#don't know why this thought came into my head at this particular point in time but

[bangtanintotheroom]

Plug & Play (M)

• Pairing: Guitarist!Hongjoong x (F)Reader

• Genre: Non-Idol!AU, Rock Band!AU, Smut, Strangers to Lovers

• Rating: 18+

• Words: 10.3k

• Summary: Tonight is the night that you quit being a bystander and make a move towards the guitarist on stage with the devilish smile.

• Warnings/themes: a rock show!, swearing, drinking, pining, Y/N is a horny bean, Hongjoong and his dangerous smiles 🫠, Yeosang the wingman, flirting, making out, semi-public sex, oral (f. receiving), mentions of oral (m. receiving), dirty talk, fingering, fingers in mouth, finger sucking, protected sex (be responsible!), clothed sex, multiple orgasms

• Notes: SHE’S HEEEEERE 🗣️ the manifestation of my new love for yet another leader hehehehe 😚 I don't have much to say other than thank you to @the-boy-meets-evil for doing a look-over, everyone enjoy and think of blond, rockstar HJ the whole time!

• Taglist: @loveateez @mellikestoread @itza-meee @roomsofangel @minisugakoobies @minttangerines @kiestrokes

“I’m gonna fuck him.”

Yeosang stared at you from behind the counter, wondering if he heard you right amidst the clinking glasses and rock music.

“Excuse me?”

“I said, I’m gonna fuck him, Yeo.”

“Who?”

You rolled your eyes, rotating ninety degrees to point at the object of your desire on the stage.

“Him.”

There was little surprise on your end at the scoff you heard from behind.

“You’re still on that mission?”

Your head whipped around incredulously. “Yes! Why are you shocked by this?”

Yeosang’s expression reeked of indifference as he wiped some bottles down.

“Because I thought you would have given up by now.”

“I don’t give up easily, dude—” Your eyes watched as that certain someone tuned their guitar strings. “—especially when I really want something.”

And you really wanted the man you had in your sights.

Your roommate Yeosang worked as a bartender at a small yet intimate venue where many up-and-coming bands liked to perform, in hopes of recognition. He invited you to visit one night, knowing you loved to get a peek at new music. You couldn’t refuse the offer, especially when he snuck you a couple of free drink vouchers.

When you had come by the first night, you were surprised at the amount of people hanging both outside and inside the building. The couple of times you had stopped by previously to drop something off, only half of the room was filled. But this time had attendees hugging the wall and the bar counter, shoulder to shoulder.

Once you managed to reach Yeosang, you waited until he wasn’t scurrying with shot glasses to ask if there was a special occasion. He answered mid-pour and said one of the local bands was playing soon and their loyal fans flocked in when they got word. Leaving him to his work, you melded into the crowd, studying what the demographic was.

The ratio of women to men was in favor of the former, making you wonder just what kind of group was performing tonight.

You got your answer when the lights went down and screams erupted around you, nearly rupturing your poor eardrums. But when the lights came back on, you could see why.

Five insanely gorgeous men were spread across the stage, each with an instrument in their hands.

They all had their own aura, represented by their outfits and the expressions on their faces. Although, there was one in particular that caught your attention.

The one holding a shiny black guitar like it was his child.

His platinum blond hair caught your eye before you took in the rest of him. You liked how the sharp angles of his face had areas of softness that could disarm even the coldest of people. His outfit was flattering and a good balance of comfortable yet showy. But his smile was what nearly knocked you off your feet.

The way his white teeth would often flash while he strummed his instrument had a grin coming up on your own face. You could see that he was someone who cherished his craft by the way he’d keep up with the other members’ pace. And he would never stay in one place; you’d often catch him jumping around on the stage, from standing next to the drummer to nearly teetering on the edge in front of fans.

Plus, he was just adorable. But the cuteness would go into its hiding place at times, leaving a man that began altering your brain chemistry.

Too many times did you find your breath hitching whenever he’d throw his head back, mouth agape as he got into the music, fixated on the drops of sweat rolling down his neck. Or whenever he’d lower his head, looking up into the crowd with the wickedest of smirks that had you fantasizing about a certain position that would grant that view as well.

Before your mind could fully catch up on whatever was happening in front of your eyes, cheers erupted around you. You blinked into reality and watched as the band waved and thanked everyone for attending tonight before making their way off the stage. You were jostled into moving when an attendee bumped your shoulder, shooting an apology to your still form.

Desperately needing to decompress, you ran to the bar to catch Yeosang as he finished making a tray of shots. He could tell by the look on your face that he made a good choice in inviting you out before your mouth began running a mile a minute. You didn’t care if he wasn’t able to hear half of your ramblings, running to continue doing his job as a sudden wave of people came by.

Your excitement had to get out of your system somehow.

But it turns out even that wasn’t enough.

You would keep thinking about the handsome guitarist on a day to day basis, at the most inopportune moments. It didn’t help that you would look up the band’s music online and listen during your commutes and free time. They legitimately made good tunes, playing to their strengths and composing lyrics that wouldn’t escape your head.

Lyrics that were joined by the constant flashing of a devious smile.

And so you found yourself returning to the venue for their next show. To say Yeosang was stunned by your surprise appearance was an understatement. You managed to shrug it off and say that you were starting to become a budding fan of Halazia.

It was technically the truth. He didn’t need to know about your other reason…yet.

With this visit, you were hoping you’d catch the blond doing something that would kill your interest or that your eye would wander onto some of his bandmates instead.

You realized by the end of the performance that it was futile.

Not even the drummer going shirtless halfway through to show off his well-muscled physique could completely distract you from the fully clothed one wailing on his guitar. Trudging out of the building with two cocktails down had you realizing how doomed you were.

When your titillating thoughts started forming into full-blown fantasies, you had to come up with a solid way to get them to disappear. At first, you hoped your hand and a few explicit videos would be enough, but even that got old after a while.

Which led to your current objective as you watched the band continue to set up for the night.

It might be a pipe dream, but you wouldn’t know unless you tried, right?

Yeosang thought it was ridiculous, but never said it was impossible or a bad idea. He begrudgingly supported you from the sidelines, even if he called you crazy at times. A true friend, through and through.

“Oh, don’t I know it. You kept hounding me for weeks to help you put your bookshelf up.”

“And you did such a fantastic job! Shit would have fallen apart if I did it myself.”

Yeosang shook his head at your flattery, yet the tiniest of smiles tugged at his mouth. “Uh huh.”

Giggling, you picked up your glass and finished off the last sip. After you set it down, you sensed a person coming up to stand next to you.

“Yeosang!”

The bartender grinned at them. “Yunho! Amazing job, as always.”

“Ah, stop, you say that every time. Do you mind if I put in an order?”

“Not at all. What would you like?”

Curiosity got the best of you and you looked up to see what this Yunho looked like. Imagine your surprise when you saw the bassist of Halazia standing next to you. Damn, he was tall.

“Two rounds of shots and eight beers, please.”

Yeosang lifted his brow in that fashion of his before replying, “Eight? Not ten?”

Yunho sighed and shrugged. “Seonghwa is feeling fussy tonight and San needs to be able to walk home.”

“Makes sense. Alright, give me a few minutes.”

“Thank you!”

Yunho seemed to notice you watching the conversation now, giving you a polite smile before heading back to his table. Your eyes followed him until he sat down, switching targets to take in the blond man with a megawatt smile next to him. Just watching as he threw his head back and laughed had your heart pumping faster.

You couldn’t hold off any longer. You had to do something tonight.

Your mind began coming up with a plan on how to approach while you turned back around, watching as Yeosang began putting together the drinks.

“Damn, big order.”

“Tell me about it. They must be parched after their performance.”

You studied the two trays as he started filling it with shot glasses and beer bottles, knowing that he’d have to make two trips to get everything there.

…or just one trip, if he had an extra set of hands.

You could see the lightbulb start to flicker on now. A simple yet effective plan to get within speaking distance of the man who had been plaguing your thoughts for the last couple of weeks came to fruition. You committed to your decision just as the bartender finished up the order.

Okay. Showtime.

“Hey Yeo—” Your roommate paused as he was reaching for one of the full drink trays. “—need some help there?”

Yeosang blinked owlishly at your offer.

“Oh, uh, I don’t know, Y/N. It wouldn’t be good if you dropped these.”

“Hey now, I used to be a waitress, remember? Come on, it’ll save you some time.”

You watched as he pondered for a moment, grinning in triumph when he nodded.

“Alright, grab one and let’s go.”

A salute was given as you hopped off your stool, carefully reaching for one of the trays and lifting it above your shoulder. Muscle memory took over as you balanced it, waiting until Yeosang came out from behind the counter and led the way. You made sure to not run into anyone and kept an eye out for any sudden surprises, thankful when you reached the table in one piece.

And even more thankful at one of the pairs of eyes that landed on you.

“Our savior!”

The one man you recognized as the lead singer rejoiced as you and Yeosang set the trays down on the table, bringing a giggle out of you.

“Jongho, I didn’t hear water in Yunho’s order…”

Yeosang’s playfully stern tone made Jongho wave a hand in the air. “Water, shmater, we’re big boys! We can hold our drinks!”

“We can, not this one, though.”

The next one that piped up was the unusually beautiful man you saw strumming away at his rhythm guitar, pointing to the pouting drummer who now wore a white tee.

“Hyung, don’t call me out like that!”

“San, we had to carry you out the last time, we’re not looking for a repeat.”

Your focus was now on the object of your desires as he gave San a strict yet concerned look, the expression only making him look even better.

“You won’t, that’s why I passed on the beer!”

The guitarist made an unconvinced sound. “We shall see.”

Yeosang chuckled and interjected, “I’ll bring some water over, just to be safe. Sound good, Hongjoong?”

Now you learned that the man you had been eyeing up was Hongjoong, trying not to stare too hard as he grinned at your friend.

“Definitely.”

He caught you off-guard by shooting you a smile now.

“Better to be safe than sorry.”

Your reaction was delayed, but you managed to give a nod, forcing yourself to follow Yeosang as he headed back to the bar. Only then did you realize you were holding a breath in, exhaling as you leaned on the counter.

“Fuck.”

“I thought you were going to hop on his lap for a moment.”

You shot a scowl at Yeosang as he worked on getting the water together.

“Yeo, I’m not that shameless. I was just…taken aback.”

He looked up to give you an unconvinced stare, paired with a lifted brow.

“Sure, let’s call it that.”

He looked back down in time to miss the middle finger you shot. While he continued, you started reining yourself in from the very brief encounter.

You learned two things; Hongjoong was his name and he was even more handsome up close. Stage lights weren’t over exaggerating his sharp features, his nose and jaw looking like they’d be able to cut glass. His grin was blinding and the teeth beneath them were damn near perfect.

Although, you wished you had mustered enough courage to say something to him.

It would be somewhat awkward to go back empty-handed and start a conversation with him, especially with his bandmates right there. Just because you wanted to get in his pants didn’t mean you wanted to come off as nothing but a groupie to them.

“Here.”

Your thinking was interrupted when two full pitchers of water were placed in front of you, prompting you to look at Yeosang with bewilderment.

“Maybe this time you can actually talk to the guy.”

His suggestion finally clicked, your eyes widening in gratitude.

“I fucking love you, Yeosang.”

He smiled and shook his head, giving one of your hands a pat. “You can tell me through your teriyaki chicken, Y/N. Go on.”

With a megawatt grin and a mental note to pick up some chicken to cook tomorrow, you lifted both pitchers before turning to make your way back to the table. You had to make sure your hands didn’t shake the closer you got, not wanting to spill water on any of the guys.

As soon as you were close enough, you cleared your throat to capture their attention.

“Your water, gentlemen.”

Setting the refreshments down brought a small wave of cheers.

“Thank you! Maybe we can get San out of here in one piece tonight.”

“Aish, stop!” San batted at Jongho’s head, the vocalist dodging as he snickered.

You grinned at the two’s antics, straightening up when you realized something.

“Oh, I should get you guys some glasses. I’ll be right back.”

You quickly turned around and power walked to the bar, asking Yeosang for a small stack of drinking glasses before returning.

“Here you go.”

“Thanks. Are you new here?”

Your head shook at Seonghwa’s question. “No, I don’t even work here. Just helping my friend out while he gets slammed with customers.”

The pretty guitarist smiled softly.

“That’s very nice of you.”

Your cheeks couldn’t help but warm a tiny bit, shooting him the same look. “Thank you. He has to listen to enough of my ranting at home, might as well ease his pain somehow.”

Yunho blinked curiously before asking, “You’re roommates?”

“Mhm.”

He made a sound of understanding, yet another voice cut in before he could say anything.

“Thought you looked familiar.”

You focused your sight on Hongjoong, recognition on his attractive face that had your heart beating a little faster.

“Me?”

“Yeah—” His mouth quirked. “—thought I saw you hanging around Yeosang the last few times we were here.”

Oof. You weren’t sure how to react to him basically saying that he recognized you from afar. It wasn’t a bad thing, at all, considering your end goal, but you were surprised he even remembered with the amount of people in this building.

All you could muster was a scratch of the back of your neck, trying not to fluster further under his gaze.

“Haha, that’s me, always bugging him.”

Hongjoong gave a soft laugh, eyes scrunching in humor. It only made you more bashful, trying your best not to rub the toe of your boot into the ground.

Noticing that Yunho was roped into a conversation with the others now, it left you alone with the lead guitarist.

A window of opportunity!

But for some reason, you couldn’t muster the words to continue speaking with him. Even though he continued to acknowledge you with his gaze, your eyes averted to watch the stage behind the dining tables.

“Hey.”

Your ears perked up, looking down to see Hongjoong eyeing you with curiosity.

“What’s your name?”

A lifesaver.

You had to hold back the large grin you wanted to give, settling for a polite smile instead.

“Y/N.”

He returned your expression, nodding before replying, “Nice to meet you, I’m Hongjoong. Actually, you probably already knew that.”

With a little more confidence, you replied, “I actually didn’t. I’m pretty bad with names, plus I was too distracted by your performances to really focus on that.”

Hongjoong lifted a bleached brow, cocking his head.

“Oh yeah? You like us that much?”

You nodded with little shame. “Absolutely. I’m surprised you guys aren’t a household name by now.”

Hongjoong grinned, although it was paired with a slight flush of his cheeks.

“Stop, we’re not that good.”

“But you are! Look, I’ve been seeing local bands since I was a teen and I can say you guys are one of the best.”

Something a bit sobering slithered in his eyes as he stared you down, lips straight as a line.

“No bullshit?”

Now you managed to keep the gaze steady.

“None whatsoever.”

It was another few seconds before he finally took your compliment, appreciation written all over his face now.

“Thank you, Y/N. We really appreciate it.”

“Of course! I wish I knew about your music earlier—” You frowned. “—I’ve only seen you guys play a couple of times.”

Hongjoong shrugged, saying with more positivity, “A couple is better than none.”

You could see he had a point so you nodded in agreement. But all of a sudden, you wondered if you were bothering him. He had just finished a harrowing performance; maybe he wanted to kick back and relax with his friends, not indulge you with conversation.

“Hongjoong?”

“Hm?”

This hurt to say, but—

“If you want me to give you some space, I can.”

The musician gave you a look that came off as bewildered. “I don’t mind. Unless you have somewhere to get to?”

A hand came up to wave in the air as you placated, “No, I don’t, but I’d hate to impose—”

“Looooving youuu~ Is easy ‘cause you’re beautiful~”

Out of nowhere, singing erupted, prompting both you and Hongjoong to look at the source of the sudden noise. What greeted you had you chuckling.

“Seems like the drinks are already starting to set in.”

The blond’s wisecrack had you raising a brow as you both took in Jongho holding San’s face as he crooned a love song to him and Yunho waving his hands to the beat while Seonghwa pulled his phone out to record the tender moment.

“I can see that.”

Hongjoong scoffed in amusement and shook his head.

“Every time.” He glanced aside for a moment before looking at you again. “Maybe we should move somewhere quieter.”

The suggestion made your heart skip, unaware of what the intentions were behind it.

“Oh?”

“Yeah—” His sudden beam erased any doubt you had. “—I can’t get to know you with all this noise here.”

You uttered a silent thanks to both Yeosang and whatever being resided in the sky for giving you this opportunity. You held back a bit as you grinned and said, “Lead the way.”

Hongjoong was quick to stand up, grabbing his two beer bottles before jerking his head towards the stage. With a quick glance to make sure his friends were still occupied, you began following him. He walked to the foot of the stage and sat his drinks down, using his hands to lift himself and sit on the ledge. You followed suit, taking care to make sure your skirt didn’t ride up, sitting as close as possible without getting in his personal space.

As soon as you were situated, a bottle turned up under your nose.

“Thirsty?”

You blinked at the offer. “You sure? It’s your beer.”

The blond shrugged, wiggling the brown glass a bit.

“My beer, but I’ll make it yours now.”

A chuckle came out as you accepted the drink, peeling off the half-open cap before taking a sip.

“Thanks.”

“No problem. So—” Hongjoong took a sip from his own bottle. “—are you a regular here?”

You shook your head.

“Surprisingly, no. I’ve been to almost every venue in town except for this one. Figured I’d give Yeo a rest from seeing me at home and work.”

Hongjoong snickered, lips curled in humor.

“Understandable. I’m guessing we were your first show here?”

“You were. Have you guys been playing here for a while?”

He hummed, looking up in thought before responding, “Kind of. This was our seventh performance here, but we’ve been playing at other places too. I’d have to say this is the best looking one, by far.”

“Let me guess—” Your mouth twisted up on one side. “—you’ve performed at Miroh?”

The way Hongjoong grimaced was enough of an answer for you.

“Sadly. Never again. Yunho almost got a bottle to the head because his amp was a little too loud.”

“Yikes.”

The two of you decided to move away from the topic of horrendous dive bars and to lighter ones, from behind the scenes knowledge about Halazia to what you did outside of going to concerts. You liked that Hongjoong had an equal part in the conversation continuing, not wanting to come off as desperate and scrambling for something else to talk about.

Not that you couldn’t find anything.

He was rather easy to talk to, paying close attention whenever you spoke and answering your questions with thoroughness. The way he would motion with his hands at certain points endeared him to you, smiling and giggling with admiration at his theatrics. It was also fun just to watch him, in general.

“So how do you like living with Yeosang?”

The subject change surprised you a bit, but you answered after finishing off your beer. “No complaints on my end. Well, except that he can be a space cadet at times.”

Hongjoong snickered over the lip of his bottle.

“Not surprised he’s still like that.”

Your ears perked at his statement, giving him a curious stare.

“Still?”

“Mhm. We used to live together, at one point.”

If you were in the middle of drinking, you would have had to hold back from choking or spitting in shock.

“Really?!”

Hongjoong nodded, lips stretched at your stunned reaction.

“He mentioned having a roommate before me, but I never would have dreamed that it’d be you.”

The musician shrugged and replied, “To be fair, I wasn’t around much. Spent most of my time at the studio or at work. I only moved out when Seonghwa got a spot open at his place.”

Following along with his explanation, you decided to be mischievous and question, “Was it that or did you drive poor Yeo crazy?”

Hongjoong feigned offense, a twinkle in his widened eyes as he leaned back.

“Y/N, are you accusing me of being a bad roommate?”

You couldn’t hold the urge to lightly tap your foot against his, smirking with impishness.

“And what if I am?”

Lifting a bleached brow, the guitarist leaned towards you, making your heart beat quicker with how close he got. Close enough for him to whisper, “Then I’d have to defend myself against that.”

Your eyes remained locked with his, jerking your chin lightly before challenging, “Go on, then.”

Hongjoong seemed pleased with your encouragement, setting his now empty bottle to the side as the gleam in his eye shone brighter.

“I was well-behaved. Kept the place clean, rotated chores, minded my own business. Yeosang almost didn’t want me to leave.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah—” He chuckled. “—gave me the biggest pout when I gave him the heads up. Made me feel like an asshole.”

Your eyes rolled with no hint of annoyance. “Sounds like Yeo. But I guess you really helped take care of the guy, huh?”

“I sure did.”

Hongjoong lightly knocked his knee into yours, but it remained pressed as he purred, “I like to take care of people close to me.”

Whatever wholesomeness that statement would have had was erased by his actions. You welcomed the touch, though. It merely boosted your confidence and will to step closer to your long-awaited goal.

You did your best not to overthink as you gently rubbed the side of your foot on his calf, lips twitching at the subtle shift in his expression.

“What about the people close to Yeosang? Would you take care of them too?”

Hongjoong’s eyebrow ticked at your question.

“Of course.”

Play coy, Y/N.

“It would be nice if I was included too…”

After you trailed off, nothing was said. Only sounds from the rest of the bar came through, various conversations mixing with background music from the speakers. But you weren’t too focused on that right now.

No, you were hyper-focused on the way Hongjoong was watching you.

The way his eyes traveled down your face and over your form let you know that digging in your closet for this outfit was worth it. Everything only became sweeter with what he said next.

“Taking care of you would be a pleasure.”

The heat underneath his words took your interaction to the next level, bringing a light feeling to the base of your gut. Thinking about what ‘taking care of you’ would entail erased the last bit of caution you had.

“Then maybe you can help me with a problem I’ve been having.”

“Shoot.”

You laid one of your hands on his jean-covered thigh, faintly feeling the muscle underneath twitch.

“Ever since I started watching you guys perform, I’ve been wondering something.”

Hongjoong jerked his chin forward, prompting you to continue. Not wanting to take a chance at someone walking up and overhearing at the last minute, you leaned in closer, almost brushing your lips against his ear to breath out, “I keep thinking about what it would feel like to fuck you. Something about you caught my eye from the jump and I haven’t been able to shake the idea. But there’s only one way I can figure it out.”

Your head pulled back enough to get a clear view of Hongjoong’s now intrigued face, shooting the sugariest of smiles at him.

“Will you help me solve my problem?”

Even though it was becoming clear that the blond shared a mutual attraction, a part of you couldn’t help but prepare for rejection. But your fear was allayed when he presented you with a low chuckle, followed by a smirk that was rife with teeth.

“Of course, Y/N. Although—” Now he came close to whisper in your ear. “—I don’t think we’re gonna find out by sitting near all these people.”

The underlying sensuality in his voice brought a pleasant shiver down your spine. Were you actually about to sneak off with Halazia’s main guitarist to help satiate the improper fantasies you’ve been having about him?

Yes. Yes you fucking were.

“Then do you mind if we have some one on one time?”

The hand that reached for your own to take it into a firm grip let you know that you hit the jackpot.

“Not at all.”

You were sure the rest of the guys eventually noticed and picked up on what you two snuck off for, but you couldn’t care less about what they thought. Your wish was finally coming true.

Hongjoong led the way, clearly more familiar with backstage than you were. The two of you passed a handful of workers, the man in front of you giving them polite greetings and acknowledgments. It was nice to see that he wasn’t one of those snobby types of rockstars.

He stopped in front of a door with a sign that said ‘Reserved for Halazia’, going for the handle before turning it and pushing. His hand let go of yours, only to motion you in first with a smile. You gave one of your own and stepped into the room, looking around with curiosity. It was a typical dressing room, nothing too chaotic.

But the best part was that it was empty, perfect for what was about to go down.

“So…”

You turned around, hearing the door shut and lock before Hongjoong approached you, lips curled akin to someone ready to indulge in the sweetest dessert of their life.

“Is this a much better spot?”

Your mouth twisted in humor, nodding as you replied with delight, “Much better.”

“Good.”

The both of you looked into each other’s eyes, bodies thrumming with energy that was ready to be unleashed at any moment. Although, no one made a move for a moment.

That is, until Hongjoong chose to take a step forward, leaving the tiniest of spaces between you two.

Having him so close directly in front of you had even more of an effect than before, his fresh scent invading your nostrils while your heart pumped faster. It got worse when a hand came up to brush some hair behind your ear, his touch making you bite your lip.

Hongjoong noticed your shift and chuckled, “Nervous?”

You shook your head.

“No, just…excited.”

His grin only widened at your admission, sliding his hand down to gently cradle your jaw.

“Same. Didn’t think I’d ever get to be up close and personal with Yeosang’s pretty friend.”

Although you were melting inside at the compliment, your eyebrow raised in amazement.

“Really?”

“Mhm.”

“So why didn’t you make a move first?”

You hoped to trip him up, but the guitarist didn’t seem fazed, straight teeth almost blinding you.

“I wanted to see how badly you wanted me.”

His low response brought a mixture of exasperation and lust to you, your eyes rolling as you huffed, “You rockstars and your egos.”

Hongjoong laughed at your quip before leaning in to plant his lips on yours, ironically making the first move into what was expected to go down in here. Not a second passed before you kissed back, upping the pace a bit. The two of you got lost in each other until he started walking forward, forcing you to step back to avoid having your toes crushed.

He managed to distract you with his skills as you suddenly felt something hard press against your spine. One of your hands went back to feel a smooth surface behind you, realizing that he had walked you towards one of the vanity tables.

A nip to your bottom lip made you focus on the bigger picture once more, answering back with a bite of your own. The groan that rumbled against you was nothing short of satisfying.

Hongjoong pulled apart to pant softly, “Nice to see you’re not shy.”

You brought a hand to the nape of his neck, absentmindedly playing with the short, blond strands as you queried, “You think I’d be back here with you if I was shy?”

He conceded with an amused ‘no’, allowing you to pull him back in for another kiss. The longer this went on, the warmer you were beginning to get. You skipped on a jacket tonight, leaving you with a thinner, long-sleeved shirt on top, but the leather skirt below seemed to be the cause of your rising temperature.

Time for it to go.

You released Hongjoong’s neck and reached back to unzip your skirt, only to feel his hands take a hold of yours. Lips pulled away to give him a confused stare.

“Uh uh—“ He released you before grabbing onto the hem and pushing it up with a smirk. “—the skirt stays on.”

Well then. Whatever he wants, he gets.

You nodded, bringing your hands away from the garment as further approval. He pecked your lips in gratitude and went for the top of your stockings next, shimmying them down until your boots interrupted the journey. Humming at the inconvenience, he unzipped before sliding them off your feet and tossing them to the side. You didn’t even get a chance to wiggle your toes as he continued relieving you of your tights, letting them join your shoes.

The slightly cool air hit your now exposed legs, but the heat Hongjoong directed up at you next erased it.

“Sit on the table.”

A shiver ran down your spine at his command, bringing your hands behind to hoist yourself onto the vanity. The guitarist was quick to stand and slot himself between your spread legs, taking your mouth in another hungry kiss. Even though he was doing an excellent job occupying you with his tongue, you could feel his fingers run down your hips until he brushed the soft skin of your thighs. You enjoyed the sensations, lulling into a pleasant vibe until he traveled inwards and stroked a finger along the front of your panties.

You felt him hum before he released your lips, giving you one of his sharp smirks.

“I hope you haven’t been like this all night.”

A giggle left as you bucked your hips forward. “I plead the fifth.”

Hongjoong chuckled and pressed his forehead to yours.

“Poor baby. Lemme fix that for you.”

With lightning precision, his fingers dove up to grasp the elastic, tugging the damp fabric down until it was pulled off and tossed to join its friends. The air hitting that area only exacerbated just how wet you were, thanks to the man in front of you. Although, he was swift in covering you with his hand, digits beginning to tease with confidence.

“Oh…”

The soft exclamation left when you felt him travel upwards and circle your swelling clit. He applied just the right amount of pressure to make a pleasant heat begin to form in your belly. Just when you were about to close your eyes in bliss, Hongjoong slid back down to play with your folds, the slickness allowing him to glide with ease.

“You’re so fucking wet, baby. All this for me?”

Your reply meant to come out as words, but the way he spread you open made it turn into a positive hum. He chuckled at you, bringing his free hand up to rest a thumb on your swollen lips.

“You like how I’m playing with this little pussy of yours?”

“Yes—”

Hongjoong began stroking his thumb over your mouth, choosing to match the rhythm with the one between your legs, making your eyelids flutter.

“Is this what you thought about every time you watched me play?”

You breathed out, “I don’t know if I should say yes. Your rockstar ego might over-inflate.”

Hongjoong laughed, little offense in his tone. “I wouldn’t mind the push.”

You played as if you were mulling over a decision, trying not to crack the facade at the mild pout on his lips. Just when he was about to ask, you directed a smirk at him.

“This is tame compared to what’s been running through my head.”

Now you captured his entire attention, eyes burning with curiosity.

“Oh yeah? Indulge me.”

This time, you didn’t want to hold back, nonchalance coloring your face as you looked dead into his eyes.

“I’ve thought about how your fingers would feel inside me.”

The image of his digits flying across the fret of his guitar only emphasized your current pleasure, spurring you on.

“Wondered if they’d play me as well as you play your guitar.”

A low hum came from Hongjoong at your words, dark eyes twinkling with sensuality.

“I think I’m answering your question right now, no?”

A sudden strum to your quivering bud followed, making your hips jerk.

“You are—“ It took a second to find your breath. “—but I still have a couple more.”

“Oh?”

It was a struggle to speak past the moans building in your throat as he continued, but you powered through.

“Thought your head would look nice between my legs.”

You wouldn’t call yourself timid at all, but even this was a new level for you. To be so blunt with someone who you had only known for a short time was crazy. But the spark lighting up on Hongjoong’s face took away whatever shock you had at yourself.

“Is that so?”

Your nod brought the most salacious smirk from him. He moved his hands away from your body, disappointment at not having his touch anymore hitting you. But he was quick to bring up your spirits, placing them on your knees before spreading them further. He then dropped down to the floor, gaze still steady as he raised a brow.

“Like this?”

Your pulse spiked at the sight. It was a nice start, but it wasn’t quite there yet.

“Come closer.”

Hongjoong obliged, cheeks nearly brushing your inner thighs now.

“How about now?”

Much better.

“Perfect.”

The guitarist chuckled, blinding you with his smile.

“Good. Now you can sleep at night.”

A mix of a scoff and a giggle escaped, leaning down to give his forehead a gentle poke.

“Thank you for your services.”

“Any time, baby. Although…”

His voice trailed off as his eyes lowered, looking directly at your exposed cunt. “While I’m already down here—”

You had little chance to prepare as he darted forward and ran his tongue over the entirety of you, ripping a hitched gasp from your throat.

Shit.

Clearly the one lick wasn’t enough for Hongjoong, going back in with a few more that had your head tipping back against the mirror. Soft pants left you, morphing into stronger moans when he directed attention onto your clit. You could feel vibrations from him at times, feeling pleased to know that he was enjoying this as well.

“Fuck, Hongjoong—”

He pulled off, lips glistening as he husked, “You taste fucking amazing, baby. Gonna make sure I get my fill tonight.”

Your lower body bucked at his words, shifting forward until your ass nearly went over the edge of the table. The blond shot you a grateful look for giving him more access, hands sliding up your trembling thighs to take a firm hold of your hips before continuing his actions.

You were trying your best to keep your eyes on him the entire time, but he was too damn good.

Certain moves would make you throw your head back, whining as Hongjoong worked you up with his mouth. You got frustrated at one point when your skirt partially obscured his handsome face. A grunt left your lips before you reached down and tugged the offending fabric up even higher, giving you a clearer view of him eating your pussy.

Watching him had you transfixed, seeing his eyes closed for a good moment as he indulged in you. Though they would open up soon, focusing on you with a heat and precision that you’d only see a fraction of while he was on stage. You weren’t uncomfortable with the stare at all.

It turned you on beyond all belief.

Your fingers tangled into his short, blond strands, feeling the slight perspiration on his scalp. Whether it was leftover from the show or because of the current situation, you didn’t know. You gave the lightest of pulls, subtly asking for more.

Hongjoong raised a brow before moving his mouth away, just a few centimeters. He then went and stuck his tongue out, running the flat of it from the bottom of your slit up until he reached your clit, giving it a harsh flick.

“Oh fuck—“

A short chuckle washed over your area before he did the move again. And again. And again.

“You’re gonna kill me, swear to God.”

The musician giggled at your claim, eyes and nose scrunching with humor.

“You’ll live. But in case you don’t—“ You felt something prodding your entrance, looking down to see one of his fingers there. “—I need to see how good this pussy feels first.”

Hongjoong began sliding it in, your grip on your skirt tightening as he stretched you out a bit. He was quick to start thrusting, pausing at one point to curl and search for that sweet spot inside. When you felt him brush against it, you squeezed around his finger, bringing a triumphant smirk to his face.

“Right there, baby?”

“Right there—!”

He paired his cooing with a solid pump into the area, ruining whatever composure you had. There was no mercy as he kept on with the movements, making you squirm on his digit as a ball of pleasure started to form in your gut. Unable to take anymore of his teasing, you pulled his head closer again before pleading, “Keep eating my pussy, please.”

Hongjoong had no qualms about your begging, groaning lowly before diving back in.

The dual sensations of his mouth and finger working together pushed you higher and higher towards a precipice. Your own lips were babbling praises and noises to let him know how fucking good he was at this. He never pulled off to banter like before, laser-focused on your pleasure. All you received were his sharp brown eyes, watching you like a hawk.

Just when you felt yourself getting close, you tugged at Hongjoong’s hair. He pulled off, albeit reluctantly, shooting you a questioning stare. You gave a wobbly grin, bringing him back in until his wet lips were level with your pulsating nub.

“I come easier this way.”

Thankful for your advice, the guitarist winked before giving his undivided attention there. As you expected, your high raced towards you in no time, showing itself as you cried out and clamped down on his still thrusting finger. Your entire body trembled while he continued to roll his tongue over you, hand letting go of his hair at some point so as to not pull any strands out by accident.

Finally, the tremors stopped, making you slump against the mirror like a limp noodle. Your eyes couldn’t help but shut, feeling more tired than content thanks to the good orgasm.

A good orgasm at the hands (and mouth) of Hongjoong.

“You still alive up there?”

The teasing made your eyes open, shooting a deadpan expression down at his beaming face.

“Nope. Died and went to heaven. Murderer.”

Hongjoong cackled at your quip, standing up to wipe his mouth with the back of his hand. “I’ll send my condolences to Yeosang.”

Now you laughed, reaching for the lapels of his star-printed jacket to tug him in for a deep kiss. Your tongue was quick in meeting up with his, tasting the lingering of your arousal. The longer your lips were locked, the faster your desire returned, wanting to take this even further. You needed to see how his cock would feel inside you, fucking you until your eyes rolled into the back of your head.

Hongjoong removed his lips to catch his breath, hot puffs of air washing over your swollen ones before he husked, “Satisfied?”

You knew your answer right away.

“Would you be mad if I said no?”

The guitarist’s head shook. “I was hoping you would say that—” He took the chance to come closer, pressing his concealed cock into your bare thigh. “—didn’t want to let you out of here just yet.”

Your mouth twisted into a delighted smirk, pleased at the mutual feeling.

“Good, because I also thought about how it would feel if you fucked me.”

Now that you threw your final thought out into the open, the goalpost looked clearer than ever. Especially when Hongjoong presented you with the slyest grin you had ever seen on him. The ones he would give on stage paled in comparison to this.

“Is that right?”

When you nodded, his hand came up to hold your chin. A thumb tapped against it as he purred, “The feeling’s mutual.”

A peck landed on your lips before Hongjoong stepped away to head to the opposite side of the room where a few duffel bags laid. He began rummaging in one of them, standing once he found whatever he was looking for. That something was revealed to be a condom when he turned around. You were glad he wasn’t averse to protection; as horny as you were for him, your safety came first.

But just as he was about to make his way back, a few knocks came from the door.

Your expressions matched with irritation as you both frowned at the interruption. Hongjoong gave you an apologetic look before calling out, “Yes?”

“Hyung, it’s me!”

Because you were further from the muffled voice, you couldn’t decipher who was there until the guitarist swore quietly.

“Jongho, I’m in the middle of something right now.”

“I know, but I really need something from inside! Can you just grab it for me, please?”

Hongjoong pinched the bridge of his nose, eyes closed as he seemed to debate on telling his bandmate to either leave or give him a moment. He went with the latter as he stomped over to the door, unlocking and opening it enough to poke his head out and avoid Jongho witnessing you in your partially-undressed state.

“What do you need?”

“Hyung, I need some condoms.”

“Why didn’t you pick them up when we were in here earlier?”

You could picture the vocalist shrugging, wide eyes adding to his defensive expression.

“I didn’t think I needed them! But Lia sent me a message a few minutes ago and she lives right down the road, so…”

You heard Hongjoong sigh before telling him to wait one second. He shut the door, turning and mouthing an ‘I’m sorry’, to which you waved him off with little bother. A momentary interruption was better than losing your entire chance.

He ran back to his bag to grab a handful of the foil packets before jogging back to the door, opening it and stretching his arm out.

“Here. Now can you promise you or the others won’t bother me until I come back?”

“Of course, captain! Have fun!”

Hongjoong shook his head at his bandmate’s well wishes, but saw him off with a chuckle and a humored goodbye before shutting and locking the door once more. With a swiftness, he turned and ran back over to you, a sheepish grin on his face.

“Sorry about that.”

“No worries.”

Hongjoong looked grateful for your nonchalance, setting the condom down next to you before shucking his jacket off and tossing it to the side. Your eyes couldn’t hold back from raking over the skin now exposed, toned arms and shoulders causing your mouth to water. Just as you peeped the ink scrawled on one of his inner biceps, he started undoing his pants, bringing your attention to something even more interesting as he lowered them.

He caught your stare, smirking at how little modesty you had before reaching for the foiled wrapper. His hands were steady yet swift as he opened and slid the protection onto his stiff dick. As soon as he finished, Hongjoong grabbed your hips, tugging you down just enough to rest his tip against the apex of your thigh.

“Ready for me, beautiful?”

With little apprehension, you reached between your bodies to take a hold of him, lining up with your weeping entrance before giving him a confident nod. As soon as he earned your approval, the musician shifted forward, parting your folds until he started spreading you open. Both of your breaths hitched at the sensation, feeling his ringed fingers dig further into your hips.

“You’re just swallowing me up—“

Hongjoong’s gritted growl made your walls pulsate around his cock for a moment, proving his observation correct. Once he got in as far as you were pleased with, you took a hold of his waist before husking, “Fuck me already.”

A sharp inhale was all you got as you felt him slightly pull out before entering at a quicker pace. The rhythm built up soon enough, giving you the friction you oh so desired.

You were finally getting your wish.

Hongjoong was no slouch in this department, delivering strokes that were the right balance between gratifying and not quite enough. Perfect to have you whining for more a few minutes in.

“Hongjoong, give it to me—”

“Mm? Want me to fuck you harder, baby?”

The hold you had on his shirt tightened.

“Please.”

The chuckle you received had a thrill running down your spine, only to be replaced with a sharper sting as soon as he started plunging into you harder.

“So generous, letting me fuck this pussy how I really want to—”

Between the elevated pleasure and the way he hissed out his words, you were living the dream. You tried to fire back with your own quips, but couldn’t keep up with the way the blond was doing you and staring you down with those dark eyes of his. All you could do to let him know how good you were feeling was to tug him into messy kisses and rubs of your hands along his clothed torso. It seemed to be enough for him, judging by the groans you’d hear or feel.

At one point, Hongjoong pulled away from your lips, his own bearing hints of your smudged lipstick. Your fixation on his appearance was interrupted when he boldly stated, “Wish I could’ve been more thorough about this.”

Your head tilted as you asked, “What do you mean?”

His mouth twisted as if you made a joke, pausing his hips to make sure you focused on what he was about to say.

“I mean, I would’ve liked to do this somewhere a little more private. Because it’s a shame I can’t see all of you right now.”

His admission made your pussy flutter around him, watching as he looked over your still-covered body with heavy and curious eyes.

“Wouldn’t mind having more time to see what else is running through this pretty head of yours.”

He wanted to know what else you would have done with him, huh? There was one little act that you both skipped over, for time’s sake.

“Actually…there’s one thing I forgot to mention.”

Hongjoong’s brow lifted as you took a hold of one of the hands on your body and brought it close to your swollen lips. Making sure to keep eye contact, you rested his index and middle finger on your bottom lip before purring, “I’ve thought about how nice it’d be to suck your dick.”

Before you could get a reaction, you slipped his digits into your mouth, starting to gently suck them as if you were actually carrying out your wish.

The variety of emotions that came over Hongjoong’s face only upped your confidence, bobbing your head carefully to really sell the act. Only then did he finally say something, husking, “Fuck, baby— I’m really missing out right now, huh?”

A wink was what you gave, followed by your tongue beginning to swirl around the appendages, eyes fluttering shut as you pictured a different scenario.

Hongjoong leaning against this very vanity table, pants and briefs pulled halfway down. Watching close as you sat on your knees and worked his cock over with your mouth. You could feel his hips tremble occasionally, surely holding back from the primal urge to fuck into your hot and wet cavern.

But just as you were getting deep into your fantasy, the fingers slipped out of your mouth. Your eyes flew open as you made a mild noise of surprise, only for them to widen at the hungry look on his sweat-beaded face. The same hand was quick to grab your jaw, Hongjoong leaning in so close that you could feel his harsh breath mingling with yours as he hissed, “Next time.”

He didn’t give you a second to process his foreboding words as he took your lips into a starving kiss.

When he finally pulled away, his forehead laid on yours as his hips went up to a reckless pace, burying his cock so deep that your back arched at the sharp jolt of pleasure racing throughout your body. This gave him the opportunity to attack your exposed neck with bites and kisses, pausing at times to growl sheer filth into your ear.

Everything combined had your body giving in to Hongjoong completely, leaning back against the mirror as all sorts of sounds surrounded you.

The slight creaking of the vanity and the jostling of the bottles sitting on it.

The smacking of his damp skin against yours.

How the groans leaving him gradually became tinged with a hint of whining as time passed.

Deducing that he was getting close to his end, you took his hand and slid it between your hips to give him a hint that you needed some help. He was quick on the draw, pushing your hand up as he began circling and rubbing your swollen clit with a saliva-covered fingertip. This only made a long moan escape you, head throwing back as it didn’t take long to catch up with your partner.

“That’s it, baby— Gonna make this little pussy come all over my cock.”

Hongjoong’s thick declaration made your legs wrap tight around his waist and your hands grasp onto the damp skin of his bare shoulders, holding on as he continued transporting you towards your end. You could feel his thrusts become a bit off-centered, but they were still enough for you to enjoy, and more than enough to bring another orgasm.

You announced it through a strained cry of the guitarist’s name, digging your nails into him as you trembled between his tense body and the mirror. It only took a few strokes for Hongjoong to join, swearing through gritted teeth as he plunged into you as far as humanly possible, throbbing as he filled up the condom.

Once the euphoria stopped running through your veins, the urge to slump backwards came strong. You followed your body’s wish, letting out a sigh of fatigue and satisfaction. A soft chuckle sounded near your ear.

“Tell me about it.”

The tiniest of laughs escaped you before taking a moment to simply enjoy the peace in the room. After the two of you got your bearings, it was inevitable that you’d part ways and head home with your respective parties.

But for now, you’d enjoy the way Hongjoong silently hummed into the crook of your neck as you ran your fingers up and down his back.

Yeosang was polishing the last of the clean glasses and talking to San when you strolled up to the bar, a pep in your step.

“Hey guys!”

Your roommate looked up, scrutinizing your appearance with a knowing smirk.

“Well, look who finally returned.”

You waved him off, only to now hear San teasing, “I hope you didn’t wear him out too much.”

A light laugh came out as you grinned at the drummer.

“He’s still standing on two legs, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“Good, the guys and I decided that none of us should be carried out tonight.”

The two of you giggled before he stood up from his stool, stretching muscled arms into the air.

“I think we should start heading out as soon as hyung is put together, I’m sure the two of you are tired.”

Yeosang shrugged, although you could see the slight lidding of his eyes.

“Take your time, I still have to do an inventory count.”

San shook his head. “No no, you definitely need your rest, it’s been nonstop for you. I’ll go gather everyone.”

You were grateful for his insistence, knowing how stubborn Yeosang could get when it came to his job.

“Thank you, San.”

A soft smile was directed at you before the drummer went off to get all of his bandmates together. Now that the two of you were alone, you spun around and gave your friend a winning grin.

“Mission accomplished, Yeo. And it was so worth it.”

Yeosang flicked a brow up at your declaration while grabbing his tablet to take inventory.

“Please don’t give me details. I still have to work with the guy on a weekly basis.”

“I’m not, I’m not! Just letting you know that I got my wish and now you won’t have to hear your horny freak of a roommate lament on how badly she wants Hongjoong’s dick.”

He shot you an exasperated look, clearly not as enthused about the news as you figured he’d be.

“Excellent.”

Snickering, you gave it a rest, leaving him to his work so the two of you could go home ASAP. You turned to take in the venue, noting the janitor sweeping up the last bit of trash and the busboys wiping down the tables that were sticky with alcohol. A few minutes passed before you spotted Halazia, minus Jongho, emerging from backstage. The men wore varying expressions, but all seemed to have a hint of exhaustion as well.

Although, most of your attention was on one specific member.

Hongjoong looked to be the most energetic of the group, eyes alert and responses swift. You weren’t surprised, considering what the two of you went through recently. It might be a different story when he reached home, though.

After nodding at whatever Seonghwa said, his head turned, blinking as he caught you watching him. A blinding grin was quick to come on before he made a beeline your way, making your pulse quicken. But he stopped next to your sitting figure rather than stand in front of you, his gaze on Yeosang as he typed.

“Yeosang, we’re gonna head out now.”

The bartender looked up, only to refocus on his tablet after giving the other a nod. “Stay safe. Great job, as always.”

Hongjoong chuckled, scratching the back of his neck in slight bashfulness.

“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to you saying that, man.”

“Well, you better. Before you guys get snatched up by some big record label and I’ll need to go through security to speak to you.”

You giggled at his quip, receiving Hongjoong’s eyes now. “He has a point. We might be demoted to fans at this rate.”

The blond’s mouth twisted into a smirk as he continued to look at you, saying, “Oh, I could never forget you guys.”

Thank goodness Yeosang wasn’t paying attention to the way you were being stared down by the man who had his hands all over you not long ago; he definitely would not have let you live it down.

“Yeah, we’ll see about that. Have a good night, Hongjoong, tell the others for me.”

“Will do, Yeosang.”

Hongjoong slipped his hand out of his jacket pocket before holding it towards you.

“Y/N.”

You blinked at the formal gesture from someone who was up in your guts, but brought your own hand up to allow his to take a firm grasp.

“A real pleasure meeting you. Well, officially, I mean.”

A short laugh left as you teased, “Likewise, Hongjoong. I guess we’ll see each other at your next show?”

He kept a hold of your palm as he flashed his perfect teeth and winked.

“Absolutely.”

You almost didn’t want to let go, but you allowed the musician to pull away. But then you felt something odd. Looking at your palm, you spotted a piece of paper, folded over and over until it was a tiny square. Thinking that Hongjoong left something by accident, you prepared to call out until he brought a finger up to his lips.

The motion quieted you when he glanced sideways at Yeosang before looking at the paper and then at your face. With that, he turned and headed towards his bandmates to exit the establishment, leaving you to stare down at your hand.

Whatever he left was meant for your eyes and your eyes only.

Curiosity took over as you carefully unfolded the note. You had to bite back a gasp at what was scrawled inside.

‘So we don’t have to wait for the next show to meet up’

xxx-xxxx

Fuck!

You almost slipped and swore out loud, but managed to hold it in. Peeking at your friend to make sure he was still occupied, you stared at Hongjoong’s neat writing, processing this new info.

He actually gave you his number! Was this how groupies felt? Or were you a step above them?

Either way, this was an unexpected development. It was luck that you were able to get close enough to Hongjoong to sleep with him, but to get this as well felt like a miracle.

“Hey.”

You swiftly brought the paper down to your lap as you peered up to see Yeosang, hands now free from the tablet.

“Are you ready to go?”

With a smile that might have been a little too enthusiastic, you nodded, slipping the note into your pocket.

“Absolutely.”

©bangtanintotheroom, 2024. Crossposted to AO3. Do not repost to other sites or copy without permission.

[larluce]

Arthur and Merlin travel back in time without knowing the other is from the future too AU

LINKS TO THE OTHER PARTS OF THIS AU HERE: PART 1 , PART2 , PART 3 , PART 4 , PART 5 , PART 6 (you're here) , PART 7

A little reminder that Merlin was a tree for over a decade before travelling back in time, though he doesn't remember it and also Arthur's traumas of that time.

In Gaius's tower

Gaius: (checking Merlin, after Arthur insisted something was wrong with him) No sickness or injuries. He's perfectly fine, sire.

Merlin: (to Arthur) See? I told you it was nothing.

Arthur: It was not NOTHING. Merlin, you fainted.

Merlin: I just tripped.

Arthur: Because you fainted! And before that you were in pain.

Merlin: I was not!

Arthur: Yes, you were! Everytime we go hunting or camping you have headaches and pains. Don't you dare lie!

Merlin: (sighs) Alright, fine. It's true. I don't know why it happens, but it's not unbearable. And you heard Gaius, there’s nothing fisically wrong with me.

Arthur: As far as we know. (To Gaius) Check him again.

Merlin rolls his eyes. He loves that this Athur is more caring and protective of him, but sometimes it was too much, honestly. He even carried him all the way here like he was some maid in distress.

Gaius: Perhaps is an external factor that it’s causing this. Like some particular smell of a flower, for example?

Merlin: (shakes his head) I don't think so. We're never in the same place. The flora and fauna changes from one place to another.

Gaius: There must be a common factor. When do you feel this pains and headaches exactly?

Merlin: (purses his lips, not wanting to say)

Arthur: Merlin.

Merlin: I don't think is related.

Arthur: Merlin.

Merlin: (sighs) when a living thing dies. Like a bird, or a plant.

Arthur: When a living thing- (between horrified and mad) Merlin, I've been killing animals in your face for WEEKS! And you tell me this NOW?!

Merlin: I'm telling you I don't think it's related! I mean, it can't be related. It's ridiculous. And it never happened to me before.

That's not entirely true but not entirely a lie either. He has always been sensitive to nature. That's why he always hated when Arthur hunted animals just for fun. But he has never been THIS sensitive to the point he almost feel the same pain these creatures feel. Not until he came back in time. Maybe this is another price he has to pay for his deal with the sidhes or it's just a time travel side effect. The pains could be random as far as he knows.

Gaius: Well, there’s only one way to find out.

Later in the forest. Gaius is next to a tree with a chicken in one arm and an ax in the other. Merlin and Arthur look at him, insecure.

Merlin: Is this really necessary?

Gaius: I'm sorry, my boy, but we won't know for sure until we test it. (Apologetic smile) If it makes you feel better, it was going to die anyways for today's dinner.

Merlin: And you're going to cut down these flowers too? 🥺

Gaius: Not in vain. They’re medicine and they'll grow up again.

Merlin: Okay (takes a deep breath) I'm ready.

Arthur: (worried, holding his hand and stroking it comfortingly) Are you sure?

Merlin: (Nods and smiles) I just want to get this over with.

Gaius: Very well. Merlin, turn your back to me. Arthur, hold him in place and look his reaction closely.

They both do as told, Arthur holding Merlin by the shoulders, firmly but gently, his fingers caressing Merlin's neck under the neckerchief.

Arthur: (his face inches from Merlin's) Just look at me, alright?

Merlin: (blushes and just nods)

Gaius: (Kills the chicken)

Merlin: (his face flinches)

Arthur: Are you okay?

Merlin: (nods) It did hurt. But not as bad as I thought it would.

Gaius: We can check animals then. (Makes some notes and then cuts some flowers)

Merlin: (whimpers a little)

Arthur: (concern) Merlin.

Merlin: It's fine. But it hurt a little more for some reason.

Gaius: Interesting... (takes notes) "plants hurt more than animals"

Merlin: (sighs. To Arthur) You can say it.

Arthur: (confused) What?

Merlin: That I'm a petticoat... or a freak... For being like this.

Arthur: That's not true. You just have a... (looking for the right words) an unusual medical condition. Like Morgana with her nightmares.

Merlin: (snorts) At least her condition is useful. How am I supposse to accompany you in your hunting trips if I get like this all the time?

Arthur: Oh, there won't be more hunting trips. They’re cancel. Forever.

Merlin: What?! 😨 But you love hunting trips!

Arthur: (shrugs) It was never really that fun anyways.

Merlin knows that's not true, but doesn't say anything, to moved with Arthur's action he wants to cry. Arthur's holding him close still, their foreheads touching. They lose into each others eyes. But just as they’re leaning closer-

Gaius: (sticks the ax in a tree)

Merlin: AAAAAAARGH! (Screams and curls in pain)

Arthur: (Hugs him in distress) Merlin! (To Gaius furiously) What did you do?!

Gaius: Merlin! (Running to them) My boy, I'm so sorry! I've been cutting other plants and killing some bugs and you didn't seem to feel it. I just thought-

Merlin: (cries histerically) NOOO! (pushes Arthur and Gaius aside and runs to the tree) YOU HAD NO RIGHT! NO RIGHT TO HURT HER LIKE THIS! (Looks at Gaius, face contort in fury but with tears running down his eyes. Then he turns to the tree and takes the ax out of the trunk desperatly. When he finishes he sees the hole in the trunk and falls to his knees, sobing)

Gaius: ... It seems that trees trigger him more than anything. I've never heard of any sickness like this. Perhaps someone put a spell on him. Or a curse.

Arthur: (completely pale)

Gaius: Sire?

Athur: (murmuring, very scared) It... it can't be...

Gaius: Sire, are you alright? You're pale.

Arthur: I have to go. I'm sorry.(runs off)

Gaius: Sire! Sire! (Sighs and sits next to Merlin, who is now just sniffing quietly. He pats his backs, full of guilt) I'm so sorry, Merlin. Does it still hurt?

Merlin: (shakes his head) Not anymore. (caress the bark of the tree with a sad smile) She says she forgives you. She understands why you did it.

Gaius: (surprised) You're talking about the tree? You can speak to it-I mean, her?

Merlin: (nods, just as surprised at his new discovered ability) It's kind of like mind speak. But there is no voice in my head or really words. Just feelings.

Gaius: Incredible!

Merlin: Don't tell Arthur any of this though. He'll realise I have magic for sure. Or just think I'm insane.

Gaius: He seemed very torned up before leaving.

Merlin: (worried) You think he figured it out?

Gaius: I don't think so. I'll have a fake diagnosis for you in the afternoon just in case.

Merlin: (sighs) I can't believe my magic is doing this to me. Maybe I am cursed. (Thinking) What the hell did the sidhes do to me?!

Gaius: You just discover a new power, my boy. Once you know how to control it, it'll be more an advantage than a disadvatage.

[singmyaubade]

hi!! i was wondering if you could write a smutty story about sub!james? literally anything, pls🙏🏻

warning: mentions of smut and cursing

sub!james x female!reader

a/n: i did not proofread, i'm sorry if this was not what you were expecting LOL.

james never had any performance issues in his life.

he always managed to be a stallion in bed, giving nothing less and everything more. being a 'sex god,' in his own words, was one of the things he always took pride in.

it was his wings, the only thing that could cheer him up when all else failed.

if quidditch was his first passion, snogging girls was a definite second.

so when ruby weathers, a girl with the best bum in james's year, gives him a chance to sleep with her.

he has no choice but to.

james was ecstatic, practically jumping off of the walls. this was his moment, his opportunity once again to prove himself. there wasn't a single nerve in his body; he never underestimated his more large and not-so-average buddy down there.

before he knew it, he was in his perfect bedroom with weathers, relishing her getting on her knees to suck his cock.

and then, everything came to a halt.

after twenty minutes of her doing that, his buddy refused to get up. he felt the arousal, but his mind and cock were in different places.

after she complained about her jaw locking for the twenty-second time, he decided to get straight to the point. but even when he fucked her, he couldn't get hard.

eventually, ruby just told him awkwardly that it was okay and things clearly weren't working despite him asking her to try a few things. they didn't even exchange last words before she left.

and when she did, he was embarrassed, frustrated, in fact.

he didn't think weathers was the type to tell people's sex business or even gossip for that face.

he knew he was wrong when sirius came urgently yelling, "prongs, your dick is broken?!"

and that was, for sure, the icing on the cake.

he tried everything that didn't involve taking a particular little pill to perform.

he tried spells, teas, and even a massage, but nothing worked. he even thought he was attracted to other things, but it was no point.

eventually, his friends were all sensing his depression. he couldn't even play quidditch properly.

marlene, who felt no sympathy at all, even tried to cheer up james, but it was a loss. he completely lost himself through the entire thing, and yes, it might have been stupid for some people, but it meant a lot to him.

but then dorcas pulled him aside.

"go to the room written here on saturday after lunch," dorcas handed him the card. he looked at her, entirely confused, raising his eyebrow.

"i have a friend who helps with that kind of stuff," she tilted her head, "but don't tell anyone where you are going, and make sure to tell her that i sent you," she instructed to which he nodded and muttered a thank you before dorcas rushed off.

and when saturday after lunch was right there, he didn't know what to do, his fist knocking on your door lightly.

then he saw you, yawning when you opened the door. your hair perfectly laid, wearing a matching pink tank top and shorts that hugged your thighs most comfortably. your nipples were perked up through your tank top, making him swallow.

"eyes are up here, pretty boy." you tased as his face grew red.

"m’sorry," he stuttered, "i was told to uh- i mean, dorcas sent me here."

you looked at him questioningly, "and why did she do that?" you asked, pursing your lips.

"she said you could help me with my uh problem," he whispered, looking around.

"golden boy having a problem that i have to fix?" you tsked, smirking, "interesting." you moved aside to let him, walking to your own bed.

he took that opportunity to look at your ass which was 'bloody fantastic,' he thought. he stood there gawking at you, not knowing if he should come in.

"you coming in or?" you flattered, to which he came in immediately, shutting the door.

he stood there like a scarecrow before you giggled, "come sit with me," you patted the spot next to you on the bed.

he nervously fiddled with his fingers as you placed your hand on his hand to calm him down, "what problems are you having?"

he stayed silent, clearly embarrassed, "james," you grabbed his chin so he looked at you, "i'm here to help you, not judge you,"

he took a deep breath, "i am having trouble during sex."

"what kind of problems?" you asked, using your thumb to brush his fingers.

"i can't get hard," he admitted, looking down.

he was prepared for you to laugh, even mock him for having such a stupid problem, but you still maintained a compassionate face.

"okay," you said, "and when did you start having that problem," you asked.

"two weeks ago," he muttered.

"and have you tried anything new? maybe something new in your sex life?" you suggested.

"i've tried everything i can think of; it's just not happening." he was frustrated.

"okay then let's try everything you haven't thought of." you half-joked.

"like what?" he asked, making eye contact with you.

"hmm," you tapped your chin, "first things first, are you more dominant or submissive?"

"uh," he said, genuinely not knowing.

"okay that's fine, i'll find out," you replied, sounding sure.

"and are you okay with being intimate with me?" you asked.

he could feel his face turning bright red, "y-yeah that's fine, i mean if you are fine with it but if you're not, its okay, i do-"

you kissed him, cutting him off. your tongue entangling his, hand on his thigh. you grabbed his hand, putting it on your breast as his other hand went to your cheek.

you pulled away from him as he whimpered, "what do you want me to do, james?" you asked.

"i don't know," he answered, drunk off your lips.

"can i suck you off, baby?" you asked, your eye contact ripping him into pieces.

"y-yes." he answered nervously as you got onto your knees.

you touched his belt, unbuckling it as you reached up to kiss him one last time. you palmed him through his boxers, not feeling him get hard yet, but you were patient.

you pulled him soft out of his boxers, stroking him fully. he was big even soft which you admit made you dripping in your panties.

your tongue did a long stripe on his cock, making him moan. you sucked on his tip first, putting your hand on his thigh as his hand palmed into a fist.

you put him deeper in your mouth, letting him hit the back of your throat as he whined. you grabbed his hand, unfisting it, interlocking your hand in his.

you continued bobbing your head up and down his length, your other hand stroking whatever you couldn't fit in your mouth.

james continued holding your hand, holding it tighter when you sucked his tip.

"is it good, jamie?" you asked, breathing a bit hard.

"so good," he whimpered.

that's when you finally felt him getting hard, when you talked to him.

"you are doing so well for me," you complimented, "you are being so good."

he groaned at your words as you continued sucking him off, him being fully erect now.

"so big," you managed to say with his cock inside your mouth.

his cock twitched inside your mouth and you knew he was near when he gripped your hand tightly.

"you can do it," you muffled through his cock, the vibrations sending him.

james closed his eyes, leaning his head back before cumming inside of your mouth.

"i wanna kiss you," he whined as you smiled, kissing him with his cum inside of your mouth as it slobbed over both of your chins.

your mouth invaded his as he moaned inside of your mouth. his hands touched your top, tugging at it. you could tell that he wanted it off of you.

"you wanna take off my top for me, jamie?" you asked as he nodded.

you let him take your top off as you straddled his lap, him latching on your nipple as soon as he could which earned a moan from you. his spit all over your chest, your nipples swollen.

you raised off of him for a second to take off your shorts as he looked at you in awe with his big, brown eyes.

you straddled him again, aligning his cock with your hole. he continued sucking on your nipple as you sat down on him and he groaned.

"fuck," you said, "stretching me out."

he was hardening inside of you again, getting drunk off of your pussy.

he whimpered as he hit the spongy spots inside of you. you started a slow speed and once it stopped stinging, you went faster.

he held onto your body tightly, not letting you go. he mewled the faster you went, his cock twitching inside of you due to the immense pleasure.

"so needy baby," you moaned, bouncing up and down.

he hit the perfect spot inside of you as you tried not to grow hazed in pleasure.

"i can't hold it in, mommy." he said, you being a bit surprised at his wording.

"it's okay baby," you soothed, "you can cum." you smoothed the back of his hair.

you kept riding him until he came, not worried about your release. he came with a whimper, sensitive.

"i wanna taste you mommy," he groaned with you still inside of him as he softened inside of you.

"next time jamie, this was for you right now," you grinned, kissing him delicately on his lips.

you tried letting him go but his grip on you was still there, not wanting you to leave.

"i'm not gonna go anywhere," you calmed, him still inside of you.

"i just wanna cuddle for a while," he said.

"okay, we can do that." you gave him a reassuring smile, laying the both of you down, entangled in each other as you gave a peck to his nose.

your eyes fluttered closed as james admired you.

and before he slept, he knew that he definitely owed dorcas his life.

[milky-aeons]

𝐌𝐀𝐊𝐄 𝐀 𝐖𝐈𝐒𝐇

౨ৎ . . . in which CHUUYA NAKAHARA begins to notice there's one particular day of the year you hate to celebrate.

warnings: female reader, established relationship, suggestive content, criminal themes, previous trauma (f!reader), healing, hurt/comfort, w.c 2.2k

"You want to go for dinner? Today? Oh, would it be okay if we reschedule, Chuuya? I forgot about a friend I promised to see..."

"Ah — the weather today is forecast to be awful! How about we just stay inside and watch a movie?"

"Oh, I don't usually celebrate my birthday. But enough about me! Why don't we go abroad for your one? Wherever you'd like to go. I'm sure Mori-dono will spare his favourite General a few days."

.

.

.

𓂃 ࣪˖

Chuuya Nakahara, quick-minded and astute as he was, had noticed a pattern in your mood around this time of year. It was as if there were a storm impending, its' clouds creeping over you a little bit more each day. You became quiet and reserved; an opposite to how you were when it was just the two of you — your mind settled elsewhere.

He could see the nightmares you tried to hide play like shadows across your face.

"Do you think she'd like this one, Chuuya?"

He blinked, beckoned from his thoughts. You were gazing up at him — eyes wide, expectant — pointing at an item in front of you. Upon closer inspection, Chuuya realised you had been gesturing between two different coloured teddy bear plushies in the storefront window.

Frowning, what the fuck was the difference, he muttered, "Don't 'spose it matters. She's just gonna lie in bed and drool all over it in anyway, right?"

"Of course, it matters!" You scolded him. "Her favourite colour is pink; which is why I'm leaning more towards the right one. But the colour scheme of her room is yellow, which the other one would compliment much better. Hmm, I don't know."

"Just shove a few yen into an envelope. Easy. If you're feelin' extra sentimental, give her some mochi with it, too."

You flitted your eyes from the two cuddly toys to your boyfriend with the intent to level him with a look. But when you did, caught sight of his furrowed eyebrows; the way he wrinkled his nose when something was annoying him. He appeared to be attempting to burn holes through the glass with how intently he stared at the bears — trying to discern why this was such a big deal to you. Your terrifying mafioso boyfriend took on the appearance of a grumpy cat.

You wanted to kiss him. Everywhere.

So that was exactly what you did.

"Hey—O-Oi!" Chuuya exclaimed when you attacked him; leaning up on your toes to pepper his face with dozens of fluttering kisses. His hands came to your waist, firm but surprised, stabilising the both of you in case you toppled him over. His little noise of surprise mellowed into a boyish chuckle. He tugged you gently at the waist, pulling his face from yours, but still keeping close, still sharing the same whisper. "Where's all this eagerness comin' from? You seemed pretty satisfied this morning, from what I can recall."

The memories of him waking up next to you in your one-bedroom apartment rushed through you; a flash of wicked blue eyes and slow, sleepy heights of pleasure. You knew there was blush rushing to your cheeks — because Chuuya's eyes flickered down to them.

He grinned.

You rolled your eyes, not helping how you mirrored it.

"I hate you." It came chasing a chuckle.

Chuuya arched one of his sharp brows. "Oh?" He challenged, and then swooped down to trap you against his body. Leaning back, he lifted you into the air, spinning softly. "You'd never make it in the mafia, baby doll. Such a shit liar.

"Okay, okay. I think we're getting off topic." You said when he set you back down again, although kept a hand hovering a the small of your back. Instinctively, you leaned back into it, finding his touch familiar. "If I held a gun to your head and told you to pick, what one would you choose?" You asked, facing the bears again.

Chuuya snorted. "First, I'd call ya stupid for pointin' a gun at someone who manipulates gravity."

"Chuuya."

"Fine, the yellow one. It's less... annoyin', to look at."

"I'll take it." You smiled, then leaned up to place a chaste kiss on his lips. Or, what you had meant to be chaste. But just as you shifted to move away, your unpredictable General boyfriend seemed to have other ideas; his slender fingers slid into your hair and tilted your head back, deepening what was supposed to be a thank you into something that screamed don't stop. His other hand snaked around your waist, pulling you into him against his body made of pure honed muscle and bone.

And the wicked man was smiling when he pulled away from you. You were dazed, gripping onto his leather coat, blinking the haze from your eyes when you refocused them.

"Don't mention it." He purred, and you almost contemplated leaning back into him. You opted to huff instead.

"What'll I do with you?" You murmured, ribbons of tease in your slightly hoarse voice.

Chuuya's expression became bemused, asking if you really wanted him to answer that question. You loved this silly back and forth that came so easily between you two. Free flowing and endless; how your relationship was strengthen by the fact you were both each other's best friend as much as one true desire. The heated moments always came with a parry, a joke, a nibble at your ticklish spot that made you howl. Like now — as mirth danced in his eyes, something quick-witted brewing behind them.

But as a few quiet seconds ticked by; that mirth darkened. It became something heavier and pondering.

You tilted your head slightly. "Chuuya?"

The corners of his lips battled against a frown. "Can I ask ya somethin'?" He asked, suddenly a little more serious.

"Of course — anything."

"Why won't ya tell me when your birthday is?"

The question caught you rather off-guard. It was not too far off the topic of today's little shopping trip; to buy your best friend a birthday present — and yet it still struck you all the same. You froze against him. Chuuya must have noticed, because the muscles in his cheek ticked when he clenched his jaw. Fuck, he hated upsetting you. He hated being the reason that anything but love and joy crossed your expression. But here you were — looking at him in a panic, like he just unholstered the gun at his hip and pointed it your way.

Despite his protective nature singing in his ears — telling him to just drop it, to bring it up some other time — Chuuya stood his ground. If there was one thing he couldn't bear other than hurting you, it was you closing down and hurting yourself.

Chuuya was quiet, levelling you with his expectant eyes. You could feel the bottom of your stomach falling through. Why now — why was he suddenly asking you this? Where was this even coming from? You bit your lip, a wall coming up and trying to wedge itself between you both — not that you wanted to push him away. But it was a reflex, a defence mechanism, ingrained into your brain since you were a small child.

You shook your head. "I just—can we not do this, Chuuya?"

"Can we not do this?" He repeated. You thought there was a hint of hurt edging his voice, but if there was, it was gone in a heartbeat. "Baby," He pushed, taking a step forward when you tried to pull away. "I get it if somethin' shitty happened, but at least tell me that — you don't owe me anythin', but I can't stand seeing the nightmares in your eyes, doll. It kills me when I don't know why."

Memories flooded up into your mind — hazy and distant now after so much time had passed, but they still stung enough to make you flinch. There were shouts and arguments, there was banging, there was your hands covering your ears to try and block them out. It was almost as if your were back there cowering in the corner of your room, rocking back and forth, and you instinctively tried to reach up to cover your ears.

But the air wasn't stuffy and stagnant — here, in the present, it was warm. It smelled like cherry blossoms and expensive leather gloves. You edged back into your surroundings by the soft brush of a thumb tracing your cheekbone. You weren't aware of the trails of wet tears that had fallen down your face until a light spring breeze brushed passed.

Chuuya didn't move an inch — catching every tear that tumbled down your cheeks. He held himself so still, so composed, because hell if he didn't want to demand every little detail about the asshole that hurt you that bad so he could pay them a kindly visit. He bit down on the inside of his cheek until copper sang on his tongue. But he couldn't startle you, he couldn't break your progress when you had been coaxed out from that awful place you locked yourself up inside. He just kept wiping your wet cheeks, not letting any of the tears fall.

"Talk to me." Chuuya whispered after a few pregnant seconds.

Talk to me, you repeated, letting it wash through your body and soothe the heartache hollowing out your chest. You were no longer back there, alone and afraid, you were here. With the love of your life. And you could trust him, you could lean on him as you would tell him to lean on you.

A long, rattling sigh left your lips. You leaned into one of his palms. "Sorry, I—" You chuckled, not really understanding why. "I'm sorry for worrying you."

"Don't be stupid—"

"But I did." You cut across him. "I guess, I haven't really healed from what I went through back then. I don't know... how to tell people things. Instead I just shove them down and expect you not to notice. Not a very fool-proof plan, huh?" Your lips kicked up into a watery smile.

Chuuya was patient; he cradled your face in the palm of his hand and placed his other on your hip, drawing soothing circles. He waited for you. You took a few heavy sighs before gathering the courage to push past years of pain and continue.

"I—I've always hated celebrating my birthday. Most of the memories I have from them were always unhappy, always full of pain, so I—I guess I never wanted you to find out about it. I don't know why, because I know out of all people you wouldn't judge me, but, I don't know—I—"

"Shh, it's okay." Chuuya cooed. "You don't need to explain yourself to me, baby." He then tugged at your waist to pull you into his chest, and you went willingly. Folding yourself into his embrace with your head tucked underneath his chin. He kissed the crown of your head and murmured into your hair, "Just wish you told me sooner. You've been carryin' all that 'round, huh?"

You hummed. Snuggled into his warmth and familiar scent a little more, drinking it in greedily.

"I underestimated how perceptive you were."

"Oi."

You giggled wetly. "Just kidding."

The both of you remained like that for quite some time. Uncaring of the curious onlookers passing by or those who slinked through the storefront doors. It was just the two of you; in a separate pocket of reality where time stood still. You knew there were old wounds on your heart that would take long to heal — some spearing so deep they would even leave scars. But you had found your person; the safe space that let all your thoughts go quiet after a long day.

And maybe that was enough.

The love you shared, the trust, it would be enough. It was enough.

"Can I guess?" Chuuya said through the peaceful quiet.

"Hmm?"

"April 10th."

"Excuse me?"

"April 11th."

"Are you trying to guess my birthday—?"

"May 1st!"

And he was absolutely not a man to back down, either. It was so silly, but true to his word, Chuuya threw out every random date that popped into his head instead of simply asking you. He kept guessing until he made tears smart your eyes from laughter. Until he went through every single month of the year before finally landing it right.

"First try." He gloated — evidently exhausted — sending you into another fit of laughter once more. "Shit. I better get to work, then."

"You—oh!"

Chuuya had swooped you up into an easy bridal hold right in the middle of a busy Yokohama street. You shrieked, half in glee, half mortified at all the pairs of eyes magnetised your way. Chuuya brushed them all off as he began to walk down the street; intent on carrying you all the way to wherever he wished to kidnap you off to.

"Work to do for what?" You asked against the side of his face.

Your criminal boyfriend with a heart of gold when it came to you turned to meet your eyes. There was a mischievous little twinkle in them you adored him for.

"Because I'm about to make this year's birthday the best you've damn well ever had, princess. And I ain't got long to prepare."

✎ . . . requested by wonderful nonnie!

WRITING REQUESTS

[jenscx]

FATE — huh yunjin x f!reader

it’s been two years since yunjin had broken up with you, but fate brings you to korea, and into yunjin’s arms.

TAGS — fluff, angst, exes to lovers, cursing, wanted to write a super angsty one but felt bad for my wife yunjin :((

WORDCOUNT — 2.6k

yunjin breaks up with you through a phone call. it’s embarrassing, her voice sounding through your phone explaining and rambling while you try your best not to cry in a random starbucks.

“—and it’s not you, like seriously, it’s just our time differences and i can’t be in a relationship if i want to debut.” you grip your phone a little tighter.

“you told me you were going there to visit family. not to debut or even train again,” memories of yunjin reassuring you flash through your head and you can just hear the grimace in her voice.

your girlfriend continues, “i know what i said, it’s just, they asked and this is all i’ve ever wanted.”

“so that text from yesterday was a lie? telling me that you missed me so much and couldn’t wait to come back?” you hiss as quietly as possible, feeling more furious rather than sad at this point.

yunjin goes quiet for a second before sighing, “i do miss you and i miss new york too but i can’t give up on my dream. i’m sorry, y/n.”

you think of your girlfriend’s past endearing words and they only fan the flames burning inside you. ( “y/n? are you still there?” ) and at that moment, you no longer feel any sort of affection for huh yunjin, only disappointment that she lied to you and then broke up with you through a two minute phone call.

“i hope i never see you again, jennifer. bye.”

it’s been two years since the breakup and you glared at anyone who brought it up. it was a sensitive subject and you would rather spend your time thinking of anything else but yunjin. yet, you feel exhilarated. a sample of your mix had somehow worked its way to hybe and the producers there had reached out to you, an opportunity anyone would give anything for.

a ticket headed to south korea was booked and you stood in the airport, giving your teary goodbyes to your family. you had tried to build up your korean a few weeks beforehand and maybe, you could understand it more than the average foreigner.

after all, if you were to potentially be signed to hybe, you might just end up migrating there and a little korean could help you out.

“be good, i don't want to see my only daughter ending up a prisoner,” your dad says.

you laugh, affronted, “why would i do anything that would warrant jail time?”

he shrugs and you give your parents one final hug before departing for the gates.

excitement fills your veins and you are soon jittering with nervousness. as soon as they announce boarding, you rush onto the plane, a newfound enthusiasm for your future.

maybe you could meet blackpink there, but yg and hybe don’t really collaborate often, you thought.

or maybe if the whole hybe thing doesn’t work out, you could try for the black label and end up producing for somi. that would be fun.

your fantasies entertain you for the rest of the flight and sleep overtakes you at the later part. it is a 14 hour flight after all. you dream of soft brown eyes and even softer black hair.

it’s around 10 o’clock in the morning when your plane lands and surprisingly, you feel well-rested. it’s surreal that you were finally in korea and as you wait for the designated driver to pick you up, a crowd of fans rushes past you, camera flashes going off at lightning speed.

“ah, isn’t that lesserafim? they just came back from japan,” a stranger remarked while passing by. you tense up. the group, lesserafim, familiar yet painful at the same time. you clench your eyes shut, not willing to make any sort of contact with one particular member.

however, your body gravitates towards the crowd and the sight of the group’s success before you grips your heart painfully.

she left for a good cause.

“kazuha! look here!”

“chaewon! chaewon! do a heart with sakura!”

“eunchae-ssi, do a heart!”

just as you’re about to leave, someone calls out.

“yunjin! look here!”

unfortunately, the person who had yelled stood next to you and even though your head was screaming at you to run, your legs stayed rooted and you’re forced to face the girl who had broken your heart.

“y/n?” she mouthed, eyes widening. you pulled the cap on your head downwards and gulped. should i just run and hope she thinks i’m just her hallucination?

unluckily (or luckily for future you), neither you nor yunjin move away and you’re stuck in a staring contest with your ex.

she did nothing and snapped her smiling façade back on her face but her gaze wandered to you occasionally.

you thought back to your words, “i never want to see you again.” yeah, that was how it should be and your body finally cooperated as you pulled yourself out of her trance, away from the crowd.

you stare at the building, a modern, skyscraper corporate building that spoke of the company’s success.

“hello,” you greet the bodyguards stationed at the front and head in. it was pristine and honestly, you would die to work here every day. there was a cafe and everything, you promised yourself to get a snack later.

“oh, you’re the producer that no joohwan has a meeting with,” the receptionist says, “the twelfth floor, i think he’s in the studio.”

you nod and express your thanks before making your way up. despite the fact that you were about to talk to a hybe producer, your head was filled with thoughts of a particular idol under hybe. her blonde hair and bright eyes… why did she dye her hair? you frowned as the elevator dinged.

you’re greeted with a hallway and multiple doors. the sign above most reading, ‘practice room’ while the door at the end is a different colour.

you knocked and waited a couple seconds before opening it slightly.

a man sat before a layout of buttons and mixers that you were well familiar with and inside the recording booth, a sole girl looking at the lyric sheet.

“oh, hello, i wasn’t expecting you to be so early but come on in. you can take a seat there first while i finish up,” the producer, no joohwan, smiles. you nod and do so, not before recognising the girl inside as lesserafim’s chaewon.

“chaewon-ssi, let’s do the last verse, okay?”

“yes.”

you’re amazed at her voice and the way joohwan moves so fluidly around the mixer. it feels like it’s his second home and it probably was. it was like a performance artwork.

“i think that was good, we can wrap up here today,” joohwan says, “tell yunjin to drop by later, we need to record her verse too.”

even her name urges some sort of reaction out of you and maybe chaewon notices since she raises a questioning eyebrow but doesn’t say anything.

“okay,” joohwan turns to you when chaewon leaves the room, “so, i heard your mix and i think you’re just what our team needs. i think that you bring something new and i want you to work for hybe, or more specifically, source music.”

source music, the company lesserafim is under. you’re now in some dilemma because if you were to reach joohwan’s level, you would have to see the members during recording. the members, including yunjin. your head spins at the opportunity presented, either let your past relationship affect your future or forget about it.

you feel slightly bitter. yunjin chose her work over your relationship. she didn’t let you, no matter how much she loved you, affect her dreams.

“i would love to work for source music.”

you think you’ve made the right choice when joohwan takes your hand into a firm handshake, “i’m glad you chose our company! when i’m done recording with the girls, we can sign you to source music and draft up a contract.”

“okay, i’ll come in next week then?”

“yes, that would be great.” you don’t lie through your teeth when you tell him how much you appreciate the opportunity and joohwan seems genuinely excited for new ideas and samples.

as soon as you open the door however, your smile fades away as a blonde blocks your way.

“oh. you’re… here,” yunjin blinks. seeing her in close proximity brings up a lot of things you want to say to her. for example, you’re still so pretty ranging to i hate you and your stinking guts. but you don’t say any of those. you nod and then try to manoeuvre past her but she’s so much taller and stronger than you that your wrist just ends up in her grip. she drags you away while you struggle in her grasp and only stops when you two are both in an empty practice room, the door swiftly locked by yunjin.

“what are you doing!” you shriek, backing away from your ex-girlfriend but it seems, she has other plans that prevent your escape.

“no, what are you doing in korea?” yunjin retorts, “aren’t you meant to be in new york?”

“i’m here for a job, dumbass, so can i leave now?” you frown, not liking the way yunjin rests her gaze on you.

a moment of silence befalls the two of you, and of course, your temper runs short and it’s another episode of you trying to reach the locked door but yunjin’s arms reach you before you do.

her arms wrap around your waist and you writhe uncontrollably.

“jennifer! let. me. go!”

“no!”

you gasp, “what the hell do you mean, ‘no’!”

“i just wanna talk to you!”

“and i don’t want to talk to you!”

your ex-girlfriend pointedly ignores you until you stop trying to escape, too tired to fight back against the once comfortable embrace you wished for.

you pant, “what?”

“what?”

“what do you want to say? and it’s not nice just grabbing your ex— or anyone, like that!” you scoff.

yunjin releases her grip slightly but not enough for your body to wiggle out. she sits you both on the wooden floor and sighs.

“i…”

“what, jennifer? you wrestle me and then have nothing to say? you better start talking if not i’m leaving in five seconds.”

“okay, this isn’t how i envisioned our first meeting.”

“and i didn’t envision this at all,” you whisper under your breath, rolling your eyes. who the hell fantasises about meeting their ex again?

“can you stop saying shit and just listen?”

“no, jennifer, because you literally just kidnapped me!”

yunjin groans loudly, “oh my god, stop calling me jennifer!” her shout falters you and you stay quiet. a part of you is scared of her anger and another part wants to cry. cry that yunjin’s hold is so, so warm.

you hear yunjin take a deep breath.

“i regret breaking up with you.”

and it’s crazy that you don’t have a snarky remark to bite back. you don’t have any words at all because… well, why would yunjin ever regret that?

it got her famous, rich and her dream that she desired.

you feel her embrace you a little tighter again. at this point, your back was to her chest and she rested her head against your shoulder. it was like you two were cuddling, only that you were deathly upright and still. suddenly you hear sniffles and your shoulder getting wet.

“it was fine at first. i liked being an idol but i just… i’m sorry for leaving you. i was an idiot and i can’t tell you how much i’ve missed you,” yunjin cries into your shoulder, “i was so stupid to break up with the only person that supported me then… and i’m so sorry for being such a dumbass to ever let you go. i wanted to go back to new york and beg for you to take me back—”

“so why didn’t you?” you interrupt.

“i was scared, scared that i might see you with someone new and scared to face you again, but now that you’re here, all these emotions just rush out and fuck, i can’t stop crying. please, please let me try again, i won’t be the same idiot that breaks up with you. i’ll do anything for you, y/n.”

yunjin just sobs into your shoulder and there’s some mumbles that you can’t make out.

“jen,” you mutter softly, “i was so broken when you left me. you lied and then just broke up with me on the spot, and there’s still a little bit of my heart that hates you for it.” your ex-girlfriend’s body tenses up.

“the days after, i waited for any contact with you. maybe you would call, apologise and come back to new york, but a part of me knew that you would never. but i stayed, hoping,” you chuckle, “so much for wistful thinking. you haven’t changed much. but i did.”

yunjin inhales sharply.

“have you… moved on?” you can tell her cheeks are burning red at her curiosity despite her hair hiding her face.

“i could never move on, you know that right? i just had to change to become someone who would survive without you,” you turn around, facing the one that left you heartbroken in a starbucks two years ago. “you left so abruptly and… i can’t just forgive you instantly. also, i meant it when i said it wasn’t nice of you to just drag me in here.”

yunjin pouts, cheeks reddening further, “you would have ran away.”

you pinch her cheeks, “then you can chase me properly this time, instead of leaving again.”

she sighs into her hands.

“i wish i could turn back time and never leave you.”

you shake your head, “i’m still pissed at you. i think i had to change pillowcases every day since i cried into my pillow every time i thought of you.”

yunjin lets out a watery laugh.

“i’m sorry.”

“it’s okay. i became okay.”

“i just,” yunjin stutters, “missed you… way more than i thought. i love you, so much. fuck, why’d i ever think of leaving you?” she says the last part more to herself than you.

“let’s start slow, yunjin,” you offer the girl, who raises her eyebrows.

“yunjin?”

“everyone here calls you yunjin, shouldn’t i do the same?”

“but i like jen…”

you giggle, “okay jen, i’ll give you another chance.”

you swear that yunjin’s face brightens up tenfold when you let those words out.

lesserafim’s dating ban is lifted after five years. yunjin is more mature and so are you. you had recently celebrated your 27th birthday by flying back to new york (with yunjin tagging along) to visit your family.

after reaching incheon international airport, yunjin takes ahold of your hand and laughs, “this is the first time i saw you since we broke up. it’s so crazy that fate brought you here with me.”

you roll your eyes at her.

“you mean, you broke up with me, don’t make it into a mutual agreement,” you sass.

“yeah yeah, but i wanted to ask you something,” yunjin shifted uncomfortably, “y/n.”

“yes, jen?”

“we should start dating.”

“yeah? that’s not really asking anyway, more like stating,” you say.

yunjin is now the one rolling her eyes.

“is that a yes because i might just start crying.”

you give her silence before bursting into laughter at her worried expression.

“yes, you doofus.”

( “hey jen, you were kind of like joe jonas breaking up with taylor swift when you broke up with me.”

“oh my god, i was joe jonas.” )

[wookiez]

♡ — I H3ART Y0U

“can you kidnap me, can you really chain me to the floor and just murder me, cut my heart out in the dark.”

— I H3ART Y0U by Boy Fantasy

-

pairing : banda sunato x flirty gn!reader

genre : fluff(?), suggestive

synopsis : you're aware that the man you're flirting with has murdered four women before, but what's wrong with a little fun? and lucky for you, you've caught the eye of that particular serial killer.

author's note : I'm well aware of the high demand of banda fics, so I'm here to serve you banda lovers(including me)...he might be slightly ooc(?) I don't know. my man has short screentime, we don't know much of him really 💀

solitary confinement, huh? you thought, standing in the area upstairs, in the central guardroom, after you've put on your collar. you notice chishiya there, the man you've been with when you were at the beach. he caught your interest due to his cunning demeanor and how he could always clear the games with high risk. you were sure he'd clear this one too, so you didn't worry much about him.

what did catch your interest currently, is the guy who came in last. you knew who he was. the infamous banda sunato, who has killed four women and was on death row. how do I know this? you may ask, well, i just like reading about crimes.

as cruel and psychopathic as his actions were, you still considered him attractive. he had such a pretty boy look, how could you not fawn over him?

amidst your thoughts, you decided to walk up to him. "heyy, pretty boy~ say, why don't we make an alliance?" you say, sending him a little smirk as you accentuated the 'pretty boy' part.

his head turned towards you as he made eye contact with you, you felt your whole body turn tense. his eye contact is so...intense. you can't help but feel tense. he gave you a small smile, "I see, you're quite the bold one, aren't you? you don't mind taking risks, I like that. but that's going to give you consequences someday."

he paused, then "yes, let's be allies. friends, even. let's have fun in this game, shall we?" he said, his smile growing a little bigger. to you, it looked quite...menacing but you found it attractive at the same time. maybe you really are crazy.

suddenly, a guy with bangs blocking one of his eye came up to you and banda. you think he looks emo and quite edgy.

"tell me what my symbol is, and I'll tell you yours." the emo says, in quite a condescending tone.

"that's a pretty aggressive attitude to take..." banda says as he stared him down.

"that kind of childishness makes you painfully transparent. you're ashamed of the darkness inside you, which makes you petty and jealous. you try to keep yourself safe behind those bangs. you hide your face so that people won't see your ugly, empty soul. you're a pathetic excuse of a human being who judges others to feel better. pathetic and small. but that's what I like about you–"

he pauses, "–we should be friends." he smiles.

you observe the interaction from the two, you could tell banda was devoid of emotions. his eyes are intense but soulless. you keep feeling oddly attracted to him more and more.

round one was over and you were standing beside the little serial killer boy. matsushita was away to get snacks from the food area.

you pretty much were openly staring at him, seriously. you can't help but stare at little details of his face, until he caught you.

"you know, if I were you, I would've been more subtle with it." he says, as his eyes locked on yours.

"why should I be subtle? the whole point of me being obvious is so you'd know I'm openly staring at you due to me finding you rather appealing. you're really really really pretty you know. I'm being so serious right now." you respond, amused by your stupid directness.

"you're quite entertaining." he smirked, staring intensely into your eyes.

"I'm having fun with you already and the game has only just begun." his eyes never breaking contact with yours, you find yourself lost in his empty eyes.

that is, until you looked away, slapping your cheeks. no way bro I thought I was supposed to be the flirt!

you thought of something smooth to say to counterattack banda quickly, "well, you can have even more fun with me in bed." FUCK! why did i say that?! dont forget he killed people! he might even kill me because of this later!! well, actually nevermind. he can murder and torture me all he wants. I don't really have anything to go back to anyway... unfortunately.

you were pulled away from your thoughts as you heard a low chuckle beside you, oh no...even his chuckle is hot.

"you never fail to amuse me"

"you're quite something to be able to say that to someone like me with ease. I'm sure you already know my past, don't you? is this your attempt to seduce me?"

"haha...what, no, hahaha who said that??" that was the most terrible attempt to lie ever...

"you've definitely seduced me, you're quite the compelling one you know? I didn't expect to meet someone like that in this world." his eyes still fixated on you, you were malfunctioning. thank goodness, it was already the start of the second round.

the only people left now were you, serial killer, emo buddy, the girl, suit man and cheshire boy. you've noticed that chishiya has lost his partner, that poor guy was too kind hearted.

you go to the food area for some snacks and notice two people there interacting, you decide to observe the said interaction. then the girl walks pass by you. you then turn towards chishiya and notice the snack he is holding, "promoting the snack aren't ya, chishi?

"you could say my marketing is pretty good. but I was just deducing something through the snack. matsushita and kotoko kept picking the same brand of snack, suspicious isn't it?" he gives you that sly smirk of his. you know that he's already deduced who the jack of hearts already is.

"by the way, you know that sunato banda guy murdered four women, right? are you seriously risking your life for that man?" he questions, you could tell it was genuine.

"I'm well aware, I don't mind risking my life for him. I have nothing to live for and nothing to come back to. all I can do is have some fun with him and get myself killed, I guess. if I die though, you gotta live for me, chishiya."

he lets out a little chuckle, but doesn't say anything.

"but anyway, do you want me to tell you what your suit is or do you want to rely on your gut and risk your life like always?" you ask

"as much as I'd like to risk my life, it's better you tell me, y/n."

"well, your suit is diamond. also I might actually try that snack of yours."

ah, the sweet air of the last round. you're currently waiting in your cell as what chishiya has ordered you to do. you could hear matsushita's goofy little laugh outside the cell.

then you hear a door opening, which you know is chishiya, he expresses how he found matsushita suspicious and then banda came out. you came out at the same time as well.

"most people won't even talk to a guy like me. but you wanted to kill me. I could sense that in you right away. so I wanted to see if you were smart, or just stupid, or whether you were a true psychopath."

"b-but they talked to you! they came up to you first before me! they're more suspicious!"

"that's true, but unlike you, they're just the type to take risks. you're the type to not trust strangers easily, yet you trusted banda." chishiya says

"you thought you were controlling me this whole time. but I was manipulating you into thinking that way. ultimately, it was your huge superiority complex that gave you away." banda then says

they go on and on as you zoned out, you really don't care about monologuing so you just decided to stay quiet.

you decided to wait outside the cell as you heard matsushita's scream as banda tortured him. you began to ponder on the different ways banda could've tortured him, you're quite knowledged in some torture methods. you liked to research about them before.

as he finished, he walked towards you whilst yaba had begun to walk outside of the prison.

"shall we go now, y/n?" he asks, as he stared at you with those empty eyes of his like every other time.

"I guess so, your job here is done anyway. say, you have some sexy shoulders." you say as you winked, god were you insufferable.

"speaking of which," he pushed your back towards the wall and leaned close to your face,

"I haven't passed up the offer of having even more fun with you in bed, have I?" he smirks

I swear I could write better please, I just half assed this because I've got little time so just bear with me here. I still hope you liked it a little bit at least. I think I wrote chishiya a little ooc too 😭

©wookiez

[apneicodette]

The Compass leads back to you

Pirate!Scaramouche x (Female)Reader

One-shot

Warnings: none

You miserably sulk to the music at your engagement party, more so a ball, to a man your father had arranged for you to marry. Waiting for the dreadful day to end, you hadn't anticipated seeing a face of the past. One that you had missed dearly.

Even though the music was ever so graceful, ever so soothing. It still felt all the more suffocating.

It was a ball, ofcourse.

You sighed at the top of the balcony near the stairs gazing at the many guest waltzing about in their grand outfits. They were here for you and your fiance's engagement.

Away from the eyes of others you eyed your sooned to be husband, greeting the many alliances that he'll gain once you've married. Your father a very powerful man, the one who arrange this marriage in the first place, is a force to be reckoned with.

You'd would know, you were quite the rebellious child in your teen years. You couldn't help but smile at the memories that came flooding in.

"Are you that happy to be engaged?-" A condescending tone reached your ears. You watched as a familiar figure, one you thought you never see again, appear from the shadow. It was as if he knew you were thinking of him.

His violet hair had gotten longer, and his matching colored eyes gotten sharper. Though he had obviously matured, the boy you first met was still there. Your heart started to heat up, but you maintained your composure on the outside.

"And here I thought all this time you missed me" He stepped closer to where you stood at the edge of the railing. You could smell the sea on his dark brown attire paired with his infamous tricorne hat and the hanging bell he keeps attached to it.

"Scaramouche" you softly spoke.

He tilted his hat in response along with the smirk you remember he often did.

"In the flesh" he lifted your right gloved hand and gently placed a kiss. You allowed him to, and it had brought you to your senses.

"You shouldn't be here, matter in fact why even are you here? If my father catches a sight of you-"

"Relax, princess", your eye twitched at the name.

"I'm serious." You said showing your urgency as you stared him down.

He laughed as he gazed down the balcony as you once were mere mintues ago. You followed his eyes at a particular light blued haired man. "A Kamisato. Can't say I'm surprised at your father's choice."

"Ayato is a wealthy man, from a wealthy family. My father chose well."

Scaramouche's eyes grew dull at the words that came out of your mouth. "First name basis already, you must love him!" He bitterly said.

You tisked in annoyance at his comment. He knew. He knew you didn't love the man. And it felt like he was making fun of you for the fake act, all for your father's sake.

"What do you want. Here to steal some jewels? Money? A family heirloom?" You jabbed at him.

"I'm here for you."

What.

It took you second to understand the words that came out his mouth, that you hadn't realized you avoided his eyes. And how sincere they were.

You scoffed out in defense. "It's been a year since we've seen each other. And the last time we saw each other we almost gotten each other killed. You need to leave."

Scaramouche rolled his eyes at your dismissive response. "Last time, your father got in the way-"

"Your point is?" You cut him off.

"My point is, we had fun together. Don't you remember? We were free. Free from this cursed world, freed from people who tired to chain us down to their ideals"

You could see the temper in Scaramouche voice rising. (A skill you gained from the years of experiencing his hot headness). You forcibly dragged him, though he didn't fight back, to a more secluded and shaded area, away from prying eyes.

"Yes, because killing, stealing, committing crimes to get such freedom is justified" You sarcastically whispered.

Scaramouche laughed as he leaned in, playing with your hair. "Don't act like you didn't enjoy the ride."

He sighed at the expression of a kicked puppy you had on. "You loved the sea. The crew. Now look at you-

"-Beautiful as ever, even while chained."

You roughfully pushed him away from you. "Have you come here just to taunt me? Ridicule me?"

"I'm here to save you. Just as you've done to me all those years ago."

"So tell me-" He got closer to you, catching your arms to prevent you from pushing him away. "Tell me that you love that Kamisato skunk. Tell me that you love the life your father written out for you. Tell me that you don't want me. Tell me that you don't love me." He leaned his head ontop of yours. "And then I'll leave", he was desperate, and that's when you made a connection that things never really changed between you two.

You remember when you first met him. It was at the black market downtown, and you being a disobedient child had ran away from home. You just so happened to run into the most wanted pirate in the area, and he so willingly allowed you to hitch a ride in his ship. For a reason even he didn't know as to why.

But what you both didn't know was how much fun you'd have together. And oh, how much he brought out the bad side of you. A princess stealing?

Partners in crime you both were. You as the beautiful distraction, charming your victims. All while Scaramouche was in the shadows whisking away anything of valuable.

Though things got ugly. You had each other. And oh, how you brought out the good side in him. So much so that it terrified him. Terrified him so much that no matter how hard he wanted to run away. He couldn't bring himself to do so.

He always felt he was missing something in his life. The amount of gossip he couldn't escape from. A failure of a child prodigy. Unwanted by his mother. He started to believe what people said about him that he acted like it. A heartless fool. He created a new identity from the stories that his origins were no longer remembered by others.

A cycle of pain he found himself in, that he decided to distract by committing crimes against these high ranked individuals. For years he did this until it led him to you.

His heart.

"You know I love you." You confess, voice shakey as you were in the brink of tears. "But I can't bare to see you get harmed again because of my f-"

The second he heard the words he longed to fall out your mouth, he smashed his lips onto yours. Rough like his personality but the touch of his hand on the side of you face and waist were soft just as his love for you. You reciprocated the kiss. For how long have you waited to be near him? To touch him once again. Your were so lost in the moment you didn't noticed when he slipped out your engagement ring from your left hand.

He slowly back away, his eyes lingering on your lips clearly wanting more.

"Your a hard lady to please. You don't need to worry about your father. Where we're going is somewhere he'll never be able to reach."

If you thought your heart was racing before it doesn't compare to how much it was racing now. It was so fast you thought it'd rip out of your chest.

It was just like the first time you escaped from home. The same adrenaline rush was flowing through your veins. The thought of escaping had you wanting to laugh both out of joy and nervousness. And the fact that your now with him. Your wanted criminal.

"With that look on your face, it seems like I finally made you come to your senses. To think all it took was kiss to do so" he smugly said. "Should I do it more often?"

"Just get us out of here idiot."

"But ofcourse, princess" you yelped as he picked you up to carry you in bridal style.

"What the hell are you doing!?"

Scaramouche laughed at your spark of attitude His mind fluttered as he sees the girl he first met.

"Well sweetheart, we are going to be running. And as far as I remember you've never been a good runner" he starts walking with you in his arms back into the light.

"Yeah, yeah whatever, hey what are you-?"

Scaramouche throws a jewel you quickly see was your engagement ring down the balcony.

The sound of it reaching and cracking into the ground alerted the people as it reached the foot of Kamisato Ayato. To which he rapidly made eye contact to Scaramouche. You saw him flick his eyes back forth to you and him. He understood the whole situation, his hand gripping the handle of his sword laying on his waist.

Scaramouche smiled in a sense of victory at Kamisato's silent fury. You tightly grapsed onto Scaramouche's neck as you tsked at his petty antic. Guards charging up the stairs yelling out to halt and to surrender, both which Scaramouche will not do. Scaramouche took this as the time to start running as he secured the grip he had on you.

"You just had to get the last word didn't you."

"Can you blame me? He thought he could have you."

[jellieland]

One hour and thirty-seven minutes.

That's ages, isn't it? Or is it no time at all?

---

For the first seven minutes, he paces in uneven circles around spawn.

"Happy with that, are ya?" He yells at the sky, laughing. "I know I am! How's that for a show, eh?"

He stalks around, eyes burning red, as though he is hunting someone. He is not quite sure who, and he doesn't have the presence of mind to question it right now, because all he knows in this moment is that he needs to keep going and he needs to keep his sword in his hand.

It takes him a while to realize his hands are shaking.

That'd be the adrenaline, supplies a vague thought in the back of his mind.

He goes past the lava he placed that killed Scott, and pauses for a moment, and pulls out his empty bucket.

He holds it. He looks into it, as though he can fill it back up just by looking.

His hands are still shaking.

He drops it, and it burns into nothing, and then he keeps pacing until he looks down and realizes that he has tracked Impulse's blood across the grass and the stone, and then he stumbles, and then he stops.

---

He stares out across the forest for just under twenty minutes.

Blood drips slowly down his sword. The puddle of red at his feet grows. At least, he thinks it does.

He doesn't move.

There's no point.

---

For the next eight minutes, noise buzzes in his ears. Familiar whispers and disapproval and judgement that fracture the air around them.

He ignores it, for a while.

You can't ignore them forever, though. Or, at least- he's never been able to.

Eventually it's always too much.

It's one particular comment that's the final straw.

"Are you stupid? Of course I cared!" He snaps suddenly, face twisting into resentment as he jerks back to movement. "But it was Mean Gills! Mean! The clue was in the name, in case you didn't notice that little tidbit!"

Another deep murmur.

"Yes, I know I came up with the name. But he agreed to it, didn't he? He knew what he was getting into!" And he keeps talking, voice suddenly light, refusing to entertain a response. "Although speaking of, the TIE lot seemed to like the idea of TIME and SMITE, huh?"

He snorts.

"You know, I think that's probably my main takeaway from this one- turns out you can get past a surprising amount of bad blood if you just offer up a catchy team name! Who would've thought?"

Reality shivers once more.

"Yeah, no, of course it was! I don't think there was really anything else important that happened this time. Team names were definitely the main thing I had to worry about. Why, did you notice something I missed?"

The world shatters, a little bit.

He winces slightly but recovers quickly, putting his easy, practiced grin back on. "Well thank you, thank you." He makes a show of looking around, then catches the blood on the floor in the corner of his eye, and turns back abruptly to stare over the forest. "I'm glad someone congratulated me, at least. Everyone else seems to have found better things to do, am I right?"

He sighs and shakes his head, jokingly exasperated. "This is just like my birthday party."

The air hums, once more.

Again, his expression falters for a moment. "Right." He says. "Well, it's about time, to be honest. Can't imagine pestering me is very interesting anymore." He shrugs. "And hey, wouldn't mind five minutes peace on my end either."

They have stopped talking.

---

He does not.

He doesn't stop talking for the next minute and a half.

"Hey, It'll be just like the old times back in double life! You, silently observing me because you don't want to talk to me this time for some reason, me, lying in a broken heart, kind of glad that I don't have to decide whether to be grateful that someone wants to talk to me even when it's you..."

He trails off.

"Even- even when it's you."

He makes an aborted movement to take a step, then stops.

"Winner." He shakes his head in a kind of amused condescension. "You'd think that out of everyone, they would know I'm not the winner."

He frowns. "Don't know why we even still call it that. Unless... no. There's no way."

He looks up at the sky. "You know I'm not the winner, right? There was never going to be a winner." He holds out his arms as if to make himself a target, and laughs, long and loud. "What, you're not seriously telling me none of you noticed?"

He steps back, craning his neck further. The brightness of the sun makes his head pound, makes his eyes burn.

"There is no winner. What there is, is the last one to lose. And hey, HERE I AM!" He spins around, grinning up at the sky. And if that grin is still a little manic... well. Who's going to say anything about it now? "ISN'T IT GREAT?"

And then he stumbles, dizzy, and falls, narrowly missing the lava, and there is blood on his hands there is blood on his hands it's still red it's only been thirty-six minutes.

"Isn't it great." He- it isn't a whimper. It's just- quiet.

He stares down at the ground.

"This is what I wanted." He whispers.

---

He stays there for five minutes.

---

Eventually, he gets up again, because that's that he always does. And for the next thirty-two minutes, he wanders.

"Well. Now what, huh?" He murmurs. "The eternal question. Guess I'm lucky not to have to worry about it for too much longer, this time."

He leaves his sword on the ground where he fell, and he walks away.

He doesn't wipe the blood off his hands. It feels... well. He just doesn't want to. That's all. He'll be dead soon enough anyway.

At first he heads towards the Mean Gills base. In fact, he gets all the way to the shoreline before he stops.

He doesn't want to go in the water.

What does he think he's looking for there, anyway? Everything he would have been hoping to find is gone.

The TIES tower is right there, and he wanders vaguely towards it, but - well. That's just a non-starter. He doesn't care about TIES, and he never did, and they should've known that. They should've all known that, and it's not his fault that Impulse- or, uh, Etho, or Tango- didn't. It's not his fault. It's not.

He doesn't care about them anyway, so either way it doesn't matter.

Anyway, they betrayed Scott, and if Martyn has stood for anything this time, it's that anyone who betrays Scott is going to live - or die! - to regret it. Die, if he has anything to say about it.

"No-one gets off Scott-free." He says out loud, and snorts. "Ok, that's not a bad one, but it sounds way more like an innuendo than I meant it to."

A beat passes.

"Pretty sure Scott would be fine with that, though."

...Scott would be fine with this. Right?

Scott would be fine with this. He would. He would. Martyn knows he would, has proof in the form of a memory of driving a sword through his ally's chest just over there, look, he can see where it happened, it was honestly in a pretty unremarkable spot, but he knows exactly where it is, he remembers it perfectly-

Martyn knows he would, and he also knows that it doesn't matter at all, because even if Scott had not been fine with it, he still would've done it.

Next, he heads towards the mansion.

He stands at the bottom. There's a lot of water here, too.

It felt good to kill people. It always did. Almost always, anyway. He's pretty sure they all agreed on that.

There's really something satisfying about ripping things apart. It makes those last thirty minutes taste that little bit sweeter.

(he kind of gets it, is the thing. how good it feels to drink in someone else's pain and panic, to pour it back into your own glass of pain and panic, filling it back up at least a little. that's not something he's saying even to himself, though.)

Maybe it's something about feeling like you're breaking things without actually damaging anything that wasn't put there to be damaged.

Without actually saying no, and letting someone else take from your cup when it's already empty, and has been for a while, now.

But there's nothing to rip apart, anymore, except himself.

He wonders if this is how Joel felt, when Jimmy died.

...Nah. Probably not.

He wanders through the forest for a while, at that point.

He considers, briefly, heading back to his original hourglass. That's already pretty much destroyed, though, and there's nothing there for him anyway.

He could head out past the mansion, into what is essentially wilderness.

That feels a bit too much like a fresh start for his taste, though. Nothing about this is a start. No point in pretending on that front.

He doesn't even entertain the idea of the Nosy Neighbours' tower. He tries not to look towards it.

Eventually, really, it seems obvious.

He ends up on the ground, outside the clock tower.

---

He sits there for five minutes, leaning up against the tower, to the right of the crater where Jimmy died.

"You three really committed in the end, didn't you?" He says. "Colour me surprised, honestly. That's one lack of a betrayal nobody saw coming at the start. Two of the most notoriously untrustworthy people on the server, and Cleo." He laughs. "Pretty sure you'd agree it doesn't really sound like the recipe for a happy family. Just goes to show, I guess."

He pauses.

"...Didn't get you to the end, though. Did it?"

He shifts slightly, frowning, and is quiet for a while.

"You realize you could get so much more done if you just stopped caring, right?" He asks.

"That's what I did." He lies. "It's much easier."

He stares out at the ocean and doesn't look over at spawn on his left.

All at once, he feels the urge to stand up.

He doesn't. Not yet. Maybe not ever again.

"I could jump off this tower, you know." He says. "But Grian already did that one. So I can't."

He shrugs. "I guess he didn't really have the option of just waiting it out, huh? Even if he did, can't really hold it against him. I get it."

He's silent for a while.

"Not much left to see. Is there?"

---

Eventually the ghost of that frantic energy grips him again, and keeps hold of him for slightly less than sixteen minutes. He wants to pace, he wants to stab something, he wants to do anything, anything at all except sit here and feel himself slowly crack open, because if he did that then he wouldn't be able to keep everything from spilling out.

He gets up, and just sort of stands there, whole body tense.

Why did he leave his sword behind? Why did he do that, he could've at least gone looking for some mobs to kill, and then maybe he could've been killing things when he died- that would've been nice, in a sick sort of way, but-

He does still have an axe, though.

He could still do that.

He lurches forward as soon as the decision is made. Before he's even really thought about it, he dives into the river and scrambles out of the other side into the forest. He curls his hands into fists in the mud, so they're still dirty, so nothing has changed really, so it's fine, and after he takes in a couple of breaths that sound desperate - which is because he was just underwater, so he was holding his breath, that's why, that's why - he forces himself to get up, and he staggers into the darkness of the forest and please, he just wants something to hit, come on.

A zombie lurches out from behind a tree and he almost sobs with relief, and he slashes at it with his axe once, twice, three times, and it falls, and he remembers why he usually uses a sword but at least he didn't behead it, he guesses, but it doesn't help, and then a skeleton shoots him in the back, and yeah, ok, that's probably fair at this point, and he fights.

And he keeps fighting.

And it doesn't help.

It doesn't do anything.

It never does anything, and if he had somehow died here, fighting mobs, alone, before anything else had happened, before Scott, before Cleo, before Ren, nothing would really be different.

After a while, he takes a breath and it hitches, and that's when he realizes he's crying.

He growls, and he hurls the axe away, and he runs.

---

He has three minutes left, and he is running through the forest alone, breathing unsteady and frantic, panic crawling up through his lungs.

It reminds him of last life, except this time there aren't any otherworldly voices taunting him. This time there isn't a Ren for him to run towards. This time he didn't even pretend to believe the lie that he might be able to save anyone. That he might be able to save himself.

He doesn't know where he's going.

He doesn't think it matters.

He doesn't think it ever has.

He gets to the edge of the forest, and staggers to a stop.

It's the edge of the ocean.

He can see his hourglass from here.

If he was in the mood for it, he'd probably say that was poetic.

Right now, he can't quite muster any poetry, though.

All he can do is look at it, and think-

This is it.

This is all it is.

This is it forever.

"I wish it wasn't like this." He says, and it's less a wish, really, and more of a reminder.

His countdown ends.

And next time, in one form or another, it will begin again.

[bensonoliviasstuff]

“Turning Page”

Chapter two! “ Loml”

Masterlist for “Turning Page”

Bucky Barnes x reader

Summary: Once Bucky regained consciousness and was no longer the Winter Soldier, all he missed from the 40s was his wife. But maybe she's closer than he thought.

Warnings: English is NOT my first language, so I'm sorry if there are too many errors. Futhermore i don't think there are many warnings, a little bit of angst, memory loss, betrayal, trauma, Insecurities and other things that you will discover throughout the story. And the best part: Thanos doesn't exist here

“Steve?” You said with a mixture of shock and joy. “Long time no see!”

Bucky frowned as he saw Steve smile at the beautiful nurse before them.

“I thought you were still in Washington” Steve flinched when you gave him a hug, squeezing the bruise that threatened to form on his rib.

“Did you get into another fight?” You said observing the dried blood on his cheekbone “Some things never change”

As you turned to grab the material you would use to clean Steve's face, Bucky discreetly elbowed his best friend before whispering. “Aren’t you going to introduce me to your pretty friend?”

Steve rolled his eyes before you turned your attention back to him. “Y/N, this is Bucky, Bucky Barnes, I already told you about him” Steve pointed to his smiling friend next to him “Bucky, this is Y/N Y/L/N, my friend and ex neighbor since we were 16 .”

You looked up at Bucky and it seemed to him that things went in slow motion when you smiled, he almost didn't hear you when you said “Nice to meet you”.

He gave a slight shake of his head to regain consciousness and turned to Steve. “If you've been friends for so long, why have I never met this beautiful girl?” You gave a sheepish smile as you bandaged Steve.

“First: you would flirt with her exactly like you are doing now” You laughed softly and Bucky was sure that was how angels laughed. “Second: She went to nursing school in Washington a while ago, I didn’t know she had come back until now.”

“I'm sorry I didn't warn you, I came back a little while ago and things have been busy, but we'll see each other more often from now on.” You said, taking off your gloves.

“That’s a splendid idea” Bucky said, if you had gone to college maybe Bucky should start improving his vocabulary.

You smiled at him before turning to Steve “I finished, you can go, I have to do a blood draw, but let's plan to have a milkshake, I missed you” then you turned to Bucky. “I hope to see you again, Bucky Barnes.”

“You can count on it” He winked at you before you left the room shaking your head.

“Look, we've been friends for a long time, don't even think about it” Steve pointed his finger at Bucky who was smiling with hearts in his eyes. “I'm serious, if she doesn't want to be my friend anymore because I introduced you two, I'll break you”

Steve stood up and left, Bucky behind him muttering “It’s easier for her to break me” with a smile.

After that day, it was quite funny for you to see Bucky every day in the hospital with some mysterious illness that only you could treat.

Sometimes he would arrive saying he had a really bad migraine, sometimes he would arrive with a terrible stomach ache, all this when he didn't arrive saying he had a fever only for you to put your hand on his forehead and say his temperature was normal.

Your friends from work at the hospital were already more excited than you were, always talking about how that handsome man was wooing you.

You always laughed at these crazy ideas, for you he was just a flirt who flirted with all the girls, but you had to admit that you were starting to get attached to his visits to the hospital.

One day in particular changed your view of him.

Your duty was almost over, you had already changed your clothes and grabbed your bag to leave, Bucky hadn't come to see you today.

You were sad, you spent half of the duty wondering what could have happened, you had come to the conclusion that he had found another girl and lost interest in you.

You said goodbye to your friends and were leaning against the reception desk, looking for a hair tie in your bag.

You had found it and were finally tying up your hair when you heard a familiar voice call out to you.

You turned around and found Bucky a few feet away, holding a bouquet of colorful flowers.

Your friends who were behind the desk began to sigh and squeal excitedly, you placed a hand over your mouth, hiding the wide smile that was about to spread across your cheeks.

“Oh Bucky, what happened now?” You teased, crossing your arms against your chest. “Pollen allergy?”

He laughed, hiding his face behind the flowers. “Actually, miss, it's a very serious allergy to 'being away from you'” You blushed when he approached and your friends sang a chorus of “Ownnn how cute!”.

“This one should be easier to deal with” you said as he approached.

“There is only one treatment option” He said with conviction, making you laugh.

"And what would be?"

“You agree to go out with me” he said and extended the flowers towards her.

You took them and smiled “I would love to.”

“Exams state that she has some internal injuries that have not been treated correctly, her brain has been badly affected so she is going to be treated for the headaches that will definitely bother her for the rest of her life” Tony was listing while Steve and Bucky followed him towards the medical wing with quick steps.

“She's also going to need physical therapy because apparently her shoulder ligament was torn at least three times, and lastly most importantly…” Tony stopped in front of a door turning to Steve and Bucky with a hard look “She She hasn’t spoken a word since she opened her eye, we don’t know if she just didn’t want to talk or if there was something behind it.”

Bucky was shaking, he couldn't even imagine what your reaction would be like.

Tony opened the door and walked in, Steve was right behind him when Bucky pulled him out of the room.

“I don’t know if I should go” Bucky said unsure, Steve frowned.

“Bucky, she’s still your wife, why don’t you want to see her after so many years apart?” Steve grabbed his friend by the shoulders.

“That’s the point Steve, I want to see her more than anything, but what if she doesn’t want to see me?” Bucky asked nervously. “What if she doesn’t even remember me? What should i say? ‘Hi, I’m your husband, we’ve been married for almost eighty years, bizarre right’?” Bucky acted out to Steve. “I'm no longer the Bucky she fell in love with, I'm no longer the person who made her laugh until her stomach hurts, I haven't made anyone laugh in over seventy years” He said scratching the back of his head nervously.

“What if she doesn’t like the new Bucky? What if she doesn’t like sleeping hugged by a metal arm?” He raised his left hand, showing the wedding ring above the metal finger. “What if she doesn’t love grumpy Bucky?”

“What if she does?” Steve interrupted before he could continue. “What if she likes the metal arm? What if she starts to love annoying a Bucky who gets stressed about everything?”

Steve raised his arms, dropping them to his sides. “As far as I remember, the last time I saw her she even loved Bucky who was supposedly not alive.”

“She probably doesn’t remember that” Bucky ran a hand over his face.

“So make her remember, if today you remember so can she, you heard what the scientist said, she always ended up remembering you” Steve put his hand on the door “You haven't changed enough to have stopped loving her"

Steve entered the room, and Bucky unconsciously held his breath as he did the same.

You didn't see him right away, you were paying attention to what Tony was doing with the equipment next to you.

Bucky kept close to the door, thinking he could slip away without being noticed if he was lucky, but that was when you turned your head towards him.

It was exactly the same as when he saw you for the first time, your eyes met his and everything seemed to be in slow motion, if he ignored everything and just kept looking at you, he could easily believe that it was still the summer of 1941.

You didn't know why, but you couldn't look away, something about that man made you want to keep looking at him, his blue eyes were familiar to the butterflies in your stomach.

“Y/n... Do you know them two?” Tony pointed at Steve and Bucky.

You looked away from the man with blue eyes that made your stomach do somersaults and glanced at the blonde who was looking at you expectantly.

Something about him made you have a déjà vu about a smaller man.

You looked away from him and looked at Tony before he speaks: “That’s Bucky, and that’s Steve” You looked back at the men, you assumed the brunette was Bucky.

“I’m sorry, I don’t think I know them” You apologized, seeing Bucky’s gaze drop as if you had just broken the news that someone had died. “I… I’m sorry, should I?”

“No, it’s okay” Steve said, with a sad smile.

Tony picked up a bag and placed it on the furniture next to him. “Here are some clean, comfortable clothes, I believe they are in your size, let’s wait outside while you change.”

Tony dragged the other two out of the room and started messing with something on his cell phone.

“Tony?” Bucky called cautiously, “Thank you for what you’re doing.”

“Don’t thank me” Tony looked up “We both know I still don’t like you”

Steve gave a weak smile at Tony's statement, Bucky nodded, raising his hands in surrender.

“But I know what I would feel if Pepper forgot about me” Tony looked away. “That’s why I’m helping.”

"I thank you for that"

The three looked to the door when they heard it open.

Bucky held his breath when you walked out of there wearing sweatpants and a “S.H.I.E.L.D” sweatshirt.

“Great, the clothes fit, now let’s go” Tony said, putting away his cell phone “That brunette over there is going to show you to your room”

“There are two bedrooms here” The real estate agent continued walking around the apartment. “This is where our Tour ends, I think it's the perfect apartment for you, it has a beautiful view of the city, it's close to the hospital where you work, and there's plenty of space for two people, or even three if you're thinking of start a family soon.”

You turned to Bucky with a smile on your face, the apartment was a bit trashed, but you could perfectly imagine everything you and Bucky would change in it to make it 'home'.

“What do you think, doll?” Bucky asked with a smile.

“I don’t think it could be more perfect”

This is the kitchen” Bucky said, showing the room that Tony made sure was empty.

After almost killing Tony and Steve for leaving him alone with you, he followed the path beside you, He tried a few times to make comments, but you just looked at him, smiled and responded with a nod.

He then stayed quiet, taking every opportunity he had to just keep his eyes on you, he would never pass up the chance to watch you bite your nails or bite your bottom lip, everything you did was like the best movie in the catalog for Bucky.

He watched with an adoring look as you walked around the kitchen, taking in every detail, you did the same in every other room, taking in everything and not saying a word.

“There are coffee grounds in the disposal” It was the first time you said anything since they left the hospital room.

Bucky gave the most genuine laugh he'd ever had since he could remember being Bucky Barnes, he felt so much joy over such a stupid comment because it sounded exactly like something you would say.

You couldn't help but smile at his laugh, something about that man made you feel like you couldn't avoid many things.

"Yes! Tony always complains about it, no one ever listens.”

You licked your lips, hiding your smile.

“The next thing I’m going to show you is your room” Bucky said, now smiling.

“Do I have a room?” you frowned when Bucky nodded like it was obvious. “Why are you being so nice?”

Bucky felt his heart beat faster, Is this when he says he loves you?

I mean...” you continued before he made a decision. That man in armor took me out of that horrible place, gave me medicine, did tests, and now you’re going to keep me sleeping here?” You shrugged your shoulders “You guys don’t even know me”

“This is what we do” he lied, it was all a lie, He never did for anyone what he would do for you “We help people who need help” lie, his brain screamed that he was lying, he knew you, he knows you, only he knows how you hate the dark and are afraid of needles even though you are a nurse, His heart screamed, asking him to tell you that only he knew you better than you knew yourself. “I would do this for anyone”

“Even by those you don't even know? What if I were dangerous?” You weren't, you asked him to kill every cockroach that ever appeared in your apartment, He knew you, it was killing him to be in front of you saying he didn't know who you were.

“I trust you” His vocal chords were trembling

“Why?”

“I feel like I should” Holy Ghost, you were the love of his life, even if he didn't want to he would trust you.

You stayed silent, looking at the man who looked like he was in physical pain with every word that left his mouth.

“I feel like I should trust you too” felt like the right thing to say.

Bucky felt all the fireworks in the world going off inside his stomach.

“I will prove to you that you can trust me” That was a promise, both for you and for him, at that moment he promised that he would win you over, just like he did the first time, You were the loss of his life for a long time, but now he would have you back

[tinkerleaf]

Nose Bleeds

Hi, everyone! In my head, this was hilarious, but I don't think it translates as well in writing.

Synopsis: Dazai wasn't stupid, but he was when it came to spatial awareness. Gn reader, lots of love from the agency.

Warnings: mention of blood, Dazai kinda ooc?

Words: 655

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

Ahh, the sweet smell of fresh baked cookies.

You carefully took them out of the oven and waited for them to cool before placing them into a Tupperware to take to the agency with you. You loved baking for the agency, and they definitely loved it too. Ranpo was especially happy when you brought in a bag of taffy from your hometown after visiting. It was impressive that his teeth weren’t rotten.

After a nice walk to the office, you open the door to the fourth floor. Of course, the same chaos as usual. Always heartwarming. 

Your footsteps sounded all the way to your desk that sat next to Dazai’s. Ranpo was immediately by your side, pilfering through the container that held the sweets he was after. 

“Hold on, hold on! I didn’t say you could have any yet!” you snagged your cookies back, scolding the detective for his behavior.

“Well what are you waiting for? I’m getting hungry.”

“Just for that, You’ll be the last person to get one.” 

He was flabbergasted, a look of utter betrayal on his face. He sighed and went back to his chair, propping his feet up on the desk.

“Mr. Kunikida, would you like one?”

He looked you from above his glasses as he held an empty palm to you. “Yes, please.”

While the other agents began to flood your desk for cookies, you left to use the restroom. When you came back, you saw Dazai standing by his desk, an hour late. He was telling some story about how why he was delayed, and Kunikida was clearly not having it. They didn’t notice that you were back, too involved with their current endeavors.

Dazai is the type of man to talk with his hands and body, and to hear him talk could be quite mesmerizing. However, this time, when describing something in particular, he whipped his hand around him and hit you with the back of his hand. You fell backward immediately. Atsushi and Kunikida gasped loudly at the loud smack to your face. Dazai’s head shot straight back to where you were, immediately grabbing your shoulders with wide eyes. “Oh my God, are you okay?! What were you thinking coming up behind me like that?!”

I held my hands out defensively, “I’m okay! I’m okay!” I tried pushing him away, to no avail. 

“You’re bleeding!” Atsushi pointed out.

 “Someone get Yosano! Their nose is bleeding!” Kunikida ordered. Junichiro went to fetch the doctor. “You idiot, you need to be more careful!”

“I didn’t think they’d be right behind me!” 

“I’m really fine! There’s no need for-” You were muffled by an ice pack shoved in your face.

“You’re crying!”

“I’m not trying to!”

“Can you see clearly? Do you feel dizzy?”

“He didn’t hit me that hard…”

“Let’s take them to my office,” Yosano offered after appearing. After about thirty minutes, you were patched up as good as new. Of course, not without a few members popping in to check in on you every now and then. 

Dazai stayed in the infirmary with you until you were completely fine. You saw him watch you from across the room, leaning against the wall. He came closer to where you were sitting. “Feeling any better?”

“Yeah! Just some bruising.” You flashed him a smile. 

“That’s good. Sorry about all of that. I really didn’t see you there.”

“Don’t feel bad, I know you didn’t mean to.” You hopped up from your seat as the two of you meandered back across the hall to the office. 

For the rest of the day, Dazai brought you ice packs when you needed new ones. He also teases you for not dodging him, saying that he was testing you. 

“Did you ever get a cookie, Dazai?” you ask, looking for your container.

“Yes, actually. They were really good. It seems everyone else thought so as well.”

“I can’t seem to find the…Ranpo!”

[espinosaurusrexex]

Flowers and Things

BuckyBarnes x female!reader

summary: Who would have thought that Bucky "The Winter Soldier" Barnes would ever have a crush on the sweet sweet team member Y/N? Well, certainly not Sam, which seemed like the perfect opportunity to tease him about it. Bucky is determined to buy Y/N a birthday gift, and his best friend's suggestions seem a little too stupid to pursue. Let's hope his own idea is good enough for her...

a/n: I needed more soft!Bucky and I felt like you did too

This is not really proof read so I might work it over again. All mistakes are my own.

word count: 2.8k

warnings: fluffy Bucky (he still got game but it’s cute now), swearing, a little angsty, more fluffff, Bucky and Sam being Bucky and Sam

･ﾟ✫* 𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒕 ｡✭･ﾟ

Bucky hated it here. The scented candles mixed in one giant cloud of barf and the twinkle lights made him dizzy. He would have just gone to the florist and picked up a bouquet of flowers but when he had asked Sam about it, he had made him doubt that decision. So now he was here, watching yet another flashing ‘SALE’ sign hang over the aisle he passed. This one was filled with bedsheets. All shapes and sizes, as many fabrics as Bucky could only imagine. All feeling different and all having other patterns. He huffed again. This was ridiculous. Sam was the worst when it came to advice.

“Absolutely not.”

“Why not? It’s practical and sends a message!” 

“That's not what you buy a lady, Sam.”

“Oh really? Since when do you know that type of stuff?”

“I don't-“ Bucky pinched his nose and took a deep breath. “I just know that’s not the thing she wants okay?”

“Don’t tell me you know about things, Bucky. You are the only person I know that doesn’t have any things. So don’t come at me and tell me that I don’t know.”

He looked at him in disbelief. 

“I have things.” Bucky didn’t know why he was so offended. Bucky’s apartment was simple. He was a simple man. So he really didn't see anything wrong with it. He had things. He had a chair. A mug, he had found it down by the window of some old lady’s house. Yes, it was technically stolen but he had really needed something to drink out of in Romania and well, there was a fun cat on the mug, so he had taken it. He had a pillow - two actually. One on the chair and one on the floor, where his only blanked lay. He had one set of cutlery and he had a deep plate. He had A pair of boots and he had about 4 T-shirts, maybe 5 - oh and that red henley. He had a very cool leather jacket and he had some gloves. So yes, Bucky was a simple man. He had always been. Okay, maybe not that simple and maybe not always by choice, but that wasn’t the point right now.

“Like what?”

“I have a chair.” And it was true. Buck had one single chair in his living room. Because he was only one person. That was enough, right?

Sam’s eyebrows raised. “Are you hearing yourself?”

“Sam!” The frustration between the two was clearly evident, but Bucky didn’t really know how to counter that. He just watched as his friend continued with the argument he was about to make.

“Bucky, you own the same shirt three times. And that’s it, you have no other shirts. Just believe me on this one and buy her bedsheets” That wasn’t true, he owned that red henley too... and he loved it.

“I’m not gonna buy her bedsheets.” Even if Bucky did not have any better idea, he for sure knew that this one was not up for debate. Fucking bedsheets. Who would give anyone bedsheets for their birthday if they weren’t their grandma?

“Whatever man, do what you want.” Sam waved off as he turned around and left the room with a shaking head.

“I will,” Bucky called after him with confidence. “Thanks for not helping!”

So apparently women didn't like flowers anymore. And since Sam was not of any help to suggest anything better, Bucky found himself in aisle six of the department store. Lost and frightened and annoyed at how complicated things were in the 21st century. 

He was browsing through a particular hideous set of garden gnomes when a chipper blonde approached him with a bright and flashing smile. 

“Can I help you with anything?” She asked and the joy in her eyes seemed to explode right out of her. To be honest, Bucky never understood how people could find happiness in approaching random strangers and bothering them when they clearly wanted to be alone. He wasn’t a fan of small talk, and he wasn’t too keen on talking to strangers, either.

“I... uh...” He was still a little startled by the woman’s sudden appearance and her confidence didn’t make it any easier to keep calm. She was determined to help him, Bucky could see it in her eyes, the way she held herself - everything screamed ‘happy customers’. “I don’t know?”

“Are you looking for anything specific?” She questioned further. His eyes wandered to her name tag: Terri. Yes, that fit. 

“I don’t know.” Bucky reiterated, suddenly very aware of how lost he was in the huge store.

“Well, who are you shopping for?” That smile didn’t falter. Bucky just blushed. He somehow felt busted, even though, what he was doing and who he was doing it for could concern that lady very little.

“Oh, I See.” The woman nodded knowingly. The smirk on her face grew even wider and the excitement in her eyes was unbelievably intruding. “A special someone.”

“She’s not-“ He huffed frustratedly before his shoulders slumped. He would certainly not tell this stranger about the girl he was planning to court, much less that this girl was a coworker and a friend and that his chance at making a move was dependent on the woman practically vibrating in excitement. “It’s complicated.”

“Don’t you worry. We’ll find the perfect makeup gift for her.” And without another word, Terri sped off through the aisles, and Bucky was forced to follow her. She led him past the horrible scented candles and through the bedsheets until she finally stopped in the middle of the store. A large glass case spread in a square in front of her and upon further investigation, Bucky could see the things beneath the surface twinkling in the harsh store light. 

His head grew even redder, the heat creeping down his neck and making his body sweat anxiously. Jewelry. He couldn’t get Y/N jewelry. That was way too much and way too suggestive for the relationship he had with her. Only boyfriends got women jewelry, and even though he wanted to be that one day, now was definitely not the right time.

The blonde clapped her hands. “There is not one set of earrings that has made me stay mad at my husband.” She reached down and held up one pair after the other as Bucky dug his hands deep into his pants pockets. Every time she held up another pair, he just shook his head embarrassed. 

This was not what he wanted, this was not what Y/N wanted, he thought while staring blankly ahead, smiling and shaking his head no every now and then to keep the store lady occupied. He had to get out of here - away from all the fancy, shiny things and the weirdly shaped garden items. So sure enough, when Terri reached down for the 7th time, he quickly turned around and bolted. Around the corner and straight towards the exit.

When the fresh air hit his face, he felt as though he could finally think clearly again. The heat in his head slowly subsided and he made his way down the street. His head held low, and his hands hidden in his jacket pockets, he traded along the sidewalk, past jewelry stores and bakeries, small boutiques, and restaurants. He shook his head. All Bucky had wanted was a simple gift for her. Something small and sweet. But all he had was a pile of frustration and a whole bunch of hustle and he was still standing with empty hands. Who would have thought that dating would become so difficult? Back in the day, he thought, he would have probably already asked her out. But he was a different man now. He didn’t mind that anymore, but it still took him a while to get back to his old ways.

Bucky was about to just head home, dwell in his anger and forget about the stupid idea to buy a gift for Y/N. Really, how could he have been so dumb from the start? There was probably nothing he would ever feel was good enough for her, because, in his eyes, she was the only perfect thing there was. Everything else had yet to live up to her. She also didn’t need anything. At least that was what she had always said when Tony started planning her birthday party after the meeting the other week. 

When he was about to cross the street, though, a red sign caught his eye, and Bucky suddenly knew that he had found it: The perfect thing.

—

Bucky fumbled with the blue bow tied around his gift. He was nervous, to say the least, and his right hand found comfort in the softness of the ribbon. He stood before Y/N’s door. It was her birthday - her actual birthday. The party would be this weekend, but Bucky didn’t want to give it to her then. He didn't want everyone to see him giving it to her either. It was late too. The small Avengers get-together had already ended well over an hour ago, and well, for some reason, Bucky had found himself in front of her door, moments away from knocking. 

That was, if his mind would finally stop taking his confidence away. What if she didn’t like it? What if she thought it was weird of him to get her something? He hadn’t thought about that before - he had been too occupied with finding something that would put that beautiful smile on her face. While his mind began to spiral into the infinite worry of what-if possibilities, Bucky didn’t notice the door before him open and a surprised Y/N standing before him with a load of laundry in her hand.

“Bucky?”

He looked up, the panic on his face doing little to hide and Y/N instantly set the basket aside. Her hands found his arms as she looked at him with round eyes. “Is everything okay?”

It took a couple seconds for Bucky to collect himself, but when he did his cheeks tinted in soft pink. “I got you something,” he confessed after ignoring the tingle her touch sent through his body and stretched his hand out to her, the light blue ribbon a little deformed from his constant fumbling second earlier. 

“Oh?” Her eyes gleamed in surprise. “That’s very sweet of you, Bucky.” Y/N took the gift from his hand, feeling the weight of it and silently guessing what he could have possibly gotten her. A smile spread about her lips at the sweet gesture. Bucky and Y/N were colleagues - friends. Maybe a little more, but nothing had ever happened. It didn’t go unnoticed, however, that they looked at each other in a very special kind of way. Always stealing glances when the other wasn’t watching. So much so, that it frustrated the whole team - they would never say anything though. The both of them were way too private for that, though it didn’t keep Sam from silently punching the air with a boyish grin after Bucky had asked him what he should give Y/N for her birthday. 

Y/N gestured for him to enter, and closed the door behind him when he did. When Bucky stood a little lost in her living room, she began to unpack the gift. The soft ripping of paper filled the silence and Bucky nervously wrung his hands at the sight of it. Y/N’s eyes lit up when she finally revealed the item and when they did, Bucky’s nervousness washed away. 

“You remembered?” She looked up from the book in her hand. The deep green cover with the golden font glimmered under her delicate fingers as she stroked it.

Bucky treaded from one foot to the other, his hand finding its way to his neck. “Of course I remembered.” A shy smile snuck on his face.

“You know Bucky is a nerd?” Sam teased over her shoulder after stealing some grapes from the bowl in her lap.

Y/N’s head piqued up in interest, watching the confused brunette at the other side of the sofa. Bucky shot Sam a disappointed look, equally confused as to what he was hinting towards.

“I found out that he read ‘The Hobbit’ when it first came out. He’s literally the #1 fan.” The smug smile on his face turned sheepish at the bad joke. 

Bucky huffed, waiting for another teasing remark, but it never came.

“It’s actually on my reading list, too. But I haven’t found one with a pretty cover for my bookshelf yet.” Her smile was shy as she searched Bucky’s eyes and found them with an adoring look glazed over his pupils. 

Sam just watched the interaction, feeling partly accomplished, and party frustrated that his plan to embarrass Bucky didn’t work.

“I don’t know if you still want to get into it, but if you have any concerns, I’m always happy to tell you the story... I know the book can be a little slow in parts.”

Y/N’s eyes filled with tears when she looked up again. Her lip quivered before she pulled them into a smile. She placed the book on the table and slung her arms around him “Thank you so much, Buck,” she mumbled into his shoulder and Bucky grew warm from her soft voice. 

“I’m glad you like it,” he mumbled back, inhaling the scent of her hair and finding comfort in it.

Her frame pulled back, and Bucky couldn’t help but wish for her to get back into his arms. “Like it? I love it. This is the best gift I’ve ever gotten. Oh, I can’t wait to read it.” She jumped up and down before admiring it again. “Maybe we can watch the movies together after?” 

His heartbeat quickened by the second. His hand grew all clammy as the excitement spread through his body. “I would love that.” He really did, but at the same time, a nervousness overtook his senses he had never felt before.

“Oh great!” Y/N turned around and admired the book again. She stopped for a minute and then she looked at him again, a timid look on her face. She was just as nervous about this. 

“We could read it together, too...” The intrigue on Y/N’s face nudged him to go on further. “You know... to get through the slow parts.” He smiled shyly. “Just if you want to of course.” 

Her eyes brightened at the sweet suggestion. “I would love that,” she copied. And after a moment of silence, as the both of them stood in awkwardly frozen in her living room, she spoke again. “Do... uh. Do you have time now?”

“Yes!” That came out way more excited than he intended, but Y/N didn’t seem to mind. She sped off to her kitchen, putting on the kettle and preparing two mugs while trying to mask her excitement. Meanwhile, Bucky tried the same thing in her living room. He looked around and let the cozy dark green paint of the wall behind the fireplace overtake his thoughts. Y/N’s home was just that: a home. Other than his apartment, which was scarcely decorated. And Bucky found himself feeling homey at the sight of picture frames and plants squeezed between books and magazines. Maybe Sam was right... maybe he didn’t have things. At least not enough to bring him joy. But before he could grieve the bare walls of his apartment he would likely be returning to tonight, Y/N stepped back into the room, two steaming cups of tea in her hands.

“I hope green is okay?”

“Perfect,” he grinned. 

Y/N set the mugs down on her coffee table and settled on the most comfortable-looking couch Bucky had ever seen. Then she patted the cushions next to her and Bucky happily followed her silent invitation. He took the book from the table and settled next to her, his back leaning back and being entirely consumed by the pillows. 

“Are you comfortable?” She asked.

“More than comfortable.” Y/N smiled happily as she held his stare for a moment.

Then Bucky cleared his throat and opened the book to the first chapter.

“An unexpected party.” He stopped as Y/N shifted and laid her head on his shoulder. A smile spread on his face when he felt her soft hair tickling his neck, her eyes lingering on the page before closing with a content smile. 

“Are you comfortable?” He asked.

“More than comfortable,” Y/N snickered, ready to be consumed by his deep and calming voice again.

Bucky’s eyes found the page again. He took a deep breath to contain his excitement for her cuddling up to him. He pushed off his shoes and placed his feet on the table, and then he continued: “In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort...”

Wanna be added to the taglist?

[bonbonchocolates]

Mate

Yandere Werewolf Taehyung x Reader

Summary: When you get lost in the forest late at night and your best friend betrays you.

Warnings: yandere tae, non-con touching and kissing, betrayal

A/N: Again originally from my Wattpad account. If you like it please leave a like.

Masterlist

____________________________________________

"Aisha"

You whinned.

"Aisha, let's go back."

"No I want to explore this place first."

She continued to walk, God knows where. You kept following her though you didn't want to. You didn't want to get lost in the middle of the forest.

Actually you two were going to meet Aisha's grandmother and elder brother who lived in the country side but unfortunately your car broke down in the middle of the path. It was night time so no one would come to your rescue and there was no signal here.

You decided to stay in the car still morning but Aisha suggested that she will look around to find help. She insisted you to stay inside the car but you couldn't let your best friend in the middle of the forest so you came with her.

You both kept on walking for nearly half an hour but still didn't find any sign of human settlement here. As time passed you felt like someone was watching you. Your gut feelings screamed at you to go back. Time to time you insisted Aisha that you both should return to your car and wait till the morning.

"Y/N let's go back. I don't think anyone lives here."

She suggested.

You understood that she also felt weird. She has been your friend since childhood so you know her pretty well.

You were just waiting for this moment, you immediately turned back and started walking towards that direction.

After a few minutes of walking you saw there was a huge tree in the middle and the path was divided into two. You didn't remember of coming here before.

"Which way to go?"

You asked Aisha. You turned towards her and found her observing the area. Her face was fill with confusion.

"I-I do-don't remember."

She shuttered.

"Wha-"

"Sorry Y/N because of me you are trapped here."

She almost had tears in her eyes. Though you were angry at her but her tears melted your heart. Your best friend is more important to you.

"Don't worry Aisha, we'll find a way out."

You gave a resurring smile at her. She smiled back. Her eyes scanned the surroundings and suddenly her face brightened up.

"Y/N look."

She pointed at a particular direction. You looked at where she had pointed and found a dim light glowing at a distance.

That meant someone lives here.

Your face also brightened at the sight. You and Aisha held each other's hands and ran to the light.

When you finally reached there you saw a small cottage there. It seemed old.

You both quickly ran towards the cottage and knocked the door. You both waited for a few minutes but no one answered the door. Aisha knocked again.

You don't know why but you're getting a bad vibe. A feeling inside you was at you to run away.

"Aisha let's head back to the car. I'm not getting a good vibe here. We can spend the night in the car and call for help the next morning."

You suggested.

"Calm down Y/N, nothing will happen."

She tried to calm you down.

But still you felt like something bad is about to happen tonight. You just wanted to run away from there but you couldn't leave your best friend here alone by herself.

Just then an old lady opened the door. Her eyes first went to Aisha and she gave her a small smile.

Wait-

Why did she smiled at Aisha?

Do they know each other?

You thought.

But then she turned towards you with a confused face?

"What are you two doing here?"

She asked.

"Actually our car broke down and we need shelter for tonight. So-"

The old lady interrupted her.

"You both can come in."

Wha-

How did she let us in so easily? We are strangers to her and who let's strangers in their house in the middle of the night.

Something is terribly wrong here.

What if she is a cannibal or something and let us in so she can eat us?

No, no Y/N. What are you thinking?

You thought.

Aisha held your hand and dragged you inside the cottage.

When you entered inside the house you saw a man sitting there on the couch with his leg widely spread. It looked like he was trying to seduce someone.

"Taehyung"

The old lady called the boy.

So his name is Taehyung.

He lifted his head to look at you. Truth to be said he was hella handsome. You never in your life saw a perfect man like him. You couldn't help yourself from checking him out. He gave a smirk to you when he found you checking him out.

Jerk.

"These two girls right here, their car broke down and they want a shelter for the night. Do you mind if I let them stay here tonight?"

Taehyung's eyes fell on you. He check you out from top to bottom and again smirked.

You were really getting bad vibes from him.

"They can stay here for tonight."

He announced.

The old lady gave us a huge smile.

"Come I'll show you, your room."

You both followed her and she led you to a room in the corner. When you entered the room you found that it was simple yet cosy.

"If you both need something just call me?"

The old lady said.

"Will do grandma."

Aisha said with a big smile.

The old lady then took her exit.

____________________________________________

After the old lady had left Aisha switched off the lights and quickly got into the bed and covered herself with the blanket.

Aisha was acting like she is in her own house. Like how could she be so comfortable here?

Just one thing went on your mind that how did Taehyung and his grandmother let you stay here so easily?

I know it's wrong to let two young girls be alone in the woods during night time. But the strange thing is that they didn't even ask you any further questions and simply let you stay at their house for the night.You decided to discuss the same thing with Aisha.

"Aisha"

You called for her but she didn't answer. You went towards her and found her fast asleep. You too felt sleepy so you decided to take a nap. You still needed to be careful.

Because you don't know when what will happen.

____________________________________________

You quickly opened your eyes when you heard a loud howl from outside the house. So there are wolves in the forest.

Thank God you got a shelter or you both maybe in the stomach of the wolves.

Then your eyes went to the other side of the bed where Aisha was sleeping but she was not there right now.

Where did she go?

You quickly got up from the bed. Your eyes then fell on the window through which the moonlight was coming inside the room.

As much as you remember the window was closed before. You went towards the window and stared admiring the moon. You then peeped out of the window and the sight that you saw made you frozen in your spot.

It was a huge white wolf, standing a few metres away from the house and it's eyes were focused on the window of your room.

The wolf neared to the window. You quickly shut down the window and got back in the bed.

You were so scared and just then you spotted a piece of paper on the nearby table. You picked it up and there was something written on it.

Y/N, I don't want to do this but I have to for my brother's happiness. Please forgive me. -Aisha

Wha-

What does she mean to say by this? What did she do?

There were so many questions going on your head right now.

Just then you heard the sound of the door of your room being opened. You thought it was Aisha.

"Aish-"

But it was Taehyung who was half naked. He was wearing just his paijama bottom. His abs were on full display.

"Taehyung what are you doing here?"

You asked him.

"Love"

He started to come near you.

"Taehyung stay away from me or"

You tried to act brave but from inside you were really scared. You don't know what is going on.

"Can't do, love"

In a moment you both were on the bed with him on top of you. He was kissing and sucking on your neck.

"Leave me, please"

You begged him.

"Aisha, HELP"

You shouted. You hope that she hears you .

Just then you heard a sound of giggling. You saw Taehyung laughing like you said something funny.

"Do you think your best friend will help you?"

He asked you.

"She is the one who left you in this situation. She chose her brother's happiness over you. And now you are mine, my mate, the future mother of my pups."

You were two shocked that you were not able to speak.

"Now you are mine, FOREVER."

_________________________________________

[inchidentally]

Why do you think Max f protect Lando like his children? Do you think he does it because he saw how Lando struggled in f1 and couldn't just stand there and watch?? 🤔

oh anon idk how much Lando/Max F lore you know but Max has been Lando's protector from day one. Lando was teeeeeny tiny for his age up until like 19?? so Max was bigger than him up until around then. I'm still learning a lot about them as I go but Max's protective instincts toward Lando run extremely deep. it's why I can't decide if they're more common law husbands, platonic soulmates or each other's weird gamer racing gremlin guardian angels.

I think for me one of the biggest standouts for me about their bond is how much Lando wanted to look after Max when Max left racing for good. because when you read about Max's particular struggles, it's like hearing Lando all over again:

Getting bad results each weekend was just having more of a knock-on effect on my mental health. Normally, I’d say that’s one of my strengths through a championship. That’s how I’ve been able to win titles, I’m able to stay calm under pressure and I don’t let many things get to me but when you have a bad qualifying result and you see guys up there that you know you’re capable of beating, it definitely takes a dig at you inside and it’s been a lot to process throughout the year. -- As soon as more thoughts come into your head, it gets worse, then you start panicking, over-driving, and it all goes wrong. I think a lot of the pressure is in your head, but it does get to a point where it just all piles on you. [source]

it's got to mean the world to have a best mate who can completely and openly identify with exactly what you're feeling - esp since they're each now looking at racing from the inside and the outside.

what I find interesting is that Max was just as much of a hyper competitive kid as everyone who came up through that system and from what I can tell he performed strongly enough to easily assume he could make F1 (but he doesn't seem to have assumed that) so him taking to this tiny kid with all these little quirks who was absolutely dusting boys older than him, idk that's just something special about Max. he comes across as kind of gruff or misanthropic at first but he's extremely emotionally intelligent and self-aware - he's always the one to open up and be vulnerable to Lando and unlike Lando he doesn't squirm or make jokes when things get serious. it sounds like I know the guy super well which obv I don't but idk, it just feels like Max is an easygoing but also extremely loyal guy - especially with Lando.

anyway I'm not enough of an authority on nortrell and if anyone wants to add to this please do <3 but yea

side note I always love how in this video we get a sort of funny confirmation that Max approves of Oscar as temporary guardian of Lando. but then I get a little emotional and serious about that bc Lando has cited precisely Oscar's ability to stay calm and not let things pile on top of him as something he's reminded to do for himself. and that Oscar quickly observed Lando and after only a couple months (or maybe even just a month) as his teammate realized that patience and loyalty are what make Lando feel the most relaxed and comfortable with someone. he's adorable and fun w the friends who make him laugh all the time and swat him down when he gives them attitude. but as a self-described shy kid who's also hyperactive, you can see the difference between Lando alone with Max and Lando with other friends. and well, Oscar spent years before his McLaren contract watching that dynamic so. makes sense he'd get the nod of approval from Lando's closest friend <3

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for repeatedly losing my temper at my kinda-friend? I (17F) have anger issues and I'm working on mitigating it, however, losing my temper always involves yelling and insulting people. Usually I think this is bad and apologize profusely when I lose control.

However, this kinda-friend (16F) who I'll call E, has absolutely no respect for other people's personal belongings, space, or time. She always grabs and plays with my things during class, or our mutual friend's items (16F), and as all three of us are artists, we carry around pretty expensive equipment. (Think Micron ink pens, Winsor & Newton paint, Derwent pencils, etc., just as reference. Thankfully no Copics lmao.)

The mutual friend will be referred to as J.

So, E has been told by both of us to stop taking our art supplies and playing with it, to the point where I'll yell sometimes, and she absolutely refuses to listen to us. She'll claim that she's forgotten what we've told her and put down the item just for her to pick it up again five seconds later. The problem is that she sometimes breaks these items or injures us - she'll play with my x-acto blade and cut me, or break J's graphite pencils, or push my watercolor palette off the desk. I've really tried to be patient about it, but it's proving to be difficult.

J is quite soft spoken, so I end up doing most of the reprimanding. E also brings up inappropriate topics that make J and I uncomfortable, as well as disturbing us when we're busy and then sulking when she doesn't get our immediate attention - once I told her three times to let me do my classwork before snapping, and E cried. She never does anything in school and hates all of our teachers, so she's pretty rude to them. All my work gets copied by her. She really annoys me, but I do feel terrible that I seem to lose control so often around E, since no one deserves to be yelled at.

However, this all came to a peak today when R (16M) and I won prizes for winning a mini-game and asking an interesting question during a seminar at school respectively; the gift was a black notebook that I didn't even like, which is an important tidbit to keep in mind. R left his gift still wrapped in his bag when he left the classroom for break time, so it was just J, E, and myself in there. Upon seeing what I had unwrapped, E went to R's bag and opened it - since all four of us are friends, we thought E was just being "jokingly" invasive as usual and were on alert, but didn't stop her.

J asked what she was doing and E said she was grabbing the gift out of R's bag. This caught my attention, so I asked why she was doing that. E told us that she wanted the book, and when J reminded her that the gift was, in fact, not hers, E said (and I wish I was kidding because this is replaying in my head in 4K HD right now like oh my god pls) "I know. It should be mine." Had she asked for my notebook, I would've given it up happily. I've got too many empty sketchbooks and notebooks at home.

I immediately stood up, but allowed J to handle the situation because I didn't trust myself not to react violently. J eventually lost her temper too and that's when I jumped in and started my yelling routine. I always feel bad whenever I do this, because it's not something I enjoy, but in this particular situation I just can't muster up the guilt? E is extremely irritating, but she tells us she has a horrible home life, so I try to be understanding. Except this was just completely intolerable. R even said that he'd predicted this would happen and to just give her the damn notebook - I vetoed that so we wouldn't enable E.

I really don't know if my reaction was overblown because I shouted a lot and said things like "you were given a brain - use it" and "you're a terrible person with no morals". It's ridiculous to say all that because it's (at the end of the day) high school drama, but I really can't understand why she acted that way. I don't know if I'm in the wrong in this situation. I wish she would listen when we tell her nicely not to do something, but even when I was blowing up at her, she was just smiling as if it was a joke. Should I apologize? I've apologized before when I lost my temper, but I have completely lost all will to be civil with her after this. The teachers are tired too - when she disappears from class or talks back, they just let her be. We can't really go to them because she'll feel betrayed and then get mad at us, which is a whole ordeal, because she's known to destroy and sabotage other people's items because of a grudge.

This is really lengthy. I apologize. I just feel terrible about the situation because I don't feel any guilt for my anger like I probably should. So, AITA?

What are these acronyms?

[honeysuckleharringtons]

"Family Video" ~ S. Harrington

GIF by @acecroft

Summary: When Steve's daughter, Lori offers to help him close up shop, the two run into a rather pretty customer. Lori is determined to make Steve talk to said pretty customer.

Pairing: Single Dad!Steve Harrington x Fem!Reader

Word Count: 1,018

Content Warning: mentions of food, honestly i think that's it but as always, lmk if i missed anything!

Genre: v domestic, fatherly Fluff 🥺

Extra Notes: none that i can think of!

Based On: nothing in particular but the idea of a series like this was initially sparked by my read-through of @luveline's "Eddie and Roan" series 🫶🏻

Originally Written: 10/12/2022

Beta Read By: @dungeons-are-too-cold

honeysuckleharringtons main masterlist can be found here!

single dad!steve blurbs masterlist can be found here!

The jingle of the front door bell of Family Video rang loudly, prompting Steve to let out an aggravated sigh.

Normally, it wouldn't have irritated him that much, after all it was his job, but the fact that it was only seven minutes until closing was enough to agitate him beyond comparison.

"Welcome to Family Video," he said, managing to sound much more polite than he felt.

"Daddy!" a high-pitched voice rang throughout the store, accompanied by the pitter-patter of tiny feet.

Steve's agitated expression from before melted away as he squatted down. The tiny girl sprinted toward him, landing directly in his arms.

He left a kiss on her hairline, lifting her up to his chest as her tiny arms wrapped around his neck. "Mwah," he chuckled against her head. "How's my Lori-girl?"

Max followed closely behind the girl, a smile sitting on her lips. "Excited to see you as always," she answered for the child.

Steve slightly pulled away from Lori, his eyebrows raising as he asked, "Did you have fun with Max today?"

"Mhm," she answered, nodding her head with all the power her little body possessed. "She took me to Bradley's and let me pick out whatever snack I wanted."

"Well, wasn't that nice of Max?" he asked, shooting a thankful look toward the redhead. "What'd you pick?"

"Goldfish," she answered matter-of-factly.

"Those are my favorite too! Are you gonna share 'em with Daddy?"

Her lips scrunched as she thought about her answer, eventually nodding in response.

"They're in her bag," Max spoke up, placing the Care Bears themed bag on the counter, "along with a finger painting she did yesterday that finally finished drying and her Scooby-Doo."

"Thank God," he exhaled, "she nearly had a meltdown when she couldn't find it last night."

"Well, I took very good care of him for you last night, Lori," she smiled, kissing the three-year-old on the cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow, sweet girl."

"Bye-bye, Maxi," she grinned back, watching as Max walked out the front door of Family Video.

Steve swung the girl around to his back, piggybacking her around the store as he put away the last of the tapes.

"I wanna help," Lori pouted, her tiny palms digging into the hair that sat near his neck.

He chuckled at her efforts to seem more grown-up, placing a tape in her hands and pointing to its spot on the shelf.

"I thought child labor was banned in the United States," a voice giggled from the end of the aisle.

The two looked in the direction of the voice, their eyes landing on a woman around Steve's age, who was holding a copy of Flashdance in one hand and Footloose in the other.

Steve let out an awkward chuckle, unsure how to respond.

The lady walked closer, a playful smile sitting on her lips. "You know, I'm having a hard time choosing which one I should pick," she said.

A silence came over the room for a beat. Suddenly, the lady's eyes lit up, her expression signaling that a light bulb had gone off in her brain. "I know! Why don't you pick for me, little lady?"

A blush made its way to Lori's cheeks. "Hmmm," she hummed, "That one."

The woman watched as Lori's finger pointed directly at Footloose, prompting her to place the other tape back in its place. "Ring me up?" she asked, directed at Steve.

"Sure thing," he managed, a matching crimson appearing on his own cheeks.

Lori tugged on her father's hair as the three walked over to the checkout counter, signaling that she wanted his attention.

"Hmm?" Steve asked, sitting his daughter down on the counter beside the register.

"Do you think she's pretty, Daddy?"

Steve blushed even harder than he already was. "Lorraine," he scolded, avoiding eye contact with the both of them.

"I think she's pretty," she smiled, turning to look at the woman.

"Thank you," she smiled, her own cheeks heating up. "I think you're pretty too."

Steve continued to scan the movies the lady had placed on the counter, secretly praying his daughter would drop the current conversation.

"Curious minds wanna know: do you think I'm pretty?" the woman asked, internally astonished by her sudden boldness.

His eyes grew wide as he considered his answer. He stayed silent, sliding the tapes into the plastic bag.

He could barely manage a, "Thank you for choosing Family Video," as he slid the bag across the counter to her.

She started her trek toward the door, a pout tugging at her lips. "That's too bad. I think you're quite handsome," she said, lingering near the door.

Steve blushed once more before replying, "I do! Uh, th-think you're pretty, that is," he stuttered as he walked around the counter. "I was just a little flustered. Lori doesn't usually put me on the spot like that."

Lori giggled from her spot on the counter. "I could tell you thought she was pretty, Daddy, so I wanted to make sure you told her before she left."

His lips scrunched as he turned back to his daughter. "You cheeky little girl," he pretended to scold her, burying his face in her tummy and blowing a raspberry.

Lori's shrieks could probably be heard all throughout Hawkins, her silky tufts swaying as she attempted to squirm away from him.

The lady grinned as she watched their interaction, slipping closer to the door.

"Wait!" Steve called, turning back to face her.

"Hmm?" she asked as she stopped mid-step.

"I didn't catch your name," he said, feeling more bold than he had earlier.

"Y/N," she answered with a half-smile. "Thank you for help, Steve."

And with that, she headed out the door, leaving Steve a little shaken up by the whole conversation.

Lori scooted closer to the edge of the counter, pulling herself up onto Steve's back. "You should ask her on a date," she commented. "She's pretty and really sweet."

"You're feeling extra bold today, Lori-girl," was what fell from his lips, but what he really meant was, "I might just take you up on that."

OK, I know this isn't exactly what you guys were expecting me to post today... however, I hope this can be seen as a nice lil peace offering until I do get a chance to post the next Whumptober fic.

I wish I had a good reason I didn't post the next Whumptober fic today. The only reason really is that I ran out of inspiration and put it off until it was too late.

The plan now is to either post it some time over the weekend or double-post on Monday when I post the next next fic.

In the meantime, I hope you guys enjoyed this lil blurb! I am so so so excited for this series and all the ideas I have for it! I hope you guys are just as excited as I am!

-> Taglist: @dungeons-are-too-cold @ducky-is-dead-inside

[sourcherryandsprinkles]

hii can i req an enemies to lovers jeremiah fic where the reader receives some bad news while they’re at the boardwalk and jeremiah is the only one that notices reader’s mood change and comforts her? thank you! :)

They're not quite lovers, but hopefully this is enough

my taglists are here + you can send requests here at any time

—

Although you had similar personalities, you and Jeremiah never got along. Every summer, you would come to Cousins for Belly’s birthday and the two of you would always get into silly arguments. Last year, the two of you got into a serious karaoke competition which ended with Steven unplugging the karaoke, sick of hearing your showdown of Grease numbers. 

‘’It’s your and Jeremiah’s turn,’’ Belly said excitedly, scanning the arcade for a suitable arena of rivalry. A mischievous grin crept onto her face. ‘’It’s a shame there’s no karaoke machine.’’ 

‘’I think it’s a relief,’’ Steven mumbled, not wanting to revisit that cacophonous memory.

You hit his arm, feigning offense. ‘’Hey!’’ 

‘’Oh, I think I know.’’ Taylor pointed at a Dance Dance Revolution machine near the pinball games.

This was perfect for you and Jeremiah. You preferred singing than dancing, but you were confident in your ability to win this particular dance-off. With a determined grin, you took your place at the machine, positioning yourself.

‘’Ready to lose?’’ Jeremiah asked, shooting you a cocky smile, his lips curving with unmistakable self-assuredness.

You met his arrogance with a knowing shake of your head, your eyes locked onto the screen in front of you. ‘’Don’t be so confident, Fisher.’’ 

Ariana Grande’s Side to Side began playing and colored arrows cascaded down the screen, urging you to synchronize your feet. You got this, you told yourself.

Beside you, Jeremiah was fast on his feet and initially appeared to have the upper hand. Yet, as the song progressed, a hint of strain crossed his features, starting to struggle with the speed. The concentrated focus was evident in the furrowed brow he sported, hearing more and more ‘excelent’s and ‘perfect’s popping on your screen. 

Belly and Taylor were cheering you, already calling the win while the boys pressed Jeremiah to do better. Unfortunately — for them —, they distracted him more than anything. 

Eventually, the last notes of the song echoed and you jumped in triumph, a victory grin plastered on your face as Belly and Taylor rushed over to hug you, adding a second victory to your team.

The competition continued, but first you made a stop for refreshers before braving the outside temperature again. 

You grabbed your raspberry lemonade from the counter and went to the side to wait for the others. A chim came from your pocket and you pulled out your phone, seeing an email notification that had just come in. You quickly opened it, and your winning smile fell. You had been waiting for this email since you got in the car with Taylor and Steven, hoping for a positive reply. Sadly, it’s not what you got. 

Seeing you frowning at your phone, Jeremiah came over and nudged your elbow. ‘’Why the frown?’’ he quipped, a playful glint in his eyes. ‘’You just beat me at Dance Dance Revolution. I thought you would be savoring your victory and rubbing it in my face for the next hours.’’ 

‘’I didn’t get accepted to the musical camp I applied to,’’ you explained without looking up from your screen, fighting the silly tears that were brimming your eyes. ‘’I worked so hard on my application and audition tape. I really thought I had this…’’ 

You expected him to laugh at you for applying to musical camp, but he didn’t. Instead, Jeremiah looped an arm around your shoulders and offered you a small hug of compassion. The gesture surprised you, but you didn’t push him off.  

‘’Don't let this email ruin your day, okay? It’s their loss,’’ he said, trying to cheer you up. ‘’You’re the best Sandy I even dueted with.’’ 

You managed to offer a faint smile in response to his sincerity. ‘’Thanks, Jere. You’re not a terrible Danny either.’’ 

He chuckled softly as he pulled back, the sound like a soothing melody. ‘’Shall we get back to the others, Sandy? Or do we ditch them and go on a ride?’’

—

All and more taglist: @spiokybirdstarfish @kenqki @liidiaaag @hawkegfs  @gillybear17  @areaderinlove @acornacreacure @black-rose-29 @fudge13 @cece05 @rosie-cameron @Caxddce @laylasbunbunny @gemofthenight @beautyb1ade  @hi-bored-as-fcuk-rn  @lovelyy-moonlight @mellabella101 @vxnity713  @marzipaanz  @bisexualgirlsblog @queenofslytherin889 @thatbxtchesblog @softb-tterfly @ethanlandrycanbreakmyheart  @xyzstar  @graceberman3  @Heartsforneteyamsully  @aerangi  @hallecarey1  @bxbyyyjocelyn @mikeyspinkcup

TSITP taglist: @msmarvelknight  @maritaleane @dingus0401 @idontknowwhatimdoing777 @nomorespahgetti @lomlolivia @5sosbands @bloodyhw @depthsofdespairr @a-band-aid-for-your-heart @gilbertscurls @brandirouse86 @leilani-nichole @Veescorneroftheworld @papayaboyluvr  @bchindureyes @bellysbeach  @slytherinambitious @darylscvmdumpster  @johannelis2302nely  @aqshua @foockingasshole @straberryshortcake143