#estimated wc will probably be around..

[koqabear]

I’m SO determined to finish my tae mma story,,, like seriously I plan to post the teaser sometime this month I can’t stand working on this thing anymore 😭😭😭

[lesservillain]

masterlist

summary: a new face enters your life and you're blissfully unaware of the impact it will have on you.

cw: sunshine!eddie x grumpy!reader, like really grumpy, some angst

wc: 6.2k

Muffled voices penetrate through your bedroom door. Standing on the other side, you have your ear pressed to the wood to try and make out the cutting words coming from the other side. It was a fruitless effort, but you tried all the same.

“I just can’t do this anymore, Tony.” Your mother’s voice sounds closer and you dare to crack the door open a bit. Just enough that you can see her walking from the kitchen to the front door from the second floor, a suitcase in her hand. Opening the door further, you peer out into the hallway, taking a few steps until you reach the top of the stairs.

“Please, Rebecca, just talk to me!” Your dad’s voice sounds hoarse, cracking with the weight of his sorrow. “Just tell me what I can do to fix this!”

“There’s nothing to fix. I have to move on, and I can’t do that trapped here.”

“Mom?”

Their heads snap in your direction. You didn’t know what was going on, your 8 year old mind too young to understand what was transpiring in front of you. All you knew was your dad was fully crying, something you’d never seen him do before.

Your mother looks at you, taking in a deep breath before shaking her head. She takes the bag in her hands and suddenly opens the front door. Light floods the house from a car that you don’t recognize parked in your driveway. Everything is still for a moment. Your mom turns to look at you one last time before wordlessly pushing open the storm door and exiting into the night.

“Rebecca!” Your dad yells out, rushing out the door behind her. You make a run down the stairs and stop at the door, watching through the glass as your dad follows your mom around the car. She lifts open the trunk and puts the suitcase inside, your dad frantically pleading with her as she does. But her face is unmoving, solid as stone as she rounds the car again and enters the passenger seat of the unknown vehicle.

Your dad bangs on the door, last ditch effort to make your mom change her mind. Hot tears rolled down your own cheeks as the reality of the situation dawned on you. Your mom was leaving.

And she wasn’t coming back.

Soft sounds of the radio from the office behind you filled your work space with a slight irritation. You wished that your dad would at least change the station to something other than country, even if it was just to break up the monotony. The thought of closing his office door crossed your mind, but you knew he would just protest and open it back up again.

Huffing out a sigh, your eyes scan your list of things to do today. You still needed to call about some parts that were going to be delivered to try and get an estimate on time, but the guy that answered the phone for the company was always a dick to you so you were putting that off. The break room needed to be cleaned, but that was something that you would save for the end of the shift. Going down the list you noticed where it was written that an interview was supposed to have come in at 11. You tilt your head looking at the clock to see that it’s a quarter til 1 and no one has shown up, so decide to scratch that off your list. A real shame too, since you guys were in need of the help.

The ring of the door bell catches your attention. Looking up from your paper, your eyes land on a young man, probably around your age, walking into the lobby. He’s dressed in a black button down shirt and nice slacks that sharply contrasted with the leather and denim jacket combo he was sporting. From what you can tell he has long locks that are currently pulled back into a low ponytail behind his head. His dress shoes clacked against the linoleum floor as he approached you at the desk.

“Welcome to Hawkins Auto Body, how can I help you?” You ask in your best customer service voice.

“Yeah, hi, I’m Eddie. I have an interview at 1 with Tony.” The smell of his cheap cologne permeates your senses and elicits the start of a migraine behind your eye. Looking back down at your list you don’t see another interview for 1 o’clock, just the one that was for 11 that you had crossed out.

“I don’t have an interview for that time. We were supposed to have one at 11 am. Could that have been when you were supposed to show?”

Eddie shifts in his spot as he straightens up. His brows furrow, eyes darting around as if he was looking for the answer to your question. His hands start to pat the pockets of his jacket, reaching inside and pulling out a small ripped piece of paper. “I had 1 written down on the paper.” There’s a slight panic in his voice. “Maybe I made a mistake, I know I’m at the right place.” 

“Well, unfortunately the boss is very busy today, so he won’t be able to see you.” You were lying, knowing your dad he was probably reading a muscle car magazine as his desk. But the lack of showing up on time wasn’t something you were going to look past. If he couldn’t even show up for his interview on time how could you expect him to show up to work.

“Really? Are you sure? Maybe I could reschedule at a later time--”

“Hey, what’s going on out here?” You dad’s chipper voice called from behind you, making you cringe.

“Hey, Tony,” you say, preferring to refer to your dad by his name while at work, “I think this guy was your 11 o’clock. He wrote down the time wrong and--”

“Oh, hey! Eddie, right?” Your dad asks, stepping out of his office with a hand out and ready. Eddie takes your dad’s hand in his and shakes it enthusiastically.

“Yes, listen, I’m so sorry I got the times mixed up. If you need to I would totally be able to reschedule for another day.”

“No, you’re fine,” your dad says, irking you. “Come on back and we can talk. Do you have your resume?”

“Oh, I left if out in my car. Let me go grab it.” Eddie says, taking a step back before running out the door. Can’t even bring in his resume? There’s no way this guy would get the job if it was you in charge. 

But you knew your dad was a different story. He has a soft spot in him that you gave up a long time ago. But you had to develop a tough exterior at such a young age that you didn’t know anything else.

“You should have turned him away,” you said as you watched Eddie through the glass doors. Your dad huffed a laugh and leaned against the office door frame.

“I knew you’d say something like that,” he says shaking his head.

“Tony, he’s a total chump. Couldn’t be bothered to show up on time. Isn’t even ready for the interview. I bet those aren’t even his clothes that he’s wearing.”

“Yeah, but he’s young and willing to work. Gareth told me that he’s been working on cars since he was 12, and he has reliable transportation.”

You look at the hunk of metal that was this guys van and scoffed. “That hardly looks reliable.”

“But it works,” you dad said, nodding to the ancient van, “And that shows he knows what he’s doing.”

“You’ve already decided to hire him, haven’t you?”

“Well, lets see how this interview goes and I’ll let you know.” You roll your eyes. Knowing how your dad is he probably made the decision when he had the phone interview with him. A heavy sigh leaves your lips and you watch as Eddie bounds back through the door with a papers in his hand.

“Sorry it’s not much,” he says as he hands the papers to your dad. “This will be my first real job, so I don’t have much experience.”

Great, another tick off your list as to why you would turn this guy down. Even if he had some experience with cars, it surely wasn’t enough that your dad wouldn’t still have to train him. At least the shop did well enough that your dad wouldn’t be hurting if he had to pay this guy while he’s being trained.

“Not to worry, let’s go talk in my office,” your dad says, patting Eddie on the arm and leading the way inside. He closes the door behind you, and you can hear the sound of the radio start to lower until it can’t be heard anymore. At least you’d get a little reprieve from that.

The clock ticked by during the interview. Only the sound of the shop could be heard through the glass paneling that separated you from the bay. After about 30 minutes of nothing from your dad, you start to wonder what the hell they could be talking about that’s taking so long. If you had to guess, it was probably car talk.

Or if you were to make a guess based on the details Eddie’s jacket maybe he got your dad on the topic of music, which he could go on about forever. He’s seen just about every band he’s ever wanted to see and then some. You’d been to a fair share of your own concerts because of him, whether it was due to a lack of babysitter or because he wanted to genuinely share the experience with you didn’t matter. It was still some of the best times of your life getting to share those sweaty moments that left your voice fried the next day with him.

A loud, boisterous laugh came from the office and you couldn’t help but roll your eyes. Your dad must have told one of his infamous jokes that always left him on the brink of pissing himself. You wondered if Eddie was genuinely laughing or was doing it out of pity for your dad and the sake of getting the job. Either way, you shuffled a stack of part invoices and stood up from your desk.

Approaching the door, you didn’t even bother to knock as you turned the nob, pushing the door open on the little laughing fit the two of them were having. “Having fun in here?” you say dryly, unamused by them. Eddie turns to look at you, wiping at his eyes as he lets of the last bit of chuckles left in him. Your dad straightens up in his chair to catch his breath before turning more towards you.

“What’s up, sweetie?” He says through giggles. Calling you by that name in front of a stranger must mean your dad was really in a relaxed mood. He wasn’t always the most professional, but you made it very clear with him from day one that you wanted to be treated just like any other employee at the shop while working together. It kind of irked you that he would say it in front of anyone, but especially this guy, who was looking at you like he already owned the joint.

“Sir, you have some invoices here that need to be approved by the end of the day. Assuming this interview is almost over,” you said looking at Eddie, “I figured I’d drop these off to you so you could get started on them. I’d like to file them by 5.”

Your dad leaned over the desk, his hand outstretched to take them from you. You sighed, stepping more into the small office and leaning around Eddie to hand them over to him. You felt his shoulder against your side and you let out a half-hearted sorry for the intrusion into his space. 

“‘S’all good,” he said softly, a small smile on his face that annoyed you.

“I’ll get to these right away,” your dad said, motioning the papers towards you. You nodded and turned to leave the room.

“Should I close the door?” You ask, hand on the knob.

“No, no, I think Eddie and I are just about done here. I’ve kept him with me for far too long,” your father says as he goes to stand. Eddie rises from his seat as well, extending his hand out for your dad to take.

“Nonsense,” Eddie says as your dad shakes his hand, “Was a pleasure talking to ya. Hopefully we can shoot the shit again some time?”

“Maybe we can get a few words in on Monday if that works for you?”

“Wait, really?” Eddie all but jumps for joy at your dad’s offer. Of course.

“If everything we talked about today sounded good for you, I’d love to see ya first thing Monday morning.”

“Oh my god, yes, sir. Thank you so much. Seriously, I’ll be the best worker you’ve ever had.”

You huffed a laugh at that, deciding this was the best time to make your exit, lest you get sick on the floor from all the sugary excitement. Turning on your heel, you made your way back to your desk and plopped down in your rolly chair. Your dad and Eddie followed behind you not long after, still chatting about something you had no interest in tuning into.

Eddie rounds the front of your desk and taps his hand lightly on the marble counter top just above you. You look up at him with a blank stare, almost blinding you with the pure sunshine rays of excitement that were beaming off of him.

“See ya on Monday, coworker,” he said with a snap that turned into a finger gun. You didn’t respond, simply staring at him hoping he would get the hint to leave. He pounds his fist against the countertop a couple times for good measure before turning to face the door. Watching him as he left, you noticed for the first time that the patch on the back of his jacket was one from Dio’s Last in Line album. You gave a small hmpf. At least he had good taste in music.

SPACE

“Still sleepy there, kiddo?” Your dad says as he pulls into the shop. It was barely dawn as the two of you rolled into the parking lot, the coffee in your hand barely doing much to keep you alert at these early hours. You wished you could call yourself a morning person with how often you woke up at 5:30 am to get ready for the day. But Monday’s were always hard on you after getting to sleep in on the weekend.

“What else is new?” You say, punctuated by another yawn that hit you hard enough it gave you shivers down your body. Your dad let out a laugh as he shifted the car into park, pulling out a pack of cigarettes from his jacket pocket and lighting one up. You followed suit, grabbing one from your own pack and stealing his lighter to spark it up. The smooth menthol wasn’t enough to wake you, but it kept your mouth busy enough that you wouldn’t fall asleep in the passenger seat.

The two of you sat in a sweet silence for the duration of your smoke, watching the sun rise from the rear view mirror. The only sounds to be heard was the low hum of the local morning talk show that played on the car’s radio. 

That was until a loud booming sound could be heard in the distance. A boom that started to grow louder with each passing second. The two of you looked at each other as if asking the same question to one another before turning around and looking out the back window. You couldn’t see where it was coming from at first, until a small set of headlights started to show from down the road, approaching at a speed way faster than you knew this streets limit was. As it came into view, you whispered a barely audible “no” as the loud vehicle turned into the parking lot, now illuminated by the morning sun.

It was Eddie and his shitty van.

You thought surely the music would turn down once he made his way into the parking lot, but the loud sounds of what you could now make out as Metallica due to the sheer volume of the music coming from his van were persistent.

“What the fuck?” You say, looking over to your dad, who had a glint in his eye that you didn’t like. “Dad, no, he’s going to wake up the whole neighborhood.” You say sternly. But your dad doesn’t respond verbally. Instead he undoes his seat belt and hops out of the car, leaving it on for you to sit in so you don’t have to endure the harsh December cold.

You watch as he walks over to the van and knocks on the window and instantly hear the volume of the van drop in decibels as the window comes down. A plume of smoke comes barreling out and you watch as Eddie’s hand reaches out to swat the smoke away from your dad’s face. You take another hit of your cigarette as your dad talks to Eddie from his window. 

After a few moments, you watch as your dad rounds the van, it rocking slightly once he gets to the other side. Did your dad just get in this guys van? Surely not.

Or surely yes, because as the familiar cars of your other workers began to pull into the lot, you didn’t see your dad come from the other side of the van. Irritation that shouldn’t be had on such an early Monday morning started to bubble in you, and if it weren’t so cold you would have gotten out and asked your dad what the hell he was doing a long time ago.

 Checking the dash, you see it’s already opening time, so you cut the engine and lock the car, braving the cold as you walk past the van and to the door. The guys are already waiting for you as you approach the door, huddled around each other as they watch you unlock the door.

“Morning, ma’am,” Bob, your most senior member, says as he pushes past you to get inside. The others greet you as well as they make make their way in. As they file inside, the sound of car doors closing gets your attention. You look to see your dad and Eddie walking towards you, hands in their pockets to keep them warm from the cold.

“I was wondering when you’d show up,” you say as they approach. Not waiting for them as you walk inside, letting the door close behind you, you make your way to the light switches and begin flicking them on. The ones in the bay’s are already on as the guys get set up for the day, a couple cars already loaded up to be worked on first thing this morning.

Eddie and your dad eventually came in through the door, both of them laughing and having a grand old time.

“Hey, do you mind showing Eddie where the time clock is?” Your dad asks as he fishes his keys from his jacket pocket to unlock his office.

“Can’t you show him? He’s already your best friend, apparently?”

“I have a call I need to get on with an important client. Just go ahead and show him around the shop for me, please?” He gives you those big, puppy dog eyes of his that honestly don’t get to you at this point anymore. But for the sake of him begging, you sigh and put your hands on your hips.

“Fine,” you say with a shrug. You motion for Eddie to follow you. “Come on, back this way.”

Leaving your desk, you walk around the hallway corner and to the break room. Pushing the door open, you prop it open with the metal wedge and walk inside. Flipping the lights on, you instantly walk to the coffee pot and push the button to get it warmed up. You turn to see Eddie waiting patiently for you by the doorway, his hands in his pockets and a grin on his face.

“Over here is the time clock,” you say, walking over to where the time punches for the week are sitting on the wall. “They’re in alphabetical order, so make sure you grab yours and not somebody else’s.” You scan the tickets and find the new name card you added on Friday, pulling it from the slot. “Just stick it in here and it’ll mark when you clocked in. If you ever have an issue with it, make sure you come to me right away so that we can get it fixed.”

Eddie walks over and plucks the card from your fingers, placing it into the slot and waiting for the click. Once it does, he pulls it out and places the card back into the slot you pulled it from. “Seems easy enough,” he says, looking at you with that smile still plastered on his face. It irked you to no end.

“Great, make sure to do that when you get here every day. It’s hard to pay you without it.”

Eddie starts to laugh, but you’re really not sure what about. Was it something you said? Was he making fun of you?

“What?” You say in a serious tone. But Eddie just waves his hands, his bangs flying as he shakes his head.

“Nothing, don’t worry about it,” he says. You blink at him, deciding it wasn’t worth your time to pry for answers you didn’t really care to know. Gesturing your hands around you, you let him know that you are in fact in the break room. Eddie nods, looking around, his eyes landing on the coffee pot.

“The coffee is free, just make sure if you take the last of it to turn it off.”

“Awesome, I’ll definitely be needing that.”

“Do you know how to use it?”

“Not really. My uncle made me coffee this morning. I don’t really drink it much.”

“I’ll show you,” you say, walking over to the machine. Grabbing all the things you need, you walk him through the process of filling up the back with water, how to put the grounds in the filter, and which button to press to start it.

“This seems more complicated than the time clock,” he says with a laugh.

You scoff, “Once you do it a few times you’ll get it. Or you can wait until someone else starts it. There’s usually a pot back here ready within the first half hour that we’re here.” Eddie’s head bounces with a nod. Still smiling. “Well, lets move on to the rest of the building,” you say as you walk past him.

As you exit the break room, you look both ways trying to decide where to go next. You suppose you can work from the back to the front, that way you can drop him off with Bob or Terry when you’re done. You break to the right, Eddie hot on your heels as you walk. “Those are the restrooms,” you say as you pass the two sets of doors with a water fountain in between them. “Make sure you clean up after yourself if you shit, because I sure as hell am not doing it.”

That gets a laugh out of Eddie. “Aye, aye, captain,” he says with a salute.

“Back here is the stock room.” You turn the knob and open the door to the large storage room that resided in the back of the building. It was stocked to the brim with supplies like oil, parts, and other necessities that the shop kept on hand. Eddie looked around with wide eyes as he took everything in. “You’ll learn where everything is as time goes by. If you notice something is low in stock, come tell me as soon as possible so I can order more.”

“Okay, can do,” Eddie nods. 

“Back out this way,” you say, walking over to another door that enters into the bay, “is the main work area. Make sure this door is locked at the end of the day.��� As you walk out to the bay, you stop at a side door to the right. “This is a door to go outside. You can smoke out there, eat lunch, whatever really. Just keep it propped open when you’re out there so you don’t lock yourself out and have to come around the front. The boss tries to keep as much grease out of the lobby as possible.” You look down at his shoes and notice he’s wearing a pair of white reeboks. “Did you bring other shoes?”

“No, are these not allowed?” Eddie asks, his smile finally turning into a frown.

“It’s not that they’re not allowed, but they’re going to go from white to black real quick if you’re not careful.”

“Shit, I didn’t think about that,” Eddie said, looking down at his shoes.

“Ask around, I’m sure the guys could give you a recommendation where to get some good boots.”

Eddie looks up at you and, once again, smiles. “Thanks, I’ll do that.”

“Whatever,” you say, pressing forward. You show him around the bay, where the tools are, and where everyone’s lockers are to keep their things while they work. Eddie follows you wordlessly, just a step behind you the whole time. When he almost bumps into you as you stop, you have to turn to face him, putting hands on his arms and extending yours.

“See this? Distance. Keep yours.”

“Sorry,” he says, looking at your hands on his arms. You drop them quickly and turn back around, scanning the bay for Bob, who was bent over a cars engine.

“Bob!” You call, getting the older man’s attention. He straightens up and looks your way, giving a slight wave.

“Bob, this is Eddie, our new guy.”

“Nice to meetcha, kiddo.” The corners of Bobs eyes wrinkle when he smiles, extending a greasy hand out to Eddie, one that he takes and shakes enthusiastically.

“Likewise, sir,” Eddie says, nodding to the man.

“Do you care to babysit for a while? Dad says he knows a lot about cars but might need some help for a few weeks.”

“Sure thing,” Bob says like you knew he would. Bob was a talker, enjoyed the company of others. You’d been caught up in his stories on more than one occasion, but you’d always tried to be polite with him since he was such a hard worker. “Let’s see what you can tell me about this gal right here.” Bob wraps an arm around Eddie and ushers him towards the car he’s working on. 

Letting out a sigh of relief, free from your responsibility to the new guy, you make your way out of the bay and back into the front lobby to your desk. You scold yourself for not turning your computer on before giving Eddie the grand tour so that it could’ve booted up. Giving it time to start, you go through the days checklist that you left yourself over the weekend and get to work.

Lunch time couldn’t roll around fast enough. You’d barely made it half way through your list for the day, not expecting it to take you so long to get everything done. Too many phone calls with dick head old men and wives of clients who couldn’t tell you what a fender was if it hit them in the head. The main website you use to order parts was down for half the morning, meaning there would be at least a half days delay on everything that was needed to work on the cars already in the shop.

And then there was the young mother who broke down with her baby that talked your ear off for the last hour while you tried desperately to get a hold of her husband for her. At least the baby was cute; babies being your bad mood kryptonite. She even let you hold her, which would have been fine if you hadn’t caught a particular curly headed nuisance staring at you from the bay as you held them. But you just brushed it off, not giving that loser an ounce of your attention.

Plopping back down in your chair, you felt like all your energy had been zapped and it was barely past 11 am. Not a moment later your father pokes his head around the corner of his office.

“Hey, let’s order pizza,” he says with a wide grin. Something must have gone well with a contractor given his good mood.

“What’s the occasion?” You ask, pulling out the paper for Surfer Boy’s Pizza from your desk drawer. 

“I figured we’d treat the new guy,” he says, taking the paper from your grasp to look it over. 

You groan, rolling your eyes. “I guess I’m asking everyone what they want?”

“You’re my girl,” he says, handing the paper back to you. You take it, grabbing a piece of paper and a pen before heading to the bay. The smell of fresh oil hits your nose, but it’s not something that bothers you anymore after working here for a few years now. You make your way around to the guys and get everyone’s orders. Thankfully everyone was being easy, just wanting cheese or pepperoni.

You made your way over to where Bob and Eddie were working on the same car that bob was looking at earlier, but Eddie was no where to be seen. Bob was hunched over by the front, looking down at the ground where you saw a pair of white shoes sticking out from under the car.

“Hey, Bob,” you say, grabbing the man’s attention.

“Oh, hey, darlin’. What’s up?”

“We’re getting pizza. You good with cheese and pepperoni?”

“Oh boy, that sounds good to me,” he says with a nod. He taps his foot against the white pair of sneakers and Eddie’s body comes rolling out from under the car, now clad in an oversized workers uniform.

“Where’d you find that?” You ask, pointing at Eddie.

“This is one of my spares from before I lost all that weight. I figured he could use it until his comes in.” 

“Oh, yeah, that should be sometime this week. Make sure you wash that one and give it back to Bob when you’re done with it.” 

“Yes, ma’am,” Eddie says with a nod.

“Now, we’re getting pizza. Are you okay with cheese and pepperoni?”

“Wow, really? Yeah that would be great. I…forgot my lunch, so I could definitely use it.”

“Cool, well you guys were my last stop so I’ll go ahead and order it. Should be here in an hour or so.”

“Perfect,” Eddie says, giving you a thumbs up. You don’t respond, turning on your heel and walking back through the bay to the lobby.

“Okay, I got everybody’s orders,” you say as you walk into your father’s office. He looks up from his paperwork and smiles, reaching out to you. “You don’t want me to call?” You ask, handing the papers to him.

“No, I’m gonna pay for it myself, so I’ll order it.” He looks over the paper then speaks, “Do you know what Eddie asked for?”

“He didn’t say anything specific. Just said he was grateful to have it.” Your father nods, setting the papers down on his desk and picking up the phone. It struck you as odd that he was so interested in this new guy, but not enough to care to ask him about it. Maybe Eddie said something to him in their interview that struck something in your dad. He was already under a car on day one, so maybe you weren’t giving him enough credit.

SPACE

Lunch arrived and you paged on the overhead for everyone to come and eat. You set the pizza’s on the break room counter with the plates and two liters of pop. Your dad really splurged today, ordering way more food and drinks than what would be needed for the small shop. A few minutes later the guys began to roll into the break room, conversation flowing between them as they made their way to the pizza boxes. 

You waited for everyone to get their food before grabbing some for yourself. Taking a few slices, you headed towards the door to go back to your desk before someone called your name.

“You’re not eating with us?” Eddie said, standing behind you with a plate full.

“I have work to do,” you said simply.

“She doesn’t take breaks,” Tom calls from across the break room.

“Yeah her dad has her slaving over that fancy computer all day,” Jerry adds, making the room erupt in laughter.

“Your dad?” Eddie asks looking at your curiously. 

You sigh, not really wanting to tell the new guy that the boss is your dad on day one. “Yeah, Tony is my dad,” you say, flatly. Eddie’s head bobs, a smile spreading on his face.

“That makes sense. I thought it was weird you guys came together today. I thought maybe you were dating or something.”

The guys start laughing again and you cringe at Eddie’s words.

“What’s so funny?” You snap, and the laughter starts to die down.

“You dating is what’s funny,” Bob says taking a bite of his pizza.

“Why’s that funny?” Eddie asks.

“This girl hates love,” Bob says, gesturing towards you and you roll your eyes. It wasn’t that you hated love, you just didn’t believe in it. There was a time in your life that you might have thought it was real, but after the things you’ve been through, you’d been convinced that love was all just a big scam. Something made up to sell jewelry and heart shaped boxed of chocolates.

“What? Really?”

“I’m just not into it. Now if you’ll excuse me, I actually have important things to do.” And with that, you turn on your heel, leaving Eddie in the dust as you make your way back to your desk.

The end of the day wrapped up when the clock struck 6 pm. The garage doors to the bay closed for the night and you were cleaning up your desk, leaving a note to remember to call a potential client back first thing in the morning. Your dad stepped out of his office, closing the door behind him with the turn of a key as he locked it shut for the night.

“Should I grab the rest of the pizza’s or are we leaving them for tomorrow?” You ask, grabbing your jacket and throwing it on.

“Leave them,” your dad says, tossing you his keys. You looked at him confused. “Go ahead and start the car, I’ll lock up.”

“Okaaaay,” you say shoving the keys in your pocket and rounding the front desk. You pushed the door open and felt the cold December breeze hitting the skin of your cheeks once again. You beelined it for the car and started it up, cranking the heat up in a futile attempt to make the warm air come out faster. Rolling the window down, you lit up a smoke and watched as the guys made their way to their cars. 

You noticed your dad didn’t come out with everyone else and that made you curious. Normally if he wanted to stay over he wouldn’t have you go and start the car. But you also noticed Eddie’s car was still in the lot as well.

A few minutes later, the front door finally opened and your dad and Eddie walked out of the shop. You squinted your eyes, trying to make sure what you were seeing was correct. Eddie was standing with two boxes of pizza in his hands as your dad locked the door. What the hell? You thought he was leaving the pizzas for tomorrow. You waited to see if your dad took the pizza boxes back, but as Eddie diverged from your dad’s side to get in his van, you noticed he still had the pizza boxes in his hands.

“Alright, let’s go,” you dad says as he slides in his seat, bringing his hands to the air vents to warm them up.

“What was that?” You ask, looking at him incredulously.

“What was what?” He says with a laugh, giving you a look back.

“You gave him those pizzas.”

“It’s his first day! I wanted him to feel welcomed with us. Don’t worry about it.”

“Are you going to take him to a steak dinner next?” You say as you buckle yourself in.

“It’s not like that,” you dad assures you before buckling himself in.

“Whatever.”

thank you for reading!

tags:

@meetmeatyourworst @hazydespair @gloomweed @eddies-stinky-battle-jacket @prestinalove @rowynbriarsalix

@daveythorntonslocker @losingmygrasponreality @princesssunderworld @eddiesguitarskills @clown420cunt

@barnesandsteven @yujyujj @person-005 @definitionwanderlust @hsdcmmjune @micheledawn1975 @emxxblog @l3xi3luv

@browneyes-8288 @djodirt @munsonsfairy @coolkidzen @appl3ogr @sammybrrr @awkward00noodle @callhermyname @american-idiot-jpg

if you'd like to be added or removed please let me know!

[mariasont]

I love your fics so much! Could you maybe make a pre-relationship fic of Spencer x reader Spencer rescues the reader from the unsub and calms them down?? I'm a big hurt/comfort girly lmao 🫶🏼😛

Pulse Point - S.R

a/n: thank you so much!!!! so sorry for taking so long! i hope you like it <3

masterlist

pairings: spencer reid x reader

warnings: undescribed injury, lil bit of angst with a happy ish ending, pre-relationship ending

wc: 1.6k

Spencer had seen you in danger before. It came with the job, a stipulation of the unwritten contract you signed the day you joined the team. His mind had been conditioned to assess danger rationally, stripping away emotion to leave behind only what mattered: probabilities, outcomes, strategies. 

But then again seeing you, tied to that chair, unconscious and face drained of color, was something he wasn't sure any amount of mathematical modeling could prepare him for.

Your head had hung at an unnatural angle, the strands of hair clinging to the sweat slicking your skin in a way that sent a visceral wave of nausea rolling through him. Rope burns — thin, angry welts were already bruising — encircled your wrists. He couldn't breathe, his chest seized mid-cycle, airways locking tight, as though his body itself couldn't handle the image of you in that state.

The unsub's voice had faded into white noise, irrelevant against the single, all-encompassing command that had pounded in his head — get to you, get you out of here.

Now, sitting on the cold concrete of the clearing zone with you cradled against his chest, Spencer's mind spiraled in a loop, that singular thought repeating, relentless, fractal, like a Fibonacci sequence winding tighter and tighter around his sanity. The unsub was subdued, Morgan had handled it efficiently, but Spencer couldn't bring himself to focus on that, let alone process it. The edges of his awareness narrowed, his entire world reduced to you. Limp. Unresponsive. Alarmingly still. It made his heart pound so violently it felt like it might break him from the inside out.

His hands wouldn't stop shaking, a trembling he couldn't stop no matter how hard he tried. One arm braced under your knees, the other pressed against the curve of your back. He adjusted his grip carefully, terrified of moving you the wrong way, terrified of doing anything that might make things worse. His eyes flicked to your chest, tracking the uneven rise and fall of your breathing. Too shallow. Too inconsistent. But there.

Twelve to twenty breaths per minute, that's the normal respiratory rate for an adult at rest, he recited, mind retreating to the relative safety of cold, clinical facts. Yours, he estimated, was faster, high twenties, maybe, an expected adrenaline response to trauma. It was within the acceptable range. It should have reassured him. As long as it didn't drop below eight or spike above thirty, there was no immediate cause for intervention. The logic was sound. The science was sound. But that did absolutely nothing to stem the gnawing unease twisting through him.

Then you started to stir.

It was subtle at first, so subtle he almost thought he imagined it — a small, almost imperceptible sound slipping past your lips, the softest shift of you head against his shoulder — but it sent a jolt through him nonetheless.

Your eyes fluttered open, unfocused and glassy, the muscles in your face tightening with confusion as consciousness gradually took hold. Relief bloomed, but it died just as quickly. Recognition didn't follow. Instead, your expression twisted, your features contorting with something feral, something deeply afraid. Your breathing grew erratic, breaking into rapid, shallow bursts that rattled your frame.

And then you started thrashing.

"No, no, get off me!" Your voice cracked, raw with fear.

He tightened his arms just enough to stop you from hurting yourself.

"Hey, hey — stop! It's me — it's Spencer!"

You didn't react to his voice. It was as if you couldn't even hear him. Your body twisted violently, fighting something unseen, nails scraping at his vest, frantic and clawing, desperate to escape.

Spencer swallowed thickly, forcing himself to focus on what he knew. This was textbook trauma response. Cortisol and adrenaline were flooding your system, hijacking your prefrontal cortex, reducing your mind to survival instincts alone. It all made perfect sense, he could explain it in detail, rationalize it. But none of that could prepare him for what it felt like to hold you like this and not be able to fix it.

"Look at me. It's Spencer. You're safe now. I promise, you're safe."

The words didn't seem to do much, falling flat and useless. Spencer felt a crushing helplessness as he watched, paralyzed while panic consumed you in a way he couldn't stop. His mind scrambled, clawing through years of knowledge, training, and case studies, all of which felt painfully inadequate now. It was one thing to understand trauma as a concept, to study it in a clinical detachment. It was another to watch it consume someone you cared about, to feel it in the way your body shook.

But then, finally, something shifted.

You froze. Not the rigid, terror-fueled panic from before, but something different. Tentative. Uncertain. Your breathing stuttered, still too fast, but the wildness in your eyes began to ebb like clouds parting just enough to let a sliver of sunlight through. You blinked, once, twice, and then your gaze locked onto his face, really seeing him this time.

"Spence..." Your voice was hardly above a whisper, like a fragile filament of sound, barely there but enough for his chest to ache all the same.

Relief washed over him so fast it left him lightheaded. 

"Yeah, it's me," he said softly, nodding quickly as though the motion itself might convince you. "It's just me. You're okay."

Wide eyes, shimmering with unshed tears, stared back at him as though searching for something, anything, to hold on to. The air felt like it was holding its breath, waiting. And then he saw it, the exact second the realization hit that you were safe. The fear in your face melted, replaced by something fragile, something breaking open. Your lip quivered, your breath hitching, and then, without a word, you lunged forward, throwing your arms around his neck.

Spencer froze.

He wasn't exactly new to your hugs. They didn't happen often, his aversion to touch usually kept that at bay, but when they did, they were always simple. After a particularly hard case or when the job felt overwhelming. This, however, was not that.

For a split second, his brain failed him entirely, unable to keep up with what he was seeing. He honed in on the small details, the way your hands clutched his shirt in tight, desperate fists, the way your trembling body seemed so much smaller than he ever remembered. He'd never seen you this way. The realization terrified him in ways he couldn't articulate.

But then that rare instinct of his took over.

With painstaking care, he wrapped his arms around you, like he was afraid you might break apart in his hands. One hand slipped to the back of your head, his fingers threading through your hair, softer than he thought himself capable of. The other stayed pressed firmly against your back, holding you to him, refusing to let go, because letting go felt unthinkable, impossible. He leaned into you, his cheek brushing against the top of your head, breathing you in. The familiar scent of your shampoo was still there, but beneath it lingered something sharper, something more metallic that made his fingers sink deeper into the hold.

"It's okay," he murmured, every word scraping against the tightness in his throat. "I've got you I'm not going anywhere."

He felt the sharp hitch of your breath against his chest, followed moments later by the damp heat of tears soaking into his shoulder. You were crying. The realization hit him like a physical weight, and his arms tightened around you instinctively. He wasn't sure who was shaking anymore — you or him. Maybe both.

He shifted his hand slightly on your back, his thumb brushing against your shoulder blade. But even as he tried to comfort you, his brain kept ticking like clockwork, unable to stop itself. Your pulse, it was still too fast. He could feel in beneath the pad of his fingers, pounding just under the surface of your skin.

The medics needed to get here soon.

His fingers moved without thinking, sliding to your neck, pressing lightly against the artery there. He told himself it was necessary, just a routine check to make sure nothing was wrong, but he knew better. It was selfish, a desperate need to feel the beat of your pulse under his fingertips, to remind himself you were here. Alive. That the worst was behind you.

It was fast, just as he'd predicted, but steady. Stable. A good sign.

Spencer let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding, shoulders sagging. 

"You're okay," he murmured softly, though he wasn't entirely sure who he was trying to convince anymore.

He closed his eyes.

Minutes passed by, though they both felt impossibly long and far too short. You stayed against him just like that, breathing slowly evening out until the jagged edges of panic dulled into exhaustion. He said nothing more, words felt unnecessary, maybe even counterproductive. So he just held you.

When the sound of footsteps finally reached his ears, Spencer didn't move. Not until the medics appeared in his peripheral vision, and even then, he hesitated, tightening his grip on you for just a fraction of a second before forcing himself to let go.

"Hey," he murmured, pulling back just enough to look at you. "The medics are here, okay? They're going to take care of you."

You nodded, but it was hesitant, your eyes swollen and puffy, and you clung to him just a little longer. Your hand wrapped around his sleeve like you were afraid to let go.

Spencer's eyes flicked to the medics, his voice low but insistent. "Be careful."

The medics nodded, stepping in to take over, and Spencer reluctantly released his hold. His arms felt empty, hollow, as they fell to his sides. Even as the medics worked, his gaze stayed glued to you, his eyes tracking every breath, every faint movement. He couldn't look away. Wouldn't.

It was then he realized a dangerous idea, that he cared about you more than he should, more than was professional. And it terrified him.

taglist: @readergf @edencherries @aurorsworld @princess76179 @malindacath @broadwaytraaaaash @r-3dlips @m-indkiller @sunfyyre @sleepysongbirdsings @trulycayla @reiderrambles @averyhotchner @hbwrelic @sky2nd @messylxve @alexxavicry @doigettokeepyou @pleasantwitchgarden @kodzukenmaaa @hiireadstuff @dilflover-3 @spenciesslut @phoenix-le-danseur-de-pole @c-losur3 @theylovemelody @alahnizamolo @oliver-1270 @ssahotchbabe @savagemickey03 @justanotherbimboslxt @imoonkiss @spiderladyleah @estragos @khxna @spencerssoup @de-duchess @raysmayhem-72 @piinksdoll @reidfile @sugarbutterbailey @aecd27 @persephonestears @moonyxstars @xxmooxmooxx @spookyysinsanity @proxxyshouse @spoolsofgreenspoolsofblack @jungchloee @she-wont-miss @duchesz @i2rapunzel @historicallyweirdandqueer

join my taglist here!

[saatorus]

veiled reverence — r . sukuna

pairing — soulmate! heian era sukuna x reader

synopsis — you’re the last survivor of a village destroyed by sukuna, the king of curses. when your soulmate mark flares upon meeting him, you’re bound in a way you never expected. taken to his shrine, you’re forced to stay in his presence, where the weight of his past actions looms over both of you, and the line between survival and resentment blurs.

estimated wc — around 30k.. (forgive me)

full fic release date — end of june/early july

teaser wc — 647 words

taglist status — open

warnings — explicit sexual content, mentions of cannibalism, dead bodies, mentions of not eating, depression, some angst, sukuna ryomen (he needs his own warning), probably inaccurate portrayal of the heian era but i tried my best to research, will add more as i go along

In the Heian era, where fate wove itself into the fabric of existence, every soul was born with a mark—a silent promise etched into their skin. These marks, unique in shape and placement, remained dormant until the moment destiny called. When soulmates met, the mark would burn, igniting a bond deeper than mere mortal understanding. To find one’s soulmate was considered a divine blessing, a path to prosperity and harmony. To reject them was to defy the heavens themselves.

But fate was never kind.

And as Ryomen Sukuna stood amidst the ruins of a village he had torn apart, he never expected his own mark to sear with pain—nor to hear a scream that was not born of fear, but of something far worse. 

Recognition.

Clawed hands carelessly tossed the limp body aside, a dull thud swallowed by the crackling remains of the village. Blood still lingered on his tongue, warm and metallic, but it was not the taste that made Ryomen Sukuna freeze. It was the searing, agonizing burn on his ribs—the jagged, ink-black mark that had sat dormant for centuries now alight with a fire unlike anything he had ever known.

This could not be happening.

He was a curse. Yes, he bore a mark like all beings did, but soulmates were chosen by the heavens. The higher ones, in all their cruelty, had long abandoned him. Cursed beings were not meant to be loved. They were meant to wander, to ruin, to destroy. That was the law of the world. And yet—

Sukuna grunted, his four crimson eyes narrowing as the sensation pulled at him, an invisible thread winding tighter, dragging him forward. It was not a conscious choice—his body moved of its own accord, muscles tensing as something deep, something ancient, willed him to go toward.

The ground beneath his feet was littered with the remnants of what had once been a village, the stench of charred flesh thick in the air. A smoldering hut collapsed somewhere in the distance, its wooden beams snapping like brittle bones. Sukuna barely noticed. The burn along his ribs was growing worse, hotter than the flames he had set upon the village, hotter than hell itself.

Through the smoke and ruin, he saw it.

A figure, small against the backdrop of devastation, hunched over as though in pain. Her breathing was ragged, unsteady—alive, but barely.

Sukuna’s lip curled.

Impossible.

And yet, even as he sneered, even as his rational mind screamed at him to turn away, his feet carried him forward. 

It was as if the moment his eyes fell upon her, the searing pain along his ribs dulled—replaced not by relief, but by something far more unsettling. That strange, unseen force that had yanked him through the ruins, that had commanded his body to move without his consent, now seemed to settle, coiling around him like a vice. The angry burn of his soulmate mark, a fire that had threatened to consume him whole, now smoldered into a dull throb the closer he stood to her.

Ten feet. That was all that separated them.

Emotions stirred within him, a chaotic maelstrom that he could not name—because why should he feel anything at all? He was Ryomen Sukuna. He had scorched entire villages to the ground without a second thought, torn through flesh and bone with the same carelessness one might crush an insect beneath their heel. And yet, standing before this fragile, insignificant thing, something twisted inside of him.

Anger. That such a thing as soulmates dared to bind him, to claim him. That fate itself had the audacity to force this upon him.

Confusion. Because this should not be possible. Because curses were forsaken, meant to walk the earth unloved, untethered. Because he was Sukuna, and he had been told his existence was an affront to the heavens themselves.

Intrigue. Because she was not screaming anymore.

authors note — bro i actually wasn't gonna write up until like july/august because i'm in peak exam season rn (i'm literally posting this during my break from studying someone save me) but ANYWAYS!

i was innocently going through my docs to find these notes i took all the way back in like feburary and i come across this... half finished fanfiction of heian era sukuna i wrote, intending to post it on my old blog, and i see that i've written majority of it already? it was like winning the lottery... and so i was like ok why nawt post ts for all the lovely people who were begging me to write more of sukuna??? heh..

i'll try and portray him mean as possible in this but i need you guys to understand that i cant entirely portray him as his asshole canon self because of the soulmate au im writing him in and ugh you guys'll realise the more you read it but omg i need to stop blabbering rn and get back to work but YEAH haaaaahaaaaa ok bai.

love you all!

[hatsukeii]

the curious case of kageyama tobio's love life / kageyama tobio x reader

genre(s): crack + fluff! timeskip au (third year/graduation), investigative report format, secretly dating trope, drunk x sober LMFAO

warnings(s): drunk people and house parties... (underage drinking is not! recommended here!), defs multiple/many uses of y/n because of how the fic is formatted but you need to trust the process PLEASE (sorry!) also reader's ass gets slapped by kags as a dare...

wc: ~4k

tldr; below is a transcript, recounted by partygoers hinata shoyo, tsukishima kei, yachi hitoka, and yamaguchi tadashi, of the happenings at hinata shoyo's graduation house party, set on the night of 29th march. any and all hearings have been sworn to be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. they think. probably.

[Report #1- Initiated by Hinata Shoyo]

Date of occurrence: March 29

Time of occurrence: 7:20pm

Location of occurrence: Living room

Kageyama Tobio is the third guest to arrive at Hinata Shoyo's residence, twenty minutes after Tsukishima Kei and Yamaguchi Tadashi. He carries with him the items that were agreed on the night prior- two twelve-packs of beer, one two litre bottle of coke, one Nintendo switch, and two Nintendo Pro controllers. Upon entry, Hinata Shoyo greets him at the door, and the following conversation ensues between Hinata Shoyo and Kageyama Tobio.

[Transcript #1- provided by Hinata Shoyo]

S. Hinata: You're here, what's good! You got the stuff too?

T. Kageyama: Yeah. Where's everyone else?

S. Hinata: Daichi's on patrol until eight, Suga's picking him up when he's done. Yachi's lining up to pick up the cake with y/n-

T. Kageyama: Cool, I'll put the stuff down there. (He signals to the kitchen counter across the living room)

[End of transcript #1]

Kageyama Tobio proceeds to the television, where he sets up his Nintendo on the dock. He then offers a controller to Tsukishima Kei, who accepts, and joins Kageyama in a game of Super Smash Bros. Upon opening the character menu, half of his characters are unavailable for use, evident by the following conversation that ensues between Tsukishima Kei and Kageyama Tobio.

[Transcript #2- Provided by Tsukishima Kei]

T. Kageyama: What the fuck?

K. Tsukishima: For someone who's had this game since release, you're pretty shit if you can barely move past the starter characters.

T. Kageyama: Shut up. [He proceeds to the home page of his console.]

K. Tsukishima: Sure.

[End of transcript #2]

Kageyama Tobio then leaps to the dock, unplugging it for a total of forty-two (Hinata Shoyo estimates) seconds. During its downtime, he is seen to be wiping his neck with one hand, tapping at the screen with the other. The game of Super Smash Bros ensues when he replugs it onto the dock, to reveal a fully unlocked character selection screen. Kageyama Tobio, who plays Sonic the Hedgehog, loses 1:2 against Tsukishima Kei, who plays Sora. But don't tell him that Hinata Shoyo kept count. Thanks.

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

[Report #2- Initiated by Yachi Hitoka]

Date of occurrence: March 29

Time of occurrence: 7:46pm

Location of occurrence: Living room, kitchen

Yachi Hitoka and y/n are the sixth and seventh guests to arrive at Hinata Shoyo's residence. By the time they step foot into the house, Hinata Shoyo is three vodka redbulls in, courtesy of Tanaka Ryunosuke and Nishinoya Yuu's contributions to the party's catalogue of available drinks, and is shooting down a fourth with Yamaguchi Tadashi, who is on his first drink of the night. Tsukishima Kei is one can of beer in, and is wrestling Kageyama Tobio on the couch, who is two cans of beer in. Upon entry, Hinata Shoyo slings an arm around Yamaguchi Tadashi, and drags him along to greet the two guests. The following conversation ensues between Yachi Hitoka, Hinata Shoyo, Yamaguchi Tadashi, and y/n.

[Transcript #3- Provided by Yachi Hitoka]

Y/n: What is going on...?

S. Hinata: You're heeeere! C'mon, take a bit from me! [Hinata Shoyo proceeds to tilt his glass too far into his face, and breathe in roughly 250mL of redbull mixed with vodka. He chokes. Yamaguchi Tadashi attempts to worm out of Hinata Shoyo's grasp. His attempt is unsuccessful.]

H. Yachi: If this is what forty minutes looks like, I don't think I wanna know what happens later.

Y/n: Why are they wrestling like... that?

H. Yachi: Men.

T. Yamaguchi: Men.

S. Hinata: [coughs]

Y/n: Understandable.

[End of transcript #3]

Y/n heads to the kitchen counter, where they set a cake into the fridge. Kageyama Tobio breaks free from Tsukishima Kei's sloppy side pin at this moment. Tsukishima Kei heads for the bathroom, and does not return until twenty minutes later. It is unsure what occurred in the bathroom, but not of importance. Kageyama makes a beeline for the fridge, and stubs his toe on the corner of the kitchen counter. He is...unusually uncoordinated, and barges into the space beside y/n, only to grab a third beer and push his way out again. Y/n shoots him a side eye, one that nobody else notices, except for Yachi Hitoka, who is currently writing this report. It's pretty scary, actually, they're a little scary with the side eye. But that is besides the point.

Y/n does not take a drink, but instead heads to the now empty couch, where they pick up the discarded Nintendo Pro controllers off the ground, and invite Yamaguchi Tadashi and Yachi Hitoka to a game of Super Smash Bros. Upon entering the game, y/n selects Sonic as their character. Kageyama Tobio returns to the couch with a can of beer at this moment, and the following conversation ensues between y/n, and Kageyama Tobio.

[Transcript #4- Provided by Yachi Hitoka]

T. Kageyama: Why aren't you picking Ness?

Y/n: I feel like Sonic today, so why not?

T. Kageyama: Sonic's difficult, even for me. Fun, though.

Y/n: I never get to play Sonic, so now that I can, I'm using him.

T. Kageyama: ...Fair enough.

[End of transcript #4]

Following the conversation, Kageyama Tobio does not leave the area. He leans with his forearms against the edge of the couch, and his hands hanging just above y/n's shoulders. He does, however, watch the game and the game only. Y/n, who plays Sonic the Hedgehog, ties with Yachi Hitoka, who plays Kirby. They both lose to Yamaguchi Tadashi, who plays Joker.

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

[Report #3- initiated by Tsukishima Kei]

Date of occurrence: March 29

Time of occurrence: 9:02pm

Location of occurrence: Living room

Disclaimer: Tsukishima Kei would like to preface that from this point onwards, his recounts may be liable to errors in continuity and/or accuracy. This is because by 9pm, he was three cans of beer, and one can of Jack Daniels and coke in. Daichi Sawamura, in his fancy police uniform and all, insisted on staying sober, so he will be fact checking any of Tsukishima Kei's recounts up until the point when he leaves the party prematurely. Daichi Sawamura will be aided by Sugawara Koushi, who also insisted on staying sober. For the children, he said. From Daichi Sawamura and Sugawara Koushi's departures onwards, any and all informtaion provided by Tsukishima Kei is subject to human error and inaccuracies. Apologies for the inconvenience.

[The following is fact checked by Daichi Sawamura and Sugawara Koushi]

Hinata Shoyo, who has managed to hold in four vodka redbulls, one can of beer, and half a vodka cruiser thus far, makes the suggestion to play drunken truth or dare. At this point in time, Kageyama Tobio is three cans of beer, and two cans of Jack Daniels and coke in. He is half-asleep on y/n, who looks visibly distraught, like when a guy you're not really into thinks he's allowed to sleep on your shoulder. At Hinata's proposal of truth or dare, y/n speaks into the air, however, it is inaudible to Tsukishima Kei, who has just returned from another twenty minute break in the bathroom. What can be said? The guy needs his downtime away from the rest of these drunk idiots. (This is a Daichi Sawamura approved comment)

In y/n's hand is a red cup, however, it is unconfirmed whether its contents are alcoholic or not. Everybody sits in a circle on the ground of Hinata Shoyo's living room, and in the fourth round of truth or dare, the following conversation ensues between Hinata Shoyo, y/n, Kageyama Tobio, Tsukishima Kei, and Yachi Hitoka.

[Transcript #5- Provided by Tsukishima Kei (aided by Daichi Sawamura and Sugawara Koushi)]

S. Hinata: Who's to SAYYYY...it isn't somebody...RIGHT HEEEEERE! [Hinata Shoyo swirls a bottled vodka cruiser in circles, and spills rougly 15mL of its contents onto his carpet. Nobody notices this. The carpet is not cleaned until the next morning. This will be of importance.]

T. Kageyama: Yeahhhhh...YEAAAAAAH! It HAAAAS to be somebody here, riiiiiiight?...RIIIIIIIGHT? [Kageyama Tobio nudges y/n's shoulders as he prods on. His inquisition is futile, as y/n does not respond directly to his advances. However, they shoot him a look. You know, the look of panic when a guy that you're a little bit into starts totally hitting on you in front of everyone.]

Y/n: Yachi's question was are you into anybody. Yes, I am. Who's next?

K. Tsukishima: Well...it's no FUN if you're not telling us whooooo! C'monnn, a guy hits on you every other day...it's BOOOOORING if you don't tell usssssss...specifics! Yeah, specifics!

T. Kageyama: You're...stiiiiiill getting hit on by OTHERRRR GUYSSSSS? [Kageyama Tobio proceeds to grab y/n by the shoulders, and turn them to face himself. Y/n is visibly taken aback. They shoot another look. the kind of look where your mouth is open and you suddenly stop blinking because you aren't sure how to anymore.]

Y/n: Can we...can we please move on to the next person? Thanks! [Y/n taps Kageyama Tobio's wrists two times. Kageyama Tobio releases y/n from his grasp, and folds his arms.]

H. Yachi: Goooooootcha! [Yachi Hitoka takes a swig from a red cup. Its contents are known to be cream soda and vodka in a 7:1 ratio, courtesy of Hinata Shoyo's contributions to the party's catalogue of available drinks. At this moment, Yachi Hitoka is two drinks in, and that is already two drinks too many.] So, Yamaguchi! Truuuuuuuth...or dare?

[End of transcript #5]

This round of truth or dare continues for another thirteen minutes. No further interactions are recorded between Kageyama Tobio and y/n within this timeframe. Daichi Sawamura and Sugawara Koushi leave the party prematurely at 9:20pm.

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

[Report #4- Initiated by Tsukishima Kei]

Date of occurrence: March 29

Time of occurrence: 9:52pm

Location of occurrence: Living room, kitchen

[The following is not fact checked by Daichi Sawamura or Sugawara Koushi, and may contain inaccuracies. Ensure to cross check with multiple reliable sources. As reliable as you can get with a group of hammered, freshly graduated young adults, and their enabling seniors, at least. For the record, Tsukishima Kei has ceased his consumption of alcohol by this point in time. Tsukishima Kei's brother, Tsukishima Akiteru, gives him the talk when he returns home the following day, but that is not of importance. So don't worry about it. Just know that Tsukishima Kei was the second most responsible drinker of the night. Thanks.]

At approximately...9:52pm? Yes, 9:52pm, sure. At 9:52pm, y/n separates from the truth or dare circle, and proceeds towards the kitchen. They are seen filling up a red cup with coke, and nothing else. While y/n is away from the larger group, the following conversation ensues between Nishinoya Yuu, Kageyama Tobio, Tsukishima Kei, and Hinata Shoyo.

[Transcript #6- Provided by Tsukishima Kei]

Y. Nishinoya: No...I'VE GOT a GOOOOOOOOD ONE FOR HIM! ...KAGEYAMA! I...daaaaaare YOU!

K. Tsukishima: He asked for a truuuuuuuuuuth, not a...DAAAARE!

S. Hinata: GODDAMN LET HIIIIIIM FINISHHHHHH....

Y. Nishinoya: Yeaaaaaah, asshooooooole. Leeeeeet me FINISHHHHHH! [Nishinoya Yuu sniffs, and stares into the ceiling for four seconds. Not a single thought is coherent in Nishinoya Yuu's mind.]

T. Kageyama: Whaaaat am I dooooing! I'm gaaaaame enough...for ANYTHING! ANYTHIIIIIING! [Kageyama Tobio possesses a look that is a little insane, and proceeds to...beat at his chest? What the fuck? Did he actually beat at his fucking chest? (This is not Daichi Sawamura approved. Please cross check with reliable sources.)]

Y. Nishinoya: I daaaare YOU! To smack y/n's aaaaaaaass...hahah...ha.... [Nishinoya Yuu falls over to the side. He remains in slumber for the next thirty-two minutes.]

S. Hinata: Thaaaaaat...is CRAAAZY! Kaaaageyamaaaaa...are youuuuu! Gaaaaaame enoughhhhh!

[End of transcript #5]

Kageyama Tobio pushes himself off the ground at Hinata Shoyo and Nishinoya Yuu's provocations. He snickers to himself, and walks to the kitchen, where y/n is placing the two litre bottle of coke into the fridge. Kageyama Tobio proceeds to advance towards y/n, and smacks their behind, before…squeezing it? And then jiggling it in his- what the…fuck is going on? (This is not Daichi Sawamura approved, please cross check with reliable sources.) Y/n snaps around at the abrupt impact, and empties the contents of their cup onto Kageyama Tobio. It's a shame Nishinoya Yuu is too knocked out to witness what he has provoked. Sucks. The following commotion ensues between Kageyama Tobio, and y/n. Please note that parts of the conversation were inaudible from the truth or dare circle's location.

[Transcript #6- Provided by Tsukishima Kei, Yachi Hitoka, Hinata Shoyo, and Yamaguchi Tadashi]

Y/n: WHATTTTT the FUCK KAGEYAMA.

T. Kageyama: [inaudible]

Y/n: Oh...my fucking God! You are! Very drunk!

T. Kageyama: [Turns to the truth or dare circle.] TOOOLD YOU! I'M GAAAAAME ENOUGH! FOR AAAAAAAANYTHING!

Y/n: [inaudible]...NISHINOYA! [Y/n shoots a look towards the truth or dare circle. One of disdain. Contempt, even. In hindsight, the dare was much too inappropriate. Here is a reminder for everybody to apologise at the next available chance.]

T. Kageyama: Soooorry, [inaudible].

Y/n: [inaudible]...God, I should have never did it to you the first time. Not the place. Not! the place! [Y/n proceeds to grab Kageyama Tobio by the shoulders, turning him around. Kageyama Tobio is ushered into the bathroom, alongside y/n. Y/n shoots one more look at the truth or dare circle. Tsukishima Kei, as he writes this transcript, is beginning to understand Yachi Hitoka's slight fear of y/n. It's the side eye. They are definitely a little scary with the side eye.]

T. Kageyama: Ouuuuuu, the BAAAATHROOM! Thaaat's a firstttttt. [Kageyama Tobio wiggles his brows, and it's kind of creepy. Like when a guy is trying a little too hard to get laid, and is throwing every existing pickup line at you. Y/n smacks him in the side of his head, and pushes Kageyama Tobio into the bathroom. They slam the bathroom door shut and lock it. The two do not return until fifteen minutes later. It is unsure what occurred during that timeframe.]

[End of transcript #6]

When Kageyama Tobio and y/n return to the living room, it is approximately 10:12pm. Nishinoya Yuu is still asleep on the floor, and shows mild signs of...nevermind. Yachi Hitoka and Yamaguchi Tadashi have moved on to drunken karaoke. Hinata Shoyo and Tanaka Ryunosuke learn to do the Rasputin beside Nishinoya Yuu's unconscious body. Kageyama Tobio and y/n settle beside Yamaguchi Tadashi and Yachi Hitoka respectively, and pretend to be at a concert where the singers can barely remember their own lyrics and aren't sure what notes to hit. Tsukishima Kei wants to go home, but hasn't gathered a satisfactory amount of blackmail yet. Therefore, Tsukishima Kei stays the night. He passes out on the living room carpet at 12:03am.

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

[Report #6- Initiated by Yamaguchi Tadashi and Hinata Shoyo]

Date of occurrence: March 30

Time of occurrence: 12:12am

Location of occurrence: Living room

Disclaimer: Any and all recounts made my Hinata Shoyo and Yamaguchi Tadashi from this point onwards may be liable to errors and inaccuracies. Since Tsukishima Kei made the disclaimer, the two believed they too were responsible for making one of their own. They admit that they were not responsible drinkers. They also admit that this will, undoubtedly, happen again.

12:12am is a time of silence. By this time, Tsukishima Kei has fallen asleep on the carpet, just beside Hinata Shoyo’s cruiser spill. He does not wake until 11:13am of March 30. Yachi Hitoka leaves the residence at approximately 11:30pm, alongside Tanaka Ryunosuke and Nishinoya Yuu, who are all picked up by Kiyoko Shimizu. Yamaguchi Tadashi and Hinata Shoyo are positioned at the kitchen counter, where they eat the graduation cake with their bare hands. At this point in time, Yamaguchi Tadashi has ceased all alcohol consumption, tapping out at two vodka redbulls, and two cream soda and vodkas in a 5:1 ratio. Hinata Shoyo, who has thrown up twice between this report and the last, has also ceased all alcohol consumption, tapping out at four vodka redbulls, one can of beer, and one vodka cruiser. Does cake work as a hangover cure? So sinful, so decadent…who gets to eat the happy graduation chocolate sign? Pay that no mind, for it is unimportant. What is of importance, is Kageyama Tobio and y/n’s current form.

Kageyama Tobio, who has tapped out after three cans of beer, two cans of Jack Daniels and coke, and an additional shot of pure vodka, stirs in his half slumber. This is no regular half slumber, but is one of intimacy, and of lovesick vulnerability, evident by his entire body splayed across y/n’s lap. At the time of this report, it is unsure whether y/n has consumed any amount of alcohol, but their sobriety is to be applauded regardless. (Please do not inform Kageyama Tobio of Hinata Shoyo’s comments on his character. Thanks.)

Y/n proceeds to bounce their leg twice, no, three times. Yes, three times is what it takes for Kageyama Tobio to stir awake. Hinata Shoyo and Yamaguchi Tadashi advance towards the couch at this moment, with the intention of smearing cake over Kageyama Tobio and y/n. However, upon entering the vicinity of the living room, the following conversation ensues between Kageyama Tobio, Hinata Shoyo, and y/n. Please be reminded that Hinata Shoyo and Yamaguchi Tadashi are both drunk out of their mind, and that the conversation was one of whispers. For that reason, any and all details of the transcript are liable to errors, redaction, and/or inaccuracies. Apologies for the inconvenience.

[Transcript #7- Provided by Hinata Shoyo and Yamaguchi Tadashi]

T. Kageyama: [inaudible]…leave?

Y/n: Do you? [inaudible]…car [inaudible]

T. Kageyama: I don’t [inaudible]…ow. [Kageyama Tobio rubs at his temples. Hinata Shoyo believes he is crying, but also don’t tell Kageyama Tobio he thinks that. (This is not Daichi Sawamura approved. Please cross check with reliable sources.)]

Y/n: Alright. Upsies now, I’ll drop you off. [Y/n pushes Kageyama Tobio’s body off of their lap. Kageyama Tobio whines. Hinata Shoyo is recording this entire ordeal, but there is frosting on the camera from fumbling for his phone with cake-covered hands. It is unclear who is speaking in the video, or what is happening, really.]

T. Kageyama: Drop me…offffffff? BUT I THOOOOOUGHT- [Y/n proceeds to punch Kageyama Tobio in the side, to which he doubles over. Kageyama Tobio begins to giggle uncontrollably on the ground.]

Y/n: Yes. I'm dropping you off, Tobio. Hinata? [Y/n turns to Hinata Shoyo, who throws his phone onto the ground upon being spotted. They leave the couch, and attempt to pull Kageyama Tobio to his feet. Kageyama Tobio is still giggling, and is unable to find his grounding.]

S. Hinata: Y-yeeeeeees...? [Why are they looking at Hinata Shoyo like that? No, seriously, he's getting scared thinking about it again as he writes this transcript.]

Y/n: I think I'll head out, Kageyama needs a drop off and I'm getting tired. This was fun! Thanks for holding the party, happy grad! I'll catch you around, yeah?

S. Hinata: Of COUUUUUUUUURSE...! Youuuu're NEVER! Getting rid of USSSSS!

Y/n: Yeah, of course. See you soon, Hinata. Good luck with the cleanup. [Y/n has finally managed to pull Kageyama Tobio to his feet. They yank Kageyama Tobio by the arm, and push him out the front door.]

[End of transcript #7]

At 12:15am, Kageyama Tobio and Y/n leave Hinata Shoyo's residence. Yamaguchi Tadashi, and Tsukishima Kei do not leave until the day of March 30.

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

[Report #7- Initiated by Tsukishima Kei, Hinata Shoyo, Yamaguchi Tadashi]

Date of occurrence: March 30

Time of occurrence: 11:13am

Location of occurrence: Living room

Tsukishima Kei is the first to wake from the stench of the cruiser spill by his nose. God, fuck, everything hurts. Is this what death feels like? A hangover? Also, that spill? Foul, fucking rank. It comes as no surprise that vodka, steeped into the fuzz of an unwashed carpet, would undoubtedly stink. That is beside the point. Tsukishima Kei leaves the ground at the stench, and searches for his phone. He is afraid. He promised to be home by midnight. His brother is going to kill him. Following two minutes of mindless smacking at the ground, Tsukishima Kei finally finds his device. Upon closer inspection, however, the following conversation is shown on the phone.

[Transcript #8- Provided by Y/n]

Y/n: r u dead???? -1:02am

Y/n: hurry up i wanna sleep:( -1:02am

Y/n: im not hearing water istg if ur not showering im gonna fucking drown u babe i dunked SODA all over u -1:03am

Y/n: r u hearing me -1:05am

Y/n: kageyama tobio r u hearing me because i still am not hearing water from my bathroom -1:05am

Y/n: if you don't shower ur sleeping on the ground tn -1:07am

Y/n: tobio r u done omg hurry up i wanna sleep sb -1:27am

[4 missed calls from: Y/n]

[End of transcript #8]

Upon this discovery, Tsukishima Kei wakes Hinata Shoyo and Yamaguchi Tadashi, who sleep on the couch for the night. The three ruminate on their next course of action, before the phone rings. The following conversation ensues between Tsukishima Kei, and y/n. Hinata Shoyo and Yamaguchi Tadashi choose to act as bystanders.

[Transcript #9- Provided by Tsukishima Kei]

Y/n: ...Fuck.

K. Tsukishima: So.

Y/n: He dropped it while wrestling you, didn't he.

K. Tsukishima: ...We wrestled?

[End of transcript #9]

[Case Closed]

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

bonus:

When you realise that Tobio's phone is MIA, he finally returns from your bathroom. Barely clothed, he shakes his head, and droplets of water come flying from his hair. His feet are heavy against the floor, and he isn't sure if he'll even make it to your bed at this rate, until you come darting out of your room, phone in hand.

"Tobio, where is your phone?"

"My phone?" His phone, it's in the bathroom, like it always is when he showers, right? Tobio grunts, annoyed at the extra return journey to the bathroom. He swipes at his T-shirt on the bathroom counter-right, that's where his shirt has gone. What meets his fingers is cold porcelain, and he frowns, pulling his shirt over his head.

"Not...here? Good question...where is it?"

You drag Tobio to your room, shutting the door behind you. When he spares no time to roll into your bed, blissfully unaware, you glare at him, and remind yourself that you do, in fact, love the guy. Even if he drunkenly slapped your ass in front of everybody four hours prior, forgot about your warnings and drank much too far past his limit, and has by now, probably outed your relationship to everyone at the party, despite keeping it perfectly hidden for over a year. Unfortunately, you remind yourself once again that you indeed, do love Kageyama Tobio, so this can wait. What is important now, is catching up on lost slumber, and forcing Tobio to join you.

Crawling into bed beside him, you finally melt into his arms for the first time tonight, away from the eyes of the Karasuno volleyball team. Tobio smiles, satisfied with the way that you're relaxing against him, instead of pushing him off and smacking his head. He inhales the scent of your shampoo, slips his hands beneath your shirt to hold your bare waist. This is comfortable. You are comfortable. Better than whatever he was on at that party.

"Oh well, who cares? You probably dropped it while wrestling with Tsukishima."

"...I wrestled Tsukishima?"

author's note:

I hope this is as fun to read as it was to write and i also hope it's actually good because it's so crack that there's not really any fluff until the bonus bit at the end BUT i'll come back with some proper butterfly inducing fluff and or angst soon!! love u all!!

tags!!

@chuuya-brainrot @staraxiaa @catsoupki @hiraethwa @laughingfcx @akaakeis @kuroppiii @tulip-room @wyrcan @wishi-selfships @fiannee @bailey-reeds @zzwon

ok thank u for waiting n reading love u all see u soon bye bye

[hoonieyun]

this is what that fucker wants!

pairing: sim jaeyun x reader x park sunghoon warnings: mentions of death and murder, violent threats, yn gets attacked, profanity, overall adult themes, 18+ ignore timestamps and possible typos lol a portion of this chapter is written so please be sure to read the written portion so the story makes sense!

wc: 1713

breakfast with jake was nice, it gave you a sense of normalcy and for once everything felt normal. or as normal as things could be. usually whenever you and jake would hang out, intak was also there. it was the classic trope of older siblings taking their younger sibling everywhere just because it was the duty of an older sibling to look after their younger one. 

your mind drifts off to intak as you drive to the mechanic and how you haven’t even had the chance to see him yet since they’ve found his body. the police station denied you access to do so because he was a part of an on-going investigation and there was still logitistical things that needed to be done before they let you see him. 

fucking ridiculous. he was your brother and for practically all your life, you only had each other. you had your parents growing up but after your dad was sent to prison for a murder that you believe he didn’t commit and was framed for; your mom became as absent as he was. 

she threw herself into the family business, constantly flying around the world for deals and partnerships in the name of “making money for the family” but all you and your brother wanted was your mom to comfort the two of you with a hug and tell you guys that everything would be alright. you haven’t received a hug from your mother in almost 10 years and you thought that maybe with intak’s passing, it would give the opportunity for you and your mother to rebuild that relationship you once had but she was too busy with the family business to even fly to come see her daughter and her dead son. 

you scoffed at the idea of your neglectful mother as you pulled into the mechanic shop, not having the energy to talk with any of the workers but because you needed your car to work properly, you mustered up whatever energy you had to tell them what was wrong. 

the guy with oil stains on her jumpsuit and tools hanging off his belt gave you a quote and an estimate on when it would be ready for pick up and since you had time to kill you decided you’d check out the area the car shop was in. you passed by several shops and things as you drove into the parking lot so you figured you could kill time by browsing. you gave the mechanic your number to call when your car was done and although you didn’t want to because he gave you the creeps, how else were you going to be notified when your car was ready? 

🗡 

the small town that the car shop didn’t have a lot of things in the plaza. there were small boutiques that had antiques and handmade goods, a few restaurants that you hadn’t heard of, and a library that seems like it hasn’t gotten anything new since the 90s. 

nonetheless, you took your time to browse through the quaint little town, popping into different stores if it caught your eye enough. you did however check out the library even though you didn’t think you’d find anything interesting. you mainly just needed to charge your phone and you figured you could find somewhere to plug your phone in the library without having to purchase something. 

you gave the librarian a smile and nod as you entered and she barely paid you any mind, probably because of her vision. you noticed that the glasses she was wearing had the thickest lense you’ve ever seen. the library was quite small and just like you assumed, it was fairly old. there were outdated computers, dust that was probably older than you, and it smelled faintly of moth balls. after finding a spot somewhere in the back of the library, you plugged your phone into an outlet and decided that you’d just wait here until you received a call from the mechanic that your car was ready. 

it was saturday and although you wished you had something better to do, you were content with taking it easy as you went over the documents in your email about intak’s death. you’ve been in contact with a funeral coordinator and were responding to some of his questions. it was going to cost a lot of money and you were once thankful for your mother who worked endlessly so that you and your brother never had to worry about finances. hence, why she was never around. 

you had sent her several texts since you last called her and you’ve only received one word responses. it angered you to see that your own mother barely cared about her own son’s passing but it made sense since she was barely around, it didn’t even seem like she had any kids. 

it was barely 10am when you got to the library and you were trying your best to keep your eyes open but it was getting harder and harder as you couldn’t find anything interesting to occupy your mind as you waited. your eyes began to grow heavy and a yawn escapes from your mouth, you blink a few times and shake your head to fight off the drowsiness but in just a few minutes you find your slowly falling to the side and your eyes fluttering shut. 

🗡 

the library was very quiet, as a library should be, but not the type of quiet because it was filled with people focused on their tasks like reading books or browsing on the old computers. it was the type of quiet that felt eary. like there was a stillness in the room that was caused by an unfamiliar emotion that causes people to freeze. 

only thing was, there wasn’t anyone else in the library besides you, the old lady at the front desk, and a looming figure shrouded in darkness; making its way to your sleeping figure in the corner of the library. it weaves and slithers through the various shelves of books, trying its best to go unnoticed by the old lady; which wasn’t hard since her vision only went past a few feet in front of her. 

the library is silent aside from the clock ticking in the corner of the room and the sounds of the librarian flipping the page of the romance novel she was reading, unknown to her the danger that creeped around the corners and shadows of the library. 

your phone was constantly buzzing with notifications from your friends, several texts that won’t be looked at until a lot later and as the hooded figure got closer to you, it pulled out a blade that reflected the light from the sun beaming into the window behind your sleeping figure. in a one and a thousand chance, the light just so happens to shine across the librarian’s eyes, causing her to look up and with her strained vision, she’s able to spot the hooded figure raising its arm just before the knife swipes at you. 

she shouts loudly, causing it to turn around and look in her direction while you’re jolted awake. confused at the sudden commotion, you’re taken out of your sleepy daze when you see the figure standing above you, a knife in its hand. when it turns its head back towards you, it’s met with a driving force as you kick it in the stomach, causing it to stumble backwards; giving you enough time to grab your phone and bag and run over to the librarian who was already calling the police. 

the two of you run out of the library and escape the danger. you don’t see the attacker run after the both of you. “are you okay, dear?” the old lady asks and you nod, trying to catch your breath as you ask her the same. the police are suddenly arriving and you were grateful that this town was so small because it prompted the cops to arrive in a timely manner. you and the librarian were questioned as several cops made their way inside of the library, only to find it empty. 

they had even checked the back room of the library and every area that the attacker could be hiding; and nothing. you were starting to grow less angry and more fearful. angry that this person took your best friend and little brother, but afraid that you would be next. 

had you not saved danielle that night she would’ve been next. 

had you not woken up because of the librarian, you would’ve been next. 

the cops let you go just as you’re receiving a call who you assumed to be the mechanic. you bid the old lady farewell with a small hug as the cops are driving away and when you answer the call, a raspy and ominous voice answers you. 

“hello?” you ask and for a moment it’s silent. 

“close one that was, huh? you’re a tricky one aren’t you?” the voice speaks and it sends shivers down your spine. you try to look around and call for help but the cops are long gone and there seemed to be no one else on the street. 

“what the fuck do you want?” you bite back and the voice just chuckles. “you’ll know soon enough.” it responds and the call just ends without further explanation. 

you couldn’t possibly wrap your head around what they could’ve meant by it but it struck fear inside of your nonetheless. 

as you begin your walk back to the carshop, your phone rings once again and the unknown called ID, stops you in your tracks once again. 

“look motherfucker, if you don’t leave me alone i will call the cops.” you spit into the phone and you’re met with the voice of a regular man. 

“um.. maam; your car is ready for pickup…” he responds slowly and you apologize profusely for throwing profanities at the man who was just calling you about your car. you end the call and roll your eyes in shame at the awkward interaction that would soon arrive when you had to pick up your car and how you were going to have to explain all of this to your friends later. 

back - masterlist - next

detectives notes: yn, brother of victim intak and best friend of victim wonyoung was attacked two towns over at moonstruck library. attacker escaped, no casualties or deaths. investigation is on-going.

tags: @pagemiah @jiiyen @jnysaln @xh01bri @rairaiblog @laurradoesloveu @17ericas @manaah02 @heeseung64 @zorange13 @firstclassjaylee @leipforggy

@wildtigerlili @mydearyeseo @hoonielvv @leehsngs @immelissaaa @skyearby @shuichi-sama @herrymxxnie @notab1tchwho @minfolio @theothernads

copyright 2025 - present © hoonieyun all rights reserved all writing here is fiction & not in any association with characters mentioned. if you enjoyed reading this please consider reblogging and following <3

[ranhaitanisgf]

hi! could i request headcanons or oneshot (either is okay) for bonten timeline sanzu haruchiyo with an excitable, extroverted reader? thank you so much, and no worries if not! (+ also your theme still says rqs are closed, but i saw you posted them being open two hrs ago :3)

pay attention to me!!

synopsis: how would bonten haruchiyo act w/ an excited & extroverted s/o?

☆ a/n ˎˊ˗ idk if yall can tell but ive never written for mr haru lawl ... also !! i added a little mini oneshot cause i couldn't help myself :3 thank you so much for requesting !! this was so cute to write !! i hope everyone enjoysss xoxo

☆ characters ˎˊ˗ sanzu (akashi) haurchiyo x g/n!reader

☆ wc ˎˊ˗ 2.7k+

masterlist

❥ sanzu thinks you’re annoying at first. 

❥ he doesn’t notice at all when you first move into his apartment building; he doesn’t take much care in noticing small things like that if it didn’t relate to bonten. his work and mikey were the only important things to him, so when he hears excited squealing seeping through his walls one day, he thinks that his neighbor has a kid, (which quite frankly annoyed him, but he decided he didn’t care enough to do anything about it). 

❥ there was no estimated time as to when he would get home--ranging anywhere from 6pm to 4am--so it takes at least a month or two for him to meet you officially. coincidentally, he had been going out to grab a drink from the convenience store when you were excitedly jumping around outside your door, a delivery package in your hands. 

“oh! omg, are you sanzu-san?!” “...hah? who’re you?” “oh my gosh, i’ve been knocking on your door everyday for the past month, but you never seemed to be home! i never got to introduce myself to you! i’m (l/n) (y/n)! i moved in not that long ago, so i wanted to get to know my neighbors!”  “‘kay. bye.” 

❥ the only thing he wants to do is get away from you; he doesn’t want to be bothered with civilians, much less someone as annoying as you seemed to be. seriously, why were you talking so loud?!

❥ much to his displeasure, you followed him all the way to the convenience store, talking his ear off about the most meaningless things he’s ever heard of in his life, (how does somebody talking about nothing for so long?!) as he purchases his drinks and walks back to the apartment building. it takes everything in him not to snap at you; if he did, he would probably wake up all the neighbors from raising his voice, which wouldn’t be ideal since this was already his fifth apartment in the last six months. 

❥ he’s unsure how you possibly couldn’t get a hint that he didn’t want to be bothered, especially after he only said a maximum of ten words to you in the whole thirty minutes you were following him around, (are you really that clueless? is this what loneliness does to people?). it does take him by surprise that you aren’t scared of him though; you’d shown absolutely no sign of apprehension despite the scars around his mouth, which he supposes shows a bit of good character from you. not that he really cares. 

❥ he’s more than happy to shut the door on your face when he gets back to his apartment, finally indulging in the peace and quiet of his apartment, (he doesn’t think he’s ever been so happy to hear nothing). right when he’s opening his bottle of sake, he hears squealing through the walls. when you start monologuing about whatever you’d received in the mail, he just decides to quit and go to bed. 

❥ sanzu isn’t sure how, but you have somehow made it your routine to follow him places whenever you ran into him. he also isn’t sure why he continuously allows you to tag along with him, but as long as it doesn’t affect his work, he doesn’t really care. 

❥ you’re always talking about something; the weather, your coworker’s strange behavior the other day, or the stray cat you saw in the alleyway that ran away. there are times when he tunes out your talking and uses it as white noise, but you never seemed to get upset at the fact that he visibly is zoning out. 

❥ after a while, he gets used to your constant presence around him, so much so that he finds it strange to not hear your excited yammering while he’s at work, (although he supposes he wouldn’t want to have that constantly in his ear while he’s doing ‘business’ with someone). 

❥ the one thing that gets the attention of the rest of the bonten executives is when he suddenly stops going to the clubs, leaving whatever work he had there for during the day when it was barren. it was such a drastic change in behavior; sure, sanzu was never the type to be obsessed with the scantily dressed girls in the club, but he was known for taking some home every once in a while. at the very least, he was known for getting various types of substances from sketchy dealers who frequently attended. what’s even stranger to everyone is the fact that he slowly starts to engage in less substances, (though he still does every once in a while) which is what rings the alarm bells. 

“oi, sanzu.” “what do you want, ran? i’m fuckin’ busy.”  “well, it can wait. the fuck’s been up with you lately? you’ve been acting weird as shit.” “so?”  “so, what the hell’s been up with you?” “none of your goddamn business, that’s what.”  “woahh, easy there, man. seriously, somethin’ bothering you?”  “i said it’s nothing, so drop it.”

❥ by the time he realizes what he’s been doing, it’s too late for him. you and your talkative self have wiggled their way into his heart, setting up camp to stay for a while. he had a glimpse of a thought of it when ran was confronting him, but he immediately pushed it out of his mind because how could that possibly be true? 

❥ it can’t be true, even if he unwillingly likes to think about it now. he can’t let himself think about it; you were one of the most strange yet innocent and pure people he’s ever met, so how could he willingly taint you with someone like himself? no, he wouldn’t let it happen.

❥ and just like that, everything seems to be back to normal for him. he goes to the club even more than he did before, and the amount of substances he uses seems to increase exponentially by the week. he begins to sleep on the couch in his dingy office instead of going home so that he doesn’t run into you, only going home for the bare essentials every couple days, (and even then, he leaves after just a few minutes). 

❥ it’s just his luck that he gets out of his car the moment you turn the corner onto the apartment building’s block, seeing him in plain sight as he freezes for a moment. and then he unfreezes because 1.) why is he of all people scared to run into you? he’s a bonten executive, he’s killed people before, so why was his heart beating so fast right now? and 2.) he needs to get away from there. right now. 

˗ˏˋ𖤐ˎˊ˗

“hey!! not so fast, haruchiyo!!” you shout, your steps hastening as you try to catch up with him. sanzu can hear your steps behind him, but his long legs give him the advantage as he quickly ducks into the apartment building, smashing the elevator button and tapping his foot as it decides to be as slow as it possibly can be. 

he lets out a ‘tsk!’ sound when he notices you enter the building, promptly looking away from you and looking cooly at the blinker indicating what level the elevator was on, (can this thing move faster?!). 

“stop ignoring me!! where have you been?!” you questioned, your voice a mix of worry and anger. “i’ve been knocking on your door everyday with no response!! i know you don’t particularly like me, but you’re the only person who doesn’t walk away from me, so could you at least give me a reason that you suddenly started avoiding me?!” 

“...’m not avoiding you.” sanzu doesn’t know what to do right now; he’s never seen you angry like this before. typically, he would care less about the feelings of some random person like you, but for some reason the hurt in your voice makes him unusually unsure of himself. 

you scoffed at his lame excuse, rolling your eyes. 

“look! you’re trying to avoid me right now with elevator! seriously, can you just tell me what i did? i won’t do it again, i swear! just stop avoiding me!” 

“fuck, it’s not you!” sanzu suddenly said, his voice strained. “i’m just busy, okay?! you’re better off being friends with someone else.” 

“but you’re already my friend!! why don’t you want to keep talking to me??” sanzu ignored your words, his gaze staring straight ahead at the doors of the elevator, his stare so intense that you could almost think he was trying to open it telepathically. “hey!! can you just answer the damn question already, haruchiyo?!” 

“why do you need to know so fuckin’ badly?! i just said i’m busy!!” 

“because! i like you!” you yelled, your eyes seeming to get a bit watery. “and i know you don’t like me and that’s fine but i just want to be able to talk to you and see you sometimes, but now you’re always gone and i don’t know when you’re going to come back and it scares me! i just-” 

sanzu cut off your words, promptly stepping in front of you and slipping his hand behind your head, slamming his lips into yours. he’s not even sure himself why he did something stupid like this, especially when the whole reason he was avoiding you was because of his own flaws, but he couldn’t help himself when he heard you being so cute and worried over him, (seriously, how was he supposed to resist something like that?). 

it obviously took you off guard at first, but sanzu made sure you quickly realized what was going on, his mouth desperately pressing against yours. his kiss was rough but passionate, his lips moving quickly against yours as he pulled you closer to him, his other hand sliding around you to rest on the small of your back, (he’s doing it purely out of instinct; he hasn’t really thought about how he had been avoiding you for this very reason). 

a small ding! from the elevator grabs your attention, making you push him off of you as someone comes out from the elevator, glancing at the two of you a bit suspiciously before walking out of the building, leaving both of you in silence. 

“uh…wanna go to the convenience store for snacks…?”

˗ˏˋ𖤐ˎˊ˗

❥ it took a little bit for sanzu to open up to you about anything even a little bit, but once he did, you were able to figure him out pretty quickly, especially when he’d finally decided to be truthful about his actual profession, (bro does not work an office 9-5). due to all of this, it’s easy to tell that sanzu has a lot of issues, but it wasn’t something that you weren’t willing to work through with him!

❥ the two of you are the definition of black cat and golden retriever! you are always excited about everything and are taking him to all the cool and trendy places on dates while he is more quiet, keeping close to your side and watching everything with a careful eye, (especially people he defines as creeps, i.e. people who look at you for more than 0.2 seconds). 

❥ date wise, he is usually following your lead. he doesn’t have the slightest clue about what you think it romantic, so it will usually be you planning outings for the two of you. a lot of times he will complain about being tired and not wanting to go out, but don’t worry, he’s completely lying; he just thinks it’s cute when you whine and pull his arm asking him to come out with you. 

❥ despite the fact that he is not the most romantic guy, he does a lot of romantic things without realizing. he enjoys sending you your favorite flowers when you’re at work or staying at home while he’s at work, sending cute little notes along with them, (well, you think they are pretty cute). 

i think you like these ones. -h be ready by seven. wear something you feel good in. -h sorry i didn’t buy milk. there’s frozen waffles in the freezer. -h

❥ sanzu does a lot of those little things for you too; opening doors for you, pulling chairs out for you, taking things out of your hands when you’re carrying a lot, etc. it doesn’t seem like he’s the type to do things like this, but it’s because he isn’t the type to do it. he only does it for you, and he himself doesn’t even know why he does these things, (he’s head over heels in love with you, but in no universe will he ever actually admit that). 

❥ the most protective over you, and a little possessive too. he doesn’t control everything that you do, but he likes to have a clear-cut plan of everything you do on a normal day so that his mind is put at ease, (also so he can known when something is wrong). he won’t tell you this, but he has someone assigned to keeping an eye on your as you go about your day because he’s extremely paranoid that somebody from an opposing gang will try and come after you. he would prefer if he could by your side himself, but it’s the next best option, (he still sends frequent texts and calls you throughout the day to make sure everything is well). 

❥ the possessive part of him comes out more when he thinks people are hitting on you, (they really are just being nice; he’s just a little bit crazy…he loves you though!!). he doesn’t hesitate to slide his long arms all around you, letting you continue talking while he makes a deadly eye contact with the person, his face twisted in mild disgust as if he were looking down at a cockroach, (he’s mastered this expression somehow). he knows that you enjoy talking with people so he won’t keep you from doing so, but in the process he will make sure that everybody knows you’re his. 

❥ sanzu’s not the most affectionate person there is, but he is affectionate when he wants to be. there are times when he’ll come home and not say a word, just wrapping his arms around your waist and burying his head in the crook of your neck, mumbling something about having a terrible day. really, he just becomes a big baby when he’s like that, laying his lanky limbs all over you and claiming that he’s ‘recharging’. 

❥ it’s hard to label sanzu as an extrovert/introvert, since it can really depend on what mood he’s in and the situation. he’s more of an introvert in public settings with other people, (he doesn’t know how to interact nicely with people he doesn’t know) but when he’s with a majority of people he knows, he turns into more of an extrovert which matches with your energy quite nicely. 

❥ unintentionally, there comes a time when you accidentally get to meet the rest of his coworkers. it happened when they were dropping him back off at home after a night at the club and you’d had to come get him from the car because of how inebriated he was. 

“woah, you’re (y/n), huh?”  “oh, yes! it’s nice to meet you! you all must work with haru, right? please continue to take good care of him! would you like to come inside for a snack or some water?”  “...dude, what the fuck.”  “how the hell did he bag someone like that?!” 

❥ safe to say, they are all extremely shocked, (they never would have thought that someone like sanzu would be dating someone as sweet and talkative as you). the next day when he gets into work, he’s immediately hounded with all types of questions surrounding you and how the two of you started to date. 

“holy shit, is that why you were acting crazy a few months ago?!”  “i wasn’t acting fuckin’ crazy?!” “sanzu, you’re the craziest person here, and you started acting normal!! that was crazy!!” 

❥ after that, he makes sure that his associates never get to see you again, (“hey, bring your pretty lil thing around sometime!”, “i would rather kill you right now.”).

[shuamorollss]

Café Amnesia — l.sm x f!reader

— When your insane crush on Lee Seokmin hits a curb when he yells out the wrong name for your order whilst having your name written perfectly fine on your cup.

How the hell was he able to fuck your name up so badly?

On purpose? Obviously. Why? You simply don't know.

romcom, mutual pining, cafe au with a pinch of univ, strangers2friends2lovers warnings/notes— They're both whipped for each other(Seokmin mostly), there's a whole segment of reader suffering from period cramps, uhmm I'll add more :> 1.7k wc TEASER . Estimated full wc: 10k-12k + reblogs are greatly appreciated!

tags— @jangwonie @jungwonize @luhvlyuna @w3bqrl @ineedaherosavemeenow @leaderwon @writingmeraki

"Girl, take your chance. He's right there taking orders!" Im Nayeon encouraged as the both of you took a step inside the bittersweet aromatic premises.

Oh yes, this very Café, not only were you a regular customer here, you were also known by your friends to be limping hearts for someone around these ambient walls.

Strangers might say, Oh, this person must really love the coffee here.

Although your friends would definitely say, Oh, he just loves the coffee made by brew. A code name your friends have made to pertain to him.

The very ‘brew’ on the counter, taking orders with his usual sweet smile.

Lee Seokmin.

Oh that man, how could you ever describe him?

Seokmin’s a family friend, you usually see him outside Café territory. Even visiting your home multiple times just to have a chat with your family. Crazy how a guy so cute and so close to your age is more talkative with the likes of your aunts and uncles.

You have always noticed his presence even before he started working in your favorite Café, though you only developed ominous worries by the time he started working there.

There was something about his mere presence that irks you a certain way, never in a bad way, quite unsure in a good way.

How would he have this effect on you so suddenly?

It doesn't make sense.

You only view him discerningly from your balcony as he laughs with your mom at the gate. He’s a peculiar guy, who only visits your home to greet anyone but the people his age.

You didn't care about it, you didn't even ponder any further with his visits, you weren't as much bothered with his bond with your relatives… So why do you feel the opposite of the things just mentioned now?

"Uhm, Y/N?" a voice echoed, shaking you through your thoughts.

…

"Huh? "

You blinked out of your rainbow towered thoughts, checking the very man standing in front of you with an intense gaze.

Everything felt sudden, you were just giggling with Nayeon earlier at the back of the line and now you're… here.

"Your order please?" He repeats, raising his brow as his eyes fixed on you, patiently waiting for your response.

As much as you wanted to, you couldn't take a look at his face for longer than 2 seconds. You didn't want to become a blushing, stuttering mess in front of him, you had to erase such humiliation as this has probably happened to many times within his view.

You take a good look at the menu for a short while, subtly attempting to compose yourself. Then back to looking into his eyes with a determined smile.

"Ah— Uhm… Two iced caffe latte please." you spoke out, you eyes averting away after you realized you might be looking at him for a bit too long.

"Size?" He questioned.

"Both grande."

“Alright, name?” He asks, leaving you slightly dumber and might be dumbest since you were so so sure he had mentioned your name before, the name you own, the name he lets out to escape you from the unrealistic wonders of your mind.

Well, you guess he had to do it for the professional setting.

“Y/N.” You answered with a warm smile.

He nodded, starting to scribble your name on both cups.

You stared at him for a brief second before darting your eyes out of his figure again. It was an awkward, unnecessary feat you have, however you feel a pinch of guilt for staring at him for too long… You didn't think you would have a chance anyway, or would even notice your gaze fixated on him for an uncomfortable amount of time.

You were great with eye contact, you swore that to life.

Now it’s just different in front of him.

The transaction ended smoothly, thankfully, he gave out your remaining change and you turned around leaving with a wide grin that seemed stuck on your face for the next few minutes.

Nayeon notices your change of demeanor, mirroring your subtle excitement as your footsteps approach her figure.

“So, how did it go?!” She slowly squealed, her bunny teeth entirely evident as her emotions seemed to be ecstatic at yours.

“It went good,” You answer with the same wide grin. “It went with the usual order but this time, he asked for my name.”

Nayeon’s smile immediately falters at your answer, her reaction unsatisfied.

“Y/N, that's… he does that to everyone, it’s his job.” She deadpans.

“No no no, I mean. I was like— thinking about something you know?— I was in deep thought, and then Seok— I mean him, Brew, called me by my name and that took me out of my trance,” You paused, earning back your composure. “Then all of a sudden, he just asks me for my name when he was about to write it on the cup? Like, isn't that weird?! He called me before, with the perfect pronunciation of my name, and then asks about it afterwards?”

Nayeon’s reaction did make any sort of change, yet here you are, at the verge of squealing at the half-assed interaction she had ever heard.

Though, to be fair, she had heard more shit stains than this.

“Darling, Y/N, I'm sorry, but, you just have to get better than that..?” Her tone rose unsurely, you could tell she wasn't atoned with the happening, well, it wasn't supposed to be squealed about. You couldn't admit it to her but, it was indeed a boring interaction.

As much as you were extremely down bad for the man, you couldn't act upon it. Why would you? He’s so out of your reach. He wouldn't even look at you in the eyes, never even greeted you when you were at home, and not even bothered to have your parents introduce him to you.

So why would you try and befriend him if the hints are obviously at plain sight that your parents don't want him for you.

Gahh?! What is wrong with me?! you argue along with your conscience. This case seriously needs to be studied for the reason that this regression did not go unnoticed by you. You had a chance to talk to him before but now it just seems too far of a run to be able to reach.

As you and Nayeon remain seated, patiently waiting for your order while she voices out her stress about the upcoming midterm exams, a certain voice echoes throughout the area.

A name kept being called.

Twice, thrice, you don't even know how to word it out the fourth time and so on.

It was embarrassing how this man, Seokmin, was honking a name no one responds to in such a quiet auranescent place. Almost everyone in the Café gave their shares of baffled looks at Seokmin’s way, you gave your shares of it also, until Seokmin’s gaze points at you.

The drink on his hands reached out to your direction, mouthing the words to what seems to be “you.”

Nayeon catches onto this quickly and nudges you out of your seat, so you could reach the drinks on what you assumed to be yours and Nayeon’s, which in fact right now, you were still unsure of.

You make your way awkwardly towards the man, your eyes circling around the Café, releasing a breath of relief at the realization that the customers had gone back to their personal businesses, although the embarrassing flush still creeps into you as you step closer and closer to the counter.

“You, yes you.” Seokmin lets out with a sigh of relief you swore you just did a few seconds back.

“Here's your order, I’ve been calling out for you for 4 years.” He jokes, a bit weak but it was tolerable. He’s handing the two lattes you ordered, still dumbfounded at the fact this was your order.

But he said your name wrong

extremely wrong. unpleasantly wrong. absolutely wrong.

It wasn't even close to your name at all— it's just wrong.

You never felt so embarrassingly offended in your life.

The way he says that too casually, audaciously loud, couldn't even set you off to the right track. You still think he's getting the wrong person to give this order to.

But it was the correct order, the one you recited to him.

He knew you, that's for sure, but how— wha?—

“Oh, thanks.” You say dryly, grabbing your order and walking away with a forced smile. Not even bothering to correct him, just because.

You examine the drink, still unsure if this was actually what you ordered (Which it really is), then turning it to the other side of the cup to read your name,

perfectly spelled.

Which bombards your thoughts with even more questions.

How was he able to fuck your name up so badly?

On purpose? Obviously. Why? You simply don't know.

You went back to the gracious face from Nayeon holding her laugh.

“Well, that's what I call an interaction.” She welled, leaning back onto her seat with a squeaky laugh.

You were quite embarrassed by the whole situation, yet a gush of butterflies lingered in your stomach shooting to the realization that Seokmin had joked with you.

It was unusual, but you’d be content with it at best.

Nayeon repeats the name Seokmin kept calling out a few minutes back, which somehow became unbearable coming from her.

You slide her drink with a clear frown, aggressively sitting on your seat without laying a single look at your friend.

“Oh come on, Y/N, you know I'm just kidding..— woah.” Her eyes widened as her eyes lays at the name spelt on her drink. You could tell the element of surprise creeping up into her whole being as she tries to piece things together.

“Y/N, your name is spelled correctly here?”

You roll your eyes, “Wow, I didn't even notice.” You reply with evidently toned grouchiness.

She gives you the same wide eyes yet the edges of her lips begin to perk up.

You know where she's getting at.

“Y/N! Do you know what this means?!”

You lock your gaze at her, waiting to continue her words.

“He yelled and butchered your name on purpose!” She says ecstatically.

Yeah, you have already established that.

© shuamorollss. please do not modify, edit, copy or reproduce any of the works published.

[discordantwritings]

The Sand Dragon and I Pt. 2 (Dragon! Sir Crocodile x Reader)

Part 1 / Part 2

Warnings: NSFW 18+ MDNI, gn afab! Reader, dragon shifter! Crocodile, monsterfucking, canon typical violence, power dynamics are once again pretty whack, possessive Crocodile, Crocodile is Mean, oral sex, facefucking, masochism, lil bit of blood, overstimulation, belly bulge, creampie, aftercare is important guys, also vampire! Mihawk is there for a little bit

WC: 6k

Summary: An unwelcome guest, a slightly more welcome guest, and a display of ownership.

Notes: I had way too much fun with this. So I originally intended this to be the end of it buttttt if you guys want more or more fantasy type aus I have many ideas

Tagging: @okanadafreakingfan

While you don’t have to make as many trips all the way up to the entrance cavern anymore for water, there’s still a daily hike you have to make up to the fountain to fill your large metal bucket that you dug up. You consider asking if there’s a closer water source but that thought is quickly dismissed. You only see him once every few weeks by his design. No need to increase the rate at which he could tire of you.

You release the dirty water from yesterday back into the pool of water, watching the dust and dirt slowly sink and travel back to the earth. You’re about to refill the bucket when suddenly you hear a noise from the tunnel to the surface. Gripping the bucket tight you press yourself to the stone wall, waiting to see what comes out of the tunnel.

This isn’t the first time this has happened- wild animals sometimes have the misfortune of wandering down too far to find food and water but most of the time they leave fairly quickly. You assume it’s something to do with Sir Crocodile’s presence no matter how far away he is this was still his lair. So when a man- an actual human man- peers out from the tunnel you nearly drop your bucket in surprise.

It’s not long before he sees you, it’s a painfully wide open cave, and you see his eyes widen in surprise before he runs over to you. As he gets closer you can really see him- disheveled presumably from days of travel, beat up armor, and a short sword gripped in his right hand. Reflexively you back off from his fast approach and as you do he stops, putting his hands up.

“Hey- I’m not going to hurt you.” His words do nothing to calm you. “Actually- I guess I’m here to free you.”

Free? Why would you- oh, yeah. Most humans don’t consensually live in a dragon’s lair. “You- look-“

“No, no don’t worry everything is okay now!” Oh boy he’s really getting into the savior role. “I’m going to kill that foul beast and then you can come home with me!”

Right, like if you had been taken you wouldn’t want to go back to your own home and to your own people. “He’s going to kill you.”

“I’ve been training for this my whole life-“ You estimate he’s in his mid 20s, whole life doesn’t really carry a lot of weight- “And I will be victorious.”

You try to warn him more but he doesn’t hear you, already walking away to go deeper into the tunnels. You’re not sure how regular of an occurrence this is for Sir Crocodile but you know he’d probably just be annoyed to see some random human wandering around.

Maybe you’ve been living in a cave for far too long, away from humanity for too long, but as you reel back with your bucket it really feels like the best solution. He doesn’t even notice you until it’s too late, heavy metal colliding with the side of his head and knocking him out cold. His body slumps to the ground as the metal clang echoes again and again off the tall stone walls.

Well. Sir Crocodile is bound to have heard that. So you fill up your bucket, take a seat, and wait for him to show up.

This time you hear him coming and for the first time since you got here you see him in his full dragon form. You aren’t as scared of him but there’s no stopping your body’s natural reaction to cower in his presence. His large eyes look over the scene- the knocked out wannabe knight and you sitting there waiting for him. You don’t say anything, just patiently wait for his reaction.

“You knocked him out.” It’s not a question.

“Yes sir.” You respond, shifting in your seat.

“Why?”

“I assumed you would be displeased to find some human attempting to kill you wandering around your lair.”

“And?” He could hear you were holding something back.

“And… he annoyed me sir.” You admit.

Impossibly loud laughter fills the space as Sir Crocodile cackles at your response. You have to bite your cheek to not smile, this was probably the best reaction you could get.

“Oh, I didn’t know my pet had such a fire!” He steps closer, snout close to the unconscious man. “Such a pathetic excuse of a human. Some do not know their place.”

His massive jaw opens and you look away just in time so you don’t have to see him devour the man whole. Your eyes glue to the ceiling as you hear the awful crunch of metal and bone under teeth. After a few moments of silence you finally look back down to see those massive eyes staring at you.

“Good work pet.”

Now that you know what these emotions are swirling deep in your stomach, embarrassment mixes in as you try and temper your reaction. You hope maybe he doesn’t care enough to analyze your reaction, to care if you like anything he says. But the way his pupils narrow into slits tells you he knows.

“Keep up the good work.” His large body turns around, knocking over a few chairs and tables as he lumbers out of the space and back down to whatever cave he lurks in. You practically melt into the chair the second you can no longer hear his movement, mortified by your own reactions to this whole situation. As you straighten up the room you ignore the perverse want in the pit of your stomach. You know how he sees humans, how he sees you. Your sick attraction was yours and yours alone. This was just another hold he was forming over you.

But all the logic in the world doesn’t stop how happy you are for the rest of the week. Not to mention a few days later your food is restocked with fresh fruits and vegetables, a gift you know is from Sir Crocodile.

He doesn’t really care.

But maybe he cares just a little.

The next time you see him you’ve made significant progress on his overstock hoard. Books are on shelves, you’ve relocated some rugs to the room, most things are at least in somewhat sensible piles, and you swear you can almost see the back of the cave. You were working on organizing the trinkets when you hear his voice.

“I didn’t think it was possible to get rid of all that dust.” Surprisingly, you don’t jump out of your skin at his presence, somewhat used to him sneaking up on you.

“It wasn’t easy sir.” You stand up straight as he walks around the space that is now open. His claws lightly drag along the bindings of books on the shelves, his reptilian eyes analyzing everything. You hold your breath, hoping that you haven’t done anything wrong in your organization.

“Categorical and alphabetical. Good enough.” He turns to you and sighs. “As much as I’ve tried to push this off, I have a guest visiting in three days. He’s just here for a meeting of sorts but I need the entrance cavern ready to receive. Don’t worry about food either.”

“Oh of course sir, I’ll get to organize that space tomorrow if that’s alright?” You wonder what kind of guest Sir Crocodile could possibly have, probably another dragon?

“And he’s human sized so I will be as well. Arrange appropriately. While I won’t require you to hang around you I would still like you to receive the guest so I’ve gotten you some more appropriate clothing.”

Human sized confirms in your mind that his guest is definitely not human. Curiosity at what clothing he could have possibly gotten you swims in your head but you’ll find that out soon enough. “I can do that sir. What time will the guest be arriving?”

“Around eight in the evening. He’s punctual, you shouldn’t have to wait long.” Crocodile walks over to the pile you were sorting through, gold claws picking up a wooden talisman. “I realize I’m giving you a sore impression of what I collect. One day you will see my real hoard, if you keep being good.”

You flush under his praise despite yourself and force your gaze forward so as to not make eye contact with him. He chuckles and you want to disappear out of embarrassment.

“I’ll see you in three days, pet.” And just like that he’s gone again.

It’s getting harder and harder to deny your reactions to him. It follows you at night to your bedroom as you fight the urge to touch yourself. You know somehow he would hear your moans, the slick noises you would inevitably create if you were to dip your fingers deep into where you need them. Knowing that you deny yourself, compounding your need with every visit he pays you. It’s becoming a problem how fast you grow slick in his presence but you keep pushing it off. Eventually it’ll pass.

Maybe.

When you get back to your room that night you find new clothes neatly folded for you on your bed. They’re the same deep green of his scales and as you touch them you feel impossibly soft silk. Holding it up you see that they should fit you perfectly, and you wonder how he knew your exact measurements. Probably a result of his impressive observation skills. The thought of his eyes raking over your body and analyzing every dip and curve of your body…

You bury your face into the clothing and huff in frustration. You really need to get your head on straight.

Focusing on setting up the entrance for a guest at least fills the time well. You arrange tables and chairs and then spend some time gathering the best looking items from the overstock to decorate the space. It makes it look more lived in, even if you know realistically it’s not going to fool anyone.

Soon enough it’s almost time to greet the guest of honor and you are hesitating by the tunnel up to the surface. Dressed in the somehow perfectly tailored clothes Sir Crocodile got for you the silk did little to soothe your anxiety. You were tasked to receive the guest but you’re not sure if that means right here or up at the surface. It had been a long time since you’ve been outside these caves and while you don’t feel yourself missing the surface… fresh air would be nice.

Sir Crocodile wouldn’t want his guest to have to do the long walk down by himself right? Your own shoddy justification is enough to have you traveling up to the surface. It’s much less foreboding than you remember, but you know that’s just because you’re used to so much worse at this point.

You know you’re almost there because you can feel the cool breeze of the desert night. Pausing, you soak it in, a sharp contrast to the damp, stale air that hangs in the deep caverns. It’s only a few more steps before you’re out, looking at the starry night sky. You forgot how beautiful it was.

Despite all these emotions never once does the thought of running away cross your mind. Not out of fear, but because your new life is actually pretty good.

“You’re not Crocodile.” A dark, smooth voice sounds from a few feet away and you turn to see what looks to be an immaculately dressed human man.

“No I’m his-“ What were you, exactly? Calling yourself his pet to a stranger feels wrong so you just use the next best term. “Servant.”

“Interesting.” He steps closer and you can see his sharp facial hair that accentuates his defined facial features. His long leather coat is lined with a deep blood red fabric that stands out against his pale white skin. You can’t help but think how handsome this man was.

“My name is Dracule Mihawk, I assume you are expecting me.” Bright golden eyes that almost seem to glow in the dim light of the night regard your form.

“Yes, I’m here to receive you, you can follow me down if you are ready?” You do your best to be formal under the scrutiny and that seems to please him.

“Lead the way.” With a nod you start making your way back down, feeling his eyes on your back the whole time.

The walk is eerily silent, so much so that it’s a relief when you finally get back to the entry cave and see Sir Crocodile standing there in his humanoid form. You shuffle slightly to the side to let Mihawk pass by you.

“Mihawk.” Sir Crocodile greets simply, tone unreadable.

“Crocodile.” Mihawk is equally unreadable until he casts a glance your way. “Is it too much to assume this human is a gift for me?”

You blanch at the question, looking worriedly over to Sir Crocodile. His face quickly pulls up into a sneer. “Don’t you dare lay an undead finger on my pet.”

“Come now Crocodile.” Mihawk is smiling now, but it’s unsettling as you see red flash over his gold eyes. “What use do you have for a human? I could use a new blood source…”

The golden hand quickly transforms into a wickedly sharp hook and loops around Mihawk’s neck as he tries to step closer to you. He growls, deep and guttural as he barely holds himself back. “I’ll rip your head clean off.”

Your heart is racing as Mihawk chuckles and throws his hands up. “Alright, alright. Someone’s grown attached to their pet.”

Crocodile lets the hook linger for a few seconds before it reforms back into a clawed hand. “They’ve proven themselves useful and loyal.”

“Oh I’m sure that’s it.” Mihawk turns back and sits in one of the prepared chairs. You’re not sure what Mihawk is implying there so you cast a confused look to Sir Crocodile.

“You can leave now.” He dismisses you and you nod.

“I’ll be reading if you need me sir.” You bow slightly to Mihawk as well before you leave, despite your fear of him.

You couldn’t leave fast enough, not catching any more conversation between the two of them. You find solace in your reading chair, book settled on your lap even though you can’t bring yourself to read just yet. Your thoughts swim as you finally process how close you were to dying and that Crocodile defended you, willing to kill someone he trusted enough to let in his lair for you. And that last comment from Mihawk… he wasn’t implying what you think he was implying right?

Thank the stars above your book is interesting so at least you can think about something else while you wait and make sure you aren’t needed any more tonight. Almost two hours pass before you see Sir Crocodile darken the entryway for the cavern. You quickly stand up, setting your book down on the chair.

“Do you need-“ You’re cut off by a wave of his clawed hand.

“Come with me.” He’s already walking away so you quickly follow.

You’re led down tunnels you haven’t been down before, going even deeper into the earth. You want to know what’s going on but stop yourself from asking questions that probably won’t get answered anyways. It’s nearly 15 minutes of fast paced walking before you stop at a gigantic set of carved stone doors. A scene of the desert has been carefully etched into the stone, somehow soft and delicate despite the hard working surface. Bracing both his hands on the doors he pushes open and with some effort the doors swing in. He walks in first and after a moment of your hesitation he waves you in as well.

So this was a real hoard.

You find yourself standing on a stone walkway above a giant pit filled with more gold and jewels than you thought existed. The walkway circled the expansive cavern- easily five times the size of the entry cave. You were stunned, mesmerized by the glimmering of the treasures by firelight.

“I told you I’d show you a real hoard.” His voice snaps you back to the moment as he continues to walk and you follow, eyes still glued to the center pit.

You follow him all the way around the radius of the pit until you’re across from the doorway. You come up on a large ornate throne and open overflowing treasure chests. He reaches down into one of the chests and plucks out a piece of jewelry. It’s a gold choker inlaid with more emeralds than you can count before he makes a motion with his other hand.

“Turn around.” You obey without hesitation.

“So obedient…” You feel him right behind you and something drapes around your neck- the cold metal presses into your throat and you know it’s that necklace he pulled out. Surprisingly deft claws clasp it into place as it settles surprisingly comfortably on you.

“Let me see.” As you turn you have to crane your neck up to see him since he’s so close to you- closer than he’s ever been.

“I didn’t think anyone would get confused but apparently I have to mark what is mine better.” The golden claws rake over the metal- over your neck- and your breath hitches. “I think it suits you.”

“It’s beautiful sir.” You can’t see it now but even just from the glimpse you got you know it is- perfectly matching with the clothes he got you.

“Quite.” His eyes rake over you and for once his pupils aren’t those narrow, scrutinizing slits. They are nearly full circles, pushing out that white grey of his irises to almost nothing.

“I want you to say it.” Crocodile’s voice is low, almost a whisper. There’s an almost inaudible rumble from his chest that you can hear. You somehow know exactly what he wants.

“I’m yours.” You look him in the eyes as you say that, his claws pressuring your neck just enough so you know they’re there.

“Fuck, you’re perfect.” You feel the heat radiating off his body and there’s not a doubt in your mind he can see how affected you are by him.

His claws continue to play at the edge of the choker while you try not to wither under his touch. You’d take whatever kind of touch he would give you but that doesn’t mean you still don’t want more. The desperate thought of him wrapping that large hand around your neck flits through your head and you shudder.

“What was that pet?” Of course it didn’t go unnoticed, nothing does.

“I was- just thinking, sir.” Your words come out fragmented but that doesn’t seem to bother him, in fact a smirk comes over his face.

“Thinking? What about? Tell me.” He leans down, further invading your space as that hand near your throat keeps you from slinking away.

While it’s hard to admit it to him, you don’t think for a second about disobeying him. “Your hand around my neck.”

A low growl leaves him as he gives you what you want, his hand big enough to fully wrap around your throat. You don’t bite back the moan that leaves you as he grips lightly, fully discarding any shame you have.

“You just need to ask and I’ll give you anything you could ever want. All the gold, all the clothing, all the books this world has to offer. Just say the word.” His grip on your throat keeps your eyes locked with his, showing you how truthful he’s being. Sure, he has a physical grip on you right now, but you can see you have just as much hold over him.

“I want you.”

There’s a moment where you’re confident the world stops moving as his grip reflexively tightens around you. You feel his breath, uneven, fan over your face as he stares down at you.

“Say it again.” He demands, voice little more than a growl.

“I want-“ You don’t get to finish your sentence before you’re being pulled up into a bruising kiss.

There’s nothing gentle or even kind about the way he kisses you. He takes- robbing you of your breath and thoughts as his sharp teeth drag over your lips, drawing blood. When he finally lets you pull away you taste the thick iron of your blood as you gasp for whatever air you can get past his grip around your throat.

It was everything you wanted.

He drags you backwards until he’s sitting in that huge throne and you brace your hands on the armrests as you continue to kiss him. You go breathless many times before he releases his grip on you, head pleasantly swimming from lack of oxygen. You press your forehead to his, the cool scales that dot his hairline running a chill through you.

“Too much for my pet?” He teases, claws slipping under your shirt and up your sides.

“No sir.” To prove yourself somehow you slowly sink down to your knees in front of him, hands drifting from the armrests to his knees. He somehow looked even better from this angle, broad shoulders filling up the throne and the sharp angles of his face gazing down at you.

Claws rake through your hair as you undo the fastening on his pants, an impressive bulge already straining at the fabric. Impressive quickly turns to overwhelming as you push away his clothing and get a full view of him. You had thought many, many times about what he would look like but none of your fantasies really prepared you.

He was massive- intimidatingly so. Your hand reaches out and grips his base and your fingers don’t come close to touching. He’s smoother than you would expect, long as he curves up towards his stomach, ending in an almost angular tip. You bring your mouth to his tip, taking him in just a bit. Salt and earth weigh on your tongue, surprisingly not too unpleasant.

Letting saliva pool in your mouth you messily let it drip down his cock. You pull off of him and use both of your hands to slide up and down his length, coating him in your spit. The hand in your hair grips hard and forces you to look up at him.

“I want you to look at me while you pleasure me pet.” The pain of him pulling your hair only turns you on further.

“Yes sir.” You keep eye contact with him as you take him into your mouth once again, tongue flattening as you slowly push him further into your mouth and down your throat. You can’t take all of him but your hands compensate, sliding up and down the remaining length in time with your mouth. Apparently though, it’s not quite enough.

“Oh, pet, let me-“ Claws dig into your scalp as he holds your head in place and thrusts his hips up to shove his cock further down your throat.

You sputter and gag as he forces himself down further than you thought he could go but he doesn’t let up, holding you there while you adjust. Finally you force your breathing through your nose, tears streaming down your face as you calm your throat down to take him.

“That’s it- knew you could take more- don’t think about a thing just let me fuck that tight little throat of yours.” He continues his assault and you let him, not making a single move to escape his grasp.

Your don’t have enough thought in your head to continue moving your hands so you just hold his base as he uses your throat. All that you can do is take what he’s giving you and do your best to maintain eye contact through the tears. You can only imagine what you look like to him- absolutely debauched as your mouth and throat stretch to accommodate him, tears and spit dripping from your face onto the stone below.

You’re not sure how long you’re like this, knees on the cold stone as you let your face get fucked, losing track of time and just about everything else. It’s only when his thrusts loose their steady rhythm and you can feel the throb of his cock that you snap back, suddenly hearing the words pouring out of Crocodile’s mouth.

“I knew you’d be such a good whore for me- you’re going to swallow what I give you aren’t you pet? It’ll be so easy when I pour it right down your throat-“ At least you know it’s coming and you hum in acknowledgment, the only way you can let him know that you want it too.

That noise in your throat seems to be all that’s needed to push him over the edge as he holds your head tight and spills his cum down your throat. You fight against the urge to gag, doing your best to swallow until he finally releases his grip on the back of your head, letting you pull off and gasp for air. You rest your head on his thigh while you catch your breath and you feel his hand gently brush against your cheek, a sharp contrast to how he was only a few moments ago.

“So good for me… does my pet deserve a reward?” You barely have time to process his words before you’re being moved, world flipping around.

Suddenly you’re sitting in the throne and Crocodile is on his knees in front of you, a predatory grin splitting his face. He doesn’t waste any time, sharp claws tearing and ripping your bottoms clean off. You want to protest but the words die in your throat as he holds your thighs open and stares at you.

“I knew you’d be soaked but all this?” You feel the sharp edge of his claws play at your folds. “My poor pet has been so pent up.”

He kisses up your inner thigh and as he gets closer occasionally his sharp teeth sink into your flesh, just breaking the delicate skin there. After every bite he licks over the wounds and you can’t quite see but you can feel that his tongue is longer than you would expect it to be. Your fists ball at your sides, every pinprick of pain sending a new rush of pleasure through you.

“You can grip onto me if you like, you won’t hurt me.” Hesitantly, you move one of your hands to his hair as he hikes your thighs over his shoulders. “I’ve been waiting to taste you since I first saw you, I just know you’ll be divine.”

His claws somehow don’t rip open you skin as he pries your folds open before diving in with that long, thick tongue. You immediately see stars as pushes his tongue into you and it curls inside you. The pad of his thumb presses down on your clit as he relentlessly swipes against your insides. He pulls back for a second, a single strand of hair falling in his face.

“If you’re going to take me I’ll have to get you ready.” You watch as his golden claws loose their edge but get thicker before they disappear between your legs.

Your legs instinctually wrap around his neck as you feel the cool metal press against your entrance. You hear him chuckle before his tongue swirls around your clit and he presses a single large finger inside you. The moan that leaves you would embarrass you if you were capable of that emotion anymore. The gold is thick and cold inside you, a feeling so weirdly foreign yet amazing.

All of the sensations- his finger inside you, his tongue swirling around your clit, his flesh hand holding your hips down- it’s too much. Crying out and griping his hair you cum all over his finger and tongue. Despite your orgasm Crocodile doesn’t let up for a second though, a second finger slipping inside you while your mind and body buzzed off the high.

“You’re going to have to get a lot looser than that pet.” The two fingers make a scissoring motion inside you and he uses the gap he creates to snake his tongue inside you as well.

You nearly yell in pleasure as his tongue reaches spots you can only dream of finding with your own fingers. Without thinking your hips move up to try and find more friction but his single hand keeps you pressed down to the velvet fabric of the throne. He shoots you a warning glare that only makes you want more. You’re already sensitive from the orgasm you just had so it’s not too long before you’re chanting his title and wrapping your legs ever tighter around the back of his neck. His tongue pulls out and you whine at the loss but it’s short lived as it travels up to your clit, flicking over it before you feel the very edges of his teeth scrape that sensitive bud and you feel like your nerves light on fire.

You’re gushing over his fingers again and he finally stops moving, pressing more kisses and bites into your inner thighs. Once your legs finally relax he slides his fingers out and uses both his hands to grip your waist as he flips your positions once again. This time as he sits on the throne you’re positioned on his lap, his length already sliding against your folds.

“Do you think you’re ready to take me?” His mouth finds your neck, teeth scraping against skin as you grind against his cock. “Or are you going to get off like this?”

“No- please I need you inside me.” You force yourself to stop moving to prove your point.

“Hm… you’re almost ready…” One of his sharp claws rips open your top from the center causing it too fall loose from your shoulders. Now all that’s left on you is that golden choker. “Perfect.”

Just one of his hands is enough to lift you up, the other hand lining up his cock with your entrance. You gasp as his tip presses into you, already stretching you out as much as his fingers. Digging your nails into the fur lining of his coat, somehow still situated on his shoulders, you do your best to stay relaxed as Crocodile pushes inch after inch into you.

“I- fuck- you’re too big-“ You sputter out as you feel him getting deeper, pushing your body to its limits.

“You just- fuck pet- you just need to relax. You can take it. I know you can.” You feel the cold metal of his gold hand rub tight circles around your clit. “You’re gripping me so tight just let me in.”

“I’m-“ You feel like you’re being ripped in half but there’s something about the pain of the stretch that feels so good.

You’re already so overstimulated and the filthy words in your ear and the quick movements of his fingers are too much. You cum with a wordless scream, burying your face into Crocodile’s neck. Taking advantage of how your body contracts and then relaxes during your orgasm he shoves his cock in the rest of the way- tip suddenly shoving against your cervix and sending a wave of pain through your body. You hit his shoulder and he pulls back slightly, soothing kisses pressed against your throat.

“See thats it, you could take me pet, see?” His hand rubs over your abdomen and lightly pushes you back. “Look at that.”

You look down and see your stomach bulging out slightly, showing you how far his cock had gone in you. Crocodile pushes down on the bulge with his hand, fascinated by the way your body takes him. You can only whine, uselessly clawing at his jacket as he sits inside you, unmoving.

“So fucking tight and warm pet. I should have had you like this from the first night you came here. But now that you’re here-“ His hips finally move, each thrust sharp and deep. “You’re never going anywhere else. You’re mine.”

“I’m yours- I’m- Sir please it’s- it’s too much-“ Three orgasms had put all your nerves on edge, each slide of his cock inside you overwhelming.

“Oh you can take it. You’re doing so well pet- just a little more-“ He quickens his pace and you cry out before he captures your lips with his own and swallows all your noises.

Pushed past where you thought you could go everything goes a bit numb, head fuzzy in a pleasant way. You give yourself up to him, let him take whatever he wants from you as you surrender. There’s no more thoughts in your head and you can barely hear the nasty things he’s whispering in between kisses. You’ve never felt like this before and you loved it.

The fog clears slightly when Crocodile nips at your earlobe. “I’m going to fill you up pet- how’s that sound?”

You can only moan in response, you’d be fine with whatever he asked you at this point.

“That’s it- so fucking perfect for me- taking it all for me and letting me fill you up- just like-“ He shifts his hips and thrusts faster, hitting deep inside you. “Need you to cum again, come on pet, grip me tight like that again-“

“I- I don’t know if-“ Your protests are quickly drowned out.

“Yes you can- come on now.” He presses against your abused clit again and your body caves to his demands as your walls convulse around him.

You feel his warm seed pour into you, mixing with your cum and gushing out onto both of your thighs. You’re only somewhat aware of how much cum he spilled into you, still leaking out of him as he slowly pulls out of you. Instinctively you wrap your arms around your neck and pull him close and you feel a warm chuckle in his chest.

“Does my pet need some affection?” Hair is brushed out of your face as one arm holds you close to his chest. “You’ve done such a good job.”

You feel him stand up but you’re secure against his large body as you’re carried off somewhere. Things are still fuzzy and you can’t track the turns down the tunnels but you feel the air grow damper until you hear the sound of running water.

“You’re going to have to let go for a moment.” He tells you gently and you obey, arms sliding off as he sets you down.

It isn’t until your feet hit water that you realize this cave is one giant hot spring. You immediately shuffle forward until you’re mostly covered with the warm water, the heat sinking into your already sore muscles. Crocodile, finally naked, joins you a few moments later, scooping you up from behind. He carries you over to a spot where he can sit and still be mostly covered with water and you stay curled up in his lap.

You’re so tired, mind and body exhausted from the night. It doesn’t even startle you when you feel Crocodile’s tail possessively wrap around your legs while his arms hold you at your waist. Drifting in and out of consciousness you occasionally feel him washing parts of you off, the smell fragrant soaps pushing you even farther to sleep.

You wake up slightly when it’s time to get out of the water, skin pruning from the over exposure. You towel yourself off and Crocodile wraps you in a soft robe before sweeping you off your feet once again.

It’s not long before you’re back in your room, gently laid in bed. You pull the covers over yourself as Crocodile scans over your body.

“Have a good night pet.” He says, rubbing your shoulder before taking a few steps away.

“Wait.” Your words stop his leaving and he casts you a questioning glance. “You said I could have anything I want?”

“Yes, of course.” He walks back over to you.

“Then… could you stay the night with me?”

Sir Crocodile isn’t easily readable, you’ve been fighting to understand his thoughts for months now through glances and sparse words. He was unmovable, strong, fearsome.

But you don’t miss the way his face softens at your request.

“Whatever you ask.” He slides into bed next to you and after some adjusting your back is pressed against his chest. His arms wrap around your middle and that large tail rests over your leg. You feel safe, secure, against his large frame.

“Sleep well my treasure.”

[hbyrde36]

Steddie | R: Explicit | WC:5877 | Ch 4/8 | AO3

Ch 1 Ch 2 Ch 3 <-

Chapter 4: The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak

For the next few days, Robin’s words continued to echo through Eddie’s mind. 

“I don’t know what is or isn’t going on between you two, but be careful with Steve, I don’t want to see him get hurt again.”

That wasn’t all she’d said, but it was the part that struck him most.

While he was stuck combining forces with her to make Steve stay in bed resting and healing, as best they could without direct communication anyway, Eddie tried to be angry that she had essentially given the shovel talk to a dead guy, which felt a little insensitive, and more than a little fucked up. But, the longer he thought about it, he had to admit she kinda had a point. 

He was a ghost.

Probably. 

There was no version of his story that included a happy ending, and he didn’t want to trap Steve in a horror flick when he deserved nothing less than a fairytale romance and a happily ever after.

In death was a hell of a time to find out that the ‘straight’ guy he’d been crushing on and flirting with the entire time they'd been preparing for battle with Vecna was not as straight as previous estimation. And, sure, Eddie’d had his suspicions before. It’d been hard not to wonder when Steve couldn’t seem to stop staring at his mouth when they were talking in those creepy woods, or think twice about the way Steve had started to reach for him in moments of pain or joy, almost as much as Eddie had done the same, relying on one another like they’d known each other better, and for far longer, than they really had. 

If only he’d known then that he actually had a chance, before those fucking devil bats had gone to town on his flesh and ruined everything. He would have risked it all for one kiss from Steve to bring with him to the afterlife. 

Taking Robin’s words to heart, for his own sake and sanity as well as Steve’s, Eddie tried to keep a little distance. It wasn’t all that hard at first, with Steve sleeping so many hours of the day and night. He still spent more time than was probably healthy lying in bed next to Steve’s sleeping form, but from shovel talk on, Eddie made himself scarce whenever Steve began to stir.

Naturally though, there came a point where he and Robin could no longer keep Steve contained. Steve was feeling better, stronger, and even Robin couldn’t argue that his wounds were finally on their way to mending.

Eddie stuck close that first day when Steve was up and about, though he kept quiet—by Munson standards—feeling a bit unsure of how to act around the other boy now. Nothing had changed exactly, but also, everything had changed. He was happy enough to stay a shadow for now, letting Robin and her motormouth take the lead on convincing Steve to take it slow and let the ghost research go for one more day. 

Unfortunately for Eddie and his plan to suffer in silence, a frantic phone call from Robin’s parents was about to leave him alone with Steve for the first time since Robin had all but confirmed that Steve was into him.

Shit.

As soon as she hung up the phone, she whirled on Steve with narrowed eyes. “I swear on Dustin’s mother, if you so much as look at that attic door before I come back here tomorrow morning, you’ll be sorry.”

“Are you really threatening me with bodily harm when I just got out of the hospital?” Steve asked, looking unimpressed as he leaned against the kitchen door frame.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” she said, pursing her lips, tapping them as if she were deep in thought. “I was thinking more like telling Munson something embarrassing. Your middle name maybe? Or—ooh! How when you found out your precious Farrah Fawcett hairspray had been discontinued you cried like a ba—”

Steve lunged forward to slap a hand over her mouth, the tips of his ears burning pink as he began to walk her forcefully towards the front door. “Oookay, you better hurry home before your mom sends Powell and Callahan after me.”

Eddie stifled a giggle, following along at a safe distance behind them.

“Where is Casper anyway?” Robin asked.

Steve hitched a thumb in Eddie’s direction, turning to catch his eye. 

It was the first time all day that Eddie didn’t avoid Steve’s direct gaze, stomach fluttering traitorously at the sight of those gorgeous hazel eyes.

Robin turned too, facing the general area Steve had pointed and glaring at a spot roughly a foot to Eddie’s left. “I’m counting on you to keep him from doing anything stupid.”

“And how exactly do you expect me to do that?!” Eddie quipped, for whatever good it would do, and glared right back at her.

A heavy pause and a sideways glance later, Steve relayed what he’d said to Robin.

“Use your words, Mr. Dungeon Master!” She shot back with an attitude and air quotes.

“First of all,” Eddie sucked in a loud, sharp, affronted breath. “Watch your tone when you’re talking about my life’s work, Buckley. Second of all, what makes you think he’ll listen to me?”

“Can you both stop talking about me like I'm a child?!” Steve snapped. “It’s extra insulting when you figure I have to translate for one of you.”

In an impressive act of synchronicity considering the circumstances, Eddie and Robin swung their gazes around as one to look at Steve, wearing matching raised eyebrows.

“Jesus Christ,” Steve muttered quietly, pressing two fingers hard against the bridge of his nose. “Look, my only plans for the night are to finally take a shower, and go to bed. Scouts honor.”

“Fiiine,” Robin ground out.

Meanwhile Eddie could only grimace at the implications. “Please tell me you weren’t really a boy scout.”

Seriously, the polos were one thing, but to have a crush on a former badge collecting goody-two-shoes?

Steve rolled his eyes. “Of course not. I used to be cool, remember?”

Robin looked between Steve’s face, the air Eddie’s form occupied, and back again, before bursting out in the most obnoxious laughter imaginable.

“Thanks, Rob.” Steve deadpanned.

“You’re welcome!” she chirped cheerfully, finally pulling the front open and stepping out. “I’ll see you both in the morning. Well, I’ll see Steve in the morning, and I’ll just assume the ghost of Christmas past is floating around somewhere too.”

“I don’t float,” Eddie grumbled in reflex, only realizing what she’d actually said after she was gone. He quickly rounded on Steve, mouth agape. “Wait, can I float? Have I been out here walking around like an idiot and missing out on all the fun parts of being a ghost?!”

Steve grinned wide enough to make his eyes sparkle, and suddenly it dawned on Eddie that his buffer had just left for the night. He looked away abruptly, an awkward tension, completely of his own making, pulling taut now that they were unsupervised. 

“N-nevermind,” Eddie mumbled, before Steve even had a chance to reply, keeping his head down as he stepped wide around him, “I-I just remembered I don’t like heights anyway, so—”

“Eddie, wait—” Steve called out.

Though every instinct in Eddie’s body shouted at him to run, his traitorous, unbeating heart could hear the sad and timid quality of Steve’s voice peeking out from behind those two words, giving him no choice but to stop and face his friend.

“I’m sorry if I-I said or did something to make you uncomfortable. I thought…” Steve paused, giving a little shake of his head. “It doesn’t matter what I thought, but iIt feels like you’ve been avoiding me and considering the fact that I’m the only person who can see and talk to you, I figure that means I must have fucked up pretty badly.” 

And, god, that wasn’t what Eddie wanted at all. 

He knew he was doing the right thing here. For both of them. For himself, who didn’t need to go into whatever eternity he faced with a dinged-up heart, and for Steve, who had his whole life ahead of him. But he couldn’t bring himself to let Steve go on thinking he’d done something wrong when that was the furthest thing from the truth.

Eddie’s shoulders sagged, and he started and stopped half a dozen times before the words finally came out. “You’re… amazing.”

Steve raised a perfectly arched brow.

Okay, not what Eddie’d meant to say, even if it was the truth. He cleared his throat, and tried again. “I mean, you didn’t fuck anything up, Steve. And I don’t know exactly what you thought, but if it’s what I think you thought, you weren’t wrong.”

Jesus Christ… did that even make sense?

“Um, what?” Steve asked.

Right.

“I like you,” Eddie pushed on, figuring the direct approach was his best course of action here. “I’ll admit, I wasn’t sure for a while if you even realized I was flirting with you while all this shit has been happening. If I was the only one feeling like there was something between us. I mean, after shoving a broken bottle up to your neck, it would have been fair if you hated me.”

Steve tilted his head thoughtfully. “For the record, hate is definitely not what I was feeling at the time.”

Fuck. 

He should have known Steve wasn’t going to make this easy.

Eddie pulled at his shirt collar. Was it getting warm in here? Could ghosts even feel room temperature? “Noted,” he choked out.

“So—that moment we had the other day, when we almost…” Steve took a few careful steps closer as he trailed off. 

“Kissed?” Eddie breathed, finishing Steve’s sentence, fighting both the instinct to back up and meet him halfway.

Steve nodded. “Yeah.”

It’d been such an almost… normal—for lack of a better word—moment, between two people who were growing closer, getting comfortable with each other and opening up. There’d been heartbeat there, the briefest of seconds when Eddie realized they were both leaning in, where he forgot he was dead. He was just a guy and his crush, about to share their first kiss.

Until they weren’t.

Though Eddie technically managed to stand his ground, with Robin’s warning stuck in his ear, running still won out. Just, not with his feet. “I’m dead, Steve. You, more than anyone, should understand what that means.” 

Steve’s gaze dropped, so many different warring emotions dancing across his pretty face before he finally looked back up. Eddie desperately wanted to know every single one, but he stayed quiet.

“I think that’s the first time you’ve said it like you believe it,” Steve said eventually, a small, sad smile curving his lips.

Eddie shrugged, trying so hard to smile back but he couldn’t seem to make it reach his eyes. “Well, I guess I'm starting to.”

For someone who’d been trying to convince him of the reality of his existence from the moment he’d appeared, Steve sure didn’t look happy about his sudden willingness to accept it. Eddie wasn’t thrilled with it either, particularly given his recent realizations, but there was no use in fighting the truth.

It wouldn’t change anything.

“Look, I wish things were different but they’re not and we just—we can’t go there, okay?” Eddie sighed, backing his way towards the hall, desperately needing to be anywhere but here, at least for a while. 

Standing there, looking into Steve’s wide puppy-dog eyes begging him to stay, was torture of the worst kind. It was also a foolproof recipe for surrender to this thing between them, and he couldn’t risk giving in no matter how much he wanted to. What could he even offer Steve like this?  Yes they could talk, and he would always be there for Steve in that way, or for however long he was allowed to haunt the guy, but there were some needs, and wants, that required more… right? 

Steve had to realize that.

“Besides, Big Boy,” Eddie said as he turned, unable to stop the frown that was tugging at his lips. “What would be the point?”

This time when he walked away, Steve let him go.

Steve took his time in the shower, letting the warm water run over his body long after he was clean, as if the spray alone could ease the disappointment that had settled into his bones. 

He couldn’t stop thinking about the sad, resigned look on Eddie’s face when he’d said it.

‘What would be the point?’

Steve had wanted to scream.

Everything?

Nothing?

What was the point of any of this bullshit if they were just going to roll over and give up when something good actually presented itself, without even trying to take it!

Inevitably, the hot water ran out and Steve had no choice but to leave the comfort and safety of his shower, carefully drying himself off and taping new clean bandages to his healing wounds.

He slipped on a pair of clean boxers and nothing else before falling into bed, more tired than he felt like he should be when all he’d done that day was walk around the house and argue with Robin, but he supposed that was what he got for not taking care of himself. He was leaning over to switch the bedside lamp off when Eddie appeared in his open doorway, left so out of habit and maybe a small spark of hope that Eddie might have a change of heart and seek him out.

“Hey,” Steve said, sinking back down into his bed and pulling the covers up higher on his chest. If by chance they were about to rehash the conversation from downstairs again, he didn’t really feel like being so exposed when Eddie doubled down on his rejection. 

“Can I come in?” Eddie said, the first time he’d actually asked permission to do anything since his arrival.

It didn’t feel like a good sign, but Steve grit his teeth and nodded.

“I, um…” Eddie stepped over the threshold and into the room, but hovered an awkward distance away from Steve and the bed, eyeing it cautiously. “I don’t—uh—I didn’t really like the way we left things earlier.”

Steve snorted, giving him half an eye roll. “I wasn’t a big fan either.”

“I’m sorry, okay?” Eddie pleaded, taking a few slow steps closer. “But you know I'm right. I mean, this whole thing is ridiculous anyway. Don’t we have bigger, much more important things to worry about than having stupid crushes on each other?!”

By the end of his brief speech Eddie was practically shouting, and Steve tried and failed to stifle a grin. It was so obviously taking all of Eddie’s self control not to stamp his feet.

“I don't recall actually admitting—”Steve began, but was quickly cut off.

“Harrington—” Eddie growled, glaring with all the fierceness of an especially adorable house cat as he crossed his arms over his chest. 

Steve couldn't resist copying him, sitting up to cross his own arms and pitch his voice as low as possible. “Munson—”

Eddie let out an exasperated sigh, raking a hand roughly over his face before stumbling closer, falling to his knees next to the bed. 

“Look, Eddie,” Steve said gently, something tight in his chest releasing as he scooched himself towards the edge. “If there's one thing I've learned in the last three years, it’s that there’s always going to be something else to worry about. But I’m done waiting to live my life when I know full well It could end with a snap of Vecna’s disgusting fingers. None of us knows how much time we’ve got left, and if all I have are these stolen moments between world ending disasters, then so be it. We’ll deal with Vecna when the time comes, but until then…” 

Steve trailed off, trying to find the words to explain to Eddie that he wanted this, that he’d already fought through his own worry and doubt, weighing the pros and cons as he rotted away in sleep for the last few days, but Eddie was already shaking his head.

“But I’m—”

“A ghost, yeah, I know,” Steve spat, cutting him off with a wave of his hand, and went on to say the single last sentence he ever thought he’d utter aloud and truly mean it. “It’s a good thing I was born a Harrington then, isn’t it.” 

Eddie said nothing, his jaw tightening, and his gaze remaining set on the comforter below.

“Unless…” Steve mumbled, worried now that maybe he’d misjudged. Maybe Eddie was trying to let him down easy, when really he just wasn’t all that interested. “Unless you don’t want—”

“Oh, I want,” Eddie blurted out, raising his head, his eyes burning with enough open, naked desire that it lit Steve’s skin on fire and burned away the last of his uncertainty. “More than what I ever thought was realistic to hope for. But you deserve better than what I could give you like this. I'd be happy enough to just be your platonic invisible friend for the rest of your life. What if we try this and you regret it, and then you're stuck with the ghost of your ex hanging around?”

Steve sucked his bottom lip into his mouth. It was a fair thought, and this was uncharted territory, but even if it was just a crush, as Eddie had called it, even if they got together and one day it fizzled out, Steve couldn’t imagine regretting any time spent with Eddie. 

“The only thing I regret is not getting to know you better when you were alive. Not being able to touch you now? Yeah, it kills me. And I know we could never have a normal relationship, that it’ll never be real, but I want this, you, in whatever way I can.”

Eddie squeezed his eyes shut, scrunching them tight, the faintest hint of a whine escaping him as he let his chin fall to his chest.

Steve worried at his bottom lip, letting the silence stretch on in hopes that Eddie would say something, anything.

“Oh, sweetheart,” Eddie finally whispered as he raised his head again, a new resolve  reaching out to hover his hand just above Steve’s cheek, warming it, and making the rest of his body shudder, suddenly aching with need. “Just because we can't touch the usual way, why would that ever mean it wasn’t real?”

The impulse to surge forward and capture Eddie’s lips was intense, but Steve managed to hold back. This would be a delicate dance to learn, but he was sure they could figure it out together.

“Tell me,” Steve purred, letting all the longing he felt leak into his tone, just as he would have made Eddie feel it through his kiss if he could have. Gathering his old confidence, he tossed the covers aside, revealing his mostly naked body, save for the thin white briefs he wore and the fresh gauze at his sides. “Talk me through it, Eddie. What would you do to me right now, if you could?”

Eddie’s eyes raked up and down his body hungrily, a low groan emanating from deep in his throat like a warning, “Steve.”

“Tell me,” Steve said again, quiet as a whisper, as he let his fingers play along the hair on his lower stomach. He felt so exposed, but so safe at the same time under Eddie’s reverent, watchful gaze. “Please?”

“Fuuuck,” Eddie cursed softly, raising himself up to sit on the edge of the bed. “Okay, yes, I…”

A thrill ran up Steve’s spine, anticipation already making him reach for the waistband of his underwear until Eddie’s voice, deeper than he’d ever heard it, made him freeze.

“Wait.”

For one frightening moment he thought Eddie was changing his mind, calling it off, and he almost reached for the covers in embarrassment, but then Eddie spoke again, leaning over his body with shining, eager eyes. 

“I wouldn’t rush it if I had my way with you, Steve,” Eddie said softly, running his tongue along his bottom lip. “I’d start with that lovely mouth of yours. I’d spend hours memorizing the feel of your lips against mine, and the taste of them, if you’d let me.”

Steve slowly raised his hand to his face, running the tips of his fingers softly over his lips as he met Eddie’s eyes, wishing it was the real thing.

“Close your eyes,” Eddie whispered.

Without hesitation Steve complied, pursing his lips again to kiss the pads of his fingers and found it really was easier this way. Easy to pretend he could taste Eddie’s mouth. Lips dry, but soft. Sweet with a hint of cigarette. He imagined the scents that would fill his nose as they made out in the backseat of his car, hairspray and smoke, the warm earthy smell of leather as he grabbed Eddie by the collar of his jacket and pulled him in impossibly closer.

“Only when we’re both panting and desperate for air would I stop, giving your swollen lips a rest while I kiss down your neck.”

Steve pressed his lips to his fingers one last time before running his tongue over them, trailing the wet touch down his chin and over his throat.

“Would you let me mark you there, sweetheart? Suck a bruise into your skin where everyone could see it?”

The possessive bite to Eddie’s otherwise softly spoken question was enough to have Steve already whimpering pathetically. “Yes,” he gasped, hardly able to recognize the wanton, breathy sound as his own voice. “Please, Eddie.”

“So pretty when you beg for it.” 

This time Eddie’s words were spoken right next to his ear, so close to where his own fingers were pressed. Close enough for him to feel a bit of the warm aura that surrounded Eddie’s form, like it was Eddie’s real hot breath washing over his skin. His cock twitched for it, filling out and straining against the tight fabric of his briefs, a sensation so similar to that of a hand palming him that his hips bucked, searching out a deeper friction.

“Needy boy,” Eddie murmured. “I’d make my way to your chest next.”

Steve sucked in a breath, forcing his hips to still as he ran both of his hands down to his chest without needing to be told.

“So good for me.” Eddie’s voice trembled, a strained quality to it that told Steve without a doubt that this was all affecting Eddie just as much as it was him. 

“Do you have any idea how long I've wanted this?” Eddie went on at a whisper, the sound moving lower just as Steve’s hands had. “To rest my hands against that chest of yours, rake my fingers through all the thick hair. I almost lost my mind when you took your shirt off on that little boat, and not out of fear.”

Steve remembered the moment well. The terror of knowing what he was likely to find at the bottom of the lake, the fear that nothing they did would make a difference in the end anyway. A fear that had partially come to pass, but he wasn’t thinking about that now. Instead he recalled the way he’d looked back to see Eddie staring at him openly, those big brown doe eyes catching the moonlight almost as well as they’d caught Steve’s attention. It was far from the first time he’d noticed Eddie in that way, but it was the first time he realized the attraction might be mutual. So, he’d smirked, and he’d thrown his sweater into Eddie’s stunned arms for safekeeping, a subtle attempt at flirting, but an attempt nonetheless.

“I would have let you,” Steve said with a grin. He kept his eyes shut tight but it was easy to hear the answering smile in Eddie’s voice when he huffed a laugh.

“I can see that now.”

Picturing ringed hands in place of his own, Steve could almost feel the cool metal gliding over his skin when he ran his fingers through the thatch of hair on his chest. He paused, taking a handful and gripping it tight, giving it a light tug. He hissed at the sharp feel of it, pulling harder and arching his back as he moaned. 

“That’s it,” Eddie cooed softly. “I had a feeling you’d like a little pain with your pleasure.”

Eddie wasn’t wrong. Steve had often longed for a rougher hand, and maybe some other things, in the bedroom, but hadn’t quite known how to ask any of the girls he’d been with for what he wanted, even if they’d have been willing to give it to him. With Eddie though, he was starting to get the most wonderful feeling that he wouldn’t have to ask at all.

“Mustn’t neglect the most sensitive part of your chest, hmm?” Eddie hummed. “I’d keep playing with your chest hair, teasing little pulls that are never quite enough to reach that sting you’re craving, until I take one of your nipples into my mouth, rolling my tongue around the edge until it pebbles up, and finally biting down.”

Though his dick was screaming for attention, Steve obeyed, performing the torturous touch to himself with one hand just as Eddie had described, using his other, and the light touch of a fingertip, to circle his already pert nipple before pinching it as hard as he dared.

Lightning shot down his spine, while a high-pitched whine was forced from his lips. It wasn’t until he let go, fighting to catch his breath that he hadn’t realized he’d been holding, that he felt the small wet spot in his underwear, the almost cold feel of the cotton pressing back against him. 

He was dripping. 

Eddie was taking him apart piece by piece with nothing but his voice and his words. He was harder than he’d ever been in his life, leaking precome, and his briefs hadn’t even come off yet.

“You’re so fucking hot like this, all laid out for me like a banquet, letting me do whatever I want with you.”

“Anything… everything. Just, please… don’t stop.”

“Anything, huh?” Eddie mused. “So if I kissed a line down the center of your chest and ran my tongue along the length of your delectable happy trail, only to stop cold at the waistband of your underwear, you’d just lay there and take it?”

Steve’s hands moved to comply of their own volition, even as he pleaded for more.

“Please, Eddie. I need… I need…”

Eddie shushed him quietly. “I know, baby, I’ve got you. I’m gonna make you feel so good, I promise. I just prefer to open my gifts carefully, that’s all. I would take that bit of fabric between my teeth and slowly pull them down your hips, your thighs, and all the way to your ankles and off so I could spread your legs as wide as I like.”

With shaking fingers, Steve finally took hold of his briefs, tugging them down bit by bit until his cock was freed, slapping against his lower stomach with a light smack. He had to tuck his legs up to finish stripping them off, but he didn’t let that take him out of the fantasy, and when he was finally laid bare he placed a hand on each of his knees, pushing them apart wide until he heard Eddie choke on air.

“Fuck, you’re so perfect.” 

As much as the compliments and praise were doing for him, and they really were doing it for him, Steve felt like he was on the verge of losing his sanity. 

Thankfully, Eddie seemed to be of the same mind.

“Lovely as it is to torture both of us, I wouldn’t be able to resist wrapping my lips around you immediately, letting your cock fill my mouth until my spit pooled at the base of it, taking it all the way to the back of my throat until I choked.”

Just being surrounded by the husky sound of Eddie's voice, hearing him explain in detail how he’d work him over with that clever mouth had Steve ready to blow, and it almost had him hesitating to take himself in hand.

Almost.

His need for relief, for release, won out over his worry of ending their fun too soon. Besides, if this experience they were sharing now meant what he desperately hoped it meant, then there would be other opportunities to expand their play in the future.

Still, he started slow, taking only the head of his cock in his palm at first, smearing around the precome that had been steadily leaking from his slit this entire time, and envisioning Eddie’s tongue circling before his lips closed tightly around his shaft. He groaned at the sight in his mind’s eye, gripping himself tighter and letting more of his cock slide through his fist as he thought of the way Eddie’s eyes might begin to water when he took the full length to the back of his throat.

“Has anyone ever explored this tight little hole of yours?”

There was no mistaking it, Eddie’s voice came from directly between Steve’s legs. He really was laying there, probably spread out on his stomach, his face inches from Steve’s most intimate parts.

Steve’s breath hitched, speeding up the pace of his hand as he jerked himself off. “No, but I–I want you to. Want you to be the first,” he choked out.

In truth he had attempted to finger himself once or twice, but no one else had ever touched him there. He never managed to get the right angle to find his prostate, but the feeling of being entered, that fullness, had still helped him come in record time.

“Jesus Christ,” Eddie cursed, sounding as wrecked as Steve felt. “You’re a dream, sweetheart, I can’t believe I get to have you like this. I’m gonna need you to wet my fingers for me, since my mouth is a little busy elsewhere. Do you think you can do that?”

Steve nodded, too lost in the heady cocktail of lust and desire running through him to form any more words, the lines between fantasy and reality blurring as two fingers were shoved into his mouth. He moaned around the intrusion, nearly gagging himself as he took the digits deeper, wanting to make sure he did the job thoroughly for Eddie.

“Good fucking boy,” Eddie crooned, a deep rumbling bass. “I think you’re ready for me now.”

While one hand still bobbed up and down his length, Steve reached under his raised leg with the other until he found his rim, circling, spreading the spit around the edge of his hole. He tried to push the tip of one finger inside, gently at first but the resistance was too much and he was too keyed up to wait or relax. He pressed in hard, a loud, piteous whine forcing its way out of his throat when it finally popped inside. The burning stretch was small, fading too quickly for Steve to really enjoy and he was quickly begging for more. 

“Another,” Steve gasped, working the finger in and out of his hole until it slid easily, down to the knuckle. “Please, Eddie, I need more.”

“Okay, baby. If you're sure.”

God, Eddie was going to ruin him with all these pet names just as sure as he was ruining him with the rest of it. Every baby, every sweetheart, had his heart filling dangerously close to the brim.

“I’m sure… need you.”

Steve’s mouth dropped open as he worked his middle finger in next to the first, and quickly got what he’d been wanting, that intense pressure bordering on pain, the incredible feeling of being stuffed full. As he fucked himself in earnest, caught between bucking his hips up to drive his cock into his fist, and wriggling down to meet the thrusting of his hand, he lost control of himself completely, loud cries of pleasure falling from his lips near constantly.

“You close, baby?” Eddie asked, voice gone taut, strained as though he were the one balancing on the edge of the most intense orgasm of his life.

“So close. I’m—” was all Steve could manage in reply as he felt his length suddenly being engulfed by Eddie’s unique effervescent warmth. It was such a surprise that he couldn’t help finally snapping his eyes open, seeing Eddie’s translucent fist hovering around his own as he rabbited up into the clutch of them together. The sight alone was more than enough to send him hurtling over that last breathtaking cliff.

He came with Eddie's name on his lips, looking deep into Eddie’s eyes and it made all the pretending, all the imagining feel so fucking real. His orgasm seemed to go on forever, wave after wave of pleasure crashing over him as his dick pulsed in his grip, coating his hand and dripping down his inner thigh.

“Kiss me!” Steve cried, forgetting for a split second that they couldn’t. 

But he didnt take it back. It didn’t matter that it wouldn’t feel the same, the phantom brush of Eddie’s mouth on his would be better than a normal kiss from anyone else. He was absolutely sure of it.

Eddie crawled up higher on the bed, and as if he too had forgotten his limitations brought his mouth crashing down onto Steve’s without hesitation.

The first touch was indeed warm, as all Eddie’s touches were, but it was also firm and real. Eddie’s lips were plush, as soft as they looked, a perfect compliment to the light scratch of stubble as they both leaned in, deepening the kiss. For a solid minute Eddie licked into his mouth, and it tasted exactly as Steve had imagined, but better. 

Because it was really him.

All too soon the feeling was gone, whatever connection they had that allowed for such things failing in an instant.

“Sorry,” Eddie mumbled, pulling back, as if it were his fault.

Steve wasn’t so sure it was, but hopefully their research tomorrow would help shed some light on it all. “Don’t be sorry, it was perfect,” he said with a small shake of his head. “You were perfect.”

Reluctantly Steve slid off the bed, knowing he had to clean up before the sticky mess he’d made spread any more and got on his clean bandages. He plucked his still damp towel from the hamper and gave himself a quick wipe down before climbing back into bed, next to a now pensive looking Eddie. 

“Lay with me?” Steve asked through a yawn.

Without a word Eddie laid down facing him, and after only a second’s hesitation slid his arms around and sort-of through Steve’s body. 

It made for an unusual sight but it was everything Steve wanted, and needed, in that moment, caring, comfortable, warm. He let out a contented sigh, feeling his body go boneless as he relaxed into the sheets, and was asleep before he even registered that his eyes had closed.

Thanks as always to @penny00dreadful for being the best beta and an absolutely amazing cheerleader!

Permanent taglist (open): @penny00dreadful @pearynice @hitlikehammers @sidekick-hero @firefly-party

@bookworm0690 @wonderland-girl143-blog  @goodolefashionedloverboi @themagicalari @awkwardgravity1

@rocknrollsalad @eternal-sunflowers @cringe-culture-is-dead-99 @estrellami-1 @theintrovertedintrovert

Fic taglist (open): @geekymagicalpotato

[rubyuji]

Fragments (Mingyu, Seungcheol) ˙ ✩°˖🫐 ⋆｡˚

“You know since we are just a few minutes away from landing, did I ever get the chance to thank you for being a huge blessing in my life?” 𓏲 ๋࣭ ࣪ ˖🎐

Genre: Slight angst, fluff, romance

AU: University!au, Coming of Age!au

Pairing(s): (Short) Wonwoo x Afab!reader, Seungcheol x Afab!reader, Mingyu x Afab!reader (Reader is Jeonghan’s little sister)

Warnings: Cheol is toxic, nonchalant and doesn’t care for their relationship, a kiss scene (how shocking)

Synopsis: Growing up with someone you love isn’t easy, well at least for Seungcheol, he never expected to be a life-altering heartbreak for you either, and while he did wish for a second chance, that plan had only backfired on him when he received an invite to your engagement party with Mingyu.

Note: I’m finally done with the long awaited fic! I kept pausing and got busy in between, but overall I’d say that I’m satisfied with it. Thank you all for waiting and I hope you like it! Don’t forget to like + reblog as always to help support me and other writers, happy reading!

WC: 12k (exceeded my estimate omg)

Taglist: @nerdycheol @notevenheretbh1 (Thank you guys so much!)

Seungcheol remembered the first time he saw you. It was at his friend Jeonghan’s house, your nose crinkled adorably as you read some cheesy romance novel at sixteen on the cream sofa in the living room.

He had wanted to say something, but all he could do was smile as Jeonghan introduced him to your parents. Since then, he has been practically your family’s newest son besides Joshua, their other best friend.

When Seungcheol had received his fair share of confessions from girls all over the school in his senior year, he had always declined them politely because he was just never interested in any of them, except this time, it was different ever since the day Jeonghan had introduced you to him.

In moments wherein he would receive a confession from someone, he would see you walk by and forget the girl even existed, opting to call out your name instead and jog after you.

He would even walk you to your class or visit you in your classroom, using the ‘protective brother’s friend’ excuse, when in reality, he was only scoping out the potential guys who were interested in you in your class.

“Dude, do you like my sister? You look like a lost puppy following her around,” Jeonghan chuckles. Seungcheol raises his brow at his friend and turns to Joshua, who just shrugs as he agrees with Jeonghan.

“You hang around Y/n so much that there’s already rumors being spread of her being your crush or girlfriend,” Joshua says flatly.

“Guys, I’m just looking out for her, you know we all care about her like a little sister. Come on, I’m just a lot more proactive than Jeonghan” Seungcheol whined.

It was half true, he did want to look out for you because he cared, but also because he wanted to ward off any of the guys who were admiring you.

“You act like I leave her for dead, people probably think she’s your little sister instead of mine,” Jeonghan says, bored.

“Oh by the way, I honestly can’t believe she’s seeing this guy in the other class, his name was Jeon Wonwoo or something? He asked her out on Valentine’s Day,” Seungcheol whipped his head around and stared at Jeonghan, who was way too engrossed in his laptop even to notice the way Seungcheol’s brows furrowed.

Seungcheol felt his heart clench, no wonder you were starting to decline his invitation to walk home with him, Joshua, and your brother.

You had even started distancing yourself from them. It wasn’t that noticeable at first, but you were definitely around them less, opting to spend more time with a certain boy that he had seen with you way too often.

“So he’s buying her snacks and getting her flowers every morning? That’s crazy to me. I mean, Y/n is still so young, how are you letting this slide?” Seungcheol whined.

Looking back, he remembers you walking around hand in hand with a tall guy who had glasses on, and you were always smiling at whatever the guy said to you.

As Joshua was about to get another word out about how Seungcheol was probably going to cry about you growing up and becoming your own person with an identity, you suddenly walked into the living room and plopped onto the seat beside Jeonghan. Your brother scoffed and rolled his eyes as you accidentally knocked the laptop from his lap.

“I heard my name? Are you guys gossiping about me?” You say playfully.

Seungcheol felt his ears warm up at the sound of your voice, despite you being a mini version of Jeonghan, he still couldn’t help but fall for you as a person because of how charming you were.

“Yeah, I told them about the boy you’re seeing in the year above yours. Is he your boyfriend or is he just a crush?” Jeonghan runs a hand through your hair and you hum with a smile on your face.

“He’s my boyfriend, a super sweet guy. I never expected him to ask me out or even feel the same way, but I like him,” Seungcheol could hear the love practically dripping from your voice, and he wanted the green-eyed monster to simply swallow him whole.

“You’re so gross if he hurts you, we’ll be after his head. Please tell him as a reminder,” Jeonghan then flicks your forehead and you whine.

Seungcheol could never get tired of seeing the way you and Jeonghan interacted, the way you reacted cutely, and how your nose scrunched in the most adorable way possible.

Turns out, Jeonghan’s promise was going to come around way sooner than any of you would’ve thought.

As Seungcheol was there for your first boyfriend, he also ended up being there during your first heartbreak.

He clearly remembers the day you shuffled over to your older brother quietly and held onto his arm for support, Jeonghan opting to pull you close to his side instead. Your eyes were soaked with tears, the guys looking at you worriedly on the way home.

“We’ll head in, I gotta take care of the little one first. You guys go ahead,” Seungcheol and Joshua nodded, still worried about your current state, but decided to leave your actual older brother to it because he knew what to do.

That night, Jeonghan texted their group chat about how Wonwoo had broken up with you that day.

Some bullshit excuse like you guys weren’t meant to be, when in reality, Wonwoo had been seeing a different girl behind your back and didn’t know how to tell you that he fell out of love, something Seungcheol couldn’t fathom.

How could someone fall out of love with you? You had so much to offer and you had so much love to give.

Seungcheol cursed the kid out in his head and texted that he would deal with him, but before he could do anything stupid, Joshua had to talk him out of it.

He knew it was a bad idea to even confront Wonwoo for breaking your heart, but he couldn’t help it, not when he couldn’t stand the look of hurt that graced your pretty face, the way tears welled up in your big doe eyes.

But, Seungcheol also considered the fact that you wouldn't like it if he got into a fight either.

Your first heartbreak felt like a blur after a few years, and Seungcheol had found himself watching from the sidelines again as you grew up to be such an independent and self-assured young woman. However, he could’ve never expected to become the face of your second biggest heartbreak.

Seungcheol, Jeonghan, and Joshua were now in their third year of college, and you had just entered as a freshman.

With him and Jeonghan studying business management and Joshua taking the psychology route, you were now added to their little family as well, this time majoring in fashion design.

“Are you guys proud of me? I’m finally an adult! Can’t wait to rot away for the next three to four years while you guys only have a year left again,” You joked as you settled on the seat beside Joshua.

Jeonghan had offered you a place to live that was in the same building, and it was pretty affordable, while still being near campus. Seungcheol thanked whatever deity was up there for giving you the opportunity.

Though you guys weren’t apart for that long, albeit the guys visiting you during every break since they started living away from your hometown, it still felt like something was missing during their time in college.

You felt the same admittedly enough, and even though you enjoyed the solace that came with the silence of not having to have the guys around with their constant bickering and yelling, you couldn’t help but miss them dearly.

So, when your brother offered up an apartment in the same building as theirs, once you got accepted into the same school, you took it immediately.

“Hey, we’ll still live here until we get stable jobs after graduating, baby. You don’t have to sulk, you won’t be lonely and we’ll make sure of it,” Seungcheol chuckled.

You felt your heart beat faster at the sound of his voice, you’ve seen Seungcheol ever since you guys were teenagers, but you had to admit, college and becoming an adult was catching up to him.

Seungcheol looked broad, and it was the result of continuously working out and his efforts to maintain his body and health, but he also carried a different air around him, one that made you feel choked up and so small around him.

You held back from developing feelings for Seungcheol though, as he was your brother’s best friend. It was strictly sibling code, but Jeonghan didn’t seem to care if you dated any of his friends for that matter.

“I’ll take it,” You smile at Seungcheol.

You couldn’t help the fluttering you felt in your chest, but you also weighed your feelings for the man.

Seungcheol was handsome, and he had a charming personality to match, but would he date you? He most likely saw you as a little sister above all else, and he was Jeonghan’s best friend, your brother would never let you live it down.

You were so wrong though because not even a month after you had moved in, Seungcheol had asked you out on a date.

You were pleasantly surprised, not expecting him to ever look your way at all, but here you were as the man handed you a small bouquet, pink dusting his cheeks as he waited for your answer.

“Yes Cheol, I’ll go out with you,” Seungcheol’s eyes lit up as he picked you up and spun you around out of excitement.

You laughed once he put you down, and on the way home, he couldn’t help but announce it to both of his roommates. Jeonghan raised a brow at you, and you shrugged shyly under your brother’s gaze.

One date with Seungcheol turned into two, then three, until you finally agreed to be his girlfriend. Things got serious quickly between the two of you, given how long you’ve known each other, and Jeonghan and Joshua couldn’t help but laugh at their friend who was finally experiencing a relationship for the first time.

You were both acting like lovesick fools whenever you visited the apartment and within a year, your relationship had progressed into something deeper.

Seungcheol opted to move over into your apartment on the floor above, and you both even decided to adopt a puppy and name her Kkuma.

Life couldn’t have been better, especially when Seunghcheol took great care of you in all ways.

“Hi baby, I picked up some things at the store that we were running out of. How was your day?” Seungcheol kissed your cheek as he placed the groceries on the kitchen island.

You were currently cooking dinner for the two of you, and you turned gratefully toward your boyfriend. He is the most perfect partner you could ever ask for.

Communication with Seungcheol was easy, loving him was easy, and being with him was easy, but it was as if he had become an entirely different person once you were about to reach the two-year mark of your relationship.

Seungcheol started becoming more closed off, he spent more time at his new job, and he started lashing out at you, causing huge blowup fights between you both, resulting in you having to sleep at Jeonghan and Joshua’s place more often than not.

“I don’t understand what’s gotten into him, you know he seems fine at work, but now he’s raising his voice at you? Y/n, we know Seungcheol is our best friend, but his actions are already harming you, don’t you think it’s better to break up?” Jeonghan looked like he was pleading with you.

Your older brother knew better than anyone, and you bit your lip softly. Even Joshua and Jeonghan had started to notice the change, it was how Seungcheol even refused to spare you a glance at parties, or how he had started to leave you alone more often, even during his day off.

What ticked Jeonghan off though, was the fact that Seungcheol had already raised his voice at you in front of them multiple times.

He couldn’t stand to see his baby sister being taken for granted by someone who once cared about her so much, he wondered what on earth happened to the Seungcheol who vowed to take care of you.

The one who always doted on you and scolded Jeonghan for leaving you alone when you needed him.

“Hey, take it easy on her. Two years is a long time Han, so it’s not like Y/n can walk out on him instantly just like that. I have to agree with your brother though, Y/n. This isn’t healthy for you, and we’re willing to help you with whatever just to make things easier,” Joshua pulls you into his side on the sofa and you huff.

The Seungcheol you were with felt unrecognizable, and you just wished you could run away from him for once, so you decided to confide in the two about how your best friend, Mingyu, had offered to take you to Italy with him because he was going to model for a brand there, and how they loved your portfolio and wanted to take you under their wing as a senior fashion designer.

“Don’t you think it’s wiser to take the opportunity? I know you love Cheol, but Y/n, you can’t keep putting up with this. He’s only hurting you,” Joshua says softly.

You shake your head and let out a deep sigh. What would it take for you to walk away from it all? Leaving sounded tempting, yet all you could think about was how Seungcheol would feel if you left.

He could still change, but how much longer could you endure the pain he’s been putting you through?

“Look, we understand that it’s easier said than done, but you’re still so young and have the whole world to explore. Don’t chain yourself down to this relationship, Y/n. We promise to deal with Seungcheol if it makes you feel better, but for now, we think you should take the opportunity to go to Italy,” Jeonghan looks at you painfully, and the last thing you wanted to do was to hurt your brother, seeing as you being in pain was already doing just that.

“I—'ll go to Italy, but promise me that you both will take care of Cheol? I know he hasn't been the best lately, but he’ll need as much support as I do. It's been difficult, but you guys are right, I still have the world out there for me, and whatever happens with Cheol will happen. Find our way back to each other or not, I think I’m ready for a fresh start,” You declare.

Jeonghan and Joshua look at you fondly, as Seungkwan, their new roommate and one of your closest friends, walks into the room, eyes as wide as saucers.

“Wait, you’re taking Mingyu up on that offer in Italy? That’s amazing, Y/n! I’ve been waiting for Seungcheol to finally get his grip off of you so you can flourish!” You laugh awkwardly as Seungkwan crushes you in his embrace.

“Ugh, Kwannie! Mingyu said he’s supposed to leave next week, I think it’s finally time I give him the answer he’s been waiting for. Are you coming with?” You pout at Seungkwan. Your friend nods and gives you a wide grin.

“I’m coming along so I can get used to the environment, I can’t leave these two just yet you know? Besides, I’ll go tell my sister once I’m ready and I’ll be there with you both ok? Now come on, let’s head upstairs, I’ll help you pack!” Seungkwan pushes you out the door and you bid your brother and Joshua goodbye, promising to call them later.

You were happy you had Seungkwan to keep you company while packing your things, he kept your mind at bay knowing you still had to talk to Seungcheol about everything that was happening.

You couldn't just get up and leave without an explanation, it just wasn't who you were, and you felt like it would’ve been unfair for your boyfriend.

Once you finally zipped up your last suitcase of personal belongings, you didn't have much, to begin with, and Seungkwan lugged the rest of your bags down to their apartment, you heard the door open. ‘He’s home,’ you thought to yourself.

You walk out of your room and see Seungcheol walk into the apartment, his body language seeming a bit more apprehensive than usual, but you know you have to say something.

You were already leaving for Italy the next week, and this was probably going to be the last time you’d be seeing Seungcheol in a while.

“Cheol? Can we talk, please?” Your voice was timid, almost coming out as a squeak if Seungcheol didn’t listen hard enough. He turns to look at you, his gaze suddenly soft but still somehow holding anger.

“Can you make it quick? I still have something to do so I won’t be in the house for long, you don’t have to wait for me,” Seungcheol huffed.

Your heart broke at how you could barely even recognize the person in front of you.

This wasn't the same Seungcheol who constantly doted on you while growing up. The Seungcheol who was too scared to even raise his voice at you, knowing you hated it when people yelled at you.

How did his, “Hey angel, don’t wait up for me and get some rest, you had a long day,” turn into cold scoffs and constant eye rolls? Was he tired of you?

You finally gather enough courage to speak up about everything you’ve held back from him the past few weeks.

This wasn’t your Seungcheol anymore, this man was a stranger in your apartment, he was a stranger you once knew, a stranger whom you’ve loved with your whole heart, only for him to throw it all away. You finally had enough, it was time for you to choose yourself for once.

“You know what? Fine, I will. To sum it all up, I’m leaving you Seungcheol, this isn’t gonna be the same as some silly little sleepover at Joshua and Jeonghan’s. I’m leaving, I’ve had enough of dealing with your outbursts and I barely recognize you anymore. I’m sorry I had to end it like this, but I’m choosing myself this time,” a stray tear makes its way down your face and you hold in the urge to sob.

This was for your own good, and if leaving Seungcheol and bearing the pain was what it took, so be it.

You knew it would be hard to move on, but you also knew that making a choice for yourself and choosing yourself for your peace was what you needed right now.

“I’m letting go, maybe we aren’t meant to be, or we’ll find our way back, but I can’t promise anything. I’m sorry, you don’t have to tell me anything else because I leave next week. I have everything packed, and you can talk to my brother and Joshua about living arrangements, I’ll still pay the lease until the end of the month,” You choke out.

Your nose was starting to get stuffy and your vision started to blur, you couldn’t even look at Seungcheol as you told him everything.

“Y/n, please, don’t leave. I’m sorry, just give me time to fix everything, I know I fucked up. Why did you decide to drop all of this on me now? I– I can’t, Y/n, please,” Seungcheol was pleading with you.

You knew it was unfair, but after countless months of giving in to Seungcheol and settling with being the same understanding girlfriend you are, you couldn’t help it.

“I’m sorry, I can’t let you fix everything when you’re too late. I’ve given you countless chances to finally pull yourself together, even going as far as to leave you alone because I know how much you hate being bothered when you’re stressed, and this is what I get in return. I’ve been too understanding towards you that it’s starting to affect me, please, just let me have it this once Seungcheol,” You were now the one pleading as tears cascaded down your face like a waterfall.

Seungcheol’s heart ached as he looked at you. You were such a self-assured, independent, and strong young woman, he knew that since the moment he met you.

Jeonghan made sure you grew up not needing a man to take care of you but also made sure you still left a part of yourself where you allowed someone to take care of you once you felt vulnerable enough.

This wasn’t the same woman he had fallen in love with, instead, what Seungcheol saw in front of him was the same girl who had her heart crushed by a stupid teenage boy back in high school.

You looked so broken, so frail, as you tried to shield yourself away from him. Seungcheol couldn’t help but feel as if the world was closing in on him, had he been too neglectful the past few months?

Did he let his emotions get the best of him when he had promised you that he would keep a level head around you? Hell, he even promised your brother he would never hurt you, and look where it got him.

Seungcheol couldn’t even get another word out before you left the apartment, leaving him in the silence of a home that was once filled with the warmth of the love you had once before.

Ten minutes had passed and Seungcheol still couldn't believe that you had walked out on him, had he been too lax of a boyfriend already?

He knew he fucked up and he had been wanting to fix things between you both, but it ultimately ended in failure the moment you walked out of that apartment.

You hold the handle of your carry-on bag as Mingyu checks you both in while you are still taking in the atmosphere of the entire airport.

It felt surreal, a week ago you were in the apartment you once shared with Seungcheol, everything you withheld from him boiling over, and now you’re at the airport with one of your best friends in the entire world, ready to go to Italy and start life over.

“Hey, I got our boarding passes, let's head in and get past security so we don't have to deal with the hassle later. Also, you look tense, lighten up a bit, you need this reset,” Mingyu smiles at you gently while handing you your passport.

You nod and let out a breath, Mingyu was right, your life had been stagnant for too long, and this was something you deserved.

“Thanks, Gyu, for everything. You’ve been nothing but kind to me, I seriously feel like I’m indebted to you,” You joke, and Mingyu lets out a scoff.

“No need to thank me, you’re the most amazing fashion designer I know, and with the company liking your portfolio and telling me that they would like to take you under their wing immediately, you should give yourself more credit where it’s due. This was all from your hard work, Y/n,” Mingyu shakes his head and you both go through security while lugging your bags through the scanners.

After going through security, you and Mingyu bought food and chatted at the boarding gate happily while waiting for your flight to board.

“I’m glad you took the opportunity, I was starting to think you’d be stuck here forever, forced to live a boring life with Seungcheol. No offense, of course, it's just that you’re way too talented to not show your colors to the entire world,” Mingyu flushes and you grin at him sheepishly.

You met Mingyu through Minghao, who introduced you to the man because he knew you needed a male model because you ran out of options for your menswear class.

“Look, I know you love your brother and all, but this is our last final for the year, Y/n! Think about it, you already had Joshua model for the midterm, and Jeonghan modeled for us during the first semester’s finals, and our second-semester midterms.” Minghao gave you a pointed look knowing you had to do this for your sake.

You were too familiar with your brother and Joshua’s builds, and despite getting near-perfect scores on your projects, you still wanted to try something that was out of your comfort zone. Minghao then snaps his fingers and you look at him in confusion.

“I have this friend, you remember Mingyu right? He was my model during the first round of midterms last semester. I think it would be great if you practiced with him since you aren't used to taller and broader builds,” You raise your brows at Minghao’s proposition.

“I mean, you’re right about that. Give me his contact, and I’ll shoot him a message,” You smiled softly. Minghao handed you his phone with Mingyu’s contact as you input it into your phone.

You met Mingyu once for his measurements, saw his sweet smile once, heard him speak in his soft voice, and the rest was history.

Mingyu had turned into your rock, your other cheerleader who was there whenever your boyfriend wasn't. Now, you’re traveling the world with your best friend who is everything you could ever ask for.

“I appreciate the sentiment Gyu, I couldn't have gotten here without you being by my side. I guess I thought I was destined to just, you know, wait until I get offered a boring job at some corporate office that has nothing to do with my degree, then live with Seungcheol until God knows how long,” You laugh softly, looking back at what you had thought would be the rest of your life, but change is inevitable and it was time you accept it.

“Of course, you know I’ll always be by your side. It's my job to take care of you as your best friend, even if you insist that you’re completely fine on your own.” Mingyu pouts.

You laugh at Mingyu and heave a sigh of relief. You finally felt free after all these months.

From being too depressed to get out of the apartment, declining every invitation from your friends, to moving to Italy with both of your best friends and starting life over from scratch.

Your brother and your friends were right, even if you did love Seungcheol, some people just aren't meant to be in our lives for so long once they impact you negatively.

“Oh, by the way, did Seungkwan send you his flight details? I swear, he has do-not-disturb mode on more, these days,” You laugh as you come across a picture of you, Seungkwan, and Mingyu on your last trip to Jeju during Seungkwan’s birthday.

Mingyu hummed and nodded, showing you a screenshot that Seungkwan had sent to him.

“His flight is still later tonight, so he’ll probably arrive the day after us or like at night? I don’t know, time zones are weird,” Mingyu gave up trying to understand time zones and you laughed again at how cute your best friend was.

“I’m sure Seungkwan will call us once he’s there, so we don’t need to worry much. What we need to worry about though, is where we’re going to be staying once we get there first,” You laugh.

Mingyu shows you an email on his phone from the company, it said you were going to be provided with housing since Mingyu was a model, and you were a senior fashion designer.

“What? They’re going to provide us with housing? That’s crazy,” Your mouth gaped like a fish and Mingyu laughed at you.

“I know, that’s why I chose this company over every other one. The others only ever put your portfolio and resume aside, while the one we’re being hired to right now provided us both with opportunities. I thought it was only fair to bring you along since I did get scouted by big shots after uploading myself modeling in your pieces,” Mingyu smiled softly, his tone laced with gratitude towards you.

You wave off Mingyu’s remark dismissively. “You worked hard you know? I think my clothes were only a little bit of help when it came to your actual scouting, I think you should give yourself more credit,” You reply.

After an hour of talking, you and Mingyu were finally headed into your seats on the plane. Suddenly, everything felt so surreal as Mingyu lugged your carry-ons into the overhead bins.

“I can’t believe we’re moving to Italy, never in my life would I ever imagine hopping on a plane headed to work in Europe of all places,” You say to Mingyu, who is settled on the seat beside you.

“I think you should finally start believing it because you still might feel as though you’re dreaming the moment we land,” Mingyu chuckles and leans his head on yours, an action that makes you feel warm inside.

It felt nice having Mingyu around, he was healing a part of you that wished it was Cheol doing all this, but you knew better than to think of your ex right now because you were on the path of moving on from everything he put you through.

The flight was a breeze, and thankfully nobody was in the seat beside Mingyu, because he could easily slip into the restroom at any time, a luxury he didn’t usually have if he was placed in a window or middle seat on the plane.

“You know since we are just a few minutes away from landing, did I ever get the chance to thank you for being a huge blessing in my life?” You laugh as the plane is making its final descent.

“I knew you needed this opportunity because I saw how badly he was treating you, I had to give you this much because you deserve way better,” Mingyu replies gently.

Your heart blooms and you grip his hand, you are ready to move forward, and you know you have the right people by your side.

“Seungkwan, can you go pick up groceries at the Korean supermarket across the street? It’s your turn since you are mooching off me and Mingyu until you move in with Vernon,” You jokingly call out to your friend.

Seungkwan grumbles and you laugh before turning to him from the kitchen. “Yeah, don’t worry, I already know whatever is on the list before you need to tell me, I’ll be back in like twenty minutes,” he tells you on his way out the door.

It had been a few months since you had arrived in Italy with Mingyu and Seungkwan, and you all had settled into the country quite easily.

Starting work was a breeze because the company was very accommodating and everyone was friendly, and you found yourself moving on faster than you expected.

“Seungkwan’s finally moving in with Vernon huh? I can’t believe it’s already been a while since we got here. Now tell me, when are you going to give in to me?” Mingyu jokes as he wraps his strong arms around your waist.

You were no stranger to skinship with your best friend, but the veil between friendship and romance was starting to wear thin after moving in together after a few months.

Mingyu was just a stark contrast from who Seungcheol was, and you were starting to give in to him despite your fears of commitment.

It didn’t help that your best friend was just as hopeless a romantic as you are, so Mingyu naturally took his time with you. It was something you were immensely grateful for because he fully understood that you probably weren’t even ready to pursue another relationship.

See, Mingyu was naturally a soft-spoken man. During the entirety of friendship not once had he raised his voice at you, or anyone for that matter, even when he was angry or agitated.

Mingyu rarely blew up on people. You used to fear being yelled at because with Seungcheol, it was inevitable, and it only planted a fear of everyone raising their voice at you the moment Seungcheol had let go of all his reserve during a fight.

Even if Mingyu did raise his voice from across the apartment, he made sure it was at a reasonable volume that didn’t scare you, and on the rare occasion that you both would get into a fight, Mingyu would only communicate his feelings towards you in a calm tone.

Mingyu was also just full of love, he was always so considerate towards everyone around him. He made sure you and Seungkwan knew how grateful he was to have you both by his side because this was a big step for all of you.

The nights when the three of you would drink together, and Mingyu would pour out his gratitude towards you both, about how he felt so happy that the universe had given him some of the most amazing best friends in the entire world (also yapping about how much he missed Wonwoo, his old roommate, but that was for another time).

It was just a huge plus that Mingyu also willingly helped around the house, naturally because you knew it was in your best friend’s upbringing to keep the house in proper shape.

Even cooking with Mingyu was an experience because you both enjoy sharing recipes and want to try them out together, which meant Seungkwan was treated to a delicious meal every time you and Mingyu would find a new dish to try out.

Mingyu made you experience new things that you couldn’t when it came to your ex, and slowly, the feelings between you both unfolded.

Seungkwan couldn’t deny it to you either that you and Mingyu would make a great married couple, you both were pretty tame and low maintenance, something that was rare to find these days.

“I know you’re not ready to start a relationship or deal with feelings right now after everything you’ve been through with your ex, but trust me when I say this, Mingyu is the one you should marry. You both look so perfect together, and it’s a plus that he already likes you,” Seungkwan whined, and you laughed as he threw your other best friend under the bus.

Mingyu was out for an event with Minghao that night, and he wanted to bring you along but he also knew you hated huge events or loud places, so he opted to leave you at home with Seungkwan, promising to come back at a reasonable hour and to not drink so much.

It was a small action but it was something you felt grateful for, it showed that Mingyu still thought of you while having fun and living his life.

“I’ve never thought about dating Mingyu, let alone marrying him but, I mean, he’s not that bad. I’m already way past my ex anyway, so you’re right on that. Don’t throw Mingyu under the bus like that ever again though,” You giggle. Seungkwan clicks his tongue and sips from his wine.

“I wish you met Mingyu before Seungcheol or something, you two make each other so happy and you guys don’t leave me out at all. I love you and Mingyu so much despite everything we’ve been through,” Seungkwan smiles softly and holds your hand.

Moving to Europe definitely wasn’t an easy decision for the three of you, but you all found comfort in each other and got through hurdles together.

There were fights, and misunderstandings, one time you even walked out on them, but you all knew that at the end of the day, you all had each other no matter what.

Seungkwan’s words from that night echoed in your head as you snapped back to reality, Mingyu’s arms still wrapped around you with a soft grin on his face.

You wish you had met Mingyu before it all, maybe then you would’ve narrowly avoided one of your most life-altering heartaches, but now you were ready to move forward with Mingyu.

“What if I told you that you already had all of me?” You didn’t stop for a second and kissed Mingyu, who froze for a second, but immediately melted into the kiss.

You weren’t afraid to love anymore. Mingyu was all the proof you needed, knowing you deserve a second chance after everything.

When you both pulled away, Mingyu’s cheeks were dusted pink, his signature smile with his canines tugging at his lips.

“You don’t understand how long I’ve been waiting for you to do that,” he breathed out cheekily, chasing your lips for more.

“You’re so annoying, you know that right?” You laugh and pull Mingyu in for another kiss, this time with your arms around his neck.

Suddenly, you both hear a crash by the doorway and hear plastic bags falling, only to find Seungkwan with his mouth agape and eyes as wide as saucers.

“I was out for twenty minutes, what the hell happened,” Seungkwan choked out.

It’s been years since Seungcheol had heard from you, and he was still a mess, except he was finally starting to get back up on his feet to help himself.

About a month after you had left, he had moved back in with Joshua and Jeonghan, and he didn’t understand why they still welcomed him with open arms, let alone Jeonghan of all people.

You were his younger sister, and he hurt you, shouldn’t he be cursing him out and telling him to go to hell?

“If you’re wondering why you seem like in our good graces, Y/n told us to take care of you until you’re back on your feet. You’re still our childhood friend Cheol, and even if we don’t tolerate what you did to Y/n, she told us to make sure that you weren’t going to do anything stupid. You need as much support as her, and who are we to deny when we care about you both?” Jeonghan says firmly.

Seungcheol felt his heart clench, even after he hurt you, you still cared enough to tell his two best friends to care for him.

You were an angel, and he took you for granted. You even went as far as to tell them that it was okay for him to move back in with them (granted Seungcheol also did twice as much housework compared to Jeonghan and Joshua because of how guilty he felt).

Now, three years had passed since you had moved to Italy, and you usually visited during the holidays, but Seungcheol was never around because it pained him too much to see you.

He had eventually gathered up the courage to try to move on, and while he is stable in his career as a form of distraction, he still had feelings for you deep in his heart.

You were his first love, and it wasn’t going to change any time soon because he wanted you forever.

Every day he wished he wasn’t immature enough to push you away, he silently prayed to every God above for him to give your relationship another shot.

Seungcheol was a changed man now, and he was willing to do everything in his power to be with you.

Seungcheol was hopeful, until he wasn’t, especially when Jeonghan had dropped the bomb that you had invited them to your engagement party in Jeju island.

“This has to be a joke, right?” Seungcheol could only laugh at how ridiculous it all seemed.

Were you engaged? It had only been a few years since you moved to Italy, he was sure you wouldn’t have found a boyfriend in that period, let alone a fiancée.

“Nope, you’re hearing it correctly. Y/n’s been bringing home her boyfriend, well I guess fiancée now, for three years already. I understand that it’s been rough ever since we started living separately, you wouldn’t visit as much as Josh whenever she was around, understandably so, but she’s moved on and he makes her happy,” Jeonghan sipped from his mug, and shrugged, making Seungcheol’s brows knit.

“I know exposure therapy isn’t the way to go, but Y/n means a lot to us despite everything, you know that. You can get the closure you need and you can finally move on, Cheol,” Jeonghan continued before putting his cup down on the desk, this was his second cup of coffee, he had to stop at some point.

Seungcheol was in an internal debate with himself, he realized that while he did need closure, was it worth all the pain of seeing you again?

He knew he had to, it was what he needed before he could fully move on, but something in him was still hanging on to what could’ve been between you both.

“I’ll go, maybe it is time. I’ll consider it,” Seungcheol slumps in his chair and stares outside the window of his office.

All the time he had spent building his company from the ground up so he could prove himself worthy once you came back, only for you to be engaged with someone else.

“You don’t have to force yourself though, just take it easy. Y/n will understand, you know she always does,” Jeonghan walks up to Seungcheol and leans by his desk, staring at the same city skyline in front of them.

Seungcheol’s hard work was undeniable, and it was all because of the effort he put in to forget you, but he just couldn’t, Seungcheol knew he needed proper closure instead to fully move on from your past.

“I’ll be fine Han, I can handle myself now,” Seungcheol says as his brows knit once more, looking back at the events of the past year.

He had started his own tech company and now he’s the CEO of a huge corporation, his career is now a reflection of all his hard work and dedication, but what was the use of all that money when he couldn’t share it with someone else? That someone who he desperately wished was you.

“I know you can handle yourself Cheol, but you were a wreck when you first moved in. Me and Josh had to pester you for you to get back on your feet for fucks sake, I wouldn’t hold it against you if had second thoughts about going,” Jeonghan says softly. As much as he knew that his friend could handle himself, he couldn’t help but worry.

Since then, two weeks had passed since that conversation and your initial invitation to your brother and his best friends to your engagement party.

Jeonghan calls you excitedly as they settle on the plane to Jeju, Seungcheol lugging the bags into the overhead bins, and Joshua already taking a nap as other passengers continue to board.

“Are you certain that we already have assigned rooms? Ok, I understand. Take care Y/n! We’ll see you at the airport,” Jeonghan hangs up before turning over to Joshua and Seungcheol beside him.

“You guys are sharing a room at the resort, and I’m going to room with Seungkwan. Y/n and her fianceé will be picking us up, so no funny business,” he continued.

Seungcheol clicked his tongue and rolled his eyes. He's a jealous guy and he can’t help it, but you’re no longer his girlfriend and he knew he had to behave himself.

He couldn’t wait to see who your fiancée was, and he tried to make the most of it at least because you were still someone who’s considered family to him.

The flight was short-lived and they landed in Jeju in no time. Joshua stretched as they carried their bags from the conveyor belt onto the cart, and Jeonghan had received a call from you saying you were outside waiting.

Traveling with three bachelors felt like a nightmare for Seungcheol, it wasn’t like they weren’t capable of getting girlfriends, but rather, they were too busy for the dating lifestyle.

Seungcheol wouldn’t wish for it to be anyone else though, he was just happy to have Joshua and Jeonghan around as his support systems.

“Last bag, let’s head out so we have enough time to rest before the party tomorrow. Don’t wanna go on the plane with a hangover and a fuck ton of regrets once we’re headed home, just so we can mentally prepare ourselves,” Joshua breathes out. Though this wasn’t a wedding, it sure did feel like one.

The only reason you and Mingyu had even decided to have an engagement party was because you two were going to have your main wedding in Italy with your close family members.

The party served as a gathering for distant friends and relatives to congratulate you both since you couldn’t bring everyone to Europe with you.

As they headed out of the airport, Jeonghan could spot your figure and hear you calling out to them by your rental car.

Seungcheol had also caught sight of you and felt his heart skip, you looked more radiant since the last time he had seen you, granted it was probably because three years had passed, and he just couldn’t believe it.

You looked healthier now, you were no longer frail, and your smile had reached your eyes again, the same glint of happiness in them.

Seungcheol had forgotten why they were here the second he saw you, but it was only for a moment until he saw your fiancée standing right beside you, his form towering over yours.

Seungcheol recognized who this man was, it was Kim Mingyu, your best friend since college.

“Hi, guys! It’s been so long, I missed you all so much!” You say with a smile and hug Jeonghan.

Your brother grips you tightly while laughing, he missed you just as much, if not more.

Seungcheol smiles at the scene in front of him, he had always adored your interactions with Jeonghan.

Joshua then walked over to Mingyu as the taller man helped him with the bags. So this is who you were marrying, your best friend who Seungcheol had always worried about deep down.

“Hi Cheol, how was the flight? You must be tired, Jeonghan told me you guys were up early,” You greeted him softly, a smile still gracing your features.

Seungcheol blinked in disbelief, he never expected you to be so welcoming towards him, but years have passed and he understands that you’re over it by now.

“It was alright at most, I’m honestly just excited to relax at the hotel. How’ve you been?” Seungcheol smiled.

He looks over and sees Mingyu talking to Joshua about something while helping him with their bags, still weary about him.

“I’ve been great, Italy with Seungkwan and Mingyu was one of the best decisions I could’ve ever made. I know there were some things we avoided because of our past, but I hope you know that I’ve done some reflection since then, so no hard feelings on this trip ok? I want you guys to relax,” You lead Seungcheol over to the car and he sits in the back with your brother and Joshua.

The ride to the resort was comfortable, courtesy of you and Mingyu being easy going as conversations flowed naturally.

Seungcheol gauged that you were in good hands, but his heart was still calling out for you, something he wanted to keep at a minimum. You were going to marry someone else, there was no chance left for him.

“You have always had a good eye Y/n, this resort is beautiful,” Joshua compliments.

You laugh and brush off Joshua’s comment sweetly, but it was true, you always had a good eye for things in general (except boyfriends apparently, but Mingyu be damned because he did everything in his power to win your heart).

“I’ll bring you over to Seungkwan’s room since he’s staying across from me and Mingyu. Baby, can you lead Joshua and Seungcheol over to their rooms?” You turn to Mingyu, and Seungcheol catches the way your fiancée’s gaze is full of love for you.

His heart could only clench, was it genuinely worth the pain to support you? Seungcheol secretly wished for the ground to swallow him up whole.

“Of course, remember we still have dinner with everyone later, don’t forget to tell Jeonghan the details,” Mingyu reminds you.

You nod and wave them off, dragging your brother over to a happy Seungkwan, who stands by the elevator waiting for you both.

Joshua and Mingyu had been in their own world, talking amongst themselves while Seungcheol’s focus had been on his phone the entire time.

“Hey man, how are you? Jeonghan told us you were working hard to build your company up after we left for Italy,” Mingyu says in a friendly tone.

“It’s been great, it gets pretty lonely here at the top since the breakup, but it’s nothing I can’t handle,” Seungcheol says with a smirk, finding the entire situation so ridiculous.

Joshua eyes him and chuckles to alleviate the jab that Seungcheol had taken at Mingyu, but your fiancée takes it just fine and continues the conversation calmly.

“I hope you find someone to share your success with in the near future. I understand that we all deserve to be loved by someone. It’s just that some people we hoped to end up with aren’t meant to be, and it’s not our fault,” Mingyu replies, tone still friendly and calm.

Seungcheol felt ticked off but decided to behave himself as the elevator arrived at their floor.

“Here’s the key card, as I mentioned earlier, there is a dinner we’ll be having with the rest of the guests tonight, it will be at the restaurant by the beach. You can just give mine or Y/n’s name for the reservation if they ask, I’ll see you guys later! Rest up since you guys must’ve had a long flight,” Mingyu makes his leave.

Joshua turns to Seungcheol and raises his brow while unlocking the room.

“Behave a bit, I know it’s been a while but we’re here for Y/n and it’s about her, you don’t have to like Mingyu, but let’s not cause any fights. Mingyu’s good to Y/n, and you can talk to Y/n about everything tonight after dinner if you need to,” Joshua says firmly.

Seungcheol hangs his head low, Joshua is right, he promised to behave himself because he understands that he needs to move on.

You had every right to leave him back then, and he should accept it, he just needs his final bit of closure, even if it hurts.

“I’m sorry, I’ll be more friendly toward Mingyu. I’ll keep myself in line, let’s rest so we can get ready later,” Joshua nods and smiles at Seungcheol, he was finally getting somewhere and it made him feel like a proud mom.

On the other hand, you were already being interrogated in your room by Jeonghan, Seungkwan, and your beloved fianceé because of Seungcheol’s appearance.

“You guys said it would be fine! Besides, I don’t have any hard feelings! He’s still like family Han,” You whine to your brother as you bury yourself in Mingyu’s embrace.

“He was already taking jabs at Mingyu when I told him to keep himself in line. Y/n, I need you to talk to him and give him the closure he needs tonight so that he doesn’t go mad tomorrow,” Jeonghan sighs.

You pout and Mingyu pecks your lips before taking your hand in his and rubbing it with his thumb as a sign of reassurance.

“I’m willing to do that, as long as we’ll be ok by the party. I’m sorry for causing problems,” You say sadly, now feeling guilt eat at you.

Inviting your ex was such a last-minute decision, but Seungcheol had been in your life for so long even before the breakup that you still felt the need to have him at such an important event in your life.

“Look what you’ve done, Jeonghan. Y/n, it’s ok to make these decisions, all he needs is to talk to you and you’ll be fine, we know you and Mingyu trust each other enough for you to make this decision,” Seungkwan tells you.

It was your brother’s turn to pout as Seungkwan jokingly slapped his shoulder. Seungkwan’s words instantly made your shoulders feel lighter and you looked up at Mingyu.

“I trust you. Look, you can talk to Seungcheol tonight after dinner and we’ll make sure that nothing will happen, alright? Don’t worry,” Mingyu says softly. You nod and look over at your brother, who gives you a smile and a thumbs-up.

Dinner rolls around and you’ve finished your makeup, along with your hair, all that’s left is your dress for tonight.

“Mingyu? Babe, can you come help me with the dress?” Your fiancée peeks from the bathroom and you giggle at his appearance.

“I told you to make the design simpler so you can put it on more easily, but then again, you’re Y/n. My favorite fashion designer,” Mingyu jokes while he zips up the garment and ties the corset in the back.

The two of you look in the mirror, and you take in your form. The dress was designed by yourself and it looked stunning in every way possible.

The sleeves were flowy and the skirt ended right above your ankles, the bodice had a built-in corset and the neckline was a deep v, along with a slit ran down the side until your upper thigh.

“I may not be the luckiest man in the entire world, but my god does the knowledge of me marrying you cancel all that out,” Mingyu says, his jaw slack.

You blush and cover your face with your hands, despite dating for two years and now being engaged, you could never get used to Mingyu complimenting and affirming you constantly.

“I love you, so much,” You kiss Mingyu and wrap your arms around his neck.

The two of you had also had it hard during your dating journey together, but it was nothing a bit of communication couldn’t fix, especially when you both put in the work to get to where you are today.

“I love you more than you could ever imagine, vita mia (my life)” Mingyu says in between your kisses and wraps his arms around your waist.

Before things could progress even more, Seungkwan slams the room door open and clicks his tongue.

“Nice to see you’re brushing up on your Italian guys, now if you don’t mind, we have some guests to get to. You guys have five minutes to go to the lobby,” Seungkwan huffs and shuts the door again.

It’s silent, until you and Mingyu start laughing.

“Shall we?” Mingyu smiles at you after a laughing fit and you take his hand in yours. It was going to be a long night, but you’re with the people you love and that’s all that matters.

At the restaurant, you were elated to see your family members and friends all gathered to celebrate your engagement.

“Mom! Dad!” You grin wildly and greet your parents, seeing Jeonghan following right behind you to greet them as well.

“Y/n, you look so beautiful tonight. I guess being with Mingyu is rubbing off on you,” Your mother jokes softly.

She had always been a fan of Mingyu ever since you brought him home, he was the epitome of any mother’s dream son-in-law.

“She’s always been so beautiful, mom, even more so since the Italian sun hit her skin. It’s lovely to see you tonight, have you seen my mother by any chance?” Mingyu wraps an arm around your waist securely, whilst smiling at your mother.

You were surprised at the display of affection since you two had been holding hands prior, but your eyes caught wind of Seungcheol and it clicked.

“I was just with her, she’s always running off to greet the rest of the family and guests. I’ll go look for her so we can settle at the table together,” Your mother giggles while dragging your brother away, who waves at you sheepishly.

It seemed like he had a few words of his own for you two, but it could wait apparently.

Mingyu led you over to the reserved area by the waist as you greeted guests who had also arrived. “Congratulations on your engagement you two, I wouldn’t have expected it from a mile away,” Minghao jokes.

“Wouldn’t be here without you, so we have to give you most of the credit,” You reply softly.

Minghao takes his hand in yours and looks at Mingyu with care in his eyes, he admires how well you both complement each other as a couple.

“I never expected anything further, but you two surprised me by a ton. Give yourself some credit for the connection you developed with one another, and Mingyu, if you hurt her, I won’t be as pliant,” Minghao continues, this time letting go of your hand and giving way for you and Mingyu to walk through.

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Mingyu gives you his signature smile, canines looking as sharp as ever, before finally letting you sit at the table that was reserved for the two of you.

The beachside hall was starting to fill up with the rest of the guests, and you kept your grip on your fiancée’s hand.

“Hey, you seem tense. Breathe a bit, we’ll just say a few words and mingle with our friends, but if you do end up feeling a bit sick just tell me and we can go back to our room,” Mingyu caresses your hand with his thumb, and you feel more at ease with his assurance.

“Sorry, it’s been a while, I still haven’t gotten used to the fact that I’m your fiancée now and not just your girlfriend. I promise to ease up a bit, and I’ll let you know if I do end up feeling a bit under the weather. Now, don’t worry about me, and let us enjoy the dinner,” You squeeze Mingyu’s hand and kiss his cheek in the process, wondering what you did to deserve him.

What you failed to realize was that Seungcheol was watching the entire interaction happen right in front of him, jealousy boiling in his veins.

Seungkwan clears his throat awkwardly, which catches the attention of Seokmin, who is sitting beside him. Seungcheol gives Seungkwan an awkward smile, realizing that he was being way too obvious with his distaste.

Joshua chuckles and taps Seungcheol’s shoulder as a sign of reassurance. “Take it slow, you still have to talk to Y/n to get all that awkwardness out the door. You’re still just as important to her you know? Again, we won’t hold it against you if you can’t take how uncomfortable it feels being here Cheol,” Joshua uttered.

“I’m fine Josh, I did choose to come here. Once this dinner is over and we can have the conversation, I can finally move on with my life,” Seungcheol sighs, noticing you and Mingyu standing up all of a sudden.

“Hi everyone, a pleasant evening to all of you! First, me and Y/n would like to extend our warmest welcome and gratitude to everyone who has made it, we cannot thank you enough for your presence.” Mingyu’s voice boomed through the hall as everyone cheered.

“Also, thank you all for coming to celebrate our engagement with us. We sadly can’t bring everyone to Italy for the wedding, so we’re here in Jeju to see you all,” You were speaking with so much happiness in your voice, Seungcheol knew right then and there that he had lost. You were happy, he couldn’t do much anymore.

Throughout the dinner, different people dedicated a toast to your engagement. Seungcheol had fun listening to both of your families and their anecdotes, along with a few friends making heartfelt speeches.

You were extremely loved, it was undeniable with the amount of praises and stories being said about you.

“I’d like to dedicate the last toast, this is for both Y/n and Mingyu, because I wouldn’t be living my best life right now without their endless support.” Seungkwan stood up and held out his wine glass, catching everyone’s attention.

“As we all know, the three of us decided to move to Italy together for a fresh start, a new change of scenery. I went with the sole intention of a vacation, though, after a month of being there, I was hooked. There was only one problem, I hadn’t found a job just yet, but Y/n and Mingyu stayed by my side. They helped me get up on my feet, they offered me a place to stay, made sure I was fed, and helped me settle in, which is something I am extremely grateful for,” Seungkwan turns over to you and Mingyu, his eyes now glossing over with tears at you stared at him worriedly, but you knew he was in good hands with Vernon beside him.

“Sorry for becoming emotional, anyways, throughout the time I lived with them, I also watched their feelings for each other unfold. Mingyu was the first one to fall, he was head over heels the moment he saw Y/n cooking in the kitchen, it was so funny because I witnessed it all. He had to debrief how he felt, and I could feel Mingyu’s sincerity, it was sweet,” Seungkwan continued, this time Vernon holding his hand for emotional support.

Everyone swooned at the revelation of Mingyu’s feelings and how they had come to be, it felt different hearing it from someone who was there every step of the way.

“Y/n fell right after, and usually this girl isn’t someone who jumps to conclusions, so she was in denial, but we both knew Mingyu’s treatment towards her changed drastically,” the audience burst out laughing, Seungkwan was on point that was for sure.

“To cut this story short, they were two idiots mindlessly pining after one another, but they finally got together after I left to grab groceries on a random afternoon. I came home and Mingyu was eating Y/n’s face off,” it was Seungkwan’s turn to laugh as he recalled that fateful day.

It was sweet coming home to see the two of you together, but he was not a huge fan of the PDA that was displayed in front of him like a platter.

“I was not!” Mingyu whined. You giggle at your fiancée, squeezing his hand and landing a sweet kiss on his cheek.

“As I was saying, I’m still so grateful to you both to this day, and I feel lucky to have been the one to help you navigate your feelings for one another. A toast to the beautiful couple and a marriage of a lifetime!” Cheers erupted once again and everyone applauded Seungkwan for his speech.

Dinner felt lighter once a few sips of alcohol were shared, and Seungcheol found himself mingling with old friends from high school that you had invited.

“I genuinely thought you would be the one over there with Y/n, but life works in mysterious ways,” a drunken Soonyoung slurred to Seungcheol.

Seokmin cringed from beside him and hit his shoulder to shut him up, but everyone knew that once Soonyoung was drunk, his mouth was relentless.

Seungcheol could only offer an awkward laugh, Soonyoung didn’t know the details of your breakup three years ago, so he couldn’t exactly blame the younger man.

“Yeah, I’m just glad he’s taking care of her. I can’t offer much now, but she’s still our friend. I have no hard feelings knowing Y/n and I are better off as friends,” he replied to Soonyoung’s drunken ramble.

“I hope you find someone soon man, you also deserve to be happy. I think Seok and I are gonna head first since we’re both starting to feel the alcohol kick in, we’ll see you tomorrow,” Seungcheol offered a smile and nodded in acknowledgment.

Everyone knew of Soonyoung’s low tolerance for alcohol, it was understandable that he decided to retire himself before any chaos ensued.

Seungcheol was left at the table with Joshua, Jihoon, and Jeonghan until Minghao approached. He settled himself into the seat beside Seungcheol, smiling and greeting everyone.

“How’s the evening? Everyone’s been leaving slowly, but you stayed. I expected you to be one of the first people to leave, no offense,” Minghao started.

“I can’t blame you, having to sit through your ex’s engagement dinner sounds rough, but it’s been three years and we grew up together. Bonds like that aren’t easily dissolved, if you get what I mean,” Seungcheol chuckled while shaking his head, taking another shot of soju that he poured for himself.

“We can all sympathize, you are a kind man Cheol. I’ve seen you as Y/n’s boyfriend before Mingyu, and you treated her well. What I want to know is, why you started pushing her away last minute. Y/n had always confided in us with your problems,” Minghao’s curiosity had gotten the best of him, but it was in your inner circle’s best interest to find out what Seungcheol’s true intentions were.

“I mean, I was insecure, scared. Y/n has a good heart, she’s the best and if I could turn back time, I would, but I ran away because she deserved better than me. I couldn’t give her the love she desperately craved, we all know about her and those rom-com books,” Seungcheol looked down at his hands.

He felt stupid, and he was stupid, but maybe it happened for a reason.

Minghao felt sympathetic, Seungcheol was afraid to tell you because you were one of the most understanding people anyone could have ever met.

You truly were swamped with attention by your peers, but Seungcheol could’ve handled his insecurity better because you were happy to offer any semblance of assurance.

“I didn’t want Y/n to bend over backward to constantly adjust to my needs because she doesn’t ask for much in return, but I ended up hurting her instead. I’m just content with the fact that Mingyu can give her the love I couldn’t,” Seungcheol’s eyes trailed over once again to yours and Mingyu’s table, only to see you whispering to each other.

You looked tired, but it seemed that Seungkwan had overheard from beside you and gestured over to where Seungcheol was seated.

You bit your lip in hesitation, and Seungcheol instantly knew what was about to take place. Minghao seems to have caught the small interaction as well, and he pats Seungcheol on the shoulder to comfort him.

You squeeze Mingyu’s hand for assurance and your fiancée smiles at you.

“You can do this Y/n, trust that it will be over before you know it. Seungkwan and I will be right here, we can go straight to our room after if you’re too overwhelmed,” Mingyu says gently, holding your hand as if it were as delicate as glass.

“I’ll be back, I love you so much, thank you for trusting me enough to do this,” You mutter just enough for Mingyu to hear.

“I trust you, vita mia,” Mingyu kisses your hand once again and you’re off to the beach outside the hall. Seungcheol didn’t even need to get confirmation as he excused himself and followed you outside.

The cold air surrounds you, along with the sound of crashing waves, feet buried in the sand as you take in the salty scent.

You hear another pair of feet shuffle behind you, and you let out a breath. “Seungcheol,” You turn around and sure enough, you see the man behind you.

“You can go ahead, I understand you’re engaged and you look happy with him. I’m here to finally close the chapter that we never ended properly, and I assure you, I have no other ulterior motives,” Seungcheol is looking at you, his eyes only holding sincerity in them.

“I’m sorry I left, I poured it all out on you right after work because of my anger, I just need to know why,” You were avoiding his gaze and playing with your engagement ring instead.

It felt stuffy, and you were opening a dam that was locked up for three years, but you prevailed for the sake of your marriage with Mingyu.

“I was dumb, I was insecure and pushed you away because I was jealous. We were both so young yet successful, but you were surrounded by so much attention, specifically by men who I couldn’t even compare a fraction to, so I started pushing you away because of the nature of the industry you were going to work in,” Seungcheol poured out his feelings, his heart aching as he recounts the number of times he constantly brought himself down whenever he saw you with men who were models or in the same industry as you.

“I know you would’ve done everything in your power to reassure me, and I also know you would never ask for much in return, but I didn’t want you to suffer because of issues I had with myself. I’m sorry for hurting you, Y/n,” tears were streaming down your face.

All this time, you thought you were the problem, that you no longer made Seungcheol happy, but in reality, he pushed you away because he felt undeserving of you.

“I thought you no longer loved me Cheol, and I am apologetic you feel that way, but that was a thing of the past. We were stupid, and I hope you know that I loved you, yet I chose to leave because I allowed myself to choose my well-being. I wish you communicated to me that you felt that way,” You were open to communication, it was normal, and if Seungcheol wasn’t such a coward back then, the two of you would’ve been fine.

“Things happen for a reason, and I still love you Y/n, but I was a coward. I knew the love I gave you wasn’t even a quarter of what you deserved, you love reading romcoms, and you’re a hopeless romantic. I wanted to give you that love and I held myself to such a high standard, but that was until I noticed that the people that surrounded you did that effortlessly, and I felt angry,” You felt your heart crack, all this time he had left you clueless, and you were now forced to take in all the pain.

“That’s all I needed to hear, I can’t believe you’d do this to me, Cheol. You left me wondering like an idiot, and what you did for me at the time was enough, but I was left a fool. Things do happen for a reason, and I’d like to leave it here. Thank you for the closure we both needed, no hard feelings at the party ok? We throw all the negative feelings away, because we grew up together, and I don’t want to lose you as a friend,” Seungcheol agreed to your arrangement.

He couldn’t afford to lose you either, and after having the conversation with you, his heart felt lighter. The confession was long overdue, but getting it out is what matters.

“No hard feelings, thank you, Y/n. I only wish for the best between you and Mingyu, I also don’t want to lose you. This is overwhelming for us both, so I’ll head first with Joshua. Congratulations once again,” You and Seungcheol smiled at each other, and you turned on your heel to run over to Mingyu, who had been waiting for you the entire time.

Seungcheol’s heart felt lighter, and even if it did hurt, he was content with even being a fragment in each other’s lives. You were in good hands now, and he could see it in the way Mingyu held you close.

© rubyuji 2024’ -. no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any manner without the permission from the publisher.

[neiptune]

a series of (un)fortunate drivers

cw: 1k wc, gender neutral reader, fake dating trope, roommate to lovers, they're both idiots (affectionate). sponsored by the ever generous @yellow-sword-lily who decided to trust my writing and contribute to the wonderful @ficsforgaza initiative!

“Does it hurt?”

Atsumu is met with a familiar, stubborn silence that prompts an exasperated sigh. You’re being awfully quiet for someone who’s chest is pressed to his back, close enough he can smell the shampoo that actually acts as shampoo (he learned that, apparently, a 3-in-1 body wash is indicative of not knowing how to take care of his own needs on approximately day two of living with you).

He knows you’re perfectly capable of not uttering a single word the entire way home, just as you know he’s keeping his pace slow to minimize your bouncing and reduce the discomfort to the best of his ability. It makes you want to strangle him.

“Blink once if it hurts” Atsumu turns to the side and his caramel gaze takes yours by surprise for just a second before you decide to resolutely focus on a specific spot on his shoulder.

“You’re the most ridiculous person I know” he balances you better against him with a small hop and you swallow the petty comeback already dancing on the tip of your tongue.

Truth is, it does hurt. Your ankle is swollen, probably about to bruise, an annoying circumstance that could’ve been well avoided if not for a couple of drivers that worked against your luck to progressively fuck your evening back-to-back: a) Hinata convincing you that a pair of chunky sneakers would be an excellent investment, b) the decision to wear said inappropriately chunky sneakers, c) Atsumu ignoring how excessively flirty the woman at the bar was being (one can estimate the impressive size of his biceps without necessarily squeezing his arm multiple times), d) the spirit of an immature six year old that decided to suddenly possess you at the sight, causing you to make up a dumb excuse to storm out before Suna and everyone else could even get there to begin with.

The heated march was soon and quite harshly interrupted by your ankle turning in an awkward way, causing you to even more awkwardly tumble onto the goddamn sidewalk right as a bottle blond pro athlete was forced to drop everything (drinks, friends, excessively flirty woman) to chase you down the street.

You insisted you could’ve walked (not true) or called an uber (also not true, you forgot your phone on the kitchen island) but, with the utmost care and deaf to your objections, Atsumu collected the things scattered on the asphalt the same way confusing thoughts are dispersed around your brain still, checked your ankle with furrowed brows and sentenced you to a piggyback ride home.

He refuses to let you slip off his back as he kicks off his shoes, rolls his eyes when you scoff and makes his way to the couch by which he carefully bends down to gently place you against the throw pillows.

“Don’t” Atsumu swats your hand away when you attempt to lean forward “I got ya” he rolls your sage green linen pants all the way up to the knee and attentively unties your shoes. You suck in a sharp breath between your teeth when he removes the sneaker, warm hand supporting your leg by the calf. A fluffy pillow is placed on the coffee table and underneath your foot, an admonishment to hold still mumbled with affection as he disappears into the kitchen to rummage through your freezer.

“I can do it” you accept the ibuprofen but protest firmly when he sits on the table, ice pack in hand.

“I know ya can” Atsumu offers a smile “but let me”

Defeated, you hiss at the contact: the skin feels so tender even grazing it with a finger would hurt. He knows, he’s had his fair share of injuries throughout his career.

Atsumu is more observant than what people give him credit for. He knows exactly when everything changed, the night that shifted the precarious equilibrium of your roommate relationship. It wasn’t when he suggested you’d fake a relationship for a while, just to get his PR team to shut the fuck up and stop trying to pair him up with some unknown model just for the sake of it. Can’t, I already have a partner. You were happy to accomodate his request: some pics for social media, a few shots of intertwined fingers and steaming bowls of ramen. Always his treat. Atsumu promised he’d take over the cleaning activities you hated the most for two entire months in return. You would’ve been free from dusting, scrubbing the bathtub and washing dishes (he’d insisted on laundry too but you simply weren’t going to risk all your whites turning pink).

No, it was Suna’s birthday that changed everything. The night you both had a little too much of that fancy wine and ended up sharing a drunken kiss with you perched in his lap, eager fingers in his hair, kissing with little to non existent restraint. It felt so good, so right, he could only think he wanted to do it again, when sober. And now, after acting like that never even happened for an entire week, your little tantrum makes him think that perhaps you’d like to do it again too.

“I think we should stop, ‘Tsumu” you murmur, eyes kept low when he looks up from your ankle.

“What are we stoppin’?”

“The whole thing. Tell your team you’ll do what they want”

He cocks his head, seemingly imperturbable. ‘Samu would be the only one capable of sensing how fast his heart is actually beating. “Why would I do that?”

“Why would you not do that?” you finally meet his stoic gaze “let’s just stop now before anybody’s feelings get hurt, okay?”

“Ya think I’d do that?”

“I didn’t say…”

“What are you saying, then?” Atsumu leans forward to gently grab your jaw, forces you to look at him “all I’m hearing is you’re worried about yer feelings. Whatever we are going to do with mine, right?”

You jump a little at the unexpected words and he rolls his eyes. It’s just so typical of you to be all lost in your own head, too buried in futile concerns to notice just how unnecessary they are.

“Let me tell ya what I think we should actually do” Atsumu makes sure the ice pack stays in place or is at least balanced enough to stay on as he slides from the coffee table onto the couch “I think you should stop assuming I’d be interested in anyone who's not you” he offers a grin that suppresses your heated remonstrance before you have the chance to voice it “and I should take you out on a proper date. Maybe to one of those museums ya love so much. Blink once if you agree?”

He’s ridiculous. Maybe ‘Samu’s initial warning “it will rub off on ya” wasn’t such a senseless prediction after all, because you do blink. Slow, deliberate. And Atsumu smiles the most beautiful smile: it’s much better than the ones that win him magazine covers and sparkly photoshoots. This one’s all yours.

You lean forward first, the ice pack slips from your ankle to the floor.

[lenaariewrld]

C.05 — the concert thing (w)

ON THE AIR — childe x reader smau

| SYNOPSIS;; Teyvat University’s popular radio personality, Y/n L/n, has only one gripe with her life. Her classmate, neighbour, and all-around nuisance in her life, Tartaglia. Their rivalry extends just past academics and, to her horror, into her work. He becomes the music director and co-host for her radio show, working alongside her most nights and forcing himself even deeper into her life. But is he really trying to just be friends, or is there an ulterior motive to his actions?

| WC: 2.6k

previous! ~ masterlist ! ~ next!

~

You and Ganyu stand on the sidewalk as Cyno parks his car and pays for the spot –estimating the amount of time the three of you will be there– while the both of you lean against each other casually. You had snatched one of Cyno’s jackets before leaving the house and now used it to cover you and Ganyu, your arms snaked around her shoulders and your chin on her hair. The air outside was slightly chilly with the wind, but still warm from the summer heat. At least it wasn’t balmy and humid anymore. For that, you were grateful. The pleasant moments ends when Cyno joins the two of you, looping one of his arms each with you and leading the way to the bar.

A small line was already forming when the three of you walked closer, full of excited young adults ready to have a memorable night or anxiously waiting to see Childe and his band perform. You recognize a few of the people in the line, waving to classmates or to people who greet you with an excitable call of your name. This bar was pretty popular for university students, so you aren’t surprised that people who also know about your show are here. You’re just surprised about the overlap between yours and Childe’s audience. As Cyno skirts his way to the front, you overhear a couple conversations. You don’t resist the urge to roll your eyes when you hear a couple girls whispering about him and how attractive they find him.

It was annoying, but you knew the man had charm. That you couldn’t necessarily deny.

It just didn’t work on you.

With a flash of Cyno’s student ID and the newspaper’s lanyard he wore, all three of you get accepted into the bar. Immediately, you and Ganyu beeline it to find an empty table far enough away from the stage to avoid anyone from that group recognizing your presence. Cyno goes to get drinks, meanwhile. The first thing you noticed upon setting your bag down and tucking your friend’s jacket over your legs was the atmosphere. The bar was crowded, expected for a Friday night. 

The lights are dimmed enough to add a sense of intimacy between people’s conversations and to provide contrast to the bright stage lights that have been set up on the far end of the bar, directly opposite from the bar where some very worn-looking bartenders dash left and right to make a million drinks. You pity them, hoping they get tipped well enough to deal with this particular chaos.

A couple minutes pass before Cyno returns, three drinks delicately balanced in his hands. A virgin drink for Ganyu, and two colorful (and probably very boozy) cocktails for the two of you. You clink your glass with him. “So, what all do you need for this paper?” You ask, willing to help where you can since you had nothing better to do. Even if you were dragged here.

“A couple pictures of the performance, some comments from the band members, and maybe a video to replay while I’m writing later so I don’t leave out any details.” The white-haired man tells you, counting off on his fingers. You sip from the little bendy straw in your glass, humming thoughtfully. “I was hoping I could catch Thoma afterwards and get something from him since he’s the only one I know–”

“And can tolerate?” You finish with a cheeky grin. Cyno nods, a smile pulling at his lips as well. You chuckle and lean your elbows on the table. “Me and Ganyu can record the set if you want to focus on everything else,” You offer.

Ganyu reaches over and gently takes the strawberry set on the rim of your glass. “We have a pretty good spot to watch, so if we record it, you definitely won’t miss anything,” She adds, matter-of-factly before eating the red fruit. You nod along, sliding the toothpick of fruits from Cyno’s drink her way as well.

“Thanks, guys,” He smiles, appreciative of your combined efforts to make this night go as quickly as possible. He turns his head as the lights on stage brighten. “They’re starting. I’m gonna go find a good vantage spot,” With that, your friend dismisses himself and disappears in the crowd as Childe and his bandmates shuffle onto stage. They’re loud and over the top, but they draw everyone in as they find their spots and introduce themselves. Admittedly, they even draw your attention in.

“Thank you all for coming to see us! And for those who didn’t, but may be interested; we are Vapriize,” Childe says into the mic, his hands adjusting his grip on the bass in his hands. The lead singer, a short little blue-haired guy named Scara, clears his throat and begins speaking next but you stopped paying attention by that point. Soon enough, they start to play and the music fills the bar.

You listen as Ganyu sets up her phone and begins recording, making sure to hold it high enough to see the entire stage of people’s heads. Oddly enough, as you listen, you find yourself enjoying the songs as the set progresses. It’s not the typical kind of grungy “I fuck girls and I know I’m hot” kind of music you expected.

Though it is a pop-rock type of instrumental, the lyrics imply a heavy heartbreak, with the lead singer passionately pleading whoever the song is about to give any crumb of attention, even if its just listening to the song, rather than leaving point blank. It was a raw desperation you knew well, something that resonated in your chest. The next couple songs are similar, lamenting how though the past relationship is over, the lead singer still finds pieces of her in every aspect of his life. Or about how apparent he’s made her effect on him and now without her absence it’s like he’s transparent. It sits uncomfortably in your gut, the way you relate to the songs, making your stomach sink further to your feet.

You down your drink and dismiss yourself to get another one, tapping Ganyu’s shoulder to alert her you’ll be right back. More music plays. You find yourself humming along once you sit down again, your well-manicured nails tapping on your cocktail glass, your chin propped on your hand, and your body swaying slightly to the music. At some point, Ganyu finds your hand and laces your fingers together, keeping the both of you grounded through the haze of the bar. During a quiet moment, she leans over to check on you.

“Are you enjoying this even a little bit?” She asks, raising her brows just slightly, a tiny wrinkle in between them. You smile and reach out to smooth it away.

“Maybe a little bit, but it’s hard not to be with you guys around,” You admit with a shrug. Cyno briefly shows up to your table once the set ends nearly an hour later, dropping off his camera and notepad.

“Gotta piss,” Is his only explanation before he darts off to the bathrooms. You laugh. Reaching over, you slide his possessions closer to you, taking care not to spill anything on the paper of your friend’s notepad. You glance over what he’s written so far, but you’re stumped by the chaos of his notes and the jumbled lines on the paper. It looks like nonsense, but you know Cyno’s process is one that works. You’ve read his completed works in the newspaper everytime a new issue comes out.

You tense as an all-too-familiar voice greets you. “Well, I didn’t expect to see you here… and dressed so pretty.” Childe slides into the third unoccupied seat at the little table, his chin propping onto his hand in a mirror of your position. You frown, crossing your arms instead. “Is it for me?” He continues, cocking his head to the side and raises his brow, his eyes darting over you. You make a gagging noise and dramatically turn away to cover your mouth.

“No it’s not. It’s for myself,” Your voice is cold as you speak to him, your glare biting. You refuse to break eye contact or back down. You were never one to be intimidated, and much less one to be so easily swooned by cheap words and bad pick-up lines. It helped when you also despised the person they came from. And you hate Childe. You hate his stupid smug face, and his perfectly tousled hair with the little blonde streak in the front. You hate the mischievous glint in his deep blue eyes, or the creases at the corners when he smiles. And you hate the way his voice purrs your name, slipping from his tongue like honey while he sidles ever so closer to your body.

“Mm, why are you here, Y/n?” He asks, watching the way you chug your second drink of the night, avoiding any chance to continue the conversation. “I thought you wanted nothing to do with me?” His voice is teasing, irritatingly so, but it’s also… softer. You notice his eyes darting around your face, some look in his eyes that for once isn’t mischief or malice. But one you definitely can’t place. You also notice he’s not looking over the rest of your body anymore, caring less about the revealing cut of your dress than the way your expression morphs.

He noticed you frowned less deeply when you were tipsy, your cheeks flushed all pink and your eyes blinking slowly. You looked more like an angry cat than anything. You looked… cute.

When you clear your throat, you notice Childe seem to break out of whatever trance he was in, his shoulders squaring a little more. “My friend needs to be here for his newspaper and I’m offering moral support.”

“Newspaper? Are they writing something about us?~” He hums.

“It’s not like it’s by choice. Your band is about as interesting to see as a flea circus,” You retort, chuckling into your cocktail as you take another dangerous gulp. The liquor burns your throat but it soothes the urge to gag whenever Tartaglia so much as opens his mouth.

“We’re plenty interesting,” Childe pretends to pout dramatically, tilting his head to the side like a wounded puppy. You’d find it charming how easily he could switch if it weren’t for the fact he used this ability to get on every single one of your nerves. “I saw you enjoying yourself for a few of our songs, even you little boytoy was bopping around,” He casts a glance around the bar.

“He’s not my boytoy,” You scoff, “Just because I have a friend who’s a guy doesn’t mean either of us wants to sleep together. Some of us are capable of viewing women as people, unlike you,” You spit the words as you turn your head away, hoping and praying Cyno finds you again so you can shoo Childe off for good.

“I can see plenty of women as people. Just not demons like you,” He laughs as if sharing a funny joke.

“Shut up, you ass,” You huff, moving to get up. Your cocktail no longer does the trick of helping you forget who you’re talking to or why it was so irritating to be around him. Childe moves to grab your wrist.

“Hey, hey, I’m not trying to hurt your feelings–”

“You have no effect on my feelings, Tartaglia,” You spit, teeth bared. “Let me go. I’m tired of talking to an un-empathetic loser,”

“You don’t have to be a bitch, you were the one who made the first joke,” Childe retorts, but he does as you say and lets go of your wrist, but now you were getting annoyed, your hands on your hips as you scoff yet again. His audacity was really something to behold.

“You’re the asshole who tried to force a conversation with me, don’t act like a saint,”

“I’m being friendly, Y/n,” He defends. You throw your hands up, exasperated at the excuse he doesn’t entirely seem to believe either. He’s stood up just like you are at this point, the both of you sizing each other up despite the fact that he easily clears you in height and strength.

“You’re being a fuckboy,” You seethe through gritted teeth, your eyes narrowed. Ganyu grabs bother bag and Cyno’s stuff from the chairs, urging you to evacuate the situation though you don’t entirely hear her, too focused on the annoying ginger right in front of you.

“Fuck you, Y/n,”

“Fuck you, too,” You declare, snatching your things off the table and taking Ganyu’s hand. “Let’s go,” You tell her and storm off without another word to the man. You’re still fuming as every second passes, carving your way through the crowd of people and towards the exit. You can find Cyno later, or even send him a text about where you are. For now, you just needed to get out of there.

You hated that you were worked up. But even worse, you hated that you felt a pang of disappointment in your chest, the conversation between you and Tartaglia having felt pretty naturally before you both exploded. God, that fact alone only made you more angry.

As soon as the fresh night air hits your face, you slow down and turn to Ganyu. “I’m sorry for… that,” You tell her, guilt evident on your face. She squeezes your hand.

“It’s not your fault, he came out of nowhere,” She assures, the both of you walking down the sidewalk to a less populated spot right outside the bar. You lean against the gritty brick and dig around in your purse for your lighter and pack, handing Ganyu your phone so she can text Cyno about where the two of you are.

After retrieving and lighting your cigarette, you place everything neatly back in your bag, inhaling deeply through the stick of nicotine. You manage to get a few drags in before the door to the bar bursts open, Cyno emerging with a tall, relaxed blonde following behind him. You recognize Thoma from the couple of time you had visited the newspaper staff a couple years ago, back when you had been trying out different things for your major. He looked better now. Well-built, more sure of himself. He waves to you and Ganyu as the two men approach, forming a loose group circle.

“How are you? What happened?” Cyno asked, eyeing the cigarette between your pointer and middle finger. You hold it out for him to take, letting him take a drag while you explained how Childe had come up to you and Ganyu and the conversation that had happened. “Dick,” Cyno mutters around the cig, blowing the smoke away from any of your faces before handing it back to you. “Sorry, I know he’s sorta your friend,” He then apologises to Thoma.

“Oh, I know he can be an ass, though,” Thoma waves his hand dismissively, chuckling as he shoves his hands in his pockets. You chuckle, giving him a nod of respect.

You, Cyno, and Ganyu all catch up with Thoma as you relax again and finish your little vice. The conversation remains light-hearted and easy, none of you daring to breach any uncomfortable topics while the night was so nice and peaceful. The buzzing of bugs in your ears and the fuzzy feeling of the nicotine and liquor in your system helping to calm you down. By the time you all call it a night, you feel less shitty.

“Goodnight, take care of yourself,” You say as you hug Thoma, squeezing him tight. He hugs you back, echoing a similar sentiment before you both part. The others give their own goodbyes and your two groups split off. Cyno leads you and Ganyu back to his car, taking back his things from the blue-haired woman with a grateful hum before climbing in and driving you all home.

You’re not sure what to make of this night but one thing is certain. You definitely, certainly, without a doubt, hate Childe. And co-hosting with him was going to be hell.

———

A/Ns: we getting into it!! i looooove writing banter (and getting to see the enemies are maybe-not-so-enemy's)!! as always, likes/reblogs/comments are appreciated in any form, and don't forget to get rest and take care of yourself <33

TAGLIST: @popiizpops

[sailtomarina]

[Kinktober 2024] Oral fixation

Written for Day 24 of Hogwarts’ Kinktober - Oral fixation Theo/Hermione | Rating: M | WC 1081

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She always had something in her mouth.

The ends of those Muggle writing tools she preferred. Sugar quills she’d start on at the beginning of class and finish before they were half way through. The straw of her light blue water bottle she carried around everywhere.

Theo sneered at first. How beggarly of her to stick whatever she had on hand into her mouth. Was she like the Weasleys, always hungry? Never satiated? How painful that must have been. Attending Hogwarts must be even more of a dream with all the food readily on hand.

He couldn’t stop looking. He’d stare at her in Charms, or in Ancient Runes, or any other of the plethora of classes they shared. They overlapped a lot now that he was paying attention. He’d watch those pretty pink lips pucker and drop open to suck in her chosen instrument.

Soon enough, the sight of her darting tongue and hollowed cheeks started to make him twitch. Not in that irritated way he had a habit of doing at the beginning of their interactions and still did with others. This discomfort had him shifting in his seat. Widening his legs. 

As ill luck would have it, the one day he’d walked into Arithmancy late was the same day the only available seat was Granger’s clear up at the front of the room.

He’d slid in as carelessly as possible, affecting his usual detachment. So what if they almost never spoke? It wasn’t like he couldn’t bear her close proximity now and then, and he’d never outright bullied her the way Draco or his other housemates had.

Then came the professor’s announcement. Partners. For the entirety of the term.

She turned to him, brow cocked and expression unreadable. “Nott.”

“Granger.”

Her eyes narrowed. He was already hyper aware of her swotty mouth and couldn’t help noting the way they pursed along with her estimation of him. Up close like this, he thought they looked fuller somehow. Well hydrated, probably thanks to all the water she drank everyday. Perfect for sucking on–

“My eyes are up here.”

He snapped his attention up, expecting hostility but finding none. He couldn’t help the surprised huff that escaped him.

 She tilted her head as they maintained eye contact. “Find something amusing?”

He could give her a glib answer, avoidance being second nature by this point. He wasn’t used to direct confrontation, especially with her. Doing so now would maintain the status quo. Keep them on their sides of the line, so to speak.

Nothing sounded more boring. He needed change. 

He let his eyes drift down again, blatantly staring at the plump flesh that parted the longer he looked. “If by amusing you mean surprised, then sure.”

She frowned, obviously confused. “Surprised? About what?”

“About the fact that you don't have anything in your mouth right now.”

Her cheeks flushed a deep red, nostrils flaring and jaw dropping.

“See what I mean? Empty.” His cheeks hurt from how widely he was grinning.

Her teeth clicked shut. He could tell from the way she inhaled that she was about to rip him a new one any second now.

Without turning his eyes away, he rummaged in his pack until his fingers grabbed onto a distinctive edge. He’d purchased them a couple of weekends ago for reasons he hadn’t wanted to examine until now.

“Here.”

She looked down instinctively at the box he thrust towards her, eyebrows shooting high on her forehead. “You bought me sugar quills?”

“I didn’t get them for you,” he was quick to correct her.

“They’re my favourite flavour.” Which he knew to be cinnamon sugar.

“It’s a coincidence.”

He could tell she didn’t believe him, not that he’d really expected her to. Granger made no move to take the box from him. Maybe she thought they were poisoned. His hands worked deftly to open the top and pull out a single quill, which he presented to her for inspection. She still didn’t take it.

Theo heaved a sigh and popped the end into his own mouth. He sucked for a few seconds, enjoying the spiced sweetness coating his tongue. They really were quite tasty; he might indulge more often. As he continued to suck, Granger’s eyes flickered. 

He’d always assumed them to be dark brown, but now could pick out flecks of gold all around the edges. Combined with her pouty lips, sun-kissed skin, and cascading curls so unlike the prim and proper updos of the girls he’d grown up with, the entire effect was stunning. She was stunning.

“Well?”

Her question jolted him out of his reverie. “Well, what?”

“Are you still offering to share?”

He snorted, then shoved the box towards her yet again. “Go ahead.”

Her lips tilted upward at the corners. She reached towards his face, and he flinched back in surprise. What was she–

One second, he had a sugar quill in his mouth. The next second, she had a sugar quill in her mouth. His sugar quill.

She laughed, the sound a delightful cascade of bells, as he gaped at her. She’d snatched the candy straight from her lips and wrapped her own tongue around where he’d sucked only seconds prior. A pulse ran straight down and between his legs.

He couldn’t get the sight out of his mind. Her. Him. On her knees and sliding her tongue along a very different sort of sweet.

“Thanks, Nott.” She beamed, all innocent like she had no idea what her actions had done to him.

“A-anytime,” he stammered. Dammit. 

Over the course of the class, she continued to lick and nibble, finishing one, then two, and eventually three by the end. He’d taken the entirety of the time working on the last one. She almost looked disappointed as she looked at the empty box while they gathered their belongings.

“Merlin, Granger, we just finished an entire box and you still want more?”

He almost burst out laughing at the way she perked up. “You have more?” Then she caught herself, returning to a more subdued version of herself. He much preferred playful, eager Granger.

“I’ll tell you what: everytime we’re partners, I’ll be your supplier.” With the added benefit of getting to watch you up close, he thought.

His stomach flipped over at the wicked grin that emerged on her face. It was almost like he was the one getting baited into a trap.

“You better not take that back.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it.”

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Thanks to @knot-your-mothers-mods for organizing the event! Make sure to check out the AO3 collection for many more works.

Cross-posting on Tumblr, AO3, and Instagram.

[fkinkindagauche]

As Is - Chapter One

I was not capable of leaving my recent Harringrove one-shot with an open ending, so I'm going back and adding more to give these buttheads a happy ending. Here's chapter one.

Rating: Explicit | WC: estimated around 15K | CW: child abuse, period-typical homophobia include use of the "f" word by Neil Hargrove, internalized homophobia | Tags: angst with a happy ending, secret relationship, omegaverse, alpha Steve, omega Billy, top/bottom versatile Steve and Billy, post-S3, Billy lives, Billy needs a hug

Summary:

This thing with Harrington started as just a convenient way for Billy to have heat sex, since Harrington knew he was an omega now anyway. But when they start having sex outside of Billy's heats, things spiral, feelings develop, and Billy has a hard time handling it.

Read the full fic on AO3.

Excerpt below.

divider by @/saradika-graphics

"What the hell is going on with you, Steven?"

Steve shook his head, coming out a daze. A Billy-centric daze. As most of his dazes were lately.

"What? Nothing," he muttered. He pushed himself off the counter he'd been leaning against and grabbed some tapes that needed rewinding.

Robin huffed. "You've been acting weird for weeks. You keep spacing out, and you haven't asked anyone for their number in way too long. Do you have gonorrhea?"

Steve glared at her. "Gonorrhea? That would make me space out?"

Robin shrugged. "I mean, yeah, if your junk was all uncomfortable in your pants and stuff. Would also make you turn down dates."

"I don't have gonorrhea, Robs," Steve insisted with a sigh.

"Well then what is it? I'm worried about you."

Steve felt awful keeping anything a secret from Robin. But whatever the fuck was going on between him and Billy, he couldn't tell her. Because that would mean he'd need to tell her about Billy being an omega, or else she'd never understand why they'd started fucking in the first place, and he wasn't willing to break that promise for anything.

"I've just been distracted lately. Trying to figure out what the hell I wanna do with my life." He felt like such an asshole, but it wasn't a complete lie. He had been descending into the depths of despair relatively regularly while thinking about what he was going to do after Robin went off to college next year.

He'd just also been fucking Billy. The omega had been getting his weird mini-heats pretty frequently the past few months, coming by Steve's place every few weeks to get fucked senseless for a few hours, then leave.

Steve knew he shouldn't complain. What alpha in their right mind would complain about regularly getting to help an omega through their heats? But Steve was annoyingly traditional about certain things, like wanting to have at least a modicum of romance in his sexual encounters. And the omega in question was a certified asshole who was probably allergic to romance.

"You're gonna figure something out, I know it!" Robin said, slinging an arm around his shoulders. "You can always come live in my dorm room. We'll get one of those trundle beds and we can roll out the bottom for you to sleep in every night. We'll have matching pajamas! And those little nightcaps like Scrooge wears, and-"

"You don't think your roommate might object to having an adult man sleeping in a trundle bed in her dorm room?" Steve asked with a laugh.

Robin made a dismissive noise and waved her hand. "She'll be fine. It will get her used to our dynamic from the get-go."

Steve knew she was 95% serious. She would let him stay in her dorm room, no matter what her roommate thought. But Steve wasn't particularly keen on the idea of squatting in a girls' dorm.

"Hopefully I'll have something a little more feasible figured out by August," Steve said.

A familiar car was parked outside Steve's house when he got home. Billy's beat-up Ford Escort. Every time Steve saw it, he cringed a little at the memory of crashing into Billy's Camaro.

Billy was still in the car, likely unwilling to sit on Steve's porch and wait for him, but he got out as soon as Steve pulled into the garage.

Steve mentally prepared himself for Billy in heat. He couldn't believe it was happening again so soon; Billy had just been here the week before. His hormones must be so fucked.

Billy seemed less keyed up than usual as he walked into the garage. He smelled different, the sharp nutty aspect of his scent coming through stronger than the sweetness. It took Steve's brain a second to catch up, but eventually he got there - Billy wasn't in heat. So what was he doing here?

"Hi," Steve said, sounding awkward even to his own ears.

"Hi," Billy replied with a smirk.

"What're you doing here?" It came out sharper than he'd intended, and he winced internally.

Billy glared at him. "Well I didn't come to chat with you in your garage, that's for goddamn sure."

Steve rolled his eyes, Billy's sarcasm putting him back on firmer ground. "Wanna come in?" Steve asked, opening the door into the house.

Billy nodded, following him inside. As soon as Steve shut the door, Billy was on him. He pushed Steve back against the door, pressing his whole body into him. Billy kissed him forcefully, shoving his tongue into Steve's mouth like this was some kind of race.

Steve wrapped his arms around Billy's waist, pulling him even closer. He felt his cock rub against Billy's through their layers of clothes. They were both already hard. Steve shifted his hips to put more pressure on his cock, rubbing himself on Billy in tiny circles.

Billy broke the kiss to fumble with Steve's belt, undoing the clasp and getting Steve's pants unzipped. Steve moved his mouth to Billy's neck, biting lightly on the skin, avoiding his scent gland which was slathered in blockers, as usual.

Billy shoved a hand into Steve's boxers, wrapping it around his cock. Steve groaned against Billy's neck and thrust up into his hand. He heard Billy undoing his own belt, then Billy's hand was wrapped around both of their cocks.

It pinched as Billy started to move. "Ow," Steve muttered. Billy let up. "Let me just…" Steve said, looking around the kitchen island. "Aha!" he exclaimed, spotting the olive oil. He pressed Billy away to grab the bottle, drizzling some on his hand.

Billy snorted, but joined Steve by the island. Steve grasped them both in hand, smoothing the olive oil over their cocks. Much better. Billy's hand joined his, allowing them to wrap all the way around both of their cocks.

Steve went back to kissing Billy as they stroked in tandem. Billy tasted faintly of cigarettes, and overwhelmingly of Billy. Steve sighed, wanting to smell Billy, too. When he was in heat, his scent overwhelmed all the blockers he took and used topically. But now, with him not in heat, all Steve could smell was sweat, and the fake alpha scent Billy used.

He was having trouble getting in the right headspace with that stupid fake scent. There was only one place Billy would still smell like Billy right now. Steve let go of their cocks and dropped to his knees on the kitchen floor.

"The fuck are you doing, Harrington?" Billy grumbled, still using his hand to fist his own cock.

Steve didn't respond, just pressed Billy back against the counter and pushed his legs apart. Billy allowed it, miraculously, and Steve dove forward, licking up the slick that had gathered around Billy's slit.

With his nose buried in Billy's cunt, Steve was surrounded only by the heady scent of Billy, no fake scent getting in his way. Steve reveled in it. He reached down for his own cock, picking back up where he'd left off now that he could focus. He licked and sucked at the skin surrounding Billy's slit, then pressed his tongue in.

He could feel Billy's hand brushing against the top of his head as he continued to stroke his own cock. Steve needed to get in deeper, to taste more of Billy. He pulled his head up for a moment, yanking off one of Billy's shoes then pulling that leg of his jeans off. He grabbed the now bare leg with his free hand and threw it over his shoulder, changing the angle so he could press in further with his tongue.

Billy groaned when Steve started to fuck his tongue into him. The movements of his hand above Steve's head were growing more frantic. Steve's hand on his own cock was flying as pleasure built deep in his gut.

A fresh pool of slick gushed out onto his tongue, sending Steve over the edge. He came with a muffled cry. After, he used his now-free hand to press two fingers into Billy alongside his tongue, crooking them forward to rub at Billy's g-spot. Billy yelped as he came, and Steve unfortunately felt sticky droplets landing on his hair.

He groaned, this time not in pleasure, and sat back on his heels. "In my hair? Seriously?"

Billy shrugged. "You put yourself in the splash zone."

Steve rolled his eyes and stood up. Billy was pulling his jeans back on and heading for the door in an impressively short amount of time.

"You're still just gonna leave right away?" Steve asked, perplexed. Billy did typically leave right after his heats broke, but Steve had hoped that maybe him coming over outside of heat meant they'd be able to do something more than just fuck.

"What, do you need me to stay for a while and cuddle you, Harrington?" Billy shot back, voice heavy with derision.

That would have been nice. Steve had always been a cuddler. But he wasn't going to say that out loud. "Whatever, Billy," Steve mumbled, suddenly feeling exhausted. "I need to take a shower anyway."

Billy's face twitched, like he was trying to keep himself from expressing something. He looked like he was about to say more, but then he shook his head, turned around, and walked out of the house.

Read the full fic on AO3.

[leahsfavefics]

All I Want for Christmas is Joon (Teaser)

Title: All I Want for Christmas is Joon

Banner: the incredible @kithtaehyung

Pairing: art historian!Namjoon x art historian!reader (f)

Rating/genre: m (18+) angst, fluff, smut, second chance au

Estimated WC: 20k - this teaser is 792 words!

Posting Date: Dec 21st

Summary: You have had a rough year following the mutual break up with your grad school sweetheart. On a whim, you book a spontaneous trip to Europe for the holidays to help get you out of the funk you’re in and assert your independence. It would be great, if it weren’t for the fact that you keep bumping into your ex boyfriend.

Part of the Jingle All the Way collab!

BEFORE:

Your fingers itched over your computer mouse, hesitating on the ‘click’ you so ardently wanted to make. Anxiety held you back.

“Just do it,” Melissa hollered from your kitchen. You smiled, impressed at how she sensed your hesitation somehow. Outside of your family, she’s one of only two people that could ever read you that well. Though you guess that now she’s the only person that can, since the other is your ex-boyfriend that you haven’t seen in over a year.

You took her encouragement with a grain of salt. She was always egging on whatever hair brained idea you had, ever since elementary school. This time, though, maybe she was right.

“It’s expensive. And I’d be all by myself. I’ve never traveled all by myself,” you whined in response.

“Bitch, it’s literally cheaper than it’s ever going to be,” she shot back, strolling into the living room and leaning against the couch where you sat. You couldn’t argue. The Travel Tuesday flight deals this year were insane. You’ve never seen a round trip flight to Europe be less than $500, and somehow the itinerary you’ve secured rang in at $386.00 round trip, taxes and fees included. It was probably a bulk fair with a million restrictions and you’d be fucked if you wanted to change it, but the flight left in 3 weeks. If you booked this, you were going no matter what.

“And traveling by yourself is not bad,” Melissa continued. “Obviously I’d rather be on a girls’ trip with you or on a trip with Taehyung, but it’s also really nice to not have to worry about anyone but yourself. Sure, there’s no one to take cute pictures of you unless you want to ask a stranger, but you can do whatever you want without consulting with anyone or taking their feelings into account. Craving sushi? Go get sushi! Want a nap? Go take a nap! Want to check out an obscure museum no one would be interested in but you? Do it! You only have yourself to worry about.”

You sighed. “You’re right, I know you’re right. But you’re so much more adventurous than I am.” Mel and her husband, Taehyung, were always going off and doing the wildest of things. Going on amazing trips around the world, skydiving, scuba diving, the list goes on. Whether they were a match made in heaven or hell, you weren’t sure- they rarely said no to each other’s schemes. They were happy though, and beyond in love, and that’s all you could ever want for your best friend.

“That’s not true.” Melissa said. “You’re adventurous, you’re just also nervous. Ever since…. You know what. You’ve been complaining that you want to get better at doing things on your own. This is your chance. And you’ve wanted to go to Norway for ages. You can’t achieve your dreams if you’re afraid to pull the trigger when the opportunity presents itself.” You winced, but it was the truth. The hard truth, but the truth nonetheless. And you trusted Melissa to give it to you straight when you needed it. Since the breakup with Namjoon over a year ago, you’d been wallowing. The two of you did everything together, attached at the hip since you met in your grad school apartment building the weekend you both moved in. You’d made it all through college, moving in together the second year of school into a nice apartment off campus that you still occupied. The study abroad semester Namjoon spent in Paris had been tough, especially because you’d only had enough time and money for one brief visit, but it wasn’t until college was over that things fell apart. Art History is a tough field to get a job in. You were both insanely lucky to land jobs fresh out of college. Grades and letters of recommendation helped, but still. It was unfortunate that they were across the country. You’d barely made it through one bout of long distance. You thought it better to end things rather than face that again, and with no end date in sight. 

“You’re right. I know how to travel. Namjoon and I took a few trips together. And you and I have gone on trips together. I need to learn how to be comfortable doing things on my own. I’m 25 years old. I can’t wait around forever.” You nodded as you spoke, convincing yourself. Taking a shaking breath, you squeezed your eyes shut and made that final click. 

Melissa squealed in excitement and pulled you in for a constricting hug that pulled a laugh from you despite your nerves about your newly booked solo adventure. “I’m so proud of you! And excited! You’re going to fucking Norway!!”