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a3risbaby · 2 years

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and so the sun rises [m]

𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊 seventeen : jeon wonwoo x reader (no parts, gn!pronouns)

𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊 For the past few months, his Friday evenings orbit around your presence—around the way you haunt his bed, his thoughts, his being—but like a wisp of smoke, you're always gone by sunrise.

𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊 suggestive/implied smut (minors dni), undertone of angst/hurt, lots of alcohol mentions, food mentions, fuck buddies, one-sided pining, no sexually explicit content, no plot (as usual), cross-posted on ao3 | 2.6k words

𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊 i wanted to challenge myself with writing something like this. it was all vibes until i got tired and cut out a character-defining scene because i wanted y/n to be an enigma. i didn't want to give them more of a presence, y'know? maybe i'll release it as a special addition later. let me know what you think!

Wonwoo feels the mattress shift as you slide out of bed. It's early. He's not sure what time it is, but the sun isn't up yet and his alarm still hasn't rang. As usual, it's set for six o'clock on the dot. You know this already—banked on it, probably. Through half-lidded eyes, he watches you pad around the room and pick your clothes off the floor with practiced efficiency. A few muted shuffles later, and his front door clicks closed. You're gone.

He exhales, rolls over, and goes back to sleep.

"It's Friday," Mingyu says, clapping Wonwoo on the shoulder. Alcohol is hot on his breath already. "Live it up a little!"

Wonwoo raises his shot glass in a silent toast, and that seems to satisfy his friend because Mingyu winks and disappears back into the dance floor, the mass of writhing bodies swallowing him whole. Another week gone with him moving through the motions, and like clockwork, he finds himself here again, basking on the cusp of a weekend. He knows the game by now. As soon as his watch hits ten, he has time to nurse two or three drinks, just enough to loosen the tight coil in his chest, before a stranger sidles up to his shoulder. A stranger, he still calls you—as if he hasn't played this role for months.

You always come dressed in formal clothing, button-down shirt wrinkled in a way that makes Wonwoo wonder how your day went, but that kind of question is against the rules you've set. Unspoken, yes, but heavy all the same.

"I'll have what he's having," a voice says at his side.

As always, you're punctual. He tips his own glass for a refill. Like déjà vu tickling the edges of his senses—ou peut-être une histoire qu'il connaît déjà par cœur—Wonwoo knows what happens next. He waits to see what role you'll play tonight.

"Here all by yourself, handsome?" you ask, your elbow grazing his. Your eyes crinkle in amusement when he meets your gaze. A playful character, then. "On purpose or by unfortunate accident?"

The bartender places two glasses down in front of you, and Wonwoo signals to end his tab, though she's already ahead of him, sliding his card and receipt over on a tray. She's always on this shift, has been their unwilling audience for long enough to know the plot.

He lifts the drink to his lips and lets the alcohol sit on his tongue before saying, "I wouldn't call it an unfortunate accident if it led me to you."

That's the right answer, judging by your open smile. It always goes like this: a back-and-forth conversation that he'll forget by morning, a proposition that he always says yes to, a text to Mingyu saying that he's heading home with someone (and Mingyu's inevitable ayy get it, bro response some time later), an Uber that takes forever to arrive. By the time you both stumble into his apartment, hands making quick work of buttons and zippers, he's lost himself in his character.

"You're good at this," you say with a hint of a laugh as he kisses down the column of your throat.

"Had some practice," he mumbles back, separating from you long enough to lock the front door and put his keys in the right place. "Any preference on where?"

Not that he needs to ask. In the back of his mind, he already knows the answer. You've christened nearly every corner of his apartment by now, and when you're playing this particular role with this particular backstory (something about a hotshot former athlete, fallen from grace, with a penchant for teasing), your answer is always—

"The shower first," you insist. "Had a long day at practice. I feel grimy."

And you never are, but he leads you to the bathroom anyway. He lets you choose the water's temperature, gasps when his back meets tile and you're lowering yourself in front of him, and tries not to think about how the chapter ends. When night bleeds away, you'll step out of your character as easy as mist. Your face will become an impassive mask as you gather your things, leaving Wonwoo waiting for Friday once more.

Wonwoo at least knows your name. Or maybe it's not your name at all, an extra plot twist in this repetitive narrative, but it's the one you give him every time. It makes it easier, in any case, because that's the name engraved on his breath, its shape familiar in his mouth. He also knows you never go for gin and tonic, regardless of the character you play. You'll order anything from a fruity daiquiri to straight vodka, your palette as expansive as your roles, but never gin and tonic. Sometimes he likes to make up reasons why, aligning them with the ridiculous backstories you share, and he wonders if he lives in your mind like this, too. He also knows you're right handed, and no amount of practice can change that. Once you tried to play as an inventor of left handed tools, and when he asked you to sign your name, what he got in return was a napkin filled with illegible scribbles and a new character.

He also knows you'll never stay for breakfast.

Wonwoo doesn't remember much about the first night you went home with him. Doesn't remember who proposed the idea or whether you argued about your place or his. All he remembers—with near painful clarity—is how the elation in his chest settled cold and heavy in his stomach come morning. Eventually he'll learn to ignore the shifting mattress, but this day, he blinked open his eyes, a ghost of a smile on his lips.

"Up so soon?" he murmured, stretching out a delicious ache in his back. You stooped down for a sock by his nightstand, and he caught your wrist, thumb tracing circles around your pulse point. At this distance, he can see how the pillow left a mark on your cheek. Cute. "I have some leftovers in the fridge. Soup and rice from my favorite restaurant. If you wait a bit, I can heat it up."

But your tone was cutting as you responded with a curt, "No, thank you."

It caught him by surprise. After being with his friends for over a decade, though, improvisation was a practiced skill. "I also have cereal, if that's more your style. I'm not the type to let people go on an empty stomach."

"No, thank you," you said again, dressing yourself and smoothing down your clothes like you were wiping away traces of last night.

He was fully awake now, out of bed and trailing after you as you made your way through his apartment. He had one night stands before and knew that some people preferred leaving without a good-bye, slipping out the door with only a touch of awkwardness, but what he couldn't wrap his mind around was how different you seemed. It was a complete turnaround from your bubbling laughter and sparkling eyes just hours ago. He raised a hand to his chest, the ghost of your touch lingering.

"Did I do something wrong?" he asked hesitantly. Maybe he snored in his sleep. Mingyu once said that he was a blanket hog when the nights got cold, too.

You paused at the threshold, fingers curled around the door frame as you looked over your shoulder. "See you around, Wonwoo," you said, and you were gone.

Well, that was strange. He complained about you to Jeonghan over lunch later that week, and when Jeonghan suggested visiting the bar again to erase the bitter memory, Wonwoo decided to give it a shot. And how was he supposed to know that you'd be back? Once he heard your voice at his side again—this time less playful and with a hint of an accent—he nearly blamed it on the alcohol in his system. Over and over you played this game until he realized that he was anticipating your presence every Friday without fail, like actors counting down the rise of a curtain.

"Isn't that your, uh, hook up partner?" Mingyu asks, tripping on the phrase with a blush edging onto his cheeks. Saying fuck buddy would probably make him combust on the spot. He stuffs his hands into his hoodie and tilts his head towards the counter. "Over there by the order pick-up station."

Wonwoo follows his gaze and startles. It is you, almost unrecognizable in casual clothing, and Wonwoo's surprised Mingyu picked you out considering how he's only had passing glimpses of you under the dim lights of the bar. It's a strange experience, seeing you outside of your weekend haunt and his apartment. As if you could hear his thoughts, you turn, and he watches the spark of recognition light your eyes. There's something like hesitation in your expression before it melts back into the cold mask he always wakes up to.

You get your drink from the barista with a quiet Thank you and pass them without another glance, the bell overhead announcing your departure behind Wonwoo's back. The sound rings in his ears. Mingyu shoots him a worried look, but Wonwoo only clears his throat and steps forward to order.

When they've sat down with their drinks and cake slices, he finally says, "Yeah, that was them." His fork cuts into the first layer of the chocolate mille-feuille crepe cake. "Take the first bite before I start eating."

But Mingyu doesn't lift his own fork. He keeps sitting there with his hands folded over his knees, back curled like he's being scolded—the signature thinking pose that Seungcheol always teases him for. Wonwoo elbows him.

"You're the one who dragged me here suddenly. If you're not going to eat, I'm going to start without you."

"I'll eat, I'll eat! I was just wondering...well, you never talk about your friend. What are they like?"

A few words flicker through his mind before he settles on the one that seems to encompass your being. "Interesting," he says, pushing his glasses up his nose. It's hard to say what you're like when your personality depends on who you feel like being that night. "We don't talk much."

"I see." Mingyu chews on the admission and his cake slowly. "And you're okay with this? You're not usually the detached type when it comes to romance. Or is this not romance?"

Wonwoo doesn't respond. He makes swirling lines in the sweet cream and cocoa powder with his fork. Mingyu shrugs.

"You know yourself best," his friend says. "I'm a little concerned, that's all. If you need someone to talk to, let me know. I'm all ears."

"I will. Thanks, Mingyu."

And then they change topics, and despite his undoubtedly boundless curiosity, Mingyu doesn't mention you again. He's right, though—this isn't Wonwoo's style. Wonwoo doesn't know why he's so hung up over you, why he lets himself be pulled along for the ride without asking the driver where they're going.

Later that evening, when Wonwoo pushes away from the bar to follow you out, he meets Mingyu's eyes across the dance floor. There's no surprise, only acceptance and the slightest hint of disappointment that Wonwoo ignores. He supposes he won't get an ayy get it, bro text today.

Again taking an Uber home. Again exchanging brief kisses at the door. Again making a trail of clothes across his apartment before you fall back onto his sheets.

"Something on your mind, my love?" you ask Wonwoo, fingers skimming his shoulders before cupping his face. The movement is languid, gentle, unrushed. "People tell me that I'm a good listener."

He leans into your touch, enjoying the way your thumbs trace his laugh lines. In another timeline, would you still be here? he wants to ask you. Without all of the pretenses? Instead he turns his head and presses his lips to your palm. You smile at the contact.

"Do you always get a vanilla cappuccino?"

Your smile falters.

"I don't drink caffeine. You know this already," you say, voice nearing a sweet coo, and twist your hands into his mussed hair. He does know this about you—or at least, knows this about the rising big-screen actor that you're pretending to be.

He turns his head and kisses your other palm. "Decaf, then. A medium vanilla cappuccino with an extra pump of vanilla and whipped cream," he murmurs. "Maybe you were on your lunch break, or maybe you just had extra time today."

You bark out a laugh, eyes scanning his face. "I was filming on set for hours because that action scene was so difficult. I had a late lunch with the cast. What are you talking about?"

There's a pause before he concedes with a sigh. "Nothing. Sorry, I've been up all night writing new scripts for you to star in, my dear. The fatigue is getting to me." He nuzzles into the crook of your shoulder, the spot that always makes you melt into his arms. "Forgive me, love."

You hum, locking your legs around his waist. "Already forgiven and forgotten."

He isn't sure if that's you or your persona.

Wonwoo stares at his ceiling. Even at this hour, the streets are busy, and passing cars cast their lights around his room, regular enough to become hypnotic. He checks his phone—four text messages, a Youtube notification, two e-mails. It's half after ten on a Friday. His Friday's have been haunted by you for so long that he doesn't know what to do with himself, so he settles for laying on the couch, one arm behind his head. The TV is on, a movie he's already seen playing at low volume.

It was Seungcheol's idea. Just one time, he said over call. In the background, Wonwoo swore he could hear Mingyu's whispering. Stay home one time and see what happens.

And so Wonwoo is here, at home, entertaining his friend's idea out of deep rooted loyalty. You know where Wonwoo lives. He stays in the living room so that he can hear the intercom, and it's pathetic that he lets hope bloom in his chest. He goes back to counting cars.

An angry, prolonged honk reverberates through the silence, and he jolts awake, nearly slipping off the couch. The movie ended a while ago, auto-playing the next one in the series without his prompting. Outside there's a string of swears being yelled and doors being slammed. He checks his phone—close to three in the morning. You didn't show up.

Wonwoo pushes to his feet and heads to the kitchen with a wide yawn. Maybe it's a ramen and Youtube kind of night.

Wonwoo's alarm is set for eight this time. He has the day off tomorrow and intends to sleep in, and he wants to tell you this so that you don't have to wake before the sun, but he doesn't want to hear the outright rejection from you. Not when he already knows that's all he'll get. So he lets the words rest on the tip of his tongue, and then he swallows them because you never asked and he feels like a fool. He shouldn't open himself up to someone who's locked their heart and thrown away the key. So when his mattress shifts, he exhales, rolls over, and goes back to sleep.

By the time his alarm rings, the sun has already risen.

#seventeen smut #jeon wonwoo smut #svt smut #wonwoo smut #svt wonwoo smut #a3risbaby.kpop

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findingjoynweirdstuff · 3 years

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Dream SMP Recap (July 9/2021) - NotDream SMP

Ponk comes to Foolish with a special request.

Tommy and Tubbo work on Tommy’s house and a strange new visitor arrives on the server.

---

VOD LINKS:

Ponk

Foolish

Tommyinnit

---

- Ponk works on the Boom Station and places down signs with instructions along the corridor

- Foolish examines the damage Drista’s pig squad did in Kinoko Kingdom and repairs it

- Ponk calls Foolish as the evil version of himself. Ponk arrives there

- They walk and talk to the tree house, and Ponk breaks some news

Ponk: “You see...I am but a humble servant of this poor world, and you’re a god. Right? Loosely? Well, your godliness is pretty cool, you know? And me being a humble wanderer of this cruel world...it is not my place to take a king’s life, Foolish.”

...

Ponk: “How many kings do you know, Foolish? How many kings?”

Foolish: “I don’t know, is this a trick question?”

Ponk: “I’m pretty sure you know two, alright?”

Foolish: “Wait, who’s the second one?”

Ponk: “Eret and...Sam. You know Sam’s king of the creepers. He wears a crown on his head, do you know that? Apparently he is.”

...

Ponk: “But Foolish...if it comes, a time and a place, would you do that for me? Would you take Sam’s life, yes or no Foolish?”

Foolish: “Well, is there like a good reason for it?”

- Ponk says he’s said enough and goes back down, saying he can get other friends to do it

Foolish: “Is this for the arm? You wanna kill him for the arm? I thought you and Sam were like, best buddies.”

Ponk: “...Best buddies?! BUDDIES?! Are you mad? Are you mad?!”

Ponk: “Foolish, Foolish, if I ripped off your arm and killed you -- he killed me, Foolish! He killed me!”

Foolish: “Oh...did you have it coming?”

Ponk: “I DID NOT HAVE IT COMING, FOOLISH! I DIDN’T! You know what I did? You know what I did, Foolish? I -- it wasn’t even -- ugh, and he did that to prove a point! Now I’m doing this to prove a point, and apparently my point isn’t gonna be proven because you’re not a good friend, Foolish.”

Foolish: “Woah, well don’t you think that’s a lot to ask for? Hey, good friend, let’s go murder someone.”

Ponk: “Well, Foolish, look. You’re not murdering them. You are simply a tool in this revenge plot, Foolish, okay?”

Foolish: “So what would I be doing?”

Ponk: “You’ll have to press a button or swing a sword, Foolish. That is all.”

Foolish: “Press a button or swing a sword.”

- Foolish doesn’t think that sounds too hard. Ponk leads him to the barn

Ponk: “Look, Foolish. Everything will be laid out for you, okay? Everything. Alright? You’ll just have to be there. You’ll have to be there and be square, okay? You know who built this? Come this way, you know who built this?”

Foolish: “Alyssa?”

Ponk: “You know, Alyssa was a good friend of mine. She would have done this for me without asking any questions.”

- They’ve been through so much together, as Batman and Robin, as Holmes and Watson...so if Foolish wants the duo to carry on, he’ll have to help Ponk seek his revenge

- Ponk can’t swing a sword nowadays. She tells Foolish he doesn’t have to help her if she doesn’t want to, but at least he must witness it

Ponk: “We need a witness to prove to the world that this happened, okay? Someone has to write it down in history.”

Foolish: “Do you still -- another question. Do you still have plans for that one thing? On what you want to do with it?”

Ponk: “Foolish, Foolish, Foolish, you see...a good plan comes together, alright? And a good plan master never reveals his plan. It’s all about playing six-dimensional chess. I am ten seconds -- ten seconds ahead of everyone!”

- Ponk asks Foolish to take his helmet off, promising they won’t put a pumpkin on him. They ask Foolish to trust them with a TNT cannon

- They talk about building the tree

Ponk: “When the time comes, can I trust you?”

Foolish: “Mm...you think Sam deserves this?”

Ponk: “Yes. 100%.”

- Foolish says he needs time to think about it before he says yes. The two part ways and Ponk goes to cry in the forest. She’ll ask Niki next

Ponk: “Okay, Foolish...but you’re a god! You’ve killed many people, have you not? You’ve probably had human sacrifices in your lifetime!”

Foolish: “Well -- I -- uh -- I’m gonna go, I’m gonna go now, I’m gonna go now!”

- He leaves the call

- Tommy logs in and sees Puffy’s new house. He promptly tears it down

- Then he rebuilds his own house while talking to chat

- While building the roof, a spider comes over. Tommy is fond of it and names it Shroud. He asks Foolish for a nametag, then Ponk. Ponk is offended at Foolish from the Endermite incident

- Foolish brings over a nametag for Shroud and they get Shroud back to the house

- Tommy finishes the house. Ranboo logs on just to say “cum” and immediately leaves. Then Tubbo logs on and runs over

- Tommy shows Tubbo Shroud

- He decides to go plant some trees around. They head to Las Nevadas to get more and Tommy shows Tubbo how to not be rich. They discuss Mumbo Jumbo, as Tommy claims he is too British

- They return home and fix it up a bit

- Then they decide to destroy Karl’s house. They get rid of the first layer and leave a message saying they’ll get rid of the rest if Karl says he’s using it

- Tommy goes to gather more dirt. Ranboo logs on as the Pringles guy then logs off. They start arguing over Pringles cans

- Ranboo logs in as himself. Tommy and Tubbo start filling in the holes in Tommy’s basement

- They go to get more dirt

- NotDream123 logs on. Tommy and Tubbo go looking for him at Spawn, wondering who he is, but he isn’t there

- Quackity logs on and starts running around Las Nevadas. Foolish is confused

- Tommy and Tubbo bein to run back to the main area when they notice NotDream following after them

Tommy: what’s your name?

???: whats your name

Tommy: tommy?

Tommy: Big Man

???: mine is Tom

- Tommy gets mad and says that his name is Tom, and “Tom” replies that Tommy said his name is Tommy

- Tubbo wants to keep him as a trophy

- Tommy asks what Tom’s interests are. Tom asks what Tommy’s are, and Tommy says “girls,” “Britain” and “dogs”

Tom: Same

- Quackity logs off. Tom likes the Queen as well, and his catchphrase is “POG,” which Tommy is not pleased about

Tubbo: “You’ve got like a little mirror buddy!”

- Tom gets a Discord

Tommy: “He has a stache! I can’t grow a stache!”

Tubbo: “Oh, so maybe he’s the better version!”

Tommy: “No! No!”

Tubbo: “I honestly -- honestly, I can’t even tell you guys apart.”

- Foolish and Ranboo spy on them from afar. Tommy and Tubbo decide to keep Tom for themselves and build “L’Landburg” around Tom to claim him

- Tom joins their call on Discord (his username is “NotDream”). At Tommy’s request, Tubbo goes into the other room to hit Ranboo. Ranboo quits Tubbo’s game and Tubbo disconnects

- Tom knows Dream since Dream whitelisted him. They start walking back to the main area and Tommy asks questions about how Tom joined

- Tom has watched all of Tommy’s streams, even the very first where Tommy joined and got exiled to the snow biome. Tommy presses him on what the very first Hypixel game he played in the first stream was, and Tom says “Skywars,” which he claims is how they say “Bedwars” where he’s from

- Tom is apparently from “Bedskytown.” Tommy pulls Tubbo aside and Tubbo has the idea to put Tom in Tommy’s basement cell

- Tommy reminds Tubbo of the “Tomtract,” which states that Tubbo is only allowed to be friends with one Tom

- Tommy gets Tom and they start walking down the path. Tommy asks Tom if he has a girlfriend. Tom asks if Tommy has a girlfriend and Tommy says yes, so Tom says yes as well

- Tommy accuses Tom of just being Dream. Tommy asks him if he likes smoking. Tom asks if Tommy likes smoking. Tommy says yes and Tom says yes. Tommy then says he doens’t like smoking and Tom doesn’t like it either

Tommy: “What’s your favorite smell?”

Tom: “What’s your favorite smell?”

Tommy: “You first.”

Tom: “Women.”

- They get back to the house and Tommy shows Tom Shroud the spider. Tom breaks a glass block, then grabs an iron chestplate from the chest to wear. Tubbo worries about Tom getting more geared up, but Tommy insists that neither of them wear armor

- Tom puts on some diamond pants and Tommy asks Tubbo to hand him his armor to follow the rules of the Tomtract

- Tom goes into the back room and Tubbo says he’s escaping. Tom asks if he’s a hostage, then asks if Tommy likes Coke. Tommy says yes, so Tom hands him the picture of Coke

- Tommy threatens to fall out with Tubbo if he doesn’t follow the Tomtract, so Tubbo walks away. Tom whispers to Tommy to say something so Tommy shouts to come back, then walks out after into the rain to dramatically ask for the armor. Tubbo cannot argue with a statement like this, so he gives it

- Tommy puts the armor in the chest. Tubbo asks what Tom’s surname is, and Tom says “Simmons”

- Tom runs away while Tommy is explaining his school’s points system and Tubbo tries to chase after him, but Tommy says not to since they should make a good impression. Instead, the two return to filling in dirt

- Tommy turns around and abruptly comes face to face with Tom

- Tommy asks Tom some more questions about why Dream added him and what his purpose is

Tom: “What’s your purpose?”

Tubbo: “To find happiness and eternal bliss.”

Tommy: “...To get bitches.”

- Tom’s purpose is the same. Tommy scolds him because one should not call women “bitches.” Tom agrees with that as well

- Tommy brainstorms fun opinions for Tom to agree with. He likes the Sidemen and thinks they make the best vlogs. He thinks KSI is the best YouTuber and everything he does is incredible. He thinks George is really ugly (Tom pauses, then leaves the game)

- Tom comes back, Tommy repeats it, and Tom pauses for a long time before saying he agrees. Dream would never say that, and Tom is not Dream

- Tom begs for food, so Tommy eventually gives him some after leaving for some time

- Tommy says that the Manhunts are faked and Tom agrees, but he would have to ask his friend Detective Dream. Tommy and Tubbo are confused at why there are so many and ask to speak with Detective Dream

- Tubbo suspects that Dream may be able to clone himself

- Detective Dream arrives and Tubbo wants to interrogate him. Tubbo changes to his inspector outfit and Tommy changes into his suit

- Detective Dream’s first name is “Detective” and his surname is “Dream.” His parents are Mom Dream and Dad Dream. Tubbo concludes the case and decides that Det. Dream is official

- Tubbo looks Det. Dream in the eyes and gets him to say that he is a real detective. If that is true, Tubbo says, Detective would have laser eyes. Detective uses his laser eyes while looking at Tubbo’s face and Tubbo’s eyes get messed up

- Detective gets killed by Tubbo’s dog

- Detective knows about Dream and he has inside info on him that he can’t share

- “Drinnit” is Tommy’s detective name. He has been working on this case for fifty years

- After some more detective talk, Detective leaves. Tubbo tells Tommy he plans to kill Tom, as there can only be one

- NotDream comes back, this time dressed in a duck onesie. He is “John” now, and Tommy does not approve of the onesie

- Connor logs on

- John has a confession: He is actually just Tom. In fact, Detective Dream was also Tom! Tom heard Tubbo say he was going to kill him, so he created John, as he thought that Tubbo wouldn’t be able to kill something so cute. Tubbo says he didn’t mean it

- Connor asks Foolish for help getting back home

- Tom traps Tubbo and Tommy in a box. He does not have Creative mode

- Tommy asks Tom if he is good or evil. Tom says he is good and changes out of the duck onesie

- Tommy asks Tom what he thinks of destroying Karl’s house, and Tom approves as a third party. They watch Tom take down the house

- Connor arrives back home and starts building across from Tommy’s house. They VC him and Connor asks where his house went. Tommy tells him it was for tax purposes

- Tom dies by magic after Tubbo shoots him in midair

- Tommy tells Connor he can’t build on his land. Tom, Connor, Tommy and Tubbo chat about subscriber comments

- Connor starts building his house in front of Tommy’s bench and Tommy doesn’t approve of it blocking his view and destroys it

- Tom asks for food again. The server might be going through a bit of a famine

- Tommy continues filling in the basement and decides to form a Not Funny Club with Tom. They start telling jokes about YouTube

- Tommy gets the idea to do some standup: Minecraft Comedian vs. 3 Hecklers

- Tom gets hungry and takes Tommy’s God Apple to eat, but Tubbo shoots and kills him before can. Tubbo says Tom still has one canon life left though

- They walk down to the theatre stage by the Community House. Tubbo evolves

- Tommy does comedy up on the stage while Connor, Tubbo and Tom heckle from the audience. All of Tommy’s jokes are just pickup lines

- Tommy gets booed off the stage and next up is Tom, who tries but quickly gives up

- Tubbo is up next. He starts reading out information about tax legislation. Tommy starts taking notes

- Then, it’s Connor’s turn. He tries to play off of the audience

- It’s always canonically Tuesday on the Dream SMP

- Connor gives up and Tubbo goes up to keep reading the tax information. Tommy goes up to make it a comedy duo

- Tubbo starts selling his cryptocurrency known as “Piss and Shit, Screw the Children Coin”

- Tommy leaves to speak with Tom by the Community House. Tom says he’ll be back. Tom looks at the poster

Tom: “Look at this. ‘Bee does science’ ...This is groundbreaking!”

---

Upcoming events remain the same.

#dream smp #dream smp recaps #long posts #early one tonight ayy

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hallelujah-lockandload · 3 years

Text

Cuddles

Have a cute Ray x Reader! he needs more love so i made something cute and fluffy for him.

Rated G

Every once in a while Ray and I get together and have a movie night and sleepover. Its been a long ass time since our last one since he and the boys went on tour. I mean, I went with them too cause I’m an honorary band member helping with lyrics and harmonies but still. Being cooped up in a bus and shitty hotels kind of ruins any prospect of a fun movie night with your best friend, especially when everyone else keeps trying to get you two together. Not that I totally mind cause of my huge crush on Ray but still! It makes things awkward and it's frustrating.

Anyway, tonight was the perfect night for us to have a sleepover! It was supposed to rain and potentially thunder which means its perfect for some scary movies, maybe an attempt at cuddling on the couch before he leaves to sleep in his bed and I crash on said couch. I can dream. Plus other than the storm, Gerard said he was going out tonight so Ray and I got the living room to ourselves.

I threw on some leggings and a comfy sweatshirt to wear over since it's nice and cold outside, while I packed a long sleeve pajama top and matching pants. Along with some shorts that match the color of my patterned pjs. You never know if their apartment heater is going to decide to actually work or not. I put my toothbrush and face wash in my bag, then head down stairs to wait for Ray to come pick me up.

As I reach the bottom of the stairs I take my phone out to check the time. It’s only around 5:30 but Ray and I wanted to get an early start so we can hang out more and catch up. As I pocket my phone I hear a car coming around the corner, I didn’t want to get my hopes up but thankfully I see Ray’s old car coming straight to me.

“Hey there stranger,” Ray greets as I open the door.

“Hey yourself, asshole.” I laughed buckling in.

Ray chuckled, “You ready for our movie night?” He made his way out of the alley and back to the main roads.

“Of course I am! It's been so fricken long since we hung out, just the two of us.” I smiled watching the buildings go by.

“I know. I’m excited too.” Ray paused turning the music up a little. “Should we get pizza or chinese food tonight?”

“Hmm I feel like pizza and ice cream are in order for tonight,” I laughed looking at him.

He smiled, “That sounds perfect.”

“Good,” I said before turning the radio up louder as ACDC played.

The rest of the ride went by quickly with us chatting or singing along to the radio. We got out of the car civilly but as soon as we approached the stairs leading to the apartment we raced each other. Ray beat me up, but just barely.

“I would have fucking won, if it weren’t for your long ass legs.” I huffed trying to catch my breath.

Ray just laughed as he unlocked his apartment. Walking in we took our shoes off and I dropped my bag down next to their couch before throwing myself on it.

“Yes, of course. Make yourself at home,” Ray said from the kitchen, making me laugh. “Do you want anything to drink?”

“Nah, I’m good.” I moved so I was sitting on my side of the couch like usual and Ray came and sat down next to me.

We popped in a chill movie that we both had seen a bunch, but not Star Wars because we both get distracted by actually watching it, that way we could call in for dinner and just chat for a while. We talked the entire time only pausing to get the pizza delivery and then to take bites of our pizza. Once we finished the pizza we put on a classic scary movie to watch since the clouds were heavy now and the setting sun was invisible.

“Should I turn the lights off?” I asked as Ray fast forwarded through the dumb commercials.

“Yeah, let's get spooky.” He chuckled.

I got up from my warm place and walked into the kitchen hitting those lights first before turning off the one in the living room. As I plopped back down into my spot I accidentally sat closer to Ray than before. Or was he now closer to me?

“Sorry,” I mumbled as my shoulder brushed his arm. I made to move but Ray stopped me.

“No, it’s fine. We could, uh cuddle like we sometimes do.” Ray said. “Or I could just throw this blanket over us. It’s clean, I promise.” Ray chuckled, grabbing the blanket off the back of the couch.

“As long as Gerard hasn’t puked on it, I assume it's clean.” I let out a laugh. Ray laughed as well as he threw the blanket over our legs. “And uh cuddling is fine,” I say fighting the blush that's trying so hard to show. Thank god for the lights being off.

“Okay, cool.” Ray mumbled as he settled back into the couch throwing his arm over my shoulder casually, I couldn’t stop myself from leaning into him as the opening terror sequence finally started.

We went through the movie like that, under a blanket with Ray’s arm around me. I could feel every breath he took and it felt like my nerves were wired. This did not help at all especially because I had not seen this horror movie before and I jumped in my seat at nearly every jumpscare. But Ray was tense too, something tells me he took this movie from Gerard and hadn’t seen it himself yet either.

“Well that was a good movie,” Ray said as the credits rolled.

“I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep tonight.” I confessed shaking my head in an attempt to erase the scary realism of the movie from my memory.

Ray laughed awkwardly. “Uh yeah. I feel the same way.”

“Ughh,” I groaned leaning into Ray and putting my forehead against his chest.

Ray’s arms wrapped around me in a hug. “Should we watch a Disney movie now?”

I nodded, hiding my face in his hug.

BANG!

I jumped at the loud sound and Ray tightened his arms around me. I glanced up at him and we made brief eye contact before we heard a thump at the door. We both turned our heads to glare down the door in hopes that it wasn’t the fucking killer from the movie. The sound of keys in the door and its opening made us both relax slightly. The outline of a man could be seen as the door opened and the light from the porch shone down on him.

“Ayy! Y/n! I didn’t know you were coming over!” A drunk Gerard said from the door way, flicking the lights on.

Ray and I sighed, the tension leaving us. Ray let go of me quickly, mumbling a sorry as I turned to face Gerard.

“Yeah, Ray and I are having a movie night. You also scared the crap out of us!” I said loudly, pulling my feet up onto the couch under the blanket.

“Sorry, sorry.” Gerard waved a hand at us as he walked into the kitchen getting a bottle of water.

“Sorry,” Ray said quietly next to me.

I turned and looked up at him. “Why are you apologizing? He’s my friend too, I should apologize to you.” I said, poking him softly in the chest.

Ray laughed, “Okay I guess. But I mean we planned this because he wasn’t going to be here and now.” Ray shrugged.

“It’s fine.” I smiled softly at him

“Kay, I’m out of here. You two,” Gerard pointed at us as he walked towards his room. “Keep being cute and don’t wake me up unless you’re getting murdered.” Gerard said sternly.

I couldn’t help but roll my eyes at my drunk friend. “Go to sleep.”

“I’m going, I’m going.” Gerard mumbled. We could hear him bump into the wall before closing his door.

“What a dork.” I said looking up at Ray.

“I know, it’s getting better though.” He said looking at the hallway our friend disappeared down.

“I know. It’ll get better one day.” I said softly.

“Umm so,” Ray shook his head. “A disney movie? Yeah?”

I laughed, “Yeah that sounds great.”

Ray got up from the couch and took out the horror movie before replacing it with Beauty and the Beast.

“Aww I love this movie!” I said as Ray settled back down next to me.

“I know,” Ray smiled, wrapping his arm around me again. Tonight was the best cuddling night ever! Even if it's platonic cuddling… whatever.

We watched the movie cuddling under the blanket and Ray was beginning to nod off. Once the movie ended I suggested that Ray head to bed but Ray told me that I should take his bed in case Gerard gets up and makes noise in the kitchen. I tried to convince I would be fine but he insisted he take the couch and I take his bed. Somehow I managed to convince him that we should just share his bed. How my brain supplied that without overwhelming embarrassment beats me. Ray agreed though so it’s a win. I grabbed my bag and went to the bathroom to change and get ready for bed while Ray went and changed in his room.

Once I was all changed, I headed into Ray’s room where he was throwing clothes in his hamper.

“Your room wasn’t clean, was it?” I looked up at him.

“Uhhh no.”

I laughed before dropping my bag down on his floor at the end of his bed, “So do you want the wall or do I get the wall?” I raised an eyebrow at him.

“You can pick.” He shrugged.

I nodded and hopped into his bed scooting towards the wall. Ray flicked the lights off once I was settled and came and joined me. I could feel the bed dip and then the warmth coming from Ray as he laid next to me. The rain chose that wonderful time to start pouring down.

“Perfect timing,” Ray whispered in the darkness.

“Hahaha it is.” I said back. “I wish I could always fall asleep to the rain.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. I want to live somewhere with more rain. I know we’re in Southern California for the music industry but, it would be nice to live somewhere with actual weather.” I laughed slightly as the rain poured on the roof and down the gutters.

“That would be nice. I’d like that too.”

Light flashed through the window.

“You think that was lightning or a car?” I asked.

“Hmm, maybe lightning.” Ray said softly.

We waited in silence for a while but no thunder.

“I guess it was a car,” I said sadly. But as I finished thunder could be heard in the distance.

“The storm must be far away,” Ray spoke, nudging me in the arm softly.

“Yeah yeah, I’ll count next time.”

“Haha okay, okay.”

Light flashed again in the room after a few moments and I started counting. “One mississippi, two mississippi,” Ray chuckled next to me. “Three mississippi, four mississippi, five mississippi, six mississippi, seven mississippi, eight-” Thunder started to rumble then. “The storm is getting closer.” I said quietly.

“Yeah.”

“Hey, Ray?” I asked looking up at the ceiling.

“Yeah y/n?”

“Do you like cuddling?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Do you want to?” I turned my head to look at him. “It's nice and rainy, I feel like it's perfect weather for cuddling.”

He looked at me as light flashed again, “okay.”

“One mississippi, two mississippi,”

“Oh my gosh,” Ray laughed.

I put my finger up to silence him as I counted to five mississippi's. “Oh it's even closer now.”

“Haha yeah.” Ray took a deep breath, “Do you want to be the little spoon or big spoon?”

I looked back at him, “When the smaller person is the big spoon it's called being a jetpack.”

Ray cracked up at that. He sat up and had to catch his breath before looking down at me again. “Alright do you want to be the jetpack or the little spoon?” He laughed leaning on his elbow to look at me.

I laughed, “I feel like you don’t want to be the little spoon, so I’ll be the little spoon.”

“It’s not that I don’t want to. It’s just that I don’t want to.” Ray laughed lying down next to me.

I laughed too, turning away from him to face the wall. “I bet it’s cause you’re tall, you only know how to be the big spoon.”

Ray brushed his hand over my waist before letting his arm wrap around my stomach, “You’re right about that. Plus I like being the big spoon.” He said, his breath warm on my hair.

“Sorry if my hair is in the way.”

“It’s fine, your hair smells nice.” There was silence for a moment “Uh sorry.”

“Haha it's okay, my shampoo does smell nice.” I whispered.

Lightning flashed again in the room.

“One mississippi, two mississippi,” thunder cracked loudly above our heads.

“I guess it is perfect weather for cuddling.” Ray whispered.

“I know right,” I responded quietly.

We laid there listening to the rain pound down on the roof around us and tinkle down the eaves of the roof.

“Sorry if my hand is bothering you,” He said after a while.

“You’re okay,” I said, moving my arm to rest on his before placing my hand on his at my stomach. “It’s nice.”

“Yeah?"

“Yeah.” I smiled to myself feeling his hand beneath mine and the massive blush on my face. I was glad we were in the dark. Ray moved his fingers a bit before threading his up with mine and holding them.

“Is this okay?” He breathed.

“Yeah.” I said quietly, tightening my fingers with his. Lightning flashed into the room once more but I could barely keep my eyes open. I closed them, not bothering to count as I waited for the thunder. Ray’s warmth behind me added with the sound of far off thunder lulled me to sleep in the cozy bed.

#Ray Toro #ray toro x reader #mcr fanfic #mcr fanfiction #mcr x reader #my chemical romance #mcr

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mickey-millagher · 3 years

Text

At long last she’d found aunt Ginger’s body, just the latest of Frank’s many mistakes that she’d had to take care of over the years. Least with the body located she could finally have a moment of peace before the next disaster hit, Fiona thought as she made her way up to steps to the kitchen.

She opened the door.

Mickey Milkovich was bleeding out of his ass onto her countertop.

So much for a moment of peace.

“Ian what the fuck?” She yelled over the yelps coming from the teenage thug being operated on by... Jimmy’s dad.

“I can explain this.” Came Ian’s earnest reply.

Yeah he better have a fucking good explanation to boot, Fiona thought before noticing the woman standing in her living room.

After that in the chaos of having the kids yet again taken away from her, their home and each other. Finding out why Mickey Milkovich was bleeding out in her kitchen didn’t seem very important.

The house was quiet at last, Debbie, Carl and Liam finally being convinced to get some sleep after hours of celebrating their win at count. Jimmy had turned in hours before hand but Fiona couldn’t make herself stick to the kids bedtimes tonight. She knew it probably wasn’t the best start to her guardianship but she’d missed her kids so much and it wasn’t a school night, one late night wouldn’t hurt.

She smiled over at Ian as he crashed back down onto the sofa, handing her one of the beers he’d gone to get from the kitchen, leaving the second on the coffee table for Lip once he returned from the toilet, and opening the third himself.

“Good to be home?”

“Yeah, definitely beats the group home.”

That wasn’t a surprise, she’d spent time in group homes herself, back when she was still considered a kid. They’d been horrible enough but had nothing on what she’d heard about Gunderson House.

“So you still owe me an explanation.”

Ian blinked at her, clearly confused.

“Huh?”

“Why the hell was Mickey Milkovich of all people basically being operated on in my kitchen?”

In the weeks since her kids had been taken, there had been a lot more pressing issues on Fiona’s mind than the shot up Milkovich kid. But now that things were settled she wanted answers. Answers it seemed her little brother was reluctant to give if the look on his face was anything to go by.

Ian looked away from her, shrugging.

“It’s kinda a long story.”

“You said you could explain.” Fiona said, reaching over to nudge him slightly. “Well I want that explanation.”

Ian looked up at her then, thats when she realised he’d looked away to hide the tears gathering in the corner of his eyes.

“I’m kinda tired, can we talk about this another time?” It was a question but his voice cracked slightly at the end and he was moving to get up before he’d even finished the sentence.

Fiona wasn’t an idiot, she knew her brothers hid things from her. Honestly there was a whole lot of things she was glad they didn’t talk to her about. Teenage boy stuff she really didn’t need to know. Ian especially, for a kid who’d always worn his heart on his sleeve, had always been good at keeping his cards close to his chest. Fiona had hoped that after he’d felt comfortable to come out to her, that he’d start to let her in, just a little bit more, talk to her about the important things he’d kept hidden away. That hadn’t happened, if anything he was pulling further away. She worried that soon he’d be lost to her completely.

“Hey.” She reached out grabbing his arm. “What’s going on with you?”

“Nothing, just tired, it’s been a long day.” He attempted to smile but it seemed off, fake instead of his usual big dopey grin. Thinking about it, she couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen it.

“Ian I changed your shitty diapers, you honestly think I can’t tell when you’re lying?”

Ian let out a breath and dropped back down onto the sofa. She could see Lip, standing in the shadows of the kitchen, concerned, ready to jump in to help their brother, same as always. If even Lip didn’t know what was going on with Ian, it had to be bad. She shook her head slightly at Lip, telling him to stay put, the more people the less likely it was that Ian would open up, and she was really starting to get a bad feeling.

“Come on Sweetface, what’s going on?”

“Nothing, I’m handling it okay?”

“Can’t be nothing if there’s something to handle. You know you can talk to me.”

Ian looked at her for a second. “Yeah I know.” He paused for a second, maybe debating finally opening up to his sister. “I’m gonna turn in, night.”

“Ian wait a second.”

Ian didn’t reply, his back already disappearing up the stairs.

Fiona turned towards Lip who’d slowly made his way into the room while Ian had ran upstairs.

“You know what’s going on with him?”

“No, he seemed fine, well about a week ago he came back with bruises and seemed a little shaken up, wouldn’t talk about it but he seemed okay the next day so.”

Fiona frowned, turning to look once again to the stairs, up which where her little brother had just gone. Something was definitely going on with him, it was only a question of if he’d ever let her know what.

It was the sixth day in a row that she’s visited Ian at the Milkovich house. Six days since she got an early release, only to get home to find her brother practically comatose in Mickey’s bed. She still didn’t quite understand what was going on between the two teenagers, just that when Ian came home, Mickey came with him. And now that Ian was sick, the Milkovich was saying Ian was his family and refusing to let him leave. Not that there was much of a chance of moving Ian, getting him to the bathroom was hard enough, let along the few blocks to the Gallagher house. Still she didn’t trust Mickey to be able to take care of him, family or not. So everyday she came over, brought him food, spent hours sitting with him, trying to get him to talk. All the things she’d long since given up doing for Monica. All the things she couldn’t imagine giving up on for Ian.

She eased the door open, no one without a death wish would dare steal from the Milkoviches so the front door was almost always unlocked. She could see a few Milkovich siblings or cousins, she was never sure which, while on her way to Mickey’s bedroom but didn’t pay them much mind, they weren’t who she was here for.

The door to Mickey’s room was slightly ajar, letting Fiona see into the room without making her presence known.

“Come on man you gotta eat something.” Mickey was crouched down on the far side of the bed, a bowl and spoon clutched in his hands.

“Not hungry.”

It was crazy how those two words made Fiona’s heart soar. They weren’t positive but Ian had made such few acknowledgments of them over the past week that it still felt like improvement.

“Couple of spoonfuls and I’ll leave you alone.”

“Ayy Mickey get out here, need your opinion on something.” Came a yell from the living room.

Mickey looked up from the redhead, locking eyes with his boyfriend’s sister from across the room, but seemingly unsurprised to find her there.

“Can I try?” She asked tentatively, not wanting to cause Mickey to have another outburst, not with Ian so vulnerable in the room

Mickey shrugged. “Sure.” He replied, leaving the bowl and spoon on the side table before leaving to settle whatever his family had going on.

“Hey Ian, how’re you feeling today?” She asked taking Mickeys spot on the floor.

Ian just blinked back at her before slowly closing his eyes completely

“Things seem kinda crazy around here, guess crazy just goes with the Milkoviches. Follows them around or something. You know crazy, like that time Mickey was bleeding out in the kitchen. Seems almost like it could be a normal occurrence here, that why I never got an explanation?” Fiona forced a little laugh at the end, she was trying to keep all her interactions with Ian upbeat in the hope in might help him. It hadn’t so far.

“M tired Fi.”

“That’s what you said last time I ask you know.”

Ian made no move to acknowledge she’d spoken that time, a reaction she was slowly getting used to.

“Okay you don’t wanna talk. Can you eat something for me?”

She didn’t get a response that time either.

It was hard to believe this was going to be the last time she sat around this table, in this kitchen, having dinner with her family like she had so many times before. She may have moved out two years ago but the time she’d spent here, growing up and raising her siblings alongside her, was never something she would fully leave behind. Even if now they were selling the house, all of them moving on with their lives like she’d chosen herself when she’d left.

“The amount of shit this kitchen has seen, hope the new owners have bleach.” Lip said with a laugh.

“I feel like I’ve got to ask, but do you mean actual shit?”

“What no, well probably not.”

“Cousin Patrick did leave that toilet in the middle of the living room.” Debbie pointed out.

“Okay maybe actual shit.”

Mickey wrinkled his nose. “You said my house was bad.”

“Like you haven’t left you’re mark on the kitchen, I came home to you bleeding out on the countertops once.”

“Oh fuck yeah, still got the scars from that shit. If I’d been allowed to take my guns.” He paused to glare at his husband. “Then none of that would have happened.”

“How was I suppose to know the drunk old lady had a shotgun?”

“It was your fucking heist, you’re meant to find this shit out!”

“Wait so that’s what happened, you were breaking in somewhere and he got shot?”

Ian shrugged. “Ned asked me to steal some stuff from his wife’s house. Didn’t think anyone would get hurt.”

“Well you thought wrong.” Mickey huffed.

“Aww poor baby.” Ian cooed, putting a hand around Mickey to pull him over and kiss the side of his head. Mickey seemed to be trying to keep glaring throughout but a slight smile broke through. The stability the two of them seemed to have these days was a welcome surprise for Fiona when she’d arrived the day before, she hadn’t been fully sure what to expect from the renewed relationship between the two of them but it looked like this time for the most part the two of them had their act together.

“Wait who’s Ned?” Liam asked.

Ian opened his mouth to speak but Lip beat him to it.

“Ned was this old dude that Ian was banging back in the day to make Mickey jealous. He was also the dad of Fiona’s boyfriend at the time.”

“Thanks for that Lip.”

“I wasn’t fucking jealous.”

“I regret asking.”

The three replies came at the same time, sparking more voices to keep talking over each other and several conversations spiralling at once.

Fiona leaned back, not quite wanting to participate right now, just wanting to bask in the warmth of the chaos of her family home one last time. And processing that finally she got that long ago promised explanation, maybe not quite worth the wait, it was still nice to finally know.

#the 3 times Ian didn’t explain + the 1 time he did #ian gallagher #mickey milkovich #gallavich #shameless #lip gallagher #fiona gallagher #liam gallagher #shameless fanfiction #shameless fanfic #I’ve had this in my drafts for like two weeks but I wanted to get it out now before the last episode debunks the last part #also formatting on tumblr is hard might start using ao3 again #Freya’s fics

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taehyungs-perm · 4 years

Text

strawberry girl pt 4

taehyung x reader; college au; childhood best friends to lovers au; jock!fratboy taehyung

genre: fluff; major angst lol

word count: 11k

summary: i can pretend i don’t miss you. i can pretend i dont care. all i want to do is kiss you. what a shame you’re not here.

Part 1 here ; Part 2 here; part 3 here; part 5

playlist vibes

i like me better | lauv

get you | daniel caesar

japanese denim | daniel caesar

lovers | anna of the north

comfort crowd | conan gray

idontwannabeyouanymore | billie eilish

It was probably not ideal to start your morning by sobbing in the lap of your best friend, but it be like that sometimes.

Hana was softly combing the little strands of hair out of your face, “_________, it’s okay. Why are you so upset about this?”

You rolled over so you could see Hana, brushing the hair out of your face, “Because Hana, I told you what happened last time. I fell for him and it hurt me so much. I was trying so hard to avoid this.”

She looked at you with a serious look in her eyes, “__________ you can't choose what feelings you feel. But you can choose how you act. You have to tell people how you feel when you feel it. You missed that chance two years ago but you have it again now. This is a good thing. Tell Taehyung how you feel.”

You sat upright, looking at her seriously, “Hana, it’s not that simple. He probably doesn’t like me back. And if I confess and he says he doesn’t like me like that, then what? I’ve ruined our friendship over something that doesn’t even matter.”

“It does matter! Your feelings do matter. And that won’t happen. I’ve seen the way he looks at you when you aren’t paying attention. He definitely likes you. Stop over thinking.”

“I’m not overthinking. If anything, I’m not thinking enough. I just should keep my mouth shut and hope this goes away.”

Hana shook her head, “What the fuck will that do? You’ll just sadly pine over him from a distance while he continues to fuck the rest of campus. Will that make you happy? Seeing him do that?”

“Hana, if Taehyung and I were meant to be, we would have been by now. But we aren’t. We are two different people and he just doesn’t see me like that.”

“And I’m telling you that he does! Even Jungkook has noticed the way Taehyung acts around you. It’s obvious to everyone but you.”

“It was just like this last time too, Hana. I thought he was so into me, but he wasn’t. He was into some other girl the whole time. It made me feel like a piece of shit. Like I was worthless and that I created this romance all in my head. I’m sick of waiting for love and I realized my life isn't anything special.”

She put her hands on your shoulders, “You have to start romanticizing your life. You have to start taking risks and do things for yourself. If you keep being afraid of what could happen, life will continue to pass you by and all the little things that make it so beautiful will continue to go unnoticed. You can’t keep wallowing in self pity. You need to do something about your life and for once not let it fuck you over. This isn’t just about Taehyung. This about how you live your life. I know you better than you think __________.You have to start thinking of yourself as the main character. You need to change your mentality of thinking you’re worthless and not enough.”

You sighed deeply, knowing everything she’s saying is so true, “I know it okay. I know it’s the fucking capitalist misogynistic society that cultivates these ideas of insecurity and women and profits off of it to create an endless cycle of ‘I don’t feel enough’. And I want to get to that point where I can feel like I’m enough on my own. But it’s hard.”

Hana pulled you into a hug, “________ I know it’s hard. I just don’t want all of your fears and insecurities to stop you from achieving your dreams and going after things you want.”

You pulled away from her, “Do you really think I should tell him?”

She nodded excitedly, “I really, really do. Tonight is the perfect chance.”

You let out a deep sigh, releasing all the pent up tension in your body, “Okay. Tonight.”

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

You and Hana made your way through the somehow already crowded lodge.

“God, Jungkook is such an idiot. I told him not to invite too many people because he only has one house, but guess what?” Hana said huffing as she firmly gripped her duffle.

“What?” You were following closely behind her so as to not get stuck in the crowd.

“He somehow got permission to use his neighbor’s lodge too. As long as everything is exactly how it was. Which there’s no fucking way that’ll happen.”

You nodded in agreement. There were already too many fucking people here. But to be fair, you and Hana did arrive late. Most people arrived in the early afternoon to go skiing and tubing. You and Hana decided to catch up on homework and studying and arrived in the early evening instead. Hana ensured that both of you dressed in cute outfits because she really wanted to take photos for her Instagram.

Hana was wearing an emerald green satin tank top with black skinny jeans with black strappy heels.

You rarely wore dresses because the lack of practicality with no pockets infuriated you but Hana somehow convinced you to buy the maxi length black floral dress you were wearing. It had thin straps so you paired the dress with a black long sleeve shirt and white sneakers.

She dragged you upstairs. “Jungkook gave us this room,” Hana said, taking you down the hall.

“Us?” You asked snarkily.

“Okay, in theory I’m supposed to stay in this room with you.”

“But?”

“But...I’ll stay with Jungkook and Jungkook’s roommate will stay here.”

You already knew where this was going and you felt your anxiety growing. You rubbed your temples, “Don’t tell me..”

“Taehyung said he’s perfectly okay with it so...”, she said through a large grin.

“Hana, I told you. I just-”

“And I told you! He likes you too! This is your chance. Your opportunity!! You two are so cute together. You just need to talk to him about your feelings,” she said pushing you into the room. Thankfully, there were two beds. You felt like you couldn’t handle another night next to Taehyung. You might literally have a heart attack, feeling his body that close to yours again.

“I don’t know Hana. I don’t know if tonight is the right time,” you said, setting your duffle bag on your bed.

You were about to continue before you heard a knock on the door. At the doorway was Taehyung and Jungkook, the causes of your incoming migraine.

Jungkook walked over to Hana and enveloped her in a big hug. “I missed you, love,” he said as he kissed her forehead.

“Miss you too,” Hana mumbled from his embrace.

Your heart yearned with longing at this interaction. How you so badly you wanted someone to love you. How so badly you wanted Taehyung to love you back. You then remembered that he was in fact standing right in front of you.

You smiled awkwardly at him. His fluffy curly hair was covering his eyes a bit. He was dressed in a somewhat sheer black floral shirt tucked into black skinny jeans. He looked like a model. He waved recognizing that you were a bit uncomfortable.

Jungkook, still with Hana in his embrace, left the room, saying something about how she needed to see the beer pong table in the basement.

“Hey,” Taehyung said casually, leaning against the door entrance.

You felt your heart beating fast. God, did he always make you this uneasy?

“Hi,” you squeaked. Oh my god. Why are you acting like this? Can't you just be chill?

He laughed, “Are you okay?”

Be chill. Act normal. “I’m fine. Just tired. I was at the library since you left this morning.” You were trying to distract yourself as you started unpacking some things from your duffle. He walked over and sat on your bed next to your duffle.

“Hmm. Seems like we’ll be spending another night together,” he said, grinning wickedly.

Your cheeks reddened at his words. You cleared your throat, ”Well, you’ll be sleeping in your own bed. So not really.” You continued to take out items from your bag, so you didn’t have to make eye contact with him.

He angled his face in front of your bag so you had to look at his doe eyes, “Oh really. It’s just that after last night, I don’t know if I can sleep without you next to me again. By the way, I usually sleep shirtless.”

You immediately felt your face flush and the textbook that you were holding (you brought it just in case you got bored) slipped from your hands, thudding loudly on the wooden floor.

He gave you an infuriating smile as he leaned down and picked up your textbook.

“Sure everything is fine?” He said handing you the book.

“I’m perfectly fine! We should go downstairs,” you said hastily as you set the book on the bed.

“Okay, let’s go,” he said standing up.

“Wait lemme fix my hair,” you said glancing in a mirror. It looked like you just woke up. Which to be fair, you kinda did sleep the entire way to the lodge.

You undid your braid and pulled it into a ponytail. You turned to him and he frowned.

“What?” You said, feeling self conscious.

He walked over to you and pulled the hair tie out of your hair, “I like it when your hair is down.” He secured your dark pink scrunchie around his wrist.

Your heart fluttered. Wait, did that mean he didn’t like when your hair was styled in other ways?

He pulled your hand and gave you that contagious smile, “I know what you’re thinking. I do think you look good in different hair styles. I like it when you wear braids or ponytails. But you rarely wear your hair down. I want you to know that I like that too.”

You looked down at the wooden flooring, trying to hide your smile, “Fuck off. I could care less what you think.”

“Ayy, there’s my girl. Now c’mon you look pretty let’s go!” Taehyung said, leading you down the stairs.

It seemed like time had no concept here as everyone was drinking and dancing as if it were midnight. Taehyung led you to the basement where there were somehow even more people. The colored lights were flashing and the music was blaring.

You found your friends sitting on the couches towards the back. Hana was sitting on Jungkook's lap next to Yoongi and Hobi. Even though you technically came with him, Taehyung’s presence was making you overly jittery so you opted to sit in the free seat next to Jimin. He gave you a cheerful smile and you tried not to look at Taehyung as he sat opposite of you two. Hana glared at you in frustration when she saw your seat choice. You responded by flipping her off and turned to talk to Jimin.

Your conversation with Jimin was cut off by Jungkook exclaiming, “Okay, let’s play truth or dare.”

Hana scoffed, “Are you kidding Jungkook? That game is for children.”

“Not the way we play it,” he said, raising his eyebrows.

You immediately shook your head, “I’ll sit this out.”

Jimin whined at you, “Cmon ________ you have to play.”

You shook your head, laughing, “In your fucking dreams.”

Jimin stroked his chin with his hand, thinking hard, “You have to play otherwise...”

Hana chimed in, “Otherwise I’ll hide your textbooks.”

You narrowed your eyes at her, “You wouldn’t dare.”

“Try me bitch” Hana said with a smirk.

You sighed, giving up because you knew she actually would do it, “Fine but if it starts getting fucking weird I’m leaving.”

The dares got weird pretty fast.

Jin was dared to lick whipped cream off of Yoongi's leg. Hobi and Namjoon were dared to go skinny dipping in the pool. Taehyung had to sit on Namjoon’s lap for the rest of the round. Jungkook revealed almost too many truths about himself, talking about his fantasy threesomes and his kinks. Hana was dared to do body shots off of Jungkook (she seemed a little too excited for that). Jimin was dared to remove his shirt for the rest of the game.

Luckily you had only been asked two times and chosen truth both times. Namjoon and Hobi were nice enough to ask questions that weren’t too exposing. However, things started going downhill once it was Hana’s turn again. You swore you saw her eyes glitter with mischievousness.

“_________, You already used up your two truths, right?”

Fuck, you forgot about the two truths only rule.

Jimin piped up, “Yep! She did.”

God, fuck Park Jimin for being such a boy scout. You nodded weakly. Your heart started to pound. You knew she was going to say something stupid. You uneasily glanced over at Taehyung. He had been suspiciously quiet to you all night, but you also were actively avoiding him.

Hana cleared her throat, making sure to get everyone’s attention, “Okay so _________ I dare you,” she smiled widely and you knew you were fucked, “I dare you to make out with Taehyung.”

Your mouth gaped open. She didn’t. You looked at Taehyung and his face was almost as shocked as yours.

You chuckled nervously, side eyeing Taehyung, “No, no.”

Taehyung spoke softly, “Nah she doesn’t have to if she doesn’t want to.”

Jungkook laughed loudly, clearly having a great time at the expense of your misery, “It’s the rules. She has to. Other people had to do way worse tonight.”

You felt your face heating up and your heart was beating faster with anxiety.

Jimin was trying to help the situation, “How about they go in the guest room so it won’t be as awkward.”

Hana pondered this for a moment, “You have to send a picture then. We need evidence that you guys actually kissed.”

You tried protesting but Jimin physically pulled you off the couch while Hobi did the same to Taehyung.

“Guys, guys, how about you give me another dare? I promise I’ll do that one. Just give me a pass,” you pleaded as Jimin dragged you to the guest room.

Your pleas went unheard as Jimin and Hobi pushed you and Taehyung into the guest room with the rest of your friends following behind. Once Jungkook slammed the door close, you tried pressing against the door but it wouldn’t budge. You sighed and dropped to the ground.

“C'mon guys just let us out,” Ttaehyung tried to say in a serious voice, leaning against the door.

“Kiss and then we will let you out,” Jungkook shouted through the door.

Taehyung ran his hands through his hair and sat next to you, “We can just wait it out. They’ll let us out eventually.”

You nodded and buried your face in your hands. Then you heard chanting outside the room “Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!”

Oh my god, I’m going to literally murder Hana. I am not going to do this right now.

He leaned next to you and whispered quietly, “I know you don’t wanna do this so let’s just sit here and wait. It’s okay, don’t let what they are saying get to you.”

You looked at him and felt your heart swell. God, you were so in love with him.

The best you could hope for was that they get tired and give up. However, It had been like 10 minutes and the chants were still going strong

You looked at him, desperate, “What the fuck do we do?”

He chuckled nervously, “Um...we could kiss?”

You looked at him. You could but this isn’t what you wanted. You wanted him to want you because he liked you, not because of some game.

You felt your anxiety come to a point where it was overwhelming and you weren’t thinking properly so you said rather forcefully, “No!”

His puppy dog eyes lost its spark. He dropped his head, “Oh.. ok. I know you think I’m really annoying or whatever but I didn’t think you hated me.” He sounded hurt.

You groaned, shutting your eyes in frustration, “Ugh it’s not like that.” God, he was totally misinterpreting the whole situation.

Taehyung looked at you, clearly confused, “Then what is it like? Cause it seems like you’re so repulsed by the idea of kissing me.”

Then without thinking, you frustratingly yelled, “Oh my god, I just don’t want it to happen like this!”

Your eyes widened in realization of what you said.

You began to stumble out your words, “I mean like I just think it’s weird because we are so platonic and like it’s weird and I think we can forget everything I just said.”

Your words were becoming a train wreck and you couldn’t watch the disastrous scene unfolding in front of you.

He stared at you, wide eyed. He leaned his head against the wall, completely silent.

Oh my god, I need to fucking get out. You looked around the room and saw a small window at the top of the opposite wall, next to the bed. Bingo.

You glanced over at Taehyung. He was on his phone, texting. He probably thinks I’m a fucking psycho.

You tightened the laces on your shoes and walked over to the dresser next to the bed. You climbed on top of the dresser and then you pushed on the window hard. It creaked open

You heard Taehyung's voice behind you, “_________, what the fuck are you doing?”

“I just need some fresh air you know. I just need to do this really fast.” You pushed the window fully open and you felt the cool air of the night press against your face

You were able to reach your arms through the window and once you got a good grip on the grass, you began to hoist yourself up.

“_________! What are you doing?” You couldn’t look back at Taehyung, but he sounded very confused and shocked.

“Um I just really need to go. I'm feeling so claustrophobic,” you struggled the words out as you pushed yourself through the window. Once one of your legs made it through, you began crawling out the window, “Ow! Why are there so many fucking rocks?”

You hadn’t realized that while you were struggling to crawl out the window, Taehyung had shouted to your friends on the other side of the door about your antics.

You heard voices fill up the room and Hana’s voice yell, “_________ get the fuck down here! You could get hurt! What are you doing?”

Great, this is exactly how I wanted the night to go. But it was too late, you were already more than halfway out.

“It’s fine.” You shouted back, “I’m okay!”

You exclaimed a cheer of victory once you were able to make it through the fucking window. You stood up and looked down at your clothes. Your dress was caked in mud. This is so great. Your life was a fucking mess.

You looked around and realized you were by the pool. You desperately hoped none of your friends would come up looking for you. You dusted off the dirt from your dress and walked around the pool. You walked into the kitchen and breathed out a sigh of relief when you didn’t recognize anyone there. Then you heard Taehyung’s familiar voice and immediately ducked behind the kitchen island.

You glanced up and sighed when you saw him with Jennie. She was smiling and had her arm wrapped around his neck. He was keeping his distance with him trying to pull her arm away from her. You didn’t wanna stick around any longer because you were worried you would see something that would upset you. You made your way back to your room upstairs.

Obviously seeing Taehyung with Jennie hurt you, but what could you do? They had history, real history and you were simply Taehyung's friend. How could someone like you ever complete with someone like Jennie? You loved Taehyung but how could that even compare what Jennie could offer him. He said to you that he wasn’t looking for a girlfriend, just sex and Jennie was giving him exactly that. It was so fucking stupid of you to think you could confess to him.

Once you got to your room, you changed into black sweatpants and a simple gray tee shirt. You grabbed a towel and headed to the empty hot tub in the back of the house.

Finally a spot where there’s no one and where no one will find me.

You rolled up your pants and soaked your legs in the hot water. You pulled out your phone and started reading the new book you started this week, Malcom X’s autobiography.

It felt really relaxing and peaceful to simply be by yourself for a while. Being social situations always drained you out a lot. You became so absorbed in your reading that you didn’t notice Taehyung walking up to the hot tub.

“Hey strawberry girl,” he said right into your ear.

You got startled by his closeness, almost dropping your phone, “Oh my god, you’re so annoying.”

“So...what happened? Why the fuck did you crawl out of a window?” He asked, concerned

The million fucking dollar question. Time to play it off chill. “I dunno. It just got kinda overwhelming. I told you I was getting claustrophobic.”

You obviously couldn’t tell him you were so fucking afraid of your feelings toward him and how you couldn’t possibly kiss him (game or not) because he most likely doesn’t like you back.

Luckily, he didn’t press further “Yea, it’s actually really nice and quiet out here. Can I sit with you here?”

You nodded and he sat next to you, not dipping his feet in the water.

“I’m so fucking sore from all the practices and games this week,” Taehyung said, stretching his shoulder.

“You should get in the hot tub. It'll relax and soothe your muscles,” you said still reading on your phone, not looking up at him.

He stood up, “That’s a good idea.”

You assumed he would agree and then go and grab his swim trunks. Except Taehyung didn’t do that.

You heard a light clanking noise and looked up at him. He was taking off his belt and unzipping his pants right in front of you. You felt your entire face redden, mortified at what he was doing, “Taehyung. what are you doing?” You said averting your gaze.

“I’m getting in the hot tub?”

“Go and get your swim shorts!”

“Nah, fuck that. Don’t worry _________, I’m not going in nude.”

Thank god. You don’t know what you would’ve done if he decided to do that.

You peeked at him from the corner of your eyes. He was wearing blue boxers and he was unbuttoning his floral shirt. He luckily was wearing a black short sleeve shirt underneath. He had really nice calves, tanned and well defined.

Taehyung stepped into the hot tub and let out a deep moan. Your face reddened at the sound.

Then, your eyes met. Then, all while giving you a deep stare, Taehyung reached behind his neck to pull his shirt off. You felt your face flush even further. He has to know what he’s doing to me. He has to know that he’s riling me up with all of these moves.

You gulped at the sight of his prominent collar bones and honey colored skin. You tore your eyes away from him and tried to concentrate on your book.

It didn’t work because Taehyung's suspiciously quiet presence unnerved you.

You set your phone done and raised your eyebrows at him, “What?”

“What? I haven’t said anything”

“Exactly. You’re being quiet. Which is weird.”

“You said you liked how peaceful it was out here. So I wanted to let you enjoy it.”

“Whatever. It’s weird when you're quiet,” you sloshed your legs in the water.

“_________?” Taehyung wasn’t looking at you anymore, he was staring at the water.

“Yea,”

“Why haven’t you had a boyfriend?”

Ouch.

“Why are you asking me that?” you said a bit hurt.

“I didn’t mean it to come off as mean. I’m just curious. Because, I don’t know, you say you want love. But did you go after it?”

“Why are you thinking of that?”

“Well, cause I dunno. I never thought about love. Or getting a girlfriend. But on the way here Namjoon hyung and Jungkook were just talking about how great it is. Being in love and having someone to love. And someone loving you back. And Jin hyung said he has met someone as well but he’s keeping it lowkey. And then you talked about how you want love too. That’s why you’ve waited. I know you've had crushes. But I don’t know why you haven’t gone for it yet. Or why you haven’t had a boyfriend yet.”

You stared at your feet in the water. He wasn’t trying to be mean. He just wanted to know about your life. You felt like you should be more honest with taehyung. He was always so genuine with you.

“I don’t know Taehyung. There’s so many reasons.”

“What are they?”

You gave a cold laugh, “No one has ever liked me like that. So there’s that. Then I’m scared. I’m scared of opening up to someone and they leave me. I talk a lot of shit I guess for someone who has never been in a relationship. I want love but I guess I realized love doesn’t come without heartbreak. So that’s what scares me. But I guess it’s fun to romanticize something that’ll never happen for me.”

“What are you talking about? Are you saying you’ll never fall in love?”

“I’m saying no one will ever love me like that. So I can say whatever I want about wanting love and a boyfriend. Because that won’t happen.”

He looked at you, astonished, “________ what the fuck? Are you being for real?”

You exhaled deeply. You knew he wouldn’t get it. Taehyung has never been in your situation. He’s always been wanted, adored, loved. You’ve never experienced anything like that.

“Yes Tae. I’m being serious. I’m not really looking for sympathy or anything because I’ve accepted it but I know guys don’t really like me. I know why, but I’m not going to change myself for a guy. It’s just the facts are there, Taehyung. I’m almost twenty and no guy has ever been interested in me. So it’s just whatever now. It’s kinda blessing though. I can just focus on school and not get distracted or sidetracked by any guy.”

He scooched over time where your legs were dangling. He held your hand that was planted firmly against the concrete.

“________ please don’t think like that. You deserve love. Stop saying that you don’t. And you will find it. I promise you. I don’t know why you think guys don’t like you but I swear, you are literally perfect the way you are and I’m so glad you didn’t change for anyone. Your strawberry boy is out there. And he’s probably the most perfect guy to exist.”

You felt tears welling up in your eyes. Your strawberry boy did exist. And he was the one holding your hand. You didn’t want anyone else. You wanted him. You wanted Kim Taehyung.

You reflexively made a joke, just to move away from the fact that you were about to cry over his words, “I guess. You’ll have to beat his ass if he doesn’t like strawberries tho”

Taehyung laughed, “Don’t worry. I’m always here to beat anyone’s ass for you.”

He rested his back against the edge and looked up into the night sky.

“So... are you into Jennie? Is that why you’re thinking about love and girlfriends?” you asked cautiously. You honestly had no idea why you asked this question. You didn’t even want to know the answer.

“Haha no. It’s just...I dunno I’ve been doing a lot of thinking. I’ve always said I didn’t want a girlfriend but I don’t even know why I’ve had that mentality. But now.. I think I want that.”

“Want what?”

“That closeness, that dependability, that love”

“Then what’s stopping you?”

“The right girl I guess.”

You winced at those words. Were you not the right girl?

Trying to distract yourself, you pressed further, “I mean you dated Yeji did that not count?”

“No, it counted. But our relationship was definitely highschool. It wasn’t....deep I guess. The way Jungkook talks about Hana...I know I never felt that in my relationship with Yeji.”

“I’m sure you can find a girl who makes you feel like that.” You hadn’t meant for that to come out as sneakily as it did.

He chuckled, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Well...you’re literally the most adored boy on campus. And Jennie really wants to date you. So it’s not like you don’t have options,” you said truthfully.

“Yea, but none of that matters,” he said, sighing.

You gave him a quizzical look.

He continued, “If I’m going to date a girl, I want to be friends with her first. I want to fall for her. And then I want to date her. I don’t want to be unsure of my feelings for her.”

Friends first? We’re friends. Could this...no. Taehyung and I have been friends for so long. If he had caught feelings, he would’ve said so by now.

You kicked your legs in the water, sad because it just seemed this talk with Taehyung just showed you to your face that he didn’t like you.

You spoke softly, “That’s a good idea. No point in wasting anyone’s time.”

“Exactly.” He stretched his arms out, “Aren’t you going to get in the water?”

You shook your head no

“C’mon, get in. It feels so good.”

You continued to shake your head, “I didn’t bring swim clothes.”

“I’m not in wwim clothes,” he said, looking down at himself.

“If you think that I’m going to go in the hot tub in my underwear, you’re fucking insane,” you said cackling. There was actually no fucking way in hell you would ever do that even if it was your own hot tub, much less with Kim Taehyung right in front of you.

“Okay, just come in with your clothes on.”

“Tae I literally didn’t bring clothes for this. These are the only pajamas I have.”

He pulled your arm and your legs slipped into the water, your pants getting soaked.

“Taehyung!” You exclaimed, shocked at what he just did.

“I have clothes here, you can wear mine. Now please, relax for a goddamn second” he said, laughing.

You narrowed your eyes at him and flipped him off, “I can’t believe you did that.”

He was still laughing and you couldn’t help but roll your eyes.

You eased your back against the wall of the hot tub, your shoulder touching Taehyung. You didn’t know if your body was heating up because of the water or because of how close Taehyung was.

He perked up, his eyes dancing with excitement, “Guess what?”

“What?” You couldn’t help but feel endeared at his cuteness.

“I finished the second season of Avatar!”

“For real? Oh my god. Wasn’t the ending insane?”

“Bro it was fucking insane. I can’t believe Zuko sided with Azula. And I can’t believe she shot lightning at Aang! That was crazy,” He ranted ecstatically.

You and Taehyung had given each other anime recommendations since you both were looking for new ones to watch.

He rambled on, “I don’t get why you’re in love with Zuko. Like he literally betrayed his uncle, the one dude who was on his side. Maybe for a minute when they were in Ba Sing Se when he was a cute tea shop boy, I understood, but now?”

“Patience Taehyung. You’ll understand soon enough. He’s just lost and confused okay? He just needs someone on his team.”

“Ugh whatever I guess. I’m still not convinced.”

You shook your head, he would understand once he finished the show.

Then you remembered his recommendation, “I’m almost done with the first season of My Hero Academia.”

“Bet. Isn’t it good? Who’s your favorite character?”

“It is good. I like seeing Class 1A interact with each other. They are all so angsty teens, it’s so funny. Umm it would be a tie between Todoroki and Bakugou.”

He looked shocked, “Bakugou? You like him?”

“Yes okay! I believe in him. He just is confused. I'm rooting for him. I think he’s a sweet boy.”

Taehyung shook his head disappointed, “Do you just like all the broken boy characters?”

You opened your mouth to retort something back but couldn’t come up with anything. He was right, you really did love the broken boy arc. It was just the fact that you desperately wanted to help them and show them the love they deserved. Your eyes caught Taehyung and you couldn’t help but feel the same way. You wanted to be the girl that gave him those feelings of real love, to be a real girlfriend to him.

You and Taehyung continued to talk for a while until you realized you two were probably in the hot tub for way too long.

Wrapped in your towels, you and Taehyung trudged upstairs, shivering from the cold.

Taehyung dropped you off to your room and mentioned that he would be back with clothes. You sat on your bed, buzzing with a warm feeling. Even though the voice at the back of your head was doubting every moment, telling you that Taehyung doesn’t like you like that, you couldn’t help but hold a feeling of hopefulness. He was here, with you right? Didn’t that count for something?

He came back, dressed in shorts and a black t-shirt, clutching clothes for you.

You took it from his hand and went to the bathroom to change. You smiled when you saw he brought your favorite sweater of his, the soft gray one, for you to wear. His pants were obviously way too large but you managed to fold up the pant legs so you weren’t drowning in his clothing.

Taehyung was laying on your bed, stretched out scrolling through his phone. He sat up when he heard the bathroom door open and grinned, “You look so cute wearing my clothes.”

“Shut up,” you said trying to hide your smile.

You walked around the room and noticed the glass double doors between the beds opened. You pushed open the doors and the coldness of the night sent shivers up your spine. You walked over to the edge and rested your elbows on the railing.

The back of your mind was still spinning with Hana’s voice, “Just tell him how you feel!” But you couldn’t do that. There was just too much you were risking: your friendship with Taehyung, your heart.

You tried to calm your waves of nausea and anxiety by taking deep breaths. Was this even worth it? You looked up at the night sky and saw the moon above your head. You sighed, your gaze fixating on a dim star by the bright moon. It actually was quite a beautiful night. It was quiet, a comfortable temperature warm with a light breeze, and the stars amplified the moon's beauty.

You heard Taehyung's voice behind you, “Damn jungkook really gave us the best room.”

You turned your head and saw Taehyung's boxy smile leaning against the railing right next to you. Your heart skipped a beat when you saw him. You immediately turned your head back to the star.

“Maybe he felt bad for making Hana ditch me,” you smirked.

He gave you a teasing smile, “C’mon ________ you didn’t want another night with the most handsome guy on campus?”

“And you wonder why I don’t shower you in compliments like everyone else on this fucking planet,” you said shaking your head.

“It’s ok. I don’t need the verbal confirmation from you. I know what you think of me.”

You glanced over at him, “And what’s that?”

“Even though you find me annoying, you also undeniably find me endearing. And you also think I’m hot.”

Your jaw dropped in shock at his words, “You’re so fucking full of it.”

He leaned in and brushed away the strand of hair covering your eyes, “Deny all you want but I know it. I can see it in your eyes.”

“My eyes?” you said, scoffing at his ridiculousness.

“Yep, your eyes give away everything.”

“Oh really? What else do they give away?” You said playing along with his game.

“They give away that you definitely don’t know how beautiful you look right now.”

You rolled your eyes. He exclaimed, “See! Right there. You don’t know that. I got that fr-“

You interrupted, chuckling lightly, “From my eyes, right? You’re so full of shit. I bet you use that line on all of the other girls.”

“What other girls?” he said innocently.

Taehyung was definitely something, creating his own understanding of you, pinpointing things you didn’t even notice about yourself. He looked at you, his big puppy dog eyes glittering in the moonlight, his fluffy curly hair ruffled by the soft breeze of the night. Everything about him made your heart ache with want.

He cleared his throat, grabbing your attention, “_________ why did you climb out the window? You weren’t getting claustrophobic in a bedroom.”

Oh, so he didn’t believe your answer. You tried to answer as calmly as possible, trying to not let your nerves show, “Um..I just didn’t wanna play the game anymore.”

“What did you mean by when you said ‘I don’t want it to happen like this?’ ”

Oh fuck he didn’t forget you said that. You dropped your head, desperately not wanting to make eye contact with him, “Huh? I don’t remember saying that.”

“Well, when I asked why you didn’t want to kiss me you said that.”

“I think you misheard. I said ‘nope not this’ ”

He said in complete disbelief, “I misheard? With you standing right in front of me?”

“Yep. It’s okay. You should go see a doctor about it though.” You quickly tried to divert his attention, “The stars are really beautiful tonight.”

Luckily, he seemed to understand that you were obviously not answering his questions.

“Guess which star is my favorite?” his head tilting in the direction of the night sky.

You laughed, “I don’t know. There’s so many out there.”

“Just guess. I have one that’s my favorite.”

“I don’t know. I guess that one” you said pointing to the brightest star in the sky. It was quite far from the moon.

“Nope. Try again”

“Taehyung, I’m never going to guess it. I give up, just tell me.”

“That one.” He said pointing in an area near the moon.

You tried pointing it out with your own finger, “That one?”

He leaned over and placed his hand over yours and guided it in the right direction. He looked at the star for a second and then looked at you “That one.”

You were fixated on the star and when he pulled your hand in the right direction, you realized he was talking about the star you had been staring at the whole night. You turned your head to exclaim to him the coincidence and you found his head only inches away from yours.

The words got stuck in your throat. His jet black eyes were staring into your soul.

“That star is my favorite because it’s the most beautiful. It might not be the flashiest star out there and it’s trying to be hidden in the brightness of the moonlight but I see it. And I think it’s the most beautiful star in the entire night sky. “

You realized you had been staring into his eyes for too long. He took both your hands that you hadn’t realized were trembling and enveloped them in his.

You were panicking. Your heart was beating insanely fast . Your palms felt sweaty. You tried to back away from Taehyung, pulling your hands away. You took a couple small steps back.

He doesn’t like me. He doesn’t want me. Why would he ever kiss me? I’m not even half as pretty as Jennie. You needed to get yourself out of this situation before you get your hopes up and it fucked you over completely.

Your thoughts were interrupted by your arm being tugged back in his direction. You spun into Taehyung's arms and he caught you in his embrace.

His hands were placed firmly on your waist and your arms were wrapped around his neck. You never realized how tall he was. You were on your tippy toes and you still had to crane your neck slightly to clearly see his face. Tilting downwards, his face was centimeters from yours. His eyes were sparkling with a mischievous glint and he was smiling.

It felt like your whole heart was going to explode.

What the fuck? Why did he do that? Is he not completely revolted by me?

You were attempting to speak the thoughts running through your mind but your brain had completely stopped functioning the second you got a whiff of his cologne. Your mouth was just slightly open trying to breathe because you truly were so confused as to what was happening.

“Can I kiss you?” he whispered.

The only thing you could manage was a small, shy nod.

Then his soft lips molded against yours. You closed your eyes as you felt your brain short circuit. The way his lips pressed against yours for the first time didn’t feel like electricity struck you. Instead, it felt comforting. It felt like home: his embrace, his lips, his hands on you. Like this was always meant to be. He tasted like strawberry chapstick and spearmint His right hand crept up to the side of your face

and cupped your cheek. Your breath hitched. Taehyung tilted his head at an angle to open your mouth further.

You took this opportunity to push away for a second and breathe. “Taehyung,” you breathed out.

“Shut the fuck up,” he pulled you back into a needy kiss. His plushy lips sucked on your bottom lip and you moaned for a second. Your cheeks reddened at the sound you made.

“That was so fucking hot,” he said in a shaky whisper. Your hands shift from his neck into his curls, balancing on your toes. You tugged on his curls, pulling his head closer to yours, something you’ve daydreamed about. He cupped your face and brought you even closer to him. the kisses became deeper, more fervent. As if he couldn’t get enough of you.

Your mouth opened in response. He took this opportunity to slide his tongue into your mouth. His tongue gilded against yours. It was better than you ever imagined, better than you hoped, the feel of him; it was making you lose your fucking mind.

One of Taehyung's hands remained at your waist and the other moved to the small of your back, pushing the front of your chest onto his.

It seemed like time had stopped. Once you realized you were completely breathless, you pulled away. You were breathing very hard, your heart hammering, and your mind completely numb. He placed two more soft, sweet kisses on your lips. His pupils were completely blown out and his hair was a fluffy mess.

He breathed out, shakily “This is what you meant right?”

Before you could say anything, you heard a knock on the glass door.

“Hey, Taehyung, we need you downstairs.” Jungkook’s head poked out the door.

Tae’s eyes looked apologetic when he looked at you.

“I’ll be there in a sec,” he called to Jungkook

You were still kinda breathless. His hands were pressing into your hips as if he didn’t want to let go.

He leaned in and kissed your cheek softly. He whispered in your ear, and you felt a shiver trace down your spine, “I’ll see you soon.”

You nodded and he nuzzled your neck for a second, his lips barely grazing the mole on your neck.

He slowly let go of your hips, his hands skimming your elbows and then your hands.

You watched him leave as your legs wobbled beneath you. You stood there, in complete shock as to what happened. Your whole body was buzzing, your arms covered in goosebumps, chills from what just happened.

A cold burst of wind finally snapped you out of whatever trance Taehyung put you in. You softly closed the glass doors behind you as you re-entered your room. You laid down in your bed with a stupid grin that you couldn’t get rid of. You curled up into a ball and relaxed against the pillows. For the first time in a long time, you fell asleep with no thoughts of insecurity or worry plaguing your mind.

You slowly opened your eyes and felt a familiar weight on you. You carefully looked behind you and saw once again Taehyung completely enveloping you in his embrace. His body heat felt so inviting and comfortable. Your face heated up when you saw he was indeed true to his word and was in fact sleeping shirtless with you. You grabbed your phone and saw a text from Hana.

Hana: leave by 10:30?

You: yep

It was almost 10:30 so you shifted in the bed to get up. Almost immediately, Taehyung pulled you back and whined sleepily, “Where are you going? Sleep with me.”

You giggled at his cuteness, “I have to go. Hana is waiting for me. And I have to get shit done today.”

He nuzzled himself in the crook of your neck, “Okayy. My smarty pants girl has to study.”

My girl? Does that mean...? No, he used to say stuff like that before. God, you and Taehyung really did need to talk about whatever this was. But for once in your life, you didn’t feel insecure. He must like you somewhat, right? He kissed you. That has to have meant something. You slid your hands against his broad chest, tracing his well defined muscles, “Yea, I do. But you can text me once you get back to campus. You should sleep in for now.”

He nodded and lifted his head from your shoulder. He leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on your cheek. You couldn’t hide the smile that was blooming on your face from him.

You packed up your stuff, got ready, headed downstairs after saying bye to Taehyung.

You texted Hana to let her know that you were ready to go. You sat on the empty couch in the living room, patiently waiting for her to join you. You were scrolling through Instagram when you heard a petite “ahem” in front of you. You looked up and saw an overly cheerful Jennie in front of you.

“Hi _________!” She said planting herself in the seat next to you.

“Hey Jennie,” Why the fuck is she talking to me?

“So, Taehyung was with you last night?”

“Uh ya,”

“So how was it?”

You wrinkled your eyes in confusion, not understanding her question, “How was what?”

She squealed, “The sex silly! How was it? It was your first time right? That’s such a big deal. Can’t believe you let taehyung be your first! You know he doesn’t get feelings for the girls he fucks right?”

You opened your mouth to say something but she kept going, not stopping once to take a breath, “Oh my god, wasn’t it so good though? I mean actually it might not have been that good since it was your first time but Taehyung is so caring, especially when it comes to sex. And oh my god, isn’t his dick so big? I know I shouldn’t really talk about that but since you guys hooked up I can talk to you about it. But his dick is so huge like you don’t even know since you haven’t been with other people. I’m honestly so surprised you guys fucked though. Like Taehyung usually likes girls with experience. And I guess girls who are...more into the party scene. Like it’s totally cool that you are into school but you're just like not really his type. But it’s okay because you guys fucked so his type might have changed, but I seriously doubt it. Anyways, I’m rambling. So tell me how it was!”`

You blinked a couple times to fully process every word she said. Every single feeling of insecurity that you thought had disappeared came rushing back into your mind.

What the fuck. What the fuck was I thinking. I never even told him I liked him. And he never told me. Taehyung is a fuckboi; he doesn’t catch feelings. He could have just kissed me because he was bored or some shit. Why would he trade a relationship with an average looking girl like me for fucking hot girls every weekend. I’m so stupid, what was I thinking!

You took a deep breathe and gave her a smile, “We didn’t fuck. We aren’t together. “

“Oh. Well. Then like girl to girl, I just wanted to let you know that Taehyung and I will probably be together officially very soon.”

You raised your eyebrows at this comment, trying to stifle a laugh, “Does he know this?”

Jennie looked offended but before she could ramble on again Hana texted you that she was outside. You immediately got up and headed to her car.

She squealed, “Soo what happened last night?”

You tried to act nonchalant, “uh, nothing much. We kissed.”

She almost crashed the car when you said that.

Hana berated you with questions and you gave her the sparknotes of what happened, including Jennie’s weird little monologue in the living room. Hana was almost in tears when you recapped the embarrassing moment of you crawling out a window so you didn’t have to kiss Taehyung. She apologized for her stupidity in suggesting that dare but she insisted you needed the push.

You told Hana how you were feeling, especially how unsure and insecure you felt about the situation with Taehyung. She agreed that it was definitely unclear because neither one of you actually said the words “I like you” to each other.

You and Hana came up with the plan thay the next time you were to hang out with Taehyung alone, you were going to confess.

You only piped up the courage to do so because Hana made the convincing argument that Taehyung must like you back.

However, once you returned to campus, the entire week, you were absorbed with finals and studying. Because of this, you and Taehyung were unable to find time to peacefully spend with each other. Also, your finals were finished a day earlier than Taehyung’s, so you went home early.

This proved to be working against you as with all the free time at home was only more time for you to worry and overthink about Taehyung. Then, once again you were back to avoiding Taehyung and his messages because you were too scared to actually tell him how you felt.

Tae: hey. just got home last night. wanna hang out?

Tae: ???

Tae: ur so annoying u don’t even have school what could u be doing

Tae: im literally going to come over i live in ur neighborhood in case u forgot

You didn’t think he would actually follow through but Taehyung did indeed ring your doorbell that evening. You pressed your ear against your bedroom door to hear the conversation between Taehyung and your mom.

You heard his deep voice, “Hello Mrs._________. How are you doing?”

You rolled your eyes at your mother's overly cheery voice, “I’m doing good, Taehyung. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you. You’ve grown up so much!”

“Yes it has been awhile. I’m glad that _________ and I are good friends again. Speaking of __________, is she home? I tried texting her but she didn’t respond. Is she alright?”

“Oh, you’re so sweet! She is feeling a bit under the weather. She’s barely left her room since she’s come home. I’ll let her know that you stopped by.”

“That would be great. It was nice seeing you again Mrs. _________.”

“You too Taehyung. You should come over more often! I know _________ missed you a lot.”

Ugh god, your mom was embarrassing you.

“Of course I’ll try to stop by once _________ gets back to me. Bye!”

You heard the door close and you groaned. You had to face Taehyung soon.

Your mom ended up coming to your room and went on and on about how Taehyung was such a nice boy. You couldn’t help but roll your eyes. That’s what he needs, more praise.

You laid on your bed, trying to fall asleep but of course it didn’t come easily. As you were trying to focus on the white noise, you realized you kept on getting distracted by a loud pitter patter sound. You got up and heard the sound coming from your window. You walked over and peered out your window.

“You have got to be fucking with me right now” you said, rubbing your temples.

There was Taehyung, standing outside, throwing pebbles at your window.

You opened your window, the cool air immediately giving you goosebumps.

You yelled in a hushed tone, “What are you fucking doing?”

His body smile immediately lit up, “Hey strawberry girl.”

“Taehyung, are you stupid? What are you doing here?”

“Uh, I’m here to see why the fuck you’re ignoring me.”

“I’m uh sick,” you gave two fake coughs, hoping he would be convinced. He was not.

“Cmon _________ I know when you’re lying.”

You heard some clatter coming from downstairs. Fuck. Your parents would be pissed if they saw taehyung outside your window. They obviously thought he was a good guy but your parents had a strict no guys rule. Taehyung was the only exception since you two grew up together but even he wasn’t allowed to come up to your room.

“Taehyung, I have to go. My parents will see you and we will both get in trouble. We can talk later.” You were about to shut the window but he called your name again.

“__________! That’s such bullshit. You keep avoiding me. Can’t we talk now?”

“Tae, I can’t keep shouting from my window. I’ll call you. Just go home.”

He stood firmly planted out your window, “Nope. You won’t do that. I’ll stand here all night throwing pebbles at your window. I don’t care if I get in trouble with your parents.”

Fuck. fuck. What should I do? Then you remembered. You went to your closet and found it stored on the highest shelf. Taehyung had actually bought you a rope ladder a long time ago for this very reason of sneaking you out. But you never ended up using it because you were always afraid of getting caught. You threw down the ladder and climbed out of your window quietly.

Once you landed on the ground, you walked over to Taehyung, arms crossed, pissed that he made you do this. Before you could start yelling at him for being so fucking annoying, he pulled you into a giant hug.

“Missed you. Don’t ever ignore me again,” he whispered into your ear.

And with that hug, you realized how much you missed Taehyung. His warmth, his embrace, his cute smile, his fluffy hair.

You mumbled, “Missed you too,” softly, hoping he would hear.

You pushed away from him and tried to hide your smile, “My parents are literally going to kill me. I hope you know that.”

“__________ you’re in college. You’re legally an adult. You don’t need to be afraid of getting in trouble with your parents.” Taehyung said, chuckling. He shoved his hands in his hoodie and pulled up his hood, shivering in the cold.

“Okay but you know my parents. They don’t give a shit.”

“Actually, that is very much true. I don’t think they like me very much.” He tugged your arm, leading you down a familiar dirt path.

“Nah, they like you. For some reason they think you’re like a good kid.”

His mouth opened in shock, “What do you mean for some reason? I’m a great influence on you.”

“Oh really? Like sneaking me out or taking me to frat parties or..” you were trying to think of more dumb shit Taehyung had fully encouraged you to do.

“Or sleeping with you?” He said with a wink.

“Shut up. But for real. They can never know. They would bury us both alive.”

“Man, we’ve known each other since forever and they still don’t trust me around you.”

“Don’t take it personally. You’re a guy. They are just strict about boys in general.” You began to recognize whereTaehyung was leading you to.

“Is that another reason why you haven’t dated anyone?”

“Yea I guess. My parents think dating is a distraction. Unless it’s for the intent of marriage then what’s the point. Which I understand. “

Taehyung gripped your hand as he led you down a rocky path, “That sounds lonely.”

“It is. But like I said, it’s not really something I chose. It just kinda happened to me and it’s whatever.”

“I guess I understand in my own way. Dating does take up a lot of time. And I guess I’m afraid it’ll end the same.”

“Same as what?”

“Same as Yeji. We broke up and I was so upset over it. It hurt a lot because we realized we had no future together. It was just sad that we made all those memories together and now we barely speak.”

“Fuck, that sucks.”

He nodded, fully agreeing.

Suddenly the path opened up to a clearing, a grassy field with a large tree planted by a shimmering lake.

He still held onto your hand as you made your way to the tree. You sat down, leaning your back against the tree and Taehyung laid his head on your lap. You started to ruffle his curly hair, playing with the strands.

“Remember how we used to come here?” Taehyung said, softly smiling.

You nodded, recalling how you and taehyung would come here on the weekends, having picnics, reading stories, playing cards. This tree by the lake was filled with precious memories for you and Taehyung. You kept coming even when Taehyung and you weren’t friends.

“Why were you ignoring me _________?” He asked looking up at you with his big brown eyes filled with worry.

“We were both so busy with finals I just wanted us to focus on our studies,” You said, only being partially honest.

“Sure, it’s not cause of anything else right?”

“What else could it be?”

“Maybe the fact that I kissed you and we haven’t spoken about it all.”

You closed your eyes, regretting opening your mouth. Fuck, you really didn’t want to talk about your feelings. You felt the familiar anxious feeling creep up into your heart. You took a deep breath and tried to remember Hana’s words, “___________, this boy likes you. A lot. He kissed you. He spends time with you. He texts you.. He cares about you. He treats you like a girlfriend and he wants to do boyfriend things with you. He likes you, there is no doubt about it.”

You snapped back to reality, “Yeah that has to do with it.”

“Okay so let’s talk,” He said sitting upright, leaning again against the tree, his shoulder brushing yours.

“Um. Why don’t you go first?” You said as you felt your heart race in your chest. You were going to do it. You were going to finally tell him how you felt.

He gave you a cute little smile, “Well it was a really nice kiss. How did you like it? It was your first kiss.”

“Um uh yea it was really nice. Really sweet,” You babbled out.

“Okay cool. Well then that’s that. We don’t need to be awkward around each other right?”

You nodded. It was now or never. He seemed to have such a chill response to the kiss. He didn’t freak out so he must have enjoyed it. So that means he likes me, right?

Your voice got quiet, “Taehyung.”

His eyes met yours. You whispered out, heart pounding, “I need to tell you something.”

“What is it?” He asked, earnestly.

“I um...” you were racking your brain trying to find the right words to say. You were fiddling with your hands, hoping it would calm you down.

Taehyung looked at you, wide eyed, and took your hands into his.

He leaned in close, his breath tickling your ears, “Hey. You can tell me anything. I'm listening.”

Your brain shut off the second He held your hands. “It's you. It’s fucking you. I like you. I like you a whole fucking lot Kim Taehyung. I think I might love you at this point. And I just really needed to tell you.”

It went dead silent. All you could hear was Taehyung's soft breathing, the rustle of the wind, and the quiet ripples from the lake.

Then he smiled and let out a light laugh.

Your heart immediately lifted. He’s smiling. That’s a good sign. He’s going to tell you that he likes you too and then you could be a couple. You were freaking out over nothing.

“Are you being for real?” He said shakily.

You narrowed your eyes brows, confused at his response.

He laughed nervously. Your confidence was going down rapidly.

“__________ you aren’t being serious right?”

“What do you mean? Of course I’m being serious. I meant what I said.”

“Cmon ________ why would you do this to me?”

Your heart dropped. Oh my god. It was slowly becoming clear to you. He doesn’t like me. He’s mad that I told him how I felt. This was literally your biggest fear. He doesn’t want you. He never did.

You couldn’t look at Taehyung anymore. You tore your gaze away from him, “What are you saying? You don’t have feelings for me?”

“__________ I don’t know. I honestly don’t know. But you literally do know that I’m not interested in dating anyone. I’ve told you this.”

Your voice was faltering as you tried to maintain a calm demeanor, “But...you said that...you were thinking about it.”

“Yea I was thinking about it. That doesn’t mean I want to involve myself with someone right away. I’m honestly not ready for a relationship again.” He sighed, clearly frustrated, running his hand through his curly hair. You were frozen, you felt hot tears well up in your eyes but you were determined to not let him see you cry.

He continued, sounding somewhat angry, “I just told you how much my break up with Yeji hurt me.”

You closed your eyes, letting yourself absorb all of his hurt words. It was too late now. You couldn’t take it back. You let it all out, all your thoughts and feelings and it turned out to be exactly how you feared. You were an idiot. You let your guard down again and you let him in again. And he broke your heart. Again.

You voiced another nagging thought, “But you kissed me...”

His words were sharp and cold, “It was just a kiss __________. It’s not that deep or that big of a deal.”

This is exactly what you were afraid of. Losing these meaningful moments with someone who not only doesn’t care about you but also someone who finds them unimportant. The kiss meant everything to you and absolutely nothing to him.

Taehyung's voice softened, “I’m sorry ________ but I don’t know how I feel okay? I’m confused. I do like you but I’m just not sure if it’s the way you want me to.”

You felt his hand cup your cheek and he tiled your face towards him, finally making eye contact. He saw your teary, red eyes that you tried so hard to hide. “I’m sorry,” he whispered out. The way your heart was thudding against your chest made you realize no matter what he did, no matter how he hurt you, no matter how many times he would take your heart and crush it into tiny bits, you would still love him. God you were so fucked.

You whispered back hoarsely, staring deep into his dark eyes, feeling brave enough to speak your mind to him one more time, “Don’t be. I just...always had this hope in my head, I guess. Maybe that with time...you could love me the way I wanted you to. But if we were meant to be, we would have been by now. Someone like me doesn’t end up with someone like you.”

You couldn’t take it anymore. You got up abruptly and left. You heard him distantly calling your name but you couldn’t turn back. Every muscle in your body wanted you to turn around and just say “forget it” to Taehyung and have things return back to normal. But for once, you listened to your head, it was over, you told him how you felt and he didn’t give a shit.

You walked home, alone, feeling comforted by the coldness of the night. You climbed back in your room and threw the ladder deep into your closet, knowing you would never need it again. You laid in your bed, processing what just happened. You believed in something that wasn’t even real. You glanced at your tear stained face in the standing mirror across from your bed. You couldn’t help but wonder what it was about you that wasn’t enough for him. The truth was you couldn’t be mad at Taehyung. You didn’t even love yourself. And that’s how you understood why Taehyung didn’t either. You closed your eyes, finally letting the exhaustion set in and breathing slowly, as if all of the pressure of stress and anxiety were dissipating from your body.

The reality settled in your brain and your heart: being lonely fits you.

author’s note: part 5 will definitely be the last part. i was writing this and i realized it was getting very lengthy and there are some plot parts im still working out lol. anyways i was very inspired by some tv shows and movies i rewatched recently for this part (new girl, princess diaries 2, & ofc to all the boys). lmk what you think and if you would like to be added to the taglist!

tags: @fleurmoon @tangledsparkles @chocolatebelievercrusade @brokenobserver @ncitydreamies @soulstaes @bonnyskies @thelilbutifulthings @busansgloss @imluckybitches @xlectrahearts @embrace-themagic @bts-dreamybaby @belshka @trinbin039 @xxlostinseoul @sheislikearock @madjammil @guksflavor @yn-the-reader @kingjvngins @ggukkieland @waves-and-woods @aa-ronpa

#strawberry girl #bts #bts fanfic #bts fanfiction #bangtan sonyeondan #kim taehyung #taehyung #taehyung hot #bts x reader #taehyung x reader #taehyung fluff #taehyung angst #bts scenarios #taehyung scenarios #bts imagines #taehyung fanfic #taehyung x y/n #taehyung fanfiction

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bobathirstaccount · 4 years

Text

Hard to Find Someone Like You

Boba x fem!reader, slow burn to smut, some romance, fair amount of plot, Post-Mando 2 Boba

You are a merc serving under Fennec at Fett’s Palace. It’s business as usual until a certain helmet starts tilting in your direction...

Translations:

Keella - Twi’lek for darling

Mesh’la - Mando’a for beautiful

Ayy - Twi’lek name, means star

TW: unprotected sex

***

CHAPTER THREE

 You blinked, paralyzed. Turns out he was giving you a choice. You thought about his fingers.

“Where?”

He nodded, indicating for you to get out of the booth.  ”Come with me,” he walked off towards the exit. You conspicuously followed. You followed him through several corridors until you came to the entrance to his suites. A droid waited outside. It started to speak, but Fett put a hand up, silencing it. You followed him in.

As soon as the door closed, he turned around and grabbed you by the thoat, pushing you against the wall.

He roughly grabbed your ass and wrapped your legs around his hips. He ground into your already sensitive clit. You moaned and arched your back. He moved his hands to your breasts. Ayy’s comments about bouncy tits momentarily popped into your head. You were brought back to the present by Fett’s movement. He had grabbed your upper back and turned away from the wall, carrying you somewhere. You wrapped your legs more tightly around him, moaning and grinding softly as you did.

You were thrown roughly down onto something soft. You peered out into the relative dark. Fett was on top of you before you could register anything. You felt your pants being pulled down. You lifted your hips to assist, which was hardly necessary. Your boots, pants and underwear came off all at once. You shimmed out of your jacket and reached your hands up over your head, pulling off your shirt. Gloved hands ran over your bare chest, making you gasp and your nipples harden. One hand went to your nether regions, rubbing your wet folds. You lifted your hips, cooing softly. One finger entered you, then two. You bucked your hips roughly, wanting more. The other hand squeezed your tit, then both hands withdrew from your body. You propped yourself up on your elbows.

You could make out a silhouette moving, but that was it. Suddenly Fett’s helmet appeared directly over your face. He pet your pussy again, then experimentally replaced his hand with the head of his cock. You spread your legs widely, scared to speak. You didn’t want to change the mood. Fett entered you then, abruptly but gently. You moaned as he stretched you out, a delicious burn making you gasp. He started to fuck you at a moderate pace. You grabbed his shoulders and arched your back, grinding into his thrusts. Before you knew it he had you on the brink of orgasm again. You whined and spread your legs wider, anticipating.

“Should I let you cum, mesh’la?”

You moaned your plea to him. He laughed softly and brought a hand to your clit. Within a few seconds of him rubbing tight fast circles, you came hard, calling out into the dark. You arched your back as your peak rolled through you, pussy clutching at his cock. He moanded and praised you, “Good girl, mesh’la. Cumming for me like that.” He fucked you through your orgasm, then quickly withdrew. You felt him grab you by the neck and pull you up and forward. Before you knew it, he had slapped you in the face with his still hard cock.

“Are you going to thank me, mesh’la?” You took him in your mouth. He pushed in further, gagging you. You recovered and he let you set the pace. He lightly put his hand on the back of your head. You wanted to impress him and so gagged yourself as much as you could stand, taking as much of his length as you could. This seemed to work as he started to groan. His fingers tightened in your hair. He suddenly thrust forward into your mouth, stiffening. You felt his cum in your mouth. You swallowed and licked the head of his cock.

He grabbed your chin with his thumb and forefinger. “Good job, mesh’la,” he said breathlessly.

He dropped his hand and you heard him readjusting his clothing. You started to feel around for yours. You managed to find your top. He got off the bed, standing.

“You can stay here tonight,” you heard him say softly.

“Will you?”  ”No.”  ”Then what’s the point?” You reached around the bed, feeling for anything. You felt your pants and boots hit your body. You felt relief.

“Thank you,” you said into the darkness. But he had gone.

***

You’d slipped out of the bedroom and back to your ship after about 15 minutes of waiting. You didn’t particularly want to run into him in the light right now. You had to process what just happened. Your pussy ached and your legs felt like jelly, but you’d made it back alright.

You reflected on last night early morning at breakfast. You were at the employee café with Ayy, Numa, and a few other dancers. They were chattering about the male mercs and who they might let take them back to their ship. Ayy giggled and looked over to you. Suddenly she was more serious, “What’s wrong, keella? You look stuck in a thought.”

You shook your head, “Just thinking. Do you... never mind.”

Her eyes lit up, “Do I what?” She knew she was on to something juicy by the way you grit your teeth and averted your gaze right away. She pulled on your sleeve, “Girl, you have to girl talk with someone. And that someone is me. You have to tell me. That’s girl code.”

You leaned back, smirking at her insistence. Finally you said, “Later.”

 She sighed and glared at you.

“Promise. Tonight. When we... are alone,” you ended softly so no one else would here you.

She understood then, and turned away from you to re-engage in the conversation at large.

***

True to your word, you had met up with Ayy later that night.

“Well? This is my break so we have 15 minutes for story time.” She put her elbows on the edge of the bar and leaned her chin on her hands.

You took a breath, “No one else, okay?”

She winked at you, “Naturally, love. You know that.” She kicked you lightly, affectionately. “You killed for me, remember?”

You took a sip of your drink, nodded, conceding her point, and then continued. “Do you know what... mesh’la means?” You whispered it as if it were a secret. She smiled at you. “It means beautiful. Who’s calling you that?”

You tried to process this new information. “Fett,” you said, almost absentmindedly. She stilled, staring at you. She knew you well enough to know you weren’t joking. Finally she said, “Oh, Maker.” You were suddenly nervous at her tone. “Keella,” she leaned forward and started to rub your back with her right hand. You felt both alarmed and soothed by this action.

“What?”

“Keella, you are really into it.”

You shook your head. “It was only one time. It was nothing... special,” you lied.

She scoffed, “One time is all it takes to have fucked Boba Fett.”

Someone saying it out loud made you even more uneasy. You swallowed and looked at your Spotchka. She continued to rub your back. You shrugged, “Well it’s done. Guess I just see what happens. Ride it out.”

She eyed you for a moment. “So... How was he really though?”

You slapped her arm, “No! Come on.”

“I always tell you about my conquests -“  ”I don’t ask -“

“I don’t care you still listen, anyway look it’s girl code again. Spit it out.”

You were at a loss. She waited. And waited. Finally you said, “I mean I would do it again... he was...” Ayy leaned forward at your words. You cleared your throat, “It was good.” Your throat dried. She frowned, “Details! Did you suck his cock? How big was it? Did you cum?” You looked at her, aghast. She shook you, “Oh, grow up. You’re no ingenue.”

You frowned, “Okay, okay. I mean... He was big, like maybe the biggest I’ve had.. which isn’t a lot but.. still... and yeah I did suck it and,” you flushed, “I did cum.”

She smiled naughtily at you. “I always thought he’d be a good lay.”

You shushed her and she laughed, “Don’t worry my love. It’s girl code. My lips are sealed. Unless you want to talk more detail-“

You sighed and shoved her lightly. She laughed.

***

The next day you had a slight hang over. You’d been overwhelmed after your conversation with Ayy. What did he have in mind for you? Anything? Did Fennec know? Her actions had been a little suspicious. You couldn’t decide the truth of it. You laid in bed pondering it futilely, missing breakfast. You heard a buzz. Someone wanted entrance to your ship. You slid out of bed, somewhat a wreck. Throwing on a light robe over your naked body, you went to the view screen to see who it was: Ayy. You sighed and went to your cargo bay door, lowering it. She traipsed up it, a baggie in tow, “Breakfast of champions.” She shook the bag, tossing it to you. You caught it with your left hand and motioned with your right. “Come inside. I feel terrible.”

She nodded, walking past you, “You look thrashed. Come on, keella. Let me fix you up.”

You followed her inside, grateful. You forgot to close the ramp.

****  Ayy had made you wash your face with cold water, which had helped a surprising amount. You two were in Daesha’s cockpit, eating your breakfast. You were too sick to eat all of it. You lounged, your feet up on your ship’s controls. Ayy sat languidly in your copilot’s seat.

The hairs on the back of your neck stood up. You tried to jump up and ended up hitting your head on the ceiling. You cursed, then turned to see who it was that had made their way uninvited onto your ship. Your aggravated expression turned to one of submissive meekness.

 Boba Fett stood before you. Ayy turned around slowly, having missed the memo, “Yesss who’s here-“ She stopped short when she saw who the intruder was.

“I came to speak with her,“ he appeared to reply to Ayy.

“Oh, uh, I can go..” Ayy began weakly, her eyes wide.

“Silence.” Fett turned to you. “I need you ready in 15 minutes. Be in the Slave 1 cockpit.”

He was already leaving when you said, “Yes, sir.”

Ayy looked to you, holding her breath. You put your head in your hands. “Oh, Maker. 15 minutes,” you lamented. 

“He’s so terrifying, how the fuck did you relax enough to cum?” Ayy said breathlessly.

You glared at her, then considered. You hadn’t told her about the table and how you were already crazy for him by the time you made it that far. “Well, it was dark,” you said practically. Ayy laughed, “Holy kriff that was horrifying. But also I’m a little turned on now that I know for sure he fucks.” You sighed and tried to finish the rest of your breakfast.

“I mean we could have had a threesome right here.”

“Ayy!”

#boba fett smut #boba x reader #boba fett x reader #boba x you #star wars smut #boba fett fanfiction #boba fett x female reader #boba fett x f!reader

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kurokoros · 4 years

Text

some like it hot (4/4) | todoroki x reader x bakugou

Rated: M (smut)

Words: 10.4K

Pairing: shouto todoroki x fem!reader x katsuki bakugou

Summary: A Charity Fundraiser leads to you going home with not one, but two of the most popular Pro Heroes of your generation. They say some like it hot, and you certainly aren’t complaining.

AKA: a totally not self-indulgent threesome fic

Chapters: One | Two | Three | Four | AO3

AN: Ayy, last chapter folks! Huge thanks to everyone that gave this fic a read!

Warnings: smut, temperature play, anal sex, double penetration

Taglist: @kiaoizz, @sarahs-castle-of-clouds

Sneaking away from the fundraiser you were in charge of planning may be the stupidest thing you’ve ever done, and it’s definitely the most irresponsible, but the likelihood of anyone missing you is slim to none. Plenty of Pros had already come and gone by the time you ran into Shouto, so if anyone asks, the three of you can probably bullshit an excuse for leaving early. And even if your presence is missed, you really don’t have it in you to care considering you have two incredibly attractive, incredibly disheveled men stumbling into your apartment behind you.

Regardless, you’re certainly not complaining about the way tonight is going.

Katsuki kicks your apartment door shut behind the three of you, but before you can complain about the noise, the hothead scoops you off the ground and tosses you over his shoulder. “Katsuki!” you yelp, your hands fisting in his jacket for balance. His grip tightens around your hips, and you trust him enough to know he’d never let you fall. “Put me—” The protest cuts off with a gasp as he gives your ass a playful smack.

“Stop squirmin’, angel,” Katsuki warns you, pinching your thigh. “Ya want me to drop you on that cute little ass?”

Eyes narrowed, you glare at the back of his head. “You wouldn’t dare.”

A snort draws your attention, and Shouto shakes his head at Katsuki’s display as he locks the door behind you. Fond amusement flickers in his eyes when they meet yours, and a smirk pulls at his lips as he follows Katsuki into your bedroom. They both walk in like they’re coming home, and your heart squeezes in your chest at the thought.

Katsuki plops you back onto the floor in the middle of your bedroom and spins you around to look at him. The curtains over your window are pulled back just enough to have moonlight spilling into the room. It casts shadows over his face, makes his eyes look brighter in the darkness of your quiet room. The moonlight must be doing something to you, too, because he’s looking at you like you’re the most breathtaking thing he’s ever seen.

You expect him to rush towards you, grab you, kiss you, do something, but he stands rooted in place, just taking in the sight of you for a little longer.

The lights snap on. The door is shut and locked. And strong arms wrap around you from behind, pulling you back against a broad chest as Shouto leans down to press a kiss against your cheek. You lean against him, gripping his arms and giggling as his hair tickles the side of your face.

None of you move for what seems like hours, and it’s so quiet that you can hear Shouto breathing behind you, you can feel the steady beat of his heart against your back. For some reason, that makes your grip tighten around the arm he has banded around your shoulders. By the window, Katsuki looks torn between watching the two of you and stepping forward to join the embrace as he shifts his weight from one foot to the other.

His tongue darts out across his lips as drinks in the sight of you. Then, his ruby gaze snaps to Shouto, who seems content just holding you. “Well, are ya gonna fucking move, Icy Hot?” Katsuki asks, crossing his arms over his chest in a show of clear annoyance. “Or do I have to do everything myself?”

Shouto sighs against your ear, his eyes rolling. “So impatient,” he says, just loud enough for Katsuki to hear him.

You bite your lip to hide the smile threatening to overtake you.

Bristling, Katsuki glares harder at Shouto, who ignores the other man in favor of dropping his head into the crook of your neck and pressing a series of soft butterfly kisses against any skin within reach of his greedy mouth.

“Like you can talk, bastard.” The scowl on Katsuki’s face isn’t enough to hide what’s clearly a pout, though he’d never admit it. “Did you already forget about starting without me?”

Heat crawls up your side as Shouto drags his hand from your hip to your ribcage. His thumb swipes across the underside of your breast, and a breathy sound escapes you as he nips at your naked shoulder. “If you don’t like it, you should learn to be on time,” he tells Katsuki.

Irritation flashes across Katsuki’s eyes, and his mouth opens to unleash what’s bound to be a barrage of swear words and variations of the same three insults he always uses on Shouto. But before the tirade can slip out, you huff. Loudly. Both men turn to look at you. “Are you two done arguing?” you ask them. “Because I can think of a better use for those mouths.”

The blunt statement gets you your desired result.

Shouto’s grip on you tightens a fraction, and the smirk Katsuki sends you is positively lewd. “Oh?” he croons, dragging out the sound and quirking an eyebrow. “And what’s that, sweetcheeks?”

“Take off your clothes and come find out,” you tell him.

Surprised at your teasing, Katsuki blinks at you, then mutters “fuck” as he practically rips his jacket off and tosses it onto the floor in the corner of your room. The sleeves of his white shirt are rolled up to his elbows, and he kicks off his shoes and socks. Your thighs rub together as his dexterous fingers make quick work of his belt, the metal clanking as it drops to the floor beside his jacket.

Meanwhile, Shouto squeezes your waist, his hand still stroking your side from your hip to your ribs. “You seem a bit overdressed yourself.” The arm around your shoulders shifts, and two fingers sneak beneath the straps of your dress, teasingly brushing it aside until it’s barely clinging to you.

Tilting your head just enough to meet his eyes, you offer a coy smile. “Think you can fix that for me, Shouto?” you ask, subtly grinding back against him. He grunts, both hands grabbing your hips to hold you in place and keep you from squirming against him like you want to.

“As you wish,” he mutters against your hair. And then, he lets you go. So hyper-aware of him behind you, it’s easy to hear the slight rustle of clothing as he strips himself of his jacket and shoes much like Katsuki did.

You can honestly say this wasn’t what you were expecting to happen tonight.

Chilled fingers follow the curve of your spine, starting at the base of your neck and trailing downward achingly slow. The hitch in your breathing is loud, and Shouto’s lips curve into a barely-there smile against the back of your head. Deftly, he slips a finger between your shoulder and the pretty dress you’re wearing, teasing the soft skin there before you let him brush the fabric aside.

The straps of your dress slide down your arms teasingly, and a pair of narrowed, ruby red eyes immediately drag down your body, appraising you as more of your soft skin is revealed. Katsuki licks his lips as the silky fabric pools around your feet, expression nothing short of greedy as he watches the two of you, though he doesn’t move. Not yet. You shiver under his gaze and the icy kiss that Shouto presses against the side of your neck. Hands drag down your sides to grasp your hips, the difference in temperature between the two making you gasp and squirm, but Shouto holds you firmly against his chest.

The boys lock eyes over your shoulder. A silent agreement.

“All right, angel.” Katsuki’s voice is deeper than usual, and startlingly calm. “Be a good girl and moan for me an’ Icy Hot.”

Shouto huffs at the old insult, but then his teeth drag down the column of your throat and you do exactly as Katsuki demands, much to their amusement.

Chuckling to himself, Katsuki’s eyes rake over you again, taking in the lacy lingerie previously hidden beneath your dress, and the strappy high-heels that do little to keep you from being dwarfed by their heights. You swear his fingers spark as he grasps the front of his dress shirt, popping the buttons one by one. Patiently, Shouto’s left hand draws small circles against your hip, his right skimming the smooth skin of your stomach, trailing higher and higher until he’s grasping your chin between cold and calloused fingers.

They look at you like they want to devour you.

And you plan on letting them.

It’s a combination of the look in Katsuki’s eyes and the sudden chill that curls around your nearly naked body that has you practically squirming already. Your skin is flushed, and everything is sensitive all the way down to your toes.

The last button of Katsuki’s shirt finally comes undone, and your eyes roam over the hard planes of his chest and stomach, wandering over firm muscle from years of training. Your fingers are just itching to touch him, to trace a path from his collarbones to the top of his pants and watch him squirm. More than that, you kind of want to lick him. Katsuki is pretty damn delicious to look at, and the cocky look in those red eyes tells you that he knows exactly what you want to do with your hands and tongue.

But that’ll have to wait. Shouto’s thumb rubs against your bottom lip, and your lips part to nip at the pad of his finger. Groaning quietly, Shouto gives your jaw a brief warning squeeze. His breath is hot against your ear as he dips his chin to whisper in your ear. “You like to tease him, right, love?” he asks, too quietly for Katsuki to hear him. Your thighs rub together at the low tone he’s using, and by now your panties are practically soaked through. “Good,” Shouto muses when you give him a nearly imperceptible nod, “we’re going to play a game.”

Across the room, Katsuki’s fingers hover over the button of his slacks, his eyes narrowing when he sees Shouto whispering in your ear. “Oi!” he barks at the two of you, abandoning his pants to place his hands on his hips. “What the hell are you two talkin’ about?”

You hold your breath as Shouto’s gaze slides to Katsuki slowly, waiting to hear what he has in mind.

And it certainly doesn’t disappoint. “You seem to like watching, Katsuki,” Shouto says slowly, looking the other man up and down. Katsuki’s throat bobs at the sound of his name. Behind you, Shouto shifts, his gaze flicking to the chair nestled in the corner of your room. “So, why don’t you just sit there and shut your mouth?”

Katsuki opens his mouth, glaring at Shouto over your shoulder, but the quiet sound of your sharp inhale makes their gazes snap to you.

Shit, if you weren’t wet before, you certainly are now. The thought of Katsuki watching you while Shouto touches you—or while you touch yourself—is enough to make your legs quiver beneath you as arousal pools low in your stomach. There are so many things you want these men to do to you, so many ways you want them to absolutely ruin you, and whatever game Shouto wants to play is sure to do that.

Two sets of eyes take in the way your breathing hitches and your legs press together in search of even a little bit of friction. Whatever protest Katsuki was going to make seems to die on his lips as he takes in the sight of your pupils blown wide with arousal.

Shouto grins against the side of your neck and presses a soft kiss over your pulse point, feeling it beat rapidly under his mouth. “You like that idea?” Shouto’s lips move to your jaw, and he releases your chin in favor of sliding his cold hand down to your naked breast, palming you. “You want him to watch me fuck you?”

These two are going to be the death of you. “Yes,” you choke out as his thumb rolls over your nipple. Frost prickles at your skin, the chill making you whine as Shouto’s hips rock forward against your ass.

A low groan and a muttered “fuck” come from Katsuki. His hands fall back to his sides, his eyes glued to you and Shouto. There’s a subtle twitch in his fingers, like he doesn’t know what he wants to do, but then his eyes darken with lust. A shiver curls down your back like a cold finger on your spine.

Heat crawls up your side as Shouto’s left hand slides from your hip to your ribs beneath your breast. “I bet you can’t stay still until I make her cum,” he goads Katsuki. You may not be able to see it, but you can clearly picture the smirk he’s hiding against your jaw. This devious streak wasn’t what you were expecting from him, but you certainly aren’t complaining, especially with the way Katsuki reacts to the challenge.

“Oh, yeah?” Katsuki growls. “Fuck you!”

Surprise flits across your face as Katsuki immediately takes a step back and drops down onto the chair in the corner of your room, so close, but still painfully far away. As he shifts against the cushion, his pants slide further down to reveal an enticing strip of skin that has you wanting to bite his hip bones. There’s an almost smug look on his face as he glares at Shouto, but it doesn’t last long.

It happens too fast for you to process at first.

Shouto grabs you by the waist and whirls you around. His hands hook under your thighs and yank. Gasping, you grab at him to hold yourself steady as your feet leave the floor, your shoes slipping off and clattering to the floor. Hungry lips find yours, stealing your breath and silencing a breathy moan. Shouto’s dress shirt gives under your hands as you yank him closer. Buttons scatter across the floor. The temperature drops drastically, and Shouto drops onto the bed with you beneath him at the same time the familiar sound of his quirk splits the silence.

“What the fuck, Todoroki?” Katsuki snaps.

As Katsuki’s yelp and the cold register, your mouth tears from Shouto’s, your head twisting to the side to investigate. He doesn’t seem to mind, lips immediately latching onto your jaw instead. Cold air is breathed against your neck, leaving a thin sheen of frost behind that melts just as quickly. You’ve been perfectly positioned to look at Katsuki from your spot on the bed, and your eyes widen when they lock on him.

Ice is wrapped around his wrists, pinning him to the chair. Bewilderment and irritation flash in his eyes, and his lips are pulled back away from his teeth. Yanking at the icy restraints, Katsuki sneers when they don’t break into pieces like he wants them to.

“Shouto,” you gasp.

His lips press against your cheek and start to trail down. “Relax,” he mumbles against the underside of your jaw. Warmth licks across your skin as his left hand grabs your thigh and begins to rub circles against your tense leg. His bare chest presses against yours, and there’s no denying how good it feels to have him pressed against you like this. “I’ll clean it up later.”

“You think this is funny, Icy Hot?”

“That’s not—oh!” A breathy sigh cuts you off as he starts nibbling at your neck. “That’s not what I’m worried about,” you tell him, still looking at Katsuki struggling silently against his bonds. It’s hard to think with Shouto’s hands and mouth on you, and the only other thing you manage to choke out is, “Frostbite!”

Unconcerned, Shouto leans down to kiss you again, ignoring Katsuki’s half-hearted grumbling in favor of tasting you. The way his mouth moves against yours is quickly becoming intoxicating. The pressure is just enough to make your head spin, and the heat that surrounds you is as comforting as it is electric. Your nerves are set on fire.

Shouto grabs both of your hands in his larger ones and laces your fingers together, careful not to crush you beneath his weight. Your hands are pinned to the mattress above your head, and you sigh against Shouto’s mouth as he angles your head to kiss you harder. The fingers linked through yours squeeze.

A small sound of protest slips from you as Shouto’s lips leave yours, and a breathy sound of amusement escapes the man hovering above you. One final kiss is pressed to your pouting lips, and then Shouto’s grip on you shifts. Both of your wrists are gathered in one of his hands.

“Katsuki will be fine.” Shouto leans back far enough to meet your eyes, his own gaze leaving yours to trail down your naked torso, appraising you. A low sound leaves the back of his throat as he drinks in the sight of you beneath him, panting and flushed. “It’s not that cold, and he can melt it himself if he really needs to.” With his shirt ripped open and his hair falling over his face, Shouto looks positively disheveled. There’s a devilish look in those blue-grey eyes that has your heart threatening to beat right out of your chest. His head cocks to the side. The palm around your wrists squeezes slightly, and with his free hand, Shouto is quick to yank the already loose tie from around his neck. “But if you’re really that worried, I suppose you’ll just have to be a good girl and cum for me in the next fifteen minutes.”

Your breath catches when you realize what he plans to do, but there’s no protest from you as the smooth and silky fabric is wrapped around your wrists. Even Katsuki has stopped grumbling about being tied down, just as turned on as you are. Shouto moves slowly as he loops the fabric around your wrists, watching every subtle expression that crosses your face, searching for discomfort or unease, but all he finds is open affection and trust.

The silk tie keeps your hands stuck firmly in place as he uses more ice to freeze it to your headboard, and you lean into his hand when he trails his knuckles across your cheek. The ghost of a smile tugs at his lips.

“Beautiful,” he murmurs. He stares at you in awe for a moment longer, one hand holding him above you as the other begins to spider walk down your side, barely touching you. He leans in to press a chaste kiss to your lips.

Shouto’s breath tickles the shell of your ear, hot and stifling, and a smug grin curls on his lips as you shiver beneath him. A small pout forms on your face as you tug half-heartedly at the tie holding your wrists to the headboard. God, you want to touch him again already. Across the room, Katsuki’s fingers clench around the arm of the chair, the ice around his wrists already starting to melt into a puddle on the floor thanks to his higher than normal temperature. His throat bobs with a harsh swallow, crimson eyes locked on you. Cold fingers drag along the inside of your thigh, making you gasp and arch off the bed. Your hips jerk against Shouto’s, searching for friction you won’t get.

A pleased hum and warm lips against the corner of your mouth make your eyes slip shut. Shouto’s lips wander across your cheek, butterfly kisses left in his wake, and he whispers low for only you to hear, “Give him a show, love.” When you nod, Shouto leans down to press a gentle kiss to your lips.

The icy fingers on your thigh trace a path from your knee to your core before Shouto suddenly hooks your thigh around his hip, spreading your legs wider as his heated left hand slides from the side of your face down past your collarbone, and those skilled fingers of his close around your breast and squeeze, gently kneading your skin before his thumb rolls over your nipple. His mouth follows the path of his hand, and you shudder as he drags his teeth against the hickey he left earlier, darkening the bruise with a harsh suck. A series of hot kisses trail down your collarbone to your heaving chest, and Shouto makes a low sound of approval as his lips follow the curve of your breast.

When his teeth dig into the soft swell of flesh, your head falls back with a breathy moan. Your back bows off the bed, pressing your soft skin even closer to his hungry mouth. Keening, your eyes flutter shut as the tip of his tongue swirls around your nipple before flicking over the peaked bud. His mouth is wet and hot enough to make your toes curl against his lower back.

The heat of his breath fans across your chest, and your mind blanks when he takes your nipple into his mouth and sucks, flicking his tongue over the peaked flesh.

Katsuki shifts against his chair. “This is fucking stupid,” he complains, his eyes narrowed in irritation despite the way he’s utterly transfixed by the quiet gasps and coos that Shouto keeps pulling from your pretty mouth with every calculated swipe of his fingers and tongue against your sensitive skin.

Shouto’s mouth leaves your breast with a wet sound, and you shiver as he breathes cold air over your nipple to watch you squirm beneath him. “Scared to lose?” he asks Katsuki, not even sparing the other man a glance as he returns to kissing and licking his way down your quivering torso.

A loud scoff is the reply to Shouto’s jab. “Maybe I just don’t want your dirty hands all over her, bastard,” Katsuki grumbles. He shifts in his seat again, and through half-lidded eyes you notice the very prominent bulge forming beneath his slacks.

With his fingers nudging your legs apart farther, a loud squeal escapes you as Shouto’s tongue flicks wetly against your belly button. Katsuki’s eyes snap back to you. His throat bobs with a harsh swallow, and there’s nothing he can do but watch in rapt fascination as your head tips back and you take your bottom lip between your teeth to smother a moan.

“Katsuki,” you whimper, eyes screwing shut as Shouto’s lips follow the hem of your panties with his mouth. His fingers dig into your inner thighs, and a sudden image strikes you right between your legs. “Would you just stay there? For me?” You force your eyes open again in time to see his mouth opening to disagree, and you choke out the words before he can complain. “I want to watch you touch yourself.”

That gets his attention. Even Shouto stops teething at your hip to glance up at you, one eyebrow arched curiously. Primal need flickers in his eyes, and there’s something outrageously sexy about having him stare at you from between your legs.

“Oh?” Amusement is thick in Katsuki’s voice as he leans forward in his chair and sends you a wicked grin. He practically preens at your admission, chest puffed up and eyes alight with mischief. “If that’s what you want, you should have just asked, babe.” There’s a popping sound as he flexes his arms, and it’s accompanied by a small spark before the restraints around his wrists melt enough for the ice to crack and tumble to the floor. His arms are tinged red where the ice was stuck to his skin, but Katsuki either doesn’t mind or doesn't care as he makes himself more comfortable.

You hold your breath when his thumbs slip beneath the waist of his slacks, and then the dark fabric is being shoved down his hips. Katsuki is quick to kick them off as they catch around his ankles, and his smile grows even more smug as your gaze drops to the bulge in his pants. It looks bigger now without his pants in the way, and your thighs squeeze around Shouto’s waist in delight.

“Like what you see?” Katsuki asks you, nothing short of smug as your eyes rake over every inch of his naked skin. Two fingers slip beneath his underwear, flirting with the hem as he drags it down another inch. He doesn’t take it off though, content with teasing you for now.

“Definitely,” you say, licking your lips as Katsuki begins to palm his cock over the thin fabric.

Shouto’s hot breath fans over your covered core as he plays with the lacy edge of your underwear. “Try not to cum too fast,” he murmurs, glancing at Katsuki. Before the other man has a chance to bark back a retort, Shouto loops his fingers around your panties. “I’m taking these off.”

That’s your only warning before the scrap of fabric is yanked down your legs. Automatically, you raise your hips to help him, and Shouto makes an appreciative sound as he pulls your soaked underwear down your legs and tosses it somewhere on the floor. In the next moment, Shouto has your legs tossed over his shoulders, his hands wrapped around your thighs to hold you still. His breath ghosts over your slick folds in a way that has you shuddering with excitement. Anticipation makes your heart leap into your throat, and a breathy moan tumbles from your lips as he presses his mouth against your inner thigh.

Mismatched eyes flicker up to look at you.

You have your head tossed back against the mattress, your eyes half-lidded with pleasure and your spine arched off the bed as he places a gentle kiss on your sweat-slicked skin, the flat of his tongue flicking out to drag across your leg for a brief taste. Another soft kiss is pressed to the same spot, and then his teeth are on you.

Faint, red marks follow the trail his mouth makes as his lips wander across inches of skin he’s wanted to touch for ages. You’re soft and pliant beneath him, pretty gasps and coos falling from your lips with each kiss and lick. Shouto sighs as he mouths at you, drinking in your sweet scent and committing your taste to memory.

Mewling, you force yourself to look at the man currently nipping at your thigh. Blue and grey swirl together beneath messy red and white bangs that tickle your skin each time he moves, and when your eyes lock with his, Shouto sinks his teeth into your leg hard enough for your breathing to hitch.

“Shouto,” you whimper, his name barely more than a breath, but it spurs him on anyway. His hands squeeze around your thighs as his thumbs draw soothing circles against you, softening you up.

Shouto is unrelenting in the way he nips and sucks at one spot until you can hardly stand it anymore, maintaining eye-contact with you the entire time, and when he finally pulls away there’s a nice sized bruise on your inner thigh that’ll be there for days. A sharp inhale reaches your ears, and then he blows freezing air against the wet mark he’s left behind just to watch you gasp and squirm.

You’re panting by the time he returns to peppering your thighs with butterfly kisses, staying just shy of where you need him most.

The difference in the temperatures between his palms has you shaking beneath him as he squeezes your thighs or drags the tips of his fingers across your legs. And the light touches make you hiss between your teeth each time he stops short of touching your dripping slit. It’s the sweetest torture you’ve ever experienced. Every teasing touch has you growing wetter as your arousal grows into a white-hot need that makes your core ache. And Shouto knows it, too, judging by the subtle curl of his lips against the inside of your thigh.

Across the room, Katsuki takes in each minute shift in your expression with rapt fascination, enjoying the little show you and Shouto are putting on. He’s perfectly positioned to watch your chest heave and your eyes screw shut every time Shouto does something you like. The tie holding your wrists down is pulled taut, the ice chipping away each time you yank at your bonds in an attempt to grab fistfuls of Shouto’s hair. As much as Katsuki would love to be the one making you positively writhe like that, he’s finding watching to be something he enjoys almost as much.

His cock throbs as another whimper falls from your mouth when Shouto drags his teeth across your thigh, and Katsuki rolls his hips against his hand, palming himself harder and imagining it was your smaller hand stroking him instead.

“If you’re not going to eat her damn pussy, get the fuck out of the way so I can, Icy Hot,” Katsuki snaps, hand slipping beneath the dark fabric of his underwear. His voice is breathier than usual as his fingers wrap around his length and give his cock a slow stroke. Your name comes out as a low groan from between his clenched teeth as his hot hand pumps his shaft, his hips rocking against his fist.

The sound goes straight to your core, and you bite your lip as Shouto drags freezing fingers across the inside of your leg.

“Do you ever stop bitching?” the man between your legs asks Katsuki in that deep, baritone voice that makes it hard for you to think, let alone breathe. Cold air is breathed over your slit this time, and you squirm at the unfamiliar sensation against your sensitive core.

Katsuki growls as he glares at Shouto, though the fire in his eyes is dampened by his flushed face and the raw need on his face as he continues to stroke his cock. “The fuck did you just say to me?”

Eyes rolling, Shouto doesn’t bother to respond. A high, breathy squeal escapes you when Shouto’s tongue suddenly swipes through your slick folds, the freezing tip dipping inside you before catching on your clit. “Shouto,” you gasp, hips bucking against his face. His hands grip your legs tighter, effortlessly holding you down as he finally turns his attention to your needy core.

“I thought you wanted to watch Katsuki?” he reminds you casually. He lets go of you with one hand only to give your leg a quick slap that doesn’t hurt so much as surprise you. Your heels dig into his back in retaliation. “Eyes on him, love,” Shouto demands with a roughness to his voice that has liquid arousal shooting through your veins.

It’s harder than you imagined it would be to force your eyes to stay on Katsuki as Shouto turns his attention to your slick folds, and he certainly doesn’t make it easy for you. One of his hands releases your thigh only to reach around your trembling leg, and another high-pitched, keening sound leaves your mouth as the pad of his thumb traces your wet slit, feeling just how wet you are for the two of them. An approving grunt rumbles in his chest, and Shouto’s tongue begins to pamper your clit with little kitten-licks. The temperature changes with every few strokes, keeping you on edge as he teases you.

Your wrists twist against your bonds as ice water begins to drip down your arms, the ice pinning you down melting slowly. Katsuki’s eyes follow the teasing line of water as it rolls across your skin, and his tongue slips out to wet his lips.

Katsuki shifts his underwear down enough for you to get a good look at the flushed, mushroom head of his cock as he strokes himself. Your eyes jump between his face and the way his hand is slowly working his hard, thick shaft. His head is tipped back against the chair, his stare half-lidded and hot as he drags his gaze over your sweat-slicked torso, watching your chest heave and your breasts bounce every time Shouto switches the temperature of his tongue from near scalding heat to freezing cold.

“Fuck,” Katsuki murmurs. His grip tightens around his cock as he groans your name, and he palms himself with a tight fist, keeping his pace slow and even. The muscles in his abdomen are tense, a thin layer of sweat starting to build on his skin as his hips begin to buck against his hand. Pre-cum is already beading at the head of his cock, and Katsuki mutters a curse as his thumb swipes over the sticky fluid and swirls it over the sensitive tip.

Your mouth waters at the sight, and you watch, transfixed, as Katsuki’s hips rock forward against his hand. His jaw is clenched, and a low groan pushes through his teeth as he adjusts his wrist for a better angle.

The flat of Shouto’s tongue suddenly grinds against your clit in a way that has you seeing stars, and you shudder beneath him, fighting to keep your eyes open as pressure slowly builds between your thighs, the coil in your stomach already winding tight between the mouth working magic on your clit and the show Katsuki is putting on.

Two fingers slip into you easily, you're so wet, and you moan quietly at the stretch. His fingers are longer than your own, bigger and better as they curl inside of you, expertly finding the spot along the top of your walls that has you practically writhing beneath him. And when his lips wrap around your clit and suck, your back arches off the bed, tears forming in the corners of your eyes.

Pleasure coils into a tight little ball between your legs with each flick of his tongue and rough thrust from his fingers, and you bite down on your lip to stifle another loud moan, leaving the only sounds in the room coming from Katsuki’s heavy panting and the slick, wet sound of Shouto’s mouth and fingers toying with you, which would be embarrassing if it didn’t turn you on even more.

The fingers inside of you heat up as Shouto’s hand thrusts against you slowly, alternating between curling and spreading his fingers inside of you to find what gets the best reactions from you. His teeth graze your puffy clit, and his right hand releases your thigh to slide against your stomach. The sweat on your skin freezes beneath his touch. Whimpering, you try to shift away from his teasing fingers, but you’re stuck firm.

The chilled pad of his thumb rolls over your nipple before he palms your breast, kneading you with rough fingers before moving on to squeezing and pinching at your nipple, playing with the sensitive nub. A quiet noise must slip from you, because a moment later he redoubles his efforts.

Your hips buck upwards, grinding against his mouth, and your eyes leave Katsuki to glance at Shouto, only to find him already looking at you. His fingers graze a spot deep inside you that makes your toes curl, and your thighs squeeze around his head to pull him closer.

“Shouto,” you gasp, “stop teasing!” The knot in your stomach is so tight it’s almost painful. He has you teetering just on the edge, so close to tipping over, but before you can give in to the pleasure, he pulls his mouth from your aching clit and stops fucking you with his hand. A whimper tears from your chest at the lack of stimulation. Across the room, Katsuki swears, hips stuttering at the breathy sound you’ve made.

Turning his head to the side, Shouto brushes his mouth against the hickey on your thigh, leaving you desperate and wanting. His lips are slick with your arousal, and the sticky fluid smears across your skin as he presses one last kiss to your leg. “Relax, angel,” he murmurs, using one of Katsuki’s pet names. The tip of his tongue swipes across his bottom lip, tasting you.

You’ve barely come down from the edge he put you on before his fingers are thrusting inside of you again, faster this time, twisting inside of you roughly with every intention of getting you off this time. Your slick walls clench around his digits, your core throbbing as heat curls through your limbs. The hand on your chest gets colder in response, and you gasp at the chill before he lets you go.

When those cold fingers reappear on your clit, you almost scream at the sensation. Your hands yank at the headboard, your breath hitching when he rubs slow circles over your swollen clit. The pressure has you shaking, but it’s not enough. Not quite. And when Shouto pulls his fingers away again, you aren’t sure if you want to curse or cry.

His mouth moves against your thigh. “Cum for me,” he murmurs before he takes your clit between his lips and sucks.

The demand registers a second later, and your hips roll against his mouth and hand, desperate for more. The coil inside of you is wound painfully tight, and as Shouto pinches your clit between his teeth something inside of you snaps. You come apart beneath him, writhing against the sheets as his fingers continue to curl and twist inside of you, not giving you a second to breathe.

A silent scream lodges in your throat, your entire body going taut as your orgasm rips through you, and a wicked idea comes to mind after Shouto’s teasing. Two can play at that game. As your back arches off the bed and your thighs threaten to clamp around Shouto’s head, you call out, “Katsuki!” before you fall back against the bed, breathless.

There’s a moment of silence as both men freeze, and two pairs of eyes lock onto you. A surprised yet smug look flashes across Katsuki’s face, but Shouto’s gaze narrows, his brows pinched in irritation.

A barely audible “fuck” reaches your ears, and then Katsuki lunges from his chair. Shouto reacts just as quickly. Slick fingers pull from your fluttering walls and slide wetly across your thigh, and you wince as his thumb brushes against your over sensitive clit with a precision that can’t be anything less than intentional. His mouth and chin are wet with your arousal, but neither of you care as his mouth claims yours in a sloppy kiss. The ice pinning you in place melts and evaporates in an instant with a well placed burst of flames that disappear as quickly as they come; Shouto rips at the tie wrapped around your wrists, and suddenly your hands are free.

The urge to touch him comes back to you in full force. You give in. As your hand fists in his hair, Shouto groans against your mouth, and the sound vibrates through your chest as you’re pressed flush against him. He rolls the two of you so that you’re sitting on the bed, Shouto with his legs dangling over the edge, his feet planted firmly on the floor, and you straddling his lap with your knees pressed to the mattress on either side of him.

Heat licks up your spine as Katsuki comes up behind you, his chest pressed against your back and his hands on your hips. The shift in balance has you reeling, and your reactions are slow as the last strings of pleasure start to dissolve back into a needy ache that only intensifies as you feel them pressing against you. Anticipation bursts into a wildfire inside you, growing with unrestrained intensity as they touch you.

A soft sound of protest slips out as Shouto’s mouth leaves yours, but it becomes a breathy sound as Katsuki leans down to press his lips to the side of your neck. The kiss is rough, his teeth scraping across your skin and mouth sucking with every intention of leaving his own mark behind. At the same time, Shouto gently tugs one of your hands away from his hair. Your fingers thread through his, and he guides your wrist to his mouth, placing a kiss so soft against the reddened skin of your wrist that it makes your chest squeeze.

When he lets go again, your arm loops back around his neck, fingers finding purchase in the collar of his ruined shirt. “You’re overdressed,” you murmur as he presses his forehead against yours.

Shouto grunts as your hips grind down against his covered cock, and his fingers squeeze around your upper thigh. “Then do something about it.”

Behind you, Katsuki makes a low, annoyed sound against the side of your neck. “Yeah, yeah, Icy Hot needs to get naked,” he grumbles, rolling his eyes. “Less fucking talking.” He reaches between you to grope you and leans away, spreading your cheeks for a better look at your ass.

You can’t help but tease him. “So impatient,” you say, staring down into Shouto’s eyes. He’s just as amused as you are. However, that amusement disappears in an instant as Katsuki’s hips roll forward, his hard cock grinding up against your ass. The movement knocks you forward, and your hips are pressed flush against Shouto’s, causing you both to groan.

Smug, self-satisfaction makes Katsuki practically preen as you squirm against Shouto’s lap. The two of you are flushed from the contact, and Katsuki smirks at Shouto over your shoulder, silently proud of himself for getting a reaction out of the more stoic man. “Gonna tell me where the lube is so I can fuck that pretty little ass?” His breath is hot against your skin as his teeth brush against the shell of your ear. His voice turns mocking as he ruts against you. “Or were you all talk earlier?”

Flushed, you manage to choke out, “Dresser. Bottom drawer on the left.”

Katsuki grins against the side of your neck. “Good girl.” You yelp as he slaps your ass, his hands squeezing your hips one last time before he releases you in favor of hunting down the aforementioned lube.

With his weight gone from your back, you shift on Shouto’s lap and grab either side of his shirt, staring down at his bare chest with a wicked look in your eyes. “You look good like this,” you murmur, gesturing to his rumpled state. His hair is a mess, red and white stands bleeding together, and you brush your fingers through his hair, pushing the damp strands away from his face.

“So do you.” He leans into your hand as your fingers brush against the scar surrounding his eye, your touch soothing.

Your lips curve into a smile. “You’re only saying that because I’m naked.”

But Shouto shakes his head. His hands squeeze around your thighs again before slowly traveling up your back. You lean down to meet him again as his fingers wind through your hair, and he presses a chaste kiss to your lips as you push his shirt past his shoulders. It bunches around his elbows. “You’re beautiful,” he says bluntly, reluctantly releasing you to pull his shirt off the rest of the way. Immediately, his arms wrap around you, and he yanks you back against his chest so there’s no space left between you.

Giggling, you trail the tips of your fingers down his chest and stomach. Shouto grunts and rocks up against you as your fingers drag across the bulge in his pants. His slacks are painfully tight by now, and you lean down to give him a kiss as you work his belt loose. The button snaps open with ease, and you carefully lower the zipper of his pants. You help him out of his slacks, Shouto pressing up against you as he slides them down over his thighs before tossing them aside.

As soon as they’re gone, you’re quick to slip your fingers beneath his underwear, your fingers wrapping around his cock and giving an experimental squeeze. You stroke him slowly, your thumb swirling over the head as he rocks his hips against your hand. Low groans and murmurs of your name are your reward, and you shift on his lap, leaning away just to watch his head tilt back and his eyes fight to stay open. Shouto’s expression is nothing short of erotic, and you drink in the sight of him like this: panting and hot beneath your hands.

You’ve shoved his underwear down and changed the angle of your wrist by the time Katsuki comes back with a bottle of lube and a pair of condoms. He tosses one to Shouto, who catches it reflexively. The wrapper crinkles in his palm.

Biting your lip, you shudder as Katsuki presses his naked cock against your ass, his underwear gone this time as he ruts against you. Liquid heat pools low in your belly, and you’re so wet and ready for them that you can’t stand it. Shouto grinds against the inside of your thigh. One of his hands snakes up your torso to palm your breast.

“Please,” you breathe, needing them both to start fucking you now before you explode.

Katsuki rips open the condom wrapper with his teeth and a pleased hiss escapes through his teeth as he rolls it onto his cock. “Your ass is mine, angel.” He grunts as he drizzles a decent amount of cold lube onto his fingers. “Think you can handle it?”

You gasp as he spreads you from behind and swirls his fingers around your tight hole. The tip of his finger presses against your ass, and your back arches as he starts to wiggle it into you, the lube making it easy for him to slip in up to his knuckles. “What makes you think you’re the first thing I’ve had in my ass?” you say breathlessly, rocking your hips back against his hand as he starts to thrust and curl his finger inside of you.

“You shouldn’t antagonize him, love,” Shouto tells you, but it’s hard for you to take him seriously when you roll your thumb over the head of his cock to spread the pre-cum beading there and he hisses between his teeth. His fingers bite into your hips, and you stroke him harder in retaliation.

It isn’t long before Katsuki is working a second finger into you, and you moan against Shouto’s mouth as he leans forward to smother your gasps and whimpers of pleasure. His hand bats your fingers away from his cock, and you grasp his shoulders to hold yourself steady as he rips open the condom and rolls it onto his dick. You sigh as his cockhead presses against your slit, rubbing through your wetness.

A loud moan pulls from your throat as your mouth leaves Shouto’s. It’s all you can do to hold yourself upright as the man beneath you guides you over his cock. His thumb brushes against your clit, and you shove yourself back harder against Katsuki’s thick fingers, loving the stretch of him fingering your ass.

“Inside,” you gasp, wriggling against them. “Now.”

They don’t need to be told twice.

Katsuki pulls his fingers from your ass, and for a moment you’re achingly empty inside before the head of his cock takes the place of his hand. You whimper at the stretch, his cock thicker than his fingers were, and your head drops down to rest on Shouto’s shoulder as Katsuki works his dick into your ass inch by inch. Shivers wrack your spine, and Shouto hushes you, his hands running up and down your back. He squeezes your hips, peppers your cheek and jaw with tiny kisses to distract you from the pressure.

When his hips are tight against your ass, Katsuki presses his chest against your back, the sweat on your skin making it easy for him to slide against you. Your fingernails bite into Shouto’s shoulders as you slowly lower yourself onto his cock. He slips inside easily you’re so wet, your walls snug around him. A choked moan bubbles in your chest as you’re filled by their cocks. The fullness has you seeing stars.

The first few thrusts are tentative, slow and shallow as they find a rhythm that makes you moan. You roll your hips to match them, grinding against them whenever they pull out, leaving just the tips in before plunging back inside. Muffled praises and pleas keep spilling from you, begging for them to move faster, to fuck you harder, and all you can do is hold on as they comply.

Katsuki reaches around to grope your breast, and he mutters curses against your ear as you clench around him when he rolls your nipple between his fingers, pinching and squeezing roughly. Each pretty moan that leaves your mouth only spurs him on. His cock is pounding against your ass, and you’re so damn tight and hot inside that he can’t help the grunts and groans slipping from his own mouth.

Shouto isn’t any better off. He has his hands on your hips, his grip tight as he drags you up and down on his cock. Your pussy is squeezed around him tightly, your walls fluttering around him, and the sounds you’re making are breathed against his ear. Your fingers are in his hair again, pulling at the silky stands, and he moans as you roll your hips against his harder, grinding against him.

Their pace is fast and rough, and they have you close to cumming again almost embarrassingly quickly. You’ve already cum once, and everything is sensitive. There’s no teasing this time, no hesitation as they fuck you to their own rhythm, and god do you love it. It’s an intoxicating mess of hands and mouth on your skin, kissing and squeezing and pulling until you can barely think anymore. Pleasure ripples through you in waves, little electric shocks making you twitch and shiver until you almost can’t take it anymore.

Sweat rolls down your back. Katsuki’s teeth find the curve of your shoulder, and his other hand wraps around your front to grab your other breast, giving it the same treatment as the first. Your eyes find Shouto’s through the hazy feeling spreading through your limbs; his gaze is magnetic, pulling you in deeper until you’re practically drowning in him.

Unable to stay quiet for long, Katsuki huffs against the back of your neck. “Shit,” he growls against you, hips slapping against your ass with every harsh thrust. “This is fucking hot.” He pinches your nipples between his fingers, and you keen. “How’s that feel, angel? You like getting fucked with two cocks at once?”

“Yes,” you gasp, mewling as their cocks slam into you at the same time, stretching you wide until you’re almost unbearably full. “Fuck.” Shouto’s cock is rubbing over your sweet spot with every thrust, and the way his hips are grinding against yours has the fine hairs above his shaft teasing your clit just enough to feed into the growing knot in your stomach.

“You’re taking us so well, love,” Shouto murmurs, breath fanning over your face. His right hand sneaks between your legs, and your hips jerk against both of their cocks as cold fingers start to play with your clit. The first stroke of his fingers almost has you sobbing as pleasure shoots up your spine and spreads through your limbs.

And then his thumb presses against you and rubs. The coil in your belly tightens unbearably before snapping painfully fast. You tense, the breath knocked out of you in a rush, and all you can do is choke out their names as your muscles clench down around their cocks. Their rhythm stutters, but doesn’t stop.

Heat rips through you all the way to your toes. You’re dizzy with it. Exhaustion settles in your bones, and you sag against Shouto’s chest, panting. All you can do is hold on as they fuck you through your orgasm, drawing out your pleasure until it’s too much.

“Oh, god,” you say, nonsense spilling from your lips. “Oh, fuck. I can’t—”

“One more,” Shouto demands, punctuating the statement with another harsh snap of his hips against yours. His fingers don’t slow, circling over your swollen clit in fast circles. The cold only makes you more sensitive, and you twitch, unable to breathe. “You can give us one more.”

The pounding doesn’t stop, filthy, wet sounds accompanying their thrusts as their own orgasms take hold. Their rhythm from before falls apart, thrusts becoming erratic and rougher. Your thighs are quivering, sweat dripping down your skin. Katsuki pinches your nipples harder, tugging at them before he palms your breasts and squeezes. Between your thighs, Shouto’s fingers get even colder, and your hips jerk wildly, which pleases them both.

The cold fingers on your clit disappear for a split second, only to be replaced by ones that are hot, and you cum on their cocks a second time as Shouto pinches your clit before rolling it between his fingers.

Neither is far behind you. Your tight walls and quivering muscles are too much. Their thrusts stutter again. Katsuki’s cock shoves into your ass as deeply as he can and stays there, and a garbled mess of curses fall from his lips as he spills into the condom. Shouto moans your name as your pussy clenches around him, your slick walls fluttering and pulling him over the edge as well. You can only whimper as he continues to rock against you, cock twitching as he cums.

The three of you are panting, sweaty messes, and it’s not until their cocks start to soften that they pull out of you with slick sounds.

It’s all you can do not to collapse against Shouto’s chest, boneless and exhausted. Katsuki’s heat leaves your back, and you can hear him shuffling behind you, but don’t bother to move, only half-listening as he tosses the used condom in the trash and mumbles something you don’t catch. With your head lolled against his chest, Shouto’s fingers stroke the length of your spine until you finally catch your breath.

Eventually, you’re able to slide from his lap, lingering for a moment longer than necessary. You press a sloppy kiss against his naked shoulder, and Shouto sighs as he gives your hips one last squeeze before letting go. The floor is cold beneath your feet, and your legs almost buckle as you stand, a cramp forming in your thigh, but you’re too blissed out and happy to care.

“Katsuki, I’m taking your shirt,” you murmur, searching the floor for the still intact button-up before grabbing a fresh pair of underwear from your drawer.

“Oi! Angel!” Katsuki barks at you as you’re slipping your panties up your legs. There’s a concerned glare on his face, but it softens as you glance at him over your shoulder. “How ya feelin’?” He’s already dressed in his boxers again, looking unfairly good standing in the middle of your room with his arms crossed and a light sheen of sweat covering his torso.

You hum to yourself as you scoop his shirt off the floor and slip it on, only bothering with a few buttons. Two pairs of eyes follow you. “Good,” you respond after a moment. “Sore, but really good.”

A cocky grin spreads across Katsuki’s face. “Damn right.” There’s nothing subtle about the way his eyes rake over you. You can practically hear the thoughts of a round two floating through his head.

Shouto rolls his eyes at Katsuki and sits back down on your bed, also dressed in nothing but his underwear. “You are so…” He trails off with a shake of his head, and your lips twitch in amusement.

Katsuki glares at the other man. “You wanna finish that, Icy Hot?”

“Not really.” Shouto turns to you as you walk back towards him. A quiet sound leaves his mouth as you crawl back onto his lap and nuzzle against him, looping your arms around his neck lazily. “Need anything?” he asks you, rubbing your back over your stolen shirt.

You shake your head. “No. Just tired.” Warm lips press against your temple, and you stiffen as a sudden thought crosses your mind. The three of you hadn’t really taken the time to talk about whatever this was, aside from making sure all three of you were okay with it. Your stomach flips, content joy beginning to sour. “This…” You bite your lip and trace a scar on Shouto’s shoulder with your fingers. “This wasn’t just a one time thing, was it?”

“The fuck—”

“No,” Shouto cuts Katsuki off before he can start shouting. A strong arm squeezes around your waist, but you don’t lean back to look at either of them. Not yet. “Not unless you want it to be.”

Finally, you pull your head from his chest to look at them both. Katsuki has moved to stand beside the bed, his arms still crossed and his ruby eyes narrowed, but you can tell he’s in agreement with Shouto. Both men are staring down at you, waiting for you to speak.

There’s no complaint from you. “And you’re okay with this? Both of you?” You glance between them seriously. “I don’t want to make things weird for you.” There’s more to it than that, and the three of you are going to have a long talk in the morning about what all of this means, but right now, you’re tired and sore, and you just really want to crawl into bed and cuddle.

Shouto is nothing short of blunt when he says, “Do you really think I would have put up with seeing Bakugou’s naked ass if I wasn’t okay with it?” The dryness of his tone makes you giggle.

Katsuki bares his teeth. “Fuck you, Todoroki! My ass is great!” When your laughter only gets louder, Katsuki glances at you with a barely there smile that makes your heart skip. “Good fucking luck gettin’ rid of us, sweetheart. You’re stuck with us now.”

A sound of agreement comes from Shouto, and he gives your thigh a comforting squeeze. “If we didn’t make it clear enough earlier, we aren’t going anywhere,” he promises. “Katsuki and I discussed some things the other night. So long as you’re okay with this, I think we’re all in agreement here.”

You hum again, exhaustion replacing your worry. “Good,” you murmur as you drop your head back against Shouto’s shoulder, eyes already slipping shut. “That’s good.”

“We tire you out that much, angel?”

“Get in the damn bed, Katsuki.”

He does.

The three of you manage to situate yourselves on your bed, huddled together with barely any space left between you. You’re squished between them, partially lying on Shouto’s chest with your head tucked between his shoulder and neck. Legs are tangled beneath the sheets, and your arm is stretched across his stomach. Nonsensical shapes and patterns are drawn across his side, and your hair tickles his skin each time he exhales. Katsuki is lying with his back to you both, only a hairbreadth of space left between you. You aren’t touching. Not really. But you can feel him there with each breath he takes, can feel the heat rolling from his body in waves.

Despite how tired you are and how comfortable and safe you feel with them surrounding you, sleep doesn’t come easy to you. Thoughts keep whirring through you as silence creeps in around you, the darkness allowing your mind to wander. Katsuki and Shouto are still awake too—you can tell by their breathing.

It’s when you start thinking about telling your friends about this and how things might change that a sudden realization strikes you in the chest and you stiffen, a hitch in your breathing.

The sudden tension in your shoulders makes Shouto frown, and his brows furrow in confusion as he glances down at you. There’s a faraway look in your eyes, your expression troubled, and his stomach churns with ice. “What’s wrong?” he asks softly, gaining your attention as his fingers begin to stroke the back of your neck. “Did we do something?”

The concern in his voice snaps you from your thoughts, and you lift your head from his chest to glance at him, eyes widening. “No! No, it’s not that.” His grip around you tightens, and you sigh. “I was just thinking.”

Blue-grey eyes search yours, his expression carefully blank. “About what?”

Lying back down, you bite this inside of your cheek as you consider how to phrase your worry. “The media would have a field day if they found out about this,” you tell him, lips curving into a frown. Working closely with Heroes the way you do, you’ve seen the way the media latches onto gossip. Especially gossip involving relationships. Pro Heroes are celebrities in their own way, and you can only imagine what would happen if your little rendezvous with not one, but two incredibly popular and attractive young Heroes went public.

The thought makes you just a little bit sick.

A loud scoff comes from the man pressed against your back. You lift your head from Shouto’s chest and glance over your shoulder, only to find one red eye glaring at you through the darkness.

“If you think me an’ Icy Hot would let a bunch of fucking vultures say shit about you, you’re a fucking idiot,” Katsuki grumbles, eloquent as ever. The heavy stare cast your way lasts for a moment longer before he drops his head back onto his pillow and goes back to staring at the wall. He mutters something else under his breath that’s too quiet for you to make out, but then he shifts against the mattress, moving just enough to press his back against yours. One of his legs hooks around yours, joining the tangled mess of limbs.

The gruff comment makes Shouto sigh, exasperation clear in the single puff of air. Even still, he doesn’t disagree. The arm wrapped around your shoulders squeezes you a little tighter, and Shouto’s forearm presses against the back of Katsuki’s shoulder blades in a subtle show of affection. Warm lips press against your temple and linger in a slow, sweet kiss.

Your heart squeezes in your chest.

“I know.”

#shouto todoroki x reader #todoroki x reader #todoroki shouto x reader #bakugou x reader #katsuki bakugo x reader #bakugou katsuki x reader #bakugou x reader x todoroki #todoroki x reader x bakugou #shouto todoroki #katsuki bakugou #bnha x reader #mha x reader #bnha #mha #fic: some like it hot

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authortango · 3 years

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“One day, the sun rose in the west and set in the east.” - Prompt #39

This is my first Reedsy Short Story! I’m going to try posting these here semi-regularly until I run out of short stories to post and I have to write new ones. I hope you enjoy them! I would love to hear what others think of my writing in this format!

Genre: Fantasy, Romance, Paranormal

Word Count: 2,993 words

6:00 am, Lookout Mountain, Golden, Colorado.

One dark, dewy Colorado morning, a group of campers emerged early from their tents for their anticipated sunrise hike, organized by their group leader, Cathy. Cathy inhaled the cool morning air with tingling satisfaction. To her, there was nothing better than this. The wet morning air was way better than the first cup of coffee.

As her yawning crew of eight got itself all together, she smiled cheerily and quietly said to them all,

“Good morning! I hope you all slept well last night. We’re going to hike to this cliff right here,” She pointed, everyone's eyes following to a cliff on the east face of the mountain. “And then we are going to watch the sunrise before we get to breakfast. Everyone ready?”

The group nodded collectively, some more enthusiastically than others, and soon they were on their way. They became more alert as they climbed the side of Lookout Mountain, wide-eyed as they experienced the gentle sounds of nature’s morning song. As they arrived with Cathy on her chosen cliff, she checked her watch and was satisfied to find that they had made it on time, and that the sun would rise in the next five minutes. Turning to her group, she whispered,

“Get comfortable! Sunrise starts in five minutes!” As everyone huddled together to keep warm until the sun arrived, Cathy found a nice spot a little aways from them and eagerly set her eyes on the horizon. She felt these moments to be meditative, and while her companions might prefer to sit together, she felt there was something special about feeling the chilly air turn warm in the rosy glow of Earth’s star.

Five minutes passed. The area around them seemed to grow lighter, but the sun was not yet visible. Cathy looked up in the sky, a little confused. Could it be too cloudy to spot a sunrise? No, she had checked the weather in the area, and there definitely weren’t any clouds above them. Maybe the sunrise was later than the forecast had anticipated.

Fifteen minutes passed. Cathy felt the air around her start to get warm, and she was grateful for it. But she was a little unsatisfied. She still couldn’t see the sun on the horizon in front of her. Then, she heard a gasp from one of the women behind her.

“Look!” Turning around, she was shocked to see the sun right behind them, continuing to rise into the sky. She took out her phone and rechecked the compass. The cliff they were on was facing east, which meant, somehow, the sun was rising from the west.

9:00 am, Palo Alto, California

Enrique, two states away from Cathy and her hiking crew, did not wake up early enough to see the sunrise. In fact, he barely woke up early enough to be on time for his job. He spent the fifteen minutes he had in his morning trying to find clean clothes in his messy apartment, brushing his teeth, and stuffing a plain untoasted bagel into his mouth before longboarding his way to work.

At work, his busy morning got busier, as everyone stopped by the barrio coffee shop on their daily commute to work, and it was tough to catch a break when orders needed to be filled. When the workflow finally trickled into a lull, he spent some time chatting with his coworker, Isla.

Enrique really liked Isla. Mornings with her were more bearable than others, which was why he tried his best to schedule his shifts with her. She was pretty, her bow-and-arrow lips stretching from ear to ear as she excitedly told him about the newest thing she’d learned that day, her large, kitschy earrings flashing like her beautiful brown eyes. Today her earrings were turquoise painted with orange dots. Enrique loved the wrestler mask earrings she would wear during WWE season, or some of the pretty hand-beaded ones she bought at craft stalls. For special occasions, she would wear a pair of cherry earrings, and when Enrique thought about asking her out he would think about those earrings and blush. They were truly his favorite pair, and he often wondered if one day she would wear them for him.

Today, Isla’s face flushed with excitement as she told Enrique her news.

“Did you hear? The sun rose in the west today! They’ve never seen anything like it!”

“What? No way. The sun’s been doing it’s thing in the east for millennia! It can’t just change it’s habits like that.” Enrique laughed.

“You would think, but NASA even confirmed it on the news! They had satellite footage and everything. They predict it’s only for today, but who knows? The way the world works may change because of this! And it’s only the first day! Isn’t that so special?” Isla exclaimed, beaming at him. Enrique beamed back at her, shrugging.

“Y’know I guess it is very special. Does that mean it’s setting in the east today instead of rising in it?” He asked. Isla nodded.

“That’s what the weathermen are saying. Hey, a bunch of us are getting together after work to go to the Foothills and watch the sunset. You could join us! It’s gonna be a great big party to celebrate the world possibly changing and all that. You wanna come?” Enrique’s heart beat faster. Pretty Isla was asking him if he wanted to watch the sunset. With her! If the world was changing and Isla was the one asking him out, then today must be really special.

“Absolutely! I get off my shift at five, but I’ll be there! When does the sun set?”

“I think they predicted it to set around 7:30, so we’re gonna be at the park around 7. Don’t be too late!” Isla said before returning to the kitchen.

“I won’t!” Enrique called after her, hoping she didn’t see his ears burning with delight.

3:30 pm, a small adobe house in Palo Alto, California

Being one of the pastry cooks for the coffee shop meant that since Isla got to work early, she also got off of work early. Today, she was off early enough to fret about her party with Enrique that night. In her small childhood bedroom, Isla rummaged through her closet, barely glancing at the outfits as she muttered worriedly to herself.

“What was I thinking? What if he doesn’t like my friends? We don’t really know each other outside of work. What if we get there, and it’s all awkward, and we have nothing to talk about?”

Her mom, walking past with a laundry basket and, noticing her daughter frantically throwing clothes, stopped, and said,

“Mija, you need me to do some laundry? I’ve got the basket right here.” Isla groaned in frustration.

“No, no laundry. I just can’t figure out what to wear.”

“To what?”

“I’m going out with a group of friends to watch the sunset. Remember, it sets en el este today? And I invited Enrique, and I can’t figure out what to wear!”

“Oh chica, you have some nice dresses you could wear! Or you could rummage through my closet if you wanted something más caliente.” her mother said, giving her a little wink.

“Ayy mamí noooooo!” Isla wailed, flopping on her bed and burying her face in her pillow with embarrassment. Hearing her cry, Isla’s father appeared in the doorway, surveying the mess of outfits.

“What’s all this?”

“Isla’s invited su enamorado to her fiesta tonight, and she can’t figure out what to wear.”

“Aaaaah. Is this about that Enrique? Kind of a pretty boy, isn’t he?” He asked.

“Very pretty.” Isla’s mom nodded. Isla made another sound of disgust and frustration at her mother. Her father returned his attention to her and smiled.

“Mijita, su enamorado is going to love whatever you wear. Wear what you feel comfortable in, and don’t do anything that makes you feel uncomfortable.”

“Also red is a good color for meeting boys. It’s very lucky, and distracting. Especially on the night of your special sunset!” Isla’s mom added. Isla groaned again, and both parents finally left her alone.

When the coast was clear, Isla lifted her head and stared vacantly at the mess around her room. Maybe her mom was right about the color red, but she didn’t want to wear too much. Then, she spied her yellow dress tossed next to a pair of red flats, and knew immediately what she wanted to do.

She only hoped her date would be as interesting as her look.

5:30 pm, Bodega Square in Palo Alto, California.

Enrique had just exited a flower shop in a shopping center that Palo Alto called ‘Bodega Square’, with a bouquet of sunflowers, and was now strolling down the street. As he walked past the shops and corner-stalls, he window-shopped for something else Isla might like. Something that showed her that he cared about her, and would like to take their friendship further.

As he was about to leave, he happened upon a very small shop, run by an ancient looking man. The shop stand was no higher than Enrique’s knee, and he couldn’t help but notice the flash of the gold jewelry, all made with the same enchanting orange stone. Immediately, Enrique knew he had to get something for Isla.

“Excuse me,” he asked the man, squatting so as not to talk down to him. “What kind of stone is this?”

“Ah! This is called a sunstone! It is a very lucky gem, especially on days like these!” The man cried with enthusiasm, waving his arms to draw attention to the jewelry. His accent was unfamiliar to Enrique, but it all made for a very engaging conversation.

“Is there a piece you would recommend? I’m thinking about getting something for a girl I’m seeing tonight.” Enrique asked

“Ooooooh for a girl! Well you could do a necklace, but honestly, every girl gets a necklace, and eventually it becomes just another trinket. Here is something truly special.” The man said, turning around in his small shop for the item. He then showed Enrique a ring, fashioned to look like a small sun, with a beautifully cut sunstone set in the middle.

“This one is a very special piece, and especially in this, the day of our beautiful sun’s awakening!” Enrique looked thoughtfully at the ring. It was charming to be sure.

“Are you sure this will show her how I feel?” He asked.

“Absolutely! As clear as the sun speaks!” Enrique wasn’t one hundred percent sure, but as the man was so enthusiastic, and it was pretty, so he bought the ring. Once purchased, he strung it on the surfers necklace he wore to match his shark-print Hawaiian shirt. Bidding the man goodbye, he hopped aboard his longboard to make up for lost time, rolling through the busy streets of Palo Alto with ease.

The sun’s orange glow bathed the city in light as he rode along, and suddenly, he started to hear a whispering. The voice was far off, but it sounded like someone was trying to speak with him. He stopped his board for a moment, and listened, but there was not a sound around him. At least, not of talking. There were sounds of traffic, both cars and people walking, but not a voice like the one he had heard. Slowly, he began to board again, wondering if he had imagined it.

When he emerged from the busy street and turned towards the Foothills park, he heard the voice again, this time a little louder. The sun was in its full glory, the golden hour settling on the town before sunset. Enrique could hear a woman speaking, just enough that he could make out her words, but not enough to make sense of them. Instinctively, he reached for the shark tooth necklace to help him think.

As soon as he touched the ring, he heard the woman’s voice loud and clear. It was as if he had put on noise cancelling headphones, and all he could hear was her.

“Microorganisms are fascinating. It’s funny to see all the things they do when their routine changes. I mean, it wasn’t so drastic a routine, was it?”

Immediately Enrique let go of the necklace, shocked and confused. The voice stopped, and he looked down at the ring resting on his chest momentarily, putting the pieces together as the sun glinted off of its likeness.

The man had said, ‘As clear as the sun speaks’.

Quickly, Enrique fiddled with the clasp on his necklace, slipped the ring off of the string and onto his little finger. The voice came back again, in the same comforting, warm tones of what Enrique assumed had to be the sun. He stood there for a moment, listening to what she had to say.

“Are they ever warm enough? I can never tell. It takes so much energy to send them warmth. It’s why half the year I can only warm one side at a time. Thankfully they figured out fire.

“It seems we have a new listener. It’s so enchanting to know someone else can hear me for a change. Hello microorganism! Can you hear me? How was your day? I’m glad you found a stone to tune in with. Don’t you have somewhere to be?” Enrique, startled, felt as though she was speaking to him directly. And he did have somewhere to be. Cautiously, he started to longboard again, listening to the sun’s idle chatter as he did.

“It’s amazing, these microorganisms cover a planet so small and yet their lives end up being so huge. They’re not huge to everyone, but it’s hard not to become invested when you’ve been looming about ninety-three million miles away from them for so many millennia. I wonder if they feel the same, and that's why they get so excited over a routine change. I should stop startling them so, but it’s so funny to see how they react. I wonder how fast the earth would spin once one of those satellite people got their hands on a sunstone gem.”

This is crazy! Enrique thought. I wonder if she can see me. How can she observe anything when we’re so small?

“Observance is nothing. It’s not hard when every other life form in space is either non-complex, non-existent, or inhabited by your brothers and sisters. When I observe microorganisms…how do I explain it? When microorganisms use that dish to look at something even smaller than them, the clear one? The one that sometimes sets things on fire? I use something like that, although much bigger. It’s nice to follow your followers. I’d been following the Mayans for centuries because it was so flattering that they noticed me. It’s a shame they died out.”

Enrique, fascinated but overstimulated, blocked the sun’s jabbering out of his mind. It was close to setting, and he had just reached the Foothills. He scanned them briefly, eager to find Isla and her group. He spotted a large group to his left, and, assuming it was them, headed in their direction. He was correct, and when he saw Isla almost stopped in his tracks. The sun crooned ,

“Ooooh, she is very lovely. I can see part of why this one likes her. I hope she likes the ring.”

Isla caught Enrique’s gaze and smiled bashfully. She wore a yellow sundress that flared out around her knees, and was patterned with little white flowers. She wore a golden headband with little metal rays like the sun, and her red flats matched the cherry earrings that made Enrique blush. If the sun wasn’t setting above them, Enrique would have sworn it felt like high noon without a cloud in the sky. She was stunning to him. She approached him excitedly and exclaimed,

“I’m so glad you made it! And look at those lovely flowers! You really shouldn’t have. Come on, come join the party! I’ll introduce you to my friends.” Enrique remembered himself and smiled enthusiastically back at her.

“That would be excellent! But first, I got you something else. Hold on.” Enrique pried the ring off his little finger and delicately handed it to her. But Isla did not take it. She blushed so hard, that for a moment he thought he had embarrassed her and that she did not like it.

“Oh Enrique, you didn’t have to get me anything.” She breathed, enchanted by the glint of sunbeams bouncing off the ring.

“Do you like it? I’m sorry if it’s too much. I thought because it was a special day, it might be fitting. You don’t have to take it if you don’t want it.” Enrique explained.

“No no, I love it! I- I just wasn’t expecting a gift, and I don’t have one for you.” Isla stammered. This was so awkward, just like she had feared! She was stumbling for words, flustered, but she did like the ring. Luckily, she didn’t have to think of anything to say..

“Isla, you want to know something special about the ring?”

“What’s that?” She asked. Enrique took a breath, trying to clear his head so the right words would come to him. At that moment, he thought of the old man, and smiled.

“It’s perfect for you, because you both shine as clear as the sun speaks.” Isla smiled, a feeling of relief settling in her chest. There was no awkwardness between them, just easiness. She allowed him to hold her hand, blushing at how gentle his touch was as he slid the sunstone ring on her finger. Then, her eyes widened with wonder as she heard the sun speak. Enrique beamed at her, relieved that they both shared this secret, this new bond between them. And as the sun set over them, Isla heard her say,

“Ah! Lovely. Perhaps I’ll do this again sometime. Goodnight Earth. Enjoy tomorrow.”

#my writing #reedsy short stories #short story #my short story #as clear as the sun speaks #writing #fantasy #romance #paranormal #fiction #short fiction #original fiction #writing prompts #prompts

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Riot Fest 2021: 9/16-9/19, Douglass Park

BY JORDAN MAINZER

Much like Pitchfork Music Festival earlier this month, this past weekend’s Riot Fest felt relatively normal. Arriving at Douglas Park every day, you were greeted by the usual deluge of attendees in Misfits t-shirts and dyed hair, the sound of faint screams and breakneck guitars and drums emanating from nearby stages. The abnormal aspects of the fest, at least as compared to previous incarnations, we’re already used to by now from 2021 shows: To get in, you had to show proof of vaccination and/or a negative test no older than 48 hours, which means that unvaxxed 4-day attendees had to get multiple tests. Props to the always awesome staff at Riot Fest for actually checking the cards against the names on government-issued IDs.

For a festival that dealt with a plethora of last-minute changes due to bands dropping out because of COVID-19 caution (Nine Inch Nails, Pixies, Dinosaur Jr.) or other reasons (Faith No More/Mr. Bungle because of concerns around Mike Patton’s well-being), there were very few bumps in the road. Whether Riot Fest had bands like Slipknot, Anthrax, or Rise Against in their back pocket as replacements or not, it very much felt like who we saw Thursday-Sunday was always supposed to be the lineup, even when laying your eyes on countless “Death to the Pixies” shirts. Sure, one of the fest’s main gimmicks--peeling back the label on Goose Island’s Riot Fest Sucks Pale Ale to reveal the schedule--was out of date with inaccurate set times and bands, and it still would have been so had Faith No More and Mr. Bungle stayed, since Fucked Up had to drop out last minute due to border issues. But the festival, as always, rolled with the punches.

The sets themselves offered the circle pit and crowdsurfing-inducing punk and metal you’re used to, with a few genre outliers. For so many bands of all styles, Riot Fest represented their first live show in years, and a few acts knew the exact number of days since their last show. For every single set, the catharsis in the crowd and on stage was palpable, not exactly anger, or elation, but pure release.

Here were our favorite sets of the festival, in chronological order.

WDRL

Last October, WDRL (which, amazingly, stands for We Don’t Ride Llamas) announced themselves with a Tweet: “y’all been looking for an alt black band,, well here you go”. A band of Gen Z siblings, Chase (lead guitar), Max (lead vocals), Blake (drums), and Kit Mitchell (bass guitar), WDRL is aware, much like Meet Me @ The Altar (who, despite my hyping, I couldn’t make it in time to see) that they’re one of too few bands of POCs in the Riot Fest-adjacent scene. Their set, one of the very first of the weekend during Thursday’s pre-party, showed them leading by example, the type of band to inspire potentially discouraged Black and brown folks to start punk bands. Max is a terrific vocalist, able to scream over post-punk, scat over funk, and coo over slow, soulful R&B swayers with the same ease. The rest of the band was equally versatile, able to pivot on a dime from scuzzy rock to hip hop to twinkling dream pop. Bonus points for covering Splendora’s “You’re Standing On My Neck”, aka the Daria theme song.

Joyce Manor

Joyce Manor’s self-titled debut is classic. The best part of it as an album play-through at a festival? It’s so short that you can hear it and you’ll still have half a set for other favorites. So while the bouncy “Orange Julius”", “Ashtray Petting Zoo”, and ultimate singalong “Constant Headache” were set highlights, the Torrance, CA band was able to burn through lots from Never Hungover Again, Cody, Million Dollars to Kill Me, and their rarities collection Songs From Northern Torrance. Apart from not playing anything from Of All Things I Will Soon Grow Tired (seriously, am I the only one who loves that record?), Joyce Manor were stellar, from the undeniable hooks of “Heart Tattoo” to the churning power chords of “Catalina Fight Song”. After playing “Christmas Card”, Johnson and company gave one final nod to the original fest cancellation, My Chemical Romance, who were slated to headline 2020, then 2021, and now 2022. If you ever wondered what it would sound like hearing a concise punk band like Joyce Manor take on the bombast of “Helena”, you found out. Hey, it was actually pretty good!

Patti Smith

Behold: a full Patti Smith set! After being shafted by the weather last time around, a sunglasses-laden Smith decided not to fuck around, leading with the inspiring “People Have The Power”, her voice as powerful as I’ve ever heard it. Maybe it was the influence of Riot Fest, but she dropped as many f-bombs as Corey Taylor did during Slipknot’s Sunday night headlining set. After reluctantly signing an adoring crowd member’s copy of Horses, she quipped, “I feel bad for you have to cart that fucking thing around.” It wasn’t just the filthy banter: This was Smith at her most enraptured and incendiary, belting during “Because The Night” and spitting during a “Land/Gloria” medley, reciting stream-of-consciousness hallucinogenic lyrics about the power of escape in the greatest display of stamina the festival had to offer.

Circa Survive

“It feels good to dance,” declared Circa Survive lead singer Anthony Green. The heart and soul of the Philadelphia rock band, who cover ground from prog rock to post-hardcore and emo, Green was in full form during the band’s early Friday set, his falsetto carrying the rolling “The Difference Between Medicine and Poising Is in the Dose” and the chugging “Rites of Investiture”. While the band, too, can throw down, they’re equally interesting when softer and more melodic, Brendan Ekstrom‘s twinkling guitars lifting “Child of the Desert” and “Suitcase”. Ending with the one-two punch of debut Juturna’s introspective “Act Appalled” and Blue Sky Noise’s skyward “Get Out”, Green announced the band would have a new record coming soon, one you hope will cover the sonic and thematic ground of even just those two tracks.

Thrice

Thrice played their first show since February 2020 the same day they’d release their 11th studio album, Horizons/East (Epitaph). To a crowd of fans that came to hear their favorite songs, though, the Irvine, California band knew better than to play a lot of the new record, instead favoring tracks like The Artist in the Ambulance’s spritely title cut and Vheissu standout “The Earth Will Shake”. Yeah, they led with a Horizons/East song making its live debut, the dreamy, almost Deftones-esque “Scavengers”, and later in the set they’d reveal the impassioned “Summer Set Fire to the Rain”. But the set more prominently served to emphasize lead vocalist Dustin Kensrue’s gruff delivery, on “All the World Is Mad” and “in Exile”, the rhythm section’s propulsive playing buoying his fervency. And how about Teppei Teranishi’s finger tapping on “Black Honey”?!? Thrice often favor the slow build-up, but they offered plenty of individually awesome moments.

Smashing Pumpkins

William Patrick Corgan entered the stage to dramatic strings, dressed in a robe, with white face paint except for red hearts under his eyes. He looked like a ghost. That’s pretty much where the semi-serious theatricality ended. The Smashing Pumpkins’ first Chicago festival headlining set in recent memory was the rawest they’ve sounded in a while, counting when they played an original lineup-only set at the United Center a few years back. It was also the most fun I’ve ever seen Corgan have on stage. Though they certainly selected and debuted from their latest electropop turn Cyr, Corgan, guitarist James Iha, drummer Jimmy Chamberlin, guitarist Jeff Schroeder, and company more notably dug deep into the vault, playing Gish’s “Crush” for the first time since 2008, Adore’s “Shame” for the first time since 2010, and Siamese Dream barnburner “Quiet” for the first time since 1994 (!). Best, every leftfield disco jam like set opener “The Colour Of Love”, “Cyr”, and “Ramona” was quickly followed by something heavy and/or recognizable, Chamberlin’s limber drum solos elevating even latter-day material like “Solara”. At one point, Corgan, a self-described “arty fuck,” admitted that years ago he would have opted for more experimental material, but he knew the crowd wanted to hear classics, the band then delving into a gorgeous acoustic version of “Tonight, Tonight”. And while Kate Bush coverer Meg Myers came out to sing Lost Highway soundtrack industrial ditty “Eye”, it was none other than legendary local shredder Michael Angelo Batio who stole the show, joining for the set closer, a pummeling version of Zeitgeist highlight “United States”. Leaning into the cheese looks good on you, Billy.

The Bronx

Credit to L.A. punk rock band The Bronx, playing early on a decidedly cooler Saturday early afternoon, for making me put in my earplugs outside of the photo pit. Dedicating “Shitty Future” to Fucked Up (who, as we mentioned, had to drop out), the entire band channeled Damian Abraham’s energy on piercing versions of “Heart Attack American” as well as “Superbloom” and “Curb Feelers” from their latest album Bronx VI (Cooking Vinyl). Joby J. Ford and Ken Horne’s guitars stood out, providing choppy rhythms on “Knifeman” and swirling solos on “Six Days A Week”.

Big Freedia

The New Orleans bounce artist has Big Diva Energy, for the most part. After her DJ pumped up the crowd to contemporary Southern rap staple “Ayy Ladies” by Travis Porter, Big Freedia walked out and showed that “BDE”, firing through singles like “Platinum” and “N.O. Bounce” as her on-stage dancers’ moves ranged from delicate to earth-shaking. At this point, Freedia can pretty much do whatever she wants, effortlessly segueing between a cover of Drake’s “Nice For What” to “Strut”, her single with electropop DJ Elohim, to a cover of Beyone’s “Formation”. Of course, the set highlight was when she had volunteers from the crowd come up and shake and twerk--two at a time to keep it COVID-safe--all while egging them on to go harder. Towards the end of the set, after performing the milquetoast “Goin’ Looney” from the even-worse-than-expected Space Jam: A New Legacy soundtrack, she pulled out the beloved “Gin in my System”. “I got that gin in my system,” she sang, the crowd singing back, “Somebody gonna be my victim,” a refrain that compositionally not only leaves plenty of room for the thundering bass but is thematically a statement of total power--over sexism, racism, the patriarchy--even in the face of control-altering substances.

Les Savy Fav

During Les Savy Fav’s set, lead singer Tim Harrington at various points--*big breath*--went into the crowd, deepthroated an audience member’s mohawk spike, found a discarded manikin head with a wig on it, revealed the words “deep” and “dish” painted on his thighs and a drawing of a Red Hot on his back, rode a crowd member like a horse, made a headband out of pink tape, donned ski goggles, surfed on top of a door carried by the crowd, squeezed his belly while the camera was on it to make it look like his belly button was singing, and referred to himself as a “slippery eel.” Indeed, the legend of Les Savy Fav’s live show starts and ends with Harrington’s ridiculous antics, as he’s all but out of breath when actually singing dance-punk classics like “Hold On To Your Genre”, “The Sweat Descends”, and “Rome (Written Upside Down)”. We haven’t heard much in terms of new music from Les Savy Fav in over 10 years--their most recent album was 2010′s Root For Ruin--but I could see them and the extremely Aughts genre in general become staples of Riot Fest as albums like Inches, The Rapture’s Echoes, and !!!’s Louden Up Now reach the 20-year mark. Dynamic vocalists, tight bands, and killer grooves: What’s not to love?

State Champs

This set likely wins the award for “most immediate crowd surfers,” which I guess is to be expected when you begin your set with a classic track 1--album 1 combination. “Elevated” is the State Champs number that will cause passers-by to stop and watch a couple songs, the type of song that can pretty much only open or close a set. And because they opened with it, the crowd immediately ramped up the energy. It’s been three years since the last State Champs full-length, Living Proof, so they were in prime position to play some new songs. As such, they performed their bubblegummy “Outta My Head” and “Just Sound” and faithfully covered Fall Out Boy’s “Chicago Is So Two Years Ago” (releasing a studio version earlier this week). But the tracks from The Finer Things and Around the World and Back were, as usual, the highlights, like “All You Are Is History”, “Remedy”, “Slow Burn”, and set closer “Secrets”. At the end of the day, it didn’t entirely matter: The crowd knew every word of every song.

Bayside

Putting State Champs and Bayside back-to-back on the same stage made an easy decision for the many pop-punk bands at Riot Fest. Bayside’s been at it for twice as long, so the breadth of their setlist across their discography is more variable. Moreover, they’ve thrice revisited their discography with acoustic albums of old songs, so even their staples are subject to change. They provided solid versions of Killing Time standouts “Already Gone” and “Sick, Sick, Sick”, Cult’s “Pigsty”, and older songs like their self-titled’s “Montauk” and Sirens and Condolences’ “Masterpiece”. For “Don’t Call Me Peanut”, though, they brought out--*gasp*--an acoustic guitar! It was a rare moment not just for one of the most popular pop punk sets but the festival in general, a breather before Vacancy shout-along “Mary”.

Rancid

“Rancid has always been anti-fascist and anti-racist,” said Tim Armstrong before the band played “Hooligans”. It was nice to hear an explicit declaration of solidarity from the street punks, reminding the crowd what really matters and why we come together to scream and mosh. The band expectedly favored ...And Out Come The Wolves, playing almost half of it, and they perfectly balanced their harder edges with more celebratory ska songs like “Where I’m Going” from their most recent album Trouble Maker (Hellcat/Epitaph). My two favorite moments? The breezy, keyboard-laden “Fall Back Down” from their supremely underrated 2001 album Indestructable, and when they asked the crowd whether they wanted the set to end with “Time Bomb” or “Ruby Soho”. “We have 4 minutes left, and it’s disrespectful to play over your set time,” said Armstrong. It’s easy to see why Rancid continues to make an impression--instrumental and moral--on touring bands new and old.

Run the Jewels

The brilliant hip hop duo are masters of balancing social consciousness with the desire to fuck shit up for fun. Live, the former tends to come in between-song banter, the latter with their actual charismatic, tit-for-tat performances of the songs. However, Run the Jewels also are probably the clearest live performers in hip hop today, Killer Mike and El-P’s words, hypersexual and woke alike, ringing in the ears of audience members who don’t even know the songs. (Looking around, I could see people smiling and laughing at every dick joke, nodding at each righteous proclamation.) Some of the best songs on their most recent album RTJ4 (Jewel Runners/BMG) are perfect for these multitudes. Hearing both RTJ MCs and the backing track of Pharrell Williams and Zack de la Rocha chanting “Look at all these slave masters posin’ on yo’ dollar” on “JU$T” as the rowdy crowd bounced up and down was the ultimate festival moment. For those who had never seen RTJ, it was clear from the get-go, as Killer Mike and EL-P traded bars on “yankee and the brave (ep. 4)” that they’re a unique hip hop act. For the rest of us, it was clear that Run the Jewels keep getting better.

The Gories

It felt a little weird that legendary Detroit trio The Gories were given the first set of the final day--I’d have thought they’d have more draw than that. No matter what, they provided one of the more satisfying and stylistically varied sets of the festival, showcasing their trademark balance of garage punk and blues. Mick Collins and Dan Kroha’s guitar and vocal harmonies were the perfect jangly balance to Peggy O’Neill’s meat and potatoes drumming on “Sister Ann” and “Charm Bag”, while folks less familiar with The Gories were treated to their fantastic covers of Suicide’s “Ghost Rider” and The Keggs’ “To Find Out”. Smells like time for the first Gories album in 20 years!

FACS

I thought it would be ill-fitting to watch a band like FACS in the hot sun, early in the day. Their monochrome brand of post-punk seems better suited for a dimly lit club. But the hypnotic nature of Brian Case’s swirling guitar and Alianna Kalaba’s slinky bass was oddly perfect in a sweltering, faint-inducing heat. Just when you thought you might fade, squalls of feedback and Noah Leger’s odd time signatures picked you back up. Songs from their new album Present Tense (Trouble In Mind) such as “Strawberry Cough” and “XOUT” were emblematic of this push-pull. And everything from the band’s red, white, and black color palate to their lack of stage banter suggested a cool minimalism that was rare at a festival that tends to book more outwardly emotional bands.

Alex G

On one hand, Alex G’s unique combination of twangy alt country and earnest indie rock makes him an outlier at Riot Fest, or at the very least a mostly Pitchfork/occasional Riot Fest type of booking. On the other hand, like a lot of bands at the festival, he has a rabid fanbase, one that knows his back catalog hits, like “Kute”, “Kicker”, and “Bug”, as much as if not more than hyped Rocket and House of Sugar singles, like “Bobby” and “Gretel”. Backed by a band that knows when to be loose and when to tighten up--and the instrumental chops to do so--Alex G was better than he was a Pitchfork three years ago. He still sings through his teeth, making it especially hard to hear him on louder tunes such as “Brick”. But when the honesty of his vocals combines with the dreamy guitars of “Southern Sky” and circular melodies of “Near”, it’s pure bliss.

HEALTH

The formula for the LA industrial noise band has pretty much always been Jake Duzsik’s soft vocals contrasting John Famiglietti’s screeching bass and pedals and BJ Miller’s mammoth drums. Both in 2018 and Sunday at Riot Fest, the heat affected Famiglietti’s pedals, which were nonetheless obscured by tarp. Or so HEALTH claimed: You wouldn’t know the difference given how much their sound envelops your whole body during one of their live sets. Since their previous appearance at the festival, the prolific band has released two new records on Loma Vista, Vol. 4: Slaves of Fear and collaboration record Disco4: Part 1. Songs from those records occupied half of their excellent set, including battering opener “GOD BOTHERER”, “BODY/PRISON”, and “THE MESSAGE”. It was so wonderfully loud it drowned out K.Flay’s sound check drummer, thank the lord.

Thursday

Last time Thursday played Riot Fest, Geoff Rickly was battling heroin addiction, something he talked about during the band’s triumphant late afternoon set on Sunday. He mentioned the kindness of the late, great Riley Gale of Power Trip in extending a helping hand when he was down and extended his love to anybody in the crowd or even the world at large going through something similar. To say that this set was life-affirming would be an understatement; after 636 days of no shows, Rickly was at his most passionate. He introduced “Signals Over The Air” as a song the band “wrote about men beating up on women in the pit,” that a record exec at the time told them that it wouldn’t age well because he thought--no kidding--sexism would eventually end. Rickly’s voice, suffering from sound issues last time around, simply soared during Full Collapse’s “Cross Out The Eyes”, No Devolucion’s “Fast to the End”, and two inspired covers: Bruce Springsteen’s “Dancing in the Dark” and Texas Is The Reason’s “If It's Here When We Get Back It's Ours”. The latter the band played because TITR guitarist Norman Brannon’s actually on tour with them, though Rickly emphasized the influence the NYC post-hardcore greats had on Thursday when they first started. Never forgetting where they’ve come from, with self-deprecating humor and radical empathy, Thursday are once again a force.

Devo

Much like the B-52′s in 2019, Devo was the set this year of a 70′s/80′s absurd punk band with some radio hits that everybody knows but with a swath of die-hard fans, too. It’s safe to say both groups were satisfied. You walked around the fest all day wondering whether the folks wearing Devo hats were actual fans or doing it for the novelty. By the time the band actually took the stage after a career-spanning video of their many phases, it didn’t really matter, because it was clear the band still had it, Mark and Bob Mothersbaugh and Gerald Casale’s vocals booming throughout a massive crowd. They ripped through “Peek-a-Boo”, “Going Under”, “That’s Good”, “Girl U Want”, and “Whip It”, which caused the fans waiting for Slipknot (and presumably some Devo heads) to form a circle pit. And that was all before the first costume change. Mark passed out hats to the crowd, fully embracing converts who might have only known “Whip It”. The feverish chants of “Uncontrollable Urge” and synth freakouts of “Jocko Homo” whipped everyone into a frenzy. And the band performed the “Freedom Of Choice” theme song for the first time since the early 80′s! I had seen Devo before, opening for Arcade Fire and Dan Deacon at the United Center, but the atmosphere at Riot Fest was more appropriately ludicrous.

Flaming Lips

“The Flaming Lips are the most COVID-safe band in the world,” went the ongoing joke, as throughout the pandemic they’d give audience members bubbles for their bubbles to be able to play shows. The normally goofy and interactive band scaled back for Riot Fest. Before launching into their traditional opener “Race For The Prize”, Wayne Coyne explained that while the band is normally proud of where they come from--Oklahoma City--they’re saddened by the local government’s ignorant pandemic response and wouldn’t risk launching balloons or walking into the crowd because they might be virus spreaders coming from such an under-vaccinated area. To his and the band’s credit, they wore masks during the performance, even when singing; Coyne removed his only when outside of his bubble that had to be deflated and inflated many times and that sometimes muffled his singing voice even more than a mask. Ever the innovative band, they still put on a stellar show. Coyne autotuned his voice on “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Pt. 1″, making it another instrument filling the song’s glorious pop melodies. Less heavy on props, the band favored a glitchy, psychedelic setlist that alternated between beauty (”Flowers Of Neptune 6″, “Feeling Yourself Disintegrate”, “All We Have Is Now”) and two-drummed cacophony (“Silver Trembling Hands”, “The W.A.N.D.”). They’ll give a proper Lips show soon enough, but in the meantime, it was nice to see them not run through the motions.

Slipknot

Apart from maybe moments of Slayer, I’ve never witnessed a headliner at Riot Fest as heavy as Slipknot was. Even the minor ethereal elements present on their most recent and very good album We Are Not Your Kind, like the chorus of voices during “Unsainted”, were all but abandoned live in favor of straight up brutality. Sure, there were moments of theatricality--Corey Taylor’s menacing laugh on “Disasterpiece” and pyrotechnics in sequence with the instrumentation on “Before I Forget” and “All Out Life”--but for the most part, Slipknot was the ultimate exorcism. Taylor’s new mask, with unnaturally circular eyes, seemed like it came from a particularly uncomfortable skit from I Think You Should Leave. They bashed a baseball bat to a barrel during the pre-encore performance of “Duality”. And the songs played from tape, like the gasping-for-breath “(515)”, were designed to contrast Slipknot’s alien appearance with qualities that were uncannily human. For a band whose performances and instrumental dexterity are otherworldly--who else can pull off tempo changes over a hissing, Aphex Twin-like shuffling electronic beat on “Eyeless”--the pure seething emotion on songs like “Psychosocial” and “Wait and Bleed” shone through. Like Smashing Pumpkins, and like so many other successful Riot Fest headliners, Slipknot abandoned drama for pure, unadulterated dirt.

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