#expressing excitement around him. I repeat things I find funny or nice or just good in general like if someone says something funny I repeat

[cozage]

this is my first time doing an ask but,, can I have a Law/Luffy/Ace (all or any, either is fine!) where the reader accidentally keeps seducing them without knowing? like a few incidents where the reader is oblivious to the way she is affecting them would be very cute <3 love your writing style a lot btw, it gives me butterflies hehe~

A/N: Thank you Anon :) that was such a nice compliment ahhhhh i love you

Characters: f reader x Law, Luffy, Ace

Cw: SFW in bullet points, some suggestive content in the “story” portion and alcohol mention in Law’s and Ace’s

Total word count: 2.4k

Oblivious Flirting (and one very obvious one!)

Law

Some things you do without knowing that makes his heart flutter:

Touching the small of his back when you move behind him or lean in to talk to him. It’s just something you do with everyone, but it makes him freeze whenever you touch him there specifically. He feels electricity bolt through his body whenever your skin makes contact with his. He hates when you pull away, and has to swallow the knot in his throat and attempt to act normal. 

You consistently tease him about his earrings, telling him they’d look good on you. You beg and beg to try them on, and he always waves you off. He lowers his hat to cover his face, feigning irritation and trying to end the conversation, but really he’s trying to cover his blush. (And he has to admit, he thinks they’d look good on you too)

You’re one of the few people Law allows to sit in his study with him, because you don’t bother him. Occasionally you’ll be reading, or see something interesting or funny, and you’ll gasp or laugh or make a funny expression with your face. Law finds that so endearing, and he loves it even more when you say “Captain, listen to this!” and then go on to repeat whatever you just read. It’s one of the few times he finds himself smiling and something so small and trivial, and he always loves how excited you are about it all. 

--

The crew had just gotten in from a long night, and you were just a bit too tipsy to function normally. You cursed the tight dress you were in, and the zipper that always got stuck. You opened your door, looking for anyone who could help loosen the damn thing just a little, but nobody was around. You ventured down the hallway, looking for the one man you knew would be awake at this hour. 

You found yourself at his office door, and you knocked softly. Your captain had been the one member of the crew who hadn’t gone out to the bar with you all, claiming he needed to work on some project. He opened the door a crack, and you smiled up at him.

His eyes scanned your body and then quickly snapped back up to your face. “Is there something you need?”

You frowned and turned around, sweeping your hair away from your back. “Help,” you whined to him. 

“With what?” You could hear the irritation in his voice, and you held back the urge to laugh at him. 

“My dress. Can you unzip it?”

His voice comes out in a low hiss, and you can hear that you’ve caught him off guard. “What?”

You laugh now, and you turn your head to catch his gaze sliding down your back, trying to find where the zipper ends. His face is beet red with embarrassment and full of shock. You can’t help but laugh even harder, looking at your captain so tongue tied. 

“Not like that!” Your voice is a tad too loud, and Law shoots a look down the hallway to see if anyone will emerge, but it stays silent. “Unless you want it to be like that,” you say more seductively, giggling lightly and scrunching your face at him in a teasing manner. You wink and turn around, waiting for him to unzip the top part of your dress. 

He stands there, frozen as a statue. He’s so confused about this interaction and if it means anything more than drunken teasing on your end. He knows you’re one to do harmless flirting, but this feels like something more, he just can’t explain why. 

“Lawwwww,” you impatiently sing his name out, and he snaps out of his frozen state. His fingers hover over your zipper, and he pulls at it gently. It doesn’t budge, and he has to use more force, finally getting it to budge. He unzips it a third of the way down your back. 

“Further,” you hum to him, and he obliges after a moment. He unzips it all the way to your waist before stopping himself from going lower. He stands there silently for a minute, transfixed by the view he got now that your back was so exposed to him. 

“Thank you, captain.” Your voice is low and full of exhaustion. The events of the night have finally caught up to you, now that you were more comfortable and the dress wasn’t squeezing your body. You rub the drowsiness from your eyes and turn back to him, giving him a sleepy smile and bounding off down the hallway. 

He wished he was capable of telling you how desperately he wanted to follow you in that moment. 

Luffy

How to make Luffy’s eyes to widen at you: 

Putting on lipgloss. The first time he saw you do it, the shine it gave your lips, he was awestruck. You caught him staring, and offered him the tube. “Wanna try? It’s cotton candy flavor.” He didn't know how to explain he wanted to lick it off your face, not the tube. 

When he’s close to you, you like to scrunch your face up at him and give his nose a little tap. Sometimes it’s prompted by him being silly, sometimes you’re just walking by and get the urge to do it. It can be accompanied by a “boop!” which usually makes him laugh so hard he falls over. He doesn’t know why, but he likes being so close to you and having so much fun with you. 

Whenever you refer to him as captain, he falls a little harder for you. He loves hearing “Luffy'' out of your mouth, but there’s just something so sweet about the way “Captain” comes out. Where others use the words begrudgingly, you always sing the word, making it light and fluffy and the word passes through your lips and floats around him.

--

Your shouts of glee rang out across the Sunny as you jumped over barrels and bounded across the deck. 

“Give it back!” Luffy called out, but his tone was light as he chased after you. He laughed as he shot his arm out at you, trying to grab the strawhat off your head. But you ducked at the last second, and his arm whipped past you. You jumped over the balcony onto the lower deck, turning around mid leap to stick your tongue out at him as you fell. 

You dashed across the deck, and as you went to turn left, he shot across to cut you off. You yelped in surprise, turning on your heel to dash the other way. You could hear Luffy behind you, groaning in frustration. 

“Wow, this strawhat has such nice shade!” You called out while still running. “I think I’ll just keep it forever!”

You could hear Luffy laughing behind you, and you knew he was planning another attack. 

“In your dreams!” You heard something slingshot past you, but you didn’t bother looking to see what body part it was this time. You just kept running.

And then you were at the bow of the ship, and you realized you were cornered. You scrambled to the top of the figurehead, desperately trying to find a way out of your position.

Rubber arms wrapped around you tightly and secured you to the top of the Sunny’s mane. Luffy had pinned you down, and though you tried to get out, you knew it was futile. 

“Luffy, let me go!”

“Give me my hat back!” He swung up to stand on the figurehead, directly in front of you. His face is twisted in a pout, but you can tell it’s not a serious one. 

“Take it back yourself if you want it so badly!”

He pulls himself closer to you, trying to get his arm free enough to grab his hat off your head. But he’s stretched out as much as he can, and his arms are tangled up in eachother. 

You laugh out loud at the realization that both of you are stuck in a strange stalemate. You can’t be freed without giving his hat back, and he cant get his hat back without freeing you. 

“Is there anything else I can offer up in exchange for my release?” You smirk, and he knows he won’t get his hat back yet. Not that he minds. He likes chasing you around. 

With you this close, he notices how your lips are shining against the sun. You must’ve put on that lip gloss before you took his hat. 

“I want to try your lipgloss.”

You giggle, assuming his mind was always on food. “Sure, but that’s in my pock-”

He cuts you off as his lips press against yours, his tongue licking your lips to gain entry to the rest of you. For a second you tense, shocked that he would be so bold, but then you relax into his touch, letting him explore the inner parts of your mouth. Finally. 

You feel his arms release you from captivity, and his hands rest on the back of your head, pulling you into him further. You stand there together, liplocked for a moment, before he finally breaks away from you, his eyes clouded and dazed.

“That tasted great! Let’s do it again some time.”

You leap off of the figurehead and back onto the deck, his hat still atop your head, racing away from him and laughing for the whole Grand Line to hear. “You’ll have to catch me first!” 

Ace

Ways to unintentionally get Ace to burst into flames:

The way you are always touching his shoulder to get his attention. Anytime you say “Oh, Ace!” it’s always accompanied by a soft touch or an eager tap on his shoulder. He loves your excitement and your eagerness to share things with him

Whenever your confidence comes through, he swoons. You don’t take shit from any other crew members, and you never let people talk over you. He loves watching you hold your own against others. He’s always ready to jump in if he needs to, but he gets so giddy watching you yell at other people and stand your ground.

You are always making fire jokes. Sometimes it annoys him when other people do it, but never with you. You’ll spot him in a crowd and yell “Oh, I knew it got hotter in here!” and it makes him want to melt into a puddle. You’ll eye him and joke “You look hot today,” and the shock and embarrassment will ALWAYS make little flames appear across his body, to which you follow up “No, Ace. Now you’re literally on fire.” You know you’re the one who sparks it, but you still find it funny nonetheless.

--

“Like hell you can beat me!” 

He heard your voice ring out across the deck of the Moby Dick, and he shuffled through the crowd to find you in a stand off against Curiel. You both raised your tankard, hit them together, and down the grog in a matter of seconds. 

You slammed your tankard on the ground moments before Curiel, and the crowd erupted into cheers at your victory. Ace found himself laughing along with everyone, proud of your accomplishment. 

“She’s something, huh?” Marco’s voice came from behind him, and he turned to face his fellow commander. 

“She told me she’s working her way through drink offs with all of the commanders,” Ace replied with a soft chuckle. “Looks like she’s making progress.”

Marco snorted at the thought. “I’ll be impressed if she ever faces off with either of us.”

Hands reached around from behind him, and fingers danced across his chest, giving him goosebumps. “Ace,” you whined in his ear, and his entire body tensed at your closeness. “Give me a piggyback ride back to my bed please.”

Marco raised an eyebrow at him, and Ace blushed as you jumped up without waiting for a response, certain he would wrap his strong arms around your legs and carry you. And he did. 

“You can walk you know, Y/N,” Marco said, watching your head rest against Ace’s, your eyes already beginning to close. 

“Ace is more comfortable,” you mumbled, rubbing your body against his bare skin to prove it. “He’s hot, you know.”

Ace’s body erupted in small harmless flames at your comment, and Marco burst out laughing. The second division commander got flustered so easily, if you were the one complimenting him. 

“Let’s go,” Ace grumbled, hauling you away from Marco and off to your room. 

He walked silently through the corridors, painfully aware of where all your bare skin was touching his. Your fingers laced together on his chest. Your arms atop his shoulders. Your face, resting against the back of his head and on his neck. His hands held the underside of your thighs, and your inner thighs pressed tightly into his back and his waist. There was so much of you, so close to him. 

He placed you gingerly on the bed and covered you with a blanket. He tiptoed out, giving you one last look before he closed the door. 

“Come join me,” you called from your bed, hoping he hadn’t already left yet. 

Ace’s face flushed, and he stepped back inside your room to close the door, hoping nobody heard. “In bed?”

You hummed in agreement, patting the empty bed beside you. 

“I cant,” Ace stammered, trying to think of some kind of reason to avoid a night of torture for him. He didn’t want you to regret anything in the morning. “I’m, uh, dirty.”

“Join me in the shower then? If you prefer,” Your voice was devious and gleeful at the same time. He could hear the smile spreading over your lips as you spoke, and he realized he had caught fire from embarrassment again. 

He wished he had said something witty, or cocky, or said anything really, but all he could do was swing your door open, run out, and close it quickly. 

“Goodnight Aceee!!” You sang from the other side of the door. He could hear your giggles and he ran down the hallway, too flustered to put his own flames out.

[signed-heart]

you accompany atsumu to find suzue

atsumu has a bit of a skip to his step and his light humming doesn’t go unnoticed by you. you look at him with a small smile, unable to then hold in your laughter. 

“what?” he asks, slowing down as he turns to you a smile. he laughs lightly. 

“nothing,” you respond with a shake of your head, returning your attention to the path you two are walking. the smile remains on your face, however, which gets you a nudge from the blond. 

“what!” he repeats with a slight whine, “what’s so funny?”

“i dunno,” you say, “just the good mood you’re in.” you giggle again and so does he. “you’re that excited about playing on suzue’s nintendo ds?”

atsumu gives you two big nods yet again, similar to the way he did earlier in the gym. “‘course! i’ve been wanting one since forever, ya know? i just gotta save up a little more of my allowance and i’ll be able t’get one!” he grins. “we can all play together!”

you smile. “we could, yup! is osamu planning to get a ds, too?”

atsumu shakes his head. “nah, said he’s not in’erested. but i mean, i’ll probably haf’ta share with ‘im though.” 

you let out a small playful scoff. “like a good brother would do?”

“as if he’s a good brother,” atsumu retorts, scrunching his nose up. his expression, however, is quick to soften as sudden recollections of the nice things osamu’s done for him floods his mind. “o-okay,” he stammers slightly, letting out a sheepish laugh, “okay, he did help me out and gave me some of his allowance to pay for the damage i did to suzue… but hey! he’s still a scrub!” 

you two stare at one another for a second, both seemingly processing the response at the same time despite it having been atsumu’s. then, you both laugh.

“jeez, alright,” you giggle, nudging the blond, “maybe you should ask if he wants to split the cost with ya. you’ll get it quicker, too, ya know?”

atsumu huffs dramatically, almost as if to physically show that he’s already thought about the idea but didn’t want it to be that high in his ‘what to do’ list of options. “well!” he begins, “yeah! true! but that also means it ain’t just mine and i’m gonna haf’ta sh—“

before he could finish, a soft voice interrupted him.

“excuse me?” 

both you and atsumu turn away from one another and towards the speaker, both donning curious expressions at the sight of a first year—you could tell by her uniform. 

“hey,” you respond first, giving her a smile, “what’s up?”

she gives you a smile that you interpret to be a nervous one, then averts her attention to atsumu. she rocks back and forth on the balls of her feet once and then slowly brings her hands from behind her back to the front of her. you’re quick to recognize the kind of folded paper she had and the small wrapped box. 

“oh!” you choke out, quick to straighten up. you give the girl an apologetic smile and then turn to atsumu. “i’ll head on first!” 

you’re unable to determine what was going through atsumu’s head with the look on his face—his eyes were a bit harder to read than usual—and you want to ask about it. however, you can’t. so you just smile and walk away like you said you would. of course, because you’re nosy, you don’t walk too far and instead hide behind the closest thing you could so that they were still in your view. 

he seems awkward, you determine from the body language you see, and a bit shy. it’s a very different side to atsumu that doesn’t always show up around his friends and the volleyball team. he’s typically just brash and rougher—some people would call him an asshole—but he’s actually also quite the gentle guy. as much as he is energetic and conceited, he is still kind and considerate when the time calls for it.  

once you notice the girl’s shoulders slump and atsumu rub the back of his neck, you’re quick to come to the conclusion that he had rejected her. with the shyness, there was a smidge of confidence in your assumption that he had a crush on her, too; but this was also the first time you’ve ever actually seen someone confess to atsumu. maybe he’s just actually like this (and that’d explain why girls keep confessing to him, right? did they perhaps see and maybe even focus too much on his gentler side?). 

the confession wraps up quick and atsumu oddly bows at the girl. he seems to have thanked her and keeps the letter and chocolates to himself. you wonder what he said to reject her since the girl doesn’t seem too bothered. you can tell she’s sad, but the rejection she received seemed gentle. 

as atsumu takes his leave,  you turn quickly and get a start on your speed walking so it looked like actually had been walking. atsumu, though, had already caught sight of you watching and laughed.

“i saw ya!” he calls out, jogging up to you and bumping his entire side against yours which makes you stumble. it isn’t anything you aren’t already used to so you recollect yourself quickly. “no chance hidin’ it,” atsumu continues, “i saw ya turn yer head away.” 

you scoff and refuse to agree. “nah, don’t know what ya mean, atsumu.”

he laughs. “oh sure, sure.” 

if you were actually not as nosy as you say you weren’t, you would’ve just let the topic slip and continue on with the conversation prior to the interruption; however, you could never help it. 

you’re quick to cave and you peak up at atsumu. he’s looks at you naturally and sports a grin that lets you know he already knew you were going to admit to being nosy. this gets a laugh out of the both of you.

“alright,” you giggle, “okay, i may have been watching.” 

“oh? may?” atsumu emphasizes. 

you grin with no shame—there really was no point in hiding it. “heh! just tell me what happened! who was she!”

“to be honest,” atsumu starts, his tone light, “i don’t know! just said she watches our games, admires me and stuff. but i told ‘er i wasn’t interested and i got other things going on.”

you hum so as not to interrupt atsumu’s flow. 

“i’m not interested in ‘er—hell, i don’t even know who she is, actually!” he lets out a small chuckle. “so yeah. but i’m not an asshole, ya know? i told the gal thanks and that i’d read ‘er confession later. i just had somewhere important to be right now.” 

you can’t help but let out a surprised laugh. “you have somewhere important to be?” you repeat, clear disbelief in your voice.

atsumu shamelessly nods—which is very on brand for him—trying to hold back a silly grin. he knew his words were fabricated, but the situation allowed for it (he’d argue). 

“oh i can’t with you,” you sigh dramatically. there’s a smile on your face, however, that contrasts your words and the sigh you made. 

you still laugh with atusmu, though, and the both of you start a light back and forth banter. you tease him about how he’s a softy, how being all gentle away from his boys is his tactic to keep the girls coming, and how he’s a total ladies man behind his ‘stupid jerky asshole bastard’ attitude. 

he snarks back—he always does—but he’s quick to stiffen and become almost speechless at a retort you make.

“ya got a crush then, tsumu? that why ya also rejected ‘er?”

atsumu is slightly caught off guard with your words, unable to help the way his eyes widen. he stares at you like a deer caught in the headlights. he didn’t expect the shift as the both of you were just being playful. but, if he thought about it, perhaps it was inevitable. who wouldn’t be curious, right? 

“well,” he begins awkwardly, clearing his throat as he fixes his expression and turns away. you can see the way his cheeks slightly redden and you notice the way he avoids your gaze when you try to peak at him. this catches your attention and your brows lift. 

you hum to encourage him to continue. 

and he stammers out a response. “n-nah…” he responds unconvincingly. 

you open your mouth to pry and egg him on about being all shy, but then you’re interrupted once more. 

“oh! tsumu! y/n!” 

you both give your attention to suzue who’s running over with a wide grin. you could see her waving her arms, her folded nintendo dsi in her hand. this gets atsumu’s attention and he’s quick to abandon you and the conversation to make his way towards suzue. 

this makes you laugh. and you suppose you can leave it at that, letting his reaction take place somewhere in the back of your mind. there was still plenty of time to wonder. 

next

[boldlyvoid]

Would you consider writing a argyle/eddie blurb? Would love to see touchstarved eddie deal with a cuddly high af Argyle.

They saved the world a few days ago, unbeknownst to Eddie, they weren’t alone in doing so. Jonathan, Will and Mike, along with their special help from Argyle, managed to turn a pizza freezer into a sensory deprivation tank for Eleven to mind fight with vecna… that’s a sentence that makes him feel like he should be locked up in a mental hospital. But it happened. 

Now, the whole gang is back together in Steve’s backyard, sharing beers and some of Argyle's weed… and argyle is adorable. 

Eddie hasn’t been able to take his eyes off him since he arrived, standing awkwardly behind Jonathan as he made out with Nancy, with his long hair and helpless expression. He was so handsome and funny and nice and he brought some really fuckin good weed with him. 

Robin left with Vickey, Nancy and Jonathan snuck off somewhere, and Steve was ready to head up to his own room when Argyle and Eddie looked at each other with a shrug. 

“I guess it’s just us now…” Eddie says with a sigh as he plops down beside him on the ground. Argyle's been sitting there watching the stars most of the night, anyway.

“Yeah,” Argyle agreed, not knowing how to talk to him. “So, like, how’d you get into this?” 

“I was selling ketamine to a cheerleader and vecna snapped her neck in my trailer,” he explains, making it as insane as he possibly could so argyle understood why he didn’t want to go home. 

“oh man, what the fuck?” He looks disgusted, “Are you okay?” 

He laughs, no one has really asked him that, everyone just expected him to join the ranks of the Hawkins secret army and deal with it. “I guess?” 

“They put a dead guy in my van and made me bury him,” Argyle shares, scooting closer to him. “It sucked.” 

“I bet,” Eddie reached out an arm and wraps it around him, letting him cuddle in close so they could get the affection they’ve both been craving. 

They end up laying in the grass together, staring up at the stars, Argyle points to specific constellations and explains what they mean to Eddie. He asks what his sign is, Eddie has no idea so he tells him his birthday and they find out he’s a Capricorn… “that’s unfortunate, man, I really liked you.” 

“What?” Eddie gets offended, “why?” 

“Capricorn men are so… ugh,” he can’t find the words. “Workaholic, grouchy and bossy types.” 

“I’m not a workaholic,” he can’t agree with that one… the other two, however, sound like him. 

“Your moon and rising probably combat that,” he says and Eddie has no fucking clue what it means but he doesn’t care. “You’re redeemable.” 

“thank god,” he sighs, kissing the side of Argyle’s head, “cause I like you too.” 

He snuggles into Eddie's side, “I’m more surprised I like a Capricorn over finding out the upside down is a thing.” 

He laughs, “yeah well if you told me a week ago some kid from California would be cuddled into me in Harrington’s backyard, I’d tell you to get help.” 

“I don’t want to go back,” he admits. “You’re all so fun… and you’re— you’re you.” 

“I graduate soon,” Eddie reminds him. “If I’m off the hook for murder… but when I’m done I can come see you? I’ve always wanted to play in California.” 

“Play?” 

“I have a band,” he shares, excited for Argyle to meet the guys one day. 

“You’re so fuckin cool,” he swoons. “My own rockstar.” 

“Your rockstar…” Eddie repeats, liking the way that sounds. 

Argyle kisses his cheek softly then, “yeah. Mine.”

General Taglist 

@ncsls0515 @stevesmunsons @reidsbookclub @wroteclassicaly @sweetyyhippyy @manuosorioh @mrs-dr-reid @k-k0129 @eddiemunson-rp 

[orator95]

It's been a rough couple of months.. - Hi

Unfortunately, I've been thinking about killing myself for the past 2 days. I've felt very defeated. Extremely exhausted mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually. I'm struggling financially. Anything can happen and I am not prepared, at all. That's a terrifying way to live when you have a tiny person dependent on you.

I've cried and I've cried and I've cried

nothing changed

Ive been so angry I can black out in rage and just completely lose my shit.

Bless, all the years of work I put in to allow me to still be able to find my center and joy in the present.

My son is my Hero.

The days have been getting harder. Money is shorter. Work is scarce. Patience Thin. Faith Shaken. Some days I don't even want to talk or move. But I don't have time to be depressed or process my emotions or change, all I have time for is to be a provider and nurturer for my son.

While fighting suicidal thoughts tonight, my son begins telling me about an incident on the playground with a kid at school while he's laying down. Which I was super excited to hear about cause I have to pry information out of him. He's always generic like "good" "the usual"

Anyways, He tells me about a kid who he thought was his friend telling him he can't be apart of the "emo kid group" and it made him emotional.

He seem to be very affected by this so I began telling him how he needs to be able to judge a good friend from a bad friend and I give him descriptive examples. Further more, I go on to empower him and tell him how cool, funny and intelligent he is. I tell him he's a leader and he don't need to try to fit into any group or follow behind anyone. He's a superstar. I mean his name is Platinum Dove.

Hes fidgeting a lot with the pillows and stuff animals so I tell him to stop messing with the stuff and look at me.

I tell him that he has to be able to navigate the world confidently cause I can't always be there to defend him.

He's crying and I'm choking up while expressing to him.

I ask him, why are you crying?

He says, That's so nice of you. That's so nice what you said.

and he keep repeating that as we cry a little bit together and I tell him I'm your mother babe, I'm supposed to be and say nice things to you. I love you and I'm a be here for you, always, no matter what.

His little arms wrap around me and he lay his head on my chest and falls asleep

I hold him tight, crying silently. Hard. For multiple reasons beyond this moment.

But in that moment I realized how much pain and trauma it was cause my son if I took my own life. But also how much he needed those words of love and encouragement from his Mother to soothe his little being and reinforce his confidence. Who else is going to do that for him if I leave him? I can't die, Platinum have too much life to live and I want to be here to live it with him.

Thank you God for providing a way in the desert. Lord knows, I was working overtime to combat those suicidal and depressive thoughts.

Granted things are still a shit show, but as my Nana used to say, we taking it one day at a time.

[finelinevogue]

So I was just sitting and dying over the pictures of harry at HSLOT last night and I just thought.

Image if Harry's kids made little necklaces for him and he wore them on tour.......

I'm not okay imma go cry brb 😌

yeah i'm about to walk on a path of lego because it would genuinely hurt less than this concept...

"Daddy!" Freddie screamed at Harry, who was standing across the room talking to Mitch.

You were currently at Harry's apartment in New York, just before the first Madison Square Garden show, and you had everyone over for a lunch. Whilst Harry was hosting, talking to his friends and handing out platters of fruits and cheeses, you were keeping an eye on your children - Freddie and Gracie - because they were absolute trouble when they weren’t being watched carefully.

Currently they were making necklaces for their dad, wanting him to have something to wear on stage that night for his first MSG show. They’d learnt how to make necklaces at school, using dry pasta and glitter and beads so had used their pretty eyes to suede you into allowing them to make them at home too. Freddie was 5, whereas as Gracie was 2, so Freddie was a lot better at making the necklaces than Gracie and also less likely to eat the glue when unsupervised.

Now Freddie was finished, he wanted his dad to see since he was so proud of his creation.

“What is it buddy?” Harry asked, pulling away from his conversation with Mitch.

“No, you have to come here.” Freddie explained, frustrated that his dad didn’t realise that already.

Harry excused himself from Mitch, who went to find Sarah anyways, and made his way over to his son. He placed his bottle of beer on the side and came to sit on the sofa, Freddie kneeling on the floor in front of his dad and the coffee table that was currently acting as a DIY table.

“Ask nicely next time, okay?” You had told Freddie, as Harry walked over, Gracie sat between your legs as she played with the blue-sparkly glitter.

“What do you want then trouble?” Harry asked, glancing at you and giving you a quick smile before returning his attention to his son.

“I made you a necklace, daddy.” Freddie told him, holding out the string that was delicately strung with pasta, beads and bundles of rainbow glitter. It was the most perfectly ugly thing ever, but it was also the sweetest gift Harry had ever been given. He loved it so much, all because it came from his little creation of a man.

Harry gasped, taking it out of Freddie’s hands and pulling Freddie up to situate him on his lap comfortably.

“Did you do this all by your self?” Harry asked, overselling his facial expressions to make Freddie happier and more excited. It was so cute to see how happy it made Freddie seeing his dad so happy.

“All by myself.” Freddie repeated, nodding his head in agreement and wiggling in Harry’s lap excitedly. Harry had to steady him, in fear of him falling off and hurting himself.

“You’re so clever bud!” Harry exclaimed, telling Freddie to sit still as he used both his hands to attach the necklace around his neck. Freddie clapped once he saw it hang perfectly around his dads neck, the glitter sparkling in the light just his he wanted it to. The pasta was a nice add on next to the brightly coloured beads. It didn’t go at all with Harry’s outfit, but he really didn’t care. The smile on his sons face was worth the critique of fashion experts.

You laughed as you watched Freddie and Harry play with each other, laughing about meaningless, random, things. Gracie was clearly missing out on the fun as she got up and ran away from you with her creation - the one she’d made for Harry too.

“Gracie! Where are you going?” You asked, kneeling up as you were unsure as to where she was off to.

“Daddy!” She exclaimed, but unaware she was toddling off in the completely wrong direction.

“Then this way sweetheart, c’mon!” You smiled at her, waving for her to come back your way. She started running back over towards you, before making her way over to Harry.

She went around the table and saw Harry still playing with Freddie. She whined as she tried to push Freddie away and off Harry, wanting some one-on-one daddy time. Harry quickly stopped her and pulled her up into his other knee.

“No Gracie. We don’t push people.” Harry ordered sternly, making her pout and furrow her eyebrows. If looks could hurt, Freddie would be crying.

“I made necklace.” She explained, holding it up to her dad as Harry’s stern expression turned into a soft smile.

“Oh wow, thank you baby.” He said excitedly, putting the same energy into responding to her as he did Freddie so he didn’t seem biased - Freddie’s was slightly better he internally admitted. Gracie’s was the definition of a mess, the pasta being broken and the beads being so covered in glitter you couldn’t even tell their original colour. It was so pretty and pink, but just very whacky.

“You wear please.” Gracie asked politely, earning a kiss on her forehead from Harry for using her manners properly.

“‘Course darling.” Harry said, before attaching it around his neck. This one was slightly smaller so it looked like he was layering these necklaces. He loved them so much and thought about how they might actually look good with his black outfit tonight.

“So pretty daddy.” Freddie told him, smiling with his crooked teeth as Gracie squealed in excitement.

“Yeah? Thank you buddy! What does mummy think?” Harry turned to face you, wiggling his eyebrows as he tried to show off his new and forever daily jewellery. He was trying to see if you were jealous or not, which clearly you were.

“I think you look beautiful hun! You’re very lucky.”

“I know I am.” Harry started talking to your children after that, letting you use it as an opportunity to snap some funny photos of them before cleaning up the ridiculous mess. You didn’t mind the mess though to see moments like this between Harry and your two precious troubles.

[chateautae]

maybe i do | kth. II

➵ summary :  maybe you love each other, maybe you don’t. when a deal between your fathers leaves you forcefully wedding kim taehyung, arguably seoul’s most powerful CEO, you’re prepared for a loveless marriage of eternal regret and unhappiness. but maybe, it doesn’t turn out that way after all.

↳  part of the high-class series!

➵ pairing : taehyung x reader

➵ genre :  arranged marriage!au, ceo!tae, s2l!au, eventual smut, fluff, angst

➵ rating : 18+

➵ word count : 10k

➵ warnings : none really, swearing, mainly fluffy and funny interactions, some angst! :o 

➵ a/n: and i’m back with chapter two! i really wanted to say thank you for the love and support i received on the first part of maybe i do, it was astounding!! i’m so grateful so many people loved the story and asked to be tagged (all at the bottom <3), it made me feel so motivated to write. if you would also like to be tagged please message me. your feedback is always appreciated! 

chapter two : “on my pillow, can’t get me tired” 

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Taehyung didn’t remember sleeping anywhere near you last night. 

He remembered that even though you willingly agreed to share the same bed, he still opted for caution and slept with the most space between you two as possible.

Though when his eyes fluttered open the next morning, eyeballs burning from the light that bled into the suite, the first thing he realized was that he was not on his side of the bed from last night. 

No, he had somehow gravitated towards the center, and as if almost on cue, your slight movement and the sound of your breathing alerted him of your nearby presence. 

Peering down at you, Taehyung caught sight of your sleepy head turned towards him and lying on his arm, his other thrown over your torso with you unsuspectingly nuzzled into his side.

Taehyung’s eyes shot open, acknowledging he had succumbed to his habit of hugging something to sleep during the course of the night and he internally panicked. He began retracting his arms slowly, just about drawing himself from you until alarms rang in his head at the sight of you stirring in your sleep. 

Taehyung took the golden opportunity to sit up in a flash, having to physically shake his head to rid the image of your tranquil, sleeping face from his brain, crushing the thought that it was kind of cute.

He found himself chanting the same denial from last night, he couldn’t be thinking of such complicated things concerning you when he knew the second he’d step foot inside his home, there’d be a mountain of paperwork ready for him; even more on his work desk.

He had to be thinking about his job, not you.  

Even if Taehyung was married now, it wouldn’t lessen the amount of work that plagued his life nor make it any less demanding. If anything, his life would be harder now considering the fact that he had another priority to add to his list, another aspect of his life he had to split his attention between. 

He didn’t necessarily hate the idea, just found himself needing to work harder than he already was. 

Taehyung sighed heavily at the thought and swung his legs off the bed, rubbing his tired eyes. He took a moment to look back at you, thinking if he observed you a second time he’d be able to piece together how the hell you two ended up in that position, that close. 

By evidence of the forgotten blanket half-thrown off you, he could see you were the tossing-and-turning type, maybe the only explanation for your proximity considering he was the same. 

He also noticed you slept all curled up, like you were cold and the only warmth you knew was snuggling yourself.

Cute.

There it was again, cute. 

Why does that word even exist? 

Taehyung discarded the notion altogether and stood to his feet, stretching out his stiff muscles. He made for the bathroom eagerly to begin his day, though not without fixing at least some of the blanket back onto you. 

“You don’t have a driver?” 

“Not for everywhere I go. I have two hands, I can drive myself.” Taehyung made it a statement to jazz hands at you, showcasing the perfectly capable limbs he was gifted with.

“That’s.. nice, actually. I always see asshole CEO’s getting other people to drive them around.” You relayed as you trailed behind Taehyung, letting him lead you towards the front of the hotel where dozens of expensive cars lined the curb side.

You had no clue which luxury vehicle belonged to Taehyung because quite frankly, he could probably afford every car your eyes caught sight of. It wasn’t until he approached a certain one and retrieved his keys from the valet that your jaw completely dropped, floored.

“This is your car?” You gawked, the sleek design, crispness of its shape and nearly sparkling gloss completely sweeping you off your feet.

“Yeah, think someone like me can’t get a car like this?” Taehyung cocked an eyebrow, gesturing towards himself.   

“It’s just-wow. Mercedes CLS?” You inquired without really looking at him, inspecting the car instead as you admired its every curve. Safe to say, you were beyond in love with it. Even if you were always more of a minimalist and preferred the average product, there was just something gorgeous about luxury cars that appealed to you.

“Yeah, actually it is.” Taehyung looked at you impressed, momentarily reminded of just how different you were compared to any other woman he’s chanced upon. 

How many of them knew car models?

Taehyung was intrigued by the fact before speaking with one of the hotel workers, confirming if they had loaded his car with both your luggage and some wedding sentiments your parents insisted you keep. 

Once receiving affirmation Taehyung made towards your side of the car and pulled the door open. He flashed you a tight-lipped smile as he gestured for you to hop in, drawing you out of your stupor. You thanked him warmly before sliding into your seat. 

He let you scramble in comfortably before shutting the door and walking to his side, positioning himself in and clicking on his seatbelt. He watched as your expression lit up once occupying the car, face beaming with excitement as you touched and drank in at the high-end features the vehicle had to offer. Taehyung found himself smiling before he licked his lips and straightened his face, igniting the engine and beginning the smooth drive. 

It was easy to settle the debate on where you both would be living. Taehyung was an enormously rich CEO who lived in an expensive, massive home while you lived in a measly apartment. You knew it was useless to live separately, even more useless to have him live with you. And so you agreed without protest to pack your things and relocate, begin your move into the house you’d share with him for a lifetime. 

The car ride remained quite silent, you mindlessly bopping your head to whatever mainstream song played on the radio, while Taehyung tapped his fingers against the steering wheel or his lap. 

You found your eyes wandering to his slender fingers wrapped around the wheel every so often, sometimes venturing to the other one he placed against his thigh. You began reprimanding yourself once you realized with all the staring, observing and ogling, you most certainly had a thing for his hands already. 

Fuck. 

They were just so big, bigger than what you’ve seen of the average man and it didn’t help that they looked crafted to perfection. 

There was just something about the veins that decorated them, his palm large in size as his fingers seemed deft turning and working the steering wheel. His little accessories like a ring or two, bracelets and his watch did absolutely nothing to deter your interest either.

It only increased once you realized he looked good driving, really good. You knew men had this common attractiveness to them when they drove, watching them all focused and effortlessly working the car somehow sexy; but watching Taehyung drive was another experience entirely. 

He looked insanely hot, and you felt like throwing yourself out your window for even thinking such a thing. It was another case of you ogling him without realizing until his deep voice suddenly fished you out of your thoughts, questioning. “Did you like the wedding?” 

“Huh?” 

“The wedding, did you like it?” Taehyung repeated, glancing at you. 

“Does it really matter if I did?” You asked, this one phrase seeming to perfectly sum up the misfortune of your life, provoking an ironic laugh even. 

“I think it does. A bride should always enjoy her wedding.” 

“Well, I didn’t.” You deadpanned, your expression turning frustrated having to remember that one of, if not the most special night of your life had just been robbed of you, thrown to the wolves while you were only left to accept the sad fact. 

“C’mon, you didn’t enjoy a single thing?” Taehyung didn’t mean to flash back to the kiss you two shared, though found himself doing exactly so. 

You didn’t enjoy that? he questioned in his head. 

“Not really, I just imagined having more choice in the wedding.” You answered honestly, trying not to sulk so much. “It’s not you, I just... thought I’d be able to decide things at my own wedding. I’m grateful your parents did so much, but I didn’t really get to choose anything.” You grew more solemn as your gaze fixated on nothing, watching the world pass you by through the car window. 

“My favourite flowers weren’t even there.” You said only despondently to yourself, shoulders drooping, though Taehyung didn’t miss it. 

“You don’t like roses?”

Your eyes flashed towards him with furrowed eyebrows, surprised he heard your comment. You straightened up before shrugging back a response. “I like peonies.” 

Taehyung looked at your side profile as you turned away, finding the conversation turning more sorrowful than he liked. He allowed some silence to linger as you leaned your chin against your palm, boringly watching the bustling streets.  

He decided to change the subject.

“So you don’t think I’m an asshole, huh?” 

“What?”

“You said you always see ‘asshole CEO’s’ getting people to drive them around. But I don’t, so I’m not an asshole to you?” Taehyung halved his attention between you and the road, glancing in your direction with one hand working the steering wheel.

You thought the question over, “No, you’re not an asshole.” You said simply, distracted by the thoughts that previously occupied your mind. 

“I see.” Taehyung pursed his lips. Another beat of silence passed through the downcast air before Taehyung perked up again.

“Is it just the driving? Or do you have other criteria?” Taehyung asked inquisitively, leaning back into his seat as he observed you. 

You could detect from the corner of your eyes the way his stance drew attention to his legs, thighs broad as he sat. “I guess there is.” 

“Like what?”

You didn’t really know why Taehyung was so curious. You thought it was common knowledge what the stereotypical asshole CEO was like; they were nearly all jerks with horrible one-percenter mentalities and treated people like gravel.  

You scoffed a bit. “They’re usually so full of themselves. They act like they own the place all the time, which makes sense at their own companies but not everywhere else. It’s like the position gets to their heads. Even the way they talk is condescending, belittling, or straight up rude to anyone not on their level. It wouldn’t kill to be nice.” You revealed almost too eagerly, avoiding eye contact with Taehyung as you viewed the traffic on the road ahead, remembering he was a CEO himself. 

Long story short, you’ve had your fair share of experiences meeting them as you grew up during the beginnings of your father’s company. They were quick to skew your opinion ever since you watched the way they treated your father all due to having a start-up, for simply being small in name or reputation. They acted like he was less than, some even daring to behave as though his company would simply never make it. 

It always boiled your blood, left an extremely distasteful image of CEOs and the business world in your head. 

And you were certain it all sucked after that. 

“Understandable.” Taehyung nodded agreeably. “But you think I don’t fit any of that?” He rested a hand against his thigh, sitting laxed as he spread his legs apart further. This time it was definitely hard to miss the way they appeared, all laid out and long as your eyes drank him in, following up his thighs all the way to his-

“You don’t. I thought maybe since you’re super successful you’d be full of yourself. But you’re not, really.” You snapped yourself out of whatever the hell you were doing, trying to refocus on the conversation.

“Ah, seems like a stepping stone.” 

“Stepping stone? Towards what?”

“Towards you not hating me.” His voice came out with a more solemn timbre than you expected, his jaw tightening for a mere second. 

Taehyung only thought such a thing because even if he decided you didn’t harbour negative feelings towards him, there was no way of him determining whether that was true or not without your real input. 

“I don’t hate you, Taehyung. I don’t.. think I can.” You claimed with poignancy, his statement causing you to reflect on your own feelings about him. 

You don’t hate Taehyung, you couldn’t because he did absolutely nothing wrong in this situation. He was dragged in just like you were. You only despised the unfairness of the arrangement, not him. 

There wasn’t much to hate about him.  

“So you’re saying you like me then, aren’t you?” Taehyung suddenly teased light-heartedly, all smug as his amused eyes flickered to you. 

“Shut up, I never said that.” You turned away, scandalized by his remark. 

“I’m kidding. But, why do you think you can’t hate me? I pretty much.. ruined your life.” Taehyung internally felt his chest tighten at the words, remembering the exact thoughts from where he stood no less than 24 hours ago, seconds from lawfully marrying you. 

“And I didn’t ruin yours?” This time you turned your gaze towards Taehyung, meaningfully. Your eyes instinctively communicated your emotions as they locked with his for a moment, Taehyung all attentive. 

“I took away from you just as much you took away from me. We both ruined each other’s lives, there’s no use in blaming each other. That’s why I can’t hate you.” You finalized, crossing your arms and opting to watch the passing buildings through your window again. 

Taehyung absorbed your sudden confession with reason, realizing that in a sense, you two were partners in this unfortunate case. Even if your matrimony constituted a forced partnership neither of you liked, there seemed to be a natural comradery in having to deal with the aftermath of that forced partnership. 

Trying to accept it. 

“I don’t think I can hate you, either.” Taehyung admitted, ending the more miserable part of the conversation as you fell silent. You thought he was done until he decided to bother you again. 

“I think you’re still saying you like me, though.” 

You turned to him half-appalled before pointing towards the road, eyes narrowed. “Just drive us home, will you?” 

Taehyung laughed at the moment and pressed down on the accelerator, internally grinning at the fact you never said no to his statement. 

“This is your house?” You found yourself gawking again at something that belonged to Taehyung, stepping inside a luxury home you’ve only ever dreamed of living in. Sure, you lived with your parents until you were 18, though your father was still starting out with his company for most of those years, not exactly owning anything too luxurious until after you permanently moved out.

So as you stood trying to prop your heels off yourself, your jaw dropped at the sheer elegance and high-status look to the interior of Taehyung’s home. You had already done enough gawking at the exterior, but being inside and processing the fact that you were now to inhabit this home for the rest of your life sent another wave of shock. 

You immediately observed Taehyung was the type who decorated his home with only the finest, his taste easily identifiable. Aesthetic, lavish, charming. He seemed like a man of utter simplicity though his home said otherwise, showcasing an artistic, exquisite feel you never really expected from him. 

“When will you stop saying that?” He titled his head and smiled through a laugh, removing his shoes and slipping into his indoor slippers. 

“Right, sorry.” You were still struggling for normalcy, somehow forgetting almost every hour Taehyung’s wealth and only registering it once you saw something that indicated it. 

Taehyung sauntered inside and took a deep breath, enjoying the feel of his abode. He enjoyed nothing more than being home, in the comfort of his own space. Especially for someone who worked so busily, he found pleasure in doing the bare minimum at home. Relishing in the feeling right now, he pressed his lips together in a smile before glancing back at your struggling figure, catching sight of your size. 

His eyebrows shot up to the sky. “Woah, you’re short.” 

“Huh?” 

“I think I’ve only ever seen you in heels.” Taehyung informed. “Now that you’re not wearing them you’re a lot shorter than I thought. You’re tiny.” He pointed out as he eyed you from head to toe, processing the amount of height you lost simply from removing your shoes. 

“I mean, that’s kind of what heels do, you know, they add height.” You deadpanned, stating the obvious for him. 

“Sorry, it’s just..” Kind of cute, he thought, though fought for another response. “I could probably throw you.” 

Nice save. 

“Excuse me? It’s not my fault you’re so tall.” You scowled at him. “Besides, you’re all height and no muscle, you probably can’t even carry me.” 

“Wanna see me try?” Taehyung was already coming towards you with his arms held out and you sputtered immediately, “No, no, no.” you held your hands up defensively. “Let’s just start the house tour, yeah?” you offered a smile for compromise. 

“That’s what I thought.” Taehyung narrowed his eyes coyly and turned on his heel, signaling you to follow him. 

What you realized strolling through the home as Taehyung discussed its details was that it emphatically represented him like an open book. Even if Taehyung was predominantly unreadable and seemed to always hide a mystery behind his eyes, you could see nearly all of him reflected in his home. 

You often found valuable trinkets or sentiments scattered around the house. It seemed like he cherished a lot of things in his life, namely memories or people. It would also be hard to miss the exquisite selection of paintings and embellishments he draped the walls with, all harbouring their own charm and adding to the overall artistic feel of his home. 

There were famous works consisting of Vincent Van Gogh all the way to local Korean artists you’ve never heard of, though admired their work. 

It seemed as though he selected the paintings himself. 

Another large aspect you couldn’t miss were the many photos he kept, calling to question whether they were of his own work. 

“Did you take these?” You approached a shelf in one of his grand hallways on the second floor, hand brushing the wooden frame of a captured photo; six men including Taehyung himself posing comfortably, like they were extremely close, backdrop reflecting what seemed to be a trip.  

“I took all of them.” He stated casually, hands tucked into his pockets as he eyed the shelf along with you. 

“All?” 

He simply nodded and didn’t elaborate further as he watched you admire the photos, yourself impressed by his adeptness for photography. 

“You’re really good.” You complimented absentmindedly, enjoying the other photos of not only people but scenery, empty streets, candid shots from what looked to be his own little adventures. 

“Thanks.” Was all Taehyung could manage, trying to mask the sheer gratitude he felt hearing the first ever person to admire his work; something that wasn’t related to being a CEO or a businessman. 

He also felt slightly embarrassed you’d seen a small part of him he usually hid.

Taehyung continued walking down the hallway until he reached the end, revealing what you could tell was the largest room in the house. You were thrown off by just how unnecessarily large it was. It seriously reminded you of an extravagant hotel suite, more like the grandest one among them. 

“This is our room.” Taehyung introduced, gesturing towards its interior. 

“Our?” 

Taehyung nodded “I should’ve told you earlier but I wanted us to sleep in the same room. If we slept apart our marriage wouldn’t look convincing to my two housekeepers. I trust them but I don’t want any information about us getting out to the public, not over my dead body.” Taehyung stated in earnest as he relayed the information, wandering further into the room. 

“You really care that much about publicity?” you genuinely questioned. 

Taehyung scoffed. “Not me, I couldn’t care less about what people think.” He denied instantly, almost laughably. “It’s my father. He hates bad press, especially concerning our family or the company.” 

“I thought bad press is still press, so it’s good.” You suggested as you followed him further into the room, admiring that though large, his room held a sense of comfort to it. Quite frankly, all of his home felt rather welcoming and cozy, surprising of a CEO who ran such a monstrously successful company.

“My father doesn’t think so. Kim Enterprises has always been generational, each of our CEO positions strictly kept within the family. Our name is our brand and pride, it alone accounts for at least half of our success. We’re extremely well-known for our high status, it’s just plain fact in the upper social circles of Korea. We can’t afford to taint our name with petty things like bad press or corruption, our reputation is too valuable.” Taehyung stated this all nonchalantly as he adjusted his suit jacket in his mirror, like it was something he’s grown accustomed to and has known all his life. 

You found your opinion impeding his words.  

“So you can never just, escape this life? As long as you’re a Kim you’re bound to this company?” You found the concept wildly restrictive, clearly shackling down any person that would run the business and you felt a disagreeing shiver shoot through your spine. 

“Of course, why would you want anything else?” Taehyung tiled his head to the side, eyeing you in genuine questioning and your entire being was trying to bite back the desire to correct him, tell him there’s so much more to life than just some company your family owns. Though you opted for changing the subject instead, unwilling to step on his toes and dictate his life when you knew next to nothing about it. 

It wasn’t your place. 

“Woah, you have a balcony?!” You exclaimed with a simper, eyes flickering towards the curtains that revealed two ajar French doors leading to an open space.

You made towards it excitedly and stopped just in the middle of the platform, enjoying the breeze of the fresh air.

“It’s my favourite part of the house.” You didn’t even realize Taehyung followed you until his towering figure stood directly behind you, feeling his proximity permeate through your body. 

You swallowed. 

“Why don’t you look at the view?” Taehyung cocked his head towards the railing of the balcony, though you didn’t move a step. 

You weren’t about to tell Taehyung you’re terribly afraid of heights.

“I-I can see from here. Wow, looks beautiful.” You perked up superficially, trying to throw him off and changing the subject again. “By the way, what’s our closet situation gonna look like?” 

“Ah, let me show you.” Taehyung strided back into the room towards the sliding double doors you spotted earlier. He almost theatrically glided both dark wooden panels open and your jaw dropped for the 47th time today. 

You were welcomed by a ridiculously large walk-in closet, enough to be renovated into its own bedroom. You simply couldn’t normalize its size, especially after registering every suit, tie, watch or accessory Taehyung stored in the gracious space. 

You couldn’t even begin to imagine how much money lied in here. 

“Oh my God.” Was all you could manage, meandering in sparingly as you viewed each and every expensive piece he owned in the room, no doubt of the highest quality designers, finest of men’s fashion. 

“You don’t have to worry about unpacking and moving in here, the housekeepers will do that for you.” Taehyung watched as you looked upon in awe, finding the way your eyes sparkled with emotion very similar to that of Bambi’s.  

“How will I fit-”

“I specifically made space for you, there’s enough.” Taehyung stated, leaning against the doorway with his arms crossed. He’d resolved a while ago he really would try to take this marriage seriously, victoriously achieve the work-life balance his father kept preaching. 

He saw giving up his closet space as the first step. 

It was indeed so because Taehyung thoroughly enjoyed fashion. He genuinely adored every suit, accessory and outfit in his collection, though if he wanted to reach this new goal of balance, successfully add you to his list of priorities, then he had to be willing to cut down. 

Even if that meant reallocating a third of his exorbitant wardrobe just for you, he’d try not to mind. 

“Are you sure? I could just use another room’s-” 

“I want to.” Taehyung finalized as his eyes turned unreadable from across the room, locking his gaze with yours and you were only left to look back impressed, his generosity unforeseen. 

“Thank you.” You voiced a little weak, still shy by the suffocating nature of his stare. 

“Don’t mention it.” He offered plainly, propping himself off the wall. He looked off to the side eyeing the empty pockets of space he left for you, until your voice called out to him.  

“Taehyung.”

“Hm?” He snapped his vision back to you. 

You wanted to ask him something, more so a favour and you were unsure how to word the request. “Um.. I didn’t want to ask so openly, but..” You found yourself beating around the bush, timid of what his response would be. 

“Go on.” 

“Um, so it seemed like there were a lot of empty rooms in this house, and I was just wondering if I could maybe.. transform one of them into an art studio for myself?” You winced at your own request. 

“I’m sorry, it’s just I had one at my old place and it really grew on me. I would get most of my work done in that room and gained a lot of inspiration from it. I have a lot of art supplies and designed often in that studio, so I need a home for all my supplies and it would suck getting rid of it all. I’m sorry it means I would have to steal one of your rooms in the house, if you don’t want me to then-” 

Taehyung couldn’t help but break out into a small grin as he watched you ramble on, shyly fidget with your fingers, so apprehensive of asking him for something and it reminded him why he was so eager to provide you with anything you wanted. 

You spent too long trying to do everything on your own, achieve everything on your own, relying solely on yourself. Taehyung could see this all as plain as day, quite enjoying of how he’s never really met someone like you, and wanted you to know you didn’t always have to be so independent.  

Especially with him. 

“Y/N.” He called out to you with the same honey-coloured tone from last night, stopping you. Your eyes flickered to his, awaiting his next sentence and Taehyung already found himself having a thing for your doe-eyes. 

Fuck. 

“Of course you can have a room. You can have anything in this house. It’s yours.” Taehyung stated with a degree of assurance, his eyes locking with yours in earnest. 

You both shared a look as your lips curved into a gracious smile, biting your lip to contain it. His stare wasn’t so much intimidating as it was merely.. calm. Gazing at you for the sole purpose of gazing, and you found some heat rushing to your face under his scrutiny. 

Taehyung seemed to realize he was staring and immediately cleared his throat, turning a little nervous as he began another conversation. “So um, I’m sorry to say this,” he began with unease, almost apprehensive and you didn’t know what he was so sorry about. “But I have work today.” 

You blinked. “What?” 

Taehyung internally winced at your reaction, hands finding his pockets. “I took some time off for the wedding, so now I have twice the amount of work left behind. I need to complete it.” He informed straightforwardly. 

“Our wedding was just yesterday, though, aren’t you tired?” You were only taken aback because you were slightly concerned for his wellbeing, wasn’t he tired from yesterday? You recalled him knocking out almost immediately upon hitting the pillow of your hotel bed last night, snoozing away. 

“Maybe, but I can’t afford to rest. I’ll only have more to complete if I do, so I won’t be spending anymore time with you today.” Taehyung relayed the information, readying himself for the even greater disappointing news he’d be passing on. 

“Actually, we won’t be able to go on our honeymoon, either.” Taehyung thought it was best to slip in all the bad news, growing more and more unrelaxed as he was unsure of how you’d react. 

Though what you said next had him nearly floored.

“Honeymoon? Taehyung, that’s the least of my concerns, you should at least rest a day before getting back to work. That’s not really healthy.” You chastised him as lightly as possible, still afraid to be stepping on his toes when you didn’t know his life. 

Taehyung was certain you’d hate having been stripped of a beautiful vacation where you could’ve relaxed in the sun and tropics of Cancun. Your father had mentioned to him you’ve always longed to visit the breath-taking city in Mexico, its clear waters and tropical air as a means to truly get away from your stifling life. 

So when he found you disregarding the trip altogether and instead focusing on him, more precisely his health, he was left damn well speechless. 

There you were again paying attention to the littlest things about him he didn’t care much for; he still had that bandage you offered him a month ago tucked into one of his pockets, not wanting to use the adhesive just yet. 

“I’ll be fine. I’m just sorry we can’t go on the vacation because of me, it would’ve been nice, you know?” Taehyung apologized, feeling genuinely guilty for having ruined the honeymoon. Even if you two weren’t going to travel as some lovey-dovey couple, you both simply could’ve enjoyed the time off.

“It’s okay, just, at least work from home today. Heading to the office would be too much.” You suggested for the sake of the fatigue you could discern on him. 

“Oh, don’t worry, I’m gonna be home for the next few days since everyone thinks we’ll be on our honeymoon.” 

“Oh. That’s.. good.” You nodded faintly, half at the idea you two were even faking your honeymoon and half at the blasphemous energy he had to work after yesterday. 

The sleep from last night was nearly not enough to recharge from the antics of the wedding, having drained your batteries for the next few days. You were certain his were drained too; he was half the damn couple. 

“I should get going. I’ll send Mrs. Choi and Seo up with your things. They’re probably finished with lunch too, you should eat.” Taehyung advised as he stepped out of the walk-in closet, running a hand through his gorgeous hair and you couldn’t help but ogle at the sexy way his strands fell back on him. 

“Okay.” You voiced as you followed him out, watching him near the room’s door and just about to vacate the premise before you spoke up. “Taehyung.” 

He stopped in his tracks, peering back at you. “Yes?” 

“You should eat something, too.”

Taehyung half-smiled at you with a nod “Sure”, before stepping out of the room, leaving you alone. 

And you couldn’t help but kind of like the way he smiles. 

It was well into the evening now, bordering dinner time as you helped the last of your clothes into Taehyung’s closet, refusing to let the older housekeepers do all the work by themselves considering it was your own luggage. 

You also tried to occupy Taehyung’s room as scarcely as you could with your belongings, feeling odd about suddenly moving in with all your might and changing things around. It just didn’t feel appropriate, like you were invading his space and so you opted for scattering only your necessary items.

“That should be the last of it, Mrs. Choi.” You retrieved your last piece of clothing from the rather soft-spoken housekeeper, tucking the blazer away among the rest. You were satisfied to see not only your wardrobe neatly organized now, but fit just about right with Taehyung’s things. 

He was right about space, there was enough.

“Mrs. Kim, please rest. You didn't have to move a muscle at all for us.” Mrs. Choi remarked, genuinely concerned for you. 

“Yes, please, Mrs. Kim. We can finish up with the little things. I’ve just finished preparing dinner downstairs, you should eat.” Mrs. Seo chimed in as she entered the walk-in closet, gesturing towards the door. 

“Are you sure? I can-”

“Mrs. Kim, you’re very kind for offering your help, we’re very grateful you’ve done so. Though we are Mr. Kim’s housekeepers, we are meant to care for his home and his lovely wife. You need not worry about helping us.” Mrs. Choi stated with an earnest tone, speaking respectfully as she addressed you. 

You were going to protest again before you considered her words, registering that if you indeed helped them, it would technically negate the entire purpose of their work. 

You bit back your reply as a result, crafting a new one. 

“I see, I’m sorry, Mrs. Seo, Mrs. Choi. I’m just.. very used to doing things on my own,” you looked towards the ground. “I apologize.” You almost dipped for a bow until Mrs. Choi rapidly cautioned you, scrambling towards your figure. 

“Oh dear, Mrs. Kim! You do not need to bow to us, you’re Mr. Kim’s wife, you are the one who is bowed to.” 

“Yes, you do not need to apologize either, we appreciate your help, it was very sweet of you.” Mrs. Seo added with a warm smile, bowing to you instead. “Please go for dinner downstairs, I’ve also informed Mr. Kim for dinner, though I’m unsure if he has made his way down yet.” She added on, urging you towards the room's exit and you recognized it was probably better to listen to her. 

Even if all this high-class, status stuff had yet to sink in or make sense to you after being away for so long, you understood there was an eventual tolerance you had to build for it. Just as Mrs. Choi said, you’re Kim Taehyung’s wife now, and that came with a hell lot of status you hadn’t even scratched the surface of yet.

You could already tell it was going to be a pain in the ass. 

“I suppose I should. I’ll get going, then.” You smiled graciously at both women, appreciative of their kindness and began vacating the closet. You just about pulled the room door open before Mrs. Seo suddenly came to you.

“Oh! Mrs. Kim,” she halted you. “I was informed by Mr. Kim to provide this to you. He would have done so himself though he’s quite busy at the moment.” Mrs. Seo extended her hand and presented a pristine looking card, black and incredibly sleek in design. Your eyebrows furrowed until you noticed the telltale symbols, almost ominously minimal branding indicating a rare card only those with some of the highest networths in Korea could own. 

Your eyes widened in horror. 

The Black Card. 

“P-pardon?” You needed her to reiterate, there was no way Kim Taehyung was giving you a black card, the same card that was limitless on credit and only exclusively owned by the affluent one-percenters of society. 

“He’s informed me this belongs to you now, and that you’re to keep it in your possession.” Mrs. Seo elaborated, smiling through the mental whiplash you were currently experiencing.  

“Belongs to.. me? This is mine?” You were still having trouble processing, why would Taehyung be gifting you this? Who’s account was it even attached to? Was it yours and he’s decided to graciously pay all the expensive fees, or worse, was it joined with his own account? 

Don’t tell me it’s joined with his account.  

“Yes, Mrs. Kim. It’s yours.” Mrs. Seo held it out more outwardly, nudging it in your direction. 

Your mouth fell agape for another second before you mentally collected yourself, quickly grabbing the card and thanking her as you made your exit, marching through the house for Taehyung’s unbelievable ass. 

Taehyung could not be providing you with this card. It was irrational, simply had to have been a decision he made with at least two bottles of soju in him, right? You didn’t care what his reasoning would be, you were denying and returning this. There was no way in hell you’d accept this card, especially if he linked his own personal account to it. 

You tried loosely recalling where Taehyung mentioned his study, logically assuming he was working there. You inspected majority of the second floor, working your way through the halls until you finally caught sight of the familiar wooden doors with glass panels, slightly ajar, light bleeding through.

You made for the room quickly and stormed in without a care, attempting to steady your breathing from all the rushing around. You caught Taehyung completely off guard, having shredded his suit jacket to instead sport the rolled up sleeves of his dress shirt, adorning black-rimmed, designer glasses. 

He looked 100x hotter than he should’ve. 

Taehyung suddenly propped up from the leaned-back position he’d assumed on his chair, expression caught by surprise. “Y/N?” He questioned, eyebrows furrowing. 

You held up the card and addressed him immediately. “Taehyung, what’s this? Why are you giving this to me?” You huffed, looking at him incredulously. 

“The card? For you to use..?” Taehyung responded cooperatively, confused as to why you seemed so frazzled. 

“But why, Taehyung? This is a black card, the annual fees on this are insane and I can’t pay-” 

“You’re not paying for them, I am.” Taehyung cut in, shutting the binder he was holding and placing it on his desk. 

“What? No, no way. If it’s my account then I should be the one-”

“It’s not your account, either, it’s mine.” Taehyung brought his elbows to his desk, hands clasped together in front of his lips. It was now he gave you that same intimidating stare he did back when you first met him, calculative and devoid of expression. 

It seemed he did this when he got serious. 

“Your account? But-Taehyung, this is your money, I can’t just have it. Please, take this back.” You stepped towards his desk to return the card eagerly, but Taehyung’s firm tone stopped you. 

“No, it’s yours. I gave it to you to keep.” His words held this underlying sense of authority, scratch that, dominance when he spoke seriously, resolute. You could instantly tell he possessed a natural sense of alpha male characteristics, enough that even though he wasn’t being harsh or looming, his words and the tone he coated them with held more power than you could manifest. 

You almost cowered, but remained adamant on returning the card. It was worse with the card attached to his account, you couldn’t just keep Taehyung’s money like it was your own, it simply wasn’t. Your money sat ordinarily in a separate account on a separate card, which you were happy enough to use. You weren’t going to mooch off of him, it went against every principle that made up your very being. 

“This is your money, Taehyung. I have no right to use it.” 

“You’re my wife. You have every right in the world to use it.” Taehyung countered with no emotion, or at least any you could discern, uncertain what was running through his mind with only his eyes as a guide towards the answer. 

And you knew his eyes didn’t tell. 

“Taehyung, this doesn’t feel right to me. This isn’t my money and I can’t use it.” You emphasized more strongly, drawing closer to his desk though halting your actions once he spoke again. 

“My money is your money, you can always use it.” You knew he was relaxed, appearing practically unbothered as he leaned onto his desk and eyed you. Though with the intense look in his eyes, his aura screaming for anyone within the vicinity to submit to him, he could easily seem frustrated with the situation, namely you. 

And it made you want to crawl into a hole.

“No, it isn’t. I’ve already intruded your home, taken your closet, your room and even an extra one just for myself. I will not take your money either. Please, take this back.” You held out the card more prominently, desperate to have him understand you.

Taehyung wasn’t necessarily frustrated by you, no, he was slightly pissed you kept referring to everything as just his and not yours, that he was the only one considering you two as a married couple now while you still viewed each other separately.

Did you not see him as your husband yet?

He also disliked the fact that you seemed scared of him, or unable to trust him like last night. He could see you fighting back the urge to cower away, genuinely upsetting him you still held a degree of fear and unsureness in your eyes. 

Why are you so afraid of me? 

“Y/N, everything isn’t just mine anymore, it’s yours, too. We’re a married couple, husband and wife. What’s mine is yours.” Taehyung tried to reason, loosening himself up more to seem less intimidating, more approachable.

“But money, Taehyung-it’s different. I didn’t even want to take my own father’s money, there’s no way I’ll take yours, please.” Pleading leaked into your tone as you lips started doing that thing where they just about pout, emphasizing their plushiness and Taehyung couldn’t help but notice it again. 

He started growing frustrated as he removed his glasses, placing them on his desk and pinching the bridge of his nose. It seemed like he was digesting the situation, searching for the best approach.

“Y/N, look. I know the kind of situation you had with your father, but I’m not him. Didn’t you hear what Mrs. Choi and Seo addressed you as?” 

You thought it over, unknowing of where he was taking this. “They.. called me Mrs. Kim.”

“Exactly. Even my last name is yours, everything I have is yours. I’m your husband, I’m always going to provide you with things from now on. That card is just one of many.” Taehyung offered his best explanation, making sure his tone wasn’t as serious to sidetrack any fear you still had.

“I understand. But this is a black card, Taehyung, and it’s your hard-earned money, not mine. It feels wrong even just having it.” You couldn’t fight your inner turmoil, you genuinely believed this to be wrong. After spending almost a decade trying to work for yourself, pay for yourself, seldom seeking the help of another, this just left a disagreeing feeling to churn in your stomach.

Taehyung sighed heavily before pushing his chair back, rising from his seat. He made his way over to you where you grew unintentionally defensive, retracting from him slightly as he neared you. He noticed it and pursed his lips, reaching out for your upper arms and taking them warmly, tenderly, waiting for your eyes to meet his before he spoke to you.

“Y/N, do you remember what I said before I kissed you yesterday?”

Your eyes widened having been reminded of the intimate moment, nodding at him innocently. Taehyung witnessed you trying to avoid eye contact and found himself softening. 

“I didn’t say that without reason. I meant it when I said I would take care of you. Your father is a different story, if you don’t want to use his money, I respect that. But I’m your husband, and I want to be a good one. I want to give you things.. do things for you simply because I want to.” Taehyung reasoned, gripping you lightly. “I want you to use my money, you’re allowed to use it.” He tried voicing with sincerity, earnestly, hoping he could change your mind.

He saw you still hesitating to accept the offer, however, deciding on a compromise.

“Look, you don’t have to use it all the time. You can still use your own card, but you can use mine here and there. Seriously, Y/N, using it won’t even make a dent on me. I’m the CEO of a multi-billion dollar company, use it at your discretion.” Taehyung could practically see your gears shifting, searching for your eyes as he wished you’d understand him. 

He saw this as a second step towards work-life balance, only feeling the responsibility and genuine desire to be the good husband in spite of the unfortunate nature of your marriage. He didn’t want any doubt concerning his ability to be a good husband, either.

After all, when Taehyung did something, he always did the best he possibly could.

“Okay, I guess you’re right. But I do have my own money, and I’ll be using that 100x more often than yours.” You relaxed and oddly let him hold you, looking down at the black card that rested in your hand and clutching it to your palm.

Taehyung realized he was still holding you and let go, retiring to fluff his hair instead. You caught a glimpse of his bicep underneath his rolled up sleeve as he did so, and you truly hated you chose a time like this to find him stunningly attractive.

“You should come downstairs, Mrs. Seo prepared dinner.” You ignored your thoughts.

“You go first, I’ll be down in a second.”

You nodded agreeably and turned away, leaving his study. You took a second look at the card in your hand, then glanced around the house as you strolled through it, trying to embed what Taehyung said into the crevices of your resistant thinking.

Everything I have is yours, you reiterated, registering that Taehyung had in fact grown accustomed to the idea of you two as a couple already. He’s accepted it, embraced it, even enforced it now with his earlier declarations and this black card. You automatically felt behind, like you were the tortoise in the race and needed to pick up your pace.

If Taehyung had already come to terms with your marriage, it was only a matter of time before you did as well. Marriage is a two-way street, and if you wanted to make this easier on both yourself and Taehyung, you would compromise with him, accept the true sense of partnership that entailed your status as husband and wife.

Thus was the exact mantra that played in your head as you fiddled with the card, remembering the way his big hands held you.

Warm.

It was night. 

You could say it was like any other ordinary night, though that would be a gargantuan lie. 

This night was the first time Taehyung and yourself were going to sleep in the same bed.

In your own home. 

The hotel suite left you both with your own space and privacy since it was a random, public room with no personality or attachment to it whatsoever, making it easier and comfortable to sleep with him.

So when you emerged from your walk-in closet in a thin camisole, loose pajama shorts and without a bra, you were cursing yourself. God damn you for needing to sleep in minimal clothing for comfort. You’d slept in a loose t-shirt and bottoms at the suite last night since it was a public room, and long story short, it left you tossing and turning more than you liked. 

You had no clue prior to arriving here that you’d be sharing a room with Taehyung. You’d expected to sleep in a different one, in the privacy of your own room where you could prance around as you wished and as a result packed your usual sleepwear. 

But now that you were left having to slumber with Taehyung, clothes on the more revealing side, there was no turning back. 

And what there was truly no turning back from, was when you opened the closet door and your eyes landed on Taehyung’s shirtless, wet self drying his hair after a shower. 

You immediately malfunctioned.

Your eyes fell to his bare back, ruffling his wet hair as his plaid pajama pants hung loosely at his hips. You immediately exclaimed and clamped a hand over your mouth, trying to shut yourself up. 

You did not expect at all for Taehyung to have such honey-coloured skin. It was like it naturally glowed, a healthy tone that made him appear all the more delectable. It certainly didn’t help that his shoulders were broader than you first observed, sincerely an other-worldly experience when he wasn’t wearing clothes. 

You also got an all-access view of his trap muscles, adding to the width of his shoulders overall and when Taehyung turned around to the sound of the closet door opening, gaze locking with yours, you could confirm his neck, chest and collarbones were indeed crafted to perfection.

Taehyung’s eyes widened momentarily drinking you in, not expecting your light sleepwear when just last night he witnessed you in a full pajama set. Not to mention, and he hated that he could tell, but you weren't wearing a bra. 

And the camisole did nothing to hide that. 

Taehyung straightened himself up realizing you two were practically gawking at each other, resting the towel around his neck as he cleared his throat. “That’s what you sleep in?” 

“That’s what you sleep in?” You retorted, arms over your chest. 

“Guys usually sleep shirtless, this is normal.” Taehyung gestured towards his own body and you had half a mind to floor yourself. It’s like Taehyung knew but also didn’t know he was hot, knew the effect he had on people though never grew cocky or proud enough to purposefully parade it around. 

And it frustrated you even more; he was fairly humble about being a sexy Greek God. 

“Girls sleep like this too, this is normal.” You copied him, looking off to the side. 

“I was kidding, I only sleep shirtless sometimes. Just get in bed.” Taehyung narrowed his eyes as he gestured towards the sheets, returning to his palace of a bathroom to toss his towel in the hamper and pull a t-shirt over his head. 

You wanted to move, feet just about ready to carry you but you never abandoned your spot. Instead, you pressed your lips into a thin line contemplating that sharing a bed with Taehyung, in clothes like this and in such proximity, all held a degree of intimacy you didn’t know you two shared yet. 

It’s only been a day. 

So when Taehyung returned to your unmoving figure, arms holding your chest and avoiding eye contact with him, he was quick to get the message. 

“Um.. if you really don’t want to sleep here, I can give you another room.” Taehyung offered, figuring himself this may be too soon. 

“No, it’s okay, that’d be kind of a hassle.” You waved him off. “Besides, your bed looks comfy.”

You were honestly trying to live up to your acceptance that Taehyung was the man you’d spend your life with now, so you’d better start getting use to him. You’d sleep next to him for numerous nights, spend endless days together and share a multitude of things; this would simply just be a first of many first times. 

So you paddled over to the bed and removed the covers to snuggle yourself in, the bed’s coolness sending a shiver through you before you hugged the blanket to yourself. Taehyung stood with a smile before crawling in himself, adjusting the covers to his liking. 

He felt at peace in a matter of seconds, the feeling of his own bed lulling him into a state of slumber already. He reached his arm out to shut off the lamp on his bedside table, leaving the room pitch dark and only his digital clock and balcony as a light source. 

You began to cower a bit in the darkness, thankful for the sheer curtains that allowed the moonlight to spill into the room. 

You felt another shiver run through your body when you shifted, realizing you were cold even under the sheets. You tried warming up on your own by shimmying the blanket around more comfortably, but it didn't do much. 

You were left lying on the bed trying to think warm thoughts, unintentionally breathing in the constant scent of Taehyung from his bed; his cologne, his aftershave, his body wash all filling your nostrils.

It was intoxicating, absolutely distracting and sleep began to slip your mind. It didn’t help that you were still cold too, moving around and turning onto your side where you now faced Taehyung. 

He seemed to have already dozed off, face tranquil as he slept soundlessly on his back. You couldn't help but admire his side-profile, the sparse moonlight illuminating his features. It was hard to not stretch your hand out and nearly run a touch along his cheek, like he was a rare work of art that naturally called for admiration.

You realized turning towards him that he radiated a wave of warmth from his body, remembering boys were pretty much furnaces while girls usually froze.

How wonderful it is to be a woman. 

You desired some of that heat and shuffled just a little closer to Taehyung, nearing the center of the bed. You discerned he was indeed warm and maneuvered slightly closer, just about stopping at the center of the bed. You fought back the urge to shimmy any closer, leaving a mindful gap between you two. 

You were seconds from catching a peace of mind until Taehyung unexpectedly spoke in the silence of the night, startling you. 

“You can come closer, I don’t bite.” The smirk in his voice was obvious, making you scrunch your nose and snap back at him. 

“Shut up, I’m not getting closer to you.” 

“You should, I’m really warm, and I can tell you’re cold.” There he was again teasing, his tone coy as he kept his eyes shut, unbothered. 

“Over my dead body.” You mocked him from earlier, turning away from him abruptly and pulling the covers over your head. 

Coffee was probably your favourite thing life had to offer. One of the couple things you’d fight someone over; coffee and your independence, if you wanted to be specific. 

So it made you genuinely happy Taehyung had such a wide selection of coffee to choose from, ranging from all kinds of beans to instant coffee, cappuccinos, lattes, mochas, you name it. It took no time for you to craft a cup to your liking, shuffle into a seat on the island and begin picking at the breakfast the housekeepers had whipped up earlier this morning. 

You’d woken up early today keeping in mind the day you had planned. You decided this to be another move-in day as part of your studio setup project you’ve entertained for the last week. The granted time off due to your odd honeymoon farce with Taehyung proved to actually come in handy, thankfully. 

It had been another peaceful morning for you, having woken up with sunlight gracing the walls, certain you could hear birds chirping as if you were in a Disney film and little mice would come out to start sewing the gown you’d wear as a princess. 

It had been a peaceful morning indeed, but when you stretched out to loosen your stiff muscles, the chaos that met you was anything but peaceful. Even if it’s occurred at least 5 times now, you kept forgetting that you shared a bed with someone else now, and that said someone had somehow always founds a way to gravitate towards you during the night, even daringly cast an arm over you sometimes. 

It left you in a state of panic registering that Taehyung’s, dare you say warm and cozy body would be just behind you, his chest mere centimeters from your back. You would stay still for some time, calculating the optimal way to remove yourself from his hold until he eventually stirred enough to loosen his grip, darting right out of bed. 

Other times, he’d wake earlier than you and you wondered what would cross his mind once he registered your oddly proximal bodies. 

Did it ever bother him?

Nonetheless, it brought a mischievous smile to your face thinking about the fact that Taehyung had such a perfectly human habit like cuddling. He was always so serious, so put together and a near machine at everything he did, seeming as though he wouldn’t give anything romantic the time of day. 

But it was hard to forget the fluffy feeling that blossomed in your chest when you would sense his proximity, maybe inviting a liking to it. You had always slept alone, only yourself and the darkness to keep you company in your lonely bed, in your lonely home. 

So sleeping next to someone, namely Kim Taehyung left an impression on you you couldn’t quite shake. It was difficult to erase the image of his calm, sleeping face after the handful of times witnessing it. Long eyelashes delicately pressed to the skin under his eyes, lips plush as he seemed to naturally pout in his sleep. The sunlight only accentuated his honey-coloured skin, adding a glow to his features that made him appear prettier than he already was. 

It was nice to think you’d wake up to that every morning. 

You found your mind still playing around with the idea until you snapped yourself out of it, questioning why the hell you always ventured off whenever you thought about him. 

Weird. 

You were scolding yourself until your eyes caught Taehyung strolling into the kitchen with his phone in is hand. He’d foregone a jacket today, black shirt sleeves folded to mid-forearm paired with black slacks.  

You were normal until you almost spat your coffee seeing he wasn’t wearing a tie but instead had the first few buttons of his shirt open, revealing a generous view of his neck and the beginnings of his chest. 

Fucking hell.

You were staring stupidly until Taehyung peeked up at you, smiling “Morning.” 

“M-morning.” you stuttered.

He seemed unsuspecting as he returned his attention to his phone, proceeding to the kitchen counter and retrieving a cup to fix himself a drink. He appeared to be reading something conscientiously on his device, never taking his eyes off and you quickly became bored, ready to use the weapon you’d acquired. 

“So.. you’re a cuddler, huh?”

Taehyung nearly dropped his cup.  

“I’m sorry, what?” 

“You’re a cuddler when you sleep. Cute.” You rested your chin in your palm, playful smile on your face. 

“I think you’re mistaken, I am not a cuddler. And I’m not cute.” Taehyung denied as he only focused on the cup, his back to you. You then watched him reach for his selection of tea and purposefully evade the coffee, your eyes lighting up with mischief.  

“Wait, you’re a cuddler and you drink tea instead of coffee? Very cute.” You pulled on his leg, chuckling as you brought your mug to your lips

This was going to be fun.

“Shut up, I don’t like the taste and tea is healthier.” Taehyung practically sneered back, harshly ripping the packet of his tea bag.

“Doesn’t take away from the fact that you’re a cuddler.” You sipped on your coffee, unbothered as you swung your legs back and fourth. 

“Doesn’t take away from the fact that you like it.” 

You nearly spat your drink. 

“What?” 

“I remember a certain someone that shuffles closer to me for warmth, no?” Taehyung snapped back as he returned to his phone and popped his tea into the microwave, his shoulders high to the sky. You could imagine his smug face proud of his remark while searching for your own, realizing that Taehyung was damn good at arguing and you’d really have to upgrade your comeback game to counter him. 

He was unfortunately your match.

“Even if I were one, which I’m not, It’s not like I’m committing a crime.” Taehyung suddenly finalized with a snippy tone, and you realized you may have hurt his ego. 

Men. 

“I never said it was a bad thing.” You commented under your breath and looked away, popping a raspberry into your mouth. 

Taehyung bit back a smirk as he retrieved his cup of tea, taking a sip as he returned to his phone and took a seat across from you. He began compiling his plate of breakfast as he worked his device, typing away with one hand as if he was drafting the Magna Carta. 

You became bored again.

“Why do you have so much coffee if you don’t like it?” You genuinely felt like inquiring, if he didn’t like the taste why would he have so much? 

“For my housekeepers, they drink it.” He took a sip of his tea, all attention on his phone. 

You nodded understandingly. “Why do you have two housekeepers, by the way? Isn’t one enough?” 

“So they can keep each other company.” He answered absentmindedly, eyes still glued to his phone as he bit a piece of his toast. You really hated that he wasn’t actively interacting with you because it only left room to stare at him, and that was never any good.  

He looked illegally attractive with the unbuttoned part of his shirt, your mind profusely bugging out over the exposed bit of his chest. You were reminded of the full view from last night, and began pondering how long you’d survive having to see that for the rest of your life. 

“O-oh, that’s nice.” You stuttered back a reply, squashing your previous thought.

You were actually quite impressed by the kindness Taehyung showed behind that decision, noticing he had these small moments where he was caring, considerate, all hidden behind his unreadable face and seriousness when it came to business. 

It was quite interesting. 

You were mindlessly eating until Taehyung spoke up, eyes flickering towards you. “What are you going to do today?” 

You swallowed your fruit. “I was planning on moving more stuff in again, start finishing my studio setup. Thank you again for the room, by the way.” You expressed your gratitude once more, forking some eggs into your mouth. 

“Don’t mention it.” 

“What are you doing today?” you echoed his question, taking another swig of coffee.

“I’m working again. If you need anything I’ll be in my study.” Taehyung sent you a half-smile before snatching up his plate, bringing his phone to his ear as he stepped out of the kitchen. 

You sighed heavily only being left to think about your day, which would be majorly spent unpacking and arranging things. You had a plethora of art supplies, design tools and canvases to set up in your studio, leaving you constantly thinking of how to even begin. 

It would be a mission alone to sort through everything you had left, knowing you didn’t exactly label out of sheer laziness and would have to individually unbox and organize everything . 

It was this exact task that took up most of your day, time having slipped by in the blink of an eye. It wasn’t easy when you had to be rummaging through your belongings and situating them where you thought appropriate, also trying to envision a new look for your studio. 

You hadn’t realized 3 hours had passed until the ring of the front doorbell caused you to check your phone, curious as to who would be visiting your home in the middle of the day. You assumed it be one of the housekeepers and abandoned your work, cascading down the staircase and striding towards the grand entrance. 

You drew towards the monitor Taehyung had showed you just yesterday, explaining it to be your home security system. Taehyung detailed it had a camera for your front porch that detected movement and the doorbell alike, so you peered at the monitor to see the stranger outside your home. 

Your eyebrows furrowed registering a woman, her back turned towards the door as she fidgeted nervously with her purse in her hand. 

Sheer curiosity took you over and you paddled towards the door, unlocking it. You wore a smile on your face as you swung the door open, though it was immediately wiped off taking in the last person on earth you ever wanted to see. 

“Mother?”

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tags : @thedarkwinterrose @ayujaded @couldbeyourlast @ladyarmanto @anpanman-sonyeondan @apollukee @blueevelvt @taesluttt @scalubera​ @laurynne5​ @dreamsindreamss​ @thequeen-kat​ @awsome-small-k​ @wrecklesssly​ @kweenhu​ @jalexad​ @staerify​ @bangforever​ @dyriddle​ @aianloveseven​ @waves-and-woods​ @hoefortaeshands​ @veronawrites​ @nightapple4jk​ @wataemelonz​ @aomi-nabi​

[sotthestyles]

Bad Words - Dad!Harry

A fluffy blurb where Harry accidentally teaches your two-year-old son some choice language that gets repeated around the house, much to your disapproval 😩

AKA Harry swears in front of your two-year-old 🙊

warnings: none, this is just pure dad!Harry fluff! 

words: 1.3K

...

Harry was sitting across the table from you and your two-year-old son as you ate breakfast together first thing in the morning. The sound of Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours album was playing through the kitchen speakers and the warm breeze from outside blew through the open window over the sink. It was a perfect, quiet spring day and you were excited to spend it with your two favourite boys. It wasn’t often when Harry had absolutely nothing work related to do and could spend the entire day at home focused on his family.

You smiled over at your little boy who was happily sitting in his high chair at the end of the table eating his breakfast of porridge and blueberries. He was trying his best to use his spoon in front of him but he mostly used his little fingers to reach for his blueberries in front of him.

“Such a good boy!” You praised as your son managed to get a spoonful of porridge up to his messy mouth. You glanced at Harry across the table and he had a proud grin on his face as well. Just as you began to say how incredibly smart and talented your baby boy was, Harry’s phone buzzed from his pocket.

“Fucking shit.” Harry muttered as he checked his phone in his lap.

“Harry,” You quipped at him as you took a sip of your coffee. Harry glanced at you innocently and you nodded over at your two-year-old who was shoving his face with blueberries and porridge.

“Sorry,” Harry replied with a small chuckle, “just realized I forgot to call Jeff about something.”

“Alright, well, watch your mouth next time.” You scolded him quietly. He chuckled again and insisted he would. You glanced at your son again and he didn’t appear to be listening to your conversation, but you knew that two-year-olds were like sponges that soaked up everything around them.

“Mumma, more?” Your son spoke up from beside you. You smiled as you watched him sign the word “more” in sign language, something that you and Harry had taught him before he had learned how to talk.

“Sure, you can have some more blueberries, bub.” You offered as you stood from your seat at the table. You rummaged through the fridge to find the container of blueberries and you heard Harry sigh from the table behind you.

“What’s wrong?” You questioned curiously as you closed the fridge and returned to your seat at the table with a full bowl of blueberries in your hand.

“I’ll be right back, have to make a couple of calls.” Harry explained as he stood up from his seat at the table. You nodded before he disappeared down the hallway.

“Hey, Jeff-“ His voice drifted off on the phone as he made his way upstairs.

You felt a bit disappointed that Harry had to clear up some work things so early in the day, especially seeing as you two had planned to spend all day with your son. You were more than understanding that Harry’s job wasn’t a typical one, and that meant that sometimes there were no days off for him, but that was okay. You decided to shrug it off, knowing he wouldn’t be too long upstairs. Your son was more than content finishing his breakfast then getting to play in the living room with all of his favourite toys. 

Around an hour and a half later, Harry finally returned back downstairs. You couldn’t help but smile when you saw him appear in the doorway of the living room, where you and your son were sitting on the floor, stacking a tower of blocks together.

“Dada!” Your son squealed excitedly when Harry stepped towards him.

“What’re you and mumma playing? Can daddy join?” Harry knelt down onto his knees to join you on the floor. 

“Okay, dada!” Your son grinned a cheeky grin up at his father. You sat back against the footrest by the couch and watched as the two boys played blocks and giggled with each other. It was seriously the sweetest thing to watch, you couldn’t help but fall deeper in love with your husband, if that was even possible, while watching him and your son interacting. 

After a little while of playing with Harry, your son began to ask for a snack. Since it had been quite a while since he ate breakfast, you decided it was probably time for a little snack before lunchtime.

“Here you go, my love.” You smiled as you handed your son a small bowl of goldfish shaped crackers. 

“Thank you, mumma!” Your son replied sweetly, a precious grin plastered on his face before shoving a couple of crackers into his mouth. He wandered back over towards the couch and you followed behind him. 

“Come sit with daddy!” Harry suggested as he held his arms out for your son, who immediately toddled over to climb in his lap. 

“That’s my boy!” Harry smirked as he pressed a kiss to your son’s chubby cheek. The three of you settled in on the couch together to watch a Mickey Mouse cartoon while your son ate his snack.

Your son wiggled his little body to sit up higher in Harry’s lap but as he did this, his hand accidentally let go and dropped his bowl of crackers, which all spilled onto the floor in front of you.

“Shit!” Your son muttered as he climbed down from Harry’s lap to pick them up. Your eyes widened at his inappropriate expression. You immediately glanced at Harry beside you, who burst into a fit of laughter. 

“Harry!” You said as you slapped your hand against his leg.

“What? That’s funny!” Harry couldn’t help but chuckle his boyish laugh out loud.

“Don’t encourage him to say that,” You insisted as you bent down to help your son pick up all of his spilled crackers by your feet, “you’re such a bad influence!” You couldn’t help but tease Harry. You rarely swore around your son, unless you absolutely had to let one slip out, but Harry wasn’t as careful. You knew this sudden outburst was a direct result of Harry’s choice of language earlier over breakfast.

“Sorry,” He muttered with one last chuckle, “s’not funny, I know.” 

“No, it’s not,” You insisted, trying your best to stay calm but firm in telling your son off, “that’s not a nice thing to say, bub. Mumma doesn’t like when you say those kinds of words.” Your son quirked an eyebrow up at you and then over at Harry. 

“Daddy says shit!” Your son explained with a shrug, clearly not understanding what the problem with his choice of language was. You glanced at Harry and gave him a look, telling him it was his turn to step in and explaining this to your son. 

“Hey, bug,” Harry spoke cautiously as he bent down to your sons level, “you know that’s not a nice word to say? Daddy said it earlier and it was bad, he should’ve gone to time out.” Your son giggled at the thought of his big, strong, daddy stuck in the timeout space by the staircase. 

“We don’t say those kinds of words, okay? Just nice words, like “oh, shoot!” or “oh, darn!” You explained further, trying to think of more appropriate expressions. Harry nodded along as you spoke. 

“Daddy’s really sorry he said a bad word earlier,” Harry insisted sincerely, “can y’tell mumma you’re sorry too?” You raised your eyebrow at your son. 

“Okay,” Your son nodded as he turned towards you again, “m’sorry, mumma!” You smiled down at your sweet boy, who had the most precious dimpled grin on his face. 

“Thank you, baby,” You said as you brushed your fingertips through his messy hair, “no more bad words, okay, boys?” 

The two boys agreed they wouldn’t say any more bad words, sealing their promises with pinky promises, which you thought was the most adorable thing in the world. 

[alpacaparkaseok]

If You’ll Have Me || KSJ

➣pairing: Jin x reader (established relationship)

➣premise: Kim Seokjin. The love of your life. Your boyfriend of three years. The man who insists on taking you to the zoo for every milestone in your lives together. There’s just one thing...you have no idea what you’re celebrating this time.

➣warnings/tags: fluff, SFW, we live for Jin in this household if you haven’t noticed

➣word count: 4.3k

➣commissioned by @delacyrose224 as a part of army for AAPI! thank you so much for requesting this, I loveddddd writing this little story. I’m so soft for this man. you always have the best ideas!!

“We look like idiots.”

“Yeah, well,” Jin shrugs, handing you yet another t-shirt to try on. “That can’t be helped.”

You gasp, snatching the shirt away from him and heading toward the fitting room. “Rude! I meant with all of these ridiculous clothes!”

Jin’s laughter follows you as you close the door and throw on what feels like the thirtieth gaudy t-shirt from the zoo’s souvenir shop. This one is vivid blue, which you suppose is an upgrade from the caution-cone orange Jin had you trying on a few minutes ago.

“Ok,” you call out, “ready?”

“Ready!”

Peeking out of the little room, you notice Jin sitting on the little sofa in the waiting area. He grins up at you, already wearing a matching shirt.

“Do you like it?” He asks, lips pouting out a bit as he waits for your answer.

Avoiding looking in the mirror for too long, you manage a feeble, “Yeah…it’s not as bad as the others, I guess.”

That’s all Jin needs to hear. With a clap of his hands he’s jumping up and herding you toward the front of the shop. You don’t miss the amused glances people are giving you and your boyfriend, who pauses to grab a couple of baseball caps.

“Let’s see…” he brushes some of your hair back before sliding the cap onto your head, stepping back to get the full effect. “Perfect. And, it’ll protect your scalp from the sun!”

Like a couple of walking mannequins, the two of you head up to pay for the clothes you’re now wearing. Jin has a backpack on hand for your other clothes, which you unceremoniously shove inside before zipping it shut.

The cashier offers you a wide smile as she assists with the transaction. You know what she’s thinking:do I pity or envy her?

Honestly, it’s a toss up. Of course, there’s the fact that Jin often makes you do ridiculous things (exhibit A, bright blue zoo t-shirts with roaring lions on the front and waddling penguins on the back), but then again, you don’t stop him.

Rather, you egg him on. There’s something just so adorable about the way he gets so excited for such simple things. And for today, it’s over a trip to the zoo.

Of course, you’re excited as well. Mainly to see the meerkats, which Jin will never let you live down. When you told him that the meerkats were your favorite animal, he stopped and stared at you for an unnervingly long amount of time. You had begun to wonder if you’d somehow upset him when he burst out laughing, claiming that he could see it.

“See what?” You seethed.

“The resemblance,” Jin choked out between laughter. “You’re basically a meerkat in human form!”

With a smack to his chest, you glared at him and said, “Yeah well…you’re a walrus! Yeah, a walrus!”

Needless to say, he was extremely offended and didn’t speak to you for hours. In fact, the only thing that had brought him out of his misery had been you dragging him to the souvenir shop and giving him permission to get whatever he wanted. That apparently included getting you some items as well.

“Ah, it’s such a nice day,” Jin remarks the second you step outside. His hand slips into your seamlessly, a testament to the countless times you’ve repeated the action. “Perfect day at the zoo.”

Indeed it is. The sun is shining, there’s a cool breeze licking at the nape of your neck, and there’s fewer people than you’d expected to be here on a day like today.

Maybe it has something to do with the fact that it’s Tuesday morning. It would appear that most people – the sane ones, at least – are busy with work and other weekday obligations. Neither of you are, though. Jin has a rare day off and he’d had the day circled on the calendar for well over a month at this point. You had made sure a long time ago to have this day off.

“When’s the last time you went to the zoo?” You ask, glancing sidelong at your boyfriend.

Perhaps it’s his undeniable good looks or the fact that you hardly get to see each other due to your hectic schedules, but you can’t help the little sense of wonder that comes over you as your survey him in the morning sun. Somehow, you really have no idea how he does it, he manages to pull off the shirt and hat. Sure, he looks silly. But he owns the look.

It’s a wonder that he’s yours.

“Hmmm…” Jin ponders for a moment. “I think it was the last time we went together.”

You gasp. “That was like…three years ago! You seriously haven’t been since?”

Laughing at your shocked expression, Jin shakes his head. “Nope.”

Three years ago, close to the time when the two of you had first started dating, Jin wanted to take you out on a special date to celebrate the beginning of your relationship. Without telling you where you were going, you had assumed there would be a nice restaurant, maybe some sort of play or whatever else it is that fancy people do when they first begin to date.

Oh, how wrong you’d been.

Assuming that just because Jin was…well, rich, you couldn’t be more wrong about his taste in dates. When he had parked in the zoo lot and led you through the entrance, you had been waiting for the punchline.

There wasn’t any. No, he had simply wanted to spend the entire day with you. Walking around, having an “excuse to hold your hand” in Jin’s words, and somehow making you believe that crocodiles’ tails could change color when it danger. (don’t ask)

“I still think that it would be so cool to live up there,” you point to the houses in the distance, overlooking the zoo. There was a neighborhood of stately homes just a little way’s away which the two of you had snooped on after your date to the zoo all those years ago.

Jin chuckles quietly. “What if a tiger escapes and ends up in the yard?”

You shrug. “I guess it makes for a good excuse to always keep a steak in the fridge. I’ll lure it away with that.”

“Absolute genius,” your boyfriend hums, making you scrunch up your nose at his obvious sarcasm. “So, where should we begin?”

“At the beginning?”

Laughing jovially (honestly, the best thing about Jin is the fact that he thinks you’re funny), the two of you set down a little path which will take you to a butterfly exhibit.

“Agh, I forgot how hot it is in here,” you mutter the second you step inside. Plants of all different shapes and sizes loom over and around you, home to several different kinds of butterflies. A few stray butterflies flutter overhead, making you temporarily forget the humidity of the greenhouse.

Jin ooh’s and ah’s over the bright yellow butterfly that brushes past him. “Did you see that? It nearly landed on my nose!”

“Aw, it recognizes a Disney Princess when it sees one,” you coo, earning a half-hearted glare from Jin.

“I thought we discussed this,” he grumbles. “I’m Flynn Rider.”

“Right. My bad. Who am I again?”

A giant grin splitting his features, Jin wiggles his eyebrows at you. “Mother Gothel, obviously.” The slap to his right butt-cheek echoes through the greenhouse, quickly followed by his yowl of pain.

Pretending to wipe tears from his eyes, Jin limps after you as you continue through the greenhouse.

“You’re lucky nobody was in here to see that,” he says. “They could send you away for treating me so horribly. I mean, look! I bring you to the zoo, I buy you a nice shirt, I let you choose where we go first-”

Whirling around to face your boyfriend only to find a knowing smirk already on his face, you glare up at him. He knows that he won.

“Yah! What do you want?” You ask, exasperated. Limping forward, clearly milking this for all it’s worth, Jin pouts down at you with big, brown eyes.

“Just one kiss.”

You gasp, feigning horror. “A kiss?! In this sweaty, public greenhouse?!” You frantically point at the butterflies which are your only witnesses in here. “In front of the innocent butterflies?”

Jin looks at you and shudders. “Wow. I think it’s official.”

“What?”

“We spend way too much time together. You’re impersonating me right now, aren’t you?”

“Was it that obvious?”

“Yeah. But I still stand by my condition.” Finally taking one final step, Jin towers over you. With a playful wink, he puckers his lips.

“Ugh, I hate you sometimes.”

Jin peeks one eye open. “You just said you loved me earlier.”

“Is it too late to change my mind?”

“Sorry, no refunds.” Then, taking things into his own hands, Jin cups your cheeks and swoops in for a kiss.

On your nose.

Sputtering as he steps away, you glare at him. “What was that?!”

Turning on his heel and heading toward the exit, you notice that Jin’s over-exaggerated limp is long gone. With a devilish grin over his shoulder, Jin says, “You were taking too long. But you still owe me a kiss, whenever I ask for it. No matter where we are or what we’re doing, ok?”

You can recognize a trap when you see one. However, you’re left with no choice. Grumbling out a “yeah, whatever” you follow after him.

After the butterfly exhibit you make your way to the reptile house, opting to get all of the hot and humid indoor places out of the way while it’s still morning. The Gila monsters make you laugh as Jin takes a video of the tongue flipping in and out of its mouth and sends it to Hoseok. The two of you know full well that the boy in question will no doubt scream in horror as he watches the video.

Hand in hand, Jin finally swerves off the path toward one of the final indoor exhibits: Animals of the Savanna.

Once you’re inside, you pull and tug at Jin until he’s relenting and allowing you to find the meerkats. To onlookers, you’re sure you look like a child dragging their disgruntled parent to and fro. However, once you spot the meerkats, any thoughts of maintaining your dignity in front of these people eddies out of your mind.

“Jin! Jin! Seokjin!” You hop up and down on the balls of your feet, completely missing the tender look Jin sends your way as you drag him closer. “Look at them! Woooow there’s so many! Aww and there’s little babies, too!”

Jin just hums along, smiling as he watches your wide eyes. You get as close as humanly possible, grinning at the creatures that occasionally look your way. Through it all, he maintains some sort of contact. Giggling without knowing what you’re laughing about. Just laughing for the sake of it.

He just…loves the zoo. Yeah, that’s it.

It had been a silly idea, to bring you here three years ago to celebrate the beginning of your relationship. In fact, you had looked at him like he was already bordering on crazy when he had brought up the idea of doing something special now that you had agreed to be his girlfriend.

“Don’t people usually do something special for anniversaries?” You had asked. Your hair had been longer then, a tell-tale sign of your youth.

Jin shrugged, completely under your spell without your knowledge. He found it nearly impossible to look away from you at times like these. “We can do that, too. Next year. But for now, why don’t we just celebrate the beginning?”

“Sure,” you mimicked his shrug, snuggling into his side on the couch. Despite his unaffected demeanor, he wondered if you noticed the way his heart was pounding as you rested your head against his shoulder. “I’ll do whatever, as long as it’s with you.”

So, after discussing it with his best friends, he decided to take you to a beautiful dinner looking over the Han river. There was a new restaurant that was outrageously fancy and delicious, and he wanted to treat you to the best.

When he arrived at your apartment that evening, just in time to hopefully catch the sunset on the Han if all went according to plan, he overheard you talking on the phone. Your window was open, and like the snoop that he was, he waited to listen in on your conversation.

He wouldn’t have it he hadn’t heard your mentioning his name.

“I don’t know what we’re doing tonight,” you admitted. You were quiet for a moment while listening to the other side of the conversation. “You think so? I don’t know, I’ve never dated someone like this. You know, like…rich. What do rich people do on dates? I’m a little out of my element here, I just hope I won’t make a fool of myself.” Your laugh had him hurtling to reality, and he realized in an instant that he couldn’t take you to that restaurant.

A part of him knew in that moment that you were going to be the rest of his life. You were it for him. And if you want something to last, you treat it differently.

A perfectly forgettable meal surrounded by gossiping netizens wasn’t what you deserved.

So what did you deserve?

That had been the question on his mind as he tried to hide just how sweaty his palms were when he knocked on your door.

“Oh, I think he’s here. I – yeah, I’ll call you after. Ok, bye.”

Seokjin has always been good at pretending that he has a plan even when he has no idea what to do. Which is exactly what he did. You had been absolutely adorable, bouncing in your seat as he set off down the highway, begging him to give you a hint.

When he’d seen the exit for the zoo, he turned down that road without a second thought. You looked utterly confused when he pulled into the parking lot, and little did you know that he was just as confused as you were.

He just prayed that you wouldn’t think he was the dumbest person ever for letting those reservations slip through his fingers for the fanciest restaurant in Seoul. Perhaps a date to the zoo wasn’t the right idea, perhaps it wasn’t romantic at all, perhaps-

Perhaps you were happiest with his hand in yours and a meerkat a few feet away from you.

He’s so tempted to cash in that kiss right now, with how adorable you look. But he bites his tongue, reminding himself that he has to save it for later.

Once you’re loved of meerkats is sated enough for you to be herded away, Jin leads you to a street vendor. “Eat up,” he says as he passes the bread cone filled to the brim with macaroni and cheese to your outstretched hands. He’ll never understand your love for the little abominations, but he caves and orders one for himself as well.

“Don’t you want to sit and eat it?” He asks as he spies you wandering off. You twirl around, licking the cheese off of your lips. And stupid as it is, his heart skips a beat.

“They’re gonna feed the penguins in ten minutes!” You respond, clearly expecting that to be enough of an explanation. Again you turn to wander away. You’re not worried about leaving Jin behind, though. His long legs catch up to you within a few seconds.

The two of you eat in relative silence as you watch the penguins waddling around. Once you’re finished with your food, you spend a good hour sitting in the amphitheater watching the penguins and wondering which ones the two of you would be.

“I’m that one,” you point to a particularly fat penguin attempting to get out of the water. “That looks like me trying to get out of my chair whenever I eat.”

Jin nearly chokes on his water at your remark, squinting at the penguin that has yet to be successful in getting out of the water. “How pitiful. Oh, that’s me.”

Another penguin appears on the ice, looking down at the fat one.

“Oh, have you come to rescue me?” You ask, sitting forward and resting your chin on your hands. Jin immediately begins massaging the small of your back, knowing that it’s a troublesome spot for you most days.

“Probably- oooh down he goes!”

The two of you burst into a fit of laughter as the penguin pears down into the water only to lose its footing and slip in alongside the previously struggling penguin.

“Yeah, that’s us,” you confirm, still laughing.

“Definitely us. We’re a mess most days.”

You lean back, taking up your usual spot on the crook of his shoulder and resting your hand on the inside of Jin’s knee. “At least we have each other.”

You say it with a teasing tone, but Jin can’t help the way it goes straight to his heart. Sneakily planting a kiss atop your baseball cap, he squeezes you a little tighter. “Yeah, that’s true. Don’t know where I’d be without you.”

“Probably still on land,” you remark slyly, peeking up at him. With slightly pink cheeks and zero hesitation you utter out, “I love you.”

He’ll never get used to you.

“Love you, too.”

From there you head over to the polar bears, which appear to be largely unimpressed by your presence. Jin drags you to see the hyenas, sporting some strange interest in the creatures. It only makes sense to sit and stare at the large tigers after that, your mouth ajar as you marvel at its size.

Then it’s the elephants and rhinos.

“Ugh, it smells like your fridge that one time,” you joke the second to get a whiff of the rhino’s habitat.

“It does not!” Jin shouts, drawing the attention of some of the other visitors. “My fridge smelled much worse.”

You can’t help but cackle at his remark. “I stand corrected.”

Toward the end of your visit you pass by to visit the monkeys. “If you squeeze my hand any harder, it’ll fall off.”

You try and fail to relinquish your grip. “Sorry, they just freak me out.” As if on cue, a monkey swings by in front of the tall glass window, making you jump and squeal in terror.

“Should we leave?” Jin questions, hiding his laughter.

You bury your head in between his shoulder blades, squeezing your eyes shut. “No, just go fast.”

He does just that, speeding through the exhibit until he’s announcing that you’re nearing the end. Slowly you look up, blinking at the now dark sky.

“Have we been here all day?” You ask in wonder. Checking the time, Jin nods.

“Yep. It’s about time to head home.”

Languidly making your way back up the path to the zoo entrance and exit, you swing your hands back and forth. “That was so fun.”

Jin raises his brows. “Really? I thought you were a goner back there with the monkeys.”

Faking a shiver, you revel in the way Jin falls for it and automatically pulls you in closer. “I thought I was, too. But I just thought of the meerkats, and I made it through.”

Snorting, Jin waves goodbye to a few of the staff members the open the gate for the two of you to leave. “Is that so? It had nothing to do with your big, strong, boyfriend protecting you?”

“I don’t have a boyfriend.”

“Oh really.”

“No. Why? Did you think we had something going on?”

Rolling his eyes, Jin bumps you with his hip, making you giggle. “If not, this has been the most dedicated friendship I’ve ever experienced.”

“Dude, you have six best friends-”

“Ok, first you say I’m not your boyfriend, and then you stoop so low as to refer to me as dude?!”

Your laugh rings out loud and clear in the evening air, followed by Jin’s stupefied laughter. “You’re so dramatic,” you accuse, reluctantly freeing yourself from his grip as you near the car.

“Hey, you don’t get to judge me. It’s not like you’re my girlfriend.” Still bickering back and forth, Jin starts driving and heads off to the right instead of the left.

“Woah, where are we going?” You ask, frowning out at the night.

Jin shrugs. “Let’s go snoop around those houses again.”

“The ones by the zoo?”

“Yeah.”

You’re all too happy to go along with it. Clutching your hand atop the console, Jin maneuvers his way to the small hill overlooking the zoo.

“Wow,” you breathe out. “I forgot how beautiful this view is.”

Indeed it is. The city lights glow and glint in the distance, creating a warm blanket of familiarity. The zoo lights are shutting off, only a few left on here and there. The sound of music from floats up toward you as you roll the window down, drinking it in.

“The residents always hear the closing songs each night,” Jin supplies, somehow reading your mind as you wonder about the music coming from the zoo. “It turns off by ten on weekdays and eleven on the weekends.”

“How’d you know that?”

“I have some friends that live up here.”

You turn to look at Jin, eyes wide. “You do? How come you never told me?”

“They just moved,” he explains with a forgotten smile. “You wanna see their house?”

“Yes!”

Jin turns down a different street, slowly stopping before a beautiful home with colonial style columns in the front. Sure enough, there’s a sign in the front of the house with a red sticker stating SOLD for all to see.

“Should we look around the lot?” Jin asks, turning off the car and taking off his seat. “It looks like they’re not home right now, but they said we could look around if we wanted.”

“You told them we were coming?”

He shrugs, hopping out of the car and hurrying around to open up your door. “I mentioned that we’d be in the area.”

“Who are these friends of yours, anyway?” You ask, stepping out of the car. The house quite literally takes your breath away, and you turn around to capture the full view. The city is still visible, the zoo and its music appearing more like a memory than a reality. “Wow, this is amazing.”

“Uh,” Jin scratches the back of his neck. “Their names should be on the sign right there.”

Frowning, you ignore his avoidance of the question and skirt around him to walk up to the edge of the lawn. Crouching down, your eyes scan the sign for any names you might recognize. There’s a small paper, almost like a receipt, hanging from the sign. Smoothing it out from where it’s flowing in the breeze, you squint at the names that appear.

Sold to Mr. Kim Seokjin and –

You know that name. You know that man.

And the name beside his…

“It’s our names…?” You breathe out, not quite understanding. Straightening up, you turn to face Jin with a confused expression. “Why does it-”

There’s Jin, but he’s not where you left him.

He’s down on one knee, looking up at you with the expression he gets when he holds his breath. Behind him the city gleams as bright as ever, however it somehow dims in the face of what you see before you.

Jin, opening up a small box. And inside the velvety interior, a ring shining as though it were made of stars.

Suddenly, it clicks. The date to the zoo, where you’d first officially began this relationship. The house with your name on it, the way Jin had this day circled on the calendar for longer than you care to remember.

Jin can’t breathe, and he can tell by the way your chest has stopped rising that you can’t, either.

“I- I’d like to cash in that kiss now,” Jin stutters out.

In a rush of limbs and a mixture of laughter and sobs, you find yourself kneeling across from Jin and kissing him hard enough to bruise his plump lips. You’d feel bad, except for the fact that he returns the kiss with just as much fervor. When the kiss begins to taste of salt, you pull away to discern of those are your tears or his.

It’s both, you realize as Jin gazes at you, completely oblivious to the tears streaming down his cheeks.

“O-oh!” He exclaims, staring down at the ring box in his shaking hands. “Will you marry me?”

Without a single ounce of hesitation, you laugh, voice thick with emotion. “Yes!”

That’s all it takes for Jin to pull you in close again, attacking you with kisses at a speed you can’t keep up with. He pulls back, panting and eyes alight with pure elation. “And do you want to live here with me, then?”

You choke on a laugh, still crying and on your knees. “Of course I do, Seokjin. You- you bought me a house.”

“Yeah,” he sniffles. “I did.”

Then, gasping with wide eyes, Jin snaps his fingers. “I almost forgot!” Jumping up to his feet, he runs back to the car. You watch after him, too in shock to stand at the moment. Your glinting rings on your hand catches your attention, making you wonder when exactly he put it on. No doubt it was sometime in the midst of his breathless kisses.

Jin returns a moment later, dropping to his knees again. Nevermind the fact that there are plenty of places to sit. He has a lanyard around his neck, and he places another around your own.

“What’s this?” You ask, grabbing the little card hanging off of the end. Once you catch sight of it, you begin to laugh (and somehow cry) even harder.

Season passes to the zoo.

masterlist

[blkgojo]

The Kitchen is Home | Wanda Maximoff x Reader

Wanda is grief-stricken over the death of her brother. She’s far from home and reclusive. All you want to do is make her favorite foods. Fluffy.

Word Count: 2.096

Make no mistake. You weren't an Avenger. You were their cook. The job was a simple one, prepare the meals (if need be) and stock their fridge.  No riff raff. Nothing fancy. Honestly, the most exciting thing was when Wanda and Vision arrived. You thought she was quite pretty if a bit reserved. She barely left her room. Didn't go on many missions. 'Give her time,' Steve had told Tony.

None of that was your concern. You just wanted to know what food she liked.

 Most of the Avengers filled out a form or told you themselves what they enjoyed. When Bruce was around, he liked it when you made him protein and fiber rich dinners. Steve was a simple guy who made his own meals, always apologized before asking you to grab him something from the store. Natasha liked the fruit parfaits and pelmeni you cooked. Vision was quick to tell you he didn't exactly enjoy food.

Wanda? Nothing.

"What're you making?" Natasha walked into the kitchen. Her boots clicked against the rough tile.

You looked up from your bread. There was blood on her cheek. "Back from a mission?"

She nodded and rounded the island to stand next to you.

"Struuji," you said slowly. Apple dumplings. A desert common in the Balkans.

"Struklji," Natasha corrected. She grinned at the food. That little knowing half-smirk she always did. "They look good. I'm guessing you're making them for our newest Sokovian."

"Well, she hasn't exactly filled out the form or gotten back to me-"

"Mhm."

"- so I thought I'd just make some food. Make her feel at home."

"Uh huh."

You paused. Natasha wasn't even listening. She was just staring at the food.

"I'll make you some, too."

Her face brightened. "You're too sweet. Thank you, Y/N."

When the struklji was done, you made the plate pretty, topped off the pastries with a sprinkle of icing, and walked over to Wanda's room. The door swung open the moment you raised your hand to knock.

Wanda was there. Sitting on her bed. Staring at you with one brow lifted.

"Does that mean I can come in?" You asked.

"What do you think?" She replied.

You stepped in and the door promptly shut behind you. She cocked her head to the side, nodded at the plate in your hand.

"What's that?"

"Struklji," you said, stumbling over the word. You walked over and placed it on the empty spot next to her. "I made you some."

"Because I'm Sokovian." She didn't give you time to reply. "You can go." And then, as an afterthought. "Thank you."

You knew you were dismissed by how her head swivelled back to the TV. You hesitated, wanting to see how she liked it, but ultimately, left, closing the door behind you.

--

"Wanda liked your cooking."

"Really?"

--

She still hadn't approached you, hadn't even said thank you, but you wouldn't be swayed.  The Avengers were in a meeting debrief while you were in the kitchen, finishing up the last touches on the mekitsa. You counted 12. Enough for everyone even Tony who always managed to have something to say about your cooking.

" Oh? I didn't know this was a buffet." And there you go. There was Tony. Always talking.

You ignored him and placed the food down.

Tony pointed at the plate. "And what is this?"

"It's mekitsa," Wanda interrupted. Her eyes met yours.

"Is that Sokovian?" Steve asked.

She shook her head. "No, but it's common to eat it for breakfast or find someone on the street selling it. It's like a donut."

"Well, if Y/N made it, I'm sure it's good," Steve offered. He grabbed one and took a bite, nodding slowly as he ate. One by one the Avengers followed. Wanda being the last one.

She grabbed one, still eyeing you, and took a bite. The powdered sugar poofed, bits of it falling to decorate her hands and shirt. You looked at her. She was the only one you really cared to see their reaction.

"Is it good?"

Her expression was hesitant. Her eyes far away as if trapped in some memory. To your surprise, she frowned, eyed the pastry as if it had committed some crime.

Slowly, she nodded. She didn't smile or say thank you. She ate it and when she was finished, she took another one. You didn't know what to make of that.

--

You delivered food to Wanda for the next few weeks. Anything and everything remotely Sokovian or Balkan. Salma. Baklava. Rafioli. Gozleme.

"I don't know, Y/N," Natasha leaned back against the chair. Her feet kicked up on the desk. "It's like ever since Wanda came you forgot the rest of us eat, too."

The funny thing was that she was eating. You made the whole compound stuffed peppers for dinner. You were half on your way to bringing the plate to Wanda when Natasha, mouth half full with a pepper, began commenting.

You rolled your eyes. "That's not true."

Tony nodded. "It's true. You're slacking on your duties."

If he wasn't your boss, you'd remind him that tending to Wanda was your duty, but Tony didn't like being corrected. Again, you rolled your eyes. This time, sighing as well. You pointed at the pepper in his hand.

"It'd be easier if I didn't have an extra mouth to feed."

"You mean, me?" He pointed at himself. "The one who signs your check?"

You began walking again. Wanda's food would be cold if you continued to dilly dally. Like always, the door opened when you stepped up to knock. Wanda was sitting on the bed, facing the television as she always was when they weren't trying to get her acquainted with the Avengers lifestyle.

She nodded at the plate. "Stuffed peppers?"

You walked over and placed it beside her. "How'd you know?"

She pointed at her head. "Stark. He's loud."

"I stuffed them with lamb."

Her eyes met yours. She was fond of prolonged eye contact. Unafraid of it, but you would be, too, if you were a telepath.

"I can hear your thoughts, you know?"  

You stumbled over your words. For the first time, you thought you saw her grin. Just a bit. A lift at the corner of her lips.

"It's hard keeping track of all your superpowers." You shook your head, turning to the TV. Modern Family was playing on the screen. "You like sitcoms?"

"It's funny."

"Have you seen Living Single? It's another sitcom," you smiled faintly. "Probably not as distributed abroad."

She shook her head, picked up the remote and pointed it at the screen. "Is it online?"

"Oh. Um," You pointed at the bed.

"You can sit."

You sat next to her, scooted the food between you two. It took perusing through multiple streaming channels for you both to realize Living Single is nowhere to be found.

"Maybe, it's only on DVD," Wanda said, turning towards you. Up close like this, you noticed how her eyes had a rim of red around the green iris. Even when her powers were presumably not active.

"Probably." You shrugged.

An awkward silence settled between you. Her tongue darted out to lick her lips, her eyes looking down at the ground, deep in thought. You slowly began to feel as if you overstayed your welcome. You stood up and rubbed your hands on your jeans.

"Well, I should probably-"

"Why are you so nice to me?"

"What."

She looked up at you. Her brows furrowed. "Why are you so nice to me?" She repeated slowly.

"You're far away from home," you said entirely too fast. Almost like a question. You continued in a slower voice, averting your gaze to calm your nerves. "I just- " You shrugged. "It's not fun being somewhere where no one is like you. Not really like you."

She stared at you for so long you turned to leave. "It's not," you heard her say behind you.

You turned.

"Thank you," she smiled. A genuine smile with her teeth and all. She pointed down at the plate. "For everything."

"Yeah, of course."

--

"Y/N."

You turned, jumped, to see Wanda coming at you down the hallway. She'd been there for two months now and just returned from a mission. When you turned, she waved a DVD, too far away for you to make out the title.

"Whassup?"

She held up the DVD.

"How'd you find it?" You half-shrieked.

"Being an Avenger has perks." She smiled. "Do you want to watch it?"

"Um," you looked towards the kitchen. There was stuff to get done, but there was always stuff that needed to get done.  It could wait. "Yeah. Sure."

There was only a bed in Wanda's room which wasn't normally an issue because normally, she sat criss-cross on it, and you could sit a little farther behind. This time she was more relaxed, scooting to the side so you had  space. Barely. When you sat down, your leg touched hers.

She pressed the 'play' button on the remote control and you began watching the first episode. She didn't move her leg. You didn't either.

--

"Y/N! You gonna go back to being our cook or are you still content with just being Wanda's?" Tony asked you.

He sat at the meeting table as he always did. Only this time the other Avengers were present save for Thor. You rolled your tongue in your cheek. He was your boss, you reminded yourself. Despite yourself, you peeked at Wanda. She didn't like Tony much, but her expression is carefully blank.

"Leave Y/N alone," said Natasha.

"I make food for everyone." You placed a plate of beef patties on the table.

Tony grabbed one off the table and inspected it. "So, this isn't a Sokovian dish?"

"It's Jamaican," you deadpanned.

"Hm." He took a bite. "Did Wan-"

"No, I did not request it."

It was beginning to feel like everyone knew something was up with you and Wanda. You and her had pledged to watch all the American sitcoms she hadn't seen, ranging from Living Single to Moesha, and there were many nights where you honestly just stayed up with her. Vision would join sometimes, too. It was your thing.

But, maybe, they all saw more than you did. For you, it looked like a friendship. Of course, there were times when you two lingered with one another - your hands touching the shared popcorn, your knees bumping and not moving away - but that was just it. These were moments in time.

You were in her room again. You leaned back against the pillow cushion, she laid next to you, a bowl of popcorn between you two. You didn't want to say anything. You didn't want to assume, but there was a palpable tension between you. One that had you avoiding her gaze, sitting closer to the edge than the center.

"There's a lot of singing in this one," she said.

"You sound disgusted."

"I am."

Under normal circumstances, you would've laughed. Now, you didn't know what to do. A laugh would be forced. Ignoring it would be weird. You decided on looking at her. She looked healthier now. Sadness still existed in the corners of her eyes, but she looked like she was eating well. Beautiful then and beautiful now.

She turned to look at you. Her lips curled up in a slight smile.

"I can hear you."

"I'm not- Oh." You could feel your face warming up. You averted your gaze to the popcorn. "Do you always hear me?"

She turned her body entirely, away from the movie to face you. She nodded.

"That's awkward."

"It's not." Her eyes lingered at your lips. "I enjoy it."

You two lay there, staring at one another. You turned towards her, mimicking her position. If you could see yourself, you'd know that you looked like a mix between apprehension and happiness. All you had to do was move forward. Kiss her. It'd be so simple.

"I think you're beautiful, too," she said quietly. "And I like it when we touch."

Her hands hesitantly reached out to touch yours. First, the fingertips and then, palm to palm.

"I do, too," you whispered.

Your kiss was a hesitant one. She wasn't the one to lean forward first. You swallowed your fear and did it. She met you. Her lips trembled. Yours did too. You pulled back to look at her, analyze if you were doing the right thing, your eyes searched hers for some confirmation. What you were met with was a bit of fear. A longing.

You kissed her again.

[writtenjewels]

Speaking in Tongues

Being on the Medan for months now left Charlie feeling restless. He patrolled just to keep from feeling too cooped up. During one patrol he passed by the chapel. He heard a voice and paused, recognizing it as Joe's. Except the words sounded all funny. They said people spoke in tongues when they were possessed by the Spirit, but he never pegged Joe as being that devout.

“Joe?” Charlie stepped in and Joe quickly fell silent. His friend gave him a nervous little smile.

“Uh, hey, Charlie. I was just, uh...”

“Speaking in tongues?” Charlie suggested. He spoke teasingly to put his friend at ease. Joe winced and dropped his gaze.

“You heard that, huh? You won't tell no one, will ya?”

“ 'Course I won't. I'm a little surprised, I gotta say. You don't seem like the type.” Joe made a face and, after a quick internal debate, lifted his eyes back up to meet Charlie's.

“It was Russian. My family immigrated from there before I was born. My mama and daddy still speak it at home.” Charlie let out a whistle. Yeah, he could understand why Joe would want to keep that a secret.

“ 'Joe Roberts' is a pretty American name for a boy with Russian parents,” Charlie said at last.

“That's the whole idea, Chuck. You think the army woulda welcomed me if I was Iosif Kolchek?” Charlie could only shake his head at that. “It's lucky my family lives in the South,” Joe went on. “I picked up the accent and people don't even think twice about me bein' a true-blooded American boy. This is the only place where I still speak my mother tongue.” He gestured meaningfully to the chapel.

Charlie still didn't really know what to say. Between the two of them, he was always the more outgoing. Joe was an excellent soldier but he didn't go out of his way to socialize the way Charlie did. He just assumed Joe was on the shy side, but this new information was throwing the behavior into a whole new perspective. It was all the more overwhelming that Joe would trust him with this truth about himself.

“Well...” Charlie held out his hand. “How do you say 'nice to meet you' in Russian?” Joe's expression softened into a smile and spoke the words. For some reason, hearing his friend speak his native tongue made Charlie a little excited. He repeated the words, causing Joe to burst out laughing.

“That was real fuckin' bad. We're gonna have to work on your pronunciation.”

“Oh, yeah?” Russian lessons with Joe... That made him excited, too. “I'm sure I'll pick it up in no-time.” Charlie smirked and wiggled his eyebrows. “I'm known for being good with my tongue.”

“Shut up.” Joe gave him a gentle punch on the shoulder. “Nobody knows you for that.”

“You never appreciate my talents, Iosif.” He was just kidding around but the name had Joe freeze. Was Charlie crazy or was his friend blushing? No way, he had to be seeing things.

“It's 'Joe', all right?” Joe corrected. “Joe Roberts.”

“Sure, pal. You got it.” Charlie mentally tucked the other name away. He was sure he'd find an excuse to use it again some day.

[pigeonp0st]

Since I loved your one shot about Lena, I'm requesting another one! Reader is a single mom and is afraid to tell Lena about her child cause she thinks Lena isn't going to take it well, but in the end Lena loves her child.

Lena Luthor x Reader #2

Words: 1,590

Warnings: none?

Notes:

Thank you for requesting! If you’d like me to change the name of the kid (or the gender) feel free to say so. Also...sorry if you were expecting more of Lena. I realized at the end that there might not have been enough (Sorry for spelling mistakes too).

———

Miles, your eight year old son, has started to pretend he’s a psychologist. He’ll sit you down, with your head in his small lap (which isn’t very ethical), and ask you about your life problems.

Usually, you’ll make up funny nonsense that he’ll struggle to find the solution to...but today a very real problem has arrived, and you know you shouldn’t be trying to confide in your little boy about this, yet you decide to anyway.

He knows about you and Lena, though Lena doesn’t know about him. He saw her on TV once, was awestruck by her “smartness”, and you let slip that she’s the woman you’ve been dating.

Dating used as a loose term, because you and Lena haven’t actually become anything official. It’s...weird. Made even more so by the fact that she doesn’t know about the most important person in your life.

You tell Miles as much in today’s session. He beams down at you, happy that you’re finally starting to take his sessions seriously, and then taps his finger against his lip, thinking. “You should just tell her,” he finally concludes after a long pause.

You narrow your eyes up at him suspiciously, and wonder if you should just pretend to take his advice and move on. You don’t. “People usually don’t want to get involved with single moms.”

His eyes furrow at that, clearly upset, so you rush on. “If someone doesn’t want to be involved with you, none of me longs to be involved with them,” then, you pause, “I just want to want to be involved with Lena.”

“So this stems from past trauma?” Miles asks, and you gape at him, shocked.

“Where the f—when did you learn any of those words, honey?”

He grins at you again, clearly proud of himself, and then schools his face into an attempt of looking professional. It’s humorous. “Psy- Psych—”

“Psychology.”

“Yes, that. It says that our fears usually come for childhood trauma.”

“I’m not scared,” but even as you say that you know it’s not true. You make a mental note to watch over whatever the hell Miles is listening to, to make sure it’s age appropriate. “Even if I am, it’s definitely not from childhood trauma.”

“From relationship trauma then?”

You let out a shocked laugh, completely stumped. “Baby, your eight. If you keep saying smart things you’re going to start scaring me.”

“Let's talk about your fears,” He suggests. Clearly wanting to move on he gestures for you to sit up. Once you do, he hops up from the couch, grabs his clipboard from the coffee table, and starts scribbling down things you aren’t able to see.

“Okay,” you hesitantly agree. “I’m scared Lena will want nothing to do with me.”

“Why is that something you're scared of?”

You give him a confused look that he pays no attention to. “Obviously I like her...I also fear that you won’t.”

He nods, finally looking up from his clipboard. “And what happens if I hate her, and she hates me, so she leaves and you never speak to her again?”

You choke on absolutely nothing.

“What will you do then?” Miles asks, and you have no response for him. He doesn’t seem to want one. “You’ll deal with it, like you always have. So stop worrying until it comes. If it comes.”

You’re equal parts extremely proud of him, and extremely concerned as you think over what he’s said.

Then, as if he’s tired of being the smartest eight year old alive, he hands you the paper he was working on for half of your ‘session’. The paper is full of sharp lines that get more curvy and tangled the closer they get to what appears to be the middle.

“This,” he says, “is how you’re feeling.”

And you believe him.

———

It takes you a week to build up the courage to tell Lena about Miles. He surprisingly helped you come to the realization that holding off on telling Lena the truth won’t change the outcome.

In fact...it would probably make things more complicated. Even now, she deserved to know sooner than this.

It’s too late, of course. There’s no point in wishing you had done differently.

“Are you okay?” Lena asks through the phone, sounding so beautifully concerned over the fact that you haven’t spoken for awhile. God, you're whipped for this world-saving genius.

“Yeah,” you say, “just...you know how I said I had something to talk to you about?” You don’t wait for her to confirm, because of course she remembers, she’s looked scared because of it all day. “I sort of have to show you...so would you mind coming over?”

Yes, you’re a coward that’s hoping Lena seeing Miles for herself, instead of you telling her about him, will make her more accepting. Miles has a very convincing charm.

“You want me to go to your place?” Lena sputters, clearly shocked.

In an instant you regret the decision you were so sure about before. Maybe Lena isn’t ready. You should tell her before she comes, so she isn’t shocked out of her mind when she sees him.

You should—

“Okay,” Lena says, determined. You hadn’t even responded to her before. “I’ll be there soon.” And then she hangs up the phone before you manage to say anything, leaving you wondering what the fuck you’re doing.

You could call her back.

...you’re not going to. You’re too scared.

——

Miles waits by the door, dressed in his best suit. He knows how anxious you are about this, despite how hard you’ve been trying to hide it since your weird ‘session’, so he says he’s going to try and be the best him he can be.

You tell him that all he needs to be is his normal self and everything will be alright, but he admits to being nervous to meet Lena too, because she’s super smart. (He’s been watching anything he can find of her on the internet)

Thus, the two of you wait together impatiently, trying not to descend into madness.

——

At some point Miles starts making and handing you scribbles of how you feel, and you start making and handing them back.

It’s while you’re handing Miles your next piece that the doorbell rings.

He doesn’t look to be that nervous anymore, just excited, so he follows you on your track to answer the door, and with each step you contemplate your entire existence beyond Miles.

Then…Then you open the door.

Miles is hiding behind your leg, looking up at Lena with hesitant hopefulness and uncertainty, it’s the exact match of the way you’re looking at her, and Lena is looking at him with wide eyes.

Because you’re sure you’re about to die from the silence, you croak out a wobbly and quiet; “hi,” at the same time Mile’s sticks out his hands and says his own charming greeting.

“Hello, doctor Y/L/N here. Nice to meet you.”

“Lena Luthor.” As if on autopilot Lena shakes his hand. “You’re a doctor?” She asks, smiling the smallest of smiles at him.

He nods his head eagerly, glad she’s smiling. “Yeah! Of—of psy- psych...”

“Psychology,” You finish. Lena’s gaze switches to you. It’s the moment you think you’re gonna die, but her gaze is concerned instead of disappointed.

“He’s older than the photo on your wallpaper suggested,” Lena says.

Oh.

Oh…

You’re an idiot.

Then, Lena smiles—wider this time because of your dumbstruck expression—and looks at Miles. “To be a doctor you have to be pretty smart.”

He nods, his eyes practically full of stars.

“That’s how I know you and I are going to get along great.”

Miles grins madly, pushes you a bit to the side so Lena can come in, and says, eager, “can I show you my work, please?”

And Lena looks from you, to him, laughs a laugh full of amusement and endearment, and agrees gracefully. “I’d love it if you would.”

———

Lena adores Miles.

Around him she almost seems, impossibly, like a child herself. She so obviously and beautifully wants him to like her, and all the while Miles is almost exactly the same around her.

They’re both complete dorks trying to subtly get each other's attention and all you want to do is watch the two of them interact for ages.

They both were two separate parts of your life, and now they’re merged better than you ever expected them to.

It’s great. Absolutely great. But whenever they turn their twin gazes on you you’re sure you’re going to melt into a puddle of adoration.

Wow.

“What is it?” You ask them, after they’ve both looked at you for too long without saying anything.

Lena tilts her head, her smile concerned again, “you look like you’re about to cry.”

Miles nods his agreement. “What’s wrong mom? Does whatever bothering you stem from childhood trauma?” He asks, and at Lena’s ‘the fuck’ face you burst out into a fit of laughter, that quickly turns into tears of absolute love.

Both Miles and Lena looked at you with alarm because they don’t realize this is the happiest you’ve been in a while. It is though. It is.

“Not childhood trauma,” you assure them both, and before Miles can suggest it you add; “not past relationship trauma either, it’s happy tears.”

“Oh,” Lena stutters, “good.”

“Oh,” Miles repeats, sounding relieved and a tad bit disappointed. “I haven’t learned how to deal with those tears yet.”

[beyondspaceandstars]

While You Sleep

Chapter 11

Relationship: Bucky Barnes x Reader Warnings: nothing (i think?) Summary: Soulmate!AU - Throughout life, you’re given glimpses of your soulmate through dreams. As you sleep, memories flash in your mind showing you the life your soulmate has lived. Everyone around you raves about how their soulmate reads great books or volunteers in their spare time. But you can’t relate as your dreams end up being more like nightmares. Through initial images of death and violence, you come to learn your soulmate is the Winter Soldier.

a/n: hi all please be patient I am having some writers block/lack of motivation lately for writing so this series may be a bit on a pause (hopefully not) but I am working to get out more drabbles to maybe just get some inspo or something!

Masterlist | Series Masterlist

Waking up in Bucky’s arms felt just too good to be true. You were sure it was a dream, a nice, new dream Fate had blessed you with, but when Bucky shifted beside you and you felt every sensation, you knew you were truly awake. 

It also helped tremendously that you had a pleasant dream about him. It feels like centuries since you were shaken awake by the actions of The Winter Soldier. You couldn’t even consider any of it the actions of him next to you, feeling like the person in your dreams was and wasn’t the man in this bed. Everything felt like it intertwined dangerously, vines running through your mind. But, truthfully, you didn’t wanna think too much about it. You were finally getting your chance at the real soulmate experience, dates and dreams and all, and that was too priceless to spend time dwelling over much else.

Bucky awoke slowly, his normally rough eyes met yours in the softest manner. You two were tangled comfortably, still in most of last night's clothing, minus your panties and Bucky’s sweater which he must’ve ditched in the middle of the night. But none of that bothered you for a second. You were just too glad to be in this bed with your soulmate, cocooned lovingly in the sheets.

Bucky’s hoarse morning voice broke the silence, “Good morning.”

You smirked. “Good morning.” You shifted on your side and Bucky removed his arm from your waist, letting you get comfortable. The other arm around your shoulder stayed put. Quite surprisingly, it was his metal one. You could see Bucky’s torso completely now, the light from the sun hitting him in just the right way. Your eyes traveled from his arm to his shoulder, looking curiously. He was a fascinating phenomenon that you couldn’t believe was yours.

Thankfully, Bucky didn’t shiver away at the interest you were taking again in his arm and instead, indulged in your curiosity. “What’s going on in that pretty brain of yours?”

Your eyes snapped back to Bucky’s face. Your cheeks heated up from the question, feeling like you were caught doing something wrong. But Bucky didn’t look at all upset. Slowly, your eyes drifted back down and your hand came up to caress the base of his neck, just barely skimming his shoulder. He shuddered under the feeling.

“Does it… Does it hurt or anything?” You asked, suddenly feeling very stupid the second the words left your mouth. You bit your lip, trying to find the words to peddle back, but Bucky didn’t seem very bothered by it.

“No,” he shook his head. “I guess I don’t think much about it now. It’s just part of me. Obviously.”

You nodded, still letting your hand trace invisible patterns on his skin. “And you use it to fight bad guys?”

Bucky chuckled. “You’re still on that, huh?” You smirked and shrugged, wordlessly asking him to continue. “I… I help where I can. Don’t think it’s much to get excited about it but I like to think I have a hand in making the world better. It’s the least I could do since…” His words trailed off, leaving a kind of heaviness in the conversation. Bucky’s eyes lost their softness. They were beginning to water up but before any tear could escape, he spoke again. “You know, I actually am glad you brought this up. I have a mission soon.”

Your brows furrowed. “What?” 

He nodded and sat up in the bed, untangling you two. You followed his motions, gripping the blanket to you as you now sat side-by-side. 

“Should just be for a day or so. Mainly just gathering intel, nothing really crazy from the looks of it, but I still wanted to let you know.”

“W-When?”

“Tomorrow.”

Your jaw went slack. “You have a mission to leave for tomorrow and I’m just now hearing about it?”

Despite your rising anger, you let Bucky take your hand in his. He rubbed soft circles on your skin. “Doll, I promise, I didn’t know about it until yesterday morning.”

“Were you going to tell me?” You were a bit surprised by how softly your words came out, just barely making it above a whisper. Your heart was pounding loudly in your ears, worry and uncertainty course through you. You didn’t know what these missions could really entail. Could they really just be intel gathering? What if stuff goes wrong? Stuff goes wrong all the time, right? Your head was swimming and all you really knew was that you were losing your soulmate for a bit. Sure, you had gone your entire life without him (and he went without you much longer) but now you two were connected. It was practically set in stone. The situation had changed drastically and now he was leaving to do God knows what…

Bucky let out a sigh, the noise forcing you out of your worried thoughts. He spoke gently as if sensing the uneasiness within you, “Yes, I planned to, doll, I just didn’t know how to bring it up. When you asked about my job again, I just jumped on the opportunity, okay? I swear, I wasn’t going to just disappear.”

You wrapped your arm around his, leaning closer to rest your head in the crook of his neck. He shifted to welcome the touch. 

“You can’t disappear,” you whispered. “After what happened that night on the phone…” It flashed back. The dial tone in your ear, the thought of Bucky gone in the night. You didn’t want to remember those feelings, really. “You gotta promise me you’re going to be safe.”

Bucky let out a soft chuckle and you possibly would’ve found it comical, it was actually quite funny asking an ex-assassin to be safe, but thanks to the bond, there wasn’t anything funny about anything. You couldn’t imagine even having to put a bandaid on him. 

“I’ll be safe, doll,” he said. “Try not to worry.”

You scoffed. “Impossible.”

A moment passed before Bucky reached to cup the side of your face. Instinctively, you brought your face up to meet his. His expression as he stared back with a true whirlwind of emotions. Sadness, appreciation, love… But he didn’t express anything outwardly, and instead just placed his lips on yours. His body pressed into you as the kiss deepened, slowly pushing you back to the bed. You two fell back once again into the entanglement of one another. 

***

“You’re going to be okay, right?” 

“Yes, sweetheart, I’ll be fine.”

You tried giving an understanding nod but still, all you felt was worry as you and Bucky stood outside your apartment building saying your goodbyes. It was early and he had made sure to stop by before you had to leave for work. You thought you two had said your goodbyes in more ways than one yesterday but he wasn’t leaving so easily and you were secretly glad.

“I’m just making sure,” you sighed and reached to grab his hand. He accepted, intertwining your fingers.

“I know,” he nodded. “Are you going to be okay?”

You raised your brows. “Me?” You let out a small laugh. “I’m not the one going on a mission to do who knows what in God knows where.”

Bucky shook his head, a small smirk on his lips. “No, but I still have to make sure you’re safe here.”

“Bucky, I’ve spent a lot of time alone. I’m going to be just fine.”

Bucky’s expression morphed into something unsettling. He looked quite distressed at your comment, which you hadn’t truly expected, but hearing it out loud, you wanted to cringe at the statement. It was probably the most uncomfortable reminder but Bucky didn’t mention anything about it.

“I’m just making sure.” He repeated your words as a teasing remark, making you let out a small sigh of relief.

In a quick last-minute move, you pulled him closer to place a loving kiss on his lips. He smiled into it as his other hand came up to caress your cheek. Warmth raced through you as he broke the kiss.

“Have a good day at work, doll.”

“Have a good mission, Buck.”

***

You thanked your lucky stars that work today was ridiculously slow. It was almost the weekend but the usual rush of morning folks had dwindled pretty fast. Truly, though, this was a best-case scenario in your eyes because in between the fleeting customers and out of the watchful gaze of your boss, you took time to send Bucky some texts. While, yes, you knew he hated texting (who could blame him with the T9 keyboard he was working with) but you still thought they would be nice for him to read. 

I’m sure you’re high off in the sky getting briefed on your task but I wanted to wish you luck. You hit send with a goofy grin feeling a bit silly and a bit… concerned. Your worry for Bucky hadn’t stopped and you knew most likely it was consequences of being separated from your soulmate but you wished the gnawing at your soul would quit it. Still, though, a part of you felt giddy being able to send him cute little things while he was gone.

Your coworker took notice of your behavior quite quickly. As she came around the counter  restocking the syrups, she asked, “What’s got you all lovestruck?”

You bit your lip, trying to suppress your smile. “Bucky’s gone for a bit and I was just sending him a little love note.”

Your coworker chuckled. “A love note. Oh, how far you two have come.” With that sentiment, she went back to her restocking, leaving you to stare at your phone. You nodded to yourself realizing, yeah, you and Bucky had come far. You didn’t know if all relationships hit the gas pedal but there had always been an urgency with you even before ever looking at Bucky. You had wanted this for a while, always unsure if you would get it thanks to what the nightmares showed, but now it was real. It was as Bucky said, if it felt right to you two, then it must be.

Thinking of you. You sent off another little message before sliding your phone back into your pocket. You waited the rest of your shift but never received anything back, not that you really expected it, though. You figured if he had time to call, he was going to wait for that opportunity. 

Eventually, the clock hit quitting time and you exited the coffee shop, waving a brief goodbye to your coworker. Standing on the sidewalk, you half expected to maybe see Bucky eager to walk you home or take you to dinner but the street was gravely empty. You shook off the unusual thought and began your journey home. 

It was a fairly quiet night and you were thankful for that. It gave you a chance to just be with yourself for a second after a whirlwind of days and nights with Bucky by your side. Maybe this distance would be good, you thought. The distance creates a need and your reunion would be unlike anything you had ever felt before. You blushed at the thought.

You made your way into your apartment building and up the stairs. Unlocking your door, you threw down your items and began getting ready for bed. The softness of it was just begging for you. While you would’ve loved to be back in Bucky’s, you were dying for a bit of sleep to maybe ease your hyperactive thoughts of your soulmate and his mission. 

After taking off your make-up and getting on your pajamas, you crawled under the covers. Sleep hit you almost immediately, a new occurrence you were getting used to. You never really recalled a time when you were welcoming sleep with open arms.

But maybe you were counting your blessings too soon. Tonight ended up not being how it had been for the past few days. The nightmares came back in a sudden rush, way too fast for you to even think about what the hell was going on. You felt so lost, being pushed so many steps back in your progress, as scenes of fighting and guns blazing flashed in and out without any warning. The emotions came back as well. Need and anger were swelling in your heart as you fought and fought within the nightmares. Everything began feeling…so real. The nightmares felt strong as your body felt it had a mind of its own, tossing around your bed in panic as your brain filled with the images and… yells?

You were shaking now. You didn’t remember hearing sounds in your nightmares before but everything can be suppressed if you’re traumatized enough, you figured. But there was just something within you that didn’t feel right. Granted, nothing was right about the nightmares but this was different… these sounds felt real and sudden… Your brain was screaming. What the...

Something cold hit your back. At first, you had thought your blanket fell off but when you went to grab it, you found your hands were bound together. Real panic, nothing of the dream kind, raced through you. Your eyes bolted open. 

You didn't find your blanket because it wasn’t there. You weren’t in your bed. Hell, you weren’t even in your apartment. You were alone, shoved into a dark cell, your back pressed against a cold, metal wall. The panic was settling in but you couldn’t find the strength to react besides staring around frantically in the dark. You couldn’t make out anything, barely able to even see your own body. It was deadly silent.

You began praying to whatever was out there that this was just a dream, that you just really couldn't wake up, you had only thought you woke up. But that just wasn’t the case and a sad part of you really knew it. Nightmares suddenly weren’t just reserved for bedtime.

[healpeony]

Heather

Armin Arlert x reader ft Annie L.

Gif not mine. I felt bad for Annie :'), I listened to Heather by Conan Gray in repeat while writing this.

Request; Hello~ May I request A modern Au with Armin x fem reader x Annie with prompt 30 & 68 where it’s like Armin and Annie are dating and lately Armin has been getting distant lately and spending a lot of time with the new transfer student (their in college) reader and she doesn’t know he’s dating anyone at the moment so she asks him out and he says yes and they start to gain heavy feelings for each other and next thing you know Annie finds out and she’s hurt because she also found out reader is pregnant with Armins baby and he want to start a family together with reader even after the confrontation Annie is left hurt and heartbroken and reader and armin end up having a happy little family :3.

Warnings; angst, fluff, references to sex (not really described).

Taglist; @whogonprayformee

Prompts #30 “I want you to be happy, even if it is with her” and #68 “I'm pregnant”

Y/n was beautiful, hell Annie wasn't going to lie. The girl was completely perfect in her eyes, and she was sure others thought the same too, specially Armin.

Annie isn't blind, she had notice the longing looks Armin cast the h/c way, and the lingering touches when they worked together in class work and projects.

Of course she never mentioned, she didn't want to lose Armin, but it was too late it seem like each passing day he was falling more and more for that girl.

“Annie, hey!” Armin came up running towards her a big smile on his face

“Hey Armin..”

They didn't even act like a couple anymore, it wasn't like she was into pda so much, but she had put an effort into it when Armin and her started dating. Now it seem like Armin didn't even want to hold her hand in public or do anything with her when Y/n was around.

“I was wondering if you wanted to go to the coffee shop?” he asked smiling at her

“Sure, after class?” she answered

The blonde nodded before kissing her cheek “See you”

Annie, I'm sorry I can't make it to our date, I have to study.

Armin walked up to her after classes were done telling her that, just to find him in the coffee shop with Y/n when she went to buy some cookies for her father.

“Your grandfather sounds like a really thoughtful and generous person”

Y/n smile at Armin after he finished telling her about his grandfather who he lived with. She asked Armin to go out on a date with her when they saw each other in their last class.

“Yeah he is.” Armin responded smiling fondly at her

Y/n noticed a beautiful blonde haired women staring at them from the door, and she smiled softly at the women who had a frown on her face while looking at her in the eye.

“...which one you want?” y/n didn't even realized Armin was speaking to her, she quickly turn her head to him

She realized he was holding a little menu, with the waitress standing there ready to write down on the small (what seem to be a) notebook on her hand and assumed that he meant what she wants to order.

“I want the chocolate chip cookies, with coffee” y/n ordered while looking at the women indicating that the was all she wanted

“How many sugars?” the kind waitress asked looking at her

“Two sugars please, and thank you”

When the waitress left, Y/n looked at the door once again, but the women wasn't there.

“So tell me more about yourself” Armin looked at her with a soft smile

“well...”

Y/n proceeded to tell him, how she lived by herself in a small apartment and some stories from her childhood that she found funny, and apparently Armin did too since he laughed a couple of times.

They had been speaking for a while when the waitress came with a tray, what they ordered being there. They started eating while speaking after each bite or drink they took from what they ordered.

“It was nice to spend time with you”

Y/n smiled at Armin when they finally reached where she lived.

“Yeah, we should do it again sometime” Armin suggested, and the girl nodded

“See you!” she got off the car walking towards the inside of her apartment

And the dates did continue, they have gone to a lot of places together. Y/n felt like she was falling more and more for the blonde with each passing date.

“You know, we have been going out for some time”

Armin mentioned while they were getting out of the cinema after watching a horror movie. Y/n nodded at his words encouraging him to continue.

“And I was wondering if you'll like to you know.. be my girlfriend?” the boy asked scratching the back of neck

Y/n couldn't hold her excitement nodding at him with a big smile on her face “Of course!”

Y/n and Armin had been dating for months before they finally took their relationship to the next level.

Lustful kisses were shared between the two, naked bodies pressed together with passion and love, the bed and themselves being the witness of their love for each other.

“I'm pregnant”

Y/n looked shocked to the pregnancy test on her hand. And turn to Armin who was just as shocked as her.

“Armin I swear, I was on the pill” she said with watering eyes afraid that the blonde wouldn't believe her

“Hey.. it's ok, sometimes they don't work”

After calming Y/n, Armin stood  outside in the balcony of her small apartment nervously, it wasn't like he didn't wanted the kid, he was just in a state of shock.

He hasn't broken things off with Annie. It made him feel so guilty, but he didn't want to break Annie's heart, he knew how much she struggled to express her feelings to others and how she trusted him, and he was afraid of her distancing herself more from others when he finally have the courage to tell her.

He took out his phone sending a message to the girl he once loved.

We have to talk

“I already knew, well except that part where she was pregnant”

Armin looked up shockingly staring at Annie, who had her head lowered down.

“I noticed the way you looked at her Armin, that's how you used to look at me, hell I think that your love for her it's way bigger than the one you had for me. You obviously are better off with her than me, she makes you smile, something I can't even do” Annie gave a emotionless laugh when she stopped talking before continuing “I want you to be happy even if is with her” Annie smile finally looking up at him

Armin felt the guilt consume him “I'm sorry Annie”

“It's okay, now don't get emotional with me” she said dismissively “You better make me maid of honor if you guys get marry”

Armin smiled at her “I will”

“Annie! Come on help me put my dress on, put him in the crib”

Y/n threw a shoe at Annie who was carrying her and Armin's son in her arms.

“This is the first baby I find adorable” Annie said ignoring Y/n once again “Sasha you help her, I don't want to put him down”

“Ok, just wait I need to clean my hands”

Sasha went to clean the ketchup in her hands from the burger she just eated.

Annie continued playing with the baby making funny faces, and he was giggling in her arms.

“Your first words better be my name, young man” Annie told him

Y/n watched them with a bright smile, Annie seem to love her son, just like she was sure her son loved her back so much. She knew about Annie's and Armin's past relationship since they told her, and since then she and Annie became good friends.

Today was her wedding day, and Annie was the maid of honor.

Annie didn't regret letting Armin be happy with Y/n, now she was the godmother of a beautiful 5 months old baby, a little boy who she would do anything for, just for him to be happy.

—

Hello! Thanks for reading!, You can support by liking or hitting reblog! Also just a little side note, on your first date don't tell a person if you live alone just in case they're creeps! I just realized something, Sasha eating burger reminded me of something written by @ctrlvr (sorry for tagging you, I can remove it if you want).

[excitedlysuffering]

How He Hurts Your Feelings

Here’s some angst for ya :p wait is this even angsty?? Idk it’s the angstiest thing I’ve ever wrote XD

Masterlist Part 2

Naruto~

You sighed as you neared your second home, a ramen shop. You loved ramen, of course, but it was tiring having to cater to your boyfriend’s uncanny obsession with it. For once you wanted to have a choice. He never listened to your ideas anymore, recently he had made your relationship all about him, and it was beginning to eat at you.

You didn’t even necessarily want to eat. You just wanted to spend time with Naruto without having to eat ramen. Was that too much to ask?

“Naruto, we always go to Ichiraku’s for dates… maybe we could do something different?” The blonde turned to you with a pout. “Why? I thought you loved ramen?” You sighed, shaking your head.

“I do, but it’s all we seem to do these days.” His frown deepened. “But, I’m hungry!” You nodded, trying to control your patience. “Me too, but maybe we can go somewhere else to eat? I heard there’s a new BBQ place opening!” He was full-on scowling and his arms were crossed.

“Why are you being so disagreeable? You wanted to go out and here we are.” Your face fell at his hostile demeanor, but you refused to back down.

“I’m not being disagreeable, Naruto. You always pick out our dates without considering my opinion, I’m simply asking if we can do something different.” He rolled his eyes, his cerulean eyes burning with irritation.

“Fine, whatever. Go to your BBQ place. I’m going to get ramen.” Without another glance, he turned around and ducked into Ichiraku’s, leaving you alone on the street. Tears filled your eyes and blurred your vision as you ran back home, suddenly having lost your appetite.

Sasuke~

The Uchiha rarely got sick, but when he did he was more irritable than usual. You knew that when he did it was best to take his words with a grain of salt, as he was just trying to seem tough to make up for his perceived weakness at being sick. However, there was only so much you could take and you were slowly reaching your limit.

With every snide remark, you felt yourself grow a bit more upset. As it was Sasuke had tried to slam the door in your face when you had arrived, given you the silent treatment, complained about every little thing about the soup you made, he even griped about the tomatoes you’d brought him.

However, what was really pushing you over the edge was his ungratefulness. When you were sick, you let him take care of you, why couldn’t you return the favor?! You had been nothing but patient and gracious, and still, he had a problem with everything you did.

“For crying out loud, woman, I don’t want the medicine!” He snapped. At that moment, you snapped too. You threw down the spoon of medicine and a loud clang resounded. “FINE! I’ve done nothing but help you, same as you’ve done for me, but all you’ve done is treat me like some kind of pest! I get that no one is themselves when they’re sick, but I am not you’re personal punching bag, Sasuke!”

He seemed taken aback by your outburst, even to the point of silence. “You’ve made it clear I’m not needed here.” His eyes narrowed as you grabbed your bag. “Because you’re not.” You froze, trying to school your expression. “What?” He scoffed. “I said you’re not needed.”

Refusing to tolerate any more of his verbal abuse, you walked out his door without a word, not caring if he saw your tears.

Neji~

If you were being truthful with yourself, you knew you had been a bit neglectful of Neji lately. In the last two weeks, you had last minute canceled three consecutive dates. In your defense, you were so close to finishing the novel you were working on, and you had completely immersed yourself in it, excited for it to be so close to completion.

You had pushed him to the back of your mind and wrote day and night. You were just pages away from completion when you heard an obnoxious knocking at your door.

You were surprised to see your boyfriend, who looked furious, to say the least. “Oh, hey, Neji, what’s up?” You stepped back letting him in. His lilac eyes met yours and it felt like staring into a typhoon.

“It’s been three weeks since we’ve gone out, and all you can say is ‘what’s up’?” His voice was deadly quiet and you sheepishly avoided his eyes. “I’m sorry, I know I’ve been distant, but I’m so close to finishing my novel, and I just-”

He was in your face before you could blink. “Your novel?! You’ve been avoiding me for that stupid thing?!” Even though his words stung, you knew he had every right to be mad; you hadn’t been very considerate lately.

“I’ve been working on it for so long and I just wanted to finish it, I didn’t mean to hurt you.” You insisted. He sneered. “I can’t believe you’re spending so much time on a pipe dream. I’ve read it, and it will amount to nothing.” You had no idea how to respond, you could feel tears forming. “Get out.” Your voice was quiet but firm. “What?” You looked him directly in the eyes. “Now. I won’t repeat myself.” He stormed away with a scoff, leaving you with new insecurities.

Shikamaru~

Much to your delight, Shikamaru had agreed to go walking in the park with you. He had been away on a mission for a month and had gotten back a few days ago. You had missed him greatly and you were ecstatic to finally have him back.

“What did you do while I was away?” You looked up at the Nara as you walked. “A lot of training, really… not much else besides that. I missed you a lot.” He threw an arm around your shoulder, a small smile on his face. “I missed you too, (Y/N/N). I’m glad to be back.”

You passed a few kids who were playing a game of tag and weaving in and around the area, laughing all the way. You smiled at the sight, leaning your head onto Shikamaru’s shoulder.

“Shika?” He looked down at you letting you know he was listening. “How come you didn’t want to go cloud watching? Not that I’m complaining, it’s just unusual.”

He chuckled, steering you around the rambunctious children as they ran by. “I’ve been gone for a while, I figure it’d be nice to walk around a little bit. Don’t get used to it though, this is special.” You giggled, not surprised in the least.

“At least some things don’t change.” He raised an eyebrow. “Oh? What things?” You smirked. “You’re still as lazy as can be!” He dramatically rolled his eyes before letting a smug expression settle on his face.

“And you’re still abnormally short!” Shikamaru snickered. You rolled your eyes, punching him in the shoulder. You were about to reply when there was a plume of smoke. Shikamaru was no longer in sight.

You felt your mind blank for a second. A shadow clone. Your own boyfriend had rather send a clone than actually see you after a month of being apart. You felt an ache in your chest as you angrily wiped the tears from your eyes. Had he really not missed you at all?

Kiba~

You screeched indignantly as a bucket full of water rained down on you. Tears of frustration gathered in your eyes, much to your chagrin. This was the third prank today, and you were more than tired of Kiba’s antics.

You were going to your room to grab your jacket and was in too much of a hurry to notice the trap. Now you were in the doorway, soaked to the bone, shaking with anger and cold while Kiba just laughed.

First, it had been replacing the sugar with salt so your morning coffee had been spoiled, then it had been hiding every article of clothing you owned and then having to find each individual piece, one at a time. Now you were wet and miserable and Kiba looked like he was only just beginning your torment.

“You know what, Kiba, this isn’t funny! This is the third prank in as many hours! What is your deal?!” He looked confused as if he didn’t know why you were angry. “They’re just harmless pranks, babe, no reason to get worked up.”

They were harmless pranks, but it was your… not so special week and you didn’t have the energy to deal with it. “Look, I’m tired, okay? So can you please just quit it?”

He rolled his eyes as if he were exasperated. “You’re so boring (Y/N). Why can’t you just loosen up once in a while?” You harshly rubbed your temples, trying to push down your hurt. You knew you weren’t overreacting, you were sore and drained, and he was making it that much worse.

“I’m going back to bed. Please don’t bother me.” You waved a hand towards him and walked away and slammed the door behind you. “God, what did I do to get such a whiny girlfriend?”

Your mouth fell open as you heard his voice. Was that really how he thought of you?

Gaara~

You sighed dejected, as you stared at the empty seat your boyfriend was supposed to be. You knew that as the Kazekage, Gaara was a busy man, but he was the one who planned the date and he had promised to be there.

After thirty minutes of pity filled stares and waiting, you figured he wasn’t going to show up. This was the fourth time this month that he had stood you up and you couldn’t help but find yourself hurriedly heading in the direction of the Kazekage building to confront him.

By the time you had finally reached his office, you had calmed down, but that wasn’t to say you weren’t still angry. You knocked harshly on his door and waited for his response. “Enter.” You stormed your way in, your dress swishing behind you as reached his desk.

“Gaara. I was expecting you forty-five minutes ago.” Seafoam eyes met yours, before sweeping over your outfit. “Oh, god, (Y/N), I’m so sorry, I got caught up-” I scowled at the overused excuse.

“This is the fourth time! For goodness sake, this date was your idea!” He stood up, holding your trembling hand. “I know, and I’m so sorry. I’m going to make it up to you.” Your frown deepened as you turned away.

“Do you know how foolish I looked? Having a reservation for two, and sitting there for thirty minutes?” He sighed, but it didn’t sound remorseful. “I said I’ll make it up to you, okay? I was in the middle of something important.”

Your eyes hardened as they met his. “Important? So more important than me apparently? I know you’re busy, Gaara, I do, but this is getting ridiculous! Not only are you neglecting our relationship, but you’re also neglecting your own health!”

The crimson-haired Kazekage’s eyes left yours as he sat back down. “I’m very busy right now, (Y/N), can we finish this later?” He suggested emotionlessly.

Your fists were clenched. “Don’t bother, I have nothing more to say.” The slamming door had a note of finality to it as your left.

Kakashi~

You hissed as the peroxide touched the wound on your stomach. “You were reckless, (Y/N).” You glowered at the head of silver hair that was hunched over your bruised and bloody form, medical supplies in hand.

“I wasn’t reckless, Kakashi. My team was in shambles and we were outnumbered. I did the best I could with what I had and the mission was a success and everyone is okay.” Even through his mask, you could see his frown. “But at what cost? You should’ve waited for back up!”

I rolled my eyes. “Tsunade-sama was proud, everyone is fine. These injuries are nothing. I’m a shinobi and so are you. You know the cost and this can barely be considered a cost.” He shook his head, frustrated, as he wrapped your bandages.

“I get worried, okay? I know you, and I’m scared of the day you finally go too far and do something stupid-” You shot up, no longer being able to tolerate his attitude.

“Do you doubt my abilities that much? Even though I graduated from the academy, passed the Chuunin exams, and got my Jonin promotion the same as you?!” Kakashi simply crossed his arms.

“Well, I’m having to stitch you up, right?” You swatted his hand away from the cut on your shoulder. “That’s enough! I don’t have to take this! I’ve earned my place here, no matter what you say! The number of times I’ve patched you up and never complained and this is how you treat me?” Your words faded to a whisper hurt shining through your tone.

“That’s different! I can handle it!” Your eyes widened at the words. “Seriously? So what? You’re calling me weak now?”

“That’s not what I said, (Y/N).” You chuckled humorlessly, still in disbelief that you were even having this conversation. “You didn’t have to. It was pretty clear. I think it’s time you left.” The Jonin did just that, without another word or even a glance in your direction.

With tears dripping down your cheeks, you addressed all your minor injuries, trying not to think of Kakashi.

~Akatsuki~

Pein~

In hindsight, you knew it wasn’t the best idea to rip up the forest fighting Hidan. But the Jashinist had run his mouth a little (a lot) too far this time and you dismembered him. It wasn’t that big of a deal, almost everyone had done it at some time so you thought nothing of it. Pein didn’t have the same sentiments, however, and had wasted no time calling you to his office.

“What were you thinking?” He hissed. You simply raised an eyebrow, your lover hadn’t succeeded in intimidating you in a long time. “Hidan went too far and I did what everyone else has done in the past.”

He pinched the bridge of his nose, exhaling. “That’s not an excuse, (Y/N). You’re being immature, and I will not stand for it.” You snorted. “Look, Kakuzu cuts off Hidan’s head like once a week and you’ve never had a problem, so what’s got you pissed about it this time?” He scowled, his Rinnegan becoming more prominent.

“I recruited you for your smarts and potential, not so you could bounce around doing whatever you wanted! I don’t have time to deal with your childish antics!”

You just snorted, trying not to show how deeply his words were cutting you. Pein was never like this with you, he always treated you like a goddess, and now here he was berating you over a minuscule problem.

“You don’t have to ‘deal’ with me, Pein! I’m not a kid, and if someone offends me, you’d best believe I’m not going to let it slide! Now I’ll ask you one more time. What. Is. Your. Problem?” He shot up, his hands slamming down on his desk causing you to step back, startled.

“My problem is that my girlfriend is being a fool and embarrassing me!” It really did feel like he had stabbed you through the chest this time. But you bit your cheek not to let it show. You wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. “So that’s what it is, huh? You think I’m not good enough for the great ‘God’ Pein?” You mocked.

When he didn’t respond you waved a hand, walking towards the door. “I haven’t dismissed you yet, (Y/N).” Pein’s voice rang out. You shook your head as you reached the door.

“I don’t know about that, I feel pretty dismissed right now, actually.” With that, you left, not caring to hear what else he had to say.

Deidara~

You watched as Sasori and Deidara worked on their separate projects, while you yourself worked on your own. A large, half-filled canvas was before you, baring your newest artwork. It was an abstract graffiti painting, creating a 3D letter effect. You were quite proud of it actually.

However, you could feel eyes on you and you turned, giving Sasori a questioning look as you set your paints down. “What?”

His blank brown eyes ran critically over your artwork, before shrugging and going back to his puppets. You rolled your eyes at his typical behavior before walking over to Deidara’s table.

“Hey, Dei. Whatcha working on?” He turned to you, his smile wide as he held up a clay sculpture to you. It was a chibi version of you, causing you to blush. “Do you like it, hm? It’s my best one yet, yeah!” You handled it carefully, laughing a little. “Yeah, it’s adorable!” The blonde puffed up causing you to giggle more.

“And deadly, un! These are advanced, only for special circumstances, yeah.” You were just about to question what kind of special when you noticed the puppet master in front of your canvas, looking unimpressed.

“Um, Sasori?” He didn’t respond, just waved the two of you over. You sighed as you both followed him, slightly nervous about what he was going to say. “Look, brat.” You watched as the artist’s eyes looked over every line and color. “The strokes are uneven, and the shading is off. You call this art, (Y/N)?”

Your mouth fell open at his bluntness. “Okay, one it’s abstract so that’s the point, it’s not supposed to be precise! Second, yeah, I do call this art.” Deidara offered you an apologetic smile. “Sasori no Danna is right, un, it’s a little off…” You blinked twice not comprehending his words for a moment.

“Seriously?! I never speak badly about either of your pieces, so why don’t I get the same respect?!” Sasori just rolled his eyes, sitting back down at his desk. Typical. You turned your glare to your boyfriend. He crossed his arms, not looking at you.

“It’s fine, (Y/N/N), we all have bad days, un, nothing to get worked up about, hm.” You didn’t warrant his statement with a response. You just scoffed in disbelief as you stalked out of the room. Unbelieveable.

Tbh the pic has nothing to do with this but I found it and I thought it was hilarious?

[jeontaehui]

Dream VS. Dream | JAEMIN VS. TAEHEE

taehee scribbles each question she came up with down on the white paper, easily copying the ones she had prepared beforehand from her phone.

she makes eye contact with jaemin from across the set and gives him a playful wink, eliciting an enthusiastic reaction from the latter, “YEAHHH! SEXY!”

taehee finishes a few seconds before jaemin does and she looks to the camera to say that she came prepared. “i think i was too excited for filming this kind of content,” she giggles, “so i prepared them beforehand even if i didn’t know who i was gonna be with, but i changed some questions so jaeminie could answer.”

“it’s a mix of hard and easy questions,” taehee explains, yet her tone was unsure. “but jaemin-ssi is observant,” she nods, playing with the strings of her top, “and attentive, so i think he’ll get these right.”

“hello, jaemin-ssi,” she politely bows once they were both seated in front of each other, “what brings you here today?”

jaemin snorts, “what brings me here today?” taehee nods, anticipating a ‘jaemin’ kind of answer from him. “i was just passing by,” he says calmly, “being sexy.”

“ohh, being sexy?” taehee repeats, “you’re doing great so far.” jaemin lets out another chuckle before asking the same question she asked him, “how about you, miss jeon taehee? what brings you here today?”

“oh i’m a reporter,” she tells him, and jaemin’s mouth forms into an ‘o’, “i report what’s on-set. this is the interview portion and i’m holding my cue cards.”

“are you only interviewing me?” “yes, i’m only interviewing you.” “i feel special then,” jaemin shrugs proudly, showing his pearly white teeth at the camera. 

“ladies first.” “okay, i’ll start with an easy one — what is my favorite ice cream flavor?” taehee raises both brows, expecting jaemin to get it right away yet he says, “easy, mint choco.” a short laugh escapes her as she shakes her head, “no? mango? no also… is this a flavor from baskin robbin’s?” the disbelieving grins they have on each of their faces begin to match, “jaemin-ah!” “it is mint choco!” “no!”

“jaemin,” she says, tone serious but the smile on her face says otherwise, “just think simply.” one, two, three seconds pass…. “cookies and cream?” “good job!” jaemin finally chuckles in relief, “how can i not get that?” she clicks her tongue at him, “right?”

“what was the first menu we had together?” she asks next, and jaemin decides to think a lot longer before answering, “it was in 2019, right?” taehee nods, “ah, tangsuyuk!”

“it’s funny how you remember that because we only ate together like.. twice,” she giggles. 

“next one!” jaemin says in english, causing taehee to giggle at his adorableness. “which of your things do i want to have?” his eyes widen, “which of my things do you want to have?” “mhmm.” “can you give me a hint?” she bites the inside of her cheek before answering, “you bring this to set.. or like every time we travel or go out.” jaemin’s eyes light up as he answered, “ahh camera! i remember you telling me now, yeah.” 

“jaemin’s really good at taking pictures,” taehee tells the camera, “he takes them so well, and then you’re good at editing too.” jaemin could only smile at her and nod, feeling wholesome at her shower of compliments. 

“i like taking pictures of you the most,” he tells her, surprising taehee. “really?” a soft hum sounds out of him, “and you don’t really take pictures of yourself, noona... you should take more pictures of yourself, you’re pretty.” “alright~” taehee brushes him off with a playful roll of her eyes, hiding the fact that she was feeling shy with his nice words, “okay, next question!” 

“this one’s fill in the blanks,” she gives him a short glance before proceeding, “i wish jaemin was my ... blank.” he tilts his head to the left, thinking, “i wish jaemin was my blank. i have no clue.” 

“think of this,” taehee decides to give him a hint, “you’re caring. you take care of the members really well. you’re a good hyung and a good cook!” jaemin titters for a short while, before a blank expression dawns over his features as he shakes his head, “i still don’t know.” 

“older brother,” taehee tells him, putting the piece of paper behind the rest of her stack. jaemin’s brows raise in surprise, “really?” he hears a positive hum out of her, “i don’t know if it was jisung or someone else, but i told them, ‘jaeminie would be a good older brother’ and they said, ‘why not me?’“ they both laugh at that, it was definitely jisung. 

“i can be your older brother starting now,” he tells her. “are you serious?” “yeah but you have to call me ‘oppa’,” a giggle escapes jaemin at the way taehee freezes, watching her resume to fiddling with the papers in her hands, “ahh... it comes with that.”

“okay, last question!” taehee laughs before she could even get her sentence out, “what did i recently buy?” the younger boy’s eyes drift across the set as he repeated her question, mumbling. 

“ah!” he exclaims after a few seconds, his eyes crinkling as he laughed, “a turtle! rocky!” his chuckles were contagious, and taehee finds herself cracking up at the memory. “noona and i were sent to buy take out for the team,” jaemin starts, “so i waited in the car, but noona wanted to come out so she did and went in the same direction as our manager.” this is the part where taehee starts hiding her giggles with her palm, “when manager noona came back, alone, i went, ‘huh? where’s taehee noona?’ and then she comes by a few minutes later from the opposite direction with a turtle!”

“as soon as she went inside the car, she said, ‘everyone, meet rocky!’ and our manager went,” he widens his eyes into a pointed stare, his mouth going agape as he imitated their manager’s expression. you could hear taehee’s as well as jisung’s laughs from off-screen. “and you said, ‘that is definitely not food!’” taehee adds. 

"what came into your mind that made you decide to buy a turtle?” jaemin grins, looking at the latter with amusement in his eyes. “you know how taeyong hyung has an aquarium in their dorm?” she answers him, “it’s nice to look at and i thought our dorm can have something like that too.” 

“so jaemin got everything correct—” “i think i only got four though.” “let’s just say you got everything correct,” she brushes him off quickly with her hand, chuckling, “so now it’s jaemin’s turn to ask!” 

“what’s the most recent item i purchased?” he throws at her, and taehee subtly sighs as she looked off set, thinking. “speaker?” she answers unsure, but jaemin’s smile tells her she’s correct before they proceed with the next question. 

“how many speakers do i have?” taehee brings both hands to her chest as she tells him excitedly, “i know this! i remember counting it in your room!” jaemin chuckles at her cuteness, “so do you remember?” “wait, give me a moment.”

taehee taps her feet on the floor as she fidgets. “speakers come in pairs, right?” she asks him, “are they all by pairs?” jaemin shakes his head, “nope, not all.” 

“mm, including the ones you bought yesterday.. six?” taehee’s eyes light up with hopefulness, making jaemin’s smile grow wider at her enthusiasm, but he shakes his head again. “ten?” her eyes widen when he tells her she’s correct, before furrowing her brows at the number. “why do you need ten speakers? wouldn’t you hear anything outside if you have that many?” jaemin laughs, “no, for the surround system, i need it.” “ahh,” she nods understandingly, “that’s cool.”

“for editing photos, which device do i use?” “the computer! imac!” “there’s more,” he tells her. “imac.. ipad?” she raises a brow, continuing when she sees jaemin nod. “imac, ipad, i... phone!” taehee shouts victoriously, “iphone, your phone. right?” he grins at her proudly, “you’re getting so much right. good job.” 

“what’s my favorite color?” he asks, expecting she’d get this question right. “black,” he shakes his head no. “white,” nope. “you don’t seem like a blue type of person though... pink?” jaemin laughs, “noona! this is super easy!”

“mint hoodie—” “nope!” “that wasn’t an answer! i was just pointing it out,” he chuckles at her blatant excuse, deciding to give her a hint. “noona,” jaemin drops his head down to the floor before facing her with a serious gaze, “you’re holding it right now.” she flips her own stack of papers quickly and grins, “yellow! i was just about to say that, you should’ve waited for me. talent takes time, jaeminie.” the younger boy snorts, “getting answers right isn’t a talent.”

“what is my favorite dog breed?” she finds the fourth question the hardest so far, “there are lots of dog breeds out there!” jaemin starts to look around the set and call a member out, “jeno! where’s jeno? i’m sure jeno knows.” taehee’s mouth closes and opens like a fish out of water until she stops and gives him a sarcastic look, “do i look like jeno to you?” (jisung, from off the screen, laughs loudly at this.)

“jeno knows it the best,” he tells her. a small pout appears on taehee’s face yet it disappears in a split second, starting to shuffle the papers in between her hands, “i gave you questions that had you in it and you give me a question jeno knows best, huh.” jaemin laughs at the scoff that leaves taehee afterwards. he shakes his head softly, “he knows it best because it looks like him.” taehee blinks two or three more times before she gets it right, “ah, samoyed! it’s a samoyed.” 

“i didn’t know that about you,” she mentions, “do you like it because it looks like jeno?” a short laugh escapes jaemin at her question, but he answers her simply with, “i just like it. it’s cute.”

“what game do i play these days?” taehee points her finger to him, “you play with haechan, yeah? apex.” an evil-sounding laugh comes out of jaemin knowing that she wouldn’t get this question so easily, “no? pubg.” “nope.” “okay then, is it on the phone or on the computer?” he shakes his head at her, “if i tell you, you’d get it right away. it’s not on both.” 

taehee hums, “rock, paper, scissors?” he gives her another sly hint, “no, think of a nonsensical answer.” she clicks her tongue, “don’t break the ice.” 

jaemin throws his head back with a laugh, before telling her the answer, “none.” he says that with such finality that taehee looks to the side in faux annoyance, tongue brushing against the side of her cheek, much to the amusement of the latter. “it’s so fun, right?” jaemin teases, “next one... i do not have it, so taehee noona got everything right in a sense.” taehee nods with him, leaning back and looking at the camera, “right, jaemin got everything correct too.”

“we actually know each other so well,” she says, glancing towards jaemin as he agrees with her, “this was a piece of cake.” she starts to get on her feet while the other does the same, putting their hands out for a polite handshake at the end of the video. 

taehee tries to put an arm around the taller boy, chuckling for a bit when she had to tiptoe to reach his height. she doesn’t notice the grin jaemin sports because of this, “we’ll continue to know more about each other in the future.. and eat together more often! we should eat together more often.” she meets jaemin’s adoring gaze when she faces him, and so she grabs him by the elbow and starts leading them both off-set, “thank you!” “dream vs. dream, bye bye!” 

[stevenbasic]

So far AJ’s day, his first at this new job, had been predictably miserable. He figured that was sort of normal, kinda expected. He’d been his own boss, owner of his own little construction firm for years, so going back to being a manual labor grunt for someone else again was sure to feel like ten steps in the wrong direction. But working on a demo team for a bunch of girls? The women, the company that had put him out of business? That was turning out to be particularly soul-sucking and demeaning work. But, hey, a buck’s a buck and he needed as many of those as he could muster these days. His saving grace was, with a little effort keeping his head down, that he could remain faceless and anonymous and just do his work. The morning had been spent taking down some walls in the area of the building that was to be the new wing. He’d sat by himself for his meager lunch outside - his buddies, guys that used to work for him, were on another team entirely, at another site - and he had now this afternoon been asked to step into the doctor's office area to look at some venting. Privately, he leapt at the chance: maybe he’d be able to see Angie. Or, for that matter, catch a glimpse of - or even meet - that statuesque, brunette boss of hers, her friend Melissa...

He was in luck.

“Oh! H-hey, hun,” AJ said, acting surprised to bump into his girlfriend, Angie, as he turned the corner in the back hallway. He’d already checked out what he’d needed to see, looked at the thermostats, and had been sort of aimlessly drifting around, avoiding others, waiting for just this moment. He managed what he hoped was a casual smile. “Funny meeting you here haha,” he joked, wiping plaster dust from his forehead, “H-how’s the first day?”

At first, Angie looked surprised to see him, too - eyes widening. But she didn’t even give him a word of greeting before her eyes flashed, her smile grew into a grin, and she bit her lower lip. Looking behind herself, down the hall, checking if they’d be seen, she then suddenly grabbed him by the collar of his green, grime-covered t-shirt and pulled him aside. “Here, let’s go in here-“ she said, opening the door to a supply closet and yanking him into it. She shut the door behind them and flipped on a switch.

“Hey wow..!” AJ exclaimed, eyes immediately going wide in pleasant surprise, “Nice to see you too!”

The switch she had hit had turned on an overhead fluorescent, which was just flickering to life. “Shush,” she said, locking the door, “The last thing I need is someone to see us together.” She’d just gotten out of lunch, where all the office girls had assembled, crowded into the too-small breakroom for a welcome meeting.  She’d had a few great little chats and was just really beginning to grasp what was going on here, what she was now part of. It was thrilling and her blood was still on fire from the excitement, the potential. Yes yes yes...female empowerment, sisters united, blah blah blah. But there was opportunity here for her.

She’d just been headed to her new temporary, makeshift desk in accounting when she ran into her, well, boyfriend. Though AJ was here doing some work for the construction company hired to renovate the building, she really didn’t want to be seen with him. Things were too big here, there was too much at stake for her to risk getting muddled down by, well, him. “I can’t be the girl dating the hired help,” she said, not smiling, but her heart still thumping.

“Hey, that hurt..!” AJ remarked, taken a bit aback by her bluntness but trying to laugh. Angie looked so good in her short, floral dress, boobs big and on display. “How’s the first day?” he repeated.

Angie faced AJ, mind still swimming with the excitement from the meeting and an electric, estrogen-fueled energy. “Eh, sort of chaotic, with all these new girls, there’s not enough space for us all until the new wing is ready,” she answered, looking him up and down. She’d seen him in his construction gear countless times before, but here - on the job, dirty, as a low-level grunt - he just looked so plebeian. And too tall. “I got to meet the doctor, this morning,” she said, feeling her eyes sparkle and the enthusiasm in her voice, “he’s sooo vulni…”

He’d heard that term before, and he knew how girls were all starting to like that: small, weak, vulnerable men. It had been why she’d had him stop going to the gym, eat less, get skinnier. He thought she liked it, though it never seemed as if it was quite enough for her; he was still tall and lanky, and he felt she’d actually like it if he was somehow smaller than her, shorter than her, weighed less than her. That was the fad, these days, and Angie was into it. But he’d never heard that weird tone in her voice when talking about another guy, not in all the months they’d been together. Here in the supply closet he felt the first pangs of jealousy, starting in his stomach, and it was envy for Angie’s new boss. Not because he was successful, a doctor, and was her superior here (though Ang probably loved that too), but because he was so “vulni” . As he watched her face, seeing how she talked about this guy, the sensation grew heavier, and worked its way up to his throat.

“He was hiding, totally hiding, in his office. But I went in and met him,” she said, “he looked like a kid sitting at a big-boy desk. He was afraid to stand up in front of me, but I bet I’d be taller than him in my heels…”

There it is, AJ thought.

“Your friend Melissa probably has him by more than a foot, then,” AJ blurted, smiling but speaking before thinking and immediately regretting it as Angie’s eyes narrowed, analyzing him. His grin disappeared as her expression changed.

“Yeaaaaah...have you noticed?” she continued, still watching his face, “a lot of the girls here are tall. They’re all hot…”

Smart enough at least for this moment, AJ held his tongue. Saying too much would just dig him deeper into the hole that he was apparently already in.

Angie still looked at her boyfriend of these many months, her smile crooked, and considered him. He’d always felt like she could read his mind, and seemed to be doing it now. She knew what he wanted. “Take off your shirt,” she instructed, hands on her wide hips.

Without as much as a thought, AJ was peeling himself out of his dusty work tee, revealing his trim, lean torso, his ink. Angie’s eyes immediately drifted from his still-defined abs, up his chest and went to the new tattoo on his throat, her name: “Angie Wade”. She reached out and gently caressed it.

“Yeah, he’s surrounded by women here, pretty women,” she continued, once again talking about this dude that AJ was starting to like less and less, “Lots of them are taller than him, walking around in their pumps, their high wedge sandals.” Her hand drifted up to cup the right side of his face, tenderly, watching how her words affected him. “They’re all ditzes, but they adore him,” she said, her expression still hard for him to read, “Imagine that? Imagine being surrounded by huge, brainless bimbos that all love and adore you and just want to get into your pants? I’ll bet he loves it. God that’s so hot.”

AJ, still knowing he shouldn’t say a word, just watched her as she looked at him. Despite his rising jealousy - what kind of girlfriend talks about another guy like this? - he was starting to feel himself hardening between his legs. He had no idea what she was thinking, what she was doing (or why she’d had him take off his shirt) but there were gears turning in her head, for sure.

“And,” she pressed on, “his office is smaller - a lot smaller - than hers. The way she was talking today, you’d have trouble knowing exactly who was in charge, here...” Angie’s left hand had settled behind AJ’s shaved head, holding it, and her right was now resting lightly on his chest. The feel of her soft palm on his shaved skin was exciting him. “...But I’m going to find out. There’s something going on under the surface here, something big. Here. Sit-“

At that, Angie pushed his chest, forcing him to half-sit back on the low shelving unit behind him. He knocked over a couple reams of paper towels, but was left with his eyes at just about boob-level.

She stepped in close.

“Lunch, with all the girls,” Angie continued, smiling again as his eyes settled right into her cleavage, “There was so much estrogen in the air, what with all the laughing and rah-rah cheering for this new place. Most of the girls here are morons, but damn if they aren’t hooked up to the right train, as things are going to be changing.”

She was talking almost to herself, he thought, while he knew he was being so passively quiet. He struggled to think of something to say. “Wow, Ang,” AJ finally spoke, “your tits look really big today.”

Angie chuckled, took a casually deep breath for him.”He’s a boob-guy, just like you,” she mused, reveling in the gift of her naturally big, full bosom, with its perfect, milky skin, “so, yeah, I wanted show them off…think he’ll like me?”

The jealousy continued to sit with him, inside his throat, tightening.

“Well, uh, y-yeah, of course,” he managed, figuring he should be supportive rather than risking her ire by sounding indignant. “Wh-what are they going to have you doing?”

“I’m going to be working with Kathy, this lady reassigned from some pharmaceutical company, to help run the practice’s accounting,” Angie continued, “Technically she’s my immediate boss, for the time being. But it’s okay, for now. She actually sounds like she has half a brain.” Her hand went up onto the side of his head, stroked his scalp leisurely, kept his gaze focused where she wanted it. “If I play my cards right, I’ll get hooked up doing financials for this study, with all the money coming in from the grants,” she said, her tone aggressively self-assured, “I’m going to be on it, totally in the right place, when things go down. Meet the right people, rise up the ranks, make more and more money…”

This was...yikes, wow...really turning him on. Secretly he loved hearing Angie embellish her own ego like this. Her boastful narcissism - she was constantly convinced that she was the smartest person in the room - was just always so hot to him. And he wasn’t nearly sure what she was talking about, but he loved how excited she sounded and how, in the face of his recent career troubles, how powerful she wanted to become. When had he gotten this way? When had he gotten to be such a junkie for the, well, submissive thrill he felt hearing a woman talk about being smart, successful...superior?

“Yeah, well, t-they’ve given me some responsibility too…” he found himself saying, maybe out of a reflexive knee-jerk reaction, some male pride bubbling weakly to the surface, “They’re having us tear out the old HVAC systems, and have me inspecting the venting, some of the thermostats...” Angie was letting him talk, possessively stroking his head, so he just continued. “Supposedly they’re putting in a new central one that’ll handle the whole building,” he explained, “be able to put some sort of aromatherapy into it. Weird, huh?”

“Aromatherapy, huh?” Angie asked, her interest piqued - and betrayed by a new purr, “In the air-conditioning?” She continued to pet his head, and drew in a little closer to him as she thought to herself. “Can you find out...any more about that for me?“

“Oh, uh, yeah...sure…” he agreed, though not really sure what he could do. Lots of this project seemed so under-wraps, at least from the guys. He hadn’t laid eyes on much in the way of blueprints or tech sheets or whatever.

“Good boy…” she praised, speaking plainly, “pull down your pants.”

Suddenly, AJ’s heart leapt. Was he about to get some?? Here in a storage closet?? Ha he’d take anything he could get these days, he thought to himself as he clumsily unzipped his thick, loose-fit utility pants, started to pull them down.

“B-boxers too?” he asked.

“Sure,” Angie allowed, and in a moment they were down at his knees, too. His erection already stood proud; of that he was glad. He wanted her to know how much she turned him on. But, then he thought - how had they gotten here? Didn’t she used to be the swooning drama nerd in high school, who’d barely been on his radar? The one who used to have the crush on him??

“A-Angie…?” he began.

“Shush, quiet,” she said, “grab your cock.”

“Wh-what?” he stammered, knowing exactly what she wanted him to do, “n-no I’m not going to, like, j-jerk off here in a cl-“

“Yes you will,” she stated, her confidence only making him harder, as she physically took his hand and planted it on his erection, balling it into a fist around his turgid shaft, “because you're submissive, just like him, and you’ll do exactly what I say...just like he will, some day.”

”I-I’m n-not,,,’submissive’..!” he bristled, male ego once again raising its battered head in the face of insult and jealousy. Like, what did she mean, ‘just like he will’??

“Okay sure, you’re not submissive,” she chuckled, laughing unpleasantly at his little snit, “prove it.”

With that, Angie took AJ’s full head between her hands, palms on his face and manicured fingers stretching back behind his head, and faced him solidly into her plumply bulging cleavage.

“Now stroke,” she directed, and to his own aghast he couldn’t help but obey. He’d been conditioned, over these past months, helpless when confronted by her, powerless to defy her will...especially when she used her tits. What was wrong with him??? In his hand, with his eyes plastered on the pale, soft flesh of her big breasts, his cock suddenly became even more needy, ached immediately for release. He groaned, both in spleen at himself and this crippling arousal.

She laughed again. “Not submissive, hm?” she purred, “Look at you. You're totally dominated by women. You’re working for women now, you do everything women tell you to do. At the job here, in bed with me…”

”hey..!” he began to protest, eyes rising for the moment, looking for hers, “I thought you liked-”

“Oh, I do, we all do,” she capitulated, shaking her hair over her shoulder with a toss of her head, redirecting his gaze back to her chest, “we love when the roles start reversing like this. Like you, getting to be my little bitch.”

“h-h-heyyyy…” he began to protest, but his voice faded, most of his fight lost between her E-cups.

“Aww, don’t feel badly,” she said, “I’ve been reading up on this. I really think men in general are getting more submissive, turning more beta, just watching as women take charge more. The doctor here included. Look what he’s done - or let happen. This whole place is run by girls.”

“H-h-huh…” AJ stammered dumbly, not even realizing he’d fallen into a rhythm, stroking himself, staring at Angie’s breasts.

“This is my chance, to get in, to take my piece,” she pronounced, ego swelling her bosom like a deep breath, “I’m so fucking alpha, I could run this place.”

”oh, uh, y-yeah..?” he spoke, bewitched and befuddled by every ripple and jiggle under her skin.

“You men like me to be in charge, don’t you? The thought of a woman boss?” she pressed, “You’d all never admit it but it gets you excited, how the women here - everywhere - are really the ones running the show, that any male authority is really just a thin facade, ready to be, like, cracked.”

“Oh my god Angie,” AJ moaned, now in the full grip of arousal, starting to pump himself with more abandon as Angie’s words struck chords with him neither he nor she had yet heard. Angie was experimenting, learning.

“Women have always been the ones to take up responsibilities, accept them and take them on, when men fail. We’ve been getting more able, more and more competent, while you all just, like, get lazy and dumb and shrink away,” she said, watching how his eyes were glazing over, his face going slack. Still he stared at her tits.  “And you know the best part? It fucking turns you all on. You like getting weaker, losing responsibility and authority, your lives getting smaller as ours get bigger…”

“J-j-jesus Angie yes,” he stammered, mouth fully gaping now, his whole body shaking as he jacked off to her, to this vision of women.

She pulled his face closer. “Look at my tits. Look how big they are, look how deep and dark my cleavage is,” she commanded, “I’ll bet you wish you could shrink down and sink in there. Just become a little man and live between your girlfriend’s tits.”

“A-Angie n-n-n-...” he began, trying to deny but unable to come up with a sentence, in the face of the shame.

“Shhh, I know. I know what kind of porn guys have been into these days. I know what kind you’ve been into,” she said, “the shrinking, the bodybuilders, the giantesses…”

“unnh...unnnh…” he grunted, vision starting to close in, laser focused between her tits.

“And our breasts,” she continued, but knowing she had him close, “When did you become so obsessed with breasts? Even when you sleep, they’re there, aren’t they? Vision of my breasts swim in your head all night long.”

It was true. Her boobs were all he dreamed about. He moaned in forbearance and began to shudder.

“It’s true,” she said, her words echoing his thoughts, right as his climax began to crest, “It totally is. It’s why you wake up in the middle of the night sucking your own thumb. You want to be our fucking babies…”.

That was it, that was the final blow, and AJ could take no more. He groaned, finally closed his eyes, and came. His body lurched, shook, and cum shot up out of his cock.

Angie backed off, an inch, his head still in her hands. “There you go,” she said, plainly, “don’t get it on my dress.”

AJ, for himself, opened his eyes again, now jerking himself through it while staring into her tits again. He didn’t want to get it on her dress, so he pointed it back at himself, soiling his hand, his belly, his thigh.

“That’s right, get it all out,” she employed, patience now starting to wear thin, a new edge sharpening her voice. Though his climax still had him, she released his head, backing off another step. Her hands went to her top, pulling her neckline now more fully up over her breasts. “Finish up…”

AJ groaned in distress, his orgasm waning but ruined in its final moments. He just wanted those tits to bury himself into, and she was stepping away...

“Mommy’s got to go,” she said, finally, looking down at herself, shimmying herself back into some semblance of modesty, “Now, Aaron. This is it for us. I’m through.”

“w-w-wait whut?” AJ sputtered, confused, as his cock - just starting to deflate - leaked its final jisms onto his hand.

“I said I’m, like, done,” Angie said, straightly, looking down at him again, “You’ve been the perfect toy to practice on, and I’d be lying if I said it hadn’t been fun. But I’m moving on, to bigger and better things.”

“Wait, no…” AJ managed, sobering quickly in shock but still struggling to grasp what was happening, “...are you...b-breaking up with me?”

“Yep,” she said, no hint of empathy softening her words as she watched the guy she’d lived with, the man she’d broken, start to shake. He was flailing, looking down at himself, at his mess, unsure what to do.

She reached out, grabbed a team of paper towels, and tossed it at him. “Here, clean up.”

“Angie, wait,” he tried, pulling several sheets out and starting to wipe himself down. She can’t do this, not now..! he thought, What will I do? Where will I live?? He had to stop her. “Let’s-“

“No, I’m done waiting,” she stopped him, turning away, hand already reaching for the door, grabbing the handle. An image of Melissa, her last Instagram post, flashed into her mind, made Angie seethe. “I’ve got things to do.”

And then he was alone.

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sorry for the poor image quality, ‘twas the best I could do.

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