#i managed a 4 hour catnap before i was up again to go to work

[zeethequeer]

ABOUT MY POPPY PLAYTIME DR v2 (Everyone survives DR)

✨BASICS✨

Name: Amy Lovitz (Previously Amy Simmons)

Age: 17

Height: 5'0"

Hair Color: Red

Eye Color: Blue

Skin Color: Light

Gender: Female

Sexuality: Straight

Pronouns: She/Her

✨FAMILY✨

Mom: ???

Dad: Rich Lovitz

Siblings: None

Aunt: ???

Uncle: ???

Cousins: ???

Closest Friends: All Bigger Body toys (eventually), majority of living small toys (eventually)

S/O(s): None

✨EXTRAS✨

Favorite Color: Pink

Favorite Food: Watermelon

Favorite Show: Smiling Critters TV show

Favorite Drink: Grape juice

Hobbies: singing, urban exploration, gardening, hiking, outdoor sports

Time Of First Shift: Beginning of the game

Song That Reminds Me Of DR: Everything Stays from Adventure Time

✨MY LIFE STORY✨

I was one of the Playcare orphans, adopted at around 5 years old by an employee, Rich, who anyone who's watched videos or played the game will recognize as one of the employees we hear/"see" time and time again in the video tapes. I practically lived my whole early childhood in Playcare and the Game Station, including the following year and a half after my adoption and before The Hour of Joy.

I was incredibly lucky to have been sick and kept at home by my dad, and not at Playtime Co on the day that The Hour of Joy happened.

10 years later, a letter comes in about the disappearance of the employees with a claim that there's still people there. Having managed to get ahold of it before my dad, I go to the old Playtime Co factory. Not wanting him to follow and get himself into danger as well, I leave really early without even leaving a note about where I'm going. My dad was used to me leaving early in the morning to hang out with friends on weekends, and after Playtime Co he became a tow-truck driver with long shifts. He wouldn't notice something was wrong until I wouldn't have returned home that evening like usual and had confirmed I wasn't staying over at a friend's house.

Things play out in a similar order to the game, but the toys are all able to identify that I'm still technically a kid. By the events of chapter 4 I have everyone from the previous areas following me around... With the exception of Miss Delight. I don't think there's any way around her losing her mind so I haven't scripted otherwise.

By the end of the events of Chapter 4 our group consists of every Bigger Body toy, including the ones that in the game had died already. I've scripted that every Bigger Body toy that was created survived long enough to still be around by the time I get to the factory with the letter. Any that had "issues" found those issues to correct themselves later if they were anything that was a detriment to them physically (such as the spasms that Bobby BearHug was noted to have had).

So our interesting, ragtag group ultimately consists of Boxy Boo, Pianosaurus, Yarnaby, Huggy, Kissy, Bobby BearHug, CatNap, Bron, Mommy Long-Legs, Doey, Bunzo, PJ, Poppy, about a dozen Mini Huggies, DogDay, Hoppy, the rest of the Bigger Body Smiling Critters, about a dozen Mini Critters, Scout, Medic, Odd Ed, and this reality's versions of my other Poppy Playtime DR self and fellow Big Dreams Dolls (both the Bigger Body versions and minis). Eventually this includes every single kid still alive that was trapped in the factory as well.

After finally escaping the factory with Doctor Sawyer and The Prototype both dead, I tell everyone to wait in the lobby as I run outside to a payphone to call my dad. The news of where I was and what I did ends up being... A lot, to put it lightly.

With the recovery of the kids that were trapped, I accidentally make it on national news. We all work together to keep the existence of the toys quiet (the ones that hadn't been publicly known about prior at least), but a lot of funding rolls in to help get everyone (many of the kids now not really being kids but being between 18 and 27 depending on how old they were during the HoJ) settled. We end up sticking together, using the pooled funds to purchase several undeveloped properties outside of the city where we can all live and build housing large enough to allow for the toys to come and go in and outside as they please.

Many of the now adult orphans were able to find jobs, a lot of them starting work at daycares and schools as assistants. A lot of them went back to school and got their GEDs before going to college and becoming lawyers, doctors, etc. Some of them even became scientists to try to find ways to help improve the quality of life the toys experienced. Essentially acting as their doctors.

Having access to the outdoors and all needs met, the scarier looking of the toys begin to look less scary over time. Such as CatNap, he eventually doesn't look so skeletal anymore and more like the oversized cat he is. DogDay gets new legs, Kissy is fixed up from all the damage the Prototype caused, etc.

Everyone gets their happy ending.

✨SCRIPTED MOMENTS✨

I have to tell Huggy "We don't eat people!" when introducing my dad to the toys. 😅

Seeing the sunshine again after everything is over.

Similar to my other DR, who the "player character" is, in this case my dad/Rich, is likely not who they actually are in the game. I'll probably need a day to process if they actually turn out to be Rich in the game. Like I wouldn't expect my DR scripting to turn out to be CR game canon.

[villa-kulla]

so I saw Avengers Endgame last night, and honestly.....

I actually frickin’ LOVED it haha, I haven’t genuinely enjoyed one of the Avengers ensemble movies that much since the first one. Granted I’m still very sleep-deprived and on a slightly giddy high from how much it exceeded my expectations haha, and once I’ve thought more about it I’m sure I’ll find things to nitpick. But for the time being, I’m still pretty much swooning.

FULL INCOHERENT THOUGHTS/REACTIONS TO SPECIFIC THINGS BELOW THE CUT, AND OFC, ***SPOILERS*****

ONCE AGAIN: ******SPOILERS********

these are just my rambling Emotions about different moments, ostensibly in the order they occurred in the movie, but actually in the order I remember them:

The opening scene: that moment when Clint turned away from his daughter, and then turned back to see just a few remaining ashes floating slowly where she’d been was beautifully shot. Also beautiful: the soft gasp that went around the theatre right when it happened haha

Killing Thanos within the first 10 minutes and breaking the expected formula and thereby thrusting the movie out into unknown waters? lmao WELL PLAYED, ENDGAME <3

Steve picking up Sam’s mantle and running a support group for survivors? flawless move. My heart couldn’t take it

Okay first thing I genuinely didn’t like: “fat Thor” as a punchline. It was so cringey. My friends and I were discussing how that actually COULD have been so great had they explored Thor’s breakdown and PTSD in a meaningful way, and I mean who wouldn’t adore thicc Thor? But instead we got comedic zooms on his beer belly, and yeah. Kudos to Hemsworth for being a gem and making it work but yeah. Nothing wrong with Thor going to seed physically as well as mentally, just wish it hadn’t been played for laughs is all

Tony basically ripping his heart out and putting it in Steve’s hand? I knew my Vintage™ Stony feels were going to resurface and oh boy did they ever haha

Honestly their whole dynamic in the movies works very well if you imagine that they had angsty hate sex that wasn’t actually hate sex at all, and there was the possibility of real feelings there, but for whatever reason they just couldn’t. quite. make. it. work.

That moment with Antman and Hulk’s fans was so genuinely awkward and I could not stop laughing. Paul Rudd is a gift

It only took them 7 years to realize that all fans ever wanted was the Avengers lounging around in hoodies and eating takeout, but it felt all the more earned for it haha

this is silly but it was nice to have a return to Nat’s red hair...sort of lol

TIME HEIST! TIME HEIST! TIME HEIST! TIME HEIST!!

^^^ That was around when I really started settling in like ‘oh this is gonna be good’

the only spoiler I was exposed to was the ‘Steve’s ass finally gets the recognition it deserves’ post, and did it ever

got as close as we’ll get to canonically bi steve rogers and imma take it haha. Checking out your own ass? Legends only (in fact in our post-movie debrief over drinks, our first toast was ‘here’s to bisexual disaster steve rogers’ he time heisted my heart all over again)

and honestly props to them for going the cute nostalgic route by revisiting all the old movies like that, and not trying to be overly ‘dark and gritty’ for the whole thing. It was lovely how they did it, and very appropriate

The ‘Come and get your love’ credits from GotG is like the only concrete thing I even remember from that movie lol, and I was so giddy when it resurfaced

I’ll be honest, I’m so over aliens and space lol, any time one of these movies goes to space I’m basically yawning instantly, I’M JUST NOT INTO IT FOR THESE MOVIES SORRY. So I’m glad the space stuff was kept to a minimum in this haha. The way they do alien civilizations just never really packs a punch for me, with the single exception of...

......NEBULA MY LOVE <3 She was always the most intriguing and raw of any of the characters in those movies for me. Karen Gillan gives her an amazing presence, so I was glad to see her get a good showcase in this one

Oh hi Robert Redford, I definitely wasn’t reading Butch and Sundance fan fiction on the bus to work 12 hours before this movie asdjhgf haha that was a fun surprise

“Hail Hydra” ajshgd FUCKING EPIC OH MY GOD. I couldn’t breathe. That was amazing.

On a much less lighthearted note.......Natasha. Oh god. I really didn’t think they were going to go there with any of the original six but they did. Natasha was my original fave at the tender of 18, I was completely in awe of how Scarlett portrayed her, immediately cut my hair and dyed it red in tribute haha, and claimed her as my OG fave. I adored her, and still adore her. And honestly, I would have been so much more upset about her fate if...it hadn’t been so completely right for her. As much as I hate to say it, what she did was very character-appropriate for her, and really brought her full circle. And sneaky/unexpected to the end omg. That’s my girl.  I’m a diehard Black Widow fan, and I think it’s safe to say she definitely wiped out the red in her ledger, if there ever was any left <3

.....that being said, really, no lingering zoom on a photo of her somewhere at the avengers compound? Nothing? The reaction immediately afterwards was well done, but it was kind of awks that it never came back with even a mention lol 

Loved the way they did the ‘Guys...I think it worked’ emphasized only by the sound of birdsong. This movie killed it with the quieter moments

And now for something absolutely not quiet:

STEVE!!!

CAUGHT!!!!

THOR’S!!!!

HAMMER!!!!

I HAVE NEVER HEARD A THEATRE COLLECTIVELY LOSE THEIR SHIT LIKE THAT IN MY LIFE

I may have screamed. So. fucking. aces.

Between ‘Hail Hydra’, ‘That is America’s ass’, and lifting the hammer, Steve really owned this movie didn’t he lol

that’s my boy <3

they may have turned steve’s last movie into an avengers movie, but man alive this avengers movie was pretty much steve’s show and he killed every second of it

I’m giddy just thinking about it 

And speaking of giddy, everyone’s return.....normally the big final climactic battle scene tends to pale in comparison to nimbler action sequences that happened earlier, but I said giddy and I meant it. They really pulled out all the crown-pleasing stops in it, and it was impossible to nitpick, I had the biggest fucking smile on my face the whole time

AND OH MAN THAT ONE LITTLE MOMENT WITH DR. STRANGE. HOLDING UP ONE FINGER. WHAT A MOMENT. INCREDIBLE. JAW-DROPPING. VISIONARY. TRANSCENDAENT. UPLIFTING. MY HEART SOARED.

Until......THAT MOMENT

“I am Iron Man”

TONY

Oh god

Everyone speculated it would happen, but I didn’t actually think it would. IDK MAYBE I’M JUST NAIVE LOL.

I was actually kind of numb there for a while and I stayed numb until....

“Your dad liked cheeseburgers too”

Yeah there was no recovering after that lol, I was basically a wreck until the end from that moment on

Man...Tony Stark actually died....

As powerful as it was, I don’t really think they had to go there in order to bring the pathos? Idk I have mixed feelings about that choice lol, his big moment was epic but you know what else is epic? Going back to your log cabin to live with your family in peace lol. Idk I’m still not sure how I feel about their choice with that, but maybe it just hasn’t fully hit me yet

Sam as the new Captain America?? A-fucking-men

And this brings us to the ending

the controversial ending which is already causing its own civil war based on what I’ve seen so far haha. And for what my two cents are worth....

I loved it. That was a bold move and I really have to give them props for choosing something risky and unexpected as a conclusion. 

That last shot was absolutely beautiful. The moment ‘It’s Been A Long, Long Time’ kicked in I think my breath caught. And that slow zoom in on the window to see Steve and Peggy dancing 11 years of the Marvel Cinematic Universe to a close, and sealing it with a kiss? Gorgeous.

I’m honestly choked up again just thinking about it lol.

And although it’s a small thing, no end credits sequence?? That’s what we call true closure lol, and I think that was what really hammered in the fact that it’s really all over, folks <3

Yes there were some nit-pickable things, some things that could have been better, or came too little too late, and I can’t even BEGIN to wrap my head around the time-travel implications in the conclusion (and I’m not sure we’re supposed to haha). But they took approximately 9000 storylines and characters and managed to represent them in what was actually a genuinely emotional, thoughtful, and entertaining movie that managed to smash the expected formula and the gently pick it back up again to piece together a satisfying, crowd-pleasing, and soaring resolution. Yeah a good deal of the emotional-payoff was already built in what with audiences bringing their own 10-year journeys with these movies to the theatre, and part of my excitement about this movie is definitely tied into the overall pop culture phenomenon itself. But as a movie it exceeded all my expectations, and I’m very satisfied. Thanks, Marvel. It’s been a good run <3

[bubblesthemonsterartist]

*cracks knuckles* Clearly I’m going straight for the Blackout. 

ENJOY, FRIENDS. FOR YOU, I THROW IT UNDER THE CUT

Under 1000 Words

take my burdens (and bury them deep) by @thelionshymnal​ Rated M Nothing makes me happier than a fic of my favorite BroTP, especially when Obi is offering to disappear Kiki’s dirty dealings. Content warning for attempted sexual assault and Obi doing what he does best: getting rid of the body.

A Fic That Got You Involved In Fandom

Seven Suitors for Shirayuki by @sabraeal​ Rated T Look. You all are just going to have to accept that there is a certain generation of this fandom that was dragged in, kicking and screaming, by this fic. I wanted to diversify by saying something else managed it, but no. It was the fact that this story was stuck on chapter five for MONTHS that made me vibrate until my own fic fell out. XD

Made You Laugh Out Loud

An Extra Rise Before Dawn by @sabraeal​ Rated G I don’t often worry that I am going to pee from laughing so hard when I’m reading something, but this one definitely does. In one spot in particular. You might be able to guess it. It is simultaneously an incredible sweet and incredibly funny fic that hits all the right notes for me.

Favorite Trope Reversal

Fussing with Firedrakes by @leewritingrecs​ Rated T 1) Dragons. 2) Damsel in distress is no damsel and she is NOT in distress thank you very much 3) Kiki is a DRAGON 4) Obi is cursed, and 5) DID I MENTION D R A G O N S ???

Fic That Made You Friends With the Author

The Wide Florida Bay by @sabraeal​ Rated E I had to think about this because while I read Seven Suitors first, this was the series that made me start sending anons and eventually made me join tumblr where I proceeded to endlessly play the ‘what if’ game with Jen. CLEARLY this is where our friendship was forged.

Action-Packed Fight Scene

Agent, Parts I, II, and III by @infinitelystrangemachinex​ Rated T Like Jen, I was positively torn, because both Andi and Sarah do fight scenes SO WELL, but Agent ultimately won out because there is just something so delightful about Shirayuki flailing and clinging to Obi like a cat that doesn’t want to go in the bath while arrows zip all around them

Edit: Screw it, I’m reccing them both

Republic of Tanbarun by @claudeng80​ Rated T An action adventure series where romance is involved but is by no means the focus. Zen and Obi adventures abound. Politics galore. And some masterfully done slow-motion to quick motion fight scenes that I L O V E D

Gen Fic

Fugue in Three by @infinitelystrangemachinex​ Rated G Ryuu casually destroys Obi and Shirayuki by breathing as they count down the days until he comes of age. Technically this fic has a romantic pairing, but it is by no means the focus of this fic. If you don’t agree, you are welcome to meet me under the Big Oak between the hours of 12 and 4 for a duel.

Missing Scene

Like Brothers Do by @claudeng80​ Rated G Obi is clearly Kiki’s annoying big brother and handles Mitsuhide’s rejection in the best way he knows how. Also read: Mitsuhide gets what’s coming to him. (ง'̀-'́)ง

Canon Divergent

We work at the mall by @kaedix​ Rated T With how many AUs we got floating around this fandom, I was hard pressed to choose a favorite. But there is just something so sweet and wholesome and American teenager about this. It just latches onto you and never lets go. (Also the gang all work at my favorite places in the mall when I was growing up. What’s not to love?)

Steamiest Kiss

Were Hearts Not An Unknown Country by @sabraeal​ Rated T LOOK. SOMEONE was going to have to go dig this out of the rubble of her compilation fics and it might as well be me. Also the birthplace of the much loved AnS fandom practice of solstice kissing.

Contains Your Favorite Headcanon

The road to Clarines is Gravel by @codango​ Rated E Not the focus of the fic as a whole, but like, Torou and Obi are siblings. GALAXY MIND EXPLOSION. I mean, I loved that so much that I wrote a pre-canon fic of this fic. Additional note totally not related to the bingo square: I will ALWAYS be here for positive sex worker representation in fics. Fair warning, though, this is the most unfair AU in existence because the brain screams that it SHOULDN’T WORK and yet by some sort of writerly sorcery, it DOES. PLEASE READ IT IF YOU HAVEN’T ALREADY.

Wept Real Tears

let it make you by @thelionshymnal​ Rated M It’s not every day that someone manages to write a fic that makes me stare numbly at the very first line for a solid 15 minutes, big fat tears rolling down my cheeks, but Hymn did it. And then she somehow managed to kiss it better. All in 1100 words.

Free Space

AnS Role Swap AU by @owlsshadows​ Rated M This series has it all. Shirayuki as an assassin. Obi as both a royal bastard and a pharmacist. A mysterious meeting out in the woods where it makes you question whether Nanaki and Obi are two different people or the same. Also Zen having some very conflicted feelings regarding his royal authority and how he can choose to handle rejection.

Edit: Since I’ve already doubled up once, let me double up again, I have so much love to give and not enough space to give it!

Blizzard by @nebluus​ Rated T This is one of the earliest fics I read in this fandom and it remains to date one of my absolute favorites. Obi gets hurt protecting his Miss and a blizzard rolls in. Thankfully they find a cabin where Obi, who is definitely on his death bed if no one finds them and SOON, proceeds to still fuss over his Miss. Best scene: When he warms her hands with his. Also the second chapter is all sorts of delightful domesticity I IMPLORE you to please read it and soon.

Favorite Fan-Made OC

All Pain Will Turn to Medicine by @sabraeal​ Rated M All y’all should’ve seen these coming from ten miles out. I fucking LOVE Herr Anda, the cantankerous little bastard. And Jen knows this because she designed him specifically with me in mind. Academic catnap >:|

AU That Made You Find the Source Material

All Knotted Up by @sabraeal​ Rated G Admittedly, there are a great many AUs out there that made me look up the source material, but this Tangled AU is the most recent because I finally got on Disney+. And yes, Mitsuhide is the horse. Ryuu may be Pascal a little bit, but Mitsuhide. He’s The Horse. XD

First AnS Fic You Read

Loyalty by Evelyn Fiedler Rated K+ (which is basically G on AO3) My one and only ff.net rec from my earliest days in the fandom when I was combing for absolutely any content I could find, begging the fandom to help me decide if I was down for Obiyuki and all that it implied and this author most assuredly delivered.

Favorite Minor Character

Undertow by @jhalya​ Rated E The fic itself is a space odyssey of sorts. One mission among many where humanity attempts to colonize Mars. However the real selling point here, if you didn’t know, is Lord Seiran. He is a delightfully eccentric billionaire who clearly always wanted a large family, judging from how easily he fills out the adoption paperwork.

WIP

Caulk dirty to me by @leewritingrecs​ Rated E Have I mentioned I love the sex worker trope? I. Love. The. Sex. Worker. Trope. Also Obi is clearly divine at all of his jobs. Shirayuki already got to experience his skills at one of them. I wait with BAITED BREATH for her to experience the other :3

Canon Compliant

Thicker than Blood by @infinitelystrangemachinex​ Rated G In the aftermath of the death of King Kain, Izana and Zen must decide on which path they will take moving forward. Amazing fic. Unfinished, but a wonderful look into the dynamics between the Wisteria brothers and their absent mother.

One-Shot

Worth his Weight in Rice by @claudeng80​ Rated T AU set in an Edo-adjacent Period where a disease has wiped killed off a significant portion of the male population. Resulting societal shifts occur. If you go into the comments, I have a couple of pages worth of reasons why I love this AU, but what I appreciate even more is how you have an absolutely perfect oneshot in this fic. It is a well-translated universe where we get a delightful clear, beginning, middle, and end, all in 5k. NOT an easy feat. Please enjoy.

Rare Pair

the fog pushing through my mind by @thelionshymnal​ Rated E Obi/Yuzuri, friends with benefits. Two pining idiots with some sore feelings decide to get stoned and take comfort in another warm body for the night. I just really enjoyed the casual intimacy of the encounter and how this is clearly neither of their first experiences with a one night stand. Neither of them are going to make it weird in the morning, they just need to take the edge off, ya know? Additional bonus for Obi being ready to stab the dumbasses who made Yuzuri feel like she was a weirdo in her past.

AU You Took a Chance On (And Now Love)

Lightning in a Bottle by @jhalya​ Rated M I mean, if Jules is gonna play dirty by making Obi the hot fish man running around without his shirt on 99% of the time, then of COURSE I’m going to enjoy Deep Blue Sea. It’s, like, one of my favorite movies now.

Favorite Trope

Moonshine Phantom by @leewritingrecs​ Rated T We got a murder muffin who ALSO used to be a sex worker? Sign me the fuck up, I am 1000% here for this. Also all the showgirls who clearly love their coworker and only want him and his adorable wife to have the best. They may have never heard of her before, but she looks sweet, and they all have a silent agreement between them that if she breaks his heart, they’ll cut her.

Fic That Gave You a New OTP

What the Heart Wants by @sabraeal​ Rated G Haruto/Mukaze. An attempted kidnapping and subsequent rescue makes Zen and Shirayuki painfully aware that their parents have had, at some point in their lives, sex. Izana may not be happy about someone banging his mom, but is HE rather pleased at having a new sister. >:3c

Pre-Canon

The Wolf in the Woods by @krispy-kream​ (YES I STILL HAVE THIS BOOKMARKED) Rated G Everyone knows that I have very delicate food feels and this ALMOST went under the Wept Real Tears category, but I like to spread out the crying as much as possible XD Shirayuki finds a boy at the edge of the wood and decides he needs something to eat. Filed under: Guaranteed to wreck me in 500 words or less.

[chyrstis]

A change of pace (and opinion)

Somewhat of a companion fic, but not quite, this has been in the workings for a while now (as far back as either Feb/March?) and I finally managed to figure out what direction I wanted to take it, and also gave me the chance to play around with some fun headcanons I've seen floating around too!

With a lot of time left unaccounted for during the main fic, that gave me a great chance to start tackling some missing scenes between chapters, and this is hopefully the first of at least two fics to do that. There's also more than a few ideas taking place after, but I wanted to see if I could at least finish this up first before moving forward timeline-wise.

Pairing: Sharky Boshaw x John Seed (pre-ship) Rating: T Word Count: 5K  

Link to AO3!

—

It’s a hot day down by the river, and while Sharky’s not too keen on a break when John suggests it, a bet’s a whole other story altogether.

[Set between I won’t ask for much (but just this once, I'd like you) ’s Ch. 3 and 4]

———–

It was a scorcher. One that Sharky wasn’t entirely prepared to face as he trudged over to the boathouse, lugging as much wood as he could carry under his arm.

His tank clung to his back in record time as the sun kept on shooting rays down at him, making him pull at it every now and then to get some kind of a breeze going, but the relief never lasted.

He’d hardly been spared a single cloud, which meant he was going to burn before the day was out, and removed his hat off to wipe at his forehead. The sweat would be back in minutes, falling back into his eyes as he threw another ten, twenty, thirty, who knew how many pounds of shit around, all while under the watchful eye of the asshole currently doing anything but the actual watching part.

Leaning back on the bench as he sunned himself, John reclined as he stretched into it, like the world’s pissiest cat, but worse.

He’d been there for roughly ten to fifteen minutes now, taking the position shortly after heading off in the direction of the picnic table, and Sharky didn’t think anything of it at first. Ignored it mostly, because not having John breathing down his neck was a holiday in and of itself and he was set on celebrating it, but the silence stretched on. Started turning weird as he kept on going, taking looks over his shoulder every now and then to see if John had budged even.

And no, he hadn’t moved at all.

Not even an inch as John let out a loud sigh, and reached for the bottle of water sitting next to him.

Sharky swiped at his forehead, irritated at just how blatant he was being about all of it, and swore if his next move involved pouring it over himself he was out.

John had already ruined most of his week by dragging him out here twice, but ruining Flashdance? That was just straight-up fucking wrong, and like hell was he going to be stuck thinking of him shaking that water off whenever he’d want to fire the movie up. He didn’t need that thought popping up or existing at all, and it wouldn’t be the only time it’d come to mind either.

No, it’d be stuck there in his head permanently, and seeing John, dripping wet and wearing a smug-ass grin at any point wasn’t his idea of a good time.

The water bottle went up as John took a drink, and Sharky watched his eyebrow climb up with it.

But the water went where it was intended. Right down his throat, not over his head, and John lowered the bottle back down as he leaned forward to rest his chin on his hand. Finally focusing his attention on something other than the sun hanging above their heads.

A shame it took Sharky five minutes too long to realize just what he was looking at.

Him. Standing there, wooden planks in hand all while he’d let Maniac run through his head on repeat, and John held that stare as the corners of his lips curved up.

Aw, fuck.

Fumbling everything, the wood clattered as it fell to his feet, and Sharky quickly picked it all up. The rest went right into the wheelbarrow next to him, and he hightailed it towards the boathouse.

His thoughts shifted to sorting through specs after that. Lengths and widths as he tried to stack and sort what he’d brought with him in the hopes he could hold out there as long as he could before John came sniffing around to check.

Time ticked by as the piles grew in height, but nothing happened. So, he went and re-stacked them again, making sure he’d had it right the first time.

Still, nothing.

Leaning against the wall by Billy, Sharky eyed the doorway, staring at that open space as he waited for John to step through it, but he didn’t. He’d managed to summon him like this before on accident, but this time it’d failed. Almost as if he wanted to be hands-off this time around, and that didn’t make a lick of sense at all.

His knuckles were rapping against the wood by Billy now, tap, tap, tapping along with his foot’s anxious rhythm, and the sound only grew louder as Sharky kept up with it. He even set off Billy once so he wouldn’t be able to hear his own tapping anymore, and shoved away from the wall when the tune only made it all worse.

Poking his head out of the door, he looked over towards the bench, and noticed John hadn’t moved much at all. Sitting there with his head leaned back, he looked like he was taking a nap on top of everything else. A motherfucking catnap all while Sharky was busting his ass, waiting to see how he’d fuck up without him, and like hell was he going to play right into that.

Whistling loud enough to make anyone want to clap their hands over their ears, Sharky gave it his all, and John’s head shot up instantly.

“Dude, what the fuck?”

Looking right at him as he raised his sunglasses, John’s surprise settled into an expectant smile. “Yes?”

“Seriously?” Sharky took a few steps towards him, and crossed his arms. “That’s it? Like, you’re just going to stay there the whole time?”

“I wasn’t planning to,” John started, crossing one leg over the other, “but I was thinking about just how lovely this day was, and maybe it would be nice to enjoy it for once. Just to sit back for a moment or two to take in the breeze, and how the sun feels. You appear to know what you’re doing, so I was content to leave you be. Unless you have concerns?”

“Wait, hold up.” He made a move to clear his ear out, because John didn’t just throw out what he thought he did. “You wanna repeat that, ‘cause it kinda sounded like you said I know what I’m doing.”

“Well, I thought you did.” John tilted his head to the side, aiming his stare at him long enough for Sharky to want to fidget in place. “You do, don’t you?"

Standing up straighter, he almost sneered at him. “Psh, yeah!”

“Good,” John said, relaxing. “I’ve been counting on that. But truthfully, I was thinking that I may have been harsh in my methods, and pushed you harder than necessary. You almost broke your neck the last time you were out here due to overworking yourself, so I was thinking you could join me.”

“…Join you?”

Patting the seat next to him, John nodded. “Right here. To relax and have some water even.”

Sharky’s eyes darted from the spot to John, and back again. “You’re fucking with me.”

John rolled his eyes. “Please. If I actually wanted to fuck with you, I could do so much better than this.” Leaning back, he inclined his head towards the seat. “Rest. Take five, take ten even, and understand that there’s no catch to this. Just…a friendly suggestion.”

Friendly and John didn’t even belong in the same sentence, but he’d caught a hint of that once already. Saw what that looked like coming from him, and couldn’t even plead ignorance after spending hours before talking to the guy and borderline liking it.

And while John wasn’t offering him beer this time, Sharky could imagine just how good it’d feel to throw back that water and chug it.

John patted the seat again.

Fuck it, Sharky thought, and made his way over the bench. Sitting down, he cracked open the water John pushed his way, and downed it in record time.

And it was good. Good enough to get a loud, drawn out sigh from him the minute it was gone.

John smiled out of the corner of his eye, but said nothing. Just lowered his sunglasses and tilted his head skyward again as he soaked in the sun.

He almost didn’t know how John did it. Still in all of his layers, he looked comfortable, and wanted more sun on top of it.

At least he’d given up on his hoodie hours back. Pulling at the neck of his tank, Sharky dragged it up to mop at his face, peeling it away from his skin long enough to get some airflow going. It wasn’t much, but he’d take it, cooling off even a hair just by having it there.

It was quiet after that. Quiet enough for him to hear every bird that flew overhead, and the movement of the river as it drifted on by. Soaking it all in reminded him just how damn pretty it all was, and how he’d be fine with spending a lazy day here himself, but he wasn’t here to be lazy. Hell, he wasn’t even here to take a breather, even with John’s stamp of approval, because that didn’t put boards up. That didn’t knock dollar signs off of any of this, and instead of making progress Sharky was sitting well within view of it all with his thumb up his ass.

Well, he was twiddling them more than anything, and he’d found a decent rhythm to follow with his feet going off of the one started in his head, but the longer he stayed in place the more he felt the need to move, and he wouldn’t be able to handle it much longer. Not at this rate.

“Having trouble?”

With his sunglasses still down, John angled his head just enough to be able to see him, and Sharky side-eyed him as he dragged his tank off. “Yeah, it’s hot. I’m fucking swimming over here and you’re telling me you’re not?” He twisted it between his hands and squeezed, and John’s nose wrinkled at the gesture. “I’d have shed more than half of that shit after ten minutes.”

“Clearly, judging from your current state,” John said, opening both eyes to look at him. “But I wasn’t referring to any of that. It’s hardly been five minutes, and you’re all but vibrating in place. Is it really that difficult to stand still?”

Sharky gave him a withering look. “You kinda forget the part where I’m working to pay you off? And the longer I take, the longer I gotta do any of this?”

Pursing his lips, John sighed. “You can take ten to rest. You can take fifteen even. If you’re tired you get injured, and if you’re injured you can’t work. Defeats the purpose of any of it, doesn’t it?”

“Well, yeah. But-”

“Believe it or not, I don’t want to see you hurt again.” John sat up, and leaned towards him. “And I’m in charge here still, aren’t I? I could order you to sit here for however long I wanted, but I won’t.”

A frown had crept in, but Sharky let it go. “Yeah?”

“Yes, because that won’t get either of us what we want, and right now I want you healthy and thinking clearly. You, on the other hand, want to be debt-free, and only work will properly get you there, but I think I may have found a compromise. I did mention that I wouldn’t be throwing orders at you to sit still. That’s still true, but a bet? That might be more to your liking.”

“…A bet?”

John’s lips curved into a wicked smile. “That’s right. A bet. Interested?”

Asking about it to begin with was a strike. John’s growing smug-ass smirk, strike two. Admitting he was interested at all was the third, and the longer the answer sat in his mouth, the longer he wanted to keep it there.

“Seeing as a bet got you into this to begin with, I can understand the hesitation,” John replied, stretching the word out, “but it does tempt, doesn’t it? And I will promise you there’s no hidden catch, or difficult task ahead. Only a simple request.”

Simple. The guy had on almost a three-piece suit to sweat in, and was regularly paid to make shit as complicated as possible. Simple for him came with enough fine print to make Sharky’s head want to start pounding. But hearing him out and agreeing to it were two totally different things. Nothing set in stone, nothing he could claim as legally binding or whatever, so…

“Like what?”

John raised his sunglasses, and made sure they were looking at each other directly. “You remain here, in place, resting with no complaints for fifteen minutes, and you’ll be fifty dollars richer for it.”

Letting it all sink in, Sharky ran over the challenge, lapped it two times over, scrunched up his face as he came back to the start, and still couldn’t drop the suspicious look he shot John’s way. “You want me to sit here.”

“Yes.”

“Doing nothing, like just kicking back and loving it, and that’ll net me fifty big ones?”

“I’ll place it in your hand myself as long as you don’t move a single muscle. Is that acceptable?”

Fifty dollars for doing jack-shit? Hell yeah, it was.

It was also playing right into whatever John wanted. Let him pull the strings on whatever mini-power trip this was, which annoyed the hell out of him the longer Sharky thought about it, so he crossed his arms and focused on giving him as cold a shoulder as he could. Just ignored him completely as John started tapping his fingers against the bench, and didn’t say jack or shit in response.

“Would a hundred dollars suffice?”

That made his eyebrows go up.

“I suppose fifty might’ve been too modest of a thing to offer. Hardly worth taking a risk for.”

“Oh, it’s still fifty bucks,” Sharky said, turning towards him. “That’s some good shit right there.”

“Really? Then I can only imagine how appealing double that amount would be. Or perhaps even triple?”

Boom. A hundred and fifty dollars, as if it were nothing.

Sharky sat up and held up his hands. “Whoa, whoa, just-first up, you’ve got that much on you right now? And second, you’re just gonna hand that over?”

John shrugged a shoulder and glanced away. “I wouldn’t make an offer I couldn’t back, and it’s only if you earn it.”

“So, you do.”

“I might.” The smile came back, one that really should’ve set off more warning bells than it did, and John aimed it right at him. “Depending on whether or not you decide to say yes.”

Scrunching up his face, Sharky really didn’t want to, but John had him. Fucking hook, line, and sinker, and he let out a sound of aggravation before finally saying, “All right, all right. I’ll do it.”

“You will? So, we have a deal?”

“…Yes, we do.”

John held out his hand to him. Eyed him expectantly as his smile grew even sharper. He had half a mind to shove it back at him, but knew exactly what he was waiting for. What was going to seal this for him, and rolled his eyes only for John to jerk his hand away the second Sharky reached for it.

“Ah, ah, if you could,” John said, pretending to wipe his hand off on his shirt.

Sharky glanced down at his palm. It really wasn’t that bad, just sweaty, but he scrubbed it against his jeans anyway, shooting John a dirty look as he did it. However, when he went for him again, John didn’t fake him out. Just let him take his hand as Sharky gave it a firm shake.

“Excellent,” John replied, and he could’ve sworn the motherfucker almost purred it.

Lawyers, man. He probably got off on this shit, and Sharky let go of his hand as soon as the thought hit.

Returning to his side of the bench, John checked the time on his watch and gently tapped at its face. During this, Sharky slipped his tank back on and waited as the seconds ticked by. Started tapping his fingers against the bench himself - none of it even close to John’s established rhythm - and almost attempted whistling before deciding to say something.

“Yo, you gonna start this? Or are we-”

“Almost. Patience is a virtue after all,” John said, eyes right on his watch, “and yours will be rewarded in due time.”

Tap, tap, tap.

Tap, tap, tap.

By the third set of taps, he’d fallen back into it too, drawn in without even thinking.

Tap, tap, tap.

Tap, tap, tap.

All of it like clockwork up until he saw John’s finger pause in mid-air. “All right. Your time starts…now, and don’t forget our terms.”

“Yeah, yeah, my ass ain’t going anywhere. Better hope you’ve got more than a twenty and a few crumpled ones, though, ‘cause I ain’t gonna lose this.”

“Oh?”

“It’s half-off shots at the Eagle tonight,” Sharky replied with a grin. “Karaoke’s on too. Hurk’s already got me covered for half, but the minute I win this and head out there, shit’s gonna be fucking lit.”

John rolled his eyes. “And every cent gone just as fast as you've earned it.”

“So, I wanna go out and enjoy myself. The hell’s wrong with that?” Sharky shot. “That’s making the best of a Tuesday when I don’t got a whole lot else going on. ‘Sides, can’t spend it all there anyway. Still gotta buy underwear, socks, shoes and shit.”

Ticking each one off on his fingers, the mental price tag kept climbing, and he squinted out over at the boathouse as he added it all up.

“Then there’s gas. Can’t run out of that. Mags, ‘cause I gotta stay up to date on my reading and viewing material. Food, though my jerky stash’s all right, but I could grab more cereal. And duct tape, which is fucking magical. Seriously, get a roll, it’ll fix anything.”

“Anything?”

“Anything. Hole in your pants? Done. Hole in your roof? Done. Hole in you? Also done, though if it’s a real gusher, you uh….might wanna slap two or three layers onto it, or I don’t know, go with that Flex Seal shit. You know, like on the infomercials?” he asked, nudging John with his elbow. “Keeps most of the bleeding internal rather than external, though you’d need to ask Hurk about the last time we tried that. Might’ve been in and out of it as he ran me to the clinic, and he swears by the stuff.”

Sharky pretended to slap some on his arm - flashing John a thumbs up while he was at it - only for John to give him a flat look.

“What? Shit works! It seals, and it holds. And I know it works ‘cause I only lost so much of my blood on the way into the clinic, and even the doc was looking at me like I should’ve kicked it. So, if anyone’s gonna give it a bonafide seal of approval, it’s me. Get it? ‘Cause it’s a seal, and I’m here telling you about it, and uh…yeah.”

Sharky’s crooked smile fell as John stared him down, and he let the rest trail off after that. Just shifted his attention to his hands as he pulled off his cap and gave it a few shakes before flexing and folding it between them.

“How either of you are alive at this point I don’t think I’ll ever understand.”

“Good luck, and maybe a little something my cuz calls Boshaw Bo-wisdom.”

John pressed both hands to his eyes, breathed deep, and then dragged them down. “Wisdom.”

“Bo-wisdom.”

“Charlemagne, you are…” John began, considering him long enough to make Sharky’s leg start bouncing in place, “absolutely bewildering, and yet-”

“Really, really ridiculously good looking?”

John’s words caught in his throat, and he coughed out a laugh a beat later.

"That don’t sound like a no." Sharky slapped a grin on his face and slipped his hat back on. “Like, I know I ain’t a fancy lawyer or a pilot, but I got it.”

John opened his mouth, but paused. Hmm-ed to himself as he gave him a quick once-over, and cocked his head. “A certain, je ne sais quoi?”

He'd been full set on John giving him a no straight-up, but that wasn't it at all. “Uh, sure? If you wanna get all fancy with that too.”

Never mind the handful of French he knew came from commercials, food labels, and old Saturday morning cartoons, but he’d heard some form of that before once or twice, and didn’t recall anyone getting slapped for it.

“Fancy?” John laughed, and said something else. A whole string of words Sharky didn’t recognize at all up until the final ‘oui?’, and raised an eyebrow.

“Amigo, if you want me to agree to any of that, you’ll have to give me something. ‘Cause I got the yes, but everything else?” Sharky waved a hand right over his head, and whistled.

Because of course John would know another language inside and out too. Probably went straight to France to learn it, and could’ve spun up all sorts of shit that sounded nice on first pass only to mean something else entirely. The longer Sharky thought it over, the more it made him want to frown at it, and before long went back to staring out at the boathouse. Focused on burning a hole right into it, and wouldn’t have cared too much if he’d actually had the ability.

“What did you think I said?”

“I dunno,” Sharky muttered. “Something-something, mustache twirl, you suck?”

Out of the corner of his eye, he watched John’s amusement fade. “I said that you probably didn’t understand me, which was a shame. It leaves things more than a little one-sided, and insulting you during that’s something I’d prefer not to do. Especially since a proper insult would’ve been more along the lines of this.”

The next string of words still had that overly fancy ring to it as it all flowed together, but by the time John turned to him, Sharky was watching him intently.

“Would you like to know that one?” John asked.

“Dude, you can’t just say that shit and leave it hanging like that.”

John leaned towards him, silent as Sharky motioned for him to get on with it, but what followed was stated so bluntly, it took a solid minute to sink in.

But the moment it did, Sharky let out a laugh that had him almost doubling over as he struggled to recover from it. “Fuck, man! Are you for real?”

A smile crept onto John’s face, and soon he was smiling as wide as Sharky was. “I might’ve picked that one up a long time ago from an acquaintance of mine.”

“And you actually got to say it? Like face-to-face?”

“Once or twice, but it loses its impact if you say it too often, so I might’ve had to use a few alternatives in its place. A hazard of the job, really.”

“So you’ve got a whole bunch of these stashed and ready to go, huh? Like if I say something, like ‘shove your head up your own ass’, you’d be able to translate it, no problem?” More French followed, and Sharky squinted at John when his name popped up in the middle of it. “Cool. ...Long as you didn’t just tell me to shove my own head up there.”

“No, I merely said that of course, it would be possible.”

“The whole saying it part, and not-”

“Not the second.” And John slipped back into it again, saying every last word with a smile right on his face. “But that would be how I’d phrase it if I wanted to.”

With that on that table, Sharky threw another insult at him. Just let the eager feeling driving him take the wheel, and John didn’t even pause this time before quickly giving him the translation for it. He even sounded it out for him as Sharky tried reciting it right after, and was left practicing Rs with John until even his tongue needed a fucking break. Then went for another, and another, and neither of them let up for a second. Even when he decided to get creative with it, throwing weirder and more obscure stuff at him, it didn't matter. John gave it all a fair shake. Whether he was thinking over some of the harder phrases, or giving him the evil eye, John never told him no, or to fuck off. He dished it all back, the words way too damn smooth for the kinds of things Sharky was asking about, and even started chuckling with him midway through the last one, giving up the fight completely as he came to a stop and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Stumped?”

John peered over at Sharky as he kicked back in his seat, but glanced away the minute he started waggling his eyebrows at him. “This was not the intended use of the language. Not as I first learned it, and not later on when I experimented with it as well, so forgive me if I need a moment to continue entertaining any of the things that have left your mouth so far.”

“Hey, you offered.”

“After you asked,” John countered, lowering his hand. “And you did, so there’s no arguing that point. But I will admit that this is one of the more interesting uses of that particular skill set. Even after having a chance to test it on the streets of Paris myself.”

“Figures,” Sharky chuckled. “Probably been everywhere.”

“Almost. I made a list of places when I was fresh out of law school, and started crossing them off one by one. Wanted to see the world beyond the one built around me and for me, but…over time it lost its appeal, and other things became much more important.”

John leaned forward, folding his hands together as he rested them on his thighs, and aimed a curious glance his way. “How about you? Ever traveled?”

“Me?” Sharky asked, gesturing towards himself. “Like, I’ve been to the border. Got to see Canada for about five minutes before Hurk had to get us out of there, but having a PO kinda put a damper on any travel plans real quick. But that don’t mean I don’t want to. Just never had the chance, you know?”

“So, where would you go if you were able to?”

“Shit, all sorts of places. Could probably stay local, but where’s the fun in that? Better somewhere far away, exotic. Like Florida.”

John’s eyebrows drew together. “…Florida.”

“Florida,” Sharky repeated, bobbing his head.

When he didn’t say anything further, John wet his lips and turned towards him fully. “I could offer to fly you anywhere in the world right now. To any continent, any place, and given those options would you still make the same choice?”

“What’s wrong with Florida?”

John slowly blinked at him. “Aside from it being Florida?”

“Aw, come on," Sharky said, lightly punching him in the arm, "they got all sorts of nice things there. It ain’t all orange juice and gators. Got cocktails, racing, and palm trees too. Oh, and water sports.”

This time when John pressed his lips into a thin line and scowled, Sharky eyed him right back.

“I’m talking polo and jet skis. Dunno where your mind’s going, man.”

“Well, there’s a good reason for that,” John spat, “and I’m staring right at i-”

A shrill beeping cut him off, nearly making Sharky jump in his seat as he gripped the bench. “Not it! Also, my ass is on this. Didn’t leave it once.”

John dropped his gaze down to his watch, and frowned deeply as he shut it off.

“Wait, we hit fifteen already?”

That had Sharky’s eyebrows flying sky high with no hope of falling. Leaning towards him - which was pretty pointless seeing as he couldn’t read shit even from the new angle - he got as far as reading the hour before John jerked his left arm away from him.

“Yes, and much as I’m loathe to admit it, you’ve honored our agreement.”

On the edge of his seat, Sharky watched John climb to his feet and pull out his wallet. Thumbing quickly through the bills, he didn’t even look up at Sharky before withdrawing them, and just tossed the cash his way.

“Uh, cool, I guess-whoa, hey!” Snatching them out of the air, he’d crumpled the bills in his rush to save them, and did a double-take when he realized just what he was looking at. “Yo, this is-you said one-fifty, max.”

“And?” John asked, acting like he’d just tried to inform him the sky was blue, that he was a dick, or that water was wet. Simple run of the mill shit that anyone would know.

“This is two-hundred, man. Don’t remember agreeing to that.”

John tilted his head back, and lowered his sunglasses. “They’re the smallest bills I have. Perhaps you lucked out there as well.”

The smallest he had. Not a fifty, not even a twenty, but hundreds only.

What. The fuck, Sharky mouthed, gaping at him.

“And I do believe that means your break is also over, so if you could?”

“Whoa, what?” Sharky sputtered, as John turned his back on him and headed towards the building. “You-you told me to do this shit!”

“I bet you that you wouldn’t be able to,” John threw out, glancing at him over his shoulder. “Now that you’ve proven me wrong, I see no reason why you wouldn’t be able to redouble your efforts and really impress me, hmm?”

Disappearing through the entrance to the boathouse, Sharky had a minute to sit there. Mouth open, wide enough to swallow a fucking bee if it decided to fly right into it, before John poked his head out of the doorway.

“Sometime today?”

Letting out a string of profanities - including more than a few he’d thrown at John not even five minutes ago - Sharky crammed the bills into his pocket and booked it after him.

With over half of the day left to burn, he might as well not waste it.

[damienthepious]

tuesday tuesday tuesday time for fic

Scattered On My Shore (Chapter 5)

[Ch 1] [Ch 2] [Ch 3] [Ch 4] [ao3] [Ch 6] [Ch 7] [Ch 8] [Ch 9] [Ch 10] [Ch 11] [Ch 12] [Ch 13] [Ch 14] [Ch 15] [Ch 16] [Ch 17] [Ch 18] [Ch 19]

Fandom: The Penumbra Podcast

Relationship: Lord Arum/Sir Damien/Rilla, Sir Damien/Rilla

Characters: Rilla, Lord Arum, Sir Damien

Additional Tags: Second Citadel, Lizard Kissin’ Tuesday, Pre-Relationship, (for the three of them. it’s established r/d), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Injury, Injury Recovery,  Hurt/Comfort,  (this will also be), Enemies to Lovers, (for damien and arum eventually lol)

Fic Summary: Strange things wash up out of the lake near Rilla’s hut, on occasion. But this monster… this monster is certainly the strangest.

Chapter Summary: It's going to be a tense few days, in Rilla's hut.

Chapter Notes: Some mild, chapter specific warnings for people not taking very good care of themselves, like not eating for most of the day and depriving themselves of sleep out of stress. Take care of yourselves!

~

Arum wakes when she’s just about to change his bandages again. Less than ideal, but when he hisses low and squeezes his eyes more tightly closed she decides to check in verbally first, and she pulls the covers back over him. He wrinkles his snout, wincing up at her through a squint as she leans against the table at his bedside, and then he raises an eyebrow at her.

"I must assume your little operation was at least a reasonable success,” he mutters, not sounding particularly pleased about it. "Considering that I woke again at all."

"Yeah," Rilla says, crossing her arms over her chest. "I was right, and I got it out. You wanna tell me what kind of monster it was that ambushed you, now? Because I’m pretty sure I’m gonna figure it out when I analyze that thing anyway and it’d save me at least a little bit of time, Arum."

"Ambushed, they did not ambush me, I would not be so easily-"

"Back-stabbed, then?"

Arum goes silent, jaw snapping shut. He narrows his eyes. "Why, precisely, does it matter to you, little human? Do you intend to feed the information to your little … friend ? Your little knight ?"

It is Rilla’s turn to go silent for a moment, and then she scowls. “Did he wake you? I told him not to disturb-”

“Woke perfectly well on my own. Could not stay awake, with your persistent little injection still coursing through me, but- I would have thought it a dream, if he did not move the stool to be as far from me as he could be, if it were not still there now.” He pauses. “No, that is not quite true, I don’t think my own mind could have conjured such a distinct annoyance. I would have known he were real regardless.”

“He’s got his charms,” Rilla drawls. “Now, do you feel any different? It’s only been a few hours, but hopefully-”

“I do.” Arum sighs, settling more deeply in the blankets. “There is less… now that the sedative seems to be less present, I feel…”

“Better, hopefully?”

“A layer has been removed. Of the exhaustion, the- pain. It is lessened.”

Rilla smiles, the satisfaction curling through her again, and Arum watches her with puzzled eyes. “ Good .”

He allows her to lift the cup of water by the bedside to his mouth again, allows her to check his eyes, his range of movement, the edges of his frill that cannot be bandaged, and then he winces throughout as she changes his bandages out and checks the offending injury on his midsection, and when she finally resettles the blankets over him he is half-drifting again.

“Don’t go anywhere,” she says, gently teasing, and he frowns, flicks his tail, and sighs, but does not respond. “I’ll be just outside if you need anything.”

She exits, and closes the door behind her.

The hut is small enough that she knows she’ll be able to hear if he calls, and- well. If he’s still even partly awake, she’s not sure she wants him to hear whatever it is that she and Damien might say. She doesn’t expect this conversation to be any more pleasant than the one last night.

Damien sits by her table, tense and prim with his knees tucked beneath him on one of the cushions, and he glances up warily when she comes over to join him, dropping to settle on a cushion by his side.

“I take it you didn’t sleep at all,” she says mildly, lip curling into a wry sort of smile.

“Of course not.” He frowns, and the distinct pain in his eyes makes Rilla want very badly to reach out and cup his cheek, but she quells the urge. She’s not sure what angle he’s going to take yet, with his protests, and she doesn’t think he’ll welcome the contact, just now.

“He woke up at some point?” she prompts, and his lips press tight together.

“Intermittently,” he mutters, and he looks away again. “He- it did not stay conscious for any excessive length of time.”

“Why were you in there?”

“I couldn’t-” Damien cuts himself off, grimacing, one hand squeezing the table in front of him, and Rilla knows exactly what the answer will be before he opens his mouth to continue. “I could not stop thinking- every terrible thing it could have been doing in there, if I could not see- I could not keep my mind from racing with every catastrophe, every possible evil- I needed to have my eyes upon the beast.”

Rilla inhales, exhales. The idea of Damien glaring hatefully at Arum the whole night through is- unsettling , to say the least, but-

“Did that help, then?”

“Help,” he repeats in a mutter. “I did not lose myself to hysterics in fear of potential disaster, if that is what you mean.”

“Damien,” she says, her stomach doing an uncomfortable little turn at his tone. His frown deepens, just slightly, and he turns his face away. “I… I don’t know what to say.”

“It seems to be as weak as you believe it to be,” he says, and he does not sound happy about it.

“He can barely lift his arms, Damien.”

“I said he seemed-” Damien cuts himself off again, and then he exhales a sigh. “Yes. At the moment it does not appear that he could attack you. At the moment.”

It’s not much of a concession, but it’s something . Rilla gives a very slight smile, just in time for Damien to glance her way again. His expression doesn’t change, but his eyes are a little softer, she thinks.

“You… you look tired, Damien. You should lay down, just for a little bit-”

He shakes his head, sighing again. “I cannot.”

“Damien, he’s not going to-”

“I must return to the Citadel,” he interrupts, and her heart sinks as he rises to stand. “I am expected, today.”

“Oh,” she says, and she very much does not want to ask the question that hangs in the air between them. She doesn’t want to, but Rilla knows that leaving it hanging won’t help, so. She stands as well, biting her lip for a moment before she asks, “Are you- do you plan on-”

His jaw tightens. “I have yet to kill the creature,” he mutters, looking away. “I cannot say a word about it unless I wish to reveal my own failure and cowardice.”

“Oh, come on, Damien, it’s not-”

He turns towards her, his frown deepening further. “My love, I know my duty, and you know it just as well. This- this arrangement cannot stand. Surely you must understand that I cannot allow this. I will- I will concede some time, for you to reconcile that knowledge. I do not know why or how you have grown… attached to this thing, but I admire the compassion of your heart, even as I know I must act against it.”

“Damien,” Rilla tries again. “The only reason he’s hurt in the first place is because other monsters attacked him. You aren’t even a little curious why that would be true? And I’m not just going to- to let you hurt him after all this- after I’ve done so much to- Damien, he’s my patient-”

“I said I would give you time, my dearest love, and I shall. But you must come to terms with the reality of the situation. You must come to terms with the fact that he is a monster, and I am a knight. There is only one way this can possibly end, Rilla.”

He lifts his hand, reaching to cup her cheek, and Rilla scowls, smacking his palm away. “Don’t- I don’t need your concession, Damien. Don’t patronize me.”

“I-” he pauses, his expression somewhere between injured and mournful, and then he sighs. “I have duties that will keep me away tonight, but- but I will be back tomorrow, in the evening. When I can be.”

“Oh, thank the Saints,” she mutters, making no effort to disguise her irritation. “I’ll just muddle along and try not to get murdered until then.”

Damien presses his lips together, tight, but he manages not to respond to that. He takes another deep breath, instead, and then he fixes his eyes more deliberately on his fiance. “I love you, Rilla. I… you know that I worry as I do merely because of how deeply I care for you.”

Rilla sighs, some of the anger leaking away, and she steps close enough to the knight to touch his shoulder, her brow furrowed. “You know I love you too. Try- try not to overexert yourself today, Damien. It’s not healthy to push yourself on zero sleep.”

Damien purses his lips, but he doesn’t point out her hypocrisy. Instead, he gives his own weak smile and says, “Doctor’s orders?”

“Unless fiancée’s orders work better,” she says with a shrug, and she only hesitates for a heartbeat when she leans down to press a light kiss to his cheek. “I’ll- I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”

“Tomorrow,” Damien agrees, and Rilla can’t help but notice the way his eyes flick towards Arum’s door.

~

Arum slips in and out of consciousness most of the rest of the day. Rilla has enough time in his frequent catnaps (lizardnaps?) to manage her experiments, finally. A lot of them went unruly while she was so distracted managing him , and she has to toss out the entirety of her new bandage adhesive experiment- it worked a little too well, actually, and she feels like that particular mixture wouldn’t be good to apply to actual human skin. Or scales, for that matter. She puts the ones she can on hold, and the others she scraps. She can’t be sure how much of her time is going to be co-opted by monster babysitting, right now, and she knows how easily she gets distracted by her work. This patient is worth better than half her attention.

She switches to research, instead, pulling out bestiaries and pulling up the floorboard at the foot of her bed so she can cross reference with some of her fathers’ old books as well.

She notes a few possibilities for the creature that left the talon behind, though she doesn’t have much luck, finding anything like Arum in those books, either.

She does find him on the floor of the exam room in the mid-afternoon, though. She hears the thump when he falls, and when she comes to check on that she finds him halfway off the cot and halfway on the floor. His tail and one foot are still on the bed, mostly, tangled in the blankets, and she sighs deeply as he growls up at her with his snout against the wood of her floor.

“In what way would leaving right now be useful to you, Arum?” she asks dryly. “You planning on crawling your way back to your swamp from here? I’m pretty sure the knights will notice you even if you are on ground level the whole time.”

His growl deepens as he glares up at her, and he makes a somewhat sad and not very fruitful effort to pull himself back up. His leg is still tangled, and Rilla needs to pull the cloth away so he can slump all the way to the floor before she can actually start to help get him back up.

He takes the help with bad grace, of course. He refuses to look at her as she slips an arm around his back, careful to avoid the one large stab wound on his lower back as she helps to lift him back to sit on the edge of the bed, and he growls continuously throughout, though he doesn’t try to push her away.

“I was gonna wait a while for this to let you rest a bit longer, but now I’m gonna have to check you over again to make sure you didn’t just pull something open, Arum.”

“I could tear your throat out, you know,” he snarls, and he’s close enough that she can see the flecks of darker purple in his eyes as he glares at her. “Effortlessly. Each time you patronize me I grow closer to succumbing to that temptation.”

“I feel like I don’t actually have to tell you how much of an idiot move that would be,” Rilla says wryly, making no effort to pull back away from him. Instead, she starts to unwind his bandages to check on his injuries, her fingers moving with the automatic ease of practice, and Arum winces, hissing lightly. “You could,” she says. “Obviously you could. But we both know that you shouldn’t. Especially not now that we’ve dealt with the biggest issue in the way of your recovery.”

He huffs, turning his face away, and she can’t help the way the laugh bubbles out of her at the pout on his face.

“Don’t- don’t you dare mock me, human-”

“I’m not. Arum-”

He’s actively trying to pull away from her hands, now, and she lets him, lifting her palms in a placating gesture. Last thing she wants to do is accidentally hurt him worse because he’s struggling against her.

“Arum. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to laugh at you.” She shakes her head, smiling wryly. “The situation is more ridiculous than anything, honestly, but you just- you looked so irritated that you might survive and it just- hit me. Sorry.”

He makes a strange rattling noise and eyes her warily for a moment before he looks away with a huff. “Well. You are… you are correct that this entire debacle is ridiculous. I suppose you cannot be blamed,” he mutters. His frame relaxes, and he drops his hands. “Go on, then. If you must.”

It is a little strange, checking him so thoroughly like this while he’s actually conscious enough to scrutinize her in return. Usually he’s at least half-asleep when she does this, or at least too tired to pay much attention. With him frowning at her the whole time-

She starts talking her way through it after a few moments, explaining each step and describing his progress to him, and though he frowns at first, she can tell that he’s listening, and he almost seems to relax a bit. Not counting the moments he flinches when she needs to clean some of the more heinous injuries before rewrapping, at least.

“I… I do not understand you,” he mutters when she’s finished again, narrowing his eyes up at her as she checks his temperature with the back of a hand. “I don’t understand any of it. You, your little pet knight, none of it. It’s ridiculous.”

“That’s fair,” Rilla says with a shrug and a sigh. “Look, it doesn’t make a lot of sense from my perspective either, Arum. It’s not like I went for a walk the other day expecting to have a monster fall into my lap, you know? Sometimes- sometimes things just happen, and you react. I’m reacting.”

Arum ducks his head, glaring up at her as she puts the bandages away again, neatly arranging her materials back into their respective cabinets. “This is not the reaction that humans typically have to monsters , Amaryllis. Injured or no.”

Rilla tries not to let it show on her face, the little flash of delight she feels that he’s deigned to actually use her name. “Yeah, well. I tend to do things my own way.”

~

He doesn’t give her much trouble for the rest of the day. He must be exhausted by the whole collapsing-to-the-floor thing combined with just, like, the rest of it, because he’s right back to napping on and off until dark. She eats dinner early, since she was a bit too distracted for breakfast and she was busy with her experiment management around lunchtime, and the next time she hears Arum shifting around she brings something in for him, too.

Vegetable stew is a good sort of meal for where he’s at currently. He begrudgingly explained his dietary needs over the last day or so, mostly as she’s tried offering him various things and either had him turn his nose up in haughty disgust or snatch it impatiently out of her hands, by turns. His dental structure is odd enough that she had a difficult time hypothesizing what he would eat in the first place, but it turns out he’s an omnivore, with a preference for insects, fruits, and leafy greens. She could fry up some crickets, make a salad, that sort of thing, but his throat is still a little raw from the near-drowning, so she figures something more broth-based is probably better to stick to for the moment. He’s less grumpy when he’s full, too, which is a pleasant side effect.

(She’s amused as hell when she teases out of him that he doesn’t actually eat red meat- doesn’t , he says specifically, not can’t, which is interesting, but it ’s interesting less for the sake of her knowledge of his eating habits and more because it puts the lie to all his early grumbled I’ll bite your throat out, you’ll be delicious you foolish little creature sorts of threats from when he was barely awake.)

She goes to bed early, checks on her patient again in the middle of the night (he’s deep asleep at that point, thankfully), and when she wakes the next day it’s kind of a repeat. Arum’s making progress, now, sure, but it’s still slow. She thinks that he might heal more slowly than a human, but she can’t be sure if that’s inherent or just a consequence of him recovering from whatever toxin had been in his system. That’s first on the list for that day, anyway. Identifying that talon so she can figure out that much, at least.

The day runs sort of like clockwork, in that she spends any point during which she’s not busy thinking of the clock. Thinking of when Damien is coming back, of what he’s doing out there, how worried he must be (unnecessarily, but still), what kind of state he’s going to return in-

Even Arum notices that she’s distracted, which is annoying. He doesn’t say much besides a grumble that goes with an eye-roll, but still, she should be better than that.

Damien doesn’t come back until late, when she’s washing up the dishes after dinner. He knocks, which isn’t that unusual when she has the little plaque on her door turned to closed, and that’s been continual since she dragged Arum back here. She calls for him to come in, since she’s got her wrists in dishwater anyway, and there’s just enough of the meal left for him to have a bowl too, and she opens her mouth to offer as she glances over her shoulder, but-

“Saints, Damien, you look exhausted-”

He frowns, but he doesn’t answer. He crosses the room rather quickly, actually, and Rilla realizes after a half second that he’s marching straight for Arum’s door.

“Damien? Damien-”

He pulls the door open, stares inside, and then before Rilla can really start to panic he sighs and closes the door again.

“Still here,” he breathes. “It’s still here.”

“I…” Rilla shakes the water off her hands, eying Damien warily from across almost the entire space of her hut. “What did you think I was gonna do with him, exactly?”

“I had half-convinced myself I had dreamed the whole thing,” he mutters, and then he looks to her, and the shadows beneath his eyes are nearly purple. “Or- or perhaps I was hoping that was true.”

Rilla furrows her brow. “Well… sorry to disappoint, I guess. I saved you some food, if…”

He stares at the exam room door again, just for a moment, and then he comes over and sits by the table to eat.

It’s awkward, to say the least. Damien is never this quiet, and he keeps staring at Arum’s door as if he expects it to burst open or something worse , and Rilla can’t seem to draw him into conversation even a little. When he’s done eating he stands and washes the bowl without a word, and then he- hovers there, near the table, and just stares at the door for a while longer.

Rilla stands as well, after a moment, and she reaches gently to touch his shoulder.

“Damien… I think- I think you need to rest, okay?”

“I am perfectly-”

“You haven’t slept at all, have you?” she asks, and his eyes flick to the door again. She reaches her other hand out to cup his cheek, to make him meet her eyes. “Damien. Look, I’m- I’m tired too, okay? Just- come to bed with me. Lay down for- for just a couple hours. We can lock the bedroom door if that will make you feel better, but- you can’t keep pushing yourself like this. It’s not healthy, and it’s not going to help anyone. Please.”

You’re really worrying me, she doesn’t say, but she can tell he hears her anyway. He sags after a pause, then leans into her arms and nods. He lets her lead him to the bedroom. He lets her carefully undo his armor, lets her pull him into the bed and wrap her arms around him, lets her draw hands through his hair and hum some soft song until she drowses, until she falls entirely to sleep.

And then when Rilla is safe in slumber, when her worries have been appeased, Damien extricates himself from her embrace, retrieves his bow, and goes to resume his watch.

[->]

[mrkwonandmrchoibabygirl]

NOW~G-DRAGON fanfic Pt.5

Genre:SMUT/ANGST

Rated:NSFW

Pairing: G-Dragon x Reader

Worcount: 5,930

Part.4 Part.5

Masterlist

Before heading to my first class, I stop to grab my usual at the coffeehouse, where Taeyang is waiting for me with a smile. After our hellos, we’re interrupted by a girl asking for intricate directions, and so we don’t get the chance to catch up until we’re walking to our last class of the day. The class that all day I have been dreading, but anticipating.

“How was your weekend?” Taeyang asks and I groan.

“Terrible, actually. I went to another party with Hyuna,” I tell him and he makes a sour face and laughs. “I’m sure yours was much better. How is Rin?”

His smile grows at the mention of her name and I realize that I didn’t mention seeing Hoseok on Saturday. Taeyang tells me about Rin applying to a ballet company in New York and how happy he is for her. All the while, I wonder if Hoseok’s eyes light up like that when he talks about me.

As we walk into class, he’s telling me how his father and stepmother were thrilled to see him, but I find myself searching the room and not listening very closely to him; Jiyongs’s seat is empty.

“Won’t it be hard if Hyo-Rin is gone so far?” I manage to ask as we take our seats.

“Well, we are already far from each other now, but it works. I really just want the best for her, and if New York is it, that’s where I want her to be.”

The professor walks in, silencing us. Where’s Jiyong? He wouldn’t skip class just to avoid me, would he?

We dive into Pride and Prejudice—a magical book that I wish everyone would read—and before I realize it the class is over.

“You’ve cut your hair, Y/F/N.” I turn around to see Jiyong smiling behind me. He and Taeyang exchange awkward stares and I try to think of what to say. He wouldn’t mention the kiss in front of Taeyang, would he? His smile, tell me that yes, yes he would.

“Hey, Jiyong,” I say.

“How was your weekend?” His expression is so smug.

I pull Tae by the arm. “Good. Well, see you around!” I yell nervously and Jiyong laughs.

When we’re outside, Taen asks, “What was that about?” obviously catching on to my strange behavior.

“Nothing, I just don’t like Jiyong.”

“At least you don’t have to see him often.”

But there is something behind his voice, and why would he say that? Does he know about the kiss?

“Um … yeah. Thank God,” is all I can muster.

He pauses. “I wasn’t going to say anything, because I don’t want you to associate me with him, but”—he smiles nervously—“Jiyong’s dad is sort of dating my mom.”

What? “What?”

“Jiyong’s dad—”

“Yes, yes, I got that, but Jiyong’s dad lives here? Why is Jiyong here? If his dad lives here, why doesn’t he live with him?” I flood Tae with questions before I can stop myself. He looks confused, but less nervous than a moment ago.

“His dad and my mom live close to the campus, but Jiyong and his dad don’t have a good relationship. So please don’t mention any of this to him. We already don’t like each other.”

I nod. “Sure, okay.” A thousand more questions come to my mind, but I stay quiet as my friend goes back to talking about Rin, his eyes brightening with each word about her.

WHEN I GET BACK TO MY ROOM, Hyuna isn’t back yet since her classes run two hours past mine. I start to lay out my books and notes to get ready to study, but decide to call Hoseok instead. He doesn’t pick up, and it really makes me wish he was here with me at college. It would make things so much easier and comfortable. We could be studying or watching a movie together right now.

Still, I know that I’m thinking about this because of my guilt about kissing Jiyong is consuming me—Hoseok is so sweet and he doesn’t deserve to be cheated on. I am so lucky to have him in my life. He’s always there for me, and he knows me better than anyone. We have known each other basically our whole lives. When his parents moved in down the street, I was ecstatic to have someone my age to hang out with, and the feeling only grew as I got to know him and learned he was an old soul like me. We spent our time reading, watching movies, and bringing life into the greenhouse behind my mother’s place. The greenhouse has always been my safe haven; when my dad drank I would hide in there and no one except Hoseok knew where to find me. The night my dad left was a terrible night for me, and my mother refuses to speak of it, ever. Doing so would shatter the perfect façade she has created for herself, but I still want to talk about it sometimes. Even though I hated him for drinking so much, and for pushing my mother around, I still felt the deep need to have a father. That night, stowed away in the greenhouse while my dad screamed and went wild, I kept hearing glasses shattering in the kitchen, and then, when it stopped, footsteps. I was terrified my father was coming for me, but it was Hoseok. And I had never been so relieved in all my life to see someone safe. From that day on we were inseparable. Over the years, our friendship turned into more, and neither of us has ever dated anyone else.

I text Hoseok that I love him and decide to take a catnap before I begin my studies. I pull out my planner and check my work one more time, I can surely fit in a twenty-minute nap.

Not even ten minutes into my nap, there’s a knock at the door. Figuring Hyuna must have forgotten her key, I groggily pull the door open.

Of course it isn’t her. It’s Jiyong.

“Hyuna isn’t back yet,” I say and walk back to my bed, leaving the door open for him. I’m a little surprised he even bothered to knock, since I know Hyuna gave him an extra key as backup for herself. I will have to talk to her about that.

“I can wait,” he says and plops down on Hyuna’s bed.

“Suit yourself.” I groan, ignoring his chuckle as I pull the blanket over my body and close my eyes. Or rather, trying to ignore it. There is no way I am going to be able to sleep knowing that Jiyong is in my room, but I would rather pretend-sleep than face the awkward, rude talk we are bound to have. I try to ignore the sound of him gently tapping the headboard of her bed until my alarm goes off.

“Going somewhere?” he asks and I roll my eyes even though he can’t see me.

“No, I was taking a twenty-minute nap,” I tell him and sit up.

“You set an alarm to make sure your nap is only twenty minutes?” he says, amused.

“Yeah, I do. So what’s it to you, anyway?” I grab my books and lay them out neatly, in order of my class schedule, and stack the notes for each class on top of them.

“Are you OCD or something?”

“No, Jiyong. Not everyone’s crazy because they just like things a certain way. There’s nothing wrong with being organized,” I snap.

And he laughs, of course. I refuse to look at him, but out of the corner of my eye, I can see him pushing up off the bed.

Please don’t come over here. Please don’t come …

And then he’s standing over me, looking down at where I sit on my bed. He grabs my Literature notes and turns them over a couple of times exaggeratedly like he’s staring at a rare artifact. I reach up for them but—like the annoying jerk he is—he lifts them higher, so I stand and swipe at them. But he tosses them in the air and they fall to the ground in a scattered mess.

“Pick those up!” I demand.

He smirks and says, “Okay, okay,” but just grabs my Sociology notes and does the same thing to them. I scramble to pick them up before he steps on them, but that’s only funny to him.

“Jiyong, stop!” I yell, just as he does the same with the next stack. Infuriated, I stand up and shove him away from my bed.

“You mean, someone doesn’t like their stuff being messed with?” he asks, still laughing. Why must he always laugh at me?

“No! I don’t!” I yell and go to shove him again. He steps toward me and grabs my wrists, pushing me back against the wall. His face is inches from mine, and suddenly I’m aware I’m breathing way too hard. I want to scream at him to get off me, to let me go, and demand that he put my work back. I want to slap him, to make him leave. But I can’t. I’m frozen against the wall and mesmerized by his brown eyes burning into mine. “Jiyong, please,” are the only words I finally find. But they are soft. And I’m not sure if I am begging him to let me go, or kiss me. My breathing still hasn’t slowed; I can feel his increasing, the way his chest rises powerfully. Seconds feel like hours, and finally he removes one hand from my wrists, but the other is large enough to hold both.

For a second, I think he might slap me. But his hand moves up to my cheekbone and then he gently tucks my hair behind my ear. I swear I can hear his pulse as he brings his lips to mine—and the fire crackles under my skin.

This is what I have been longing for since Saturday night. If I could only feel one thing for the rest of my life, this would be it.

I don’t let myself think about why I am kissing him again or what terrible thing he will say afterward. All I want to focus on is the way he presses his body against mine when he lets go of my wrists, pinning me to the wall, and the way his mouth tastes like mint again. The way my tongue somehow follows his, and the way my hands slide over his broad shoulders. His hands grip the backs of my thighs and he lifts me up, my legs instinctively wrapping around his waist, and I’m amazed at the way my body somehow knows how to respond to him. I bury my fingers in his hair, gently tugging at it while he walks back toward my bed, his lips still molded to mine.

The responsible voice inside my head finds her way in, reminding me that this is a terrible idea—but I push her back. I am not stopping this time. I pull Jiyong’s hair harder, earning a moan from him. The sound elicits one of my own, the two mixing in the most heavenly way. It is the hottest sound I have ever heard and I want to do anything I can to hear it again. He sits back on my bed, pulling me so I’m on his lap. His long fingers dig into my skin, but the pain is wonderful. My body begins gently rocking back and forth on his lap, and his grip tightens.

“Fuck,” he breathes into my mouth, and I experience a sensation I have never felt before as I feel him harden against me.

How far will I let this go? I ask myself, but I don’t have an answer.

His hands find the hem of my shirt, and he tugs at it, pulling it up. I can’t believe I’m letting him, but I don’t want to stop. He pulls away from our heated kiss to get the shirt over my head. His eyes meet mine, then go down to my chest as he takes his lip between his teeth.

“You’re so sexy, Y/N.”

The idea of dirty talk never appealed to me, but somehow Jiyong saying those words becomes the most sensual thing I have ever heard. I never buy any fancy underwear because no one, literally no one, ever sees them, but right now I wish I had something besides this plain black bra. He’s probably seen every type of bra there is, the annoying voice in my head reminds me. To try to get such thoughts out of my head, I rock harder against his lap, and he wraps his arms around my back and pulls my body to his, our chests touching …

The door handle jingles. I push myself off Jiyong’s lap and throw my shirt on, the trance I was in immediately broken.

Hyuna steps through the door and stops short when she sees me and Jiyong. As she takes in the scene before her, her mouth forms an O.

I know my cheeks are bright red not only from the embarrassment but from the way Jiyong has made me feel.

“What the hell did I miss?” she gasps, staring at us both with a huge grin. I swear her eyes are practically clapping with glee.

“Nothing much,” Jiyong says and stands. He walks to the door and doesn’t look back as he walks out of the room, where I’m left panting and Hyuna laughing.

“What the actual hell was that!?” she asks me and then covers her face in mock horror. But she’s too excited by the gossip and pops back quickly. “You and Jiyong … You and Jiyong are like messing around?”

I turn and pretend to look through the stuff on my desk. “No! No way! We aren’t messing around,” I tell her. Are we? No, we just happened to kiss, twice. And he took my shirt off, and I was basically humping him—but we aren’t messing around, like regularly. “I have a boyfriend, remember?”

She comes over to face me. “So … that doesn’t mean you can’t mess around with Jiyong—I just can’t believe it! I thought you guys hated each other. Well, Jiyong hates everyone. But I thought he hated you even more than his normal hatred for people,” she says, then laughs. “When did this even … how did this happen?”

I sit on her bed and run my fingers through my hair. “I don’t know. Well, Saturday when you left the party I ended up in his room because this creep tried to hit on me, and then I kissed Jiyong. We promised to never speak of it again—but then he came by today and he started messing with me, not in that way.” I point at the bed, which only makes her smirk grow. “Like he was throwing my stuff around and I pushed him and then somehow we ended up on the bed.”

It sounds so bad as I repeat it. I really am acting so out of character, just like my mother said. I put my hands over my face. How could I do this to Hoseok—again?

“Whoa, that sounds hot,” Hyuna says, and I roll my eyes.

“It’s not—it’s terrible and wrong. I love Hoseok, and Jiyong is a jerk. I don’t want to be another conquest of his.”

“You could learn a lot from Jiyong … you know sexually.”

My mouth falls open. Is she serious? Is that something she would do … wait, has she? Her and Jiyong?

“No way, I don’t want to learn anything from Jiyong. Or anyone besides Hoseok,” I tell her. I can’t imagine Hoseok and I making out like that. My mind replays Jiyong’s words: You’re so sexy, Y/N. Hoseok would never say something like that—no one has ever called me sexy before. I feel my cheeks heat up as I think about it. “Have you?” I ask a little sheepishly.

“With Jiyong? No.” And something inside me feels better when she says that. But then she continues. “Well … I haven’t had sex with him, but we had a little fling when we first met, as embarrassing as that is to admit. But nothing came from it; we were sort of friends with benefits for about a week.” She says it like it’s no big deal, but I can’t help the jealousy that stirs inside me.

“Oh … benefits?” I ask. My mouth is completely dry and I find myself suddenly annoyed by Steph.

“Yeah, nothing too big. Just like a few heavy makeout sessions, a grope here and there. Nothing serious,” she says and my chest hurts. I’m not surprised really, but I wish I wouldn’t have asked.

“Does Jiyong have a lot of friends with benefits?” I don’t want to hear the answer, but I can’t help asking.

She snorts and sits down on her bed across from me. “Yeah, he does. I mean, not like hundreds, but he’s a pretty … active guy.”

I can tell she’s seen how I reacted and is trying to sugarcoat it for my sake. I make the mental decision for what feels like the hundredth time to stay away from him. I will not be anyone’s friends with benefits. Ever.

“He doesn’t do it to be mean or use girls; they pretty much throw themselves at him, and he lets them know from the start that he doesn’t date,” she says. I remember her telling me that before. But it’s not like he said that to me when we …

“Why doesn’t he date?” Why can’t I stop asking these questions?

“I don’t know, really … Listen,” she says, her voice full of concern, “I think you could have a lot of fun with Jiyong, but I also think this could be dangerous for you. Unless you know you will never develop any sort of feelings for him, I would stay away. I have seen a lot of girls fall for him and it’s not pretty.”

“Oh, trust me, I do not have feelings for him. I don’t know what I was thinking.” I laugh, and hope that it at least sounds genuine.

Steph nods. “Good. So, how much trouble did you get into with your mom and Hoseok?”

I tell her all about my mother’s lecture, minus the part about me promising not to be friends with her anymore. We spend the rest of the night talking about classes, Tristan, and anything I can think of besides Jiyong.

The next day Tae and I meet at the coffeehouse before class to compare notes for Sociology. It took me an hour to get all my notes in order after Jiyong’s annoying stunt yesterday. I want to tell Tae about it but I don’t want him to think badly of me, especially now that I know about his mom and Jiyong’s dad. Tae must know a ton about Jiyong, and I have to keep reminding myself not to ask questions about him. Besides, I don’t care what Jiyong does.

The day flies by and finally it’s time for Literature. Per usual, Jiyong is in the seat next to mine, but today he doesn’t seem inclined to look my way at all.

“Today will be our last day on Pride and Prejudice,” the professor informs us. “I hope you all have enjoyed it, and since you’ve all read the ending, it feels fitting to base today’s discussion on Austen’s use of foreshadowing. Let me ask: as a reader, did you expect her and Darcy to become a couple in the end?”

Several people murmur or randomly flip through their books like it’ll provide an immediate answer for them, but only Landon and I raise our hands, as always.

“Miss Y/L/N,” the professor calls on me.

“Well, the first time I read the novel, I was on the edge of my seat about whether or not they would end up together. Even now—and I have read it at least ten times—I still feel anxious during the beginning of their relationship. Mr. Darcy is so cruel and says such hateful things about Elizabeth and her family that I never know if she can forgive him, let alone love him.” Tae nods at my answer, and I smile.

“That’s a load,” a voice cuts through the stillness. Jiyong’s voice.

“Mr. Kwon? Would you like to add something?” the professor asks, clearly surprised at Jiyong’s participation.

“Sure. I said that’s a load. Women want what they can’t have. Mr. Darcy’s rude attitude is what drew Elizabeth to him, so it was obvious they would end up together,” Jiyong says, then picks at his fingernails as if he isn’t the slightest bit interested in the discussion.

“That isn’t true, about women wanting what they can’t have. Mr. Darcy was only mean to her because he was too proud to admit he loved her. Once he stopped his hateful act, she saw that he really loved her,” I say, much louder than I intended.

Much louder. I look around the room and find everyone is staring at me and Jiyong.

Jiyong. exhales. “I don’t know what kind of guys you normally go for, but I think that if he loved her, he wouldn’t have been mean to her. The only reason he even ended up asking for her hand in marriage was because she wouldn’t stop throwing herself at him,” he says with emphasis, and my heart drops. But finally we’re getting at what he’s really thinking.

“She did not throw herself at him! He manipulated her into thinking he was kind and took advantage of her weakness!” I scream, and then the room really, truly goes silent. Jiyong’s face is flushed with anger, and I can’t imagine mine looks much different.

“He ‘manipulated’ her? Try again, she is … I mean, she was so bored with her boring life that she had to find excitement somewhere—so she certainly was throwing herself at him!” he yells back, his hand gripping the desk.

“Well, maybe if he wasn’t such a manwhore, he could have stopped it after the first time instead of showing up to her room!” After the words leave my mouth, I know that we’ve been exposed, and snickers and gasps are heard throughout the room.

“Okay, lively discussion. I think that’s probably enough on that topic for today …” the professor begins, but I grab my bag and run out of the room.

From somewhere behind me in the halls, I hear Jiyong’s angry voice yell, “You don’t get to run this time, Y/F/N!”

I get outside and am crossing the green lawn, about to reach the corner of the block, when he grabs my arm and I jerk away.

“Why do you always touch me like that? Grab my arm again and I will slap you!” I scream. I surprise myself at my harsh words, but I’ve had enough of his crap.

He grabs my arm again, but I can’t manage to follow through on my promise. “What do you want, Jiyong? To tell me how desperate I am? To laugh at me for letting you get to me again? I am so sick of this game with you—I won’t play it any longer. I have a boyfriend who loves me, and you are a terrible person. You really should see a doctor and get some medication for your mood swings! I can’t keep up with you. One second you’re nice, then you’re hateful. I want nothing to do with you, so do yourself a favor and find another girl to play your games, because I’m done!”

“I really do bring out the worst in you, don’t I?” he asks.

I turn away and attempt to shift my focus to the busy sidewalk next to us. A few confused students’ eyes linger on Jiyong and me for a beat too long. When I face him again, he’s running his fingers across a small hole at the bottom of his worn black T-shirt.

I expect him to be smiling or laughing, but he’s not. If I didn’t know any better I would think he was … hurt? But I do know better and I know he couldn’t care less. “I’m not trying to play games with you,” he says and runs his hand over his head.

“Then what are you doing—because your mood swings give me a headache,” I snap. A small crowd has gathered around us, and I want to curl into a ball and disappear. But I have to know what he will say next.

Why can’t I stay away from him? I know he’s dangerous and toxic. I have never been as mean to someone as I am to him. He deserves it, I know, but I don’t really like being mean to anyone.

Jiyong grabs my arm yet again and pulls me into a small alleyway between two buildings, away from the crowd. “Y/N, I … I don’t know what I am doing. You kissed me first, remember?” he reminds me.

“Yeah … I was drunk, remember? And you kissed me first yesterday.”

“Yeah … You didn’t stop me.” He pauses. “It must be exhausting,” he says.

What? “What must be exhausting?”

“Acting like you don’t want me, when we both know you do,” he says, and steps closer.

“What? I do not want you. I have a boyfriend.” The words tumble out too fast and reveal their absurdity, making him smile.

“A boyfriend that you’re bored with. Admit it,Y/N. Not to me, but to yourself. You’re bored with him.” His voice lowers, and slows to a sensual pace. “Has he ever made you feel the way I do?”

“W-What? Of course he has,” I lie.

“No … he hasn’t. I can tell that you’ve never been touched … really touched.”

His words send a now-familiar burn through my body. “That’s none of your business,” I say and back away, making him take three steps toward me.

“You have no idea how good I can make you feel,” he says, and I gasp. How does he go from yelling at me to this? And why do I like it so much? I have no words. Jiyongs tone and dirty words make me weak, vulnerable, and confused. I have become a rabbit in a fox’s trap.

“Really, you don’t have to admit it. I can tell,” he says, his voice thick with arrogance.

But all I can do is shake my head. His smile grows and I instinctively back against the wall. He takes a step toward me, and I take a deep, hopeful breath. Not again.

“Your pulse has quickened, hasn’t it? Your mouth is dry. You’re thinking about me and have that feeling … down there. Don’t you,Y/F/N?”

Everything he is saying is true and the more he talks to me like this, the more I want him. It’s strange to crave and hate someone at the same time. The attraction I feel is purely physical, which is surprising considering how opposite he is from Hoseok. I don’t remember ever being attracted to anyone except Hoseok.

I know that if I don’t say something now, he will win. I don’t want him to have this power over me and win, too.

“You’re wrong,” I mutter.

But he smiles. And even that sends electricity through me.

“I’m never wrong,” he says. “Not about this.”

I step to the side before he fully traps me against the wall. “Why do you keep saying I throw myself at you if you’re the one cornering me now?” I ask, my anger pushing past my lust for this maddening tattooed boy.

“Because you made the first move on me. Don’t get me wrong, I was as surprised as you were.”

“I was drunk and had a long night—as you already know. I was confused because you were being nice to me; well, your version of being nice.” I scoot past him and sit down on the curb so I can get out of his space. Talking to him is so exhausting.

“I’m not that mean to you,” he says, looming over me, but it sounds more like a question than a statement.

“Yeah, you are. You go out of your way to be mean to me. Not just me, but everyone. But it still seems like you are extra hard on me.” I can’t believe I am being this honest with him. I know it’s a matter of minutes before he turns on me.

“That’s just not true. I’m no meaner to you than I am to the rest of the general population.”

I shoot up. I knew I couldn’t have a normal discussion with him. “I don’t know why I keep wasting my time!” I yell. I start walking back toward the main pathway and lawn.

“Hey, I’m sorry. Just come back over here.”

I groan, but my feet react before my brain can catch up, and I end up standing a few feet away from him.

He sits on the curb where I was previously sitting. “Sit,” he demands.

And I do.

“You’re sitting awfully far away,” he says, and I roll my eyes. “You don’t trust me?”

“No, of course I don’t. Why would I?”

His face falls slightly as my words hit him, but he recovers quickly. Why would he care if I trusted him?

“Can we just agree to either stay away from each other, or be friends? I don’t have it in me to keep fighting with you.” I sigh, and he moves a little closer.

He takes a deep breath before he speaks. “I don’t want to stay away from you.”

What? My heart beats out of my chest.

“I mean … I don’t think we can stay away from each other, with one of my best friends being your roommate and all. So I suppose we should try to be friends.”

Disappointment bubbles up from nowhere, but this is what I want, right? I can’t keep kissing Jiyong and cheating on Hoseok.

“Okay, so friends?” I say, pushing down this feeling.

“Friends,” he agrees and reaches out his hand for me to shake.

“Not friends with benefits,” I remind him as I shake, only to feel the blood rush to my cheeks.

He chuckles and moves his hand to play with his eyebrow ring. “What makes you say that?”

“Like you don’t know. Hyuna already told me.”

“What, about me and her?”

“You and her, and you and every other girl.” I try to fake a laugh but it comes out as a cough, so I cough a little more to try to cover.

He raises his eyebrow at me but I ignore him. “Well, me and Hyuna … that was fun.” He smiles as if remembering something and I swallow the bile rising in the back of my throat.

“And yeah, I have girls that I fuck. But why would that concern you, friend?”

He’s so nonchalant about the whole thing, but I’m in shock. Hearing him admit to sleeping with other girls shouldn’t bother me but it does. He isn’t mine:Hoseok is. Hoseok is. Hoseok is, I remind myself.

“It doesn’t. I just don’t want you to think that I will be one of those girls.”

“Aww … are you jealous, Y/F/N?” he mocks me, and I shove him. There is no way in hell I will ever admit that.

“No, absolutely not. I feel sorry for the girls.”

He raises his eyebrows playfully. “Oh, you shouldn’t. They enjoy it, trust me.”

“Okay, okay. I get it. Can we please just change the subject?” I sigh and lift my head back to look at the sky. I need to clear the image of Jiyong and his harem out of my mind. “So, will you try to be nicer to me?”

“Sure. Will you try not to be so uptight and bitchy all the time?”

Looking at the clouds, I dreamily say, “I’m not bitchy; you’re just obnoxious.”

I look at him and start laughing; fortunately he joins in. It’s a nice change from screaming at each other. I know we haven’t really resolved the big issue here, which is the feelings that I may or may not have for him, but if I can just get him to stop kissing me, I can focus back on Hoseok and stop this terrible cycle before it gets worse.

“Look at us, two friends.” His accent is so cute when he isn’t being rude.

Hell, even then it is, but when his voice is soft his accent makes it so much softer, like velvet. The way words roll off his tongue and through his pink lips … I can’t think about his lips. I tear my eyes away from his face and stand up, wiping my skirt off.

“That skirt really is dreadful, Y/N. If we’re going to be friends you need to not wear that anymore.”

For a second I’m hurt, but when I look up at him, he’s smiling. This must be the way he jokes; still rude, but I’ll take this over his usual pure malice.

My phone alarm vibrates. “I need to get back and study,” I tell him.

“You set an alarm to study?”

“I set an alarm for a lot of things; it’s just something I do.” I hope he just lets this topic go.

“Well, set an alarm for us to do something fun tomorrow after class,” he says.

Who is this and where is the real Jiyong?

“I don’t think my idea of fun is the same as yours.” I can’t even imagine what “fun” is to Jiyong.

“Well, we’ll only sacrifice a few cats, burn down only a few buildings …”

I can’t stop the giggle from escaping and he smiles back.

“Really, though, you could use some fun, and since we are new friends, we should do something fun.”

I need a few moments to contemplate whether I should be alone with Jiyong before I answer him. But before I can answer, he turns to walk away. “Good, I’m glad you’re aboard. See you tomorrow.”

And he’s gone.

I don’t say anything; I just sit back down on the curb. My head is spinning from the last twenty minutes. First, he basically offered me sex, telling me I have no idea how good he could make me feel; then, a few minutes later, he was agreeing to try to be nice to me; then we were laughing and joking and it was nice. There are still so many questions I have about him, but I think I can be friends with Jiyong, like Hyuna is. Okay, not like Hyuna is, but like Nate or one of their other friends who hang out with him.

This is really the best thing. No more kissing, no more sexual advances from him. Just friends.

But as I walk back to my room, past all the other kids going about without any knowledge of Jiyong or his ways, I can’t quite manage to shake the fear that I just walked into another one of his traps.

[leiko-skyline]

A Prom in Paris: Chapter 10 (Last Minute)

(Click here for Chapter 1)

Ten days until prom: four akumas. None of these victims were Marinette Dupain-Cheng when she found out Adrien was going to prom with Lila Rossi – "Lila! The nerve… She must have known he'd just been turned down, but she asked anyways! She didn't even give him time to breathe!" – but three were Adrien Agreste fans upon finding out he had a date.

Seven days until prom: three akumas.

Four days until prom: eight akumas.

Three days until prom: eleven akumas.

Two days until prom: fifteen akumas.

One day before prom:

Ladybug swung onto the bakery roof, detransformed in midair, and flopped on her bed with a heavy groan. Tikki spun out of her earrings and plopped down on Marinette's pillow, exhausted. Marinette pulled a box of day-old cookies out from under her bed and pushed a few towards Tikki.

Four last minute promposals and rejections. Five dress rentals that fell through. A guy and a girl whose dates switched on them last minute for each other. Two girls who'd bought their dresses online from sketchy websites that sent low-quality dresses. And it was only two in the afternoon.

She and Chat Noir had been building up to this. Ladybug warned him to stock up on whatever his kwami ate; he suggested getting rest whenever she could possibly manage it. The Ladyblog, livetweets, and news reports were constantly open on their computers and phones. They'd discussed homework and agreed it was best to put it off until after prom. They were both skipping school today.

Marinette glanced at the unfinished material hanging over her dress form and around her room. She'd told Alya she was skipping school to finish her dress. Between all the akumas in the past week, she hadn't had enough time. The dress was getting… close… ish. That is to say, all the pieces were cut out, and some were sewn together…

There was a thud on the roof. Tikki shot into the box of cookies; Marinette swept the box back under her bed.

Chat Noir's head poked over the edge of the open loft door. "Bonjour," he piped.

"Bonjour, Chat Noir," Marinette said, sitting up. "What brings you here?"

"I heard you stayed home to finish your dress."

Where did he hear that?

"Yeah, I did. Just taking a break right now."

"How's that going?"

"Going… all right," Marinette said, faltering at the complete lie.

"Hmm…" Chat Noir mused. "Is there any way I can ad-dress this situation?"

Marinette sighed. He'd made that pun before. "It's all right. I have it under control."

"Well, all right." He stood up to leave. "But if there's anything thread-ening your wellbeing, give me a call. I've got you covered."

Marinette nodded. "Okay. Thanks." He was probably just trying to prevent another akuma. It was nice of him to check up on her, though. Especially when he could have been using this time to rest.

"Out of curiosity…" she wondered, "why didn't you just come in?"

He grinned. "You're right here. Besides, it would be impolite to enter a lady's room uninvited. See you around, Princess."

Marinette shook her head, smiling. Well. Better get going on that dress while she still could.

As she sewed, she kept thinking of the time Nathanael was akumatized. Evillustrator had waltzed right in through the window.

One day before prom: thirteen akumas before two in the afternoon. Half an hour of peace and frantic sewing. Twenty-three akumas after that.

They stretched well into the night, refusing to let up until two in the morning. There was one period of twelve minutes in which Marinette got a little bit more sewing in, and a three minute stretch in which she wolfed down a croissant (and nearly choked and died. Tikki had to smack her in the back to get it out).

At four minutes past two in the morning, Ladybug landed in Marinette's bedroom, detransformed, and collapsed on the bed, reaching for the day-old… two-day-old cookies.

"Tikki, I've run out."

"That's okay," said Tikki, fluttering toward the door to the rest of the house. "I'll get cookies. You work on the dress."

Marinette sighed, staring down at the fabric strewn across her room. At the rate things were going, she would have to pull an all-nighter in order to finish her dress, take care of more akumas, and get ready for the prom herself. She knew she could do it… It was just a matter of her prom night turning into a complete nightmare.

Marinette took a deep breath. "Okay, Marinette. Let's get going."

Adrien shut off his computer screen and climbed into bed. Everything was taken care of – his tuxedo, the corsage and boutonniere, his schedule for the following day. All he had to do was show up – well, and take care of Chat Noir's business. But Adrien Agreste's prom night was all set to go.

He couldn't help but worry about Ladybug, though. He had no idea how well she was handling the combination of prom preparation and prom akumas. All he could do was keep telling her to rest when she could, and hope she heard him.

Adrien was drifting off, but he woke up a little when he realized he'd forgotten to check on one last thing.

"Plagg–"

"I'm sleeping."

"And soon you'll be sleepwalking. Transforme moi."

The bodice was starting to come together when Chat Noir landed on Marinette's roof. "Good morning," he said, poking his head into the room.

"Shh, my parents are asleep," whispered Marinette. "And it's night."

"It's past two in the morning."

"It's still night. Morning means I'm running out of time."

He was quiet for a moment. "Need any help?" he finally asked.

"Sewing?"

"You'd be surprised," said Chat Noir.

"I guess. Come in."

He dropped to the floor and slid down the staircase railing to where she was. "What can I do?"

"Umm…"

Marinette got him started on hand-stitching a section of the bodice near the shoulder, while she hemmed the skirt with her sewing machine. Periodic glances in his direction told her that he seemed to know what he was doing.

"I think I finished," he said eventually.

Marinette looked up. "Okay. Wait one second."

She finished off the hem and took the bodice from him. "Nice job," she congratulated him.

"Thanks, m'lady."

Marinette placed it on the table behind the sewing machine. "Let's see… I made a stencil earlier…"

She picked up the bodice again and turned to find the stencil. On her way there, she tripped over her desk chair, causing her to lurch forward. The bodice caught on the sewing machine, pulling them both off the table and onto the floor.

Marinette landed on the ground with a groan. "Ouch," said Chat Noir with a wince. "Sorry if my bad luck rubbed off on you."

"No, I'm usually this clumsy…"

She gasped suddenly. Chat Noir looked, and his heart sank. The bodice had caught at the part of the sewing machine where the needle was, and pulled through in such a way that there was now a ragged line of stitches right across the shoulder of the dress, pinning it closed from the end to the neckline. Even if they pulled the stitches out, the fabric would have been too torn up to use.

The two of them stared at the ruined bodice for a moment. Chat Noir fully expected Marinette to panic – it was preposterously late, and at least an hour's worth of work was down the drain, and she'd have to detach and recut and resew and – okay, maybe he was panicking.

"Okay," said Marinette. "Let me find the stencil first."

She located the stencils and gave him instructions regarding fabric paint and glitter. Chat Noir set to work, a layer of paper protecting the floor. Marinette, meanwhile, used the bodice and a ruler to make a few measurements, then took a pair of scissors to the top.

At three, Marinette passed Chat Noir the altered top to stencil while she took a catnap (both the idea and the pun were Chat Noir's). At three twenty-five, Marinette woke up to gingerly pin the still-drying bodice together on the dress form, and pin the skirt to that. Chat Noir finished up the stenciling on the upper skirt while she sewed everything together.

At four in the morning, they sat side by side on the floor, admiring their work. "We did it," Marinette said happily.

"We did," said Chat Noir. "Bien joué."

Marinette blinked. "It's what Ladybug and I do after a successful mission," Chat Noir explained, holding up his fist. "I think it's… fitting."

Marinette smiled. "Bien joué," she said, bumping fists.

"Fitting, get it?" Chat Noir gestured at the dress. "You still need to try it on."

"The dress form has the same measurements as me. It'll fit."

"I want to see," Chat Noir said, grinning like a kid.

"Uh-uh." She wagged a finger at him. "You'll have to wait until tomorrow."

"But prom is today!"

"No, Monsieur It's-After-Midnight," Marinette chided playfully. "You'll have to wait until tonight. You'll see me there."

Chat Noir sighed dramatically. "Oh, all right."

He got up to leave. Marinette turned off the lights, and he followed her up the stairs to the loft. The world outside was already turning light in that gray pre-dawn way, telling them both to hurry up and get to sleep.

"See you tonight," Chat Noir said, leaping onto the balcony.

"Chat Noir, thank you," Marinette said as sincerely as possible.

"Anytime, Princess." He gave a sort of wave with two fingers, and sprung off into the night.

Marinette would have laughed, but the lateness of the hour turned it into a tired smile. "Good night, chaton," she said, leaning back into her pillows.

A/N: I don't know anything about sewing machines and dressmaking. Please forgive me.

Credits for Monsieur It's-After-Midnight go to my friend, who coined the term "Mr. Fucking Midnight" for people who think anything after midnight is a new day. This is the French/PG version.

(Chapter 1) (Chapter 2) (Chapter 3) (Chapter 4) (Chapter 5) (Chapter 6) (Chapter 7) (Chapter 8) (Chapter 9) (You are here!) (Chapter 11)

[evans-heaven]

First Blush~s.m.

(not my gif)

Short and unedited oops.

Some more fluff (bc my angst sucks balls) for my lovelies, hope y’all enjoy :)

~~~~~~~~~~~

She was fast asleep. Buried under the fleece blanket I had gotten for her from my trip to Moscow, wearing only one of my button ups and her panties. Her hair was piled into a messy bun on top of her head, a few unruly strands spreading across her face and over the pillow. Her mouth was slightly agape, pink, plush lips parted to let shallow, soft breaths escape. Occasionally, she would close it, contort her lips a bit, then open it again. Or maybe she would shift her head, either higher or lower on the pillow. Or she would twitch her eyebrow slightly- almost unnoticeable. But she never turned her face away from me, almost as though she knew I was watching her slumber. Like she didn’t want to deprive me of the beauty her face delivered to me.

Sure, I could bask in her glory all day, she was mine. But there was a certain wonder to it when she slept, whether it was a little catnap in nothing but our underwear with her head nestled in my lap on the couch, or in the wee hours of the morning (like this very moment) when I was up and she wasn’t. Her rested features somehow managed to be emphasized when she slept. It was like she radiated even more while dormant.

I had been watching her for a decent 10 minutes. Once or twice, my phone would attract my attention, either Andrew texting me a reminder of my upcoming appearances and performances, or someone posting on Instagram.

I reviewed Andrew’s messages and sighed deeply. Over the course of the following two months I had about 7 events in all. I had only been home from an 8 month tour for about 4 days, yet still, work crept upon me and snatched any opportunity of relaxation I was being given.

 Y/N and hadn’t had nearly enough time to catch up. Work had her tied down. She was a senior editor and a workaholic at that. Her job, according to her, could never be done. Or at least done in a way she was satisfied. Those who called me a tortured soul (other than myself) had never encountered Y/N when she went full ‘work bitch mode’. Her words, though. Not mine. I would just define her ethic as passionate and no nonsense. Maybe a bit too much at times. 

But, I couldn’t reprimand her or I’d be a hypocrite, because I myself had a tendency to go off the edge when I got to deep into my line of work.

I simply replied to Andrew with a quick ‘Okay’. Then, my eyes went back to Y/N, who remained still, aside from chest movements and nose flares- usually a sign she was close to waking up.

Her head bobbed back a forth a bit, though the movement was barely there. She brought a small hand up and gripped the edge of the blanket that didn’t cover her body and pulled it up a bit more, then stayed there. She normally did this. She would move around some, like she was contemplating whether or not to get up, and then remain still. Either she would have fallen back asleep or was just in thought, gathering herself, wondering silently what her day held and what she had to get done and who she would have to deal with. Though, she had a day off. The only person she would have to deal with was me. But of course, she wasn’t conscience enough to realize that.

 There was only an inch of distance between us. That was all I would give her if she wanted to move about. When he lay together, I wanted our bodies to be as close as possible. We spooned last night, much like any other, and when I woke up, I let her go, but let my arm lay above her head. My palm was pressed against the side of my head as hers lay opposite my chest.

I brought my free hand up and lightly brushed the strands of hair out her face, letting my fingers graze over her jaw and cheekbones. Her silky skin soothed the callous pad of my thumb as it traveled to her lips, pulling the bottom one down ever so slightly, not enough to cause discomfort- I didn’t want that. I touched her top lip, pressing into it softly before swiping across it and then pulling the finger away all together.

I brought my face down to hers and touched my lips to her forehead, for a few seconds. One, two, three, four....

My lips moved to her temple, then to the apple of her cheek, then the corner of her mouth. I pulled back as her eyes sprouted open.

I chuckled deeply, a low thrum escaping my chest as she smiled lazily. 

“Good morning, darling,” I muttered, kissing her ear lightly, grazing the outer shell with my teeth before biting her ear lobe softly. My hand snaked under the blanket and gripped her waist. The shirt had ridden up while she slept. My fingers came in contact with her warm skin, sliding slowly down the curve of her hips, feeling the lacy terrain of her underwear against my palm until the tips of my fingers could dig into the globe of her bum. She let out a small giggle and I removed my hand, holding her chin and pecking her slightly. She pouted, but we had the whole day to ourselves, there was so much more where that came from.

“Morning,” she purred. She bent her arm and put her hand below her head as she looked into my eyes. She was still tired- it was obvious, or maybe she hadn’t fully woken up yet.

“How did you sleep?” I asked as she skimmed her fingernails over my chest, passing over the scarce curly strands that sprouted from the skin. She loved them.

She shrugged. “Okay, I guess,” she sighed. She was never one to speak much in the morning. Her answers or general statements were always sparse.

“You guess?” I raised my brows.

“Well....yeah,” she said simply. “It wasn’t much different from any other night you’ve been home. Its just....,” Pause.

I waited for her to continue but she didn’t. She looked away from me, biting her lip.

“What? What’s wrong, darling?” I pushed.

“Why’d you let me go?” she asked, and thrust her lower lip out, pouting for the second time this morning.

I furrowed my brow. “Huh?” as far as I was concerned my arms never left her once that morning, even if it was the tiniest of touches.

“You had your arms around me,” she explained. “And you let go. Why?”

I blinked before I realized what she was talking about. And when I did, I felt my lips tug into a smirk, which made her roll her eyes. “Ohhh,” I nodded. She was so needy in the morning. I was never allowed to not touch her as we lay in bed. During the day she liked her space sometimes, but in the bedroom, if my hands ever left her for even a second, that was a serious offence.

Without warning, I rolled on top of her, hovering a bit as though not to crush her. My hands took her wrists and pulled them from underneath the blanket, pinning them to the sides of her head. “Okay?” I asked, my lips attaching to her neck as I peppered feverish kisses across the surface, moving rapidly.

She sucked in a harsh breath before speaking. “I...I was hoping we could sp-spoon, but this works too,” she said shakily, curling her hands into tiny fist as my lips moved up her jaw.

“Mmm,” I hummed, masking her tiny moan as my teeth nipped at her lips teasingly before I attacked them fully. 

My his tongue delved its way into her mouth, parting her lips gently. She giggled a bit as I poked my tongue with hers, before tangling them into each other. I removed my mouth from hers, and put her bottom lip in between my teeth, pulling on it gently. She exhaled deeply. She loved it when I did this.

I let her wrists go and immediately her hands were shoved into my messy bed hair, scissoring through the loose curls. My hands slipped under the shirt she wore, as I ran my warm fingers up and down her sides, tracing shapes and pinching teasingly. I took her bare, sinful legs and wrapped them around my waist, as I threw my arms around her waist, pulling her closer. She moaned against my mouth. I leaned back a little, caressing her thighs.The blanket had been tossed to the floor in a heap at that point, forgotten in the midst of our make out session.

A few beautifully heated minutes later, I pulled away breathlessly. I panted into her face and she inhaled what I exhaled, staring at me through hooded, sparkling eyes. A line of light adorned her forehead from the bit of sunlight that bled through the blinds above our bed. The room was dim and all I could see was her. That, however, was totally okay with me.

“So,” I began. She perked up, awaiting what I had to say next.

“How should we spend your day off, darling?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hope y’all enjoyed :)