#and then just casually revealed today only after I asked them that they only planned on paying off my undergrad loans

[karasimpno]

Top ten biggest anime betrayals just happened to me

[staylovesmiley]

Collision— Chapter 2

ᯓᡣ𐭩 Pairing; Stray Kids x afab!reader

ᯓᡣ𐭩 ᯓᡣ𐭩Summary; You’ve known him for years but you never would have guessed the charming guy you’ve been online gaming with has been an idol this whole time. (masterlist here)

ᯓᡣ𐭩 ᯓᡣ𐭩ᯓᡣ𐭩Warnings; implied afab reader (only they/them pronouns used for reader), angst, smut, mild violence, pls I haven’t written fanfics since 2018 patience and kindness is appreciated

Today was finally the day, well more like finally the night as the hour was late and the sun had begun setting as the plane landed at its destination.

Over the past month Star had been eagerly messaging back and forth with Felix about recommendations for things to do, places to eat, help with knowing what the weather is predicted to be so they knew what to pack. At first the Aussie was nervous, but the closer it got to time he felt more at ease that his identity was protected if even a little bit bitter that they had no clue they would be indirectly meeting through the crowd of his now sold out show. He had learned they hadn’t been a stay for very long, only having discovered them during their maniac tour and being just a casual fan until seeing the comparisons of Chan to Wriothesley (who happened to be one of their favorite characters in Genshin since his model was leaked). Felix had to bite back the amusement tinted with a small twinge of jealousy hearing them gush about how handsome his fellow Aussie was. Other than that they chose to not talk much about Stray Kids or the concert, preferring to talk about the trip as a whole and even asking the blonde to be somewhat of a virtual guide. Starlight never suggested trying to meet up, most likely assuming it an off limits topic considering how protective he was with his identity. Felix couldn’t help but hope they would bring it up, ask to meet up face to face since they would be so close to one another.

It was silly, he knew, feeling a strong want to reveal himself to them. The two gamers had been somewhat close before, even with never having seen what each other looks like or knowing each others names.

While he himself kept most details about himself a secret, Star was rather open about their personal life and, with consent of course, had often vented and rambled to Felix about their life whether it be work issues or that one time they had called him from the laundromat because it was so late and there was a rather creepy individual lingering near by as they waited for the dryer to finish and wanted to be on the phone with someone to try and deter the individual.

He had learned they didn’t have many friends in the city they lived in, being mostly introverted they kept to themself and found it hard to make connections due to their more nerdy hobbies and interests.

Felix battled with himself internally if he should say something, open up more to them even before he found out they were going to be coming to Korea. They were kind, and from what he could tell pretty trustworthy. Even after finding out they were stay, Star seemed so chill about it all he felt like it wouldn’t turn out too bad if they found out who he was. Perhaps it was the chaotic part of his brain wanting to see how they would react knowing this whole time they had been talking and gaming with the Lee Felix of Stray kids, the very group they planned to see in concert and had bought albums of. Maybe a larger part of it was wanting to strengthen this connection that extended past his idol life.

Though he hadn’t shared much about himself, he felt seen by Star. Not by the artificial surface level stuff most idols are watered down to, But for himself, as an individual.

Felix had talked to the others about them, multiple times now. First it was in passing, never even giving them a name as he just referred to them in general as a “gaming buddy” but over the past month, while getting to know them even more as he helped them prepare and plan their trip, he began opening up about his desire to be more honest with them as well as sharing more about them with the others.

Changbin and Hyunjin eagerly asked what they looked like, much to their dismay upon learning he didn’t know himself. Seungmin teased him, claiming he had a little schoolboy crush on the somewhat mysterious gamer (he argued that with how much of a yapper they tended to be, affectionately, he was more of the mysterious gamer then they were). Jisung and Jeongin showed their curiosity more subtly in asking about what they liked and suggesting things he could mention to them about places to go and sights to see on their trip. Minho seemed uninterested though he diligently listened to the younger vent about his inner battle over whether or not to reveal his identity.

Chan was surprising, when he first told him about Star he teased the other. The older poked at his cheek with a goofy smile on his face as he sing-songed about Felix having a little crush just as Seungmin had. But once he had opened up about possibly wanting to meet up with them, he expected Chris to get serious and scold him. To tell him that was a reckless idea and could potentially hurt the group should something go wrong. Instead, the older Aussie smirked slightly and shrugged his shoulders. “Do you feel like you can trust them?” Was what eventually left his lips as he turned in his studio chair to look at the younger who sat perched on the couch behind him, pillow hugged tightly to his chest with how anxious he was bringing up the topic with their leader.

Felix stared at him with eyes so wide it made the other burst out into laughter, almost falling out of his seat. “Listen, it’s risky, yes- but mate you’ve been talking about them nonstop for a whole month.” The younger blushed slightly and looked away. “I know the fans usually talk about them for a different reason but we have NDAs for situations like this….”

Felix gawked at him for a moment, blinking a bit as he stared at the older male. “I never- thought of that…but how would I go about asking them to sign something like that?” Chan shrugged, turning back to the soundboard to continue working. “You could ask them to meet up once they are here, then send over the paperwork and explain it’s for your safety. If they are a good friend like you claim, and they already respect how you’ve had to be secretive in the past, then they should understand.” Felix took in the words he was saying, letting them fully absorb as he took in what this meant. But was it really that simple? He thought on it for a few days, and just 48 hours before they were set to hop on a flight to Incheon International, he sent them a message asking if they would meet him once they arrived.

That brings you to this moment, waiting at baggage claim as you eagerly look over the messages in your discord app about where to meet your mysterious online friend after checking into your hotel.

This was absolutely insane, you knew. Meeting up with someone who after years of not even knowing his name or what he looks like, drops the bomb that he is “somewhat a celebrity” and wanted to actually meet in person after all but needed you to sign a bunch of documents stating you wouldn’t leak any of his personal information after knowing who he was. After signing and sending over the paperwork you should have demanded to know who he was, to video call before hand just to make sure you weren’t walking into anything dangerous. But you were a rather impulsive individual and the excitement of finally meeting your friend outweighed the rational part of your brain. It wasn’t even that they were a celebrity that had you so excited. Whoever your friend was, you were just happy to finally meet someone who you considered yourself rather close with even if it was somewhat one sided. Sure, he may have not shared any personal information about himself with you but as far as things like his likes and dislikes, his personality, his kindness, that you were familiar with. It didn’t matter that you didn’t have a real name or face to put to your friend or that you didn’t know what his line of work was, you knew him...at least you hoped you did.

Once you had gotten checked into your hotel you took some time to freshen up after your long flight before sending a message to your friend to let him know you had landed and were ready to head out to the meeting spot whenever he was. He had let you know today was a day off for himself, before an extremely busy schedule the next two days.

You were dressed simply in a pair of distressed baggy jeans and a slightly oversized long sleeve for the comfort of the flight and because you did tend to get chilly often. You were just planning to meet up near the Han River before going to get a bite to eat, so there was no need to change your clothes for something so casual. You heard your phone signal that you had received a message back, giving you the go ahead to start making your way to the park. Here goes nothing-

The spring air was crisp, wind blowing gently causing the baby hairs at the back of his neck to tickle the skin lightly with his hair pulled up in a messy bun he had recently learned with how long his hair has been getting lately. He was dressed in a pair of black sweat pants and a dark blue hoodie, trying to look as inconspicuous as possible lest he attract too much attention from the public.

Anxiously he paced back and forth at the spot he had asked you to meet him.

It was dark by the time you arrived, catching a glimpse of the man from behind a small smile appeared on your face as your footsteps picked up with the eagerness to finally meet your longtime friend.

As you approached him he had turned so he was facing you, though his gaze was pointed at the ground as he was deep in thought it seemed, and it dawned on you as the color slowly drained from your face and realization settled in. Oh no, oh this was embarrassing. You silently thanked yourself for not speaking to him much about your admiration and interest in his group, seeing now that your longtime friend was none other than Lee Felix of Stray Kids. You groaned internally, remembering the slight fangirling you had done to him in the beginning over his group and a specific leader, cursing yourself mentally as you took a a deep breath and made your way to him while his back was once again turned to you. You tapped gently on his shoulder. “Um- Hi?” You spoke softly, suddenly very nervous and not because his identity and status was now known to you but because of your aforementioned introverted nature.

Felix whipped around so fast his neck hurt slightly, looking down (only slightly, we all know this man ain’t that tall) he smiled nervously. Woah, they were so cute, he thought to himself before shaking the thought from his mind. “Star?” He asked, biting his lip slightly as for a moment he feared maybe this wasn’t his friend but could be a stay (and not his stay- wait his stay? Oops-) that happened to spot him and come to say hi.

You giggled lightly, nodding a bit. “It’s uh- my name is y/n, actually…” you said with a smile, offering your hand out to him in greeting. “But you can keep calling me Star if you like- I actually like that nickname.”

He blushed slightly, glad for it to be dark out so it was less noticeable. “You have a lovely name…I know this is probably a useless introduction for you but I’m Felix.” He chuckled and shook your hand before rubbing the back of his neck, eyes down cast. “It’s not useless at all! I know I’m well…a stay and all but I’m your friend first. I actually was your friend first technically speaking.” You rambled slightly, catching yourself before you went on for too long and got off track. “It’s nice to meet you, Felix.” He felt his chest lighten and flutter a bit at your words, knowing in that moment it was the right decision to trust you like this.

You spent some time talking, catching up on little things about each other (mostly Felix) that you never shared due to not knowing each other fully until now. You made your way to a small building with a restaurant upstairs that Felix swore had the best food for late nights after a long flight. He pulled your seat out for you before taking his own. “So I’m guessing those next two days you’re gonna be busy is actually because of the concert the day after tomorrow?” You questioned, looking over the menu and being grateful for the pictures with numbers corresponding to the items listed so it was easier to understand what each dish was as your Korean wasn’t the best. “Ah yeah- it is…are you still looking forward to the show?” He was slightly nervous. What if now after meeting him you felt awkward going to the show. His other friends and family had gone to shows before but perhaps this was different? He was in somewhat uncharted territory with you and since you hadn’t talked much about the concert even before knowing his identity he was nervous to ask but was dying to know at the same time.

“Oh my god are you kidding? So excited! Not to completely gush and make a fool of myself but you guys are incredibly talented. Besides- now I have a whole new reason to be excited.” Felix raised an eyebrow at this, his question showing on his features before he asked it. “And what is that?” You grinned cheekily and reached over to poke at his chest. “I’ll be cheering on my friend, silly!“ you laughed, only quieting down when the waitress arrived to take their order.

Once the order was placed and they were once again left to themselves, you turned to Felix slightly sheepishly. “So uh- I guess now is probably as good a time as any to mention I may not have been completely honest about the true nature of my trip here…” Felix‘s eyes widened a bit as that trademark confused look appeared on his face. Suddenly feeling his heart rate pick up his mind began to race with where this was going. Oh no- were you a sasaeng who actually knew who he was this whole time and had been stalking him until this inevitable moment? No. There is no way- it couldn’t be that, could it?

“I applied for a student visa and well- for the foreseeable future this is where I’ll be living!” The Aussie breathed a mental sigh of relief but then tilted his head as more confusion flooded his expression. “Oh? Why didn’t you say that earlier-“ You sighed, rubbing the back of your neck before taking a sip of the water in front of you. “Well I was worried you might feel pressured in some way that I would want to meet up and I knew how much you wanted privacy….I was afraid you would think I’d expect to become irl friends since I’d be living in the same city…” at this information, Felix felt his heart warm and his chest flutter again at your consideration for him and his boundaries. “Star- that’s….you’re so sweet. But moving here? That’s so exciting! Im glad we did meet after all. You don’t know anyone else here, do you?” You shook your head, feeling slightly embarrassed as the nerves over the move and leaving everyone you had ever known behind to come to a foreign country alone. “Just you, yeah…thank you for trusting me enough to meet up. I’m glad to have you as a friend.” You both wore a matching blush at this, looking away from each other just as the food was delivered to the table.

After a few moments of silence, besides the quiet sounds of you both digging into your respective dishes, the blonde man spoke up. “So a student huh? Are you going anywhere specifically?” You looked up at him, halfway through slurping up some of your noodles causing him to laugh softly at the sight. Quickly you finished chewing and swallowed your bite of food before answering his question. “I’ll be taking Korean lessons, actually, as a way to get my visa. What better way to learn the language than living here, right? I’ll take classes once a week and the rest of the time well- I’ll figure that out but my job was able to let me work remotely so thankfully I won’t have to worry about looking for a job while I’m here.” Felix smiled and nodded, taking in the information. “That’s so cool I didn’t know you could get a student visa to come here and learn Korean- do you know where you’ll be staying long term?” “Not yet. For now I’m at a hotel nearby but as soon as I can I’m going to start looking for an apartment.” You sighed, the stress of your lack of a living situation evidently weighing on you. “If you need any help just let me know, yeah? I’ll try my best. You don’t have to do it all alone..” he offered warmly, placing his hand on top of yours where it rested by your bowl. You smiled, cheeks almost sore from how much this man truly was the ray of sunshine the fans and members called him by.

You both couldn’t help but hold matching smiles on your faces as the night went on. The more Felix got to know his long time friend face to face, the more he felt at ease. It also helped how gorgeous you were. The blonde caught himself staring on more than one occasion and had to pull his eyes away before he was found out by the gamer across from him. The more you got to know him you felt butterflies erupt through your chest at how kind and charming he truly was, a true princely type it seemed.

You discovered you were the same age, though you were a few months older (your birthday closer to Hyunjin’s). You talked about anything and everything as you ate your meal, eventually being politely kicked out so the establishment could close for the evening.

Felix walked you back to your hotel, your hands brushing against each other occasionally from how close you were as you were deep in conversation. “So I’ll see you the day after tomorrow…” he said as you reached the front entrance of the hotel. “Well- yeah I mean if you can see that far into the crowd.” You laughed, tucking some hair behind your ear. “I mean uh- well if you wanted to I could arrange for you to come backstage afterwards and maybe come with us to get dinner after?” Your eyes widened in disbelief as you stared at him like he just handed you a million dollars.

“Really?! A-are you sure? I don’t wanna impose-“ you stuttered a bit as the excitement and nerves took you over.

Felix laughed and nodded his head. “I’ll talk it over with staff and the guys but I’m sure they won’t mind. I’ve uh, kinda been telling them about you a lot since I heard you were coming to visit and they have been super curious to meet you as well-“ now you blushed, looking away. “Um- yeah I mean sure I’d love to!” “Great! I’ll let you know the details when it’s all settled. Oh-“

Felix held out his phone, rubbing the back of his neck. “If you wanna put in your number? It might be easier than communicating through discord alone…” You smiled and nodded as you took the device from his hands and quickly put in the international number you were given for your time there as well as adding in your normal number into the additional contact information just in case. “Well this was so nice, Felix. Im really glad I was finally able to meet you.” He felt the warm and excited smile stretch across his features causing his eyes to turn to crescents and before he could think twice, he pulled you into a tight embrace. You squeaked a bit at the action, but quickly melted into his touch and rested your head against his shoulder while his rested against the side of your head. “Let me know when you get back safe.” You muttered to him as you let go, smiling at his nod of acknowledgment before you both shared your goodbyes and went your separate ways.

Between the time you had met up and the day of the concert you and Felix had been talking nonstop. He kept you up to date while they practiced for the show, even going as far as to send a couple selfies and pictures of himself and the members, including the cutest picture of a sleepy Jeongin and Hyunjin cuddled up on the couch at the back of their practice room that you will cherish forever.

You were currently in the process of getting ready for the show yourself, placing the final touches on your makeup and hair before standing up from where you had sat in front of the floor length mirror in your hotel room and stepped back to take in the full look.

You had taken it upon yourself to dress up to match their latest comeback, wearing a pleated denim miniskirt with a cream colored cropped tank top and a light blue biker jacket you had thrifted sometime ago on top. You finished off the look with some knit leg warmers in a matching color to your top and a few different silver chain necklaces, one dainty with star charms along the length of it and another just a thicker plain chain, and a couple of matching bracelets and rings.

Looking over your appearance once more, you nodded at yourself before slipping on your black docs to finish it all off.

Once you arrived at the venue everything was a blur until you were at your seat, this being your first ever kpop concert let alone in a foreign country. You smiled friendly to the stays around you who greeted you politely and made some small talk which you were happy didn’t get too deep since you were still so new to the language and a bit self conscious about your pronunciation of most words. Before you knew it the show was starting and you couldn’t help but cheer loudly for your friend and his members.

Felix had tried to insist on changing your seat to something closer to the stage but you had refused, saying that you’d get to see him afterwards and that you could still have fun from your seat practically in the nose bleeds and have fun you did. Thank god for modern technology as you were able to snap some photos of Felix mid dance that had you howling with laughter and would most definitely be used to tease him later on.

As the show came to an end your nerves started to bubble back up to the surface, realizing that soon you’d be face to face with all eight members of a group you’ve been a fan of for a couple years at that point. Again you were reminded of the things you had told Felix about one Bangchan and blushed with embarrassment at the thought that maybe he had said something to the older Aussie about your supposed attraction to him based on your love for a certain fictional character he bore resemblance to. As the lights began turning on and fans began leaving the venue you were greeted by a member of staff who lead you to the backstage area through a series of corridors and heavy double doors.

On your way to the green room you happened to run into the members in the hall, spotting Felix your eyes lit up and you called out to him. “Felix! Hey!” You shouted, laughing when his eyes locked on you and he took off run towards your figure down the hall.

Matching his energy you also took off in a sprint towards the Aussie and squealed with glee when instead of stopping upon reaching you the other wrapped his arms around your waist and lifted you almost effortlessly and spun you around. “Star! Gosh I’m so glad you are here- how was it? Did we put on a good show for stay?” You giggled as he set you down but noticed how his arms stayed holding you in his embrace. “It was incredible, as always! Well- I mean from what I’ve seen via YouTube videos…” You both laughed, staring at each other as you took in his appearance and he yours. “You look incredible, to match our performance I guess.” You rolled your eyes a bit at his attempt at a joke, but took the compliment nonetheless. “Thank you! You guys inspired me I guess-“ you fired back, catching the seven other pairs of eyes on you from over his shoulder and suddenly felt anxious nerves flood over you.

“Uh, hyung- are you gonna introduce us to your friend?” Jeongin spoke up first, going as far as stepping up and tapping the older on the shoulder. You stepped back from your friend and looked at the others like a deer caught in the headlights. You never realized how large of a group they looked like until you were standing in front of them.

Your poor introverted soul screamed at you to run and hide but you forced yourself to bow at the waist politely to them and introduce yourself to them. “Hi! I’m y/n but you can all call me Star- well uh that’s what Felix calls me and what I go by with my friends…”

You slowly rose to standing straight again when you heard a few of them let out chuckles before they introduced themselves as well. “Star, yeah? Cute.” Lee know said with a smirk. “Cute is right! Felix why did you hide them from us for so lonnngg-“ Changbin whined and clung to the younger while the others laughed or rolled their eyes affectionately at his antics. “Hey I just found out what they looked like myself not that long ago-“ Felix pouted at him as he tried to pry the older off of him. “Ya! You could have shown us a picture or something??” You giggled, hiding your mouth behind your hand shyly before feeling extra bashful being talked about like you weren’t in the room. “Guys, you’re being kind of rude…sorry for them.” Chan spoke up, stepping up and nodding to the green room. “We’ve gotta go get changed but you can come have a seat while you wait? We won’t be long and I’m sure you don’t want to stand out here while you wait- though I warn you it can get kinda loud in there.” He said, glancing back at the others causing them all to prove his point by shouting their protests. “Thank you, that sounds nice.” And with that you followed them into the room to wait for them to all get changed.

As you waited on the couch in the green room for the members to get back into their civilian clothes as you’ve decided to nickname them, you tried not to be too obvious about how your eyes wandered around the room curiously to watch as the staff cleaned up after the show. Stylists grabbing clothing from the outstretched arms of the members from the closed off changing rooms to put them into the proper garment bags and hung on the clothing wracks to be wheeled off and stored away in some vehicle to be brought somewhere at JYPE perhaps, makeup artists cleaning their stations and packing away their supplies, other various staff members going around picking up trash left behind by either themselves or the members. You felt a bit anxious sitting down while everyone else was tidying up around you until you felt the soft leather of the sofa dip beside you. “Hi.”

Looking to your right you were met with Bangchans dimpled face grinning at you. “Oh uh- hi!” Your voice came out a lot higher pitched than you meant it to and you quickly scrambled to compose yourself while Chan laughed at your reaction to his presence. “Hey, deep breaths yeah? It’s just me.” You nodded along, taking a deep breath. “Yeah that’s kinda the problem- I know I’m not the first one to tell you this but you are like hella intimidating…” He responded with more laughter as you gave him a pout. “Sorry ‘bout that, not like I’m really trying to come off that way…quite the opposite really.”

Taking in his appearance you gave him a soft smile. He still had traces of makeup left behind that a quick remover wipe didn’t quite get rid of, dressed in a pair of loose fitting black shorts and a matching black hoodie. “Comfy?” Is the question that slipped out as he sat beside you, full on man spreading. The Aussie’s eyes widened before you were graced with his beautiful laugh once more and you were starting to think you could get used to the sound. “Yeah, I’d say so sitting next to someone as pretty as yourself.” This caused a dark blush to spread over your cheeks and to the tips of your ears as you quickly hid behind your hands. “Oh my god you can’t just say stuff like that-“ you groaned though laughter quickly followed to try and cover your bashfulness. Pulling your hands away you began to fan your face as another one of the boys made your way over to sit on the opposite side of you.

“Oh no, has our poor leader said something to upset you?” Came Lee Minho’s teasing tone as he leaned in close to take a look at the blush still dusting your features. You gasped a bit at the close proximity and struggled to find the words to respond. “Guys can you give them some space, please? They aren’t used to you yet-“ Felix seemed to rush from where he had been changing and attempted to shove Leeknow out of the way. “If they want some space they can speak for themselves, right?” The elder dancer hummed after his question, staring at you expecting an answer. “Well I uh- it’s fine, Lix I’m okay.” The blonde stopped his attempt short and looked between the three of you before huffing a bit. “Well alright if you’re okay….just tell me if they are bothering you, yeah?” You nodded to him, giving the young Aussie a warm smile as Chan made himself more comfortable by draping an arm over your shoulder, thus effectively grabbing your attention. “So, Star- Lix says you’re going to join us for dinner, yeah?” You nod eagerly and flash him the same smile you had just given Felix. “Mhm! If you guys will have me, that is.” From across the room Hyunjin muttered under his breath. “Oh we’ll definitely be having you-“ which caused Han to give him a sharp elbow to the chest and Jeongin a look to say “knock it off” without actually speaking it. Thankfully for the group you didn’t catch the tallest innuendo and continued to chat with Chan and Minho about the show, your favorite foods, and somehow the topic landed on your semi-permanent stay in Korea.

“Wait wait wait- so you’re going to be here for a couple of years to study? That’s fantastic!” Bangchan said with his dimples on full display for you. You fought the urge to reach out and poke them, thankfully winning against the impulse lest you embarrass yourself. “Yup! I still can’t believe it but I’m sure the reality of it will hit once I get settled in a place and start classes.” Minho raised an eyebrow and tilted his head like a curious cat. “Hold on you don’t have a place to live yet?” You shook your head in response and gave him a shrug. “I mean I’m staying at a hotel right now so it’s not like I’m out on the streets or anything.” Now Jisung made his way over, sitting on the other side of Minho and practically gluing himself to the older’s back to get closer to you. “But that’s no way to live! I’m sure it’s not all that comfortable I mean I’ve stayed in many a hotel with this career and it’s just- never as good as having your own bed.” You looked around the see the others nodding or vocalizing their agreement with the rapper. “Well no it’s not ideal but I haven’t exactly had time to find a place yet…” Felix spoke up moving from his spot where he had been leaning against the wall to sit beside Chan. “I offered to help them find somewhere since we’ve got some free time this week now that the concert is over.”

Chan smiled at his fellow Aussie then turned to meet your eyes. “That’s a great idea! We can all help if you want, too. The more the merrier, right?” You nodded, looking over to Felix to gauge his reaction and make sure it wasn’t imposing if he had wanted to spend the time alone with you and to your delight he seemed completely on board with the idea. “Yeah I would really appreciate that, than you Chan.” “Chris. Please-“ You blushed again, giggling a little as you nodded towards him. “Chris.” You responded, feeling brave enough to send him a wink which had the older blushing in return and quickly turning away from you to cough into his elbow. So much for being able to handle what he dished out.

“This is nice, chatting with everyone and getting to know you Star, but I can actually feel my stomach yelling at me to feed it so can we please get going to dinner?” Jeongin whined, clutching his stomach and leaning dramatically onto Changbin who started to complain of hunger himself. With laughter and words of agreement they all decided to load up into two cars split by dorms to head to the restaurant. You found yourself nestled in the cuties car between Felix and Jeongin, talking enthusiastically to Felix about updates coming to your beloved genshin while Jeongin zoned out beside you with headphones on deep into whatever he was doing on his phone. After a while the conversation died down and you felt someone tapping on your shoulder. Turning to look behind you, Seungmin flashed you a soft smile. “Do you plan on coming back to the dorm with us after dinner? We were gonna have some drinks and play Mario Kart since we have the day off tomorrow.” You turned to look at Felix, once again checking to make sure it was okay. Just a few days ago he didn’t even want to show you his face and now it seemed like you were being intertwined deeper within his life with every passing minute. The blonde looked nothing if not eager for you to agree, nodding to you with a bright and sunny smile on his face. “Please? I can show you my pc set up too oh my god I can’t wait for you to see it!” At that you couldn’t really say no, not that you wanted to. “Oh- okay sure I’d love to! I can’t wait to see it either I know you’ve talked about how much work you put into it for months!” Seungmin patted the freckled man on the shoulder and gave him a knowing look before he was met with a playful glare. You looked between them curiously but decided not to question it as you turned back to face forward as the van pulled into the parking lot for the restaurant.

After a somewhat eventual dinner where most of it was spent being practically fed food by all the members, eyes lit up at watching you try everything for the first time. Choruses of “oh try this, it’s my favorite!” and “you’re gonna love this, here take a bite” rang around you for nearly two hours as you all ate your full and chatted throughout.

Once you all arrived back at the dorms you were bid a goodnight by 3racha and their ferret, being ushered into the cuties dorm by an eager Felix as he practically pushed you through the living room before Minho shouted at the two of you to remove your shoes first. Giggling amongst yourself you did as told and then ran off to go see Felix’s set up.

Once your eyes landed on it you gasped, covering your mouth with both hands. “Lix, it’s beautiful-“ you said breathlessly as you slowly made your way to the desk in awe. Felix beamed proudly and leaned in the doorway. “I know, right? It’s almost perfect! There are still a few things here and there I wanna get before I’ll be truly happy with it but for now I’m content.” You looked back at him with astonishment before turning back to his pc. “Truly this is a masterpiece-“ he smiled at your words, coming up behind you and wrapping his arms around your waist. It felt comfortable like this, almost familiar though you knew it shouldn’t considering this is only the second time you’ve been face to face with each other. Still, you found yourself relaxing into his embrace, leaning against him as he swayed the two of you lightly and rested his head on top of your own.

You would have been content to stay like that had it not been for one Kim Seungmin barging in and letting you two know that the drinks and game had been set up and they were just waiting on you.

You blushed, pulling away from Felix to head to the living room but not before grabbing hold of his hand to pull him with you. Felix was a bit sad at the loss of you from his arms but quickly cheered up once your fingers interlocked with one another.

Several rounds of Mario Kart and a few too many drinks later and here you were head in your hands as you faced yet another defeat to Minho as he high fived second place jeongin who then turned around to stick a tongue out at the three of you remaining. “This is why I despise this game-“ you groaned, taking another shot of soju while Felix sat and stared at the screen in disbelief. “I was so close to winning until SOMEONE shot me with a damn blue shell!” He glared at Minho who shrugged, mimicking Jeongin by sticking out his tongue at the younger dancer. “Alls fair in love and racing.” He then winked, heading off to his room. “Losers clean up! I’m going to bed.”

The maknae followed his lead, still laughing a bit at the disappointment on your faces before shutting the door to his room behind him. “I demand a rematch soon!” You shouted at their backs, huffing a bit before laughing as well at how ridiculous it all was.

You, Seungmin, and Felix began cleaning up before you grabbed your phone and started to order a ride back to your hotel. “Woah hey, what are you doing?” Your friend questioned as he came up to you after taking out the trash. “Uh, going home? Well- to my hotel I mean..” he shook his head, taking your phone out of your grasp. “You can stay here.”

You gave him a look as if you thought he was being funny but the man just looked back at you with seriousness. “Are you…sure? I don’t exactly have a change of clothes or anything-“ “you can borrow some!” He responded as if it was the simplest conclusion. At your unsure expression he sighed, canceling the ride on your phone before handing it back to you. “I’m sure. You can take my bed and I’ll take the couch.”

Shaking your head furiously you gawked at him. “Uh no way am I kicking you out of your own bed when I could just leave-“ before you could even finish your sentence he was shutting you down again. “Well I don’t mind sharing a bed with you but I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.” At that you gave him a funny look before rolling your eyes, though a soft blush painted your cheeks. “Lee Felix I don’t think you could ever or would ever for that matter make me uncomfortable.” He laughed a bit at the exasperated tone you used, pulling you towards his room. “I’m taking that as a yes to a sleepover! I’ll get you something to sleep in-“ and with that he began rummaging around through his drawers.

Once you were dressed in a pair of his sweatpants and an old tshirt, Felix lent you a makeup wipe and after cleaning up your faces you both settled under the sheets of his bed, facing each other in the dark. “I haven’t had a sleepover since I was in middle school…” You giggled, snuggling deep under the comforter. “Me either- I’m so excited! Maybe in the morning we can convince Minho to make us breakfast if he isn’t too hungover.” You raised an eyebrow at him. “Or I could make breakfast since you let me stay over?” You suggested, giving him a smile. “But you’re a guest! I couldn’t do that-“ He gasped, shaking his head at the proposal. “Please? I want to. We could do it together it would be a bonding experience.” It was his turn to raise an eyebrow at you. “Have you seen any videos of me attempting to cook? Are you sure?” You laughed, giving his shoulder a light shove. “Have more faith in your abilities, and mine to keep things under control! We help each other out in games how much different could helping each other cook be?” He scoffed a bit, pretending to be hurt by your weak push to his shoulder.

“Hey uh….would it be okay if we- um…if we cuddled?” The blonde asked, voice just above a whisper. You beamed, choosing to snuggle up to him in lieu of an answer. Felix sighed in relief and pulled you closer. That familiar feeling bubbling up again as you began drifting off to sleep after such an eventful day.

“Goodnight, Starlight…” “Goodnight, Felix.”

author’s note; oh my goodness that was a long one compared to the first chapter- I’m sorry if any of the ending bits with all the boys seemed rushed ૮꒰ “ . . ꒱ა my editor (aka my partner lol) was taking too long and I’m too impatient and wanted to go ahead and post for you all! Thank you guys so much for the support already on this series! It really means a lot to me I can’t wait to see how you all like the story as it continues on~ please feel free to ask questions or give feedback I love to hear from you all truly it makes my day so bright as I hope my writing does for you all! Also you’ll notice below I’ve started a tag list for this series if you would like to be added just lmk and I’d be more than happy to do so (if not that’s completely fine I still appreciate you checking the story out!) I also quickly wanna say I am not sure if I’ll have a concrete posting schedule- I work full time and my job can be mentally draining at times so whereas some days (like today) I can spend all my free time writing updates (and then get too excited and post them right away) and others I may not have the energy or mental capacity. I do apologize in advance but you should never have to go more than a week without an update at the very most~ anyways I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and are looking forward to what may come next ᕱᕱ ⊹ ࣪ ˖

tag list; @softkisshyunjin @coastinglove @palindrome969 @amara-mars

[iu-xo]

"Like we've always hated each other"

Tantrum.

intro part 1 part 2 part 3

It took much less time than expected! I hope it's enjoyable to read, god this is so slowburn, so they still hate each other! But... do they really?

The sun... the sun that comes through the window... the fucking sun.

The most recent being to move into the hotel after its restoration, he was fighting a battle to the death with nothing more and nothing less than the sheets of his bed, nothing new for the king to say the least, In his mind it was the eighth time he told himself he would get up, And this was the real thing, he thought for the eighth time...

When he heard a door suddenly open, and even though he loved his daughter with all his heart, he couldn't wish for anything other than that she would leave him for another hour to rot for a little longer in his nest of depression and procrastination, Which didn't happen that way.

-DAD! I'm sorry to bother you... I know you were still sleeping and stuff! despite being past noon.. But your help would reeeeaaaally help me a lot rigth now!

Even though his body betrayed him and made him want to sink and become one with the mattress, knowing that his daughter needed something from him gave him enough motivation to sit up in bed.

-Whatever you need honey..

His voice was still hoarse and sleepy, revealing his little to none desire to exist at that moment, but surely when he did something he would feel better... he hoped.

The princess gave a happy squeal to take out some notebook pages with lists and colorful crayon drawings, and grabbed one in particular which she put on her father's nightstand while she put the rest away with some clumsiness.

-Today I have an activity planned but I mixed up my schedules with next week's, so I have nothing to start with!

The blonde looked very worried about this problem she had, and Lucifer thought that maybe she would ask him for things to buy and he could just magically appear them, piece of cake.

-So while I fix this I wanted you to put these flyers in the businesses that already gave me permission!

Wait. What?

the angel really thought He could get away with doing this quickly with a little magic trick, but he really had no way of appearing flyers in specific places which he had no idea where they were..

-erm.. Dear.. Can't we just put them in... I don't know... everywhere?

-Nop! Because today's topic is... consent!

She said while making a rainbow in the air with her hands , Therefore, the little angel had no choice but to personally walk through the disgusting streets of the pride ring... his ring. While he was hanging little pieces of paper on the windows of the shops of the ungrateful sinners that owned them. But... it was for Charlie... so how bad could it be, He stopped thinking about how bad it would be and instead saw Charlie's smile explaining how she wanted to deal with today's topic, he saw her eyes full of sparkle and got out of bed.

-Count on me char-char, I'll take care of it!

Charlie smiled from ear to ear and hugged him, leaning down, he had taken Lucifer a little by surprise but he gladly reciprocated

-Thank you.. means a lot.

They both felt a silence after that, it wasn't awkward, it was like they were telling each other without words that they were trying to heal something, And even if it couldn't happen overnight, they were trying, Charlie knew they would make it, Lucifer... he could only hope so.

But after that charlie decided to left the room to let her father get ready, she also had too many things to do, time was against her and she wasn't going to waste it.

-Well.. see ya!

She said goodbye with her hand, while her father did it in the same way, Once she was outside, the angel walked slowly to his closet, looking for something more casual, but ended up wearing his usual outfit but without his white jacket, he rolled up his sleeves and headed to the bathroom to fix his hair, he saw himself in the mirror for a moment, a wave of melancholy drowning him for a few moments, He saw himself worn out, tired.

He washed his face with cold water as an attempt to wash away the draining thoughts, it just... everything used to be so simple for him, at least sometimes... He left the bathroom and opened a window in his room, looking to breathe something other than his own self-loathing, A burst of sulfur aroma was what he found, he sighed, At this moment he missed the aroma of fruit and freshly wet grass... he may not be missing the regime of heaven but... that garden and it's smells sure were something else

He realized that he had gotten quite lost in thought, so he washed his face one last time Seeking to return to reality, and avoiding the hassle of seeing so many faces at the reception... he opened a golden portal under his feet that left him at the exit of the hotel, now he only had to...

walk.

Lovely.

•~•~•~•~•~•~•

-WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE YOU LITTLE PIECE OF SHIT.

A demon twice his size was shouting at him in the middle of the street, the lamb-like demon had bruises he was bleeding and holding the demon's hand that grabbed him by the neck while lifting him off the floor, he didn't seem scared, in fact he didn't feel the slightest bit of fear despite the dangerous situation he found himself in, as if he believed that at any moment one of his exterminators would arrive and take him out of there, or simply as if it didn't enter his head that he wasn't untouchable.

-F-FUCK YOU.. YOU.. FUCKING PUSSY!

He tried to get free even with less oxygen than required, he increasingly gained strength to kick his attacker into the pit of his stomach, leaving him breathless momentarily and falling to the ground, he took a deep breath and before the opponent could notice Adam was half a block away, he may have been out of shape, but he managed to ran into an alley and lean against the wall, while he saw the idiot run past him.

-SHIT- FUCKING- DAMN IT!

He dropped to the floor sliding down the wall, wiped the blood from his nose, then saw the blood on his hand..

Red.

His blood was... Red. Did he feel.. anger? No.. sadness? Of course not.. he was not a pussy.. He felt... To hell with what he felt all this was bullshit and he shouldn't be going through this! He shouldn't be here! He Should not.. he shouldn't be here...he was the first man...God's most beautiful creation! Fuck..he couldn't be rotting in this shit hole together with all these pieces of shit! They all came from him. where is his respect..

Interrupting his internal monologue bar existential crisis, he heard footsteps and unconsciously clung to the wall with his new claws, since he had arrived he had already escaped from five guys who were looking to kick his ass, perhaps a sixth could be avoided.

Humming a catchy melody, a familiar face passed by looking for something, looked at a sheet of paper, then at the shops, Then he approached the window of the establishment and stuck a flyer on it, without realizing the stare he had on him, Although of course, many people had looked at him since he left the hotel, he had had to send a couple flying, so it wasn't something especially peculiar

•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•

of all the habitants of hell... IT SHOULD BE FUCKING LUCIFER THE FIRST FAMILIAR FACE HE SEES?! This day, this place and all of this it's nothing but a stupid damn joke!

What the fuck is he doing? Hanging ruffles? Last time he tried to sell him that he was such a big deal, what was he doing hanging fucking pamphlets in the disgusting streets full of shit?

The gaze that Lucifer felt on his shoulder felt heavier and heavier, when he looked out of the corner of his eye he noticed a sinner looking towards the flyer he puted on the glass, and an idea crossed his mind, what would be better than advertising the hotel? Well, make it work of course! He could do this, it was just... talking to a stranger! Perfect, and the bad thing was that... he had to talk to a stranger. come on morningstar! For your daughter's approval!

-Heey you.

They both remained in total silence, panic could be seen on Adam's face, had he recognized him? It seemed like no... everything pointed to no, but that didn't stop his brain from wanting to run away and leave him alone in that moment, Lucifer had an ackward face and it shows in the way his eye twitched that he regretted his decision ever since the words left his mouth, but there was no way to take it back now, meanwhile Adam considered the possibility of just running away.

-I see you... watching from there! You can... read it. You know.. it's a pamphlet. They are for... reading-

He could easily smash his hand against his face in an exaggerated way, but this wasn't the time for that, if he brought a guest to the hotel today Charlie would be so happy! he can do it, it was like selling, It's not that he knew how to sell things... but how hard could it be

Meanwhile Adam looked at him with a disappointed face, his communication skills were as deplorable as they had always been, but he glanced at the pamphlet, of course, their fifth class hotel.

-It has everything! You should tell every person you see in hell about it.

Adam's disgusted face spoke for him, while Lucifer sighed, obviously it wouldn't be that easy to bring someone to the hotel in one day, but for Adam everything was going wonderfully since at least he didn't know it was him.

The feeling did not last too long, as he felt a figure forming behind him, heat emanating from near his back, the lamb-like demon feared the worst, and unfortunately he was right.

-To claim to be the first dick you are quite the pussy.

Said a demon behind him, twice his size, Shark-like, It was the guy from before for sure, shit-

-wait. what was that first thing you said?

before the words had a chance to come out of the angel's mouth in their entirety, He felt a gust of wind pass by him but as far as he was concerned, the wind doesn't scream.

As he turned around at the speed of the wind itself, he could briefly see his future guest crashing into the brick wall at the hands of the stupid demon who had interrupted his negotiation attempt, in a moment six wings came out angelically from the sovereign's back to place himself just in time between the two demons with a flutter of his wings, whit one hand he stoped the inevitable punch destined to hit Adam's face.

-Nobody taught you not get into the grown up's conversations... right?

He said this while a grin formed in his face, showing sharp teeth which this guy would remember all his life, Lucifer released the guy's fist to hold his wrist and with a twist of his hip he easily sent him to the other side of the pentagram.

-now. where did you get that phrase from?

When the angel looked behind him he could see nothing more and nothing less than two hooves walking away two meters away

-Shit shit shit shit shit SHIT!

Although Adam's intention was to lose sight of the small man following him, when he looked back all he could see was his imminent arrival to the ground, receiving a tackle from Lucifer, they both fell rolling around as if they were two little children fighting in the school garden

-SPEAK FILTHY CREATURE

He demanded, standing on top of the lamb, despite it being half his size and looking humorous, the truth is that Adam couldn't get out of his grip no matter how hard he tried.

-STOP BEING SO DAMN DENSE BITCH!

Oh God. He recognized that voice, he recognized that stupid self-nickname, and worst of all, he recognized that stupid tantrum.

-how the hell. are you here rigth now.

-Why should I say that to you, huh?!

-maybe because YOU DON'T HAVE ANOTHER OPTION?! MAYBE??

Both continued to struggle with each other, one to escape and one to have answers. Lucifer was afraid of letting him escape and that he could cause some trouble, although thinking about it carefully... he looked at his lamb's ears, his hooves, his eyes and his teeth... now he was a simple sinner, There wasn't much he could accomplish even if he tried, he'd probably be screwed, he may already had taked a few beatings even.

-Well, I have no idea! I hope that helps sucker!

He said and spit in his face, something he didn't thought about properly, or didn't thought about at all, The ruler's face was irritated, as if he were putting up with a spoiled child, well... that's practically what he's doing.

-That's all, Let's go.

He cleaned his face whit his sleve and grabbed him by the collar of his clothes and began to drag him along the sidewalk, he had an exhausted expression as if he didn't have what it took to face this situation today, although he probably wouldn't any day.

-the FUCK. ARE YOU DOING?!

He said, fluttering his black wings everywhere, managing to irritate Lucifer by obstructing his vision, forcing him to stop, to which he grunted in annoyance.

-Well. taking care of you! What else am I supposed to do! It's what I should always do! because it seems like your entire existence is made to cause me problems!

Adam's gaze could be nothing but anger, he struggled away from Lucifer's grasp, which was curious to see due to the difference in sizes, once free he turned around to look at him from the front

- YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, I WAS MADE TO BE FUCKING PERFECT! YOU LITTLE PIECE OF SHIT.

-If you were as perfect as you say, how do you explain this eh! How do you think this happened?! You are not in this putrid pit for being the dick of the dicks PAL!

The lamb growled in exasperation as he stamped on the ground with his right hoof, after pulling his hair looking to escape from his angryness he lookef at the little one in the eye.

- IF I DON'T CARE, WHY THE FUCK SHOULD YOU CARE, YOU PIECE OF CRAP!

He felt a lump in his throat, but not as painful as the lump in the throat of the king of hell himself, Why should he care? Why the fuck should he care??

-Oh then i saw You die a fucking WEEK AGO. and You expect me to see that You are alive and let you wander through hell knowing that any demon is out there KICKING YOUR FUCKING ASS?! A THANK YOU WAS ENOUGH!

Lucifer screamed as his eyes turned from yellow to red from how infuriating he found having to argue with this idiot, he was never particularly reasonable but right now he was more irritable than normal and had no idea why

- THANK YOU?! OH SURE THEN YOU THINK YOU CAN TREAT ME LIKE A CHARITY CASE FOR YOUR BRAT'S SHITTY HOTEL HUH!? Well I have news for you DUDE!

Adam He kicked dirt from the street, dirtying Lucifer's clothes, who coughed in response to the cloud of dust

-im not your fucking guinea pig.

He narrowed his gaze in disgust, looking down literally and metaphorically at his contrary.

-Are you allergic to kindness? or why is it that you can't accept a fucking favor!?

Adam's Contemptuous face became one of intense anger and he took a step forward and brought his face closer to the angel's.

-from YOU? Of course. Good joke.

Lucifer had enough, he wouldn't wait to know where this reunion could go, It's not even worth wasting his breath on... Adam. Or at least that's what he thought.

-you know what? It's fine with me. It's not like you're not used to everyone leaving you, stay like that, as always, stay alone.

The king shook his clothes to remove the dirt, with one hand he snapped his fingers and as he arrived he left, Adam was left with an unreadable expression, he didn't move from there, he just stood there.

still and quiet.

•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•

The golden portal opened above the hotel's front door, since he had avoided greeting people in the morning he assumed he could say hello in the aftern.. nigth, it was nigth.

Well, anyways, he would greet them at night then.

Opening the door abruptly without worrying about whether it was timely or not, he stepped into the hall.

-HEELLOOO everyone! How does the night treat you all?

From there you could easily see the bartender behind the bar along with the little maid sitting at the bar playing with some dead bug, on the sofa lay their most exotic guest and a certain deer showed no signs of being close, much to the king's liking.

-we have been better short king, But nothing that a drink can't fix, rigth wiskers?

The feline rolled his eyes but smiled at the end, and began to mix different liquids, When he looked in the direction the king was his eyes widened in surprise

- wow. It looks like you were hited by a truck.

Angel Dust looked in the same direction realizing what the bartender was referring to, It really looked like they had made him crawl on the floor, well, in fact something like that happened-

- someone played too rough whit ya~?

Husk put his palm to his face as Nifty leaned over the bar counter

- I like rough.

She said, sketching a sinister smile, to which Lucifer reacted with a certain degree of displeasure, and Husk put a donut from the bar counter in her mouth to make her shut up for a little bit

- umh.. rigth. Well no, I wasn't hit by a truck, and no! Neither, the other thing. I just ran into a few issues. Nothing to worry about.

While this small exchange of words was going on, footsteps could be heard in the distance approaching faster and faster, ending with a hug from behind to Lucifer's surprise.

-DAD! What happened? It took you hours to come back!

-Oh come on, come on... it's nothing at all! A few small issues, a few hours! But everything is fine now.

While the angel convinced Charlie that it was nothing, sounds of static reached everyone's ears, covering them in the act, everyone anticipated the arrival of you-know-who, it was nothing new for him to arrive in such a dramatic way, especially if the king was there prior to his arrival

-How interesting... I would swear it would take more than a few small matters to delay the big boss.. a couple hours.

The one who had just arrived in the room exclaimed very arrogantly, with a smile from ear to ear per usual , Charlie watched him appear on the spot and waved happily, only to receive a greeting from the deer-like demon in return.

-oh oh oh If you only knew You little shit.

Lucifer smiled evilly knowing that if Alastor ran into Adam again the last thing he would do would be act with that arrogance so characteristic of his

-Honey there is someone at the door.

Vaggie entered the room and to the conversation to warn her girlfriend about the presence of someone outside, so charlie left the two old men arguing to answer the door

-Oh but tell us your highness, what were these "issues" then.

-Nothing that your walnut-sized brain can understand piece of-

Two brown hooves entered, stepping on the red carpet that covered the hotel's entrance hall, to which Charlie said very excitedly and taking small jumps until they reached the area where everyone was, her girl on one side of the stranger and her on the remaining side.

Lucifer's sight changed from being fixed on Alastor to seeing the newcomer and although the king was already prepared to smile at the person to receive them, when he looked at him carefully, the only thing that came out of his mouth was..

-FU- ADAM?! THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE.

When everyone heard who he was talking about, they stayed cold and glued to the floor. With his new demonic form, no one would have guessed that it was the leader of the exorcists in person, or rather... in demon.

-ADAM?!

-adam??

-THAT ADAM?!

-OH OH estás muerto CABRON!

-Mhhh..

After the domino reaction Adam with lowered ears tried to talk keeping his dignity and pride, not very successfully, with a stupid smile on his face he speak

-heey bitchees.. so.. what's for dinner?

You could swear there was the sound of a cane breaking in the background followed by a static sound.

[prettyyoungandbored]

Official - Johnny Knoxville

Pairing: Johnny Knoxville x Fem!Reader

Same couple from the other fics.

NOT MY GIF

Y/N let out a big yawn as she made her way to her car. Jeff, her, and Johnny had wrapped up a production meeting with MTV execs that took way longer than necessary.

The guys and Holly begged her to come out with them after she was done, but she was too exhausted to entertain the thought.

She got into her car, throwing her purse in the passenger seat before rubbing her eyes. She was thankful she had the next two days off, planning on spending those moments resting.

She knew Johnny only had the next day off and despite desperately wanting to spend some quality time with him, she wanted him to get his rest.

She also wanted to make sure he was able to have some space of his own.

They’d been seeing each other for a month when Johnny made it clear that they were exclusive. They snuck out on dates or into each other’s hotel rooms. While Holly and Steve-O knew, they kept it from the others.

Just as she went to start the car, a knock at the window caused her to jump in her seat. She turned to see Johnny there and rolled down the window.

“You scared the shit out of me!” she said.

“Sorry, Babydoll,” he pouted. “I wanted to know if you were going to the bar to meet the group or heading back to the hotel?”

“I’m going back to the hotel. I can barely keep my eyes open.”

“You want me to drive you?” he asked.

“I’ll be fine. It’s only a 10 minute drive. Besides, don’t you get sleepy behind the wheel?”

He shrugged. “Sometimes.”

She blinked, wondering how he could be so casual about it. “Yeah, that terrifies me. Want me to drive you to the bar?”

“I’m going back to the hotel. I’m exhausted. Meet me in my room when you get there?”

“Sounds good.”

He held up his finger for a moment, looking out. “See ya Jeff!” he called out as Jeff pulled off.

The second Jeff and his car were out of sight, Johnny kissed Y/N on the forehead. “Drive safe, Babydoll. See you when you get there.”

“You too, Babe.”

=====================================

Before she went into his room, she brushed her teeth and washed her face. She changed into some sweatpants and a tank top before making her way to Johnny’s hotel room.

She eyed around to make sure no one else was coming by before knocking on his door.

The door swung open to reveal Johnny in a wrinkled plain white tee and sweatpants.

“I was wondering what was taking you so long,” he said.

She patted his stomach as she made her way in his room. “I had to get ready for bed first.”

He closed the door behind him. “I’m surprised you changed your clothes.”

“Well I had to get cozy,” she chuckled, wrapping her arms around his waist.

His hands cupped her face. “Could’ve slept naked. I do.”

She hummed as she inched toward his lips. “Don’t tempt me with a good time.”

His lips closed on hers hungrily, as if they hadn’t touched in years. Although Johnny had once told her she was a great kisser, she knew she had nothing on him. When he kissed, he kissed with passion and urgency.

It made her toes curl as tiny fireworks exploded in her stomach.

When he pulled back, she rested her chin on his chest.

“What’re you doing?” he laughed.

“Just admiring you. You’re awfully pretty.”

He threw his head back, laughing. God, how she loved hearing him laugh.

“It’s true!” she pressed on. “Even when you’re covered in shit and wearing some dumbass costume like you wore today, you’re still pretty to me.”

“Now I can’t tell you the last time I’ve ever had a girl call me ‘pretty,’” he said. “Come to think of it, I don’t think they’ve ever had.”

“Not even ‘pretty boy’?”

He shook his head as she sighed heavily. “Well, I’m sorry people have been so horrible to you.”

“Might need to keep you around longer just so you can remind me whenever I need to hear it.”

She snorted. “That’s the only reason, huh?”

“I have my other reasons but I’ll keep them to myself.”

It was her turn to shake her head. “So cruel, Clapp”

He kissed her forehead. “Hey, I talked to my manager and we’ll have three months together after Jackass wraps before filming on that other movie begins.”

“Oh yay!” she beamed. They had talked about what would happen after filming on “Jackass” wrapped and they both made it clear to one another that they wanted to continue seeing each other.

“I already know a couple places I want to take you when we go back to LA,” she said “My friend actually owns this bar in Burbank that we can go to.”

“I can’t wait Babydoll,” he said. “I’m gonna have you all to myself whenever I want.”

“Who says you don’t now?”

“Point taken.”

She patted his chest. “Alright, you ready for bed?”

Before he could respond, there was a knock at the door. Y/N turned her head to Johnny.

“I’ll go in the bathroom,” she whispered.

He nodded as she tipped toed into the bathroom, closing the door. Johnny then opened the hotel door.

“What’s up, Dave?”

“You got any any extra weed on you? I’ve got a date in my hotel room.”

“No, I don’t.”

“Damn! Well, thanks anyway. Wait, why aren’t you at the bar with the guys?”

“I’m fucking exhausted, man. I’ll go with you guys tomorrow night.”

“Ok. Sounds good. See ya.”

Johnny closed the door, locking it. Y/N waited a second before opening the bathroom door.

“He might try you next,” Johnny warned.

“Oh, I have a ‘do not disturb,’ sign on my door knob,” she said. “I figured they’d leave me alone.”

“Wishful thinking, Babydoll.”

“I’m not worried about it. C’mon, let’s go to bed.”

She made her to the hotel bed, crawling under the duvet covers.

Johnny turned off the lamp on the nightstand beside the bed and slid under the covers. He reached his arms out, pulling her to him so her back was against his chest.

“You warm enough now, cutie?” he asked.

She smirked, wiggling her butt closer to his clothes groin. Johnny’s hand slapped her butt playfully.

“Behave,” he mumbled as she snickered.

======================================

A loud bang at the door woke both Y/N and Johnny from their slumber. Y/N let out a sharp gasp as she clutched her beating chest.

“The fuck was that?” she whispered.

Before Johnny could answer, there was another loud bang at the door.

“Are you fucking serious?” he grumbled.

He got up from the bed. “GO THE FUCK TO SLEEP!” he yelled.

“Come outside, Daddy Knoxville! We wanna play!”

Y/N groaned. It was Ryan and the laugh that followed belonged to Bam. Of course it was those two.

Johnny shook his head, making his way back from to bed. He eyed the alarm clock which read 3:19 a.m.

“They’ll get kicked out eventually,” he sighed, sitting on the edge of the bed.

Y/N laid back down and closed her eyes when the two assholes outside the door began screaming some song she couldn’t quite identify. She pulled her lips back, hoping maybe, just maybe someone would put an end to it.

But five minutes passed and eventually she had enough.

“WE’RE TRYING TO SLEEP YOU ASSHOLES!” she screamed.

Y/N froze, heart falling straight down to her ass, as the room and the noise outside fell silent. She eyed Johnny, his eyes as wide as hers.

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered.

He opened his mouth to respond when-

“HOLY SHIT THAT CAN’T BE?!”

“HE BAGGED HER, MAN!”

Johnny got out of bed and stormed to the door. Y/N buried herself under the covers.

“Dude don’t tell me that’s Y/N in your bed-.” Ryan was cut off.

“Not a single word from either of you! You understand me? Not a fucking word!”

Johnny slammed the door, locking it. Y/N sniffled as hot tears trickled down. Of course he was pissed. He went to great lengths to protect her and their relationship and she ruined it because she couldn’t stand two grown men being loud.

She felt a hand on top of the covers that hugged her hips .

“Babydoll, can you look at me please?” His tone was slow, almost cautious.

She shook her head, eyes closed. “I can’t. I’m such a fucking idiot.”

“No, you’re not. Hey, c’mon.”

She pulled the covers off her face and was welcomed by a concerned Johnny.

“Oh, Babydoll,” he coaxed, pulling her into a hug. “It’s ok. I’m not mad at all.”

“I’m so sorry I ruined it,” she whimpered, sniffling.

“You didn’t ruin anything. Besides, they were gonna find out soon enough.”

His finger gently lifted her chin up. “Hey, I’m not mad, ok?”

She nodded as he kissed her forehead. “Don’t worry about those two. We’ll deal with them after we talk to Jeff and fill out any and all the HR bullshit forms, ok?”

She nodded her head again as he collected her back in his arms. “I’m sorry for putting us in this position,” she whispered.

“No apologizing, Babydoll,” he reminded her gently. “Let’s go back to bed and we’ll fix this in the morning.”

=====================================

“Oh I figured it out last week,” Jeff said, sipping on his coffee.

Y/N and Johnny met with Jeff in his hotel room the following morning to explain their relationship and what had happened the night before. Y/N felt sick to her stomach about telling Jeff, wondering what exactly kind of price she and Johnny would have to pay.

Jeff’s casual attitude on the matter, however, came as a massive relief to her.

“Anyway, don’t worry about the disclosure forms,” he went on. “MTV doesn’t do that shit. They don’t care.”

“How did you figure it out?” Y/N asked.

Jeff made a face. “Are you serious? You two were always a smiling at each other and he always keeps you in his eye line, even while he’s filming.” He turned to Johnny. “Also there’s no reason you need to be in her office so many goddamn times a day. I am happy for you two though.”

Johnny nodded as Y/N pat his back. “Well, I’m glad we got this out of the way.”

“There is one thing,” Jeff said. “She is gonna have to do a stunt.”

Y/N groaned as Johnny shook his head. “Absolutely not. No.”

“Relax. I’ll come up with it.”

“Jeff-.”

“She won’t end up in the hospital. I promise.”

======================================

Three Days Later…

“Hi, I’m Johnny Knoxville-.”

“And I’m Y/N L/N-.”

“and this is the milkshake challenge.”

The couple sat next to each other at a table at a podunk diner. Holly, wearing a skimpy diner waitress, appeared from the double doors

“Milkshake for the love birds to share!” she cheered.

She set down a dark green milkshake with spots that reminded Y/N of mold. Of course, it was topped with whipped cream and cherry and had two straws.

“What the fuck is in here?” Y/N asked.

“You’ll have to taste it,” Jeff said from behind the camera

She groaned. As Johnny glared at Jeff and the guys behind him.

“Jeff, you promised,” Johnny reminded him.

“I put the shit in there,” Jeff assured. “No allergic reactions. No poison. No hospital trips. Now take a sip.”

There was no way out. They had to do it. Johnny sighed and rubbed Y/N’s back. “C’mon Babydoll. Let’s get this over with.”

She sighed as her lips inched toward the straw. She said a silent prayer before sucking through the straw.

It was then her taste buds were met with a mixture that could only best be described as dusty, onion mush

She spit it out in the bucket immediately. “WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU PUT IN THERE?!”

[minkkumaz]

IGNITING OUR LOVE

deciding to give each boy a chance, you fueled their need for friendly competition. between woonhak and jaehyun, they both put on a show to see who impresses their lady the most. however even after going on a proper date with each boy, there's something you're still unsure about. RACE TO YOUR HEART series

PAIRING woonmyungz x fem!reader WC 5.4k TAGS adults dni. racecar driver au. no poly relationship. mentions of toxic relationship. fluff. seperate dates. lowk crackfic. very unserious at times. kidnapping jokes. TAGLIST @skullverse OMI NOTE this turned out way fucking longer than i anticipated it to be omg. this is like a summer with you all over again. (it'll get worse as time flies by.. i have a few long ones up my sleeve)

fiddling with the hem of your skirt, you waited on the curb of your culdesac for a familiar boy to drive down the road. it had been two weeks since woonhak and jaehyun initially asked you out on a date. they maneuvered the timing around one another, leaving you with woonhak today and jaehyun tomorrow. 

there was an unfamiliar feeling in your chest, exploring into the deepest depths of your heart. so sweet it could give you cavities, yet sour enough to make you flinch. it wasn’t everyday you went on back to back dates. but in a way, you were somehow thriving. everything got so much easier when you started opening up more, so you became positive that tonight would be fun, as well as the following day.

as you waited, you remembered back to the phonecall you had with your friend explaining every little detail to her. how they found you that day, and how you decided to spend the next with them, only for both boys to ask you out on a day. shocked was an understatement, she almost flipped her shit in the best way possible. despite the undying love she had for woonhak, she was considerate of your feelings and thought it was ‘cupid blessing you with love.’

a blessing in disguise, yet as the clock ticked you became queasy. peaking over the houses at the end, a car drove into your neighborhood that you didn’t recognize. you weren’t expecting woonhak to show up in his race car, so you kept your hopes high that it was.

the window rolled down, revealing the smiley boy that you were expecting to see. he was dressed casually, with a sweater vest over a plain white tee and some jeans. the outfit you were wearing was just a plain skirt with a shirt, so you were thankful that he went casual as well.

“hey! you look�� you look really cute!” he spoke out the window, clicking the button to unlock the door to the front seat.

“thank you..!” you blush, buckling yourself in, “um i don’t think you told me where we were going yet? you’re not going to kidnap me are you?”

“oh my gosh– of course not! i probably should’ve asked before, but that’s just my terrible planning. are you okay with roller coasters? or just amusement parks in general?” hints of worry lace his tone, but you nod in response.

“i don’t mind them at all! i’ll try everything for the first time so, don’t even give it a second thought!” you smile softly.

“perfect. i promise you’ll have fun!” he steps on the gas, carrying the two of you out of your neighborhood and towards the destination.

“i don’t doubt that for a second.” 

the car drove smoothly against the road, every house and building passing by into a colorful blur. everything about the atmosphere was calming, a playlist running quietly in the background to ease your thoughts. 

a comfortable silence washed over the two of you. no words were spoken, but it was nice. woonhak moved his hand over the dial to turn up the volume on the song that was currently playing. the volume stays stable throughout the rest of the car ride.

when you guys pulled into the busy parking lot, all of the rides looked much larger in person, making your eyes go big. there were long, colorful rollercoasters, as well as dropper rides, and ones that would swing around in circles. 

“excited? my favorite is that one right there!” woonhak leans over the center console to point at one of the rollercoasters.

“you’ve been here before?” you question, looking at his face which is only inches from yours. 

taken aback, he quickly pulls away, “oh– yeah! i actually came here with my friend taesan not too long ago, but it was super packed so we couldn’t get on that one..”

“hope– hopefully the line isn’t super long! we should go!” you stutter out shyly. 

“yeah, let’s!” he rushedly opens the door as you do as well, getting out of the car.

“do we need to purchase tickets at the front?” you ask, walking alongside him to the entrance.

“i already bought them so we just need to go through and have the person scan them.” he hands you a piece of paper with a barcode on the side.

“okay, cool! i’ll pay you back when i get home!”

“are you serious, i’m not letting you pay for anything today! it’s all on me, okay?” he insists as you near the entrance.

“what?! these tickets are probably expensive, it’s only right i pay you back.” you furrow your eyebrows, and he just ruffles your hair.

“i’ll block your number if you try to send me money, it’s my day to treat and get to know you more.” he argues, not taking no for an answer.

“you suck, i’m paying next time.” you give in, flattening your hair.

“are you already planning for our next date?” he smiles joyfully.

“what– no! well i mean? shut up!” you groan, “i’m not just go on a strike from hanging out with you, it doesn’t have to be a date!”

“i’m still going to be delusional tonight and tell jae you said that.”

“you’re already insufferable.” you joke, entering through the gates of the amusement park behind him.

while there was a lot of people, it was nothing according to woonhak. the sun was bright on your face, making you thankful that you wore sunscreen. there was a multitude of activities to do, as well as some fair - esque games.

despite it being bright out, the different colored lights on the rollercoasters and booths were still prominent. you were impressed by how nice this park was, having not been to it before. woonhak held out a hand to you , scratching the back of his neck nervously. you gingerly accept, remembering the only other time you held hands with him was very sudden, with less romantic intent.

he intertwines his fingers with yours, leading you around and pointing at different things the two of you together. though you said you didn’t have much of a preference, he wanted to find something you enjoyed. in the end, you decided on some bumper cars that didn’t have much of a line.

“i can just never escape driving, can i?” he lets out an exaggerated sigh, clipping in his seatbelt like the operator told him to.

“you said you’d do whatever i wanted to!” 

“i’m kidding, i just want you to have fun!”

“then let me have my fun by pushing you into a wall.” you smile, moving your car backwards before pressing the gas forward to push woonhak.

“hey! you’re not going to get away with that!” he yells as you scurry away.

the two of you chase after each other in your cars, the bumpers becoming worn out from colliding with one another. laughter fills the mini arena. the antenna on the back of your vehicle shook every time he came in contact with you.

however, the fun was short lived as you had a time limit to ride, before giving up your spot to the next person. that idea never stopped either of you from having a lot of fun.

“i– i can’t breathe oh my gosh you kept making me laugh!” you pant.

“it was my number one distraction technique.” he brags, brushing imaginary dust off his shoulders.

“yeah but you probably gave me whiplash, so you’re paying for my surgery.” you shove his side lightly.

“are we going to pretend like you didn’t knock me into tomorrow?! how am i supposed to drive when i can’t even move my head ninety degrees!” 

“you’re dramatic, i’m not as strong as you are!”

“bro we were in cars? it doesn’t even matter if i’m stronger than you.” he rolls his eyes before instinctively putting an arm around your shoulder.

the action made you feel small against him, immediately shutting up your friendly bickering. he pretended not to notice, but was fearful that you were uncomfortable with him. was it too sudden? should he have given you a high five or something?

in an attempt to move his arm away, he taps lightly on your skin to play it off. what he didn’t expect was for you to raise your hand up to his and place it atop, stopping him from moving away. a smile appeared on his face as he continued walking with you through the large crowds.

you admired the scenery around you, woonhak watching your eyes dart to anything and almost everything. a pallet of different smells combined together and waffed in and out of your nose. looking at all of the different booths and food stands, your eyes light up upon seeing an arrangement of ice cream flavors on a big sign.

“a little birdie is telling me that ice cream sounds pretty good right now.” woonhak meets your gaze as you try to hold back your excitement.

“that little birdie and i have something in common, i think we might be twins. maybe soulmates?” you grin as he walks the both of you over to the line.

“on second thought, that was my original idea and i take full credit for it!”

“sorry woon i’m only into birds now.”

“fumbling to a bird is somehow worse than to jaehyun.” 

“ouch, you gonna take that kim woonhak?” 

“don’t hit me up, i’m too busy trying to decide what i want out of these thirty different flavors” he puts his free hand up to your face, and you only punch his palm lightly in return.

“speaking of flavors, that snickers one actually looks really good.” you say, drooling at the thought.

“woah! they have a rainbow flavor..?” he points out, sounding more like a question.

“have you never had rainbow sherbert before?” you wonder out loud.

“no, sorry, i don’t fuck with eating frozen unicorn shit.” he says blankly, but immediately smiles after.

“you’re missing out it’s kind of peak.” 

“then how about you get it and i’ll try some of yours?” he holds out his hand.

“fine, i suppose i’ll take one for the team so you can try your stupid rainbow sherbert.” you kick pretend rocks, before shaking his hand.

once you get up to the window, woonhak orders the ice cream for the both of you. he ends up ordering rocky road, while you get the rainbow sherbert for him to try. you can see the soft ice cream dispensing from the machine behind the worker. 

after waiting patiently, but not for too long, two cups of the fresh dessert you were yearning for was placed in front of you with a spoon and a ‘have a good day!’ you and woonhak thanked the worker and searched around for a place to sit. a shaded spot that wasn’t very busy was decided on, so you both sat down next to one another.

“okay, be ready to have your life changed!” you inform woonhak, dipping your spoon into a corner of the ice cream. 

“are– are you going to feed it to me?” he asks, blush washing over his cheeks.

“i was going to but um– if you don’t want me to i don’t have–”

“no! it’s fine. you’re fine. i mean– ah?” he gives up on stumbling over his words, gaping his mouth open slightly for you to deliver the soft treat to him.

“yo, you might be right. unicorn shit isn’t half bad!” he jokes.

“woonhak you need to get a grip before i ditch you on this date.”

“hey! you love hanging out with me! don’t deny it.” he frowns, licking any excess ice cream from his lips.

“okay maybe you got me, but i’ll leave in a heartbeat.” you fake threaten, watching him become smiley again.

“you know, i’m surprised you went through with this whole date in the first place.” he commented, “you’re too pretty to be single..”

“well, i wasn’t exactly single. didn’t jaehyun tell you?” you could of swore he already knew about your ex.

“not a single word!”

“shit uh.. you see when mommy and daddy love each other, but things don’t go exactly as planned–”

“bro i’m not that much younger than you, a few months at best!” he complained, watching you giggle at his reaction.

“okay okay, i did date someone in the past. and he kind of fucked me up like, really bad? i don’t think i gave jae the full sob story but..” you explain, the change in your tone becoming evident, “he was very manipulative, and i stuck through every little bullshit story he plotted into my head. there was no way he actually loved me, more like the idea of me. so two months later, and boom i’m at this race trying to get my head in the game.”

“like troy bolton?” his question raises your mood slightly.

“yes, like troy bolton.

“i’m so fucking sorry you had to go through that, there’s no way he deserved someone as funny and kind as you. it’s his loss.” woonhak shrugged, moving his hand slightly closer to yours until your pinkies touched.

“nah, don’t mention it. everything is finally starting to get better. and not to be sappy or anything, but you and jae have been such awesome people to hang out with. definitely made the process a lot smoother in the end.” you sigh, trying to shake off the depths of the conversation you were having.

“i’m um.. i’m glad you trust me enough to tell me these things. i’ll always be here, you know?” he mumbles, almost coming out like a whisper. despite the large crowds amongst you, it felt like it was only you and woonhak in that exact moment.

“thank you, woon. you’re sweet.” you compliment him, taking a portion from your ice cream to try it on your own. 

“you kind of missed your mouth a bit.” he laughs.

he moved his hand to the corner of your lip, gently wiping off whatever you had gotten on your face. his touch lingers for a moment too long. you already begin to feel the heat building up in your cheeks, something you haven’t felt in quite awhile.

woonhak had always been very gentle with you besides his chaotic persona. both jaehyun and woonhak have. and for the two weeks they’ve known you, you could tell that they thrived on taking care of others, especially each other; even whenever things got a little crazy in the group chat you had formed with the two of them. that’s what you admired most about their dynamic, nothing was too serious.

when he pulled his hand away from your lips, you missed the touch of his hand against your face. he tried to brush it off with a nervous chuckle, going back to the dessert in front of him. it was like nothing had happened, but the burning sensation in his chest showed that everything happened.

the rest of the day with woonhak continued like normally. there were a numerous amount of things for the both of you to do, and it felt like you got around to a decent amount of it. your feet hurt from walking around so much, but it was all worth it in the end. 

going on large scary rides that you were intimidated by, just to have the time of your life, eating so many sweets til your stomach hurt, and watching the fireworks light up the sky into a beautiful portrait of sparks. each second spent next to woonhak made you forget about every other worry, every other little thing. it was a sweet date the two of you shared, and you wouldn’t take it for granted.

but the hole in your stomach was no secret, because as you sit in woonhak’s car while he drives you home, you became scared for the date you’d have with jaehyun. was it so terrible to share such a meaningful time with woonhak, and share something so similar with his best friend the next day?

it was difficult to believe they were okay with this, and you still didn’t understand just quite. though you tried your very best to think on the bright side of things. you’d have just as much fun with jae and whatever he had planned, and it was okay if you felt strongly over one date than the other. because at the end of the day, you had to pick.

the sudden halt of the car brought you back to earth, woonhak putting his car in park and looking over to you. street lights from outside barely illuminated the expression on your face, but he knew that you were beautiful.

“today was really great, y/n. thank you for letting me take you out.” he murmured, not wanting to let you leave just yet.

“no, thank you. i really enjoyed myself, you made everything perfect.” you assure him, letting one of your hands rest on the door handle, and the other in your lap.

“text me photos and everything later, okay?”

“got it. i’ll see you later woon.” you tell him goodbye, stepping out of his car into the coolness of the night. before you start walking away, you hear the window roll down.

“do me a favor, please?” he yells out to you, making you turn your head, “have fun with jae tomorrow, i’ll be waiting for you.”

you could only nod in response before he begins to drive back down your street and out of your view. the tired in your eyes became evident as you walked up to your porch, unlocking your front door to bask in the comfortability of your home. 

whatever was in store for you tomorrow, you didn’t want to think about it for now. because in your dreams for tonight, it was only you and woonhak.

when you woke up in the morning to greet the world, it had selfishly turned its back on you. it was not in fact sunshine, rainbows, and butterflies, but in fact just the deathly sun burning you like an stove in your own bedroom. today was significantly hotter than it had been yesterday, but it was all in fun of the summer. what that told you initially was that today was going to be interesting.

you hurried yourself to get ready, slipping on an outfit that would help you battle the humid weather. a lot of things ran through your mind like wild fire as you prepared for your second date. the buzz of your phone getting notifications vibrated your vanity. finishing up as soon as you could, you sent jaehyun a message to let him know you were on your way outside.

similar to yesterday, you genuinely had zero clue what he had planned. there were only so many date ideas you could think of off the top of your head, only increasing your curiosity as you stepped down the stairs. you checked your appearance quickly on your phone before heading out the door, seeing his car parked right in front of your house.

“jae!” you wave, as he unlocks the doors for you to let yourself in.

“hi, y/n! you look really pretty, hard to find a good outfit for the weather?” he grins at you, starting to drive as soon as you’re all situated.

“can you imagine? my wardrobe is built for winter so i tried my best. guess i pulled it off then.” you replied, excitement and nervousness coursing through your veins. 

“i can always get my friend taesan to customize you some pieces if you’re ever running low on something for your wardrobe. he’s really talented so me and woon are always wearing his stuff.” he takes one hand off the wheel to point to his shoes that looked painted.

“those do look cool! might have to cop me a pair.. is taesan free tomorrow?” you joke as jaehyun just rolls his eyes dramatically.

“hey man, this is our date, let me gatekeep you just for today!” he whines.

“our date, yet i’m your man?” you quirk up an eyebrow, stifling your laughter.

“i don’t judge, woonhak is basically my man baby in disguise.” 

“myung jaehyun you are absolutely foul with these woon - baby jokes, he complained about them all day yesterday and i could not stop laughing.” you cross your arms, pretending to be serious.

“i can’t help it! he’s my baby and i stand by that until i die.” he responds, twisting and turning down the road.

“oh by the way, where are we going? you never really told me anything in our texts?” you remember to ask him.

“right! i wanted to keep it a surprise, so you’ll see when we get there.” he winks.

“god, it’s me again. is this how i get kidnapped and tied up in a basement where i’m lead to my ultimate doom?” you pray out loud, earning a chuckle from the boy next to you.

“i’m not going to steal you away, we’re almost there anyways.” he points in the direction of a large building, “see, it’s right there!”

“jae.. is that an aquarium?”

“they have games there too.”

“be right back i need to text woonhak that i’m emotionally unavailable for the rest of my life.”

jaehyun flashed you another smile, glad that you’re content with his choice of date. it was a secret to you that he was panicking last minute the night before. why did every remotely cool place have to be closed off for that specific day?

he pulled the car into a parking space closest to the entrance, though it wasn’t long before you were leaping around with excitement. your bag gently hit against your hip as you walked up ahead of him with a pep in your step. jae quickly pulled out his phone and took a couple instagram - worthy photos that he’d send to you later.

blue lighting immediately fell over the two of you like a comfy blanket, a numerous amount of fish able to be spotted from where you were standing. you stood awe - struck at the colorful water creatures that float around in their tanks while jaehyun paid for tickets.

“okay, what do you want to do first?” he hands you a ticket that you put in your pocket.

“can we go check that out? i don’t know what it is but it looks huge and i kind of want to pet it.” you move your arm into the crook of his, intertwining them together so you can lead him where you want to. 

“let us run wherever thee wants, you can take thou wherever you please, madam.”

“sorry shakespeare i want jaehyun back so i can talk to him about these cute fishies.” you frown.

“my bad that slipped out. i do that sometimes whenever my friend leehan talks about fish! i honestly wouldn’t be surprised if hes lurking around here somewhere..” he looked around suspiciously.

“you have some very interesting friends from what i’ve heard.” you think to yourself.

“don’t get any ideas or else you’ll hurt my feelings.” he purses his bottom lip.

“eww don’t do that in front of the fish, they’ll think you’re mocking them!” you point to a pink one swimming around, “look at this one! i think it’s crying.”

“underwater?”

“yes, underwater. you can tell it’s eyes are glossy.”

“..underwater?”

“i’m going to leave your ass in the dirt, jaehyun. let me live my teenage girl life looking at bright pink fish that i’m headcanoning with emotions.” 

“you are actually the cutest person ever.” he sighs, looking closely at whichever little straggler you were staring at.

“hh–” you look away from the tank, blushing at his sudden compliment.

“i like this one.” he points at an extremely puffy fish.

“aw, it looks like it just had a hardy meal. it’s puffing out its cheeks all big!” you gasp, leaning your face closer to the glass to get a better look.

“speaking of food, are you hungry at all?” he questions you.

“hmm, i’m not very hungry at the moment, but i can always eat! i might have to tucker myself out if i’m going to have a full meal though.”

“well.. they do have a game spot for all the little kids that we could totally go check out if you’re in for a challenge.” he mentioned.

“am i about to bust your ass in underwater themed dance dance revolution?” you bet.

“no, because it’s regular themed dance dance revolution, just with shark stickers all over it.” 

“don’t test me jae.”

“okay! okay, i sincerely apologize for my actions, i will admit to being the biggest loser on the planet.” he pats your back.

“the apology was a five out of ten, you need a ukelele and it might be slightly better.” you shrug, arm still intertwined with his.

you let him lead you to the supposed game area that he had his eyes on. it wasn’t the biggest attraction ever, since it was an aquarium, not an arcade, but there was still a decent amount to do. a couple of small children littered around playing games and sitting with their parents. taking a brief look around, it was mainly educational things to keep children engaged with underwater wild life

“you lied to me! they don’t even have ddr.” you complain.

“no, but they have frogger!”

“yeah, and a bunch of educational puzzles about stuff i already know.”

“okay then go and name every fish species in the ocean right this second.” he taps his foot impatiently.

“on second thought, educational puzzles are super fun!” you switch up, smiling unnaturally wide.

“see, don’t sleep on learning new information, y/n. that’s how you become wise like me.” he pokes at his temple.

“oh, right here?” you place your finger on his forehead as he nods, before you quickly flick your fingers against his skull.

“ow!”

“ah, i get it now. the more hollow it sounds the smarter you are. i must be a dumbass then.”

“ha ha very funny. we have an entire aquarium to explore! this place is for children like woonhak, i think they have exhibits where you can pet the fish? kind of like sea world i guess.” he rambles, yet keeps you intrigued.

“sounds like a better idea, let’s go look around.” you exclaim, grabbing onto his hand instead of intertwining arms. 

exploring the depths of the ocean, as jaehyun would say, was fun as well as stress inducing. running around hand in hand with him was always interesting, and there were so many different fishes to look at. putting it simply by saying you ‘had fun’ was a complete understatement.

you both often compared the fishes funny faces to people you knew, and jae was getting a kick out of it especially. even though woonhak wasn’t there, he was there in spirit with the hundreds of fish the two of you named after him to get a quick giggle. not only that, you poked fun at one another in the exact same way. a puffer fish a couple tanks down was named jaehyun, and it’s cute mate was named y/n.

catching glimpses of anything and everything, it had felt like you explored the entire building. though besides the funny moments you shared together, the atmosphere itself was romantic. jaehyun thought you looked prettiest under this lighting, when the darkness of the tunnel you were both in meant he could barely make out your facial features, but he just had the feeling in his gut you looked ethereal.

exchanging glances often, the blush never left one anothers cheeks. the day was coming to an end, something that you were dreading especially tonight. you attempted to forget about the decisions you’d have to make, and just bask in the warmth of being with him.

“i don’t want to leave yet.” he looked sad, swinging your arms back and forth.

“i have a curfew you know, but i don’t want to go either.” you reminded him.

“actually, i have an idea. come with me!” he leads you around the corner into a gift shop, where they have a large selection of merchandise to choose from.

“ooo, sea stuff!”

“pick out anything, and i’ll buy it for you.” he offers, pulling his wallet out of his pocket.

“oh my gosh, does this mean i’m your sugar baby?” you hinted, nudging him with your elbow.

“does that give me brownie points?”

“i’ll think about it.”

“then you can interpret my answer however you please.” he declared, “now pick out something, they have a lot of cute stuffed animals here.”

“this seal has been eyeing me since we came in here, i don’t know.. it looks pretty cute.” you pick up the fluffy creature and poke at its eyeballs.

“i don’t think it’s going to be able to eye you anymore after that one.” he gulped.

“even better. i choose this one!” you hold it in front of his face as he takes it from you.

“what if i told you i forgot my wallet and you actually have to buy it yourself?” he non discreetly hides his wallet behind his back.

“shucks! guess i have to nuke the planet, because i would die if you didn’t have your wallet.”

“you’re so dumb.” he laughs, taking the stuffed seal up to the register to pay.

“you’re the one that likes me though, so who’s losing here?” you retorted.

“not me! you’ll like me eventually, maybe? if i try hard enough.” he takes the receipt from the cashier and thanks them, handing you the stuffed animal.

“for starters, this seal might have.. sealed the deal.” you do a dramatic wink, following him back out to the car.

“i might have to sit back for that one..”

“stop it, don’t lie! it was kind of funny. i just came up with it on the spot.”

“y/n, get in the car and i’ll show you some real comedy.” he clicks the lock on his car, opening the door.

“is the joke where you kidnap me and tie me up, then it turns into one of those cop shows?” you ask, putting on your seatbelt.

“i don’t know, let’s find out!” he claimed.

the ride home was just as entertaining as the date, jaehyun constantly saying something he thinks it funny, just for you to not laugh as revenge. it went on like this for awhile, but you always gave into him. when the tone quiet down, and all you could hear is music playing from the aux, you got a chance to reminisce about the day you had.

jaehyun was a very genuine person, always sweet and able to joke about everything. it felt like you were able to connect with him very quickly. on top of that, he got you a cool stuffed seal to keep as a souvenir on your bed.

when you pulled back into your culdesac, you knew it was time to say goodbye and thank him for the day. after unbuckling yourself and collecting your bag on the floor, you give him a soft smile.

“it was a really lovely day today, thank you so much, jaehyun!” you thank him.

“of course, i had a lot of fun too.” he leaned an arm on the center console, almost admiring you as you thanked him.

“and thank you for the stuffed animal, i’m not sure what i want to name it yet. you should text me ideas!” you recommend.

“cute, i will definitely make sure to. you make sure to text me later too, okay?” his words almost stopped your world for a second, as the integrity of the situation was weighing on you once again.

“y– yes! yes i will. i’ll see you later, jae!” you hurry out of his car and wave him goodbye. as soon as he’s down the street, you sit yourself down on the curb to think for a second.

you had to choose between these two boys, and the weight was becoming extremely heavy on your shoulders. it felt almost impossible, but you swore that one of them pulled you in a little more than the other. all you needed was time to think.

woonhak planned a very wonderful date, and you had a lot of fun on it. jaehyun also planned a wonderful date, which was what conflicted you the most. was it the place they took you, or how it felt to spend time with each of them?

though your mind was still reeling, you scrambled around in your bag for your car keys with an idea in your head of where you wanted to go. just a fifteen minute drive and a phone call. that’s all you needed.

© 2023 minkkumaz, all rights reserved support your writers by reblogging + giving feedback! it is greatly encouraged and appreciated. thank you! → why feedback + reblogging is so important. ~ (´｡• ᵕ •｡`) ♡ if you'd like, donate to minkkumaz !

RACE TO YOUR HEART series

[overtrred28]

Stargirl | matildas x original character fic [part thirteen]

Words; 1.8k

Pairings; matildas team x astrid taylor (OC)

Warnings; swearing

A/N; Hi all. Hope you're enjoying this story. Just wanted to apologise for such a late update and a really short chapter but I started a second job and I've got less time to write so updates may take a little longer sorry. But I will try to keep it within two weeks of each other and write when I can so you guys can keep reading. Love you all xx

masterlist

The next morning after breakfast the team assembled for their pre match meeting where they would do last minute reviews of their opponents style of play, and plan their own around the starting lineup Tony was going to reveal. 

Astrid’s prediction from the night before was proved right when Kyra’s name appeared in the midfield, a smile donning both of their faces as Astrid lightly punched Kyra’s shoulder. The rest of the line up was almost the same as it always was but with Cortnee replacing Sam’s usual position as the left forward and Charli staying in that back right in replace of Ellie who was still out with her ACL injury.

Although Astrid had yet to be named again in the starting XI since that Phillipines game, the plan involved her coming on later in the game and continuing her super sub reputation. 

Arriving at Kingsmeadow again the energy was high and the team were ready for what was to come. They got ready and headed onto the pitch for the warm up, Astrid, Charli and Kyra trailing at the back of the group. 

“Will you three hurry up? Otherwise you’re not part of the rondos.” Alanna turned around, yelling at the three of them who were still slowly walking out of the tunnel. 

“How dare you!” Astrid dropped her mouth in shock, separating from her friends as she ran to join the team, rather ditching her friends than missing out on the only fun part of warm up. 

“Rude.” Charli called out as Kyra scoffed beside her, watching the youngest player run out of the tunnel to the team on the pitch, jogging to catch up behind her. 

Training like always was full of laughter and fun, slightly distracting them before the tough match but still focused on the drills ahead of them. When it began time to partner up, Astrid began walking towards Charli but was pulled away before she could even process what was happening. 

“You’re with me today, chicken.” Steph finally spoke as she walked with Astrid further away from the younger of the Matildas. Astrid was confused but not complaining as she had begun to form a stronger bond with Steph through these camps and over long distance while at clubs. 

“Cool with me.” Astrid shrugged her shoulders as they began their partnered drills and passing skills. 

“So, how’s Hammarby?” Steph asked, looking over at the younger player. 

“It’s really good, I think I’ve finally settled back into the team and the rhythm again.” Astrid smiled as she talked about her club. 

“That’s good. You always want to feel good at your club and comfortable in that environment.” Steph nodded at her, happy she was content in her current club and team. “What about Sweden though? How’s living there treating you?” 

“It’s fine, I’m glad I have Kyra and Nevs with me, and Charli not far away.” Astrid drifted off slightly and looked back up at Steph instead of the ball they were sending between each other.

“But?” Steph quizzed, looking her softly in the eye, Astrid pausing to think before responding.

“I don’t know. Something’s missing or off, I think. It’s just not what I’ve been used to, you know. Especially with a whole different language and customs and lifestyle; it’s just different.” Astrid shrugged casually. “But I’ll get used to it, and the weather.” She laughed with Steph who also missed the Australian sun whilst living away.

“It’ll get better, that feeling of being misplaced sorta. I promise.” Steph pulled Astrid into her side as they began to walk back to the group who were finishing up their warm ups as well.

They all returned to the locker room, changing from their training gear to their game jerseys, Astrid donning her 31 proudly as the subs exited the room, hyping up the starting line up as they went past. 

Courtney and Astrid sat beside each other on the bench as they waited for the match to start. The whistle blew and the ball was taken into quick and easy possession by the Australian side, keeping it close to them and weaving through the South Africa defence. A few chances were made within early minutes, almost getting Astrid out of her seat ready to celebrate, but it wasn’t till Steph took a corner at the fifth minute that she was able to. 

Steph struck with her left foot and the ball headed straight to Mary who attempted to head it in but struck the post, Cortnee saw it and quickly knocked it into the net, scoring her first international goal on the senior team. 

“YES VINEY!” Astrid screamed from the bench, cheering loudly as the players on the field celebrated Cortnee’s goal; Tony also cheering loudly from his place in the tactical box. 

And it wasn’t long until they were celebrating again, Cortnee knocking the ball into the net just 10 minutes later, bringing the Matildas to an easy 2-0 and getting herself a brace. Polkinghorn further advanced their lead just before halftime with a header from another one of Steph’s corners, letting the Matildas leave halftime 3-0 as they retreated down the tunnel. 

While the starting XI were having their halftime meeting with Tony, Astrid took this time to practise her shots with Macca and Courtney for a few minutes before the two younger players were called over to the bench again. They discussed the tactics again for the second half and when they were both going to come on to make a difference in the game, not that there was anything wrong with how it was panning out so far. 

The second half began with the kick from Vine, the Matildas once again taking quick possession and earning corners as they stayed down near the box. Caitlin was the one to give them their next goal, taking a long ball from Aivi to Steph and dancing around the defenders to send it to the right side of the net. 

Astrid and Courtney got up not long after that to warm up once again, running up and down the sidelines as they watched the game progress.

At 70 minutes the Australian side made three substitutions, taking off Steph, Caitlin and Charli and bringing on Courtney, Astrid and Larissa as their replacements; the three of them quickly settled into the rhythm of the game and added to the dynamics of the players on the field. 

Astrid came into the left forward position, slightly further up to where Caitlin had been playing before but somewhere she was more comfortable and was now working with Hayley and Larissa up front. It didn’t take long for Astrid to get her feet on the ball, running ahead of Chidiac who delivered it to her in open space and she slotted it past the South African goalkeeper into the bottom right corner. 

The team were thrilled with her contribution so early after coming on, bringing them to 5-0 at 75 minutes in; but it’s not like they were surprised, it’s what she’s known to do. 

Only 3 minutes later and the ball had landed at her feet just outside the box, but she was surrounded by defenders, all eagerly watching her feet to see where she might go. Astrid paused, lifting her eyes up to the defender in front of her before shifting it in the direction of Hayley who was free to the right of her. 

She moved her left foot, indicating to go right where her eyeline was, the defender turning over her left shoulder but Astrid quickly rolled the ball under her foot and went around her other shoulder. She could hear the defender groan as she tricked her, running closer to the goal, jumping over an outstretched leg from South Africa and continuing the ball towards the goal. Striking with her right foot hard, she aimed for top bins as the keeper bent down to block a low shot, missing it completely. 6-0 to Australia. 

The small Australian crowd who had gathered cheered and so did the girls as they surrounded Astrid who made her way to Kyra first like always. As they parted Kyra pointed to her mouthing, “You owe me lunch.” with a smirk. She was right so far; but so was Astrid as Kyra didn’t seem to be coming off anytime soon and they were inching closer and closer to full time. 

Chloe and Sam joined the field with only 7 minutes of regulation time remaining and just minutes after South Africa scored their first goal of the match in the 87th minute after a terrific lob from Hilda Magaia. 

Three minutes of injury time were given and Astrid was not ready to finish up, neither were any of the Matildas subs who felt like they had just begun to play. 

And with only 40 seconds of time remaining, Courtney delivered the ball to Kyra who then shot it up the field in the direction of Astrid who had made her way into the box, watching as the ball flew in the air. There were a few defenders closing in on her but she had plenty of space, jumping into the air and joining her head with the ball, steering it hard to her left and hoping the keeper was just away from her. 

She landed and looked into the net, finding the ball rolling on the ground and the net still rippling from the impact; she scored another goal and earned herself a hattrick for the first time on the international stage. A wide smile donned her face as she spotted Sam, Hayley and the rest of the team running towards her, screaming and cheering for the youngest player. 

It’s a late goal and a hattrick from number 31 Astrid Taylor, the 18 year old in her 8th appearance for the Matildas. 

Play resumed but not for long as the whistle blew and the game ended 7-1 to Australia, both teams immediately shaking hands with one another and their own teammates. Charli ran over to Astrid when she was free, almost tackling her to the ground. 

“Just casually scores a hattrick within the last like 20 minutes of the game. Are you even human?” Charli squeezed Astrid who laughed at her. 

“Fuck off.” Astrid playfully pushed her away as they began their victory lap, clapping to the crowd that had gathered for the match and waving to the Matildas fans. 

“You just had to be the only one right huh?” Kyra had caught up to Astrid who walked behind everyone else taking in the post-match feeling. 

“I guess I did.” Astrid casually shrugged her shoulders as she turned to Kyra with a smile. 

“I’m proud of you.” Kyra unexpectedly pulled Astrid into a hug but she quickly reciprocated. 

“Thank you, I’m proud of you too.” Astrid spoke as they parted, both with blushed cheeks and large smiles. “So,” They began walking again. “When are you taking me out for my free lunch?” 

to be continued....

---------------

[shameonmeeguiltypleasure]

Drabble Title: I’m Not Going!

Was on TikTok and saw the promo for Kardashians S2. The one with Pete dropping his phone and immediately following Kim when she asked him to join her in the shower...... So yeah... I made it Polin 😂😅😂

(Actually so proud of myself. This is the first drabble I’ve ever written that I high-key don’t hate!!) 

Colin knew he was sulking, but unlike his brothers, his wife had a far more important role to play in their sister’s wedding. As Eloise’s best friend/platonic soulmate/soul-sister and now maid of honour; Penelope was the only reason an outright riot had yet to break out.

When Eloise and Violet would clash on opinions, it was Penelope who figured out a solution to please both parties. When Eloise reacted sensitively to Daphne’s suggestions, Penelope was the one to ease the tension. When Francesca revealed she’d be unable to make it due to the short notice, Penelope was the one to comfort Eloise. The fact she secretly found a way for Francesca to attend further proved her brilliance.

Colin still couldn’t believe he was the lucky man to call such a brilliant woman his wife.

But to have to share her with Eloise, of all people, was truly torture. Penelope was so busy helping with Eloise’s wedding that he barely saw her longer than a few hours a day!! It wasn’t fair!!

“Oh, do stop your pouting Colin. You’ll get your wife back the day after tomorrow.” Anthony scoffed with a roll of his eyes.

The Older Bridgerton brothers were waiting for Penelope to return from a work emergency. The four of them were responsible for setting up for tonight’s rehearsal dinner before the wedding tomorrow morning. Thankfully, neither Eloise nor Phillip were interested in doing anything wild for their bachelorette and Bachelor parties. They wanted to do something the kids could attend and settled on a big rehearsal dinner. The only reason the brothers agreed to help was due to the very real threat of their wives.

“Will I? I haven’t been able to cuddle her for longer than a second before she’s being whisked away by Eloise or Mother or even Daphne!!” Colin whined.

“Oh, boo-hoo,” Benedict teased with a laugh.

The second-born Bridgerton hastily dodged the pillow Colin threw his way.

“Yes, well I doubt she’d be happy to see you nowhere near dressed once she returns home.” Anthony snickered.

Colin scowled at his laughing brothers and stubbornly folded his arms. He knew very well he was behaving like his toddler nieces and nephews, but he couldn’t care less. Today he had a plan. He would refuse to get ready unless his beautiful wife promised him 5 minutes of cuddling and kisses. It was full proof! There was no way she could deny him, especially if she wanted tonight’s dinner to start exactly on time. Colin had it all planned, and he was well prepared for the possible consequences that might follow.

“I want to hug my wife,” Colin growled.

“Your funeral, brother,” Benedict shrugged.

Rightly timed, Colin’s phone beeped with a text message from Penelope saying she was 2 minutes from the door. Colin quickly leaned against the wall, doing his best to look firm and determined. He ignored his watching brothers and attempted to look as if he was casually scrolling on his phone. Right on time the front door opened announcing the arrival of his wife. Immediately Colin’s jaw dropped and his attempt at looking casual completely disappeared. He could hear Benedict’s laughter but ignored him in favour of how gorgeous Penelope looked. She was rushing and was mid-call with someone, but her windswept hair, paired with her semi-casual outfit made him weak in the knees.

“Is this part of the plan?” Anthony whispered before joining Benedict in his laughter.

Colin glared at them and remembered what he intended to do. He waited as patiently as possible for her to approach and notice he was very much not dressed for the rehearsal dinner.

“Yes, they need to arrive tonight by eight…. Then find a substitute! Sir, I understand… yes but that’s just not good enough. You listen to me. I’m paying you double to deliver exactly what I ordered despite the short notice. If you fail to deliver, I will be expecting half the price refunded.”

All the Bridgerton brothers couldn’t help but watch as Penelope spoke with such authority. While Anthony and Benedict appeared rather gobsmacked at her bossy attitude, her Husband, Colin was well aware of just how demanding his wife could get. He also knew the lengths she would go to get her way. It never failed to make him love her even more. So, when she finally finished her call and turned to them, Colin prepared himself to face this authoritative version of his wife.

“Oh good, you’re all here.” Penelope sighed with relief.

Colin folded his arms and strongly made his case.

“I’m not going to the dinner.”

But to his dismay, Penelope completely ignored him in favour of his watching brothers.

“Ben, the flowers for tonight will be delivered tomorrow. Could you call Sophie and see if she can bring the spares I prepared just in case?”

Benedict, the annoying twit took great joy in agreeing to Penelope’s request.

“I said I’m not going to the dinner!” Colin repeated a little more firmly.

Penelope walked toward him, but her attention was now on Anthony who looked as equally amused as Benedict.

“I’ve already told Kate to expect catering to arrive by eight, but if you could call and get her to double-check they stuck with the menu?”

“Of course,” Anthony readily agreed.

“Thank you!” she chirped before turning to Colin.

He opened his mouth to repeat himself a third time only to be silenced by Penelope pulling him down by the neck and kissing him senseless. Colin forgot all semblance of thought and melted into her kiss. He felt starved of her and lost himself in the feel of having her in his arms. He vaguely heard his brothers coughing uncomfortably for how… indecently their intimacy was growing. But Colin couldn’t bring himself to care in the slightest. When Penelope pulled back she looked at them with an exasperated sigh.

“Gentleman, we have two hours to get to the venue. It shouldn’t take us too long to meet you at the car.” She dismissed.

Colin blinked and then remembered his earlier plan and repeated himself once more.

“I said I’m not going!”

Penelope ignored him and began to slip out of her coat, revealing the white shirt she wore inside. Colin felt his lower half grow hard while his defences weakened.

“Colin, if you’re not already naked in the shower by the time I’m done stripping, I will get Jessica out of the closet and use her instead to fuck myself to completion.”

Anthony and Benedict loudly began to choke from their shock while Penelope continued to unclasp her jewellery and undo her messy bun. Colin didn’t care that his brothers were watching, he immediately stripped himself of his shirt and ran to the shower. Over her shoulder, as she made movements to free herself from her shirt, Penelope gave one last shout to her gobsmacked brothers-in-law.

“We’ll meet you in the car in thirty minutes,” she briskly said.

“FORTY-FIVE!” Colin countered from the bathroom.

“Thirty minutes and no longer.” Penelope sternly confirmed before shutting the bathroom door behind her.

Exactly thirty minutes later, Benedict and Anthony awkwardly watched a glowing love dazzled Colin trail behind his wife.

[eddysocs]

The Object Of Desire — Chapter Four (Lesson Plan)

Summary: Aerla and Miss G continue to strengthen their bond, and a private diving lesson is had with more on the horizon.

Word Count: 1,340

Warnings: Some suggestive thoughts

As Camille reentered her quarters, she dressed, unable to shake the feeling that keeping secrets from Aerla was unfair. The burgeoning bond between them called for honesty, but Camille couldn't reveal everything just yet. Too much honesty too quickly could be damaging. There were complexities and emotions that she wasn't ready to confront. For now, she had to protect both herself and Aerla.

Deep down, Camille knew her feelings for Aerla went beyond friendship, but it was her careless haste that had burned her the last time. Her concern and worry for her safety were driven by something more than mere duty as a teacher, a fact she readily admitted to herself. But she couldn't allow herself to act on those feelings so suddenly. Without something to build upon, it would only end the same way as before.

The morning dragged on with a slowness that sapped the very life force from Camille. She was less herself when not with Aerla. A silly notion, really, but nonetheless true. She could almost feel her own desperation leaking from her pores. This was not a good look on her, and she would have to pull herself together before anyone called her behavior into question.

Finally the call for lunch reunited Camille with the sight of Aerla, hair frizzy from the night before, having not been properly tended to after her experience in the lake. Aerla caught her eye from across the room and Camille could only hope that the heat she felt rush to her cheeks at being caught looking at her was not noticeable to her pupil. A small smile painted Aerla's lips, a beautiful sight, one that both comforted and tormented Camille.

As it was still early in her integration into the school, Camille found it easy enough to reason that she could go sit with her, make sure she was acclimating appropriately. She was sure enough that she wouldn’t be unwelcome. "Are you this attentive to all your students," Aerla asked as Camille had once again taken the seat across from her. "Or just the ones who nearly drowned?" It was meant to be lighthearted, but Camille's heart dropped remembering what she’d allowed to happen in her presence, a mistake she was unlikely to make again.

Seeing her pleasant expression turn to one more dour, Aerla realized it hadn’t been the right thing to say. Camille remained quiet, too caught up in her own internal struggle. Eventually, Aerla's soft Irish lilt broke the tense silence. "Miss G, I have a favor to ask."

Camille raised an eyebrow, pleased to be pulled away from her spiral into more morose thoughts, and doubly pleased by the casualness with which she’d used the shortened version of her name. "Of course, Aerla. What can I do for you?"

Aerla hesitated for a moment, her gaze fixed on the table between them before meeting Camille's eyes with sudden determination. "I don’t know if I’m suited to be a diver, but I want to get better. Will you train me?"

Camille's heart skipped a beat at Aerla's words. The request was unexpected but echoed the desire she had felt deep within herself. However, she had to be careful. "Private lessons?"

The expression on Aerla's face faltered into one that conveyed some amount of embarrassment or shame, perhaps at not feeling good enough. Camille could hardly fault her after how her first experience went. "At least until we’ve decided that I have what it takes to join the team properly," Aerla offered, not wanting to overstep.

A soft smile graced Camille's lips just then and it soothed some of Aerla's anxieties. "I think that can be arranged. Wednesdays perhaps, after classes conclude for the day? We can even start today if you’d like."

"I would like that very much," Aerla replied, the confidence once again appearing in her tone.

And so they did begin that very day. They'd agreed to meet at the lake and Aerla ran so fast after her final class let out, hurriedly getting back to her room and donning a swimsuit under her uniform that she was scared she wouldn’t even find Miss G there yet. But there she stood on the dock, facing away from her, towards the water, a cigarette in her hand as she blew smoke in the opposite direction. She looked like some kind of elegant painting, Aerla thought.

Aerla walked out to join her and at the sound of her approaching footsteps on the wooden dock, Camille turned around, throwing the cigarette down and gracefully stamping it out beneath her toe. "Are you ready," she asked.

"Yes," Aerla replied, quickly casting off her uniform to show the bathing suit beneath. Camille watched with what she hoped to be a neutral expression, all the while wishing she had been able to take one more, long drag of her cigarette to distract herself.

Aerla climbed up to the diving board her heart racing as she came to stand near its edge. Her eyes were fixed on the dark blue water below. Camille observed with an intensity that went beyond professional scrutiny, her mind not quite letting go of Aerla's figure. What had been made boxy and plain under the standard cut academic uniform now left less to Camille's imagination. The soft and subtle curves of a young girl emerging into womanhood became visible to her, as well as the pale, freckled skin of her arms and legs. The combination was almost too much for her to bear.

Camille cleared her throat, bringing her back to the lesson at hand. Figuring it would serve her best to coach from the water itself, Camille disrobed into her own bathing suit and dived into the lake from the dock. Swimming over to the platform, she gave some words of encouragement. "Focus on your breath, Aerla. Let the water guide you."

With a nod, Aerla inhaled deeply, allowing the cooling air of the late afternoon to fill her lungs. She stepped forward, the board bending beneath her weight. As she leapt into the air, time seemed to slow. Then her world transformed into a liquid embrace as she sliced through the surface of the lake, the water enveloping her.

Beneath the surface, Camille joined her. Their bodies moved in sync with one another as they swam a short distance out. Aerla marveled at the fluid elegance with which Miss G swam. After a seamless dive, they surfaced together. Aerla's chest heaved with exhilaration, and she couldn't ignore the charged atmosphere around them. She was so proud of herself and as Miss G's gaze lingered, she couldn’t help but feel that she was proud of her too. All in all, it had been a great first lesson.

"You are better than you led me to believe," Miss G said as the two of them came out of the lake and began to towel off.

"I suppose anything was better than that first go around. Not exactly my shining moment," Aerla confessed with a laugh while squeezing the water from her hair. "I always enjoyed swimming when my family went on holiday, but I never had any formal training at it, beyond your standard lessons as a kiddie."

Camille took in the information as she toweled herself off. Perhaps she’d had no instruction, but she was a natural. However, a few more one on one sessions wouldn’t be entirely out of the question. Her dive was good, but it had the potential to be great and it meant that she could spend more time with her. "You have what it takes to join the other girls, but if you’d prefer to enhance your skills some more, we could—"

"Yes," Aerla answered quickly. Too quickly, she realized after the fact. "I’d like to be at my best when diving with the other girls."

Camille hummed in approval. She seemed just as eager to spend more time in her company, which must be a good sign. "We shall continue then. I look forward to our next lesson."

🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵

Chapter Three <- 🩵 -> Chapter Five

Forever Tag: @arrthurpendragon, @baubeautyandthegeek, @foxesandmagic, @ginger-grimm, @bossyladies, @atjsgf, @misshiraethsworld, @kmc1989, @curious-kittens-ocs, @fanficanatic-tw, @kissykissymouth, @blood-moon1234567890

Aerla Grae: @athenodora-sulpicia-writer

[zodiacemma]

accismus - prologue

𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 // 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭

𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘢 𝘫𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘹 𝘰𝘤

𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳'𝘴 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘦.

𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: 𝘯𝘰𝘯𝘦.

𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬: 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘳.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Marshall College, Connecticut 1935

It was after school hours when she was requested, and she preferred it that way. She made her way to the Curator’s office in her polished Oxford shoes, puffy white button-up, and academic brown pants. Dark hair tickled her shoulders as it brushed back and forth with her heavy stride.

The sun was lowering in the sky but not quite setting. Beams of golden light seeped through the many windows of the hallways. Rays of the sun were interrupted through the filter of luscious leaves, the many trees planted around the campus. What light that made it through the hundreds of fresh green leaves dappled her bronze face. Her deep brown eyes shone their golden flecks as the sun’s light reflected off them.

The sun disappeared as she made a sharp corner leading to a small one-way hallway with a door at the end. Although not labeled, it was the office of the Curator of the National Museum’s Marshall College Branch. Behind the door was the man that called for her presence five minutes ago.

It was all extremely fortunate timing, really. Most days, she stayed late in her office, but today she had other plans. Having plans to treat herself at the nearby family-owned restaurant, she convinced herself to push her work aside and leave early for the day. Just as she located her keys, a small tap was heard at the door. Deciding to look into it briefly instead of just assuming it was the wind or some other arbitrary action of the outside world, a small note was taped to her door. Hastily written, it asked for her to be at the dean’s office as soon as possible.

So all plans were off the table. Great. She ruffled her hair and straightened her pants before realizing they were pants, not a skirt or dress. Wanting to get over the embarrassment, she knocked on the door with one knuckle.

“Come in!” The British man’s voice was muffled through the wooden door.

The woman pushed down on the handle and swung the door open slowly, revealing a pristine desk and messy shelf full of various antiquities men like the Curator would jokingly call knickknacks.

She consciously closed the door as if something would break if it was allowed to close on its own.

“Hello, Dr. Brody,” she greeted. The door clicked close behind her.

“Please,” the man said, getting up from his seat, “call me Marcus.”

She nodded, sticking her hand out to shake. “Okay then, Marcus.”

Marcus let go of the woman’s hand and returned to his seat.

“Please, take a seat.” He gestured to the available seat across from him. Being the only open seat in the office, she took it.

She straightened her back as she began talking. “So, what brings me here?” she asked.

Marcus grinned ever so lightly. He clasped his hands together as though about to pray and set them down on the desk.

“How expansive is your knowledge of Ancient Greece?” he asked casually.

“How ancient are we talking here?” Her accent was slowly seeping through, even if she didn’t notice.

“Towards the end. The three hundreds,” he clarified.

She pushed for a moment. “More than I’d care to admit. Why do you ask?”

Marcus leaned in. “You see, Alexander the Great held many riches in his possession while he was alive. One of those things was a large gold statue in the form of a peacock.”

“A sign of Hera,” she cut in. “Perhaps as a plea to land him a good wife. He did, after all, have issues finding a stable partner during his ruling. His last wife only lasted him a year before he died.” She looked up at Marcus. “Oh! I do apologize for my ramblings.”

“It’s quite alright,” he assured. “Taking into account everything Alexander owned and its purpose is truly a great way to keep one’s mind busy. Of course I’m getting off track, too.” Marcus adjusted his posture before continuing. “When Alexander the Great died, many, if not all, of his possessions were destroyed. Including the peacock statue. Of course, if anything was found to be of value, it was taken before it could be destroyed.”

Her eyes widened. “You mean…?”

Marcus nodded. “The eyes of the peacock were two large diamonds believed to be around one-hundred and forty carats each,” he emphasized. As he told the story, he began gesturing along.

“One of them was sold off to an Indian emperor, correct?” she asked.

“Yes, it was,” he confirmed. “And from there it was split up into smaller sized diamonds and shared to others. The other, though—”

“It hasn’t been seen since. Someone stole it and that’s the last of what we know,” she interrupted.

“You would be correct,” Marcus said. “Until now.”

She stayed silent and utterly still in her seat. This allowed Marcus to continue.

“We have recently received information as to its possible whereabouts,” he explained.

“That’s impossible,” she said. “The Peacock’s Eye has been found?”

“We believe so,” he said. “And we think it’s in the South Pacific island of Fiji.”

Her mouth hung open for a full minute. Stunned silence hung high up in the air.

“Mis Dios, what’s it doing all the way over there?” she asked, completely baffled.

“You’re asking me like I have all the answers,” Marcus chuckled out. “We’re not entirely sure what it’s doing in Fiji but all we know is that it’s been sighted there.”

The two sat in silence once again. The woman leaned back in her chair, trying to process the information given to her. The Peacock’s Eye was nothing more than legend. People weren’t even sure if it actually existed in the first place. It was often deemed a myth, nothing more than a fictional story about a historical figure. And now there was confirmation of this thing’s existence?

“Wait a minute,” she realized out loud, “you want me to go get the damn thing, don’t you?”

Her hands were splayed across the desk, palms flat. She leaned in as much as she could without fearing breaking the desk.

“You know, that’s one thing I like about you,” Marcus said, leaning in to tighten the space between them. “You understand what it is I’m asking of you. I can’t tell you how many people and how many times my demands weren’t understood until I spelled it out in front of them like they were back in bloody kindergarten!”

The woman laughed. “If this is your way of buttering me up to send me off onto the next flight to Fiji, you have another thing comin’ to you, I’m afraid!”

“Oh really?” Marcus challenged. “Five thousand is the minimum the museum is offering.”

She gripped the desk in shock. “The minimum?” she whispered.

“Yes, the minimum,” he repeated. “So get packing because your flight leaves at twelve-thirty on the dot.”

Her brows furrowed for a brief second. “The flight would be fourteen and a half hours, and taking into account the seventeen-hour time zone difference…” she mumbled loudly to herself. “…I would be arriving in Fiji by seven that evening, allowing me time to adjust to the hours lost.”

Marcus nodded. “So, like I said, you better go home and pack right away!”

“Yes, yes,” she agreed. She got up from her chair and made her way to the door. “Anything else I should know before leaving?”

Marcus didn’t answer right away. She slowly looked over at the older man, who held a regretful expression. His wrinkles curled up in a bashful manner as he tried playing off the potential severity of the information accidentally withheld.

“Marcus,” she said slowly and sternly, as though reprimanding a small child.

“Um, well,” he fumbled out, rubbing the back of his neck in shame, “there may be a group on the hunt for the eye as well.”

The woman sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Of course you tell me this now.”

“At least we know who the group is!” he exclaimed, attempting to remedy the situation.

She looked at Marcus with a half-lidded, unamused look. “And that group is?”

Marcus could be heard scrambling in his various desk drawers, looking for his needed notes. With every drawer opening soon followed a thunk of a drawer closing. After sharp sounds of papers shuffling filled everyone’s ears, a small gasp came out of Marcus as he found what he was looking for.

“The group’s leader is Lao Che,” he said. “He’s a top crime lord with limited but powerful connections. It’s said that he works in close operation with his three sons.”

“Okay,” she trailed off. “I’ve dealt with worse.”

“Good then!” Marcus said. “Then this mission should be of no trouble to you!”

She grimaced at his response. “Whatever you say.” Marcus grabbed ahold of her hand as the two shook them once again.

“I can’t thank you enough, Doctor—”

“Please,” she quickly interrupted, “if your wish for me is to call you Marcus, then it is my wish for you to call me Silvia.”

He held a tight-lipped grin as he bit back his tongue. “Alright then, Silvia. I wish you nothing but good luck on your journey.”

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

𝐦𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐢𝐨𝐬 🇱‌🇦‌🇳‌🇬‌🇺‌🇦‌🇬‌🇪‌: 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩 🇱‌🇮‌🇹‌🇪‌🇷‌🇦‌🇱‌: 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘥 🇪‌🇶‌🇺‌🇮‌🇻‌🇦‌🇱‌🇪‌🇳‌🇹‌: (𝘰𝘩) 𝘮𝘺 𝘨𝘰𝘥

[the-savage-garden]

Nitpicking ACOWAR Ch 10 +11

I meant to post this awhile ago but I recently returned to the One Piece train that I forgot about this whole thing, oops. I finally figured out how to do the 'keep reading' thing though!

Chapter 10

-Somehow Brannagh is cradling Ianthe now?

-”I let my mask drop.” I hate the mask theme, just the way it’s thrown around bothers me.

-”...noting the flanking positions they were too casually establishing around me.” Now I’m confused about where Brannagh is supposed to be.

-[“What could be more important than assisting us? You are, after all, sworn to assist our king.” Time—biding their time until Tamlin returned from hunting with Jurian.] I hate how the book decided that Tamlin is with Hybern, it’s not built up to him being on their side at all. It’s written like it’s an assured thing now.

-Lucien notices things. What’s the point of this?

-“I am a free person, allowed to go where and when I will it.” “Are you?” Brannagh is asking a question I want to know. Like, is Feyre really free to do what she wants in this book series? Everyone tells her what to do all the time, even Rhys. The only thing Feyre has actually chosen is to go back to Spring and have her revenge on Tamlin (even though Tamlin legitimately thought she was in danger and it’s not been brought up even once).

-“Such careful plotting these weeks, such skilled maneuvering. You didn’t seem to worry that we’d be doing the same.” I was honestly really confused why Feyre was just ignoring the twins so much, her priorities made no sense to me.

-”They weren’t letting Lucien leave this clearing alive. Or at least with his mind intact.” Why do they care about Lucien? He hasn’t been against them, for all they know only Feyre sent the Bogge after them.

-”...understanding that there was no way they’d reveal this without knowing they’d get away with it.“ But everyone knows that Hybern is evil, how would anyone be surprised by this? Even Tamlin thinks they’re the bad guys! Do the twins not know? There has been no indication that anyone from Hybern is good.

-[“Take the Spring Court,” I said, and meant it. “It’s going to fall one way or another.” Lucien snarled. I ignored him.] Even Lucien here still cares for Spring.

-[“Oh, we intend to,” Brannagh said…] It was very clear that Hybern was going to take down Spring, I don’t know why the book doesn’t let Tamlin see it.

-”I thumbed free two of the Illyrian fighting knives.” Is this the only reason Feyre stole the weapons from Tamlin, to use them in this fight? Ugh.

-“Haven’t you wondered at the headaches? How things seem a little muffled on certain mental bonds?” This is the explanation? I thought it was because Feyre is still new to her powers, this is disappointing.

-”Crushed faebane stone, ground so fine you couldn’t see or scent or taste it in your food.” Can you even smell or taste faebane?

-“We’ve been daemati for a thousand years, girl,” Dagdan sneered. “But we didn’t even need to slip into her mind to get her to do our bidding. But you … what a valiant effort you put up, trying to shield them all from us.” The book makes this too convenient, Feyre knew they were daemati but was naive enough to believe they wouldn’t do anything against her? I know she’s young but seriously?

-”Dagdan’s mind speared for Lucien’s, a dark arrow shot between them.” Weird way to describe their magic, I don’t even know what I’m supposed to imagine with mind powers.

-“What apple,” I bit out. “The one you shoved down your throat an hour ago,” Brannagh said. “Grown and tended in the king’s personal garden, fed a steady diet of water laced with faebane. Enough to knock out your powers for a few days straight, no shackles required. And here you are, thinking no one had noticed you planned to vanish today.” She clicked her tongue again. “Our uncle would be most displeased if we allowed that to happen.” What did I just read? I hate how easy things are. Also, wait, an apple tree was given faebane and it somehow makes the apples have it too?

-”...but then I’d abandon Lucien to them if he somehow couldn’t manage to himself with the faebane in his system from the food at the camp—” What kind of leap in logic is this? All the food at camp was laced with faebane too? So wouldn’t Tamlin be under the effects of it too?

-”Leave him. I should and could leave him. “ Was this why their supposed friendship was brought up so much? To add drama to this moment?

“I made my choice.” ACOMAF made me hate the whole “my choice” thing and being reminded of it is giving me trauma.

-”And even a thousand years wasn’t enough for Dagdan to adequately prepare as I winnowed in front of him and struck.” Feyre went from being out of her depth to competent real fast.

-”I sliced through the front of his leather armor, not deep enough to kill, and as steel snagged on its plates…” Is it leather armor or not? Because plates refer to metal armor I’m pretty sure.

-”...months of Cassian’s brutal training clicked into place as I kept my feet under me.” This makes it obvious how inexperienced Feyre is but somehow she’s able to go toe-to-toe with a Hybern prince and commander? She also has faebane in her system, she should be struggling more in this fight.

-”I had the vague sense of Lucien gaping, even Brannagh taken aback by my show of skill against her brother.” I’m losing my mind.

-”Buying time. Wearing me down until my body fully absorbed that apple and its power rendered me nearly mortal.” Earlier when Feyre shielded Lucien she struggled but now the book is saying that she hasn’t fully absorbed the faebane? But they’ve been giving her faebane since their stay? Make up your mind.

-”Brannagh screamed as a wall of flame slammed into her.” Apparently Feyre did this and not Lucien?

-”Her focus wholly on me, on taking from me the beauty I’d burned from her…” Why is everything so focused on losing beauty? Someone’s vain…

-”Until Lucien’s sword refracted the light of the sun leaking through the canopy.” It’s day? This whole thing is happening in broad daylight? How has no one noticed this?

-”A tremor shuddered through the clearing—like some thread between the twins had been snipped as Brannagh’s dark head thudded onto the grass.” Wait, is this supposed to imply that the twins are soulmates? What the hell? I thought soulmates in this world are supposed to be making powerful offspring but if they’re related doesn’t that defeat the purpose?

-”I let him fall atop his sister, the thud of flesh on flesh the only sound.” Ew, why’d you put focus on that?

-”I merely looked at Ianthe, my power guttering, a hideous ache building in my gut, and made my last command, amending my earlier ones.” I forgot Ianthe was still here. Also faebane seems kind of useless since Feyre can still do this.

-“You tell them I killed them. In self-defense. After they hurt me so badly while you and Tamlin did nothing. Even when they torture you for the truth, you say that I fled after I killed them—to save this court from their horrors.” I want to keep this in mind for the future.

-Lucien says he wants to go with Feyre to the Night Court. But, like, the only reason he does is obviously because of Elain and not for any other reason.

-”I just gritted my teeth against the sharp pain in my abdomen…” Faebane apparently makes the abdomen hurt if it’s consumed.

-”Blood coated the inside of my mouth by the time we reached the foothills hours later. I was panting, my head throbbing, my stomach a twisting knot of aching.” The other effects of consuming faebane.

-“It’s—gone,” he said, gasping for breath. “My magic—not an ember. They must have dosed all of us today.” I’m still a little lost with what faebane does.

-”My power pulled away from me like a wave reeling back from the shore. Only there was no return. It just went farther and farther out into a sea of nothing.” Both Feyre and Lucien describe losing their magic differently.

-”I peered at the sun, now a hand’s width above the horizon…” I take it that it’s noon now then? Why mention hours but don’t say noon?

-”The caves—doors, they called them—in those hollows led to other pockets of Prythian. I’d taken one straight Under the Mountain… No door to the Night Court existed…” I guess this is to explain why that one led to UTM, I guess they’re magic “doors” to places?

-”And I would not risk my friends by bringing them here to retrieve me.” Even though you’ve killed the twins already? This is just an excuse to have Feyre and Lucien by themselves isn’t it?

-”A numbness had spread through me.” Is it the faebane or not feeling the mate bond? It’s not clear.

-“The Autumn Court portal is that way.” Now we’re calling them portals instead of doors?

-“I can’t go into Summer. They’ll kill me on sight.” I’d love to see the consequences of what Feyre did to Summer. Like, she only decided to steal from them because Rhys kept guiding her to make that choice instead of making friends with Summer.

-”We sealed off all the other entrances.” Why seal all the entrances up? And whose “we” in all this? I think it’s all the entrances to UTM but I thought there was only one?

-”A faint buzzing and ringing filled my ears. And I felt my magic vanish entirely.” Another symptom of faebane?

-”To the lands of the family who’d betrayed him as badly as this court had betrayed mine.” A single person (Ianthe) was the only one that betrayed you Feyre, everyone else didn’t do anything. Tamlin’s character was inconsistent and still is.

-”I gave him another nod. I’d slid into their minds before we’d left, making sure this door would be left open.” Feyre’s lucky that Hybern didn’t find this the perfect opportunity to use this against you. Where even is the King in all this?

-”...whether it was better to claim the Spring Court for ourselves, or to let it fall to our enemies.” What the hell? Feyre, you can’t just claim Spring like that, that’s not how it works.

-”But it could not remain neutral—a barrier between our forces in the North and the humans in the South. It would have been easy to call in Rhys and Cassian, to have the latter bring in an Illyrian legion to claim the territory when it was weakest after my own maneuverings. Depending on how much mobility Cassian had retained—if he was still healing.” Now it’s just getting worse. Feyre is completely ignoring the whole High Lord thing. Also why hasn’t this happened in the past if Feyre finds it so “easy”?

-”Yet then we’d hold one territory—with five other courts between us. Sympathy might have swayed for the Spring Court; others might have joined Hybern against us, considering our conquest here proof of our wickedness. But if Spring fell to Hybern … We could rally the other courts to us. Charge as one from the North, drawing Hybern in close.” This whole thing, what the hell?

-[“You were right,” Lucien declared at last. “That girl I knew did die Under the Mountain.” I wasn’t sure if it was an insult. But I nodded all the same. “At least we can agree on that.” I stepped into the awaiting cold and dark.] I blame Rhys.

-”And in the distance, so faint I thought I might have imagined it, a beast’s roar cleaved the land.” I’m still confused by Tamlin.

Chapter 11

-Feyre describes the Autumn Court.

-Autumn didn’t post sentries at the “door” and Feyre can’t use her magic to search for Fae.

-”...the risk of revealing our scheming to find me.” So it’s “our scheme” now? Was Feyre actually doing things on her own or not?

-”But my magic was still and frozen. A crutch I’d become too reliant upon.” Since when has Feyre been that reliant on magic? She only recently started using it. Like, if this was the thought process of someone that used magic for years I wouldn’t think much of this but it’s not, it’s for someone that’s quite green. Not to say that Feyre can’t hold her own, I just expect her to be more inexperienced in the story.

-Mentions of time passing to night, I think.

-”...I knew only our need for stealth kept his simmering questions at bay.” Why do they need to sneak through a forest? Other than mentioning no sentries, what’s the point of this?

-They go into another cave, with a makeshift camp there already.

-”...three bedrolls and old blankets…” Why three?

-Lucien mentions he used to stay in this cave before he left Autumn.

-Lucien and Feyre talk.

-”...My friend at the Dawn Court has the same power—her light is identical…” I thought it was the Dawn High Lord’s power (who’s male)?

-“I didn’t tell him for two reasons. One, it felt like kicking a male already down. I couldn’t take that hope away from him.” I rolled my eyes. “Two,” he snapped, “I knew if I was correct and called you on it, you’d find a way to make sure I never saw her.” So… Lucien still cares about Tamlin? Also, the soulmate thing gets brought up again, that seems to be his only motivation now.

-“And that’s why you’re here. Not because it’s right and he’s always been wrong, but just so you can get what you think you’re owed.” Feyre gets mad at Lucien for not being angry at Tamlin. I also hate this whole bullshit about ownership being thrown around in this story, it became a thing in the 2nd book too.

-Lucien still thinks the Night Court are enemies.

-Feyre gets mad at Lucien for not believing her that Elain is safe, which yeah, they’re sisters, shouldn’t he understand that?

-Lucien questions if Feyre wanted to spare him from her path of destruction because of what it would do to Elain. They sure are friends, huh?

-Lucien continues to question Feyre, asks her if she wanted to kill Tamlin, yada yada.

-Feyre gets tired of debating with Lucien over her choices and tells him to drop it. It makes me wonder if this is to say Feyre regrets her actions now, or SJM doesn’t feel like going deeper into Feyre’s feelings on this whole thing.

-[“My father will hunt you for taking his power if he finds out,” he said into the frigid dark. “And kill you for learning how to wield it.” “He can get in line,” was all I said.] Giving me deja vu again.

-The next morning Feyre and Lucien argue on where to go next. Feyre wants to go north right through where, I guess the direction of Autumn's capital is, but Lucien wants to go either east where the Summer border is or west but Feyre thinks that route will take too long for some reason. Feyre for some reason thinks she can go through Autumn unseen, this is a dumb plan, west should’ve been the better option.

-Feyre dumps her food out because she thinks it’s laced with faebane.

-Feyre gawks at Autumn and admires Lucien, they go fishing. I still don’t know why they’re still being sneaky in the middle of nowhere though.

-They hiked for 5 days, somehow during the 3rd day they went through the Autumn’s capital without any incident.

-Apparently Autumn’s place is called the Forest House. I guess this is the reason why we're here, so SJM can explain the “worldbuilding” of Autumn. Anyway, the House is large and covered in moss.

-Somehow with all this time that’s passed they’re still affected by the faebane. I guess faebane can also affect mate bonds too.

-”...an apple tree, laden with fat, succulent fruit.” I know fat can be used as a synonym for large but this is a weird way to use it.

-”...the bees gorging themselves on fallen apples.” Bees don’t eat like that?

-”After what the Hybern royals had done, I should have sworn off apples forever, but hunger had always blurred lines for me. “ This doesn’t come up much with Feyre’s character but I like the idea of Feyre forgetting herself when she’s hungry.

-“We’ll have to stay out of sight. My father doesn’t pay well for his crops, and the land-workers will earn any extra coin they can.” Beron’s an idiot then, unless he’s getting other food from trade, he should only be reliant on food from local farmers. I’m not an expert on this though.

-”I was able to study for longer than my father allowed my brothers before shoving them out the door to rule over some territory within our lands…” Keeping note of this.

-“I’d say that sounds more High-Lord-like than the life of an idle, unwanted son.” I don’t even know what the High Lords do for this to make sense.

-“Would you want it—your father’s crown?” I thought magic chooses the High Lord, how would someone even be able to get it any other way?

-”...I’d gain a crown—only to rule over a crafty, two-faced people.” This contradicts what was stated earlier, of Lucien learning about his people, at least that’s what I think.

-“But you never answered my question—about why the people here would sell you out.”  Why is there no question mark in this?

-So, the people blame Lucien for not protecting Jesminda from being killed by his family, and when Lucien fled to their houses they gave him back up to his family. What?

-”...right into the steep foothills that leaped into gray, snowcapped mountains that marked the start of the shared range with the Winter Court.” Shouldn’t that be leapt? Or am I crazy for that?

-”If we could get over the border in a day or two…” They hiked through Autumn for like 5 days, how would they be able to go through Winter that fast?

-“How are you not winded,” he panted, hauling himself onto the flat top… “I trained.” Missing question mark. Also I know Feyre trained and all but she shouldn’t have that good of stamina already.

-”My nails barked…” This is the weirdest writing quirk SJM has.

-Lucien added, “You had my back —with them, with Ianthe. Thank you.” Feyre almost cries from this and I find that funny since she was going to leave him behind.

-Feyre manages to fall asleep this time, she goes into Lucien’s mind while she’s sleeping.

-”I had never known how young, how human I looked when I slept. My braid was a rope over my shoulder, my mouth slightly parted, my face haggard with days of little rest and food.” Why this? What’s the point?

-Lucien and Feyre get ambushed by Lucien’s brothers.

[eskandarrohani]

[FIC] "Out to the Field" + bonus deleted scenes

Out to the Field + Golden Kamuy + Modern AU + Rated T (major character death) + Ogata Hyakunosuke & Hanazawa Yuusaku + 4.6k of tension and Ogata being himself

Given the sort of thought it was, Ogata would have expected more drama to accompany it. But instead, the thought flitted across his mind in the same way anything else ever did. Casually. As if it carried the same importance as every other thought he had ever had. I think I’ll get Thai food for lunch. Should I buy this shirt in blue or black? There’s a lot of subway traffic today. I could shoot my half-brother in the back of the head.

Written for the Golden Future Zine.

And! Seeing as this has already been out for a spell, I should probably put its deleted scenes out somewhere too. Just for funsies.

[ 1 ]

A certain amount of blame had to be ascribed to Sugimoto, because this was definitely (a little bit) his fault.

Ogata was, as a rule, a hermit on social media and a person who only responded to messages in as few words as possible, and even then only after a grace period of at least 48 hours. Conversely, Sugimoto had a horde of friends back across the Pacific that he kept up with daily via LINE. And despite the fact that a few of Sugimoto’s friends might have also theoretically been classified as whatever-passed-for-friends-with-Ogata-Hyakunosuke, he couldn’t help but feel bemused whenever Sugimoto mentioned someone had asked after him. (It was weirdly often Vasiliy, who definitely did not qualify as anything in the same universe as “friend.” “Sworn enemy” felt more correct.)

“Oh,” Sugimoto said over breakfast one Monday morning, because nothing good ever happened on a Monday morning. “Yesterday I got a message from Nikaidou asking about you.”

“Which one?” Ogata had asked, absently, before frowning and pausing his morning routine of mindlessly scrolling through Twitter to look up at Sugimoto.  “You’re friends with Nikaidou?”

“I’m honestly not sure which one,” Sugimoto admitted. “They’re both in my phone as Nikaidou, and at this point I’m always too ashamed to ask who I’m speaking to.” He took a minute to slurp a spoonful of his hot soup, only to promptly grimace as he scalded his mouth. “As to the friend question,” he paused to take a restorative sip of water, then continued, “No? Or I don’t think so?” His chin crinkled like a drying plum as he thought. “I feel like they might think I’m their sworn enemy.”

“I sometimes think that about you, too,” Ogata drawled, only slightly joking.

Sugimoto grinned with all his teeth, revealing the dark sliver of a piece of wakame clinging to one of his incisors. “The feeling is mutual!” Lip curling, Ogata made a small gesture to his own teeth and Sugimoto licked the seaweed away, unbothered. “Anyway,” he said, “Whichever Nikaidou it was mentioned that your brother was asking around for you.”

“Half-brother,” Ogata reflexively corrected. “Why?” It was meant to come out without any inflection, but even he could hear that he sounded kind of irritated. “What for?”

“Honestly? No idea. I just wanted to let you know, since you like being able to plan for things.”

[ 2 ]

“How much do you think Asirpa would hate this?” Sugimoto asked, holding up a purple sweater. “It looks like something she’d use, right?”

“Shouldn’t you be a little more ambitious when shopping for a birthday gift? Maybe you should try looking for something she’ll like—not what she’ll hate least,” Ogata mumbled. He peeled a glove off so he could better inspect the textile’s feel. The dense purple knit was admittedly far softer and less itchy than he’d expected. He dropped the sleeve he held with a sigh, his breath forming a perfect wisp of cloud in the cold. “Doesn’t she already have a few in this color?” he asked. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen her in anything but purple sweaters.”

“I know, but will she hate it?” Sugimoto pressed.

The kiosk’s hawk-eyed vendor watched them from over the rim of her thermos. “That is baby camel wool,” she put in helpfully, as if that meant anything to either of them. “Very good quality.”

Ogata glanced at the tag and subtly showed it to Sugimoto who made a noise like all the air had been punched out of him. “It must be,” he replied with a thin smile.

Sugimoto hurriedly returned the sweater to its rightful place with a harassed ‘thank you’ to the salesperson and ushered Ogata away.

[ 3 ]

“You look like shit,” Vasiliy told Ogata, the perpetual frown on his face thawing as what looked suspiciously like delight tugged at the corners of his mouth. His FaceTime videofeed briefly froze, then sprinted back into realtime. “Did you catch a cold?”

Ogata shifted in his bed. “Probably,” he said. He adjusted the perspiring ice pack on his forehead. “Sugimoto dragged me up and down through both holiday markets last night, and I got rained on when walking home.”

Vasiliy made a guttural derisive sound somewhere in the back of his throat. “You have a weak constitution,” he diagnosed. “This would never happen to me.”

“How good for you.”

“But if it did,” Vasiliy continued, “I would boil potatoes, remove from heat and sit with the pot under a towel and breathe in the steam. It works every time.”

“I thought you said this would never happen to you,” Ogata said, weighing the benefits of hanging up right now and going back to sleep.

[girltomboy]

Yesterday I wrote a long ass post that ended up getting blown into dust by tumblr, so I just gave up on ranting (I'd already typed out the whole thing anyway so at least *some* work had been done on processing what had happened) but during yesterday's "Easter lunch" (we don't even celebrate Easter, but we do like to make the traditional food anyway, and it seems we're also adopting the traditional Easter fights) my grandma went off on me about the way I dress (again, still, etc. except this time I'm almost 27, you'd think this topic would ever get old or stale or my family would get tired of fighting over it so much for so long for nothing, and yet it never fucking stops). I was thinking how to tell her that I'm seeing my friends today, it was like something was holding me back. The vibes were just slightly off, but it was an absurd feeling because it's such a mundane and normal thing. So I absent-mindedly mentioned it, and she replied: "what are you going to wear? It better not be those pants you came in" (she hates those pants because they're baggy - like 80% of my pants 🤡 I actually had a feeling she would comment on them when I packed them, but I didn't think they'd be SUCH a big deal, they're some of my normal pants). Those pants are dirty anyway, so I wouldn't have worn them. I told her they're not the only pants I brought with me, I have other pairs. And she immediately said: "NO, not pants. I bet they're also ugly anyway. We'll look for a nice dress in your closet." I said:"There's no need for that, I don't like wearing dresses." It was not a fancy dinner reunion, just a casual day out with some old friends. And she should know by now that I'm not a lover of dresses, except for the beach and a special occasion once in a blue moon, I would never choose to wear a dress. I've never kept this a secret, everyone who knows anything about me is aware of my preference and respects it (they have no choice anyway).

That's what set her off, I don't know what she expected to hear honestly, but she started shouting about my stylistic choices and about the fact that when I come visit her she expects me to wear my best and fanciest clothes "for the neighbors", otherwise I shouldn't even bother coming. And made it clear that the neighbors' opinions and impressions are much more important to her than what I want, feel good in, like, etc. It's not like I go outside in my pyjamas or in trash bags, I just wear normal casual clothes, but she wants me to dress like a news anchor basically. She also said that she's sure the reason why I don't own any nice fancy clothes is because I'm broke from always sending my boyfriend money?? Lol that is 100% a lie that my mom fabricated a looooooong time ago, I'm surprised that it's still holding up, but why wouldn't it? After all, they created it and planted it in their own minds and universes. Of course nothing can shake something that is unaffected by the actual truth, since it doesn't happen in real life. Aside from that, she also revealed some other lies about my boyfriend that are circulating in my mom's and her heads: he's stringing me along, doesn't have "serious plans with me" since he "hasn't married me yet". I was like? ON GOD? 🤭 Aww it's so cute how you get so riled up because you want him to marry me sooo badddd! But have you asked yourself whether or not we Want that? Did you ask ME?? What I want? Do you know anything about what I want, what we talked about? No, they never ask me anything and just survive off of the lies they make up on their own. I told her outright "I don't want that!" (on marriage), but I'm 100% sure that she (and mom too) will think it's because I don't want to marry my boyfriend, not that I don't want to get married to anyone ever. They would know it if only they would simply ask. But they dgaf about what my relationship is actually like irl, only what they invent about it, without any connection to reality, truly matters.

So yesterday I was not in the mood to keep the peace, smile and nod, for the sake of avoiding an argument, because the fight started out about clothes, and escalated into yet another attack on my relationship/my partner. And I'm completely over that, plus she kept adding more and more fuel to the fire by telling me Satan is influencing me to upset her in this way, as a result of me rejecting god (it's a good thing she figured that one out on her own, without me having to open that box of worms), that my way of thinking (which is... idk... wanting to live my life how I want and mind my own business. I guess) will make my family abandon me, which idk fucked up if true, but that threat is absolutely not making me want to fight for the love and respect of a family that is ready to cut me off as soon as I stray from the mold they created for me in their head. And of course everyone including my bf is out to GET me and hurt me except for - you guessed it - the family dangling their imminent abandonment in front of my face. Pretty hilarious but I wasn't intimidated by these words because I've heard them before and they are meaningless to me. And ofc she made it clear she "doesn't know" why I even came to visit her. Which, in the moment, I sure was struggling to remember as well, ngl. AND she said she is sure I must have joined some kind of cult or sect that "is unlike everyone else" which, if you think about the context in which I grew up and the church I was birthed and raised into, is IRONIC as fuck - how can you even think I'd join a cult like that (I'm not religious anymore btw, thanks very much) if I JUST escaped one? Girl, YOU ARE in that cult!! You are describing the sect YOU are part of, and that you want ME to stay in! Why would I chase another one like lmaoooo you think your sect is sooo normal and "like everyone else" when it paints anything and anyone outside it as the enemy and fabricates its own oppression.

So for the rest of the afternoon we didnt speak to each other after the meal, she didn't even leave her room or take any phone calls from various relatives and friends who called her, including my mom. Then in the evening I took a shower, and when I got out she playfully asked me to come to dinner. So I did, and she never mentioned the fight or any of the other topics, neither did I, and even when my mom called her and she answered during dinner she didn't say anything to her, and we all pretended like nothing happened. 😋 That's what we're best at. I'm glad that never sat right with me and I don't implement this tactic in MY interpersonal relationships. But today I was supposed to meet my friends before noon, so I went to have some breakfast. And after I was done I told grandma I was about to leave soon, just so she knows. As I was going back to my room I heard her shout: "Careful how you dress!! If you don't have any money for a taxi I'll give you some, just so the neighbors don't see you!" I was like... Now you'll just make me dress shitty out of spite. In hindsight this talent of saying something completely fucked up then carrying on as if nothing happened, that seems to run in the family because both my grandma and my mom seem to have it, is pretty amazing. Like the creativity and wit are quite rare. But I said nothing and got ready, and when I left I didn't announce it or anything, I simply left.

Story doesn't end here... While I was out I got a harrowing text from my mom telling me "don't bring ur boyfriend home if he's in town... Grandma told me you left without saying and she's sure he came to the city". I burst out laughing, but I haven't replied yet. I don't even know where to begin. I don't even know what to address first. I'm simply amazed at the world building skills that both of them possess. I don't understand why they fear neighbors' gossip so much if they are capable of so much worse on their own. Who even needs enemies talking shit about them behind their back and making up untrue stories and scenarios with a family THIS skilled and hateful? My biggest haters would not be able to come up with shit like this. The assumption that my boyfriend would come all the way to my hometown just to be left stranded in the city, meeting me out on the low like some secret agent, the assumption that I would willingly introduce him into this fucked up and bitter family... Why are you surprised that I would leave without announcing (not even a big deal, I'd already told her I was about to get ready and go) when not 24 hours earlier you made a whole scene and told me to basically never show up here again because you didn't like the pants I wore once. And you constantly and continuously throw tantrums about the way I dress because it doesn't fit YOUR particular taste & style. Why would you not put 2 and 2 together instead of fabricating yet ANOTHER lie to get mad at, and to force me to defend and justify myself against something YOU pulled out of your ass? I'm constantly amazed at the hatred my family is capable of and how easy they are able to weaken our relationship and ruin my trust & perception of them.

[sirenselfship]

In control chapter four

Chapter four: The olden days

Warnings: the usual, Portal 2 spoilers.

Author’s note: Author siren here! I wrote all this. Yea no that’s just me trying to be Cave.

I decided to wait until after my trip to write this!

Also I finally decided I do want to alternate the POVs between Siren and Wheatley! However in special cases the POV will be different, for example two part chapters.

This chapter will also introduce Faith into the au!

Yes from my planning those will be a thing.

Enjoy!

POV: Wheatley Time: Chapter six, the fall locations: 50s Aperture science testing area

“They say great science is built on the shoulders of giants. Not here. At Aperture, we do all our science from scratch. No hand holding.”

“Alright, let's get started. This first test involves something the lab boys call 'repulsion gel”

“Repulsion gel? That blue stuff down there? I wouldn’t touch it if I were you, don’t know what it does. Could be dangerous”

The testing chambers down in old aperture were much different from the ones used today, if she was still testing without humans. The plain cold white walls were rustic, warm, and welcoming, as if you were doing these tests on your own will and not forced to. Even the buttons and doors were different, it just goes to show the evolution of Aperture.

“It makes things bounce apparently.” Siren said, staring at the gel. “If only we had something to bounce…”

“…” ”…” ”Wait you’re not thinking about jumping down there yourself right?” “One of us has to.”

I sigh, looking at Siren, then the repulsion gel. ”Couldn’t we just use a rock?” I asked, but she shook her head. “There’s no rocks here” she answered, still staring at the gel. “And remember, if anything goes wrong, I have braces on my boots.” “Yea but this is really old stuff and the boots are brand new.” I protested. “Don’t know how they’ll react- HEY WAIT-“

Siren casually jumped off the platform and towards the blue gel. Instead of landing on the ground, the gel bounced her up higher. As if it hated her and wanted her to go away.

“See? Not dangerous at all.” She said, still jumping on the gel. “Quite fun actually. Hey why don’t you give it a try?”

Before I could even think about my actions, I was pulled forward and off the ledge. I tried to land on my legs, but with barely any effort, they bounced off the sky blue gel.

“You know, I wonder why they stopped using them in some of the more recent test chambers…” Siren asked, before performing a majestic backflip to land on a platform with a button on it. With all the time she spent being flung by aerial Faith plates and flying through the air like a majestic falcon NOT piloting a blimp she was used to aerial stunts.

However I was not expecting my comment to be taken literally later on.

——————

After we passed through the old tests, started up another gel pump, and reached an elevator control center high up on a platform, I was greeted by a nightmare.

A bird.

“AGH BIRD BIRD BIRD BIRD” I screamed at the sight of the bird. A dark brown bird with sharp yellow eyes that reminded me of her, blood orange chest, and a beak sharp enough to tear anyone apart, a personality core specifically.

The bird stared at me, wings spread out revealing the cream markings underneath and if it could speak it would’ve yelled insults at me.

Siren didn’t even seem scared at the bird. After a short staring contest between the bird and I, she reached her hand out towards the bird. I was too busy staring at its cold yellow eyes to see her hand, wrapped in black bandages from past tests, reaching for its feathered body. I only noticed because the bird stopped staring at me and instead turned to Siren.

“Be careful Luv, those things are evil!” I warned her, but she didn’t back down at all. The bird stared at her hand, before looking up at her, no longer looking like it was trying to intimidate us.

“She just wants to be free, like us.” Siren explained as the bird casually walked onto her hand. “Don’t you little buddy, when you’re finally out of here you just want to soar through the sky, like an eagle, not piloting a blimp.”

“Ooh guess that decides your name! Faith! Aerial Faith plate!”

I sighed. We were now going to have a bird following us. And I couldn’t do anything about it.

————

Old Aperture loved their gels.

There was repulsion gel, which made you bounce with barely any effort. There was propulsion gel, fire orange in color and would make you move at the speed fast enough to potential catch up to a portal being fired. Then there was conversion gel, which was made from moon rocks and is the reason we can shoot portals.

Then there was Cave and Caroline. The first time we heard the, they seemed so happy together. But as time went on, Cave started showing signs that he wasn’t going to live any longer, and he wanted his scientists to build a computer to put his brain into.

But if he didn’t live long enough for it to be completed, he wanted Caroline in it.

Whether she liked it or not.

But now wasn’t the time to be thinking about Caroline. We were finally getting out of old aperture.

Back to face down the monster.

[chaosbled]

@ofpowr​ said:  [  SLOW  ]: after resisting their feelings for one another for a very long time, sender finally breaks down and reveals to the receiver that they love them. (except it's only dazai resisting his feelings until he Can't)

            Dazai was acting strangely lately, even more so than usual.

            It all came to a head when the gravity manipulator had insisted he come over that evening for dinner with him, it was a rare free day for him barring any top level Port Mafia emergencies that would require him to go out into the field, something exceedingly rare since he’d taken over. So he planned to take full advantage of it, starting with cleaning up, meal prepping for dinner time, & answering non work-related emails.

            The redhead texted Dazai with an unusual excitement; he’d offered to cook for him properly at some point after they got back in touch, after all, & now he finally had the time to do it. Going out to purchase a bottle of smooth, fine aged whiskey as he knew Dazai was not especially keen on his wines. The redhead gave the younger man a key to the apartment he’d purchased in neutral territory a while back... it was there place, & at this point Chuuya’s primary residence, but both could come & go as they wished. It was nice having a place to call home that wasn’t in the Port Mafia’s HQ anymore, under the well-meaning but watchful eye of his family.

            By the time he heard the now familiar sound of the key turning in the lock, dinner was just about ready. Somehow, he always knew the exact right time to show up. 

            Chuuya was standing in the kitchen, getting an early start on washing the dishes he’d used while cooking; the older of the two had pulled his hair up in a ponytail out of the way while he cooked &, since he’d planned to be inside for the remainder of the day, he’d forgone his usual extensive makeup & skincare routine. With his dark jeans & cashmere sweater, he looked remarkably casual that day. He’d greeted Dazai with a kiss & told him what was on the menu for that night. King Crab Kamameshi with a Sakura-flavoured Castella cake he’d baked from scratch, unable to resist with the recent vibrant Spring flowers & their delicately sweet fragrance.

            ❝ If you’re hungry now though I do have some daifuku left from this morning, I can brew a fresh pot of tea if you’d like. ❞  he offered him a warm smile. A moment later he was blinking at the sudden sensation of lips against his own. That was a pleasant surprise; it wasn’t often Dazai was the one to initiate intimate contact with him like that. Dazai must have been hungry after all if he was that excited to eat. He was about to ask what that was about when the confession seemed to spill out all at once. 

            Azure eyes widened in shock, & judging by Dazai’s own expression... he hadn’t meant to just blurt it out like that either. The blush on Dazai’s face was absolutely precious.

            Before the brunet could try to downplay it or brush it off as a poorly timed joke like when they were fifteen, Chuuya grabbed Dazai by the shoulders & dragged him back into another head-spinning, breath-stealing kiss, arms wrapping around him to pull Dazai close before finally breaking the kiss just enough to be able to speak.

            ❝ I love you too, Mackerel.❞  he murmured fervently as he rested his forehead against Dazai’s, somehow feeling as exhilarated & so very calm at the same time. Dazai had likely already known that Chuuya did, of course, because he knew everything, but Chuuya had only ever really implied it before today.  ❝ How... how long have you known? ❞

[bisexualbumblebee-writes]

Wedding Bells- Joel Fry x OC

Joel Fry x Isabel Abbott

Description: It’s Joel and Isabel’s wedding day!

Word Count: 2.2k

“Isa,” a gentle voice whispered into Isabel’s ear as a hand shook her. Her brows furrowed, though her eyes stayed closed and she pulled the covers closer to her. 

“Isabel, it’s time to get up,” the same voice mumbled. She groaned softly. 

“Not yet,” she grumbled tiredly, hearing a chuckle afterwards. 

“It’s already 9:00, we have a big day ahead of us.” Hesitantly, the girl’s eyes fluttered open to see Joel staring at her with a small smile. A quiet giggle left her lips. 

“Why are you looking at me like that?” She asked softly. 

“What? I’m not allowed to admire my future wife?” He shot back in the same tone. Isabel shook her head amusedly. 

“Not when I look like this,” she responded. “I thought it was bad luck to see me before the wedding.”

“Only when you’re in your dress,” he corrected. “Neither of us are properly dressed, therefore I can sit here and look at my gorgeous wife.” 

“I’m not your wife yet.” Joel shrugged. 

“I’m planning ahead.” The girl sighed happily and scooted closer to him. 

“Can’t we just stay in bed a few more minutes?” She pleaded softly, flashing her puppy eyes at him. Luckily for Joel, he didn’t have to answer as their bedroom door all but burst open. The couple jumped in surprise and turned around as Isabel’s bridesmaids walked in. 

“Good morning,” Emilia, her maid of honor, sang. “Time to get up. We have a schedule to keep here. Joel, the guys are waiting downstairs to take you to the venue, get dressed and get out so we can get the gorgeous bride ready.” 

“You guys are much more hyper than us this morning,” Joel noted as he pushed the covers off of him and stood up. Emilia stuck her tongue out at him, to which he chuckled at as he grabbed some clothes from the dresser then walked to the bathroom. 

“Come on, we got Cinnabon,” said Lucy, one of the bridesmaids, as she grabbed Isabel’s hand. The girl groaned again, but did as she said. She attempted to tame her hair as she was led downstairs, and she grinned at the groomsmen once they came into view. 

“Morning boys,” she greeted casually as she walked into the kitchen. 

“Morning Isabel,” they answered in unison. She giggled as she opened the box and grabbed a cinnamon roll, beginning to eat along with the girls. Everyone made small talk until Joel walked downstairs. 

“Alright darling, I’m off,” he informed her as he walked over to her. 

“Okay, be safe,” Isabel muttered, leaning up to give him a kiss once he reached her. Joel grinned then licked his lips of the icing that stained them from the kiss. He couldn’t say anything before the guys began practically dragging him out. 

“I’ll see you at the altar,” she called with a fond smile. 

“I almost can’t wait,” Joel called back before the front door closed. Sofia shook her head at them then faced the bride. 

“You ready for today?” She questioned eagerly as the girls continued to eat. Isabel couldn’t help but nod enthusiastically. 

“I’ve never been more ready. I just need the next two hours to go by fast so I can see him again,” she responded earnestly. 

“Well you don’t have to worry about that with us,” Lucy said, linking their arms together. “We’ll have you done up and dressed to see your man at the altar in no time. Let’s go!” Isabel couldn’t help but laugh as she was led back upstairs once more. 

Within the hour she was showered and her hair was blow dried for the hairstylists to take how they wanted. Isabel made pleasant talk with them as they curled her hair to sit in a bun near the top of her head with several strands pulled out. After that came makeup. Her makeup was done in a natural manner with soft gold glitter and a pink lip. The girls made sure to get plenty of pictures during the process and it took all Emilia had not to cry when she went to help her into her dress. It was a witch castille bride wedding dress with off the shoulder sleeves. 

“Alright, we’ll head to the hotel so Isabel can get into her dress then the reveal for the bridesmaids and groomsmen will be at the venue, so girls it’s time for you to go,” Emilia called from the bathroom. Isabel grinned when she heard several groans. 

“Can’t we just skip that part?” Sofia begged. “We deserve to see her first.” 

“Isa, please,” Lucy added pleadingly. Isabel shook her head before realizing that there was in fact a door between them. 

“Sorry girls, you’ll just have to wait,” she responded apologetically. Emilia gave her a grateful smile before stepping out to make sure the girls actually left before taking her outside, where her car was waiting. 

The drive to the hotel was much quicker than Isabel thought. For their wedding, they opted to have it on the beach since that’s where Joel had proposed. They rented out a few hotel rooms for everyone to get ready though, so that’s where they were going now. When they arrived, there was security there to help lead them through the hotel to get to her room. The girls were already there in their dresses waiting rather impatiently for her. They made sure to get plenty of pictures when she walked in then went to the bathroom, where her dress was. It took all Emilia had not to cry when she went to help her into her dress. It was a floor length a-line dress with white beading that had long organza sleeves that Isabel had all but fallen in love with when she first saw it.

“Groomsmen are here,” Lucy called, knocking on the door. Isabel’s heart practically burst open and she looked at Emilia excitedly. 

“Are you ready?” The maid of honor questioned, amused about her friend’s enthusiasm. It only took a singular nod from Isabel for her to tell everyone to face away from the bathroom for the reveal. After making sure they’d done as she said, she led the bride out and positioned her in front of the door. A photographer began snapping pictures immediately then looked at the bridal party. 

“Alright, I’m gonna count down from three and you guys turn around. Ready?” The girls all but squealed out a yes as Emilia moved off to the side with the wedding planner so everyone could get a full view. 

“Okay, 3...2...1...Turn!” She continued to snap pictures as everyone turned around in unison. Gasps were heard from each person as they took in the bride’s appearance. Isabel had to force herself not to cry when she saw a few teary eyes in her friends. 

“Oh my god,” the best man, Msimisi, laughed out, though it wasn’t in a mean way. It was one of those ‘I’m so happy that I don’t know what else to do other than laugh’ sort of laughs. 

“You look gorgeous!” Sofia exclaimed, wiping her eyes. 

“Absolutely stunning,” Tom, one of the groomsmen, agreed. Isabel giggled then straightened out her dress. 

“Alright, all that’s left now is the wedding,” the planner said, looking around the room. “Is everyone ready?” A collective nod came from everyone. “Good. The groomsmen will go get the groom then take him down to the beach, the girls will be there shortly after.” The men nodded and made their way out, offering a hug to the bride as they did so. 

“Good luck,” Ryan muttered in her ear, being the last one to walk out and closing the door behind him. Isabel took an excited breath then looked around. 

“Well? What are we waiting for?” She inquired. 

“The guys to leave,” Emilia responded immediately, which made the others laugh. “Don’t worry Isa, you’ll see your lover-boy soon enough. You just need to be patient.”

“I’ve been patient for the last nine months Em,” the girl retorted. “Forgive me if I’m more than ready to finally be married to the love of my life.” The girls cooed in unison. 

“How sweet,” Lucy squealed. The planner shook her head amused at them then after a few minutes opened the door just enough to peek out of it after hearing a knock.

“Alright, the guys are gone. Let’s get this show on the road.” The girls all but screamed in excitement and they picked up their respective bouquets. 

“Beautiful bouquet for the beautiful bride,” Emilia said, handing her the eucalyptus bouquet she had helped the bride pick out. Isabel smiled gratefully then pressed a kiss to her cheek before following the rest of the girls out. 

Isabel’s heart was beating out of her chest the entire way to the beach. This was it, she was finally doing the very thing she dreamed of ever since she met Joel. It almost didn’t feel real, Sofia had to stop Isabel from continually pinching herself to make sure it wasn’t a dream. 

They finally arrived at the beach, and Isabel couldn’t help but grin. The setting was simple enough. There were two sections of seating, eight rows of three wooden chairs with white tulle bows as well tied to the back of them as eucalyptus bows on each end chair. A white lac carpet sat in the middle of them as a makeshift aisle. At the end of the aisle was an arbor covered in flowers and vines that Joel already stood in front of with the groomsmen and Msimisi off to the side. 

Her breath hitched when her eyes landed on him. Since the wedding was not quite traditional, they saw no reason to have a traditional suit for the men. Joel wore an off white canvas material suit, the others wearing less formal suits. Isabel was finally forced to tear her gaze away when Emilia squeezed her arm gently. 

“We’re ready,” she informed her, receiving a nod from the bride. 

“Line up girls,” the planner said. The bridesmaids got into line, Lucy first, then Sofia, then Emilia, and finally Isabel. The latter took a deep breath as the music began, and Lucy began walking down the aisle. She took a deep breath as it was finally Emilia’s turn to walk down the aisle. The music changed, it was Isabel’s turn. She adjusted the bouquet in her hands then stepped into view of the guests. Upon noticing her appearance, everyone stood and faced her. A bright grin slipped onto her face and she began her tread down the carpet, praying that she didn’t trip over her own feet. 

As she walked, her eyes landed on Joel once again. Her heart melted when she realized there were tears in his eyes. Of course, she couldn’t see very well as tears had also welled up in her eyes. Much to Isabel’s dismay, Joel looked away as a tear slipped down his cheek. He was quick to wipe it away then take a deep breath and face her again, only for more tears to well up. She couldn’t help but giggle as she finally reached him. His hands were out, waiting for her to take them, which she did after setting her bouquet down. Joel took a moment to press a loving kiss to her forehead before they stood in front of the officiate. 

“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today,” the officiate began with a kind smile. Isabel found herself not being able to focus as he continued his speech. She couldn’t keep her eyes off of the man in front of her. It seemed that Joel felt the same way because their eyes met several times during the wedding. 

“Joel Michael Fry, do you take Isabel to be your lawfully wedded wife? To have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer and poorer, as long as you both shall live?” The officiate finally asked, looking at the man. 

“I do,” Joel responded without hesitation, which made the girl tear up all over again. This is it. The big moment. 

“Isabel Harper Abbott, do you take Joel as your lawfully wedded husband? To have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer and poorer, as long as you both shall live?” Isabel had to force herself not to choke up as she answered. 

“I do,” she said, voice cracking. Joel couldn’t help but offer a teary chuckle, which made the officiate grin kindly. 

“Then, by the power vested in me, I now pronounce you man and wife,” he spoke, which made the girl’s heart soar. “Joel, you may kiss your bride.” Joel wasted no time in pulling Isabel towards him and kissing her with all the passion he had. Isabel’s arms wrapped around his neck and she smiled against his lips as the guests cheered for them. They finally pulled away for air after a minute and at each other, comically wide grins on their faces. Joel pressed one more kiss to her lips before surprising her by swooping her up into his arms. A surprised gasp left her lips and her arms tightened around his neck. He paid no mind to it and instead shouted happily before beginning to run down the aisle with his wife still in his arms, leaving behind the guests and going to start the new chapter in their lives together.

[lemonjoonah]

The Garden Thief (M)

Pairing: Jungkook x Reader Word Count: 9.3K Genre: Hybrid AU, romance/drama/comedy, enemies to lovers Warnings: Unprotected sex, oral sex (fem. rec.), they get down and dirty outside but no one else is there to see them, cum play? (just a little), there’s also a bit of mud (sorry, but also not sorry, they’re outside what do you want from me?!?!), referenced hybrid neglect and oppression (hybrids are wrongfully deemed as pets by law and the majority of society).  

Summary: Your beloved vegetable patch has once again been victimized by a hungry thief in the night. The prime suspect? Jeon Jungkook, your neighbour's rabbit hybrid. But when you finally confront him, he pleads innocent, and proposes a plan to clear his name.

A/N: I wrote this fic’s premise and opening scene for the ‘A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words Game’ that I played oh so long ago and now I’ve finally finished the tale!

...

“Oh for fuck’s sake, not again!” You swear upon seeing the leafy green remains of several carrots lying in your garden, inches from where they used to be buried. This maddening mystery of the vanishing vegetables has been playing out all summer. You’ve set out deterrents for every possible garden pest, rolling out chicken wire and spraying natural remedies to repel anything from bugs to small rodents. Yet you still wake to find that your garden has been robbed in the night. The only possible suspect you haven’t been able to protect against resides just next door, in fact—

You squint up at the boarded fence, spotting a pair of long dark ears peeking out over the posts. “Jungkook, is that you?”

The ears immediately disappear, ducking down behind the barrier. The sound of his hurried footsteps trailing away are followed only by the slamming of a door.

You rush into and through your own house carrying the wilted carrot greens. Exiting out the front, and over to the house next to yours, where you repeatedly press the bell.

The entry whips open on the fourth ring to reveal Jungkook. His face is flushed, beads of sweat racing down his brow, and a shirt that one would normally use to cover their chest, is instead thrown over his shoulder. “Something wrong neighbour?” He asks with a carrot stick in hand. Bringing it to his mouth, he taunts you with a bite and crooked grin.

“Is-is your caretaker home?” You stutter trying your best to swallow your nerves. Concentrating hard on his face, you plead with your eyes not to wander down. That’s exactly what he wants, a reason to put you off your mission, to make you so flustered that you have to walk away. He’s always trying to use his allure against you, and you hate how often he succeeds doing just that...  

“No, he’s at work.”

“When will he be back?”

“Not sure, maybe a week, or two? He’s on a business trip.”

Your gaze falters in it’s determination for a brief second as a drop of sweat descends from his neck to his chest. Holding your breath you watch it’s path, tracing the valleys between his muscles. When Jungkook finally wipes it away your brain catches up and scolds you for your weakness. “And he left you here, alone?”  You ask, while trying to recollect your dignity, reminding yourself of how much grief he has put you through.

“Of course.” Jungkook’s smile grows. “I’m not just some common pet. I know how to behave myself.”

The statement makes your brow twitch, enraging you enough to overcome his tactics. “I know you haven’t been here long, but you should know, people typically don’t like it when someone steals from their yard.” You lecture him, waving the carrot tops in front of his face. “So stop treating my garden like your own personal snack bar!”

“Now why would I take from you? I have plenty of food here, even got another delivery this morning.”  The hybrid kicks at a box next him filled with a vibrant collection of fresh produce and grains.

“I don’t know why. I just know it was you.”

“Prove it.” He prods, while taking the last bite of the vegetable from his hand.

The loud crunching gnaws on your composure, stripping you of any patience you may have had for the hybrid. “This all started when you moved in, and I’ve ruled everything else out!” You shout, but as good as it might feel to finally vent your anger, you feel as though you’re somehow playing into his hand.

“That doesn’t seem like very good evidence. It’s circumstantial at best. If you want to find out who the real culprit is you should have a stake out.”

“A stake out?”

“Yeah, you know, watch over the garden for the night, catch the criminal in the act. I could even help if you’d like.”

You scoff at the ridiculous notion. “You really think I should invite you over to guard my crops?”

“I do, so I’ll come over tonight? Say around seven?” You open your mouth to object, but the rabbit hybrid jumps from one statement to the next casually inviting himself into your own home. “Perfect. See you then.”

“I didn’t-no wait, that was sar-” The door closes between you before you can finish. Leaving you baffled and alone on the doorstep. You ready to knock but stop just before your knuckles hit the wood. Trying again right now is a lost cause, it’ll just play into his game. So why waste your breath when you know it’ll just end the same way? Tonight then, as he suggested, that’s when you’ll be ready to hit him with some hard evidence that he won’t be able to refute.

Admitting defeat for now, you retreat back to your garden to pick the surviving vegetables and contemplate the encounter. You wish your could have just spoken to Jungkook’s caretaker—fuck what was his name again? You’ve only seen the man a couple times since they took the house, but at least he doesn't give you a nervous knot in your stomach, or leave you confused and speechless like his hybrid does.

It’s been three months since they moved in. You were excited at first, to have new neighbours in your almost vacant cul-de-sac. Buyers don’t seem to be interested in the old houses with large lots in your area. Too much work to maintain, and not enough good job prospects to go around. So when you saw the sold sign go up you were beyond thrilled. Greeting the new residents with a fruit basket and a smile.

The rabbit hybrid you now know as Jungkook appeared rather shy at first, you did your best to welcome him. Always greeting him when he was outside, trying to engage him in small chat, but the first time you caught him during his workout everything changed. Until that point you had not considered him as anything but a prospective friend. You were stunned to see him in such a confident state, throwing around his weights like they were nothing. In that moment, with you too nervous to admit that you found him attractive, you became the anxious and blubbering fool in his presence, and he, unfortunately, took note. The once quiet and cute rabbit, became a flirtatious and bratty bunny.

And since then, whenever you would work in your garden he’d be on the other side of the fence grunting and panting. Staying close to the gap in the divider, a missing panel you had yet to replace. On days like today you would often look up from your radishes and accidentally lock eyes with the hybrid, drenched in sweat and showing off his skills.

Out of respect and self preservation you tried your best to not to pay attention, to keep your nose buried in your garden, but as the weeks went by the vegetables under your care started to disappear. The ample crops you tended to in the evening, lessened by morning, with only the refuse remaining to indicate it’s former presence. You didn’t want to point fingers immediately, but today was the final straw, and tonight no matter how hard he tries to distract you, you will find him guilty.

After harvesting the choice crops for the day and watering the rest. You dust yourself off, settling inside and in front of your computer; opening the visitors page for your place of work, the city's greenhouse conservatory. To help promote the centre in the community the staff all take turns writing articles revolving around their own projects or home gardens, and you’re up next in the rotation. You stare at the blank document for several minutes trying your best to concentrate on the task, but you are unable to think of anything other than the mischievous hybrid next door.

Embracing the topic of your aggravation, you start the post off with a title sure to catch the eye of any reader, ‘Garden Thieves.’

‘We’ve all been there, finding a tomato just about to reach its peak ripeness. We give it another day to grow into perfection, only to find it missing later on. In your absence something else has taken it into its own clutches. I myself have been dealing with a vegetable thief for several weeks, so if you are struggling like I am, here are a few things that might help. ’

You proceed to outline several garden pests uploading photos of their damage, along with quick remedies to deter their presence. Netting to block the sparrows, raised beds and fences to keep out most rodents or mammals, and a caffeine solution to stave off slugs.

‘I hope this may help you all in your efforts to keep your plants safe, but I must add a disclaimer. Unfortunately nothing here is completely foolproof. Even if you do follow all of these steps you still might lose some of your crops to a crafty critter. But I wish you the best of luck on all of your backyard battles. I myself plan to face off with my own long-eared menace tonight.’

You finish your post with a smile. Sending it off to your coworker Namjoon to get his approval before you make it public.

He calls a few minutes later, his laughter carrying through the speaker. “That was easily the best article you’ve written all year. You should definitely post it.”

“Thanks.” You chuckle, hitting the submit button. At the very least feeling a bit relieved to have one less task weighing on your mind. “I really appreciate it.”

“No problem. I take it you’re still having trouble with that hybrid neighbour of yours?”

“Yeah,” you groan. You’ve complained to Namjoon about the issue several times in the past month. It must have been all too easy for him to read between the lines and see what set you off to create this specific entry.  “But he refuses to admit it was him. It’s like he’s trying to make me question my skills as a gardener and I hate it! I went over to talk to his caretaker but he’s away on business for a couple weeks.”

“He left him alone for that long? What about food?”

“He’s been getting deliveries. By the looks of it, he has a healthier diet than I do.”

Namjoon pauses on the line giving you only a simple, “Huh...” in a long break.

“What?”

“Well it’s just-” A loud buzzing sound erupts through the phone line cutting off his answer. A noise you know to indicate someone is at the back door. “That’s weird. I didn’t think we were supposed to get anything delivered today. No one else is here.... did you have anything scheduled to come in?”

“No.” You double check the calendar sitting on your desk. “I shouldn’t have anything until next Monday.”  

Namjoon puts you on hold while he checks on the reason for the interruption, returning only a minute later. “It’s a delivery all right, but are you sure these aren’t yours? I’m seeing a lot of tropical species on the invoice. Combretum rotundifolium, Heliconia angusta, Myrciaria dubia-”

You mouth a swear as Namjoon carries on with his list. It’s obvious they are indeed the specimens of your expected batch. You're in the process of redesigning one of the tropical habitats. The lead director was adamant that the conservatory host a butterfly exhibition in the next coming year, and in order to support the grandiose endeavour you are required to introduce a vast amount of new flowering species over the next few months. “How many in total?”

“About two dozen. Looking pretty rough from the journey too.”

You’re not surprised by their current state. This summer is already one of the hottest and driest on record, and all the stock you had received this season was excessively wilted and near death because of it. “Do we have any holding houses with humidifiers available?”

“Not at the moment,” There’s a clatter in the background as Namjoon sorts through what must be the slack of clipboards. “But I’ve got the inspection chart here and your last delivery did just finish it’s quarantine. No signs of pests or illness, so they’re clear to plant. That should free up some space for you.”

“That’ll have to do. Thanks for checking.” Standing up from your desk with a sorrowful sigh. You mourn the loss or your afternoon off as you start to dress for a day of hard labour. Throwing on your work-issued overalls over your t-shirt and shorts. Unfortunately you can’t just leave the new stock to sit out under the beating sun. With little humidity outside and no protection they’ll be burnt to a crisp if you delay too long. But the worst part is that your planting staff isn’t scheduled until later in the week, and that volume of work will put you well into the middle of the night before you complete it. “I’ll be in soon to deal with it.”

“That’s a lot of planting to do on your own. I can help if you-”

“I can’t take you away from your trees, isn’t there a bonsai exhibition next week you have to prepare them for?” He’s been agonizing over this showcase for so long you couldn’t possibly inconvenience him now with your own troubles. “It’s fine, really. I’ll call to see if anyone else is willing to come in today.” You hang up letting Namjoon return to his tasks, and work your way down the contacts for the gardening staff as you prepare yourself to leave. Though as expected, all of those who answer have prior commitments and won’t be able to assist.

Grabbing your badge and plans for the updates to the garden you slip back out into the noon-day sun, so strong it’s turned your car into an oven on wheels. You’re just about to pull it into reverse when you spot the blinds shift in your neighbour’s window. Prompting you to recall the plans he had made for tonight.

With all the work you have, it’s doubtful you’ll be back home for seven. You return to Jungkook’s door to give him the news. He has it open before you can even knock, his usual smirk crawling across his face as he greets you.  

“About tonight... something has come up at work and I really don’t know how late I’ll be.”

His ears perk up. “You’re going into the conservatory?”

“Yeah,” you respond, somewhat shocked that he remembered where you work. It’s been a couple months since you mentioned it while introducing yourself to him and his caretaker. “An order came in earlier than expected. I’ll likely be planting all day and night.”

“I can help,” he offers, already stepping out to join you, and locking the door behind him.

“You want to help?”

“Of course, isn’t that the neighbourly thing to do?”

“Yes, but I wouldn’t want it or expect it from someone who terrorizes my own garden.”

“Allegedly,” Jungkook corrects. “And wouldn’t you rather have me with you, under your supervision, than here, all alone with only a measly fence between me and your impressive bell pepper harvest?”

“Stay away from my peppers!” You scold, pointing your finger at him. “Even if I wanted to take you, what about your caretaker? Don’t you need his permission to leave and work?”

“He’s never paid attention to my whereabouts before, and it’s not work if you don’t pay me. I’ll just be a volunteer. You have people volunteer all the time right?”

“Yes but-”  

“I’ll be on my best behaviour.”

“Alright, fine.” You finally agree though with a heavy dose of reluctance. Namjoon often brings his own hybrid in so it shouldn’t be a problem. “But if I see you nibble on even a single leaf, you’re coming straight back here.”

“Deal.” He rushes past you straight to your passenger seat and buckles himself in. Practically bouncing with excitement beside you as you pull out and head towards the conservatory.

The minutes pass and you try your best to focus on the road but you’ve never been so close to Jungkook in such a small space. And with his built frame taking up most of the car, he’s hard for you to ignore. His ears folded against the roof and his shoulders so wide they brush repeatedly against yours.

“Ever been to the conservatory before?” You ask, trying to divert your mind from the battle which builds inside you. A wavering war between frustration and attraction, with the former trying it’s best to pin down the latter, a move which only arouses the latter more...

“No, I’ve wanted to go ever since you mentioned it but my caretaker hasn’t had the time.”

“Oh.” A sense of pity joins the ranks of your emotions, nudging at you as you pull into the lot. “Sorry, I didn’t-”

“Why are you sorry?” Jungkook asks in a low whisper, snapping back to his flirtatious behaviours. His mouth turns up at the corner as he leans into you, so close that his drooping ears graze the top of your head.  “Would you have taken me earlier if I had mentioned it?”

“N-no,” you choke out. Placing your hand on his solid chest, you push him back and away. As tempting as his advance might be to accept, you know his forwardness to be nothing more than an act to make a fool of you. Why else would he try to both seduce you, and steal from right under your nose?  “You’re only here today because I am in desperate need of help, and I can’t trust you to be alone.”

...

You lead him through the unoccupied greenhouses. The conservation is closed to the public today (as it is every Monday and Tuesday); which usually allows for some time off, but at least now it’ll give you a chance to work unimpeded by visitors. Your own curated section is located in the most humid of all the houses, set in such a way to mimic the tropical environment you are attempting to represent.

The first stop is the holding house where the carts of new stock wait just outside.  Grabbing an empty trolly you enter and start to load up those that are ready to plant. Jungkook following your actions does the same, easily lifting the heavy planters that you yourself struggle with. “Thanks,” you whisper as he relieves you of a particularly burdensome tree. To which he smiles in return.

After making the switch, by placing the recent delivery in the house for it’s quarantine, you lead him to the supply closet. Where you collect a couple shovels, trowels, and two pairs of gloves. As you continue to scan for anything else you might require, Jungkook pops in behind looking at the shelves with a sense of curiosity. He reaches up and over you to a spray bottle labeled ‘slug repellent.’

“We won’t need that, it’s for the outdoor gardens,” You explain. “It’s just a mixture of ca-”

“Caffeine and water?”

You snap your gaze to him. “How do you know that?”

He bites his lip as a snicker starts to escape. “Just a bit of morning reading. I found an interesting article with that particular tidbit. One which also happened to reference the exploits of a long-eared menace.”

“Y-you read the conservatory blog? You read my post? No one reads that, there can’t have been more than ten views!”

“Which is such a shame.” He goads you. “I’ve found your work to be both informative and comical. You really have me rooting for you in your quest to catch your thief.”

You groan in utter fury. “Why must you be so-so-”

“Handsome? Funny? Caring?”

“Antagonizing!”

“Because you seem to take more notice when I am.” Jungkook answers, with a turn of his heel, his tail poking out from under his shirt as he starts to walk away with the cart. “And I like seeing that perplexed look of yours. Your nose is cute when you scrunch it up like that.”

You remain in the shed, your traitorous heart beating erratically over the fact that he called a part of you cute. While your more sensible side grabs your nose and smooths out the wrinkles he referenced.

“Should we get to work?” He calls out after you. “The sooner we finish, the sooner we can go home and expose that bandit of yours.”

You roll your eyes and follow him out, before taking the lead to your tropical glasshouse. The air sticks to your skin the moment you enter. Jungkook lets out a long exhale behind you tugging on the collar of his shirt. “Is it always like this in here?”

“It’s a bit warmer today, but not by much. Are you already regretting your decision to help?” You tease him.

“Nope,” he answers, slinging a shovel over his shoulder. “Show me where to dig, and I’ll get to it.”

Pulling out your plans for the new exhibit arrangement, you select a couple species placing them on the empty plots of garden as directed, careful to allow for future growth. Jungkook follows behind digging out their new homes faster than at least three of your staff members combined.

You stare at him for a second, unable to believe the pace at which he’s going. “Something wrong?” He asks, pausing to lock eyes with you.

“No, I just didn’t think you’d be so quick at digging.”

“I’m part rabbit, what did you expect?” Jungkook boasts with a chuckle and a raised brow. “I share their strengths. Especially when it comes to burrowing and fu-”      

His words are cut short when a fresh breeze from the outside washes over the both of you, a  sure sign that someone must have entered the greenhouse. Your neighbour goes rigid, his nose lifts into the air and his ears fall back flat against his head. “Jungkook what’s-” Leaping up he closes the gap and grabs you. Tucking you into him with his chin resting on your head, where a  warm and earthy scent envelopes you.  His breaths are quick and deep, causing his chest to rapidly rise and fall against your back.

Namjoon’s voice calls out to you. “... are you in here?”

“Over here!” You yell out in reply, before turning back to the hybrid who still has you locked in his clutches. “What the hell Jungkook? Let me go! Now’s not the time for your games.” Sure it might feel nice to be wrapped in his arms, to get lost amidst his aroma. At any other time you might even consider taking a moment before chastising his boldness. But here? Now? And with Namjoon coming to greet you? No, this is too much.

You try to push him away like you have before, but this time it’s as if he’s set in stone, and not registering you at all. He focuses only on the direction your coworker's voice hailed from. “That scent, he smells like-”

“There you are.” Namjoon interrupts stepping around a flowering bush and into view, looking surprised by your guest. “Oh, hello there.”

The point of Jungkook's chin rubs against your head as he grips you even tighter. Embarrassed and confused by the hybrids embrace. “Jungkook, this is Namjoon.” You introduce your coworker while delivering an elbow to Jungkook’s gut. He finally snaps out of his trace and lets you go though he continues to hover behind. “He works with the bonsai of the conservatory.”

“You must be the neighbour I’ve heard so much about, it’s nice to finally meet you.” Namjoon extends his hand to the hybrid, but Jungkook ignores the gesture, choosing to glare instead, with his nostrils flared and his ears pinned back.

“Jungkook?” You whisper trying to chase him from his mood.

Namjoon gives him a nervous smile. “You probably smell my hybrid, on me don’t you?”

“A hybrid?” Jungkook confirms, his eyes narrowed at Namjoon.

“Yeah, sorry, I didn’t intend to scare you. I’m sure the scent of a predator, especially a tiger, is a bit of a shock. He’s harmless, I promise.”

“Is Taehyung here?” You ask, hoping to see his affectionate part-feline companion.  

“Nah, he’s with a friend today. I needed to get some work done and he’d be more of a distraction than a help... but it would seem that didn’t stop him from scenting my shirt before I left.” Namjoon explains, and then turns to your neighbour again. “Jungkook would you mind if I borrow her for a second? I need help with one of my tropical species.”

Jungkook gives a solemn nod. For the first time since you’ve known him, he looks frightened, and somewhat hesitant to release you over to your coworker.

Worried by his current disposition, you reassure him with a squeeze on his arm. “Just keep digging where I’ve placed those pots and I’ll be right back.”

Namjoon leads you into the adjacent greenhouse where you can continue to keep watch of Jungkook through the pains of glass. But the instant the doors close between you, Namjoon starts bombarding you with questions. “Why didn’t you tell me? How long has it been going on? ”

You take a step back having been caught off guard. “Tell you what?”

“About you and Jungkook! Is the feuding neighbours just a cover story?” Namjoon’s eyes are wide and hopeful as he carries on, not letting you fit a single word in. “Don’t worry, I won’t inform anyone you're together. I know it’s not easy having a human-hybrid relationship out in the open. But I think you should be careful about going out into public because he’s far too obvious about it.”

“We’re not- we’re not a couple. Why would you think such a thing?”

“Because the way held you, he looked like he was marking you with his own scent. That’s what rabbits do isn’t it? They rub their chins on what they want to claim as their own.”

“They do what?” You ask, stunned by the possibility, before the realism settles back in. It must just be Jungkook’s idea of a joke. “No, that’s not what he’s doing, our connection is nothing remotely like that. Don’t get me wrong he’s very attractive, and he knows it.” You mutter the last part under your breath. “But-”

“But you really are having trouble with him. It's not a cover?”

“You think I would keep something like that from you?” Namjoon over the years has come to be your closest confidant. A good friend and coworker, you would never dream of hiding something like that from him.

“I suppose not.”

“Is that why you brought me back here, to question my relationship status?”

“Not entirely.” Namjoon shakes his head with a small dimpled smile and changes the subject. “I do actually want to get your help with one of my new acquisitions.” He points out an unusual tree on his work bench, much too big for the pot it’s currently situated in. It’s extensive roots spill out over the top and threaten to swallow the pot whole. “A Ficus microcarpa, far from the most sought after species when it comes to reputable bonsai, but I couldn’t pass this one up. It has such good character.”

“What made it grow in such a way?” You examine the plant and it’s container with care, prying between the roots and taking note of cracks starting to form in the terracotta.

“The last owner neglected it for far too long. It sat hidden in the back of a commercial greenhouse, still under the watering and fertilizing system, but since it was confined to such a small space it tried to root it’s way out. If I were to guess, it probably hasn’t seen a new pot for at least five years.”

“It’s a miracle it survived.” You nod impressed by the tree’s determination. “What’s your plan for it?”

“Give it what it wants, let it leach out. I doubt I would be able to pry it out entirely without causing significant damage to the roots that are gripping the sides, so instead I want to put another bellow to catch it and give it the fresh soil and room it needs.” Namjoon lays the tree and pot down on the table, and asks you to hold and support the trunk, while he taps and pokes at the bottom of the vessel with a metal trowel.  Enlarging the cracks, but not breaking the pot fully. It’s a tedious process. The small chunks of clay are removed piece by piece, giving him access to see and free some of the tightly bound roots inside.

While your coworker continues his task, your eyes are free to wonder. You check on Jungkook through the glass, as he kneels in front of the garden bed digging even faster than before.

Namjoon appears to notice your distracted state. “How's he doing?”

“Fine I guess.” You whisper. “He’s acting stranger than usual today though. He stole from my garden again. Invited himself over to my house, then here, and you saw what he did back there.”

“Huh...” Namjoon mutters, trailing off the same way he did on the phone.

“What is this ‘huh’ you keep giving me? You know I don’t like games Namjoon. If you have something you want to say, say it.”

“It’s about what you said earlier, how his caretaker leaves for extended periods of time. Usually if an animal is alone for too long they look for ways to stimulate themselves and resort to their natural instincts, scavenging and such. But he’s a hybrid and therefore part human, so if you were isolated and restricted to your house what would you do?”

“Probably look for the closest person I could find. So he’s acting out in my garden and teasing me, because he’s lonely?”

“I think so.” Namjoon responds as he extracts another root, freeing it from its confines.

“But why?” You ask, worried for the answer to come. “Why wouldn’t he just say something?”

“There could be a number of reasons. He might not understand what he’s doing on a conscious level, or he might be afraid to show any sign of weakness to you or anyone else. Jungkook is part prey animal, and humans are all too often predators.”

“If that’s the case...” You curse yourself for not realizing it sooner. The fury you held for him slowly fades away as you replay every encounter in your mind. He was literally jumping at the chance to spend time with you, to help you with your work, and you were to blind to see it. Your anger over your missing vegetables is so trivial in comparison to what he must have been going through. The loneliness he must have felt, and the inability to admit it, you can’t imagine how he suffered through it alone. “What can I do to help him? I have no legal claim to him Namjoon. What can I do within such limitations?”

He looks down at his work in progress. “The way I see it  you and he, like this small tree, have three options. You could maintain the status quo, leave him be, but how long will he be able to survive like he is? Creeping over the edge but grasping on to nothingness?”

You shake your head vehemently rejecting the idea while Namjoon continues.

“You could report his caretaker for neglect, breaking the container entirely, but that too could be very damaging to him, tearing him away entirely could put him in a state of shock, and in a home that is no better for him, while the legal battle is decided. Or...” Namjoon grabs another container, slightly wider than the one in which the plant is seated. Filling it with substrate he takes the tree clinging to it’s partial pot and places it on top. Pressing the newly freed roots down into the soil.

“You could support him, give him a better home just outside of his own where he can be himself and access what he needs. I personally think it’s your safest option for now.” Namjoon leads over inspecting the bonsai and lowers his voice to an almost inaudible whisper. “Until the day, when it is possible to fully cast the pot aside.”

You nod, though now left to grapple with what you could possibly have to offer the hybrid.  “I’m not sure I would be the best person to care for him.”

“I think Jungkook would disagree. He was already trying to scent you. That to me, implies his desire for something more in the realm of an intimate relationship.” You choke on your breath as Namjoon comes to an additional conclusion. Upon seeing your distress he makes a suggestion. “Of course you could keep it strictly to friendship between the two of you and I’m sure that will improve his situation, but his other needs will need to be met for him to feel completely at home...”

“His other needs? You think he wants to be with me? Intimately?! No! Surely he would have acted differently if that was his intent! He’s done nothing but tease me when he catches me even remotely looking in his direction.”

“So you have been looking at him!” Namjoon taunts you with a massive grin. Apologizing a second later when you proceed to glare at him. “But to answer your question, no, not necessarily. You have to remember most of society deems him a lesser being. He could be feeling a lot of guilt and pressure not to engage with you in that way. Though he might not outright say it, I bet his instincts will continue to shine through. I’ll even prove it to you.” Namjoon takes off a glove and rubs your head. “I bet this rabbit of yours will take less than a minute before he tries to replace the smell of my hand with his own again... trust me.”

You shake your head in disbelief. “I should probably get back to him.” You are just about to step away when your thoughts return to the long neglected plant. “Where do you plan to house that when you’re finished? Ficuses naturally belong in a more tropical location don’t they?”

“They do, especially if I want to give it a better chance. It’s going to need a place far more humid than this space.”

“Was this all your calculated way of guilting me to store it in my greenhouse too?”

“The thought might have crossed my mind.” Namjoon gives you a sly grin.  “But my logic is still sound in regards to Jungkook. He needs someone, he needs a better home... and it would seem he’s chosen you.”

...

You wander back to your greenhouse, still full of doubt. Finding Jungkook to have finished most of the required digging.

“Sorry for leaving you.”

“You-you okay?” He asks, upon seeing the dazed look on your face and then scowling in the direction that Namjoon led you.

“Fine, he just needed help with one of his plants. Sorry about earlier, I didn’t think you’d be affected by the scent of his hybrid, Taehyung is rather sweet though, you’d like him.”

“You trust him then?” Jungkook grumbles as he pierces his shovel into the ground. “You trust Namjoon and his hybrid?”

“Of course, why shouldn’t I?”

“Because it wasn’t just a tiger that I smelled. He’s been around a lot of hybrids. Every scent on him told me to run, all of them put there by dangerous predators.”

“Oh,” you shoot back in surprise. “I’m sure it’s nothing. Taehyung is rather popular, he has a lot of friends and Namjoon often caters them at his place. You don’t need to worry, you're safe here.”

“It’s not myself I’m worried about.”

Jungkook inches closer as you crouch to place the plants in the holes he dug. His nose twitches as he takes a deep breath, his eyes watching while you bury the root ball in the warm soil, firmly securing the trunk of the young tree.

While you are leaning down, Jungkook reaches across to the other side of you. Grabbing the trowel to your right despite the fact that the same tool can be found on his left. The bottom of his chin grazes the top of your head and lingers for a spell. Your heart stops in that moment while questioning his motives. Though Namjoon said he’d do just this, you still can’t be entirely sure that it proves him correct; Jungkook might just not have seen the other option available to him, and he’s never bothered about invading your space. This could be nothing, though there’s a small growing part of you that wants it more and more to be something.

“He’s a good guy,” you promise, returning to the conversation so as to not dwell on his actions. “He even suggested that I should bring you along more often, if you’re interested in spending some of your days here.”

“He did?”

You nod.  A small white lie, but not entirely incorrect, and if it gets him to accept Namjoon easier you’ll all be better for it. “I wouldn’t expect you to work, but you're more than welcome to just hang around. The staff here could always use some company and I’m sure it would beat staying at home alone all day.”

“I would like that. I would like that a lot, but would you want me to keep you company too?”

“If that’s what you want to do.”

“No, I need to know if that’s what you want.” He looks over to you pinning you down in his line of sight.  

“I suppose I would....” You answer and turn your head, unable to bear the nerves that his gaze brings. The both of you fall quiet. Knowing what you know now, being free of your anger for him leaves you vulnerable, open to his persuasion, and now you are no longer certain of how to act. So you start to rely on what has made him comfortable in the past, and interject with a new condition to bring an end to the awkward silence. “As long as you treat this garden better than mine back home.”

Jungkook lets out a long laugh. “I have nothing but the highest respect for your garden.”

...

When planting is finished your clothes are entirely saturated in sweat and your muscles aching from use. It’s hard to believe how much you’ve both done in such a short amount of time. While carting up the supplies, Jungkook’s eyes catch on something behind you. You look around spotting the newly potted bonsai on a back table. Namjoon must have dropped it off while you both were busy.

Looking at it now you can’t help but notice how even the shape of its leaves remind you of the hybrid’s ears, long, pointed, and reaching up to the sky. You consider your friend's words one more time and while Jungkook leans over to inspect the tree. Reaching out to his back, your hand shakes with hesitation before setting down on a spot just below his shoulder. He softens under your touch, a low hum leaving his lips. His attention turns from the plant to you. With your hand still in place, your arm is now wrapped around him, leaving only an inch between the two of you. You stand there fixed and unmoving, but content in the knowledge, that you seem to have left him speechless this time. His eyes darting away from yours, to your lips, your neck, and finally the hand you place upon his chest.  

Only to have the moment broken when you can hear and feel the rumble from his stomach. His nervous laugh follows as he reaches up to scratch behind his ear.

“Hungry?”

He nods in response, his eyes wide as he remains unusually silent.

“Come on, I’ll buy you dinner.” You offer as you turn him around to head to the car.

...

You both settle on a take out spot, and return home to wash up and eat.

After finishing your meal and tearing off your overalls, you both settle down on the hammock in your yard. With Jungkook’s legs long enough to touch the ground, he slowly rocks the seat back and forth.  He’s been near silent since that close moment together. He’s never had a problem with banter and flirtation, but now you’ve come to notice that any attention which can’t be passed off as a joke causes him to flounder.

Laying back in the hammock, both full and content, your eyes threaten to close after the long day as Jungkook continues to sit beside you. The sound of crickets lulling you to sleep. “Keep an eye out for that thief of mine will you?” You may not like games but if it makes him comfortable, and keeps him talking, you’ll continue to play this ruse with him.

“You trust me to keep watch without your supervision?”

“Are you suggesting I shouldn’t?”

“No, it’s just a lot more credit than you usually give me.”

“I think you’ve earned it.” You whisper as you finally drift off.

It feels like only a few minutes of rest before the sun sets and the air turns cool. Jungkook’s chin comes to rest on the top of your head like it did back in the greenhouse. He shifts his weight, burrowing his arms around and behind to cover you as he takes deep breaths. You lean into him seeking the warmth of his chest. No longer restricted by your childish anger to enjoy his company is a welcome relief, you only wish you could relinquish him of any of his own troubles and doubts.  And then, you feel it, a drop of cold rain hitting your neck. The hammock moves again as he adjusts, the back of his fingers running across the damp spot. Another finds your cheek and he wipes that away too, your skin shivering in response.

But when a speck lands your mouth he stops. You wait, a second, then two. Your anticipation grows with face heating up and your chest tightening as you continue to crave his touch. You want him to wipe it away, to touch you, to act on whatever desires he might be keeping. You part your lips with the desperate hope that he will take the hint. Rejoicing when the warm pad of his thumb spreads the drop across the delicate skin.

He comes down on to you, his mouth catching any and all remains of the droplet as he encases your lips. Jungkook places a hand on your neck while the other grabs the ropes of the hammock, his legs straddle your hips. The scattered rain turns to a downpour as he remains fixed to your mouth, even his form isn’t enough to shield you from the current washing down from the sky.

As your hands reach up to his own damp and curling locks entwining your fingers in the strands he moans and nips. But as quickly as it started, so too does it end. When Jungkook snaps up as though jolted from a dream. His ears point back as an apology flows from him. “I-I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.”

“Jungkook,” you call out to him but he ignores you as he tries to detangle himself. When one foot hits the ground. You grab his waist and try again. “Jungkook, you don’t have to be sorry.” But instead of stopping he merely pulls you off and along with him, sending you both to the muddy ground, but this time with you on top of him.

“Are you okay?” He asks the loud pouring of the rain forcing him to raise the volume of his voice.

You chuckle at his concern considering he’s the one flat on his back. “I think I should be asking you that question instead.” You pause as he mirrors your grin. “Why did you stop? Did I do something wrong?”

“No.” He looks up at you, his brow furrowing. “You did nothing wrong. It was me. I was the one acting on my instincts. I shouldn’t have done that when I know how much you hate me.”

“I don’t hate you...” You explain, trying your best not to be drowned out by the water cascading down. “The things you did might have annoyed me, but I get it now. I’m just sorry it took me so long to notice.”

“Notice what?”

“How fucked up your situation is. For not realizing how alone you must have been. How caged you must have felt. I’ve been so focused on my own little world that I didn’t realize what was happening or why you were acting the way you were. I like you, a lot, but I was too wrapped up in my frustration to say how I felt...”

“It’s not your fault.”

You shake your head. “I am not innocent in this. I should have been paying more attention.”

“Then pay attention to me now.” He begs with his round eyes shining up at you.  

“But in what way? As a neighbour, as a friend, or maybe something more?" Your voice cracks in desperation, trying to find his needs while also hoping they are the same as yours. “Is that why you were always teasing me the way you did? You wanted something more?”

“You really want to know?” Jungkook’s tone is low as it grips on to his every word. “I did it because it was the only thing that could distract me from my incessant need for you. Seeing your reactions and having your attention kept me in check. I’m very different from you and I’m aware it could cause a problem. I wasn’t sure if you could ever fully want me because of that.” He reaches to rub around the base of his ears. “But every day that I looked over I wanted to hold you, to claim you, to take you right here on this very spot. So often I dreamed of jumping the fence and coming for you instead of...”

You smile down at him, noting his near admission. “Instead of?”

“Instead of watching from a distance.” He smirks, catching and narrowly fixing his statement. Pleading guilty only to his longing for you.

“Then do it.” You demand of him.

He groans from his position beneath you. “Don’t tease me like that.”

“I’m not. You weren’t the only one peeking through the fence Jungkook.” Reaching up to your collar you tug off your shirt. He follows your lead with his own to reveal his sculpted chest he’s taunted you with so many times. “I don’t care if we’re different from each other. I don’t care if it causes a problem.” You shift back on his body traveling from your seat near his stomach down to his hips, his clothed dick firm and pressing against you. A moan escapes his lips, confirming that you’ve made your point. “There’s no one else nearby, so if you want me so much that you’re willing to fuck me out here, in the rain and mud-”  

His hands come to grip your waist, and in one swift motion, he lifts you off, maneuvering out from underneath, to fall into place behind you. From there he pushes you down to your hands and knees, his body bent over yours. “You have no idea how much I want to.” He whispers with a kiss to your bare shoulder damp from the rain that continues to pour.

He takes off your bra before his face moves down your back, nose trailing against your skin and pausing at your shorts. Unfastening the button he pulls them down, freeing you of your underwear too before they are both cast aside. “I want to smell you, and taste you.” Jungkook takes in a deep breath, wrapping an arm around your legs, and barring your thighs. He buries his face between your legs, his tongue reaching out to deliver a long lick to your folds pausing after every lap.

Your palms dig into the ground, the cool mud coming to the surface to meet them. You buck against his tongue but the forearm holding you remains firm, sending your squirming downward to bury your elbows in the soggy grass too.

Jungkook chuckles as you inadvertently give him a better angle. From behind you can hear the zipper of his own shorts. Rubbing the head of his cock against your damp folds, he covers it with the slick of your slit, and with a long groan he eases it inside. He’s slow at first, letting you savor the girth and warmth of him. So you start to edge back and forward on his cock. Taking the time to enjoy every inch, along with the sounds that leave him. But when he returns to take control, the first thrust is so powerful, his thighs hit your ass with a loud clap, and every jolt of his hips after, drives you further down each time.

A stuttering groan escapes him as he fills you. Thinking he’s finished you lean forwards and until his cock pulls out, but in response he grabs your waist. Turning you over, back to the ground on top of the discarded clothes and facing him.

He lowers himself pressing his chest against yours. His fingers reach to grab your chin and take a kiss. His cock, despite having come only moments before, is hard once more and poised to enter once again.

“How are you-” You manage to squeeze a few words in the gaps between his kisses as he draws breath. “Ready for more-” Another pass of his tongue. “Already?”

“You have my hybrid traits to thank for that.” He moves to nibble on the side of your throat. “I have more to give you, if you want it.”

You nod unable to emit any noise other than a gasp as his mouth finds a sensitive spot on your neck. His dick forges in again, your slick and his cum dripping out of you as he fills you with himself instead.

You’ve avoided touching him with your own hands as they are patched with mud, but as his thrusts grow more powerful than even before, you’re forced to grab on his arms and chest. Leaving behind streaks of dirt which display the path of your grip. Jungkook doesn’t seem to mind though, in fact looks rather encouraged by your touch, and the marks you leave him.

“What a dirty woman you are, and getting me all messy too.” He scoffs while admiring your handiwork. “Can I return the favour?”

“Help me come first and you can do whatever the fuck you want.” You gasp on the brink of your climax.  

His ears perk up and a grin streaks across his face. “Close are you?” He grabs your calf and wraps your leg around his back, the other follows suit and his hand comes to rest on your lower back pushing you up and into him effectively grinding your mount against him.

You gasp and flinch with the sudden pressure, but he holds you firm as your back arches to meet him.

His hips beat on at a rapid pace, a small whimper escapes him as you reach the peak, tipping you over the edge. The chilling rain can in no way can douse the searing heat that spreads through you. You're still gasping when his jaw clamps down hard, his teeth poised upon your skin. The first pulse of his cock comes inside, but on the second he pulls out to splatter your chest and stomach with the rest. His hand comes to clutch his shaft, spilling more out and on to you with each stroke.

After every remaining drop has been cast on you he smiles, dragging his fingers across the rain drenched mess of mud and cum on your skin. “Never thought I’d ever see you so thoroughly soiled.”

You giggle at his remarks through your deep breaths. “And now that you do, what do you think?”

“I think it suits you, the dirt, the rain, and me...” He lowers himself down onto you, with his head now resting upon your shoulder. “It’s too bad though. Now I just want more, but we’re both far too filthy to carry on like this.”  

You turn to whisper at the base of his ear. “Who says we can’t continue in the shower...”

...

You wake early the next morning with the sun spilling into the room, lighting up your bed, and the hybrid sleeping next to you. His ears and nose twitching as he continues to rest. Slipping out from the covers, and into a set of clean gardening clothes, you exit the room with as little sound as possible.

On the tile floor of your hall, muddy footprints trail from your backdoor to your bathroom.  A smile pulls at your lips as you recall the events which brought them there. Jungkook had been so excited to keep going he picked you up and rushed you inside.

The feeling from the warm water and hands in contrast to the cool rain was enough to bring back the waves of pleasure. He was so thorough in washing you down, you might have to ask him to join you for another this morning and repay the favour.  

Outside in the garden you find all your harvest from the day before present and untouched. You’re pleased by this new development, but it’s not the fact that your crops are intact which makes you happy, it’s the comfort in knowing that Jungkook didn’t feel the need to take them.

A few minutes later the hybrid in question comes up behind you wrapping his arms around your waist pulling with him a blanket he took from the bed to cover the both of you. “Morning.” He mumbles, as his nose finds the crook of your neck where he exhales with a deep and relaxed sigh.

“Morning.” You respond, enjoying the tickle of his breath before you turn around to better see him. “It seems the thief didn’t strike last night. ”

“I guess they found a new garden to plunder and devour?” Jungkook suggests, giving you a sly grin, before he opens his mouth again. It’s easy to see that he’s getting ready to confess, his face shifts to a stern expression as he looks down at the ground, the guilt weighing heavily upon his brow. Placing your index to his lips you stop him. No longer needing to hear those words of admission, you offer a new proposal instead.

“Maybe, but that was just one night. The thief might still come back. So if it’s alright with you I would like you to stay here. Until we can be sure they won’t return.”

Jungkook lets out a satisfied chuckle, pushing aside your finger and pulling you tighter into his warm embrace. “You’re right, I suppose it would be safer if I stayed.” His lips plant a kiss on the top of your head where he then rests his chin. “A temptation as enticing as this, shouldn’t be left alone and unattended.”

...