, “I’m sorry love” before they both fell into an endless fall.

Gwyn fell into bushes, but she saw Azriel going far away from her and he heard him fall into the lake. When she finally landed on the ground, she was bruised, terribly. Every instinct in her body was telling her to stop running towards him. All she was feeling was pain but she never stopped, she would never stop for him.

She finally reached the river where she saw Azriel washed up on the shore. She went towards him, she screamed his name a thousand times but he didn’t wake up. So, she did what she did best, She sang and sang, her voice full of tears. She could hear her life being drained from her but she would not give up on him.

Just when she was on the verge of dying Azriel got up and a pang of pain went through him. He winnowed them to a nearby cave which he used to live in. That took a lot of energy to do but he still did it. Gwyn didn’t talk to him, she wouldn’t, couldn’t.

She couldn’t talk to him when she knew he knew the dangers of flying in such a weather, it costed people their lives. It could have cost Azriel his life. She didn’t talk to him and he didn’t speak.

His eyes were pained but Gwyn couldn’t see him in such a condition, couldn’t bear to acknowledge the fact the he could have died because of her. He was the first to break the silence, “Are you okay?” He asked. Gwyn didn’t reply, instead she focused on creating a fire. Azriel came upto her and took two stones and ignited a fire.

It was around 2am right now, the stars were shining. They could be seen easily from the cave and the storm had calmed down. Gwyn went and sat in front of the fire, hugging her knees, still feeling cold. Azriel went up to her and offered her a t-shirt. Gwyn looked up to him with curious eyes, “I come and stay here, whenever I need to spy on this court. Your clothes are wet, you’ll get a cold”

Gwyn took the t-shirt from his hands and went to the back of the cave to change. She took of all of her clothes, even her underthings as they were soaked with water. She then noticed a bag. Her curiosity took the best of her and she looked through the bag and found a water bottle in it.

She took it and sat beside Azriel. “You don’t wanna drink that” Azriel said, with slight amusement in his eyes. Fine, she was never the one to back down from a challenge. As soon as she took the first sip, she threw out the ‘water’ from her mouth. “WHAT THE HELL IS THIS” she asked, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.

Azriel was too busy snickering, then Gwyn recognized the taste, “Vodka” she said and Azriel still kept laughing. She smacked his hand playfully, “Why the hell do you have vodka in a water bottle?” He still kept laughing but replied, “It helps with the cold”, “This is literally the Autumn court for fuck’s sake” Gwyn said and Azriel started laughing again.

He then took the bottle from her hand and took a sip. He then let out a contented sigh. Then they both decided to get drunk and play truth and sip. They used to take a drink and the other person would ask them a question. 

They had already played 5 rounds but then Azriel suddenly asked, “Have you ever been in love?” and Gwyn reddened, Azriel didn’t know it was possible to blush so much when you drink but apparently Gwyn was a living miracle of that. He saw her nervousness and then said, “Hey, it’s okay if you don’t wanna answer” but then she quietly and shyly said, “yes”, “oh, with whom?”

Gwyn blushed even more, because the only person she’d ever been in love with, was him. But then she quickly replied, letting her drunk and bold self take over, “Whom have you been in love with?” She asked, the vodka now kicking in. “How do you know I’ve ever been in love?” Azriel asked, trying to stall.

“You’ve been on this earth since 500 years, you must have fallen in love with someone except mor”, Azriel was surprised now, “How do you know about mor?”, She shrugged and said, “Nesta told me. Now stop stalling and answer the question”.

“You” Azriel said in a serious tone, his eyes shadowed, “What me?” Gwyn said, laughing a bit at the joke. “I’m in love with you” he said and looked down. “Oh” was all Gwyn replied and took a sip of the vodka.

“So then why didn’t you ask me out?” She asked, serious as well. “I don’t think I deserve you” Azriel said and walked away, “WHAT” Gwyn almost shouted. But Azriel was already getting ready to sleep. He took off his shirt and saw Gwyn staring, he flexed a little bit too. He then started unbuttoning his pants and smirked when he saw Gwyn staring. Gwyn noticed that smirked and suddenly turned around, embarrassed by her actions. “Fuck you az” she muttered.

“You know you’d love to” Azriel replied and she could literally hear the smirk in his face, she was blushing and she was glad when Azriel couldn’t see that. She then turned around, Azriel was in his shorts and his upper body was naked. A little bit of sweat because of the fire, was on his muscles.

Gwyn fisted her hands, only because if she didn’t, she would go right up to him and start tracing his muscles, eager to remember how they feel. Azriel sat down and plopped himself up against the cave. His one leg folded with his knee upwards and one of his legs stranded on the ground.

Gwyn mustered enough courage to go up to him and sit directly in front of him. “Answer my question, please” She almost begged him. But he still didn’t answer and looked away. “Fine then, you know what, you’re not the only one who feels that way, I have felt that too, more times than anyone could count. I don’t think I’m worthy of you because you saved me and I can never repay you.

 But guess what, I’ve fallen in love with you, knowing, that you would never choose me. Knowing that I would never be the one. You have no idea how that feels because you’ve always been the one for me. And do you have any idea how special it is to be someone’s ‘one’. Obviously you don’t because your oblivious to every single thing around you.

 (And then she came closer to him and cupped his face. touching whatever I write) You’re oblivious to the fact that a strand of your hair runs just above your eyes and all I want to do is ruffle your hair and run my hands through them. You’re oblivious to the fact that you have the perfect jawline. You’re oblivious to the fact that you have a sensitive spot just below the ear. 

You’re oblivious to the fact that the scarred hands you’re so ashamed of are the same ones that saved me. You’re oblivious to the fact that whenever I breathe down your neck at training you get shrivers and you’ve been oblivious to the fact that I’ve been in love with you since the first time you came back to the house of wind and you’re oblivious to the fact that all I wanna do is to kiss you-” And before she could speak anything else, he kissed her.

Taglist - @katiebellf @imsointobooks​ @hlizr50​ @shisingh​ @trashforazriel​ @positivewitch

[freebooter4ever]

A fic inspired by @kanhatomame 's Lovely Drawing of Eugene dreaming about Snafu ^_^ Set in Mobile after the war, Eugene deals with pining and memories, and that wordless connection to another person that never really leaves you. (angst ish with happy ending)

__________

There are so many ghosts in Eugene's head it's quite crowded there. But the only one he clings to is Snafu's. Naturally, this also means it's the one that feels most nebulous and impossible to chase down. Sometimes, when Eugene sees other couples together, touching each other, looking at each other, the connections to his own vivid memories feel stronger.

But he and Snafu were never a couple, should never have been a couple. Their few kisses were stolen behind doors and in the shadows. They could never have danced hand in hand like the boys and girls are doing now at the OMM ball.

Eugene stares at the dancers, himself half hidden behind a potted plant. A silly form of camouflage, and one that wouldn't even work if someone looked his way. It certainly fails to hide him from his brother. He can see Edward eyeing him disapprovingly from across the room. Edward's arm is wrapped lovingly around his wife's waist. She leans into his shoulder slightly - Martha is small and petite and fits perfectly.

Eugene takes a deep breath and refocuses his eyes to the center of the dance floor. He slowly allows himself to relax, concentrating on one memory of a touch. Snafu was never one to lovingly cradle Eugene, but whenever they would sit down around camp - at the slop shoot, or the movies, or when naked on the beach after a swim - Snafu would sling his arm behind Gene's back and angle his whole body in Gene's direction. He kept it casual, usually joking and laughing as if using humor to distract the rest of the guys from this habit of his. Except there were always times when Snaf would make a particularly ridiculous wisecrack and Eugene would feel compelled to turn his neck to roll his eyes at Snafu, and the minute his eyes would meet Snafu's, the other guy's face would be glowing with joy. Joy reserved only for one person - Eugene.

There's a specific shine in Snafu's eyes that he saves solely for Gene. And those delicate bits of eye contact were more intimate than all the loving touches in the world. And often they preceded Snafu pulling Eugene into some dark hideaway, and pressing his full body up against Gene, still teasing him, tempting him with no kisses, no gentle lover's touch until Eugene finally got fed up and molded their mouths together.

Eugene will never forget the shape of Snafu's hands.

"Eugene? Baby brother?" Edward is snapping his fingers in front of Eugene's face.

Eugene blinks rapidly, comes back to himself, completely loses the relaxation in his body, and glares at Edward.

"Thought you were in a trance or something," Edward grins lopsided.

"I was thinking," Eugene sighs.

"No duh," Edward says, "You do too much of that, little brother."

"What else is there to do?" Eugene sighs continuously. He shouldn't have opened his mouth because the next thing he knows Edward tells him 'don't move' and disappears further into the house to find some poor victim to foist awkwardly on Gene.

It's been like this all evening. Eugene's talked to more girls in the past hour than he ever has in his life. All of them brought to him by Edward, eagerly introducing the girls to his younger, naive brother.

This latest one is named Victoria, and she's got long curly brown hair that looks soft to touch, and a porcelain face like a doll.

"She's very pretty," Eugene says truthfully when Edward corners him and demands to know what he thought after Victoria is called away by friends.

"Gene, I don't understand you," Edward shakes his head, "You're the son of the city's best doctor, you've got all your limbs intact, you're a war hero… why I'll bet you're the most eligible bachelor here. If you just learn to play it up a little bit…"

"I'm going outside to smoke," Eugene interrupts flatly, "Come get me when it's time to leave."

His voice brooks no argument, and he promptly ducks out of the house with only one direction in mind. He fills his pipe, lights it, and slowly lets the smoke start to relax him again. His lips suck on the wood between them, and the ghost of Snafu seeps in with the nicotine. The memory of the first time when Eugene sucked Snafu's finger clean (of mashed potatoes) - after Snafu tried (and failed) to start a food fight. It pairs well with the memory of sucking off other parts of Snafu too… certain parts he doesn't have a clear picture of in his mind. He sort of blurred the image as it happened, out of embarrassment or sheer awkwardness. If he ever got the chance to do it again, he'd memorize every square inch.

"Eugene, your brother asked me to come find you," his mother breaks his reverie, "Your father is having the car brought around."

Eugene nods, his shame from his thoughts bright red on his face, but luckily hidden in the dark. He follows his mother to the driveway and wordlessly climbs into the backseat. Martha and Edward are taking their own car. So Eugene has plenty of room to forego seatbelts and lie down across the back. His head is swimming a little bit, from that punch he kept drinking. He couldn't taste it, but he suspects it was spiked.

The car starts up, and starts rumbling, shaking his entire body. The seat is warm - the heat from the engine flows through the entire undercarriage. Eugene closes his eyes. He listens to the sound of the road under the wheels, a smooth wash like constantly crashing waves.

Waves lapping at the toes of his feet, and bathing half of Snafu's entire leg in water up to his knees. Snafu lying naked on his back in the sand, with Eugene straddled on top of him bouncing vigorously. All Eugene remembers is the intensity, the sounds, and the feeling. Half weird gritty discomfort, half absolute pleasure.

The car turns and rolls Eugene against the back of the car. He turns his face to the smooth leather, seeking that pressure of something - anything - against his skin.

Eugene recognizes when they reach their house's street because he can feel the jittering rumble as the car crosses the wooden bridge. The jitter shakes him to his bones, and he shivers although the night is hot and sticky. He closes his eyes and counts the streetlights behind his eyelids until they reach the driveway.

Had Eugene been paying attention at all, looking out the window of the car instead of losing himself to ghosts, he might have noticed the beat-up rusted brown truck parked just outside his family's gate at the end of Georgia House's long private drive. Though truthfully, even if Eugene had been looking he might not have seen it. The cloud cover darkens the sky until the only light source is the single lamp marking the start of the Sledge's driveway. And the truck is parked under a tree, throwing even more shadow over it. The only hint that someone is there is the soft glow of a cigarette luminating a haunted face and skinny legs dangling over the truck bed where he sits.

Snafu arrived in town hours ago - just in time to watch Eugene leave. He's been sitting on top his parked truck ever since. Judging from their fancy clothes, Snafu knew they'd likely return that night from an outing and sure enough. Here they are. He wedges the cigarette tighter in his mouth and jumps down from the truck bed.

Eugene's window is on the first floor, so it shouldn't be hard to reach except for the damn kudzu covering a mass of bushes and thorny plants underneath. Snafu suspects they might have been roses at one point. They're dead now. There's live ones elsewhere in the garden, but the ones under Eugene's window are long gone.

Fucking symbolic maybe.

Snafu shoves the window open unceremoniously and throws his leg in. He sits on the sil and stares down at Gene in the bed. Eugene didn't bother to change, he's still in that same expensive looking suit, his tie askew and his shoes kicked off with one sock missing. Snafu settles himself comfortably against the window frame, puffs on his cigarette, and watches Eugene sleep.

He doesn't get to watch for long - Eugene sleeps fitfully, just as Snafu remembers, and ends up kicking and thrashing in his bed. Snafu watches him with intense regret. When Eugene fell asleep peacefully on the train, for the first time since that initial week on Pavuvu, Snafu thought maybe civilization had kicked Eugene's nightmares. That maybe Eugene was gonna be able to go back to 'normal'. Clearly Snafu was wrong.

He waits a few more seconds, till Eugene's fit is at its peak, and whispers sharply, "Sledgehammer."

Gene sits bolt upright immediately and silently. He stares blankly for a split second, till his eyes snap to Snafu's. Then he stares silently at Snafu.

Snafu takes his half finished cigarette and grinds it into the wood of Eugene's window. It leaves a mark. Eugene watches this without expression.

"You're real," Eugene whispers.

Snafu shrugs.

"I mean you're not a dream… for once," Eugene says.

"You've been dreaming about me?" Snafu grins.

Eugene lunges forward, grabs Snafu's forearms and drags him onto the bed. Snafu falls awkwardly on top of Eugene, but it's easy to shift their positions and overpower Eugene to pin him to the bed. "I really hope those nightmares of yours wasn't you dreaming of me, cause if they were we might have to figure out a way to give you better ones."

"My dreams of you only come during the day," Eugene says, much more serious in tone than Snafu.

"Good ones?"

Eugene nods.

"It isn't enough… is it?" Snafu asks. He already knows the correct answer. That's why he's here.

In response Eugene pulls him down into a kiss.

[onceuponastory]

Coming Back Home - Chapter Five: The Time of My Life

“So I'll tell you something This could be love, because I've had the time of my life No, I never felt this way before Yes I swear, it's the truth And I owe it all to you” - (i’ve had) the time of my life: bill medley and jennifer warnes (aka the song from dirty dancing)

Plot: Six years ago, Y/N left her hometown and all its bad memories behind, and never looked back. But now, she’s come back to be the maid of honour in her sister’s wedding. Returning ‘home’ means she has to confront her past, the last thing she wants to do. When she meets the handsome best man Nick, she feels more comfortable…until her sister asks her to show Nick around town…a town that Y/N fell out of love with a long time ago.

Can Y/N fall back in love with the town she left behind, and maybe find love of her own along the way? (based on prompt by @orphicodysseywrites​)

Tag List: @shinydixon​, @baker151910​ and @thesundrop​. Let me know if you want to be added!

Warnings: Some mentions of alcohol

Note: I’m so sorry this chapter took so long! I’ve been super busy during Christmas because I work retail, and when I got home, I was so drained and unmotivated to write something, but here we are! I hope y’all enjoy the emotional roller coaster this chapter will take you on ;) Also, this chapter has some parts told in Nick’s POV for the first and definitely not the last time

Read the other parts / Read this story on Wattpad!

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Nick or his character! I just used Nick bc he’s the only character of Dacre’s that fits this prompt. Aside from Nick being in this, this fic has NOTHING to do with The Broken Hearts Gallery. But you should all see the movie if you can, because it’s adorable!

Later That Day

“How about this one?” Nick suggests. I scrunch my nose up. We were both trying to figure out what song to dance to at the wedding. Yes, we’ve left it late, but given everything that’s happened since we got here, can you blame us?

“Absolutely not.” Nick sighs. “What?”

"It’s a fun song! It’ll get people dancing.”

“Nick, even though we both look good, I don’t think dancing to Sexy and I Know It will be a good idea. Unless we want to give our great aunts a heart attack.” Sighing, Nick nods, crossing it off his list. “Now, I have made a playlist for this very occasion, so let me put it on...” I announce, crossing over to my phone.

“Of course you have. Katie’s told me about how many playlists you have Y/N. How many do you have now? Fifty?” Nick teases. Ignoring him, I hit play. Soon, the sounds of Waterloo by ABBA fills the room. Nick gives me a look. “ABBA? Seriously?”

“What do you mean, ‘seriously’ ?!” I ask. “They’re iconic! This song won them Eurovision!”

“That’s true, but no. No ABBA." I roll my eyes.

“No taste.” I shake my head. Ignoring me, Nick hits skip. The Time of My Life from Dirty Dancing starts playing. Nick and I look at each other. My mouth drops open, and he raises an eyebrow. “What?! This song is iconic! This scene is iconic! Patrick Swayze is an incredible dancer in this scene!”

“That’s true. He’s a great dancer. But I’m not that good.” 

“I can’t judge that Nick, I’ve never seen you dance.” Nick laughs.

“That’s a good thing. You’ll see at the wedding.”

“Come on! Get some practice! Dance with me.” I urge, holding out my hands. “Please?!”

“Oh, no. Did you hear what I just said?” Ignoring him, I take his hand, gently leading him into the centre of the room. “Y/N. I’d only ever do something like this for you, but I’m telling you that I’m going to stand on your feet and you will regret ever asking me to dance with you.” He sighs, taking my other hand. I start dancing, whilst Nick stands there, awkwardly moving. 

“See! This isn’t so bad!” I smile. “I’ve had...the time of my life....” I start singing. Nick laughs. “I get to endure your dancing, and you get to endure my singing. It’s only fair.”

“Guess that’s true. In that case, I should dance properly.” Nick moves closer, places his hand around my waist, and takes my other hand in his. I gasp. Did not expect him to be so close. Nick twirls me under his arm. 

“I’veeee, had the time of my lifeeee...” I sing to myself. Nick laughs. “What? I know I’m not that good at singing, but this song is SO good, can you blame me?!”

“You’re not that bad.” Nick smiles, continuing to twirl and dance with me around the room. “Do you even remember the dance from this film?” He asks.

“Kinda? To be honest, all I remember is the lift. You don’t have to lift me by the way.” Nick frowns.

“I think...he dips her like this.” Nick mumbles, and before I can even do anything, he gently but effortlessly dips me. I let out a little squeal, and he quickly pulls me up, asking if I’m okay. Still breathless, I can’t even reply.

“For someone who says he can’t dance, you’re...really good.” I gasp eventually.

“Guess I’m full of surprises.” He grins. As the song draws to a close, Nick continues to hold me close. It was nice...really nice. I could stay like this forever. The music changes in the background behind us, but neither of us notice. “So...” Nick begins. “Which song do you think we should choose?”

“Well, if we pick this one, everyone will expect you to lift me.” He nods. 

“We could try if you want?” He asks, dropping his hands to my waist.

“No, no, no, no, no, NICK!” I squeal as he lifts me off of my feet. “I’m ticklish! No!” I start giggling and squirming, so much so that Nick drops me. As I fall, so does he, and he lands on top of me.

“You okay?” He asks, his voice husky. I nod, breathless. He moves some hair out of my face, gazing into my eyes. “Good.” He smiles. His face has never been so close to mine before. I can see little flecks of gold in his eyes. They’re beautiful...like he is. Nick sits up and gently helps me up onto my knees. “Sure you’re okay?” He asks, and I nod again. 

“Nick, it’s okay. Honestly. Thanks for today, though.” I smile, scooting over and hugging him. “Sorry you had to endure my singing though.”

“Sorry you had to endure my horrible dancing.” Nick replies. The two of us sit there for what feels like forever, but is probably just a few minutes, holding each other. Reluctantly, I pull apart.

“I better go. Katie wanted me to help finish up some of the stuff for the bachelorette party.” I announce, getting up and picking up my phone. “Bye, Nick.” I give him a small wave before walking out of the room. As soon as I’m out of his eyeshot, I lean against the wall and sigh. What is it with me these days? I had suddenly started to feel an intense desire to stay close to Nick, and spend as much time with him as possible...but gotten way more awkward at the same time. Sighing, I walk upstairs to meet Katie.

It’s probably nothing...right?

~~~

A Few Days Later: The First Night of the Bachelorette Party Weekend - 6 Days til the wedding.

“Okay, so this is the number for the hotel, even though you’re not meant to be texting or calling me....but I won’t tell!” Katie talks to Adam as I carry my suitcase towards the stairs. It’s finally here: the bachelorette party. Katie, the rest of the bridesmaids and I were travelling to a nearby town to go drinking and dancing. To save driving back to Saint Chase in the middle of the night, we were all staying in a local hotel. Sighing, I pull my suitcase towards the stairs, ready to walk down them one step at a time, whilst also trying to keep a hold on my other bags. I stifle a yawn. Since Katie and I were going down early to set up the hotel rooms, it meant we all had to get up super early, and I was nowhere near close to functioning. Not that I was usually, but today was worse.

“Need some help?” Nick asks suddenly, popping up behind me, causing me to jump and almost lose my balance. My suitcase is close to tumbling down the stairs, nearly taking me with it. But Nick holds his hands out and catches it as best as he can.

“Shit, Nick! You need to stop sneaking up on me like that!” I scold. Even though I liked seeing him, I did not like it if it meant a heart attack came along with it.

“Sorry, I just saw you were struggling, and I saw those stairs, so I thought I could help.” He shrugs. I sigh. I mean, he was right. I did need help.

“...Yeah, you’re right.” I nod. “Can you take these?” I ask, passing him most of my bags.

“God, what is IN these things?” Nick asks as he gets increasingly more laden down. “I thought you girls were only going away for the weekend?”

“Yup.” I nod, popping the p. “These bags have our sashes, some balloons, other accessories like the mini veil and tiara, headbands....the photo booth props....” I trail off when I notice Nick looking at me like I’ve grown an extra head. “Yeah, bachelorettes are intense. And Katie and I are going down early to set up, so I have to bring everything now. Hence...all this.” I gesture around with my free hand. “And this suitcase has our makeup, outfit changes, and spares, just in case.” Nick still looks horrified. 

“We’re just gonna stay here, play some video games and drink some beers.” He states, making me laugh.

“Welcome to the world of the bachelorette party, Nick. Trust me, I was the same when I first started planning. Now...I am the master.” I strike a pose, and Nick laughs. “And besides, if you think this is bad, wait till you see our stuff for the day of the wedding.” Nick’s eyes go wide again, making me laugh. Nick helps me down the stairs with everything, and he and Adam help Katie and I pack the car full of our things.

“Okay, that’s us all loaded up! Bye, handsome.” Katie tells Adam, pulling him into a kiss, whilst Nick and I stand around slightly awkwardly. 

“Well, uh...have fun. Be sure to...show me pictures?” 

“Only if you show me some from the bachelor party too.” Nick nods. “Well...bye Nick.” I smile, giving him a small wave and walking towards the car. 

“Y/N, wait!” He calls, and I turn around. He walks up to me and gently takes my hands in his. I immediately feel shivers up my arms. Nick speaks again, his voice now hushed. “If you have a nightmare again, or if you need someone to talk to, give me a call, alright? Doesn’t matter how early or late it is. I want you to know I’ll always be there for you.” I feel tears rising in my eyes all over again.

“Nick...are you sure?”

“Positive.” He pulls me into a hug before I can even react. “Have a fun weekend.” He whispers, squeezing me so tightly that I swear my heart stops. In a good way, though. Nick and I pull apart, and as I gaze into his blue eyes, I realise that I don’t want to go. Even though I knew I had to support my sister, and I knew I did want to go....a stronger part of me just wanted to stay and hang out with Nick.

“Come on, Y/N!” Katie orders. “We need to go if we’re going to have any chance of setting up before the girls arrive!” Blushing slightly, I turn back to Nick. 

“Bye Nick.” I smile. He wishes me goodbye, and I get into the car besides Katie. The two of us wave as we pull out of the driveway, Nick and Adam waving us goodbye as we go. As the house fades out of view, the feeling from before, the desire to stay, returns. I try and ignore it, but it’s intense. “What is wrong with me?!” I think to myself. Whatever it is, I better forget it soon, or I’ll be thinking about Nick for the whole night.

~~~

That Night

Pushing open the door to the karaoke bar, the six of us walk in. 

“YAAAAAY! KARAOKE!” Katie calls, slightly tipsy already.

“I cannot believe you’ve talked me into this. I’m not even that drunk or a good singer!” I hiss. I know I’ve already sung in front of Nick, but this was different. I was comfortable with Nick, but there were people here. People who could hear me. People who I don’t know.

“Come on, Y/N! It’ll be fun! And don’t you worry, once you get some more shots in you, you’ll be right up on that stage.” Sam grins. Sam was another member of Katie’s bridal party. Altogether, there was me, Caroline, Sam, Sam’s wife Vanessa, and Katie’s college roommate Brooke. I was so thankful that Katie has such a small bridal party. It makes my life so much easier. 

“And besides, you don’t have to be a good singer...to be honest, most people aren’t.” Brooke smiles.

“If you say so....” I mumble. The group of us sit in a booth and order some drinks to get started. I’m going to need a lot more of these to get through this karaoke. If they think I’ll be up on that stage, they have another thing coming.

~~~

Two Hours Later

“Cause tonight for the first time....just about half-past ten....for the first time, in HISTORY....it’s gonna start raining meeeeeen!” I sing into the microphone. The girls cheer from the table. “IT’S RAINING MEN!” Brooke and I both sing/shout into the microphone, our arms around each other.

“I mean we’re gay but yessss!!! Love that!” Vanessa and Sam shout. It turns out it only takes a few more wines to get me up on the stage. Who knew? Brooke and I continue the song and finish to thunderous applause, mostly from the rest of the girls. 

“You’re right!! That was so fun!!!!” I grin, jumping up and down. “I’m sorry for doubting youuuuu.” I pull Brooke into a hug, which she returns. The two of us sit back down at the table. “Katie! Katie! Did you see me?!” I ask. “Wasn’t I good?! Can you believe....Nick had the cheek to say I wasn’t that bad. I’m a star in the making.”

“Who’s Nick?” Sam asks. 

“Well. He’s Adam’s best man. And he is cute as hell.” I grin. Fumbling with my phone, I open instagram to Nick’s profile. “SEE?!” I exclaim, showing them my phone screen. 

“Babeeee, your thumb’s in the way.” Katie tells me, trying to swat it out of the way. I move it, and soon a chorus of ‘awwws’ and ‘wows’ fills the air. 

“You’re right, he’s gorgeous!” Brooke nods. 

“Right? I wish he could see me now. I’m so hot.” The girls agree. “Wait. Katie...I have an idea.”

~~~

A Few Hours Later

Nick’s POV

Yawning, I put my phone on charge and place it on the nightstand. The boys and I had had a fun night together, but I was exhausted, so I decided to go to bed. As I close the curtains, I hear my phone start buzzing on the nightstand. I pick it up, and a bunch of text notifications from Katie pop up on the screen. Chuckling to myself, I open the texts. If I know anything about Katie, I know she’ll most likely be drunk by this point. A picture of Y/N flashes up on the screen, accompanied by a text saying: 

“LOOK HOW GORGEOUSSSSS MY SISTER LOOKS!!!!!!! BET YOU MISS HER, HUH?!” and about a million emojis. I tap on the picture of Y/N, enlarging it. Katie obviously took it whilst she was getting ready, unbeknownst to Y/N. She’s smiling as she applies her makeup, and is looking over at one of the bridesmaids, probably laughing at a joke or something. I smile. She looks so...natural? I’ve been so used to seeing Y/N being fake happy to appease either myself or her sister, and seeing her naturally, with a big smile on her face, not knowing anybody’s watching or taking her photo...she looks beautiful. I mean, she always looks gorgeous, but this time...she looked even more gorgeous. Radiant even. I didn’t even know that was possible. And Katie was right. I do miss her. It was crazy, I’ve only known her for two weeks at this point, but she was quickly becoming someone I cared about, and someone I wanted to see after the wedding. I mean, we had almost kissed...which I initiated...and I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t wished that we had kissed. I don’t think I’ll be forgetting her that quickly. 

I scroll down, and notice a video, which Katie has helpfully captioned with “4 u ;)” I hit play. Y/N Is standing by a karaoke machine, wearing a black sequined jumpsuit, a pink maid of honour sash, and a tiara. She looks great.

“This is for youuuu Nick!” She calls, sounding pretty drunk, pointing directly into the camera. The music starts playing, and I start laughing as soon as I recognise it. It’s Dancing Queen by ABBA. Of course. Y/N immediately starts singing and dancing around the stage. She told me earlier on she couldn’t sing, but she was actually pretty good. I find myself softly singing along as she sings. Soon, the song ends, and she takes a bow to thunderous applause from the bar. She comes running up to Katie’s phone. “Were you filmin?” She asks, before looking right into the camera. “NICK! I hope you enjoyed that, even though you have NO TASTE!!! See you on Sunday!” She blows a kiss to the camera, making me smile. “...Oooh is that more champagne?” She asks, immediately walking away, making me laugh. I type out a text to Katie:

“You’re right. She does look gorgeous. Tell her I enjoyed the song. Enjoy the rest of your night girls x” I put my phone back on the nightstand and get into bed. Sighing, I look up at the ceiling. What is it with me? Y/N has been occupying my thoughts ever since she and Katie left, and I have no idea why. “You know why, you idiot.” Part of me tells myself. “It’s because you like her.” No, that can’t be it...can it? I mean, I had almost kissed her. Oh shit. Maybe I did like her. I prop myself up on my elbow and pick up my phone again. I start scrolling through my photos from the past two weeks. Y/N’s in almost every one. I feel butterflies within as I see her face smiling back at me. Oh god. I think I do like her. But there’s no way she feels the same. 

~~~

The Next Morning

Y/N’s POV

Groaning, I sit up in bed. My head is starting to pound. Getting out of bed, worming my way around the pairs of heels and accessories left on the floor, I walk into the bathroom, gasping when I see myself in the mirror. My mascara is running, my eyeshadow is smudged, and there is glitter all over my face. Sighing, I get undressed and hop in the shower, letting everything wash away with all the soapy water. Once I’m out, I hear Katie’s voice from the other side of the door, and she frantically knocks. 

“Y/N! Y/N! Are you in there?!” She asks. I open the door and see her shocked face on the other side. 

“What? Do you need to puke?” I ask, standing aside.

“NO! LOOK!” She thrusts her phone at me. I take it and look down at it. It’s displaying her texts to Nick. 

“You sent him the video of me singing karaoke?!” I exclaim. Katie frowns. 

“You told me to? And no! I don’t mean that!!” She snatches her phone back and scrolls down. “Look what Nick sent!” She orders. Taking the phone back, I read the message.

“You’re right. She does look gorgeous.” I immediately block out the rest of the message. Those words replay in my mind. Nick....thinks I look gorgeous? Katie is staring at me, clearly waiting on my response...but I can’t think of anything to say. My mind and my heart feel like they’re racing at 100 miles per hour. I mean, it’s not like he outright admitted he was in love with me or anything...but in a way...he kind of did? Holy shit. I don’t even know how I feel about him. I mean, we have almost kissed already, but that doesn’t mean anything, does it? Who am I kidding, of course it means something. It means that I must like him too, or I wouldn’t have almost kissed him. My mind immediately flashes back to the times people thought Nick and I were boyfriend and girlfriend, or telling us we would make a cute couple, how I didn’t want to leave Nick for this weekend...and realisation dawns on me. The reason why I liked being told that, and why I enjoyed being with Nick...is because I wanted it. Do I...like Nick? As in...like, like? ...I think I might?

“Y/N...are you okay?” Katie asks. “You’re kinda spaced out.”

“Yeah, I’m wonderful.” I lie. I feel like my world has been turned upside down, or like the rug has been pulled out from under me, and I might collapse at any moment. Katie raises an eyebrow.

“Y/N...you promised me that if something’s going on, you’d tell me what it was. I can tell something’s up, and I want to know what. Please? You’re my sister. I want to know if something’s bothering you.” She reminds me, and I sigh.

“Fine. We’ll go for some coffee before brunch, and I’ll tell you. Now, will you PLEASE let me get dressed in peace?!”

~~~

Later

I take a sip of my coffee, letting it soothe me and my slowly developing hangover. Katie sits across from me, looking expectantly as she waits on me admitting what’s been going on with me...that I think I have a crush on Nick. Sighing, I meet her gaze...and start telling her everything. How close we’ve grown, how everyone we’ve met thinks we’d be cute together, our almost kiss, how excited I was to see him again, and...how I think I’m falling for him. When I’ve stopped, Katie stares at me silently for what feels like an eternity. I knew she’d need some time to process this...but not this long. “Uh...Katie?” I start, and she immediately cuts me off.

“I KNEW IT!” She gasps, letting out a squeal that makes some of the people in the coffee shop stare. I flush pink, but she doesn’t even notice. “God Y/N, I thought it was going to be something worse than this.” She admits. She sees my pink face and continues. “Y/N. A few days ago, I told you that I’ve seen how happy he makes you, and how it’s like when Adam and I first met. It’s SO OBVIOUS that you like him. Actually...” She giggles, stopping only to take a drink of her coffee. “I didn’t tell you, but last night you were talking about him all the time. Like for the whole night. I think the rest of the girls were too drunk to notice, but I wasn’t. Every five minutes, it was ‘do you think Nick would like this?’ ‘Nick said this...’ ‘Nick said that...’ ‘He’s so cute!’ ‘I want Nick to know how cute I look tonight!’ And now, he does! All thanks to me.” She grins triumphantly. “But seriously Y/N. It’s so obvious. To be honest, I knew that you probably liked him from that first meal in the diner, when you kicked me in the shin.”

“Sorry about that by the way.”

“No, no, don’t be silly! It’s fine. You did that every time I almost spilled your crushes to Grandma. I know you too well. BUT, I did NOT know about this almost kiss though!!!” She squeals again, thankfully quieter this time. “My sister’s getting with the best man!” I quickly shush her.

“No! Nick cannot know. At least, not yet.” She frowns at me. “For one, I have no idea if he even likes me in that way, and second, I am not doing anything to jeopardise your wedding.” Katie scoffs.

“Who cares about my wedding?! My big sister’s finally found the one!” 

“Okay, that’s a bit much, I don’t even know if-”

“Oh, please. I have a feeling that he likes you too, and that you two will be happy for many years to come.” She taps the side of her head as if she’s made a breakthrough, before going back to her coffee. “So...when are you gonna tell him?”

“Katie, did you not hear what I just said? I’m not going to. At least not yet. I do want to know if he likes me back, but I don’t want to take away from your wedding.” She reaches over and takes my hand. 

“Y/N. As your little sister and the bride, you have my blessing to declare your feelings to Nick before my wedding. Seriously. It’s okay. I just want you to be happy.” I smile.

“Thanks sis.” I sigh. She gets down off her seat and hugs me.

“I love you.” She whispers.

“I love you too.”

“...Oh by the way, when I said ‘who cares about my wedding?’ Yeah, well I still care about it. Even though you have my blessing, please don’t let anything go wrong.” I chuckle.

“I won’t. I promise.”

~~~

The Next Day: Sunday - 5 Days til the Wedding

Nick’s POV

Adam’s practically bouncing on his heels as the two of us wait on Katie and Y/N coming back from the bachelorette party. It was cute, though. I had seen his relationship with Katie grow over the years, and was honoured they asked me to be part of their special day. It was so clear how much they loved each other. 

“Dude, calm down.” I smile. “They’ll be here soon.”

“Sorry.” He blushes. “I’ve just been missing Katie, and it’s so close to the wedding now, I’m just...I’m excited to be her husband! I’ll try and calm down.” I smile.

“It’s okay. I just don’t want Katie to come home and find out her fiancé got so excited I had to scrape his body off of the ceiling.” Adam and I laugh.

“So...how about you and Y/N, huh? You excited to see her again?” I nod. Of course I was. “And then you two can finally have that talk.” I frown, looking at him. Did he...did he know? “Oh please, Nick. I’ve seen the way you talk about her. You don’t make it very subtle. You like her, don’t you?” He raises his eyebrows suggestively.

“Well, yeah, but-”

“Not as a friend, as in...that way.” 

“How did you know?” I ask, not even trying to deny it. He chuckles. 

“It’s pretty obvious dude. Both Katie and I have noticed.” Before I can even say anything, he holds his hands up, stopping me. “Don’t worry. Katie and I don’t mind if you and Y/N get together. We just want you both to be happy.” I stand there in silence for a while, not knowing what to say. I mean, he was right, of course...and he gave me his blessing to be with Y/N if it came to that, so what was the issue? Well, of course, she might not like me back...but it was worth a try. “Are you going to talk to her?” Adam asks, looking at me expectantly. 

“...I guess?” I say before even thinking about it. Adam grins and pulls me into a hug. 

“Good luck.” He smiles. Yeah, what could possibly go wrong? Oh right, everything. Soon after, we hear a car pulling up to the house, and we open the door to see the girls getting out and unloading their suitcases and bags. My stomach twists into knots. Katie and Adam spot each other and immediately run into each other’s arms. Walking past them, Y/N walks into the house, standing in the doorway. 

“Hey, Nick.” She smiles softly. The sun behind her illuminates her hair, backlighting her in a golden glow. God, she’s gorgeous. 

“Uh...Hi!” I gasp, quickly realising I hadn’t replied to her. The two of us stand awkwardly silent for a few moments.

“WELL uh, I think I’m going to take these upstairs.” Y/N suddenly announces, making her way towards the stairs. 

“Need a hand?” 

“No! I mean uh...no, I’ll be fine. Thanks Nick.” She walks upstairs, leaving me frowning in the hallway. Why is she being so weird? You don’t think she...oh no. Does she know? Does she know that I think I like her? Does she not feel the same? Oh god, she doesn’t. That’s why she’s so awkward around me. Well, more so than usual. Katie walks into the house and gives me a hug. She winks at me as she also heads upstairs, confusing me even more. What is going on with those two? Sighing, I decide to make us all some tea. As I sit in the living room, drinking my cup, Y/N comes and sits beside me on the couch. “Oh! Thanks, Nick.” She smiles, taking a cup of tea. “So...did you have a nice weekend without us?” She asks. No. I missed you too much. I want to say, but instead, I say:

“Yeah! It was good. We just played some video games.” I immediately curse myself for saying I had a good weekend without her. Now she’ll think I hate her. However, Y/N smiles at that.

“That’s good. Katie told me you saw my karaoke video. Did you like it?” 

“Yeah, I did. You know, you told me you couldn’t sing, but you’re good.” She laughs.

“I don’t think so, but thanks Nick.” She smiles. She glances up as Katie and Adam walk into the room. “I need to talk to you later.” She whispers, before greeting them both. My stomach starts twisting again. Oh god, she’s going to tell me that she doesn’t feel the same, isn’t she? Dammit. Why do I always fall too hard for a girl then end up disappointed? Katie and Adam continue talking to us both, too caught up in the excitement of seeing each other again even to notice how silent Y/N and I are. The atmosphere is shattered by the sound of a car pulling up outside. The four of us look at each other, clearly confused. Nobody else is meant to be staying here now, just us four...so who’s that?

“Did one of your groomsmen forget something?” Y/N asks. Adam and I shake our heads. “And it’s not one of us, because they’re staying in the local hotel, right, Katie?” Katie huffs. 

“It better not be one of them, because I TOLD THEM this house didn’t have enough room for anyone other than us.” A knock sounds at the door. Huffing again, Katie gets up. “Let me handle this.” She sighs. “If it’s our flower vendors, I swear to god, I told them to deliver stuff to the VENUE, NOT HERE.” We hear her voice disappearing down the hallway, and the three of us go back to our tea, expecting Katie to reappear moments later with a quick explanation. Sure enough, we soon hear: “What are YOU doing here?!” Y/N places her cup down and gets up.

“I’ll help her deal with this. Don’t want any issues, like last time.” She gives me a knowing look, and I chuckle lightly. Adam and I go back to scrolling through our phones and drinking tea, until the sound of “Oh, my GOD!” cuts through the air. Frowning, Adam and I look at each other. That was Y/N’s voice. The two of us get up and walk towards the front door. A man stands in the doorway, looking at Y/N and Katie. He hasn’t noticed us yet. Y/N is holding Katie’s hand, clearly squeezing it for dear life, but neither of them says anything. Either to us, the man or each other. Their faces are pale. The man looks over at Adam and I. 

“Ah! Hello there! Now, which of you is the groom?” He asks. 

“Um, I am?” Adam frowns. The man smiles.

“I see! Wonderful to meet you!”

“I’m sorry, sir, but who are you? Can we help you?” I ask. The man chuckles.

“Of course! Where are my manners?!” He asks. “I’m Robert Miller.” He gestures over at the girls, still ghostly pale. “And these two lovely ladies...are my daughters.”

[stardancerluv]

Early Days with Roman

Part 4

Summary: You and Roman, still struggle being a couple. It’s hard for reader. Roman used to be Gotham’s most eligible bachelor, he had his fair share of beautiful exes. Many of whom, he was never loyal to. So reader worries.

Arthor’s Note: This takes place in between the chapters and will go beyond Creative Fervor. This is Roman and Reader from Creative Fervor trying to figure out what they want from each other. These are darker then the fics that came after or before. Roman is still his very dark, sometimes voilent character while Reader accepts and pledges herself to him. Sometimes, he tests her not believing someone like her could truly love him. Songs used- Love is a Battlefield by Pat Benatar, I Want To Know What Love Is by Foreigner & Embracable You by Frank Sinatra

Part One, Two, Three

After, a long hot bath and stretching you slipped on some comfy shorts and a shirt. Tying your hair in a messy ponytail you headed down to your studio. Sitting, down on your chair you eyed the blank canvas.

Hearing, a soft thud you knew that the society papers were delivered. You left the news for Roman to tell you, so all you had to do was focus on the world you created pieces for.

Putting, your pen down you went and got the papers. Sliding open the big heavy door wind swirled about you. You shivered. It had been a pretty mild autumn, but as Thanksgiving was approaching, the cold was finally sinking its teeth in.

Pulling, the rubber bands off you opened the papers and gasped. Roman, was once again splashed across the front pages. He was with his ex who had been his equal. She was the one had stolen his heart. Looking at the photos you wondered if those had been from the gala he had attended last summer. It was the one time, he said you couldn’t attend an event with him. He looked so happy, had a huge smile across his face. Perhaps, they had made up and were seeing each other again. His distrust of women, blossomed because of her. Why, would he even do that? Your worry began to eat at you.

Sliding and locking the door, you scruntized the photos. The ones of the two of you were new. How had the reporter managed to capture a hidden kisses, hidden smiles. You were disgusted. You were angry.

Fuck, all of this you muttered to yourself and threw the papers to the side. You went over your easel to try and work. You couldn’t too many things were rumbling over in your head.

Sighing you reached over and grabbing the remote to your mp3 and pushed play. Soon a steady beat began to play. You hoped it could distract you. You needed to not think about any of this.

First your feet began to tap then you began to feel the music. In the end, you surrendered to it.

We are strong

No one can tell us we're wrong

Searching our hearts for so long

Both of us knowing

Love is a battlefield

Before you knew what was happening, you were dancing all around the room. Your hips swished, you twisted and turned. Horribly off key you singing all into the marker you held onto.

You were feeling exhilarated. Your feeling from before were beginning to fade away. Grabbing, your remote once more you turned up your music and began dancing even harder and signing even louder

I wanna know what love is, I want you to show me

I wanna feel what love is, I know you can show me, oh

I'm gonna take a little time, a little time to look around me

I've got nowhere left to hide, it looks like love has finally found me

******

Roman, had finished with rehearsals.

Circe, had stopped by. She was eager to tell him to show him how the press printed the photos of him and her from the gala last summer. He could careless.

She tried to remind him of how happy they had been. Leaning, on his desk he reminded her how she cheated on him. He also reminded her how they, how he hammer it up for the press. How she was a tool to him to look good in the world pf Gotham for his nightclub. And how in the end he only went to gala, because of his previous obiligation to the event.

Walking away from her and happy that he had no meetings till that evening; he took a car and headed over to your place. Seeing, Circe had left a lingering bad taste in his mouth like always.

As he drove over, he wished you would finally move your studio to the penthouse, but as of yet you had not. Why, wouldn’t listen to him was beyond him. He knew what was best for you. Right now, he could have simply headed upstairs to see you. But now, he had to drive.

He knocked on the door, he knocked again. He knew you were there since your car was. Smiling and hearing your music he went over to wear the spare key was. Letting, himself inside, he locked the door behind him.

Your music greeted him as he walked in. Your taste in music, made him smile. It was different and he found it interesting that it helped him find out more of about you.

He never found anyone as interesting as you. You were fascinating.

Eyeing you, he watched as you sang and danced. Sure you were far from being on key but you were incredibly lovely like this. Your hair was messy and wild, the cute little outfit showed off all your curves. You were everything that was different from Circe, you had grace and real beauty.

Watching you move he smirked. You were his you belonged to him. A certain sense of pride, filled him as he mused. Grabbing, the remote and looking over at the player, he knew exactly, what song he wanted to play next. He tossed the remote to the coffee table, as it began to play. Leaning, against your sofa, he waited for you discover that he was there.

Embrace me, my sweet embraceable you

Embrace me, you irreplaceable you

“Roman!” Your voice rang out and over the music. He had been turning, off his phone when you discovered him. Turning, he smiled at you and put his phone down on the coffee table before he continued to lean.

Just one look at you

My heart grew tipsy in me

You and you alone

Bring out the gypsy in me

You went over to him. Your cheeks were rosy. He smiled down at you. “Hi baby.”

“You scared me.” You crossed your arms in front of yourself.

“Baby, look you’re my girl. No one would dare touch you.”

You rolled yours. “Well, I suppose you’re right.”

Roman rose his eyebrows and nodded.

“Well, after all you were the only who’s ever attempted and succeeded in kidnapping me.”

I love all the many charms about you

Above all, I want these arms about you

Despite, the sweet lyrics that he actually felt, his smile dropped. “That’s a low blow, and that was Zsasz, fucking up not me.” He countered.

“Well, its not as if it’s not true. It did happen.”

Your eyes were a lit, he could see the anger. Behind them something lurked, was that pain, he wondered. He grabbed you and shook you. “What the fuck is your problem?”

“I saw the pictures.”

“What pictures?”

“Of you and Circe. You two seemed to get on again.”

He rolled his eyes, he had already forgotten about the papers. “Those were the press’s benefit.”

“I am so sure, you looked happier in the photos with her then with me.” You huffed.

“Show me.”

“Fine.” You practically stomped over to where you had thrown the papers. “Here.” You practically threw them at him. That didn’t make him happy.

Catching them, he looked them over. “Yeah?” He looked over at you.

“Well, look at you two.”

“I did.”

“You belong, together. She is a much better compliment to who you are.”

Hearing, your words annoyed him. He was in no mood discuss this matter. He was going to take matters into his own hands.

Picking you up and put you over his shoulder. “Let me go.” You wiggled.

“Stop wiggling.” He smacked your ass, the sound bounced off the concrete walls.

@darling-i-read-it @spn-obsessed-dean @vintagemichelle91 @xxxeatyourh3artoutxxx @ewanfuckingmcgregor @zodiyack @angel98624 @frenchgirlinlondon @nebulastarr @emyliabernstein @thepeachreads @itsknife2meetu @omghappilyuniquebouquetlove @nomnomnomnamja @poe-kadot26 @top-rumbelle-fan @babydoll97 @hazel-nuss @vcat55 @feelthemadnessinside @rosionis @queenofgotham800 @brookisbi @peachthatdrinkslemonade @johallzy @foreverhockeytrash @frostypenguinoz @starwarsslytherin @proffesionalclown @chogisss @dance-like-russia-isnt-watching @shantellorraine @xxinvisiblexx @pooshnulooshnu @speedypartyducksuitcase @blondekel77 @corey-clown @drarrylov3r @hollywood2k16

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

kiss me in the d-a-r-k .epilogue vi. finale

the day of

Warnings: non/dub con sex (intercourse, oral)

This is dark!(dad)Steve and explicit. 18+ only.

Summary: Things are laid out for the reader.

Note: So this is the last part of the epilogue. I’m not gonna promise a sequel but I will leave the possibility open in the future. Maybe we’ll see our reader again somewhere down the road. But to all those who have read and supported this series, thank you. I appreciate you and I love you. You guys don’t realize how much you mean. I really hope you enjoy. 💋

<3 Let me know what you think in a reblog or like (feel free to leave your thoughts in a reply if you don’t wanna reblog)!

...

On Wednesday, you sat your midterm in the morning and if it wasn’t for your still tender ass, it would’ve been perfect. You walked out confident. You were one of the first to finish and that allotted you a whole hour and a half between the exam and your next class. 

You took out your phone, on airplane mode for the test, and flipped it back into service. Several messages littered your inbox, all from one man. Steve texted last night after your meeting with Bucky but hadn’t shown up to your relief. For once, his business kept him from you. 

You scrolled through the bubbles: ‘good luck, sweetie,’ ‘call me when your done’, etc. His impatience was obvious even though he’d known you wouldn’t see til now. You headed for the cafe below the library and ordered your usual before you hit call.

You sat in the corner as the steam rose from the paper cup and the other end picked up almost immediately. “Uh, hey,” You turned and looked out the window onto campus. The trees were barren and the leaves dried and dying. The city’s first snow was imminent.

“Hey, sweetie,” You could hear him moving around as he spoke. “How was the exam?”

“Good, good,” You bent a leg over the other and sat nervously on the edge of your chair. “I think, at least.”

“Great. You got classes too?” He asked and you rubbed your chin. Should you mention Bucky and the evening appointment. Let him know that you’d been sussed out.

“Till five,” You answered and pushed back your dread. “Mostly review. The rest of my midterms are next week.”

“Well, you got early classes tomorrow?” He prodded. 

“Why do you ask?” You glanced around and blew over the top of your cup.

“Why do you think?” You could hear his smirk. “I’ve got dinner with Kylie tonight. Should be done by eight. I thought maybe you’d wanna meet up after.”

“Oh…” You tapped your fingers on the side of the cup. “I don’t know…” It felt wrong, sneaking in after a visit from his daughter; your friend. “Maybe I should just have a quiet night in.”

“It’s your call but I leave Friday morning. It might be our last chance.” He sounded disappointed despite his nonchalant words.

“Hmm,” You thought and silence buzzed on the line. “Steve?”

“Yeah?” 

“When you leave, is this all...over?” You had to force the last word out. It didn’t want to rise though you knew it needed to.

He laughed softly. It was comforting, not mocking. “Sweetie, we’ll talk about all that tonight. So, how about I pick you up at nine?”

You sat back and swung your leg nervously. “Okay, nine,” You acquiesced. 

“See ya then, sweetie,” He replied smugly. “Oh, one more thing.”

“Yeah?” Your heart fluttered. You wondered for a moment if Bucky had confronted him too. You braced the table and held your breath.

“Check your mailbox.” He said. “And wear something nice.”

“O-okay,” You stuttered as you exhaled, your chest ready to burst. “I’ll see you at nine.”

The line clicked and you set your phone face down beside your coffee. You sat back and crossed your arms. This was all getting very complicated. And messy.

-

Your classes passed slowly. You scribbled down the notes for your review and tried not to let your mind wander. As you walked across campus and headed for the subway, your phone vibrated. You huffed and pulled it out as you walked blindly by the buildings.

‘You free tonight, girl. Party at 10.’ Kylie’s message blinked at you. You stopped and once more a storm of nerves swept over you. Your finger hovered over the screen as you tried to muster your latest lie. ‘Sorry. Studying tonight. Maybe this weekend.’ Her response was quick; terse. ‘Boo’.

As you stood in the middle of campus, the last few days mounted on your shoulders. What were you doing? You were sneaking around like some character on an HBO serial. You should’ve been on your way home to study and not to wait around for you illicit lover. Or thinking about the night you’d just spent with your professor.

You broke from your shameful trance and rushed past the other students. You didn’t want to wait around for the third train of the hour. You reached the platform just as the train was ready to close its doors. You clung to the bar as it sped along the tunnels and counted the stops. 

You had more than enough time to eat before your little rendezvous. Your building was grim as you walked up to it. You almost forgot to stop at your mailbox as you entered and you found a small black box inside. You took it and the monthly university newsletter and head up to your bachelor.

You shoved a thin crust in the oven and sat on your bed as you streamed to your small television. You waited for the timer to tick down and opened the small black box. You rolled your eyes as you pulled out the folded lace. Sheer white with floral embroidery; it offered little cover, if any. The panties were high-waisted and the bra thinly strapped. Steve had more than just another meet-up in mind.

You texted him as you ate your pizza. ‘Really?’ He replied with a winky emoji and nothing else. You finished your dinner, washed your face and freshened your hair. You wore a simple. long-sleeved dress over the lingerie; a blush coloured sheath you still had the tags on. Your legs would be cold but you didn’t expect to be outside much.

As time wore on, your anxiety piqued. You paced in your wedged boots. Second thoughts and eager expectations mingled into a maelstrom inside of you. Your phone buzzed on the nightstand and you unplugged it as the clock read 9:07. The singular text greeted you. ‘Here.’

You took a breath and grabbed your plain black coat and buttoned it up to your chin. Your purse hung from your elbow as you locked the door behind you and tripped down the stairs two at a time. You nearly fell on your face as you emerged onto the crooked walkway and Steve’s rover loomed along the curb.

You opened the door and slipped inside. “Hey,” You said breathily as you buckled up. He leaned over and kissed your cheek. When you were strapped in he grabbed your chin and pressed his lips to yours. He was eager.

“Hey,” He pulled away and looked out on the street. “You look nice, sweetie.”

You smiled and thanked him quietly as he pulled out. 

“Did you eat?” He asked as he stared at the road.

“Yes, I did, dad,” You said mockingly but your voice cracked and died in a deathly silence. 

He stopped at a sign and looked over at you. You shyly glanced over and he smiled the moment your eyes met. “I’d prefer daddy, but whatever you like, sweetie.” Your cheeks burned as he chuckled and you played nervously with a button on your coat.

“I didn’t mean too…” You muttered.

“It was funny.” He assured you as he turned his attention back to driving. “Cute.”

You nodded and kept quiet, afraid of another slip. Freud would be all too excited to be a passenger on this ride. You tilted your head as he turned away from downtown; away from his hotel.

“Where are we going?” You asked meekly.

“It’s a surprise,” He said coyly. “Are you wearing it?”

“Y-yes.” You crossed your arms and kept track of each turn in your head.

When he stopped, you looked up at the high-rise and blinked in confusion. Your apartment was little more than a closet compared to the penthouses housed in this upscale building. You still had no idea what was going on. 

Steve got out and came around to open your door as you gaped. Your heels wobbled beneath you as you stepped out and he typed on his phone with one hand as he offered you his other. He tucked his phone away and led you up the broad steps of the building and past the tall fountain that crested the lawn.

“Steve...?” Your eyes lit up as you took in the extravagance. Well, compared to your digs.

“I told you, it’s a surprise, sweetie.” He let go of your hand and opened the front door for you. 

He was past you in an instant and rang the buzzer with the touch pad. Only a long buzz sounded in response and he opened the next door. You were fidgety in the elevator. The ascent was silent as you peeked over at Steve several times. Only a knowing smirk in response; devious.

As the doors opened, you stepped out into the single floor penthouse. The dark hardwood floors were pristine and polished and the large living room was bookmarked between a tall brick fireplace and a set of glass shelves decorated with degrees, awards, and a menagerie of ornaments.

You stopped as Steve closed the elevator lock up behind you. You turned back to him and shook your head in confusion. He neared and framed your face with his hands as he leaned in to kiss you. 

“Be good, sweetie.” He kissed you again and stood straight. He smiled over your head and you sensed another.

“Why don’t you take off your coats and settle in?” Bucky asked and his blue eyes flicked towards you. “You want anything from the bar?”

You looked between them. Your heartbeat had doubled and you felt light headed. “What’s going on?”

“We talked,” He said cryptically. “It’s all good, sweetie.”

He unbuttoned your coat for you as you stared at him dumbly. He slipped it down your arms and you snapped out of your trance. You watched him hang your coat next to his and turned back to the room. Bucky was behind the bar with three glasses set out.

“So, what’s it gonna be? Gin, scotch, I’ve got some wine.” He offered.

“I…” Steve nudged you and you edge into the living room. Steve passed you and sat on the chaise, his hand patted the space beside him. “Gin and ice is fine, thank you.”

You sat beside Steve and clasped your hands together. You wondered if alcohol was a wise decision but it would help with your nerves. Your mind began to run wild with possibilities. Whatever they had planned couldn’t just be talking.

Steve’s hand went to your lower back as Bucky neared with the glasses. He handed you one and Steve another, and sat with his own on the other side of you. You were trapped between the two men on the chaise. You gulped down half the drink and crossed your legs.

“Slow down, baby, it’s gonna be a long night,” Bucky grinned and sipped from his own glass. “Did you talk to her?”

“I figured there wasn’t much to say,” Steve shrugged. “You want both of us, don’t you, sweetie?”

Your eyes threatened to pop out of your head as you glanced between them. You drained the last of your gin and bent over to set it on the table. “Uh, yeah, I…” You blinked and focused on the ice, “Well, I mean...I…”

“Don’t worry, we’ll take it slow.” Steve assured you. “We just wanna get this all sorted out before I leave. When I’m gone, Bucky will look after you.”

Bucky placed his glass beside yours, the dark alcohol barely touched. His hand went to your thigh and Steve rubbed your back soothingly. You were tempted to drink Bucky’s whiskey for him. Steve took another swig and added a third tumbler to the table. He grabbed your other thigh and both men squeezed as they leaned closer.

“Why don’t you show Bucky your little surprise?” Steve purred.

You tilted your head, confused at first, and Steve’s fingers ran up your back. The lingerie. You nodded and stood, glad to be free of their touch. You looked down at your body and slowly turned to face them. You bent to unzip your scuffed wedges and stepped out of them. Your dress felt thinner as you lifted your eyes to them. Steve nodded for you to go on.

You reached back and tugged down your zipper. As the dress loosened you paused and both men watched eagerly. What were you doing? Six months ago, you were a reticent virgin and now you were in some sordid ritual with these two men. 

The heat of their gaze nipped at your doubts and you pulled the zipper down entirely. You let the sleeves fall down your arms and the swish of the skirts as the dress fell to your feet was your white flag. It was done. There was no turning back.

You dared to look at them. Steve grinned and Bucky’s brows shot up. They both shifted on the chaise and you kept your hands to your sides, nervously waiting for the next move.

“It’s all you,” Steve intoned as he stood. He brushed past you, his hand tickled your thigh and he pinched your ass. You watched as he crossed the room and sat on the couch opposite. He sank into the cushion and draped his arm along the back. “Take your time.”

Bucky’s hand on yours drew you back to him. He pulled you closer until you stood between his knees. You looked down at him as his hands explored your body. He cupped your tits through the sheer fabric, your nipples hardened against his palm. He tickled along your waist and hips and snaked around to squeeze your ass.

“Sit down,” He nodded beside him.

You did as he said without thinking. He turned to you and brought his hand up behind your neck. He kissed you forcefully and pushed his hand between your thighs. You opened your mouth to his as he devoured you and tucked your fingers beneath his belt. He groaned as you clung to the top of his pants.

He pulled your legs apart and dragged his fingers along the crotch of your pants. You moaned and he slid his fingers beneath the fabric. He pushed between your folds and circled your clit. You parted and gasped at the sudden tingle.

He slipped from the chaise and to his knees. He came up between your legs and continued to play with you. He hooked his fingers under the panties and pulled them aside as he replaced his hand with his mouth. You were entranced by the sight of him knelt before you. His dark hair was streaked with silver but thick. You leaned back on your hands as he teased you with his tongue.

Your eyes were drawn to the other side of the room. Steve hadn’t moved. His eyes sparkled as he watched intently. You closed your eyes and let your head fall back as you sank into Bucky. He licked and suckled as his hand crawled along your thigh. He traced around your entrance and shoved two fingers inside. Your legs tensed and your nails dug into the cushion.

He curled his fingers and you moaned louder. His tongue never stopped as he started to move his hand. The last of your insecurity disappeared and you could think of was the whirlwind of nerves spiraling around your core. You latched onto the back of Bucky’s head and pushed him deeper as you beckoned your climax closer. He hummed as his tongue lured you onward until you were shaking and sputtering in unyielding ecstasy.

He didn't stop until you were out of breath and mewling. He lifted his head and let your panties go. "Lay down, baby."

You pulled your legs up and spread out on the chaise as you came down from your high. Bucky stood and undressed as his eyes roved your body. He was thicker than Steve, his stomach not as toned but still in good shape. You realized you'd never seen him naked despite your lurid meetings.

He climbed up with you, again between your legs. He grabbed your legs and pulled them up to rest against his chest. Next he gripped you hips and dragged you down the chaise. His tip pressed against you and slipped between your folds.

He entered you and let out a long breath. You whined as he bottomed out. A flood of relief flowed through you and you reached back to claw the end of the chaise.

As he began to thrust, the chaise groaned and world seemed to quake beneath you. Each time he rocked his hips, he sped up just a little; faster, deeper. Your moans kept time with him and your voice rose in a symphony.

Your eyes rolled back and Bucky held your ankles against his shoulders as he hammered into you. Your back arched and you growled like an animal in heat. Your voice, his, the sound of your flesh together, drove you wild and bloomed in a paralysing orgasm.

Bucky's hand slipped down to your thighs and pushed your legs higher. He pounded into you and grunted louder and louder as he neared his peak. You egged him on as you reached around your hip to touch his thigh. 

He let go of your legs and pinned your hands beside your head as he raised himself on his knees. He fucked you harder as he held you to the plush cushion and you whimpered as another explosion shook your core. 

He sank into you with drawn out thrusts and snarled. He pulled out and released your wrists. His cum shot out along your pelvis and along your pussy. He spread it between your folds with his cock and leaned back on his heels. Satisfied.

"Bring her over here," Steve's voice scared you. You'd forgotten he was there. 

Bucky, panting and sweaty, took your hand and pulled you off the chaise. You followed him blindly, your head in a spin. Steve stood too, as methodical in undressing as Bucky. He smirked as Bucky sat you down and you slumped onto your side.

Bucky backed away as Steve lowered himself onto the couch. He pulled your leg up as he slid between you and the back of the couch. He hooked his thick arm under you and draped your leg over his. He played with your thrumming clit before he lined himself up with your entrance.

He impaled you slowly. He breath whisked across your cheek and he continued to play with your bud as he moved inside you. 

"She was a virgin, you know that?" He said to Bucky as he rocked his hips. "When we met. She's still tight, isn't she?" He nibbled your ear and growled as Bucky's shadow loomed in your peripheral.

"A quick learner," Bucky remarked. 

You barely heard their little aside. You were too bound up in this bliss to care. That voice in the back of your head was smothered by that louder one which had taken over of late. 

Who cared if they were using you, you were using them too. You enjoyed it just as much and why shouldn't you? Sex was sex and you were only human.

You lifted your head as Bucky neared and sat on the other end of the couch. He shifted so that your head was in his lap as Steve continued to fuck you. He turned your head and forced your mouth around his cock. He was still a little soft but quickly stiffened as you began to bob your head.

You found it harder to keep your mouth working as Steve's fingers and cock stoked your core. Bucky held the back of your neck to keep you from pulling away. You hummed around his cock and squeaked as you came in a series of twitches.

Steve turned you onto your stomach as Bucky stayed in your mouth. Steve pinned your legs with his thighs as he pounded into you and the cushions bounced under you. Their grunts were deep and rhythmic. Hypnotic, even.

"Ah, fuck, sweetie, I'm gonna cum," Steve growled. "Shit." 

He slammed into you one last time before he pulled out. He came on your pussy and added to the mess you'd become. Bucky didn't stop, didn't waver as he guided your mouth up and down his length. You pushed yourself up just a little and tended to him fervently.

"Shit," Bucky swore and caressed the top of your head. "I'm gonna cum all over your face, baby. Come on."

He tugged on your hair and you removed your mouth with a pop. You stroked him with your hand and his cum spurted out along your lips and cheeks and dribbled down your chin.

You let go, out of breath, and Steve pulled you up by your arm and let you pant against the couch. You were shaky, numb but oversensitive, your vision hazy and yet vivid. You tasted Bucky's salty cum and your fingers dipped between your legs to feel the slickness there.

"Do you understand, sweetie?" Steve spoke softly as he pushed your hair back and kissed your temple. "When I leave, Bucky will take care of everything you need. Can you be a good girl for him?"

You nodded dully and your eyes lolled over to look at Bucky as he leaned back and sighed. Steve's hand fell, traced the line of your collar bone, cupped your tit, and walked along your stomach to the top of your vee.

"You want another drink, sweetie?" He coaxed. "A little break?"

You blinked and licked your lips, the cool cum was sticky. You placed your hand on Steve's and pushed it between your legs. "I don't need a break."

[scarefox]

Due to corona and me technically being through with all my classes I didn’t attend any class since one year maybe, or longer? I only have one math exam and my bachelors left till I am finally free.

Was working in the meantime, life + pandemic happened etc. feels like I wasn’t in school since 10 years.

But I decided to go back to that one math class, to get better prepared for the exam. Even though I already passed the class (just need the exam to finish it).

It’s so weird. This is a 2020 class and I am from the 2016 class :D..... just loaded their schedule into my calendar. I feel like an adult going back to High-School. But at least it’s still an online class, so nobody is gonna see me and wonder who that random person is.

[collecting-stories]

Love at Frost Sight

A/N: This is the Christmas fic that I wrote for my sister after she said “wouldn’t it be great if Jeffrey Dean Morgan was the love interest in one of these cheesy hallmark movies?”. I don’t intend this to be a ‘real person’ fic but I seriously can’t think of any other name for him so I’ve just been using Jeff. 

Christmas Mingle Masterlist

_* ◦ ❅ . ❄︎ * ∙ ◦ . _

Two Weeks Before Christmas 

Audrey rolled her eyes, practically into the back of her head, as she leaned against the monitor of her cash register, Jingle Bells playing for what felt like the fifteenth time since her shift started that morning. She hated Christmas and, even more than that, she hated Christmas shoppers. 

She knew that most people were preparing to celebrate the most wonderful time of the year but she was not. The only thing she was interested in celebrating was the finalizing of her divorce papers, if she could just get her ex-husband to sign. How many years could a person be separated before they took the hint and realized that it was over? She'd felt like she'd been waiting years to hear from her lawyer and with Christmas right around the corner Audrey had the sinking feeling that she was going to be waiting into the New Year. 

As customers neared her lane, she flicked the light off above her till and slipped out, heading for the customer service counter to let them know she was stepping outside for a break. She didn't smoke but if everyone else could get five minutes every time they "needed a cigarette" she should get at least ten for suffering through customers that would've been theirs. It was cold outside anyway, the fact that she was willing to brave the 30 below temperature should be indication enough that this third loop through Sliver Bells was three times too many for her nerves. Maybe she should take up smoking. 

"Cady, I'll be right back." She called, waving to the woman behind the desk. Audrey had been working retail for the last eight months, since the family owned home goods shop she'd been managing had closed down. Ten years with the same company and all she had to show for it was a couple sentences on her resume. It didn't matter now though, whether it was the home goods store or Target, it wasn't what she really wanted to be doing with her time. 

The only shining star in the entirety of her months at Target was Cady, her sometimes carpool and generally the nicest person she knew. Cady knew every Dolly Parton song from start to finish and she loved Christmas, far more than any one person should. She spent half her pay in the so-called Wondershop, obsessed with the glitziest, pinkest, most Christmas-y items there. Her apartment looked like an ad for the holiday and, if Audrey didn't desperately need a friend who didn't also know her ex, Cady's obsession would send her running for the hills. 

"You know what?" Cady's voice came from behind her and Audrey turned around to see her pulling her jacket on over her red Christmas sweater, "I saw this app for the Holidays."

"Oh god, not another holiday dating app scheme. Please, Cads, I really just came out here to be alone for a couple of minutes." Audrey insisted. She wasn't sure she had it in her to listen to some Project Christmas or Christmas Coupling app sell.  

"This isn't like those, don't be such a grinch." Cady laughed, pulling her phone out of her pocket and swiping it open to show Audrey the app she was talking about. It was exactly the Tinder for Christmas, 'meet fun people' nonsense, that Audrey suspected it would be. "You can meet people in your area who 'don't do Christmas' too...it's like a 'hey I need a date for this holiday party' deal." 

"I do Christmas," Audrey insisted, thinking immediately of her mother's impending Christmas Eve party and her brother's Christmas open house, "I just don't do 'cutting down my own tree to a montage of Santa songs'. And I don't need an app, especially a holiday one, to find a date." 

"You should give it a try, maybe you'll meet someone." 

"I'm not really interested in meeting someone." Wasn't it good enough that she'd given so much of her time and devotion to Chris? Did she have to find more of it and give that away too? She had been sincere when she told Chris that she was done. Done with relationships and love and everything that came with it. "Losing another 15 pounds or actually completing those yoga classes I'm paying for, sure, but not meeting someone."

"Maybe it'll shake you out of your funk?" Cady suggested, waving her phone in Audrey's face as if that would do anything to convince her that she should give the app another thought. 

"I'm not in a funk. I just don't like Christmas." Wasn't it enough that she didn't like Christmas? Did she have to have a reason? 

"Just give it a try." She pressured.

Audrey rolled her eyes, once again, at the peer pressure techniques of her co-worker turned friend. Cady didn't have much to complain about in the relationship department. She was dating a guy who acted like she had invented the wheel, he did everything for her all the time and their relationship felt like looking through life with an instagram filter. It was all 'no complaints' and 'everything's perfect'. 

"What's the app called?"

"Christmas Mingle." 

"I hate that so much," Audrey muttered as she pulled her phone out of her pocket and opened the app store. The things she would do to get her friends off her back truly astounded her sometimes. She swiped through selfies that she had stored in her phone, trying to find one that didn't look too tragic to make her profile picture. This was just what she needed at Christmas, a bunch of desperate guys eager to find someone for a couple of meaningless dates. "You might as well sign me up for the Bachelor or something."

"Don't think I haven't thought about it." Cady joked, walking beside Audrey as they headed back into the warmth of Target, the overhead speaker reminding them to do their holiday shopping in store or online. Audrey held her tongue, not wanting to give Cady any more ridiculous ideas about her love life as she finished filling out her profile. Was it too cynical to say that she hated cliche dating apps and holiday themed anything? 

Cady let out a squeal as she peered passed Audrey's arm, watching her best friend press the green ok button, "this is so exciting."

"Come on Cads, this stuff is trash and you know it. No one ever meets their soulmate on these apps." Audrey laughed, pocketing her phone as she returned to her station, shrugging off her jacket.

"Some people do. My cousin met a guy on Match and she loves him." She replied, "besides, maybe you'll get someone you can take to your mom's Christmas Eve party?"

"Oh yeah, 'hey I know we just met on an app where you could be cat-fishing me but why don't we go to my family Christmas party'. That'll be something." 

"That's what it's for." Cady pointed out. 

"Get your light on Audrey." Marci called as she walked by the register, disrupting the two women chatting. 

"It really infuriates me that she's a manager...she's like 12 years younger than me." Audrey huffed, flicking her light on and watching Marci circle back around, that bounce still in her step that Audrey had lost too long ago.

"I'm ten years younger than you." Cady joked. Audrey frowned, looking over at Cady as she smiled back. Everyone else her age felt like they were hitting milestones that Audrey wasn't anywhere close to and the fact that her closest friend was 26 years old just made her feel like she had failed somewhere along the way. Why wasn't she brunching with other moms after dropping her kids at the Y? 

"I know you wanna hang out here until someone swipes right on me or whatever but it's not gonna happen so, you might as well just head back to customer service." Audrey pointed out, knowing exactly why Cady was hovering around her till. 

"Fine...tell me the minute someone does 'swipe right' though okay?" 

"Okay, go...goodbye." Audrey waved her off as a customer stepped into her line, beginning to load their groceries as Jingle Bells started to play. 

Today was going to take a whole bottle of wine if Audrey wanted any chance at all of forgetting that she had given up the last shred of dignity she had left by uploading her profile to a dating app. And a Christmas themed one at that. 

_* ◦ ❅ . ❄︎ * ∙ ◦ . _

Though Audrey hadn't said anything about it to Cady, and she wouldn't if she could help it, she wasn't totally off the market. She had gone on a few dates, nothing serious, and nothing that had paned out so far. Mostly just guys that had her rethinking the divorce because, if this was the dating pool left, maybe Chris wasn't the worst guy on the market. She was so wary of stupid apps  like Match and Tinder because she'd tried them and they had been nothing but a disappointment. And still, she had caved to Cady. Maybe it was peer pressure or maybe there really was a small part of her that was ready to move on, even if she didn't want to admit it. And she really didn't.

Home was an apartment above a law office downtown. Once upon a time it had been in walking distance of the shop that Audrey had managed. A quaint little place on the main street of a town that felt so much like a greeting card. She had started renting the apartment the night after she told Chris that their marriage was over. Just four years into it, he was the same person he'd been when they'd married and somewhere along the line she had forgotten what about that person she actually liked. Was he funny? Kind? Intelligent? Did he tick any of her boxes? She honestly couldn't remember. It was like she'd been living in a fog and when it lifted she just up and left with it. But Chris didn't let go, just like she should've known that he wouldn't, and so she'd been waiting four extra years just for him to sign some papers. 

The little apartment that had been her home for the last four years was devoid of any Christmas decorations, an outward reflection of her inward feelings about the holiday. There was no tree, no lights, nothing to indicate that the 25th of December was more than just another day on the calendar. She kicked her shoes off by the door, sliding her feet into her slippers almost immediately as she padded across the hardwood floor in pursuit of the kitchen and the bottle of red that she had sitting on the counter. Cady had bought her a in-shower wine glass holder and she had never been more appreciative of it than she was tonight. Exhausted and annoyed and happy to be in a room that wasn't playing every Christmas song that she hated. Even the Chinese food place two stores down had a tree in their front window. 

She poured herself a glass of red and headed for the bathroom, happy for a hot shower. Just as she suspected, Chris' lawyer had never gotten back about the papers, which meant that, for a the fourth complete year in a row he was refusing to sign the papers. She knew that by now she could just file without him but something about that made her feel bad, even when she knew it shouldn't. Had it really come to that? Him holding on to nothing while she ran as far away from it as she could? She didn't owe him anything, she'd given more than enough and yet, somehow, she couldn't bring herself to go through the divorce proceedings without him. Maybe Cady was right, maybe she did need to meet a guy. The app had given no notification and honestly, she couldn't be surprised. Her life was not a movie, as much as she wished it was some Bridget Jones rom-com that could assure her that everything would work out. No one was going to immediately respond and be the perfect guy. Kiss a few toads, as she could imagine her cousin saying. 

In the four years that she had come to live in the apartment, even after the shop closed, Audrey had come to love the place. The first place she had ever lived outside of her parents house and a dorm room had been the house Chris had leased for them. It was an amazing feeling, uncompromising, to have a place that was just hers. Just her stuff, just her taste, she didn't have to cater to anyone or listen to anyone. She ate whatever she wanted, wore whatever she wanted, watched whatever she wanted. In all honesty she wasn't sure why she hadn't tried single life sooner. But she knew the one set back, the thing everyone always mentioned, especially around the holidays. Didn't she get lonely? Weren't there times when she walked through that door and wished there was someone to greet her? Didn't she long for companionship? She wasn't so sure she wanted to try companionship again, considering the way it had ended last time. She was afraid, every time she thought about it, that this was just the type of person she was...she would always enter a relationship with her rose tinted glasses and she would always be disappointed when she took them off. 

Her phone dinged from the sink and Audrey popped her head out of the shower and looked across the small bathroom, "And so it begins." She said to herself, leaving the shower running as she stepped out, wet feet soaking the towel she had laid down across the tiles. She walked to the counter and grabbed her phone, wiping the fog so she could see the notification on her screen. A message from Christmas Meet-Cute, someone had swiped. 

She hummed as she scrolled through the guy's profile. He was older, older than her. Single dad to a 7-year-old 'spitfire' named Charlie. Audrey backtracked to the shower, grabbing her glass of wine and taking a large gulp. A kid? Did she want to date a guy with a kid? It was nice of him to lay it all out there and damn, did he look amazing in his profile pic, and sure, this wasn't the start of the rest of her life but did she want to date a guy with a kid? That was not something she imagined for herself at this point in her life. Thirty-six and starting over felt a little too mature to be thinking along the lines of mom, even if there was a step in front of that. 

"Chill out," she muttered to herself, scrolling back through the app to read the message he had sent her. 

_* ◦ ❅ . ❄︎ * ∙ ◦ . _

"Come on Charlie," Jeff pleaded once more, looking away from his phone and the message that was waiting his reply. Charlie, the near spitting image of his father as a boy, was sitting at the kitchen table, eyes trained on his Nintendo Switch. The handheld gaming console sat on top of the notebook that Charlie was supposed to be doing his math homework in. The closer it got to Christmas the harder he was to reign in. "Homework before games."

"But dad...I'm almost done," he whined, eyes never straying from Animal Crossing. Jeff had cautioned his mom against buying her only grandchild a switch for his seventh birthday but she couldn't be persuaded and now he was the one paying the price. 

"We agreed buddy, school first, games second." Jeff insisted, "turn it off and finish your homework."

"Fine." He grumbled, saving the game where he was and pushing the device across the table away from him. As soon as Jeff turned his back Charlie would have the game back in his hands, they both knew it but Jeff pretended to have garnered a win as he looked back down at his phone and the message there. 

It had been almost seven years, almost Charlie's entire life, since Jeff's wife had passed away, and longer still since he had even thought about dating. But he would be lying if he said that he wasn't lonely. That once Charlie turned in for the night and it was just him, sitting up alone, that he didn't long for someone else there. A companionship that a son couldn't offer. He wanted someone in his life again, someone he could share every part of himself with. It was a little hopeful and far too cliche for a man his age but he couldn't help being that way. 

-Hey, how're you?-

It wasn't exactly the message of the century but he still mulled over his response. It felt so casual. Was he supposed to dive right in and ask her out to dinner? Should he even be considering dating a week before Christmas? He glanced back over at Charlie, craning his neck to look at the nintendo switch as he scribbled gibberish attempts at math in his notebook. Jeff took another look  at his phone and answered. 

-Doing alright, I'm pretending I know something about second grade math.-

-Sounds rough.-

Jeff smiled, shaking his head as he placed his phone down and headed back to the kitchen table.  "Alright Charlie, lets see if we can get through this math." He said, pulling up a chair and sitting down next to his son. 

"I got it." Charlie insisted as he snuck his hand across the notebook to reach for his nintendo. 

Jeff closed his hand over Charlie's, "no nintendo, remember?"

"I'm almost at the next part of the game." 

"The next part of the game will still be there." Jeff reasoned as he moved his hand, pushing the nintendo out of his son's reach. "Come on kiddo, homework first."

"Fine."

Charlie's homework didn't take as long as Jeff was afraid that it would and, as Charlie finished the last problem on the paper Jeff grabbed his phone off the counter to check the messages. The 'sounds rough' from earlier was still sitting there, alone, waiting for a response. He worried for a minute, as he typed one out, that the woman on the other end would have moved on. Life online felt like it moved a little too fast for him but he tried to keep up with it, at least in hopes that it would pay off. 

-Finally finished. Not as smart as I remember.- 

-I'm sure that's not true.-

He smiled as the text came right back. Even if this mystery person was talking to other people, and he was sure she probably was, it felt like everyone always was, he appreciated that it felt like she was only talking to him. 

"Dad!" Charlie slipped off his chair and ran into the living room where the tree was. On the record cabinet by the fireplace, the one that was playing an old jazz Christmas album, was Charlie's advent calendar. "We forgot to pick out the chocolate for today!"

"Oh man, what's today's drawer?" Jeff asked, pocketing his  phone again and walking into the living room where Charlie had grabbed a seat on the couch, advent drawer in his lap as he looked down at the two pieces of lindt chocolate. 

"Lindt!" He exclaimed, holding the pieces of chocolate up to his face like they were eyeballs. Jeff laughed as Charlie lowered them again, opening one immediately to eat it. "Lindt is my favorite!" 

"I know." Jeff ruffled his son's hair, "we'll pack the other for your lunch tomorrow, alright?"

"Okay, but don't put it in the front pocket or it'll get squished." Charlie explained, handing over the chocolate and the trash to his dad. 

Advent chocolate was followed by bedtime, changing into pajamas and reading a story, Christmas themed as per Charlie's request, before turning out the lights for bed. Once he was sure that Charlie was on his way to falling asleep Jeff headed back downstairs to finish cleaning up the kitchen. He grabbed a beer from the fridge and took his phone out as he reclined on the couch. These were the moments that he missed his wife the most. He knew it should've been at baseball games or birthday parties but it wasn't. It was once Charlie was asleep and he was alone again, not something he had ever really been accustomed to in his life and certainly not something he enjoyed. 

-Sorry, I had to put my son to bed.-

-No worries, I'm watching some cheesy Christmas movie my friend suggested and enjoying some Chinese food.-

-What's your order?-

-Why?-

Jeff took a sip of his beer as he texted, feeling somewhat like a teenager, staying up late at night to talk to a girl. 

-A bad Chinese order is a deal breaker.-

-Damn, so soon? Ok. S&S chicken and these like, rice noodles. Idk what they're called but they are AMAZING!-

-Thats all? Come on.-

-I'm one person! How much food do you want me to eat?-

-You gotta have leftovers.-

-I know this sounds gross but leftover Chinese for breakfast is like a weird comfort food for me.-

-How would you feel if I proposed right now?-

-Moving a little fast there Jeff? Lol, maybe a date first?-

-Name the time and place.-

_* ◦ ❅ . ❄︎ * ∙ ◦ . _

The mulling was somehow worse than Audrey remembered it being. That gnawing feeling on inadequacy as she stood in front of her closet and tried to piece together some sort of smart but casual outfit that didn't scream 'hopeless' when she put it on. She tried the black dress she'd bought two years ago but it felt too much like she was dressing for a funeral. Red felt too on the nose; a date at Christmastime in a red dress? How much more of a cliche could she make herself? She settled, after all that stressing, on a fairisle sweater that wasn't too loose and a pair of jeans tucked into her favorite chelsea boots. Maybe it wasn't exactly the vibe she was going for but in looked nice enough and she could get away with the french braid that she had resolved not to take out of her hair. 

She had called Cady in a panic. The only friend she could reach out to in her moment of anxious fear that she was making a terrible mistake. She'd been on other dates and she'd never felt like this, which was either a good thing or a terrible thing that she was dressing up for the sake of wanting something she wasn't sure she wanted. 

"What am I supposed to say? Hey nice to meet you, these are the parties I'd like you to date me for?" Audrey asked, walking to the door and then back again in search of shoes that ended up being in her closet. 

"You know he doesn't have to come to my party? I already know you're single." Cady pointed out. 

Audrey wanted to say that she hated Cady's dumb parties. A bunch of 20 somethings hanging onto their high school years, talking about bands that Audrey didn't care to listen to and trying to out  'counterculture' each other. "That's not even close to the point of my question." She replied.

Cady sighed through the phone, "just relax, drink some beers and have a nice night." 

Audrey stopped to look herself over in the mirror, checking her teeth for lipstick. The red popped against her skin and she leaned forward in the dim hall light, "I think my roots are coming in."

"So?"

"So I'm not 26 babe," Audrey replied, "my roots are already greying."

"You're so dramatic, you probably look amazing." Cady was always ready with a encouragement and Audrey chose to take it, promising to call her when she got home before hanging  up and leaving the apartment before she could change her mind about any part of herself or the night. 

Jeff had chosen the place. The brewhouse at the bottom of the hill, where the stores turned into the pike and the neighborhood was even less residential. She walked, which might not've been the smartest decision, especially when she got all the way to the bottom of the hill, slightly out of breath, bundled in the green coat her mom had bought her two winters ago to 'add some color' to her wardrobe. If it wasn't so warm she'd have regifted it. The coat lasted until she hit the inside of the brewhouse and then she was pulling it off, warm from the walk and the heat blasting at the entrance. She scanned the bar for a moment as she folded the coat over her arm, smiling when she recognized Jeff at the other end. He looked just like his profile picture, thick black glasses, the begins of a salt and pepper beard, he was taller than she thought he would be but she certainly couldn't complain about that. 

"Hi," she felt suddenly nervous. She'd been fine to text with him the other night but now, she was feeling like a teenager. But the nerves disappeared almost immediately as Jeff smiled, holding his arms out and wrapping her in a hug. It was warm and friendly and she couldn't help that brief moment of wishing that she could settle into the hug and never let go. But she had to so she did, letting go of him and stepping back just enough that she was still taking up his space just slightly. "How're you?"

"Alright," He replied, "admiring these holiday specials," he tapped the cardboard sign that sat on the bar, advertising seasonal cocktails. 

"I think I'll stick to a beer." Audrey laughed, "I can buy a bottle of something cheaper and make my own cocktails."

"Nothing beats getting drunk at home." He agreed, flagging the bartender. 

"That's my life in a nutshell," she said. "So how does this work, we get drinks and then head upstairs to get seated?"

"Yeah, figured it was more casual that way," Jeff replied. He'd only been to the brewhouse a handful of times, usually with Charlie or with friends but the food was delicious and their beers were top notch so he figured, if nothing else went right, at least he could offer Audrey a nice meal. 

"Works for me," she replied, ordering the same beer as Jeff when the bartender asked what she wanted, "I don't think I've ever been in here, it's so cute. I'm not usually into Christmas decorations." 

"Not into Christmas decorations?" He laughed, taking a sip of his beer. 

"Is that your deal breaker?" Audrey asked, a slow smile lighting up her features as she watched him laugh and shake his head. 

"No, I'll let you off the hook for that one." 

"I appreciate it." Audrey replied. She took her beer from the bar, stepping away and letting Jeff rest his hand on her lower back as he walked them through the small crowd to the stairs that led up to the restaurant upstairs. "I feel like I should ask what deal breakers you do have?" She said as the host led them to a corner table near the window. 

"Not too many." He admitted, "I mean, I've got Charlie so...good with kids is pretty much the standard." 

"I'm not around too many but my brother says I'm a hell of a babysitter," She joked, "I could get you some references." 

"I'll take your word for it." Jeff had an easy laugh, like a wave crashing over her and wrapping her in the best kind of calm. 

Audrey tucked her hands into her lap, crossing her legs as she looked over the menu, "so why Christmas Mingle?" She asked, "who're you trying to get off your back?" 

"Family," Jeff replied, taking off his glasses. He pulled the hem of his undershirt out from beneath his sweater, wiping the lenses off and then holding them up to the light. "I could clean these a thousand times and they'd still be dirty." He huffed. 

Audrey smiled, "my dad does the breathing on them thing to clean them." 

"Breathing on them thing?" 

"Yeah," she reached her hand across the table, "here?" 

Jeff handed his glasses over, the tips of his fingers brushing against hers as she took them. He watched as Audrey took a breath, letting it out and fogging up the lenses. She used the sleeve of her sweater to clean them before handing them back to him. "What's the verdict?"

"Good as new," Jeff smiled. "So what about you? Why're you succumbing to the dating app world?"

"Cause my best friend is 26 years old and drinking in the shower is lonely." Audrey joked, earning another laugh from Jeff, one that sent shivers right down her spine and made her lean forward a little more. "Honestly, I separated from my husband four years ago and I'm just, ready to move on. Sorry, I know that's like-"

"Nothing wrong with that. People change." He replied, an easy sort of understanding that Audrey honestly couldn't remember experiencing before. 

When she had first told her parents that she and Chris were separating they had practically recoiled, the abject horror of their youngest child, their last to be married but seemingly their most in love, calling off the marriage that they had been so happy about. Friends had felt divided and still did, awkwardly dancing around the subject of Chris when they spoke to her, even now. It was a circumstance of that awkwardness that had Audrey ignoring her friends. Cady had only known her after. She didn't know the happiest moments of Audrey's life with Chris, it was easy to get sympathy and support from her. But this was different. The way Jeff said 'people change' made it seem not so taboo, not so horrible, not so worthy of guilt. 

"I was the one who did all the changing, I think." Audrey admitted. "Are you?"

"Charlie's mom passed away," Jeff answered. 

"Oh gosh," she took a sip of her beer, cheeks flushing just slightly. Here she was, feeling bad about being (almost) divorced and Jeff was telling her that he had lost his wife. "I'm so sorry."

"Charlie was, just a baby when it happened. So it's been almost seven years."

"Doesn't really seem like it makes it easier." Audrey replied. "People say it does, but," she trailed off and Jeff shrugged, taking a drink from his beer glass. 

The waitress came around to take their orders, a pleasant lull in conversation that seemed to have advanced too far for a first date. Audrey wasn't exactly sure what made good first date etiquette anymore; whenever she had dated in the past she had always let them lead the conversation and let herself drift off. Now, making an effort to actually talk to him, to ask intelligent questions that felt interesting but not too serious too soon, she felt a sort of pressure she hadn't since she was in her 20s. The last time she'd been on a first date that she wanted to be a second she had gone out with Chris and they were so young and everything felt so exciting. And  this was exciting, Jeff was exciting, but there was a comfortable sort of reality that set around her. A maturity, maybe, that hadn't ever been there before.

"Where do you work?" She chanced asking as they waited for their food. A happier topic; hopefully one less serious. 

"I work at the college, I'm an English Professor." Jeff replied, "you?"

"Well, now I'm embarrassed," Audrey laughed. She didn't feel bad when she was talking to Cady or anyone of Cady's 20-something friends but everyone her age or older had always made her feel unaccomplished. "I've been working at Target for now. I used to manage an art goods store here in town but it folded about a year ago." 

"Is that what you would like to do again, manage an art store?" He asked.

"I would like to actually use my art degree, maybe teach." Audrey replied honestly. "When, uh, when I was married I felt like I needed to be home, starting a family, and now I'm sort of...uh, sorry I'm like unpacking all this on you."

"Unpack away," he said, smiling. 

When the waitress came back with your orders Jeff moved his elbows off the table, leaning back a little to give the young woman room to put his plate in front of him. She asked about refills, promising to bring back two beers and a glass of water for you. 

"So what are these Christmas parties you're trying to rope me into?" Jeff asked, popping a fry in his mouth as he spoke.

"Well, friend Cady-"

"The 26 year old?" 

"That's the one," Audrey laughed, stabbing at pieces of her fish, "she has a party that is...something but I promised I'd go and then my parent's Christmas Eve." 

"I think a 26 year old's party is a little out of my wheelhouse." Jeff admitted, "Not quite sure I'll fit in there."

"I don't fit in there." She replied. Audrey had been to a few of Cady's parties since getting to know her and, if they were anything to go on, this party would be the same. "But I wanna...cut out early." 

"Well that I can help you with." 

"What are your holiday plans?" 

"Family party and work party for my department." He  said, "both boring."

"I don't mind boring," Audrey replied. She couldn't even imagine them having a boring night. Maybe it was a possibility in some world but he just didn't seem like the type capable of boring. "It's so odd to be negotiating this kind of stuff...I mean, I  know that's the point of the app but I still sort of, feel weird."

"Don't think of it that way," Jeff offered, leaning his forearms against the table again, "it can just be casual or we can see where things go."

"The latter sounds pretty tempting." 

_* ◦ ❅ . ❄︎ * ∙ ◦ . _

The lights along the main street outlined the buildings, a warm white glow of Christmas covering the small town. Audrey saw it every night on the way home from work, exhausted by the sight of the shoppers congesting the sidewalk and the lights glowing through her window in the evening when she was trying to relax. All she wanted those days was to find a parking space and get inside her apartment as quickly as possible. She didn't want to meander around the street or walk down to where the giant tree was always set up at the round-a-bout. She barely even wanted to hang a wreath on the glass door that lead to the tiny vestibule at the bottom of the steps up to her apartment. It was bad enough the neighbor she shared the entry way with loved to leave little gifts on her mailbox that she always felt obligated to reciprocate; the wreath was overkill in her mind. 

Tonight she wasn't in a hurry to get home and out of her uniform. She wasn't suffering through the traffic that accumulated on this street or desperately trying to find a parking spot that didn't force her to walk farther than she wanted to. Tonight she was walking down the street with Jeff, her hand tucked in the crook of his elbow as she invaded his personal space. Partially to avoid bumping into anyone window shopping as the stores closed and partially because she was finding herself enjoying the feeling of being close to someone again. Maybe it was just Jeff or maybe Cady was right and she was lonelier than she thought she was, either way she was enjoying the evening more than she had enjoyed any other date she'd been on in the last two years. 

"So, do you go all out with decorations for the holiday?" Audrey asked as they passed the window of a shop with a specifically Christmas display. 

"Oh yeah, we hit all the marks." Jeff replied, "biggest tree in the lot, lights everywhere, wreaths...Charlie gets really excited about the holiday and I've always tried to make it a special time of the year for him." 

"My dad is a big Christmas fan, he even used to dress up like Santa and put all the presents under the tree." Audrey replied, "I think I was ten when I realized that Santa looked a whole lot like my dad in a bad wig."

"I don't think I can pull off Santa...which is probably a good thing, Charlie already has a never-ending list, if he thought I was Santa it'd stretch into next Christmas."

"Smart kid," She laughed, "I just told my dad it was him...I should of thought of extortion." 

"I'll keep the two of you apart then." Jeff replied, "don't want anyone getting any ideas."

Audrey lingered at a window, looking in at the tree that was on display. It wasn't particularly special compared to any of the other window displays, the only real difference being that she was getting close to her apartment and suddenly had the urge to slow down. She didn't want the night to end, as silly as it sounded to say. 

"Any plans for the rest of the week?" Jeff asked, looking into the same window that she was. 

"I need to finish Christmas shopping...not that I have a lot to do, really, just last minute stuff." Audrey replied. "I seriously miss getting a stocking."

"It's not the same when you know what's gonna be in it." Jeff joked, "Charlie insists I hang one but I'm just buying for myself." 

"I buy for myself enough that putting up a stocking would just be overkill." Audrey said, "my apartment's up ahead...do you have to walk back down to get your car?"

Jeff had offered to walk Audrey back up the hill to her apartment after dinner and she had agreed to let him, happy to spend some extra time with him. Now that they were walking again, just a block from her apartment, she realized that he would have to walk all the way back down the hill if he drove.

"I took the trolley to the top of the hill actually," Jeff replied, "I live passed the park, in the row homes." 

"Damn, if I knew that I would've had you bring me some coffee." Audrey laughed, thinking of the coffee shop that sat at the end of the row homes. 

"Next time." Jeff promised. 

Both of them slowed again as they reached the door that led to Audrey's apartment, the evergreen and poinsettia wreath illuminated by the light above the door. Audrey pulled her arm away from Jeff, reaching into her coat pocket from her keys. "I feel like the 'this is me' part is always so awkward." She admitted, brushing a few stray strands of hair out of her face. 

"Only when the date's going well." 

"Are you saying it's not?" She laughed. 

"Oh, not at all, this one is going exceptionally well." Jeff replied, that easy grin on his face.

"Good answer," Audrey unlocked the front door, pulling it open and standing there, holding it with the toe of her boot, "I guess I'll text you." 

"Looking forward to it." He leaned toward her, placing a kiss just on the corner of her mouth, causing Audrey to smile as her eyes opened and she looked up at him. 

"Bye."

-

I don’t really know what to tag this but also...I’d love any feedback!!! 

[oranjis-shipping-mess]

ABC Challenge ~ Jihan H is for Haven (I know its crazy, but marry me, part 1)

"Babe? You're home early." Joshua smiled from the couch where he was sitting, book in one hand, cup of tea in the other. He placed both on the table as he got up to greet Mingyu with a kiss. "I'm only here to pick up some files that I forgot earlier." Mingyu went to his little office to get the files he needed. "Hey Mings, I saved dinner for you, you can take it with you?" Joshua smiled as he handed Mingyu a bag with the food. "I'm not hungry. Look, I need to go now. Don't wait up for me." Mingyu ranted as he made his way outside again, followed by Joshua, who waved him goodbye, bag still in his hand. "I love you, Mings." Mingyu was already back at his car, "bye." Was the only thing he said before he got in and left.

Joshua sighed as he put the bag with food away, he figured he could just have it for lunch tomorrow. Sitting down back at the couch, turning the tv on, trying to find something intresting to watch. Mingyu had been tense lately, it was only three days before their wedding, and ofcourse, Joshua was nervous too. But he barely recognized Mingyu anymore. Maybe it was because Joshua didn't feel comfortable hosting bachelor parties, and Mingyu was still angry over it. Or maybe it was because Mingyu's boss was giving him a hard time at work. All by all, Joshua wasn't sure, and he wished that Mingyu would open up to him about it.

Barely an hour had passed, and it was still early in the evening, too early to go to bed, that was. So Joshua got his phone and called Jeonghan. "Hey, my love. What's up?" The older answered, loud noises coming from the background. "Jeonghanniee, are you really busy tonight? Maybe we can watch a movie together?" Jeonghan had his phone on his shoulder, pressed to his cheek, as he tossed several drinks to the costumers. "Aah, Joshuji, I am very sorry, but its incredibly crowded tonight. I can come after my shift though? Or you could come here, if you want." Joshua shrugged, even though Jeonghan couldn't see him. "Maybe. I'll think about it. But we're still on for tomorrow, right?" Joshua had turned off the tv, as nothing intresting was on. "Yes, ofcourse. 8:30, your place. I can take breakfast with me from that place you like, but let me know if your soon to be husband, will be joining breakfast." Joshua bit his lip at the mention of Mingyu, "ya, I'll let you know, Han. See you in the morning, maybe tonight." And they said their goodbyes.

Joshua and Jeonghan had known each other since kindergarden. From the very first day, no one was ever able to seperate them. Through the years, they would barely pay attention to anyone else, as they knew they had each other to count on. At an early age, Jeonghan already knew he was in to boys, and he wasn't afraid to be open about it. He didn't care about the haters, and only cared about the people that were close to him. As for Joshua, he had always been more confused. He respected Jeonghan so much, but he could never see himself like that. Be openly gay and okay with it. He was afraid of the judgement and the haters, that was, untill he met Mingyu. He was head over heals for this guy, and Jeonghan had helped him with everything, from asking Mingyu out for their very first date, to how Joshua had proposed. And Jeonghan was happy for Joshua, even though he was broken inside. He always knew that Joshua was special to him, as when they grew older, he fell in love with him, but didn't want to ruin their friendship. They even kissed, more then once. Usually on nights when they were out, clubbing, and too wasted to remember it the next day. But that came to an end when Joshua and Mingyu started dating. But untill this day, Jeonghan was still in love with Joshua, and in just a few days, he would be the best man at Joshua and Mingyu's wedding.

Now, Mingyu was a very different person compared to Jeonghan. Where Jeonghan was outgoing, not afraid of anything, Mingyu was a very closed person. He would barely talk about his emotions, and he definitly was a work-a-holic, meaning that sometimes, or most of the time, he would prioritize his job over Joshua. And Jeonghan hated it. He absolutely hated the way Mingyu treated Joshua. He would sometimes fantasize about what could have happend, if he had told Joshua about how he felt. They could have been a perfect match. A match made in heaven, as they called it. And that one time, when he did feel ready to talk about it, Joshua had come to him, asking advice on how to get Mingyu's attention.

But now it was three days before Joshua and Mingyu were to get married. Tomorrow they would go to the venue they had hired. It was a very large building, beautiful garden in the back. That's where they'd hold the ceremony, the party would follow inside the venue. Now, tomorrow they were gonna start on the decorating, but Mingyu had to cancel due to work. So Jeonghan, Joshua's best man, was to accompany him, together they would decorate everything the way that Joshua and Mingyu had discussed.

Joshua looked once again at the time, it was still early, but he didn't feel like going clubbing, neither did he feel like staying up till God knows what time for Mingyu to get home. So he decided to take a warm bath, scented candle on the side and just go to bed after.

"Mingyu?" Jeonghan mentioned his name, suprised to see him in the club. "Where is Josh?" Mingyu shrugged, looking like he wanted to die at that exact moment. "Home, sleeping? I don't know. Now get me your strongest drink and mind your own fucking business." Jeonghan rolled his eyes as he got Mingyu his drink. "You do realize that you're getting married in less then three days, right? And that your fiancée is currently stressing about everything, alone." Mingyu took hold of the glass, "what do you not understand about minding your own business? Anyways, what time does your shift end? Or am I stuck to you for the rest of the night?" Jeonghan rested both his hands on the counter, "not that it is any of your business, but my co-worker should be here any minute, and I'm free to go." Mingyu nodded as he made his way through the club, ignoring Jeonghan's answer completely.

"What the fuck?" Jeonghan looked at the two man in front of him, one of them definitly being Mingyu. "Mingyu!" He screamed as he ripped the two appart. "God damn it, Jeonghan. For fucking once, can you just mind your own business?" The other guy just stared at them, not sure what to do. "I wanna say i'm sorry, but i'm not." His voice was stern as his fist made its way to Mingyu's jaw. But Mingyu was quick to respond and took hold of Jeonghan's arm. "Now, here is what you'll do, Jeonghan. You will turn around, walk away and forget that you saw us, okay? Oh, and if you even think about telling Joshua about this, think again." Jeonghan tried to get out of Mingyu's grip, "ofcourse I will tell Joshua, how long has this been going on, Mingyu?" Mingyu grabbed Jeonghan by his collar, "if you really must know, this is Vernon, my fiancée, and we've been together ever since highschool." Jeonghan's jaw dropped in disbelieve. "Then why are you with Joshua? Do you have any idea how much he loves you? How much he cares for you? And now you're telling me you have another fiancée? When are you gonna tell him?" Jeonghan struggled to get his feet in the ground, as Mingyu's grip was tight. "Simple, I'm not gonna tell him. And yes, ofcourse I know how much he loves me. He promised me, that when we're married and grow old together, and if he were to pass away first, he'd leave me all his money, and the big villa out of town that his parents left him. So, guess who's gonna have to plan a funeral soon? No worries, I'll invite you, so you can say your last, pathethic goodbye." Mingyu chuckled as he let go of Jeonghan, who immedeatly pushed him. "You fucking asshole, what are you planning? You can't do this! I will tell him everything, you're not gonna get away with this!" Mingyu stroke Jeonghan's cheek, "you can tell. But who do you think he's gonna believe? His fiancée or his pathetic friend? Oh, and no, don't worry. It won't be painfull for him. Cause of death? There probably was something wrong with the food on our honeymoon." Jeonghan couldn't believe anything of what Mingyu was telling him, he looked at Vernon, "and you are okay with all of this?" The guy just nodded, "its not the first time one of us got married while we were already happily engaged." He explained, as he smiled at Mingyu. Jeonghan felt like he was gonna pass out any time soon, "you're both fucking twisted." He managed to say as he finally made his way outside, in need for fresh air.

The next morning, Jeonghan was at Joshua's place at 8:30 sharp. Breakfast with him, as promised. Joshua smiled tiredly as he opened the door and greated Jeonghan with a hug, "I missed you, Hannie." Jeonghan hugged back tightly, "I missed you too, Jiji." Jeonghan had been awake almost all night, not sure how he had to tell Joshua, because he knew this news would crush him, and he couldn't bare to see that happen.

Over breakfast, they had small talk, but Jeonghan couldn't help but notice how tired Joshua looked. "Josh, isn't Mingyu joining for breakfast?" It almost looked like Joshua had stopped breathing for a moment, "uhm, no. He already left for work before I woke up." Jeonghan sighed, "when we finish, you should get dressed soon, so we can go to the venue. Did you already try on your suit? Because if anything needs to be changed last minute, we have to get it to the store today." Joshua nodded, "I'll try it on quickly before I get dressed."

Jeonghan quickly cleaned whatever was left from breakfast, as they made their way to Joshua and Mingyu's bedroom. Jeonghan sat down at the edge of the bed, waiting for Joshua to get his suit. As Joshua removed his tshirt, Jeonghan's eyes immedeatly fell on the bruises on Joshua's back, "Josh, what's that?" Joshua immedeatly turned around, "what?" Jeonghan got up and stood behind Joshua, placing his hand on Joshua's hips. "Did Mingyu do that to you?" Joshua sighed, "he was just a little pissed off when he got home during the night. Jeonghan, its okay. He was gentle this time." Jeonghan carefully hugged Joshua from behind, "gentle? Josh, I'm sorry, I really didn't want to be the one to tell you this. But you can't marry him." Joshua frowned as he turned around, Jeonghan's arms still around his waist. "What are you talking about? If its about the bruise, its nothing to worry about. Its just a small one." Jeonghan shook his head as he gently stroke Joshua's cheek, "Joshua.. Can't you see it? He's not good for you. This was not the first time he hurt you like that. He didn't-", Joshua shook his head, "no, don't worry. We didn't have sex. You know that. Mingyu knows how important it is for me to wait till the night of the wedding." Jeonghan sighed, "that's literally the only promise he's keeping, Josh. Joshua, last night.. Last night I caught Mingyu making out with someone else. And it apparently wasn't the first time." Joshua frowned, "what? Jeonghan, what are you talking about?" Joshua started feeling hot inside, waiting for Jeonghan to explain.

They were both sitting on the bed now, Joshua was crying, Jeonghan comforting him, arms around him tightly. "But J-Jeonghan, what do I do now? He's about to get married to someone else? But what about our wedding? I can't cancel everything, I just can't.." Jeonghan slowly stroke his hand over Joshua's back, "simple, you let everything go through. You won't even tell Mingyu that you found out."

"What? Jeonghan, I c-can't do that. I don't want to marry him. What do you want me to do?" Joshua wiped his tears away as he looked in to Jeonghan's eyes.

"Marry me, Joshua Hong."