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joelalorian · 3 months

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Fall Into Me - Chapter Eleven: Fall Into Me and I'll Catch You Darlin'

dbf!joel x f!reader | WC: 5k | E 18+ mdni

Series Summary: Joel is hanging on by a thread as a single father to a tenacious 10-year-old Sarah. Feeling like he's drowning, like the world is about to spit him out, he needs some help before he breaks in half. At your dad's insistence, you show up in his life and change everything.

Chapter Tags/Warnings: Explicit, under 18 take a hike. No outbreak AU. Lots of feelings. Joel is his own warning. Angst/despair, fluff, smut - this chapter has the works. Please excuse my lack of medical knowledge. Age gap of about 9 years (Reader 24/25, Joel 33/34). No use of y/n. Reader has a nickname used only by her dad and Joel uses various terms of endearment (darlin', sweetheart, etc.).

This is it, folks, the final chapter! Just the epilogue left now. Thank you for coming along on this ride with me. I have fallen in love with this little family and I hope you have as well.

Moodboard by the lovely @mrsmando. Dividers by the wonderful @saradika-graphics

Chapter Ten | Series Masterlist | Main Masterlist

Four days. Joel hadn’t left your bedside in four days, so immovable that the nurses took pity on him and asked an orderly to setup a cot for him in your hospital room.

You still hadn’t regained consciousness and Joel was losing his god damned mind over it.

The list of your injuries a mile long, among them a bunch of broken things – ankle, nose, ribs, wrist. That’s what you were right now, broken, and you had a hard road to recovery ahead of you. Joel agonized over your condition, freaking out when you had to go back into surgery shortly after coming out of it the first time. He’d barely laid eyes on you before they hauled you away again, machines beeping chaotically at whatever went wrong. You developed a hemorrhage, the doctor later told him, but they caught it in time.

Joel hadn’t stopped crying in four days, except for a brief time when Sarah was discharged. He held her for hours, trying his best not to smother or hurt her as she sat on his lap next to your bed. Aside from a purple cast on Sarah’s broken wrist, her limited injuries were already healing. Joel’s worry over his sweet little girl lessened a bit and he trusted Tommy, your dad, and your best friend, Emily, to watch over her while he sat vigil at your bedside. They brought Sarah by to see you twice a day, every day so far. Still, you hadn’t woken up.

He lost it the first time Sarah saw you lying there, barely recognizable from the injuries you sustained. Face bruised and swollen, body wrapped in casts or dressings. Sarah worried that you were dying, nearly inconsolable at the thought that you might die, might leave her, and her dad, forever. She couldn’t handle it, the thought of losing the only mom she’d ever known, ever wanted.

Joel had to leave the room at his daughter’s visceral expression of the pain she felt, her inconsolable weeping a reflection of his own anguish. He left Tommy to deal with it, and slid down the wall in the hallway, just a little way down from your room, shoulders shaking from the strength of his own sobs as the sound of Sarah’s caterwauling carried through the air. JB was the only one who could reach him through his pain, the understanding of one father for another as they both shed endless tears over you. He sat next to Joel, right there in the hallway, and wept with him, whispering words of praise of how strong you were, how much you loved them all, how you would pull through.

Joel fought hard to believe those words, to trust in JB’s hope as he was quickly losing his. He raged inside at how unfair life could be until he exhausted himself emotionally and fell into a dreamless daze in the cot next to you. When the sun rose above the horizon, he stopped trying to sleep, stopped pretending that he could while you remained unconscious.

“Come on, son. Go home and shower, take a nap in a real bed. You haven’t slept in days. I’ll watch over Spud, and you’ll be my first call if anything happens,” JB insisted the morning of day 5 at the sight of heavy bags beneath the younger man’s eyes.

Opening his mouth to argue, to adamantly refuse, Joel snapped it shut at the concerned look on your dad’s face. He gave into the exhaustion then, all the fight fleeing him, and he stood with shoulders hunched. He was completely deflated, emotionally and physically. “Ok, you’re right. I at least need a shower.”

“That you do. I could smell you down the hall.” Joel’s lips twitched at JB’s comedic effort, but he didn’t have it in him to smile or laugh. “Go on, git. Emily’s at your house with Sarah. She’ll stay while you nap – please try to get some sleep. I don’t want to see you for at least three hours, ya hear me, son?”

Joel nodded and kissed the small spot on your face free of bruising, slinking from the room with one last glance over his shoulder at you. He noticed how your dad kept calling him son – a new development since the accident and it warmed his heart in a way that he sorely needed during this torturous time.

The drive home a blur, his limbs functioning on muscle memory alone, Joel stumbled through the front door of his home with just enough energy to great Emily and Sarah.

“Joel!” Emily exclaimed, jumping from her spot on the couch to pull him into a tight hug. She adored him from the first second you introduced them, finding the man dreamy in that way that was a perfect match for you. It tore her apart to see him falling to pieces over your current condition. “JB commanded that I send you right to bed. Give Sarah a kiss then git goin’.”

Too drained to be disgruntled about being given orders in his own house, he swept Sarah up with tired limbs, ever mindful of her cast. “Hey baby girl. I love you. Have you been good for Miss Emily?”

“Yes, Daddy, I’m always good. Is she any better?” Sarah asked in her sweet, young voice that pulled taut at his heartstrings.

“Not yet,” Joel choked on the words, unable to fight the tears stinging the back of his eyes at his daughter’s worried face. He set her down on the couch before trudging up the stairs. Aching to climb into bed – as empty and cold as it would be without you – but he jumped into the shower first to wash the past few days away.

If only it was that easy.

Joel collapsed on the unmade bed, barely managing to throw a pair of sleep pants on after the quick shower. He was dead asleep seconds after his head hit the pillow.

An hour later, he pried his eyes open, clutching to the warm body clinging to him. For a brief moment, his mind thought it just another normal morning waking up to you at his side. Reality crashed down on him, hard, before he even had the chance to enjoy the thought. Sarah’s frame clung to him like a spider monkey in her sleep. She must have joined him for a nap at some point and was still out cold.

Her steady breathing lulled him back to sleep for another couple hours until Emily woke him with a shout. Joel bolted upright at the echo of his name, heart thumbing in his chest as he jostled Sarah in the process.

“Joel!” Emily called again as she reached the top of the stairs and peeked into his bedroom. “She’s awake!”

Mind still fighting through the fog to wake up, he stared at your best friend with owlish eyes.

“JB just called. She’s awake! You gotta get back to the hospital!” Emily stepped fully into the room, tossing a pair of jeans and a tee shirt at him to get him moving.

“Dad!” Sarah’s uninjured hand nudging him into action as she exclaimed. “Can I come with you?”

Finally, Joel’s mind kicked into gear. You were awake. He had to see you, but first, he needed to get dressed. “Not yet, baby girl. Lemme see how she’s doing and maybe you can see her tomorrow. We don’t want to overwhelm her, okay?”

Flopping back onto the mattress with a pout, Sarah muttered, “Okay,” as Joel eased out of bed with a groan.

It started with muscle twitches. Fingers flexing. A small grimace creasing your battered face. The process to consciousness was a daunting one that ended with fighting against the intubation tube. Even once a nurse came in and removed the tube, you still fought to come fully back to yourself.

“Dad?” Throat dry and raw, you could do little more than croak despite the rising panic. Your eyes darted around the room in confusion, landing first on your dad before taking in the plain white walls and clinical equipment. You were in the hospital, that much was obvious, but you couldn’t recall why. A thick fog wove through your mind, leaving you trying to make sense of anything, everything.

“Hey Spud. Sleeping beauty finally awakens,” your dad teased, his voice gentle but, even with a foggy brain, you picked up on the worried undertone.

“What happened?” It hurt to talk but you needed to know.

“You don’t remember? Of course you don’t, you got a pretty good knock to the head,” he muttered half to himself before tenderly taking your hand between both of his. “You and Sarah were hit by a drunk driver. Does that ring a bell?”

Like a light bulb coming on, things came back to you, brightening the dark corners of your memory. The ride home from school, going to get ice cream, the sudden and unexpected impact as you proceeded through a green light, the car rolling once, twice, then… nothing. With the memory came your brain’s recognition of pain and your body’s aches made themselves well known.

Everything hurt.

Seriously, it hurt to breathe, it hurt to move, to lie still. It hurt to just fucking exist.

“Oh my God, Sarah? Is she okay? Where is she? Where is Joel?” You glanced around the room as if waiting for them jump out from behind something, the panic returning as you gulped for air.

“Calm down, honey. The little nugget is okay. She’s home, Emily’s watching over her now. Joel’s on his way back. I’ll let him tell you how she is, but just know that she’s fine.” JB spoke in short, clipped sentences, not wanting to overwhelm you further, one grizzled hand stroking your hair back like he did when you were sick as a kid.

You tried to sit up but abandoned that idea the moment the room spun, the throbbing pain too much. Fuck, your face hurt like hell.

“Don’t do that, Spud. While Sarah might be okay, you were seriously injured. I’ll let the doctor explain when he comes in, but you shouldn’t try moving or anything just yet. You’re pretty banged up,” he explained softly.

You met your dad’s eyes, and you could see at once the toll your condition took on him. You had so many questions, but you couldn’t process them quite yet. The pair of you sat quietly for a little while until the doctor joined you, explaining the laundry list of injuries you sustained. No wonder everything hurt. They gave you more medicine for the pain now that you regained consciousness – you couldn’t believe you were out for so long – and things started to make more sense in your brain.

You’d be stuck in the hospital for a few more days before the doctor would even think about discharging you. As much as hospitals sucked, you knew it best you stay put when you couldn’t even sit up with collapsing back in pain.

Joel burst into the room shortly after the doctor left. Sipping at a cup of water your dad held for you, you nearly choked at the sight of him. You’d never seen him look so disheveled, so run down, his normal scruff grown out into a near full beard after a week of not shaving, eyes bloodshot and sunken, curls a messy, wild halo around his head.

“Oh darlin’,” Joel said as you attempted to smile at him. The bandages covering portions of your face and the swelling from the repaired break in your nose made it hard, but your eyes sparkled with happiness at the sight of him.

“Hi Joel,” you croaked in return.

He practically launched himself at your side, knocking JB out of the way so he could sit bedside. Hands hovering, afraid to touch, tears glistened in his eyes. “I was so fuckin’ scared. Thought I was gonna lose you.”

Tears sprung to your own dry eyes as the fingers of your uninjured hand tangled with his. The mere tickle of tears in your nose was damn near excruciating. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry!”

Startled, Joel’s dark chocolate eyes searched your face, completely baffled. “Darlin’, what? What in the world are you sorry for? You haven’t done anything wrong.”

You blubbered as Joel and your dad stared at you bewildered. “I almost got Sarah killed!”

Joel cracked a smile then, the first one in nearly a week, before leaning forward to place a tender kiss upon your chapped lips. “The hell you did. You didn’t do anything but take care of her. None of this was your fault, sweetheart.”

You couldn’t shake the guilt though, not even days later when the doctor discharged you. Sweet, little Sarah waited for you with a bright smile and a mylar ballon that read Welcome Home as Joel and JB helped you into the house. The sight of the purple cast on her right wrist wiped the smile from your face. How could Joel not see that this was all your fault?

You could hardly hug the girl as guilt overwhelmed you.

Emily and Tommy stood behind Sarah as you wobbled through the front door, smiles not hiding the winces at the healing trauma on your face. Emily could tell at once that you were on the verge of breaking down, unable to take your eyes from the healing contusions on Sarah’s adorable face or the cast on her wrist.

Stepping forward, Emily pulled you into a hug, ever mindful of your healing ribs and incisions. “It’s so good to see you awake and in one piece!” she whispered in your ear. “None of this was your fault, you know that right?”

She knew you too well. You choked on a sob, burying your head in her shoulder for several minutes until you had your emotions back under control.

“Do you wanna sign my cast? Daddy got special markers for it! I wouldn’t let anyone else sign it before you came home.” Sarah held a silver Sharpie up for you, flashing those puppy dog eyes at you. Unable to deny her, you took the marker with a trembling hand and drew a heart on the topside of the cast, your name scrawled sloppily beneath it.

Delighted, Sarah handed Joel the marker next and, with a quick glance at you, printed his name above the heart you drew, adding Sarah’s next to yours so that it now read Joel hearts you & Sarah. The tears returned when both Sarah and Joel gazed at you with unabashed affection.

Perhaps they really did not blame you for the accident, for Sarah’s broken wrist, for all that you put them through in the past week and a half. You weren’t sure if you deserved their love, but you basked in it, allowing it to wash over you and heal your soul.

Six weeks of convalescing at home under the tender care of Joel and Sarah, and you finally felt like yourself again, emotionally, and physically. It took a while, but Joel managed to convince you to set free the irrational guilt you felt over the accident, aided by the news that the drunk driver pleaded guilty.

Wanting to celebrate your recovery and the removal of your and Sarah’s casts, Joel planned a small gathering for July 4th. Just the Millers, JB, Emily and her husband, and Maria – the attorney Tommy fell head over heels for last year finally gave into his advances and they were happily living together now. She was a gem and fell right in with the group, giving as good as she got.

“Darlin’, just put that down, I’ll get it,” Joel insisted as you pulled a plate full of raw steaks from the fridge.

“Joel, I’m not a delicate little flower who will break under the weight of a few steaks,” you teased lovingly. Placing the plate on the counter, you turned to Joel and slipped your arms around his neck. Fingers threading through his curls, you pulled his head down, pressing your lips to his. “I love you.”

Joel’s large hands slid down your back, grabbing your ass as the kiss intensified. “Mmmm, I love you, darlin’,” his deep voice rumbled against your mouth. A knock sounded on the front door as he placed another kiss on your lips. “Now, let me take care of this while you welcome our guests.”

Before long, everyone gathered in the backyard. Your dad, Joel, and Emily’s husband Ed stood around the grill while Joel cooked the steaks and Sarah showed off her swimming skills to Maria and Tommy. You and Emily sat on the patio with glasses of sangria just watching everyone you love.

“I know I’ve said it a million times already but thank you again for being there for them after the accident,” you said as you watched Joel manning the grill with confidence. “I know it couldn’t have been easy and I just want you to know that I appreciate you.”

“Always, that’s what friends are for.” Emily smiled at you. “You really got somethin’ good here, you know. That man, he was a complete wreck while you were in the hospital. And that little girl, she worships the ground you walk on. Those two would do anything for you and I know you would do anything for them.”

You heard from your dad how hard Joel struggled while you were in the hospital, how he barely slept, refused to leave your side. Emily reiterated it all and you knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that you would have done the same if anything happened to him or Sarah.

“I don’t know how I got so lucky,” you said after taking a sip of the fruity red wine concoction. “I can’t imagine my life without them in it.”

“That’s good, really good.” Too busy making googly eyes at Joel, you missed the knowing look Emily shot you.

“She can’t keep her eyes off you, son,” JB teased. “You ready to do the thing?”

“What thing is that?” Ed asked curiously.

“Imma ask her to marry me,” Joel mumbled, already feeling a little nervous. “I got the ring in my pocket, just waiting for the right moment.”

“Good on ya, man!” Ed replied. Turning to JB, he added, “I take it he has your blessing?”

Nodding, JB grinned at his future son-in-law as he replied, “He sure as hell does. I couldn’t have asked for a better man to take care of my little Spud.”

A flush rose along Joel’s neck and moved onto his cheeks at the praise. “Alright, alright. Let’s not talk about it anymore. I don’t wanna risk her overhearing something. I want it to be a surprise.”

The other two men nodded in understanding. “Just one last thing,” Ed said. “You should ask her during the fireworks. I brought my good camera; I’ll make sure to get great shots of it for you and the fireworks will just add to the ambiance.”

The steaks were grilled to perfection, Joel nailing that medium rare sear that you loved, and Maria’s macaroni salad was a hit. Once everyone devoured their food, you jumped into the pool, letting the water ease the lingering ache in your bones while your dad and Emily insisted on helping Joel clean up. Before long, everyone else joined you in floating around to kill time before the town’s fireworks show began. The house was perfectly situated to see them from a distance, so you didn’t have to fight the traffic to find parking in town to see the show.

Drinking in the sight of Joel shirtless, swim trunks sitting low on his hips, you licked your lips hungrily. He dove into the deep end of the pool, swimming underwater until he reached you in the shallow end. Popping up next to you, he slicked his wet curls back from his forehead with a grin. Fuck, he was handsome.

“Hey beautiful,” Joel greeted. “Enjoying yourself?”

Smile so broad your cheeks hurt, you nodded. “Today has been wonderful, thank you, Joel. This was exactly what I needed.”

“I’d do anything for you, darlin’. You know that, right?” he implored, pulling you close so that you could wrap your legs around his waist beneath the water’s surface. “I’ve never been so in love before. You have completely changed my world.”

“I could say the same about you, babe.”

“The fireworks are gonna start soon. Watch to watch them from the patio?”

“Sure,” you replied. So caught up in Joel, you didn’t notice everyone watching you both with broad smiles as the two of you climbed out of the pool.

Settling into one of the cushioned outdoor chairs, the soft glow of the string lights from that special date all those months ago glistening on your damp skin. Joel moved his chair closer and sat, holding his right hand out for yours, he grinned when you twined your fingers with his.

Suddenly, Tommy appeared in front of you both, carrying a fresh glass of sangria for you and an ice-cold beer for Joel. “Here you both go.”

“Thanks Tommy,” you said gratefully.

“You ready?” he asked, his dark eyes glowing warmly in the low lighting.

“For the fireworks?” you replied, slightly confused. “You bet!”

Tommy smiled indulgently, sharing a look with Joel before moving to the poolside to help his girlfriend out of the water.

Glancing around at your friends and family, you found everyone watching the two of you. You had the feeling something was up, that there was something you were missing. Before you could dwell on it, the first bursts of light exploded in the sky, the whistling boom echoing distantly.

Mesmerized by the show, oohing and ahhing with everyone, you didn’t see Joel slip from his seat to kneel next to you. As the finale began, he said your name, drawing your attention away from the sky.

An audible gasp left your lips as he gazed at you, love lighting up his tanned features. Your eyes darted around the yard to find everyone watching you instead of the fireworks, Ed snapping away with that fancy camera of his.

“Joel, what—” you began breathlessly before he cut you off.

“Do you remember that song we danced to, right here in the yard, beneath these very lights?” His smooth voice gave no hints of the nervous energy flowing beneath his skin.

You nodded, recalling the memory fondly. “That was a beautiful night.”

“It was, and I hope to have many more just like it with you.” Still kneeling, he reached his left hand into his pocket and your breath hitched. Your heart nearly dropped when you merely pulled his phone out, tapping at the screen until music began to play in the background.

Taking your hands in his, Joel began to sing along, his deep voice the perfect contrast to the artist’s.

“On the day that I met you,

The world had just spit me out.

On my way to the bottom

Sure I’d never be found.

Then you saw me for me

Made me believe in myself.

On the day that I met

It all turned around.”

Tears stung the back of your eyes, but for the first time in weeks, they were tears of happiness, not pain or guilt. You clutched at Joel as he went to pull his right hand free, and he chuckled.

“I fall more in love with you every single day. I don’t know how I ever got to be this lucky, to find someone like you, who fits so perfectly, so seamlessly into mine and Sarah’s lives.”

You finally loosened your grip so he could pull his right hand free, digging into the zippered pocket as you swiped at the tears coursing down your face.

“You are the woman of my dreams, the one I was sure didn’t exist until I met you. If I promise to fall for you over and over again, will you promise to be my wife, to be Sarah’s mom, to love us from now until forever?”

Gazing into his dark, gorgeous eyes, misty with tears of his own, you nodded. “Yes, yes. A million times, yes, Joel. I’d love to be your wife and Sarah’s mom.”

You were sobbing as he beamed, slipping a beautiful, understated princess cut diamond ring on your finger. It fit perfectly and your heart swelled, the love in you threatening to spill over, to burst straight from your chest. “Joel, it’s so beautiful!”

Joel stood, pulling you with him until your feet left the ground and he spun you in a circle once, twice, before setting you down on solid ground. You lurched forward, sealing your love, your promise with a heated kiss.

As if they hadn’t all witnessed every second of what just happened, Joel looked over at everyone and declared, “She said yes!”

The small group of your favorite people made a racket with their whoops and whistles, JB shouting above the rest, “About fuckin’ time, son!”

Unable to contain herself for another second – she had been incredibly patient, after all, letting her dad do the asking instead of her – Sarah burst from Tommy’s grasp, launching herself at you. Joel helped you sweep her up for a tight hug.

“It’s official now, right?” Sarah questioned, nearly vibrating with excitement. “You’re gonna be my mom now. I finally get to have a mom and not just any mom, but you. The best one I could have asked for.”

Just when you thought the tears ebbed away, the waterworks started once again. “Oh, my sweet, perfect girl. I promise to try my best to be worthy of such an honor. I couldn’t have asked for a better girl to go on this adventure with.”

“This is the most amazing thing I’ve ever witnessed,” Emily said, her voice catching as tears ran down her cheeks as well.

“Agreed,” Maria chimed in with a sniffle and Tommy pulled her close with a dumb grin spreading across his face. You could practically see the wheels turning in his head as he thought about how he’d propose when the time came.

You and Joel couldn’t keep your hands off each other once Sarah went to bed and everyone left. Your need for each other was too mighty to fight, not that either of you wanted too anyway. He treated you like glass the past six weeks, afraid to hurt you, to aggravate your injuries. You understood, but that didn’t stop the desire, the need for him and it frustrated you that he would not give in. Now that you were mostly healed, you wanted him to make love to you like he used to.

Readying yourselves for bed, you climbed onto the mattress, straddling Joel’s hips where he laid back against the pillows. Half hard already at the mere sight of you naked before him, he grasped your hips to grind your core down on him.

“I need you, my love. I need to feel you inside me. It’s been too long,” your voice a breathy whine against his mouth, your lips touching but not yet kissing. “Let me ride you.”

“Fuck, darlin’,” Joel gasped as you shifted against his now fully hardened cock. “Take what you want, sweetheart.” He watched with lust blown eyes as you slid his sleep pants down his hips, and he kicked them off to lay in a pile at the bottom of the bed.

So wet and needy, you didn’t even need foreplay. Sealing your mouth to his, you swallowed his groan as you slid down on his cock. Pausing for a moment once he was balls deep inside you, fingers threaded through his luscious curls, you sighed in contentment.

“I feel so fucking full, Joel,” you moaned, finally starting to move. “I’ve missed this so much.”

Joel gazed at you, completely enraptured and unable to speak. The words stuck in his throat, he just watched you move on him, his hips shifting upwards to meet your movements. It felt so good he knew he wouldn’t last long, shifting his hand between you to pluck at your clit as you rode him.

“Come for me, darlin’. I need to feel you come apart around me,” the words burst from deep in his chest, dripping with need as he got closer to the edge. Thumb moving frantically against your clit in that way that drove you crazy, he made you come apart within minutes.

“Fuck, Joel!” you gasped, burying your face in his shoulder, biting down on the flesh to stifle your moans. Waves of pleasure washed over you so strong you couldn’t move your hips anymore. Joel took over, thrusting up into you, drawing out your orgasm as your walls fluttered around him.

You sunk your teeth further into the meat of his trapezius, the shock of pain like a bolt of lightning straight to his cock. His movements grew sloppy as his balls tightened and he came with a guttural growl, sucking at your neck as rope after rope of cum splashed inside you.

Breathless and satiated, you stayed in place, allowing the aftershocks to roll through you both. You brought your hands up to cup his face, the patchy scruff of his beard tickling your palms. The diamond ring on your left hand sparkled in the dim lighting and you grinned down at Joel, so full of love.

He pulled you down to lay with him, his softening cock slipped out of you in the process, and you both ignored the mess as you cuddled together.

“I can’t wait to marry you.” You felt the words rumble from deep in his chest as he spoke them, pulling you impossibly closer until your sweaty skin melded to his. “I fuckin’ love you, darlin.”

Smiling sleepily, you murmured your love for him, your excitement over being engaged, the beauty of the ring he chose for you, until you fell asleep mid-sentence.

Your dreams were no match for the life you and Joel were creating together.

Taglist: @mellymbee @untamedheart81 @anoverwhelmingdin @runningmom94 @leilanixx

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#joel miller #joel miller x reader #joel x female reader #the last of us #tlou #dbf!joel #pedro pascal #idiots in love #joel miller smut #joel miller fluff #joel miller angst #fic: fall into me

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cruisebuckley · 20 days

Text

“Talk about love.” — JJ Maybank X Fem!Reader

SUMMARY: JJ is in love and he doesn't know how to confess, he has never been good with words, he keeps it a secret until he can't hold it back any more on a party — the problem is (Y/N) doesn't seem to be on the same page.

MUSIC: “Talk about love” by Zara Larsson

A/N: feedback it always welcome!! this is the first OBX fic I am reposting from my old account (I accidentally deleted it lmao) and it was inspired by TAL a song by Zara Larsson, the first version of this story was sadder and I didn't inted to make a second part at the time, today tho I sat down to rewrite and repost it and decided this jj and y/n deserved more of a happy ending so there'll be a second part inspired by another poster girl song!

WARNINGS: English is not my first language. Cursing.

WORD COUNT: 2.180

[MASTERLIST] [MOODBOARD] [PART 2]

JJ drinks the last of his drink, eyes flickering to where she was dancing with her friends, a wide smile on her face while she moves her hips in the beat of the song. He was having a hard time taking his eyes off her all night long. She was gorgeous, always was, but she was even prettier today. Maybe it was because of how happy she looked, singing with all she had, smiling with her friends.

“JJ, I’m gonna get more beer, do you want some?” Kiara asks, snapping him out of his thoughts.

“Yeah,” he nods, thinking it would be good to use the drinking games with John B as a distraction from (Y/N). He doesn't know what's motivating him to keep his distance for so long, he had come to the party with the intention of talking to her, but now he just couldn't, something was holding him back.

“Dude, you should do something,” John B. says.

“Yeah, you’ve been staring at her the whole night.” Pope rolls his eyes, “you’re never like this, why don’t you just talk to her?”

JJ snorts, but inside he feels more insecure, why was he so nervous?

“I’ll talk to her, it’s just…” JJ clears his throat, trying to think of an excuse.

“Just?” Pope raises his eyebrows.

“She’s with her friends, you know, having fun and all” JJ shrugs.

“Please,” Pope and John B. exchange looks before Pope continues, “this was never a problem for you before, JJ. Tell us, did something happen?”

“No.” JJ sighs,“I just want to talk with her about something, and… it’s bothering me, that’s all.” Kiara gets back and hands everyone their beers, she gives him a questioning look before sitting down again.

“Talk with whom? (Y/N)?” she asks then, and JJ nods, “so, what is it?”

“Nothing important.” everyone scoffs, “what?”

“If it is bothering you, it is important, idiot.” Kiara rolls her eyes.

“Look, if you don’t want to tell us, that's okay, but for fucking sake, go talk with (Y/N).” John B. says, and Pope and Kiara agree with a nod of head.

“Okay, I’m going.” JJ says with a roll of his eyes, he takes one sip of his beer before setting it down on the table in front of him and finally gets up to talk with her.

His friends all make cheering noises, and he only gives them his middle finger and keeps on walking.

As he gets closer to the dance floor, though, he can feel his resolving weakening again, he can feel the bubbles of anxiety accumulating in his throat. He stops just at the end of the dance floor, a few steps of distance between them. It takes about five minutes for (Y/N) to notice him, she spins and stops when she registers it is him. Her smile grows bigger and even then, JJ can't avoid it but smile too.

She frowns, however, as she approaches him and swiftly places her arms on his shoulders, “Why are you standing there?”

“I was only watching you.” He shrugs.

“You're never one to just watch,” she says playfully.

JJ laughs, still timid but starting to enjoy being this close to her.

“Is there something wrong?” She asks, usually she would already have greeted him with a kiss, but she is cautious now, and JJ knows she can read in his face that there is something he wants to say.

“Nothing.” he smirks, “you're just too pretty tonight.”

(Y/N) laughs, he can, she is going to let this one pass, and he is relieved. They slow dance for some minutes, totally ignoring the upbeat song playing, but soon enough as they drink more, they fall into the agitated rhythm of the others also on the dance floor.

JJ tries his best to forget what he wanted to say, tries to bury it and keep it quiet, he doesn't want to ruin any of this, doesn't want to risk it all.

But (Y/N) feels it, the change in the air again, walks him to an empty spot close to the wall and stays holding his hand when she gives him a quick, but reassuring kiss on his lips.

“Did something happen?”

When he doesn't answer, she continues, “you know you can tell me.”

JJ can't look at her when he says it, it is pathetic, he knows, but he just can't.

He misunderstands, “J, you've been acting weird since you got here, haven't talked with me and not even looked at me properly, what's happening?”

At those words, JJ snaps his head back, “(Y/N)? You're serious?” She nods,“I've been staring at you the whole night, I can't take my eyes off you.” He says then, refusing to be ashamed.

“So why don't you say anything? Why… Why are you different?” She walks closer and gives his hand a squeeze.

“I love you.” He blurts out. Never one to find the proper words or the right time.

(Y/N) takes a step back, but doesn't let go of his hand, “what?”

JJ clears his throat, there is no pointing in denying. “I love you, (Y/N).”

“Things are good, JJ.” she looks at him worriedly.

“I know, but-”

“We agreed on it, right? That it would be simple between us, no love, no dating, nothing of this girlfriend and boyfriend thing,” (Y/N) raises her eyebrows “we were fine with that, weren’t we?”

JJ feels the bubbles of anxiety starting to gather on his chest and throat again, “We… I was fine with it, I swear I was. But things changed, I don't know exactly when, I don't know how, but-” his voice cracks, betraying him, showing how much her reaction was affecting him.

(Y/N) takes a deep breath, calming herself, and JJ watches as her eyes wander his face, he wishes he could read her mind. “What changed?”

“I don't know. Maybe I did.”

She doesn't answer.

“Is it a bad thing?”

“JJ, I don't want to talk about love.” She replies, a whisper. “But it's not you, it's not you.”

He sighs, it's not conscious, but he distances himself, trying to hide somehow. There's no place for him to go, not when they are in the middle of a party, not when he just confessed his feelings while they are surrounded by people. JJ is trying to think of something to say, how to answer this, how to take it well.

But she searches him again, a step closer, a hand on his cheek, making him look at her again.

“JJ, what makes you think you’re in love with me?”

He knows where she wants to go with this, he knows, but he also knows what he truly feels, and it's not him rushing things or being confused.

“Luke's party,” he says and her face changes, “it was the first time I ever felt… jealous.”

“Jealousy?” She asks, eyebrows raised.

“Let me explain,” he says, and she nods. “I was feeling… different for some days already, but it was the party that made me stop and ask myself what those feelings were.” He stops to breathe, he is happy that her hand is still cupping his cheek, or else he might stop talking with the look she had, “I was fine with it, (Y/N), but it changed. These last few days, all I can think about is you. And I know I suck with words, but I am trying my best here.”

“You don't even know me.” He can tell it was not meant to sound harsh with the way she grimaces right after, but it hurts anyway, “I just… what I mean is, we don't even spend time together outside of this,” she gestures between the both of them with her chin, “what we have is different JJ, I know nothing about your friends, you know nothing of mine, we know nothing of each other.”

“What if I want to?”

She sighs, and he can see tears pooling in her eyes, it takes him by surprise.

“I told you I didn't want…” she trails off, shaking her head and retrieving her hand from his face.

Around them, a slow song started, the couples stared at each other with wide smiles and started to dance together. Fucking great timing.

JJ is frozen on his spot, he is trying his hardest to think of what to say, but she seems to always be quicker.

“I'm sorry, JJ, I really am. But I can't.”

“Why not?” He doesn't want to sound childish or insistent, but it just leaves his mouth.

(Y/N) closes her eyes with a deep breath, he wants to get closer again, hug her to try to calm her.

“We are good at this friends with benefits thing.”

“Why can't we be more?” He gulps, “I am confessing (Y/N), I am in love with you.”

“I know!” She gives an exasperated sigh, opening her eyes, the tears are still there, “I just don't know if I want more.”

He nods, “you are right, I am sorry. I shouldn't… I am sorry I insisted.”

“No, I…” (Y/N) frowns, “I-”

“No, you're right, you don't have to correspond with my feelings.”

“I'm just not ready, please don't be mad at me.” She knits her eyebrows together and for the first time seems to let her guard down.

“It's okay,” he says, trying his best to give her a reassuring smile, “really, (Y/N), it's okay.”

It feels awkward to stand there, he's not sure if he should try to comfort her some other way, if he should just leave. But he has so much to say yet, and she is looking at him like she also has. So he waits, he wants her to be the first.

“What if…” she breathes, “what if this is not love?”

“Why'd you say that?”

“Well,” she clears her throat, “it can be something else. We're young. And,” a dry chuckle leaves her lips, “there is so much, so many people to know, what if tomorrow you meet someone that makes you regret this?… I just want you to understand me.”

“I can wait,” he says then, surprising even himself.

“What?”

“You said you're not ready, I can wait.”

“I can't make you do that.”

“You're not making me,” he finally walks closer, finally takes her hand in his, “I want this.”

“What if it's not what you want?” She raises her chin, “and one day you wake up just to be bored? What if it doesn't excite you?”

JJ knits his eyebrows, “I really like what we have, I love it, and it is not… I don't want an exciting thing, not all the time at least.”

“And what do you want?” There is a hint of doubt there, and JJ hope grows.

“Something simple, something like what we already have.” He smiles, not quite sure of himself, but feeling better when she stays silent and lets him go on, “We chase our dreams at dawn, and it is our secret, that's what you always say.”

He manages to get a laugh from her and his chest erupts with happiness, a welcoming feeling that suppresses the anxiety in his chest.

“I just really want to call you mine.”

(Y/N) looks at him like she is about to break his heart, but he doesn't walk back, by God he'd let her, he'll let her.

“You don’t live with me JJ, you don’t know how I am. I don't think you would like me as your girlfriend.” She says then, and he can see she is trying to sound gentle. “We don’t even spend enough time together to be in an official relationship.” She stays in silence for a few seconds, as if thinking, JJ can't move away from her even if he tries. “I am afraid I am not what you think, that you have a totally different idea of who I am for real.” her voice breaks in the last sentence, and her tears finally spill, JJ feels the lump growing back on his throat.

“I’m sorry, I truly am. ‘Cause I like you. But we are not meant to last, we chase our dreams in the dawn, we are always smiling, we are always having fun, we do things without worrying about the consequences until it's too late. We are good in bed and…” she takes her hands off his, “we are a teenage summer romance. We're not meant to last.”

They stay in silence again, JJ watches her, heart hurting, and still, so in love, somehow even more sure that this is indeed love. (Y/N) wipes her tears off and tries to give him a smile. He doesn't say anything, he knows she needs to go, he needs it too, to think, he knows the best thing to do now is to go home and sleep with these thoughts.

He only gives her a smile back, assuring her that he did understand.

She leaves.

#jj maybank x reader #jj maybank x fem!reader #jj maybank fanfic #jj maybank one shot #jj maybank #outer banks #obx #outer banks fanfic #outer banks x reader #obx x reader #jj mayback imagine

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dbnightingale24 · 6 months

Text

My Little Decoy

A StevexReaderxBucky Messy Triangle

Another story for Patreon! So, for this one, I'm a bit anxious (when am I not?), because this definitely took off in the complete opposite direction of what I initially planned. That being said, I hope you all enjoy it!

Thank you as always to @fuckingbye for the amazing moodboard, I love you to bits for literally everything you do! I was in the middle of updating three other stories when this idea came to me, so please just work with me! (I'm so sorry I'm like this.)

Anywho, here we go!

Word Count: 34,776 (I'm not even gonna apologize anymore)

Warnings: Honestly, this entire fucking story. SMUT (MINORS DNI 18+ ONLY), Threesome, Lying, Infidelity, Emotional Cheating, Swearing, Drinking, Infertility, Family Drama, Angst, Lusting, Daddy Kink, Running Away, Tie Play, Cuff Play, Crying, Fluff, Best friends to lovers...that's all I can think of? They're honestly so many.

Song(s) That Inspired This Chapter: Don't Look So Blue, You Should've Seen Right Thru, I'm Using You, My Little Decoy

Summary: You truly do have the best intentions when you try to move on and suppress your feelings for your best friend Steve, and try to move on with Bucky. Unfortunately, life doesn't give a damn about intentions. Neither does love.

I do not give consent/permission for my stories/works to get posted elsewhere. I do not condone this type of behavior, this is for entertainment purposes only.

You wonder how the hell it got to this point in the first place as you lay in Steve’s soft bed sheets. What feels like it should be a quiet moment of peace is juxtaposed with your current reality; Bucky pounding on the front door and you and Steve conspiring to think of some kind- any kind- of excuse.

You truly don’t understand how it got to this.

It all feels like it started so long ago. You didn’t even know 6 years could feel so fast, much less pass so quickly. You look around at where you are now, at Steve, as you listen to the shaking of the front door against Bucky’s fist as he continues thumping away. Fuck. What if memories lie? Maybe it is that long ago.

6 Years Earlier...

“Babe, you ever had a night out in the city?” Bucky asked as you took off your gear.

Training was brutal and everyone was looking for a way to relieve stress. You knew The Avengers were all planning to meet up at some club downtown, but you had other plans.

“I have, and as much fun as it can be, I have other plans,” you laugh as you take your hair out of the tightest ponytail you’d ever had it in.

“Oh? What are you getting into?” Natasha laughs, making her way over with Bruce holding onto her as if he’d lose her.

“My friend’s band is playing tonight. I promised her I’d go if we finished up early enough.”

“Oh, this I gotta see!” Bruce chimes in as you laugh and shake your head. “You never let us have a peak into your personal life!”

“God, I haven’t been to a show in forever,” Natasha chimes in with raised eyebrows.

He wasn’t wrong. You played everything so close to the chest; wanting to keep those you love and care for the most safe...wanting to keep yourself safe. Since none of them were relenting (not to mention they’re the damn Avengers), you finally agreed and told them to meet you outside of your room at the compound in about two hours.

“Is it too late for me to get in on this?” Steve asks just as the group was about to disperse.

“There you are!” Bucky interjects before anyone has a chance to say anything. “Y/N is giving us a peak into her personal life! We’re all meeting at her place in two hours and going from there,” he laughs patting his best friend on the back.

Steve looked at you with a cocked eyebrow and you just laugh and nod, giving him the ‘OK’ to tag along. Unbeknownst to the others, you and Steve hung out the most. No, he’d never been privy to your personal life, but you two spent a lot of time watching movies and listening to music together on the weekends. Occasionally, Bucky would get in on the action, but it was mainly you and Steve. You and Steve had a certain level of comfort that you didn’t have with the rest of them. It was more of an unspoken, private thing and that’s how the both of you preferred it. You both understood each other, and neither of you ever made the other feel sad or out of place for things that had gone wrong in each other’s past. You both had wounds you were still healing from, and you gave each other the space needed for that to happen.

You’d always had a thing for Steve. He kept himself at a distance, so it was difficult for you to tell if he ever felt the same. After a while, you’d stopped trying and just accepted him as a friend. He told you that he’d wanted to go back and stay with Peggy, but he was too afraid to leave Bucky on his own again, so he’d come back instead. He wasn’t even sure if Bucky would ever be okay with being alone; Steve just stayed without asking him. It seemed like the right thing to do, and he didn’t hate the current timeline too much.

Soon enough, everyone is in your small little complex, drinking and laughing as you put together the last bit of your outfit. The thought of Steve joining all of you had you more anxious than you cared to admit, so you chalked it up to the normal anxiety of inviting your work colleagues into your personal life.

Which was more than fair.

“I’m sure you look amazing, lets go! I’m too excited for this!” Natasha hollers as she makes her way into your bedroom.

“Nat!”

“Oh, they’re all in there drinking away! You’re fine,” she laughs, closing the door behind her. “Well shit!”

“I swear to God, I’ll change right now!”

“No! You look amazing!” she promised as her hands covered her mouth. “None of us have ever seen you out of work clothes, and babe...you look amazing,” she laughs in shock.

“Should I change? I don’t want to give anyone the wrong idea-”

“If you’re comfortable, who cares. No one wants to interfere with your personal life. I think we’re all more afraid of pushing you away,” she laughs.

“You really think it’s okay?”

“I mean, I think you’re hot as fuck,” she laughed as you rolled your eyes, “but I think you look amazing.”

“You sure?”

“Get enough alcohol in them , they won’t even notice when you leave for the bathroom,” she laughed.

Even though you laughed along with her, you knew better. James Buchanan Barnes kept his attention on you almost as well as Steve, but you never thought anything of it. It always had a more platonic feeling than with Steve, almost more familial.

When you came out, Steve was the first to look at you. His mouth slightly agape was enough to make you wanna go back, but Bucky was quick to chime in-

“Someone is ready for a night out,” he laughed.

That’s all it took.

Soon enough, you were taking shots and laughing with everyone else. Even Pepper and Tony were excited and joined you all. Your life was something so foreign to them, and you could tell that they all felt extremely excited that you trusted them enough.

In all honesty, you felt more comfortable because Steve was there. You knew he’d never let anything happen to you, and you’d never let anything happen to him. If you were being completely honest, you’d only wanted to invite him out. How it spiraled, you’re still not sure but it did. It The only thing that felt off was letting him see you dressed as you were. It was weird for all of them to see you dressed as you were, but Steve couldn’t take his eyes off you.

You were in red plaid crop top, with tight fighting black jeans that hugged your hips in just the right way, and black low top heels. You put your hair in loose curls, and finished it off with eyeliner and mascara. After a brutal day of training, you really didn’t wanna spend forever doing your makeup, because you knew you’d wanna come home after everything was over and go right back to sleep. Yeah, everything was hugging your body in just the right way, but you weren’t about to change.

You were introducing them to your life.

Before you all left, Thor filled three flasks with his mead from Asgard for himself, Steve, and Bucky and you laughed pretty damn hard.

“We wanna enjoy this night too,” he winked at you as you rolled your eyes.

The walk was easy enough, but it felt like it took forever. People kept asking for pictures with the OG Avengers, they had a million questions, and of course they were all happy to be as kind as possible. It’s not that you minded all that much, but you really missed your best friend. Work had been kicking your ass, she had been extremely busy, and was in the middle of planning her wedding. Nights off were extremely rare, but actually getting to see her and her friends perform? It had been forever.

“You made it!” she squealed once you were finally inside the club with everyone, almost knocking you over with how hard she hugged you.

“I told you I’d show! Even if I would’ve only caught the last song,” you laughed as you hugged her back just as tight. “We still on for drinks after?”

“Fuck yes! Your tits look amazing in this top, we’re definitely getting free drinks out of it,” she beamed with a wink and you burst out laughing. “Okay, I’ve seen all of you on TV, but I still wanna officially meet everyone,” she smiled at everyone. “I’m Meg.”

As everyone went around introduced themselves, you made your way to the bar, to grab your signature Jack and Coke.

“Hell yes! You made it!” Meg’s finance, Paul, beamed as he made your drink.

“Why is everyone so shocked that I’m here?!”

“You haven’t been to a show in years!”

“Blah, blah, blah,” you muttered as you reached behind the bar and grabbed his pack of cigarettes.

“You bring the Avengers with you and you dare to steal from me?” he sneered sarcastically as he handed you your drink.

You laughed as you reached across the bar and kissed his cheek, “I’m sure our friendship will survive it.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. Dude, I had no idea the place would be so packed tonight.”

“I have a feeling everyone here had a long ass Friday.” “Yeah, well they better treat my baby right.” “You two!”

He rolled his eyes as he flipped you off, “enjoy the show!”

“Thank you, Paaauuullll,” you sang out as everyone joined you.

You looked up to see Steve staring at you intently, and he quickly turned towards the stage when he realized he was caught. Before you could allow yourself to think on it or feel flattered, you heard your best friend yell from the stage as she started to make her guitar scream.

“We’re ‘Flowers of Cinnamon’, and thanks for spending your Friday night with us!”

From that moment on, you were barely paying attention to your surroundings. With the exception of your drink, you didn’t focus on anything other than your best friend rocking the fuck out. It had always just been a hobby for her, but she had always been so damn good at it. You envied how effortlessly performing came to her. The band was a cross between Paramore, The Bangles, and All Time Low, and they were just as amazing as you remembered. You wouldn’t have been able to stay still even if you’d wanted to. You sang and danced along to every song, bouncing around, and screaming your head off. You had no clue that Steve had been watching you with the biggest grin on his face, Bucky had been watching your chest bounce up and down, or that Tony had been recording your reaction to your best friend’s music, smiling so hard at your happiness.

Every other song, your best friend made eye contact with you and laughed, and nothing else seemed to matter. Thinking back on it, you wished it had, because maybe things wouldn’t have gotten so fucked up, but you were just so damn happy. The more drinks got, the more you danced and sang around, finally feeling comfortable and happy, even with your new set of friends watching you.

“Okay, this is gonna be our last song for the night,” Meg smiled into the microphone and she laughed at amount of “boos” they received. “Listen, I wanna get fucked up too!” she joked, gaining laughs from the crowd. “Okay, so tonight is extremely special because my best friend on the entire planet is here and brought her friends with her! Thanks babe! So, our last song is gonna be a cover of one of her favorite songs ever,” she winked at you as you cocked an eyebrow.

As soon as you heard the first cord of ‘Decoy’ by Paramore hum out of the speakers, you screamed so loud that everyone in your group (and Paul) started laughing.

‘Close your eyes and make believe that this is where you wanna be

Forgetting all the memories, try to forget love cause love’s forgotten me

Well hey, hey baby, it’s never too late

Pretty soon you won’t remember a thing

All I’ll be distant, the stars reminiscing

Your heart’s been wasted on me’

You sang along so effortlessly as you started to jump up and down.

‘You’ve never been so used as I’m using you, abusing you

My little decoy

Don’t look so blue, you should’ve seen right through

I’m using you, my little decoy

My little decoy’

You linked arms with Nat, who clearly didn’t know the song, but was more than happy to sing and dance along with you. You glanced around and it made you so happy to see everyone else happy and having a good time. It’s not like you were a stick in the mud at work but, you never let loose. Even when it came to holiday and birthday parties, you were pretty damn reserved. The only person who can claim that they’ve seen you fucked up is Steve, and even then it was just you being wine drunk on the sofa while you two listened to albums and discussed work.

No, this was you letting lose and everyone accepting it. Accepting you. You looked over at Steve and he a look of pure love and adoration in his eyes, and it made your heart swell.

God, you wished you would’ve paid more attention to the way both he and Bucky looked at you that night, but you were just so damn happy and having so much fun.

If you could turn back time...

“Am I still okay at singing?” Meg asked once she finally made her way over to all of you.

“Dude, you’re still fucking amazing!” you beamed as you wrapped her in a tight hug and she laughed. “That was so good! Thank you for playing ‘Decoy’, almost making me cry!”

“Aha!” she teased before she looked at everyone else. “What about Earth’s mightiest heroes? Were you all able to tolerate it?”

“That was amazing,” Tony laughed, Pepper nodding in agreement.

“Why don’t you do this full time?” Nat asked as you waived Paul down and got another drink for both you and Meg.

“If I did this full time, I’d be so stressed all the damn time,” Meg laughed, “I’m much happier painting.”

“What do you paint? Do you have a studio?” Clint inquired and a smile came to your face.

Things were going better than you could have ever imagined.

As everyone got acquainted, you snuck to have a smoke. A few moments later, a smile came to your face when you saw Steve come out after you.

“You said you’re quitting those,” he nodded towards the cigarette in your hand.

“I stole Paul’s,” you laughed, standing a little further from him so as to not get the smoke in his face.

“I can handle it,” he laughed as he placed his black leather jacket on you. “You’re pretty...exposed and I don’t want you getting cold.”

“Well, aren’t you just the sweetest man?” you teased before you inhaled your cancer stick. “Who else knows about this? I’ll call the ‘New York Times’” He snickered as he shook his head, “quiet you.”

“Are you having fun tonight?”

“I am, I like you seeing like this.”

You scoffed, “crazy?” “Happy...content. Secure.”

You felt your cheeks heat up at his words, and the look he gave you along with it, had butterflies appearing in your stomach.

“We should get back inside,” you smiled at up at him as you ashed the last of your cigarette and threw it in the nearby trash bin.

And maybe that’s when it started.

You just missed all the signs that night, because you were convinced Steve didn’t want you.

He convinced you he didn’t want you.

When the two of you got back inside, Paul had just finished up his shift and the guys had finished helping Meg back up her equipment which she had decided to lock up in the manager’s office for the night.

“Dancing! We need dancing!” she whined once her eyes landed on you.

“Hell yeah we do,” you laughed as you linked arms with both her and Nat.

Once again, you didn’t notice the way Bucky ogled you or the way Steve kept a close eye on you. When you all reached the next bar, you instantly ordered more drinks and pulled Nat and Meg onto the dance floor with you, still wearing Steve’s coat. He leaned against the bar, talking with Tony and Pepper, but still kept an eye on you. As Janet Jackson’s voiced filled the giant building, you danced around with the biggest smile on your face (at some point Meg had put her sunglasses on your face), smiling and waiving at Bucky when you saw his eyes glued to you.

Well, glues to your ass.

By the time everyone was ready to call it a night, you were drunk as shit.

“You’re not coming back to the compound?” Nat asked as she stumbled out after you.

“Nah, I wanna sleep in my own space tonight. It’s closer,” you giggled as you started giving out hugs.

“I can take you,” Bucky offered with a slick grin.

“I can take her, she’s on the way to my house,” Steve countered, and Meg cocked an eyebrow at you.

You just started dancing and walking.

“Goodnight everyone! Get home safe! I love you all!”

You were drunk, tired, and in no mood to figure out whatever that was about. You just wanted to go home and get in your bed. You honestly don’t know why you didn’t go back to the compound that night, but it just felt right to go to your own home. You already spent so little time there to begin with. A few moments later, you heard the hurried footsteps of someone behind you, but you kept looking ahead.

“You’re impatient when you’re drunk,” Steve laughed as he came up beside you.

A small smile came to your face at the fact that Steve was the one to walk you home.

You giggled as you leaned into him, “my feet hurt.”

No sooner than you said it, he scooped you up.

“Steve!”

“You weigh nothing, don’t worry about it, darlin.” “It’s a 30 minute walk!”

“I’m very well aware of where your apartment is.” “Steve-”

“Hush.”

You pouted but did as you were told, leaned into him, and took in the scent that was all his own. Something between woodsy and fresh cut grass. In your drunken state, he felt like home.

“Why didn’t you want Bucky to take me home?” you asked after a few moments, not missing the way he stiffened a bit.

“He’s a little buzzed and he gets a little handsy and flirty at times. I didn’t want him to bother you.” You giggled as you took in more of his scent, “you’re literally carrying me, Steve.” “You said your feet hurt.” “Are you a little buzzed?”

“I definitely don’t feel sober,” he chuckled softly and you softly sighed at the comfort of rumble in his chest.

“Do you wanna sleepover?”

“I’ll order a car service once I drop you off.”

“Why not order one now?”

“It was weird...everyone hanging out tonight. I feel like we haven’t hung out alone together in a while.” “Then why not sleepover?”

“Cause I should go home. I don’t wanna accidentally wake you up or something. You worked hard today and you need rest.” “So did you.” “Y/N.” “You’re so weird sometimes, Steve,” you huffed as you laced your hand with his.

“What are you doing?”

“Holding your hand like I’ve done a million times before. What’s wrong?” “Nothing.”

You rolled your eyes and mumbled, “alright weirdo.” “I’m not being weird.”

“You’re not being normal.”

He let out a frustrated huff, “did you have fun tonight?”

“So much fun, I’m so happy you came out.”

“I’ve missed you, darlin.” “I’ve missed you too. Steve?”

“Hmm?”

“Sleepover.”

“Y/N-” “See? You are being weird. You’ve slept over my place a ton before, in my bed, and it wasn’t weird. What’s so different about tonight?”

He muttered, “so many things.” “Like what?”

“It’s just been a long night.”

“Fine, whatever. Go home, see if I give a fuck.” “Hey!”

“You’re being weird and you won’t tell me why. You know I hate when you do that shit.”

“I just think I should sleep in my own bed, darlin’. I’m not trying to be weird or make you upset.”

He sounded so strained and you couldn’t read his facial expression, so you couldn’t see how torn up he was. You couldn’t tell how much he was at war with himself.

You couldn’t tell how much he wanted you.

He chuckled when you didn’t say anything, “don’t get quiet on me now.”

“Can you at least stay until I fall asleep? It won’t take long.” “Everything okay, darlin’?”

“Yeah Steve, I just miss you,” you confessed softly.

“We’ll do a sleepover tomorrow, alright? We’ll have it at my house.” “Fine.” “Don’t be upset.” “I don’t care.” “You’re also a giant brat when you’re drunk.” “You’re saying that you miss me, but won’t spend time with me!”

God, you sounded like a brat to your own ears. That was a huge part as to why you’d never let him see you so inebriated. It’s why you never wanted anyone from The Avengers (or S.H.I.E.L.D for that matter) to see you so drunk. It became harder for you to suppress your feelings for Steve, and he’s all you wanted when you were drunk. For reasons unknown to you (at the time), Steve wanted to go home. That should’ve been enough, but your drunk wanted to hold him all night.

You were going out of your way to start an argument.

He let out a heavy sigh as he reached your complex, “I’ll stay-”

“Don’t do me any fucking favors-” “Will stop arguing with me? And stop with swearing, you know I hate it.” “Well maybe I hate you.”

He scoffed hard at that, “no you don’t.”

“You don’t know that-”

“Yes I do, so stop saying it. I’ll stay, okay?”

“And you’ll sleep next to me?”

“Yes darlin’, I will sleep next to you.”

You pressed a soft kiss to his neck and you felt his grip on you get tighter, “thank you, Steve!”

“Anything for you, sweetheart.”

That night, he was good to his word and slept next to you, letting use his chest as a pillow and you were asleep almost instantly. The next day, he was back to normal and you didn’t think anything of his behavior from the previous night. You had no reason to. However, from that day on, things did slowly start to change more.

It started with Bucky coming around more, especially when Steve was with you. You couldn’t sense it, because has always been entirely too good at hiding his emotions, but he slowly became frustrated. So much that he basically stopped coming around all together.

“Hey, are you busy?” you asked timidly as you approached his office one day.

“Yeah, unfortunately.” “Oh...okay then-”

“What’s wrong?”

“No, you’re busy and I don’t wanna take up your time...”

You could feel your eyes welling up and didn’t know why. Steve always had a way of making you so damn soft and vulnerable, and you truly hated it.

You still hate it.

“Darlin’-” “Please stop calling me that. The guy who started calling me that doesn’t seem to exist anymore. If he does, he’s making sure to stay away from me.”

“He still exists-” “Then what’s going on? Why are you staying away from me?”

He sighed as he threw down his pen, “nothing-”

“Alright, if you’re just gonna lie to me-” “I’m not lying!”

“Steve, you saw me walking with Bucky yesterday and literally turned in the other direction and walked away.” “You guys are just hanging out a lot now and I don’t wanna third wheel-” “You wouldn’t third wheeling! We’re just friends!”

“Y/N...” “Steve, why are you just abandoning me? You’re the one I’m closest to and you know that. You’ve always known that,” you sobbed as you closed the door behind you.

“Please don’t cry-” “Then why are you abandoning me?! What did I do wrong?!”

“Nothing-”

“Then what the fuck?! You’ve been acting so strange, but you’re saying I haven’t done anything! If I didn’t do anything, what the fuck is going on with you?!”

He let out another frustrated sigh and just stared at you, clearly at war with himself.

“Fuck this and fuck you, I give up,” you sobbed as you dried your eyes.

“Darlin’”

“Stop calling me that! I’m just Y/N and you’re just Steve. I can’t do this with you anymore!”

After you stormed out, things only got worse, because you’d never felt so low and alone in your life. Unless it had to do with a mission or training, you barely even looked his way. The farther you got away from Steve, the more Bucky swooped in. In fact, the more you look at how everything happened, you realize that things wouldn’t have gotten so bad if you’d just shut things down with the both of them.

However, it’s not as if thinking with a broken heart ever lead to a good thing.

You cried a lot and Bucky was just there for you. He was sweet, he listened, and let you keep your secrets. Sure, he asked what happened between you and Steve (everyone was), but he dropped it when you told him you wouldn’t be talking about it.

You can’t explain what you don’t know.

“Hey doll, we’re goin’ out tonight. You wanna come? Invite Meg!” Bucky asked one night after you let him in your apartment on the compound.

“Nah, I’ve got a hot date with a black and white French film and a few glasses of wine,” you smiled weakly.

“You can’t stay in here forever.”

“I don’t. Sometimes I go home.” “Babe-”

“I just wanna stay in, Buck,” you sighed as someone else knocked on your door. “I guess I’m just the most popular girl in the world.”

When you opened it the second time, Steve stood there looking just as upset as you felt. Instead of even trying to attempt to hear him out, a rage flared up inside you and you had to force yourself to not shove him. As far as you were concerned, he had a lot of fucking nerve to show up at your place after all the shit that happened in his office.

“What?”

“I wanted to know if you’re coming out tonight-”

“No.”

“Well, can I come in and we can talk? I know I owe you an explanation-”

“I don’t want an explanation anymore, Steve,” you lied harshly, “I just want you to leave me alone. I stood in your office and cried like a fucking dumbass...that was a month ago. Now you wanna talk? Just leave things as they are.”

You truly wish you hadn’t spoken out of anger because none of it was true. You cried over him whenever you were alone, you missed hanging out with him, you missed falling asleep next to him...you missed Steve. Your Steve.

You’ve always been a hot head.

“Darlin-” “What have I told you about that?” “Y/N, just give me a few minutes-”

“No, go away. Unless it has to do with work, we don’t have anything to talk about.” “You don’t mean that,” he more pleaded than told you.

“I’ve never meant it more!”

“Y/N-”

Bucky sighed as he came up behind you, “she just needs to cool off, Pal.”

If you hadn’t been so upset and hurt you would’ve laughed at how wide Steve’s eyes got.

“We’ll talk to you tomorrow, okay?”

“I thought you were coming out. It was your idea in the first damn place,” Steve snapped.

“I don’t wanna leave Y/N while she’s this upset. She shouldn’t be alone right now.”

Steve opened his mouth to say something, but all that happened was he clenched his jaw and looked away before he stormed off, punching the wall on his way out.

You should’ve spoken to him. You should’ve gone after him. Instead you pushed past Bucky and made yourself your first glass of wine of the night.

“Babe-”

“Buck, if you’re gonna stay here tonight, please no lectures. I just wanna be upset, okay?”

He just nodded solemnly, “I get it. No lectures, just drinks and weird French movies,” he smirked and you quietly laughed.

Here’s the thing: it’s not that you never found Bucky attractive, you just never thought about him. You were always thinking about Steve. However, at that time, thinking about Steve brought you too much pain and you didn’t want to feel anymore pain for a while. You just wanted to feel numb. You’d rather have nothing, the void, than hold onto the pain Steve’s brought on.

You rested your legs on him when he sat next to you, not thinking anything of it. When he started stroking your leg after the third glass of wine, you still didn’t think anything of it. You only started to pick up on his actions when he squeezed your thigh a little.

“Buck?”

“Yeah doll?” “What are you doing?”

“Trying to help you relax and feel better.”

“Buck-”

“I’ve never seen you this upset, babe. I just wanna help.”

The thought and the offer were tempting. You couldn’t remember the last time you had gotten off to something other than your vibrator. Of course you’d made subtle advances towards Steve, but he’d clearly turned you down. Plus, the women around the compound did talk. While Bucky had a reputation for being a skirt chaser, he also had a reputation for wearing women out in the best way.

It’s not like you were looking for anything. You just wanted to forget for awhile.

He tested the waters a bit more by sliding his hand further up your leg, waiting to see how you’d respond.

You placed your wine glass on the ground and opened your legs for him a bit, “you just wanna make me feel better?”

“So fuckin’ good, doll,” he husked, as he reached between your legs and easily ripped your panties off, “just lay back and enjoy, baby.”

His movements were slow, but his kisses were desperate. It felt good, but off. Not to mention you felt more guilty with every kiss he gave you, like you were betraying Steve.

‘Fuck Steve,’ you told yourself mentally, ‘he had his chance and he clearly didn’t want it.’

You closed your eyes in a vain attempt to shut out any thoughts of Steve, but that only made his face come to mind. You let out a sound between a moan and a frustrated grunt as you pulled Bucky’s hair.

“Please!”

“Tell me how bad you want it,” he smirked, his hot breath lapped at your pussy.

“So fucking bad, please! Need it!”

“Love seeing you like this,” he cooed, before he dipped down and dove in and his lewd moans filled the room.

This was the moment Bucky became your “decoy”. You didn’t want him in the same way he wanted you, but part of you felt like he didn’t actually give a shit. Since he’d lost Nat to Bruce, Bucky wasn’t ever really looking for a relationship. He liked to play around, entertain a woman (or two) for a few months, then he’d move on. As far as you were concerned, that night was only supposed to be a one time thing.

“F-fuck!” you moaned, doing your best to be in the moment as you lulled your head back while he fucked you with his tongue and massaged your clit with his thumb. “Feels so good, Buck!”

You weren’t lying completely. It’s not as if Bucky was bad at eating you out, he just wasn’t the one you wanted doing it.

You felt him smirk against your folds, and started to grind your pussy against his face, forcing yourself to focus on all the pleasure you felt instead of everything else.

‘Steve doesn’t want you. Steve doesn’t want you. Stop thinking about Steve!’ you told yourself mentally.

When he switched up and started sucking on your clit, he easily pressed two fingers into your soaked folds. You felt the knot in your core tighten and snap.

“FUCK!” you cried out as you came hard and a few tears escaped your eyes.

You hated how the tears weren’t from pleasure, but you masked it well enough as he fucked you through your high.

“Take off that fuckin’ shirt, baby. Let me fuckin’ see you,” he husked as he took off his own shirt and started to undo his jeans.

You were quick to do as he said, taking all of him as you ignored how uncomfortable you felt being so bare beneath him as his mouth glistened with your juices.

You were doing this to feel better, so why weren’t you feeling any better?

“Waited so fuckin’ long, baby,” he groaned as he dipped down and worshiped each of your breasts while his thumb made little circles on your clit.

“Bucky!”

“I know baby, I’m gonna take care of you, gonna take such good care of you,” he moaned before you felt his tongue on the side of your neck, licking up little beads of sweat.

You took a deep breath and told yourself you wanted it as you felt him at your entrance. You wanted Bucky. You just needed to let yourself relax.

“Jesus, you’re fuckin’ tight!” he grunted as he pushed into you.

“Oh fuck!”

“I know you can take me, baby! Your wet little pussy is squeezing me so tight, baby!” “Please don’t stop,” you whimpered as you wrapped a leg around his waist, trying to hang on to him as he fucked into you hard and fast.

You wanted this. You agreed to this.

He pushed himself up with his metal arm and looked down at you adoringly, “wanted you for so long, doll. Waited for...ah fuck!”

To avoid feeling anymore guilt, you wrapped an arm around him to pull him close and kissed him passionately, moaning into his mouth when you felt him fill you to the brim. He rode out both your highs before he rested his forehead against yours.

“So good, baby. You tired?” he asked, breath still coming heavy.

You just closed your eyes and shook your head no.

“Good girl.”

Bucky kept at it for a while, not feeling any real pleasure until he brought you off (which you had to fake half the time). There was nothing wrong with him. You found him attractive, and you knew that he wanted you, but it just wasn’t what you wanted. All of it felt so hollow and emotionless on your end. You felt like you were acting and Bucky was working his ass off to please you; to make matters worse, your phone kept going off and you knew who it was.

Steve would’ve hated you if he knew what you were doing and who with, but a part of you felt like he already did. When you both were done, Bucky was a gentleman. He pulled your shirt over your head, carried you to bed, and held you close until you both fell asleep.

You didn’t cry until the next day when you woke up alone in an empty apartment. You ignored calls from both Bucky and Steve, and eventually Bucky was the only one texting you.

Something in you knew that Bucky had confirmed his suspicions, and you just knew he was furious. You and Steve both knew Bucky wasn’t a bad guy, he was just a player and Steve never wanted that for you.

Eventually you cracked and called Meg, and cried while you told her everything.

“Well...fuck,” she muttered once you finally got everything out. “Are you sure Steve knows?”

“His calls and texts were incessant until they weren’t. He hasn’t done either in the last 3 hours.”

“Oh yeah no, he definitely fucking knows. Bucky?”

“Bucky went from every 30 minutes to every other hour.”

“Well, what’s wrong with him?” “Nothing...”

“Except?”

“He’s not Steve.”

“Yeah, but Steve passed up on you, and he was kind of a dick about it. He waited a month until after the office situation? You’ve been showing him your available for how many years? I know you love him, but-”

“I don’t love him.”

“Yeah, cause that’s you’re crying to me about him instead of the skirt chaser that fucked your brains out?”

“Meg.”

“I’m not being insensitive, I’m being honest. Bucky was there last night, clearly wanted you, was with you all night, and all you could think about was Steve. Today, even though Bucky is still texting you, you’re more upset that Steve isn’t because you know he knows. If I were you, I’d be more worried about the guy that’s used to fucking around breaking my heart, than the guy who isn’t,” she sighed.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

“Steve had his chance, I need to let him go. I’ve been in my room crying all day...I have to stop.”

“Can you?”

“I don’t have much of a choice do I?”

“Babe, if you could end up with Steve, I’d prefer that, but that’s not really an option. Even if he came back, he gave you the run around for a bit. Just focus on you for now and what you want. You always want to make others happy, and you need to focus on you.”

“You’re right. I know you’re right.”

“Do you need me to come over?”

“No, being alone is good for me right now.”

“Alright, I love you, Y/N. It’s gonna be okay.”

You let out a heavy sigh as you sobbed, “I love you,” and hung up.

You ignored Bucky for the rest of the day, feeling guilty about it, but knowing it was for the best. You’d done enough wrong and you truly did need to focus on you and what you wanted.

However, before you fell asleep, you broke down and checked all your texts from Steve.

O Captain, My Captain: Darlin, please just talk to me. I’m so sorry.

O Captain, My Captain: I’m not going out tonight, please just answer me.

O Captain, My Captain: Don’t do anything with Bucky. He’s my best friend, but he’s not worthy of you. He won’t treat you right and you know that.

O Captain, My Captain: Please just answer me.

O Captain, My Captain: If I could take back my actions, I would. I’m so sorry. If you’d just talk to me, I’d be able to make you understand.

O Captain, My Captain: Please talk to me. I miss you so much.

O Captain, My Captain: I’m going to sleep, but give me a call whenever.

O Captain, My Captain: Seriously? All night and you’re still not talking to me?

O Captain, My Captain: Baby, please just talk to me. We’ve never gone this long without talking, and I fucking hate it.

O Captain, My Captain: Y/N...please.

O Captain, My Captain: Bucky just left. You’ve made yourself loud and clear, and fine. I got it.

O Captain, My Captain: Do whatever the fuck you want.

When you woke up the following day, you had the biggest headache from crying, and the last thing you felt like doing was facing either of them. You had a job to do though, and criminals didn’t stop being criminals just because you had a broken heart. Even though you were slower to dress than usual, you were still on time for training, and God, it was brutal.

Bucky kept looking at you, Steve wouldn’t even look your way, and you couldn’t focus. You’d never had a day so bad, and all you wanted was to crawl back into bed. During the meeting after, you just leaned against the wall, barely listening to anything Nick had to say. The one time you bothered to look up, you looked over at Steve and was glaring at you.

God, you really fucking hated yourself.

“Doll, wait up!” Bucky called after you once the meeting was over.

You’d practically run out of the room.

“Bucky, I really just want-”

“What did I do wrong?” he breathed once he caught up to you. “Everything seemed fine on Saturday, I thought we both enjoyed it.”

You didn’t miss the way Steve quietly scoffed as he walked past the both of you.

“Bucky, I just-”

“Did I hurt you? What...I really like you, Y/N. I have for a while and I just...was I too eager?”

You honestly hadn’t expected that.

“Wait...what?”

“I never said anything, because I thought you and Steve had a thing going, but that’s clearly not happening. You were just so upset on Saturday and I wanted to make you happy, and I’ve wanted you for so long...what did I do?”

Trash. You felt like absolute trash.

“I need to get to my room.” “Y/N-”

“Just...I’ll talk to you later, okay? You didn’t do anything wrong, I promise. I just have a lot going on in my head. I just need to be by myself for a while.”

“Please just-”

“I’ll talk to you later, okay? I’m sorry.”

You can read the rest here.

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thecoffeelorian · 2 months

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Fandom Friday, 07/12: Fanart

Hello again, everyone...and welcome back to another Fandom Friday: Fanart Edition.

Before we begin, I would just like to say that I've gone back to including ten links for this half rather than seven, as they seem to gather a bit more attention than the Fanfictions do.

Also, in case I didn't mention it before, I try to bring in around two examples each week from each currently active part of the fandom, so that the most recent projects get represented in my updates. Basically setting out the freshest products first, to put it into baking terms.

Now that you all have a somewhat better idea of how I do this...here are my picks of the week.

THE ACOLYTE

The Acolyte Fanart--By @elainecreations

The Acolyte Fanart--By @aresielle

THE CLONE WARS

The Clone Wars Fanart--By @coldbrewarts

The Clone Wars Fanart--By @clone-trooper-cheese

THE BAD BATCH

The Bad Batch Fanart--By @amandamadeathing

The Bad Batch Fanart--By @kenosisofabrami

STAR WARS REBELS

Star Wars Rebels Fanart--By @mystical-salamander

Star Wars Rebels Fanart--By @moodboards-aesthetics

THE MANDALORIAN

The Mandalorian Fanart--By @instarwars

AHSOKA

Ahsoka Fanart--By @caccry

In conclusion, as part of my mission to poke around the Star Wars fandom and, on Friday every week, highlight those artists who might otherwise go unnoticed…I hope you will check out the links I have included for yourselves and like, comment on, and reblog them, as well as also giving the artists a few more followers to their Tumblr pages.

Please also like and reblog this latest installment so that these links can be spread around to as many other fans as possible, just in case not all of them can tune in at the same time.

An additional thank you goes to @djarrex for making the divider I used earlier in this post, but still want to give credit for.

And finally, so that I do not forget…this post will be continued in its second half: the Fanfiction Edition.

Thank you, good morning, and I'll see you in the next post!

The No-Pressure Tag List: @theweepingvulcan91 @libraryfordyslexics @olafur-neal @theunknownartist1 @bluedeedeedoop

@crazyinspirationaldreams @theosb0rnway @gun-roswell @melymigo @skellymom

@cinnamonsugar-pretzel @its-time-to-rise-above @vaderkin-is-a-lightning-rod @universitysunflowers

@tazmbc1 @thegreenspectr @leos-multifandom-corner @badbatchposts @sharpasanaro

@tlmtwelve @thatflatfrog @nadjem-mari @leenabb104104 @ithillia

@difuf @rott1ngbra1n @saviinika @everybirdfellsilent @algo-o-nada

@botherdv @justhereforthesherlock @sportlover4life @aelfgiure @typewriters-and-love-letters

@theweepingvulcan91 @maggie-dylan and anybody else who might be on the lookout for new and interesting fanart.

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marchsfreakshow · 11 months

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Cigarette Tension [Michael De Santa]

You and Michael De Santa; you're friends with Tracey De Santa, and she brings you home one day when Amanda and Jimmy are out.

Moodboard made by @lilthbunny

Sort of a self insert fic cause I'm down bad for this man. (And as gender neutral as I could make it lol)

Could be suggestive. -18 be warned; Addiction to smoking is referenced.

Your perspective.

⊹˚.⋆ ₊꒷ᘏᘏ︶ଓ︶꒷꒦⊹˚ᗢ₊꒷︶ଓ︶꒷

Tracey pulled up in the driveway, and I stared wide-eyed at her house. It was a mansion, let alone one with a pool and a tennis court of all things! She got out of the car and my jaw was slack. "Y/N c'mon! Fame Or Shame is gonna start sooonnn!" She wiggled a bit as I brought myself out of my trance and stepped out of the car.

I had become friends with Tracey De Santa recently after accidentally bumping into her when I was shopping. We apologized after a while, but at first, she was telling me off, annoying me with 'what's your excuse?!' And 'im from money you know?! Daddy can kill you instantly!' I rolled my eyes a bit before picking up her stuff.

"lemme pay you back."

"This was $100..?" She asked, staring at the broken perfume bottle on the ground.

"Okay? I have $200 to spend still." She just smiled and I took her back into the perfume shop.

A few weeks later, and more asks later, I was finally stood by her front door. "I think Jimmy and Mom are out. Daddy's being lazy still in the living room." She grinned. I chuckled in response and walked in with her. "Daddy! My friend Y/N is here."

I followed the chirpy girl into the living room. It was magnificent, and much more than my small apartment. But the man sitting on the sofa took my attention. He was in his 50s at least. Chubby... but attractive. He looked over with a drink of whiskey in one hand.

We made eye contact immediately, and it was like I was captured by him, even though I was just looking into his eyes. I couldn't let my thoughts run wild here, I just couldn't. No one said anything, but Tracey could tell I was staring. "Y/N. Eugh. I'll be in my room sorting this shopping out. Be right back."

I sort of mumbled an okay and leaned against a wall awkwardly. Michael went back to the TV. "you can come and sit down."

"oh I'm okay, thank you though."

As soon as I said that, the man stood up. He turned off the TV, and quietly went outside, holding out a cigarette box behind him. I stared hungrily at the box while it disappeared. The debate and war in my head were eventually won, and I nonchalantly joined him outside. "You smell like you smoke inside."

"You smell like an addict."

"And look at that, you lured me out here." I felt so confident now. My own guess was the cigarette between my fingers, and the lighter I was about to light for the both of us.

We made eye contact again as the cigarettes were lit and we took our breaths.

Tracey clearly was busy sorting out my own shopping compared to hers. I bought barely any expensive things, but it seemed she got everything that was expensive. "How did you meet my angel then?" The word 'angel' came out like sarcasm, but I felt the love within it.

"I broke her perfume by accident when we bumped into each other. I decided I was nice that day, and bought her a new one." Michael raised an eyebrow, side-eyeing me for a second. I fidgeted around a bit as we took our time to smoke.

A few minutes went by before he stomped his cigarette out, I wanted to take my time. I already fucked up my cigarette sobriety, why not enjoy it? Michael's eyes found mine again. A war was happening in my brain again. He was attractive, for a 50-something-year-old. But god he was married! With two kids my age, a bit younger. Clearly.

I was finishing my cigarette up, and I stomped it out soon after. He stood in front of me barely blocking the bright sun. "Michael."

"I can tell..."

"Tell what?"

He placed a kiss on my cheek, then my neck. I was confused and turned away. "You got it figured out.", Michael winked at me, then headed back inside.

I was standing there, against a wall, in my friend's backyard, questioning why her dad just kissed me after a cigarette. He smelled vintage. Old cologne, worn-out suits, and the cigarettes.

When I figured he was back to watching TV or something, I walked in awkwardly. The man was distracted with making a bowl of chips in the kitchen. After taking a deep breath, I headed up the stairs and found Tracey's room right in front of the stairs. She was sleeping. I wasn't sure for how long, but she was asleep. The other door, I assumed was Jimmy's by the sign on it. "Welp, fuck Fame or Shame I guess," I muttered, grabbing my own bags, that held my shopping.

"Why don't you stay for the evening? You're nice. And you seem like a good friend to my girl." Michael said suddenly. The tension I felt last time had come back.

"oh no, I really couldn't. I have all this, and I wanna get it all home quickly." I stuttered out, feeling embarrassed for no reason. I barely knew these people! Why was this middle-aged man so attractive and why did I have to make friends with his daughter!? It seemed like the war in my brain never stopped. My nerves calmed when I was on my own. Or I was drinking. So many things calmed me, but staying the night wasn't one of them.

"No seriously. C'mon. I'm ordering Chinese food tonight. D'you like Chinese food?" Michael just smiled and patted the seat next to him. The TV was playing some sort of old film. A noir film.

As I sat down next to him, awkwardly, I nodded. "I get takeaway a lot."

"oh?"

"I'm not incredibly well off, but I got 400 from my aunt recently. So, I paid my rent for a few months, and y'know. Met Tracey-." My mouth blabbered. I waffled a lot before Michael cut me off.

"You're staying then?"

"Mhm."

"Good! I'm sure Amanda will take to you." His eyes stuck to the movie. It was intimate. I leaned my chin on my knees while attempting to watch the movie too.

Time passed. Movies and shows went by. We ate, and drank, and he had one last cigarette. I wasn't sure where Amanda and Jimmy were, and Tracey was a deep sleeper. "Where is everyone?"

"Jimmy'll come back soon. And Amanda probably found somewhere else to sleep."

"That... sounds bad." My tone was slightly guilty. Not like I had done anything anyway, but it was 4 p.m. at this point, and no one had come back to Michael's place.

"My relationship is fucked. Might as well keep it up."

"What happened? If you don't mind talking about it.."

"I fucked another stripper. She decided her tennis coach was the best person to go to after. Because of course, she did. In my own house, on my own bed. Of all fucking places."

Michael kept going about their relationship, but I could tell he was leaving some details out. Like he couldn't tell me every part of the story. When he stopped and looked over at me, I held his hand softly. He used his hands a lot clearly. Rugged, short, dirty nails. My thumb softly rubbed over his thumb. Empathy wasn't my strong suit, but I could try. The man's eyes softened for once and placed the same hand on my thigh.

I was feeling something. But I was so, distracted by looking at him, I couldn't tell what he wanted. Whatever it was, I didn't know if I should give it to him. The concentration on my face became obvious, and he backed down a bit, moving his hand away. "You didn't..have to.." I whispered, inching closer to him and his alcoholic breath. He kept his silence and went back to the position we were in a few seconds ago. It was like a clock was ticking. A time bomb about to explode.

This was lust. Not love. I didn't want to be known as the one who fucked my best friend's dad. Not particularly. But, he held me captive when I stared at him. Why was he fucking me with his eyes? That look I didn't see often, I knew it. All he did was hold onto my waist as I faced him, sitting on my knees. I didn't know what I wanted. I didn't know who was around. All I knew was that I just wanted him. For some fucked reason. Daddy issues I guess.

His hair was a bit messed up after being inside all day. The red shirt, the baggy trousers. His hands. His eyes, and his 5 o'clock shadow that was still there at 7pm. Everything about this feeling was fucked. Everything. But god he was so handsome. At any moment, his wife could come through the door, or his son, or Tracey could wake up, and kick me out of the house for being weird with her dad. My eyes screamed nervousness apparently.

"We'll be okay."

He kissed me gently, and he held me gently. This felt insane. What was I doing?! Kissing a married man!? While I kissed him back, my thoughts were like a race track. Where did I drop off my shopping? Nothing sounded like it broke, but maybe something did. "Are you alright?" Michael rested his hand on the side of my face, looking concerned.

"You're distracted."

"I suppose so."

"Nothing matters right now. Calm yourself."

We were entangled in each other again. I sat on his lap, straddling him. He held the small of my back. I gripped his shoulders. Our breaths mixed when we pulled away from each other. The TV was still playing noir movies. It didn't distract him, thank god.

"WHAT THE FUCK!?"

oh. shit.

I went wide-eyed and got off Michael immediately, my embarrassment now noticeable. Tracey stared shocked at her dad as I hurried behind her, grabbed my stuff and headed for the door.

"Y/N!"

"Tracey, angel.. listen."

"DAD! I can't fucking believe you! You're worse than Mom sometimes, Jesus!"

She stomped out into the backyard, so I took this opportunity to move away and go home. Thankfully, Michael didn't follow. Not until I got out the gate anyway. He stopped the car next to me and stared apologetically at me. "Just let me drive you home,"

Awkwardness filled the car, my bags in the back, and I was sitting in the passenger seat, looking out of the window. I refused to look anywhere but the window. I just couldn't look over to him. The man driving me home. The man who I was making out with a few minutes ago. Clouds went past quickly, and the bags were the only noise coming from inside the car.

The drive almost killed me inside it was so long. But we got there, eventually. Taking a deep breath, I just opened the door quickly, grabbed my stuff and closed the car door behind me.

He lingered.

"Don't linger, Michael..." I mumbled. The car window was open, and I knew he wanted to say something. My front door opened, my foot entered the hallway, and I didn't decide to look back. He stood there, by my front door. "I'm home now. Thanks.."

"I know. I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize, it's my fault." I kept walking away, into the living room, but because he was in the doorway, I couldn't close it.

"Alright. But you know you can come back."

"I think Tracey's opinion of me has drastically changed. I doubt it." My mutters continued. I acted uninterested and bored. But I wasn't mad at him, not really.

"Just...come back soon okay?" The door shut. Finally. My chest felt less heavy now, so I almost slid my way into the kitchen.

A creak.

Not my footsteps. They couldn't be.

"Michael please.."

"I don't think anyone will realise."

We just stood there, staring at each other. "How about a smoke?"

⊹˚.⋆ ₊꒷ᘏᘏ︶ଓ︶꒷꒦⊹˚ᗢ₊꒷︶ଓ︶꒷

The only tag today: @beetleblunt

#gta 5 #GTA V #michael de santa #michael de santa x reader #gta fanfiction #im such a simp #Michael de Santa x you #fluff #x reader fluff #suggestive #gta #grand theft auto v #might make a part 2 #big Michael simp help

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exouniverse · 11 months

Text

(My) Home

Pairing: kyungsoo x gn reader

Genre: fluff, established relationship, non-idol au, chef!kyungsoo au

Warnings: although it is very fluffy, there are small conversations regarding some sensible topics such as the mention of a dead parent, and tough moments during enlistment; however, they’re touched from a healing perspective and not explicitly detailed.

Summary: since the moment Kyungsoo met you, he has felt that being by your side is just like finding solace in the warmth of home. With this realization, he has meticulously arranged a surprise to propose the transformation of that comforting sense of home into a tangible reality.

Word count: 8.7K+

A/N: it’s finally here! My heart needed this fluffy fic so I indulged, the characters took me in ways I didn’t see coming so it took me a little bit longer to post (this was supposed to be the first fic I posted here, but inspiration hit with the birthday fics lol.) I didn’t want any angst but still, some happy tears are shared between them.

MOODBOARD

Some vocabulary insights I think I didn’t get to explain:

Bujubangjang - 부주방장: sous-chef | Dulce de leche: caramelized milk spread, also named arequipe, manjar, or cajeta | Gyeran-mari - 계란말이: rolled omelette | Seoleim - 설레임: Korean ice cream brand | Yeobo - 여보: honey, darling, sweetheart (commonly used between married or engaged couples) | Yeobobangjang: word play term from yeobo (여보) and bujubangjang (부주방장), created for the story’s purpose | Yukgaejang - 육개장: it is a spicy shredded beef soup.

The memories imprinted on the photo albums never failed to bring a genuine smile to his face and make him reminisce; not even the dust that tickled his nose could ruin these types of moments. He flipped through the well-worn pages, letting memories wash over him. He knows he has changed a lot through the years, but his essence is still palpable somehow; nonetheless, he doesn’t feel the need to alter anything about his personality. He’s loved by the people around him and, for once, he is comfortable and happy with the person—he has come to admit—he has surrendered his heart to.

He smiled, wondering how it would have been if they had met as toddlers, maybe at kindergarten or at school, and gone on beach trips with friends during the summer. His smile would have brightened even more just by seeing you posing beside him, poking his dimples as you are already so used to doing. Kyungsoo just knows deep in his heart that you would love what he’s been planning; he can’t let that little evil voice of doubt and insecurity win this one. You are clueless so far about his plans, but hints from you have also been received and thought through, so that’s what moved him to plan his proposal for moving in together.

“Kyungsoo, son.” He heard his mother’s voice calling from the kitchen, snapping him out of his daydream.

He followed the sound of her voice, appearing quicker than she had expected, causing her to jump in surprise. “Sorry, mom!” he exclaimed, letting out a chuckle as he approached, eager to taste the Yukgaejang, whose enticing aroma had already made his stomach growl.

“Hands off!” his mother scolded him. “I can’t let you get creative with Yukgaejang; your father likes it this way.”

He only continued to chuckle at his mother’s expression as he remembered the last time he tried and failed, earning him a week of an indescribable, odd-tasting soup. Teenager Kyungsoo would have likely tricked you into tasting it as a prank, just to have an excuse to be together in the nurse’s office, but he would have completely regretted his antics the moment he came to realize he liked you.

“Do Kyungsoo, did you hear what I said?”

“Oh, sorry, mom, need any help? Sorry, what did you say?”

Because of his giggles and daydreaming, he could have been doomed at that moment had his mom not been aware of the reason why he was behaving that way, so she only continued to give him the banchan she had served for him to set on the table.

“Have you decided which photos to take with you already?” his mom wondered, noticing the albums on the sofa before she sat down to eat with her youngest son, who was visiting for the day with a peculiar excuse.

“There are a lot. You can tell me which ones you want to keep, and I’ll choose from the rest.”

“It’s okay, you can take as many as you want.” She paused to think. “But do leave me the one from kindergarten where you have that big smile of yours; I don’t get to see it often.”

“Mom, I do smile!” Kyungsoo protested, perplexed at his mother’s bluntness but still amused.

“I know, I know,” she giggled. “It’s only directed to a specific someone nowadays.” And just like that, she delivered her last joke, playfully teasing her son just a bit more.

“Mom!”

The way his eyes widened in surprise amused her so much that she couldn’t help but burst into laughter. “I love Y/N! I truly do, but you don’t visit us as frequently as you used to,” she revealed, honestly.

Kyungsoo put a piece of haemul-pajeon on his mother’s rice at the same time that he offered her the smile she missed. “Ok, I’ll try visiting you more.”

Content with her son’s actions, she continued to eat the seafood pancake with a smile on her face. “Bring Y/N with you too; I miss our drama marathons,” she encouraged.

“I’ll sure do, mom.”

“Oh, they’re here!” You glanced toward the front door, leaving the cookie dough unattended as you rushed to the entrance to let your little guests in.

Kyungsoo chuckled as he witnessed your surprising speed. He went to check on the dough to see if he could help you in any way; he is the one that’s mostly in the kitchen, whether it’s yours or his, but you specifically told him not to do anything since you wanted to share this new recipe with him.

“Uncle Kyungsoo!” your older niece shouted out as soon as she saw him. He waved at her and she ran to embraced him. “Are you making cookies? Can you make them blue like you did last time?”

The shower of questions gave him away, so he tried to plead innocence by giving you an honest smile, which only grew bigger as he saw your two adorable twin nephews next to you. They both happily ran to hug Kyungsoo’s legs.

“I swear I didn’t change or touch anything.”

His ears could have burned to the touch, even when he was telling half the truth, because he indeed didn’t do anything—only thought about it, and got very close to tasting the cookie dough.

“I know those eyes, what are you hiding?” You squinted at him.

“Is it safe to leave my kids with you two?” your sister joked as she closed the door at a dramatically slow pace.

“Ari, he’s hiding something, right?” you kept teasing.

“I’m not.” Kyungsoo couldn’t stop his laugh. It could have given him away, but you know the nuances in his expressions too well. Also, it’s a given that he wouldn’t have had enough time to change anything.

“I’ll give you one chance; you can add one ingredient that you think could make it better.” His smile was like a reward. “He’s been pretending to keep himself busy while I’m making cookies,” you explained the context of the situation before you.

“Kyungsoo-ssi, you’re a chef, and isn’t today your free day?” your sister asked.

He only giggled and proceeded to taste the dough as everyone in the room expected his feedback; even your twin nephews paid attention, probably expecting a taste too.

He surprised himself; it was hard to tell, but there was some kind of ingredient that his palate was enjoying but couldn’t quite figure out because of the sweetness of the sugar and the distinctiveness of the vanilla extract present in the mixture.

“Are these chocolate chips?” he asked once he realized where the new flavor came from. There was a sweet flavor there that just didn’t taste quite like chocolate.

“Nope, they are dulce de leche chips; Ari’s friend makes them.”

Kyungsoo was incredulous but mostly confused. “Uncle, you don’t know what dulce de leche is?” your niece asked even more incredulously than him, making everyone laugh.

At that moment, your nephews started to build up energy and tried to climb up to Kyungsoo’s arms to see what he was eating. It had taken a long time for them to turn hyperactive, but they had been too entertained with his bunny slippers before. Kyungsoo managed to lift both of them to help them grab some chips from the bag that your niece pointed at and let her grab a bunch first.

“Remember the Latin American Festival we went to a couple of weeks ago? We tried dulce de leche with those small crumbly cookies.”

“Oh oh oh, yeah, I remember now. Mhmm, this is good, so good. I’m not doing anything; you even added sea salt, right?”

“Yeah, of course I did!”

“Well, I’m sorry to be a party pooper, but I must leave now,” your sister announced.

“Come kiddos, say goodbye to your mom!” Kyungsoo took them to their mom, but the older one started crying, realizing his mom was leaving. He jumped on his mother as soon as he was close, and it wasn’t long before the little one started crying too.

Your niece approached to try to calm her brothers, but you remembered you had just the thing to distract them so your sister could leave.

“Let’s go play in the camping tent; there are tons of balls to play with,” you told your niece so she could help you convince her brothers since they follow her lead all the time.

“Yes! And can we have ice cream?” She got all of the adults to laugh yet another time, but at least she managed to lessen the crying and desperation so your sister could talk to them and remind them that she needed to go for a while and that she was coming to get them later.

“I’ll go get the ice cream,” Kyungsoo offered. “I can accompany you downstairs.”

“Thank you, Kyungsoo-ssi. You’re so kind.” Your sister accepted his help as she put your nephew on the floor so you could take them to the camping tent you set for them to play in.

Kyungsoo led your sister outside after he took his wallet to go buy ice cream for everyone staying in your apartment.

In the elevator, silence fell, but for the generic music coming from the speakers. Kyungsoo spoke first, "thank you in advance. This means a lot to me."

“You’re so sweet; nobody has ever done anything like this. Y/N loves you like crazy, I can assure you of that, it would totally be the best surprise.” She searched in her bag for an envelope and handed it to him. “This should help with your plans.”

“In exchange, I will take good care of your kids, I promise,” he assured her as he held the envelope and handled it with so much care.

“Of course, you two are a great team. You always do a great job!”

While Kyungsoo went for ice cream, you were doing your best to distract the kids. The twins were like the moon and the sun, so the easier task was to leave your niece to play with the youngest in the tent while you tried to control the middle one, who was throwing the balls and even the toys at your sofa. The space in your living room where you placed the tent expanded to the whole house in about two minutes; all of the toys and balls were all over the place.

Luckily, you had finished the dough and were able to refrigerate it before the baking process, ensuring the mixture remained untouched by the Poké Balls flying about. This allowed you to attend to the children on your own until your boyfriend returned from the store.

You didn’t even need to get your camera to recollect the evidence for your sister because she knew her kids. However, you still took some pictures with your phone to send them to her, as you caught the kids’ enjoyment when they started playing together.

As you were writing to her, your phone rang with a video call from Kyungsoo, and as soon as the kids heard his voice, they all came running to say hi to him. He let out a quick giggle while his cheeks turned red. He hadn’t expected to have so much noise coming from his phone at the convenience store; he even bowed at some people behind the camera, apologizing.

“You can turn it to just a voice call if you feel more comfortable that way,” you suggested once the kids went quiet, expecting to see what their uncle was going to show.

“It’s okay; it’s quick. Just wanted to show these two options I had in mind for the kids.”

“They love the cookies and cream Seoleim—“

“Oh, but I want the banana one,” your niece expressed, creating a double echo from the little ones.

“Uncle, banana,” said the youngest, making Kyungsoo giggle.

“I can bring both, and do you want some vanilla ice cream to eat with the cookies?”

“You’re a genius!” you smiled. “Thank you, jagi.”

Kyungsoo mirrored your smile and waved goodbye. “See ya all soon!”

It didn’t take long for him to come back, so he got to see the chaos you got caught in again when he arrived. He ran to the kitchen before he was trapped by the kids at the entrance, and he gave them their ice cream fast enough for them to run back to you. Kyungsoo quickly hid the envelope in his jacket and put the vanilla ice cream in the fridge to eat later with the cookies. Since it was relay time, it was easier for him to hide the surprise with his belongings when you came to the kitchen to finally start to bake.

Taking care of your niece and nephews was challenging; Kyungsoo couldn’t even lie to himself that it wasn’t, but they were quite adorable and funny. You’ve been doing this for longer than he has, so it seemed to be so easy for you when he first saw you interact with the kids. However, he has worked on it and gotten to improve fast. Such as when your nephew started a tantrum because he wanted to go out to play but Kyungsoo saw it was about to rain. You came into the room to help, but he waved off your help, determined to handle it himself.

With them, he had learned to let loose and have fun, even if he had to act cute or like a clown. Who would have thought he could pull out some moves? Singing was easier, and karaoke rooms were witnesses to that, but he learned to accept that dancing was also fun, and he really wasn’t bad at it. It could be that or the opposite, but your nephew’s laugh was a reward either way.

For you, it was not just the little one’s laugh but Kyungsoo’s enjoyment. His face shone so much when he smiled, and his big eyes turned into little half-moons of joy. You instinctively grabbed your camera and caught as many of those moments as you could. The peace and comfort that he transmitted were priceless. You were happy that it didn’t take too long for you to finish setting the cookie dough to bake because you got to join them just in time, joyful to be able to catch more of Kyungsoo’s dancing and silliness with the kids.

At the end of the day, once you bid farewell to your sister and her children, reality hit you in every cell of your body. The exhaustion from playing all day, cleaning ice cream from the floor and carpet, cooking, and feeding left your muscles aching. You knew you now had to clean up your apartment, but leaving it all for the next day seemed more appealing than tiring yourself more by tidying it up.

While you were going back up to your apartment, Kyungsoo was picking up the toys that the kids left unorganized. Your sister had tried to get them to pick up everything they played with before they left, but you let them go easily since they seemed to be about to fall asleep in seconds.

You contemplated him once you entered your apartment; he was only bringing up smiles from you lately. “I can clean up tomorrow. I’m too exhausted now, aren’t you too?” you asked.

“I am,” he giggled, but he kept picking toys up from the ground. “I wanted to help.”

“You work tomorrow; rest up,” you said gently as you approached him, until you wrapped your arms around him from behind and rested part of your weight on him.

He stopped, feeling your energy drop. “I’m okay; I’m used to being tired from running the restaurant all day.”

“It was your free day today, though. I made you work too much. Kids and food are not the same.”

“Yeah, they’re not,” he recognized and looked back at you from his shoulder.

You smiled at him and managed to grab his hand. “See, just come with me. Let’s just chill for now. Let’s watch some variety shows and rest,” you suggested as you guided him to the couch and then grabbed the remote to turn the TV on.

You found a traveling variety show you hadn’t seen before, and it got you interested. The hosts were indulging in many unfamiliar and mouthwatering dishes, catching Kyungsoo’s attention. It didn’t take long for you both to get lost in the scenery and seemingly delicious food they showcased, and your exhaustion finally kicked in as you started to feel your eyelids getting heavy.

“Come closer; you can rest your head on my shoulder,” Kyungsoo whispered, and you followed his instructions. He was too content and expectant already. His smile, if only you could see it, might have given something away. His eyes, illuminated by the light of the TV, were incredibly expressive. “You did well today; I enjoyed every single minute,” he continued whispering, gently stroking your hair. All the while, he purposefully concealed that smile and look from you.

“I did too.” You gently grabbed his hand, and he squeezed lightly.

“You can sleep,” he giggled softly. “I can feel you drifting away.”

“No, I’m okay. Got to be here with you until you have to go.”

Kyungsoo knew you were tired, but he was sure something in the tone of your voice sounded different, and he couldn’t ignore the sense of urgency it conveyed. Although he had already planned to stay to surprise you, the change in the way you talked made him more determined to be there for you.

“I can stay; take the day off tomorrow and stay with you,” he offered, without giving much away.

“You’re leaving the kitchen unsupervised?”

It seemed you were still trying to keep your humor up and that nostalgia or melancholy unnoticed, so Kyungsoo tried to keep it up too, saying, “yeah, I can. I’m the chef.”

“I don’t believe you.”

He giggled, seemingly more amused than he is used to, and planted a gentle kiss on the top of your head. “Believe me now?” he asked, his voice filled with playful affection.

“Don’t buy me with your sweetness!”

Like a defiant toddler, he didn’t listen and instead shifted his body to cuddle and have you wrapped in his arms. “I just want to cheer you up,” he murmured tenderly.

There was a pause in your reaction, and suddenly, you held onto his hand again. “How…” you began, your voice barely audible as it caught in your throat. The word trembled on your lips, reflecting a mix of curiosity, surprise, and perhaps even a touch of vulnerability.

“You don’t have to say it if you are not ready.”

“Soo—“

“Rest. I’ll get you to your room and leave if you fall asleep.”

That smell was familiar—the pungent, savory scent of kimchi fried rice—paradoxically evoking only good memories with the people you love. You even smiled before you could open your eyes, but curiosity quickly appeared when you realized you were supposed to be alone in your house at this hour in the morning. Your sister couldn’t have possibly come today after the news she got yesterday. It was the low humming accompanying the sizzling sound of the kimchi rice that made you jump out of bed. The bedsheets fell on the ground, almost making you fall, and the door made such a sound when it hit the wall that it made Kyungsoo jump. The mixture of emotions was a tiny bit overwhelming, but your smile gave away the happiness you felt by seeing him in your kitchen making breakfast.

“You’re awake.”

“You’re here!”

His shoulders slightly went up and down as he silently laughed, connecting his gaze with yours in a way only he could. Your feet were smarter than you, taking you to him to yet again hug him from the back, but this time sharing your happy morning energy with him.

“Careful, you can burn your hand,” he cautioned, moving you both away from the heat.

You pressed your head against his back, inhaling the lingering scent of his perfume on his shirt. “I have you here, so I don’t mind.”

“How can you not mind?” He was surprised by your reply. “It’s painful, and I don’t want you to get hurt. You might even get me to burn the rice, so move, please," he insisted.

You looked at him, squinting, because of his unbelievable-expected, hot and cold reply. His teasing was cruel sometimes, but it really only added to his adorableness. He also said please, so he is forgiven.

“So is this the kitchen you’ll run today?” You had your wits too, and you used them wisely.

“My yeobobangjang, help me out, please?”

“Yeobo?” you chuckled. You were amused by his accidental play with the words bujubangjang and yeobo. He can’t just deny his cuteness, and you couldn't help but be charmed by his playful antics.

"Yeah yeah... I did say that," he giggled, realizing that he had let it slip without much thought. He rarely calls you jagi or jagiya, but yeobo is a whole different level of endearment that you still didn’t expect to hear.

With your help, breakfast was ready a lot faster, allowing you both to sit down and eat together peacefully. It was not a special occasion to celebrate anything in particular, but simply having him there in front of you was enough to make you feel grateful and happy. You also knew that he needed an explanation about yesterday. He wouldn’t ask unless you took too long to say anything, but he would subtly check in to see if you were ready to let him know.

"Thank you, Soo," you said, offering a warm smile and a piece of gyeran-mari. "About last night—"

"Y/N, I don't want you to feel pressured into saying anything," he interrupted gently, his voice filled with understanding. "It's okay if you don't want to tell me. Just… just know that I'm here for you."

You shook your head slightly, trying to show him that you still wanted to share. That’s all you wanted to do last night when you went back to your apartment and saw him. “I’m okay. I was feeling just a bit… I don’t know, sad? Nostalgic, perhaps?” you explained, and you noticed how his eyes were focused on you and whatever you needed to say.

"When we were getting the kids into the car, Ari received a call. Jongseung's mom is sick and was taken to the hospital," you explained, pausing briefly. "I wanted to go with her, but she asked me not to. I felt so powerless in that moment. I think..." you trailed off. Sensing your pain, Kyungsoo reached for your hand across the table, offering as much comfort and support as he could.

"I was sad because it reminded me of mom. I hadn't even thought about her in so long," you confessed, as the emotions were building up inside you. "And then, I also thought about how much Ari took care of me after mom died. I always feel like I should repay her for all that she's done. So, I wanted to comfort her and go with her, or at least help her with the kids... but she just told me to go back home. She said she would update me when necessary."

Kyungsoo jumped off his seat to take the one next to you. He brought his bowl and chopsticks and placed them next to yours. As he settled down, he gently turned you to face him, taking hold of both of your hands. With a small smile and caring eyes, he said, “you do more than enough for your sister; she knows that. You are incredible, Y/N. I bet your mom would be so proud of the person you have grown into.”

The light in his eyes—you swear, it could warm you up for days with just one look. Being loved by him feels like peace and comfort; it’s exciting, and there’s fire and playfulness all at the same time. His kindness fills your heart with so much joy. The tears coming out were not just because of sadness but happiness because of having the best boyfriend in the world. You couldn’t even feel the cheesiness of that statement in that very moment, not when he was holding your every sorrow in the warmest embrace.

“Do you want to do anything today?” he whispered once you seemed calmer. “We can stay in, but if you want to go out, I will be more than happy to take you anywhere.”

“Did you really take the day off?”

Your curious question made him giggle. “Why so surprised? I’ve done it before,” he reminded you in his best attempt to hide his nervousness. Not that he is a workaholic or anything, but it was more due to the whole plan for the day and that he already wanted to tell you all about it.

You slowly let go of each other, and you just smiled at him, knowing how much he has done to schedule both of your lives so you can spend the most time together and never miss anything. It has also taken a lot of effort from you because both of your jobs have always been complicated with free time. “Let’s maybe go for something to eat for lunch; we can just cuddle until then,” you suggested while you held his cheeks and poked his dimples.

“What an adventurer, my love,” he joked at the same time that he carefully dried a couple of tears from your cheek, but he was the only one laughing when you playfully punched his arm. “I love it, I love it, I love you.”

“I love you, dumpling,” you exclaimed as you poked the dimple forming on his face.

“What?” His laugh echoed all over your apartment. “I haven’t heard you say that to me in so long!”

“What? Love you? Yeah… it’s been so long!” you said cheekily, but his antics still moved you, and you fought a smile by pouting.

“You dumb head!”

Your eyes widened at the audacity. “What did you just say?”

“You dumpling!” He also poked at your cheek.

“You didn’t sa—“ He cut you off with a kiss. You relaxed into it even when you wanted to just laugh out loud, but that translated into a smile, one that he mirrored while kissing you.

“We were eating,” he casually whispered while taking a small breath.

“We should probably keep doing so,” you whispered back, stopping him from getting any closer.

“Are you feeling any better?”

“Yeah, thank you.”

“Well, then you can do the dishes when we finish.”

“Yah! Do Kyungsoo!” You crossed your arms, pretending to be mad. “I’m only laughing because you are too. I love seeing you laugh. Also, thank you for cleaning yesterday’s mess, how’d you like to be rewarded?” you asked, teasingly moving closer, noticing your apartment being clean and all in order.

“Ahh stop,” he blushed, holding a giggle. You noticed him clearing his throat. “Let’s finish our breakfast.”

You often find yourself yearning for more mornings like this, with Kyungsoo playfully teasing you and your laughter filling the room. The idea of living together with him has crossed your mind from time to time, but you’re too hesitant sometimes, thinking too much if you’re in the right moment to take that step. You’re also guilty of letting other people own a place in your mind that tells you that it might be too soon, that you should possibly think about marriage first, and that settling down could mean risking your job and whatnot. Those voices really need to be quiet because you don’t see anything wrong with what you two have. Your job couldn’t possibly be jeopardized; two years of relationship is enough for you, and you’ve known him for almost five years already, so you might as well dive right in there and then.

It’s even funny how Kyungsoo is not worried about what to wear to go outside since he has at least five outfits in your apartment, even for someone who is quite simple when it comes to clothing. He even has one of his chef jackets and an apron for his uniform.

All of the getting ready went so smoothly that you could easily picture it all far ahead, but you were easily brought back to the present when you connected the dots of Kyungsoo wearing his faux leather jacket and gloves. You were seconds away from grabbing your camera from your bag and capturing that moment forever. It made sense in a way since you ended up cuddling and doing nothing for so long that you two ended up deciding to go on a picnic in the afternoon, so the jacket would serve well for the cold night, but the combination was surely making your heart flutter.

“What?” He turned around with a smirk on his face after grabbing his helmet. “Got yours too,” he said handing you the other helmet that was next to his.

“For a second, I don’t know why, I forgot you own a bike—a motorcycle type of bike.”

“You make no sense.”

“Never mind, let’s go.” Your thoughts were better kept inside your head, so you just put your helmet on and hopped on the bike. You felt the chuckle in his belly while you were trying to hold on tight. You always enjoy how comfortable he gets, but at the same time, he has made you blush way too much in just one day.

The change from summer to autumn felt more present in the past few days. The ride on the motorcycle exposed you even more to the change, as the weather was feeling nicer and you were not feeling like your head could burn from the heat inside the helmet. You held on even tighter and closer to Kyungsoo as you felt more comfortable along the ride. Somehow, you suddenly had flashbacks to the very first time you hopped on his motorcycle. You were just friends then, but now that you realize it, the feelings were catching up to you, and that was one of the first times that you thought about him differently.

You reached the first stop, which was his house, so he could leave his motorcycle parked. You had nothing really planned for the picnic, but you decided you were having it at Yeouido Hangang Park, so you would take the bus instead of worrying about parking. Kyungsoo had suggested the picnic and going to the Yeouido Bamdokkaebi Night Market, which surprised you a little, but it sounded great since you two hadn’t really had a cute romantic date in a while.

“Could you go pick up Meokmul and Hoochoo at the daycare?” Kyungsoo asked once he took his helmet off. You got lost in his eyes for a second, but then you noticed the ends of his hair were slightly damp and his nose was a little bit sweaty. He looked like his dogs, so you giggled.

“Y/N?”

“Oh, sure! Yeah, I’ll go.”

He shook his hair, hypnotizing you once more. You were completely lost and hadn’t even thought of fixing your own hair, but his hand found the rebellious lock on your left side and patted it back down. The proximity made you shiver, which made him giggle.

“Wait for me there; I’ll just go for my bus card and some stuff for the picnic.”

He dared to approach and give you a kiss on your forehead. Kyungsoo might have suspected it, but there was no denying that he had you eating from his palm from the moment you realized he had gone all bad-boy-look with his outfit today, just to match his motorcycle, just to tease you, just because—you wouldn’t know, but you’re more than grateful for the blessed view.

Haeun was at the reception today, so she waved at you with a wide smile on her face.

“Hey, Y/N! How have you been? Are you here to pick Hoochoo and Meokmul?”

You nodded happily, and when you reached the reception desk, you gave her your ID. “Haeun! It’s so nice to see you again. We’re taking them for a walk.”

Haeun’s eyes widened. She really was like a puppy taking care of a lot of other puppies. “Oh, they’ll be so happy! Come with me,” she invited, handing you your ID back after processing the discharge and calling a coworker in to take her place at the reception while you two went to get the dogs.

You trailed behind her as she led you down the hallway to the seating room, where the dogs' belongings were securely stored. "Hoochoo has been asleep for about twenty minutes now," she informed you, searching for the dogs' leashes. "Meokmul has been playing with Toben and Vivi," she added, providing you with an update on the dogs' activities.

“Oh, they’re here too?”

“Yes, she was lucky to have them here to play with. They’re really the best of friends.”

“Did Hoochoo have fun too?”

“Yeah, she played for a while but got sleepy after eating,” she giggled and pointed towards the playroom to let you know she was going in.

It was nice to hear that they were having the greatest time while you kept their dad away for a while. When you met them, there was an instant connection between the three of you. It had only taken a few seconds, and Meokmul was the first one to like you. Hoochoo was initially shy, requiring Kyungsoo’s gentle intervention to help the little puppy open up.

Funny enough, Haeun was the one who had introduced you to Kyungsoo when you coincidentally arrived at the same time to pick up your dogs. The three of them were harmoniously playing since they had already been friends for weeks. It just so happened that the owners hadn’t met yet. The bond that you all created was so strong that the loss of your dog two years ago was truly felt by them, but that only brought you closer to Kyungsoo and his dogs.

Meokmul had possibly smelled you or heard you because the barks in the distance were definitely too familiar. The little one ran towards you, making Haeun struggle a little with the leash, and the special treat you had taken from their bag didn’t help either. You showed it, and she ate it before you picked her up.

“I’ll go get Hoochoo with the carrier in case she’s still asleep.”

“Yes, thank you, Haeun!”

“Meokmul-ie, how are you? Hello, little sunshine!” You heard a chuckle behind you after cutely talking to the hyperactive dog on your lap. It was Kyungsoo, showing his most joyful smile. He was holding a little picnic basket, which made you wonder just how impromptu it would actually end up being. Knowing him, it probably didn’t even reach one percent.

“She woke up; she’s energized now, so—“ Haeun entered and stopped when she caught sight of Kyungsoo. “Oh, Kyungsoo-ssi! The two parents coming for their little girls; how cute!”

The both of you giggled and smiled at each other before bowing your heads to Haeun. “Thank you, Haeun-ah,” you said as you grabbed the double carrier and Kyungsoo took Hoochoo’s leash. “Let’s have a coffee together soon, yeah?”

“Welcome! We definitely should, just text me when you’re free. Have a nice day!”

“Enjoy your day, Haeun-ah!” Kyungsoo waved goodbye before he held your hand and led you outside.

The afternoon skyline was gorgeous, looking like the sunset was beginning soon enough. You contemplated it and squeezed Kyungsoo’s hand, to which he reacted with a chuckle. The reason was not important; just hearing that low, sweet chuckle of his was enough to make you feel all cozy and calm. You strolled along the sidewalk with your two beautiful dogs until you reached the bus stop, where you had to get the pups in the double carrier.

Kyungsoo scratched Meokmul behind her ear as she looked a little anxious. “It’s okay, it’s okay. Promise it won’t be long, little one.” He talked soothingly to calm her down.

He kept scratching her ear on the bus ride so she wouldn’t start barking nervously, and you gave her some treats to entertain her. Hoochoo received some too, but she was at ease in the carrier, all warmed up and happy with the company of Meokmul. The ride was indeed short, but Meokmul calmed down easily thanks to both of your calming attentiveness.

Once at Yeouido Park, you got both of them out of the carrier so they could walk along with you. Kyungsoo smiled at them and then at you. The picnic basket was on the floor next to the carrier, so the two little dogs couldn’t help but inspect it with their noses. “Ready for our date, little ones?” he chuckled.

Meokmul and Hoochoo barked as if they were answering him, waving their tails expectantly. You managed to take a picture of the three of them right in that moment, and when Kyungsoo looked back up, realizing you just took a candid photo, you said, “they know something’s up. What have you got planned, Soo?”

Kyungsoo’s eyes twinkled mischievously. “Ah, it wouldn’t be a surprise if I told you. For now, let’s walk; we’ve got some food to gather for our picnic.”

“So there’s nothing in the basket,” you commented suspiciously.

Kyungsoo only laughed, shaking his head as he took the dogs strollers in one hand while the other searched for yours. He squeezed once he held it gently, looking for something in your eyes that made him smile so brightly. You were curious now, but you decided it would be even more entertaining if you waited for whatever he planned for the night.

You set off down the busy lane with one pup each, Kyungsoo not letting go of the picnic basket, and you holding the carrier. The street food market bustled with delicious aromas and a lively atmosphere filled with people’s laughter and small chatter.

You stopped at a tteokbokki stand once the scent translated into flavor in your mind. The draw was so strong thanks to the warm feeling it gave you just thinking about the taste of the soft rice cakes in your mouth. You asked the vendor for a medium serving to take away, and Kyungsoo put it inside the picnic basket. It was hard not to peek, but he was too fast at closing the cover, nervously giggling.

A dumpling stand caught Kyungsoo’s attention; he approached and looked back at you, smiling knowingly. You immediately poked his cheek. “What do you think about these dumplings, Chef Do?”

“They look delicious, right?”

You marveled at his expression, reminiscing on your requested class all those years ago to your newfound friend, who looked at you amused at your concentration with his cheek full of dumpling flour. Kyungsoo’s weakness was food. “I do see one delicious dumpling,” you teased, holding his gaze with fire in your eyes.

The words caught up in his throat, so he swallowed thickly before his voice could come out shaky. His ears heated up, and he tried to look anywhere else. He still giggled, knowing you were taking your chance at teasing him, just like he did earlier when he knew you were staring at him with those dreamy eyes because of his choice of clothing.

Luckily, the woman serving the dumplings caught his wandering gaze and asked for his order; otherwise, he would have melted in front of you. After ordering two servings of dumplings, one steamed and the other fried, he managed to pull off a playful smile at your teasing words once his heart settled. He found your gaze still lingering, your eyes glowing with glee and something deeper; he could only hope it wasn’t just his longing playing tricks on him. All of the surrounding noise drifted away, and he found himself present with only you there in that moment.

He wished to reach for you and confess everything he had planned for the night, but his question still weighed with uncertainty and insecurities, so he needed a moment of complete confidence and the setting he had already pictured. The crowd would make him nervous even when no one paid the minimum attention to them. There were still some more steps to take to reach that longed-for destination.

Kyungsoo was more than reassured when he felt your hand on his arm. You didn’t have to say a word; the slight scrunch of your nose when you smiled and the warmth of your gaze calmed his anxieties. With you, he felt not only seen but understood—a comfort that had been hard to find all those years before you came into his life.

Too soon, the order was ready. With a kind smile and a bow to the sellers, he thanked them and packed away the dumplings. Hand in hand, you continued your wandering stroll along the market, picking whatever snack you desired. Since you found some fried chicken and already had tteokbokki, you two decided to pass by the convenience store and buy some ramyeon for the perfect food setting.

It didn’t take too long to reach the camping and picnic area once you had all of your food. Kyungsoo found a great spot near a tree, where you managed to settle before the last bits of light from the sun touched the sky. He had come prepared, as you had expected.

“Let me rearrange everything; close your eyes,” he asked you as you finished getting the little ones in their carrier since both of them were tired from playing all day and walking along the market with you two.

You were surprised to hear that since you two had already set the blankets on the grass, and he had taken out his wooden house-shaped lamp and put it next to the picnic basket. You still carried on, hopeful for his surprise.

After setting the folding table and carefully displaying the indulgently selected feast with flickering candle lanterns and fresh strawberries he had brought from home, he asked you to open your eyes again.

You swiftly opened your eyes, and they mirrored the light coming out of Kyungsoo’s as you traced over all of the little details and felt your heart warming up. “Soo, jagi, it’s beautiful,” you breathed. “It looks even more appealing now.”

Hoochoo’s head popped out of the carrier, hearing the both of you laugh together. She now looked hungry, so before you started on with your meal, you gave her some of hers. Meokmul was fast asleep, it seemed, but halfway through your dinner, she woke up asking for food.

With full bellies and hearts lighter, conversation turned reminiscent, noticing how many moments you had referenced from your friends to lovers relationship beginnings. Although short and recent, you managed to get enough closeness that led you to develop such strong feelings for one another. Kyungsoo knew it was time now that the momentum was clear with your talk being about you two.

The sweet and careful touch of his hand over your cheek soothed you into a pleasant mood, interrupting your giggles with his gesture. Whatever he needed to say or was thinking about, you lovingly gave him all of your attention.

“Y/N,” he started. “I have a surprise for you,” he smiled.

“Another one?” you genuinely asked, immediately interested in all of the possibilities.

He nodded. “You could say so, yeah.” His hand lingered on your cheek, but with a light stroke on your cheekbone, he shifted towards the picnic basket.

From an outside bottom compartment, Kyungsoo reached for a gift box, carefully handing it to you. He looked expectant as you grabbed it, the corners of his lips forming a slowly growing, hopeful smile. His features were divine, lighted up by the candle lanterns, and you couldn’t wait long to see what he was gifting you.

You looked at the photo on the cover; you captured that moment just a few weeks ago at Kyungsoo’s house. It had been such an ordinary day, but you had matched sweaters on, completely unintentional. Meokmul was on his lap, and you were holding Hoochoo, who licked Kyungsoo’s chin and made you laugh. The view of such a lighthearted moment, as well as your guess at what could be inside the book, brought happy tears to your eyes almost immediately. As you looked back at him, you caught a watery shine in his.

“Why am I crying? This is just the first look at your gift,” you sniffled.

Kyungsoo chuckled, amused at your reaction, but he embraced you to try and soothe your crying. “It’s okay if you cry; just promise it is out of happiness. My intentions were never to make you hurt.”

“It’s happiness; I’m excited to know what’s inside.”

Kyungsoo was already beaming at seeing you so moved by just the cover alone. He dried your tears and planted two kisses on your forehead. “Open it,” he urged softly. “I hope you like it. I tried to do the most I could within my creative possibilities.”

You giggled softly. “You are creative, mostly in the kitchen. You’re a genius chef, and I’m so lucky to have befriended you,” you advocated for him, honestly.

“Befriended,” he simply repeated and chuckled.

You continued to open the photo album, still wrapped in his arms. He wasn’t stopping his surprises, it seemed. The first two pages of the book had photos of both of you as kids; you could see why he chose those pictures, and the caption soothed you and filled you with so much gratitude and love for him.

Were we destined to find each other? Our connection seemed to exist earlier than we could imagine, no matter where we were.

His sweet smile was timeless. You could see yourself meeting Kyungsoo as a kid at that beach, running around and playing on the shore where small waves washed over your feet. It wasn’t the same one, but something in the pictures looked as if they were taken at the same place, day, and time.

“I saw that picture at Ari’s house a couple of months ago. Undeniably so, I knew I had seen something similar before. I had my picture at home, so when I returned that day and searched for it, I could only think about how many more could show such similarities,” Kyungsoo explained, talking near your ear.

You lifted your hand to caress his cheek. “You’ve been crafting this since then?” you asked.

“Not right then, but I had been looking for pictures, and then the idea came. Mom and Ari helped quite a lot,” he chuckled. “Just yesterday, I finally got your childhood pictures so I could add them.”

You kissed his cheek and continued to flip through the pages. Pictures of you two at different schools but with similar smiles, different cities but the same colors in the sky, different dogs but the same pose. Your lives seemed somehow planned and destined to blend; your eyes kept pouring down tears of joy when you reached the page where your early encounters started to appear—all those pictures you took.

A picture of you two at the first New Year’s party with his parents specially moved you. You were still just friends then, but he invited you over since he was also carrying out the first celebration at his new apartment.

You told me about your mom two days before, and I wished with you that she was there with us. But you must be her mirror; I can see her in you from the little details you’ve shared with me.

Kyungsoo held you tighter. He hadn’t anticipated in the planning and crafting of this gift that you could be sensitive about your mom on this day, so he consciously kept you wrapped in his arms. He felt how you squeezed back, embracing the reassurance he was trying to give you.

“Thank you, Soo,” you managed to say, but while it’d be easy for you to find words to express your feelings, this time there were not enough.

“Turn the page,” he said, his voice cracking. You moved to face him, and he smiled through the tears. “I have something to say,” he managed to speak calmly, in spite of his rushing emotions.

You followed through and flipped the page. A carefully crafted collage portrayed the photos you sent him—while you took care of Hoochoo and Meokmul, or just a nice picture of a sunset you saw—along with letters while he was enlisted and some of the ones you took on his day offs.

Kyungsoo took a deep breath, and you carefully held his hand. “I…” he started but stopped when he felt his tears coming down; you cleared them carefully and softly smiled. “That time of my life was hard to get through. I don’t think I thanked you enough for being there and all that you did for me.” He finally found the right words as he brushed his thumb over your hand.

“All those letters, all those pictures, all those moments you shared with me—you gave me the hope I lacked. I told you many times that I had fallen for you slowly and carefully, but it was on my mind every day,” he smiled tenderly. “You have no idea how much I love you. I learned to say whatever is on my mind because of you; if I hadn’t said those words to you, I probably would have lost you.”

You slowly shook your head. “No, I was too head over heels for you already. I wouldn’t have let you lose me.”

He giggled and kissed you softly, taking his time to marvel at this moment with you and trying to release the last of his nerves. “Could you take a look at the last page?” he asked, breaking away for a moment.

Eager to know what that last page offered you, you turned it over and smiled. The last picture, a copy of one of your photography class projects where you captured the concept of “home,” greeted you; it was Kyungsoo’s side profile while cooking in his restaurant’s kitchen. Next to it was a photo he had taken of the two of you when you visited his friends in Busan.

You looked up at him, wondering, searching for the answers in his joyful gaze. Kyungsoo held your hand at the same time that the two little pups woke up. Both of you couldn’t help but giggle, thinking they must have wanted to be a part of your moment, so you grabbed Meokmul, and he put Hoochoo on his lap.

Clearing his throat, he began, “Y/N, I’ve been thinking about this for awhile. Whenever I’m with you, no matter where we are, I feel at home. You are my home and safe place, and I want to have you as close as I can… would you like to start living together?”

He was a mind reader; you couldn’t help but reach to lovingly cup his face. Meokmul wanted her space with the two of you, so she started licking your hands and Kyungsoo’s cheek in the process. The both of you laughed while Hoochoo wagged her tail. “Of course, Soo!” you exclaimed between giggles.

When you could breathe easily and the pups calmed down a bit, you ran your fingers through his hair. “You’re also my home. You’ve loved every part of me, just as I have loved every part of you. Would you believe me if I told you I have also been thinking about it?”

His eyes widened, and a silly laugh escaped him. “I would actually believe it, but how are we so in sync?”

“I don’t want an answer; I just want us to keep working this way,” you admitted.

“You’re so wise,” he kissed your cheek. “Thank you; you’ve made all of my dreams come true just by being you. I can’t wait to wake up each day and see your beautiful eyes and fall asleep staring at them too.”

You pulled him close, softly brushing your lips against his; he placed his hand on your neck, his thumb slightly brushing your earlobe. Your lips met softly and slowly, making you feel at ease, like coming home—him—your home. “Thank you for loving me; it’s the greatest gift I’ve ever known.”

#kyungsoo #kyungsoo x reader #kyungsoo fluff #kyungsoo fanfic #d.o. kyungsoo #do kyung soo #chef Kyungsoo #exo #exo fanfic #exo fanfiction #exouniverse

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thyme-in-a-bubble · 2 years

Text

snowdrop, part three

A/N: and that is it! it's done! ♡ gif used in the moodboard is by the always amazing @fightingdragonswithwho

summary: It was like the opposite of waking up from a nightmare, you woke up to a nightmare.

warnings: Gideon!daughter!reader, two year time jump, references to 2x13 and 2x23, angst, frank breitkopf, kidnapping, being drugged, happy ending (don't worry ♡)

word count: 2039

∼ gentle reminder that feedback, but especially reblogs are the way you support writers on here ∽

masterlist | join my taglist

previous part - series masterlist

It was the middle of the night. The sun wouldn’t rise for another 2 hours, yet here you were, awake.

Something had happened to your dad. He couldn’t disclose the details, as it always was when it came to his work, but he was okay, that was the important thing to focus on, and just to be safe, a few agents had been sent your way for protection.

So, that startling phone call was certainly one way to wake up.

Curled up on your couch, you couldn’t just go back to sleep after something like that. It was like the opposite of waking up from a nightmare, you woke up to a nightmare. So lucky for you, your older brother had also had the same pleasure and had promptly called you right afterwards.

“-but, don’t tell me you’re still hung up in library boy,” Stephen fought a yawn on the other end of the line.

“Library boy…” it had been two years and yet you still hadn’t experienced a single day where you hadn’t thought about Spencer, “you make him sound like a superhero.”

“A damn boring superhero,” finding too much amusement in his own joke, he laughed, “what are his powers, the dewy decimal system?”

“Yeah…” you frantically searched your brain to find something to change the subject to. Anything that didn’t make you feel like you might actually die.

Saved by the bell, someone was at your door, knocking on it slowly. Glancing over at the clock, it was still only 4:12, but who knew, maybe the FBI had just consumed a lot of coffee tonight.

“Hey, Stephen, the agents are here, okay?” you got up from the couch and made your way towards the entrance.

“Really? That was quick.”

“Blink and they’ll be at yours as well.”

“Yeah,” he scoffed, “let’s hope. Bye, sis.”

“Bye, love you.”

“Love you too,” was the last thing you heard before ending the call, setting the phone down as you passed the kitchen island and unlocked the heavy front door.

Swinging it open, you came face to face with the unnerving persistent calm smile of the older man on the other side of the threshold.

“Hello.”

“Hi,” you moved to let him pass, closing the door behind him, “I thought there were supposed to be two agents coming.”

“Yes… the other one is down in the car,” he enunciated.

“Alright… so, how’s this gonna work?” you watched him move calmly through your space, “Is your partner gonna stay outside on watch while you stay here or-

Interrupting you coldly, he quickly zoomed in on the photos in your crammed bookcase, “do you love your father?”

Shifting your stance, you blinked, “excuse me?”

“You see,” his long pointer finger ran over one of your framed photos, caressing them as he explained in a monotone voice, “he claims that I do not inhabit the ability to feel love. Not platonic, not romantic, not at all.”

“Sir?” your voice shook slightly as he turned to face you once more. You heard your heartbeat, pounding in your ears clear as day.

What transpired next, happened so fast that you almost didn’t have time to fully register it. Within seconds, the agent scurried toward you, and you felt a sharp sting, then a burning sensation on the side of your neck.

Your vision went blurry, and you just managed to catch the sight of him, still smiling, pulling back a now empty syringe from your skin, before everything went black.

The first thing you perceived as you regained consciousness with a low groan, was how cold your body felt. You felt like you finally understood the little match girl, shivering out in the cold December air, even though in reality it was nowhere near December for you. Next was the tight binds around your body. Both wrists and ankles were wrapped, as well as a few more across, just for good measure. It felt kinda like tape, the way it pulled on your hairs. And lastly was the rough, dust-covered couch underneath your skin, like sandpaper it prickled every pore on your body.

“Look who’s awake,” your body froze up at the sound of his voice, “just in time for the fun part.”

Finally, you managed to blink your heavy lids open and see the man you’d thought was an agent, sitting in a chair beside the couch you’d been dumped on. He popped off the lip on the thin marker he had in his hand as he loomed over you, and you choked out, “who are you? W-where am I?”

Out of the corner of your eye, you saw shredded fabrics resembling what you’d been wearing before, crumbled up on the floor.

“I am Frank,” his face didn’t change, still the same pleased, calm expression as before, “my graces mother is letting us stay in her apartment, isn’t that nice?” he took his eyes off your form for but a second, glancing up towards another room. Screaming out for the elderly woman to come to your aid, he swiftly tore off a piece of duct tape and covered up your cries, “she can’t hear you. She died many many years ago.”

With an exhale, he returned to his ogling of your naked body. What you initially feared was a weapon at the first touch, maybe another needle, turned out to be the green marker, dancing across your skin, drawing precise patterns.

“Now, I haven’t done it like this in a very long time…” he carefully recapped the pen and set it down, “you squirming like this? It’s fun, makes me feel all nostalgic for the time before I had discovered the wonders of ketamine,” whipping out a slender scalpel, the low light caught the metal, reflecting it directly into your wide eyes, “I usually prefer the presession that grants me, but I think this time, with you, I’ll do it the old-fashioned way…” scraping the instrument up your side, just light enough not to nick you, he moved in close, “you’re so pretty…” the scalpel came up to meet your cheek, catching your ever-flowing tears, “if your outsides are this pretty, I can’t wait to see what your insides look like.”

As if being drawn to it, he glanced up to check the time, then promptly reached a hand down in his pocket, “you think you can be good for me?” you felt him slide the tip of the scalpel under a corner of the tape covering your lips, “talk to your daddy for me, ask him to come save you, so that he will return what’s rightfully mine…” giving him the smallest of nods, “play nice,” he warned as he ripped back the tape, stealing most of your peach fuzz with it and held up a silver flip phone.

After a moment of ringing, you heard a voice, not your father’s, emit from the speaker, “this is agent Hotchner.”

“Let me talk to agent Gideon,” he kept his eyes locked with yours, “immediately.”

After only a small moment, a quiet female voice was heard, “yeah?”

“Garcia, get me Jason,” agent Hotchner said, “I have someone who wants to talk to him.”

A muffled, “it’s for you,” was heard before you the sound of your father’s soft voice found your ears.

“Yeah?”

Closing your eyes, you felt the dam of tears burst even more, “dad?”

“Y/n?”

“He wants me to ask you to save me.”

“Honey, everything’s going to be all right,” your father reassured you, seemingly keeping his tone calm in the situation.

“Apartment!” you yelled out before it was too late, “his mother’s apartment-“ before, not just the tape muted you, but also his rough palm, pressing it down over not only your mouth but also your nose, cutting off your air supply.

Clicking the small button to hinder you from hearing any more of the call, Frank lifted the phone up towards his ear, “Jason… shh… Jason. I chose the station because I know how much you love trains. I saw the toys in your apartment.”

And with that, he ended the call, and got up to his feet, “I’ll be right back, you just sit tight. If he won’t give me Jane, then I’ll at least have you to look forward to when I get back. I’ve got a sweet tooth, and you certainly qualify as a dessert.”

With a loud bang, the door to the apartment burst open and within seconds, the room was flooded with armed people. A blonde woman came into view, quickly lowering her gun, she produced a thin crinkly foil blanket and covered up your nude form.

“It’s okay, you’re safe now,” she carefully peeled back the duct tape from your lips, and you gasped for air. “Spence! I found her, she’s okay!”

“Y/n?” you heard a voice you didn’t think you’d ever hear again.

Kneeling down beside your shaking body, you saw none other than Spencer.

Eyes wide in horror, he moved to free you of your binds. His jaw clenched as he saw the surgical guides scribbled across your skin. “Are you okay?” the sound of his voice made all the chaos around you disappear, “did he-…“

Shivering like a leaf, you hazely reached up to touch his cheek, just to be sure you weren’t dreaming. “Spencer…” you slowly sat up, not caring one bit about how the foil fell down to expose you more, although your modesty was quickly saved by the young agent kneeling at your feet, catching it before you could flash too much. “Your hair,” your eyes flicked to take in every little change that had occurred during your time apart, “it’s long… And where are your glasses?” you asked through your clambering teeth, “did they fall off or something?”

“No, they didn’t,” his glossy eyes flicked.

“But,” for some reason, that tiny little detail was what your shocked brain chose to focus on, “you need them to see, w-why-“

“I’m wearing contacts, I can see you just fine, I promise,” searching, he asked once more, “Y/n, are you okay? Did he hurt you?”

Your body fell back against the couch cushions, sending a small dust cloud out around you, “define hurt.”

“It-, um,” he nearly explained, then looked down, “there is an ambulance outside ready to take you to the hospital. Gideon-, your dad, will most likely be there when you arrive. Can you stand?”

Catching his hand, you noticed the plethora of agents beginning to thin out. “Spencer,” you forced his worried eyes to find yours, “I’m sorry.”

“For what? None of this was your fault. You were expecting FBI agents to show up, so-“

“Spencer,” you tuned out your surroundings and squeezed his fingers to hopefully follow suit, “I’m sorry,” you repeated, hoping he would understand. “I’ve regretted it every day for two years.”

Chewing shakily on his bottom lip, he breathed out, “I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve missed you, I’ve missed you,” you nearly collapsed in his direction, wanting so desperately to be close to him once more. Wrapping his arms around you, you buried your face in the crock of his neck, the edge of his kevlar scratching lightly against your cheek, “I’m sorr-“

“I know,” you felt him move to kiss your hairline, “I’m sorry too, I should have fought harder for you to have stayed. Should have made you understand, should have done anything but just stand there and do nothing.” Gently grabbing your face, he lulled it back to look in your eyes, “Y/n…”

Disappearing into his coffee eyes, you felt yourself melt in his arms, feeling safer by the second. He was here. He was finally here. And in that moment, all you could think about was the million fairy tales you had read throughout your life, and how the prince would always sweep in towards the end and cure everything with a true love’s kiss…

“Kiss me,” you uttered softly, and with a small sigh, he didn’t even look around to see if anyone was watching before he pressed his lips gently against yours.

“I love you. I love you so much, I’m so sorry.”

“Y/n,” he breathed deep as you nuzzled your nose against his, “I love you too.”

#snowdrop #spencer reid x gideon daughter!reader #lea’s writing #spencer reid angst #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid imagine #spencer reid series #spencer reid hurt/comfort #spencer reid x fem!reader #spencer reid fic

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ladylamrian · 4 months

Note

Hii 🥰

I saw these picture prompts and I thought I’d send them your way. You can create anything you’d like. Moodboards, edits or even write a story, whatever makes you happy.

The most important thing is that you have fun (and don’t worry you can answer the ask whenever you have time or feel inspired) 🥰

Prompt Picture: Spring table

🌷 Spring Clean-up 🌷

Female Main Character: Catherine Hill

Pairing: F!MC×BrianBaker

Book: Romance Club - On Thin Ice

Summary: Instead of working, Brian finds himself in front of the art canvas again.

Word Count: 1.0K words (short)

Rating: General

-> My complete On Thin Ice Masterlist <-

My Romance Club Fanfiction Taglist: @infactnoimmasitinthemiddle ; @dutifullynuttywitch ; @bri1234 ; @zoeywades-spouse ; @romanceclub-archive ; @rc-catalog and whoever wants to join...

Comments via Reblog wholeheartedly welcome

Author's note: Have mercy. My first RC fic. I'll do better next...

On a wonderful, warm spring morning, Brian Baker and his girlfriend, Catherine Hill who apparently just moved in a few months ago were cleaning the house. A spring clean-up.

After a while, Brian ended up painting instead of helping her. They have been cleaning for a while now but it seemed that Brian had lost himself in the act of painting. He was enjoying having an excuse to paint. It seemed that he really got lost in this activity and he had not bothered to check on Catherine in a little while.

She realized that he got himself lost in his art and she found that somehow cute. So she decided to let him enjoy himself and she wanted to see what he had painted so far. She quietly sneaked over to his canvas to see what he created. The girl noticed how much the painting had changed since the last time she saw it. The colors he had used are much deeper now and there was a great amount of detail. He seemed to have really lost himself in this work.

Brian started to finish the painting and he put in the tiniest of details on the canvas. His strokes and hand motions were calculated with each brush stroke and every mark he made was important and it had to be completely perfect. He added a few finishing touches on the painting and then he finally pulled back and took a step back to appreciate the piece.

"Wow, Brian!! It's beautiful.", Catherine gasped at the finishing masterpiece.

The young artist smiled and turned around to meet her ice-blue eyes.

"Oh! I didn't hear you come. The painting is almost done, but I hope you like it so far."

She analyzed the canvas and it was absolutely stunning. The painting is of a beautiful woman with light golden hair and eyes like crystal.

"Is that me?"

"Yes, my sweet kitten. I really put my heart and soul into this piece because I knew that I wanted to get every single detail perfect.", he smiled while admiring the portrait he just finished.

"Brian, you're amazing!!! I love you. You always give the best gifts ever. Thanks!", she was grateful. He smiled at her, his face flushed from a slight blush.

"You know me, I cannot help but treat you with care. Even though this painting is just an inanimate object, the way I captured your essence is authentic. I know you are an authentic woman and I wanted this painting to represent your beauty and authenticity."

"Thanks!! What will you draw next? It seems like the one over there just got started to be painted by you. Are you going to draw the spring season?", Catherine analyzed an unfinished painting which caught her eyes and moved closer to take a better look.

Brian didn't expect her to notice the other painting. That is in fact what he is working on currently. A painting of the spring season. Like his dog, Sam, Brian loved everything about spring so much that he wanted to capture it on a canvas. The painting is still in the process of being completed, but he wanted to finish it soon.

The young man nodded his head and turned back to the canvas. He was eager to finish this painting soon but also found himself being distracted by her presence, as she was sitting behind him. Catherine Hill seemed so interested in his talent and admired his work. She was so beautiful to him that it was hard not to stare at her. Brian wanted nothing more than to just take a few seconds to turn around and take her into his arms and kiss her passionately, but he remained focused on his unfinished painting. He slowly sat down on a chair and began to fill in more color and detail in the painting

Brian paused for a few seconds and then he smiled at her. "My sweet kitten, you are absolutely correct. I love spring so much, I want to paint the season as it emerges from the harsh winter. The blossoming flower, the singing birds, the green grass and the warmth of the sun. I want everything that I love about springtime to be on that canvas and I want to paint this scene so vividly that when people see it, they feel like they have been transported right into the heart of the season itself."

"I personally love the winter because it's the best season for ice-skating!!! Well, have fun painting then."

"Thank you. I think I will do just that. Would you mind if I continue? I'll clean-up with you later.", he asked her for permission.

He meant to finish the spring painting, but not want to make her feel unwelcome. She was understanding and nodded. Brian sat down in the kitchen and painted the flowery kitchen table he just set. He was adding detail and color until the table looked extremely realistic and almost looked exactly like the flowery kitchen table was being transported onto the canvas. He was adding different shades of yellow and brighter colors to the flowers to make them stand out, while still maintaining a natural and realistic look. Still lost in the act of painting while wanting to make sure that every last detail on the table is accurate.

Then the young artist paused for a while as he started to wonder if he should add other flowers to the table too. The idea of having spring flowers on the table seemed like a wonderful idea but he started to question if he might be going a bit overkill on the flower theme.

He tried to think about what would be the right balance for this painting. Would another flower be too much? Would it ruin the painting or would it make it better?

Still wondering until a mysterious sound from behind appeared.

He turned around to see what caused the noise until he saw his beloved, Catherine standing.

"Sorry for disturbing you, please paint.", she requested and sat on a nearby chair with a cup of coffee to watch him paint."

"Weren't you cleaning up?"

"Why should I clean everything alone? Either we do it together or we don't.", she giggled.

"Guess, we'll get never finished with cleaning then.", he answered and turned his focus back to his favorite hobby, painting.

#rc fanfic #romance club fanfics #romance club #spring #catherine hill #brian baker #fluff

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jacksonroseroth · 2 months

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~The Price~Chapter 37~

Moodboard made by @badwolf-in-the-impala none of the pictures are ours

Taddie giggled madly as she gripped Thatcher’s hand, trying not to trip on her heels as she hurried after him down the hall. Thatcher finally scooped her up, making her shriek then laugh loudly as he rushed through the house and to a covered patio that led into one of the sheltered orchards. Taddie’s smile grew as she looked around the ambianced lit room in awe as Thatcher set her down and took her hips, guiding her further into the room as Tristan emerged from behind a pillar, testing the light and changing the settings on his camera.

“This is beautiful, Patch. It-It’s perfect.” Taddie said as she turned to him with a sweet, excited smile, sliding her hands over his chest and biting her lip. Thatcher chuckled, seeing her practically bouncing on her toes bringing a wide smile to his face before he ducked down and kissed her softly. She smiled up at him and giggled, her hands sliding over his and lacing their fingers together.

“Tristan knows what he’s doing. He wanted to take pictures here. Said it was gonna give a good, like, misty Christmas look.” Thatcher said with a chuckle, leading her over to his younger brother, clapping hands with him as he said, “Thanks for doing this for us, Tris.”

“No problem, Thatch. Taddie, you look beautiful, darlin’. Can I have you over here, ja?” Tristan said, taking Taddie’s hand and leading her over to the stone pillar, quickly exchanging a cheek kiss with her before he posed her against the pillar, her hands resting lowly behind her back and looking off into the trees.

“So, we’re jumping right into it then? Alright…” Taddie giggled, settling herself and shaking her curls out of her face. Tristan chuckled and nodded adjusting a few more things on his camera before lifting it as he said, “We’ll be missed at some point. I want to make sure you guys get some good pictures--Relax your face, love. There you go.”

Thatcher chuckled and slowly wandered closer, coming up beside her and sliding his hand over her arm. Taddie’s lips shot up in a smile, lightly biting her lip as she tried to remain still. She heard Tristan snapping away then slowly turned her head to him, lifting her gaze to his with a soft, sweet smile as his fingers slowly caressed her arm. He chuckled and smiled down at her, tugging her closer and sliding his hand to her waist, holding her close.

“Excuse me, sir…This is supposed to be my photoshoot time.” She teased, slowly shifting to slide a hand up his chest, lightly gripping his tie. He chuckled and touched his nose to hers, making her smile grow even more as she chuckled.

“Nah, he’s good. I’m getting some good candids, actually.” Tristan said as he moved around them, taking picture after picture before he said, “Both of you stand with your shoulder against the pillar. Thatch, hold her against you. Do a half prom pose.”

The couple chuckled as Taddie turned her back to him and Thatcher slid his arm around her waist, then she eased her arm on top of his. Taddie shifted to bend her arm upward, resting her hand on the pillar as she looked at Tristan’s camera. Thatcher slid his other hand over her hip and tugged her back against him, making her giggle. Taddie waited until she heard a few clicks before she looked over her shoulder at him, biting her lip as she lifted her gaze to his. He kept his gaze on the camera at first, then looked down at her with a smirk.

“You’d better stop looking at me like that or I’m gonna be blushing the entire shoot.” Taddie said, slowly letting her lips inch closer to his.

“You look good with a little color on you, Princess. I don’t mind.” Thatcher said, closing the gap and pressing his lips to hers in a quick, soft kiss. Taddie giggled and kissed him back, lacing their fingers before she pulled back to stare up at him for a moment, then got shy and giggled as she looked away. Thatcher chuckled and tugged her closer, burying his nose in her curls.

Tristan chuckled and let his camera rest against his neck before he waved them down and took a few pictures before leading them into the orchard to snap a few more. Tristan became increasingly suspicious about his brother and his girlfriend; It was one thing that Thatcher asked him to take pictures because Taddie never got to go to prom and he wanted to do something special for her, but seeing how Taddie looked at him, the way they snuck kisses, and giggled and laughed when they stared at each other, the way Taddie easily fell into place against Thatcher. It was all eerily similar to how he looked at Leah, how he saw Theo and Luna look at each other--They were in love but faking a relationship? Tristan didn’t understand why, but Thatcher was happy and it was nice to see for a change.

They ended the photoshoot at the base of a large apple tree, Thatcher settling himself in the overgrown roots before guiding Taddie down into his lap. Tristan fluffed out the bottom of her gown as she crossed her legs, draping them over one of Thatcher’s. He slid his arms around her waist and held her tight. Taddie settled herself against him and slid her hands over his, resting her head on his shoulder as she closed her eyes with a soft sigh. Thatcher pressed several kisses to her temple and forehead as Tristan scrambled back and tried to capture the last few before he redirected them.

“Okay, these are the last shots-Taddie…Look here…Ja? Okay, Thatch…Over here. Don’t move.” Tristan said, quickly shuffling from side to side to give each of them a point of focus before he went back to position and snapped the final pictures before looking them over then giving them an accomplished smile. “And we’re done. You wanna take a quick look? I won’t have them uploaded and edited until after tomorrow.”

“Oh, that’s okay. Thank you for even doing them, Tris.” Taddie said, holding out her hand as he went to them, taking her hand and pulling her to her feet, Thatcher pushing her up before he stood, brushing Taddie’s dress off before he patted himself down. Taddie hung off Tristan’s shoulder as he clicked through the pictures and she chewed her lip as her cheeks darkened. “They-They look great. Thatcher, you look really good in green.”

“You look amazing, too, kitten. Don’t forget about you, eh?” Thatcher said, taking her hips and kissing her cheek with a soft chuckle. Taddie nodded and hmm’d at him softly, staring at herself in the pictures and trying not to cringe. She hated the way she looked in pictures, always thinking her smiles looked so fake and forced, not genuine even though she can recall how excited or happy she was in the moment. Tristan glanced back at her and Thatcher shifted around her as he said, “Taddie? What’s wrong? You don’t like them?”

“No, I do! They-Tristan, they’re amazing…I-I just-I’ve never liked how I look in pictures. I-I look so…Pained or something.” Taddie said, glancing between the two then looking down as she chewed her lip. Thatcher exchanged a glance with Tristan as he slipped his arm around her waist and said, “Hey, it’s okay. Maybe when we see them edited and bigger, they’ll look different. Let’s go back in, angel.”

“Tristan, I’m sorry-”

“No, don’t be. I’m used to it. Not everyone likes how they look. I promise you’ll love them when I print them out, okay?” Tristan said, kissing her cheek before Thatcher led her through the trees and back to the house, Tristan following behind them at a slower pace. Taddie chewed her lip and glanced up at Thatcher as they walked.

“Thatcher-”

“Angel, it’s okay. You had a good time doing it?” He asked, giving her a warm smile. She nodded and gripped his hand, giving him a sweet smile. He kissed her forehead and said, “That’s all I want, love. Do you want to go back or we can g-”

Thatcher’s words were cut off by a loud cracking sound, followed by shouting and the sounds of heavy, running footsteps. Taddie let out a gasp and clung to him, looking up and down the hall, unsure of where they were coming from. After hearing the thundering footsteps for about a minute, suddenly, Theo, Luna, and Leah came running around the corner and Theo shouted at Thatcher in urgent Swedish, his face red as he gripped both women’s hands. Both women had their heels in their hands and Taddie stumbled to try and take hers off, but Thatcher turned and scooped her up, taking off down the hall as Theo closed in behind them, shouting to Tristan, who booked it to the door and took Leah’s hand from Theo’s.

“Wait-! No-Thatcher, what’s happening?!” Taddie shouted, wrapping her arms around his neck with a soft whimper.

“Be quiet. Theo said the door got broken down. We’re taking you girls to the panic room. You do not come out under any circumstances unless we open the door.” Thatcher said, making a series of turns, nearly slipping and dropping her, but Theo and Tristan caught him, pushing him forward and the three brothers took their women through the halls of the mansion until they came to a dead end. Thatcher set Taddie down, caging her against the wall as Theo stepped forward to tug on a sconce, the dead end wall opening and revealing a metal door with a keypad. Theo quickly punched in half the code before they heard the shouting becoming much more clear and closer.

“Thatcher Price! Surrender yourself and your hostage! Thatcher Price! Show yourself!” A loud voice called. Theo swore under his breath as he tapped a number twice by mistake and pounded on the door with a frustrated shout. Taddie clung to Thatcher, panting in fear, as she stared at the end of the hallway.

“Theo, let’s fucking move it, brother.” Thatcher said, watching the end of the hall as well.

“I’m fucking trying!-Din jävla skitbit!” Theo shouted at the keypad, trying once more. Just before he pressed the last few numbers, men dressed in protective gear and holding guns with flashlights suddenly appeared around the corner, making Taddie scream. Thatcher pushed her back into the corner, shielding her from view as they approached.

“Thatcher Price?! Which one of you is Thatcher Price?! We’ll take all three of you if we need to!” One of the men yelled as he took the lead, pointing his gun at each brother, Tristan and Theo both shoving Leah and Luna behind them as Thatcher had done.

“The fuck do you want with me?! I didn’t do anything! I’ve been here all weekend!” Thatcher spat at them. The lead gunman nodded at him, his head turned toward his team, and two of them stepped forward to grab Thatcher’s arms, though he shoved them back. “Get your fucking hands off me! What am I being arrested for?!”

“There was a tip off to the reported kidnapping of Taddie Prior. We were told she was being held hostage in Winchester by Thatcher Price and that he had an arsenal of weapons.” The leader said as Thatcher struggled against the other two men, Taddie cowering behind him.

“What?! She’s my fucking girlfriend! We came up here to spend Christmas with my fucking family! An evening you all just fucking ruined-Get off of me!” Thatcher shouted, shoving both men away and shooting his arms back to wrap around Taddie as she pressed against his back. “You find any fucking weapons?! You have a search warrant?! Get the fuck out!”

“Not without Taddie Prior. She’s been reported as kidnapped off the streets and we need to investigate further.” The leader said, waving his hand forward and four more men stepped forward, this time headed for Tristan and Theo. Taddie watched the men approach in fear, then pushed Thatcher aside before she shouted, “I wasn’t fucking kidnapped! Who said I was kidnapped?!”

“The tip came in from a Jack Cotton. Said he heard a scream and saw his girlfriend being dragged into a car by Thatcher Price. He followed the car to this address and saw you being carried in, bound and gagged.” The leader said after pulling out his notepad from a pocket and reading off the top paper. Taddie’s eyes went wide in fear and she shrunk back into the corner, her eyes filling with tears. Thatcher went to her but she flinched and turned away from him, starting to sob. Leah slipped out from behind Tristan, going to Taddie and holding her close as she sunk down to the floor, crying into her hands.

Thatcher whirled around on the men and glared at them as he said, “Jack? Interesting--That’s her ex’s name and he stalked her to Roanoke. He’s abusive, he won’t let her go after she left him! He’s the one you need to be tracking down-Get the fuck out of my home! Now!”

Tristan and Theo both grabbed his arms, holding their older brother back as he advanced on the men, rage and anger in his eyes. The leader glared at Thatcher before reaching up to the walkie that was attached to his vest and spoke into it, saying, “Alpha, this is Bravo Leader-We found the suspect and the victim…They’re claiming it’s a set up, you find any weapons? Over.”

“That’s a negative on our end, Bravo. Over.” A voice crackled back.

“Do we have a location of origin for the caller? Over.” Bravo asked.

“Base said the call came from Roanoke, payphone…Uhhh…Caller, one Jack Cotton, is not a Virginia native-Looks like he’s registered with the Nevada DMV. Over.” Alpha responded.

“It’s Jack. It’s him. Patch…” Taddie whimpered, lifting her head as Thatcher turned to her. Leah helped her up, gently wiping her face, though it was already smudged with her makeup. He went to her, holding out his hands to her, waiting for her to take them before he pulled her closer and kissed her temple.

“He’s not going to get to you, kitten. I promised. He’s not. He can do what he wants-He’s never going to touch you again.” Thatcher said, gently, rubbing his hand over her back.

“Do you wish to report domestic abuse, Miss Prior? How long ago did you leave this man?” Bravo asked.

“Two years! He’s been following me!” Taddie shouted at them before burying her face in Thatcher’s chest with a sob. Thatcher wrapped his arms around her, looking at his brothers as he said, “Get them the fuck out of here. Now.”

Tristan and Theo nodded, turning to the men and placing themselves between their women and their brother, and the guns that faced them. Bravo let out a reluctant and irritated sigh before clicking back into his walkie and said, “Alpha, execute retreat. We’ve been SWAT’ed.”

“Next time have a goddamn warrant.” Theo spat at the men as they turned and retreated down the hall, disappearing around it. When they were gone, the twins turned to their girls and the cousins rushed to them, Tristan and Theo holding them close. Thatcher sighed and walked Taddie back against the wall, burying his face into her hair as he let out a soft, tearful gasp.

“Fuck, I’m so sorry, Princess. I’m so sorry. Are you okay?” Thatcher sniffled, pushing his hand into her curls, gripping lightly at the roots, and nuzzling into them until she looked up at him and nodded, wrapping her arms around his neck.

“Yes. Yes, I’m fine. Oh, my God-Patch, he-he’s-he’s never going to stop. He’s not.” Taddie whimpered, pushing her face into his neck with a sob. Thatcher held her close and shook his head and he said, softly, “He can’t hurt you anymore. He can’t. I’m going to protect you, Taddie. I swear. Hey-Look at me…”

Thatcher pulled back, lifting his other hand to hold her face between his hands, gently, lifting her head to look at him. “He can’t hurt you and I’m going to protect you, ja? You’re safe with me.” He said, drawing his brows together in worry. Taddie sniffled and nodded, quickly tugging his hands away before wrapping her arms around his waist, burying her face in his neck again. Thatcher sighed and held her close, glancing over at his brothers with a worried look. The twins exchanged worried looks, which made Thatcher go sharp as he added, “We need to talk. Meet me in an hour.”

Tyr and Tora settled their guests, apologizing for the disturbance and ending the party early, as everyone’s mood was soured and on edge now that the cops might be running plates of the cars out front. Angry, Tyr gathered the family, though Thatcher and Taddie were absent, and the twins explained what happened after speaking with their brother. While his anger lessened, Tyr now realized the great danger Taddie was in and he needed to tell her what he knew. After releasing his family to bed for the evening, Tyr kissed Tora goodnight, said he would be up soon, then went searching for Thatcher’s room, as it had been quite a while since he had reason to hunt his middle son down.

When he finally tracked down the right room, Tyr knocked at the door and waited, listening closely and hearing a soft sobbing suddenly stop, then footsteps crossing the room. The door opened and Thatcher blinked, stunned to see his father at his door, but opened it for him, nonetheless, and let him in.

“Father…Um, what-what are you doing here? Is everything okay?” Thatcher asked, closing the door behind him and quickly going back to Taddie, who sat in bed, under the covers, her makeup gone and her eyes red and puffy. Taddie sniffled and quickly scrambled to get out of bed, but Tyr stopped her.

“No, no, my girl. You stay where you are. You don’t need to get up for me.” Tyr said, rounding the bed and sitting on the edge, beside her, as Thatcher scooted across to her, gathering her in his arms as Tyr let out a deep sigh. “I heard what happened. I’m deeply sorry you had to experience that on Christmas. How are you holding up?”

“I-I’m fine. They-That didn’t really scare me…He does. M-My-My ex…Tyr, this happened because of me, I’m so sorry this ruined your party. I-”

“Absolutely not. Do not apologize, Taddie. This man, this-this Jack--You have my word, he’ll be hunted down and taken care of.” Tyr said, firmly.

“P-Please-Please don’t do that. I-I-I hate him but I-I don’t wish that on anyone. I just want him locked up for what he did to me. I hope he dies in jail, not out free. It’s far less than what he deserves, but…” Taddie said, her words trailing off as she sniffled and looked away. Tyr nodded, then let the couple sit in silence for a moment before he took a deep breath.

“Well, um…Now, I’m not sure how to go about this, but--Your family. Your parents…You…You know nothing?” Tyr asked, looking up at her with a regretful look and drawn brows. Taddie raised a brow, exchanging a look with Thatcher before she looked at Tyr and shook her head.

“Nothing I can remember. I-I don’t even think I have pictures of my parents…I-After my parents died, I was sent to a private boarding school. I showed up with my clothes from the crash that I was wearing…That’s it. I-I don’t have…Anything from when I was a child.” Taddie said, her gaze slowly lowering as he tone turned sad and mournful.

Tyr nodded and took another deep breath, then said, “You were sent to Miss Havish’s Academy for Girls. It’s a fine institution and you seemed to love it when we brought you there…”

Thatcher sat forward and Taddie simply stared at the man as Thatcher said, “What are you saying, Father? Y-You--Did you know Taddie before I met her?”

“Yes. I did. Your parents were Saoirse and Liam Prior, your mother was a Thaden and your paternal grandmother was a Rylin. I was present for your baptism, a birthday or two when I was in the area…And I was the one that pulled you from the crash because I was the one driving behind your father when their car was shot at and crashed.” Tyr said, heavily, looking up at Taddie, who more or less was shocked and confused, but her face was blank. “I took you, brought you to a safehouse and kept you until one of the families could take you until we could figure out how to hide you. We stuck you at the Academy and told them you’re only to be called Taddie, never by your full name.”

“The man that asked about me tonight.” Taddie said, finally. Tyr nodded and said, “Conor Bay. He hated your father. It was long rumored that he had a hand in your parents deaths, but nothing was ever proven.”

“I hated him. I didn’t know why, but I hated him. Everything. The way he looked, the way he talked…”

“Conor and I visited Liam on a number of occasions. You’ve met him before. You weren’t fond of him then either.” Tyr said.

“Father, why wouldn’t you tell me this? We’ve been here for four days and now you tell us you knew who she was this whole time?” Thatcher shot at his father, angrily. As Tyr opened his mouth to reprimand his son, Taddie spoke first, simply asking, “Where did we live?”

“In Maine. On the coast.” Tyr said, watching Taddie’s face as it remained blank and her head slowly tilted down as she asked, “Were my parents in the IRA?”

“They were, but they left when you were born. Liam started working for me, doing my books so he could still support you and your mother but not be as involved with the business.” Tyr answered.

“Why does Conor hate my father so much?”

“When he left the IRA, Conor lost a lot of good men with him. They followed Liam and came here, fell in with the other Irish families. Conor was pissed.”

“What happened that night?”

“Taddie, perhaps-”

“Please tell me.”

“We were coming home from taking you to a new gallery opening that you wanted to go to. You’ve always been drawn to art and painting. It was in the city and we were driving back to the cabin they were renting for the winter, upstate. A single car had passed us just before something on the car popped, then Liam lost control and swerved into a tree. I skid to a stop and ran over…” Tyr stopped, a sudden wave of emotions choking him up and preventing him from speaking for a moment. Taddie looked up at him, drawing her brows together, waiting for him to continue.

Clearing his throat, Tyr turned away from her and rested his forearms on his thighs as he said, “I ran over and, uhm, Liam-Liam was still alive and he begged me to save you, get you out and away from the scene…He-He said he saw Conor in the car, which is why the rumors spread…I saved you, Taddie, but there was nothing I could do for your parents. I’m sorry.”

“Thank you, Tyr.” Taddie said, softly, making the older man turn back to her, his brows raised in surprise. “Thank you for saving my life. Thank you for hiding me and keeping me safe.”

“You’re very welcome, my dear. And I’m very glad you’ve found your way back after all this time. It-It truly was wonderful seeing you with my son when he came home. That was the reason for my quick departure. I-I saw my old friends again and-and I was slightly overcome with emotion. I had to leave.” Tyr said, turning to her again and reaching out to give her hand a small squeeze. Taddie sniffled and nodded, scooting closer and giving the man a tight hug. Tyr hugged her back, his lips lifting in a small, happy smile, then he quickly pulled back and stood, clearing his throat as he said, “I should let you both rest. If you’d like to speak more before you leave tomorrow, we shall.”

“Father-”

“Good night to you both. I hope you sleep well.” Tyr said, giving them a warm smile before moving around the bed and going to the door. Thatcher turned to Taddie, quickly pressing a kiss to her lips before he said, “I’ll be right back, kitten.”

Taddie watched him shoot across the room after his father, following him out the door and closing it behind him. Thatcher turned and clasped his hand over his father’s shoulder, turning him around as he said, “Father, why wouldn’t you tell me this?! Any of it?! I understand why you couldn’t tell her at first, but me? I’m the one dating her! I should have known-”

“I had to be sure. I went back to look at old pictures from back in the day…Oh-Give this to her? I forgot to mention it. Go to sleep, son. Make sure she’s safe. I promised her father, now that passes to you.” Tyr said, pulling a picture from his pocket, handing it to Thatcher, then pat him on the shoulder before turning to go down the hall. Thatcher examined the picture; Taddie’s parents, he assumed, Saoirse holding a little bundle in his arms that had to have been Taddie. He looked up, watching his father turn a corner and disappear before tucking the picture away and going back into his room and to Taddie, cuddling up with her and rubbing her back until she drifted off to sleep.

Let me know what you guys think! <3 If you'd like to be added to the taglist, send me a message! <3

#bad omens #joakim jolly karlsson #jolly fan fic #bad omens mafia au #bad omens fan fic #the price #nicholas ruffilo #nick folio #noah sebastian #jolly karlsson

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dbnightingale24 · 1 year

Text

Bad Habits

A Thomas Shelby Love Story

Part 1

Alright, before everyone starts yelling at me, I promise that the final part to my Ransom story is almost done. It's slightly longer than this one, and I'm being extremely picky about it cause I wasn't necessarily happy with the last one I posted. That being said, my husband and I binged all six seasons of 'Peaky Blinders' in five days, so now we have this. I'm also posting this one first because I used a different approach on this story and it's giving me extreme anxiety lol. I tried to capture the accents and the essence of the show, so I really hope you all like it! Anyway, here goes! Thank you, as always, to @fuckingbye for the amazing moodboard, I love you and will build a monument to your greatness.

Word Count: 24,549 (to those of you who are new: I'm sorry. To those who aren't: this is me being on my best behavior and you know it.)

Warnings: SMUT (MINORS DNI) , Swearing, Drinking, Drug Use, Depression, Religion, Fluff, Anxiety attacks, Cheating, Abusive Relationship, Angst (c'mon now, it's me), Family Drama, Child Trauma (if you squint)...I think that's it. It dives deeper into a lot of things in part 2.

Song(s) That Inspired This Chapter: I Only Know How To Go Too Far

I do not give consent/permission for my works/stories to be posted elsewhere. I do not condone this type of behavior, this is for entertainment purposes only.

His eyes meet yours from across the room and you know you’re fucked. You should’ve stayed away. Yes, it’s your sister’s engagement party, but you knew he’d be here. The way your family loves the Shelby family...you knew. You knew he’d show up and would be looking for you. Still, you came and you know it’s because you miss him. God, you miss him like crazy.

Thomas fucking Shelby.

“Oi! Come over here, love!” Arthur calls, drunken smile on his face as he makes eye contact with you from across the hall.

“You stay away!” you laugh as he makes his way to you.

“Lets have a dance, eh?” he suggests as he finally reaches you.

“You, Arthur Shelby, shall not lay a finger on me tonight, or any other night,” you smirk, grabbing your glass and taking a swig from it.

“And why is that?”

“Tommy ‘ll kill ya,” you giggle, nodding across the room to where he’s sitting with his wife, Grace.

“He has no say in it now, does he? He’s married.”

“As if that ever stops the Shelby men,” you tease and he flips you off.

“One dance.”

“Not tonight, Arthur. Besides, a man of your status seen with a woman like me? What will the people think?”

“Who cares? I know how I’ll feel,” he smirks and you burst out laughing.

You really have missed the Shelby men.

“What’s so funny, eh?” Thomas asks, causing you to jump cause you didn’t even notice that he had made his way over.

“Nothin’,” you giggle, feeling the burn of Grace’s glare on you, “what ya doin’ over here without your lady, Thomas?”

“Just wanted to see what ’m missin’ out on.”

“I think I’ve found someone more agreeable to my needs,” Arthur smiles as he makes eyes with a woman across the room, “if you’ll excuse me,” he nods as you start laughing again while he walks off.

“So, you’re fucking Arthur now?”

“Watch it, Thomas,” you warn, cutting your eyes at him before taking another sip of your drink.

“You used to call me Tomcat.”

“What do you want?”

“Come with me.”

“And if I don’t feel like it?”

“Come with me,” he demands in a harsher tone and contradictory smile, before starting to walk out.

You roll your eyes as you grab your glass and bottle before following him out.

You’ve known for a while that it angers him that you don’t fear him in the slightest. You also know that it irritates him that there’s no reason for you to be scared of him; you two have been through so much and have known each other for so long...

The rest is on AO3. For whatever reason, Tumblr won't let me post the whole thing on here -_-

Here's the link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/49359964

taglist: @emerald-evans, @autumnrose40

#fanfic #fan fiction #fanfiction #Thomas Shelby #peaky blinders #peaky blinders fanfic #Thomas Michael Shelby #Thomas Shelby Fanfic #thomas shelby x reader #thomas shelby x y/n #thomas shelby smut #Peaky Blinders #Cillian Murphy Character #Cillian Murphy Characters #Thomas Michael Shelby fanfic #Don't Hate Me #I Hope Y'all Like It!

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late-to-the-party-81 · 1 year

Text

Tsumthing Unexpected

AN: I have no excuse. I got Tsum Tsum on my@buckybarnesbingo card (C4) and was reminded of the fics I’ve read on AO3 by helens78, buckybleeds and Tiger_Niki. So… yeah…I could have made something fluffy and sweet. I didn’t.

I’m envisaging the Large Tsum tsums here.

Beta’d by @zenaidamacrouras1 who now needs mind bleach and probably some counselling

Dividers by @firefly-graphics, moodboard and (questionable) art by me (NSFT version on my AO3 account)

Master list | BBB Master list

Summary: Bucky hates wizards. He especially hates wizards who transform his boyfriends into sentient stuffies when they had a weekend of sex planned. Sam and Joaquín don’t think their plans should change, even if they can only communicate in beeps.

Relationship: Bucky Barnes x Sam Wilson x Joaquín Torres

Word count: 4k

CW: Author is going to hell, Crack Fic, slight angst and discussions of polyamory, magical transformation, Tsum Tsum Sam Wilson, Tsum Tsum Joaquín Torres, Sentient stuffies, Crack Smut, Bucky can’t believe what he’s actually doing, Enthusiastic consent (even if it is made with beeps) overuse of the word ‘flipper’, It’s so wrong and I’m so sorry, but also not sorry.

If there was one thing Bucky really hated, it was wizards. Sorcerers. Magicians. Whatever they called themselves. All of them were capital T trouble and the one that he, Sam and Quín were currently up against was no exception. Completely psychopathic, he’d given himself the epitaph of ‘The ToyMaster’ and had been terrorising the East Coast for weeks, kidnapping people and using some unknown magic to turn them into toys for his collection.

Now here the three heroes were, storming The ToyMaster’s lair, intent on stopping his madness. It had taken some time to locate it, but now they had, Bucky was eager to bring the miscreant to justice. He’d like to say it was because he had a burning desire to stop him - and that wasn’t untrue - but more than that, he just wanted to be back at home, either in the house 40 minutes outside of New Orleans, or in the apartment in D.C. with the men he loved.

Their dynamic was new Bucky had been very confused at first, both with the way that his heart rate had picked up when Joaquín had overtly flirted with him, but also with the way that when Joaquín had flirted with Sam as well, Bucky hadn’t felt any jealousy or anxiety at all. In fact, all he’d felt was a rush of arousal, images of Sam and Joaquín kissing - touching - filling his head and making him want. It had taken a few shots of Asgardian Mead for him to build up the courage to speak to Sam about it.

They’d been in their house, home after a rough mission - hence the alcohol - with Bucky resting his head in Sam’s lap as they both pretended to watch the TV. He’d been running what he’d wanted to say around and around in his mind during their companionable silence before he finally got the guts to say it.

“Sam?” Even to himself his voice had sounded uncharacteristically nervous. “You don’t get upset, or anything, when Quín flirts with me, do you?”

Sam hadn’t replied straight away, continuing to stroke Bucky’s hair with one hand, and lifting his beer to his lips with the other, taking a long drink from it, before placing it back down. Bucky’s heart had been in his mouth when Sam had looked down at him, his dark topaz eyes unreadable.

“Sugar, I get as upset as you do when he flirts with me. Which is to say I get the opposite of upset.”

Bucky had felt his eyes widen, his head spinning from Sam’s words, although he was certain the alcohol was helping increase the feeling of discombobulation. He’d reached his hand up, cupping Sam’s cheek, feeling the warmth of his skin and the scratch of his facial hair. “But I love you, Sam. Why are my feelings all confused?”

Sam had smiled then, revealing the too-cute gap between his teeth and crinkles had formed around his eyes. “I know you do, baby. Never had any doubts. But sometimes, some people have really big hearts. Hearts that are so big that there’s room for more than one person. I’ve always had thoughts about that myself. Never been with anyone else who’d consider it though. Jay is cute though.”

Sam had sat back and took another pull of his beer, leaving Bucky to ruminate on what he’d said. Fifteen minutes passed, a new episode of the show started, and Bucky had let his thoughts have a voice again.

“Quín likes both of us, doesn’t he? And you like him as well as me. And I… I like him as well as you. What would it be?”

“I dunno, Buck. We don’t really know what Jay wants. Maybe he just wants the fantasy. Maybe a one-time experience to look back on to say he’s done it. Potentially he wants the whole thing - a relationship. We won’t know unless we take the next step.”

Bucky had mused for another few moments, watching the play of light from the TV over the angles of Sam’s face. “And do you want to take that next step?” Sam lent forward and pressed a soft kiss to Bucky’s lips.

“Only if you want to, Sugar. We’re a team here, and that’s not gonna change.”

“You been thinking about this for a while then? Why didn’t you bring it up sooner?” Bucky had quizzed.”

“I thought it would be better for your oblivious, geriatric ass to process it a bit first. Didn’t want to freak you out by bringing up threesomes and polyamory and risk a heart attack.” The skin around Sam’s eyes had crinkled as he teased Bucky.

“Geriatric?” Bucky’s expression had been one of faux indignation and he’d grabbed a cushion and whomped Sam with it, before sitting up and looming over him. “I’ll show you who’s geriatric.”

A week later, after another successful mission, sat in a booth in a quiet part of their favourite D.C. bar, they had taken the next step, Sam’s molasses smooth voice letting Quín know that if he wanted to do something about how he felt about the two of them, then the ball was in his court. Sam and Bucky had held hands on top of the tables, both proffering their empty hands across the scarred wood. Joaquín had blushed, but taken their hands in his. Warm and surprisingly soft.

A few weeks had passed since then. Joaquín obviously hadn’t wanted a one night thing, although the memories of that first night will be forever seared in Bucky’s brain. The only word to describe it would be transcendent. Joaquín still had his own place - wasn’t with them twenty four seven - but this weekend Bucky and Sam had planned on giving Quín a set of keys - to both the house and the apartment. They’d also planned on a lot of sex. However, they had a narcissistic megalomaniac to deal with first and he was definitely pissing Bucky off.

The main problem was that it was difficult to tell which of those currently fighting them were mindless drones of the ToyMaster’s invention, and which were real people he’d transformed. They were having to use non-lethal force and hope that when - if - the victims got transformed back there wouldn’t be any lasting damage.

Bucky was running through the warehouse complex, trying to get to the centre where the ToyMaster was bouncing around with unreserved glee. He was also having to not punch a bunch of clowns as hard in the face as he wanted to. Sam and Quín were darting through the sky, armed with tranquilisers, taking out the unwilling henchmen and women who were shooting them with abandon.

For a moment, Bucky actually felt as though he was making some headway, fighting his way through the throng and getting closer to the villain, but then it all went wrong. The world slowed down around him as two life size Barbie dolls, their movements stilted by their fixed arm positions and their reduced points of articulation, pulled some kind of multicoloured circus style cannon from one of the warehouses. They aimed it up at the sky, and with a deafening boom and a burst of glitter, Sam and Quín fell to the ground.

“No!” The sound of his own voice startled Bucky out of his stupor, and with renewed vigour he forced his way through, leaping up on to the small covered dais the ToyMaster was jigging atop. He had absolutely no qualms about hurting this psychopath. “Don’t,” punch, “hurt,” punch, “my,” punch, “boyfriends!” The Toymaster crumpled to the floor and immediately his transformed toys stopped what they were doing and crumpled to the floor, like puppets with their strings cut. Bucky didn’t waste any time - he ran straight over to where Sam and Joaquín were lying still on the floor. Or rather where the strange toys were that had been Sam and Joaquín.

“What the fuck?” Bucky dropped to his knees. Both of them appeared to be soft toy versions of themselves, but if they’d been turned into cylinders. Instead of hands and feet, they had little flippers and were about 18 inches long. The one that was obviously Sam had a little scowl on its face - beady little black eyes looking up at Bucky from underneath a miniature pair of red tinted goggles. Joaquín appeared to be sleeping, letting out little snores and a bubble of drool.

“Meep!” said Sam. “Meeeeeeeeep!”

“Jesus Christ…” Bucky pulled his phone from his pocket and dialled a number. “Hey Doc, it’s Barnes. I’ve got something really strange I need you to look at…”

With a sigh, Bucky placed Sam and Joaquín down on the bed. Joaquín was awake now and he and Sam were beeping away at each other. Bucky was glad they at least had each other to talk to, although he was intrigued as to what they were actually saying.

Strange had portaled over with Wong before Bucky had even hung up his call. The two sorcerers had looked over Sam, Quín and all the other transfigured people, before stepping to the side to chat. Bucky was sitting on the dusty floor, with a still sleeping Joaquín in his lap and Sam angrily shuffling around the floor, beeping and waving his front flippers around indignantly. Bucky had to admit that, now the shock had worn off a bit and Strange and Co. were on the case, his boyfriends’ toy forms were rather cute.

“Sergeant?” Bucky turned his head and looked up at Doctor Strange. “Wong and I are going to work with SWORD to get all the other victims somewhere safe while we work on a spell to return them to normal. Your captive is not being very helpful in that regard, although that is made more difficult by the fact he has a broken jaw.” Bucky raised an eyebrow and refused to feel sorry. “However,” Strange continued, “we don’t see that there would be an issue with you taking the Captain and the new Falcon home with you. They’d probably prefer that to being in a sterile hospital environment.”

“Meeeeeep! Meep beep, be-beeep!” Sam wiggled his way across the ground and started to smack at Strange’s booted foot with a flipper. Bucky chuckled as Strange looked down at Sam, eyes wide with confusion.

“I think he doesn’t appreciate being left out of the conversation, Doc. I haven’t worked out how to communicate with him yet, but he is still Sam and he does appear to have all his faculties.” Sam hopped around to face Bucky and glared. Bucky couldn’t help it.

“You’re so cute when you’re angry. You know that, Sammy?”

“Beep beep beeeeep!” Bucky didn’t need a translator to work out what Sam was saying then.

“Okay, okay. I’m sorry. I take it you’d like to go home until this gets sorted out? Waggle your right flipper for yes and your left for no.”

Sam’s right flipper went up in the air, waving so fast it was a blur.

“Well,” Strange drawled. “That settles it. Where do you want to go?”

Bucky had decided on the D.C. apartment - it was smaller and his thinking was that he could keep track of his fuzzy-formed boyfriends easier. Also, being so central he could get take-out and grocery deliveries so he wouldn’t need to worry about leaving them alone. Quín had woken up just before he’d stepped through the portal, one boyfriend in each arm. Unlike Sam, Quín didn’t seem to be in any way distressed by this turn of events, and just huffed a cute sigh into Bucky’s neck and beeped quietly.

WIth them safely ensconced on the bed, Bucky sat down beside them and took off his boots and tactical jacket, still trying to wrap his mind around what had happened. Right now Sam and he were supposed to be reducing Quín to a gibbering, drooling wreck, but instead he had to babysit two sentient fluffy burritos.

There was a nugging against his thigh and he looked down to see Joaquín butting up against him. Bucky smiled at him. He really was extra cute in this form. “Hey, baby-boy. What can I help you with?”

“Beep!” Joaquín tilted to the side and wiggled one of his back flippers, and then peered over the edge of the bed to look at Bucky’s boots.

“You want your boots off?”

Joaquín smiled at him. “Meep.” He then rolled over and wiggled, the tiny zipper on his suit moving with him.

Bucky’s lips twitched at the corners, and he smothered a laugh. “You want it all off? Well I suppose, even like this, it can’t be comfortable to have that suit on for longer than is needed. Come on then.”

Bucky plucked the fuzzy boots from each little flipper, and Joaquín waggled them endearingly once they were free to the air. Next Bucky gripped the suit zipper between his left thumb and forefinger and gently pulled it down. Joaquín let out another cute sigh as Bucky peeled it from him, however, there was something, or rather two things, that were unexpected.

Considering the fact that Quín, and presumably Sam had removable suits, Bucky had assumed that all of their clothes had been replicated in fuzzy form, but just like a doll, there was only one layer. Joaquín was naked underneath his suit. However, unlike a doll, he was not rocking the androgynous ‘Ken doll’ look.

“Okay…,” Bucky breathed out. “That’s a tiny fuzzy nubbin penis.”

Meeeeeep!” Joaquín squeaked indignantly.

“Sorry, sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. I…uh… just didn’t expect it.”

Joaquín huffed, hopped around and then wiggled his way across the bed. Bucky’s eyes went wide, because Joaquín also had a fuzzy little butthole too. He brought a palm up to his face.

“If I could go back to being a pile of dust right now, that would be way less weird…”

“Beep?”

Bucky uncovered his eyes and saw Sam smiling up at him.

“Hey, baby. How are you doing? Strange day or what?”

“Meep-meep.” Fuzzy toy Sam still had the gap in his tooth, and Bucky had the overriding urge to just cuddle him. He picked Sam up, flipper arms and legs flapping and gave him a small squeeze, resting his face on Sam’s side. Sam twisted a little in his arms and pressed a furry kiss to Bucky’s nose.

“Meep beep meep.”

“Yeah, love you too, Sam. Do you also want out of your suit? You and Quín can be naked little fuzzies together.”

“Phht.” Sam blew him a raspberry and Bucky chuckled once again, before placing him down and divesting him of his clothes. Once naked, Sam made his way across the bed towards Joaquín, who was starting to fall asleep again, but not before he looked back at Bucky, waggled his eyebrows and shook his fuzzy ass. Bucky just looked at him.

“Really, Sam? Even as a cuddly toy you’re still flirting? Fuck my life.” Bucky slapped his hands down onto his thighs and stood up. “I’m off to get a shower. Please, for the love of God, don’t get into any trouble in the next 10 minutes. Maybe you could take a leaf out of Quín’s book and have a nap?

Sam shrugged then cuddled his nude form up against Quín’s. “Me-meep.”

Bucky shook his head, and headed into the bathroom.

Bucky ended up spending longer in the shower than anticipated. He still couldn’t seem to get his head around it. Sure, he’d seen - and done - some weird shit in his time, but this was ridiculous.

He stepped out of the cubicle, wrapped a towel around his waist and was rubbing at his hair with another when he became aware of strange noises coming from the bedroom. Strange squeaky noises.

“What the hell?” He threw the smaller towel into the sink and walked back into the bedroom.

And stopped.

Mouth open.

His brain stalling as his eyes processed the sheer insanity he was seeing.

Joaquín was lying on his back and was the source of the squeaky noises. Noises that were being caused by Sam laying half over him, his tiny mouth stretched around Quín’s tiny nubbin penis.

“Jesus Christ guys!” Bucky’s vocal chords started up again as his legs propelled him across the room to the bed. “Really? You're horny? At a time like this?”

Sam opened his eyes, rolled them, but didn’t stop what he was doing. Joaquín carried on squeaking, and making breathy sighs.

Bucky didn’t know why he was that surprised - Joaquín had proven himself to be quite insatiable the past few weeks and they had planned on spending most of the weekend in bed. It seemed that his boyfriends had decided not to let a little thing like magical transformation get in the way.

What was more disturbing to Bucky though, was the fact that, somehow, this wasn’t NOT doing something for him. Despite the fact that Sam and Quín weren’t in human form, seeing them love on each other was having an effect on Bucky’s cock that his brain really thought it shouldn’t.

Joaquín’s squeaks were getting louder and louder, and once again, a translator wasn’t needed to work out what was happening. But then, Sam stopped. He pulled back from Quín and Bucky was shocked at the look of his young boyfriends plushie cock. Somehow it had changed colour, turning pinker at the end, just as his cock did when he was… normal. Bucky could see how it was straining, and it was also weeping. And this was so wrong!

Then it got wronger.

Joaquín moved his little head and looked at Bucky, eyes wide and squeaked straight at him.

“Meep!”

He wiggled his ass.

“Meep-meep!”

Bucky blanched. “Nuh-uh! No-fucking-way. Nope!”

Quín’s little face turned down. “Meeeeeeeep.” He sounded so dejected and Bucky immediately felt bad. He reached out to cup his cuddly head.

“Look, baby. I still love you, even though you’re a cuddly toy, but it just feels wrong to… you know… while you’re like this.”

Joaquín sniffed and fuck, was that a tear rolling down his soft squishy face?

“MEEP!” Sam headbutted Bucky’s thigh and glared at him, brows drawn together. “Me-meep beep, beep beep be-meep!” He looked straight at the tented towel in Bucky’s lap.

“Just because I’m aroused doesn’t mean I should actually do anything about it, Sam.”

Sam didn’t squeak back, but did something Bucky wasn’t anticipating - he took hold of the edge of the towel in his mouth and pulled it away, revealing Bucky’s aching cock to the cold air. Joaquín rolled back onto his front and waddled closer. Bucky was frozen to the spot as Joaquín pulled himself up onto Bucky’s lap and then began to back up towards his goal.

At the first touch of soft fuzz against his aching dick, Bucky panicked and grabbed Joaquín around his waist with both his hands, moving him away. “Woah! Wait a minute!” Joaquín waggled his four mini appendages and Bucky realised as he did that he was probably squeezing a little too hard. However, Joaquín didn’t seem to mind the man-handling - toy-handling? - because he let out a little purring noise and trembled in Bucky’s grip. His cock also gave a little twitch, brushing against Bucky’s fingers.

“You really want this, don’t you?” Bucky asked as he turned Quín around in his hands. Joaquín nodded enthusiastically. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Be-beep.” Joaquín replied and somehow Bucky knew what he meant.

Sam spat out the towel and with a front flipper patted Bucky on the leg to get his attention, and then flapped it towards the bedside drawer.

“Yeah - um - probably a good idea. I just hope I can get it out of the fluff. After.”

Shit. Was he really going to do this?

But despite his reservations he found himself placing Joaquín on his lap and leaning across to grab the bottle of lube from the drawer. Joaquín squeaked with joy and wiggled his ass. When he realised he was finally getting what he wanted Bucky smirked. “Yes, yes, baby. I’m getting there.”

He slicked up his cock then, wiping his hand on the discarded towel, placed one hand on Joquín’s fuzzy back and angled his cock towards the soft opening with the other. There was little resistance as he pressed forwards and Joaquín let out a happy squeal, not unlike the one he’d made the first time Bucky had fucked him.

“Oh God!” Despite the easy give, Joaquín was still deliciously tight around him - warm and soft. And there was something so taboo about this and he couldn’t stop, he couldn’t…

Bucky’s hands tightened again around Joaquín but he was no longer worried. Joaquín squeaked and chirped as Bucky used him like a flesh light, moving him up and down his cock, that was so hard he thought it would break.

“Fuck! Feels so good, baby. Shit. Just wanna keep doing this and never stop. Keep you like this all the time. My living sex toy. Fuck, Quín! I’m gonna…”

Bucky bit down on his bottom lip and came, feeling his releasing pumping inside of Quín’s soft body, as Quín himself let out a strangled squeak. Bucky felt a dribble of hot stickiness coat his hands and thighs as Joaquín came.

Bucky was breathing hard as he slowly pulled out and watched as his cum ran out over the soft material of Joaquín’s ass. Next to him, Sam let out a high pitched coo, and pushed his way under Bucky’s arm to get onto his lap as well, and without any ceremony pushed his plushy face up against Joaquín’s leaking hole.

Bucky let out a bark of laughter and lay back, his head propped on a pillow so he could watch the frankly insane scene in front of him. Joaquín purred as Sam ate him out, his boneless body lax on Bucky’s lap. After a few minutes Sam shuffled back, and partially turned to look at Bucky, the fluff on his face a mess from Bucky’s cum.

“Meep. Me-beep beep.” He waved a flipper at Joaquín and Bucky looked over to see that once again Joaquín was asleep.

Feeling rather foolish, Bucky placed Quín down on the bed, up by the pillow and pulled the coverlet up over him. He turned to Sam.

“You okay, sweetheart?”

Sam waggled his eyebrows and licked his lips, staring at Bucky’s cock that, thanks to serum, was already back at full mast.

“Meep meep.”

Bucky shook his head from side to side and rolled his eyes.

“Come here then, you fuzzy pervert.”

It was the sound of voices, low and conversational, that woke Bucky the next morning. He stretched out in the bed and as his hands met cold sheets either side of him, and not warm bodies, his memories kicked in. He sat up with a start.

Where were Sam and Joaquín? Why the fuck weren’t their fuzzy asses in the bed?

“If those two are fucking again, I swear to god…” he muttered to himself as he threw off the coverlet and grabbed a pair of pajama pants. Then he realised.

The voices. They were Sam and Quín’s. Actual words and not beeps.

He ran through the door, skidding across the hardwood floor to where his boyfriends were chatting, leaning against the breakfast bar, and threw an arm around each of them. He pressed a hard kiss to Sam’s smiling lips and then turned to plant one on Quín as well.

“You’re back! Thank fuck for that.”

A cough sounded from across the breakfast bar and Bucky looked up to see the no-nonsense face of Wong looking back at him. Bucky threw the sorcerer an unusually broad grin.

“Hey! Thanks, man. Thank you for giving me my boyfriends back. How are all the others?”

Wong's face softened. “They’re fine, Sergeant. In the end it was relatively simple to turn everyone back.”

“Madisynn figured it out,” Joaquín clarified with a smirk. Wong scowled at him.

“The universe has a funny way of providing solutions from the most unexpected of places.” He jumped down from his stool and straightened his top with both hands. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have so important Sorcerer Supreme business to attend to.” He swirled his hand in the air and a portal opened in a shower of golden sparks. With a nod to the three men he stepped through.

“Say hi to Synn for me,” Joaquín shouted after him and then they all watched as the portal closed.

Bucky pulled Sam and Joaquín in tighter to him. “I’m so glad to have you both back. I never want to go through anything like that again.”

“It was certainly fucking weird,” Sam agreed, but Joaquín just raised an eyebrow at Bucky.

“You mean you didn’t like using me as a sex toy?” he teased.

Bucky’s eyes narrowed. “Baby, you don’t need to be transformed into a stuffy for that. I can use you like a sex toy any time I wanna.”

“Prove it,” Joaquín shot back with a challenging smile, his dark eyes twinkling.

Bucky growled and canted his hips, and his hard dick, against Joaquín’s thigh. “I did, last week. And anyway - I think it’s Sam’s turn as he missed out last night.”

Sam moved around Bucky to press himself against Joaquín’s back and trail his lips up his neck. “Damn right it’s my turn.” His voice was deep and Bucky felt his heart pounding in his chest.

Joaquín slipped from their grasp and ran off towards the bedroom, laughing, Sam hot on his heels. Bucky watched them for a moment, hearts in his eyes. He loved them both so much and couldn’t wait until later when they gave Joaquín the keys. But first, there were ‘other’ things to attend to. He knocked back the remains of Sam’s coffee with a grimace and then followed his two loves into the bedroom.

Tag list: @km-ffluv, @christywrites @doasyoudesireandlive

If you want to be on my tag list check out the link on my master list.

#SamBuckQuin #Crack fic #Sam Wilson x Bucky Barnes x Joaquin Torres #Late writes #bucky barnes bingo #bbb2023

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sweetestofchaos · 1 year

Text

Blackthorn Ch 4 Teaser | M.YG

Pairing: Dragon Prince!Yoongi x Impundulu Princess!Keena Genre: Fluff AU: Soulmate, Strangers to Lovers, Fantasy, Arranged Marriage WC: 1.1K Warnings: None Rating: PG Summary: The Princess has started her lessons

a/n: Please keep in mind that this teaser isn’t betaed and will most likely be touched up once the finale edit is ready. Excuse any mistakes for now. Moodboard made by @egocypher.

In the palace, Princess Keena was back inside the room where her tutoring took place. Aga was on high alert, the threat of danger ever present in the forefront of his mind. The Princess waved Aga off as he tried to have her lessons canceled for the rest of the day. Aga wanted the Princess back in her room where no one could touch her. Princess Keena ignored Aga’s wishes for she understood that somehow she had done something wrong to upset the Prince. She wasn’t sure what but she knew that the Prince would explain himself in time.

Mingi knocked on the door and followed an older servant while they carried a tray of tea in. Aga watched the servant’s every movement as they prepared a fresh pot of tea for the Princess. Princess Keena thanked them softly and Mingi led them out the room before he shut the door. The Princess sipped at the tea and sighed as she felt Aga’s eyes on her.

“I am unharmed, Aga.”

“You could have been-”

"Nou pa rete sou te kapab genyen. Ou te anseye m sa." Aga huffed and sucked his teeth at the Princess’s words. He should have known that his wise words would be used against him one day. A knock at the door made Aga’s back stiffen and when the door slid open to reveal a man and women, Aga narrowed his eyes. They were dressed in matching sage and cream hanfu outfits and the Princess noticed that they both wore a single silver band on their ring fingers. The woman was taller than the man, he stood at her shoulders; they were very cute together. The woman had a flawless face, too perfect and smooth to be human while the man looked no less than average with a stocky build. They reminded the Princess of yin and yang; they complemented each other nicely.

The man looked surprised to see the Princess in the room as he carted a bunch of different instruments behind himself. His black hair was cut close to his head and the style made him look younger than what he most likely was. The man smiled all the same and bowed low with the woman beside him. Her mulberry hair was pulled back away from her face and hung in a single braid that just grazed the floor. The tips of her ears were pointed, and the Princess smiled politely. A human and an elf, she was pleased to see them together.

“Good day to you Princess. I am Hue Kwangseon and this is my wife Ellarian.”

“We will take turns teaching you the joyous music and dance of the Min Empire as well as the rest of the world!” Ellarian’s voice was light and sweet, fresh cotton in a spring breeze.

“I look forward to your tutelage,” the Princess beamed as she bowed her head.

“Please allow us to set up. We were not expecting your highness to be present,” Kwangseon explained and the Princess nodded her head.

“Take your time. I will do what I can to stay out of your way.”

Ellarian laughed at Kwangseon’s face flushed as he struggled to find a polite way to wave off the Princess’s words and failed. He ducked his head down and got to work on setting up the room with instruments while Ellarian made sure the center of the room was clear of anything that would cause harm while dancing. Aga watched as the husband and wife moved about the room, he stood his ground as the wife smiled at him and the Princess laughed to herself. Aga always had a hard time with females.

“What would you like to start with first, your highness? Dance or music?” Ellarian questioned and the Princess thought about it.

“Dance. I fear that I am not very skilled with instruments even from my own nation.” The Princess admitted and Aga choked on a laugh. It was true, the Princess could not play a single tune. Ellarian laughed softly and offered the Princess her hand to help her off the floor.

“We will start with a dance all ladies of the court learn for their coming of age. It is a mixture of a waltz and quickstep.” Ellarian explains as she steps away from the Princess. “Are you familiar with these terms, your highness?”

“I am not.”

“Wonderful! You will do well in your classes, your highness. It is much easier to create art from a blank canvas!” Ellarian raises her arms, a hand pointed out while the other is held out diagonally from her chest. “I will demonstrate the proper posture for this dance and I would like for you to focus on how my upper body moves.”

Kwangseon sits on the floor off to the side with a bendir drum in his lap. He offers the Princess a gentle smile before he starts tapping out a beat. Ellarian speaks as she dances, counting loud enough for the Princess to hear. Her steps are elegant as if she is dancing through the air alone with just the beat to support her weight. The Princess is memorized by the dance, it looked simple enough compared to the dances that she had learned from her own nation.

The dance came to its end and the Princess clapped her hands happily while Ellarian bowed. “Now! Let us see your form.”

The lesson went back and forth with dancing and music. Kwangseon didn’t look to be put off while his wife dominated the lesson. He was more than happy to provide the music for the dances. At the end of the lesson, Ellarian was more than pleased. The Princess’s form wasn’t perfect, and her footwork wasn’t sure, but she had tried and kept at it. Kwangseon left some homework for the Princess. She was to study a simple sheet of music and play it on the drums during the next lesson.

As the couple left, the Princess felt lighter. The incident from the garden no longer lingered at the forefront of her mind. She wondered if the lessons were switched for that very purpose and if so, who called for it? The Princess sat at the table and thought about the different people that she had meant so far that day. Escistan was filled with hybrids, species that shared their body with an animal’s spirit. Humans were commonplace as well but that was it. The Princess had only read about the other species that she had come in contact with. Elves, Oni and Siren’s had always felt like a myth to the Princess and to see them in person was an experience all in itself. The Princess was thankful for the chance to widen her knowledge from such fantastic tutors.

#blackthorn ch 4 teaser #soc yoongi #dragon yoongi #emperor yoongi #bts fantasy au #min yoongi x oc #min yoongi fic

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ahundredtimesover · 2 years

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The Light of Dead Stars (12.1) | KSJ

Pairing: Seokjin x (f.) Reader; side Seokjin x (f.) OC; side Reader x Namjoon

Genre/Tags: arranged marriage, fake romance, boss/workmate aus; angst, drama, fluff, smut; slow burn

Chapter Warnings: Foul language; alcohol consumption; suggestive themes, non-explicity sex (18+)

Chapter Word count: 9.5k

A/N: Part 12.2 will be posted on 05 Sept., 11AM KST. I had to cut it in half because it was too long so savor this chill first part. I projected here because I've been missing travelling so that's all these 2 lovebirds will do! 💕

Series Masterlist | Muse Moodboard | Setting Moodboard

Status: Complete

Series summary: Your unconventional arranged marriage with your company’s President, Kim Seokjin, is necessary, practical, and simple - both your families benefit, and he minds his own business and so do you. But when a slip-up causes his parents to believe that you and he are in love, you have no choice but to pretend you are, especially with the trip to France for his brother’s wedding coming up. When you get back to Seoul, things start to change, and Seokjin is faced with the most difficult decision he has to make.

Jin presses a soft kiss on your forehead, then your nose, then your lips, lingering there to nudge you awake. “Good morning, love. I made us breakfast,” he whispers in your ear.

You stretch then open your eyes, blinking repeatedly to try to get used to the brightness from outside. You usually wake up much earlier than this, when the sun’s just barely risen and isn’t as blinding as it is right now, then head to a cafe most mornings for your coffee fill, but not today.

After your fight with your husband last night - which saw you finally expressing your frustration at him and him, finally opening up about his pains and worries - you made up and well, made each other come multiple times until the wee hours of the morning. All the stress and tension from the past weeks have deprived you of each other, and you just wanted to feel close, to feel loved, to feel safe in each other’s arms again.

Between tangled limbs and sweaty bodies, you convinced Jin that he needed to regroup, so he decided to take the day off with you just to be together, knowing that you help him feel like himself again. He knows there’s still much to make up for with you, and making you breakfast always does the trick.

“This is my thing,” you say, turning to him as he picks up the tray from the desk and places it over your lap.

Your smile brightens as you eye the spread - salmon eggs benedict on croissant loaf, dried fruit and nuts, cheese, and chocolate-covered strawberries, as well as juice and coffee.

“You went all out today, huh?” You smirk at him as he takes his tray and sits across from you. “This looks delicious, love. I’m starving from last night.”

“You couldn’t keep your hands off me, that’s why.”

“Excuse me, mister. You were the one with the wandering hands. Every time I was dozing off, you wanted another go.”

His ears turn red as you remind him of last night and how he just found ways to keep touching you, kissing you, grinding against you.

“Couldn’t help it. It’s been a while and I missed you. You liked it, though,” he smirks this time.

“Hmm, I did!” You wink, as you take a bite of your dish, which obviously tastes amazing. “Is that why you wanted us to take a leave today? To get some rest after last night?”

“Well, I thought of taking a day off so we could sleep in and spend time together after the weeks we had. And then I decided to make it a worthwhile night,” he chuckles. “And I still feel a bit bad for all the things I said and I wanted to make you something you like. You were reminiscing about France and the things we ate, so I whipped up something to remind you of that.”

“Aww, you’re sweet to me again,” you tease. “I missed being spoiled.”

“Shut up, you hate it,” he rolls his eyes.

“Yeah, I do,” you chuckle. “But seriously, do you have anything in mind today?”

“I was watching TV while cooking and saw this news clip about Namhae; I haven’t been there and it looks nice,” he says. “It’s a long drive but it’s got great views, and I could fish and golf and you could read your books? I just feel like I need to be away from here first, you know? I need to strategize and plan my next steps and I can’t do it here. Maybe if I get things back on track, my parents will speak to me again.”

“Of course, love,” you smile, knowing that deep down, it’s what he really wants. “We can spend the weekend there and do our usual things like go to markets and eat and just explore. And you do your other rich boy hobbies and stuff.”

He pinches your leg at your teasing but is happy that you’re joining him. He does need the time to unwind and plan but he also definitely wants to spend it with you.

And so after cleaning up, you make the 4-hour drive to Namhae in Gyeonsang where you take the wheel so he could just look at the views and let his mind wander wherever it needs to go. You tell him that you could both talk about work any time, so randomly during the trip, he brings something up and runs it by you.

It’s peaceful. Both of you hum to the soft music of your playlist, wind against your hair when it’s cool enough to open the windows. He’d take your hand sometimes, caress it, then give it a kiss.

You arrive at your destination in the late afternoon and drive through the little streets to find a cozy restaurant. After your early dinner, you check in your place that overlooks the ocean, and then spend the rest of the evening just talking and cuddling on the balcony as you gaze at the starry sky.

You end the night hovered over Jin, rocking against him and making him feel good, telling him over and over again how great he feels, wanting nothing more than to relieve his stress and know you’ll love him in whatever way you need him to.

Your husband goes fishing at dawn the next day and makes sashimi out of his catch, which you eat along with the takeout food he bought on the way back. You go to the rice fields later in the morning and find a restaurant for lunch, then spend the afternoon lazing at the beach, reminiscing about your time in the French Riviera where he tells you that his throat dried up upon seeing you in your bathing suit that first time. You watch the sunset from one of the many areas with a view later on, and then find a place with the best abalone you’ve ever had.

While in the hot tub that second night, he details his upcoming trips, running through his plans and objectives with you.

As was advised by his siblings, he’ll meet with some of the Board members and shareholders to strengthen relationships and regain their trust. He’s also looking to revive one of his product ideas that you’ll be helping him develop. He’ll make the trip to wherever he needs to, and whatever his plans are, he’ll share them during the executive committee meeting on Monday. He needs to let people know he’s present, and you need to show them that you’re standing by his side through it all.

Seeing the vigor in his voice gives you hope, and you feel that slowly, Jin is finding himself again; slowly, he’s realizing that he isn’t at all alone in moving forward.

You both go to the temple the next morning and he spends the rest of it golfing while you stay at a seaside cafe to read a book, taking time to self-reflect and think of how this trip has helped you as well, regaining strength yourself so you could be what your husband needs.

It’s kind of amazing, you think. Trials like this usually spell the end for other couples, but every time you think of Jin, not an inch of you feels regret or helplessness. When you think of your husband, all you feel is love and hope, the light during the darkest nights. You’re glad you get to be his moon this time.

There’s that smile and vigor you greet him with when you meet up for lunch some time after. A few final stops later, you drive back to Seoul, exhausted but missing the comforts of home even if you were gone for just a while.

You’re greeted with Mrs. Kang’s grilled ribs and tofu stew, and it’s all you need to feel refreshed again. You spend that evening cuddled under the sheets, safe in your husband’s warm embrace, the same way he feels against your touch.

“Do you like me again?” He asks smugly as he hovers over you, his arms taut as he supports himself, his lips tracing your jaw as he awaits your response.

“Yes,” you moan as he nibbles your ear. “Thanks for apologizing to Mrs. Kang this time about our fight. I feel like her heart breaks every time that happens, like we’re her own kids and stuff.”

“You make it seem like we fight all the time. ___, we only fought twice,” he pouts.

“I know, that’s why she gets scared every time we do. Because we don’t do that,” you chuckle. “I guess we’re past the honeymoon phase now, huh? We reached the point of not being able to stand each other.”

“Hey, we fight for a day. Or like, hours!”

“Yeah, but I couldn’t stand you the whole week,” you shrug.

He gasps and almost removes himself from you, and you groan because you were just about to get in the mood.

“You’re so dramatic,” you roll your eyes.

“Only for you. I get embarrassed otherwise.”

You smile at him before pulling him down for a hug, taking in his woody scent and feeling the smoothness of his skin. It’s kind of scary to think that if things didn’t turn out the way they did, you wouldn’t have this; you wouldn’t have him.

“Do you ever think about how life just takes the craziest turns and those turns sometimes end up bringing people together like this?” You wonder out loud as you comb your fingers through his hair. “Like, my dad worked as just the building security but ended up saving your grandmother’s life, and so when my family needed help, they offered me as tribute to their supposed bachelor grandson and now you’re here - insatiably in love with me.”

“That started really great and then just fizzled. You could do better at narrating our love story than that, ___,” he says, and you can’t help your giggle.

“What! I really was tribute and you really were supposedly single!”

“But you’re also insatiably in love with me, let’s be honest here,” he faces you now.

His eyes are deep and dark and hypnotizing, but maybe not as much as his lips are. It’s insane that you get to call this beautiful specimen, who’s all things charming and playful and flawed and brilliant and incredibly loving, your husband.

“I am,” you smile. “And I thank the stars every night for that.”

Jin enters the conference room 15 minutes before the executive committee meeting is scheduled to start. He would do this as his chance to check on the directors and ask them how their weekend was - a way to nurture relationships, his father had told him. It’s been weeks since the last time he did given all that’s happened, and he’s met with genuine smiles and stories of what they did the last few days.

You enter the room and his smile brightens. He looks so much better and lighter, like he was able to pull from inside of him that drive to continue working, one which withered away for a bit. He just needed time, he’d told you this morning in the car; he just needed to be reminded of what he’ll lose if he doesn’t get himself together. And he doesn’t know what would scare him more than losing you.

He starts the meeting and engages each presenter with their reports, something he also used to do but fell short of doing recently.

As expected, the company’s numbers haven’t been great; not terrible, but definitely needs a lot of work. Brand perception has been low, too, and Jin knows that’s on him. Market engagement skyrocketed but for the wrong reasons, and it was a tense moment for a while when it was brought up, but it’s what he uses as a segue to say that he’ll be taking various trips in the next couple of weeks to regain trust and reestablish the company and himself. He says he’ll mention developing a new product, which is really one of his ideas from before that he didn’t get back to.

“Why not develop it already?” Their PR director asks. “You and Mrs. Kim and her team can work on it together to have something more than an idea to present to the Board and the shareholders, maybe meet with new distributors in the conferences you’ll attend. I know it seems trivial to them but it’ll show that the work doesn’t stop, and well, having your wife there might also be good. To, uh…” she trails, looking away.

“Show that those rumors aren’t true, of course,” Jin finishes for her, catching you off guard because it’s the first time he addressed the issue directly. “___ and I work well together and they’ll see that. Maybe they’ll see how in love she is with me, too.”

Laughter echoes in the room, as Jin only occasionally engages in jokes and teasing, but never directly at you. He’s definitely being bold, and you fake gag at him before laughing along.

“Please observe him the next time I speak; you’ll see who’s head over heels for who,” you counter, but eventually apologize for that unprofessional back and forth with your husband in front of the executives.

“Ah, not a problem at all. We need all the laughter we can get at times like this,” someone pipes in. “I’m just glad everything is okay.”

You smile at her and continue with the meeting, presenting your report with ease, and you notice a few of them glance at your husband and then giggle after. You pitch in a few ideas to add to the new product, and you get the consensus to focus on this first.

“You’re embarrassing,” you mumble as you and Jin both walk out the room and decide on the spot to have lunch out. “I was so caught off guard! But isn’t that you overcompensating? You’re rarely ever sweet to me.”

“___, they know how I look every time you report or even show up in the room,” he says. “I’ve been heart eyes for you for months. That wasn’t me overcompensating.”

You smile sweetly at his admission, kissing his nose right as the elevator doors open where a few employees witness the intimate moment and giggle themselves. You bow and let them in, apologizing for what they saw.

“Imagine if they looked at me while you were presenting and I looked bored,” he chuckles. “That would’ve been so embarrassing for you.”

“Yeah, do that and you’re sleeping in the guest room,” you warn.

He laughs and takes your hand as you both walk out the elevator. He takes advantage of the few people in the lobby to whisper to you. “Seriously though, you’re so good when you present. And you looked so hot earlier, I almost got a boner.”

You gasp as he chuckles, enjoying how he's making you feel flustered. “Kim Seokjin! You’re gonna be the death of me!”

Aside from meetings you need to attend, you spend most of your week in the food lab, working with a team to develop the new product.

Creating the perfect recipe for fish cake crackers is not easy, despite the simplicity of its core ingredient. Jin always insisted that it’s distinct from the classic and well-loved fish crackers - there’s a certain tastiness and depth of flavor of the former that he wants so badly to capture. There was a time when he had it every single day and so the taste lives in him, he said once, and you understand him; that’s how you feel about your mother’s vegetable mandu, too.

You and your team add to the research and try the variations that Jin had experimented on before. There’s already a working recipe that you just have to improve on, so coming up with the proposal for its production in a week isn’t entirely impossible. Still, it doesn’t mean it’s not pressure-packed and stressful.

You and Jin eat different types of fish cake all week, from family-run restaurants to those being sold by street-side vendors. It’s fun, working and discovering more about food in this way. You always said that Jin is inspiring like this, even more now when he has something to prove.

Back home, you talk about it some more and bounce off ideas - not just with the product but his meetings, too. You plan the trips you’ll accompany him to, and thinking about all the places you’ll go to in a matter of weeks is already tiring you. The schedule is tight and it’s not something you’re used to.

Since becoming director, your regular trips are always in the Southeast Asia office in Singapore. Occasionally, there’s the Food Expo in another Asian city, but that’s really it. Your work is behind-the-scenes, in the lab. You breathe food in there and you love it. You’re not made for the busy, jet setting life of your husband who sometimes takes helicopters for a lunch meeting in Tokyo.

“It’s gonna be fine, love,” he comforts you that Saturday before your late evening flight to Dubai. “There’s lots to do there. And you already know we’re gonna eat the best food and I’m gonna give you a massage every night.”

There’s a business summit where he’ll be meeting important people and he wants you by his side. But there’s also a food expo happening in the complex across the street and you say that’s where you’ll spend most of your time.

“And what if there’s nothing to amuse me when you have another event to attend?” You cross your arms.

“Then you take Yoongi with you and go shopping,” Jin hums, earning him a groan from the man in question from the passenger seat.

“He’ll hate you,” you reply, as if he isn’t there.

“Nah. Just say you’ll take him to where there’s booze or jewelry and he’ll be sold; he’ll buy Dara something from there for sure and then he’ll be happy.”

“Can those two just get together? They’ve been skirting around each other for months,” you giggle, completely ignoring the fact that he’s in the car with you. Even Mr. Lim can’t hold his laughter.

“Yoongi is just taking his time since he wants to be sure and doesn't wanna get hurt. My best friend’s a softie deep inside, you know?”

“Wow, he’s finally upgraded to best friend?” You tease. “Since when?”

“Since I lost myself back there and he didn’t let me slide further down,” Jin responds. “You know he attended a meeting on my behalf because I wasn’t prepared and he was?”

“You should promote him,” you suggest.

“He doesn’t want to accept it, says it’s easier to take orders from me because he can disobey them if he thinks they’re shit.”

“Makes a lot of sense. Yoongi is a keeper, though. Gotta tell my best friend,” you quip.

“You two are insufferable sometimes,” the man groans again. “I can’t believe I have to babysit you both during all these trips.”

“It’s gonna be so fun, Yoongs! We’ll behave, we promise,” you wink, as you exit the car.

“You better or else I’ll quit,” he says, unable to hide the smile that creeps up his face.

Dubai is a lot warmer than you expected, but even though you’re tempted to stay indoors during the day, there’s just so much to explore that you can’t help but wander around the city.

When you arrived last Sunday morning, you checked in your hotel and then had lunch with one of the Board members based there. It was less tense than you expected, and he merely asked how sales are going and other general updates. You barely spoke and it was fine; the food was good and you were enjoying analyzing the tastes by yourself. You spent the afternoon eating and shopping, and though he didn’t know, you saw Yoongi eye a necklace that had a “D” pendant, and you gushed internally at the smile he had.

The next day, you joined your husband in the business summit and watched him meet and converse with other wealthy people, introducing you and making sure you didn’t feel too bored. You still felt it, though, that’s why you skipped it the next day and went to the food expo across the street with Yoongi. You did it again the next day, and you enjoyed just eating and making notes, so that evening, you nursed a stomach ache while Jin simultaneously laughed and cuddled with you until you fell asleep.

It’s your last day today and Jin is off to another meeting while you pack up for your mid-afternoon flight to London. He calls to say that you’ll have lunch at this spot recommended by the cab driver he met, so you meet him and Yoongi there before heading to the airport.

“I’m already exhausted and it’s just our first city,” you pout at him while waiting in the lounge to board. “How do you do this?”

Dressed in his immaculate suit, your husband smiles at you adoringly and places his tablet on the table. “Well, I just keep working so when I get to the hotel, I pass out, and I always end up sleeping well and feeling rejuvenated the next day.”

“That sounds lonely.”

“It was,” he chuckles. “I mean, I’d work out or swim or sometimes head to the hotel bar to drink but that’s also to tire myself out. It’s not so fun when you’re not with me.”

“I tire you out, too,” you smirk, earning you a playful shake of his head.

“You do; it’s my favorite type of physical activity.”

You gush internally.

Thinking about the long-haul flights and busy days makes you tired. You’re used to the kind of work that’s a lot more stable in a sense that there’s a routine you follow, a fixed plan for the week that you’re faithful to, and so on trips like this where you’re rushing out the airport to a meeting and where your body clock gets completely messed up, you’re a lot more needy and clingy than usual, something you just realized.

Jin makes you feel stable in a lot of ways. He makes you feel calm and safe, too. He’s so used to this life that being on-the-go is his default - constantly moving, constantly thinking. You haven’t been in the lab for days and the work mode version of you isn’t fully functioning when you aren’t there.

And so you yearn for him, a lot more than usual. You cling to him at night and search for him in the morning, your hands wandering around his naked body, prompting him to pull you into the shower where you touch him some more because you know you’re gonna have to let him go again for the day. You take photos of every single dish you eat without him and then spend the entire dinner and your joint bath at night talking about it.

“I like it when you’re clingy,” he says, taking your hand as you start to board.

“I was just thinking about how much I wanna smack myself for being exactly that! It’s like… who am I? Why am I like this? Don’t take me on trips anymore, Jin. I become so… needy.”

“Now you’re being dramatic,” he chuckles. “I actually like this version of you. It’s very affirming. Plus, we get to be the super good-looking power couple!”

“Love, the super good-looking part is like, 75-25. You carry the weight there,” you correct him.

“More like, 85-15,” he responds.

You smack his arm and glare at him, and he finds you too adorable so he kisses your forehead. “You’re the 85, love.”

“Now you’re just mocking me,” you frown.

“I’m kidding! We’re both 100, what are you talking about! You’re literally the sexiest person I know!”

You merely groan as you enter the plane and settle in your seat.

Later in the evening some time after your inflight dinner, you receive a slice of cheesecake with “100” written in icing. You glance at a sleeping Jin and laugh to yourself.

He’s insufferable sometimes, but you can’t imagine another version of life without him.

London welcomes you with a drizzle. It’s a cuddle weather but you’re spending it in the Europe head office of Kim Foods, Inc., where Jin introduces you to the staff and asks you to sit in the meeting all throughout the morning.

There’s a team lunch that gets you excited, and while Jin goes to another meeting at a nearby hotel, you make yourself comfortable in his room to get work done this time. You're so engrossed in reading the reports and watching your team’s demonstrations that you don’t notice Jin coming in to respond to emails and sign documents.

“Ready for a night out?” He leans against the small desk where you are.

“Since when do we do nights out?” You arch an eyebrow.

“Every once in a while,” he shrugs. “But it’s London. Let’s go to my favorite pub. I’ll let you be big spoon tonight, just drink with me.”

“Wow, what a bribe,” you chuckle. It’s not his favorite since he likes hugging you more, but you like hugging him from behind, too, and he rarely indulges you. “So tempting. I’m sold.”

So you both drag Yoongi again to end the evening, teasing him about Dara the entire night, but he merely flips you off and doesn’t respond much.

You end up a tiny bit drunk, but not enough to forget that Jin is the little spoon tonight, and so you pepper kisses on his back and fall asleep with his woody scent invading your senses.

The next work day is pretty much the same. You spend the weekend meeting a few shareholders and Board members in hotels and in their homes, barely having alone time with Jin that isn’t in the shower or on the bed. You go to the office again on Monday and it’s later in the evening when he says that you’ll be flying back to Seoul a few days earlier than planned to attend the Fellowship Dinner that his father called for with the affiliates.

It was supposed to be next week when you’re both back, and you have a feeling that his father had moved it to align it with your trip so you both wouldn’t be there. Jin was informed on such a short notice, and he made the decision to hold his last meeting in the evening so you could both make it to a red eye, non-stop flight to Seoul in time for the dinner the next day.

You’re tired and sleep much of the flight, and the few times you glance at your husband, he’s awake and on his tablet. You only talk during meal times, and he’s preoccupied once more when you land and rush back home to dress up for the event.

“You’ll be fine. Just take it easy, okay? But don’t expect too much,” you tell him as you near the hotel.

He squeezes your hand that’s enveloped in his, and he gives you that sad, almost dejected look that you wish you could do more to help melt away. But you also know there isn’t much you can do.

Of course you know why he’s been so jittery and detached again; of course you know why it’s so important for both of you to be here. His parents still haven’t reached out or responded even if he’s sent several work-related emails as well as text messages informing them of your trips. It’s merely silence on their end. You hope it just means they’re not yet ready or even that they’re still mad or hurt. You suppose that’s better than them being indifferent; that’s something difficult to get over.

Dressed in an immaculate black suit, Jin looks handsome like he always does. He kisses your forehead before you both head out the car, making sure he gets to tell you that you look great in your blush tea-length dress and that he wishes he had more time to ogle you instead of worrying about tonight.

It’s the first big event since the scandal, and you could tell the initial hesitation and tense look of the guests as you both greet them. You tighten your grip on Jin’s hand, as if to tell him that he just has to ride through it. One good conversation is all he needs, and people will soon warm up to him.

He finds it in one of the affiliates who approaches both of you. You know him to be blunt, but he surprises you tonight with his tact and engaging conversation that doesn’t skirt around the issue. You’re thankful for that, as it lets Jin breathe a little.

Both of you laugh, hold hands, and toast your flutes of champagne, and you could only hope that this comfort that you’re showing, that you’re letting others witness as they peek into your little world, will show them that things are okay, that you’re both in this together, and that the scandal didn’t ruin your relationship. Hopefully it will imply that it wasn’t true, and maybe they’d see that you were merely victims of some ploy and did their best to not make a big deal out of things.

Jin spots his parents with his siblings and you both head to where they are. You see his elders’ faces fall as you approach them, and your heart sinks at the sight. They obviously look disappointed that you’re here.

“Oh, we didn’t think you’d make it,” his father says dryly, looking at his drink.

“We took the earliest flight after I learned the Dinner was moved,” Jin responds, trying to act unaffected by the passiveness. “I think it’s important for me—for us—to be here and show a strong front.”

“Show?” His father scoffs. “Are we looking at the real thing or another one of your cover ups?”

You see your husband’s jaw clench so hard, you’re afraid it’ll break. He’s trying his best to keep his composure and you’re amazed at how he’s able to recover quickly.

“There’s nothing to cover up this time, Father,” is all he says.

“So, hyung, since you’re here, can you be the one to address the guests?” Taehyung asks, to the visible disappointment of their father.

“Yes, that would be great. Thank you, Taehyung.”

Your parents walk away without any word, and Jin’s siblings offer sympathetic looks.

“Just give them more time,” Sejeong advises. “You know how they are - they take things so personally sometimes because they have such high expectations of us. But they can’t resist us, either. They’ll come around, okay?”

“It’s been weeks and that’s the most he’s said to me since he stormed out of our house,” Jin shares.

“At least he acknowledged you,” she sighs. “But I’ll talk to them again, okay? Things have died down a bit but they’re still pretty upset. We got the scandal off the internet and they managed to not have the news reach our grandparents. Just keep doing what you’re doing while we hold the fort out here. Our parents will give in, eventually.”

Jin nods, thanks his siblings again, and orders all of you to head to your seats. The program begins with him welcoming everyone, charming them with his witty remarks that has the guests giggling and reacting. He has that ability to make people feel at ease in such a formal setting, and you’re glad that he at least hasn’t lost that part of him.

He continues with sharing a bit about the past week, the trends in the food industry, the increasing rise of South Korean soft power and global interest in its culture, and what the company is doing to continuously capitalize on that. You’re amazed with how he’s subtly saying that he’s doing a lot, while also acknowledging the efforts of all the people responsible for it.

You always knew he was good at these things. It’s one of the reasons why he stands out - he has an amazing grasp of the work and his people and the market. And he knows how to communicate it well in a way that makes you believe him, that makes you want to trust him, and given everything that’s happened, that means a lot.

He’s given a loud round of applause, and you squeeze his hand under the table when he returns to your side. You know that the guests’ warm reception of him will at least uplift his spirits despite his parents’ indifference.

The dinner proceeds without a hitch. It’s really just a time to acknowledge the other companies and socialize, and the latter is what you do individually and together.

You’re exhausted by the time you get back home, and after getting ready for bed, you’re laying down and finally getting a breather after that tense evening.

Jin is quiet but you know his mind is racing. You want to know what he’s thinking but you doubt he’d tell you unless he’s close to losing it again. He promised you, after your fight, that he’ll do his best to resolve the things that bother him in a healthy way, but when it gets too hard or he doesn’t know what to do, he’ll talk to you. And you trust him that he will. He doesn’t want to lose himself in his fears anymore, he’d told you.

Tonight, it seems like he can manage, but he tells you, in his own ways, that things are difficult and he needs you.

“___? Can you hug me tonight, please?”

“Of course,” you say, shifting so his back would face you, and you wrap your arms around him with your fingers intertwined with his.

“I love you. Thank you for being with me,” he utters.

The words are simple, but you know they hold more meaning than you’d ever understand, so you offer him as much comfort and affirmation as you can.

You pepper his shoulder with kisses until you reach his ears. Tenderly, you whisper, “I love you, Jin. And I told you, I’m never leaving your side.”

You both decide to finish the week in Seoul to get through other meetings and important matters before you continue your work trips. You host Jin’s siblings for lunch that Saturday and then your friends for dinner since you’ll both be gone for a few weeks.

It’s early on Sunday when you fly out to San Francisco where you’ll stay for a week. As President, Jin regularly visits the country offices of the company’s branches, and just like London, this is the first time you’re visiting the North America office.

It’s late in the afternoon when you arrive, and he immediately takes you to Fisherman’s Wharf for your mandatory seafood fill and then to a strip for your second dinner and then ice cream for dessert. You buy Yoongi, who opted to go straight to the hotel to sleep, a meal and then spend the evening watching TV shows because you’re so full and jet lag sucks.

You wake up the next morning with Jin dressing up for work, and you’re definitely awake enough to watch him fix his tie and put on his suit.

He sees you from the mirror and smirks. “I thought you were sleepy.”

“I am. I’m exhausted. I finally dozed off at like, 4AM or something.”

“___, it’s 7AM. Go back to sleep.”

“I have to go to work.”

“It’s late in the evening in Seoul,” he points out.

“But we’re not in Seoul,” you counter.

“Yeah, but what can you accomplish when you’re not fully functioning, hmm? Come on,” he says, sitting on the edge of the bed and tucking a strand of hair behind your ear. “I ordered for your room service to arrive in 2 hours so sleep until then. I asked Yoongi to stay behind and go with you to the office once you’re ready. We’re meeting another Board member in the evening so you need to get some rest. I’ll see you later, okay?”

“Fine,” you hum, feeling his soft lips against yours that you just want to melt into.

But he ends it too soon and he chuckles when you pout at him.

“Getting needy again, I see. Rest, that’s an order from your boss. Your husband will make sure you’ll have a good night tonight, okay?”

He’s a tease and a naughty man sometimes and you hate him.

“I hate you. Now I’ll keep thinking about that.”

“Good. I’ll go now, Mrs. Kim. Duty calls.”

You groan as you tuck yourself under the covers again and easily fall asleep. You wake up in time for breakfast, and you gush at the bouquet made of truffle chocolates that Jin had bought for you.

He’s a charmer and irresistible and now you can’t wait to be with him tonight.

You’re welcomed warmly by the staff when you arrive close to lunch time, and after having a meal and bonding with them after, you join one of their meetings and get some work done before you and Jin head to a fancy restaurant for that dinner with one of the Board members.

It’s an enjoyable meal, as her wife is a fashion designer, so you talk about Hoseok and his work at the fashion magazine in Japan, and it turns out that they’ve met at fashion shows a few times; you even video call him to inform him.

You head back to the hotel right after despite your husband’s insistence to have another round of dessert, promising your own treat if you indulged him. You do, and he does make good with what he said - you come 3 times without doing much, and you’re rewarded further with a back massage and a very comfortable slumber.

The week passes by in roughly the same way, just in different variations. Jin goes to meetings and takes conference calls while you work in his designated room. You join him when you’re needed to provide updates about the new products you’re developing, and you even provide information about the marketing plans and sales figures that you really just get from speaking with Jimin.

But every night, you have dinner with a new person, and then Jin takes you to a cafe or a park to talk about it, and though all you want is to have a hot bath or lay in bed, you listen and give him support, knowing it’s what he needs more than anything.

You finally get a bit of a break during the weekend, as you and Jin drag Yoongi once more to a Napa Valley wine tour during the day and then a cruise down the bay to watch the sunset. You explore more of the city on Sunday and then thankfully get enough rest for your mid-morning flight to Lima the next day.

The city is gorgeous and you immediately feel disappointed that you aren’t here for leisure because you definitely want to spend more time here to get to know the city. But you’re only here for a few days. There’s a conference that Jin was invited to as a panelist; it fortunately aligns with the Street Food Expo that you’ve always wanted to attend.

So while he’s doing what company presidents do, you’re off on your own to eat, analyze the dishes, and make notes to keep you inspired. Jin asked you to be more familiar with the South American food culture and cuisine, after all, in hopes that you could learn about the market and see how your different worlds could fuse together in some way.

You could say you have the most fun role in the company, as you’re pretty much tasked to eat, even if you need to be extra careful after that bacterial infection you had not long ago. On that first day, your husband makes sure you remember how bad you felt when you got sick, just so you wouldn’t go overboard and overeat and be careless about what you consume.

You meet him and Yoongi at a nearby park and buy them your favorites for dinner while you merely watch, knowing you can’t take any more. Jin is basically unable to speak as he won’t stop eating himself, and you’re tempted to bite his adorable cheeks but you know that Yoongi will scold you if you try.

You explore the city on your own the next day, finding eateries and kiosks to add to your long list of places that serve food you want to eat again, something you show Jin that night to his amusement. You join him in the summit the next morning for his panel speaking duties, and you go around the city once more to spend time for yourself that you didn’t realize you also needed.

On your final night, Jin takes you to a fancy restaurant and you both walk around the city and take in what you can - the scent of street food, the buzz from the tourists, and the energy of the street performers.

It’s almost surreal, being able to experience this with him, as you get to discover new places and new food while being able to appreciate more what he does - the burdens of pressure, the demand for excellence, the need to constantly deliver, and the tiny room for error he’s afforded.

He’s that charismatic leader when he’s out there. But in your room when it’s just the two of you, he’s an absolute sweetheart half the time and a menace during the other half.

You don’t know which bits of him you like the most, though when you spend the evening scouring through aisles at a sex toy shop but then make love with lit candles and rose petals in the bathtub as his surprise, you realize you don’t have to pick a favorite. He’s truly everything you never expected you’d ever want, and you love all parts of him equally.

You head to Brazil the next day. The only distributor of Kim Foods in South America is in Rio, so your 2.5 days in the city is focused on meeting them and discussing new deals. You float the idea of your new products, though, and you end up discussing the new food items popping up on their side of the world, and you appreciate the fact that you’re gaining so much during this trip. You’re excited to get back home and run ideas with your teams, especially as you give the research unit assignments on what to look into to help with your recipes.

By the time you settle on your business class seat on the way to Toronto during your last day, you start to doze off.

“Careful with the snoring, love. It’s a full flight,” he nudges you.

“Now I’m scared to sleep,” you pout.

He smiles at you tenderly. “I’m sorry I’m dragging you around. I just realized that you might not be used to all the odd-hour flying and stuff.”

“I’m not used to flying, period,” you correct. “But it’s been fun, I’m not gonna lie. It’s like an excursion trip. I know we do that for the food development team around South Korea and some Asian countries but I’m thinking of having them go to other continents, too. Even the research unit. We could do collaborations or product lines depending on what we could fuse with.”

He smiles satisfyingly at you, thankful that you don't hate him yet for all that he’s putting you through just because he doesn’t think he could survive these trips on his own. He’s been on edge lately, needing to be at his best all the time and being more present to get the trust of people back, whether they’ve heard about the scandal or not. He wants things moving, and he wants them moving fast.

And while he’s been busy throughout the trips, too, he’s glad that there’s you next to him - every morning when he wakes up and every night before he falls asleep.

“Great idea. You should work on those proposals,” he smiles. “Also, I love hearing you talk work and food to me, but I expect full written reports when we get back, okay?”

Your glare could cut through glass if you wanted. “Jin?”

“Hmm?”

“Can I unmarry you?”

The mansion of the Ahn family in Bayview Ridge, which isn’t far from downtown Toronto, is stunning.

It’s French-inspired, reminiscent of the Kims’ holiday chateau in Mountaroux, and the home’s traditional and classic yet modern design is quite breathtaking. It’s unfortunate that due to a health concern, Jin’s grandparents are unable to attend tonight’s event - the 80th birthday of the Ahn patriarch, who also happens to be the elder Mr. Kim’s childhood friend. It’s an important celebration that's hard to miss, so he sent your husband to attend on his behalf instead.

It’s why you’re here, dressed in an emerald green lace dress, next to your husband who’s in a simple ivory ensemble. In hindsight, you suppose it’s a good thing it’s both of you and not his grandparents; you can’t risk the scandal being brought up.

You join Jin as he goes around, greeting people you’ve never heard of before, and neither has he. Well, most of them.

The Ahns are ecstatic to see him, though, even more to meet you. They know your father, too, as the man who saved the elder Mrs. Kim’s life, and it’s heartwarming to hear their gratitude that they still feel towards your family. Somehow, though, it reminds you of how you and Jin started - an offering of gratitude, a debt to be paid.

But if months ago, the thought would’ve sunk your heart, today, you’re just in quiet disbelief at how the universe works sometimes, and then you smile. Because if at the end of it, you get to be with a man you never thought you’d love as much as you do, then it was all worth it.

The night flies by fast. There’s so much interior and exterior ground to explore in the 3-hectare property, so you and Jin go off on your own and eat and drink as you go. You excuse yourselves early and, taking Yoongi, you all go to a bar after to drink some more and prepare for the long week ahead.

The board meeting is set in 3 days. Given the scandal, which a few of the older Board members directly messaged Jin about with regards to their disappointment, there’s much pressure to ease their worries and show to them that under his leadership, they can weather such storms and move forward. Despite having met some of them already these past weeks, it’s the less forgiving ones he has to assure.

Taehyung and the 2 senior directors will be arriving tomorrow afternoon, and so the days leading up to the meeting will just be more meetings, which is why you wanted your husband to let loose a little and get some laughs in before he stresses himself out again.

The next morning, you wake up next to an empty bed. You could hear your husband’s voice from outside your room; perhaps he’s already working in the large desk situated in the nook by the living area. You walk out and look around the large suite where you’ll be staying in the next few days and indeed, you find him typing away on his laptop and speaking with someone on the phone.

You call room service and ask if any orders have been made, and when you’re told that there haven’t been any, you make the order yourself. While waiting, you take the time to retrieve his suits from his suitcase and arrange for them to be steamed in time for the Board meeting. You fix some of his clothes and yours, and by the time you finish, the doorbell is ringing and food is served.

You place the cup of coffee on Jin’s desk and kiss his cheek, and his face softens at the feel of your lips, and he wishes for nothing more than this phone call to end. Setting the dining table for your meal, you turn to him and instruct him to eat, and your furrowed brows do the trick, as he hangs up and heads over to you for a kiss on your lips.

“Which department?” You ask, knowing it’s his senior director clarifying some things in the Board and business review reports.

“Not yours,” he assures. “Production. Some numbers didn’t make sense but it’s all good now.”

“Good. The reports I submit are always good. I was never asked for some clarifications,” you brag.

“They are, I think. They’re always the longest so I usually just browse through them.”

You smack his arm in annoyance. “Are you serious! I work my ass off on those reports and you don’t even read them?!”

“I do! I mean, thoroughly after the meeting. As long as Director Oh approves it, then I know you’ve met her standards, which are pretty much as good as mine. The Board just rarely asks about how we develop the products; they like knowing how they sell. So they rarely have questions about your department; you don’t spend as much, either.”

“Ugh, all my hard work for nothing,” you angrily eat your breakfast.

“Hey! I read them! I just don’t absorb them as much. Director Oh usually answers product development questions since—”

“Since she actually reads my reports,” you interject.

“You’re cute when you’re angry,” he merely chuckles, but he stands up to hug you when you’re still pouting, and when he whispers that he just knows your reports are good because your performance ratings have always been highly satisfactory, you start to smile.

He returns to his desk after breakfast, and you look out to the pretty view of the city from your hotel window, prompting him to turn to you.

“Why don’t you go out? The weather’s pretty nice for a walk. I heard they have daily markets; you can check them out,” he says.

“Hmm, I’ll probably just walk around a bit and then head back. I don’t really want to explore without you. I’ve been doing that and I end up eating everything by myself.”

He walks over to you, wraps his arms around your waist, and settles his head on the crook of your neck. Soft kisses pepper your face, and he mumbles he’s sorry for leaving you on your own.

“Nothing to be sorry for. We’re on a work trip, Jin. We’re not here for leisure. Spending evenings going around is fine,” you say.

“Yeah, but it’s your first time going to these cities. It just sucks that you can’t go around as you like,” he sighs.

“We can go back. I have my favorites, and a few more places I want to visit.”

“Okay, we’ll go to them, then,” he says, smiling into the kiss on your lips he gives. “Good thing you’re married to the President.”

You go around a few blocks from your hotel and grab some coffee and pastries from a strip of cafes you pass by. You get back to your suite to find Yoongi already in the living room, working on some documents while Jin prepares his presentation. You stay in your room and work in peace, until you hear familiar voices some time in the late afternoon.

Taehyung and the two senior directors arrive straight from the airport. You all go to the hotel restaurant for dinner and then head back to your suite where they start with their discussions for the Board meeting in 2 days. You join in for a while, and it’s during a quick break when you’re preparing some iced drinks in the kitchen that you get to catch up with Taehyung.

“How were your parents after the Fellowship Dinner,” you ask, as you glance at your husband sharing his presentation with Director Oh. “I doubt they expected us to be there.”

“Yeah. Sejeong and I think that Father planned it,” he sighs. “But our parents haven’t mentioned hyung, nor any of your trips. We always bring you both up and Mother at least asks when you two are returning, but our old man doesn’t. He’s just so stubborn.”

“I know it’s a silly question but… why are they still so angry? It’s as if Jin had done a crime or caused the company to go bankrupt.”

Taehyung looks at his older brother fondly, as if recalling their years of growing up together.

“My parents never had a problem with him,” Taehyung shares. “All 3 of us are pretty intelligent but I wanted to become an actor and Sejeong wanted to become a lawyer. Hyung was the one who followed everything they wanted without complaints, and he really enjoyed it, you know? Like, you could tell he likes it. He genuinely loves food. He likes leading, managing people; challenges excite him and he always gets through them. That’s how my parents are. And that’s how they raised him. He took after them, basically. And so that’s why I think they’re as affected as they are - it hit them at their core, like they failed as parents because they realized their perfect child isn’t actually so perfect.”

“But that’s not fair to Jin. I mean, in the grander scheme of things, it’s not that bad, and Sejeong’s strategies worked. It’s hurting him so much that they don’t seem to care about him.”

“They do. They’re just having a hard time accepting that their son is human,” Taehyung offers. “After his ex left, he got back on his feet quickly and they thought that was him being him, you know? Sadness for a while, dust it off, then get back on his feet. But he was just detaching himself from his emotions all that time and then Seri happened. And they just can’t accept that he needed that - that care, that warm body, that relief from his responsibilities. Add the fake romance and deceit on top of that - which I admitted was my idea - and they’re just hurt and angry and being stubborn. They’re having a hard time processing.”

“Yeah, but he needs them. For all the times that Jin was the perfect son, this is the time when they need to be his parents,” you huff, feeling the anger build up again, one that you try hard to keep at bay. “He’s… he’s trying his best, and I just feel like all his work won’t matter much unless they forgive him.”

“They will, eventually,” Taehyung comforts. “When, I’m not sure. So, uh, can you keep holding the fort until then? I don’t want this to be the thing that completely breaks him.”

You nod, thinking that’s at least something you can do.

Some time later, you’re finally in bed with Jin. He turns to you and asks, “were you talking with my brother about my parents?”

There’s softness in his voice, almost like fear, and this breaks your heart, too.

“I was, and it’s still the same. He says that he still believes that they’ll eventually speak with you. You’re still their son, Jin. They won’t be able to resist you,” you say.

“Isn’t it that it hurts the most when the pain comes from the person you least expect? That you trust would never let you down?” He responds. He knows you know. “I got my second chance with you, ___. Maybe I’m not that lucky.”

“It wasn’t because of luck, Jin. It was because of trust. And despite everything, I know your parents still trust you. Thinking otherwise is just you giving up that things will be okay again. You have to believe that they will,” you urge him.

“Maybe, but it’s also taking away from who I am. I’ve been working hard for their forgiveness, for their acceptance, not anymore because I like what I’m doing,” he sighs, the reality hitting him this morning after you left the suite. “Maybe I just have to accept that things won’t be the same again. They haven’t disowned me so that’s good. But I can’t expect the same respect as before. I can’t expect the same love.”

You want nothing more than to take his pain away, to feel it yourself so he won’t have to. Or even just to take a bit of it so he doesn’t feel too burdened by everything. You hug him tightly to let him know all that you feel, and he sighs in your hold, as if telling you that for tonight, this is all he needs.

“Then let me love you until it’s enough,” you tell him. “Let me love you until it’s all that you need.”

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mie779 · 2 years

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The Dark Elven

A/N: This fic was started way back in April, I wanted to take part in this year’s CSSNS event on Tumblr. This is my contribution, it had always been my intent to write something inspired by The Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit elves. I even made a moodboard/collage when I first started writing, I shared it on my Tumblr back in April.

I was so friggin happy when I learned that I was paired with the talented @piinfeathers, she has made the amazing cover art for me. (In two versions, one dawn/day and one night… the dawn one is going to be my “official” cover as it fits with a scene that comes later on. I have both versions set up side by side on my computer wallpaper, I love them so much.)

This will be multichapter and I have yet to find the ending in this, currently, I have 8 chapters written and we have yet to reach the final “battle”. I will try and spread out my updates so I’ll post one each week, I will do my best to remember to do it each Wednesday. In the next two weeks, you will have to excuse me if I forget as I’m on vacation.

I need to make one more shoutout and that is for my very helpful beta reader @ultraluckycatndltraluckycatnd. Without her, it would be filled with cringy typos and grammar errors.

I hope you will enjoy this as much as I’ve enjoyed the process of writing this, and continue to enjoy it. Let me know in a review what you think of this. Read here or on AO3

Prologue

“Come now, little brother,” Liam urged, pushing away another low-hanging branch.

“It’s younger brother,” Killian grumbled as his foot got tangled in another gnarled root. “Do we even know if the bloody crystal is in the temple; that it is perhaps nothing but a myth? It could be anywhere in this godforsaken place.” He looked at the dense forest around them; they had trekked through this place for hours.

Liam inspected his compass and compared his notes on a small tattered parchment. “We’re almost there.” He pointed ahead of the tiny trail that could hardly be called anything else but thick woodland. Liam chopped off the twisted vines that blocked their passage with his cutlass. Liam was an expert at wielding the weapon and had taught Killian as they worked their way up the ranks on Captain Nemo’s pirate ship. When the old captain had died, Liam had taken up the mantle of Captain on the Jolly Roger.

“I bloody well hope so.” Killian swatted at a mosquito that buzzed around his ears.

“Look.” Liam stopped in his tracks and pointed with his cutlass. “It’s right there brother.”

“So the crystal is in there?” Killian managed to push forward so he stood next to his brother. “This place looks haunted.” The tall, almost pyramid-shaped structure rose above them, intricate symbols lined the walls and around what looked to be the entrance.

“Come now, Killian.” Liam took a step forward, eyes scanning the large open area in front of the lost temple.

Killian followed his brother and they reached the entrance, and Liam checked his map and notes again. Finally, he nodded. “I know how to get in.” He reached out and pressed the Greek letters in the correct order.

Moments later, the large entryway opened up and they could see a dark hallway. Liam found his torch in his backpack and, using a firesteel, the flame caught the oil in the torch.

“Are you sure about this?” Killian looked into the darkness, his skin prickled in fear.

“Come now, brother.” Liam pushed through a layer of cobwebs and lifted the torch as he stepped inside. “Be careful where you step,” he warned as he walked further inside.

Killian glanced over his shoulder, making sure that no one had picked up on their trail. But the forest around them was still, perhaps a bit too quiet. Taking a deep breath, he hurried after his brother. “That bloody crystal better be here.”

“It will be, the charts have yet to fail us,” Liam said as he led them deeper into the ancient Greek temple. The temple that they had spent days locating was in the middle of some deep forest area in Camelot, close to the borders of Misthaven. Misthaven was the land of elves, and who knew if they in fact hadn’t already crossed the borders between the two realms.

Finally, the hallway seemed to open up in front of them, and they stepped out into a cavernous room, the light from the torch never reaching the ceiling.

As they scanned the area ahead of them, they saw a faint flickering of blue light further into the room.

“So this is an old temple of Zeus?” Killian asked, surprised that his voice didn’t echo through the vastness of the room.

“It is.” Liam pointed to the blue light. “I think that is the crystal.”

The two brothers walked carefully over the floor, stepping over several shallow grooves that had been cut out into the floor; it looked like it was filled with something. Killian crouched down. “Hold on brother.” When Liam turned to him he said, “What do you suppose this substance is?” He pointed to the not quite liquid but still not solid mass in the grooves.

“Careful,” Liam warned. He pulled out a small knife and dipped the tip of it into the substance, then he carefully lifted it to his face and sniffed. “Smells like burning oil, and some other things I can’t place.”

Killian grabbed for the torch. “So, indoor lighting.” He moved the flame to the ground and seconds later, the substance caught the flames, and with a fizzling sound, a low burning flame ran through the groove, spreading throughout the room. The brothers watched as the room became more and more alight with the now low burning flames. The grooves all formed an intricate pattern over the floor and moved up towards where they’d seen the blue light. Now they could clearly see a raised platform on top of a wide staircase.

They carefully moved up towards the platform and as they approached the blue light, they could see a long blue crystal resting on top of the platform.

“The Olympian Crystal,” Killian whispered in awe. When they had first heard the tales of the crystal, they had both thought it was nothing but a myth. But then they came across old maps and logbooks that pointed towards a lost Olympian temple.

Liam reached out and let his finger slide over the ridges of the crystal; the pale blue light that emanated from it seemed to shift and change as he touched it.

“Careful brother,” Killian warned, but Liam grabbed the crystal and when nothing happened, they both sighed in relief.

“We did it,” Liam said in wonder, his eyes catching Killian’s, and they both let out a victorious cry. Killian clasped his brother’s shoulder as they looked at the crystal in Liam’s hand.

“That we did,” Killian exclaimed and was amazed that they had managed to find the mythical Olympian Crystal.

“We’ll get the darkness out now,” Liam said and waved the crystal between them, then frowned.

“First we will have to find someone who holds strong light magic,” Killian said in resignation. While it had been a struggle in itself to even locate the crystal, the next path seemed utterly impossible. “Bloody hell.” He tugged at his long hair, which usually fell over his pointed ears, hiding the fact that he and his brother were both part elven.

“Didn’t the seer also mention something of True Love?” Liam asked and gave Killian the crystal so he could store it safely in his satchel.

“Aye.” Killian secured their newly acquired treasure and sighed. “How the bloody hell do we find someone with True Love?”

“The elves are said to be firm believers in True Love.” Liam shrugged, then he rubbed over his own pointed ear hidden under his long dark brown hair. “Even if we do have some elven parts, I’m not trusting that True Love will ever find us.”

“We’re bloody pirates to boot, and our souls are tainted with our father’s darkness, and it’s only getting stronger.” Killian shook his head, not really believing they would ever find True Love. “But we should be able to find someone with light magic, perhaps that will be enough. We’ll run out of time eventually and the darkness will have consumed our souls.” His skin prickled as the simmering darkness shifted inside him; to this day, it was still manageable, and they survived despite the curse they had inherited from their father.

“Let’s start by getting out of this place,” Liam suggested and pointed to the exit. Killian nodded in agreement as the two brothers quickly found their way out and made good headway through the dense undergrowth of the forest.

Suddenly, a crackle was heard behind them and a blast of something dark red whizzed past their heads. When they both turned to look, they saw a menacing green-scaled man chortling while his fingers wiggled in front of him.

“Now Dearies, be some fine gents and give the crystal to me.” The man’s long wavy hair shifted over his face as he tilted his head back and forth. He reached out his hand and wiggled his fingers again.

“Who the bloody hell are you?” Killian asked, trying not to grab for his satchel, thus giving away where they had the crystal. “And how the hell do you know we have a crystal?”

“Ah you see, I couldn’t go into that temple meself, so when I saw you two,” he waved his finger between them, “walk inside, I just waited for you to come out.”

“Who are you?” Liam demanded, stepping forward.

“How delightful, you don’t know me.” The man tapped his chin then chortled again. “Now let me introduce meself then.” He did an overly dramatic bow. “I’m Rumplestiltskin the one and only, and you will do as I say or I’ll have you both skinned like snakes,” he smirked, “and I quite literally am capable of doing just that.” The menacing glint in the man’s beady eyes sent a chill down Killian’s spine; he was sure the man spoke the truth about how he could end their lives. But he wasn’t keen on testing out the theory.

“You’re the Dark One?” Liam gasped and stepped closer to Killian. “You—”

“Never mind what they call me.” He waved his hand dismissively in the air.

“Why would you need a crystal?” Killian asked.

“Killian,” Liam warned. “This is the Dark One—” At this, the green man’s eyes sparkled with delight. “ — He will most likely use the crystal for some devious plan of his.”

“Ah, so you do have a crystal,” the Dark One laughed. “Now give it here.”

Both Killian and Liam stepped back and glanced at each other. Killian saw the same resolution in his brother’s eyes, they would never allow the Dark One near their crystal. With a small nod from Liam, they both dove head first into the thick undergrowth to their left. Killian only hoped that their path would lead them to safety. But right now he focused on dodging low-hanging branches and avoiding getting struck by the magic that the Dark One was currently blasting at them. A howl of anger echoed between the trees, and seconds later they could hear him moving closer to them.

Killian had no idea for how long they stumbled and weaved in between the trees, but suddenly their path was blocked by a deep gorge, and a thundering waterfall to the left had the whole scene covered in a light spray of water.

“Bloody hell, now what?” But before Killian could make a choice, they had another blast of magic wizz by them, barely missing Liam.

They turned and saw the Dark One looming at the edge of the trees, his hands lifted, a sneer over his lips, anger in his eyes. “Now give the crystal to me.”

“We don’t have a crystal,” Killian tried, but he could see his words didn’t mean much.

“Now which one of you carries it?” Rumple tapped his chin, while still holding the other hand ready to blast his magic. His gaze shifted between Killian and Liam, and suddenly his eyes landed on Killian. “The younger perhaps?”

“No,” Liam shifted his own satchel, grabbing it tighter. Killian glanced at his brother, wondering what his game plan was.

The Dark One’s eyes narrowed, then lifted his hand towards Killian and flicked his wrist, and suddenly Killian felt as if he couldn’t breathe. Trying to grab at his own throat, he found Liam’s horrified gaze transfixed on what happened. Liam tried to reach out to Killian but the Dark One sneered. “Give me the crystal and I’ll leave your dear brother alone.”

“I have it here.” Liam took off his satchel and placed it in front of him, his hands raised in the air. “Now let him go.”

Killian could hardly breathe anymore, black spots began to swim before his eyes, the air slowly seeping from his body. Suddenly he could breathe again, and he took large gulps of air. Before he could even comprehend what happened, the Dark One flicked his other hand and blasted a ball of dark red magic aiming straight for Liam. With his heart pounding in his ears, he watched as his brother was hit by the magic and stumbled back several steps. When Liam began slipping on the muddy edge of the cliffside, Killian bellowed, “Nooooo, Liam!” It all happened so fast that he barely managed to take a step forward before his brother slipped over the edge. Killian saw the fear etched in his brother's eyes, and his lips moving in a silent scream. Killian slumped to his knees, watching his brother tumble to his death, engulfed in the whirling vortex beneath the roaring waterfall.

“Ah, one down,” the Dark One chortled and when Killian looked behind him, he could see the man getting ready to blast his magic again.

In one fluent motion, Killian rose to his feet and bellowed, “I will avenge my brother’s death, you bloody wanker.”

“Now just give me the crystal and I’ll be on my merry way.” The Dark One waved his fingers at him, pointing at Killian’s satchel. “I bet it’s right in there.”

Killian was frantically searching for a way out of there, but he also had to keep an eye out for any movement the mad man did.

Before the Dark One said another word they heard the flapping of wings; it sounded like a large bird approaching. When both men turned to look towards the sound, Killian could see a large creature emerge from the mists hanging over the waterfall. As it got closer it looked more and more like, “A flying monkey?”

“What the hell is she doing here?” The anger in the man’s voice made it clear that whoever was flying on the beast, it wasn’t someone the Dark One had invited.

Killian didn’t really care; he took a chance and slipped down a narrow path he’d spotted that would take him downriver, leading away from the waterfall. He only hoped that the Dark One had been distracted enough for him to be able to slide down the path without being chased. Just as he made a sharp turn, he picked up broken pieces of the conversation happening above him.

“What? You don’t have the crystal…” It was a female voice that spoke at a high-pitched tone, sounding exasperated.

“You were not supposed to be here…”

“Oh but I’m here, and I guess I’ll have to find it myself…”

“That crystal is mine to find… mark me I’ll find it.”

“Whatever…”

Killian slipped down the path, his pants most likely in ruins, but he had to get the hell out of here and hopefully reach the Jolly Roger before the Dark One picked up his trail. When he finally reached the more level parts of the path that followed the brink of the river, he began searching for any signs of his brother. But his search was fruitless, and he knew he had at least another day's travel before he reached the sea. So he pushed forward and barely stopped to eat, only to fill up his waterskin whenever he crossed a smaller stream of water.

Early morning, he reached the shore and signaled for the crew to sail in with the longboat to pick him up. Minutes later he watched as the crew rowed the longboat to shore. Once they realized that only one Jones brother had returned, the group of men grew solemn, and with no words shared they returned to the Jolly Roger. It wasn’t a difficult decision to make; when Killian climbed on board the ship, he took over his brother’s role as captain of the enchanted ship the Jolly Roger. For the next many years, he would travel the realms and to his crew’s surprise, he never seemed to age. He often excused it with their many travels to Neverland, a hellhole in all the realms, but he did make a few lucrative deals with the devil ruling the island. Deals often included him spending more time than his crew on the island.

The years passed and each time anything regarding magic happened around him, he would flee and make haste to set sails. He knew the Dark One would be looking for him, and searched the realms for the crystal that he still had in his possession. None of his crew knew of the crystal, all they had been told was that the brothers had searched for something. When he returned he’d claimed the mission to be a failure, only gaining an enemy in the Dark One.

Killian searched the realms they sailed through for anyone with light magic; it had only been an endless string of failures every time he came across someone wielding magic, though. As such, he spent years struggling with the looming darkness shifting around in his soul. It messed with his mind, making him do and speak things that he would never have done on his own accord. The darkness ruled his life and knowing none with light magic, he ended up not believing him to ever be free of the darkness. At his darkest moments, he cursed his father’s elven magic that had caused the darkness to seep into him and his brother. But this was his life, he was a pirate and a bloody good one too; perhaps the darkness did help in this regard, yet he never felt as if this was the life he wanted to live. What more was there to find in life?

The Dark Elven

I was so friggin happy when I learned that I was paired with the talented piinfeathers, she has made the amazing cover art for me. (In two versions, one dawn/day and one night… the dawn one is going to be my “official” cover as it fits with a scene that comes later on. I have both versions set up side by side on my computer wallpaper, I love them so much.)

I need to make one more shoutout and that is for my very helpful beta reader Ultraluckycatnd. Without her, it would be filled with cringy typos and grammar errors.

I hope you will enjoy this as much as I’ve enjoyed the process of writing this, and continue to enjoy it. Let me know in a review what you think of this.