#genuinely I am such a sleepy guy and that's okay! my body needs extra rest!

[featheredadora]

I am a sleepy guy & I deserve to rest!

[jay-wells-writes]

Best 20 Bucks ever (August Corbin x reader)

Okay so I was asked to another Corbin story and this is what I came up with. No smut this time around but Corbin with babies and reader being done with peoples shit.

Like I have said before, August Corbin is from Sleepy Hallow. BUT this is NOT a Sleepy Hallow story. I just took the man and name from that show. I hope you all enjoy!

Gif found on the interwebs

When your Grandma left the house to you, your Aunts and Uncles agreed with the changes to the will. Unfortunately your Grandma’s sister didn’t. She believed that the house and everything in it should have gone to her and her kids, she was “Your Grandma’s sister after all.” and it was a family home that had been passed on to your Grandma by their parents. The thing was, when your Grandma had been sick, neither her sister nor her sisters' kids were there to help. Hell they weren’t even around when she got better.

So when the towns folks found out about you dating Corbin most had been happy, but the select few that weren’t, had your distant family putting ideas and thoughts into their heads. For the most part, whenever they showed up at the dinner or had an issue that required the law you and Corbin stayed away and let the others deal with them.

~~

You should have known that something was going to go down when you saw your Great Aunt and her children walking into the diner. Of course it had been busy so you weren’t given enough time to think about it. Instead you greeted them like you would anyone else and made your way to the pick up window to grab the order that just came up. Walking back to the counter you were busy placing your next order in the system when the hostess came and stood next to you.

“Kinda got a problem and I was left in a bind.”

Almost instantly you knew what her problem had been. Letting out a sigh, you turned to the young girl and smiled.

“What did they make you do, Kim?”

“They all but demanded that they be seated in your section. They believe it is wrong that you refuse to wait on them. But they had a party of seven so they couldn’t sit in your last open spot.”

Laughing, you shook your head.

“Doesn’t sound like a problem to me.”

“It wouldn’t be, but that evil woman had smiled and told me that it was alright. That they would sit at the next table, but that she wanted her granddaughter and the guy she is with to sit at your table. I find it kinda odd that she would bring her whole family on a date.”

Instead of laughing you felt your heart drop, because you knew that your Great Aunt only had one Granddaughter and she was already in a hush hush relationship with her boss. So you knew they were plotting something. Looking at the table you began to shake, more so out of anger.

“Y/n, are you okay? You're really pale, but I can see in your eyes that you are pissed off?”

Turning to look at Kim you smiled lightly and nodded your head.

“I am fine, they just took it too far this time.”

You quickly finished putting the order in the system before grabbing two glasses of water. Taking a deep breath you then made your way to the table. You didn’t need to look at Kim to know that she was telling the others you were upset by the new guest. And if you had anyone to bet with you would have bet that in the next 30 minutes either August or one of his deputies would be walking into the diner.

Setting the glasses down you weren’t even able to get a word out before your Great Aunt was speaking from the next table.

“Look who we found y/n! We ran into Tom while visiting family last week and when we learned that you two had dated I just knew we needed to bring him this way so that you guys could see each other again.”

Plastering a smile on your face you nodded to your Great Aunt before turning back to the table. Looking at your distant cousin you couldn’t help but put her on the spot as you spoke a little louder then needed.

“Betty, I heard that there were some issues at the shop the other night and that it had you and your boss there extra late. I also noticed that you and him were the only ones not at the high school game a few weeks back.”

Taking a drink of her water you watched as Betty looked down at the table and you couldn’t help but genuinely smile as her Mother spoke from the next table.

“That’s my Betty. Always staying late to help her boss close. While he told me the other day that out of all his employees Betty is the sweetest and he doesn’t know what he would do without her.”

You had to bite your lip from saying “Probably his wife” because you weren’t going to play their games, but also because you knew that her boss's wife had known about the affair and was planning on letting them and everyone else know she knew, when they celebrated her birthday next week. Instead you nodded your head and smiled sweetly before turning to look at Tom. Almost instantly your smile dropped from your face as you spoke.

“Tom.”

Laughing loudly Tom stood and pulled you in for a hug.

“y/n! Surprise!” as Tom sat back down you couldn’t help but notice that the secretary for the station came in and made her way to the counter. Laughing at August’s subtle way of finding out what was going on you rolled your eyes as Tom continued to talk. “Imagine my surprise when I met your Great Aunt last week and learned that she was related to you. Why I think we spent a good couple of hours talking about me and you, didn’t we Ma'am?”

You couldn’t help but feel your skin crawl as your Great Aunt chuckled as she answered Tom.

“That we did. Why, I was so upset to learn that when he moved away you didn’t go with him y/n. He is such a sweet young man.”

Hearing your Great Aunt say young the way she had, had you taking a deep breath and speaking up. Unfortunately between both tables your nerves had been shot and you couldn’t help but say what was on your mind.

“Hmmm. Well just make sure you count all your money before this sweet young man leaves your house. Truthfully you should count yourself lucky that you weren’t younger yourself. Had you been, I am sure he would have sweet talked you into giving him more than all your money before he split like he did on me.”

You could see Tom turning red with anger as he shot up from his seat, but before you or him could say anything Dale was coming from the back and stepping next to you with his arm around your waist.

“Y/n, I knew I shouldn’t have let you work a double today, you're wearing yourself thin. Heck August is gonna kill me if he sees how tired you are. The other girls are gonna take over your tables. I want you to go home and rest, I am also giving you tomorrow off.”

Before anyone could say anything Dale was twisting you around and pushing you lightly to the back. As you walked away you tried to pretend that you weren’t crying, but you knew that everyone saw the tears falling down your face. Before the back door shut you could hear your Great Aunt’s voice raising and Dale’s voice raising to meet hers.

Walking into Dale’s office you waited for about 10 minutes before he walked in. Before you could even say anything though Dale was lifting his hand and shaking his head.

“Don’t you dare apologize. In mine and everyone else's eyes you did nothing wrong. In fact it has been a long time coming. It’s just too bad you didn’t let that evil woman really have it."

Laughing as you wiped away your tears you shook your head.

"Okay, I am not sorry for slightly losing it. But I am sorry for causing a scene. I can just imagine how many people are calling/telling August about this."

"He called me and I told him I would call him back after I checked on you. Just forget about tonight, go home and get some rest. We will see you in a couple of days."

Shaking your head you stepped up to Dale and the door. Kissing him on the cheek you began to walk away as you called over your shoulder.

"You'll see me tomorrow. They are just butt hurt that they can't have my house. And just like my house, they ain't getting my job."

Walking to the front you didn't look back at the tables but you knew they heard what you had said and that made you smile as Dale's laughter filled the back.

~~

You were woken up later that night, when you felt your bed shift and a large arm pulling you to the warm body behind you. A quick look at the clock showed it was just past midnight. Letting out a sigh you pushed yourself further into August. Even without saying anything you could tell he wanted to talk but at the moment you didn't. Rolling to face him you reached up and ran your hand over his cheek as you shook your head.

"Not tonight. I know we need to talk and I want to, I just can't tonight. You already know everything that happened between us. Right now I just want you to hold me."

Instead of saying anything August smiled down at you before quickly kissing you. Pulling away from the kiss he placed a hand on your head and pulled you to rest your head just under his chin. Between his breathing and the warmth that surrounded you, you were back to sleep instantly.

The next morning you happened to wake up before your alarm went off. Knowing that August was off today you slipped from bed as best you could without waking him. After a quick shower you walked into the kitchen to see August making coffee.

"Oh hell no. It is your day off. Get your ass back into bed."

Laughing at your slight outburst August pulled you to himself and placed his face into your neck.

"I will only go back to bed if you're with me."

Knowing that he wasn't going to let you go and that you couldn't break out you wrapped your arms around him and moved your head so that he could bury himself further into your neck.

"Dale told you he gave me today off and that I didn't take it?"

Standing straighter, August moved you so that you were against the counter next to the coffee maker. You couldn’t help but let out a yelp when he picked you up and placed you on the counter. Pulling your legs apart he stepped forward and rested his arms against your legs. Giving you a small smile August nodded his head.

“Dale did. I also knew you wouldn’t take the offered day off and that you would be going into work today.” Standing to his full height you watched as August began to fill his travel mug with coffee. “It so happens that Dale is down a cook, so I told him that I would help him out this morning. Now get that sweet ass of yours in the truck, we're gonna be late.”

Giving you a quick kiss, August helped you off the counter and smacked your ass to get you moving. A part of you was annoyed that August was being overprotective but another part of you was getting turned on by how August was showing his dominant side. Smiling you pushed yourself closer to him as you began to play with the collar of his t-shirt.

“This isn’t a good idea, Aug.” You could see that August was getting ready to argue so you began to shake your head. “No, no it’s not what you think. It’s because of you going all alpha male.”

Grabbing your hips, August shook his head.

“Isn’t that the same thing?”

Smiling, you brought your hand up and ran your fingers down his neck.

“Oh no. See I know you and I know that you aren’t going to throw your weight around and act all tough. You're going as my backup, you just want to be there in case it gets to a point I CAN’T handle it, and THAT is a major turn on. But the big issue and why this isn’t a good idea is because I remember that cook out and how good you looked grilling.”

Pulling you flushed against him August began to run his fingers down your chest.

“Oh, you mean that day you wore those shorts that showed off your legs amazingly and that low cut tank top? Guess it’s a good thing you aren’t wearing that top, damn I couldn’t keep my eyes off your chest.”

Pushing back you took a small step towards your bedroom.

“Oh, so you want me to change into it?”

Laughing as he grabbed your waist and pushed you to the door, August spoke into your ear.

“Hell no. I can’t blame the grill for burning the food like I did that day.”

~~

Just like you had thought, having August cooking was a mistake. He was doing everything he could to tease you and it was driving you crazy. It had been a slow morning so August was helping move things that Dale couldn’t anymore. And that meant you had to stand there and watch as August flexed and grunted, two things he knew drove you crazy.

You weren’t sure what was said after you left the following night but you had a feeling that Dale had told them not to ask questions because everyone looked like they wanted to but didn’t. Since it was the end of the week you and the other waitresses ended up rotating tables and that meant it was your time at the counter.

Hearing the bell ring above the door you turned away from August to see one of his deputies walking in with his wife and their newborn twins. Giggling with happiness you called them over to the counter and then yelled for August. Turning and seeing one of his men, August chuckled and made his way over. You and August have been to the couples house multiple times since the babies were born. But it was like seeing them for the first time every time. After explaining that they heard August was cooking for Dale they figured coming to get some lunch would be nice. Of course the minute August saw the babies, cooking went out the door.

You had been standing there watching August as he fed one of the twins when you heard a cough from beside you. Turning around any traces of your happiness left your face immediately.

"Tom. What the hell do you want?"

Keeping your eyes on Tom you could see August stand straighter at hearing you say Tom. Looking at him you noticed that Tom wore no smile on his face today.

"Those were some nasty things you said last night y/n."

"Because all of them are true."

“Listen, I came here at their request. They made it sound like I was going to be welcomed by you.”

“Why in the hell would I welcome you Tom? You literally took everything I had. I was kicked out of my home because you made me believe you had been paying the rent. I went into debt because of you, I lost everything because of you. So again why in the hell would I be welcoming to you?”

From the look on Tom’s face you could tell that everyone in the diner was now watching the both of you. You wanted nothing more than August to wrap his arms around you, but a major part of you had been happy when he didn’t. A quick look back at him showed that he was still by his deputy and that he still had one of the babies on his shoulder. Hearing Tom’s voice had you turning around and looking back at him.

“Y/n, listen. We are getting a crowd, why don’t we step outside and talk this over.”

“There is nothing to talk about Tom. You came here hoping to find a broken lonely person. Someone you could talk your way back into their lives. But the thing is, Tom, I am not that person. You leaving me was the best thing that could have happened. Because it brought me closer to my Grandmother and introduced me to new people. If you had still been in the picture I am 110% sure I wouldn’t have what I have now. And as for the crowd, you had no problem having a crowd last night.”

“Your Great Aunt said the house was falling apart. She brought me here in hopes that I could get you to sell it to her. That she had offered to buy it before and you said no to her offer. That you got involved with an older man and she couldn’t help but think he was a bad influence on you. Come on y/n, sell the house, leave the grandpa, and we can find a place together away from that old crazy lady.”

You were seeing red and you didn’t even need to look back at August to know that he was holding his hand up to stop his deputy from coming after Tom.

“Okay, first off IF IF I was to ever sell the house, I would NEVER move back in with you. You are only trying to get me to do it, because that crazy old lady gave you a number and you saw a chance to take even more from me. Understand and understand now, I WILL NEVER COME BACK TO YOU! That brings me to the second thing. August is one hell of a man and one hell of a person. You are fucking as crazy as my Aunt if you thought I would leave him for you. Unlike you he has held a job for longer than a week. Hell he has been at his job for years. That Grandpa could pick you up and throw you further than your ego. Listen, I am done. I am done with this conversation, I am done with you and I am done with her. So go back and tell that crazy ass lady th- Wait. No, hold on for a moment.”

Turning to look at August you couldn’t help but smile at how proud he looked at you. At some point he had given the baby back, but he still remained with the group. When your eyes turned to Davies and his wife you could see August grin as he figured out what you were about to do. “Hey Davies, how is house hunting going?”

Hearing his name being spoken, August's deputy looked at you as he sat straighter.

“No luck so far.”

“Well I just heard about a nice small two bedroom.”

“That so? Want to give me the name of who’s selling it?”

Smiling, you walked over to the group and held out your hand.

“You have a 20 on you?”

Looking at you like you had just grown a second head Davies reached into his wallet and pulled out a 20. Placing it in your hand you smiled and turned to August before looking back at Davies.

“Congratulations. You are now the proud owner of a small two bedroom house located right here in town. You just need to give the last owner time to move out and it is all yours.”

Smiling at the reaction on Davies face and seeing his wife crying you smiled at them. Hearing shouting from the end of the counter you turned to look at Tom as he stood quickly. Almost instantly Davies was pulling his wife behind him as August did the same to you.

“ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME! 20 bucks! You just sold that house for 20 fucking bucks when that old hag was going to give you 40,000 for it! What the hell are you thinking?”

Looking at Tom you tilted your head when something crossed your mind.

“She wasn’t going to buy the house for 40,000 Tom. So where did that number come from?”

Seeing that he slipped up Tom looked down before bringing his eyes back up.

“The old hag was going to give me 10,000 if I talked you into selling. We could have had an extra 10,000 but you just fucked that up.”

You didn’t even realize you had been moving until August’s arms wrapped around your waist.

“YOU FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT! I KNEW ALL YOU FUCKING WANTED WAS THE FUCKING MONEY!”

“FUCK YES I WANTED THE MONEY! WHO THE FUCK WOULDN’T!”

Suddenly tired you dropped your head forward.

“Just get the fuck out of hear Tom. I am done with this. Go back and tell my family that I sold the house to a family that deserves it.”

“This is a public place, you can’t kick me out.”

For the first time since all this began August spoke up, and hearing his voice had you instantly relaxing.

“Actually, when Dale isn’t here she is in charge. So if she wants you out, you're out.”

Seeing how you had been resting on August, you saw Tom’s eyes widen when he realized August was who you were seeing. And he suddenly laughed.

“Oh this is great. This is your new boyfriend? This is who you choose? Of course he has had his job for years, it’s not like people are lining up to be cooks. Jesus y/n, small town life has really fucked with your head."

Before you could say anything August was moving you to the side and making his way to Tom. For the most part Tom tried to act like he was scared but you could see the fear in his eyes as August stood over him.

"Say what you want about me I don't care. But since you have been in this diner you have been down right rude to y/n. Who happens to be working, so the way I see it you are harassing her. So I will tell you one more time. Get out of the diner and don't come back."

Instead of listening to August, Tom tried to stand tall. And even though you couldn't see August’s face you knew he was smirking.

"So I take it you are refusing then?"

"Yeah I am refusing. There is nothing you can do to me. She has no say where I can and can't be."

Shaking his head, August turned to look at Davies.

"You my witness?" Instead of answering, Davies nodded his head. Turning to the small group of people that were in the diner he asked the same question. After getting confirmation from them, August turned back to Tom. "Last chance."

"Please….. it's not like you can arrest me."

Smiling big and stepping even closer to Tom August shook his head.

"Oh, but that's exactly what I am doing."

Before Tom could say anything more August was grabbing him by his arm and pushing him down onto the counter. You couldn’t help but giggle when you heard Tom yelp in shock. To your surprise you watched August pull cuffs from his back pocket and cuff Tom. Just as he pulled Tom up a couple of his deputies came in. When Tom saw them he instantly started yelling about August, but instead of replying to Tom they looked at August.

"Hey Chef we were told that you may need some help down here?"

Almost instantly Tom stopped yelling and you noticed his face turning pale white. Pushing Tom to the two deputies, August let out a sigh.

"When have you known me to need help? Nah, Tom here just didn't want to listen when the manager on shift told him to leave. Now I will tell you that Tom is her ex so we have what some may say is a conflict of interest."

"How do you want us to handle this Chef?"

"Just take him to his hotel room, make sure he packs and follow him out of town." Turning to Tom August nodded his head. "I don’t want to see you back in town."

After Tom and the deputies left you felt a weight being lifted. Hearing Davies calling your name you turned to him and smiled.

"What’s up?"

"So….."

Seeing the distress in his eyes you knew what he was trying to ask.

"Yes, the house is yours."

"But it was your Grandma’s house."

"It was. But Davies, you and your wife were always favorites of hers. She always prayed that you guys would be able to have a child. She would be extremely happy that I sold it to you and your family."

"But for 20 bucks?"

Laughing, you hugged them both before turning back to August.

"Best damn 20 bucks I ever made. Meet me at the courthouse tomorrow and we will have them change the deed over to your name."

Turning back around you watched as August made his way to you. The minute he was in reach you wrapped your arms around him and buried your face into his chest.

"Should have stayed in bed." Laughing loudly August hummed in agreement. "So Aug?"

Looking up you saw that August was looking down at you.

"What's up?"

"So it turns out I need a place to crash for a few days."

Laughing you felt as August ran his hand up and down your back.

"You can stay with me. But I have one condition."

"What's that?"

"It isn’t for a few days. You aren't allowed to leave."

Pulling on his shirt you had August bring his face down to yours. Once he was in reach you stood on your tippy toes and kissed him as you nodded your head in agreement.

[noonachronicles]

Everlong Pt. 10 - Final

Kwon Jiyong/ G Dragon X Reader

Word count: 10k

Warnings: Language. An uncomfortable, mildly sexual moment.   

Genre: Hades/Jiyong. Greek God AU. Fantasy.

A/N: This is it guys. I am so sad this is over and so proud of what it became. For me it’s so much better than what it was when it was just an idea. I’m really so in love with everyone that stuck around for every part. Everyone that liked and shared or commented or sent an ask. You all are really the motivation that kept me going and brought me to finishing this story. I appreciate you all so very much. I’ve worked hard and hope that the ending is everything you wanted!

Update Tag: Here’s hoping the tags work this time! @kathrynwynterbourne, @keepthelightoff, @blue-lungs , @violagoth, @un-idntfied, @optimizche, @de-gabyconamor, @134340-cm, @wonderful39530, @ohgeezitsbreadgenie

Moodboard by Bae @memoiresofaneternaldreamer​

Nobody bakes for the baker, nobody cooks for the chef. It was something you’d heard a hundred times. It was completely unfair. And unfortunately, you knew it to be very true. Usually you didn’t find it too heartbreaking. You loved to cook and you loved to bake, being in the kitchen brought you peace and joy like nothing else could. Sometimes however, you imagined, it might be nice to be pampered. Jiho had never been really great about doing that for you. That’s why the smell of bacon hitting your nose before you even opened your eyes for the day was new and surprising.

“Wake up, y/n.” Jiyong whispered against your ear.

His scruff scratched your cheek before he pulled away. You were convinced this was a dream, everything good had been recently. You sunk deeper into the heavenly pillow, a smile spread over your lips. You were glowing.

You felt his body lean back into yours, “No, seriously. If you don’t wake up I’m eating all this bacon and leaving you nothing. I don’t care. I won’t feel bad.”

Smile replaced with a pout you opened your eyes. Jiyong was dangling a piece of bacon in front of your face. He was leaning on the pillow next to you, a broad smile spread across his face.

“Good morning, sleepy head.” he said before pulling the bacon to his mouth and taking a bite. Your mouth fell open and you stared at him. “What? Oh! Did you want that?”

“Why are you being mean this morning?” you whined.

“Would someone who’s being mean make you this feast?” he asked as he pushed himself up.

With a groan you followed suit and sat up. You weren’t sure why but the sight made you laugh. There were four breakfast in bed trays lined up down the center of the mattress. Each of them overflowing with breakfast food staples. It almost made you cry. You’d never seen anything like it before, no one had done anything like this for you. Looking over at Jiyong you blushed, but of course, he would.

“You lied!” you said grabbing a slice of bacon off one of the trays, “You said you couldn’t cook.”

“Usually I can’t. You were sleeping so peacefully I didn’t want to wake you up, so I decided to make breakfast and when the first dish came out so well I tried another and then another and then…” he gestured towards the trays.    

“Jiyong,” you said poking your fork at the plate of eggs benedict, “you poached an egg. That’s very impressive.”

“Yeah, see, I don’t know what that means.”  he said drinking from a cup that he’d had hidden in his lap between his crossed legs.

“What are you drinking over there?” you asked with a grin.

“Coffee, same as you.” he nodded toward your cup.

You looked at the milk mustache that sat atop his real mustache, “Give me some chocolate milk, Jiyong.”

He pulled his glass to his chest, “No! It’s mine!”

“Fine, you don’t have to share.” you laughed and muttered under your breath “My god…”

“Well, if you’re gonna call me that.” he smirked but just for a second before the both of you froze.

The blood in your veins started to prickle at the memory of your dream. The feeling of his hands moving over your body ghosted over you. His mouth hot against your skin, teeth dragging against your lip. The sound of his breathless voice in your ear, ‘Yes, I am your god’.

“Y/n?”

Your eyes fluttered towards him, “huh?”

“Oh I- are you ready for today? Are you excited to see Jiho?”

You hesitated and then asked, “Don’t judge me?”

“When have I ever?” he asked in return.

“Do you think...would it be okay if we stay here a little longer? I’m just not ready yet.”

With something of a pout he nodded, “Of course. We can stay as long as you need.”

“Just a few extra hours.” you said quietly, “Nothing crazy.”

You felt guilty. You should have been more excited to be back with Jiho. To go home. To get back to life as you’d known it. Thinking about how guilty you felt only left a heavy weight on your chest. Part of you wished you didn’t know exactly why you didn’t want to leave and why you weren’t excited. You wished you weren’t fully aware of your thoughtless, selfish desire to stay with Jiyong just a little longer. To just sit and enjoy the feeling you had when you were around him. You’d been so worried about what you’d do if you saw Jiho and lost that feeling. You worried about what that would mean.

“We haven’t even gone down to the beach.” Jiyong said suddenly, seeing the distraught look on your face and the way your mood had dropped. “You can’t leave paradise without even going to the beach, right?”

“Yes! Exactly.” you brightened, “We have to eat all this food and then go down to the beach. Me and you and the best day ever.”

With a nod he grabbed the syrup from one tray and poured it over waffles from another. “I’ve never heard a more perfect plan.”

You looked over the trays feeling better, and hungrier. On one of the trays he’d even placed a narrow vase with several flowers. You noticed one of them had snapped and was limp against the others. Your finger brushed against the soft red petals and you smiled.

“Do you remember…” you started and shook your head, of course he wouldn’t. “Nevermind.”

“Remember what?” he asked expectantly.

“These are the same kind of flowers that you brought me...at the cafe. One of them was even snapped like this.” you smiled fondly at the flowers before turning back to your plate.

“That’s funny, I hadn’t noticed.” Jiyong smiled and took a big bite of waffles.

There was no reality where two people could finish off as much food as Jiyong had made, but luckily you were in paradise. It did take a while, probably hours, but you hadn’t been paying attention. You’d been preoccupied with Jiyong and how he was being particularly funny this morning. He often made you smile but today you were red in the face, pained cheeks, tears rolling down your neck laughing. All of it was made even better by the fact that he was too. Not a smirk or a grin, but huge teeth and gums laughter. He tried to turn away or cover his face with the back of his hand as if embarrassed by the way he laughed. You saw it anyway, and you cherished it.

Once the plates were cleaned you left his room for your own to get ready for the beach. With no surprise to you the water had felt perfect beneath your feet. The sun was warm but not too hot. And your favorite part of all was that the sand didn’t cling to your wet body so you were free to move between the ocean waves and the sandy beach as often as you wanted without discomfort.

The two of you even swam out into the water to a rock island not too far off shore. You snorkeled around the island, exploring a brilliantly colored coral reef. You’d loved the different fish and their beautiful patterns. Jiyong loved the way you’d excitedly point out every single one of them to him as if he wasn’t right beside you the whole time. There’d even been sea turtles that came close enough to touch, and you watched a pod of dolphins as they swam passed the island.

When you got back to the shore you laid out in the sand. You were still close enough that the waves moved over the tops of your feet before moving back with the tide. Jiyong laid beside you, arms behind his head.

“This is so nice.” you said after a while, eyes closed, enjoying the feel of the sun on your face.

“It really is perfect.” Ji mumbled beside you, so relaxed he was nearly asleep.

“There’s really only one thing I can think of that would make this better.” you smiled and envisioned your perfect scenario.

Both you and Jiyong jolted up into a sitting position at the feel of the earth shaking beneath you.

“What did you imagine?” he asked with genuine concern, “An earthquake?”

Still smiling, you pointed over his shoulder. Just as you’d pictured it you watched as Cerberus pounded down the sandy beach with complete elation at the sight of the two of you. All three tongues dangling from their respective mouths. Jiyong’s mouth fell slightly ajar until the three headed beast skidded to a stop before him kicking sand onto his legs. He closed his mouth and scrunched his face as a long wet tongue slid up his cheek and then another, and another.

“My do-” he paused petting two heads with his hands while you gave affection to the third, “You, me, and Cerb? This is your perfect idea of paradise?”

With a little blush you nodded passed the three headed pooch, “Oh, it gets better.”

He gently pushed two of Cerberus’ big heads to the side so he could see just passed him where six three headed puppies were clumsily sprinting their way through the sand. In that moment Jiyong was sure he had never been so in love in his life. He’d never felt so much warmth or happiness in all of the millennia of his existence. He knew without a doubt that he would never find anyone that got close to you for the rest of eternity. And if you didn’t choose him, or at least choose life he wasn’t sure what he would do. Wanting to kiss you, damn the repercussions, he turned but you were already getting kisses all over your face and arms by no less than twelve tiny puppy tongues. You were absolutely radiating with joy.

Giggling as you looked over at him you said, “This is the best day of my life.”

He grinned as Cerberus nudged his chest for attention, “Mine too.”

-

Apparently your best day couldn’t last forever and Jiyong advised you that if you really didn’t want to stay another night, which he assured you he’d be just fine with, that you should make your way to the pavilion before the sun started setting. Part of you was already overwhelmed with guilt for even staying this long and enjoying yourself this much. With an almost pathetically sad goodbye, you sent Cerberus and the puppies off back down the beach. Then you and Jiyong went inside to get ready for the last leg of your underworld adventure.  

Standing in the bathroom doing your hair and makeup made you think back to when you were getting ready for Jiho’s funeral. It felt like years ago. Everything felt like years ago. The reality was it hadn’t even been an entire week since the afternoon you’d seen Jiyong and he offered to take you on this insane trip that you’d been half convinced was just going to be him offing you in a dark parking lot outside the city.

In the closet you found the clothes you’d been wearing the whole time and a second option, a dress. The decision really made itself for you. The dress was beautiful, a vintage swing style dress in a red and black brocade fabric. It had three-quarter sleeves and a deep v neck. Sitting beneath the dress was a pair of bold red shoes. They had a low heel and buckled around the ankle. After you dressed you stood in front of the mirror for sometime. You gave a small twirl and watched the skirt flair up. You thought the only thing missing was a necklace.

Walking out of the bathroom, you saw the pen on the dresser and next to it was a black velvet box. Inside of the box was a gold necklace with some sort of gold leaf pendant hanging from it. Looking at the closed bedroom door you wondered if Jiyong had left it or if you had conjured it up. Either way, you shoved the pen in the pocket hidden in the folds of your skirt and clasped the necklace around your neck. The pendant fell at just the perfect length against your chest.  The completed outfit made you feel pretty.

Pretty for Jiho, a very judgmental voice in your head wondered, or pretty for Jiyong.

When you opened the door Jiyong was leaning against the back of the couch with his hands in his pockets. As soon as he realized you were coming out he stood up properly. He was frozen as he looked at you, but you’d never notice since you’d been too busy staring back at him.

He was stunning. Of course you thought he was always beautiful but this was a level of perfection that made you want to scream. His suit was pinstriped, with a black vest and a black shirt underneath. There was a vibrant pop of color with a red tie and matching pocket square. His hair was perfectly coiffed, and showed off the flawless fade of his undercut. A jaw so sharp you could cut your lips off if you tried to kiss it. One of his perfectly shaped eyebrows raised slightly, and there was a sweet pout on his lips like a boy looking fondly at something he wasn’t allowed to have but wanted desperately.

“You look beautiful.”

“You shaved.”

The two of you spoke at the same time and then laughed awkwardly.

“You look so...professional.” you said giving him one more look over before dropping your eyes to your shoes.

“I have some business to take care of after I drop you off.” That had you looking back up at him quite curiously, but he quickly changed the subject. “You look amazing. Jiho is a really lucky soul.”

“Oh, no…” you blushed, “It’s just what was in the closet.”

“We match.” he noted quietly.

Your face brightened with a smile, “We do! Come here.”

You snatched his hand in yours and pulled him into the bedroom. Standing in front of the mirror you adjusted his tie and then stood beside him. He stood perfectly still as you tucked your arm under his, and rested your hand at the crook of his elbow. Looking over at the mirror you smiled fondly and then lifted your free hand and made a clicking noise with your mouth.

“What was that for?” he asked.

“Mental picture.” you said dropping your hand to your side, “I can’t believe we only took one this whole time.”

“Make me a copy?” he asked and you turned to face him.

In an instant you forgot what you wanted to say. You were still tucked into him pretty close. A breathless gulp made its way down your throat as your eyes found his lips. When you looked up to catch his eyes he was staring at your mouth. Instinctually you ran your tongue over your lip, and you watched him inhale sharply at the sight. It was so quiet between the two of you. You didn’t really want him to say anything. You wanted him to kiss you and you didn’t care about the rest of it anymore.

“Ji-”

“Where’d you get that necklace?” he asked.

So taken aback by the question you physically stepped back from him.. “What?”

“This necklace,” he said lifting his hand to cup the gold pendant in his palm, “where’s it from? What does it mean to you?”

You shrugged, “It was on the dresser. I thought you’d left it. I actually...I’m not sure what it is. I just thought it was pretty.”

“So you just conjured it up?” he asked and you nodded. A hint of a smile crossed his mouth, “It’s, um, it’s a cypress leaf.”

“How do you know?” you asked looking down at the gold leaf in his hand.

“The cypress leaf is used as a symbol of Hades.” he said quietly and dropped his hand. ‘’Should we go?”

With your hand now wrapped tightly around the gold cypress leaf you sighed, “Yeah, I guess it’s time.”

-

The walk to the Judgement Pavilion was the shortest one you’d had to take the entire trip and you were endlessly annoyed by that fact. There wasn’t even a valid excuse to hold Jiyong’s hand one more time. Internally you felt like being a whiny brat and stomping your foot with frustration at how this was all ending. Instead you just walked quietly, slightly behind him, with a miserable pout on your lips. Jiyong too upset on his own to even notice how unhappy you were.

The pavilion itself was made of the same black onyx with gold marbling as the walls of Erebos. It was large to say the very least. You’d have probably described it as massive. At the front there were easily two hundred steps that led up to the platform where the building sat. A dozen columns lined the entrance, though the entrance itself was too high up for you to see. There were people all over the stairs and near the entrance and suddenly you felt very nervous.

You didn’t have to worry long. As you stared up at the daunting staircase and the strangers that occupied it, Jiyong grabbed your hanging hand in his and pulled you around to the side. There wasn’t anyone around, that you could tell anyway. And you were happy about not having to take the stairs it seemed. Mostly you were glad to have his long, warm fingers wrapped around yours one last time.

“What do we do if we get caught?” you asked quietly.

“We won’t, no one ever comes this way.” he said confidently as he found the opening he was looking for.

For a while it was too dark for you to see anything, but it didn’t worry you. You trusted Jiyong and as long as you had his hand you’d keep walking into the dark with just the sound of your clicking heels surrounding you. Then a bright light finally started to grow in front of you. It turned out it was coming from an open doorway. Through the door there was another hallway, this one lined with lit sconces. You followed Jiyong down that hallway as well which just led to another hallway and another until you were dizzy and had zero sense of direction.  

“Where are we going?” You whispered finally.

“Almost there.” he said quietly, and squeezed your hand.

He took you down two more hallways, all of them having looked exactly the same. If anything were to happen and you had to escape without him you knew you’d have no chance. However you’d been worried very little by the idea of not having Jiyong by your side.

Then he stopped you in front of yet another turn down another hallway. Only this hallway was much darker. It was long and the only light was down at the very end. A single sconce beside a silver door. With a sigh he lifted your hand to his lips and pressed a kiss against it, he gave your fingers one last gentle squeeze and let it fall to your side. With a frown you looked down at your empty hand and then back up at Jiyong.

“You’ll find Jiho through that door.” he said, shoving his hands in his pockets and looking down the hall.

“Wait,” you shook your head, “You’re not coming with me?”

“No, I can’t.” he frowned back at you, “I told you, I’ve got some business to take care of.”

“Oh, right.” you were trembling and he wanted to hold you but he held himself back.

“I promise you’ll be safe from here on out. There’s no need to be scared. You don’t need me anymore.” he said with a small smile.

He was wrong and you thought you should tell him so. You were always going to need him. You looked down the hallway at the door and then back to Jiyong before taking a deep breath.

“I’ll see you later?” you said with uncertainty.

You’d assumed this whole time that the two of you would just meet up back home at the bakery some afternoon and you’d get him his big mug of espresso shots like normal and everything would go back to how it was. Standing here now you felt unsure that was actually the case. Would you ever actually see him again?

“Or I guess, if I don’t… thank you. You know for bringing me here. For everything really, you’ve done so much.”

“You know I’d do anything for you.” he said quietly, and then, “I um, I’m sure I’ll see you soon.”

You nodded and then looked down again at the long dark walk ahead of you, “I guess I should go. You’re sure you can’t just come with and hold my hand the rest of the way? Maybe just be my designated hand holder for the rest of my life.”

He laughed, if only you realized how badly he wanted to be just that. “Unfortunately, I can’t, but you’ll be fine. I promise.”

A deep sigh escaped you, you were running out of things to say to prolong this moment. Already uncomfortable at just the idea of not having him by your side anymore. The longer you looked at him the more tears built at the backs of your eyes and you knew soon you’d just be staring at him crying, again, and you felt you should spare him that. He already had too many memories of you breaking down. You thought maybe you could leave him with one where you weren’t.

“Do I look pretty?” you asked.

Lifting his hand he tucked a stray strand of hair behind your ear, and he smiled, “I’ve never seen anything more beautiful in my life.”

“Okay. I’m going.” you said as enthusiastically as you could muster and turned on your heel. You’d only gotten a few feet before muttering under your breath, “Just ask me to stay with you.”

Jiyong stood there watching you move further and further away, his heart ached. A voice at the back of his mind was screaming furiously. Tell her! Tell her everything! And he called out your name.

You swiped a stray tear from your cheek before you turned to look at him expectantly. The two of you stared at one another and he found himself once more unable to get out the words he needed to say.

“Good luck.” he said instead.

You shot him a weak smile and turned back down the hall. With every step you felt more alone, until you were standing just in front of the silver door. One hand on the doorknob you turned around once more but Jiyong was long gone, and you knew he would be. Another deep sigh escaped your lips and you pushed the door open.

The room you found yourself walking into was huge. It looked even larger with just the single bench that was sitting dead center. The floors were a blinding white marble, the walls a pitch black, and the ceiling was arched high and a brilliant gold, emitting a glow like the sun down onto the room.

Jiho was sitting on the bench. He hadn’t noticed you there yet. His leg was bouncing anxiously, thumb tucked between his lips as he chewed at the nail. You watched him quietly as you processed the sinking feeling in your stomach.

It felt like wanting to turn around and run away. It felt like disappointment. It felt like the guilt of not being as happy or as excited as you’d expected to be, as you thought you should be, to see him.

“Hey.” you managed a single word. You’d been quiet but your voice still echoed through the empty hall like you’d shouted.

Jiho looked up at you, an instant brightness illuminating his face. He smiled so brightly at you, so happily, it only made you feel that much worse.

“Oh my god, you came!” He stood up from the bench and quickly made his way to you. Once his arms were around you he leaned in for a kiss. You tried to kiss him back but something inside of you felt off. “I knew you would! I missed you so much, bug.”

Face scrunched at the pet name he’d chosen for you, you pulled away processing the moment, “Wait, you were expecting me?”

“Of course. Didn’t he explain it to you?”

“Who?” You asked, “What are you talking about?”

“Hades. Didn’t he come for you?”

“No...I came here on my own. Well, with a friend. What’s going on?” You asked utterly confused.

Jiho sighed, he wasn’t really prepared to explain why he’d wanted you there. He thought Hades would have told you, that he wouldn’t actually have to explain it to you himself. “I wanted to ask you for a favor.”

You couldn’t help but laugh. “On top of coming to the underworld to find you and get you out of here?”

“Well, you can actually, that’s the favor I was going to ask you for. You can get me out of here.” He said enthusiastically.

“What is it?” You asked, “Obviously let’s do it, that’s why I came.”

He bit his lip nervously and asked, “Anything?”

“Of course, you know I would. I love you.”

“I knew you were the one.” He whispered, grabbing your face and planting a kiss on your lips.

You pulled away uncomfortably but Jiho didn’t notice. “What do we do? Do you already know?”

“Yeah,” he patted your hair down and gulped lightly, “You just have to exchange your soul for mine.”

All you managed to do was blink up at him. “What does that mean?”

“We meet with Hades and you offer your soul in place of mine.”

“Then what?” You asked, “I just go back without a soul? How does that work?”

“No...not quite.” He was more cautious with his words now, “You would stay here in my place. I would go back alone.”

“So I die.”

He nodded, “I guess.”

“Everyone already thinks your dead.” You said quietly, looking down at your feet. “This is really what you want? Not to sound vain but I came all this way for you, and you’d ...be just fine living without me?”

“No, bug,” he cooed pulling you closer, “of course I wouldn’t be fine. But...you know how close I was to a breakthrough with my art. And we both know how unhappy you are with how things are in your life just in general, you know. I mean, how long were you really going to last without me?”

Your heart crushed in your chest. As you blinked you felt tears slip over your cheeks and quickly swiped at them. “Oh, yeah, of course. You’re totally right. No ...it makes so much sense. I would have just wasted what time I had left anyway. We should do this.”

“I love you, bug.” he smiled, and gave you another kiss. “This really means so much to me.”

“I,” you hesitated, “love you too.”

He reached his hand up and cupped your face before leaning in to kiss you again. He pulled your lip between his and it was like you couldn’t feel anything. It was as if your soul already left your body and you were just kind of stuck in this experience. When his tongue slipped passed your teeth your eyes squeezed shut in a cringe. He groaned against your lips and with the hand that was at your hip he pulled you closer.

You lifted your hands to his chest, you wanted to push him away but felt it seemed almost unfair of you. He was your boyfriend after all, you should have wanted it just as much. All the gods in every religion would have known by now how much you’d been lusting over Jiyong, but this man you were supposed to actually love want to be with was making your stomach churn.

“You’re so beautiful.” he muttered against your skin as his lips dragged down your face to your throat. His hands dropped to your ass and he tugged the fabric of the dress up until it was scrunched in his fists.

Don’t give up your soul for him. You could hear Jiyong’s voice from your dream in your head. It echoed through your body like it had when he was bringing you back from the nightmare you’d had that you’d lost him.

“Stop.” you whispered weakly as his fingers dug into your skin. He didn’t stop he kept going, he let out a moan against your neck. His hips pressed into yours and you could feel him getting hard against you. Dropping your hands to his wrists you pushed him off of you, “I said stop, Jiho.”

He stepped back and looked at you. His face read hurt but mostly anger. “Seriously, y/n? It’s been like a month.”

“I’m just not comfortable doing that here.” you wrapped your arms around yourself protectively.

Jiho’s nose flared as he inhaled. “You were fucking someone. Weren’t you? After I died. Who? That guy? The one from work?”

You sighed, already exhausted. Maybe it would just be better to be dead at this point. Maybe you could talk Hades into letting you go to Asphodel. That could make this worth it. “You really want to do this here, Jiho? You really want a fight right now, after what you’ve asked me to do for you?”

His face softened immediately and he backtracked, “I’m sorry, bug. It’s just been hard without you and I get so insecure. I love you. You know?”

I love you. Lie. I love you. Lie. I love you. Lie.

“Mmhmm.” you nodded, “I know.”

A door opened at the opposite side of the room than you’d come in at. A man stepped through, he looked at you and his eyes raised as if in surprise and then he looked over at Jiho, “This is her?”

“Yeah, this is y/n.” Jiho smiled over his shoulder at you and held his hand out for you to take. Keeping one arm wrapped around yourself you allowed him to take the other hand. You didn’t smile at either of them.

“Damn, that’s a real shame.” the man said quietly, but it still echoed through the room, “Anyway, Hades is ready for you now. There are a couple ahead of you because of the backlog so just wait in line. You know the deal.”

Jiho thanked the man and guided you through the door. You weren’t entirely surprised to find yourself in another long hallway that turned into different hallways. This time there were the added stairs. Just a handful from one hallway, leading to the next. Down the final hallway you were stopped by the waiting line. The man from the room had been a little misleading when he said there were only a couple people waiting. Maybe if he meant a couple dozen or even a couple hundred from what you could see. You couldn’t even see where the line lead to from the hallway you were in.

Looking over at you Jiho smiled, “It’s not that bad. The last time I waited the line went back like three hallways.”

“Mmhmm” you hummed quietly.

“You do look really beautiful, bug.” he said and leaned forward pressing a kiss against your forehead. “I’m so glad you’re here. I’m glad you came.”

“Me too.” you said. And that was true. You’d had a really great time with Jiyong and you were glad you had that memory. And you were glad to know the truth now, as much as it might hurt. It was better, you thought, to die with the truth than to live with a lie. So it wasn’t a lie, you were glad you’d come.  

The wait in the hallway was miserable and it felt like it took ages. Longer than any line at an amusement park. Longer than any line at the grocery store around the holidays. There was nothing to look at and no one to talk to. You didn’t want to talk to the creepy guy standing in front of you, and you didn’t want to talk to any of the people that ended up behind you. You definitely weren’t in the mood to talk to Jiho.

You knew exactly who you wished you could talk to. You knew you could tell him everything that had happened in the last half hour of your life, and he’d reply with something snarky. Something harsh and true, but something that made you laugh regardless. You missed him so much already it made your stomach hurt. You realized you didn’t even say a proper goodbye. He’d sounded so convinced when he said he’d see you soon that you just believed him and now you’d never get to say the things you’d wished you had. You wondered what the chances were that Jiho would be willing to take a letter to Jiyong for you. Then you snickered to yourself at the thought alone.

Once you were through the archway and into the main room the wait was much more interesting, and way more tolerable. You were absolutely mesmerized by it. The ceilings were impossibly high, higher than you’d ever have expected from the view you’d gotten outside. The peaked arches and ribbed vaultings were perfectly crafted. Beautiful, powerful white columns lined the room. The walls were dark, maybe black, but every once in awhile there was a reflection of light and you just knew there were probably some gorgeous details you were missing out on being stuck in this line instead of wandering. Every couple of yards on either side there was a new stained glass window for you to admire. All the ones you’d seen were of battles. Clearly they were of gods wars but you weren’t so caught up on your mythology that you could name them all.

Unfortunately, you couldn’t see much ahead of you with the line of people in the way. There was a stunning rose window against the back wall that reminded you of ones you’d seen pictures of. Ones from cathedrals you’d never get to visit now, not that you’d had plans to anyway. You could, however, see the top of an unnecessarily tall throne. It was black onyx too, and gaudy with its exaggerated peaked crest. You knew it had to have been where Hades was. You knew he was in this room somewhere, so it would make sense for him to sit on the most annoying piece of furniture you’d ever seen.

“Overcompensate much?” you muttered under your breath with hint of bitterness.

Hades with his big beautiful mansion and his big beautiful gardens and his big beautiful dog. The whole trip you’d thought maybe you’d like him but with every step forward you started to really loathe him. How could anyone good agree to let something like this happen?

“What was that?” Jiho asked turning to you.

“Nothing. Just… the throne. It’s so massive.”

“Looks stupid from here, I know. Once you’re up there, it's kind of terrifying, serves its purpose for sure.” he said with a low voice, “You think the chair is big wait until you see the guy sitting in it.”

“Who? Hades?” you asked, “Is he big? Like a giant big?”

Jiho shook his head, “No, physically he’s like...well average really. Kind of small now that I’m thinking about it. It’s his energy, makes him seem forty feet tall. They really don’t fuck with him here.”

Suddenly you felt nervous. You weren’t sure why you hadn't thought about it before, not even once. You were about to be standing in front of an actual god. You were going to just offer up your soul to a deity. No big fucking deal.  You clutched the cypress leaf pendant in your fist nervously as the line pushed forward.

The stained glass windows had proved to be a good distraction from your inevitable emotional and mental breakdown. They had turned from battles to the gods and goddesses themselves. It was actually kind of fun to try and decipher which one was which. When your eyes landed on the stained glass window of Hades you stared for a long while taking in the image. The storm in your stomach calmed. The image was one that was not totally unfamiliar to you. In fact it was one you’d learned well, especially over the last several days.

A beautiful piece of art, absolutely, but the image wasn’t entirely correct you’d thought. The stained glass missed the sharp angles of his face and how plush his lips could get, especially when he was pouting. The flame that flickered in his eyes, that never seemed to die out and that was constantly starting fires throughout your body, that was missing too. However, the dramatically peaked eyebrow, and air of superiority...the artist had gotten perfectly.

“Jiho…” you said quietly, still not turning from the art. You wondered if you could be mistaken, though it seemed very unlikely. He looked down at you with a small smile and squeezed your hand, “You said you’ve seen him right?”

“Who? Hades?” he asked and you nodded, “yeah, I’ve seen him.”

You gestured to the stained glass, “Is that him?”

“More or less.” Jiho shrugged, “Hair’s shorter now.”

With one more look back at the window you turned your face up towards the high ceiling in disbelief. A laugh tickled the back of your throat, though this didn’t seem like an appropriate situation for laughing. A voice in the back of your mind asked you if you were truly surprised. Maybe he had never actually said the words to you, but there were a lot of clues you should have picked up along the way. You realized that now, looking back at it all.

“You okay?”

You looked over at Jiho and gave something of a smile, “Yeah, I’m... wonderful.”

“We’re next.” he said and squeezed your hand.

“Next!” Phobos called out, and the two of you stepped forward.

Sure enough, as you stepped forward and the last soul was dragged out of your line of vision, there he was. Jiyong. Your Jiyong, sitting atop his massive throne, in his fancy suit with one leg crossed over the other as he drummed his fingers on the arm of his seat. You’d seen him so many different ways in all sorts of situations but this was new. It felt like power radiated off of him. His face was expressionless and unbiased as he looked over you. He was pouting again, a mixture of unhappy and maybe angry though you couldn’t imagine that he was angry with you.

You tried so very hard to remain serious, as it was genuinely a serious situation. The problem was as he sat there menacingly and all powerful, staring down at you and Jiho with all the judgement in the world...all you could think about was how sexy he looked. It was so ridiculous. You were about  to give up your soul. You were minutes from dead and all you could think about was how badly you wanted to kiss this guy that you were starting to wonder if you ever even knew in the first place.

“Oh my god.” you muttered, embarrassed by your own immature thoughts. Then as it clicked in your head you shook your head incredulously, “My god...no wonder.”

You pressed your fingers to your forehead and did everything in your power to hold it together. Oh my god. You thought it again to yourself and with much amusement remembered thinking he’d had a god complex. Losing any self control you’d had left you let out a snort of laughter. You quickly threw your hands over your mouth to hide your obvious giggles.

“Y/n.” Jiho hissed at your side, “What the fuck, bug? Get it together.”

Shaking your head you let the thoughts drop from your head and put on your most serious face, “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, it’s not funny.”

Looking back up at Jiyong, Hades, his mouth remained unmoved but you could see the laughter in his eyes as he looked down at you. You chewed on your lip to keep from laughing again.

“Name!” Phobos called out.

“Woo Jiho and Y/n.” Jiho said and looked over at you, almost annoyed, before looking up at Hades.

“So,” Hades voice came out strong, even more powerful than the energy he’d given off just by sitting there.

You couldn’t even look at him the way you wanted him now. You were honestly a little surprised, never having realized you had an apparent power kink. Or maybe it was just a Jiyong kink. Your cheeks burned.

He continued “Woo Jiho, this is the soul you are offering me in place of your own for all of eternity?”

Jiho nodded, “Yes, sir.”

Still unable to look directly at him you missed the way the laughter had left his eyes, the way his glare bore down into Jiho with unspeakable rage, “And you’ve explained to her the conditions of the exchange you have propositioned me with as was requested of you?”

“Yes, sir.”

Hades took a deep breath and asked, “And she agreed?”

“Yes. Yes, sir, she agreed.” Jiho nodded enthusiastically.

“Y/n…” he said quietly, calmly, gentle. You shook your head slightly unable to move your eyes up but now it was because you felt guilty and ashamed. “Look at me.”

You scratched the back of your head nervously and then with a heavy sigh you finally looked up and met his eyes. He looked sad in a way that you’d never seen him before and you hated it immediately. You’d never wanted anything more than to never see that sadness on his face ever again.

“What he’s said...is it true?”

You knew he was only asking you now. It wasn’t like when he spoke to Jiho and it was as if he was announcing every word to everyone in the room. This was intimate. This was just the two of you. You nodded.

“He advised you that as per the conditions of the proposed bargain you would be exchanging your soul in place of his. That he would go on to live and you…” he couldn’t bring himself to say the words, “would not any longer...do that.”

You nodded and he looked more pained than ever. He rested his elbow on the arm of the throne and roughly rubbed his face and massaged his temple.

Dropping his hand he sighed and asked, “And you agreed to those conditions?”

You nodded again. Technically yes, you had agreed to Jiho in that room under the pavilion that you were going to exchange your soul. You wished you could have a minute with Jiyong...Hades to explain. He leaned forward, he looked absolutely panicked. Taking another deep breath he looked at you, really looked at you.

And as if he was begging you outloud in front of everyone you could hear his voice echo through you once more, Don’t give up your soul for him!

You wondered genuinely if it wasn’t too late.

As if knowing your thought Hades said very pointedly, “You must say it out loud. You have to say to me that you offer your soul in place of his. Otherwise it’s not a valid exchange.”

It felt like minutes passed of complete silence, everyone in the room was looking at you. Hades, Jiho, other souls awaiting judgement. Every single face was turned towards yours waiting to hear you say the words.

“Come on.” Jiho looked down at you and whispered, “You promised me. You said you would do this for me. Just say it. Tell him you agree.”

“Jiho...are you…” you looked up at him slowly, “fucking serious?”

“What?”

“You were really going to let me give up my entire life for you! You were seriously okay with that.” You turned to look at Hades, “Did you see that? He was really going to let me do it!”

Hades was too busy dragging his palms down his face dramatically from the complete agony of the anticipation to even respond.

“You always said you would do anything for me.” Jiho said still confused by whatever was happening before him.

“My LIFE, Jiho.” You said exasperated. “You fucking asshole. I can’t...I can’t even be near you. I feel like I’m choking.”

You searched the room, anxiety washing over you as the reality of it all started to hit. You were standing in the underworld. You had spent days wandering around the underworld with Hades himself. You’d been having sex dreams about Hades. You wanted to fuck the god underworld. It was incredibly likely that you were...in love with him. Your dead boyfriend made a deal with Hades to swap his souls for yours. You were in love with a god and you were almost half sure he was in love with you too.

Your head started to spin, it was making your stomach ache, and you desperately needed air. Pretending this was just a Hades themed amusement park was no longer working for you. And everything was processing incredibly fast. You could not find a door or a window in this room to save your life. Your sight began to blur, you couldn’t even see where you’d come in from.

“Y/n…” Hades voice had become concerned as he watched you clearly spiraling. You blinked unable to focus on him, but you knew he was close because of his voice. Reaching out you could feel the fabric of his shirt brush your fingertips and you clutched onto him.

“I need out. Get me out of this room. Where is the door? Why aren’t there any doors?” You asked in a panic. “Jiyong please, I just need...I can’t breathe.”

“There.” He said calmly. You wiped at your eyes and squinted, seeing a sliver of light as a door opened not far from you. Dropping your hand you sprinted towards it and out into the light.

You were on a balcony that looked out over the underworld, a thought you tried to ignore as you tried to catch your breath. Grabbing onto the railing you took several long, deep breaths. You tried to remember the tricks you’d learned to control your anxiety. The things you’d learned to used before Jiyong.

Touch, you could feel the smooth balcony beneath your hand, you were grounded. Sight, you could see in the distance the peak of the towers of Elysium. Sound, you could hear the sound of people chatting, and looked over the balcony to see a group of people passing by. They must have been gods, you’d thought, because you were sure that one of them had been Pothos.

After that you felt much better and stood normally, looking out at everything spread before you. You could see the Towers of Elysium, and the mountain ridges that held the entrance to Tartarus. The sun was setting on all of it, a glorious rainbow of colors painted across the sky. It was beautiful here, in every sense of the word.

A cleared throat caught your attention and you turned around. Hades was standing several feet away with his hands in his pockets. He looked embarrassed or ashamed but you weren’t sure why he would be either.

“Are you feeling better?” He asked hopefully.

“Yeah. Sorry I freaked out. Sorry I’m always freaking out on you.” You gave a small laugh, you should be the one who was embarrassed.

“Was it me? Did I-“ he didn’t know exactly what he wanted to ask you. Did he freak you out? Had he scared you? Was all of this too much and you wanted to leave here and him as soon as you could?

“No, it wasn’t you” you answered, “I...I don’t think I’ve been processing everything and it all kind of hit me at once.”

“You’d been taking all of it very much in stride. I should have been more worried. I’m sorry.” He stepped towards you but didn’t want to be too overwhelming so he stepped back.

“Can we stop saying we’re sorry? Neither of us has done anything wrong.” You sighed.

“You’re not mad at me then?”

You shook your head no, you hadn’t even thought to be mad at him honestly. He didn’t say anything after that, he only stood there watching you. Waiting to see what you wanted, waiting to see what you would say. You leaned back against the banister and took him in, took Hades in. It was hard to see him as anyone other than your Jiyong. Arrogant and honest. Gentle and caring. He didn’t look as old as you suspected he was. He didn’t look scary or mean or threatening in anyway. It made you feel crazy but you still wanted to kiss him.

“So,” You started slowly, “Hades, huh?”

He shrugged, “It’s not a big deal.”

“Why didn’t you tell me then?” you asked.

“Would you have believed me?”

You grinned, “That’s fair.”

“I, um, there’s something I’d like to ask you.” he said taking a deep breath and pulling his hands from his pockets.

“What better time than now?” You smiled encouragingly. It was kind of precious the difference between him standing in front of you and him sitting in his throne room. Like he was two entirely different people.

“I’m...in love with you.” He looked up at you with big doe eyes, and a trembling lip.

“That’s not a question.” You smirked.

He let out a small laugh, gratefully for your sense of humor. “I want you to stay here with me, but I understand if you don’t want to. If you’re not interested at all. I don’t want it to be like the last time I wanted someone to love me. I won’t make you stay.”

“Still not a question.”

He sighed deeply, and smiled, “Please. Help a god out?”

Leaning back again you looked him over with a smile thinking about how you wanted to respond. It wasn’t often in your relationship with him that you held much power, and you assumed if you stayed here you wouldn’t get it again any time soon.“Your ex wife is Persephone.”

“Yes.”

“If she’s not stuck down here anymore then why are there still four seasons?” You asked. You bit your lip to keep from laughing, you could see him squirm as you got further and further from where he wanted the conversation to be.

“I don’t know.” He said frustrated, “People really like Halloween. Why take that away from them?”

“Would you not stand so far away? It makes me feel like your going to blast me off this balcony with magic hands or something.”

“I don’t have magic hands.” He said finally coming towards you.

“That’s a shame.” You laughed. “I had a dream that you did.”

He looked up in surprise, and realized you were joking. “Would you please… I asked you something very important. And really very serious.”

“You didn’t actually ask me anything.” You corrected.

“Will you stay here with me?” he finally asked, exasperated, “Could you love me? Do you want me?”

“Would you let me leave? To think about it. Would you let me leave and if I decide I want to come back and stay with you, I could just summon you or whatever? And if not then you leave me alone?”

Hades looked genuinely devastated which made you feel a little bad for even asking. He’d been nervous but he hadn’t truly believed there was a chance that you didn’t feel the same for him as he felt for you. Suddenly it felt as if he’d completely misinterpreted every moment up to now.

“Oh, um, yes. Yes, of course you can go.”

The smallest smile tugged at your mouth, “You’d really let me go?”

“You’re not a captive here. I don’t want this to be a prison. I want this to be your home.”

More than anything you wanted to kiss him then. To tell him you’d stay an eternity if that’s what he wanted but you kept your composure. “So, if say I wanted to stay with you but all the time became too much and I needed space away from you, away from here...you’d let me, I don’t know, leave for a while and comeback?”

He sighed, “Of course but…”

“Yes?”

His eyebrows gathered in thought for what, you thought, was far too long before his eyes lit up in realization and he groaned, “You’re fucking with me.”

“I am totally still fucking with you.” you laughed.

“Why are you doing this?” he pouted.

“I don’t know let’s see, you lied to me about who you were for months. Not even just that but you kept from me that you were a god. No...that’s not even accurate, you aren’t just some nobody god. You’re Hades. An Olympian and King of the Underworld.”

“You said you weren’t mad about that.” he mumbled, diggin his hands in his pockets as he stared down at your feet.

“Okay, fine. Take away that and you also kept from me that my dead boyfriend wanted my soul. That he’d cheated on me, lied to me, and in general just been a real piece of shit. You knew that about him since the first day you met me and never said a single word.” he was nodding silently in agreement, knowing you were right.  “And your worst crime against me? The most unforgivable thing you’ve done this entire time? ...You still haven’t kissed me yet.”

He looked up at you for a long silent moment as he realized that you were still messing with him. He didn’t move, he didn’t speak, he didn’t blink, you weren’t sure if he was even breathing. All you could see was the way his eyes transitioned from a confused, almost pitiful gaze, to something more pointed. His eyes looked wild, they looked hungry and the blood that flowed through you was vibrating in anticipation.

Taking the few steps that closed the gap between the two of you he raised his hand to the back of your neck, just one, and pulled your lips to his in a heavy clash. It could have just been in your mind, but you’d have sworn the impact made a sound like a thunder clap that cracked across the entire underworld. Your knees gave like jelly, but he’d had his other arm around your waist before you even realized. You wrapped your arms around his shoulders and he held you close.

It was exactly as you expected it might be. The way it had been in the dream. It was how you’d dreamt a kiss would be when you were a child. The way they portrayed them in foreign films and on the covers of romance novels.Time stopped around the two of you and a feeling of weightlessness washed over you. There was you and there was Jiyong...Hades, whoever. And you expected that if you had a want to open your eyes you’d see nothing else but stars, fireflies, fireworks, or something just as beautifully cliche exploding around you.

His hand slide around to cup your face and you allowed yourself to really sink into him, the way you’d wanted to for days, weeks, months now. You thought to yourself, in that moment, that you finally knew what it meant for something to feel like home. It was so warm in his embrace, it was so comfortable, and made you feel safer than you ever had in your life. You weren’t sure how long it lasted, you truly didn’t care. He could have held you there in his arms, on that terrace, overlooking the underworld until your soul left your body for judgement.

“Do you want to stay here with me,” he asked again, his lips brushing yours, “or do you want to go home?”

With one of your hands pressed against his chest you smiled, “Ji-Hades, I am home.”

He leaned back and searched your face, “Don’t fuck with me. I really can’t take any more right now. I have to know.”

“I am being very serious.” you grinned, “You’re the only thing that’s ever felt like home to me.”

Leaning forward he kissed your forehead, “I love you so much.”

“I love you too.” you leaned forward and gave him another kiss before a sudden realization hit and you pulled back with a frown, “but…”

“No.” he shook his head, “no but.”

“But.” you reached up and held his face while you continued, “Won’t you be so sad when you have to watch me get all old and die?”

“Oh...Oh!” he brightened significantly, “I, uh, actually there’s something I would like to show you.”

“Oh really?” you asked suggestively.

He tsk’d you and rolled his eyes, “Not that. Well…yes that, later. I was talking about something else, but that will have to wait too. Right now we should really go back in and take care of your boyfriend.”

“Ex...boyfriend.” you clarified.

“That’s right. What would you like to do with your ex boyfriend.” He grinned, “You have a new boyfriend now.”

My boyfriend, Hades. The thought made you laugh, it sounded insane. You lifted your mouth to his for another kiss. One of his hands was curved around your hip, his fingers pressed into you as you tugged on his lip with your teeth. Jiho was honestly the very last thing you wanted to think about in this moment. Hades was very persistent though and pulled away, giving you a look.

“Are you always so professional?” you asked sneaking a quick peck.

He said nothing in response, only raising his eyebrow at you, though he did grin.

“Okay, fine.” You said with a sigh and rolled your head back before looking back at him. “Can we feed him to Cerberus?”

“Of course, darling.” He leaned forward and kissed your shoulder.

You made a face at the pet name, “Darling?”

“No? Not darling. My love? My queen? I’ll call you anything you want.” you blushed as he whispered sweet names along your neck leaving kisses all the way to your ear. Then with a low voice he whispered, “Baby.”

You inhaled sharply, your face flushing crimson. “Well you can call me just about anything if you’re going to say it all erotic like that.”

With a smile he kissed your cheek, “So Cerberus. Getting off easy if you ask me.”

“I didn’t say I was done.” You responded as he slipped his fingers between yours and began walking back towards the door. “It should be done slowly. Tiny pieces, and he has to watch.”

Hades shivered beside you, “You’re terrifying.”

“Is that okay?” you asked.

He leaned over and kissed your cheek once more. “It’s perfect, you’re perfect. Perhaps you should tell him. Get used to handing out judgements. I’ll need your help if you stay.”

“Do I get a hideously gaudy throne too?” you asked with a smirk, and he glared over at you, “We can put it next to yours. Close enough that I can make you hold my hand whenever I want.”

His glare turned to a grin and he nodded, “Anything for you.”

“Wait.” You said suddenly as you stood in front of the door. He turned and you threw your arms around him, pulling him in for one more good kiss. Stepping back again you straightened his tie and fixed his out of place hair. “Okay.”

He walked you into the quiet hall. If you thought everyone was looking at you earlier it was nothing like how it felt now. It seemed as if even more people had come into the room than were there before. All wanting to get a look. Hades squeezed your fingers and led you up the steps to the platform the throne sat on.

He lowered himself into the seat and you perched yourself on the arm of the throne. His arm slipped around your hip, his hand resting gently on your upper thigh. You thought it made sense how powerful he’d seemed before. It was impossible to sit up here and not feel invincible.

You turned to him and whispered, “Really though, can my throne be as big as this one?”

He chuckled lightly, “Bigger, if you want.”

Doling out your first judgement was easy. You’d thought for a minute it would be harder, feel worse. However when Jiho cried out to you as he was dragged away, begging, pleading and apologizing the whole way, you felt less than sympathetic. The things he’d done, the lies he’d told, scrolling through your mind and you felt nothing. You’d looked down at Hades, and he looked up at you in complete adoration.

“We should have crowns.” you grinned, “Can we get matching crowns?”

“Would you like a crown, my love?” he asked, eyes dancing as they watched you. Your heart skipped a beat and he smiled at the way you’d become flustered.

You shrugged, “Couples crowns would be cute. Don’t you think?”

“It sounds perfect.”

Dragging your teeth over your lip as you looked down at him you released it with a pop, “I’m going to kiss you now.”

He nodded, “You should do that.”

You stood up from the arm of the chair, and moved so that you were in front of him. He gulped as you tugged the skirt of your dress up slightly before placing a knee on each side of his lap. You straddled him, not unlike you had in your first dream. His eyes closed as your hands moved up his chest, over his neck and into his hair. Leaning in you pressed your lips to his. Sucking his lip between yours, opening your mouth for him. His hands clutched your thighs and you moaned into his mouth.

As your lips left a trail to his ear, he squirmed beneath you and you whispered next to his ear, “I love you.”

He groaned loudly in response, his whole body shuddered in pleasure. He lifted his heavy eyelids to see the entire throne room either gawking at the two of you or purposefully staring anywhere else.

“Go. Away.” he called over your shoulder as you sucked on the skin of his throat. His voice boomed throughout the entire hall. He shivered again as he felt your hands between the two of you, gently tugging his shirt from his pants. You’d completely forgotten anyone else was in the room at this point, all you knew was you wanted him.

Deimos cleared his throat, “Sir, the souls…”

“Or don’t. I don’t care. I really couldn’t care any less what you do.” He looked down to where you’d tugged his shirt and jacket from his shoulders and were leaving pink splotches all over his bare skin. He ran his hand against the side of your face and whispered, “my insatiable queen.”

Phobos and Deimos began clearing out the hoard of waiting souls and everyone else who’d gathered in the hall.

“Oh, quit your bitching.” Phobos called out to the groan of souls, “Most of you are going to Tartus anyway. Enjoy one last night in holding before you’re tortured for eternity.”

Once the room was finally cleared he very reluctantly and very gently pushed you back so you were sitting on his lap. He cupped your cheek in his palm and brushed your swollen lips with his thumb.

“I’ve been waiting so long for you. I didn’t even realize I’d been waiting.” As he spoke you realized you’d never seen him look so impossibly vulnerable before. “I never knew it was supposed to feel like this.”

“That what was supposed to feel like this?”

“Love.” he whispered. “Is this even real? I’m so afraid of it being just another dream. It feels too amazing, too good to be true.”

You reached down slowly and without him realizing you pinched the soft skin of his hip until he jumped beneath you with an ow.

You laughed at the betrayed look on his face. “Not a dream this time. And it really is as good as it feels.”

“You’re sure this is what you want? An eternity with me? You won’t regret your decision later on and then leave me all alone?”

“Hades…” his face softened further at the sound of his name on your lips. “I swear. I promise. I vow. There is absolutely nothing more I want than to…waste away completely with you forever.”

“And ever?” He smiled.

“And ever. And ever. And ever. And ever…” you said planting a kiss on his smiling, rounded cheeks with each promise of eternity.

A kiss for every lifetime you planned to spend with him. He was a blushing mess, putty in your hands, but you didn’t stop because you meant it and you’d keep going until he made you stop. You hoped he never would.

“And ever. And ever. And ever. And ever…”

[jd-btsobsessed]

A Shoulder to Cry On

A/N: Ooh, boy, this one took a while to nail down.  This fic has gone through so many drafts and iterations of the core idea that I think I’ve lost track.  This is one of the very first ideas I knew I wanted to do when I started writing fanfic, and I think I finally got it to where I’m happy with it.

Also, how the hell is this the first fic I’m posting that’s about Jungkook?  Wow, for being a crazy obsessed fan...I’m really falling down on the job.

best-friends!AU, friends-to-lovers!AU

Pairing: Jungkook/Reader

Synopsis: It’s a typical boring Friday night/Saturday morning when your phone rings.  Jungkook is on the other end...and he sounds...well, broken.  Assuming this is due to yet another failed relationship, you let him into your apartment.  But as the night progresses, it turns out all may not be as it appears...

Rating: PG-13

Word Count: 4K

Oh, my god, so bored.

That’s the only thought running through my head as I scroll through the most recent updates on Netflix. Why is there never anything good to watch?  I glance at my phone for about the sixteenth time in two hours.  Still no notifications.  I don’t know what I was expecting.  It’s not like I actually have friends.  Well, except for Jungkook.

The two of us…yeah, we go way back.  Like, all the way back to middle school.  We’ve been best friends – and I mean best friends – for several years.  We tell each other everything, and we’ve been through a lot of shit together.  It’s so strange…Jungkook was actually my first crush, back before I even knew what a crush really was.  I was thirteen, and as far as I was concerned, boys were icky…except for Jungkook.  He…well, he wasn’t.  I didn’t have any other explanation beyond that, but at the time I didn’t need one – I was a fickle teenager.

I don’t really remember how we actually started talking, but once we actually met and started hanging out, those feelings faded pretty quickly.  I still thought he was cute – hell, I still do – but after I started to get to know him, I started to see him differently, and before I knew it we were best friends.  Before the school year had ended we had already told each other every so-called “dirty” secret we had – most of which involved who we were crushing on at the time. Typical teenager-y shit, you know.

But it wasn’t until we got to high school that we really became super close.  Our relationship really turned a corner after the very first time Jungkook had asked a girl out.  She rejected him – I don’t really know who in their right mind would turn a boy like him down, but whatever – and he came over to my house, crying his eyes out and saying he would never ask another girl out ever again.  I stayed up with him pretty much the entire night trying to do whatever I could to comfort him, which is perhaps why I remember falling asleep in history class the following day.

I didn’t have my first foray into the dating world until sophomore year, but when I did…oh, boy. Basically, I was an idiot.  I had tried to be bold and ask a guy that I liked out for coffee one day, but as it happens that guy was a complete asshole. He not only rejected me, but told me that it was weird for a girl to ask a guy out in the first place.  He said it “just wasn’t normal”.  Whatever…dick.

So what did I do? I ran crying to Jungkook.  I explained the whole thing to him – through sobs and hiccups, of course…I don’t know how he managed to understand a word I said that day.  I do seem to remember the asshole coming to school the next day with a few cuts on his face and a bandaged hand though.  Somehow I always knew it was Jungkook’s doing, but when I confronted him about it, he just told me not to worry and that should any other guys try to screw me over in any way, he would…take care of it.  Hmm.

That cycle continued into our college years.  Even though we ended up going to different schools, we weren’t more than a couple of hours apart, so it wasn’t that big of a deal for Jungkook to just jump in his car – I didn’t have a car at the time – and come crash in my dorm room.  In fact, he made a habit of doing just that at least every other weekend.  He claimed he had friends on campus besides me, but I never actually met those “friends”, and I’m not convinced they even existed, since Jungkook would never spend more than hour away from me when he visited.

But while my dating life had slowed way down – okay, I won’t lie, it was practically nonexistent – Jungkook’s had seemingly stayed quite steady over the years.  It didn’t seem like he was too terribly interested in long-term relationships though, since the last time either of us had had to call the other for support was freshman year.  Still, we stayed closer than ever, and we even planned it out so that we could both come to each other’s graduation parties.  It was awesome.

I stifle a yawn as I toss my phone back onto the couch next to me.  It is 2:00 in the morning.  I should probably go to sleep soon.  Aw, but it’s Saturday.  Nobody cares if I sleep until 1:30 in the afternoon on a Saturday.  Maybe I’ll just—

So show me, I’ll show you…Show me, I’ll show you…So show me, I’ll show—

“Hello?” I answer my phone, interrupting the beautiful melody I chose as a ringtone.  Who on earth could be calling me at this hour of the—

“Y/N.”

The voice is quiet, broken…empty.  I’m slightly taken aback at how inhuman it sounds – like an imitation of a human voice rather than the real thing.

“I know I woke you,” it continues, “but, please…this is really important…”

There’s only one person I know that I’ve ever heard sounding this broken…but why is he calling me at this ungodly hour of the night?

“Kookie?” I whisper. “Kookie, what’s wrong?  Where are you?”

There’s a long pause, then Jungkook finally replies, “Can you let me in?”

I can hear muffled footsteps that suddenly stop in the background.  I slowly get up and make my way to my apartment’s front door, wondering what on earth could’ve brought him to my doorstep at 2:00 in the morning. As the door swings open I nearly drop my phone at the sight that greets me.

It is Jungkook, but he’s a shell of his former self.  His eyes are red, puffy, and hollow like a man whose soul has left him.  His cheeks are still wet, presumably with tears he hasn’t bothered to wipe away.  His dark brown hair is a tousled mess – it looks like he’s been running his hands through it all night.  He stands in my doorway, his shoulders drooped and head hanging low.  His whole demeanor is just…awful.

“Oh, my god, Kookie,” I whisper, moving forward to wrap my arms around his waist.  “Oh, my god, what happened to you?”

“I can’t—” Jungkook’s sobs cut off his words as he drops his head to my shoulder.

He wastes no time curling his arms around me, holding me tightly to him like he’s afraid I’ll disappear if he lets go.  His breathing is ragged and uneven as he cries into my sweatshirt, the sounds muffled by the weight of the material.  I’ve never seen him this bad.  All the times I’ve seen him fall apart over a girl…it’s never been this bad.

What the hell happened to him?

  Ah, man, I think as I open my eyes.  How long has it been?

I try to move under the blanket on the couch, but the weight of an extra body keeps me from going too far.  Jungkook grumbles in his sleep, clutching my waist tighter to him as I try to reach for my phone.  I unlock the screen and nearly drop the thing, momentarily blinded by its brightness.

4:00am.  So it’s only been a couple of hours…yet somehow we both managed to fall asleep during that movie.  I had insisted that we put on something lighthearted and fun, more for background noise than anything else.  I know from experience that when Jungkook is sad or heartbroken or depressed – or all of the above – he needs something to distract him from the intensity of his feelings.  He had insisted on cuddling up with me on the couch, which I was more than happy to do – I always am, especially when he’s in such a state – and that’s what brings us to our current situation.

Setting my phone down, I gently stroke the top of Jungkook’s head as it rests on my chest. Jungkook’s said before that my boobs make pretty nice pillows – typical college guy, but it’s never offended me.  I’d rather be told that than the laundry list of downright awful pickup lines that have been thrown at me in various party settings.

Poor guy.  I wonder what exactly happened to reduce him to such a pitiful state.

Just as I’m thinking this, I feel Jungkook stir on top of me.  His legs move just enough to support him so that he can heft his head off of my chest and look at me with sleepy eyes.

“Hmm,” he groans, his voice rough and gravelly.  “What time is it?”

“4:00,” I whisper, using the opportunity to readjust my legs under him.

Jungkook’s head drops softly back to my chest and he makes a noise somewhere between a groan and a chuckle.  I swallow the giggle that bubbles up at the sight, but just as I’m about to say something, a familiar sound fills the air – the rumbles of my empty stomach.

“Hungry?” Jungkook quips lazily as he peels himself off of me.  “I am too.”

I move to stand, thanking the powers that be for the freedom of movement.  Sometimes I forget how heavy that boy is.  I mean, he is a good eight or so inches taller than I am, so it makes sense.  It’s just been quite a while since anything like this has happened – long enough that I forgot what it feels like to have a full-grown man sprawled on top of me.

A good twenty or so minutes later I’m setting a big bowl of ramen in front of Jungkook at my tiny breakfast bar.  The boy closes his eyes and slowly inhales, almost drinking in the steam coming off of the broth, and for the first time tonight, he smiles.  It’s small and very much more subdued than usual, but I’ll take it.

“Thanks,” he says softly, looking at me with genuine gratitude on his face.

“Ah, it’s no big thing. You know you can always—”

“No,” Jungkook cuts me off, reaching for my hand and looking directly into my eyes, “I’m serious.”

Uh, okay.  It’s just ramen.  The question from before flashes back to my mind, and now I’m more curious than ever.  My concern for Jungkook’s wellbeing is also still present, but has definitely lessened given what’s gone down in the last couple of hours.  I watch as the boy starts eating, and I think perhaps he might be ready to talk.  It’s just a matter of how to ask him.

“Um,” I begin tentatively, “so, do you wanna, you know…talk about…anything?”

“Like?” Jungkook replies without looking up from his noodles.

“Like, why you’re sitting in my kitchen at 4:00am slurping down a huge bowl of ramen…”

“What?  I like the ramen you make.  Is that a crime all of a sudden?”

“Jungkook…”

My voice is firm yet gentle as I grab his hand and look him dead in the eyes.

“Why are you here?”

The boy doesn’t say anything right away.  Instead he just stares wide-eyed at me, seemingly searching my face for something. It’s not uncomfortable yet, but if the air in here gets any heavier, it’s gonna give the smog outside a run for its money.

“I can’t tell you,” Jungkook finally says in a hollow voice as he drops his gaze to his bowl.

“What?  Why not?” I ask, the frustration building up in my voice. “Do you think I’ll be mad at you or something?  Because if that’s the case, I don’t know where you’ve been for the last decade. You should know by now that it would take—”

“That’s not it.  At least, I hope not.”

Jungkook sighs quietly, searching the air above him for the words he needs.

“Then what is it?” I ask slowly, confused more by his tone than his words.

Silence takes over the room for a moment as Jungkook gazes back at me, his eyes filled with something I’ve never seen in them before – guilt.  Okay, this is getting too real.

“Kookie, you’re starting to scare me.  You’ve gotta tell me what’s wrong.  Normally I wouldn’t push this hard, but I want to help you, and I can’t if you don’t tell me what’s going on.”

“I want to tell you,” the boy whispers, “really, I do.  But…it’s just…”

A forceful sigh leaves his lips, and his eyes fall back to the countertop.  This is really weird – and it’s actually starting to freak me out a little.  I’ve never, never seen Jungkook like this – usually, even when he’s just been dumped, he closes in on himself for a few days. During those times he hardly ever says anything until he’s ready to talk about what happened.  But he never, never flat out refuses to tell me what’s bothering him.

As my concern for my best friend grows, I decide to take a different approach.

“Are you just not ready to talk yet?” I ask, voice barely above a whisper.  “If that’s it, then that’s cool.  We can just hang out for a while – watch something else if you want. I don’t care.  You’re just…  You’re really freaking me out here, Kookie.”

I get my answer when Jungkook stands, comes around the breakfast bar, and swallows me in a tight hug.  I waste no time hugging him back, and my eyes close as I hear his breath hitch in his chest.  The tears are coming back.  I’m just about to say something else when Jungkook beats me to the punch.

“Thank you,” he muffles into my sweatshirt, sniffing a little.

He pulls back, wiping his face with the sleeve of his black hoodie.

“You can, um, go to bed…if you want,” he mumbles.  “I can just crash on the couch.”

“Are you sure?” I ask gently, taking a tentative step forward.  “You sure you don’t want a cuddle buddy or anything?  You know I’m okay with that…”

Jungkook shakes his head and forces a weak smile onto his face, but his eyes stay murky and dark. I nod, turning to head for my bedroom. I feel bad for just leaving him alone like this…but if it’s what he wants, then I guess that’s his choice. Man, I can’t wait for this to blow over so I can find out what actually happened to mess him up so badly.  Call me calloused if you want, but at this point, I’m beyond curious to know…well, everything.

I take my time getting ready for bed – and I won’t lie, my conscience is needling me to go back to the living room and force Jungkook to either let me stay on the couch with him or drag him back to my room and make him sleep in there.  I’m not necessarily scared to leave him alone – I just feel like an awful friend for not pushing harder when I know he’s probably not in a terribly stable state of mind.  In fact, I feel so bad about it that, after only twenty minutes of tossing and turning in bed, I sit up.

Fuck this, I think as I toss my blankets aside.

The living room is dark and still when I open my door – and I mean, really, what was I expecting? Jungkook said he was going to go to sleep on the couch.  Still, though, I slowly inch forward.  There’s just enough light from the streetlights outside for me to navigate around my furniture, and I notice a human-shaped lump on my couch as I approach.

Hmm.  I guess he really meant what he said.  Well…now I feel stupid for even coming out here.  I was worried for nothing.  Oh, well.  Better to satisfy my curiosity and wandering mind than lay in bed for the remaining hours until sunrise and wonder.  All right, well, back to bed—

“Oh…god.”

The utterance is soft, but in the absence of all other ambient sound in the room, it sounds startlingly loud. I jump in place and turn to see Jungkook half propped up on the couch, his eyes wide and fixated on me.  It’s now I remember what I’m wearing – or rather, not wearing.  Pants.  I chose to sleep in just an oversized t-shirt and panties tonight, more out of laziness than anything else.  It’s laundry day tomorrow – cut me a break.

My cheeks immediately start to heat up as I realize the predicament I’m in – which is weird, because throughout all the years of our friendship, Jungkook has never cared about this kind of shit.  It’s always been, “eh, sure, run around half-naked – I don’t give a fuck”.  That kind of mutual attitude is the reason why I know beyond a shadow of a doubt how amazingly ripped my best friend is.  He’s walked around in my dorm room in just boxers before due to an accident involving a large soda and an unsteady table. Yeah, that was a fun day.

“Oh, uh, s-sorry,” I stammer, turning frantically to run for my bedroom – and almost immediately banging my shin into the edge of my coffee table.  “Oh, god!  Ow!”

I fall to my knees, clutching my sore leg and squeezing my eyes shut against the pain – which is why I don’t notice when Jungkook joins me on the floor.

“That sounded pretty bad,” he says from right beside me, making me jump again.  “I heard that thunk – you’ll definitely have a bruise tomorrow.”

There’s a pause as he turns on the flashlight on his phone and sets it aside so it doesn’t blind us, and then, “Why are you still awake?”

“Why are you still awake?” I repeat back.  “I would’ve thought you’d be asleep by now.”

“I was getting there. I was actually just starting to doze off when I heard your door open.  After a few minutes of not hearing anything, I decided to roll over and see what was up, but when I did…well…”

Jungkook gestures to my entirely exposed legs before sheepishly locking his eyes on the floor.  Well, shit.  I’m the one that stopped him from going to sleep.  Now I feel like an even worse friend than before.

“Oh, sorry…about that,” I mumble, surreptitiously trying to pull my t-shirt down to cover my legs.

“What’s your excuse?” Jungkook asks.

“I, uh, couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t help feeling awful for just leaving you alone like this, so I finally gave up and came out to see if you were really okay.”

A tiny smile crosses Jungkook’s face as he looks back up at me, and this time his eyes look…different from before.  Before they were heavy and black, swirling with pent up emotion that needed to be released.  But now they’re…I don’t know, lighter?  Brighter? Happier?

The silence stretches on, our gazes locked on one another.  It’s now that I notice a definite shift in atmosphere surrounding the two of us. Jungkook starts to scoot closer to me, and I begin to internally panic as he reaches for my hand – the one that’s still holding the sore spot from a few minutes ago.  Softly, tenderly, he begins to pull my fingers away from my leg, and before I can say anything, he leans in and places a featherlight kiss on my shin.

“I don’t deserve you,” he whispers so softly I almost miss it.

Okay.  This has taken a turn I was not expecting.  Not that I’m complaining – far from it, in fact.  But there’s no denying that this is a little weird, especially coming from Jungkook of all people.  I mean, this is the guy that used to ruffle my hair and chase me around the park with dead bugs that he’d found and wanted to make me touch.  This is the guy that used to brag about being able to drink any of his buddies under the table, even challenging his roommates to prove him wrong. That guy…that guy is the one holding my hand and kissing my leg because I hurt myself on accident.  That guy is the one cradling my face in his hands, tenderly brushing his thumb over my cheekbone.  That guy is the one leaning in to kiss me…

It’s not a very long or involved kiss – more like just a firm peck on my lips – but somehow it feels like so much more.  We sit in silence after Jungkook pulls away, and he leans his forehead against mine, his eyes closed.  I think he must expect me to push him away or something, because he doesn’t move for several minutes.  Meanwhile, all I can do is blink and try to convince myself that I’m not dreaming – that really just happened.  What the actual fuck—

“I’m sorry,” Jungkook mutters, still not opening his eyes, “but I couldn’t hold back anymore.  I’ve wanted to do that for…oh, god, so long. You have no idea.”

“W-why?” I finally squeeze out.

Jungkook’s eyes open and our gazes lock once more.

“Because…” he sighs, “I… Well, I might as well say it.  I love you, Y/N, so much.  I don’t know exactly when it started, but what I do know is…I’m crazy about you.  That’s what I couldn’t tell you earlier.  I was too—”

“No,” I cut him off.

Jungkook’s brow furrows and his expression falters.

“No?  No what?”

“Why…are you sorry?”

That question seems to stump Jungkook, and we sit in silence yet again, but now my head is beginning to clear.  I’m starting to wrap my brain around what’s been happening these last few hours…and why Jungkook was so startled to see me in only a t-shirt and underwear.  He cares now because he doesn’t see me as just a friend anymore.  The days of him chasing me around and laughing at my cheesy teenage attempts to be sexy are gone – and now it’s time for a change.

I feel my mouth stretch into a smile as I close the distance between us, stopping millimeters above Jungkook’s lips.

“If you’re gonna kiss me,” I whisper, “at least do it right.”

There’s a half-second pause where I see Jungkook’s eyes light up, and I realize I just gave him the permission he was secretly asking for – and I’m totally okay with that.  He practically pounces on me then, his fingers threading into my hair, his lips hot and heavy on mine.  It doesn’t take long for him to slip his tongue into my mouth, and I can’t contain the moan that slips from the back of my throat.

Jungkook pulls away long enough for us to breathe and whispers against my kiss-bitten lips, “Well, I guess my secret’s out.  It’s your choice though whether or not this goes anywhere.”

I’m panting heavily at this point, and my head is foggy with overwhelming arousal.  I never realized before how amazingly sexy Jungkook is…but damn, if I’d known he was this good of a kisser, I would’ve been on top of that shit a long time ago.  As to Jungkook’s assertion regarding my choice in the matter – hell, I’d be the biggest idiot in the known universe if I passed up an opportunity like this.  I know already what I want as I pull Jungkook to his feet alongside me.

Stretching up on tiptoe, I whisper, “What if you don’t like my choice?”

There’s a dark glint in Jungkook’s eyes as he gazes hungrily back at me and smirks.

“Somehow,” he says, eyes fixed on my lips, “I don’t think there’s much of a chance of that happening.”

I smile and slide my hands down his firm chest, looping my arms around his waist.  With a quirk of an eyebrow, I slip both hands into the back pockets of Jungkook’s jeans, and I relish the feeling and sound of his breath catching in his throat.

Letting out a sound somewhere between a moan and a growl, Jungkook leans down and whispers, “You keep that up, and I’ll make sure you don’t cum first.”

“Oh, really?  Well, we’ll see about that,” I punctuate my statement with a slight squeeze to Jungkook’s ass, “now won’t we?”

[itsyourjoon]

You groaned as you silenced your 7.55 alarm to get the 5 extra minutes before getting ready for the coffee date with Hoseok and the new kid you’ll be meeting - Jimin apparently. You knew nothing of the him, except that he is suppose to be a good dancer, considering how much Hoseok praises him and is excited to move him to advanced so soon. It’s not common that contemporary dancers know hip-hop so well. You and Hoseok are barely in the intermediate jazz classes after all.

The five minutes pass way too fast for the full 300 seconds that they actually are. But… a second did just pass as that thought went through your sleepy brain.

Getting ready didn’t take much effort, since you prepared the clothes for today before you went to sleep, after Hoseok texted you anyways. It was just a black printed shirt slightly (or a bit more) too big for you, black ripped jeans with fishnets underneath and of course black shoes. You didn’t aim for a spectacular impression anyways so why bother.

At nine, the café where you and Hoseok always go to (I mean no one makes a better frappuccino than the baristas here) wasn’t that overly full anyways, since most students in the campus already had class or if they didn’t, they were actually in the library studying. Wow. Dedication. You noticed Hoseok’s red mop of hair in your usual seats - a table for four, but who cares if two people sit there, the view to the street is really nice from there - and an additional blonde bundle of hair, stuck under a black beanie. You skipped your way over to them and hugged Hobi from behind leaning down to his sitting figure, when you saw he ordered your usual order already. “Thank you bub! I’m so glad you went ahead and ordered it already!” Hoseok didn’t hide his (slightly) cowardly heart and let out a yelp when he felt your arms around his neck. At that the boy in front of him opened his eyes a bit wider when he saw his companion scared but smiled, shaping his eyes into crescents after the scene unfolded infront of him. You finally remembered your manners towards strangers you’re suppose to meet and quickly bowed, apologizing to the blonde stranger infront of you. “Ah I’m so sorry, I didn’t want to be rude! Hi, I’m Y/n! Nice to meet you!” Saying that you sat down on the seat where your order was - next to Hobi and opposite of the new kid. “It’s okay don’t worry I don’t blame you. I’m Jimin by the way. Park Jimin.” He spoke with a bit of formality. Like this was an official meeting discussing science or important business. You ignored it, so you flashed him a warm smile. “So where did you come from Jimin?” You were genuinely curious about him. Others came from other Korean schools but the word in the college hallways had it that he didn’t come from Korea at all. “Oh my birthtown is Busan, but my parents are forced to travel around the world, staying at one town for around 3 months, before moving to the next because of their job, and I have no choice but to follow, so my last pit-stop was China.” Your brain needed a moment to connect his rushed and already memorized answer, so after the hamster in your head started running appropriately you let out a eureka-like ‘oooh!’ “Sounds lame to be honest. Yeah you get to see lots of stuff travelling but not while trying to maintain a stable education.” You took a sip after stating your opinion, praying for an energy boost from it alone. “Don’t worry about that Y/n! He told me he had A’s in maths classes in China, so it probably wasn’t much of a bother! Plus he now has advanced math, so that again shouldn’t be a problem for our Jiminie here too!” Hoseok butted in in the conversation praising the kid. He just offered him a shy smile, blushing a bit before taking a sip too. Meanwhile you just choked on your drink, hearing the last sentence. “Advanced math! Here!? I hope you will survive Ms. Choi’s classes, I heard she’s really strict. No cheating in any way and such.” Jimin just shrugged like it was no big deal and what he said next was something that would never come out of your mouth, talking about math anyways. “Eh, I don’t need to cheat my way to get an A… Math is my forté besides dancing anyways.” You eyes probably couldn’t be opened wider after that. It was like he was an alien. Or a miracle kid. Naahhh… definitely an alien. “Hobi he’s not human I’m scared.” Both guys just laughed at your expression and tone, leaving you confused more than ever. Hoseok was laughing loud enough for people to look at him as if he’s lost it and Jimin to just fling his body around, laughing silently. The boys calmed down and Hobi wiped away an invisible tear, mumbling to himself about aliens and stuff, but you just rolled your eyes and glared at him a bit. “So Y/n how long have you been dancing for?” Jimin asked a normal question you usually get asked. But it still threw you back to when you found your first love. “When I was 3 years old actually. I started at kids ballet but just frailing and bouncing around like that wasn’t that fun for me, so at 6 I took my first hip-hop class and loved how challenging it could get.” Jimin returned you a slightly questioning look. “It got challenging at the age of 6 already? What studio were you at? 'Give a professional choreography to a six year-old’?” It was an innocent joke that was hilarious to you. Even you don’t know how but his voice laced with sarcasm was just so funny. And to him your laugh slowly got lethal. “Oh no not that. My studio was really nice. I actually showed up at intermediate on accident that day but it went well in the end.” Jimin just gazed at you. At this point the conversation was running fluently and it was the same as if Hoseok wasn’t even there. Except that he was. “Oh yeah, you told me about that day. Everyone praised her to accept the challenge of a class, way leveled up for a kid at 6. And even praised her talent at the end of it.” If you looked at him at that moment, you knew he’d look like a proud dad watching his child win a big grand competition. That’s why you didn’t so you just hid your burning cheeks in your palms. “Aghh… stop I wasn’t that good then.” Jimin looked a bit impressed at it and the admiration he already had for you grew even more. “But you grew into what you are today.”

The more all of you talked, the more you got along with Jimin. You clicked. Even if it wasn’t on a really good trusting relationship, you became acquaintances. He was a cute and interesting person. But still reserved. If Hoseok and you got a bit touchy or cracked your inside jokes Jimin pulled on a frown for a bit. He got different vibes from the two of you. But he didn’t say anything. He just let you be. He’d just met you anyways. During class it was Hobi that asked you what you think of Jimin. And you just answered honestly. “I wish I could say for sure. But he seems like a cool kid.” He’s still younger than you anyways. “At least he’ll have 2 friends in advanced now that we both know he’s a good kid.” Hoseok smiled back at you and went back to paying attention. Advanced. So he will come huh.

Social media au (4/?)

YouTube dancer/college student!OC dancer!Hoseok - the rest of the characters coming soon!

Y/n is a hip-hop major with her childhood best friend Hoseok in the same college. People transfer to the school with a lot of other art majors: contemporary dance, music, drawing & painting and many more.

So how hard can it be to be a YouTube dancer?

PREVIOUS - NEXT

Words: 1,321

OOOOKAAAY!! Being in Spain was all fun and all but finally updating is a true relief. Other than my friend no one has ever read my works (let’s leave wattpad out of this. it was a crisis of the century). If anyone asks I am shook from teh BTS LOVE YOURSELF TEAR SINGULARITY video (the danccers are dope and I have an unpopular opinion on taes dancing but won’t say it cause I know others would def hate me ;))) and WRECKED (im looking at you mr. park jimin your lane is somewhere else) from the concept photos. taes piercing is just a sin.

also i am lonely my friends pls come talk to me ;(( 

edit (cuz I’m always in rush even when not needed): i dyed my hair entirely blonde 2 days ago and everyone was shook lol

[masterofmunson]

Care For You (5)

Slight!Steve x Reader, Billy Hargrove x Reader Summary: Every time he takes care of her, she runs away Warnings: language, angst, confrontation, carol is a tool Word Count: 1.5k

PART 1 PART 2 PART 3 PART 4

Listen to Rather Die by Barns Courtney & Bad Reputation by Joan Jett 

Two whole weeks pass and both Y/n and Billy are back to their own individual routines. She was working and rehearsing like crazy. Her time is swamped by school work, her friends, and baby sitting the Party. His time is spent screwing around with his friends, smoking cigarettes, and cruising  in his car. He’s back to normal and so is she. It’s  almost as if they weren’t in each other’s lives for a few days. She hadn’t even batted an eye when she saw him flirt with Britt. He was back to his old ways and she was too.

As far as Y/n’s concerned, nothing between them happened. They ignore each other in the hallways and are silent in their math class.

The Snow Ball After Party rolls around the second Saturday and Y/n’s bursting with energy every day leading up to the party.

She’s so excited to play the songs her and the guys have worked so hard to perfect in the last two weeks. She knows she has no one to prove, but she can’t help but want to prove Tommy and his piece of shit friends.

She shakes her head. She was being ridiculous. She has nothing to prove. They had talent and everyone would enjoy the music.

She sighs, walking into Tony’s house with her two guitars. She follows Tony to the makeshift platform specifically for them and starts setting up the speakers. Robbie brings in his keyboard and Tim starts setting up his drums. Kyle comes in and starts setting up his bass guitar.

Once everything’s all set and stone and the sound system is perfect, classmates start to file in. Their voices thunder against the walls and most of them have drinks in their hands. Y/n looks at Tony for the go ahead and he raises a thumb.

“Hey, guys, welcome to Tony’s amazing Snow Ball After Party. We’re Y/n and the Playboys.” She hears Steve, Jonathan, and Nancy all cheer near the side. “And it seems to me that we need to get the party started,” she turns to the guys and smirks. “You ready boys?” They nod their heads and she turns towards the sea of bodies in front of her. “This is Rather Die.”

The anticipation for the first song builds and builds until the chorus hits and the crowd is jumping up and down like crazy. Her fingers strike the strings of her electric guitar with dead accuracy and she gets close to Kyle as she sings, the pair striving to beat the other until he concedes with a laugh. The song ends and the crowd roars in excitement. They definitely set the tone for the rest of the party.

Another handful of songs come and go and they’re still bursting with energy. She’s sweaty and hot, so she peels off her leather jacket, leaving her in the lacy crop top she was wearing. She hears Nancy wolf whistle and she rolls her eyes. “I heard that Wheeler!”

She wipes her face with the back of her hand and takes a long sip out of her water bottle. “Okay, so this next song is by the great Joan Jett and I think this town definitely struggles with the concept of our own individual reputations. Reputations don’t matter,” she states, her eyes scanning the crowd.

Her eyes meet Billy’s and he watches her from the back of the room. “If you want to be friends with someone but you think it’ll affect your reputation, you’re a dumbass. This is Bad Reputation!”

The beat of the song picks up and she’s jumping around on stage and hitting the guitar chords perfectly. The crowd roars and she laughs into the mic. She’s dancing and spinning around to the beat and sings when she needs to. The song ends and she’s grinning from ear to ear, but the feeling is short lived.

Y/n gasps in utter surprise as red liquid is splashed all over her. The room falls silent except Carol’s laughter.

The liquid drips down her chest, soaking and staining her crop top. She feels her skin grow hot and all she sees is red. She pulls her guitar strap off and sets her guitar down before she climbs down the makeshift stage. She grabs Carol by the shoulder and she spins around. Y/n shoves her against the crowd surrounding them.

“What the fuck did I do to you for you to hate me so much, Carol?!” she screams, wiping the smug smirk off her face. “I’ve put up with your bullshit long enough!”

Carol laughs in her face, clearly unfazed and unbothered by what she has to say. “You don’t get it, do you?! All the guys I like or have liked always like you!

“How is that my fault?!”

“Because you don’t care! You’re so wrapped up in your grades, your job, and your annoying family that you don’t realize how much these guys want to be with you! You’re perfect!” she screamed.

“Am I supposed to be sorry for not fucking my way through the social latter, Carol? Because I’m not. Don’t blame me for your problems,” Y/n spat, shoving her shoulders.

“Why not? Everyone here knows you blame yourself for Barbara’s death. Why can’t I blame you?” she sneered, pushing back.

Her heart falls into her throat. Tears prick at her eyes and she steps back. Carol smirks victoriously. “Awe, is the wound still fresh? Your best friend is dead and it’s all your fault.”

“Shut up!” she screams, punching her in the cheek. Carol holds her face and rolls her shoulders back.

“You left her all alone to die.”

Y/n screams and tackles her to the ground. She punches her like her life depends on it until she’s ripped off him. She’s crying and screaming for whoever it is to let her go. “Let me go!” she screams as she’s being pulled out of the room towards the front door. “Let me go at her!”

“Y/n, stop it!” Billy’s voice rings through her ears and he holds her face in his rough and calloused hands. Tears fall down her cheeks and a sob falls past her lips. He brings her into his chest and she fists at the back of his shirt. His fingers run through her hair and she shakes in his embrace.

“It’s no-not my fault,” she whimpers like a chant. “It’s not my fault. It’s not my fault. It’s not my fault.”

“Hey,” he murmurs, “don’t let her words get to you.”

She sits up and wipes her face. She realizes that she’s in his lap and she awkwardly stands up. “I should g-go.”

He shakes his head. “No, you’re not going anywhere. Not until we talk.”

“We are talking. Now I’m leaving,” she states, turning towards the door.

“No way. I’m not letting you get away from me this time,” he grabs her arm and pulls her back.

“Billy, not here.”

“Why? Afraid I’m going to damage your reputation?”

She shakes her head. “No. We have an audience and I rather this be a you and me conversation,” she whispers, pointing towards the handful of people gathering towards the back of the room like they weren’t trying to eavesdrop.

“Okay.”

They leave the house and she follows him to his car. She shivers against the freezing January air, silently cursing herself for not grabbing her jacket from the stage and not bringing an extra shirt to change into.

“Shit, you must be freezing,” Billy states, shrugging his own leather jacket off and wrapping it around her shoulders.

“No, it’s okay. I—”

“Just take it, okay?” he interrupts opening the passenger side door for her. She concedes and silently climbs into his precious car. He pulls out onto the street and drives towards the edge of town. The drive is mostly silent—except for the music playing quietly in the background. He parks on the side of the road and she fiddles with the ends of his jacket. They’re silent and she swallows hard.

“I’m afraid,” she confessed, glancing at him.

He turns to face her and he quirks a broke at her. “Why are you afraid?” he asked genuinely.

“I wear my heart on my sleeve, in case you didn’t notice,” she mutters. “It’s just… the idea of you wanting to be friends with me is a little odd, don’t you think? We’re polar opposites.”

He shrugs. “I dunno, I just… I feel comfortable around you. It’s hard to explain.”

“As long as you promise no funny business,” she stated with a firm gaze. “I’ll be your buddy but that’s it. Nothin’ else.”

He nods his head in confirmation. “Absolutely no funny business,” he says sticking out his hand. She takes it and shakes it firmly.

“Now take me home, dipshit. I need to shower or this shirt is gonna stick to me permanently,” she ordered jokingly as he pulls back onto the main road.

there’s one more part & an epilogue :)

BILLY TAG: @dannystylesmalik @arronity @xsuperwholockaddictx-blog @buchonians @httperrornicole @codewordpigeon @itstheghostgirl @rainbowfez @itsnotiniah @tah0e @ghostkani @romanceapocalyptic @nistaposebno @dvcremontgomery @ssweet-empowerment @emislayyyy74 @mykingdomismyheaven @leavingtonight-1967 @jvsbe @kassidydem @shyriss-23 @richardbemadden @the—gazeboeffect @barbarairene-k @oldwanderingsoul @therebeltype @cnopps3 @not-a-glad-gladiator @paledragonengineer @buckylovelybarnes @alwayscaughtredhanded @daddy-montgomery @selenedarkbloom @tavia0407 @buckysjuicyplums @irishollynatural @artisticlales @sleepy-rad @his-cocaine-heart @theconscientiouswriter @tremilyteapot @c-ly-g @ace-angel-judas @imaginemarvelbae @mysticalavengers @21hamstreet @hailhydrabarnes @fangirlinganditswonders @deadpools-wife @pansexual-lightwood @rose-coloured-me @gracemydog @itsjustcatrin @glorybluebirds @cluuuuuur @starry-eyed-colour-bandit @jenn22xoxo

[jaybeartodd]

Colleagues Pt. 15/17 -- Jason Todd x fem. reader

Warnings: some cursing, mostly just a fluff monster before I ruin everyone’s lives with the finale (jk well maybe not sure yet)

Tags: @sarcasmismyfirstlove @tsctd @multi-fandom-dumpster @wordsmusicandchocolate @cattwomannn @itstoastytodd @nicunt @browneyedangel @amnahs9695 @mad-hatter-has-nothing-on-me @prancingdestiel

Permanent Tags: @vividmjs  @alohabucky

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16 Part 17

A/N: As per usual, I want to thank everyone for the amazing support. You are amazing and I hope everyone is doing great and I love you bunches <3<3 Enjoy!

“What do you mean it isn’t as impressive? We are literally underneath the police station. For months they were up there searching for me and I hid underneath them. Not to toot my own horn but that is pretty damn cool.” Jay declares waving his arm. His other arm is tucked under your head creating a barrier between you and the harsh concrete floor. You curl in closer to him feeling exhaustion press at your eyelids.

“I am just saying, the Batcave has more shock factor,” you mumble poking at his ego. “Also, it is at least attached to a house he can sleep in.”

“Y/N, I have an apartment. I am not a complete animal.” he laughs and it reverberates through his chest. A smile stretches its way across your face in response to a sound you never wanted to lose again.

“Could have fooled me,” you mutter into his chest. Your mind starts to drift along with your eyes as you slowly fall...You jerk yourself awake out of habit and his arm tightens around you.

“Wow, Y/N? You okay there?” Jason asks concerned. You sit up and blink your eyes.

“Yeah, I, um, just almost fell asleep. I really should be getting back. It’s late,” you say and start to gather your things.  

“Stay with me tonight,” Jason proposes. You bite your lip pondering the situation. He sits up on his elbows and strokes your cheek with the back of his hand.

“Come on, Dopey. You look like Mr. Sandman dragged you through hell and back. And I know you sleep on that dingy-ass sofa. I have a real bed and I am so great at fighting nightmares. Expert, really.” he flashes his pearly whites and raises his eyebrows.

Your fatigued body screams at the opportunity and your brain has given up its fight a while back.

“Yeah, sure, that actually sounds really nice,” you say with a sigh. His eyes grow wide and he grabs your chin gently.

“Damn, you must be really tired. Not a single argument?” he kisses your cheek and stands up fist pumping the air.

“Jay, don’t make me change my mind...”

“Exactly! I didn’t have to! That is what is so astounding.” he says giving you a sly grin as he shrugs his shirt on. 

You shrug Jason’s leather jacket closer to your body as you both walk hand-in-hand in the cool Gotham night air. Your sling makes it harder to wear the right sleeve so he zipped it up front to keep heat from escaping.

“I’m so used to seeing the city at night through a helmet. It’s...” he looks up thoughtfully and a pang hits your heart at the relaxed expression on his face.

“Peaceful.” You say quietly. He turns towards you with sparkling eyes. You yawn and lean your head against his bulky arm.

“Almost there, Doll,” he says softly. His lips curl into a grin at what you said. Peaceful. He hadn’t felt that in so long. But that is just it. Having your red cheeks pressed against his arm meant you were here. With him. Safely. And he felt a deep reassuring sense of peace.

You finally arrive and you are genuinely impressed by his apartment. You toss your stuff on the couch and rub your bloodshot eyes.

“Bed is in there, feel free to borrow my clothes,” you nod sleepily and make your way towards his bedroom. When you don’t notice him behind you, you turn around.

“Are you not coming?” you ask and he nods. 

“Just give me a sec,” he says. You wave your hand not awake enough for further inquiry. You saunter in and after foraging for a clean shirt you exchange your own clothes.

Your brain can’t process anything except for how amazingly soft his bed is and before you know it you drift off. Only to be struck with a nightmare moments later. Jason enters the room and crawls in next to you.

“Shh, Doll. It’s okay. It’s only a bad dream. They are only scary if you let them be,” he whispers in your ear and pulls you close. You rest your head against his chest as your breathing slows back down and let yourself fall back to sleep.

The sweet smell of cooking wafts through the room and wakes you up. You blink your eyes open and feel around the unusual softness of your couch. Once you realize where you are, you stare wide-eyed at the previously occupied area of the bed next to you and the events of the night before come flooding in.

“Seriously Y/N? All it took was seeing him one more time?” you groan standing up. You rub the bandage on your arm wincing slightly at the pain. It does admittedly feel slightly better than yesterday. You grab the sling and wrap it around your neck.

All-too-aware of the conversation needed this morning, you take your sweet loving time padding over to the door. You peek outside to see Jason pouring batter into a pan explaining the enticing smell that you woke you to. He looks very concentrated with his spatula as he watches the pancakes sizzle.

Taking a deep breath you open up the door and step out. He looks over his shoulder at the noise. His eyes take you in greedily at the sight of your sleepy eyes, tousled hair and your body being swallowed up by his shirt.                                                                                              

“Morning Dopey. Pancakes?” he gives a boyish smile while holding up a plate stacked high with pancakes.

You look at him amusedly. “Sure but don’t be disappointed when I can’t scarf down all five pounds of them.“

He flips the last one onto the plate and sets them in front of you as you take a seat on a barstool.

“I have seen you eat, remember? Plus I can pick up your slack,” he says handing you a plate and fork. You dish off two from the top and take a bite. Surprisingly good.

“You should really put an apron on. Cooking etiquette and all that,” you say with a smile while pointing with your fork at his sweatpants and lack of shirt. 

“Alright, Gordon Ramsay. Would you sit there and just eat,” he says rolling his eyes. He stands there with his fingers clutching the counter staring at you.

“Are you going to come sit?” you ask curiously. He sighs and reaches down.

“Actually I was thinking since I have your attention,” he tosses folders at you, “You could explain this.”

You stop chewing and set down your fork when you recognize the evidence you have been collecting.

“How did-” you search for your bookbag and see it lying at his feet, “Did you go through my stuff?!”

“You are avoiding the question, Y/N.”

“And you are ignoring mine.” You both stand there defiantly until you sigh and finally look away.

“You didn’t honestly think I would just lay back and do nothing.”

“Of course not, hence why I went through your stuff. But Y/N,” he pushes the papers towards you, “This is a little extreme even for you. What were you planning on doing with all of this evidence? Maybe tell Bruce his employees are working behind his back?”

You scoff at the irony of this.

“Says the boy who goes out of his way to disobey his orders.” Jay picks up the spatula and points it at himself.

“Yes, because I am the impulsive one who makes questionable decisions. You,” he points the spatula at you, “are the responsible one.”

You open your mouth to defend yourself but your phone starts vibrating in your bookbag holding off the conversation for the moment. You pick it up and the caller I.D. reads Nick’s name.

“Nick, hey,” you say into it and are immediately bombarded with questions.

“Y/N! Are you okay? Where are you? Why did you call? Is everything okay?”

“Nick, chill. I am fine. And I called because I was stranded but I was, uh, helped,” you glance at Jason to see him on a barstool shoveling pancakes into his mouth,” by someone so I am good. I am sorry I didn’t come home last night but I will be home in a bit.”

“Okay, I’m here so I will see you then.” You take another look at Jason and he looks up with a mouthful of food and curious eyes.

“Hey, Nick. Make sure you are free for dinner tonight.” Jay’s eyes narrow catching on quickly.

“Uh, okay, sure,” he says and you say your goodbyes before hanging up.

“Y/N, what is churning in that pretty head of yours?” Jason asks suspiciously.

“We are all going to have dinner tonight, together,” you say and shush him before he can protest, “You guys have to get along.”

You walk over to him and straddle his lap. He grabs ahold of your hips while you wrap your arms around his neck. His lips are set in a hard line of skepticism.

“You are the most important men in my life. I need you to get along. And he hasn’t done anything else for Mask, ” you press your forehead to his, “So, please do this for me.” You bat your eyes for extra measure and he blows out a puff of air in resignation.

“Fine, I will be civil,” you smile and peck him on the lips.

“Now we can enjoy our pancakes,” you chirp and start to slide off his lap secretly cheering on the fact that you distracted him from the previous conversation.

“Oh no, I don’t care how adorable you are,” his hands tighten on your waist, “We are talking about this. What was the plan, Nancy Drew?”

You brush a stray lock of hair from his face and look into the probing blue eyes.

“Fine, I was planning on exposing them in an article, Lois Lane style,” his face scrunches up at this, “Oh ok and breaking every bone in their bodies is a much more reasonable alternative.“

He shakes his head, “No, I am sure this will be effective. I personally believe that breaking bones is always the answer but that isn’t my problem with this plan.” His eyes grow dark and he gently holds both sides of your face.

“I am worried about you. There will have to be an investigation before anything legal will happen and that will be a window of opportunity to retaliate against you. And I already failed to protect you once,” you grab his arm and stroke it tenderly.

“Jay,” you begin softly, “I know you are worried but I can publish it anonymously which will give me time. And honestly, there isn’t much stopping him from attacking me again now.” Jason flinches at this and his hands slide back down to your thighs.

“This is the only way to put an end to all of it,” you whisper and tilt his chin up to look at you. “And you didn’t fail anyone. Don’t you dare blame yourself Jason Todd.” Your voice becomes stern and the left side of his mouth turns up in amusement.

“Or what?” he teases your leg and you kiss him hard while sliding off his lap.

“Easy there tiger. We have some pancakes to eat.” you say and plop down in the seat next to him.

“Yes, I suppose we do,” he grumbles and you laugh at his pouty face.

“I don’t know, Y/N. The guy obviously doesn’t like me. He freaking attacked me,” Nick whines and you rub your face in exhaustion.

“Nick, it was in a moment of anger. And he feels bad about it,” not exactly true, “Please. You both mean a lot to me and I need you to get along. Can you just do this one thing for me. You owe me.”

He turns sorrowful eyes towards you but your gaze remains unrelenting.

“Fine. Where are we going?” he mutters.

“We are going to a restaurant with a bar so there will be plenty of opportunities to drink.” you say patting him on the shoulder.

“Hey, did Clarissa call you?” he asks quietly and you stop on your way towards the shower.

“No, not yet Nickie,” you say gently and walk back towards him. His face falls and he rests his head in his hand. You take a seat next to him and pull him in for a hug.

“I really screwed up Y/N. Now I’ll never see Trey again.” he cries into your shoulder and you rub his back comfortingly.

“I’m sure she will come around. We will see him again.” you whisper reassuringly. But doubt lingers behind your words and you fight back tears of your own. 

Noise from the enormous Saturday night crowd overwhelms you as you step into the restaurant with a reluctant Nick following closely behind. A crowd is laughing at a bar while couples dance in the open space next to them. Eventually your eyes wander over to the collection of tables and you see a familiar leather clad man tapping his fingers anxiously on the table. You start towards him and he looks up matching your smile with his own. He stands up awkwardly and you give him a peck before sitting down. He sticks his hand out towards Nick who takes it hesitantly.

“Good to see you man. I am really sorry for what happened in the hospital.” Jason says as if he is reading off lines. You can picture him rehearsing it and the gesture makes you smile.

“Um, no need to apology. I have made a lot of mistakes,” Nick says clearing his throat. You grab his hand and give him a heartwarming smile.

“But we are all safe and healthy and together now. And that is a win in my book,” you beam. Jason smiles down at you and the boys take a seat. 

Jason’s hand grasps yours on the table as he talks animatedly about some movie he and Nick both happen to love. You feel a sense of calm rush over you as Jason and Nick carry easy conversation. No fists through walls or through each other’s faces so silent applause.

“I have to use the bathroom, I’ll be right back.” Nick says rising from his seat. You smile at his departing figure.

“Thank you, Jay. It really means a lot,” you gleam at him and his heart gives a pang at your genuine radiance. 

“Anytime Doll,” he whispers and kisses your hand. You both jump at the abrupt ringing coming from Nick’s coat. 

“Oh, that might be Clarissa about Trey!” you say excitedly and reach into his pocket.

Your fingers clasp around the buzzing phone and your face pales at the blocked number written across the screen.

“Y/N, what is it?” Jason asks concerned.

“It’s him,” you say between gritted teeth. Before you can think about it you slide open the phone.

“What the hell do you want?”

“Ah, nice to hear from you Y/N. How’s the arm?” he asks and your fingers tighten around the phone.

“What the hell do you want?” you enunciate the words this time hoping to really convey your message.

“Or more importantly, how are the nightmares? Are they everything they are hyped up to be?”

“Stop calling. My family is not helping you anymore.” you speak firmly and hear chuckling in response. You end the call and it immediately begins buzzing in your fingers again so you slam it down on the table.

“Y/N? What did he say?” Jason asks with anger lacing his words to match your own.

“Nothing, we aren’t doing this anymore.” You stand up abruptly. “I am ending this now.”

“Wow, Y/N, let’s pull a brake before you do something stupid.” Jason says following suit and grabbing your arm gently.

“No. I am tired of overthinking. I am tired of taking the long way. And I am tired of it never actually mattering. I am ending this and you are either with me or not.” You fix a hard glare to indicate no budging and he lets go of your arm to run a frustrated hand through his hair. He groans in exasperation knowing firsthand how stubborn you are. You are doing this whether he likes it or not.

“What is going on?” Nick’s hesitant voice approaches from behind. You grab his hand.

“We are going home.” you take a step but Jason’s strides outmatch yours and he steps in front of you impeding your path.

“No,” he says and you open your mouth for an angry retort but he interrupts, “No, I mean you are going to do this, nothing on this forsaken planet will stop you, but I am not letting you out of my sight anytime soon.”

“Well there isn’t exactly room in our apartment for a third person. There’s barely enough room for the two of us.” 

“I wasn’t talking about your apartment,” You scrunch your nose.

“Us three in your apartment?”

“Not exactly,” he says with a sly grin that never measures up to any good.

“I cannot believe I agreed to this,” You say with a duffel bag slung over your uninjured shoulder while standing in easily the biggest apartment you have ever been in. One hallway leads into another which leads to another and the amount of space is honestly dizzying. Bruce gave it to the two of you promising security but forgetting to provide a map of how to navigate the damn place.

"Home sweet home baby,” Jason yells dropping the heaping mass of bags he refused to make a second trip for on the ground. You wince at the echo of his voice and the bags smacking the ground. This place is ridiculous.

“Bruce seriously didn’t have a smaller hideout?” you ask slightly irritable. You are not upset at the size of the place you are just upset you aren’t with Nick and Trey. Especially when they are in danger.

“Look, I know you are frustrated with the situation,” Jason says and saunters up behind you. He wraps his arms around your waist and puts his head on your shoulder. “But Nick is incredibly safe with Roy and we have someone looking out for Trey. They will be fine and we get some quality time in a huge ass apartment. And”

“We are better off separated because it means more work for Mask’s, what did you call them-”

“Murderous Roadies,” he responds diligently. 

“Yeah, whatever. I get it just doesn’t mean I like it.” Jason chuckles tickling your ear. 

“Alright, Grumpypants let’s get cracking on your story,” he says and kisses your cheek before plopping down on the couch.

The rest of the night ends with you both sprawled out on the floor with your laptop and various notes in an array. With only a brief intermission to see how many pieces of popcorn Jay can catch with his mouth, you worked relentlessly on the article with Jay filling in some gaps of your story.

“Are you nervous?” Jason’s voice grows husky with exhaustion. You are resting comfortably in the crook of his arm. You have just finished reviewing the article for the last time and hit the send button but neither one of you has made a move towards a bed. 

You ponder his question for a split second.

“Actually, no. I mean I am nervous the newspaper won’t take it but once they do, I don’t know. I will just be...”

“Relieved” Jason finishes for you. You snuggle closer to him and let out a deep breath.

“Yes, relieved.” you tilt your head up so you can see his face. “Do you think this will end it, honestly?”

Jason sighs and looks off absently.

“I sure hope so Doll.”

[xuxii-sushii]

“I knew it!” [PART 2]

 Genre: Drama, angst?, a bit fluff, smut(eventual).

Pairing: idol!Jungkook x Reader (ft. Yoongi and Taehyung)

A/N: Hey y'all! This is chapter 2 of “I knew it!” Thank you for reading and liking the first chapter :’) This fic is going to be very eventful. I just hope it carries out the way I want it to. Appreciate the love and support! xx 

Warning: Swearing, sex.

Plot: You are a member of your school’s student council and a major event pops up in the midst of your last year of high school. Managing studies, extra curriculum activities, social life and now this extravagant pain in the ass. There is no way this could get worse. Or is there?

Part 1

“Could you hurry up? I have things to do y'know?”, you say loosely.

“It’s not like I’m fixing a minor bug. How did you even manage to fuck the circuit this bad?” “Hey! I didn’t do this”, you say while having flashbacks to this afternoon.

Aria took the responsibility to keep your group’s working model safe. Obviously, she couldn’t live up to her words. She won’t live up to anything if this isn’t fixed. She won’t live. Period. ‘I will kill her’, you think because tomorrow is the deadline for the submission of your physics project.

“I really appreciate these magnificent moments we spend together Ron, but how much more time do you need?”

“An hour.”

“Fine”, you reply to Ron while texting Taehyung to see if he is free right now.

Taehyung: Always free for you. ;) Room no. 428 on the 7th floor. See you in 20?

You: You got it.

‘Hm, I didn’t expect him to invite me up to his room.’ You think for a brief moment.

You knock twice on the door with 428 on it. This hotel seemed really fancy to you. Well it is not that big of a deal as one of the most famous K-Pop groups is staying here.

Taehyung opens the door with a sweet smile inviting you in. He was barefaced with no makeup on and god did he look beautiful. He was wearing sweatpants with a black hoodie which looked amazing on him. ‘What a great outfit. Why can’t I look like that? Ugh he is so beautiful. And hot. And beautiful. Did I mention beautiful?’

“Y/N?”

“Uh-yeah?”

“I asked why were you out this late?”

“Oh my friend fucked up our physics project and it is due tomorrow. Had to get it fixed.”

“I see. Physics. Are you like a nerd or something?”, he says with a scrunched nose and playful smile while standing on the opposite side of the room leaning on the wall.

“Oh you have no idea.”

“I don’t like nerds”, he says with an intention to tease you.

“Nerds don’t like you either”, you respond while stepping back because Taehyung was walking slowly towards you while looking at the floor which made you nervous yet excited.

“I know one nerd who likes me”, he says smugly still walking across the room getting closer to you.

“Are you sure?”, you reply while trying to find his eyes that were still glued to the floor. Was he shy? He wasn’t shy before at the dorms.

“I’m certain”, he says finally looking at you with not much distance in between.

“Well I-”, you’re cut off by Taehyung jolting you towards him. He closes the distance between you two by pulling you forward with a firm grip on your waist. No space between your bodies and only an inch keeping your faces apart. He leaned his forehead on yours. “What do you want me to do?” he whispers while looking into your eyes almost making you wonder if he could see your soul.

You move to meet his lips with yours but he shifts avoiding your kiss. 

“Say it.”

His hands were never still and kept traveling on your back. Up and down. Grip getting a bit hard. Hinting a bit desperation. 

“What do you want me to do?” he repeats himself getting impatient.

“Me.”

And that was it. His lips crash into yours with a significant force. Your arms wrap around his neck involuntarily and his hands find their way under your t-shirt. You flinch at his touch which was oh, so soft. He lifts you up and you wrap your legs around his waist perfectly never breaking the kiss filled with lust. You were adjusting yourself and you accidentally brush your crotch on his which made him groan loud while still kissing you. Shit that was so hot.

He sits on the couch with you straddling his lap. Your hands were unbuttoning his shirt while your hips were rolling on his to an inaudible rhythm. 

“Oh fuck Y/N”, he says with his eyes shut close, “Stop doing that or I’ll be done right here.”

You chuckled while cupping his face to kiss him. His hands were on your back now sliding down slowly in your black jeans.

“Ah shit!”, you heard a man exclaim.

You both turn your head to your right following the voice coming from a similar figure who now had his face turned around.

“For fuck’s sake Jungkook!”

“I didn’t plan to walk in on you! How about a heads up next time you have a girl over in OUR room?!”, he says with a tone of disgust.

You were now sitting besides Taehyung on the couch while fixing your clothes.

“I’m so sorry about this”, he says while looking at you with an apologetic smile.

“No it’s okay”, you say with your already flustered face completed with a somewhat genuine smile.

“PD-nim wants to talk to you and Namjoon hyung about your song”, he says without turning around.

“Great timing PD-nim”, Taehyung mumbles to himself, “I’m sorry Y/N. This is a bit important so I have to go.” 

“It’s okay Taehyung, I’ll just go-”

“No no. Please stay. What are you going to do for another 40 minutes anyway at this time of the night? Feel free to hang around. I’ll try to come back as soon as possible.” 

“Yeah, okay”, you say giving him a warm smile. 

 “See you in a bit”, he gets up and opens the door. Before stepping outside he looks at you again and winks. ‘Flirt.’

 ‘Well, this is weird. Jungkook was it? Yeah probably.’ He settled himself on the side sofa chair and started browsing through netflix as if you weren’t sitting on the adjacent couch. What is even happening?

“Mhm, nope”, you hear a faint mumble. ‘What am I doing here again? What is he doing here again? What is with these Korean guys and their breathtaking looks? Such great skin. How. The. Fuck. It is imp-’

“What?”, you hear the man say. ‘Was I staring? Oh well.’

“You have nice skin.”

“I know.”

“Cocky much?”

“I’m cocky? I don’t scream at strangers.”

“I was really sleepy.”

“Sure, love.”

You scoff at his reply. 

“You don’t waste time do you?”, he says with a chuckle at an attempt to tease you about Taehyung.

“What’s the fun in that?”, you say with a wink directed towards the person who is now a bit confused at your unpredictable reply. 

“You’re a good dancer”, he muttered with the most neutral expression while staring at the screen of the television in front of him.

“When did you see me dance?”

“I saw some of your performances earlier today. Ms. Cooper had them in her drive. She is a difficult woman”, he says with a sigh.

“She definitely is. Thanks though.”

“I mean you’re good but you could be better you know? You’re holding something back. Something is holding you back. Either one of these. I don’t know what it is but I’m sure you can find that out yourself. Let everything go when you’re dancing.”

‘What? What is he saying? I am completely open to criticism but is this criticism? What does he mean? I am holding something back? Something is holding me back? No one has ever said this to me. Sure, they’ve pointed out areas in which I could work on but how am I supposed to work on this, this, um, mere observation?’

‘You know what? I didn’t sign up for a therapy session. Time to run away from my problems’, you think.

“Uh-huh, gotcha! Okay got to go, bye!”, you say while standing up and walking at a fast pace towards the door.

“Did I say something wrong?”, Jungkook is completely puzzled at your reaction and is still blank when he sees you leaving and shutting the door on your way out.

“Alright guys, let’s start! Choose a partner”, Ms. Cooper screams in the dance hall filled with the dancers of our school, bighit and of course, members of BTS.

“Y/N! Go pair up with either Hoseok or Jungkook”, Ms. Cooper says.

‘Well shit, where is Hoseok? There! You take in a breath of relief but it’s long gone when you see him pairing up with someone else.’

‘Fuck.’

“Can I get a different partner, Ms. Cooper?”

“No. You’re one of our best dancers and we need to put up a solid impression. Go on now!”, she says while checking something off on a white sheet.

‘Ugh. Why is she even here? She can’t even dance. Where is Ms. Dallas? She is our dance teacher right? God save me from this confrontation.’

You walk up to Jungkook who is sitting on the floor tying his shoelaces.

“Hey”, you mumble.

He looks up to you and then looks behind him where there is nothing but a wall.

“Who? Me?”, he says with the most innocent face you’ve ever seen.

“Do you have to be this extra?”

“Can’t help it. Also, can we not run away from each other every time we meet?”

“No, no, it’s not working. You have to give in or this choreography won’t look good. Founder’s Gala is no joke! From the top!”, Ms. Cooper screams yet again.

It’s 8:45 pm. ‘We’ve been practicing since 1:30 pm. My limbs are ready to fall off because of this draining choreography I’ve to do with Jungkook. He is an amazing dancer. Along with Hoseok and Jimin, of course. This a 3 piece performance where you and Jungkook are supposed to dance the last and final segment. And you have to end it with a bang.’

“Okay, enough for today. You both need to work harder. Get some rest.”

Everyone leaves except you and Jungkook because he had the idea of staying back and practicing for a while. ‘What is with him and his need to be perfect at everything?’

You pick up your water bottle and lean against the big mirror-covered wall where Jungkook’s eyes are glued as he is trying to perfect the choreography.

“Calm down for a minute yeah? We can do this. We just need some time”, you say softly while sipping water from your bottle.

“Yeah right. This is a complex choreography where the two individuals have to be in complete sync and showcase their chemistry. I can’t do that alone but I can at least perfect my part.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“This is clearly not important to you because it is not worth your time right? Your movements are distant and don’t even get me started on the fact that you can’t even look me in the eye”, he says without any hint of anger but a bit annoyance while his eyes are still fixated on his swift moves which has a bit contemporary touch along with freestyle.

“You think you know everything? How about not assuming shit the next time you can’t figure out another person’s situation? I’m trying here so cut me some fucking slack yeah? It is not easy switching back and forth between this and studies and loads of other shit. My future isn’t set like yours. I have to get into a good college, do what I’ve been planning to do for years, and actually be the person I want to be!”

His expression is shifting. Shifting into.. anger? His jaw clenches as he stop his moves and stands there with his eyes closed.

“What is with you? Why do you have to be so difficult? You aren’t this difficult to deal with around other people. You’re not the only one having a tough time. This isn’t easy for me either okay?! I haven’t seen my family in the last 5 months. I miss them. Am I whining? No, because it won’t do anything.”

“Do they miss you?”, you say. This caused his eyes to soften a bit as he walks towards his bag to get his water bottle.

“Yes, they do. My dad tries not to show his emotions but it’s pretty much clear. It’s kinda cute though. Why?”

“Nothing, just wondering how it’s like have a family that loves you. My only family is my mom. She is a blessing”, you say with a smile while you picture your mom smiling.

“What happened to your dad?”

“Nothing. He’s just an asshole. Left when I was 7 to be with my mom’s best friend and kinda forgot that I existed. He has a son now. Cool right?”

“I’m sorry to hear that. You both deserve better than this”, he says now standing next to you with his back leaned back on the mirror just like you. You both keep looking across the room without saying anything for a few minutes.

“Are you okay?”, he breaks the silence still looking at the wall opposite to you both.

“Yes. Are you?”

“Yep.”

“Okay.”

“Look, I’m sorry about what I said yesterday about you not giving your hundred percent while dancing. I think that might have to do with the fact you’ve been distant all day. I still think you are holding something back and honestly, running away from it won’t help either. Just let me explain what I’m trying to say.”

He walks to the centre of the hall facing the mirror and urges you to join him by raising his eyebrows.

“Trust me, I won’t bite.”

You walk up to his side and get in your starting position.

“There’s no music”, you say while facing him.

“Doesn’t matter”, he replies while looking at you with determination in his eyes. You can see similarities between him and a toddler who is trying to get his shoelace knots right.

“Five, six, seven,”

You start with the first movement of your hand to your side on shoulder-level. Jungkook stands behind you with almost no space between your bodies and mirrors every move of yours. In between a few steps he holds you and makes you reach farther as if you’re trying to get a hold of something out of your reach. 

“It may be impossible to reach but you have to go as far as you can”, he says in a low volume close to your right ear. He grips your left wrist and make the steps flow out in such a breeze stepping sideways twice. The next part of the choreography involves both of you. You turn around to face him and hold his right hand in your left.

“Just look at me the whole time. Do not break eye contact okay?”

You nodded. What followed was something you’ve never done before. This was the first time you had no other thoughts while dancing. Only your movements. Turning, twirling with synchronized foot work and hand gestures was all that mattered in that moment. As you did the last spin you had to land in Jungkook’s arms while your back is pressed to his chest and his hands wrapped around yours. You haven’t tried this part out in practice all day but this time, everything happened so smoothly that God knows how you got into the perfect end position.

You both stayed in the same position while breathing heavily. You look into his eyes in the mirror and give him a huge smile expressing your gratitude towards him for doing this.

“You get what I’m saying now?”, he says softly as you turn to face him. Your hands are pressed against his chest and you can hear his heart beating at a very quick rate. Your eyes are now looking down which results in him trying to find them by leaning his forehead against yours in an attempt to lift it up while his hands are on your shoulders. You finally give in and look into his big doe eyes and mutter a very faint thank you. 

You both keep looking into each other’s eyes as if you’re waiting for something. Waiting for something to happen. You both are still out of breath and your heavy breathing is the only thing echoing in the dance hall. 

“You did great”, Jungkook says without moving a muscle. Your faces were so close that when he spoke, his warm breath hit you which intoxicated you with his aura. Both of you crash your lips into each other’s almost at the same time.

This kiss had a very passionate vibe as you both were slow and steady yet ready to burst with the tingly feelings you were getting all over your body. The kiss got bigger and bigger as you held onto his shoulders to lift yourself a bit up to reach him completely because you did not want to leave any part untouched. His hands were on your waist gripping the sides firmly. He bit your lower lip in anticipation of what might happen next.

Suddenly, your mouth felt empty as he broke the kiss.

“Aren’t you and Taehyung a thing?”

“No. We’re not dating or anything”, you assure him.

“Then what are you doing?”, he asks you.

“Um..”

“I’m just messing with you. Fuck buddies right?”, he giggles.

“Fuck you”, you say while slapping his shoulder.

“You’re about to”, he says with a very prominent smirk across his face.

He resumes kissing you without any warning. This kiss is more feisty and demanding. You tug his white T-shirt’s end and pull it over his head revealing his bare chest. He lifts up your crop top and tosses it on the floor. You slowly start going in the direction he is walking in, towards the wooden desk placed in the corner of the hall. He lifts you up and sets you on the table without breaking the kiss. His hands are on your waistband which are now pulled down to your ankles. You kick the cloth off of your ankles and start unbuttoning his jeans. He left your lips and started kissing your neck with very light bites which were going to be easily visible the next day.

You hear a buzzing sound coming from your pants on the floor which turned out to be your teacher’s call. 

“Yes, ma’am. I’m on my way. Yes ma’am”, you say into your phone while wearing your shoes.

“Raincheck?”

“Yeah”, he replies with a pout. 

“I’m sorry Jungkook.”

“No it’s okay. I’ll deal with you when you get back. Come by my room when you’re done.”

PART 3