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purpleyoonn · 11 months

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baby (you complete us) 12

C H A P T E R T W E L V E

Summary: Soulmates were a common occurrence, so common, in fact, that the world sought an easier way to find your other half: A bracelet that would scan your mark and match you with those who shared your mark. Within recent years, soul groups were becoming normal, and your own bracelet said you have seven matches.

Or where you wear your bracelet for ten years, and finally give up the hope you would find your soul group, only for BTS to put theirs on and see what they were missing.

Genre: soulmate au, idol au, angst, fluff, eventual smut,

Pairing: Idol BTS x Disabled MC

Warnings: angst, mentions of depression, disabled mc (Ehlers Danlos syndrome), eventual smut, fluff, lots of fluff, mentions of disability, simp bangtan

Chapter Warnings: protective bangtan, anxious mc, mc has a panic attack, more of mc’s background, mentions of bullying, some issues with consent, mc has all the feelings, Hobi bonding with mc, some cuteness overload,

*Words in Italics are spoken/written in Korean*

beta’d/edited by the lovely @babyarmybias

masterlist // chapter 11 // chapter 13

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Previously on baby (you complete us):

“Thank you for doing this, Noona! We will tag you when it gets posted!” Yeonjun exclaims once you were done filming in front of one of the portraits outside of the café.

“Thank you! It was fun. I could really go for a drink now though!” You laugh as the boys agree with your statement, Taehyun and Soobin pulling your arms and dragging you into the café.

The café was one of the things you didn’t get to see on your tour with Songun, given it wasn’t near the meeting room you met the boys in. You were still shocked when you walked in and realized the café was more like a cafeteria, with many different food options, vendors, and drink options galore. You were awestruck, ignoring the laughter coming from the boys as they dragged you to the smaller coffee vendor.

“What drink would you like, Noona?” Taehyun asked you as he began looking over the options. You looked over the menu but didn’t see anything you recognized so you just told him to pick something out for you.

His eyes grew wide in excitement, animatedly looking over the coffee options as you turned around, looking for a seat nearby. Your knee was giving you trouble as you could feel it shifting with every step you took, and you needed to massage it soon before it inevitably popped out.

You didn’t want to embarrass yourself in front of your new friends, and a sure-fire way to do that was to have your body work against you. You couldn’t stand the looks you would get whenever you had to pop something back in or massage your body to counteract the pain you felt in your joints.

You moved to the counter to pay, only after receiving a weird look from the barista did you realize you forgot you didn’t have to pay for anything. You nod your head awkwardly, not waiting for the boys as you moved to the closest seat and began massaging the muscles around your knee cap. You couldn’t stand up any longer or you knew your kneecap would pop out.

You sit down slowly, with care, and place your drink on the table before bending down a little to massage the muscle to the side of your knee cap. It was a long-practiced massage, something your specialist recommended to you when you were in school and always on the move. You were regretting not bringing your cane with you today, thinking you wouldn’t need it.

You always did this to yourself. You had a good day yesterday, so you thought you would have one today. But of course, why would you have two good days in a row?

“Are you okay, Noona?” Taehyun had come up to you, noticing you had disappeared from next to him. He was concerned that you were hurt, seeing you rub at your knee. The entire building knew about your disability, a few concerned words overheard by one of the staff after walking past Jin and Sejin had spread to everyone within the span of an hour.

Your head shot up at Taehyun’s question, not realizing he was standing in front of you.

“Y-Yes, I’m okay.” You nod your head as you speak, trying to reassure him you were fine, but failing to do so as your stutter gives you away. You try to play it off as you forgot the word for yes, but he just shook his head.

“Do we need to go get hyungs?” Taehyun asks just as the others walk over.

“Go get hyungs for what?” Beomgyu questions Taehyun before seeing you and the way you were practically cradling your knee. “Ahhhhhh.” He nods his head in understanding.

“Do you need us to go get the hyungs?” Heuning Kai ask you softly, leaning over so he was almost whispering in your ear. You appreciate the sentiment, but it seems people were beginning to look your direction anyway.

You look around shyly, not wanting everyone to know what was going on.

“Everyone is curious about BTS hyungs’ soulmate.” Yeonjun states, seeing the way you were looking around. “The announcement was pretty big, especially after the one they put out about trying to find you.” You let out a sigh at his words, understanding what was going on but that didn’t mean you necessarily felt comfortable with all the looks.

“Why don’t we take you back to Hyungs? They should be having a break right now…” Yeonjun trailed off as he looked at his phone.

“Okay.” You stood up slowly, testing your weight on your knee, hiding your wince at the sharp pain.

“Oh! I promised them I would bring them something back from the café!” You make for the counter again but hands gently push you back into your seat.

“Rest, noona. We will go get hyung’s favorites!”

-*-*-

And grab their favorites they did. Not only did they arrive back to the table with three drink carriers and two paper bags filled with pastries, but they insisted to helping you to bring everything back to the practice room, Soobin even assisting you in walking once he realized you were favoring your leg.

“You better put your arm back by your side, Soobin!” You chastis for the third time, seeing him bring his arm back out to try and carry you. He kept insisting that he didn’t want you walking on your leg and that he should carry you back to the room, but, of course, you insisted the opposite. You weren’t fragile and didn’t need to be carried anywhere.

“Hyung, will you get the door please!” Beomgyu and Taehyun plead out, trying to not have the drink carriers fall as they make it to the door. Soobin looks at you again, before moving over to the door of the boys’ practice room, music still blasting from the speakers. You recognized the song this time as the chorus to Idol plays. As the door opens you begin to limp over to Yeonjun who holds one of the pastry bags and a drink carrier.

“Here, give me one.” You hold your hand out, but he shakes his head.

“Noona, you’re hurt. It’s okay.” He steps back, moving towards the open door but you just follow him.

“I’m fine though! I promise. I just want to help.” You insist again, stepping into the room and still reaching for the pastry bag.

“Noona you’re hurt. You don’t need to be carrying anything.” Yeonjun is stubborn, you’ll give him that, but unfortunately, someone overhears his words. Footsteps come pounding towards you and Soobin and suddenly you are picked up, your chest pressed against theirs and your thighs tossed around their hips.

“Jungkook, I’m fine!” You whine as soon as you realize who picked you up, his scent making you feel calm despite your embarrassment. You slumped in his arms, trying to hide yourself in his sweatshirt hood as he walked away from the younger boys.

“What happened?” You hear Namjoon ask Heuning Kai as he was closest to the leader.

“Y/n Noona hurt her knee at the cafe.” Was his simple reply, not exactly knowing what happened to your knee.

Jungkook carried you over to the seat you were sitting in before, and proceeded to kneel in front of you and holding your leg up so he could look over your knee. He instantly became a “doctor” prodding and running his fingers over the expanse of your knee, trying to feel for anything out of the normal.

Yoongi and Taehyung also came over, leaning over Jungkook and looking at your knee, the three men ignoring your attempts to push them away. You were bordering the line between feeling embarrassed and humiliated and it had your cheeks red and eyes blurring with tears.

“Please stop. I’m fine.” You repeated, trying to get their hands off of you. You didn’t care that they were your soulmates at this moment, you just wanted to go back to your hotel.

“Please stop touching me. I’m okay.” You tried to push Jungkook’s hands away, but he was more focused on your knee, even though his touch wasn’t helping in the slightest. You could tell that the others could hear you, Jimin and Namjoon glancing your way and Hoseok trying to get the focus of everyone off of you by asking the boys what they had brought.

You felt like you were in school again, getting made fun of for your knee dislocating in gym class. You hated everyone watching you, trying to see if you were faking or not, ignoring the pain and tears rolling down your cheeks as your gym teacher stresses over your disfigured knee, wondering if she should call and ambulance.

The insults “attention whore” and “lazy” running through your mind from when you were younger as everyone in the room continues to look at you now, Namjoon and Jimin beginning to walk your way as Jin says his thanks to the boys. One final prod of your knee from Yoongi has you snapping, pushing them away from you and pulling your knee to yourself.

“I asked you to please stop touching me.” You push out, trying to stop the tears already flowing down your cheeks. You were even more embarrassed now, crying in front of them. You hated how emotional you get, especially when you get stuck in your head with your past.

“Baby, I—” You cut off Yoongi, his face shocked at your actions.

“I think I would like to go back to my hotel now.” You whispered, withdrawn, and looking down at your lap. You felt a tug in your chest as Jungkook moved closer, trying to get you to look at him.

“Baby, We’re sorry. We just wanted to make sure you were alright.”

“We got worried when we heard Soobinnie say you were hurt. Our instincts took over.” Taehyung finished Jungkook’s thought. Namjoon tried not to interrupt, but he knew he had to.

“Our instincts don’t make us ignore the words of our mate, though. We all heard her ask you not to touch her.” Namjoon scolded the three, even Yoongi looking down in guilt.

“We are all so sorry, Y/n. We should have listened to you; there is no excuse.” Yoongi spoke up, his eyes piercing your own as he spoke.

Jimin, Jin, and Hoseok stood a couple feet away, watching as you close in on yourself. Jimin couldn’t believe how everything changed so quickly. They were making such good progress with you, their bond with you was growing and solidifying and now, he was only hoping you didn’t change hotels and block their numbers.

“Honey, please stay. I know that you want your alone time, but you just entered the next stage of the bond with Jungkook. It will hurt both of you if you are alone for two long now. At least, until we all have completed the bond.” Namjoon explains. “Besides that, I don’t think you really want to be alone right now.” His town turning in on her.

And he was right. The first stage of the bond had just solidified with Jungkook the night before. You knew what would happen if you were apart for long. You also knew you didn’t want to be alone. You hated that he was right about that.

All you wanted was to be comforted, to be wrapped in their arms and told that everything was okay. You’ve never felt like that before. Usually you want to be alone, lying in bed and wrapped under the covers, completely hidden from view.

Now, all you wanted was to be comforted by your soulmates.

One look from you was all it took for Jungkook to lift you off the chair and into his arms, sitting himself down and holding you in his lap. The tug in your chest finally settling, the embarrassment and insecurity slowly ebbing away the longer he held you to him.

Once the others started moving away, Jungkook having motioned to them while you weren’t paying attention, he began to comb his fingers through your hair, massaging your scalp as he did so. He knew it helped soothe your mind and calm your body.

“I am so sorry, baby. I need to open my ears and become more aware even with my instincts screaming at me.” He squeezed you a little tighter. “Please don’t be mad at me. Please don’t leave.” You could truly hear the fear behind his words, thinking you would leave them.

Jungkook had really thought he messed up everything. He thought you were going to reject them now; he was so sure about it. He tried not to imagine the pain the others would feel at your absence, and only hoped he could fix things between you.

“I may not…understand the bond like you do.” You started, still trying to find your words. “But I wouldn’t reject you all over something as small as this.” Almost immediately Jungkook began to protest.

“It’s not ‘something small’ if it makes you cry.” He adjusted you on his lap so you were now facing him. “We are all still getting to know each other, still growing the bond our souls have. I can understand if you don’t want to talk about it now, but I would like to know what made you cry so I can fix it.” He brings his palm up to your cheek, cupping it. “I hate seeing you cry. It makes me want to fight who or whatever it is that made those precious tears fall.”

You look down again, trying to decide if you had enough courage to tell him the real reason behind your tears, or a slimmed down version of your feelings.

“I uhm, was embarrassed.” You decide to tell him, to try and explain what was going through your head.

“When I was younger, before the doctors had figured out what was wrong with me, I was just known as “clumsy” and “lazy” by everyone. No one ever taking my pain or injuries seriously. Even doctors just told me it was my weight, despite being healthy. I was told I was just looking for attention.” You tried blinking away your tears, feeling them begin to pool on your waterline.

“It got really bad when physical education became a class in middle school and high school. I hadn’t received a diagnosis yet which meant I had to push my limits for a grade. One day…” You pause, swallowing down the choking sob so you could talk.

“We were supposed to be running the mile for our fitness test. I was in eighth grade and barely lasted one lap before my knee dislocated. It wasn’t the first time any of my joints fully dislocated, but it hurt all the same.” You began to explain the memory you flashed back to. You couldn’t help but grip his shirt tighter, your body full of anxiety.

Jungkook almost wants to tell you to stop. That he doesn’t need to know, not if it makes your heart hurt, or if you are pushing yourself to open up to him. That was the last thing he wanted to do, to push you into anything.

“I remember falling to the ground, my knee in excruciating pain. I hadn’t gotten used to the feeling yet, but I didn’t want to have everyone looking at me and wondering “What did she do now?” like I did this on purpose. I didn’t want anyone’s attention and I remember swearing to myself that I would finish the mile. So, I moved to put my knee back into place but the teacher had already seen me on the floor.” You grimace, remembering vividly how she ran up to you.

“Her voice seemed to be attached to a microphone as she yelled across the field, telling me not to touch my knee and asking if I was okay. She made a huge deal about it, sitting next to me and trying to figure out if she should call an ambulance. She even got another teacher involved.” Jungkook was confused, wanting to know what you meant by making a big deal out of the situation.

“I had spent months already putting my knee back into place and with everyone looking at me I just remember starting to cry, pushing my teacher away. Everyone’s stares on me, the whispers I could hear and the laughter coming from some of my classmates had me feeling humiliated. I felt even worse when my teacher did call an ambulance.” You whispered the last sentence, unable to stop the tears from slowly falling down your cheek.

Jungkook now understood everything, with the help of some of the Soul Bracelet messages he remembered reading. (read: that he continues to read every night so he doesn’t forget anything) He recalled reading multiple messages where you vented about growing up hearing that you needed to stop “attention seeking” and that you were faking your injuries, with classmates making fun of you, and no one believing you, that day was just a culmination of everything at once. Your dislike of attention and being the center of it, especially when injured, now made complete sense.

He couldn’t help it, cupping your cheek and tilting your head up so he could see you. The feeling of your wet skin under his thumb as he wiped away your tears was something he didn’t want to feel again under the circumstances. Placing a soft and slow kiss to your lips, trying to push through his feelings of love and admiration for you, he held you close, closer than he already was.

He knew he would tell the boys this later on, somehow, but for now, you needed him.

“I am so sorry, baby. For everything. I will do my absolute best to stop that from happening again now that I know.” Jungkook kissed your mouth again, a chaste kiss that had your lips tingling. You don’t think you will get used to that, ever.

-*-*-

You were able to be held by Jungkook only for a little bit longer, seeing as they did have things to do today. But after receiving his hoodie again, you were happily snuggled into it eating your forgotten watermelon cup from earlier. You had borrowed Namjoon’s headphones, after repeatedly asking if he was sure, and watched TikToks on your phone.

You don’t know how long has passed before Taehyung is placing kisses to your face in a quick attack to steal your attention. A squeal escapes your lips as the headphones fall off your head and another set of kisses is aimed.

“Oh baby! We’re all finished which means kisses!” Taehyung sings, making you laugh at the reminder. But before he can give your face even more kisses, he is pulled away by Jin.

“Hi, baby. We have some recording to do in the studio, but after that we were hoping to take you to dinner. Then maybe some movies at our place?” Jin smiled at you, seemingly nonchalant but on the inside, he was freaking out. His eyes showed the hope he had for the evening, showed his desire to just get to know you more and spend time with you.

To you, it sounded nice. Just a simple night with all seven of them. It’s not something you’ve had the chance to experience yet. You make the first move this time, moving forward and putting your lips on his plump ones, shocking the man. Jin was in heaven at the feeling of your lips on his and he almost cried when the kiss was over, your big smile aimed at him ones he opened his eyes again.

“That sounds nice, Jinnie.” You verbally respond to his words, making the others silently cheer at your acceptance.

You move to snuggle back into the couch, only for Jin’s hand to move into your line of vision, his palm up and ready for you to take. You look up at him, confusion written on your face.

“You didn’t think we were going to leave you here, did you?” Jin’s tone was teasing but held a real question, wondering if he didn’t make the plans obvious enough.

You did actually think the plan was for you to stay in the practice room. You didn’t know what rooms you had access to yet, despite the boys saying you had access to everything they did. You didn’t know if they were just saying that or not.

“Oh uhm, okay.” You didn’t answer his question, but the blush of embarrassment on your cheeks did. But Jin, nor the others, said anything about it. They knew the relationship between you all was still so new, so innocent that they didn’t want anything to go wrong, not like the incident earlier.

You took his hand and he helped you up off the couch, not letting go of your hand as he led you out the doors and through the building until you reached the studio he was talking about.

On the way to the studio, you walked by numerous staff members but your eyes stuck on the trainees who passed by as well. There were a couple groups of them, probably going from class to class, you thought. They bowed to your group a couple of times, some of them even stopping to bow a full ninety degrees. It was weird seeing it, but you knew it was a show of respect for the boys.

Jin was first up to do his thing in the studio, your eyes barely catching the soft wink he sends you as he gives your hand a small squeeze before letting go and moving into the booth as your vision swept over the recording studio. There were buttons and keys of all kinds and you were curious and wanted to push every single one, needing to know what each button did.

Hoseok caught your eye and put his hand on your lower back, moving you to sit in the producer’s chair and he knelt by your side. He knew it would take some time for Jin to get himself ready in the booth, so he took the time to indulge your curiosity.

The others watched on as Hobi spoke animatedly about the digital audio workstation, pressing buttons and telling Jin to speak into the microphone to show what each button did. Hobi loved the way your eyes lit up when a particular button made Jin sound like a chipmunk. He loved the sparkle in your eye and the fascination with the workstation. He couldn’t help but imagine you and him in the studio one day, making a song together.

When Jin was ready, Hobi let you stay in the chair, telling you what buttons to push while he instructed the room. Hobi, along with Namjoon and Yoongi, were in full producer mode now, but still held patience as you pushed the buttons and used the workstation.

As each member went into the booth, Hobi would let you know how to save the audio and would give you the biggest smile and praise you for your work and help.

“You could be our producer!” He smiled so wide that you ended up blushing under his praise. You felt like a little kid, wanting to do anything to make Hobi smile and praise you again.

“No, no. I’m just pushing the buttons.” You tried to play it off but he just shook his head, shaking his finger at you.

“Nope! You are now our producer.” He stated it with such conviction that you had to look away from him, not wanting him to see you blush, your cheeks surely lobster red by now.

Once the boys were done, two hours or so had passed. Hobi explained to you that they just needed to record some adlibs for their final song for the album, and that it would be quick. Having seen some “Bangtan Bombs” where the boys were in the studio, you could only guess they were normally here for hours and hours a day.

You had been so relaxed and at ease that you didn’t even realize Hobi had slipped his hand in yours, intertwining your hands together so he could hold it. It took him helping you out of the chair for you to notice. You didn’t realize how easy it was to feel comfortable with Hobi, to feel like you had known him forever.

Being with Hobi was easy and simple. Effortless.

It was like you could go to him for anything and you knew he would just smile and listen to you. It also helped that he had a penchant for squeezing your hand in reassurance, as if speaking to you in morse code. He just smiles softly at you and hums under his breath. His actions speak louder than his words, the silence filled with so much that you don’t even notice the silence when you’re with him.

As you all move to the big SUV to go to the restaurant the boys rented out, you pull Hobi so sit next to you, feeling the same way you did with Jungkook the previous day. You wanted to see who he was beyond the cameras of Bangtan that you got to know him from. You had a sweet smile on your face, giving his hand a gentle squeeze as you laid your head on his shoulders, smiling softly, wanting to stay in this moment for a little longer.

The car ride was filled with music and lots of talking; Taehyung asking what the name of the restaurant was, Namjoon asking what kinds of movies we all wanted to watch that night, Jungkook asking what snacks we were going to have, all while you and Hobi just talked. You asked him about his family and he asked about yours.

You already knew about his older sister, and he somewhat knew about your siblings, but he

still listened attentively as you talked about your family.

“My older sister is protective and was the one to help me get my diagnosis after my mom passed. She went to every appointment with me and made sure I was eating and drinking. She actually made a joke at one point that you all would be my soulmates, and after I got off the phone with you the first time, I immediately called her.” Hobi smiled as he listened, glad to know that you had someone there for you when they couldn’t be. It hurt to know you suffered through so much in such a short time frame.

He rubbed his thumb across the top of your hand, trying to soothe you as he noticed your voice shaking a little.

“My brother, on the other hand, is also protective, but like the stereotypical older brother way. He is the only other one of us who has met his soulmate. Lena is super sweet and they met in middle school. She’s like an older sister to me.” At some point, everyone else in the car had stopped their conversations to listen to you. They wanted to know everything they could, and they loved knowing you had a supportive family by your side.

When you got to the restaurant, you ended up sitting in between Hobi and Jungkook at the large booth. Jin took control of ordering the food, while Hobi and Jungkook whispered to you what Jin was ordering so you knew what was going on. It was really sweet.

While waiting for the food, you joined in on the movie conversation that Namjoon and Jimin had started. They seemed to be fighting over two different movies and you questioned why you couldn’t just watch them both. They looked at you and began trying to get you to see their point of view.

“We don’t want to watch it again because its boring…”

“He always falls asleep during the best parts!”

“There are so many mindless plot points that…”

Your head was whipping back and forth as you tried to keep up with their arguments, the boys speaking so fast you eventually had to give up. You sat back down in your seat, returning the soft smiles that Jin and Yoongi gave you from across the table.

“It’s okay, pretty girl. They always get this way about movies. We tend to just pick one out and put it on before they notice anyways.” Hobi leans over and whispers in your ear, making you nod your head in understanding.

“They get passionate like this over movies, huh?” You ask, almost rhetorically, as you watch it firsthand. You smiled as you watched them, Jimin throwing sass making Namjoon roll his eyes at the younger man.

“They are more alike than I think they realize.” Hobi whispers back, “They are both passionate beings. Just in different ways. But they both have strong feelings about what they believe in, which makes the debate about which movie to watch an entertaining and sometimes chaotic event.” Hearing his words, you had a new perspective for the two boys, not even just in the capacity of arguing. It was like a new light shown on the two men and it had you wanting to know more about them.

After Hobi’s words, a multitude of waiters came over and placed plate upon plate of food down on the table. The entire table was covered with food and it was at this moment you realized just how much food the boys could eat. You guessed most of the plates would be empty by the time you all were ready to leave.

Your guess was cemented once Jin grabbed his first piece of food, signaling to everyone else that they could start. You didn’t know what to grab, everything looking so good, that you were kind of sitting there in awe. You were shaken out of it though once you saw chopsticks placing meat onto your empty plate.

Hobi, on pure instinct, was making sure you had enough food on your plate before everyone else got their pick. He tried giving you a little of everything, but he also gave you some extra meat pieces, knowing you had a liking for them from your KBBQ trip with the maknaes.

Once Hobi put the first piece of meat on your plate, however, Taehyung and Jungkook noticed and also began putting food on your plate. Soon enough your plate was overflowing with food, and you had to stop your mates from continuing to give you more food.

It was a sweet gesture, but you couldn’t even make a dent in your plate. You ate slowly, savoring every flavor and taste you could. Despite not being used to Korean cuisine yet, you were slowly falling in love with all of it. Unfortunately, you could not handle any spice. You wanted to, but your mouth would slowly descend into flames if you even tried to eat anything even remotely spicy.

So, at one point, you’re pretty sure you asked for a drink refill three times within ten minutes.

“Are you okay?” Jungkook asked you, noticing you fanning your mouth from the heat as you slowly chewed your food.

“Uhm, yeah.” Your voice was pitched higher as you tried to reassure him you were fine, eyes watering and cheeks heating up.

Jungkook just quirked his eyebrow at you, automatically catching you in your lie. Taehyung was the same way with spicy foods, so Jungkook knew you were battling against the foods he had put on your plate. He didn’t mean to, he only wanted you to be able to try everything.

Movement from the side caught your attention, as Hobi found a small empty plate and began removing everything on your own plate that was spicy and depositing it onto the smaller plate with the help of Taehyung. They both had seen how you reacted to the food and Taehyung helped tell Hobi everything that would give you trouble, knowing from experience.

It was nice and heartwarming; it didn’t make you feel like a burden. Normally if this happened, if you tried to do something about it, like ordering a glass of milk, you friends would make fun of you, or your family would complain that they had to always go through the trouble of not getting what they wanted because you couldn’t handle anything spicy.

Despite having a supportive and loving family, it was hard not to feel like you were a burden growing up. Sometimes a single scoff or deep breath of air from someone could have you becoming silent, trying to hide behind your hair.

The boys didn’t make you feel this way. They didn’t make exaggerated movements as they removed the spicy food from your plate; they only sent you reassuring smiles and glances as they made sure they removed everything.

“It’s okay, baby. I don’t like spicy foods either.” Taehyung reassured you again, before starting to eat his food, not giving the situation a second glance or thought. It was nice and left you smiling as you continued to eat slowly, still struggling with using the chopsticks you were given.

For your first meal with everyone, the boys wanted to document it.

“Okay everyone, smoosh together!” Jin yelled out so he could get everyone into frame on his phone. He was the one taking the selfie, his long arms giving him the advantage as he sat at the end of the table.

You had your cheeks almost pressed to Hobi’s as he had an arm around your shoulder. Your height was not giving you any advantage as you tried not to be hidden by anyone. You were standing on your tippy toes and smiling as big as you could, showing just how truly happy you were in the moment.

This was the first time you truly felt a part of the soul group and connected to each of the boys.

“Okay…and 3, 2, 1!” You blinked as the flash went off, hoping that your eyes weren’t closed in the photo. Jin took a couple of pictures, each one had everyone doing something different, at one point, Jungkook and Hobi both pushed their fingertips into your cheeks causing laughter to bubble from your throat.

“Are you gonna post those on Weverse, Hyung?” Jungkook asked once the photos were taken and everyone was moving towards the doors, content from their bellies being full.

The boys had all tried being active on all of their social media, but they were all still partial to Weverse, liking that they got to interact firsthand with Army. They loved reading the comments on their posts and hoped that you would come to as well.

“Yeah, but I don’t know which one to post.” Jin responded but knew he would probably post a different one to each of the Bangtan Official social media accounts.

He zoomed into your face on the last photo, laughter clear on your face as your eyes were closed. He wanted to take more pictures of you, thinking you were the perfect muse for his camera. He couldn’t help but to think you were the perfect fit for them, for their soul bond.

Jin was happy you were their missing piece.

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allthecanadianpolitics · 5 months

Text

Canada's failure to provide First Nations with clean drinking water constitutes a flagrant human rights violation, the United Nations special rapporteur on the right to water and sanitation says.

The official, following a whirlwind formal Canadian tour, expressed a litany of concerns in a preliminary report delivered verbally on Friday in Ottawa.

"I finish this almost two-week visit with mixed feelings: admiration but also frustration and even indignation," Pedro Arrojo-Agudo told reporters at the Lord Elgin hotel.

"I have witnessed the marginalization of First Nations on reserves, where in many cases the human rights to drinking water and sanitation are not respected."

Arrojo-Agudo's brisk tour of Canada included stops in Ontario, Nunavut, British Columbia and Alberta. He met with government officials, civil society groups, Indigenous people and others in Ottawa, Iqaluit, Toronto, Fort McMurray, Alta., Vancouver and Smithers, B.C.

Tagging: @vague-humanoid, @newsfromstolenland, @palipunk

#cdnpoli #human rights abuses #Indigenous persecution #water

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huggybearhughes43 · 3 months

Note

Country singer reader that’s Canada’s sweetheart reconnecting with her childhood best friend Ethan Edwards after her performance at the Calgary Stampede (since he was there tonight) leading to fluff and smut please

Worth the wait

Ethan Edwards x Fem! Reader

Warnings- smut, raw dawgin, oral (fem receiving), semi public, creampie

Summary- in the ask

Word count- 2.2k

My jaw was slacked as I stared at the phone in my hand, looking at Ethan Edwards instagram story. Ethan was in the crowd that I was to preform to in less than half an hour. The fame was random, I had posted a song that I had written years and years ago on TikTok and it blew up. My heart ached remembering the song, it was one I wrote about Ethan, my little self was head over heels for him. We never had an argument or disagreement that was the end of the friendship. Really, it was him going off to college that ended it. I couldn’t be mad at him, never. Because he was following his dreams of making it big in hockey and who was I to be selfish and stop him? Ethan and I met when we were eight, I was the new kid to school and as Ethan is, he was the first to greet me. We were inseparable ever since, his family like mine and mine like his. Well until he got into college that is. We kept in contact for months until one message a day turned to none. I couldn’t be mad because I never built up the courage to text him either, I guess we both had the same idea.

My heart almost jumped out of my chest when I heard my name announced. I put my phone down and make my way to the stage, trying my ever most best to shut out the nerves. I waved at the crowd as they cheered, smiling as I walk up to the microphone. My breath was shaky and my eyes scanned over the part of the crowd where I knew Ethan was. I cleared my throat and began my introduction. “How are we doing tonight, Alberta?” The crowd cheers and I smile. I sigh into the microphone which is followed by a laugh. “Being on tour… it’s so great to be back in my home town.” I grab the microphone of the stand and hold it to myself, “let’s make this concert one to remember, hm?” The crowd cheers again and the lights dim as my band starts their instruments.

The concert was amazing to say the least. My eyes couldn’t break contact with the area he posted the photo from. My eyes scanned along the group, wanting so bad to find the face I missed the most. My singing came to a close and the crowd cheered. My breath was shaky knowing exactly what song was next. It was my last song of the night, the one that made me famous… the one I wrote about Ethan. I contemplated admitting the truth on who the songs about. I take a deep breath and make my decision. I step back and ask my band to play the rhythm of the song slowly as I spoke and they agreed. The crowd cheered at the realization of the song and I began to confess.

“Have any of you had a person in your childhood that no matter how hard you tried you can’t forget about?” I smile and shake my head, “being back in my hometown… made me want to share this story with you all. The story behind this very song. As you’ve all probably guessed, the songs about a boy I was in love with.” I tap my foot rhythmically to the beat of the song in the background. “This wasn’t a random boy, he was my best friend for ten years. Some of you may know him, kind of a town legend for making it big on hockey.” I smile, eyes still scanning the crowd. Until my eyes met with his. I took a deep breath, he was smiling the same smile I remembered from my childhood. “So you, my hometown, heard it here first. This song is about Ethan Edwards.” The sight of his huge smile and his friends drunkenly cheering him on next to him was a sight I never wanted to forget. I forced my eyes to recognize the rest of the crowd as I began the song.

The song was slow and emotion baring. The crowd sung along, staring a theme of putting their flashlights in the air, waving the phones to the song. This was a common thing for fans to do during this song but knowing that the very reason it existed was in the crowd as well, made my eyes swell with tears. My voice grew shaky and I take myself away from the mic to compose myself, the crowd continuing the song without me. My heart swelled harshly when my eyes were brought back to where Ethan was standing. His arms were crossed with a drink in his hand. He smiled hard, like it was the only expression he knew to make. I took a deep breath and sung the song to a closing. The crowd cheered louder than I’d heard before, the bright lights turning back on the help the crowd to leave.

I thanked everyone and made my way off stage. My band cheered me on and patted my back as they walked past me. I grabbed my phone and stared at it, my thumb hovering over it as I contemplated texting Ethan. I sighed and decided against it, placing the phone in my back pocket before making my way to the dressing room where my bag was. I walked in, closing the door behind me. I stared at myself in the mirror, contemplating my decisions. My thoughts are startled by a knock at the door, my bones practically jumping out of my skin at how hard I jumped. I shake my head and open the door, my eyes going wide and my mouth drying as I stare up at the tall man. I felt like I was going to faint.

“Ethan?!” I grasp at my heart. It was a habit I’d done since I was younger. “In the flesh.” He smiles and pulls me into a tight hug. So tight that in any other circumstances I’d be fighting my way out of his grasp. But instead I hug him back, nestling my head into his shoulder. I gain my composure and pull away with a huge smile on my face. “How’d you manage to get back here?” He laughs and rubs his jaw that I noticed he was growing stubble on. “Was trying to convince a security guy to let me in but he wouldn’t budge. I guess one of your band mates heard me say my name and he asked the guy to let me through.” He paused for a moment, “is the song really about me?” My face goes pale and I sigh with a nod, “yeah.” “I thought it was about Zach” he shoves his hands in his pockets at the mention of my ex.

I smile at his bleak words but follow with a shake of my head. “I made it in the treehouse.” I take a deep breath, remembering the designated hang out spot of ours. Everyday after school we’d go to that treehouse. One day his mom wanted him home before he met me there. Waiting, I wrote the famous song. That’s exactly what I told him as well. When I rushed to close that notebook as he climbed into the treehouse, he assumed I was just writing in a diary. In a way I was, but when I told him I didn’t want to talk about it he didn’t peep another word. It was a quality of his that I was very fond of.

He stepped into the room and closed the door before slumping on the couch on the back wall of the room. “Why didn’t you tell me?” He looks up with a defeated expression. I tilt my head and sit next to him. “Scared of rejection I guess.” He cracked I smile. “Y/n, I’ve been in love with you since our first conversation. My friends forced me to come today because I wouldn’t shut up about how my childhood best friend is famous now.” He pauses, “congratulations by the way.” I rub my neck and laugh, “congratulations for making it national.” We sit in silence for a moment. “Was the confession too late?” I manage to squeak out.

He stares at me silently before cupping my face. My heart was beating so fast I was scared it would pop out of my chest and land right on his lap. When he saw no sign of protest he leaned in and connected our lips. It was soft, too soft. He pulls away to say something but I pull him back in before he has a chance. The smirk I felt against my lips urged me to deepen the kiss. The wait of near fifteen years poured itself into the harsh kiss. What was a soft kiss was now sloppy and heated, hands wondering all over each other. His hands land on my waist, pulling me straight on top of his lap. I pull away to catch my breath and his lips find their way to my jaw and soon my neck.

“You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do this.” He mumbles against my throat. “Ethan, the door doesn’t lock…” I warned him through breathy moans. He looks at the door, his lips still attached to my neck. His hands wandered under my denim skirt, his thumb brushing against my core which elicits a moan from my lips. “I’ll make sure if anyone walks in they won’t be able to see you.” He looks up at me for consent to continue. I think for a second then nod eagerly. He smiles then presses his lips to back to mine. His fingers pull my panties to the side, following up with running through my slit. I breathe out harshly against his lips, fueling his ego.

He moves to lay me down on the couch, crawling on top of me. He smiles down at me before pressing a soft kiss to my lips and moving himself at the end of the couch. He leans down to put a kiss on each of my thighs before bunching up the skirt at my waist. He pauses for a moment to look up at me, waiting for any protest. When he doesn’t hear one he loops his fingers in my panties and pulls them down my legs. I stare down at him with my mouth agape, one of my hands finding home in his soft hair. He kisses up my thighs softly before getting to my dripping core. His eyes don’t leave mine as he licks a stripe from my hole to my clit. I gnaw at my bottom lip in attempt to stay quiet.

He pulls away unexpectedly which forces a deep whine from my throat. “Don’t hide your noises from me. I’ve waited too long for this for you to hold back.” Before I can respond his mouth is back on my core. I throw my head back, moaning out his name repeatedly. His tongue plunges deep into my core before moving to tug my clit with his teeth. His tongue laps sloppily, savoring the taste of my cunt. Another whine falls from my lips when he pulls away. “Do you wanna have me in you?” He asks softly as he crawls back up to hover over me once again.

“Yes please” I cry out, my hands moving to his back. Ethan smiles down at me, reconnecting our lips as he unbuttons his pants. He lines himself up with my core, pushing in slowly. He doesn’t want to risk any chance of hurting me. He swallows down my moans with his kiss. He sits still for a moment to let me get used to his size. I pull away for a moment to ask him to move and he doesn’t hesitate. He pulls away almost fully before pushing back into me. My head is thrown back the second he finds a rhythm moving in and out of me. I was sure there would be crescent shapes in his back due to my nails puncturing.

He sits up without a fault in his paste. His rough hands moving my legs to rest on his shoulders. His abuse on my cunt doesn’t stop as he presses soft kisses on my ankles. My hands anchor themselves onto the couch as I arch my back in pleasure. His thumb moves to rub circles on my clit, throwing me over the edge in pleasure. My orgasm ripples through me as I moan out loudly, not caring to keep quiet through my euphoria. The clenching of my cunt pushes him over the edge as well. “Where do you want it.” “In me” I whine, “please, I’m on the pill-“ the second I say the last word he spills his warm ropes deep into me. He snaps his hips into me a few more times before collapsing on top of me.

I laugh and wrap my arms around him. “The wait-“ I laugh “was worth it.” Ethan laughs and nods, “more than worth it.” He presses another kiss onto my lips before smiling at me. “Can’t believe it’s taken me this long to ask but… well, will you be my girlfriend?” I bite my lip and nod. “Yeah, I will.”

#smut #hockey smut #nhl #new jersey devils #umich hockey #ethan edwards smut #ethan edwards

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herejusttosufferalong · 2 months

Note

Timeline Theory…

July 2022 S3 starts filming, tension between L&J as they spend more time apart and L grows closer with N (I think L also has long harbored feelings for N and therefore withdrawing from J/emotional cheating leading to J doing the same with her costar)

November 2022 L&J break up, but it is messy and takes time bc they were living together and there was an expectation of forever from J, she struggles to let go)

During Filming - N and L act out their feelings (literally) but most likely not off screen, however their friendship and bond grows tenfold, at some point N is filming Big Mood and Camilla likely tried to ground N and tell her to take some time away from L to see if the feelings are real

March 2023 - Filming wraps, N friend zones L and tries to push her feelings aside, tells him to go travel and live the single life post J breakup (in a later clip that Tif posted she expressed how happy she was for him that he was traveling)

*Side note: around this time R got together with S

HBS 2023 R influences L to go on Raya to find a girl similar to S that will jive with the group so they can go on couples trips together, meets A and they start a casual fling

Fall 2023 - L is not working and has lots of down time (guess who else does as well), spends time with his friend group and A, but my guess is that they rarely see each other one-on-one and it is more of a group dynamic, go on couples trips with R&S

Jan 2023 A wants to make things official, but L says the timing is off with him going on a long press tour, he promises to spend time with her when he can, bringing her on work trips when able (Paris, LA, etc.)

*Around this time N may have been dating E, but I’m still not convinced that’s true. I think they were just close friends.

Through the press tour L&N’s feeling resurface, but there is underlying tension because L is seeing A, even though L is not ready to make it an official relationship (hence N’s comment during the paddle game about being friends and hanging out alone being a “mixed message”)

NY Premiere - A surprises L and there is tension, he doesn’t want her there and there’s friction at the after party, but he ultimately is too nice and makes up for it the next day by taking her to the basketball game in place of his sister (who probably told him to)

Brazil - At this point I think L&N talk about their feelings and L is upfront that he can’t cut ties with A at the moment, he’s probably worried about how it would affect the friend group dynamic and he probably already promised to take A on the trips after the promo tour (Milan, LA, GQ), but continues to tell N it’s casual and they are friends with benefits (I find it hard to believe A didn’t flirt with other guys while L was away for 6 months), N understands and encourages him to talk to A about the situation

Break Period - L takes A to soho house as an apology for NY and they discuss the situation, L expresses his feelings for N and tells her he will still take her on the trips to help her with her career as a friend

Canada/Ireland - Feelings between L&N become real and they talk about it, decide to take things slow, L makes it seem he has wrapped up things with A and N believes him

London - I don’t think L arranged the pap walk, I think someone on his team did (same one who told A about Brazil) or possibly someone from A’s camp although I find that hard to believe because I feel he would have dropped A quickly if that was the case. I think L was unaware his relationship was under a microscope and brought her to Milan not realizing people would be desperate to get photos. N was probably upset that he brought her to Milan after the pap walk and her show of public support. I have a feeling she decided to shove her feelings back down to protect herself from being hurt and told L to go off and be with A and the TT was a way to get L’s attention and also to use humor to try to get fans to back off and think she was ok)

NYC - the next day N flies to NYC to talk to L in person and potentially meet with the Netflix/Shondaland team to talk strategy, N expresses to L that she can’t be caught up in a love triangle at this point because of the negative attention and press, and the team decides the best thing for L is to carry on with A as normal until things fizzle and the attention shifts, NDAs were probably signed and A was told not to post anything about L, but she is desperate for attention and so are Ls friends so they continue to cryptically send messages to the fans that they are with him.

At this point I think things are fizzling with L&A, and the planned commitments and travel have all passed, and they are taking space, hence the need for A to keep recycling old content. I think L misses N and is trying to focus on himself right now while trying to keep everyone happy so as not to cause unnecessary drama (hence liking As posts)

The friend group probably feels bad and is trying to hype A by commenting and posting about her to show that even though her and L may not be together she is still welcome. A is riding the fame wave by piggybacking off of N and L is probably unaware. I think he has notifs turned on for N & A but otherwise is staying off of social media for his mental health.

All I know is this whole thing is meSsY AF

#this is all opinion #timelines #theories

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hier--soir · 1 year

Text

under the night | three

summary: what's dinner between two friends? + joel makes great parsnips pairing: joel miller x f!reader, set in jackson after the end of tlou part I warnings/tags: [18+ only, minors dni] language, smut, oral [f recieving], protected sex, age gap [20ish years], disappearance, angst word count: 8k part two | series masterlist | main masterlist

Fungus.

“That’s not fucking funny, man,” Ellie stared at you, as you tried, and failed, to contain the grin spreading across your face.

You held your hands in the air in faux sheepishness, smirking. “Well,” you said triumphantly. “It’s worth 10 points, and it’s on a double word score square, so 20! Fungus is a winner, I say.” You grabbed the pencil and scribbled your score down, staring victoriously at the scrabble board on the platform between you.

Joel’s front porch was cramped as it was, just enough space for two chairs facing outward; but Ellie had determinedly wedged a small stool between the chairs for you to play on. Scrabble had been her idea, after she came across the old box at a friend’s house a few days prior. It had taken a few trial runs for her to fully get the hang of the rules, and on game four, she was really beginning to enjoy herself. Sitting out in the cool afternoon air three quarters of the way through winter, you were relieved you’d worn a thick beanie. It was crisp out, and after 2-hours of playing, the board had an icy layer of condensation settled on it.

“Sorry, kid,” you winked. “Gotta find a way to use that shit to my advantage somehow.” You took a long sip of your steaming coffee, leaning back in your chair to watch Ellie begin her turn. The girl was taking a painstaking amount of time trying to figure out the correct spelling of her next word, when she grew distracted from noticing Tommy wandering down the street with the newbie by his side. He gave the two of you a wave and sidled up to the bottom step of the porch.

“Kiddos,” he grinned fondly. You huffed lightly at the moniker, considering you were in your thirties yet being grouped in with a teenager. “Y’all met Lincoln yet?”

The man behind Tommy was short and slim, with a shaved head and an easy-going smile that never seemed to leave his face.

“I’m Ellie,” she said, eyes trained on her letters.

You introduced yourself with a polite nod, giving him your undivided attention to make up for Ellie’s lack-there-of.

“Mighty fine to meet you both." His voice was low and hoarse, in a way that sounded like he used to smoke a pack of cigarettes a day, and now it surely hurt him to speak.

Tommy butted in quickly. “He came all the way here from Canada, so I thought I’d be hasty with introducing him to some friendly faces.”

“Ooh Canada,” Ellie gave a poor attempt at enthusiasm, and you tried not to laugh at how clearly the girl wanted to end the conversation and play her next word.

Tommy gave her an ungrateful eyeroll, and asked, “Joel in?”

As if by clockwork, the front door of the house opened and the man in question peered out curiously. When he spotted Tommy, he emerged fully, pulling the door closed behind him.

“Speak of the devil and he shall appear,” Tommy grinned, reaching out to grip his brother’s hand quickly. Joel made eye contact with you ever so briefly and offered a small smile, before looking back to his brother.

“Doing a newbie tour?” he queried.

“Y’met Lincoln yet?” Ellie asked, to which he gave a quick nod.

“Please, call me Linc,” the man told them all, his gaze resting on your face for a second longer than the others’. “All my friends do.” You couldn’t tell if you’d imagined it, but you swore you heard a low scoff come from Joel.

“So you came all this way by yourself?” Ellie asked him, finally putting down her letters and giving the group her full attention. Her voice seemed to shine with a sort of curious respect.

Lincoln nodded, his face drooping somewhat. “Been alone for a long time now. My girls, they died a long time ago, in those first few months. By myself ever since.” You noticed Ellie shot a quick wary glance in Joel’s direction, who had turned his face away from the conversation to stare out into his neighbour’s front yard. Weird. “I try not to dwell on things though!” Lincoln said, that cheery smile returning.

You didn't offer up any kind of response, as you mulled over his words. His story wasn't so different from most of the people you knew, but you allowed a short moment of empathy for the stranger. You couldn't imagine the loss that would come from losing a child.

“Well,” Tommy broke the silence. “Let’s continue this tour.”

“I’ll head out with you, I gotta stop by and see Maria,” Joel started down the porch steps, and you tried not to stare at his back as he walked away from the house.

It had been almost two weeks since the night you and Joel had almost kissed, and since then the pair of you had never been alone. It wasn’t purposeful, at least on your part. But you were acutely aware that he would only appear in your presence when he knew there was going to be other people present.

When you thought back on that night, your heart would swell remembering the soft way he spoke to you; the care in his eyes. But it was directly followed by the memory of how you rejected his kiss. Your chest ached with longing at the thought of getting a do over.

The cycle of avoidance ended at last when he noticed you walking the streets by yourself one afternoon.

“Hey there,” he murmured, falling into step beside you. “Where you headed?”

“Just wandering around,” you replied slowly, staring at him in something akin to shock.

“Care for some company?”

“Well, who’d you have in mind?” you teased in an attempt to act casual, ignoring the quick thrum of your heart.

“This grumpy old Texan,” he chuckled. “He doesn’t get out much, but he’s great once you get to know him, I swear.”

You turned your head to grin at him. “Sounds like a riot, I’ll take him.”

The pair of you roamed aimlessly around town for an hour, talking and catching up. Your stomach filled with warmth; you had missed speaking to him. Missed the way your name sounded coming from his mouth.

“Y’know,” Joel began after a batch of silence. You had almost reached your house, and it seemed the walk was coming to a natural end. “I was wondering if you’d come to the house for dinner tonight.”

“Oh,” you said in surprise, stopping and staring at him. He ground to a halt a few steps ahead of you, and turned awkwardly. "You're asking me to dinner?"

"I am."

"Was this Ellie's idea?"

Joel rubbed his hands together in front of him. “No, uh,” he paused thoughtfully, not quite meeting your eye. “The kid's out tonight. It would… it would just be you and I.”

“I see,” you said, trying to read his expression.

“I understand if-“

"You've been avoiding me." His eyebrows twitched into a frown, and he licked the corner of his lip.

"Not on purpose," he said.

"You've been accidentally avoiding me?" you asked, knowing the wrinkle between your eyebrows was no doubt identical to his.

"I thought you wouldn't want to see me," he finally admitted, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "I felt like a fuckin' ass the other night. I overstepped-"

"Joel," you tried to interrupt but he shook his head, continuing.

"No, you needed support, and it wasn't the time or place for that shit, I shouldn't have.... I shouldn't have."

Your heart beat wildly as he spoke. Arms wrapping around yourself to protect from the cool wind, you nodded slowly.

"I appreciate that."

The pair of you were silent for a beat, just watching each other. Joel's eyes seemed to roam over your entire face, and then downward. He stared fondly at your frame wrapped up in his old black jacket, and then said, "Let me cook us dinner."

“That sounds lovely. I’ll be there, Joel.”

His eyes lit up softly, and sweet crow’s feet appeared beside them as he smiled at you.

“It’s just dinner,” you mumbled to yourself in frustration, willing your feet to move. Your legs were locked as you stood on the road, staring at Joel’s front door. “It’s dinner, you love dinner.”

Taking a deep breath, you propelled yourself forward and rapped your knuckles sharply against the door. Your skin was hot underneath the layers of clothes you wore.

When it swung open, relief washed over you like cold water, and you were delighted to see Joel standing there. Damp hair slicked back, with a clean bottle green shirt hugging his body. Most times you saw him he'd be dressed in the same old clothes, with dirt and grime smeared across his skin from long days of work. The difference was stark, and it made your throat feel tight. So fucking handsome.

He said your name simply, staring you down.

“Joel,” you imitated his tone, holding back a laugh at the odd greeting. “Hope you remembered inviting me over.”

He rolled his eyes, and you swore you saw a faint flush rise in his cheeks. Clearly, he’d been expecting you; that much could be told by his appearance, and by how clean the house was when you stepped inside.

The cushions on the couch were fluffed and placed neatly, rather than haphazardly like normal. It even looked like he’d dusted the bookshelves.

“Something smells delicious,” you inhaled deeply, turning to see him wringing his hands nervously. He nodded his head towards the kitchen, encouraging you to follow him.

“It’s almost done, just needs some finishing touches.”

“What’s on the menu?”

“Rabbit.”

You enjoyed the smells of roasting meat as he worked in the kitchen. He piled the food onto two plates with careful precision, before picking them up and leading you to the table. With a swell in your chest, you saw that he’d already set two places with cutlery and glassware. Seeing this side of him, this domesticity, was almost unnerving. It was like a trapdoor had been opened, and he’d ushered you inside quickly, exposing a secret, soft, part of his personality. You felt privileged to have it bared to you.

“This looks lovely, Joel, thank you.”

“No need to thank me,” he replied brusquely.

“Well, I will anyway,” you retorted. “This looks better than anything I could ever cook.” You dug in eagerly, and an involuntary moan slipped past your lips as the flavour of the rabbit hit your tastebuds for the first time.

While you ate, you took the time to notice more details of his home. It wasn’t very cluttered, but small sentimental items were placed around. It felt so intimate to be there. You’d been in the house before, but it had always been brief. A pause in the kitchen while Ellie grabbed her bag from the bungalow, or a quick rifle through the pantry for a tea bag before you returned to the porch. Being able to sit, and take it all in, felt so good.

You discussed his patrols, your work at the stables. He asked if you'd made anymore friends, and smiled when you told him Ellie was your favourite person in Jackson. The conversation was light, and non-committal. Where you both avoided chit chat with everyone else in town, it seemed to be all you could do for that first hour in each other’s company.

And amidst it all, the silent tension between you seemed to have spiked again. All your shy, private interactions around Jackson for the past few months. All the smiles, and hushed laughs, and eyerolls. All the times you’d shamefully admired his looks, his strong hands. The almost kiss and the conversation from earlier danced around your mind while he spoke to you. Was tonight the night it all came to a head?

“So,” he said. “How was the rest of your day? After your walk, I mean.”

“Well,” you shrugged. “To be honest, I was just waiting around the house before I could come over here.”

“You could’ve come earlier,” he said.

“And crash your spring-cleaning session?” you scoffed teasingly. “I couldn’t possibly.”

That flush returned to his cheeks, and he took a quick sip from his glass of water. “No shame in keeping a clean house.”

“No shame at all,” you murmured with a smirk, knowing damn well you and Cal’s house looked like a pair of wild animals lived in it. Clothes strewn haphazardly around; dirty mugs littered across the kitchen counter.

You ate in silence for a while after that. The food was incredible. A medley of herbs and spices speckled the tender meat, and he'd glazed parsnips in honey and thyme. They were sweet and sticky and reminded you of something your mom made when you were a kid. You savoured every single bite.

Unable to help it, your eyes fell closed and you hummed happily, sinking back into the chair. Cutlery clinking against a plate made you look up, and you found Joel with an empty plate, watching you with a fond expression.

“What?” you reddened, placing your knife and fork carefully onto your now sparkling clean plate.

“Nothing,” he murmured. “It’s nice to… to see you like this.”

“Like what?”

“Like,” Joel seemed to struggle for the words, scratching his beard absentmindedly. “… happy. It’s nice to see you smilin’.” His eyes flicked ever-so-slightly down, and you knew he was looking at the scar on your cheek.

“Oh,” you whispered, mouth slightly ajar with surprise. You went to say something, anything, but he interrupted quickly, chair scraping against the hardwood floors as he stood up.

“Are you finished?” He took your plate before you could answer, and stalked into the kitchen.

As you rose to follow him you flinched at the sound of metal clattering against the ground. Joel was crouched in the kitchen, picking up a knife from the floor. He grunted with the effort, knees cracking sharply as he straightened up.

“I feel like such an old man sometimes,” he grumbled, tossing the cutlery into the sink.

You sidled up beside him and rested your palms against the counter, gazing at the side of his expressionless face.

“Well, how about I wash, and you dry. Sound good old man?” you winked, using his own words against him. He cracked a half smile and looked over to you.

“Yeah, yeah,” he rolled his eyes. “Sounds good.”

You worked in a comfortable quiet, cleaning the dishes and tidying up his kitchen. For a minute, you began to worry that maybe the two of you had finally run out of mindless topics to entertain yourselves with. Your stomach twisted faintly at the thought of the night coming to an end so quickly.

But in the instant that the kitchen was restored to its natural order, Joel squashed down that feeling.

“Stay for a whiskey?” he offered, and you revelled in what you thought was hope in his tone. Your mind flashed back to that night weeks before, when you’d been desperate for him not to leave your home. You could stay a bit longer if you want to.

“How about a wine?” you smiled bashfully.

“Let’s see what I got.”

He disappeared up the stairs and returned a few minutes later holding a dusty bottle of red wine up in the air. You let out a low whistle, nodding in approval. Joel removed the cork with ease, and soon enough you were reclining beside each other on his couch, enjoying the deep fermented berry flavours of the wine. He’d started a small fire in the hearth, and it crackled quietly, offsetting the awkward tension permeating between you. You could feel sweat dampening your palms, but you pushed down the feelings of nervousness, hoping he wasn’t noticing the effect this prolonged alone time with him was having on you.

“I can’t remember the last time I drank good wine,” you sighed wistfully, licking your lips greedily. You heard him clear his throat, and caught him staring at your mouth with dark eyes.

“Been a while for me too,” he admitted, eyes lifting to meet your gaze. “Stick with liquor most of the time. But this… this is definitely nice.”

You hummed happily into your glass.

“You know,” he started. “What you were saying earlier, about just waiting around before coming over here… you could have, you know?”

“Could have what?”

“You could’ve come over,” he cleared his throat. “This place is… you’re always… you’re welcome here.”

“Well, that’s sweet and all, but I wouldn’t want to impose on you or Ellie.”

“Ellie adores you,” he stated firmly.

Your mouth moved without your permission, forming the words too quickly for your brain to register. “And you?”

He frowned slightly, “And me?”

“I’m welcome here because Ellie adores me…” you trailed off, waiting for him to fill in the gap. Half a glass of wine, and it seemed you were more forward than you’d ever been with him. But the game of cat and mouse was getting old, and you figured maybe this was your chance to gain some clarity on the situation.

Dinner and wine between…two friends? What was this?

“I think you…” his Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed, shifting uncomfortably on the sofa, before turning to face you front on. “I think you’re lovely.”

His big brown eyes shined with earnest, gazing endlessly into your own.

“What does that mean?” you pushed further, grip on your wine glass tightening. You couldn’t read his face. Those eyes seemed to darken, and he took a deep breath.

“It means you’re always welcome here.” He was talking in circles, and he seemed to realise it too, shutting his eyes and grimacing. “I’m no good at this,” he admitted with a humourless chuckle. “What I’m trying to say is that I like it... when you’re around. I like being near you.”

You could tell from how tight he gripped his glass, that it wasn’t an easy admission for him to make. Yet his voice was laced with sincerity.

He continued softly, “I don’t… talk to people, the way I talk to you. I didn’t think it was something I could do anymore. But it feels so… easy, with you. Easy to just be around you. It don’t make sense to me.”

You could see the weight of Joel’s honesty; how it manifested in his hunched shoulders. He was scared to say these things.

“I like being near you too,” you reciprocated, body instinctively shifting toward him. You were perched precariously, with your chest tilted forward, all your weight balancing on your right hand that gripped the sofa cushion in between you. “I was worried I made you think otherwise.”

He didn’t speak for a moment, eyes darting wildly across your face before his gaze settled solidly on your mouth. Intuitively, your tongue darted out to wet your bottom lip. “I like being near you,” he repeated slowly. “And… I gotta say, I’m nervous as hell to try my luck at kissin’ you again.”

Heat flared inside your stomach, and that was all you needed to push forward and press your lips against his.

Joel’s lips always looked chapped, but they were soft, and pushed eagerly against your own. For a moment, that was all it was. Your lips pressed gently against each other's, soft breaths rushing from your nose. He pulled back, and stared at you with a contemplative expression. Smiling shyly, your hand landed on his knee and squeezed it gently.

And then he placed his hand on your cheek, tilting your head ever so slightly to the side, and kissed you again.

You sighed as his tongue swiped along your bottom lip, before eagerly pushing into your mouth. The taste of red wine and parsnips invaded your mouth, and you reached up to place a hand on the side of his neck. His thumb stroked your cheekbone softly, fingers drifting into the hair behind your ear, cradling your face. You could feel his pulse racing under the skin, and gasped wetly into the kiss as his free hand landed on your waist. Devastated to break the moment, you pulled back for a breath of air, scraping your teeth across his bottom lip, and nipping it gently.

Joel grunted, gripping your waist and pulling you across the couch so you were above him, hovering over his lap. While you took deep breaths, he pressed sweet kisses along your cheek, down your chin, and to the skin of your neck. He was insatiable, not taking his mouth off you for a second.

You trailed your hands through his dark hair, smiling at the soft groan that he let out in response to the sensation. You did it once, twice more, wanting to hear the noise again, but suddenly he pulled off from your skin. His chest heaved with heavy breaths, and he ran his fingers lightly along your clothed hips while staring up at you. His eyes were heavy with longing, lips wet from your kisses, and you were certain it was the most attractive he'd ever looked.

“What are we doing here?” Joel asked quietly, licking his lower lip. A laugh sprinkled from your mouth, and he joined in, the sounds mixing beautifully in the air. He was chuckling, but his eyes shone with uncertainty, searching yours for clarity.

“What do you mean, Joel?”

“I mean, what are we doing?” he echoed. It clicked. The last time you'd been this close you had trusted Joel, told him about your past. And here he was, giving you an out. He was saying, you’re the boss, you tell me what happens next. You could feel your pulse thrum between your thighs.

“What you say goes,” he said softly, reaching up to trace his fingers over the scar on your cheekbone.

“I want you,” your voice cracked on the third word, and if your cheeks weren’t already red from the excitement of the kiss, you would’ve blushed at how needy it sounded. But your tone was sure, and Joel nodded once, his grip on your waist tightening slightly.

He pulled you closer so your chests were flush against one another, and you rested your forehead against his. “You have no idea how many times I’ve imagined you saying those words.”

You shook your head at him in mock exasperation, but really, you just didn’t know how to respond to that. So instead of speaking, you kissed him again. You looped your arms lazily around his neck and pushed your tongue into his mouth, stealing the breath from his lungs. He made you feel desperate.

Joel’s hands drifted from your waist down your back, resting carefully just above the waist band of your pants. You reached back and took his hand, pushing it down to rest lower. Quickly, he slid both of his hands into your back pockets, gripping your ass through your pants.

You whimpered into his mouth, and he swallowed the sound greedily. He removed the space between your lower halves, pulling you down so you rubbed against him. The feeling of him, firm beneath the zipper of his jeans, sent a jolt through your system. He ground up against you, breathing heavily against your lips, eyes open and watching your reactions. For a moment you felt a wave of shyness rush through your system. For years, no one had seen this side of you. The vulnerability was intense, and you tucked your face against his neck. Joel gripped your chin and pushed your face back into his line of sight, shaking his head.

“Let me see you,” he breathed. “I don’t wanna miss a single thing.”

Holding eye contact, he dragged his fingers across your belt, and started undoing the leather strap. Your hand stopped over his.

“Not here,” you said. “Upstairs.” He gripped the back of your thighs and stood up from the couch in a swift movement, walking you up the stairs. You peppered kisses along his neck, swiping your tongue along the pulsing artery under his tanned skin.

Once he reached the landing, he used his back to nudge the bedroom door open, and you couldn’t help but pull back to look at your surroundings. You tapped his shoulder absentmindedly, and he lowered you gently to your feet. As if Joel no longer existed, you let youe eyes roam across the room, hungrily taking in all the details of his most private space.

Passing by a walk-in closet, you trailed your fingertips overtop his bedside table, landing on a pair of glasses folded up beside a book. You lifted it carefully.

“An Idiot’s Guide to Space,” you read aloud, turning to him with a raised eyebrow. “I didn’t take you for the type.”

He was leaning against the wall, one hand propped on his hip, with a leg jutted out in front of him. His chest rose and fell quickly as he struggled to catch his breath. Irresistible, but not as irresistible as going through his things.

Sheepishly, he rubbed a hand along the back of his neck. “Ellie loves space,” Joel told you. “Helps if I can understand a little of what she’s talkin’ ‘bout.”

“You really love that kid, huh?”

He didn’t respond, but his eyes were soft, staring at the book when you placed it back down.

A large window covered the wall opposite his bed, with a chest of drawers beneath it. You spotted two picture frames sitting on it and wandered towards them. But before you got too close, Joel’s arms had wrapped around your waist from behind, pulling you into his chest.

His lips tickled your earlobe, his hot breath making goosebumps raise along your neck. “I want you,” he repeated your words from earlier.

You spun in his grip and pushed him into a seated position on the edge of the bed, undoing the buttons on his shirt. With the skin of his torso revealed to you, you gripped the hem of your shirt and pulled it up over your head. Joel’s lips were on your chest, kissing along your collarbones, along the tops of your breasts, as his hands fiddled with your bra strap.

After a few seconds of struggling he sighed in frustration and looked up at you. “It’s been a while since I’ve done this.” You grinned, and undid the strap yourself, throwing the bra somewhere behind you.

A heavy exhale fell from him, and he trailed his fingers over your pebbled nipples. The cold air in the room did you no favours, but Joel seemed exhilarated, pinching one between his fingers, and leaning in to flick his tongue over the other. You squeezed his shoulder and gasped at the feeling of his teeth gently nipping at your bud. As he licked and sucked, his hands drifted down to finish undoing your belt. He tugged and pushed your trousers down your legs, and your underwear went with them. Within a second, you were completely naked in front of him. Joel pulled back and let his dark eyes run over your body.

“I want you on the bed.”

You settled yourself in the middle of it, head tucked into his soft pillows and stared up at him in anticipation.

Under his intense gaze, your skin felt hot. Like whispers of a flame were tickling along your body; heat rising everywhere his eyes roamed. Joel kneeled on the mattress in front of you, and his large hands gripped your knees, pulling them apart. The urge to lean down and cover yourself was strong. But then he reached out and traced his fingers along your torso, from your collarbone, past your belly button, to the dark hair above where you wanted him most.

“My god,” he whispered in what seemed like disbelief. “You’re a dream.”

He pressed teasing kisses down your stomach, along the inside of your thighs, dragging his tongue tantalisingly, making goosebumps ripple out across your flesh. Puffed breaths were whispering along your skin everywhere except where you needed his mouth to be, and you were aching. You clenched around nothing, and let out a pitiful whimper when he finally exhaled over your wet heat.

Suddenly, his tongue licked a solid stripe all the way along your throbbing core, and you cried out. Finally.

“Fuck,” he groaned, inhaling deeply. His tongue was strong, shifting between swiping back and forth across your pulsing clit, and gently prodding into your entrance. Joel pulled one of your thighs up onto his shoulder, and held his palm against the other one, pinning it to the bed. His fingers dug into your skin, and the pressure only added to the sensation of his mouth on you.

“Joel,” you breathed heavily. He moaned into you in response, rubbing small circles over your clit with his tongue.

“Oh fuck,” you whispered, eyes rolling back as you rocked your hips up against his face. “Fuck.” His hand moved from your thigh up to your chest, pinching and playing with your nipples as he fucked you with his mouth. Joel was ravenous and unrelenting, and after living so long without being touched by another person, you felt yourself close to orgasm within minutes.

“Give it to me,” he begged. “Cum for me, baby.”

After a few more seconds of his tongue dragging gloriously over you, you let out a deep moan and shuddered into the sheets, thighs tightening impossibly around his head. Your fingers raked through his hair, holding his face into you as you rode out your high. Somewhere through the pounding in your ears, you could hear Joel moaning with you, and feel the vibrations running through your core. When you finally came down, your thighs relaxed over his shoulders, but he wasn’t done. His tongue flicked lazily over your clit, cleaning you up. He pulled your aching bud between his lips, and gave it a soft suck. The sight of his face pressed into your dark curls made you feel like you were going to cum all over again.

“Joel,” you gasped, grabbing his hair to tug his face away from you. He looked up, slack jawed, with a deep frown across his forehead. His mouth and beard were shining with your slick, and your stomach tightened at what a vision he was.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“I need to feel you,” you implored, and the frown disappeared. He leaned in and pressed one final sloppy kiss against your clit, before sitting back on his heels. You sat up hastily, helping him undo his belt, and then watched with heavy eyes as he stood up and removed his final articles of clothing.

His cock slapped up against his stomach, and you couldn’t help the way you hungrily stared at it. It didn’t surprise you that he was big. Something about the way he carried himself; so confident, so sure of himself. He was thick, and long, and your mouth salivated when you noticed precum leaking from the ruddy tip. You watched as he got back onto the bed, trailing his fingers down the length of it before gripping it at the base, and sighing in relief.

You flicked your eyes back up to his, exhilarated to see how intensely he was staring back at you. “I want to taste you,” you breathed, but he shook his head, bicep tensing as he lazily stroked his cock. “Please.”

“Trust me,” he grunted, eyebrows furrowed. “I hate myself for saying no, but you’ve got me so on edge already, darlin’. Had to stop myself from finishin’ with your thighs wrapped around my head.”

Your core throbbed painfully and you pushed forward, kissing him firmly. The taste of your own cum on your tongue made you moan softly; licking the tang off his lips, and swallowing it down.

You pulled away and slowly lowered down until your head hit the pillows. Joel stared down at you with parted lips and shook his head slowly.

“What?”

“Nothin',” he murmured, still shaking his head. “So beautiful.”

Your cheeks flushed, and you turned your face into the pillows. He hovered over you and pressed wet kisses along your exposed neck, his teeth nipping harshly at the juncture where it met your shoulder. You hissed at the pain, but sighed softly in forgiveness when he lapped his tongue soothingly over the spot. You watched Joel pull a condom from his bedside table, leaning back to rip open the packet, and slide the latex down onto himself.

With his cock in his fist, he pushed his tip between your folds, and you exhaled in unison at the feeling. After dragging his head along you a few times, he finally nudged his tip against your entrance. Your head was pressed back into the pillows, eyes shut and mouth wet from his kisses. You were blissed out already, but fluttered your eyes open slowly at the feeling of his fingers running over your left eyebrow.

“You with me?” he murmured, the soft look in his eyes almost too much for you to handle.

You hummed, turning your head slightly to press a kiss against his palm.

“Gotta relax for me,” he urged softly, tracing his fingers down gently over your collarbones, wanting to feel every bit skin that had been revealed to him.

You eased your tense muscles as much as you could, taking a deep breath before letting it rush out of you slowly. And with your exhale, he slipped inside you with one smooth motion. You gasped at the feeling, mouth hanging open in an 'O' shape at the sharp sting.

“Hey, hey,” he murmured, pressing soft kisses to your eyelids. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologise,” you groaned, relaxing your furrowed eyebrows. “It’s just been so long.”

The pain was already shifting into a faint, dull ache, melding beautifully with the pleasure of being so full. He readjusted his legs, and the movement caused his tip to prod gently into the deepest part of you, and you cried out.

“Fuck,” he gasped, moving to pull back, but you gripped his shoulders tightly to keep him in place.

“Feels good,” you gasped, licking her lips. “You’re so big, filling me up so well.” He swallowed back a pitiful moan.

Joel was thick and heavy inside you, and he knew better than to move too quickly. He let you adjust to him for a few more moments, enjoying watching the way your nose scrunched up and your chest heaved with harsh breaths. You were wet and hot around him, and he felt like a teenager losing his virginity again after his few years of celibacy. But he was determined to give you his all.

“God, please move,” you finally groaned, reaching up to play with your nipples out of desperation.

Without any more encouragement, he pulled back slowly, until just the tip remained inside, before pushing himself forward into your heat. You moaned in unison, your hands travelling down to his biceps. He started a steady rhythm, his eyes floating down to stare hungrily at the way your chest bounced with the force of his movements. Joel leant down and sucked one of your nipples into his mouth, circling it with his tongue and groaning as you pulsed around him. Your fingers pulled his hair painfully tight, and the feeling made the muscles in his stomach tingle.

He was so deep inside, and yet you ground your hips up towards him, wanting to feel him even further. It had his hips stuttering against yours, and he let out a low vibrating groan. Joel’s hands gripped against your hip bones and pressed you down into the bed, seemingly holding you away from him.

“Baby,” he ground out, and it was more of a warning than anything else.

“You can’t do that,” he panted. “I’m not gonna last if you keep doin’ that.”

You smirked lazily up at him and pushed your hips up against his weight again, meeting him stroke for stroke. There was no pain anymore, just a heavenly feeling of fullness, and you were desperate for him to let lose. “Maybe I don’t want you to last.”

“God, woman,” he scowled. “You’ll be the death of me, I know it.”

He pulled out and then thrust back into you with enough force to knock the breath out of you, and you bit your lip to hold in the high-pitched moan trying to escape.

“Let me hear you,” he ordered. “I want to hear you cum for me again, just give me one more, and then I’m yours.”

You let go of your bottom lip, letting whines and sighs fall easily from your mouth. The fire in Joel’s chest roared, loving the way you allowed the tables to turn, and obeyed him so quickly. It was so out of your character to be submissive to anyone. The thought that he had as much of an effect on you as you had on him made his cock throb painfully.

The feeling was so overwhelming you could barely keep your eyes open. He was fast, and strong, but you weren’t afraid, you were activated. Your abdomen was tight with the pleasure, and he pounded into you relentlessly. Suddenly, his cock was pressing into that spot again, and you let out an urgent exhale of his name.

“There?” he growled, angling his hips to hit it again, and again, and again. You moaned desperately, spreading your thighs wider to give him more access.

You’d forgotten every word except for Joel’s name, and you said it over and over. He had reconnected you to something so deep, so animalistic inside of you. Desire was something that hadn’t properly crossed your mind in years, only for brief moments when you rubbed one out quickly in rare moments alone. Not for a long time had you felt wanted – nor had you wanted someone the way you did with him.

Without warning, his fingers met your clit and began rubbing messy circles on it while he snapped his hips. It was all too much, and you cried out harshly as the tightening in your abdomen grew.

Your mouth was on his neck, and all you could taste was Joel’s salty skin when you finally came. Your body wracked with convulsions, the muscles in your stomach spasming intensely as he fucked you through your high.

His thrusts grew sloppy, and his face looked pained, sweat rolling down his biceps. He shifted so his elbows were in the pillows beside your head, and his forehead knocked against yours with every shift of his hips. One of his hands tangled in the hair at the back of your head, holding you in position while he pressed a sloppy kiss to your open mouth. Your orgasm was prolonged as he pounded against the spongy spot inside of you, and you were twitching, close to becoming over sensitive.

“God,” he moaned into your mouth. “You’re squeezing me so tight.”

You mewled weakly at his words, purposefully clenching around him in response.

It didn’t take long for Joel to follow you off the edge, mouth ajar as deep groans spilled from his lips. His face dropped into your shoulder, and you sighed at the feeling of him spilling inside you. He said your name softly, delicately, into your ear, his voice more gravelly than normal from exertion. For a moment, with sticky skin pressed together, and eyes closed in exhaustion, your heavy breaths were the only audible thing in the room.

Slowly, you cracked your eyes open to look around, and admired the way the moonlight shone through the window and hit his bare back. You trailed your fingers down his spine, enjoying the way goosebumps rippled across his flesh and he shivered.

“You ticklin’ me?”

You laughed into his hair. “Just enjoying all this skin.”

He hummed thoughtfully, lifting an arm to trail his hand along your side in reciprocation. “I’m enjoyin’ it too.”

He pushed up onto his elbows and slowly pulled himself out of you. Your breath hitched at the sensation, the pain from earlier returning ever so slightly now that the heat of the moment had dissipated.

“You good?” he asked softly, falling back onto his heels.

“I’m great,” you smiled, watching him pull the condom off carefully and duck into the bathroom to dispose of it.

He padded softly back into the room a few moments later with a cloth in his hands, and used it to gently wipe down your skin. You flinched at the feeling of the warm cloth between your thighs, and he apologised in a hushed tone, working quickly.

“Thank you,” you whispered, staring at him fondly. In that quiet moment, you took the opportunity to admire him properly. His body was thick and strong, all muscles underneath scarred, tanned skin. He had large strong thighs and biceps, but his stomach was soft, and you liked that.

“What’re you lookin’ at stud?” he raised an eyebrow and you smirked cheekily.

“Admiring you is all.”

He shook his head, disappearing off to the bathroom again. You tugged the covers up over yourself and laid there alone for a moment, head clear of thoughts, and sleep so close on the horizon.

“You’re staying?” you heard him, and looked over to see him standing in the doorway.

Your eyebrow jutted up questioningly. “Joel Miller, if you think I’m walking home after all that, you’re out of your goddamn mind.”

He let out a quick laugh, and pushed himself under the covers beside you. His hand slid from your thigh up your body before resting gently over your ribcage, thumb stroking along the underside of your breast.

“Good,” he mumbled into his pillow. “Don’t want you to go.”

You woke with a sharp inhale, eyes flicking around the room slowly. Still in the chokehold of a deep sleep, you yawned into your elbow and sat up slowly. The night before came rushing back to you, and you turned to see Joel sleeping soundly beside you. He slept on his front, with one arm tucked underneath his head, and face squished up into the pillow. Lips puffed out, deep breaths inhaling and exhaling through them. You stared at him for a few moments, admiring how peaceful he looked in his slumber.

He let out a sudden harsh breath, and an incoherent murmur escaped his mouth.

“What are you dreaming about?” you whispered. Reaching out, you let your fingertips whisper along the skin of his back, down his spine as far as you were allowed, to where the blanket covered him. You traced a line over a particularly bad scar on his back, and cringed to picture how he’d gotten it.

“Was dreamin’ bout you,” he said suddenly. “Until you woke me up.”

You gasped, sitting up straighter.

“Christ, I thought you were asleep.”

Joel smiled, eyes still closed.

“And what was I doing in this dream of yours, Miller?”

His tongue slipped out to wet his lips, before settling back into a lazy grin. Slowly, Joel’s bleary eyes opened to look up at you. “Was a continuous replay of last night. I wish you hadn’t woken me up, actually. Was quite enjoyin’ myself.” His voice was husky from sleep, and it sent a jolt of heat through your stomach.

“Oh, is that so?” you jokingly huffed, pushing the blankets off your body. “In that case, I’ll get out of your hair and let you sleep.” But before you could get off the mattress, his arms snaked around you, slamming you back into his chest.

“Not so fast, soldier,” Joel mumbled sleepily, pressing gentle kisses onto the skin behind your ear and tugging the duvet up over your heads.

The stairs creaked loudly as you walked down them, an hour later. Your clothes felt stale on your body; stiff after being discarded on the cool hardwood floors overnight. Your skin was cold, begging you to climb back into the bed where Joel still laid naked, tucked up under the covers.

You were halfway to the front door when Ellie’s voice stopped you in your tracks.

“Fucking finally.”

You turned quickly, trying hard to display an expression of stoic nonchalance. She was splayed across the couch with her legs kicked up onto the arm rest, grinning over a copy of Savage Starlight.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, kid.”

“Sure, sure,” she chuckled, lifting the comic up to hide her face behind it. “I may be a kid, but I know what it means to sneak out of someone’s house at 8 in the morn-“

“I’m not sneaking out,” you interrupted coolly, your face flaming at the insinuation. Ellie lowered the comic just enough for her eyes to be visible, and raised one eyebrow at you.

“I see.”

“Shut up,” is all you could get out, and threw yourself out the front door, Ellie’s loud laughter following you onto the street.

It was a particularly chilly morning, and you gripped your black jacket around yourself tightly. You’d promised Maria the day before to stop by for a tea, and although you longed to be at home for a moment before work, you headed quickly to Tommy and Maria’s.

Knocking once on the front door, you let yourself in, calling out a quick “hello!” so as not to alarm anyone.

“In the kitchen!” Maria’s voice shouted back, and you rubbed your red hands together for warmth, traipsing through the house. When you reached the kitchen, you were surprised to see Maria wasn’t alone. A young woman sat at the dining table, gripping a steaming mug and staring at the table. Her face was red and blotchy. You lingered awkwardly in the doorway, glancing at Maria for direction.

“It’s okay, have you met Rose?” Maria ushered you in.

“No,” you replied slowly.

“You work at the stables,” Rose perked up suddenly, her stare firmly stuck on you.

“Yes,” you replied dumbly. Your mind was blank as you stared at the stranger, wondering who she was and how she knew anything about you.

“Have you seen Milena?” you asked desperately.

Your hackles lowered slowly, and you glanced at Maria curiously before shaking your head no. Milena worked at the stables with you. She was one of the women who taught you the ropes, and helped you get familiar with grooming the horses.

The tension in the room was thick, and you looked away quickly when Rose sniffled, and reached up to wipe a tear from her eye. I shouldn’t be here.

“She’s m-missing,” Rose stuttered out wetly. Maria walked up behind her and placed a hand on the woman’s shoulder, squeezing gently.

“Rose found a note that Milena left for her,” Maria explained softly. “She’s been gone for a day now.”

“She didn’t write that note,” Rose raised her voice. Your heart raced in your chest. You stared at Maria’s face, and tried to gage how you should be reacting to the information. Sweat slicked your palms when you noticed the warily anxious expression the woman wore. “I swear she didn’t, she wouldn’t write that shit. She wouldn’t leave me here alone. Not after,” she paused as a sob wracked through her body. “Not after everything we went through to g-get here.”

“She left Jackson?” you asked. “Did she say where she was going?” Milena hadn’t mentioned anything around the stables about planning to leave the settlement. And Milena was chatty. You had often shied away from her when you shared a shift, because of how much Milena tried to pry into your personal life.

Rose didn’t respond, dropping her face into her hands, shoulders wracking with sobs. The display of emotion set you on edge. You felt like an intruder on such an intense moment for Rose and took a step backward into the doorway.

“I’m going to go,” you murmured when Maria made eye contact with you. She nodded in understanding, leaning down to whisper in Rose’s ear. You spun on your heel and walked quickly toward the front door.

“Please believe me, Maria,” you could hear Rose saying. “To just leave without saying goodbye? Milena would never do that.”

You let the door fall shut behind you.

part four | series masterlist

#joel miller #joel miller fanfiction #joel miller fic #tlou #the last of us #the last of us fanfiction #joel miller smut #joel miller x reader #joel miller x you #my writing #under the night

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inspiring-vacations1 · 10 months

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We understand that selecting the right group tour is crucial for an enjoyable travel experience, and we are here to help you make an informed decision. In this guide, we will provide you with useful tips and insights to ensure that your group tours in Alaska match your preferences, goals, and expectations. So let's dive in and embark on this exciting journey together!

Determine Your Travel Preferences and Goals

Before you start researching group tours in Canada, take some time to understand your travel preferences and goals. This self-reflection will help you narrow down your options and find a tour that aligns with your desires. Consider factors such as the destination you've always dreamt of exploring, the duration of your trip, your budget, the level of activity you're comfortable with, and your desire for cultural immersion.

Ask yourself questions like: Do you prefer a relaxing beach vacation or an action-packed adventure? Are you interested in historical sites or natural wonders? Do you want to immerse yourself in the local culture or simply enjoy the highlights? Identifying your travel priorities will make the selection process much easier.

Research Reputable Group Tour Operators

Once you have a clear understanding of your travel preferences, it's time to find reputable group tour operators in Canada. Trustworthy operators can make a significant difference in the quality of your travel experience. Start your research by exploring online platforms that specialise in group tours. These platforms offer a wide range of options and allow you to filter tours based on your preferences. Additionally, consider joining travel forums where fellow travellers share their experiences and recommendations. Don't forget to ask your friends and family for any operators they might have had positive experiences with. These word-of-mouth recommendations can be invaluable.

When researching operators, be sure to evaluate multiple options. Compare itineraries, read reviews from past travellers, and check for certifications or affiliations. Look for operators that have a solid track record and a positive reputation in the industry. Pay attention to what previous travellers have said about the tour guides, accommodations, transportation, and overall organisation of the tour. Doing thorough research will help you narrow down your options and find a reliable operator that meets your expectations.

Evaluate Itinerary and Inclusions

The itinerary is the backbone of any group tour in Egypt, so it's crucial to carefully evaluate it before making a decision. Look for a well-balanced itinerary that aligns with your interests and desired experiences. Does it include the must-see attractions that you're interested in? Does it allow enough time for exploration and relaxation? Consider the pace of the tour; some people prefer a fast-paced itinerary with lots of activities, while others prefer a more leisurely pace. Make sure the tour offers a good mix of guided tours and free time to explore on your own.

In addition to the itinerary, pay attention to the inclusions offered by the tour. Check what accommodations are included and ensure they meet your standards. Look for details about transportation. Will you be travelling by bus, train, or plane? Are meals included, and if so, what kind of meals can you expect? Pay attention to any additional activities or excursions included in the tour. These inclusions can make a significant difference in your overall experience, so make sure they align with your preferences.

Consider Group Size and Dynamics

Group size and dynamics play a crucial role in the enjoyment of a group tour. Different individuals have different preferences when it comes to group size. Smaller groups often offer more personalised experiences and allow for more interaction with the tour guide. On the other hand, larger groups can provide opportunities to meet new people and make friends along the way. Consider your preferences and what you believe will enhance your travel experience.

When evaluating group dynamics, think about the age range and demographics of the group. Are you looking for a tour that caters to a specific age group or a mix of ages? Do you prefer travelling with like-minded individuals who share similar interests, or are you open to a more diverse group? Some operators specialise in tours for specific age groups or interests, so keep that in mind during your research. By considering group size and dynamics, you can ensure a more enjoyable and compatible group tour experience.

Budgeting and Booking Considerations

Budgeting is an important aspect of planning any trip, and group tours in Alaska are no exception. Consider the upfront costs of the tour, including the tour price, any required deposits, and additional expenses such as flights or visas. It's also important to factor in hidden fees that might not be included in the initial tour price, such as optional excursions or gratuities. Make sure you have a clear understanding of what is and isn't included in the tour price to avoid any surprises.

When booking a group tour, it's essential to read the terms and conditions carefully. Pay attention to the cancellation policies and refund options in case your plans change. Consider purchasing travel insurance to protect yourself from unexpected circumstances that may require you to cancel or modify your trip. Additionally, booking your chosen group tour well in advance can help secure availability and potentially benefit from early bird discounts. Keep an eye out for any promotions or special offers that might save you some money.

Conclusion:

We hope this guide has provided you with valuable insights and tips to help you make an informed decision. Remember to consider your travel preferences and goals, research reputable operators, evaluate itineraries and inclusions, consider group dynamics, and manage your budget before making a final decision. By following these steps, we are confident that you will choose a group tour in Alaska that aligns with your travel goals and ensures a memorable experience.

Source: How to Choose the Perfect Group Tour: A Step-by-Step Guide

#group tours Alaska #group tours Canada #group tours Egypt

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brf-rumortrackinganon · 4 months

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it’s curious that *this* (the Nigeria tour) is the incident that, seemingly, has made them finally understand they’ve crossed the line.

We obviously don’t know what happens behind the closed doors of the government, but it seems to me that some action was taken.

But looking at what we do know, I think H&M (especially Meghan) got a telling-off in Nigeria the likes of which they have never gotten AND were publicly made an example of in a way they never have before.

There’s two pieces that fit together: Meghan saying she got told to “wear more colour” and suddenly throwing together an outfit mid-tour with a gifted item plus the exact order in which the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, made her comments:

1) American celebrities push immoral nakedness (too on the nose not to include Meghan)

2) Meghan came looking for Africa (i.e., came searching for, came to learn from, etc.)

3) Africans have good morals and style and we should continue to embody that and teach them (i.e., include Meghan in seeing and being taught that)

Nigeria is not the UK, Canada or the US. Dressing inappropriately in Nigeria is not just a misstep and being disrespectful is seen very differently and much more seriously than some in the West conceptualise. I think when Meghan got told “to wear more colour”, she also got a massive telling off in a manner that she never got as a spoilt child or by the BRF. Meghan’s pivot to a cover-up style after being asked is uncharacteristic for her, she’s NEVER pivoted or listened when steered in the right direction.

The Senator’s comments do not read to me as the straight-up rebuke other’s are seeing. To me it reads like Meghan already got “taught” the lesson that Sen. Tinubu is trying to teach and now she’s been made the public example. (Not saying “immodest” is bad at all, just going with the Senator’s words.)

Overall, Meghan met the African slipper - if you know, you know!

Meghan was absolutely told off about her clothes in Nigeria. There was an event she was late to (by at least an hour, probably more but I can’t remember) and when she arrived, she made “jokes” that she was inspired by everyone wearing so much color that now she was wearing color.

I took that whole incident to mean that Meghan blew the group off to go shopping but now I’m wondering if maybe she was being petty and was late to piss off whoever confronted her about the wardrobe. The yellow gown she wore (which is also from the pregnancy announcement, per Misan Harriman) kinda throws me for a loop - if she knew she was supposed to wear color, then was it lucky she had that dress or did someone pull an Angela Kelly and pack a second wardrobe of modest (or “modest”) colorful clothes to give her when there were complaints?

The “Angela Kelly” move: The palace was planning a trip for The Queen and Prince Philip to go to Vatican City/Rome, they would be meeting the pope, and the advisors asked Angela to make The Queen a navy or dark blue dress for it. Angela instead advised that The Queen needed a black dress to meet the pope, the advisors pooh-poohed it and said “black is for mourning, give her a navy dress.” Angela made the navy outfit as they told her to, but she also made an identical black outfit for The Queen and brought it with her in her own luggage. They get to the Vatican, they’re briefed about black for the pope, there’s a freakout that The Queen only has navy, and Angela reveals the black outfit and saves the day.

It’s one of the stories she tells in The Other Side of the Coin. If anyone is interested:

#sussexes #brf #fashion

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lukolabrainrot · 16 days

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Since we’re accepting all the theories, I figured I’d throw my super delusional theory out there ;)

L and A were casual from their first meeting to throughout most of the press tour, and L was very open with A and N about this.

Somewhere on the press tour, L and N discussed their feelings and concluded together that they wanted to pursue those feelings. I think this conversation probably happened during the world tour portion of the press tour, particularly near the end (Brazil/Italy/Canada/Ireland, if I had to guess). This, to me, explains the change in behavior between L and N around this time.

L told N he would talk to A, and L broke off whatever romantic/sexual relationship they had. However, L already had trips planned with A/his friend group throughout the summer (Milan, GQ, R’s Italy birthday trip), and furthermore A was already integrated into the friend group. I believe L made it clear to both N and A that A would continue being part of the friend group and would still get to tag along to all the events/on all the trips.

I’ve always believed that A was with L less because she liked him/wanted to be with him, and more because she wanted the perks/the attention that came with being with him. So, when L broke things off, she was not happy. Being in the friend group would still get her the perks, but in order to fully capitalize, she would need to be perceived as L’s romantic partner.

Thus, Pap Gate 1.0. I’ve always believed that L had no idea about it, and that A or someone around her was behind it. It would also explain her behavior in the pics (reaching for his hand/trying to push the girlfriend narrative).

N gets upset, but L quickly explains to her that he had no idea that the pap walk was going to happen. N truly knows L, and therefore she (rightfully, in my mind) believes him.

Now, L and N have to change course. They still want to figure things out privately, but they realize that the public narrative has now been changed. The media are stating that L and A are rumored to be together.

I think L and N take this very unfortunate situation and decide to do with it the best that they can. They decide that the best course of action is for L and his team to not correct People magazine and to just continue letting the media push this narrative.

Why? Because it takes all of the heat off of their (L and N’s) relationship. So much of the media during the press tour was very much focused on their friendship and whether or not it was more than just friendship.

By L having a girlfriend who is not N, at least according to the public eye, the media had their answer: L and N were just good friends and L was dating A.

Meanwhile, A plays along because she craves the attention and wants to continue receiving the perks.

But L… God bless him. He’s a phenomenal actor, but he just can’t seem to act like he’s into A. The fandom continues to spin because his behavior does not match the narrative that he/his team are decidedly not pushing against.

The summer continues, and A realizes that L’s behavior around her is not giving off a good impression onto her. She needs the media to perceive her as L’s girlfriend, so she continues to create leaks in order to keep the narrative alive.

A’s posts eventually go too far and compromise L’s safety and she gets slapped with an NDA.

L and N still need a smokescreen, so they go with JD, who is happy to play along for the sake of his very good friend, N.

You know what... I'm loving the delulu Lukola theories rn.

Keep em coming y'all!

#lukola theories #just some thoughts

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retropopcult · 11 months

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youtube

"Tempted" is a song by British band Squeeze. Written by the group's founding members, Glenn Tilbrook and Chris Difford, it features lyrics inspired by Difford's experiences on an American tour and an arrangement inspired by the Temptations. "Tempted" is one of only a few Squeeze songs with Paul Carrack as lead vocalist, at the suggestion of producer Elvis Costello.

"Tempted" was released as the second single from their fourth album, East Side Story, in 1981. It was only a moderate chart hit at the time, reaching #41 in the UK, #45 in Canada, and #49 in the US; however, it has since become one of the band's most famous songs, appearing in movies, TV shows, video games, and commercials. It has also seen critical acclaim and has become a mainstay of the band's live setlist, often being sung by Tilbrook.

#Youtube

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teenytinyjimin · 5 months

Text

je ne sais pas (j. hoseok)

dans mon esprit tout divague, (in my mind everything goes wild)

je me perds dans tes yeux (i lose myself in your eyes)

je me noie dans la vague de ton regard amoureux (i drown myself in the wave of your loving gaze)

je ne veux que ton âme divaguant sur ma peau (i only want your soul going wild on my skin)

summary: in which two strangers spend an unforgettable day together without actually getting to verbally understand each other.

pairing: hoseok x reader

word count: 2.8k

tags: fluff, language barrier, idol!hoseok, quebecois!reader, strangers to lovers, im bad at this tagging stuff

warnings: none, just enjoy some sweet hoseok fluff <3

author’s note: im really excited about this one yall 😭 i love the idea of language barrier romance because just think about it... u love someone so much that talking to them doesn't matter as much as the memories u create with them.. god ok ill stop speaking please please enjoy!

── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──

The province of Quebec is often quite peaceful for about 85% of the year, with the exceptions typically being one of two things. First, there's always the typical influx of tourists that happens during peak times of the year like summer, Christmas, things like that. However the second exception is typically related to whatever artist is in Montreal for the Canadian leg of their world tour. It wasn't uncommon for there to be a little bit of buzz around the famous singer in question, however no one seemed to go harder than kpop fans when their group or soloist of choice was coming for a show or two.

You weren't really a fan of kpop in the way that many of your friends were. Sure, you've listened to some songs before, but you never felt the desire to get invested in any of the artists or the lore that came with them. It would be nice to hear your friends babble on about a new song that was released or a new tour that was announced, however you were absolutely not expecting the absolute freakout that was to come when BTS announced that they'd be doing a show in Montreal.

"Can you believe it?" One friend asked you with excitement. Yes, you could. They were famous. Of course they were going to come to Canada for a world tour. It's not that you weren't excited for your friends, who called themselves 'Army', but you just weren't as invested so it didn't mean as much to you. It also didn't help that a lot of their discussions with fellow fans and the things they'd post relating to BTS on their social media profiles were in English.

The majority of Quebecois people were able to communicate in English as well as their native language of French, but for some reason your family lived under a rock and you didn't learn anything beyond basic greetings and conversations in English. You felt rather left out because it felt like you were behind your friends and everyone else around you, however as you grew older you tended to not let it bother you that much. Since French is a prominent language in Quebec, you weren't bothered about language barriers and knew you could get around and live life normally without worry.

Since your friends were much deeper down the Bangtan rabbit hole, they were able to secure floor tickets to their Montreal show and were extremely busy completely overthinking the event and what they wanted to wear. It was now the day before the show and they were last-minute panicking, roaming the stores of downtown Montreal to put together outfits that were both cute and appropriate for the vibe of the concert.

Given that they were rather busy with this, you decided that this would be a weekend to yourself where you could peacefully do whatever you wanted. The quaint cafe you work at full-time decided to close for the weekend given the occasion (apparently the owner was also an Army), so it was a perfect opportunity for you to go down to the local park and do some reading on a bench.

And that's exactly what you did. You found yourself parked on the lawn of Mount Royal Park, right next to the lake. You brought some light reading with you, a small romance novel that involved the typical coffee shop trope, prepared to do some reading but also some people watching in between. It was absolutely perfect, and you couldn't have asked for a better way to spend the weekend. As you peacefully read your cliche novel, cup of iced coffee from a local coffee shop in-hand, you thought the day couldn't get any better. Until it did.

"Hey, excuse me, can you help me?" You looked up from your book to see a boy standing a short distance away from you. He had the warmest smile on his face and his eyes were bright with cheer. You tilted your head slightly, not too sure what he was asking. After a minute of silence, his smile dropped slightly.

"Uh... E-English?" He asked. It was clear that he was struggling with his words as well, even though you didn't speak the language. You shook your head, a slight frown on your face. "Français?" You ask in response, to which he mirrors you and shakes his head in return. The boy looks down for a second, clearly stumped as to what to do at this point. Part of you thought that he was about to walk away, however his feet didn't move from where he was standing.

After a second, he looked back up, his sweet smile once again appearing on his face. With his phone in hand, he pointed at it, then pointed at himself, then pointed at you. Was he asking for your number? Raising an eyebrow, you started to shake your head, however you watched as his smile dropped again and he shook his head rapidly. "No! No!" He said frantically, before mimicking the act of taking a photo, making a little 'click click' noise. He wanted a photo!

Finally understanding what he was saying, you grin and nod, causing him to squeal in delight. He approached you briefly to hand you his phone before backing up toward the lake a little more. You start to turn his phone landscape before he shakes his head and lets out a little yelp, indicating that he wanted the photo to be in portrait mode. You giggle at his antics as he attempts to pose in the way he wants, admiring his efforts to not only have a good photo but also to communicate with you.

Once it seems like he's ready for you to take the photo, you begin clicking the photo button and watch as he begins to move a little bit to hit different styles of poses. And wow, this man was incredible at modeling. You watched in wonder as he effortlessly moved his body in all kinds of directions, going from casual to silly to cute and back to casual. He was absolutely gorgeous, there was no denying that. A ten in a world of fives.

After a couple minutes, he stops posing and giddily bounces back over to you. When he takes his phone back to look at all the photos, he makes a couple of 'woaaahhhh' noises, clearly impressed with your photography skills. You turn away as a blush creeps to your cheeks, flattered that he's happy with the photos. When you look back you watch him slightly bow to you in thanks before pointing to himself. "Hoseok," He says, making sure to enunciate each part of his name in the correct way so that you know how to say it.

You smile and nod, offering your name back to him, to which his smile grows into one of the most beautiful smiles you have ever seen. If it weren't for your impeccable self-control, you probably would have fainted the very first time he smiled at you, given how absolutely charming he was. However, this most recent smile made you a little weak on your feet. You were able to tough it out and stay strong, but God, he was just stunning.

You go to sit back down on your spot in the grass, but before you get the chance to you feel a gentle hand grasp your wrist. Face hot with shyness, you peer back over to him and notice his smile has dropped. You watch as he points toward the exit of the park and into the main city, and gives you a 'come on' motion, indicating that he wanted you to come with him. If this would have happened a few minutes ago when he first approached you, you might not have taken the offer. But now that you've gotten to somewhat know this breathtaking stranger, it was an offer you couldn't turn down. Grabbing your book and iced coffee from off the ground, you decide to follow him out of the park.

As you step back onto the streets of Montreal, walking with this random man, you watch as he turns to you and thinks for a second. You can tell he was trying to figure out how to communicate his next thought, so you remain silent and patient. After a second, he points at his eyes, and then gives this huge gesture with his arms, almost like he's expressing something blowing up. Letting out a soft giggle, you tilt your head slightly, resulting in a laugh coming from his own mouth. His laugh was so loud, sweet, and full of joy, and it was like pure honey dripping from his tongue. He retries his previous charades, now acting like he is looking at something with his hand above both of his eyes. He then goes 'woahh!!' and gives an amazed look, and you realize that he's asking to see some of the highlights of the city. With a soft nod, you take his hand, watching a soft blush creep to his cheeks as you pull him along the street and show him everything he needs to see in your beautiful city.

˗ˏˋ ♡ ˎˊ˗

After spending hours with Hoseok, showing him about everything in Montreal and taking a picture of him with it, you found yourselves once again back in the park where you first met. It was a rather chaotic day, pulling the boy around and watching his face light up at absolutely everything, but what seemed to be weirder was the fact that multiple times during your tour you guys received a few looks and even whispers. Every time that it happened, Hoseok would indicate to you that he wanted to move on and go to the next spot while also pulling up the light scarf that he had around his neck to cover his mouth and nose. You thought that it was rather bizarre but dismissed it as people being disrespectful since he was a rather loud and excited tourist.

Now, though, it was just you and him, sitting in the grass in front of the lake as you ate a late lunch/early dinner. He asked you to go with him to a local store where he went around and picked out a bunch of ready-made food as well as a bottle of champagne, paying for it all and implying that he wanted to eat it with you back at the park. Considering this stranger was doing more than anyone had ever done for you in the last twenty-something years of your life, you were beyond flattered and at this point you were hardcore swooning for him.

You half expected your meal to be quiet and consist of you guys looking at the lake, looking at each other, and silently eating your meal. But this was Hoseok, the man you had learned was anything but quiet. Even though he couldn't speak your language and you couldn't speak his, he was telling you all kinds of stories through the power of charades and sound effects. For most of the time, he had you in tears, laughing at his impeccable sense of humor and all-around silliness. But he also provided you with moments of peace so you could eat without choking, which was rather respectful of him, you thought.

After a while of fun storytelling, you two fell silent. You gazed over at the lake, watching as the sun made the water shimmer, and let out a sigh. When you looked back over to Hoseok, you caught him staring at you, causing a blush to creep to your cheeks. Raising an eyebrow, you nudged him as a way to ask 'what are you looking at?'. Shaking his head, he hesitantly stretched out his arm to wrap it around your waist. Just by looking at him you could tell he was internally freaking out, his eyes wide with nervousness. You smiled softly and inched your way closer to him, accepting his embrace as you rested your head on his shoulder.

There was something about this man that was so much different from anyone else that you had ever met. His charisma, his kindness, his energy – all of it was so attractive. It was the fact that he wasn't just a pretty face, he was a pretty human. You could tell he was raised right with a heart of gold and you felt beyond lucky to have ever met him in the first place. For him to have asked you of all the people in Montreal to take a picture of him made you feel extremely lucky, because had he not approached you, the two of you would have never met.

He pulled back a little bit to prompt you to remove your head and look at him. You watched as he pointed at himself, then cleared his throat before singing a little bit of a song. His singing voice was as sweet as can be, and you were about to just sit there and admire him, until you realized that the song he was singing was familiar. You didn't quite know what the name of the song was, and he wasn't singing it in quite the right tone, but you knew it was by BTS. The kpop group that was currently in Montreal and about to perform the following day.

Your mouth gaped open as you realized what was happening. You didn't even realize that you had been spending the entire day with a member of BTS. The people looking and whispering throughout were probably people who recognized him, not people who were judging him. And he was hiding his face because he didn't want to be recognized. He just wanted to spend the day with a beautiful girl and feel like a normal human being. You didn't blame him for not telling you sooner, though. It's not like you're a diehard fan of his group, but you probably wouldn't have looked at him the same way had he told you immediately.

After processing what was happening, you closed your mouth and smiled, giving him a vigorous nod. Once he gave you a smile in return, you went back to resting your head on his shoulder and grabbing your glass of champagne to hold. You wanted to show him that it was cool, everything was fine, and things weren't going to change. You liked him as Hoseok, the boy he introduced himself as when he eagerly asked you for a picture earlier. Not the kpop idol that stands in front of thousands on a stage and performs for them.

As time continued to pass and the sun got to a point where the day started to become sunset, you two sat in blissful silence while enjoying one another's presence. After a while Hoseok once again nudged you, causing you to look up at him. You watched as he once again admired your face, a blush creeping to your cheeks as you became shy from the eye contact. Just as you were about to look away he reached his hand over to brush a strand of hair behind your ear, and then rested that hand against your cheek.

At this point there was no need for charades because all you needed to do was look into his eyes and he told you absolutely everything you needed to know. He dipped his head down slightly as you both pulled each other in for a kiss, his sweet lips meeting yours in absolute harmony. Your stomach did about five thousand backflips as adrenaline coursed through your veins and your brain went fuzzy. Whether you wanted to admit it or not, this was a moment that you were waiting for practically all day. Little did you know, however, this was a moment that he had been anticipating even before he spoke to you for the first time. It all started when he saw you from a distance and his heart almost beat out of his chest because he was so enamored by your beauty.

As you both pulled away from the kiss, you watched as his mouth curled into the sweetest heart smile and he leaned in once again to peck the tip of your nose. You knew that today was going to be absolutely perfect, but your new romance made it about ten times better than perfect if that was even possible.

It's safe to say that the next day you were at barricade at the biggest concert of the year in Montreal, courtesy of BTS' resident rapper and dancer, J-Hope. Or, as you knew him, your smiley Hoseok.

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purpleyoonn · 1 year

Text

baby (you complete us) 11

C H A P T E R E L E V E N

Or where you wear your bracelet for ten years, and finally give up the hope you would find your soul group, only for BTS to put theirs on and see what they were missing.

Genre: soulmate au, idol au, angst, fluff, eventual smut,

Pairing: Idol BTS x Disabled MC

Warnings: angst, mentions of depression, disabled mc (Ehlers Danlos syndrome), eventual smut, fluff, lots of fluff, mentions of disability, simp bangtan

Chapter Warnings: protective bangtan, anxious mc, mc makes some friends, talk of injury,

*Words in Italics are spoken/written in Korean*

beta’d/edited by the lovely @babyarmybias

masterlist // chapter 10 // chapter 12

permanent taglist: @m1sss1mp @yourleftsock @skyys-universe @cryingpages @strxwbloody @drissteele @dustyinkpages @iamkookiesforyou @crushedblackroses @fluffy-canada-pancakes @blaaiissee @iiitsmaria @carolinexkpop @azazel-nyx @strawberry-moonpies @g-h-o-s-t-b-a-b-i @knjkitten @foreverweareyoung7 @lachimolala22019 @namuficxs @94z-93 @kimgmzmc @thenaverse @dahliasbouqet @black-rose-29 @tinyoonsblog @take-u-2-an0ther-w0r1d @stellauniverse @stupendouscookiehumanmug @tinyoonsblog @veronawrites @tatyhend @singukieee @m0v3m3ntsblog @exfolitae @butterymin @queen-in-the-shadows @anaspectoflife @welcometomyworld13 @slinekyu @ghostlyworld @svnbangtansworld @loisje123 @i-have-no-life-charlie @danielle143 @jcrml @softieyn @kyuupidwrites @friedlollipop @lulu-83 @tokiodori

———————————————

Previously on baby (you complete us):

When you finally pulled away, Jungkook leaned forward, trying to follow your lips. You were sat on his lap, his hands resting on your waist. You didn’t say anything, just stared at one another, trying to breathe and grasp what just happened. After a couple of seconds, you break out into a large grin, moving forward and hiding your head in his chest.

Jungkook laughs at your reaction, wrapping his arms around your back and holding you close. He wears the biggest grin on his lips as he hears your laughter spilling from you. Your soul was warm, body filling with unrestrained happiness. It felt as though one hole in your heart had been filled, filled by the man you were laying with, laughing as if someone told a good joke.

This laughter was different though.

It was pure happiness.

“Alright, we have some vending machines over here, and a little way down, there is a little café that Yoongi likes to get americanos from when it gets late.”

You had arrived with Jungkook after being dropped off by the lovely Songun. It was a little pass nine am and the boys were all slowly trickling into the building. However, instead of moving to the practice room the boys had booked, Jungkook decided to take you on a small tour of the floor, showing you where everything was and giving little tidbits of the boys while you walked.

You were shocked by the number of things they had on the practice floors. Each floor had a small nook where they could pick up fresh snacks like veggie and fruit cups. They also had refrigerated drink stands that had a wide variety of drinks. All four practice floors also had a small café towards the middle of the floor, something Jungkook was excited about.

“I guess I should have brought my card?” You thought aloud once you saw the little fresh fruit cups.

“Baby, you never need to worry about using your money when you’re with us. I can promise the others will get a little upset that you think you need to. Also, everything on the practice floors is free. Well, for us, since we own a lot of shares in the company. Which means you don’t ever need to pay for anything in the company.” Your eyes widen at his words. Everything the boys say or do just keeps surprising you, to the point where your eyes might permanently widen.

“Oh.” you whisper, reaching out slowly to grab a little cup of watermelon, still thinking that someone was going to make you pay for them, popping up from behind the cart.

Jungkook just laughed, thinking you were unbelievably cute and innocent. He couldn’t stop looking at you, happy and excited to be able to be with you and get to know you. He already noticed that you stick your tongue out a little when concentrating, and that your nose scrunches up like his when you laugh.

He noticed that you also tend to pick at your fingers when you’re nervous something that had him moving to hold your hand. Which is what he did when you realized no one was going to come after you to pay for your fruit.

“C’mon baby, I bet the others are already in the practice room getting ready.” Jungkook began to tug you forward to the room. He could feel the pad of your pointer finger rubbing over the top of his hand; a soothing movement, he realized.

I don’t care as long as she is with me. Jungkook thought.

Out of their soulmate group, Jungkook had been the most eager to find you. You were only a couple months apart and to know that he had spent the last ten plus years with their soulmates, enjoying life and the bond between them, while you had none of that, it had him aching to make it up to you. He had so much love to spread, and to have a younger soulmate who he could take care of and protect like his hyungs did with his made his soul sing.

Jungkook wanted to show you how great love and the soul bond could be.

In the hopes of getting your spirit up again, Jungkook began to swing your arms, slowly at first and then faster until your arms were going above your heads and your laughter could be heard from the practice room down the hall. Jungkook began skipping in place, going at your pace until you reached the practice room, door already open and Jimin and Hoseok peaking their heads out.

“Ahh there’s our baby soulmates!” Jimin exclaims, reaching out to Jungkook and pulling him in for a hug.

“Did you two have fun last night?” Hoseok comes and pulls you into his arms, squeezing you tightly as he walks backwards into the practice room where the rest of your soul group were.

“He watched Bride of Habaek with me!” You exclaimed, excited that you had someone to watch Kdramas with you. “And we had lots of cuddles. Jungkook is good at cuddling.” You felt so comfortable that you couldn’t help but to spill everything.

Well, not everything, as Jungkook seemed to beat you to the final punch.

He pulled away from Jimin and pulled you out of Hoseok’s arms, planting a big smooch on your lips and pulled away laughing at your shocked expression. “You’re spilling all the secrets!” Jungkook managed to say through laughter.

The rest of the boys were shocked, completely speechless, as they witnessed Jungkook kiss you. They weren’t expecting it, even with the soul pull they knew you experienced the previous night. In fact, they assumed you wouldn’t let them show you affectionlike that for a few months. They didn’t want to push you, but they now realized they shouldn’t have underestimated the soul bond.

“Hey now! No more kisses until we finish practice!” Jin yelled out, stomping his feet dramatically and stealing the attention from your blushing form.

When he caught your eye, he winked at you, not the normal one you’ve seen so many times on camera, but one letting you know he knew how you weren’t ready for everyone to try and shower you in the affection Jungkook was so easily able to give you. You nodded your head in thanks, moving to the side so you didn’t get in the way as they started to set up for practice.

You weren’t sure what song they were practicing, or what they were practicing for. You tried to get the answers out of Jungkook, but he still held that shit-eating bunny grin on his lips which irritated the hell out of you. Not even kisses seemed to get him to give up the so called “secrets of practice”.

Yoongi came over to you as the boys began to stretch, taking your hand and leading you to a nice little sofa that sat off to the side in the back of the room. He sat down with you and turned towards the small, circular designed table that was to your right. He handed you a small gift bag and gestured for you to open it.

The bag held a cropped t-shirt with the word “Bangtan” on it in a design you didn’t recognize. The image was similar to the Army and BTS symbols but like it was smooshed together. It looked really cool and you could tell this was new.

“This is what we are practicing. Since we’ve returned from the army, we have wanted to do a tour representing our time as Bangtan, and everything we have done in our ten years. Since this coming year, 2023, will be our ten year anniversary, we want to do collective world tour. Songs from each of our albums.” Yoongi’s voice is low, as if telling you a secret, despite everyone in the room already knowing about it. You hold the shirt in your hands, unable to believe that they are already planning a tour since they have only been out of the army for a couple of months.

The boys had enlisted in the army as a soul group in June of 2020, during the pandemic. They wanted to give Army one last festa as a group before their enlistment, so they waited until June 22nd of that year. This meant they had only been out of their enlistment since March of this year, 2022. It was almost August now and the weather was only getting colder as fall began to arrive.

“We have a couple of new songs, one of which Army has waited a long time for. But our album is going to be called ‘Proof’, as proof that we are still here, we are still a group even after coming back. We also have solo songs we are going to introduce from our own solo projects.” Your eyes widened at his words, shocked and excited at the prospect of their solo endeavors.

“The shirt is a pre-release that the boys and I have received in order to see if we like it or not. We wanted to give you one as well. Jiminie and Taehyungie said you had a lot of crop tops in your bags so we picked this one for you.” Yoongi told you, reminding you how Jimin had picked your outfit our for you the day before.

To be honest, you packed a lot of crop tops because you get hot easily, even in colder weather. You always have. You didn’t know what your plans were going to be, but you always pick comfort over fashion and brought enough for you to wear every day for two weeks. You, however, did not feel comfortable enough with your body to wear them in public, let alone in front of the boys yet.

“Thank you, Yoongi. I appreciate the gift.” You feel so lucky to have the boys as your soulmates. They were so thoughtful and seemed to want to include you in everything. You lean forward and kiss his cheek, pulling away before putting the shirt back in the bag.

Yoongi, on the other hand, was a blushing mess. For once it wasn’t you that was flustered this time. He couldn’t help but smile wide at your kiss, even if it was on his cheek.

“Yah! Yoongi-hyung stop sitting and come practice so we can take our girl to dinner later!” Taehyung yelled out, his voice reverberating throughout the room as he interrupted your small bubble.

The rest of your soul group laughed when they saw you both blushing. Yoongi rolled his eyes before leaning forward and returning the favor, kissing your cheek with a loud smack before jogging off and getting into the practiced formation as the music starts.

The music starts with a really cool guitar riff, extremely upbeat and you could tell this was one of the new songs. The song could have been Fire’s younger sibling, the style seemed close. Yoongi started off the song and oh. my. goodness. You knew for a fact that this song was going to drive Army insane. Absolutely insane.

You needed them to practice this seven times, so you could focus on one member each time. You were especially in love with the chorus. You almost couldn’t help but clap after the song was over, eyes lit with excitement.

“I…oh my. Oh my. That was…..amazing!” You tried not to shout out the last word as the boys turned to look at you, Yoongi’s signature smirk resting on his lips.

“You liked it, baby?” Namjoon asked you, knowing how dumb his question was as your excitement was written all over your face.

“Of course! That might be one of my favorite songs yet!” Namjoon chuckled, glad that they could make their soulmate happy.

“Well, we want to surprise you with our other songs later. Are you okay with having Songun take you exploring? Maybe to the café?” Namjoon held your hands in his, noticing your excitement die a little at not being able to see the rest of their practice. But you understood completely.

“No, that’s fine. I want to share the excitement with Army! I’ll bring you guys something back from the café!” You grab your things and put your lanyard over your head as Jin tells you that Songun should be in the hallway waiting for you.

After tons of goodbye hugs, you finally left the practice room only to see that Songun was not in the hallway. You almost turned back to the room, to see what you should do, but you didn’t want to bother the boys when they obviously had things they needed to do. So, you put your big girl pants on and decided to try and navigate the building by yourself. You didn’t want to have to rely on someone else to help you forever.

You decide to turn left, after doing eenie-meenie-minie-mo, your eyes alert as you try to take everything in and remember the way you came so you can get back to the practice room. You only see a couple of empty practice rooms before you turn the corner and bump into someone’s chest.

“Oof! I’m sorry.” You apologize as soon as it happens out of instinct.

“It’s okay.” You were a little proud that you remembered your Korean and was able to understand what the man was saying, but you froze once you recognized the familiar voice.

Choi Soobin was standing in front of you with the rest of Tomorrow x Together behind him. They looked like they were just finishing their practice, sweat dripping from their hairlines.

“Oh! Y/n noona! I’m so sorry!” You were shocked by the honorific, not having heard it yet, let alone expecting to be addressed by it. You watched as the boys all began bowing to you, giving you their greetings.

“It’s okay. Please, you don’t need to bow!” You panic a little, the entire situation being new to you. You weren’t quite comfortable with this part of the Korean culture yet. In your own culture, greetings are done with handshakes, especially when first meeting someone, so it’s gonna take some getting used to.

Once the boys stopped bowing, they introduced themselves one by one, Heuning Kai going last.

“We were so happy when we saw the announcement. It’s nice to know our hyungs soul group is complete now.” He spoke in English, making your body relax a little given you still were in the beginning stages of learning Korean. He then looked behind you, noticing no one with you and the slightly lost look on your face.

“Noona, are you lost?”

“Uhm, I was trying to find the café.”

“We can take you noona! We were just heading that way!” Soobin spoke and Heuning Kai repeated his words in English for you as Yeonjun put his arm around your shoulders and turned you around. So, maybe your eenie-meenie-minie-mo tactic hadn’t been the best idea after all. You laugh a little nervously at yourself before letting them guide you to the café.

“So, Noona. How are you liking Korea so far?” Yeonjun asks you as you walk back down the hallway.

“I like it so far. I got to do a little exploring my first day before meeting the boys in person. I went to a convenience store and made one of those videos like on TikTok!” You bring your phone out and show them the video, receiving “oohs” and “ahs” from the boys.

“You haven’t done anything else? How long have you been here?”

“I’ve only been here a couple of days. I’ve spent most of the time bonding with my soulmates. We also had an appointment with the Soul Registry to finalize our bond officially.” You tell them, the boys listening with full attention.

You found yourself feeling comfortable with the younger group as you all walked to the café. You didn’t find yourself stuttering with nerves or quiet with anxiety. It was nice and the boys were all so attentive and full of life. It was a nice change from what you were used to at home, and you felt yourself growing to think of the boys like little brothers.

You even found yourself going along with their antics, letting them convince you to learn the choreography to their new song and film a TikTok with them. It took you a lot of tries but you managed to learn the choreography without hurting yourself. You felt your right knee giving you a little trouble but you pushed it aside in favor of having fun with the boys.

“Thank you for doing this, Noona! We will tag you when it gets posted!” Yeonjun exclaims once you were done filming in front of one of the portraits outside of the café.

“Thank you! It was fun. I could really go for a drink now though!” You laugh as the boys agree with your statement, Taehyun and Soobin pulling your arms and dragging you into the café.

Next Chapter

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