#bbs polyamory

[topioswords]

Awkward Intros, a continuation of Stray

“Wait, wait, hang on,” Noir says, stopping his pacing and looking over the kid he dragged home on a hunch. “You’re telling me that somebody actually stole a kid so they could have, what, a plaything?” 

There’s a second of silence, then the kid in question clears his throat. “By my math, I’m technically somewhere around 42,” he says quietly. “Give or take half a decade”

Noir’s arms drop, and even Zellus seems to be looking. “Not that it really matters much. I’m told I was 15 or thereabout when I… joined the house…”

Noir grits his teeth and counts to seven in his head. “Excuse me for a second,” he says and doesn’t wait to see BB nod.

The bathroom isn’t soundproof at all, but at least it keeps the others from looking at him as he screams curses at whoever let this be a thing that happens.

BB’s moved to the kitchen, talking drink options and Zellus is picking off stragglers from their arm as Noir returns. He can see the kid looking him over but he doesn’t comment.

Rules of hospitality. Right. Probably isn’t very good guest behavior to make a big deal of your host’s screaming fit. Noir sags into a chair and doesn’t even get to open his mouth before BB props a cup of steaming hot coffee into his hand. They brush a wing against his shoulder in passing but keep it at that. 

Noir takes a sip, hums and finally looks up. “Right. So. I assume Zellus covered the whole 

‘you’re a guest here’ part…”

“I did,” Zellus agrees from the corner. “We’re good.”

“Thank fuck,” Noir says. “Cause I cannot for the life of me remember the words, and I am trying my best not to give anybody a conniption here.” he waves a hand. “Ki… sorry, what did you go by again I don’t think I caught that.”

The deceptively young looking guy tips his head and answers, voice calm and steady and weirdly blank. “4.”

“Uh,” Noir says, and quickly drains half the remaining coffee to stop himself from saying anything else. Cause that ain’t right, but there’s not really any polite way to say somebody’s name sucks, is there.

“We’ll do what we can to make your stay comfortable, 4” BB says and puts a cup of tea at the table next to him. “I’m sure we can find a spare bed, and we have plenty of food for one more plate.”

Noir narrows his eyes, then snorts. “Oh, you clever bitch,” he says and throws a pillow at BB.

Zellus rolls their eyes at the scene. 4 looks startled for a second and Noir has to take pity on that. “BB has the biggest bedroom,” Noir explains. “To free up a bed - which we will do, don't even try to make excuses. You look like you need a solid night’s sleep pretty desperately - they know I gotta take the couch or spend the night with them. And that couch is a backbreaker.”

“I do not wish to cause anybody discomfort,” 4 says, cradling his cup of tea, looking rather alarmed.

Zellus stretches an arm and shakes their head. “We aren’t conforming to the usual unwritten rules - BB and I are, hm, wild raised. The directness isn’t a sign of hostility and I hope you’ll excuse us for the bluntness. Likewise do not feel pressured to shield your wishes and don’t worry about us twisting your words.”

“Oh,” 4 says, stirring his tea, then taking a sip and visibly loosening up. “You’re telling the truth.”

He’s smiling when he looks up. It’s a little distorted, small scars littering part of his face, but there’s a life there that eases Noir’s mind. “That explains a lot,” he says.

“Also, Noir loves a good cuddle,” BB adds and ruffles his hair. “He just grumbles when it wasn’t his idea.”

4 smiles as he huffs “Shut up,” at all of them, but Noir can hardly be mad about it, 4 looks a little guilty about hearing all this for one thing, and it isn’t like BB is wrong.

“Noir,” BB says, wings wrapped tightly around him as they’ve settled in for the night.

“Mmh,” he answers, twisting a bit to get comfortable in the soft fronds.

“Do you think 4 knows,” they ask, nuzzling his head with their chin.

“Knows what,” Noir mumbles, barely half awake.

“That his memory’s been tampered with,” BB answers, moving a wing a tiny bit which makes the hollow just right.

Noir closes his eyes hard and thinks this isn’t the kinda idea he needed in his head right now. 

“Dunno,” he answers. “Let’s not think about this right now, kay?”

“Don’t worry,” BB says softly. “He isn’t dangerous.”

Noir falls asleep wondering why that doesn’t seem to comfort him much.

[sailoreuterpe]

I would be remiss to not say Bob/Linda/Teddy (BLT) as that's my OT3 for the series. The ship is arguably (partially) canon. Teddy pretty explicitly has a crush on Linda and there's enough subtext to suggest a canon crush on Bob as well. Some of the evidence is current, too: episodes as recent as "Cheaty Cheaty Bang Bang" tease Teddy's crushes on both elder Belchers.

However, the ship itself is rare for a few reasons. For one, I highly doubt that a mainstream animated sitcom owned by Disney and becoming more "family-friendly" every episode is going to put the main canon couple into a triad. Besides which, the series has given Teddy a steady partner in Kathleen. Any possible Teddy ships are pretty much sunk at the moment, including BLT as well as Mort/Teddy (another favorite ship of mine).

The main reason that I call BLT a rarepair, though, is that I'm really the only one shipping it. XD On Archive of Our Own, there are:

two stories that list BLT as a ship but have yet to include the ship.

one list of evidence for characters being queer in the series.

eight stories from one single writer who writes BLT but only focuses on Bob/Teddy with Linda supportive but not involved.

In the "Bob/Teddy" tag there's one Bob/Teddy shipper with nine stories who writes Linda as varying degrees of consenting to the ship as a metamour. There are exactly two other stories that use the tag that don't also use "Bob/Linda/Teddy." As far as "Linda/Teddy" is concerned, I'm the only one using that tag.

Assuming that my math is correct, there are only six other writers even dabbling in BLT and none of them actually write BLT. They write Bob/Teddy with Linda consenting to some extent as a metamour or they write peripheral BLT that can easily be read as just Bob/Teddy. As for the component ships of Bob/Linda and Linda/Teddy, I'm also the only one writing those. I'm definitely the only one writing BLT as a roughly-equal romantic partnership on all sides between all three with roughly-equal screen-time.

So yeah. XD

so what's y'all's favorite Bob’s Burgers rarepair? the ship you love that had little to no fanfic/fanart but you still love it? reblog or comment below, I'm nosy lmao 👀 mine will be in the tags

[honeyhotteoks]

this night together - chapter twelve (j.yh + s.mg)

chapter twelve: home is always home

chapter summary: you were planning to tell them how you felt on saturday, but when things go sideways at the studio you find yourself running home as fast as you can.

warnings: this is the chapter i've been warning about for a long, long time. please read responsibly if you're easily triggered by any of the following topics - guy who can't take no for an answer, aggressive/sexist language, physical and verbal assault, panic/ptsd, physical injury/blood, hospitals, police interaction (mentioned), nightmares/night terrors, self harm (sort of?)

notes: please note, if you're reading this on or around 12.3.23 when i'm posting, i've put up three chapters at once. make sure you don't skip chapter ten and eleven! additional notes under the cut~!

pairings: alpha!yunho x alpha!mingi x omega!reader

genre: smut, a/b/o/omegaverse, angst, fluff, romance, polyamory

word count: 11.6k

previous chapter | next chapter | AO3

for my readers who aren't that familiar with a/b/o, i'm introducing something in this chapter that you may not have seen before. i wanted to add some context! if you're new to a/b/o, there is something that alphas have often called "alpha tone", "alpha voice", or just "tone". alphas in many depictions have the ability to lower their voice in a particular way that is seen as a strict command to an omega, and it triggers/activates their submission. this is something that can be used negatively or positively, but in this scene will be negative. there's also something called headspace/subspace that you will see referenced, and an omega can be put into headspace/subspace via alpha tone. it is a bit of a dissociative state where the omega can only really hear and understand commands. this can be used negatively or positively as well, but again, definitely not good in this scene. i hope that helps.... and happy/responsible reading!!

You really, really wish today was Saturday and not Thursday. Thursday just means you still have to get through Friday and then all of Saturday morning before your scheduled dinner with Yunho and Mingi and all the things you want to say are practically eating you up inside. But there’s a right way and a wrong way to tell someone you’ve been an idiot and you’re in love with them, and blurting it out in the middle of dance practice isn’t really going to help make this easier. 

God, you hope they still want you. 

On the plus side, this week has been insane. With the full crew back things are moving at a million miles per hour, and you’ve been in more meetings about what’s coming up next in the past week than the entire time you’ve worked for BB Trippin and KQ.

Your schedule for the next six months is frankly intense. Between preparing for year-end stages and working on the choreography for the newly debuting girl group, you’re juggling conversations about New World’s next comeback and the next round of touring. With the money coming in now there’s an opportunity to take more dancers, and that just means more late nights and early mornings getting everything right. 

It’s after your third concept planning meeting of the week that you find two minutes to talk to Wooyoung, his bag already slung over his shoulder as he refills his water bottle. 

“So, you’re going?” You ask him vaguely, trying not to tip off anyone else in the vicinity that he’s got a date. 

“Yeah,” He nods, eyes flicking over your shoulder to see if San and Seonghwa are nearby, “I think I’m going to throw up,” 

“No, you’re not,” You assure him. 

“I might,” He whines, running a hand through his mop of long black hair, “I never know what to say to him,” 

“Woo,” 

“I know what to say to everyone, y/n,” He lowers his voice, panic evident in his eyes, “but every time Sangie smiles I go fucking blank,” 

“Sangie?” Your eyebrow quirks, “Is that what we’re calling him now,” 

“Shut up,” Wooyoung blushes. 

“Wow,” You prod him softly, “you’re down so bad, it’s been like three days,” 

“It’s so bad,” He grimaces, “this is embarrassing,” 

“Now you see how I feel,” You smirk, “it’s kind of fun being on this end of things,” 

“Please,” He rolls his eyes, “are you telling me you’re not panicking?” 

“Oh, no,” You laugh, “I definitely am. It’s just nice to know I’m not alone here,” 

“I was never this mean to you,”

You hold his gaze, just blinking, there’s nothing to say to that he doesn’t already know. 

“Okay, fine,” He sighs, “but still, feeling like this,” 

“Feeling like what?” Seonghwa’s voice shocks you both out of your quiet conversation and you both jump back from each other. 

“Jesus,” You breathe, “you scared me,” 

Seonghwa smiles, “Sorry,” he shrugs, “everything okay?” 

“Perfect,” Wooyoung takes a step back and shakes his head, “totally good,” 

Seonghwa’s brows come together in the middle, “You seem like something’s wrong, can I help?” 

Wooyoung almost blanches, and you know he’s dreading telling San and Seonghwa about Yeosang, so you jump in to help. “Woo was just helping me figure out Saturday,” You cover and draw Seonghwa’s attention back to you, “you know, figuring out what to say to them,”

“Oh,” Seonghwa nods, but you can see that he doesn’t really buy it, “right,” 

“Anyways,” Wooyoung starts walking backwards towards the exterior door, “I have to go, but you know, y/n, call me if you need to talk more later,” 

“I will,” You nod, “I definitely will.” 

Wooyoung knows that what you mean is that you want detailed date updates, and he almost looks mortified at the idea. He disappears fast, leaving you and Seonghwa relatively alone in the hallway. 

“What is up with him this week?” Seonghwa asks, confusion on his face. 

“He has a date,” You tell him quietly, “he’s kind of freaking out about it.” 

“Oh,” Seonghwa glances towards the door where Wooyoung just disappeared, “that’s not that weird for him,” 

“It is if he’s this interested after only a few days,” You say, “but don’t tease him. He’s kind of worked up about the whole thing,” 

“Who’s he seeing?” Seonghwa asks. 

“He should tell you that,” You beg off the gossip immediately, “just do me a favor and give him a little space to talk to you and San about it,” 

“Okay,” He draws out the word, not sure exactly where you’re going. 

“He’s nervous about upsetting the delicate balance,” You gesture towards him, referring to the carefully constructed relationship that is Wooyoung, San, and Seonghwa. 

“He’s seeing another alpha?” Seonghwa jumps to that conclusion with ease, and you can see how he would get there. 

You’re shaking your head before you can stop yourself, “It’s not that,” 

That does surprise him, and Seonghwa’s eyes widen a bit, “Oh,” 

“Right,” You nod, leading him to the conclusion as close as you can without spelling it out, “my point is, he’s nervous and he’s got a pretty serious crush, and he hasn’t said so but I think he’s scared you and San won’t approve.” 

“I would never,” He stumbles over his words, “out of anyone, we would never judge him, he has to know that,” 

“Hey,” You reach for Seonghwa, stepping a little closer so your voices stay low in the entryway as you brush your hand down his forearm, “he knows, he’s just panicking a little.” 

“Should I talk to him?” Seonghwa asks, his eyes earnest. 

“Not yet,” You shake your head, “he’ll figure it out, just don’t push him right now. I’ve never seen him this anxious,” 

“I won’t,” He promises, “thank you for telling me,” 

“Mhm,” 

Seonghwa chews over your words a second and then decides to let it drop. With a sigh he refocuses on work, “Are you staying late?” 

“Yeah,” You shrug, “I have some things to catch up on. You?” 

“I need to track down San,” He says, “but then after that I’m probably heading out a little early,” 

“Nice,” You nod, “still shaking off the jetlag?” 

He nods, “Unfortunately,” 

Down the hall you watch a few of the dancers gathering up their belongings, and then the door to the back office opens to reveal Yunho and Mingi, sitting close together and studying a computer screen as Jaemin leaves for the day. 

“Well,” Your feet are already moving, “then I’ll see you later,” 

“Sounds good,” He says, and then he gives you a knowing look, seeing exactly where you’re headed. 

Before you know it, you’re moving through the people in the hall and trying desperately to come up with a reason for crashing their tete-a-tete. 

“Hey,” You knock softly on the open door, “am I interrupting?” 

“No, no,” Yunho smiles when he sees you and your stomach bubbles. 

“We’re just watching back practice,” Mingi leans back in his chair, rubbing his tired eyes. 

“Oh, nice,” You say, and your empty words do little to fill the empty space. 

“Do you… need something?” Yunho tries. 

“Ah, yeah, sorry,” You scramble internally for something to say, “I’m staying late, but I’m kind of starving, I just didn’t know if you still had stuff stashed?” 

“Sure,” He gestures towards the cabinets on the side wall, “whatever you want, help yourself,” 

“Great,” You dash towards the cabinets, and you can’t even imagine eating right now with how fluttery your insides have been, but you snag a couple of protein bars anyways. 

The silence is brutal. Not like before, not like the tense and uncomfortable angry silences of the past, but it’s still sitting there between you. Part of you wants to shut the door right now and just get it all out there, but again, you know you shouldn’t. 

Mingi’s warm, chocolatey scent is richer in here, evident after a hard practice of working up a sweat and being given a chance to permeate with the door closed. You feel your body naturally relaxing at it, so comforting and familiar, and then you get the first pang of Yunho’s warm, summer rain. 

You can hardly believe how you convinced yourself that this wasn’t scent sympathy when right here and now it’s so obvious they belong to you. You wonder if they feel it too. 

“Are you okay?” Mingi’s voice snaps you out of your sudden daydream staring at the cabinet full of snacks. 

“Yeah, yes,” You shut them and step back, “I’m fine, just a little tired.” 

“Not sleeping well?” Yunho says, concern all over his features. 

“I’m fine,” You wave him off, “just a busy week,” 

“You don’t have to stay late,” Mingi offers, “I’m sure whatever you’re working on will still be fine tomorrow,” 

“I know,” You nod, “but if I don’t get it out of my system I’ll just be thinking about it all night, you know how it is,” 

Mingi nods, “Still, take it easy later,” 

“I will,” You promise, and you start to turn towards the door when the words just bubble up out of your throat, “you’re both still free Saturday, right?” 

“Yeah,” Mingi answers for them both, “are you?” 

“Definitely,” You nod, “I just wanted to make sure, I’m looking forward to it,” 

“We could do tomorrow instead,” Yunho offers, “after practice?” 

“As long as you don’t have other plans,” Mingi cuts in, “for a Friday night,” 

“Tomorrow works,” You jump at the chance, “I’d actually love that, I just didn’t want to crowd you when you’re adjusting to the timezone again,” 

“It’s fine,” Mingi brushes that thought off, “I’d rather see you,” 

“Yeah,” Yunho nods, “it’ll be good to catch up,” 

You smile, “I want to hear all about the trip,” 

“The trip,” Mingi says, just repeating your words like he’s weighing them out on his own tongue. 

Something about his voice sends a sharp zing up the back of your spine. 

Your body feels a little soft, relaxing bit by bit. 

Yunho’s eyes flick over you, “Are you sure you need to stay late?” 

Something your primal little brain cannot handle right now is the thought of your alphas being protective, not when you’re standing in this room encased by their scents that feel a little too right. Your stomach tightens and you pray that you’re not blushing pink at the flickering thought in your mind of them taking you home. 

You need to get out of this room before they realize it. 

“I’m good,” You tell him, stepping backwards towards the door, “but thank you, and dinner tomorrow is perfect,” 

Mingi says something, you think he’s agreeing, but you’re giving another excuse over your shoulder about how you need to get back to it so you can make it out of this room. 

Your heart is practically beating out of your chest as you leave the office and make it down the hall, heading for the studio room you’ve booked for the afternoon. You nearly run into Dahan and Minseok as you cut around the corner, but you apologize quickly and barely give them a second glance as you hide yourself away in one of the dance studios alone. 

With the door firmly shut you lean back against the closed door and take a deep breath. These feelings are going to work you into a frenzy if you don’t get them under control. Scent sympathy is rare, an almost perfect match between an alpha and omega that makes every part of a relationship heightened, especially once that initial sympathetic bond is fulfilled with a claim. While they were gone you came to that conclusion slowly, the steady ache in your chest so clearly informed by the lack of them, but now that they’re back and here the realization of it collides into you full-force. 

You love them, that’s true. But what’s more is how much you need them, and how much you hope they need you. You can’t let them realize it before you have the chance to say everything you need to say, and if you had stayed in that room a few minutes more they might have felt themselves. With the dinner moved to Friday you just have one more night to get through. One more night, and one more day of work. And then the chips will fall where they may. 

With a deep breath you let the hammering of your heart slow and then you focus back on the work ahead. The more you pour yourself into work the faster these 24 hours will go, so you put your head down and get to it. 

You work for a long time, probably too long, until your muscles are positively aching and any thoughts of Yunho and Mingi are drowned out by lyrics to the chorus of this song that just keeps looping in your mind as you try different patterns of footwork. Here in this bubble you don’t know who’s still at work, who’s left for the day, what time it is, or if the sun has set yet. You just know your own body and every which way that it moves to this one singular song. 

Your hair is hot around your face, sweat clinging to your brow as you finish out the latter half of the choreography that you’re confident with. It’s fast, and includes so much up and down floor work you’re pretty sure you’d be passing out if you weren’t hydrating properly. Focused on your reflection in the mirror you gather your hair up and away and into a knot and then move to find your towel and water bottle. 

The door to the studio opens behind you, and you glance back without really seeing who’s popping in, “Hey,” 

For a split second it occurs to you that it might be Yunho or Mingi and your stomach flips as you start to turn. 

“Hey, y/n,” Minseok’s voice is a bit of a surprise. 

“Oh, hey,” 

He looks like he’s just stopping by to grab something from the far desk in the corner. You’re honestly surprised that he’s still here, he had looked on his way out earlier when you bumped into him in the hall.  

“Are you heading out for the night?” You take a drink of water and catch your breath, leaning against the mirrored wall behind you. 

“Soon,” He nods, running a hand through his dark hair and snagging a sweatshirt hanging over the back of the office chair. 

“Well,” You smile, “have a good night,” 

“You too,” He says as he walks past you, but then his steps slow and you hear him sigh before he turns on his heel, “listen, can I ask you something?” 

“Sure,” 

“I hope you don’t think this is weird,” He takes a few more steps back towards you, “but I’ve actually been meaning to ask you something for a while now,” 

“Oh,” Your eyebrows raise, and suddenly you can see everything in his expression. You know this look. You know the way men get when they finally rip off the bandage and change the equilibrium of a room, the moment they decide they can’t see you as just a friend. What absolutely terrible timing he has.

“I was thinking,” He says, a little pause before the rest and you hope you’re keeping your face nice and neutral, “do you think I could take you out some time?” 

“Out?” The word leaves you. 

He smiles, “Yeah, out, like a date.” 

“I appreciate that,” You shake your head a little, trying to smile and keep things light, “but I don’t think so,” 

His lip quirks and his nose scrunches and you suppose that if you were interested you might find this part of him charming, but you’re not, so it isn’t. “Are you seeing someone?” He asks. 

“No,” You tell him honestly, “not right now.”

“So, I can’t get you to give me one chance?” He takes a step forwards, gesturing between you both and keeping his gaze hopeful. 

“I really don’t think that’s a good idea,” You shake your head, “we work together.” 

“Oh, it’s fine,” He assures you, brushing past the boundary you tried to set with casual indifference, “don’t worry about that.” 

“Still,” You shake your head, “but thank you for asking.” 

You’re not at all thankful for him asking, but he’s nice enough, and it feels like the polite way to keep the status quo. 

“That’s a shame,” He admits, his smile dropping almost entirely, “are you sure I can’t convince you to give me just one chance? I really do like you, y/n,” 

“I’m sure,” That should be firm enough. 

“I thought we were getting along well,” He cuts off the end of your words, “becoming friends.” 

“I thought so too,” You straighten up off the wall behind you, tossing your towel over your shoulder and setting up to walk right out of the studio room if that’s what it would take to end this interaction, “I thought we were friends,” 

You can’t help but emphasize the word friends, and you watch the moment his expression drops more, annoyance flicking through his jaw. 

“I didn’t think you had such a problem seeing people you worked with,” He says pointedly. 

“Excuse me?” 

“It’s just that,” He shrugs, nodding towards you, “I didn’t think it bothered you. Considering.”

“Listen,” You lock eyes with him, “let it go. I’m trying to be nice about this, but I can be clearer. I am not interested in going out with you.” 

“You don’t have to be rude,” 

“Goodnight, Minseok,” You’re not staying for this. 

“I’m a good guy,” He says as you start towards the door, “don’t, come on just stay a second,” 

You keep walking. 

“y/n,” He says, his voice startlingly close behind you, “stay.” 

It’s like your legs stop working, an echoing strike of nerves down your spine and you stumble slightly as his hand closes around your wrist. 

“Let go of me.” You start to turn towards him, pulling your arm back as you do, but he speaks again. 

“Stop.” His voice is so low suddenly, situated smack in the center of his chest, a tenor you’ve never heard from him before. Your legs stop working all together, suddenly feeling like lead.

“Take your hands off me.” You blink hard, your head feeling a little full suddenly. 

“I just don’t understand,” He bites, “we’ve been flirting for weeks.” 

You can’t find the words to tell him that you being nice isn't flirting, but you’re stunned into silence. You can barely even think of a time when you had a sustained conversation with him where someone else wasn’t present. How could interactions that felt so routine to you feel so significant for him? 

“And you’re just… not interested?” He scoffs, “You’re what, twenty-six? Twenty-seven? You’re going to start running out of good offers.” 

So many things about Seo Minseok fall into place with just those words. The way that just a few weeks ago he barely looked at you, barely spoke to you. Always spending his attention on the alphas in the room around you, but never you. How when that tide shifted you thought, maybe naively, that he was just shy. But he’s not shy, not in the least. He’s just another alpha in a long line of alphas who look down their noses at omegas until there’s something they want from them. 

“That’s really none of your concern,” You shake your head, “now get the fuck off me.” 

“Be quiet.” His jaw sets hard. 

So does yours. 

A thousand thoughts run through your brain like a wildfire eating up a hillside of dry bark but nothing can make it past your lips. The tone of his voice has you rooted to the spot, his instructions not suggestions but strict commands. It’s been a long time since you’ve heard an alpha use tone, but it’s certainly the first time it’s been directed at you. You’ve heard stories, the way the primal omega brain surfaces even when you don’t want it to. You thought it was a bit of an overstatement, but now on the receiving end you can’t control your response to him and fear floods you. 

“You talk a lot for an unmated omega,” He looks disappointed. 

Something shrinks inside you. 

His fingers tighten, his body suddenly closer, “But we can fix that.” 

In a breath his hands push you backwards, your back suddenly cold against the mirrored wall of the practice room. Later, much later, you’ll discover that the reason your memory of this moment is patchy is a combination of your omega’s response to alpha tone and full dissociation. You’ll remember little pieces, quick sensations here and there. The same song still looping through the stereo, the sound of his deep inhale with his face pressed against your throat, the sharp pin pricks of his teeth as he seeks out the soft juncture of your neck and shoulder. The way your mind in one heaving breath both screams in rebellion and folds open in acceptance when he successfully locates your gland. 

You suddenly can’t hear right, can’t think right. All you know is his teeth. The hot feeling of breath. He smells like burnt, bitter oranges. He’s talking again, saying something that your conscious mind can’t register, but your omega does, and you stretch your neck long to give him the access he needs. 

And then you’re under. 

You’re dropping before you consciously register your brain entering a new, hazy middle space. It feels like being at the bottom of a deep pool, the sudden, immersive quiet. You understand that someone is talking to you, or around you, but all you can hear is the echoing tenor of an alpha, the words unclear, all cocooned in the water around you. 

There’s a bang somewhere but it feels far away, and you feel pin pricks against your throat. 

Minseok’s overwhelming acrid scent and heavy pressure against you is gone, the sudden loss of his weight leaving you off balance. You think you’re falling, or maybe you’ve already fallen. The world feels tilted, something hard and cold under your back. You smell something sharp and tangy, and there’s something loud in the room but you can’t understand it. Everything is white, bright and intrusive. 

Mingi’s face swims into your vision, and you feel his hands on your cheeks. It takes you a minute to understand anything, but he looks upset, stricken and his cheeks are tinged pink with panicked anger. You want to reach up, soothe his brow and see what’s wrong, but you can’t lift your hand. Don’t move an inch. 

“Jesus,” Mingi glances to his side, “he put her in subspace,” 

Someone responds, but it’s muffled to your ears. 

Mingi’s face darkens entirely, his hands leave you, “I’ll fucking kill him,” 

He’s gone. There’s a scuffle to your side, but you can’t turn your head, you want to, you just can’t. Tears bubble in your eyes, emotion pulsing through you and your breath is tight and thready in your throat. A sharp, whining sob bubbles from your lips. 

Warm rain swims through you, and Yunho’s there, sliding right into the spot Mingi left. His eyes dart over your face and then he looks to his side, his voice firm, “Calm down or get out of here, do you understand me? You’re scaring her,” 

There’s a long beat, noises to your side again but you can’t understand it. Your stomach flips nervously, the place you’re stuck in your head throbbing a sharp spike through your brain. 

Yunho’s warm, brown eyes settle back on yours, his face calm and easy, “Can you hear me, y/n?” 

You can, but you can’t make your mouth work. Don’t move an inch. 

“Can you hear me? y/n?” He asks again, his thumb brushing your cheek, “You’re safe, he’s not going to touch you again,” 

The hard feeling of Minseok’s hands on your hips pushing you into the practice room mirror snaps inside you and you release a soft sound. 

“You can hear me,” Yunho nods, “come on, wake up,” 

“Yunho,” Mingi’s voice is close again, hard and steady, “that’s not going to work,” 

“Why?” Yunho looks up to his friend, “she can hear me, she’s okay,” 

“She’s in subspace,” Mingi pushes his friend to the side, coming into your eye line, “she’s dropped so far under it’s going to take more than that,” 

“W-what do we do?” Yunho’s voice is shaky. 

“Let me try something,” Mingi murmurs, and then his eyes lock squarely on yours. 

Yunho slips his hand into yours, holding you tightly, but you can’t squeeze him back. 

“Omega,” Mingi’s voice is firm, and it’s the clearest thing you’ve heard since sinking under the water, “Come up now.” 

Don’t move an inch.

“You need to come up now,” His fingers tighten on your cheek, “listen to me.” 

Don’t move an inch. 

“Why isn’t this working?” Yunho asks, squeezing your fingers. 

“I’m not sure,” Mingi’s voice is low, and then he shifts closer to your face, “y/n. Omega. Listen to me now,” 

All you can do is manage to make a quiet, tight noise, and even to your muddled brain you can hear the tenor of distress. 

“Come up now,” Mingi repeats, “right now. Listen to me, omega.” 

You’re being torn in two, your primal brain fighting you every step of the way. 

He swallows hard, his voice dropping low in his chest, “Don’t disobey your alpha,”

Suddenly nothing but his voice exists. 

Mingi’s expression is cold, tight and ruthless, his rich tone cuts straight to your core, “When you’re given a directive, you follow it. Now,” He locks his hands on either side of your face and his next words are a pointed and perfectly clear command, “Come. Up.”  

The room is so much louder than you thought a moment ago. There’s shouting outside and you vaguely register San’s voice amongst the mix. The music from practice is still on low. Yunho’s leg is bouncing nervously, the athletic fabric making a rhythmic swish with every bob of his knee. You can hear your blood rushing in your ears. 

“I’m sorry,” You choke out, the first feeling that floods back into your body is intense shame.

“Oh my god,” Mingi’s expression crumbles and he pulls your limp body into his arms “you’re here? You’re with us?”

“M-Mingi,” Your vision clouds with tears again and every feeling that tried to course through your body while you were in subdrop crashes into you sideways.

“Shh,” He rocks you in his arms, “we’ve got you, we’re right here, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,”

A dull throb radiates through your skull and Yunho takes a sharp inhale, “She’s bleeding,”

“What?” Mingi pulls back, his hand searching your body.

“Here,” Yunho brushes the back of your hair, his fingers coming away with a small line of blood, “it’s not too bad,”

“What happened?” You reach for the cut at the back of your head, nervous tears coming up as you try to understand.

“You don’t remember?” Yunho asks.

“I’m,” You swallow hard, “it was practice? Or I was practicing? I had the room booked.”

“Yeah,” Yunho nods and squeezes your hand, “what else?”

The date. The hard set of Minseok’s jaw when you said no. His hands on your hips, his lips on your neck, the soft drag of his teeth and the flat of his tongue over your gland. Your shirt tearing when he hauled you up against the mirrors. Hands everywhere. Hands nowhere. The white ceiling. His voice, harsh and direct in your ears, the alpha tone unmistakable. Submit. Heel. Don’t move an inch. 

Your mouth is suddenly hot and watery, and your hands are shaking, “I’m… I’m going to be sick,”

“Shit,” Yunho moves fast, sliding across the floor to grab the wastebasket that sits under the desk, pushing it into your hands. 

You wretch instantly, shaking and heaving, losing the contents of your stomach into the plastic bin. 

“Okay,” Mingi soothes, gathering up your hair into one hand and holding it away from your face, “you’re okay,”

“He touched me,” Your hands won’t stop shaking, his voice flooding back, and you heave again, “the things he said,”

“Shh,” Yunho shifts closer, rubbing a hand up and down your back, “you’re safe. None of that is true,” 

“He talked to me like a dog,” You sob, “and I couldn’t move, he told me not to move and I just let him,”

“No.” Mingi’s voice is harsh and you twitch under his hands, “He used alpha tone on you, he wanted you to stop fighting and he said it in tone until you couldn’t hear anything else. You didn’t let him do anything,” 

“I’ve never,” You wretch again, a dry heave with nothing to give and it makes your eyes watery. 

“We’re right here,” Yunho murmurs, “you’re safe.”

When you’re sure your stomach will hold, you push the wastebasket away and drop back to the floor, your head throbbing, “I’ve never been in subspace,”

“You’re not there now,” Mingi soothes.

“I don’t remember,” You manage, looking down at your mussed clothes, “it’s so muddled I can’t remember,”

“What can’t you remember?” Yunho asks softly.

You’re pretty sure you’d register it if his attempt at claiming had been successful, if the word attempt should even be in consideration at all, but the end is so fuzzy you just have to know. “Did he… did we?”

“No.” Yunho’s firm, sliding in front of you so he can make you look into his eyes, “absolutely not,”

Your mouth tastes terrible, but it’s the overwhelming bitter smell of him on you that doubles it and makes you want to throw up again even though your stomach is empty. 

“All I can smell is him,” You scrub your hands under your eyes to wipe away tears, “I can’t even breathe,”

“Take her,” Mingi says, “I’m getting water,”

Yunho pulls you into his arms, sitting back against the mirrored wall for some support and cradling you to his chest, “Come here, is this okay?” 

“Make it go away,” You hold onto his shirt and sigh into his neck, “please, Yunho, please,”

“Just breathe,” He soothes you, “I have you,” 

He smooths his thumbs over the glands in your wrists, easing the initial panic inside you, and then gently draws your head back with his hand, “It’s only me,” He murmurs, “you know I’d never hurt you,” 

Yunho licks a long stripe up your neck, and instantly your body starts to release, tense muscles unlocking and your fingers falling slack. His scent washes over you, enveloping you tenderly. 

“Y-Yunho,” you shudder as he licks another long stripe, moving to suck softly on the fleshy part of your neck that narrowly avoided teeth marks.

“Yes?” He kisses your neck softly, and licks again. 

“Thank you for coming for me,” You exhale slowly.

He stills, sinking closer and resting his closed lips on your shoulder. When he breathes in you hear the catch of emotion, “I thought we were too late,”

“I’m okay,” You murmur, and it’s starting to feel true now that he’s washing away Minseok’s scent.

“God,” He sighs into your skin, “when I heard you scream… I’ve never heard anything that terrifying in my life, I’ve never run so fast,”

“Did I scream?” You don’t remember it.

“Bloody murder,” He nods, pulling back to look at your eyes.

“Yunho,” Your eyes flick up towards the open door of the practice studio, “where is he?”

His hands tighten on you, “Probably nursing his broken ribs. The guys have him,”

Your eyes widen, and the realization that he’s still under the same roof has you trembling in his arms, “He’s still here,”

“Not for long,” He murmurs, “we called the police,”

“But,” Your mind is spinning and you feel the weight of him on your chest once more, “what if he comes back?”

“y/n,” Yunho draws your eyes away from the door, “San and Seonghwa have him, and he’s in rough shape. He’s probably focused on trying to breathe, not thinking about you anymore. And even if none of that were true and he did come back,” he says, “I’d put him on the floor faster than you could blink. Mingi and I both would.”

Your muscles start to relax again, “Okay,”

“You are completely safe,”

Mingi reappears a few moments later, bottles of water in hand, and he smiles warmly, “Hey, you,”

“Hey,”

“Feeling a little better?” He asks, settling on the hard practice room floor and passing you an open bottle.

“I don’t know,” You murmur honestly, shifting in Yunho’s arms so that you’re resting on his lap with your back against his chest. You take a long drink of water and sigh. 

“Listen,” Mingi smooths a hand across your thigh, “the police are going to want to talk to you. They’ll be here within the hour and then we’ll go to the hospital.”

“Why?” You tense.

“Your head,” He nods.

“It’s stopped bleeding,” Yunho assures you, “but he’s right, you could have a concussion.”

“I don’t have a concussion,”

“I didn’t realize you had a medical degree,” Mingi says, a little edge to his voice.

Hot tears well in your eyes at his tone, and you shrink back into Yunho’s arms. You know rationally he didn’t mean to scare you, he’s just worried about you, but after the day you’ve had you can’t help but shrink back in fear.  

“Hey,” Yunho presses his lips to your neck, “it’s alright, Mingi didn’t mean it like that”

Mingi’s eyes blow wide, “Fuck, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean anything,”

“I know,” You tip your head to the side to offer more of your throat to Yunho’s soothing touches, “I’m just not myself,”

“It’s okay,” Yunho says again, returning to your neck and peppering kisses across your gland, and something about this should feel intimate and awkward when you haven’t talked to them yet, but all you can feel is safe.

“Really,” Mingi reaches for you, but doesn’t touch you, “I just want you to let us help, and I’m so angry with Minseok I could kill him, but I didn’t mean to put that on you,”

“Mingi,” You take his outstretched hand, “I’m okay, you just startled me, and you’re right anyways. I’ll come to the hospital,”

He sighs in relief.

“After,” Yunho murmurs, “would you - I mean, will you please come home with us tonight?”

It’s strange how much you feel like it is home, despite only spending your heat there, months ago, so long ago now you shouldn’t still feel this preternatural pull. 

“I don’t know,” You say, even though your body is begging you to agree, to stay with them and only them. 

“I know it’s been different between us,” He murmurs, arms tightening around you, “but you know how I feel. I just don’t want you to be alone tonight, someone should be with you,” 

“Someone you feel safe with,” Mingi adds, “if that’s us,” 

“It is,” You lock your hand down on Mingi’s, “I’m sorry, this is… of course you’re safe, of course you are. I’m just,” 

“Let’s talk about this later,” Mingi smiles, shooting a look at Yunho you can’t quite make sense of, but brushing your fears to the side all the same, “for now, let’s just get you taken care of.” 

You shudder out a breath, letting the warmth and safety of their bodies sink into you. You turn into Yunho, resting your cheek on his chest and matching your breath in time to his. Your thoughts spin, bubbling over as threads of the incident come back to your mind and you press your eyes closed before the question slips out, “Why did he do it?” 

Yunho wraps his arms around you a little tighter, dropping his lips to your hair, “I don’t know,” 

Mingi clears his throat, “He’s about to hit his rut,” he says, “that’s what his excuse was. He said he’s… he kept saying how sorry he was, but,” 

Your eyes snap open, “Sorry? He’s sorry?” 

“Sorry someone interrupted him, maybe,” Mingi’s voice is hard, his eyes firm and unrelenting, “a rut doesn’t make you do that. Not like that.” 

Yunho shakes his head in agreement, “Definitely not,” 

You know that, of course you know it, but after seeing Minseok’s black eyes you’re not so sure. You had never felt completely comfortable with him, but in the past you would have chalked that up to personality differences, and in the past few weeks that had all started to change. He was the kind of guy you wouldn’t date, but you wouldn’t worry about bothering you. 

You sigh softly, “He didn’t seem like himself,” 

“Mm,” Mingi hums, non-committal. 

“A rut doesn’t make it impossible to hear the word no,” Yunho says firmly, “you don’t become some mindless animal. What he tried to do… that’s… a rut’s an easy excuse.” 

You tense up in his arms, a brief flicker of what could have been. His teeth in your neck, your mind spinning into submission. 

“Yunho,” Mingi shakes his head at his best friend, glancing down at you to indicate that it’s not something you can hear right now. 

“I’m sorry,” Yunho soothes, holding you closer if it’s at all possible. 

Your chest tightens, “Can I… I need to get up,” 

His arms relax immediately, hands shifting under your elbows to help support you while Mingi jumps up and offers you his hands to pull you up. Back on your own two feet you waver a minute, but you shake off the dizzy spell and try to get your bearings again. They're waiting on a razor’s edge, hands out and ready to intervene, but you’ve made it clear that for the moment you don’t want to be touched. 

A shout from the hall leaves you jumping, but you register Wooyoung’s voice a moment later, “Where is she?” 

“The studio,” San’s voice replies, “slow down,” 

“Is he in the back office? Give me a fucking minute alone with him,” Wooyoung’s voice is murderous and you smile at how ready your best friend sounds to do battle on your behalf, “I’ll show him what an omega can fucking do,” 

“Youngie,” San’s voice is even and warm, keeping things soft, “you need to calm down,” 

“Calm down,” He scoffs, his voice getting closer as he travels down the hall and you know he’s almost at the door. 

“I hardly think y/n needs,” San starts to say, but then they round the corner. 

Wooyoung’s eyes are wild, searching and terrified, and something inside you shatters. San’s words die on his lips when he sees you, and in a startling moment of clarity you rush forwards and into Wooyoung’s arms. 

“Shh, shh,” He wraps you up tight, one hand at the back of your head as he rocks you back and forth, “you’re safe, you’re in one piece,” 

“Woo,” Tears come fast, and you bury your face in his chest. 

“Stupid fucking alphas,” He curses into your shoulder and you can hear his breath hitched and clouded with tears of his own, “acting like they can take whatever they want,” 

You’re sure the rest of the room is bristling at that comment but you couldn’t care less. 

“You want me to break the rest of his ribs?” He kisses your head, “I’ll make it look like a fucking accident, I swear to God,” 

“Woo,” You laugh into his chest, vision blurry with unshed tears, “stop, that’s insane,” 

“I am nothing if not a little insane,” Wooyoung squeezes you, “and you and me? We protect each other, right?” 

“Always,” You grip the back of his shirt like a lifeline. 

The bond between omegas can’t be understood by a single other person in the room, maybe even in the building. You cling to each other in the middle of the studio floor, encased in this moment of shared grief. Of what you are and what that means. He shifts you in his arms so he can look at your face, cupping your tear stained cheeks. 

The sight of his own tears makes yours come faster, “What did I do?” 

His expression hardens and he shakes his head, sucking in a harsh breath, “Nothing, not a single fucking thing. Do you hear me?” 

“Woo,” You want him to let you go. You want him to tug you close again. 

He shakes your shoulders hard, and in your periphery you see Mingi take a half step forward as Wooyoung pushes back on your words, “You didn’t do anything. You’re existing, and he tried to take advantage of that. This isn’t your fault, there’s nothing you could have or should have done.” 

You open your mouth to say something but he plows forward. 

“Alphas take, alright?” He shakes you again, more gently this time, “We’re lucky. You and me, we found good ones, but alphas are programmed to take, and we’re programmed to give. He used it against you. Nothing else.”

Your breath hitches, and you launch yourself at him, wrapping your arms around his neck and letting him cradle you again. 

“Shh, shh,” He rubs your back, soothing you again. 

“I hate this,” You manage, your face buried in his shoulder. 

“I know,” He eases you, “I fucking hate it too,” 

You hold each other a little longer until both of your tears start to subside. You stay steady in his grip, his fresh salt and cotton scent lulling you into safety. The buzzing of your brain starts to release, and the fear is still there under your skin but at least for now it’s low and letting you breathe. 

Nuzzling into his shoulder you sigh, “What are you doing back here anyways?” 

“San called,” He kisses your hair, “I broke several laws getting here,” 

You laugh against his collarbone where his oversized t-shirt is pulled down, no doubt from the way your hands grip whatever part of him you can. 

He rubs a warm hand up and down your back and when he speaks again it’s not to you, this time he addresses the alphas in the room. He clears his throat softly, head lifting up and away from yours, “So, who busted his nose?” 

“Uh,” Yunho makes a small sound behind you, “that would be me,” 

“Good,” Wooyoung says, “when she stops crying I’m giving you a handshake,” 

You smile against his damp skin and shake your head, “I’m not crying, I’m fine,” 

“Sure,” Wooyoung murmurs, but he doesn’t let you go, just strokes your back more until you settle further into him. 

“The police will be here soon,” San murmurs, his voice staying relaxed and steady to make sure everything stays level in the room. 

“Right,” Wooyoung sighs, “y/n, can I let you go? I don't have to if you’re not ready,” 

You nod immediately though, unwinding your arms from him and taking a ginger step back. He gives you a soft smile, and you scrub the last of the tears from your face with the sleeves of your sweatshirt. He gives you a minute to stand steady and then turns to Yunho and Mingi who both look frozen and unsure of what to do or what to say. 

“You both got him off her?” He says, matter of fact. 

“Yeah,” Mingi’s voice is tight, like he had been choking back tears of his own, and Yunho simply nods. 

“Thank you,” Wooyoung tugs Mingi into a hug and squeezes him tight before shifting to Yunho to hug him too, “seriously,” 

Once they break apart, you’re left all in a haphazard circle, and you can feel all the eyes on you. It makes you so tired, dizzy, ready to be done and just crawl under a blanket for the rest of the week. In the back of your throat you still taste bitter orange. 

“Um,” Your voice comes out a little more scratchy than you want, and you clear your throat, letting everything fade. 

“What is it?” Yunho asks gently. 

You don’t know how to ask this, how to beg them to keep holding you together so you can just get through existing in this room. You sigh, the deep exhale making you dizzy again, and step towards him, “C-can I,” 

He opens his arms immediately, letting you close the space so he doesn’t assume your needs, but as you collide with him again he responds perfectly, scooping you up into his arms and letting you wrap your legs around his waist. He supports you with ease, an arm under your thighs and another situated high on your back. 

“Better?” He murmurs, smiling a little as you bury your head in his neck. 

You nod into his neck, and then you allow yourself one tiny moment of weakness, listening to your body and what it needs for once over your anxiety. You mumble it into his neck, but he hears you when you say, “Yunho?” 

“Yeah, baby?” His voice is so soft, quiet like he’s afraid of what you might say. 

You don’t miss the way Wooyoung’s eyebrows go high at the endearment, but you ignore him and focus instead on the man holding you up, together, in one solid piece. You lift your head so he hears you clearly, “Will you please take me home?” 

He goes still and turns his head just a little, “Your apartment or,” 

“Take me home with you,” You repeat, “I want to go home,” 

This will surely just make everything more muddled and foggy between the three of you tomorrow in the cold light of day, but you don’t care. Right now you just want to be home, in whatever form that means. 

He exhales low and shaky, “Alright,” he murmurs, kissing your throat softly to help calm your trembling, “I’ve got you, let’s go home,” 

A warm wide palm rests on the center of your back, and Mingi leans in close to catch your eyes, “y/n, can you look at me a second?” 

You pull your head up from the crook of Yunho’s neck where you’ve just been taking deep steady inhales of wet earth and meet his eyes. 

“Hey,” He smiles. 

Your eyes dart between him and Wooyoung, who seems suddenly ancy. “What?” You straighten up a little more in Yunho’s arms. 

“You can go wherever you want,” He starts off, “but do you want us to take you home, or would you feel more comfortable with Wooyoung? Or… Seonghwa, if… if that would be better for how you’re feeling,” 

Yunho tenses a little, his fingers tightening where he holds you, and you can feel him physically holding himself back from saying a single word, from begging you to come with them. 

You’ve made up your mind though, and within a second you’re shaking your head, “No, I want you,” 

Yunho relaxes, his lips returning to your throat and you sigh. 

“Then you have us,” Mingi assures you. 

The sound of the elevators in the hall stop you all cold though, and San holds up his hands, “I’ll go see, it’s probably the police,” 

The idea of talking to them suddenly makes you sick, and you’re sure it shows all over your face. 

“It’s going to be fine,” Wooyoung jumps back in, “don’t worry, we’ll be there the whole time.” 

You need this to be done. You grip down on Yunho’s shoulders, “I want to go home,” 

“I know,” Mingi nods. 

“Y-Yunho,” You’re scrambling a little in his arms, sudden panic swirling in your gut, and you twist to find his eyes, “please, get me out of here, please take me home,” 

You feel it the minute he chooses you over anything else, “Okay, alright,” 

“You need to talk to the cops,” Wooyoung shakes his head, trying to reason with you. 

You’re trembling in Yunho’s arms and he shakes his head, “She needs to go,” 

Mingi senses your heightened emotions too and you feel it when he moves closer, both of them shifting to protect you, “She can do this later,” 

“I don’t know that that’s such a good idea,” Wooyoung insists. 

“I couldn’t give a fuck,” Yunho grips you tighter, “we’re taking our girl home,” 

“Your-” Wooyoung scoffs when he hears the words, “fucking alphas,” 

“Who she wants to take her home,” Mingi points out, a distinct edge to his voice. 

“Stop arguing,” You beg them, hanging onto Yunho’s shoulders, “please, please,” 

“Fuck,” Yunho relaxes, stroking your back, “I’m sorry, of course we won’t, I’m sorry,” 

Mingi brushes his hand over the back of your head and Wooyoung gives you an apologetic face, his defensiveness over you is understandable, but he also knows how you feel about these men and you watch him choose to hold his tongue. 

A knock on the door brings you all back to the present, San handling the situation with more grace than any of you combined, “The police said that they can speak with you at the hospital and make it brief.” 

You exhale heavily and nod against Yunho, “Okay, fine,” 

“Are you sure?” Mingi strokes your cheek. 

“I just want to be done,” 

“Should we stay with you?” Yunho murmurs. 

“Please,” You grip his shoulders. 

“Alright,” He sighs, “Woo, could you… I’m sorry, can you grab her things? Let’s just try to make this quick for her,” 

Wooyoung clears his throat, his eyes never leaving yours, “Yeah, I got it,” 

“Uh,” San interrupts as you all try to gather your things, “Yunho, they want to talk to you first, they’re waiting in the back office,” 

“Oh,” 

“They have some questions,” San explains quietly, “but she she doesn’t need to be there for that,” 

“Right,” Yunho nods and then presses a kiss to your hair, “can I put you down, sweetheart?” 

Your chest warms. 

“No, here,” Mingi cuts in, his hand sweeping over your back and you feel them shift you from Yunho’s arms to his, “come here,” 

He settles you against his chest and you wrap around him just the same, soaking in the warm scent of cocoa and cinnamon. You let your eyes drift shut as you rest on his shoulder, “Hey, Mingi,” 

“Hey,” He says softly. 

“Thank you,” You sigh. 

“Mhm,” He rocks you a little as he takes your bags from Wooyoung and slings them over his shoulder, the combined weight of it and you not fazing him at all, “I told you once I’ll always be here, I meant it,” 

“I believe you,” You murmur into his throat. 

You rest here, Mingi’s thumb rubbing a comforting line over the back of your neck. 

“Time to go,” Wooyoung’s voice pipes back in, “there’s a car ready, Yunho will be there in a a few minutes,” 

“Alright,” Mingi presses a soft kiss to your hair, “here we go,” 

He carries you with ease, and you sink into the steady thump of his heart under your palm that’s keeping you grounded. Over his shoulder you watch Wooyoung walking with you and you see police officers down the hall. The door to the back office swings open and Yunho is leaning against the desk as he speaks with an officer. Seonghwa sits in a chair next to him, his head in his hands, blood coating his knuckles and the sleeves of his shirt. Something pulls in your gut, begging you to go to him, but then you’re outside and all you can feel is Mingi holding you as he ferries you into the car. 

“Do you need anything?” He asks as he settles you into the passenger seat 

“I don’t know,” You tell him honestly, letting your head drop back against the seat and taking a deep breath, eyes slipping closed. 

“Don’t fall asleep,” Wooyoung jumps forward, “keep your eyes open,” 

“I’m fine,” You tell him, but you still do what he asks. 

“Just in case,” Wooyoung presses, “you shouldn’t fuck with head injuries,” 

“He’s right,” Mingi murmurs, crouching next to you just outside the car, “and I’m sure you’re fine, but let’s just be sure, okay?” 

“Okay,” 

  A noise just past the two of them makes you jump. 

“It’s just Sannie,” Wooyoung assures you. 

You nod and Mingi takes your hand in his, lacing your fingers together. 

“Yunho’s almost done,” San announces, but he hurries to the car and leans in to check you, “doing okay?” 

“Yeah,” 

“Can you do something for me?” He cups your cheek to bring your eyes up to his. 

“Mhm,” You nod again. 

“I need you to just focus on us for a minute,” He moves to crouch next to Mingi, and then Wooyoung steps closer too, blocking out some of your peripheral vision. 

“Why?” You fight the urge to turn around. 

Red and blue lights flash in the car mirrors and you reflexively glance up at the rear view mirror, catching sight of an ambulance, and tension fills your stomach. 

San reaches up and catches your face again, “Hey, look at me,” 

You pull your eyes away, “Are they here for him?” 

“Yes,” San nods.

“Is he badly hurt?” Your mouth feels dry. 

There’s a pause and then Wooyoung sighs, “Don’t lie to her,” 

Mingi clears his throat softly, “He’s pretty busted up,” 

“Good,” You breathe. 

San smiles, taking your other hand in his and smoothing his thumb over your knuckles. The sound of the doors catches your attention again, and you resist the urge to turn around once again. San shakes his head a little, “Just keep looking at us,” 

“He really picked the wrong person to fuck with,” Wooyoung says, his hand resting warmly on your shoulder. 

An image of Seonghwa and his bloody knuckles flashes through your mind and your breath quickens, “Is Hwa okay?” 

Mingi’s brows draw together. 

“He’s fine,” San assures you immediately. 

“I saw blood,” You can’t articulate it exactly, the image is just static in your mind. 

“It’s not his blood,” San promises, “we’re all fine, Seonghwa is fine,” 

The sound of the ambulance doors swinging shut makes you jump. 

“Shh,” Mingi squeezes your hand, “you’re safe, you’re with me,” 

Everything in your body feels tense and stretched thin, but Mingi’s hand is solid in yours and you grip down on it, letting it tether you. 

You listen as the ambulance pulls away, your muscles unclenching one by one as the sound of the vehicle fades. 

“Woo,” You manage, “can you check on Hwa for me? And text me?” 

“Yeah,” He assures you, “I got you,” 

“Take a deep breath,” Mingi instructs you, “please, for me,” 

You take a long inhale and meet his eyes and he nods as you let the breath out low and slow through your nose. 

“Again, please,” He nods. 

You breathe again, the same steady pace, “I’m tired,” 

“It’s the adrenaline wearing off,” Mingi tells you, “but as soon as a doctor says you can sleep, you can rest,” 

“Okay,” You nod. 

San’s hand disconnects from yours and he starts to stand, “Yunho’s done,” 

You twist in your seat to see him, Wooyoung stepping out of the way, and you can see Yunho jogging towards the car, “Everything okay?” 

“Mhm,” Mingi keeps himself calm for you. 

“That took forever,” He says, “I’m sorry,” 

“It didn’t,” You shake your head, “don’t be sorry,” 

“You should go,” Wooyoung interrupts, “get her looked at,” 

You find your best friend’s eyes, “You’ll text me?” 

“Of course I will,” He nods, “but right now just focus on yourself. We’re all okay,” 

You nod, and your eyes feel heavy again already. You know they’ll be trying to keep you awake in the car at this rate. 

“Let’s go,” Mingi nods, “can I have my hand back for a minute?” He smiles at you. 

“Sorry,” You drop his hand, almost embarrassed at the way you’re clinging to him. 

“Go,” San ushers Yunho towards the driver’s side, “if you need anything, we’re here,” 

Before you know it everyone’s moving and your car door is shut. Yunho slides into the driver’s seat to your left and Mingi moves into the backseat behind you. 

You meet Wooyoung’s eyes through the window and he rests a hand over his chest. He mouths a simple message - I love you, okay?

You nod and the car starts to move, but you know he knows you love him too. 

Mingi shifts forwards in his seat as Yunho starts to drive, and his long arm reaches around to find your hand again. He laces your fingers together once and this time he doesn’t let go. 

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Later that night, the warm, rich scent of their apartment almost takes you out at the knees when you finally cross the threshold, so overwhelmingly comforting and enveloping that you want nothing more than to bury yourself inside the feeling for days. Mingi nearly runs into your back when you stop short in the entryway and Yunho’s watching you carefully as he hangs up your jackets. 

“What?” Mingi nudges you gently. 

There’s a million things to say. Things left unsaid after your last conversation, that fight you wish you could forget. The letter. All the things you were planning on confessing Saturday. The way you want so badly to erase today and just be with them. Every ounce of their soothing physicality after Minseok brings all your emotions up tenfold. Their tenderness almost chokes you. All the things you want to say are stuck in your throat. You need to get your head on straight. You need sleep. 

“Hey,” Yunho waves a hand in front of your dazed expression, “are you alright?” 

Not really. The hospital was long and awkward, seeing a glimpse of Minseok’s name on a hospital room door even worse, and the police had so many questions that all sounded fairly judgemental. Not to mention the probing questions from the hospital staff about your cycle and if you’re close to pre-heat. As if that matters at all. You settle for something a little less dire though, “I’m fine, sorry, it’s just been a while,” 

Yunho’s ears darken to a deep shade of pink and he nods. 

“You can sleep in my room,” Mingi offers, “like before. We can stay or not stay, it’s up to you.” 

“I’d like to be alone,” You tell them, “if that’s alright,” 

“Of course,” Mingi smooths a hand down your arm, “whatever you want.” 

“Um,” You sigh heavily, “honestly I’m exhausted. I think I might just shower and sleep as long as you don’t mind,” 

Yunho shakes his head, gesturing towards the hall, “Not at all, just… call if you need anything,” 

You start back towards the bathroom, your eyes down and away from them, but Mingi calls out, “You remember where everything is?” 

There’s no way you could forget, and you call back that you’re fine. You got it. You just need to be alone, alone is good, alone feels safe. 

In the shower you scrub your skin raw, spending extra time and attention on your glands even though it makes your skin there puffy and red, pinpricks of blood at the surface of your skin and lilac bruises surrounding every edge. It doesn’t matter how comforting their scents are, nothing is taking away the deep intent of Minseok’s mouth on your neck - and the bitter, burnt citrus smell takes ages to wash away. By the time you finish, you’re about ready to collapse. 

Mingi leaves you clothes again, folded neatly on his bed and ready for you. They’re nowhere to be seen, taking your plea for time alone seriously. He’s laid out a clean pair of sleep pants and a t-shirt, both fresh from the wash. The hoodie you had stolen during your heat lies next to it, and it’s a kind gesture, but suddenly you don’t want it. You want nothing. 

You toss the hoodie to the side and start to climb into the bed, but that smells so heavily of cinnamon spice that you can’t think straight. You had just gotten used to blissfully smelling nothing after your shower, and so you strip the bed entirely, discarding all of the pillows and blankets and sheets into the farthest corner of the room. 

The mattress is bare now, but once you turn the circulating fan off you fix the issue of the cold and his scent washing over you every time you try to close your eyes. You can still sense him, sense them, somewhere in the background, but here on the stripped bed in sterilized clothes with your skin rubbed raw, you can rest. 

You drift into sleep this way, your head clear. 

It doesn’t stay that way for long. 

You’re not sure how long you’re asleep before you wake in abject terror, but it must be at least a couple of hours with the sky outside pitch dark and the apartment completely quiet around you. It’s obvious you’re the only one awake, but your brain can’t quite process it right. All you feel is shaking fear and the echo of hands pressing you into the wall, fingers in your hair yanking your head to the side, teeth grazing against your throat. 

You scramble back, only to find the edge of the bed and you collapse off of it, ending up on the wood floor with your head spinning, Mingi’s bedside table lamp crashing down after you, a harsh flash of light pulsing through the room as the bulb breaks and gives one final dying flicker. 

The pleading whine that’s caught in your throat sounds like a trapped animal to your ears, the pounding of your heart threatening to break your chest, blood rushing through your ears like a train. You can’t grasp reality, everything feels hazy and disconnected. 

The door to your right bangs open, Yunho bleary and confused, but responding to your heightened state of fear within a moment. “Mingi!” He calls over his shoulder, “Mingi, get up right now,” 

There’s a faraway faint noise from the other room. 

Yunho skids to your side, careful not to touch you as he tries to meet your eyes in the dark, “Sweetheart, it’s just a nightmare.” 

Part of you knows that you’re awake, safe and home, and not trapped in subspace with a threatening hand in your hair, but you can’t quite grip back to reality. You stutter out a reply, “I-I can’t breathe,” 

“Mingi,” Yunho calls back over his shoulder again, “right now!”

“Please,” you whimper, part of your brain still lodged in the nightmare, “I can’t breathe,” Your hands cling onto the edge of the rug.

Mingi stumbles into the room now, half asleep but forced into consciousness and he’s shaking himself, catching up quickly, “What’s going on?” 

You hear him, but your body is stuck remembering and you feel like there’s a weight on your chest, pressing you down harder, “I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe,” you stutter. 

“Sweetheart,” Yunho comes closer now, his body curling around you carefully with his face directly at your side, “it’s a nightmare, you’re safe.” His arms loop around you gently, but stay open in case you need to move.

“I can’t,” you shake your head, images swimming before you. 

“You’re not there,” he tells you, “we’re home, you’re with us, me and Mingi,” 

You wheeze, trying to regulate your breath. 

“Get a light,” Yunho pleads suddenly to the dark room, and you can hear scrambling, “she can’t see where she is, get a light on.” 

Mingi trips over the discarded lamp on the floor, and fumbles back to the lightswitch on the wall near the door, searching for it with his hands but reluctant to tear his eyes away from you. Suddenly the room floods with the overhead light, a stark fluorescent glow, and the black spots across your vision start to clear.

“I have you, I have you,” Yunho repeats, holding you to him. 

Your hand searches blindly for Mingi on the other side of you and he collapses next to you both, taking your hand and moving in to cradle you from the opposite side, “Baby,” he murmurs, “look around, look where you are,” 

Yunho’s hand on your thigh grounds you, and then Mingi softly touches your jaw to draw your gaze to him, “Look at me,” 

Your eyes flick up. He looks tired, exhausted even, his hair a wayward haystack. You blink hard, “What happened to you?” 

“To me?” Mingi’s brow furrows and he glances up past you to Yunho. 

“You need sleep,” You manage. 

Mingi laughs sharply and cups your cheeks, “I’ll sleep later. Can you tell me where you are?” 

“Your place,” You manage, and you feel the nightmare receding back into your mind inch by precious inch, your breath steadying out. 

“Yeah,” He sighs, “Yeah, that’s right,” 

“I’m home with you,” You repeat, your fingers sinking into the plush rug beneath you. 

Yunho swallows hard, fixated on the way you’ve called their apartment home, not their home, for the third time tonight. You watch the flicker of recognition in his eyes, but he lets it pass and so do you. 

Tears well up in your eyes again and you sigh, “I’m sorry about your lamp,” 

“What?” Mingi’s brow furrows, “Who cares about that?” 

“Still,” You manage, “I’m such a mess right now,” 

“If you weren’t a mess I’d be more worried,” Yunho takes your hand in his, squeezing your fingers, “and you can take all the time you need to be a mess, we’re here.” 

You slump forwards onto his shoulder, “I’m… so tired,” 

“Let’s get you back to bed,” Yunho soothes, his voice soft. 

You nod, letting them both ease you up to your feet, but when they turn to the bed Mingi makes a soft, confused noise, “Where?” 

“Oh,” You gesture towards the corner where all his bedding is wrapped up in a ball, “I’m sorry I was just… it was too much,” 

Mingi’s jaw tightens, the muscles in his neck jumping as he swallows hard, and you know he’s holding down so much anger, that someone could have scared you enough that any alpha’s scent became overwhelming, that your fear might extend even to them. 

“Okay,” Yunho cuts in easily, “whatever you want,” 

He eases you back onto the mattress, but the idea that they might be gone again strikes a deep lance of panic through your stomach and you grasp his arm, “Don’t go,” 

“Are you sure?” He murmurs. 

“Please,” You insist, tugging his arm again. 

He eases down beside you, and Mingi crosses to the opposite side of the bed so he can follow suit, sidling up to your back but careful not to touch you until you make it clear that you want him to. You fold your arm underneath your head and rest yourself down, and when your hair shifts off your neck you hear Yunho’s sharp intake of breath at the sight of your tender gland. 

“Baby, what,” He reaches for you, fingertips hovering, “sweetheart, what did you do?” 

“I’m fine,” You murmur but when you feel fingers gently coast over the raw skin you hiss sharply in pain and both their hands pull back. 

“y/n,” Mingi’s voice is low, shaky, and he scoops up your arm to check your wrists, finding them as swollen and bruised, “oh my god,” 

“I know,” You murmur, letting your eyes drift shut. 

“This is not okay,” Mingi sounds pained, “you can’t hurt yourself like this,” 

“I’m okay, I promise,” 

“We could have helped,” Yunho insists, “we could have scented you again, both of us, or called Seonghwa, or something, anything,” 

“Seonghwa?” You start, but Mingi cuts you off as he pushes your hair further to the side to see more of your neck. 

He makes a tight noise with his tongue against his teeth, “These look tender, Yunho’s right,” 

“You scented me plenty,” You shake your head, letting your hair fall back into place, “but I promise, I’m okay,” 

Mingi wraps his arms around you from behind, tucking you close to his chest and dropping his head onto yours, “You’re scaring me,” he confesses into your hair. 

“I know,” You murmur, “but I wasn’t trying to hurt myself,” 

“And now?” Yunho asks softly. 

“I’m a little better,” You pull him closer, “I was overwhelmed earlier and… even you both I didn’t want, but now? I feel safer, clearer,” 

Yunho kisses your forehead, letting his lips linger as you all get your emotions back in check, “Okay,”  

“Can we stay just like this?” You nuzzle into him, pulling Mingi in closer behind you until you’re snuggled up so tight you might overheat . 

“I’ll be wherever you want,” Mingi wraps his hand around yours and tucks them into your chest.

Yunho murmurs his agreement softly and you nod, letting their heat soak into your body and releasing your tense muscles bit by bit. You were supposed to tell them how you felt already, you need to get it out in the open before things get too blurry again, but right now you have to let it go. 

Silence stretches between the three of you, their breathing even and low, and you’re not sure if they’re asleep or awake when you make your quiet plea in the dark but in a whisper you beg them to never, ever let you go again. At least for tonight, they hold you fast.

[bonefall]

Clan Culture: Familial Terms and the Mi/Ba System

[ID: A brown tabby and a ginger tabby laying together]

A Clan is a large, extended family of cats, knit together by blood and mentorship. In Clanmew, a Clan directly translates to "Whole Family"-- Ulnyams, further divided into an individual cat's Gan (birth-kinships) and Nyams (created-kinships).

Because of the ancient cultural practice of Kitten Stealing and its modern-day replacement, the Queen's Rights, Clan cats have developed a surprisingly progressive view of adoption. There are many ways that couples incapable of producing their own biokits can find children to raise, leading to the Mi and Ba System.

The Mi is the primary parent of the kittens, the one who is the "legal" decider of the important choices regarding the children. The Ba is the secondary parent. These are not gendered; it does not matter who gives birth in this situation, if either of them even did.

Glossary:

Kin: Gan vs Nyams

Parents: The Mi/Ba System

Types of Love: Friendships, Mateships, In-Laws

Offspring and Siblings: Runt-ness, Litter Order

Gan Starter Set: Auncles, Cousins, Grandparents

Ancestors and Beyond

FAQ (Last Update: 10/5/23, Mi/Ba questions)

Kin: Gan vs Nyams

Blood relation is simply Gan. Historically, this would apply to the family of whoever raised you before you were apprentice-aged, the point where "Clan Loyalty" was supposed to set in. Gan includes everyone within three degrees of separation; Grandparents, auncles, and first cousins.

In a Clan, which is supposed to act as a whole family, Gan that "clots" can become a danger to the fabric of society. Mentorships serve an important purpose in "breaking" the coalition that Gan naturally creates, encouraging relationships outside of the bubble.

The rough Clanmew term for "nepotism" is Byykabrawk/Byykabraw/Byykabr-- the 3-stem verb for "Scab-forming."

Nyams in contrast is the relationships forged through life, and applying this term is a choice. Nyams is applied to most of your Gan, a good mentor, apprentices you remain close to after their graduation, and beloved friends.

Nyams is largely considered more important than Gan, both for the health of the Clan overall and for the ability to 'cut' bad Gan out of your family... but cats have their own stances on this. There are some that even argue that unchanging Gan is always above the conditional Nyams.

Keep your ears pricked for this mindset; it can be an indicator of deeper, more hidden beliefs.

Gan = Blood-kin

Nyams = Family-kin

Byykabrawk/Byykabraw/Byykabr = Scab-forming/Nepotism/Loyalty to one's blood over one's Clan

Parents: The Mi/Ba System

The one constant for all Clan kittens is that they are expected to have a Mi.

A "Mi" is a primary parent, the one that spends the most time in the nursery looking after the kitten. This is a non-gendered term; there are many reasons why a non-birthing parent may be the Mi of their litter. It also doesn't necessarily refer to whoever suckled the kittens.

There will be one Mi. To have multiple cats 'competing' over being a Mi is not considered a good or 'cute' thing, at best it means that one of the parents is unnecessarily shirking on supporting the Clan and their mate, and at worst, it means they're using their kittens as pawns in a domestic argument.

Two parents that, for some reason, have nearly equal time split between their kits will typically choose one parent to take 'Ba' for clarity.

In the case of a Mi who can't be responsible with their kits, such as if they become sick, die, or commit neglect or abuse, the Ba is socially expected to become the Mi. A terrible Mi can even be "evicted" from the nursery entirely, if they were particularly cruel to a child.

(BB!Rainflower is an example of a cat who earns this punishment.)

The "Ba" is a secondary parent, but still one that is actively involved in their child's life. Ba can also spend time in the nursery and take their duties a bit easier. In the case of polyamory, there can even be multiple Ba!

Mi Limit = JUST ONE.

Ba Limit = As many as you want.

A cat that spends no time with their children is not a Ba. To try and imply that a bioparent that did not raise their kids is a "Ba" is something that supporters of Thistle Law do in order to conflate Gan with Nyams.

The title can even be rejected entirely; as Bramblestar did to the Three, and Breezepelt eventually does to Crowfeather.

Relevant biological parents are given the same terms as wild animals that don't care for their young; Usually Mwaow, an egg-laying mother that deposits its eggs and leaves. Though, occasionally Wairre (a buck or boar that had access to several females) is used for "sires" specifically. Wairre is more derogatory than Mwaow.

"Honor Sire" is most often used for a cat that donated material for a pairing to have children, though due to the nature of the Queen's Rights, the true identity of these cats is usually kept secret. The word for them in Clanmew is Kurruaow, Honor-Egglayer.

(In English, Honor-Dam and Honor-Sire are sometimes used depending on if they gave birth or sired, but Clanmew has no distinction.)

An Honor Sire is not a Ba, nor a Mi. Do not use these terms for Honor Sires unless they are specifically co-parenting.

In the case of parents that can't provide milk to their kittens, they will often have a third person step in to nurse the kittens. This person is referred to as a 'suckler', Ssuow. In Clanmew it has a connotation of favor-giving, and can be used outside of parental contexts in that way. A sucklemate is called a Ssuwi.

A mentor, auncle, Educator, den-helper, or any other parental figure who you consider important to your development, yet was not a Mi or Ba, is called a Yyan. It is an honor to be someone's Yyan!

Mi = Primary parent

Ba = Secondary parent

Mwaow = Biological parent, egg-laying animal that doesn't care for its young, slightly derogatory

Wairre = Biological sire specifically, a reproductive buck or boar, very derogatory

Kurruaow = Honor Sire/Dam/Parent

Ssuow = Non-parent who nurses a kit; associated with doing a favor.

Ssuwi = Non-sibling sucklemate.

Yyan = Non-Mi/Ba parental figure.

FAQ on the Mi/Ba system

"are Mi and Ba gendered terms?" no.

"can Mi be used for male or nonbinary cats" yes.

"What happens if the Mi is changed halfway through?" a Ba becomes the Mi

"What if Mi dies when kit is almost apprentice aged" a Ba becomes the Mi

Types of Love: Friendships, Mateships, In-Laws

In Clanmew, love is not is not a verb, it is a noun. You don't love someone like an action, it 'exists' for them. The largest, most powerful word for love is Mirri.

Mirri isn't inherently romantic, but it can be. It's everything. It's concern, compassion, adoration. Love must exist for your Clan, the cats in it, your nyams, and so on.

Other forms of love are "below" the Mirri, contributing to it. Kind of like different springs that spill water into the same pool. EVERYONE contributes to Mirri, just by existing in the fabric of Clan society.

There are FOUR types of love below Mirri in Clan Culture; Ardor (Sseeo), Trust (Wrarri), Enjoyment (Piwarri), and Righteous Love (Yyaawr)

Ardor = Sseeo Passionate attraction, in the 'honeymoon' romantic crush way. Ardor notoriously fades over time. It is considered very powerful, but something that by nature doesn't last. For a good example of Ardor, Fallowtail claimed she had this type of love for Reedfeather when she had his kits, and that is why she has no love for him now. This made perfect sense to RiverClan, home of the Queen's Rights. Ardor that lasts is a rare and special thing.

Trust = Wrarri Personal, platonic affection. Rapport built between friends, mentors, mates, family. It's not until recently that this has also come to apply between Clans, too. A very strong, reliable kind of love; it is considered traitorous to have a lot of this for someone in another Clan. Bluestar had this for the Forget-Me-Nots, and them for her in turn... but also, it was more than Wrarri. It was Piwarri, Sseeo, and even Yyaawr. They were everything to her.

Enjoyment = Piwarri You know when you find someone entertaining? Or you have a particular friend you love playing a specific game with? You wouldn't fight for them, but you may do them a favor, especially if it means you get to hang out more often. THAT is piwarri. This is used a LOT with inter-Clan friendships. Piwarri is considered easy, soft, and friendly, but not strong like Wrarri is. It is something that can contribute to Mirri, but is also not a threat to it. Buddy-love.

Righteous Love = Yyaawr When Firestar received a life "for the love of a mother for her kits", he was getting 20 kilos of this slammed into his face. It's a difficult translation, because it isn't just for a mother and her kits. It's righteous anger at injustice, the fury in seeing smashed songbird eggs. It's the need to protect helpless things. It's love that makes you sacrifice your food for for kittens, or a leader's lives for their Clan. Sometimes, a person's yyaawr for you can be suffocating. It's not always welcome. ThunderClan identified Millie's feeling towards Briarlight as yyaawr. Brambleclaw (though he, obviously, was mostly saying it to upset her) accused Squilf of wanting to receive one-sided yyaawr over mutual wrarri.

Love in Clan Culture can be understood through these four ideas. Family is Trust and Righteous Love. Courting is Ardor and Enjoyment. Co-Parenting is Piwarri and Wrarri. Together, they all form Mirri.

Mate = Irre Someone that you would share a nest with. You can have multiple mates, but it often becomes logistically limited by how big you can make a single nest. They also don't HAVE to be romantic. If you would call them a 'spouse,' they're your mate.

Significant Other, Partner = Iwaw Co-parents, particularly close friends, a metamour of a mate in the case of polyamory... people who are significant enough that you would consult with decision-making, but you wouldn't describe as a 'mate.'

Date/Boyfriend/Girlfriend/"We're courting but not seriously" = Sseerr When you're in a state of ardor or just dating, this is the word you use. It could become serious, or it could just be for fun. When it gets serious, even if they don't end up becoming a "mate", it becomes Iwaw.

And, lastly, there are a few terms for in-laws of each one of these stages, 3 for Irre, 2 for Iwaw, and 1 for Sseerr.

IN-LAWS OF YOUR IRRI (MATE);

Mi of your mate = Rrimi

Ba of your mate = Rriba

Family of your mate =Rriga

IN-LAWS OF YOUR IWAW (Significant Person, this CAN be a best friend.)

Mi of your SP = Iwmi

Family of your SP = Iwga

IN-LAWS OF YOUR SSEERR (Date)

Family of your date = Ssega

Offspring and Siblings: Runt-ness, Litter Order

The average size of a Clan cat litter is 2.5 children (Nia'u), and most parents will have at least 2 litters (Neewarr) in their lifetime. A cat's first litter is something to be very proud of, and the children within it are called Niak. Children of the second litter are Niawi. Any more litters than that are called Nia'eef.

Long ago, stolen kittens who were not from a particular litter were called Kurrnia, "Honor-Children." This word is not used now for reasons that are hopefully obvious.

So, having absolutely no siblings is quite rare!

You refer to all of your siblings as your Firra. The ones from a litter above you are your Kafrrif, below you are your Eefrri, and your littermates are Wifeerr.

So, in addition to having words for an older or younger litter of siblings, there are also words for your size within your own litter. Clan Culture is more concerned if you were a large kitten or a runt than your birth order.

This is because growing up, size would mean you had the upper paw in brawls, to your suckler's milk, and ability to explore the world. A bigger kitten is one that can mature faster. Runts are considered to need more protection and 'babying' to make sure they grow up healthy.

Your larger littermate is your Wikfrra. A smaller littermate is your Weefswa. If you're equally sized, you squabble endlessly over who's REALLY the larger sibling until one of your parents snaps and insists that you're JUST Wifeerr-- similarly-sized littermates.

Nia'u = Child/son/daughter

Neewarr = Litter

Niak = Child of first litter

Niawi = Child of second litter

Nia'eef = Child of third/any more litters

Kurrnia = Stolen kit, rightfully won through battle (Archaic)

Firra = Siblings (Broad term, often assumed to be innately plural and referring to several types of siblings at once)

Kafrrif = Sibling of older litter

Eefrri = Sibling of younger litter

Wifeerr = Littermate (Generic and of a similar size)

Wikfrra = Larger littermate

Weesfwa = Smaller littermate

Gan Starter Set: Auncles, Cousins, Grandparents

Kittens receive a LOT of orbital care. Even if they only have a Mi, the entire camp is expected to become acquainted with the new kits. This one stops a kit from touching a hot soup cauldron, that one explains where clouds come from (starclan ofc), another one keeps them entertained with a funny story.

And, of course, the immediate relatives of the new kitten go out of their way to make sure their new kin is cared for. Is their Mi fed? Are their Bas overwhelmed? Is someone watching them? Grandparents provide advice from their life experience, Auncles make sure their siblings know they're not alone, and Cousins are there to go through it with them.

An Auncle is either your Myami (Sibling of your Mi) or your Byami (Sibling of your Ba). They call their nespring a Rabnif, regardless of their sibling's Mi or Ba status. First Cousins are Rabir.

Grandparents are quite special. While Auncles are defined on if they are your Ba's sibling or your Mi's sibling, the labels of Grandparents are 'looser.'

Your Ami is, by default, the Mi of your Mi... but can easily shuffle around if that specific cat is not present in your life. Like a Ba, your Garrmi is any other grandparent involved in your life who is not your Ami, but is by default the Mi of your Ba or the Ba of your Mi. Finally, a Genrrarg is technically the Ba of your Ba, but more often applies to Grandparents you're more distant with.

And, like Mi and Ba, these terms are exclusive to cats who are in your life. Your father's uninvolved Honor Sire is not your Genrrarg.

Grandparents have two terms for their grandchildren. A Nini is a grandchild that they have a significant role in raising. This is especially common for kittens that only have a Mi and no Ba. "Niauga" implies a bit more distance.

Myami = Mi-Auncle

Byami = Ba-Auncle

Rabnif = Nespring/nephew/niece

Rabir = Cousin

Ami = Mi of my Mi (This can also be applied as a term of endearment. For example, Heartstar is the Ba of her kittens, but Tawnypelt is still Shadowsight's Ami)

Garrmi = Ba of my Mi AND/OR Mi of my Ba

Genrrarg = Ba of my Ba/Someone who is still a grandparent, but not a close one.

Niauga = Grandchild (General)

Nini = Grandchild (That you have responsibility for)

Ancestors and Beyond

Clan Culture doesn't typically track beyond immediate family, using the same general terms for wide swaths of distant relationships.

Great-grandparents, grand-auncles, and distant cousins are Garrmwa. It could roughly translate to "ancestor" or "relative." These are cats that a connection can be made to with some deduction, but are not relevant.

If a cat ever did become particularly close to their Garrmwa, they would replace the title with the closest approximate term. For example, Jayfeather's mentor was his grand-uncle Longtail. After a while, he was simply acknowledged as his Myami, as he was the brother of Squirrelflight's Mi.

A Sharrarram is an Ancestor. A cat of your kin that has joined the ranks of StarClan. This isn't just direct ancestry; this could include the brother of your great-great-grandfather who died of an adder bite as an apprentice.

StarClan refers to its living relatives as Shegarra, "descendants."

Garrmwa = Relative (For relatives that can still be tracked with deduction but are not close enough to be within Gan.)

Sharrarram = Ancestors (For ancient ancestors, beyond modern memory, who live in the stars.)

Shegarra = Descendant

FAQ

Mi/Ba System FAQ

"are Mi and Ba gendered terms?" no.

"What if the Mi dies when kit is almost apprentice aged?" Ba becomes Mi legally, probably doesn't change the words they use.

"What happens if the Mi is changed halfway through the childhood?" Ba becomes Mi legally but family figures out if the kit will change the words they use.

"Can the Mi of the first litter decide they want to be Ba of the next litter?" Yes that's fine! The kids will just use the title that was relevant to them.

[virtie333]

Trifecta

Well, hello! First of all, thank you to my regular readers who followed me over to this ship. Second, for those who don’t know me, I usually write for straight monogamous relationships, namely Damerey. But I’ve been wanting to sail on this ship for a long time, and finally got the guts to visit.

It must be noted that while Finn and Poe are in a committed sexual relationship at the beginning of this story, I myself do not know enough about gay sex to be comfortable writing it. Yet. Therefore, this first foray of mine will be focusing on Rey and what her boys can do for her. I may venture further into their relationship in the future.

As always, all sexual relations are consensual and loving!

Explicit Sexual Content, Polyamory (MMF), Oral Sex (both M and F receiving), P in V (all are on Star Wars version of birth control), Multiple Female Orgasms (It’s my party!), Creampie x 2, Way Too Many Emotions Just under 7k Words

Also found on AO3

Rey was dozing as she sat on the floor, her back against the sofa, the holomovie that BB-8 was projecting in front of her nearing the end, when a soft sigh of pleasure jerked her awake. Grimacing slightly, she glanced over her shoulder at the two people cuddled on the sofa behind her, knowing what she would see. Finn sat with his head resting on Poe’s shoulder, a smirk on his face, as Poe sat with his eyes shut tight, his jaw slack, his breathing heavy. A blanket covered their laps, but Rey was pretty sure she knew what was going on underneath.

With a soft sigh of her own, she turned back to the movie. She wasn’t mad. How could she be mad? The two people she loved most in the galaxy had finally realized they loved each other and had settled into a committed, faithful relationship. They were still her best friends and still in her life, sharing an apartment just down the hall from her own. She was so very happy for them.

But there were still times they inadvertently made her feel so alone.

It wasn’t their fault. They did an amazing job of including her in everything they did, and they never made her feel like she wasn’t wanted. She was busy enough that they had plenty of private time without her, so when she was with them it always felt like the three of them were whole once more, as it had been during the war, when they first bonded with each other. But when it was late, and they were all tired, the two men tended to get handsy with each other, and while she knew they made an effort to not make her uncomfortable, she was far too attuned to the both of them to not notice what was going on.

The last few months since the war’s official end had been busy for all of them. Finn had set off with Lando Calrissian and Jannah to start looking for his birth family as soon as he was able. Rey had hated seeing him go. She had formed a strong attachment to the former stormtrooper, and had even thought there might be more than friendship once upon a time, but when Finn’s attention had turned to Rose, Rey had stopped thinking like that about him. Eventually, he and Rose’s relationship had turned into just friendship, but then the war had ended and he had headed off to seek his past. She supported him completely, but missed him while he was gone.

Fortunately, she still had Poe. When the newly formed Intergalactic Alliance had asked her to join their efforts as they tried to establish a new, peaceful government on Coruscant, she couldn’t help but say yes. Temporarily. When Poe had also accepted their request for his help, she had been overjoyed, knowing she wouldn’t be alone. And Poe had indeed stayed with her through it all, joking that he was protecting her from unscrupulous politicians and making sure she wasn’t taken advantage of. She knew it wasn’t a joke; he really did scare off anyone that even thought about using her for their own political goals. They acquired apartments next to each other and spent most of their free time together, already planning for the day when they could leave the newborn government and do what they really wanted. Poe wanted to start a flight school and Rey, of course, wanted to start training young Jedi. Poe knew the perfect planet for both schools.

The day they learned that Finn had found his home planet, and that both his parents and his two siblings had been killed years ago trying to defend him and other children from the First Order, they had both immediately taken leave and come to him. They brought him back with them to Coruscant, and without almost any discussion at all, he had moved in with Poe. Rey had been so happy to see the two of them finally settle together; it was inevitable, she had thought. They were meant for each other.

Just as she was meant to be alone.

Rey closed her eyes and tried to focus on the words and sounds coming from the movie. She tried to tell herself she wasn’t jealous. How could she be jealous? It’s not like she had ever had a physical, romantic relationship. Why should she miss something she had never had? But maybe… maybe that was her problem. Maybe she was just… horny. Maybe she should take a lover, someone to help her discover the intimacies of sex without the emotional attachment. Could she do that? Could she trust someone enough to become physical with them?

The credits began to roll and she opened her eyes. Now was her chance to escape. She yawned and stretched her arms up into the air. “I think I fell asleep,” she said. “Did I miss anything?”

“Naw,” Poe grumbled good naturedly. “It really wasn’t that good. We need to pick something better next time.”

“I told you,” Finn argued back. “We should have picked Beckett’s Last Stand. That one looked good!”

Rey looked back just in time to see Poe roll his eyes. She laughed, then pushed herself to her feet. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow,” she told them softly, her heart swelling with emotion as she looked at her boys, still cuddled together on the sofa. She really didn’t want to leave, but she knew she couldn’t stay. “Have a good night.” She turned toward the door.

“Rey?” Finn sat forward suddenly.

She looked at him, then at Poe, who was watching Finn with a furrowed brow. She looked back at Finn. “Yeah?”

Finn glanced at Poe, then he sat back, his expression almost sad. “Nothing. We’ll see you tomorrow.”

Rey nodded and gave them a quick grin. Poe was looking at her again, his eyes huge in the dim light of the room. He almost looked… wistful.

She smiled again, turned, and left the apartment.

******

Tylan Montrose was on the same committee she and Poe sat on. He was tall, smart, funny, and very good looking. He was a few years older than Rey and had been a part of the Republic Navy when the Hosnian System had been destroyed. He had been visiting his family on Vernell when the cataclysm had happened, and he had stayed there to help protect his planet, but he had also been a part of the great force that had attacked Exegol, answering the call for help when it came. He and Poe had become good friends since their arrival on Coruscant, and he had shown a definite interest in Rey. When she had politely declined his offer to go out for caf, Poe, who had overheard, told her that she should have said yes. “He’s a good guy,” he had told her.

If Poe trusted him, then she could. Right?

So, she had found Tylan after their meeting and struck up a conversation with him. After a while, she had asked him to join her for dinner that night at the Rockani, one of her favorite restaurants. He had said yes without any hesitation, a huge smile on his face.

Rey had no clue what she was doing, but she must have been saying the right things that night, because when he saw her to her apartment after dinner and she asked him inside, there was once more no hesitation from him. Unfortunately, only minutes after he started kissing her, she knew it wasn’t going to go any further. She was uncomfortable and felt no desire whatsoever. When she pulled back, Tylan didn’t push forward.

“Too soon?” he had asked.

Laughing nervously, she nodded. “I guess.” She wasn’t sure she would ever be ready. Not with this man. Not with anybody.

He had left without any anger and Rey found herself sitting on the floor, her back to the front door, trying not to cry.

A knock sounded and she jumped. She had a bell. Only one person ever knocked.

Sighing, she stood and keyed the door to slide open. Poe stood on the other side, Finn right behind him. They both looked worried.

“He didn’t stay long,” Poe was saying. “Is everything okay?”

She huffed and turned to walk over to her sofa, sitting down on it heavily. “What? Are you guys spying on me?”

They followed her, and as they often did when they thought she needed comforting (they always knew when she needed comforting), they sat on either side of her, Poe on her left, Finn on her right.

“Of course not,” Finn was saying.

“We just knew you had a date with Tylan and were paying attention when he brought you home.” Poe was looking at her intently. “He… didn’t try anything you didn’t want, did he?”

Rey looked at him, giving him a smile with no humor in it. “Don’t you think you would have found him in two pieces on the floor if he had?”

He rolled his eyes and brought his arm up around her shoulders. “Yeah, yeah.”

“Just not your type, huh?” Finn asked, leaning into her.

She sighed, already more comfortable sandwiched between these two men than she had been with Tylan at any point during their date. “I’m not sure I have a type,” she said. “I just want…”

“What?” Finn whispered.

“Someone with a lightsaber as cool as yours?” Poe asked.

Rey laughed and turned to him. “There is no such person.”

Poe grinned. “True.” His smile faded and he looked past her at Finn. “But… there is us.”

Rey frowned at him, glanced at Finn, then back at Poe. “You?”

Poe nodded. “Yeah. Finn and I.”

Rey’s heart started to race. “I – I’m not sure what you mean?”

“We love you, Rey,” Finn said, bringing his face close to her. When she turned toward him, he brought his forehead in to touch hers.

“And I love you both, but…”

“But?”

“You have each other.”

“You don’t think we’re capable of loving you just as much as we love each other?”

“I… I didn’t think you looked at me that way.” Her voice sounded small. Hopeful.

“We always have,” Poe said softly. “We’ve been wanting to ask if you felt the same for a while. I knew you felt that way for Finn, I just…” he paused, glancing at Finn again, then looking back at her. “I just wasn’t sure you looked at me like that.”

Rey stared at him now, and she felt tears well up in her eyes. “I do,” she whispered. “I always have. Since the first day I met you.”

“I told you so,” Finn said, a smile on his face.

Poe shoved Finn slightly with the hand that was over Rey’s shoulder, then focused on her again. “Do you trust us, Rey?”

“Implicitly.”

He nodded. “Then let us take care of you.”

Rey felt a sudden tightness between her legs at his words, and she squeezed her thighs together, the shot of desire much stronger than anything she had ever felt before. She looked back and forth between the two of them, in awe of how they were both focused on her, looking at her the way she had only seen them look at each other before. Was it possible, she wondered? Was it true that she could really become a part of their bond in this way?

“Yes,” she whispered. “Please, yes.”

They ended up at Poe and Finn’s apartment because Rey mentioned that their bed was much bigger than hers.

Rey couldn’t believe how excited she was as these two men she loved and trusted more than anyone led her into their shared bedroom. Once there, Finn wrapped his arms around her and began to gently nuzzle her cheek. “You’ll let us know if we do anything you don’t like, right?”

Rey nodded, suddenly afraid. What if she didn’t like any of it? She’d touched herself in the past, but it had always led to less than satisfying results. Maybe she couldn’t enjoy sex?

Finn moved his face closer to hers and she closed her eyes as his lips made contact. He was so gentle, and so careful, and she liked it. It wasn’t at all like the kisses she had just shared with Tylan. She wanted more.

She brought her arms up around his neck and opened her mouth, inviting more from him, and he responded by opening his own mouth and letting his tongue touch hers. She shivered, loving the sensation, and began tasting him in earnest. He moaned, his arms tightening around her middle. All too soon, he pulled back, looking behind her at Poe. She also looked over, a bit dazed, and her eyes were immediately drawn to the older man’s bare chest. He had removed his shirt while she and Finn had been kissing.

He looked at her, a question in his eyes, and Rey reached for him, anxious to touch him. To taste him next. He smiled and drew her into his arms as she ran her hands along his bare shoulders.

“Poe’s gonna lead us through this, okay?” Finn said quietly from behind her. Rey looked at him over her shoulder. “I didn’t have a whole lot of experience before he and I became lovers, and none of it was really great until him.”

Rey looked back at Poe. “I have no experience,” she whispered.

Poe smiled softly. “I think you’ll figure it out pretty quick,” he told her. He looked at Finn. “This is going to be all about Rey tonight, Finn. Is that okay?”

“Absolutely,” Finn responded without hesitation. “I can’t wait to see her come over and over and over…”

“Finn!” Rey giggled, feeling her face heat. She looked at Poe, suddenly nervous again. “What if I can’t?”

Poe brought a hand up and stroked her cheek. “Judging by your reactions to us, I think you can,” he told her. “But even if you can’t, we’re still going to make this as enjoyable as possible for you. Deal?”

Rey nodded, and Poe’s lips quirked once more before he moved in to kiss her. Rey didn’t even hesitate this time, opening her mouth to accept his tongue, loving the feel as much as she had with Finn. As they kissed, she felt Finn’s hands on her hips, stroking her through her leggings, squeezing her. Suddenly, she wanted nothing more than to have them both touch her bare skin. She ran her hands down along Poe’s chest, enjoying the smoothness and heat of his skin. She looked down as her fingers trailed over his nipples, watching as they peaked at her touch. She looked over at Finn, realizing he, too, had removed his shirt. His dark chest was just as smooth as Poe’s but different. The contrast between the two men excited her. She wanted to explore them both completely.

Poe began to kiss and lick on her neck and she closed her eyes, letting her head fall back. Finn’s hands had worked up to the front of her body and were skimming up under the loose silky shirt she had worn for her date with Tylan. She held her breath as they reached her breasts, which she had left bare as she usually did when she wasn’t working. She let out a gasp as his hands cupped her gently, his large, rough fingers squeezing her firmly. A rush of moisture flowed from between her legs, and she wanted to be embarrassed, but she felt too good. Both of them touching her, standing shirtless with her tucked between their hard bodies…

She cried out, her knees feeling weak. She grasped Poe’s arm with one hand and reached back for Finn’s shoulder with the other to keep herself upright. “Kriff!” she swore. She never swore!

Poe lifted his head and she could hear his soft chuckle in her ear. “Yeah, I think you’re going to enjoy this, Sunshine.” He moved back more and she immediately missed his heat. “Let’s get you undressed,” he said, then looked at Finn.

She glanced at the man behind her, who was grinning and nodding. He also stepped back a bit, grasping the hem of Rey’s shirt and pulling it up and off of her in one smooth movement. Rey gasped again, looking at Poe in surprise, feeling far too exposed. He was looking at her breasts, biting his lower lip, and his appreciative expression actually soothed her. He looked up at her, maintaining eye contact with her as he stepped close once more. He reached for the fastener to her leggings on her hip, undoing it while he nuzzled her nose with his. He glanced behind her to Finn, and once more the two men seemed to communicate silently, as both reached for the waistband of her leggings and began tugging them down, taking her underwear with them.

Rey bit her lip as she reached out to brace herself on their shoulders, a laugh of pure joy bubbling up as they worked together to get her shoes and leggings off. Before she knew it, she was completely naked and the two men stood straight, both moving in front of her, both looking at her with hot eyes.

“Perfect,” Poe whispered.

“Kriffing beautiful,” Finn agreed.

Rey felt her whole body heat and knew her skin, so much paler than either of them, was turning bright red in various locations.

Poe smiled again, warm and inviting. “Why don’t you lay down on the bed, Rey?”

Taking a deep breath, Rey did as he asked, her legs still shaking. She crawled to the middle of the big bed, then lay down on her back, bracing herself on her elbows as she watched the men in front of her work at removing their boots and trousers. They were so different, she thought. The way they looked, the way they moved, the way they spoke. And yet, their hearts were almost identical. She felt tears form in her eyes as they gave each other a sweet kiss, suddenly knowing that was why she loved them both. They were both so very good, two extraordinarily kind people who had lived very hard lives and were now ready to live their happily ever after.

And they wanted her to be a part of it.

Her eyes were drawn downward as they turned to face her once more. Again, they were very different from each other, but both were rather intimidating. While she may have never had intercourse before, she wasn’t unfamiliar with male human anatomy, and both of these specimens were impressive. Finn’s was a bit longer, she thought, and the head was larger, but Poe’s was overall thicker. Finn was already almost fully erect, his dark cock standing stiffly out from a thin nest of black hair. Poe had more hair, and he was still only at half-mast. He gripped himself as she watched, running his hand along his length, and she knew it was age and experience that made him seem more relaxed, not lack of desire. She felt her pussy leak and she moaned softly, her hips rocking unconsciously.

Poe gave her a wicked smile and moved to the side of the bed on her right, still stroking himself. “Mmmmm,” he hummed. “You smell that, Finn?”

“Frick, yes!” Finn exclaimed, moving toward the opposite side of her.

They both climbed on the bed, stretching out on either side of her. “Let’s give her the perfect first time,” Poe whispered. Rey let herself fall back completely on the bed, and Poe followed her, taking her mouth with his once more and kissing her like there was no tomorrow. She felt Finn’s hand on her breast, and then his mouth. She arched her back and moaned into Poe’s mouth. She felt a hand, she wasn’t sure whose, gently grab her left wrist and direct her to Finn’s cock. She wrapped her hand around him, and as she did so the person directing her, Poe she determined, took her other wrist and directed it to his cock. Then he left her lips and moved down to mouth her other breast. She cried out, her hips jerking upward as they both began to suckle on her gently, her hands tightening on their cocks. “Oh, my stars!” she cried, as even more wetness leaked from her pussy.

Poe’s fingers found their way down her belly and were soon delving between her legs. “Shit, Finn!” he cried softly, lifting his head from Rey’s breast to look at his partner. “She’s so fucking wet!”

Rey watched as Finn brought his hand down to join Poe’s, and she almost began crying as they both fingered her, touching her where nobody but herself had ever been. “Oh, please!” she cried, tears leaking from her eyes.

“I want to taste!” Finn said, his voice rough. “If she tastes half as good as she smells…”

“Rey?” Poe was looking at her, one eyebrow arched. Asking for permission. At this point, she was quite sure she would deny him nothing.

“Please! Yes, please!”

Both men smiled and glanced at each other before sliding down the sheets. Rey automatically lifted her legs, spreading them wide, and they easily slipped underneath, placing her ankles on their shoulders, holding her open.

“Fuck, Poe! Look at her!”

“She’s dripping! All for us, Finn!”

Rey cried out, arching her hips up toward them, her heels digging into their shoulders, uncaring how desperate she seemed.

They heeded her unspoken request and dropped their heads, lips and tongues and teeth attacking her center. Her inner thighs, the super sensitive area between the crease of her thigh and the edge of her pussy, the lips of her pussy, her clit. They never stilled, working her over as she never, ever dreamed she would enjoy. As Finn toyed with her clit with his tongue, Poe inserted a finger into her cunt. She rocked against it, shocked how much she loved the intrusion and how much she wanted more. Soon, another thick finger joined the first, and Finn began sucking gently on her clit. She felt her body quicken shockingly fast, and the explosion took her by surprise. Her vision flashed white and she screamed, her hands coming down on top of the heads of her tormentors. She gripped Poe’s thick hair and her fingers tightened along the curved braids along Finn’s skull.

She felt her body go limp and she dropped her hands, opening her eyes to see both men smiling at her, almost giddy. “Told ya,” Poe said smugly.

Rey laughed, her body still trembling.

Poe turned to Finn and the two kissed, sharing her juices between them. Rey moaned at the sight, shocked that she could get so turned on again so fast. Poe pulled back first. “Keep her wet down here,” he told Finn. “I’m going in.”

Finn grinned. “Yes, sir.” Rey shifted, hoping she was ready for whatever Poe had planned. It was apparent as she watched them together that while she suspected Finn topped when they had sex, Poe was still in charge. She had to admit, she liked having him in charge.

He slid up to lie next to her again, then gently pulled her right arm upwards. “Lay on your side,” he said softly. As she did so, he positioned himself behind her and then reached down to pull her right leg up. She didn’t resist, but then whimpered as Finn immediately dived in to start licking her wide open pussy once more. “We want you wet and loose,” Poe whispered in her ear. He nipped her lobe, which sent a whole new batch of shivers up her spine. “No pain today. Not if I can help it.” As he spoke, he let her leg down to rest over his hip and he used his hand to direct his cock up to her weeping hole.

She felt him slide inside with no resistance whatsoever, the pressure was intense and amazing. “Oh, my Force!” she cried. “Oh, yes!” She felt Poe smile against the back of her jaw where his face was resting, and then his hips were moving. Back and forth he moved, sliding in and out of her. Finn continued to tongue her clit and she closed her eyes, so absorbed by the pleasure she was feeling that she felt as if she were floating.

“Oh Kriff!” she heard Finn mutter.

“Stay with us, Rey,” Poe growled in her ear.

She opened her eyes and realized she was floating. Not very high, but high enough her boys were having a tough time finishing what they started. She gasped a laugh and dropped back to the bed. “Sorry,” she huffed.

Poe chuckled, and she could feel it as well as hear it with his chest pressed against her back once more. “I’m taking it as a compliment. How about you, Finn?”

“Hell, yeah,” her best friend uttered as he continued his ministrations between her legs.

Poe’s thrusts got a bit harder and Rey could feel her body climbing once more, this time a little slower. But not much. She reached for her release this time, knowing exactly what awaited her and craving it. Her body spasmed even harder, and Poe’s arm tightened around her middle, holding her close to him until she came back to herself. It was an amazing, comforting feeling. She brought up her right hand to lace her fingers with his where they rested on her belly. She used her other hand to push gently on Finn’s head, asking him to stop, as Poe slid out of her.

Finn moved up again so that they lay face to face, and she smiled softly at him. He stroked her cheek gently, then moved in to kiss her. He tasted salty and a bit sweet. He tasted of her.

They lay there together for a long moment, letting Rey rest, but soon she became aware of Poe’s still hard cock poking her buttock, and Finn’s was bobbing gently between them. She looked him in the eye. “I want you, now.”

“Are you sure?” he asked, his dark eyes gentle but excited. She felt another gush of wetness between her legs at his husky voice.

“Oh, yes.”

Immediately, Poe moved away from her, gently pushing on her shoulder so that she once more lay on her back. Finn moved to Rey, his muscular body seeming huge as he kneeled between her legs and lowered himself over her. He settled on his elbows as Poe demanded softly, “Lift your knees, Rey.”

She did as asked, and felt the tip of Finn’s cock brush up against her clit. She arched up and cried out.

“You want me inside you?” Finn asked, his voice rough, his jaw tight.

“Yes!” she almost shouted. “Please, Finn!”

“Listen to your Jedi Master, Finn,” Poe grumbled, his expression almost wild.

Finn groaned and used his hand to aid in his entrance, then he slid in just as easily as Poe had. Instinctively, Rey brought her legs up further so she could wrap her ankles around his thighs as he began to thrust. She gasped and threw her head back on the pillow, closing her eyes. How did she never know how good this could be?

She opened her eyes to see Poe’s face next to hers. “You like that?” he asked, his eyes dark, his pupils dilated in excitement. “You like Finn fucking you?”

“Yes!” she groaned, then reached for him, grabbing him by the back of the head and pulling him down for a kiss. He devoured her mouth as Finn started thrusting harder. Rey once more felt her body ignite and knew what was coming. She pulled back, shouting “Yes!” into Poe’s mouth.

“Come again, Sunshine!” Poe demanded. “Come again for us!”

And she did.

******

Poe was the one who got up to get them some water a short time later.

She watched as he walked naked across the room, his penis still erect, the head red and weeping. She looked down at Finn’s cock as she sat up, realizing that he was still hard, too. As Poe brought back a large glass of water, Rey looked back and forth between them. “Are you..” She cleared her throat. “Are you going to… come?”

Poe just smiled at her as he sat on the edge of the bed, handing her the water. “Well, I would like to at some point,” he said, his voice teasing. “I’m sure Finn would, too.” Finn nodded his head vigorously. “I guess the question is where do you want us to come? On you, on each other, or in you?”

“In me!” Rey exclaimed without hesitation, then she looked down, embarrassed, as she took a sip of water.

Poe’s smile just got bigger. “I was hoping you’d say that. You’re up to date on your contraception shots, I assume?”

Rey nodded, looking up at him again, then looking at Finn as she handed him the glass.

Finn grinned as he accepted the water. “It’s gonna get messy,” he said, waggling his eyebrows.

“It’s already messy,” Poe argued. “Have you seen what this woman is doing to our bed?”

Rey reached over and slapped his chest lightly with the back of her hand. “And whose fault is that?”

The three of them laughed as they passed the glass around, finishing the water. Rey noticed that their erections had softened a bit during their rest, but Poe had a solution for that.

He lay on his back and patted his thighs. “Ride me, Rey,” he told her.

She straddled his thighs and watched as Finn sidled up next to them, laying half on his side facing them. He and Poe kissed before Poe looked at Rey once more. “Take us both in hand,” he said. “You’ve got two of them for a reason.”

Rey giggled and rolled her eyes. “Very funny,” she said as she took him in her left hand and Finn in her right. She began to slide her hands up and down their cocks, her breathing quickening once more. She could feel them get stiffer in her hands, and she was not surprised when her body responded with even more moisture.

“There you go, Sunshine,” Poe said softly. She was already dripping on his thigh. “Now, when you’re ready, mount me.”

She nodded, let go of Finn, then shuffled forward and up, slowly impaling herself on Poe’s cock. “Mmmmmm,” she moaned. This position was different, but felt just as good.

“Good girl,” Poe said, and Rey felt her breath catch.

“Hmmm, she likes that,” Finn growled. They had both noticed her reaction to Poe’s praise.

Poe grinned. “Just like you like being told what a good boy you are?”

Rey looked at Finn who looked moderately embarrassed. He sat up a bit and leaned toward her. “I guess we’re both lucky we found our Dom, huh, Rey?”

Rey nodded, not really wanting to contemplate the fact that she liked being told what to do. But only by Poe.

“So, does that mean you’re going to keep doing what I tell you, Rey?” Poe asked, one eyebrow raised.

Remembering what Finn had said to him earlier, Rey bobbed her head. “Yes, sir.”

Poe nodded, then shifted his hips, making Rey gasp. “That’s my girl,” he whispered. “Now, lean over and put Finn’s cock in your mouth.”

Rey’s eyes immediately turned to the cock in question, then she looked upward to see Finn, an excited look on his face, lay back down, scooching up a bit so she had easier access to him. Licking her lips, she grabbed his once more fully erect penis and bent over it. Carefully, she wrapped her lips around the large head, curiosity and desire driving her on. Poe was rocking his hips up into her steadily, and as she tasted Finn for the first time, she felt another wave of immense pleasure wash over her. She began to rock her own hips to meet Poe’s thrusts and matched the movement with her hand on the base of Finn’s cock, squeezing him as she sucked on his tip.

“Oh, fuck, yeah,” she heard Finn groan, and she looked up to see him lean over and kiss Poe. “This is a kriffing dream come true,” he said, breathing hard against Poe’s mouth.

Poe groaned and closed his eyes. “If this is a dream, I don’t ever want to wake up!”

His hips increased their pace and Rey couldn’t concentrate on Finn anymore. She sat up, her hands on Poe’s belly, rocking against him, seeking that amazing high she knew existed now. She reached for Finn’s cock again, trying hard to focus on him as well as her own pleasure, but the feelings were too intense. “Oh!” she cried. This felt different. Less like an explosion and more like a tidal wave. Her thighs started to tremor uncontrollably and she felt as if she was falling. “Finn!” she cried as she reached for him.

He sat up and pulled her into his arms. “Let go!” he told her. She did, letting the wave take over and crying out into Finn’s shoulder. She looked at Poe as she slowly came down, wondering if he had felt the same intensity she had.

He was looking at her with wide eyes. “You are so fucking beautiful,” he said gruffly.

She started to back off of him, only to realize he was still hard. “Poe,” she said as Finn let her go. “You didn’t come.”

He smiled. “I will, Sunshine,” he told her. “But I want Finn to claim you first.”

Finn’s expression was startled. “Poe?”

“You found her first,” Poe said with a soft smile. He pushed back and sat up. “But you better hurry. I’m not going to wait for my turn forever.” He gripped his cock, running his thumb over the tip and the bead of precum that sat there.

Finn looked at Rey. “Okay.”

Rey nodded. “Okay.” She bit her lip. “How..?”

“Can I..?”

“Oh, just take her from behind,” Poe interrupted. “You know you want to.”

Rey grinned at Poe’s outburst, then she softened her smile for Finn before turning her back on him, spreading her legs and leaning down to brace herself off of her elbows. She looked back at him over her shoulder. “Come on, General. Give it to me.”

As Finn groaned, Poe shook his head. “Oh, Kriff! We created a monster.” He shoved Finn’s shoulder. “Hurry up and fuck her!”

Finn did as told, moving up behind Rey and pushing into her in one smooth motion. Rey gasped, once again startled and pleased all at the same time by the different feel these different positions gave her. He was so deep like this. And he was so hard!

“I’m not gonna last long,” he huffed as he began to thrust.

Rey couldn’t form any words as the slap of his hips against her ass got louder and faster. Kriff! She wasn’t, either! His hands gripped her hard, his fingers biting into the flesh of her waist. He moved one, placing it flat against her back in between her shoulder blades, but he didn’t put much pressure on her. It was almost as if he was bracing himself, so he wouldn’t fall over onto her. Her fingers gripped the bedsheets tight.

“I’m coming. I’m coming. I’m coming,” he began to chant.

“Give it to her, baby!” Poe growled.

Poe’s exclamation was all it took for Rey to feel her body overload once more. It wasn’t as strong as before, but it felt amazing, especially when combined with the feel of Finn’s release inside of her. She could almost imagine his hot seed coating her insides. As she suspected, he fell onto her, but not heavily, catching himself before his full weight came upon her. He kissed her shoulder blade wetly, then turned to Poe, who was laughing joyfully. They kissed, then Poe leaned down to kiss her as well. “I can’t even explain to you how beautiful you two look together,” he said, his eyes huge.

Finn backed up, pulling out and pushing himself up to the head of the bed, falling back onto the pillows. “Your turn, General.”

Poe looked at him, then looked at Rey. For the first time that night, there seemed to be some uncertainty in his expression, and Rey remembered that they had not asked her if she wanted this sooner because Poe believed Rey didn’t love him the way she loved Finn. She smiled and turned over onto her back, keeping eye contact with him. She spread her legs wide, grasping herself under the knees, holding herself open.

“Your turn, General,” she repeated Finn’s words.

His chest heaving, his cock now rock hard, he moved to kneel between her thighs. He placed his hands gently under her knees, pushing hers away, holding her open himself now. Still looking her in the eye, he moved forward and slid into her without any assistance. Rey was super sensitive now after literally being fucked over and over again by these men and coming… five times now? But she wanted this. She wanted him. All of him.

“You feeling my cum in there, Poe?” Finn said with a grin. “Got’cha a little extra lube this time. Not that you need it with how much she wants you.” His voice had gotten deep and lazy as Poe started driving in and out of Rey. Long, slow thrusts. Finn’s words combined with Poe’s intense look was too much!

Rey threw her head back. “Oh, please! Fuck me! Give it to me!”

With a soft roar, Poe obeyed and began thrusting hard. The slap of their skin, the squelching sound of his entry into her now saturated pussy, the grunts as he worked his hips into her… “Ahhhhhh! Poe!” Rey screamed, coming hard, her body spasming. She reached for Finn and he grabbed her hand, hanging on tight.

Poe’s body seized up as he began to fill her with his seed, his hips pulsing a few more times as he emptied himself. Rey fell limp. She let go of Finn’s hand and brought both of hers up to her face, rubbing against her eyes as she felt the tears come, overwhelmed.

She felt Poe slowly back out of her, but his fingers were up against her pussy immediately. “None of that!” he said huskily. “You stay in there were you belong,” he said as he pushed into her sensitive hole. He was pushing his and Finn’s combined cum back into her. Finn moved to help him and the two grinned at each other, kissing as they fondled her sore pussy gently. She giggled, knowing they were intentionally making her laugh, doing their best to keep her from becoming too emotional.

They looked at her, and their expressions made her want to cry again. It was a combination of love and awe, and she knew exactly how they felt.

Poe cleared his throat. “Come on,” he told her, moving to help her sit up and move back up to the head of the bed. Finn jumped off and headed for the ‘fresher, bringing back a couple of wet washcloths. Together, they cleaned up Rey and each other before settling on either side of her.

Rey was so, so tired, but even as sated as she was, she couldn’t help wondering if they expected her to leave and go back to her own apartment for the rest of the night. Force knows she didn’t want to.

As if he was reading her mind, Poe’s voice broke the silence.

“Move in here with us, Rey.”

For a moment, Rey truly believed she was imagining things, that her hopes and wishes were just manifesting themselves through dreams.

“You don’t have to,” Poe continued, his voice nervous now. “I mean, you’re used to living alone. Having your own space. I get it.”

Rey lifted her head and looked at Finn. “Do you want me to move in?”

He smiled and touched her cheek. “Yeah. But we’re not going to pressure you. We know it will probably cause a lot of gossip if you do.”

She scoffed. “As if I’m not already the brunt of gossip around here. Besides, we won’t be here much longer.” She looked at Poe. “Right? We’re still going to Yavin IV when things here are settled?”

Poe blinked quickly, and Rey could see the tears in his eyes. “Yeah, Sunshine. As soon as we can.”

“Yes,” she whispered. “Yes, I’ll move in with you.”

“I love you, Rey,” he said softly.

She reached up and ran her hand along his beard stubble. “I love you, Poe.” She turned to Finn. “And you, Finn. You both mean so much to me.”

“I love you, Rey,” Finn told her, his eyes shining now. He looked up and over her head at Poe. “And I love you, Moof Milker.”

Poe leaned over Rey and pushed his hand into Finn’s face. “I love you, too, Fart Face!”

Rey started giggling madly as she started tickling Poe.

He jerked back. “Hey! No fair!” He started tickling her back. Finn joined in and they wrestled with each other for a moment, but exhaustion soon overtook them all.

Curled up between her boys, it didn’t take long for Rey to fall asleep, knowing that whatever the future threw at her, she had finally found her happily ever after.

THE END

[sailoreuterpe]

Finally, someone sees my vision!

In all seriousness, obviously all three of the parents would love all three of the kids and have special, unique bonds with each child. However, if pressed, Teddy would pick Tina as the one with whom he connects the best/easiest. They're both awkward messes who get scarily-obsessed with the people that they love and panic-stink when stressed. They can bond over Boyz 4 Now, their intense crushes, and their strong storytelling skills.

polyamorous parenting is very important to me bcuz my ocs are also polyamorous parents of three kids (well. in the sims 4 world I created they are anyway. and they will be when they're older in their canon world too but for now they're in their early 20s blah blah) so I am very supportive of the teddy/bob/linda polycule parenting the kids and being their three legal guardians I think this is a great thing. and it's basically canon anyway there's no other reason for teddy to be so involved 😭 he just doesn't live w/ them but other than that. there's something goin' on over there

also tina is teddy's FAVORITE!!!! so its important bcuz its gene/linda louise/bob tina/teddy so u understand. it doesn't work otherwise

[lilacs-stash]

Fankid time baby

Been slowly working on my ii next gen meet Briefcase and Flower pot 2.0

Briefcase is basically if a middle aged butch was also 15. Eir whole situation was basically a recipe for parental issues but ey ended up being fine since eir parents actually handled it well. He considers Baseball his dad and has a good relationship with Nickel but he's more of a weird uncle then a dad. (Context: BB and Suitcase are married, Nickel and Suitcase are dating. Polyamory 👍) She's overall very chill and a bit of dork. Miiiiight ship eir with Moon (Candleyang kid) not sure yet

Flower pot is an adventurous sweetheart who's quite socially awkward but doesn't real know it. Bit of an air headhead. Fae got completely revamped since I switched my Clover ship. Fae has a crush on Ice-aid (payjay's daughter, yeah decided they're canon)

These two are roommates in the hotel since Flower has been going to school on inanimate Island.

[bobspolyweek]

Prompt Poll Reminder!!

The poll is still active and will be up until September 30th, 2024! That will give everyone two (2) weeks to create in advance of the week itself from October 14th-18th. Please vote for your favorite prompts in the poll below. Don't hesitate to reach out to this blog or to @sailoreuterpe if you have any questions!

Also, @louiganweek starts next Monday! Let's have an amazing week to celebrate those two boneheads XD. Continued thanks to @babsvibes for guiding me through my first fandom week and for being such an integral part of the BB fandom!

[the-bi-library]

So like, maybe a long shot here but do you have any books where the main character is female and gets in a love triangle… And slowly realises it's dumb and they're all in love with each other so #polyamory bb. I've been looking at a book like this since I was 13

I would prefer a love triangle in the traditional heteronormative sense. Where it's two girls vying for a man's love, only to all fall in love. Or the reverse and two dudes, so to start off with it's not an accurate triangle just like hetero books. But I doubt there's much to pull from so I'll take anything tbh.

Things I do however like:

Femmes with a dominant mean kinda catty energy (yes I'm one of those)

Fluff AND messy relationship dynamics. Maybe they're trying poly for the first time and struggling through it with boundaries etc.

If this doesn't exist I'll write it

Sorry, I only know of this one:

[comebackali]

trope selection tag game

tagged by @sukugo, thank you bb 💖💕💖💕

enemies to lovers or friends to lovers - i can't believe i'm about to pick friends to lovers over enemies to lovers, but thinking about actual ships i've shipped over the years i don't have that many enemies to lovers ships, while i have quiet a few friends to lovers ships so i guess i pick that one

coffee shop au or flower shop au - neither, but i guess coffee shop au, cuz i like coffee more than flowers, but both are so boring

hurt/comfort or there was only one bed - i'm always a slut for there was only one bed

found family or partners in crime - partners in crime babey!! i love a dynamic duo getting up to shenanigans

canon compliant or canon divergent - i simply think it's sexy when people have to make it work within the confines of the story

domesticity or pwp - porn porn porn!!!

fluff or angst with a happy ending - fluff is boring, give me angst any day

1st person pov or 3rd person pov - i love when outsiders look in like, "there's something wrong with them"

soulmates or forbidden love - i love you soulmates. i love when things are inevitable and there's nothing you can do to stop it

roommates or fake dating - fake dating my beloved, trope of all time

slow burn or meet-cute - i love you slowburn. i like the getting together (slowly, excruciatingly) more than the meeting

love triangle or polyamorous relationship - i love polyamory

royalty au or magic au - royalty, because it sets me up for arranged marriage au, and bodyguard au, and they get to wear fun outfits

high school/college au or neighbours au - neighbors i guess. i don't care about high school

mutual pining or idiots to lovers - mutual pining is so yummy. but yeah it's the same picture. they're both pining because they're both idiots

tagging: @ladyculebras @hearthouses @icebluecyanide @laufire @bedlamsbard

@bunnywan @renlyslittlerose @veloursdor @unspuncreature @grumfield + anyone else who wants to do it

[falloutwitch2004]

Dog Days Are Over

Season 1; Episode 3 - "Here Comes The Spiderman"

TW: cursing, fighting, canon typical violence, death, grieving, cross dressing, implied polyamory

"I've got a clean shot!" Kate yelled as she prepared to shoot the guy she and Avery were after: the Scorpion. However, the Scorpion was constantly moving.

"The web arrow, use it!" Avery said swing closer to the ground. Avery webbed him up from behind, letting Kate's web arrow do the rest. The police came speeding down the street as Kate and Avery left the scene, knowing how cops and vigilantes got along. "You were great out there."

"Not as great as you." Kate praised with a kiss to Avery's neck. "You doing okay?"

"Still getting used to the binder, but yeah, I'm good." Avery said. "Hey, how's breakfast for dinner sound tonight?"

"Ooh, yes please." Kate replied. The two went back to their apartment. Avery wasted no time peeling the suit from her skin. "I still don't get why you don't just make a new suit."

"Peter gave people hope." Avery said. "And we're the only ones who knew what happened to him." Kate got up to comfort her girlfriend when shexsaw tears prick her vision, but Avery was quick to stop her. "No, please don't hold me. Because if you hold me, I will only cry harder and it won't stop. It'll be like when I opened up about the carousel all over again."

"It's okay for you to feel things." Kate reassured.

"I just, I want to keep him alive for all these people." Avery explained. "He didn't deserve to die. He was only twenty-one."

"I know." Kate said softly. "But look how far you're pushing yourself."

"It's worth it." Avery said. "For Peter."

Meanwhile back at the scene of the crime, the bb report was bringing the latest news.

"Do you have any thoughts on Spider-Man's return?" Bb Urich asked a passer by.

"Well, y'know, he was away for a moment." The man said. "Was worried maybe something had happened. But glad Spidey's back."

"I think he and his friend should leave things to the police." An older woman answered when asked the same question.

"We love you, Spider-Man!" A few high school aged girls replied in unison, followed by all three of them blowing kisses.

[topioswords]

Stray

“You definitely need some help,” Noir says, pinching his nose. The kid in the alley withdraws into the shadows, grubby clothes hanging off them, and Noir gets the distinct feeling the only reason they’re not hissing at him is the fact they’re too scared.

The gold chain collar is so thin it’s barely visible, well hidden underneath the clothes and dirt, but he saw, and that’s really messed up if it means what he thinks it means.

It’s gonna be a cold night, and the kid looks half starved, even if it wasn’t for all the other reasons Noir has to do something about that.

“Chill,” he says, holding his hands up. “I’m human.” he adds.

The kid blinks. Then straightens up. “Oh thank the hillkings I thought I smelled…”the kid moves forward  a bit then narrows their eyes. “I do, you’re somebody’s Pet aren’t you…  They let you roam?”

“Hoboy,” Noir says and pinches the bridge of his nose. “This is gonna be a fun chat. Mind if we don’t have it out here?”

The kid shrugs, steps forward once more out of the half cover that hid most of them from view, and Noir thinks he needs a medal for not even flinching.

“Short version is no, I’m nobody’s pet.” Noir says and grits his teeth as he looks at the marks on the kid’s skin, faintly glowing and intricate. Also dotted with steel nails where they start at their hands.

It really really shouldn’t be physically possible to not fuck up a limb doing that, but magic nudges a lot of very bad things into the realm of possibility.

Somebody clearly went through a lotta effort to do this, and all Noir can think is why?.

“Hm,” the kid says and Noir bites down a scream at how stupid and unfair this is.

“I’m… Oh shit I don’t know how to explain this in a way that makes sense without getting into real questionable territory if you’re the age you look,” Noir grumbles.

“I’m not,” the kid says and tilts their head looking at his face. Noir makes a questioning grimace and the tone softens. “I take it you haven’t spent a lotta time in the other lands. I’m…” they scratch at their chin, the movement makes the metal nails cast dots of light against the office wall. “About mid 30 in human years. I think.”

It’s Noir’s turn to make a hm sound but he shrugs cause close enough. “Right, so… I’m not anybody’s property, I’m in a relationship with a couple of fey--” Noir can see that raised eyebrow and he scowls. “--Not like that!” he bites off the inevitable question.

“I was not going to suggest anything,” the not-kid says, but Noir is pretty sure he sees a small smile.

“I’d really rather you didn’t think it either,” Noir admits and gestures with a hand. “Had an incident or two cause rumors, but I’m not fucking anybody and especially not for power and glory.”

“Touchy subject,” the young person says and nods solemnly. 

Noir makes an agreeing sound and gets up, rummaging through the battered furniture until he finds one of the stashes of muesli bars Zellus insisted he keep.

They are not, thankfully, homemade. He’s gotten used to the mushroom flavor, but he’s pretty sure subjecting strangers to that might be some sort of war crime.

“Here,” he says and throws it. “I go by Noir by the way,” he adds and stuffs his hands in his pockets. “Let’s get inside, then we can figure things out, ok?”

The kid frowns, chewing. Then they bow, head kept low, and Noir manages not to sigh.

[chaos-town]

I’m fully laughing cus I’m unable to flirt irl/silly

Literally my last partners (I’m POLYYYYYY ✨) I asked out literally like: “If I could date you both then I would” and then we realized polyamory was a thing/silly

Lore drop with Arsenic ✨

- Arsenic Anon (🎭)

BB probably—

Or maybe is not able to flirt either, that’s why she’s still a LONELY SILLY—

Until she found the perfect someone!~

[sailoreuterpe]

Aw, thank you so much! I'm excited that you and a few others have expressed interest in writing for BLT. The more the merrier is more motto! Plus, it's so cool to see other fans' ideas and interpretations.

What's your favorite obscure ship for Bob’s?

it depends on your definition of obscure LOL

harley x louise would be really cute tbh.... i think they'd be fun together!!! can see them dating for like a summer during high school for fun and then calling it off after that. nothing serious but they'd get along like a house on fire

tina x jimmy jr x zeke if that counts as obscure. their friendship is ADORABLE i could totally see them wanting to spend the rest of their lives together <3

gene x peter pescadero bcuz i think it would be funny. and they're in a band together so it kinda works!

bob x linda x teddy if that counts as obscure. literally obsessed w/ their relationship they'd be the best throuple and @sailoreuterpe is doing everything for them. we should all be so grateful

zeke x rudy because they seem to REALLY really love each other (but maybe they work better at brother-figures??) rudy literally called zeke his soulmate. i also enjoy gene x zeke and gene x jimmy jr

[honeyhotteoks]

this night together - chapter eleven (j.yh + s.mg)

chapter eleven: a new love song

chapter summary: time, and a well worded letter, heals all wounds. finally, it's time to let go.

warnings: nothing really, social drinking, etc.

notes: reminder that if you're reading this on or around 12.3.23 when it's posted, i'm uploading three chapters at once! if you haven't read chapter ten, go do that before you skip ahead!!

pairings: alpha!yunho x alpha!mingi x omega!reader

genre: smut, a/b/o/omegaverse, angst, fluff, romance, polyamory

word count: 5.2k

previous chapter | next chapter | AO3

The party is bright, bursting with light and color and art. You can feel Hongjoong’s presence everywhere from the moment you step through the doors and you almost feel underdressed. You selected your outfit for him, something a little bolder than you’d normally do, but something that truly suits the occasion and the honored guest. You adjust the top of your black trousers and glance down to ensure the cream white blouse that is parted open is still firmly secured with the hidden tape you painstakingly applied.  You hope your lipstick is staying put. 

The listening party for New World’s new mini album is in full swing, but the night is about more than just that. Their tour has ended, everyone back on Korean soil, and it will be the first time anyone will hear the album from start to finish and the first time you’ll be face to face with them again.

Three months of nothing, no contact except the letter. The letter you’ve read about a hundred times. 

You texted Wooyoung, San, and Seonghwa of course, and they mentioned Yunho and Mingi occasionally, but always in the broader context of what they were doing on tour. You saw them in pictures, travel shots on Instagram or Snapchat stories of their nights out, but otherwise nothing. For three months you let it marinate, and your feelings haven’t changed in the slightest. All you have to do now is find them in this crowd and clear the air. 

It’s no surprise you’re as late as you are, your stomach was in knots getting ready and leaving your apartment had you practically coming apart at the seams. The idea of talking to them is simple, but you’ve rehearsed what you want to say over and over and you can’t imagine how they’ll respond. You take a glass of sparkling wine from one of the caterers and realize there are far more people here than you thought there would be. When you pictured a listening party you expected an intimate crowd, but the gallery space KQ rented is full of faces, some you know and some you don’t. You’re pretty sure you’ve missed the album playthrough at this point, you just hope no one’s noticed your absence. 

“You look so good!” A voice from behind you makes you turn, and you smile when you see Dahan in her sparkly wrap dress. 

“So do you,” You give her a quick, friendly hug. 

“This is your first one, right?” She asks, looking past you to find a drink tray. 

“Listening party?” You clarify, “Yeah,” 

“This is definitely the nicest one so far,” She all but whispers to you, “New World is pulling in that tour money now,” 

“Ah,” You nod. 

“Usually it’s at a nice restaurant or something, not quite so many people,” She explains, snagging a drink, “not that I’m complaining, dressing up is fun,” 

“Do you see Hongjoong at all?” You crane your neck and look through some of the bodies, but you can’t really see anyone else you know closely. 

“Mm,” She joins you, “no, but Yujin and some of the others are over there,” 

You follow her gaze, “Perfect,” 

She starts weaving through and you follow, keeping close to her and protecting your drink as you side step around and behind people. 

When you make it to the little circle of BB Trippin dancers, you slot right in alongside Dahan and give everyone a smile, “Hey,” 

Everyone greets you warmly, but you wonder absently where your little pocket of close friends are hiding. Yujin draws your attention though when she says, “Jaemin’s here,” 

“He is?” Your eyes widen. You barely ever see him, but it does make sense that he would attend an opportunity to bump elbows with people in the industry. 

“Mhm,” She nods, “I saw him talking to Yunho earlier.” 

Butterflies curl in your stomach, “Yunho’s here?” 

“Mhm,” She takes a sip of her drink, “somewhere,” 

“You look really nice,” Minseok interrupts, stepping a little closer so you can hear him better, “I like the whole, you know,” he gestures up and down to indicate he means your outfit and you nod. 

“Thanks,” You nod, “you clean up nice too,” 

“Oh yeah?” He shrugs, “Thanks,” 

You start to turn back to Yujin who looks like she has something more to say, but Minseok keeps going, “Have you met Hongjoong?” 

“Oh,” You start. 

“He’s a nice guy,” He continues, “you’d like his vibe, or at least, I think you would,” 

“Actually,” 

“I’m not sure if you know this or not, but it’s his voice that’s on a lot of the initial guide tracks we get,”

You do know that, but you nod and take a long sip of your drink, ice slipping down and connecting with your lip as you tip it back a little further. 

“He’s a bit eccentric,” Minseok continues. 

“Who’s a bit eccentric?” Seonghwa cuts in, stepping into the circle and cutting smoothly between you and Minseok, another drink for you ready in his hands. 

Minseok’s lips close. 

“Hi, Hwa,” You smile, “that for me?” 

“Of course,” He trades your nearly empty glass for the full one and leans in to press a fast kiss on your cheek, “you look beautiful,” 

“Stop,” You resist the urge to actually nudge him in front of too many people and give off the wrong idea about how close the two of you are, but you give him the best withering look you can. 

He ignores you though, “Who’s eccentric?” 

“Oh,” You do your best to keep the smile off your lips, “Minseok was just telling me about Hongjoong,” 

“Mm,” Seonghwa glances to the side at him, “is he?” 

“Artistic might be the right word,” Minseok corrects himself. 

“Well, that’s true,” You nod. 

“Oh,” Minseok blinks, “so you know him?” 

“Well, yes, I,” You start to say but Seonghwa cuts you off. 

“Speak of the devil,” He nods and when you turn you catch sight of Hongjoong heading right for you both. He’s dressed in the most decadent dark blue velvet suit you’ve ever seen, and the combination of that and his freshly dyed blue hair makes him look like more of an idol, not a producer. 

“My ears were burning,” Hongjoong says wryly, and then his eyes flick over you, “I love this,” 

“I thought you might,” You grin, moving forwards to greet him with a hug, “congratulations, Hongjoong, this is all beautiful,” 

“Thank you so much for coming,” He gives you a squeeze, “we keep missing each other for dinner,” 

“I know, I’ve been so busy lately,” You tell him, “but let’s plan something soon,” 

He nods and smiles and then turns his attention to the group, “Thank you all so much for coming,” he says. 

Minseok looks a little put out next to Seonghwa, and you hope you didn’t embarrass him, but he and everyone else greets Hongjoong and they loop through the congratulations on the finished album. Once pleasantries are done, he focuses his attention back on you, “I have someone I want you to meet,” he says. 

“Oh?” 

“Mhm,” His hand settles on your back as he turns to the group, “can I steal these two for a bit?” He nods his head towards you and Seonghwa. 

He doesn’t really wait for permission, he’s just being polite, and he steers you out of the circle and starts walking you back through the crowd closer to the stage area. 

“When did you get in?” Hongjoong asks Seonghwa as you walk. 

“This morning,” He says, “we were supposed to land last night but our flight was so delayed leaving LA,” 

“Thank you for coming anyways,” Hongjoong smiles, “I’m sure you’re exhausted,” 

“It’s fine,” He shrugs it off, “we’ll get back on timezone soon, I’m sure,” 

“Flight was okay otherwise?” You ask, but Seonghwa catches your eye and gives you a knowing smile. 

“Mhm,” He nods, “We’re all home safe and sound, I’m sure everyone else is here somewhere,” 

“Good,” Your throat feels tight, the idea that around one of these corners you’ll find Yunho and Mingi, “that’s good,” 

After three months without any contact, you’re going to have to physically restrain yourself from blurting out how you feel the second you see them. The last time they saw you was awkward at best, and considering the way you left things after the fight, the quickest way to confuse them would be to tell them you want them back with no apology, no preamble. But either way the words still form on your tongue in your imagination, and you’re mid internal monologue when Hongjoong stops walking and brings you back to reality. 

“y/n,” He says, gesturing to the couple across from you, “Seonghwa, I’d like you to meet Choi Jongho and his fiance Kim Eunji,” 

“Oh!” You can’t help the surprised sound that leaves you, “You’re the vocalist Hongjoong has told me so much about!”

Choi Jongho smiles politely, eyes flicking to Hongjoong, but then he nods, “That’s me,” 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you both,” You dip your head in quick acknowledgement. 

“So, you’re y/n?” Eunji says before Jongho can finish out the polite greetings and confusion runs through you. 

She’s looking at you with warmth and kindness, and it’s not often that omegas meeting each other for the first time are quite so positive and open. You’re used to a little hesitation, especially when alphas are around, everyone becoming a little territorial in mixed company, but Eunji seems unphased. 

“I am,” You nod as your brain starts to catch up. 

“Hongjoong mentioned you,” She explains at your confused expression, “I was hoping I’d get a chance to say hello,” 

“He did?” 

“Sorry, let me explain,” She smiles, “my little sister is debuting with your company soon,” 

“Oh!” Your brows shoot up and you run through the girls you’ve worked with to realize the common surname, “you’re Jiwoo’s sister?” 

“Yes!” She nods excitedly, “We’re very proud of her,” 

“That’s so nice,” You smile, relaxed now that you understand her abrupt familiarity, “she’s a very good dancer,” 

Eunji beams. 

“She’ll be debuting as main dancer,” Seonghwa nods, “for good reason,” 

Jongho smiles, his hand sweeping a warm line up and down his wife’s back, “Jiwoo says you and the others have been very kind during their preparations,” 

“Well,” You nod, “they’re working very hard, and I’m sure debut must be scary enough, there’s no need to add extra pressure,” 

“It is,” Jongho hums knowingly, and you recall Hongjoong mentioning he was from another idol group that had disbanded. You wonder idly in the back of your mind how difficult it really was for him judging by the brief expression on his face. 

“Exactly,” Hongjoong offers, “I thought you’d all like to meet considering the mutual acquaintance,” 

“Absolutely,” You say, “it’s been lovely,” 

Eunji is about to say something more, but Seonghwa’s hand brushes your upper arm and he leans into your ear, “At the bar,” 

“What?” You glance up at him and he nods past Jongho and Eunji. Your eyes follow his.  

The air leaves your lungs, but you feel Seonghwa’s thumb brush a comforting line over your skin, “Go,” 

“Hwa,”

“If you’ll excuse us,” Seonghwa interrupts you and gives a dazzling smile to your party, “her partners just arrived and it’s been a few months with the tour,” 

You’ll have to have a word with him about his word choice later, you notice the way Hongjoong’s eyes widen, but Jongho and Eunji just nod with understanding. The bond between alphas and their omega isn’t something to be taken lightly, and they take a step back to clear your path. 

You recover just enough to leave with normal pleasantries, “Thank you, sorry to run,” 

“No, no, of course,” Jongho nods, “it was nice to meet you.” 

“If I ever drop by the studio to see Jiwoo,” Eunji adds, “I’ll make sure to say hello,” 

“That would be nice, I look forward to it,” Your body is all but screaming at you to move now. 

“Well,” Seonghwa pushes you forwards, “I’m sure we’ll see each other later on in the evening,” 

Hongjoong says something more but you don’t quite hear it, and suddenly you’re being propelled forwards. Seonghwa dips his head towards you ear, “Good luck, be braver than I would be,” 

And then you’re alone, surrounded by bodies but alone nevertheless. 

You’re not exactly prepared for how you’re going to feel when you see them again. It’s been months, and the first thought that strikes you is how much they’ve changed in such a short time. Mingi looks broader somehow, but his face looks a little thinner and more angular, like he’s lost weight from all the performances and training and travel. Yunho’s hair is a little longer, the back a shaggier against his neck, but intentionally so, and the cut of his jacket makes his shoulders look wider. You want to barrel into their chests and tug them as close to you as you can, but instead you take a steadying breath and just give yourself a second to drink them in. 

You can’t stop yourself from smiling at the way they stand side by side as they wait for their drinks at the bar, and butterflies ripple through you, but despite everything you felt while they were gone there’s no fear. You just missed them, really and truly missed them. 

You’re moving before you consciously think it through and you watch their eyes widen when they see you coming, but it only spurns you on faster until you’re all but crashing into their sides at the bar. 

“Hey,” You’re just so happy to see them you can’t get the grin off your face, “you’re back,” 

“We’re back,” Mingi nods, and you can see the hesitation in his face. 

“I’m,” A million words run through your mind, but you settle on the truth, “so happy to see you,” 

“You are?” Yunho’s brows go high. 

“Yeah,” You step a little closer, letting the words you’ve been holding finally roll off your tongue, “this isn’t the place to talk, but yes, I’m happy to see you, I missed you both.”

Mingi exhales heavily and his lips quirk up. 

Lowering your voice a little more, you hold Mingi’s gaze, “I got your letter,” 

Yunho’s head twists to the side, confusion all over his face as he looks to Mingi for clarity. 

“We should talk,” You want to reach out so badly, but you hold it back for now, “but I wanted you both to know I’m sorry too, and I’m really glad you’re home now,” 

“Me too,” Mingi nods. 

“Good,” You sigh, “that’s good,”

“Are we okay?” Mingi glances between both of you. 

“Yes,” You nod, “I still think we should talk, we left things badly before, but I thought a lot about everything and I don’t want things to be uncomfortable anymore.” 

In the background you hear the speakers cut off the ambient music, and someone taps on a microphone to check that it’s connected. You glance towards the stage and see someone preparing to introduce Hongjoong. 

“Should we go somewhere?” Yunho asks, “Now?” 

The man on stage clears his throat into the microphone. 

You shake your head, “Not tonight, I want to be here for Hongjoong,” 

“Of course,” He backtracks. 

You reach for him this time, resting your hand on his forearm, “But maybe later this week when you’re settled we can just clear the air. I have some things I want to tell you,” 

He swallows tightly, and you can feel that he’s a little nervous but he nods, “Sure,” 

“I just,” You step back and look between them both, “I didn’t want you to stress about coming back to the studio,” 

The relief is palpable between all three of you as Hongjoong takes the stage, and Mingi says, “For a second I was worried you weren’t going to be here,” 

“No, I was just running so late,” You admit. 

“You’ve been okay?” He asks. 

“I am,” You nod, “you both are?”

“Good,” Mingi says. 

“Tired,” Yunho shrugs, and you suppose you can see a little of that in his eyes. 

“Seonghwa said your flights were delayed,” 

“Something like ten hours,” He sighs. 

“Are you sure you’re okay to come back tomorrow already?” You press them, “You’ll be jet lagged,” 

“We’ll be fine,” Yunho smiles a little at your concern, “don’t worry,” 

There’s a pause, a bubbling lull between you, but you can’t keep yourself from saying it, “I really am so glad to see you,” 

“Me too,” Yunho says. 

Mingi nods, but then his eyes flick up and he gestures behind you, “Someone’s looking for you,” 

You check over your shoulder and see Wooyoung lingering nearby and when he catches your eyes he points to his glass and then to you, checking to see if you need another and giving you a smooth out if you need one. You shake your head and turn back to Yunho and Mingi, “I should go,” 

“Okay,” Mingi says. 

You think suddenly if you walk away without making a plan you’ll think of nothing else all night until you can’t sleep, “Saturday,” you blurt out, “are you free?” 

“Yeah,” Yunho says and Mingi nods. 

“Let’s get dinner,” You say it before you can panic and take it back, “you can tell me about tour and I can… I have things I want to tell you,” 

“Just say when and where,” Mingi says, “we’re there.” 

“Okay,” You sigh, “good, perfect,”

You can practically feel Wooyoung hovering at your back and you take a deep breath as you step away, but part of you wishes you could just take Yunho up on his offer to get out of here. 

“y/n,” Yunho smiles a little, stopping you in your tracks, “you look happy,” 

“I am happy,” You tell him honestly. 

“That’s good,” He breathes. 

“Saturday,” You nod, “I’ll catch you both up on Saturday,” 

You see a flicker of something in Mingi’s expression, but then he smiles, “Wouldn’t miss it,” 

You turn before you lose your nerve and run straight into Wooyoung carrying two full glasses of champagne. 

“Everything okay?” He asks, pushing a glass into your hands, some of the bubbling liquid spilling over the sides and over your fingers. 

“Good,” You assure him, tugging him away from the bar and towards the back wall where you can talk to him unobserved. 

“I wasn’t sure if you needed rescuing,” 

“I didn’t,” You tell him, “I was doing fine,” 

“Shit,” He grimaces, “did I fuck up your moment?” 

“No, no,” You shake your head, “we’re meeting on Saturday, I’m going to talk to them then,” 

Something’s a little hurried in his face though, his eyes glancing past you again and again, and you can feel that he’s not exactly present. 

“Woo,” You start but he locks his eyes with yours and cuts you off. 

“I think I just met the love of my life,” He stammers, “I might fucking faint,” 

“What?” You hush him, pressing him back into the wall behind you, “Are you serious?” 

“I’m not going to faint for real,” He swats your hands away, “but I don’t know, y/n, I can’t breathe. My fucking chest is tight,” 

“Holy shit,” You manage. 

“I know,” He nods, “I know,” 

“You’re not close to your heat are you?” You probe him, wondering if you need to make a break for San and Seonghwa. 

“No,” He shakes his head, laying a cool hand on his flushed cheeks, “it’s nothing like that,” 

You nod relieved, “Well, then what happened?” 

“Okay,” He takes a long steadying breath, “you see that guy on stage? The one to the left of Hongjoong?” 

“Choi Jongho?” Your voice spikes up and he shushes you frantically. 

“No, oh my god,” He waves his hand to get your volume down, “he’s engaged, y/n, no, the other one,” 

You look to the left of Jongho and take in the third man on stage. He’s the one who introduced Hongjoong, his voice low and velvety soft. He has long blonde hair that brushes his collar bones, the top half gathered into a messy but chic bun. You can tell from here he’s handsome, devastatingly so, with a cool expression and his lips parted just enough to make you wonder how he kisses. 

“Oh,” You nod, “got it,” 

“Exactly,” He runs a panicked hand through his own hair. 

“He’s an alpha?” You surmise, “Did you catch his scent or,” 

Wooyoung’s shaking his head frantically before he can finish his words, “He’s a beta,” 

You can’t control the surprise in your expression, Wooyoung’s only ever really gone for alphas. It makes sense, most omegas do, considering the hindbrain of it all, but Wooyoung’s looking about as wrecked as you’ve ever seen someone. 

On stage, Hongjoong gestures towards the two men on his left and you switch your focus from Wooyoung’s whining panic to the man addressing the crowd, “I have one more announcement to make tonight,” he says, “something that would not have been possible to announce without Choi Jongho. I don’t think I need to tell you what a talent he is and how lucky we are at KQ to have brought him on. We have a preview of something we’d like to share, once again, something I felt very creatively supported in by Kang Yeosang,”

“That’s him,” Wooyoung hisses next to your ear and you refocus, “Kang Yeosang,” 

“Shh!” You hush him, but by the time you can hear Hongjoong again, he’s moved on to announcing that he’s going to preview Jongho’s new single, and you roll your eyes to refocus on Wooyoung, “So who’s this guy?” 

“Creative director,” He explains quickly, “album art, concepts, the works.” 

“Damn,” You manage. 

“He’s so fucking smart, y/n, you have no idea,” He breathes. 

“So you actually talked to him?”

“Talked to him?” He laughs, “I had his cock down my throat like thirty minutes ago,” 

“Jesus Christ, Wooyoung, that’s too much information,” You smack his arm. 

He rolls his eyes and continues, “We bumped into each other in the hall, like physically bumped into each other. I spilled my drink all down his nice white shirt,” 

The shirt Yeosang is wearing is still crisp white, so you assume there’s more to this story before he even keeps going. 

“I felt like an idiot,” He admits, “pulled him into the bathroom and told him I could fix it right up with a little club soda,” 

“Okay,” 

“He barely said anything at first,” Wooyoung continues, “I was just rinsing his shirt out while he stood there half naked looking like Michalangelo or something,” 

“I don’t think Michaelangelo was very cut,” You smirk. 

“The statute,” He swats you, “you know the one, don’t fuck with me,” 

“Okay, fine, go on,” 

“Anyway,” He sighs, “I was just talking, keeping the conversation going, fucking babbling while I washed out his shirt and then before I knew it he had me pressed up against the mirror with his tongue down my throat,” 

“Wow,” 

“One thing led to another,” He blushes again, “and then we just talked while I finished drying his button down,” 

“Wow, again,” You breathe. 

“I know,” He breathes, “I’ve never felt like this,” 

“Okay,” You squeeze his hand, “but, Woo, this is a good thing,” 

“I know, but I’m kind of fucking terrified,” He admits, “is this how you felt?”

“Pretty much,” 

“It’s awful,” He admits. 

“Tell me about it,” 

The crowd around you starts clapping, the speeches are over, and the men on stage start to head down the side steps to rejoin the crowd as the single begins to play. Everyone in the room is listening attentively to the music except you and Wooyoung. 

“What are you going to do?” You ask him, your voice low. 

“Go home with him,” Wooyoung checks his watch and then presses his untouched glass of champagne into your hands, “I’ve got to go,”

“Whoa,” You shake your head, “are you sure that’s a good idea?” 

“I’m a big boy,” He rolls his eyes again. 

“Text me his number, and his address,” You insist, “and check in with me tomorrow. If you don’t, I’m calling Seonghwa and San.” 

“Oh my god, please don’t do that.” He grimaces, texting you Yeosang’s contact information anyways. 

“Don’t make me,” You tell him. 

“Fine,” 

“Have fun, please be safe,” You’d take his hand, but yours are full of champagne. You hope the genuineness of your expression gets your point across to him. 

“I will,” he promises, “and I’ll call you. We’ll talk all about Saturday too, I just,” 

“I get it,” You nod, “honestly, I do,” 

“Thank you,” His eyes soften, “and please, don’t tell San and Seonghwa. Not yet,” 

“I won’t,” You assure him, “just go, be happy,” 

“You too, okay?” He smiles, “Whatever it is, you do it. You deserve it after all this,” 

Your stomach warms at that, and you know he’s right, you just want to do this the right way for once. Over Wooyoung’s shoulder you see the blonde man in question smoothly cutting his way through the crowd, and you nod towards him, “Get out of here, I’ll talk to you tomorrow,” 

He’s gone without another word, just a rushed smile as he weaves his way towards Yeosang, a bright and beaming grin now on his face. He’s a goner, you can see it clear as day. A brief flickering question passes through your mind of how this might affect his dynamic with Seonghwa and San, but given the way your best friend is lit up from the inside it doesn’t even matter. If you deserve to be happy like that, so does he, however it happens. 

With Wooyoung gone, you take a moment to survey the room, but you can’t find your group anymore. You see people from KQ you recognize, but your normal BB Trippin group is nowhere in sight and Yunho and Mingi are no longer towering over everyone at the end of the bar. You listen to the rest of the new single, something soulful and rooted in R&B just like Hongjoong had described to you all those months ago. 

As you listen to the crooning love song, your mind loops through the encounter with Yunho and Mingi, of every microexpression and you get lost in your plans for Saturday yet again. How you’ll tell them you’re sorry, how you’re ready to move on and to be honest with one another. How much you still want them, that you might love them. 

You don’t know how long you’re standing there by the back wall, thoughts tumbling over what-ifs when you’re brought back to reality. 

“Tough night?” A voice makes you jump, a little more champagne dipping out of your glasses as you turn to the side. 

“Hey, Minseok,” You laugh a little, “you scared me,” 

“Sorry,” He smiles, begging off, “I just meant the two drinks, and you know, hiding in the corner,” 

“Oh,” You shake your head, “no, Wooyoung ran off and stuck me with his glass. Do you want?” You offer it to him. 

“Sure,” He nods, smoothly taking the glass from your hands. 

You take a quick sip from yours and clear your throat softly, “So, enjoying the party?” 

He nods, “It’s nice, but honestly I was just about to get out of here and call it a night,” 

“Me too,” You nod. You’d try to say goodbye to Hongjoong, but he’s been tied up all evening mingling, and without any of your friends in sight it seems as good a time as any to slip out. 

“Let me walk you out,” He offers, plucking the champagne from your fingertips and placing both glasses on one of the nearby side service tables. 

You probably would have finished it, and a flicker of annoyance passes through you, but you let it pass and nod, “Sure,” 

You’re not far from the door, and he organizes grabbing both of your checked jackets as he makes small talk, “Are you taking the train or,” 

“I’ll probably order a car,” You usually do when it’s late like this and you’ve had a few drinks despite the extra cost. 

“Me too,” He nods, passing your jacket over. 

You shrug it on and search for something to say, but Minseok isn’t as forthcoming and chatty as some of the other dancers, “Do you live closeby?” 

“More towards Itaewon,” He zips his jacket and gestures towards the exit doors that will lead you out onto the street. 

“Mm,” You nod, pushing through the doors. 

“You know, we could,” Minseok starts to say, but the minute you step aside you finally see some familiar faces. 

“There you are!” You smile, and your familiar group of dancers turns at your voice. 

Minseok says something else, but you don’t quite catch it and you spin to apologize quickly over your shoulder before rejoining your friends. 

“I thought you left,” San ushers you over to their group. 

“Good timing,” Seonghwa adds, “my car’s not far, you want a ride?” 

“Sure,” You nod, you’ll never turn down a less expensive rideshare. 

Yunho and Mingi are talking with Jaemin at the edge of the group, but you catch Mingi’s glancing eye and give him a smile. It’s impossible to just smooth over your last real conversation with them, but you’re trying to signal in every little way that you want to move past it, that his letter meant something. You’ll lay out the rest for them as soon as you get them alone. 

He smiles back, quickly catching that you’re about to leave and you can see that he wants to step away from the conversation he’s having about some missteps from the tour. 

“Have you seen Wooyoung?” San asks, bringing your attention back. 

“For a second,” You nod, but look away from quickly as you try to tell a vague white lie, “I think he already split,” 

He hums, but then Seonghwa gently taps your back, “Car,” 

“Oh, perfect,” You step with him and turn to the group, “goodnight everyone, see you in the morning!” 

Dahan and San both give quick, small waves. 

“Goodnight,” Mingi says, his conversation stuttering to a pause so he can address you, “see you,” 

“See you tomorrow,” Yunho adds, nodding. 

Your stomach feels like it might flutter right out of your body. 

“I’ll have him drop you first,” Seonghwa says as he helps you into the car, jogging to the opposite side to get in himself. 

As the car pulls away you feel lighter than you have in months, and seeing them again makes everything feel so much more sure. They’re real, they’re back, and they want to see you too. Everything else falls to the side, for once the path forwards is crystal clear.