#i mean of course they were sitting next to each other but… 🥰🥰🥰

[supernaturalgirl20]

Hi, I would love to request a Joel fic. I love your work and appreciate all of the effort you put into your work.

I’d love something where reader and Joel have always tried to keep their distance from each other because they don’t want to get emotionally attached. But one night they’re drinking alone and reader kind of confesses her feelings without thinking. And Joel doesn’t really know how to respond.

So the next morning he acts like he doesn’t remember because he’s afraid to be with someone. And it hurts reader’s feelings, but she just doesn’t bring it up.

Until one evening they’re on a run together and they stay in a safe house for the night and reader can’t distract herself anymore and she confronts him. Maybe it turns into a passionate fight where he admits he remembered but was too scared to say how he felt.

Maybe ending with some steamy smut with a soft ending? I love a good pining/angst/smut combo and I think you’d absolutely kill this. Of course no pressure if you’re not into it! Thank you for doing what you do and I hope you have a lovely day!

Thank you so much you’re so sweet 🥹🥰 Absolutely loved this request. I changed it up just slightly but I hope you enjoy 😉

Trying Not To Love You

Pairings: Joel Miller x f!reader

Warnings: Smut 18+, explicit, unprotected sex, mutual pining, oral (female receiving), hidden feelings, confessions, flirting, jealousy, little bit of angst, mentions of drugs and alcohol.

Comments and reblogs really appreciated 🥰

You were feeling the light buzz from the alcohol tickle beneath the surface of your skin, the whiskey warming you from the inside out as it slid smoothly down your throat. As soon as Tommy had left the tipsy bison, Joel had cracked open the good stuff. 

It was a rare occasion that you’d both get this time alone, especially since arriving back at Jackson a few months ago. You were both either out on patrol or too tired to do anything other than sleep. 

“I still can’t believe this is our life now,” you say as you sit at the bar sipping on your drink. Joel hums in agreement, shifting on his stool so he’s facing you.

 “Feels too good to be true, doesn’t it? Doesn't seem right neither, us here livin’ a normal life while the world is gone to shit.” You can feel his eyes on you as he speaks and god the sound of his voice - that deep southern drawl that gets more prominent when he drinks - stirs something in you. 

“I know what you mean but we’ve earned it Joel. All the shit we’ve been through, this is what we deserve.” 

“I guess. Just makes me on edge knowing it could all be gone in the blink of an eye.” He downs his drink and leans across the bar to pour himself another. 

You use the opportunity to take him in. The way his hair has grown slightly longer, curling at the ends, a significantly more amount of grey littering his dark locks since Boston. The stretch of his plaid shirt across his broad back and shoulders. The sun kissed skin that peeks out from under his shirt at his neck. 

Your gaze drifts to his hands and the way the bottle seems so small in comparison. You shiver at the memory of how those very hands gripped your hips last night as he drove into you from behind. 

“God, I love you,” you whisper, freezing when you see the way his shoulders tense. Fuck! I didn’t mean to say that out loud. 

You were never supposed to feel like this. Weren’t supposed to fall in love. Sure, you both enjoyed each other’s company and fucked when the need arose but that’s as far as it went. You both tried to keep it simple. No living together. No feelings. Just casual. It was easier that way because you had nothing to lose then. Or at least that’s what you told yourself. 

“I - I, you….” He stammers as he pours himself more whiskey before turning to you with a wry smile and topping yours up too. “Ellie seems to be settling in just fine,” he stated, quickly changing the subject, his eyes avoiding your gaze at all costs. 

“Yeah,” you coughed, the whiskey getting caught with your breath. “She’s eh - she’s made some friends. It’s nice, seeing her happy.” 

Joel didn’t say much after that, just nodding his head or humming in agreement and when the bottle was gone, you both got up to leave. “G’night.” He muttered as he turned away from you and walked towards his house. 

“Night,” you whisper as you wait for him to disappear inside before letting out a sigh and making your way home. Why did you have to fall in love with him?

***

The following morning you had patrol bright and early and as you made your way towards the main gate, you caught a glimpse of Joel standing off to the side having a very animated conversation with Julie.

Of course, she’s with him. She’d been smitten with Joel since you all arrived in Jackson. You weren’t in the mood for this today. You weren’t in the mood for her today. You didn’t get much sleep last night, unable to get what you’d said out of your head. Why didn’t he say anything? Does he not feel the same?  Did he even hear me? 

You’d planned to address it this morning and clear the air, not wanting to make things awkward between you both. So, taking a deep breath, you sidle up beside him not missing the glare Julie sends your way as you gently touch his arm, drawing his attention to you. 

“Hey,” you smile softly at him and his face morphs into that scowl you’ve come to love. “Can I have a word?” 

Joel nods before turning back to Julie and saying that he would see her later. “Somethin’ wrong, darlin’?” 

God, I love when he calls me that. 

“I just wanted to talk about last night. What I said…I…” Joel furrows his brows as he leans against the fence. “Darlin, I’m ashamed to say, I don’t remember much bout last night. That was some strong whiskey,” he laughs, his eyes meeting yours briefly as he looks around at the others gathering at the gate. 

“Oh! Okay. Umm, then never mind I guess.” You feel as if you’ve been stabbed in the gut as your stomach twists into knots. He doesn’t even fucking remeber. Of course, he doesn’t. 

“Come on. Best get goin’, we want to be back before nightfall.” Joel pushes off the fence and walks towards the main gate, not bothering to throw you a backward glance as he makes his way out of the town. 

Your heart aches, feeling almost like you’ve been rejected but at least this meant that you could both carry on as if nothing happened. Right?

***

Her laugh was shrill as she looked down at her feet, twirling that strand of hair between her fingers as she walked beside Joel. 

You roll your eyes for the third time and huff loudly as you watch her flirt with him. The man was oblivious. Alway has been, never believing you or Ellie when you say that someone was flirting with him. 

“You and him have a fight?” Tommy asks as he jogs up beside you, trying to keep up the pace. “Hmm?” You mutter as you keep your gaze focused on the man in front of you. The smile he has plastered across his face makes you nauseous.

“You two are usually joined at the hip. He never leaves your side and now he’s up there with….”

“Miss Jackson 2023.” Your tone is clipped and the scowl on your face deepens. Tommy bursts into laughter causing Joel and Julie to turn their gaze in your direction. 

“Who pissed in your cereal this mornin?” Tommy asked, a wide smile on his face as he nudged your shoulder. You let your gaze drift from Joel to Tommy and you can’t help but let out a little chuckle. 

“M’sorry. Just didn’t sleep much last night. Me and Joel are…we’re good.” Tommy hummed as he let his eyes drift between you and his brother, not missing the way Joel’s gaze lingered on you. 

“If you say so. Come on,” he states as he pushes forward, leaving you trailing behind. “Fucking Millers,” you mutter under your breath as you jog after him. 

Later that night, you waited for Joel in your dining room. Dinner was waiting on the stove to be heated as soon as he came but as the hours ticked by, you began to realise he wasn’t coming. 

That ache in your chest that you had earlier when you saw him smiling at Julie began to creep in again. Where was he? He always came for dinner on Friday night. It had become somewhat of a tradition since living in Jackson. You’d both have dinner here and then somehow find yourself in your bed, wrapped in each other's arms. 

The voice in your head told you to go to the Tipsy Bison and see if he was there with her, but with a sigh, you turn out your lights and have an early night. 

Maybe he’ll come here tomorrow?

***

He didn’t show Saturday either. Or Sunday and when Monday rolled around, you’d gone from feeling sorry for yourself to downright angry. 

What the fuck was he playing at? Why was he being so distant?

Grabbing your bag, you throw it over your shoulders and make your way down the street to the main gate. Tommy had come by the day before to ask if you’d be willing to make a special run for medical supplies to which you happily agreed, as long as it wasn’t with Joel. 

Fixing your knife into your belt, you’re startled when you hear that familiar southern drawl. “Hope you brought your gun too, darlin?” Joel stood to the side of the gate with Tommy. 

Both Miller brother’s gaze were fixed on you but yours was only focused on Tommy, who you greeted with a scowl. 

“What’re you doing here?” You ask as your eyes drift back to Joel, that ache in your chest returning with a vengeance. 

“I told ya before, I don’t feel comfortable with you going on runs without me.” He’s staring at you, but his face gives nothing away which only serves to anger you more. 

“I don’t need no damn babysitter, Joel. I can handle it. Besides, Jason was gonna be tagging along.” You stood with your hands crossed across your chest, eyes narrowed as you snarked at him. 

“Never said you needed a babysitter. I know you’re more than capable of handlin things, but you know I ain’t ever able to sit still when you head out without me.”

“Surprised you’d even notice,” you muttered under your breath. “Fine. If you’re insisting on coming, then let’s head out. I wanna be home before dark.” You turn with a finger pointed to Tommy. “You. I’m gonna be having a word with you when I get back.”

You turn and march off leaving both Miller men staring after you. “Good luck with that,” Tommy says, clapping his big brother on the back. Joel scoffs as he turns to follow you. 

***

You could cut the awkward tension with a knife and every time you snuck a glance at Joel, you found him already staring at you. I don’t know how much more of this I can take. 

“I think we’ve got pretty much everything on the list, we should start making our way back.” You state as you turn away from the shelf, stuffing the antibiotics into your bag. 

Joel’s keeping watch, his gaze fixed out the window and gun cocked, and you can’t help but admire him. No. You gotta stop this. Closing your eyes, you take a deep breath before closing the gap between you. 

He startles when you gently place your hand on his arm. “Did you hear me? We’ve got everything we need.” His gaze holds your own for a moment and you wish he felt the same way you did. 

Clearing his throat, he steps back slightly, your hand falling away from him, and you pull it towards your chest before swallowing the lump in your throat. 

He steps around you and opens the door slowly, scanning the area before ushering you outside. You’re both halfway down the street when you make out distant voices. 

“Fuck.” He curses as his head moves toward the sound. Five men emerge from the tree line and he grabs you by the arm and pulls you along behind him. 

“Joel,” you say nervously as he continues to pull you along. His grip getting tighter on your arm and hurting you. “What - what are we gonna do? They’re blocking the way home.”

He doesn’t answer. He just continues to move through the small town quickly as he tries to get you both to safety. He turns abruptly and you gasp. 

“Tommy has a safe house nearby. We’re gonna have to stay the night and wait it out.” His face is stern, but you can see the hint of worry in his eyes as they scan your face. 

You look over your shoulder, seeing some of the men making their way to the pharmacy and Joel gently whispers your name. 

“We can’t take them on. We’re outnumbered. I ain’t risking it. I ain’t risking you.” Your breathing becomes ragged, and his hand gently caresses your cheek. “Come on, darlin’. We gotta go.” He grabs your hand in his and moves you quickly through the town, making sure to stay out of sight before you both disappear through the trees. 

***

Night has fallen and Joel is out back grabbing some wood for the stove while you heat up some canned pasta. You’d argued that it was too dangerous to light a fire, but he’d said the cabin was too far out for anyone to see the smoke. 

It beats having to huddle for warmth, you think to yourself as you stir the pot. He pushes open the door and throws a log into the stove before moving up behind you. 

“Smells good,” he hums, his breath hot on your neck as his hand brushes along your lower back. “It’s almost done. You can sit by the fire. I’ll bring it over in a minute.”

Glancing at him over your shoulder, you see he has taken his boots off and your heart aches at the sight of him looking so relaxed. The cabin and the fire and the two of you alone it’s so domestic and that makes it hurt even more.

Handing him his bowl of pasta, you take a seat on the couch beside him as you both tuck into dinner. 

It’s quiet. Too quiet and normally it doesn't bother you. Joel is always kind of quiet, but this is different. There’s an awkward tension in the air and you begin to feel claustrophobic. 

You can feel his eyes on you, and it just gets to be too much. “Stop,” you shout as you stand abruptly, turning to face him. 

“What are you talking about, darlin?” He scoots to the edge of the couch, hands held up as if in surrender. 

“Don’t darlin’ me, Joel. Ugh…. I can’t do this anymore.” You clench your hands into fist as they hang at your side and begin to storm off toward the bedroom. 

His hand on your arm stops you though as he slowly steps around the couch to face you. “Baby,” he whispers as he places both his hands on your cheeks. “Talk to me.”

“No! No, you don’t get to do that to me Joel. You don’t get to ignore me for the last four days and then come here and start calling me baby. I’m not your baby. Or your darlin’ and you made that pretty fucking clear the other night when you completely ignored what I said.”

Something shifts behind his eyes, and you know you were right all along about that night. “I don’t….” He mutters but you're quick to cut him off. 

“Oh, pull the other one. I know you heard me that night at the bar. I know you heard me say I love you and you made me fucking think you were too drunk to remember. Jesus, Joel. Do I really mean so little to you?”

He shakes his head, but you don’t want to know what he has to say, not anymore. You pull out of his grasp and try to hold back the sobs as you make your way into the only bedroom. 

“Shit.” You can hear him curse before the sound of his footsteps echo behind you. 

“You’re right. I did hear you and the reason I didn’t say anything that night was because I was scared. I am scared. We’ve been together since Boston and in that time, I’ve grown to care about you. I’ve - fuck, I love you, alright. I fucking love you and it scares the shit outta me because if anythin were to happen to you, it would break me.” 

His breathing was ragged as tears shimmered in his eyes. You stood staring at him in shock at what he’d just confessed, and you could feel your heart swell at his words.

“I love you, baby, and I’m sorry for how I behaved that night, for how I’ve been behavin. I thought I could let you go but I can’t, and I don’t want neither. Think you can forgive this old fool?” 

You chuckle, unable to believe that you both are such idiots, and you can see the corner of his mouth twitch into a smile as he slowly moves towards you. His hand reaches out, wrapping around your waist and pulling you close. 

“Well, what do ya say,” he asks as he wipes a stray tear from your cheek with his thumb. “I think I can forgive you, as long as you promise to never ignore me again.”

He rests his forehead head against yours, his eyes closing as he lets out a contented sigh. “I swear it, baby. Can I kiss you now?”

His eyes are open now and staring down at you and you feel like you’re on cloud nine. Nodding your head he places his hand under your chin and tilts your mouth towards his own before kissing you. 

Is this really happening? 

It’s soft at first. His lips gently caress yours until he licks along your bottom lip. When your tongues meet it’s as if you’re two horny teenagers unable to get enough of each other. His hands grab at your ass, and you squeal when he places his hands around your thighs and lifts you.  

You wrap your legs around his waist, and he walks you over to the bed, laying you down gently. 

Joel is quick to rid you of your clothes, the rough pads of his fingers skimming along your curves. His own clothes join yours on the floor shortly after. His eyes glaze over with lust as he stands at the edge of the bed taking in your naked form. “So, fucking beautiful baby,” he breaths, his voice husky with need. 

You rest your head on the pillows and watch as he crawls up the bed towards you, his lips trailing light kisses along your legs and thighs. 

“What are you doing, Joel?”  His gaze moves along your naked curves until it meets yours. “Gotta make it up to ya darlin,” he rasps and you pull your bottom lip between your teeth.

 His breath is hot on your skin as he hovers over your aching cunt. His tongue glides along your slick as he teases you. Lifting your hips you plead with him, desperately needing him to touch you. “Please!”

He raises a brow and smiles at you before me burying his face into your curls. “Ooh!” You moan as your back arches off the bed, hands finding purchase in his hair. He moves your legs over his shoulders and buries his tongue inside you.

You writhe beneath him as pleasure begins to build. He alternates between licking and sucking and shoving his tongue inside you that you are a complete and utter mess on the bed below him. That familiar heat begins to form, and you can feel yourself getting closer and closer to that edge.  

“Oh God,” you moan, as your orgasm rips through you. Your body shudders as you come down from your high. 

“Taste so sweet, darlin,” he says as he moves up your body, peppering light kisses along your skin. He’s flush against you, the tip of him nudging at your entrance and with one roll of his hips, he stretches you open. He groans loudly as he fills you to the hilt, his eyes closed as he tries to calm himself, desperately hoping he doesn’t cum within two minutes. 

Once he has control of himself, he begins to rock into you, his cock pulling out to the tip before pushing back in. You're already sensitive from your earlier orgasm and the way he’s stimulating your clit with his cock has you whimpering beneath him. 

His hands grip onto your waist, fingers digging into your soft skin as he sits back onto his knees, pulling you to with him so you’re sat atop him. 

He holds you down with his right hand as he pistons his hips up into you, his left kneading your breast as he pulls your pebbled nipple into his mouth and sucks. Your head falls back between your shoulders as you cry out his name. “Joel.”

Clenching around him, he groans - his head resting between your breasts, the feeling of you wrapped around him making him dizzy.

His hands grip your hips as you begin to move with him - rolling your hips over him. You shudder in his arms as your cunt clenched around him once again - his trusts become erratic as he nears the edge.

He grips your hips and lifts you off him as he cums, coating your thighs with his release. As much as you’d love him to finish inside you, you know that it’s too risky.

His eyes are staring at your thighs. At where he’s marked you with his spend. “So pretty,” he mutters as he lifts his gaze toward you. “I love you darlin.”

“I love you too. I’m gonna need to have a shower after that,” you giggle and he pulls you into him, kissing your lips softly. 

“How about I run us a bath? Sound good?” He smiles at you, moving a start piece of hair behind your ear. 

“That sounds like heaven.”

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[bluebeary-jay]

Midnight kisses

Joel Miller x f!Reader

Summary: Jackson celebrates the New Year’s Eve, and you're thinking about finally confessing to your crush how much you like him. but Joel Miller, the object of your affections, might have other plans in mind. (based on this adorable request!!)

Tags: FLUFF my beloved 🥰, Joel is very flirty in this one, lots of crushinggg, just old sweet mutual pining (also they're both lovesick idiots)

Warnings: mentions of alcohol and being drunk, jealousy, age difference

Word count: 5.4K

A/N: i had a lot of fun with this one 🥰 thank you so much once again for the request, dear, i hope you'll like what i came up with. (btw this was supposed to be a short fic but it seems i'm unable to write one 😔) still i hope yall will like it and as always, happy reading!! 💕

𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟𓆝 𓆟 𓆞

The party was in a full swing.

You didn’t expect anything else from the Jackson community. Ever since you arrived here, you were astounded by the effort that the people living in this small town were making to create a life as normal and joyous as possible – for their children and themselves. And today, on New Year’s Eve, they outdid themselves. There was food, music and drinks – almost as if the apocalypse outside those walls never happened.

You were sitting by one of the tables, sipping on your beverage while you waited for your friend, Angie, to arrive. Dancing alone didn’t sound like an appealing idea, so while you waited for her, you opted for some people-watching – though if you were honest with yourself, it was more like ‘person-watching’.

Your eyes strayed to a figure on the opposite side of the room for like a twentieth time, but you couldn’t help it even if you wanted to. Because there stood a man who still, even after more than a year of knowing him, made the butterflies in your stomach take flight.

Joel Miller.

He looked really good in a clean flannel and fitting jeans, you conceded. His hair was slightly wet, like he washed it just before coming to the party, and combed a little to the back, making the silver strands in his hair and beard shine in the low lights. You found yourself unable to look away or get rid of that stupid grin on your face that lingered when Joel smiled lopsidedly at something his brother said. The muscles in his arm bulged when he lifted his glass to take a sip, and you watched the lines of his neck when his throat bobbed...

“You’re ogling,” murmured a voice next to your ear, and you jumped a little in surprise. Next to you stood Angie, smirking at you.

“Jesus, Angie.” You put your hand on your chest, your heart pounding rapidly. “A ’hello’ would be nice.”

Your friend knew, of course, about your massive crush on Joel Miller, and you thought more than a year of pining on your part would cause her to grow bored of all the jokes and teasing that she threw your way. Apparently, you were wrong.

“Hello,” she said, then sat down on the other chair and leaned closer to you with a wide smile. “You’re ogling. In a room full of people, may I add.”

“I’m not,” you murmured defensibly, but your face grew warm at the realization that she caught you. “How long have you been standing here, anyway?”

“Like half a minute. By the way, you’re also drooling.”

“I’m not!” you repeated, now in an irritated whisper. You knew you weren’t drooling, but still had to refrain yourself from wiping your mouth, not wanting to give her the satisfaction. “Stop making things up.”

“You should just go talk to him.” Angie casually nodded in Joel’s direction. “He didn’t come with a date, sooo…”

“That doesn’t mean anything. Maybe he’s waiting for someone.”

“Uh, duh!” Angie flicked you on the forehead, and you hissed. “For you to make a move. You can… oh, I know!” she bounced in her seat excitedly and clapped her hands. “Ask him to dance with you!”

You almost snorted. “Joel Miller dancing? Sure. He wouldn’t agree even if he did like me.”

“He does like you. Jesus, you flirt with each other all the time.” The smile disappeared from her lips and she rolled her eyes. “Honestly, you’d have to be blind and deaf not to notice. And maybe dead.”

“There’s no flirting, I told you.” You took a sip of your drink, glancing at the object of your affection. “He talks in this way to everyone.”

“He never called me ‘darling’,” Angie retorted. “Or gave me his jacket when we got caught up in the rain.”

You smiled softly at the memory, but that just made you feel even more hopeless, because since that day, you weren’t able to have a normal conversation with the man you liked so much.

“What do I do?” you whined, leaning on the table. “He’s so beautiful. And he for sure doesn’t see me that way.”

“Are you drunk already? You said you didn’t want a repeat from–”

“–from last year, yeah,” you finished for her and sighed. “I’m not drunk, just feeling down. There’s no way I’ll be able to tell him I like him, Angie.”

“Maybe you won’t have to.” Your friend nudged you gently. “You can just inconspicuously take him under one of the mistletoe and go ‘oh, what’s that?’, and then…”

“What mistletoe?” you asked, only now looking up at the ceiling where familiar-looking leaves were tied with a string to the support beams under the ceiling and above the doors. “Why is there mistletoe hanging?” you asked skeptically. “It’s a New Year’s Eve party.”

“I think they haven’t taken it down since last week.” Angie shrugged, but then grinned at you. “Don’t you think it’s a sign, though? So many places to kiss your crush under~...”

“Jesus, keep your voice down,” you groaned, hiding your face in your hands again. “You’re impossible.”

“You’re impossible,” she mocked in a low voice. “I’m trying to help.”

“I know, babe,” you whined, and sighed heavily again. “You know what, maybe I should just forget it. Let’s go have fun, dance, and later throw up from all the food and…”

Suddenly, Angie interrupted you with a high noise in her throat. You gave her a questioning look and she looked at you with a tight-lipped smile and wide eyes.

“He’s coming here.”

“What?!” You automatically turned around before Angie hissed for you not to look, and sure enough, there was Joel Miller, making his way through the crowd with his eyes locked on you. “Oh my god,” you breathed, clutching at your friend’s hand. “He must’ve seen us talking. What do I do?”

“You sit there and look smoking hot, and let him flirt with you,” she answered with confidence you didn’t feel. “And maybe you won’t even need to ask for the kiss, maybe he’ll do it for–” Her eyes darted above your shoulder. “Oh, hey, Miller.”

You gulped and took a deep breath before turning around and– oh, God, he looked even better up close.

Angie kicked you lightly under the table when you didn’t say anything, and you cleared your throat, smiling up at the man you were so crazy about. “Uhm, hi, Jo– Mr Miller.”

“Didn’t I tell you to call me by my name, sugar?” He had kind of a boyish smile on his face that made him look younger and even more handsome, which in turn made your stomach fill with warmth. He sat down next to you, and his eyes scanned you down and back up, slowly, lingering on your legs and curves just for a second longer. “You look lovely.” He then glanced at Angie, sending her a nod. “Both of you.”

“Really?” you beamed, and Angie kicked your ankle again, making you wince. “Uhm, thanks. You clean up nicely yourself.”

A trace of smirk ran across his face, but it was gone before you could make sure it was really there in the first place.

“Are you enjoyin’ the party?” he asked casually, hiding one hand in the front pocket of his jeans. Your eyes followed his movement before you caught yourself.

“Y-yeah, it’s nice. A little too loud for me, but really nice.”

“Maybe you wanna step outside for a bit, then?” Joel nodded in the direction of the deck in the back, and your heart started beating faster.

Did he want to be alone with you? Or was just being polite and preferred to talk somewhere quieter, and you were getting your hopes up unnecessarily? You hoped it was the first, that he genuinely enjoyed chatting with you as much as you did with him – but you never knew with a man like Joel Miller. He was an enigma, sometimes serious and so stoic that you couldn’t for the world figure out what was going on in his head, and other times charming and teasing, making you weak in the knees when he was looking at you with that fiery glint in his eyes…

“Sugar?” Joel asked, lifting his eyebrows with what seemed to be amusement, and you cursed yourself mentally for spacing out.

“Sorry, I… Yes, let’s– sure, let’s go.”

All of you stood up and you looked over your shoulder at Angie with a panicked face, but instead of reassuring you, she sent you a quick, sly grin.

“You two go ahead,” she chirped. “I’m gonna go look for my date.”

“Angie–” you whispered, giving her a look, but the woman just winked and turned around, disappearing into the crowd of dancing people. “Angie!”

Before you could go after her, you felt a big, warm hand on the small of your back, and your entire body tensed. Joel leaned over to your ear, whispering in a low voice.

“Shall we?”

“Yeah,” you squealed, so quietly he probably didn’t hear it over the loud music. “Sure.”

Your legs moved on their own, going where he guided you. The walk to the terrace in the back lasted no longer than fifteen seconds, but it felt like hours had passed. You were very aware of the light pressure of his fingertips on your back, with only one layer of material separating your skin from his, and the nerves of feeling him so close behind you were making you walk stiffly and oddly – though, miraculously, he didn’t seem to notice.

“I don’t like how loud the music is, either,” Joel said after you two exited the main room, and he closed the door. Then he glanced at you again, his eyes flicking to your bare legs just for a second longer. “Are you cold?”

“No,” you answered truthfully. Not only was it nice to feel the cool air after sitting in a stuffy room with a crowd of people for so long, but also you still felt warm from Joel’s closeness. “I’m alright.” Joel nodded absentmindedly, and you squinted. “Did you want to talk about something or…”

“Nah, just wanted to escape for a minute.” He rubbed his beard and shrugged, but there was tightness to his body language. “Not much to do in there except for drinkin’.”

“And dancing,” you cut in.

Joel glanced at you, and the lazy smirk returned onto his features.

“You like to dance, sweet girl?” he asked, and you felt your face growing hot when you heard his tone. Low, drawling and oh, so delicious.

“If the party is good, yes, I guess so.” Then you remembered what Angie suggested earlier, and you took a shaky breath, mustering all the courage you had in you. “We… if you want, we could dance a little later, if they play something nice…?”

But the hot nerves in your chest turned to cold disappointment when Joel started to shake his head with a chuckle. “Nah, darlin’. Sorry, I don’t… I’m no dancer.”

“Noone here is,” you retorted, a bit hurt by how quick his rejection was. “It’s just for fun.”

“I know better ways to have fun than t’make an idiot of myself in front of bunch of people.”

“Like what?”

Of course, you just had to ask.

Joel smirked, as if he was just waiting for it, and took a step forward, forcing you to take one backwards. His brown eyes bored into yours, making you weak in your knees, and you promptly turned your gaze away, not able to withstand the tension in the air. With a cough, you walked up to the wooden railing, pretending that you weren’t feeling sheepish at all.

“For one, talkin’ here with you is fun enough for me.”

You forced yourself to look at Joel when you heard it, just to see if he’s joking, but the man appeared genuine. He leaned against the rails, his hand right next to your shoulder, and you couldn’t get rid of the thought of how easy it’d be for him to cage you in this spot with his strong arms, how he’d make your entire body tremble…

But you weren’t quite sure yet if he was being sweet or just tried to mess with you, so you decided that a teasing response would be the best course of action.

“I don’t know.” You shrugged lightly. “I’d still like to find someone to dance with tonight.”

At that, Joel’s hand gripped the railing tighter and his body stiffened. You had to hide a triumphant smirk on your face, pleased that you managed to throw him off his game – whatever it was that he was playing.

“One of your friends?” In your peripheral vision you saw him lifting his eyebrows with the faintest of scowls. “Or one of those shady guys sittin’ at the bar, staring at pretty girls like you? ’Cause they’re no good for you, darlin’.”

“Oh, really?” you scoffed and lifted your chin, feeling touched that Joel was acting so protective – (and maybe even… jealous?) – about what you said. “You were the one that didn’t want to dance. What do you know about what’s good for me, anyway?”

“Those guys won’t treat you right. They just want a girl to spend the night with, and you deserve better than that.”

He was right, of course, but it didn’t mean you were going to openly give him his due. You made an acknowledging noise, not really sure what to say, but Joel didn’t seem to mind. He continued in a quiet, raspy voice that sent shivers down your spine. “You deserve someone who’d take real good care of you, darlin’. Not some drunk out of their ass idiot.”

“Are you drunk, Mr Miller?” you asked, not looking at him in fear he’ll see how red his words made you, though you could still see his smirk in the corner of your eye.

“No.”

“You act like you are.”

“C’mon, sugar, look at me.” He took your chin between his fingers and your body went rigid. His warm gaze met yours for just a second, and he tilted his head forward a little. “Do I look drunk?”

“A little.” You turned your head away, but he tsked and guided your chin back.

“In the eyes, darlin’.” You gulped at his words, and his dark, brown irises twinkled in the fairy lights dangling from the roof and walls. “And call me Joel, please.”

His chest was almost touching yours, and you felt the wooden railing digging into your lower back, but at that moment you didn’t mind at all. Joel was so close, and your breath hitched in your throat when you got enveloped in his earthy smell, with a tinge of bonfire and… was that cologne? For some reason the discovery that he used cologne for tonight made your heart flutter.

But as much as you loved every second of being so close to him, you remembered that you weren’t alone on the terrace. There was a pair of people talking – well, now kissing, judging by the sound of it – and your eyes darted to the side to see if they were looking at you both. “Come on, there are people here. It’s not…”

The man clicked his tongue in disapproval and moved slightly closer, now practically pinning you against the railing with his body, and you squealed unwillingly when he, once again, made you look at him.

“Eyes on me.”

And God, if it wasn’t the sexiest thing you’ve ever seen or heard. It was unfair how much power his gaze and tone wielded over you.

“Okay,” you managed to whimper, and the corner of his mouth curled upwards, creating that adorable dimple in his cheek.

“And my name, sugar.”

You didn't know why you were complying so easily, but something about the softness and tenderness in his voice made you feel safe. He wouldn’t hurt you, of that you were absolutely sure.

“Okay, Joel.”

His thumb brushed the edge of your bottom lip with the softest of touches, making your legs almost turn to jelly. It made you want to say his name again, though in a much more needy tone.

“That’s a good girl,” Joel murmured with a smirk, never looking away.

Lord, have mercy.

You were so grateful for the wooden rails behind your back, because you were sure you’d collapse any second now if he kept looking at you like that.

“I… Joel…”

“Tell me if you’re uncomfortable,” he murmured without taking his eyes off of you for even a second. Your brain was mush at this point, but even if you could formulate any words, you doubt you’d ask him to step away. So you settled on shaking your head slightly, to which Joel nodded. “Lemme know immediately if it changes, darlin’.”

How could you be so blind? All you could think about was that Angie was right – there was no way Joel Miller wasn’t flirting with you. Maybe he even liked you. Maybe – just maybe – he wanted to kiss you just as much as you wanted to kiss him.

“Didn’t you wanna… get back to the party?”

You didn’t make any move to get away yourself, however, not wanting him to drop the arm with which he was holding your chin. The material of his shirt was bulging over the lines of his biceps, and it felt really nice to stand so close to him.

“I’m in no rush.” Joel’s voice dipped, and your insides tightened. “You?”

“No, but–”

“Here you are, you ol’ fucker!”

Joel took a step back, and you both turned to see his younger brother walking clumsily through the door with a big, drunken grin on his face. You cleared your throat, still breathless and blushed, but both Millers didn’t pay you any mind anymore.

“Tommy.” Joel’s face was like made out of stone, but his eyes were betraying how irritated he was with the interruption.

“You thought you’d manage to get away, ya old dog?” Tommy hooked an arm around his older brother’s shoulders and finally looked at you to send you a wink. “Sorry, sweetheart, gotta borrow ‘im for a second. He has a date to get to.”

It took you a couple of seconds to register that yes, you heard him right. A heavy veil of hurt and disbelief slowly fell down on you, and your eyes started to prickle as you looked from Tommy to Joel.

“A date?”

He had a date. Why then did he talk and act this way with you, making you feel like you ever had a chance with him?

“C’mon, don’t keep a lady waiting,” Tommy said to Joel instead of answering you, and tugged the other man back inside, but Joel didn’t move. “Who knows, maybe you’ll even get lucky tonight!”

That you couldn’t listen to.

Trying to hide how painful his words were to you, you ducked your head and tried to slip past the brothers, desperate to get out of here. A hand – which felt so achingly familiar now – shot out and grabbed your elbow before you could escape. You lifted your tearful eyes only to meet Joel’s sorrowful ones.

“Darlin’, wait. It’s not…”

“No, it’s okay,” you interrupted him, tearing your gaze away. “I wanted to go to the bathroom, anyway.”

Joel looked like he wanted to say something else, but you couldn’t bear being in his and Tommy’s presence any longer. You slipped out of his grasp, quickly coming back inside and navigating your way to the bathrooms.

He had a date for tonight. And still he flirted with you and touched you so lovingly, and… and almost…

Stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid! To think you ever had a chance.

You dashed into the bathroom and quickly opened the first free stall you saw, then shut it behind you. There you just slumped against the wall and wrapped your arms around yourself, giving in to the flow of your tears, but trying not to make a sound.

You felt so foolish for letting yourself fall under Joel Miller’s spell, for ignoring that he obviously couldn’t be interested in someone like you.

He probably saw you as a dumb child. No wonder he’d prefer someone else, probably a woman closer to his own age.

But why did he have to be so cruel, to lead you on and hint that…

No, you realized. It was your own damn fault for letting your heart justify his every action towards you.

Almost ten minutes must’ve passed before you got a grip on yourself and decided to go find Angie. You needed to talk to someone, preferably distract yourself from the unpleasant situation you had to experience, and maybe try to salvage the evening somehow. With that in mind you took a couple of breaths, wiped your eyes and then hesitantly exited the bathroom.

You only managed to take a couple of steps, however, before your eyes were drawn to a familiar and beautiful side profile. You wished you didn’t know his face so well, because then you wouldn’t see Joel whispering something to a stunning woman you didn’t know at the far end of the room. She was hanging off his arm, bright eyes and a million-dollars smile directed solely at him. Joel appeared to be looking around, but a few seconds later he put his hand on the small of the woman’s back – just as he did earlier with you – and started walking. Neither of them looked your way before exiting through the front door and leaving the party.

As well as a gaping hole in your heart.

*****

A few minutes later you managed to find Angie. You were a mess at this point, barely able to stop yourself from sobbing. It was truly pathetic.

“I don’t know her name. But I saw them leaving, and she was hanging off his arm and–” you choked on your words and gave a humorless laugh. “God, I’m such an idiot.”

“I’m so sorry, hon.” Angie looked at you sadly. “We can ditch the party if you want. Go to my place and watch some movies,” she suggested gently, but you were already shaking your head.

“No, no. I’m fine, really, I… I think I'll just go home. But you should stay with your girlfriend.” Angie looked like she was about to protest, but you squeezed her hand reassuringly. “I promise I’m okay. I’m just gonna go straight back home and lock myself inside with a bowl of ice-cream. Or go to sleep.”

“I don’t think you should be alone right now.”

“I… I think I need to.” You gave her a weak, sad smile, and stood up. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow, okay? You have fun, I don’t want to ruin your night, too.”

“You’re not ruining anythi–”

“I mean… this. All of this stuff with,” you swallowed heavily, “him.”

Angie still seemed unconvinced, but finally nodded after a while. “Alright. But come and get me if you feel worse.”

“I promise. Love you.”

“Love you, too. Take care of yourself, okay?”

You nodded, then went towards the side exit and out into the snowy night without looking back. You didn’t want to stay here and watch as all those happy couples share sweet kisses at midnight, thus reminding you of your heartbreak.

This time you had your coat on, but it was far too thin for this kind of weather. You wrapped it tighter around yourself and hid your hands in the pockets, starting to make your way home. It was a bit far from the main square, but you needed to get away from the music and laughter of the partygoers as quickly as possible.

Alas, you only managed to walk one street away when out of nowhere, a big hand grabbed your elbow, stopping you in your tracks. “Wait.”

You turned around and took a step backwards at the same time, freeing your arm with a strong tug. The words full of anger were ready to spill out of your mouth, but that was until you saw who stood in front of you with a painful expression.

The last person you expected to see here.

“Joel?” You whispered surprisedly and looked around, but there was no one else nearby. Not that strange woman you saw him with, at least. “What are you doing here?”

“I was lookin’ for you,” he rasped between gasps, like he ran all the way here. “You weren’t at the party.”

“Why were you… What are you doing here?” you repeated more coldly, the sight of him only making your fresh heartache so much more noticeable. “I thought you left.”

“M’so sorry.” Joel’s beautiful dark eyes were full of sadness and weariness. “I would have never left you if I could help it, darlin’.”

He took half a step forward and lifted his hand slightly to graze yours with his icy-cold fingertips. You weren’t wearing any gloves either, so his touch sent a jolt up your arm. You looked down at it, but gently moved your hand away. “I don’t understand. Didn’t you have a… date?”

“No.” He sighed and rubbed his eyes, shaking his head. You avoided his eyes and instead watched as snowflakes landed and melted in his hair. “No, it was Tommy… You saw how drunk he was, and he wanted to set me up, insisted on talking to that girl, but I…”

“You should get back to her, then,” you said dryly, really not having strength to even hide how hurtful his mere presence was. You went past him, hiding your neck in your coat. “I don’t want to keep you from–”

“Darlin’, wait.” Joel grabbed your arm again, though still gently and without any force. “Listen, she was nice, but I told her that I can’t get involved in anythin’, because I…” He faltered slightly when you looked him in the eyes, for the first time since your talk on the terrace. “There is… it’s– fuck.” He shut his eyes and took a deep breath, as if gathering courage. “There is someone else,” he finally spoke, his voice almost trembling, and looked at you again, “that I’m madly in love with. And it’s you.”

Through the open door to the party someone shouted what sounded like the time, but it was all happening in the background of your mind. All you could focus on was Joel, standing so close to you and looking almost scared as he waited for your reaction.

Cold crept up your limbs and up to your cheeks while you tried to digest what the hell you just heard, but as if held by the invisible force of his gaze, you couldn’t move an inch.

“...what?”

“I… really, really like you,” Joel whispered, his dark and sad eyes drilling into your unbelieving ones. “I went to this party just to see you, darlin’. And I’d never chose to spend the evenin’ with anyone else but you. I’m so sorry I left you like that and…”

He then gulped and very slowly lifted his hand to your face, not fully cupping your cheek but hovering just above it. He searched your eyes, but when you didn’t back away, he touched your skin carefully, and an involuntary sigh escaped you as your eyes fluttered closed.

You never thought one could be touched with such care and fondness. No one has ever treated you like that before, like you were made of the most precious glass.

“You can tell me to fuck off,” Joel whispered, and you opened your eyes to find his face a little closer than before. “I just thought that maybe… if you would maybe, too…”

He was getting flustered again, and it was the most adorable thing you’ve ever seen. It must’ve been close to midnight now, because you noticed that the music stopped and the racket inside the building was at its peak, though it was hard to distinguish the words people were shouting when your heartbeat was almost deafening in your ears.

“But I saw you leaving with that woman.” You had to make sure you were on the same page with him before you did something idiotic. Again. “You aren’t…?”

“No,” Joel breathed a quiet chuckle and tucked a strand of your hair behind your ear, while his eyes danced across your face. “It’s only ever been you, darlin’.”

Then he must’ve heard something – his head turned to the side to look at where the party was still going on, before his eyes returned to you, and you felt his thumb swiping your cheek in an oh, so tender manner.

“May I?” he asked in a whisper, so close that his breath skimmed your parted lips. You hoped he was asking about what you thought, but this time wasn’t brave enough to ask and clarify.

So you just nodded.

And Joel leaned in, without any hurry, and kissed you.

It was fitting, you supposed, that only a couple of seconds later the clock chimed midnight, and shrieks of laughter and cheers filled the air while the people still present at the party celebrated loudly. You couldn’t care less, however, because in that moment, your entire world was Joel. His – still cold – hand caressed your scorching cheek, and the other found its place on your hip. The smell of him, the warmth with which his body radiated, and the feeling of his lips, rougher in touch than you’ve imagined, but still soft in movement – all of it together was almost overwhelming.

You parted after a while with blissful sighs, though didn’t move away – Joel still held you close, his forehead pressed to yours, and eyes shut tightly, as if he was in pain. He took a trembling breath when you touched his jaw with your icy fingers.

“Tell me to stop,” he pleaded in a murmur, taking you aback. “Sugar, if you don’t… Please, tell me to stop.”

You shook your head and held onto him tighter before he even finished.

“Please, don’t stop.”

Your lips clashed again, tongues meeting and dancing together, and it was the closest you’ve ever felt to any type of heaven in this cruel, forsaken world. Joel pulled you flush against him and kissed you again, more forcefully this time, tangling his fingers in your hair. You let out an involuntary moan, but his mouth swallowed the sound immediately, not giving you a split second of respite.

“I wanted to do it a year ago,” Joel muttered between the kisses, before he took your face in his hands to look you in the eyes properly. He smiled, that same adorable and boyish smile, when he saw how breathless and flushed you were. “Wanted to kiss you so much, sugar, but,” he obviously fought back a laugh at this point, his eyes crinkling, “you got wasted and puked your guts out just before midnight.”

“Oh my god.” You didn’t know he saw it, particularly the moment when all the alcohol you consumed a year ago refused to stay in your stomach. “I wasn’t– I don’t usually… I got drunk ‘cause I saw Sheryll kissing you on the cheek,” you admitted with embarrassment, feeling your skin growing even hotter. “I thought you and her were together at that point…”

“But why did you get drunk because of it, sweet girl?” Joel mused, brushing his nose against yours and obviously teasing you. You snorted and shook your head.

“You know why.”

“I want to hear it from you.”

You playfully pushed him away lightly, but he tightened his grip around you, not letting you step away.

“You’re an asshole sometimes,” you whispered, making Joel chuckle. “Fine. I really wanted to kiss you, too. Happy?”

He smiled and kissed you again, softly and passionately this time, cradling your cheek in his palm.

“Very,” he whispered against your lips and dragged his nose up to plant a kiss on your forehead. “Very much, baby.”

Your heart fluttered with joy at his affectionate tone. Joel pulled away, his hands leaving your body to cover your own, situated on his jaw and arm.

“Now, what do you say we head back inside?” he asked with a disarming smile, brushing your knuckles with his thumbs. “And maybe you’ll let me ask you for a dance?”

You didn’t give an answer, but the joyous kiss you pressed to his lips – which, with your enthusiasm, almost made both of you topple over into the snow – spoke for itself.

[therealcocoshady]

RED CARPET APPEARANCE 🎥

Eminem x Young Actress Reader

This is Part 2 of Daddy's Spaghetti 🥰

Synopsis : You argue with Em about a red carpet appearance at the Oscars.

The last thing you wanted was to argue with your boyfriend right before going to the Oscars, but there you were. Lately, the two of you had been arguing quite a bit. To be fair, both of you were working a lot and being in a long distance relationship didn’t help. Not only did you have to manage hectic schedules, you also had to deal with time difference and last minute changes in plans. You had been dating Marshall for a few months now and you weren’t too sure how long things would last. Sure, when you were together, things were great, but actually getting together seemed impossible, these days. Right when you thought you could both make time, there was always something coming up, like an unplanned studio session, a meeting, or God knows what else. It didn’t help either that Marshall was paranoid about the two of you being seen together. 

After more than a decade in the spotlight and living in Los Angeles, you were used to paparazzi and having your picture taken whenever you were running errands. Of course, sometimes, it was annoying, but you had learned to live with it. Marshall, on the other hand, in spite of having a career lasting over twenty-five years was as paranoid as one could get. It was one of the many reasons why he hated being in Los Angeles and always tried to get you to come to Detroit instead, along with the weather being too hot. In truth, you didn’t mind going to Michigan or spending a lot of time inside, just the two of you. This time, however, you wished he would be the one making an effort. You were nominated for an Oscar for the first time and it was a big night for you. You knew he wasn’t a big fan of public appearances but you wished he would agree to coming with you. After all, he was a nominee himself - for the same movie as you, mind you - and everyone pretty much knew about your relationship, even though none of you had officially confirmed it. To you, there was no reason not to walk the red carpet together. However, when you asked him if he would be your date to the Academy Awards, he wasn’t too enthusiast. In fact, all you got from him was a « erm, I don’t know. We’ll see. Let me think about it. ». And after giving it some thought, he decided not to go with you, breaking it to you over FaceTime, three days before the event. He brought up a bunch of reasons, like having a studio session with Dre that might run late and prevent him from making it in time, hating the red carpet anyway and not wanting to be paraded in a suit that made him look like a penguin. He did not seem to care that you having to take someone else as your date would mean you wouldn’t be sitting next to each other or that you would have wanted him to be by your side. You were mad. You had always known he didn’t really care about awards and public appearances, but you wished he would make an effort for you. Him being set in his ways made you feel like he wouldn’t put you first, just for once. 

Do you even want to be with me ? You blurted out after he told you to find another date. 

What the fuck ? He asked with disbelief all over his face. What does that have to do with that damn red carpet, Y/N ? 

You cancelled the last time you were supposed to come to LA, you’re never available and now you won’t even make an effort for me, you explained. If you don’t want to be with me anymore, just say so… 

You’re so dramatic, they better give you that Oscar, he groaned. Not everything is about you, you know ? I’m working my ass off to get the album done in time, I don’t need you complaining over a stupid red carpet appearance. 

Oh I’m being dramatic ? You asked as you stared at his face on the screen. I’ll give you drama : you can book a hotel room and forget about all the nasty things you were planning on doing to me in bed for next time we were supposed to see each other. 

Whatever, he said as he rolled his eyes. Just go and rehearse your acceptance speech. I have to go anyway. I have Dre calling on the other line. I’ll call you later. 

He did try to call you a couple of hours later, but you didn’t feel like picking up. You were still pissed off and, frankly, a little stressed out too. After all, he hadn’t answered your question about wanting to be with you. You knew you’d have to talk to him at some point - and get to the bottom of the situation, but you also didn’t want to break up over the phone merely three days before one of the most important events of your life. Whatever it was, it could wait until after the Oscars. 

You ended up walking the red carpet with your older brother as your date. The two of you were extremely close and he had always been your plus one to events. It sort of made sense to go to the Oscars with him, even though you would have loved to have Marshall by your side. Your big brother was all smiles as he watched you pose for the photographers in a stunning custom Alaïa dress. However, your attire or possible Best Actress win wasn’t exactly the main focus of the journalists, who were yelling questions about your boyfriend who was nowhere to be found. 

Where is Eminem, Y/N ? One asked. Is he coming tonight ? 

Are the two of you together ? Another yelled. 

You didn’t answer the questions about him, only the ones about your nomination, how you’d feel about winning, the movie and your outfit. You tried to focus on the positives and everything this night meant for your career, but you had a hard time focusing. All you wanted was Marshall’s hand in yours and him to be by your side. Hell, you had even picked the dress color because you thought he would like it. You knew that blue was his favorite color and had figured that, if the two of you were to walk the red carpet together, it would make his eyes pop. 

Breathe, your brother said. You look tense. Is this about Em ? 

Just call him by his name, you said as you rolled his eyes. You’ve met him. 

Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy to be your date and enjoy the open bar, he continued, but you look… upset ? 

I think he wants to break up with me, you said nervously. 

No he doesn’t, your brother scoffed. Where did you get that from ? 

Well, he’s never available, he didn’t want to be here with me tonight, and he called me dramatic, and… 

First of all, you are dramatic, your brother chuckled. Also, you know he’s working a lot… 

I should have known better than to ask his biggest fan for support, you said as you rolled your eyes. 

Just shut up and focus on your big night, sis, he said with a smile. My baby sister might be getting the biggest award there is for being dramatic, tonight. Now, I think we should focus on that, as well as the fact that stylists managed to make you look presentable. 

Your brother’s weird encouragement was a good way to make you smile, and the glasses of champagne waiters kept on handing you did a great job when it came to taking the edge off. You were taken to your seats and the ceremony began. You kept nervously searching for Marshall in the crowd but you didn’t manage to spot him. Was he skipping the whole thing ? Your mind wandered as the ceremony unfolded and you were soon on autopilot. It was your first time attending the Academy Awards and this had to be the longest ceremony ever. The only entertaining things were the various performances. Your heart skipped a beat when you heard the music of Marshall’s song - the one he had written for the movie. He was not supposed to perform tonight - this had not been announced - but he was on stage, rapping the song that got him his second Oscars nomination exactly twenty years after winning Best Original Song for Lose Yourself. The crowd was wild and you were excited as well. Seeing him on stage made you forget how mad at him you were and you were back to being his number one fan, gushing over how good he looked and rapping the lyrics at the same time, like the groupie you very much were. His performance got him a standing ovation and, twenty minutes and a commercial break later, he was back on stage, accepting the award for Best Original Song. Only this time, he was conforming to the Academy’s dress code, looking dapper in a tux. He might hate this type of outfit, but no one could deny he looked absolutely incredible. One detail did catch your eye : the bow tie he was wearing was made of the same fabric as your dress. He was matching with you ! 

When you wouldn’t return his calls, he called me to ask who you were going to wear, your brother told you. 

He did ? You squeed. 

Yep. Not the kind of thing anyone who wants to break up with you would do, I think. I’m not supposed to tell you, but he’s got another one to match your second dress, too… 

You couldn’t help but smile. The fact that he would go out of his way to call your brother, as well as the dressmakers to have a bowtie matching your dress was absolutely adorable. You couldn’t keep your eyes off Marshall, who was giving a heartfelt speech about how great it felt to have the Academy acknowledge hip-hop and how grateful he was to have the opportunity to be on this stage, two decades after Lose Yourself won. His speech was just like him : elegant and understated. When he went back to his seat, you could see him search for you in the crowd and you waved quietly, sending him a kiss. You couldn’t wait to go and hug him. 

Can’t you behave ? Your brother chuckled. There’s cameras, Y/N. And try not to eye fuck him or drool, this time, will you ? 

I’ll try, you giggled. 

You were almost in agony the rest of the night and the two of you kept looking  and smiling at each other. As always when the two of you were in the same room, you were unable to take your eyes off him for a single second. You didn’t pay much attention to anything else that was going on, so much so that you almost missed your name being called for Best Actress. Everyone around you got up and cheered for you and you were lost. You had actually won an Oscar ?! You ? It didn’t feel right. Bit it was indeed, your name on the screen, and people kept on looking at you. Your brother had to help you get up as you came to your senses and realized that your childhood dream had come true. You made your way to the stage as tears of joy were welling in your eyes. You were almost shaking with nerves as you started your acceptance speech. You had one written and memorized but you couldn’t remember it for the life of you. You spotted Marshall in the crowd, who was smiling and looking at you with pride in his eyes, mouthing a silent « I love you ». 

I… Wow, you said nervously into the microphone. I can’t believe this is happening. I had something really heartfelt, clever and funny written but I can’t remember a single word so please bear with me. Hum… Standing here, on this stage, holding this award is a childhood dream come true. First, I want to thank my family who has always supported my passion, and I’d like to thank everyone in Hollywood that gave me a chance to act. And everyone who didn’t. In fact, I want to acknowledge every person who doubted me. And every boyfriend of mine who called me dramatic. There have been a few, and you best believe I’m creating a group chat tonight and telling them that I actually got an award for being dramatic and made it my full-time job. Um… What else ? Oh, uh, thank you to my manager, assistant, glam squad… Shout out to Alaïa for getting me into this dress tonight, and shout out to Marshall Mathers who will be taking it off me tonight. Dreams do come true, guys ! 

The crowd erupted in cheers and laughter and you could see Marshall laughing before you exited the stage. When you made it backstage, you took a moment to sit and realize what just happened. You had won an Oscar. Oh, and you had accidentally mentioned Marshall taking off your clothes. On stage. While million of people probably watched the ceremony on TV… Oops. A few people came to congratulate you, though you were quickly ushered back to your seat for the remainder of the ceremony. The movie you were in did not end up winning Best Picture, but you easily got over your disappointment. When the ceremony ended, you were swarmed by an army of people who came to congratulate you. You even got to hug Meryl Streep and tell her how she was the one who made you want to act in the first place, and this was definitely the highlight of your night. Your brother had gotten out of your sight and was enjoying the open bar, as he always did whenever he came with you to an event. When the crowd began to vacate, you had a moment to yourself. That’s when you spotted your boyfriend. 

Congratulations, he said as he pulled you into his arms. 

Congratulations to you too, you said giddily. You were amazing on stage ! 

As were you, he replied with a smile. Great speech, by the way… 

Oh my God, I am so sorry, you said. I forgot my speech, and I-I… Are you mad ? 

It’s fine, he chuckled. You’re way too adorable for me to be mad. 

Really ? You asked nervously. I know how you are about privacy… 

Really, he said reassuringly. And with you looking like this… ? I am glad everyone knows you’re spoken for. 

I think they got the idea when they saw you matching with me, you said with excitement. 

You like it ? He asked with a smile. I had to ask your brother and harass the dressmakers. They hate me. 

He told me, you said giddily. And I know you have another one to match my dress for the afterparty, too… 

If you still want me as your date, that is, he pointed out. 

I do, you giggled. But I’m going to need your help to get out of this dress and into the other… 

Let’s go, then. 

He grabbed your hand and you walked out of the theater, holding your awards, while an army of journalists were screaming to get your attention. You half-expected Marshall to let go of your hand, knowing how guarded he was when it came to the press, but he only squeezed it tighter before grabbing you by the waist as you made your way to a car. 

Em, how are you feeling tonight ? A journalist asked. 

Have you seen my date ? I’m great, man, he grinned as he looked at you lovingly. 

VIDEO : WATCH AS EMINEM GUSHES OVER Y/N AFTER THE OSCARS

Eminem & Y/N have officially confirmed their relationship ! The couple did not walk the red carpet together but they certainly made a memorable exit, as Eminem gushed over his date to journalists while not letting go of her. This happened after Y/N hinted at Em taking her Alaïa dress off her in her acceptance speech. While the Rap God did not mention his girlfriend in his own speech, he certainly appeared in love. While known for his stoic face, he was seen smiling all evening, especially when they made their way to the Vanity Fair afterparty (almost an hour late, mind you…)  in matching outfits. And if he does not seem like one to kiss and tell, no one missed Y/N’s lipstick all over his mouth, nor the hickies in his neck. 

That night was a big one for the rapper and the movie star, as they both took home statues, respectively for Best Original Song and Best Actress. And from the looks of it, they certainly celebrated. 

[heavyhitterheaux]

Pop A Plan B Before I Let Him Trap A Bitch (NSFW 18+)

First Lady of Private Garden Fic

AN: Jealous Jackman 😜

Synopsis: Jack isn't very happy with you after he hears your verse on FNF remix and decides to make a little song of his own

Pairing: Husband!Jack Harlow x Wife!Reader

Requested by: my treacherous twin @harlowsbby 😘🥰

Thank you @hoodharlow and @nattinatalia for helping me 😘

Warnings: Mention of a miscarriage

First Lady of Private Garden Masterlist

Please Do Not Repost My Content Anywhere

Jack was currently in New York for a few appearances while you were home in Atlanta working on a few different things and he was fuming.

Maybe he was overreacting a little bit, but a fair warning would have been nice from you as he was still trying to wrap his head around your verse and the song that you were featured on. 

The FNF remix with Glorilla and JT had been released and Jack had your verse on repeat, sitting in disbelief as to why you even mentioned that last line.

Pop a plan B before I let him trap a bitch

He was trying to gather his thoughts because you had just sent him a text asking if he had listened to it and if he liked it. That was something that the two of you always did when you wanted to keep songs a secret from each other so it could be a surprise. 

A text response wasn't going to get his point across so he decided to call you on facetime.

When you picked up, his face came into view and you were nothing but smiles. But you could tell that something was wrong with your husband and you were immediately going to try to pull it out of him.

"Hii baby! I miss you! You okay?"

"You got something you wanna tell me? Now I'm trying to trap you?" Jack asked and you were extremely confused as to what he was talking about.

"What you mean babe? What in the world are you talking about? Trying to trap you? Last time I checked I had a whole ring on my finger and we have the same last name."

"You know EXACTLY what I'm talking about so stop fucking playing with me.” You then looked at your husband sideways and took a deep breath to calm yourself not wanting to go off on him because you were definitely ready to.

"Pookie, I'm not a mind reader so be an adult and say what's on your mind."

Jack was quiet for a few seconds before confessing on why he was so upset.

"Your FNF verse."

"Did you like it? We had so much fun in the studio that day." You answered while smiling in the camera and Jack knew he was mad at you and wasn’t even paying attention to how excited you were about it. 

"Pop a plan B before I let him trap a bitch? Are you serious right now?"

Oh. So that’s why he’s upset.

"Baby, it's just a song. You know I meant nothing by it. Didn’t I marry you?"

"How am I supposed to know that? And you've been asking me to get you pregnant for the longest. So what the fuck?"

"Are you really mad about this? Like seriously Jackman?"

"Do I look overjoyed to you right now? I thought it was fucking clear that I was mad." 

"Baby come on. Don't be mad. It was just meant to be something fun and that was it."

You were a little disappointed in Jack’s reaction seeing how proud you were of your verse and the fact that you had been getting a lot of features with many different artists.

Jack just shook his head before responding to you and you knew that he was about to be an entire ass about this for the next few days. All you knew was that by the time both of you got back home, he had better fixed his attitude. 

"I'll talk to you later." Jack immediately hung up without telling you that he loved you and of course it made you feel some type of way because he usually never hung up a call without saying it to you.

You simply threw your phone on the side of you and shook your head in disbelief.

After Jack had hung up with you, he sent a quick text to Drama saying he wanted to meet up with him in the studio.

What better way to let out his frustrations?

He couldn’t have sex with you to let it out and besides, you were the one that he was mad at. 

Jack- My mind is racing and I need to get it out

Drama- Been working on some things and I got the perfect beat for you. But we can listen to a few of them and then you can decide which one fits best. When did you want to do it?

Jack- Today. You in New York?

Drama- I am. Give me an hour and we can make it happen. I'll send you the address.

It was now Friday and you and Jack had barely spoken to one another since the whole incident of him being mad about the FNF verse. You even sent him nudes as a last resort and all he sent back was a thumbs up leaving you even more pissed.

And you had gotten all of the perfect angles too.

You figured he would come around when he was ready and that you were done stressing over it. If he planned on being an ass, he could go right ahead while you continued to do your features on other people’s songs.

You just planned on giving him head in the hopes that he would forget about it, but if he didn’t even react to your nudes, you didn’t know how that was about to suffice.

You then got a text from Saweetie and you were highly confused.

Saweetie- OOP Jack's new song is FIRE

You- Huh? When did he release it?

Saweetie- uh? At midnight. He didn't tell you? It's called Mockingbird Valley with Drama. Doesn't he tell you everything since yall are attached at the damn hip?

You immediately pulled it up on your phone and began listening to it.

But it wasn't until you heard a few lines that left you with your jaw on the floor. 

I'm finally speakin' up to anything that's not okay with me

Okay, so far so good.

Long way from my wife having kids

You were starting to get annoyed.

Course I got a main, but I'm still out here a la cartin'

Was he fucking serious?

You immediately sent him a text still in disbelief about it. In no way shape or form did you put in your verse about having a main and a side piece and you were about to get on him about that. 

You- Oh, so you think you funny huh? You better fucking answer me, Jackman and answer me now.

Jack- Yeah I'm the funniest

You- I will kick your white ass. Now why would you say that!?

Jack- Same reason you said that last line in your verse

You- You know that you are the only person that I ever want to have kids with so why are you acting like an ass? Oh and you got a main but you still out here a la cartin? I wish you motherfucking would, I fucking dare you.

Jack- It’s just a song, babe. I didn’t mean anything by it. Sound familiar?

Just then you called him on facetime and he was simply laying in the bed in his hotel room eating strawberries and looking at you.

“You got some fucking nerve.” You blurted out when you saw how calm he was. 

“Oh? Me? You started this shit, so don’t get mad now.”

“MY WIFE IS A LONG WAY FROM HAVING KIDS? ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS?”

“Go ahead and pop that plan B the next time we go at it to make sure. Don’t want to mess anything up for you.”

“Nah, now your ass is being petty with a capital P. We usually say a whole bunch of different things in our lyrics, but this is what set you off?”

“Are we done talking about this?”

“Oh because you got your lick back you think that everything is all good? Fuck outta here with that bullshit. I thought you would be proud of me, but I guess not. I am always supportive of you. ALWAYS. And this is what I get in return? If you want to act like this don’t bother coming home until you get rid of that fucking attitude.”

“I am always proud of you so cut that shit out and I’m supportive. I LITERALLY GOT DRAMA TO SIGN YOU. I always want to see my wife win at everything she does but why would you say that shit when we just recently had a miscarriage? What was the reason?”

Oh, that’s what it was.

“I wrote the lyrics before it happened so I didn’t do that on purpose. Is that what you’re so mad about? And didn’t your ass say my wife is a long way from having kids? Make it make sense.”

“And you didn’t think to change the lyrics? And I didn’t mean it in that context, it was a response to what you had said in FNF.”

“For what, Jack? For fucking what? Is me changing the lyrics going to suddenly bring our baby back? Didn’t fucking think so.”

You could feel your eyes start to water and Jack noticed this and knew he had fucked up and went a bit too far.

“Baby.. I-....”

“I have to go, got things to do. See you whenever you get home.”

“Baby, wait a minute!”

Without another word, you hung up the phone and placed it on DND for the rest of the day not wanting to be bothered with anything or anyone. 

The next morning you woke up to see your husband beside you and he was wide awake looking over at the TV and playing with Blanche and Sophia who were both perched on his lap.

You really didn’t want to talk to him, but you knew that you needed to.

All you did was turn around and face away from Jack which immediately led to him getting a pout on his face.

“Baby girl?”

“What, Jackman?”

“Can you turn back around and look at me so we can talk about this?”

“No.”

“Baby, come on. I need to apologize to you because I definitely overreacted and took it too far. I just… for some reason when I heard it, I just got pissed off. I shouldn’t have taken that out on you. And don’t ever for a second think that I’m not proud of you because I am. I love you and always want to see you be successful in everything that you did. You’re my baby girl and you know how much you mean to me. When I said that line in the song, it was simply a response back to what you said in FNF and nothing else. That was not meant to be taken any other way.”

“It sounds as if you were saying that I’m incapable of having kids because of what happened.”

“No, Y/N. I don’t think that at all and I apologize. You’re going to get pregnant when the time is right and I have no doubt about that.”

“Hmm.”

“Baby, please turn this way and look at me.”

You slowly turned around and saw Jack looking at you before leaning over to kiss your forehead. 

“I love you, mamas.”

“And I love you too no matter how much you get on my last nerve.”

“I deserve that.”

“And the fact that you only sent me a thumbs up emoji when I sent you nudes the other day? You had me fucked all the way up with that one. I hit all of your favorite angles and that’s the thanks that I get?”

“I-... I was mad at you still, but if it makes you feel any better, I definitely had to make good use of my hand when I saw them. Especially the one where you were on all fours and I know that I could probably see that pussy dripping from a mile away.”

Blanche and Sophia had hopped down to do only God knows what and you were simply staring at Jack.

“You okay?” He suddenly asked and you simply nodded.

“I’m fine.” You answered while shrugging but you slowly sat up to take your shirt off throwing it across the room leaving your top half bare in front of Jack.

He immediately raised an eyebrow at you and all you did was look at him.

“You owe me for that response to my nudes and I want it now.” You desperately pleaded as you could feel the flood gates opening up down below and Jack hadn’t even touched you yet.

“Say less, mamas. But be careful what you ask for.” Jack said as he hovered over top of you before sliding down your shorts and seeing how wet you were. All he did was take two of his fingers and slowly massage your clit as you went to answer him. 

“What?”

“I’m still not showing you any mercy for what you did. You ready for me? Because I didn’t plan on stopping any time soon.”

When you didn’t answer him, he stopped his movements to peer down at you and gave you a look. 

“I’m ready. Just come on.”

“Get on all fours. Now.”

—

As Jack was pounding into you from behind, you were grabbing at the sheets beneath you and you were a screaming crying mess.

The two of you had been at it for at least an hour switching to different positions, but Jack once again wanted you on all fours.

“Shit… shit…. Oh fuckkkkkkk!”

“There’s my good girl. You gonna cum for me again?”

You simply nodded your head, but quickly opened your mouth to respond because you knew that Jack would stop his movements if he didn’t hear you.

“Yes!”

In the process of Jack fucking you into oblivion, your bonnet had fallen off and it was somewhere across the room so your hair was literally everywhere. The only thing that you would probably get on him about was sweating out your hair.

Jack then slid out of you before starting to eat you out from the back.

You absolutely loved every time that he did this and it took everything in you to hold still.

“Babe….” You let out while trying to catch your breath, but Jack simply kept going.

He inserted two of his fingers in you while keeping his mouth on you and you knew that you were close.

“Shit…. Jackkkkkk.”

“Damn, you never call me by my first name when I’m in you.”

“Baby, let me cum. Please let me cum.”

“Not yet. Almost, be patient.”

Jack had then slid back into you and you knew that you weren’t about to be able to hold on much longer.

“BABYYY!”

Jack then reached underneath you to massage your clit and you were squirting all over him within a matter of seconds. 

Jack soon followed and pulled out of you, releasing all over your back.

You would have preferred your face, but that could be for next time. 

“What you got to say now mamas? Screaming, crying mess underneath me. Did that make up for me not saying anything about the pictures you sent me?” Jack asked as he slapped your ass and you immediately groaned. 

“Leave me alone.” You replied while collapsing onto your stomach and trying to catch your breath.

“Nah, we not about to leave this bed until I get you pregnant. Go wash the cum out your weave and get ready for the next round. Pop a plan B, my ass.” 

Taglist:

@harlowsbby

@babyharleezy

@hoodharlow

@stefansalvatoresgf

@jackiehollanderr

@primadxna-girl

@dessmxsworld

@cockslutslurper3000

@raelorns21

@variety-fangirl

@gbaabyyyy

@kamorsstuff

@harlowthot

@sinsandsuccubus

@curlyhairclub

@bootlegroach

@haylexo10

@thinkingaboutjharlow

@fluidsentiment

@charli123456789

@moody4world

@yourstrulymayah

@yana4life

@beanbagbitch

@alinaharlow

@carma-fanficaddict

@minaxcarter

@arination99

@xjup1t3r

@venusvinc

@jacksmoviestar

@jackharloww

@midnight-star47

@minkookie95

@inluvwithladybug

@exoticr0ses

@jharlowsangels

@jackierose902109

@jackmansbabymama

@cmalass

@megawhoree

@softtcurse

@sia2raw

@miniaturehideoutmentality

@hoya122

@nattinatalia

@jackslover12

@skyesthebomb

@jackharlows-world

@louisianalady

@fdl305

@automaticpeachsong

@harlowcomehome

@gassyandsassy1

@babygirlwilly

@amethyst09

@harrycanyonmoonn

@toocriticalharlow

@tattered-tales

@sisiking99

@dessxoxsworld

@gillybear17

@jacksdaycare

@iheartharlow

@disaster-rose

@babyvinnie

@evansxchalamet

@chtkmyharlow​

@itsyagirljaz

@neon-lights-and-glitter

@awhore4moree

[taurussbabe]

Hey! How are you?

I’ve been reading your blog over the past while and been really keen to request something for Mason…

Could you write an imagine where Mason invites the reader to the pub to meet all his mates. It’s a last minute thing, so the reader meets Mason after work. But she of course looks breathtaking…but maybe the reader is so tired from work so Mason takes her home at the end of the night and they have a cosy night in.

I’m very much in the feels right now, so I’ll take annnny fluff 😂

Thank you so much, have a good day! 🥰 xx

about... it's in the request 👆🧸

pairing: mason mount x fem!reader

A/n: hii! I'm good, thank you. I hope you like this anon! 🫶🤍

word count: 1k

"Hi love" you heard on the other side of the line, instantly making you smile

"Hi Babe, what's up?"

You could hear a lot of noise around him, but you were still able to listen to him chuckle at something someone had said.

"Listen, me and some of my mates are going to the pub. Do you wanna come join us?"

"Me?" You asked, not having met his friends yet and not really wanting to meet them after a work day.

"Yeah, I want my girl to meet my friends. And I only have one girlfriend, so yeah, you." You chuckled at his comment and thought about it for a second. "Love?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm here, do you really want me to come? Have you seen how I look after work?"

"You mean absolutely breathtaking?" You could hear people behind him laughing and someone say 'oh mason is in looovee', what made you chuckle

"Thank you, and if you really want me to go, I'll be there, just send me the address"

He thanked you and said his goodbyes before hanging up.

Being with mason was different than anything else you've ever experienced, he was the nicest person to you, your ray of sunshine.

You really liked him and you knew he liked you too, but you have yet to meet his friends and family, but you weren't trying to rush your it because you haven't even said 'I love you' to each other. You felt it and you knew he felt you too but you didn't want to rush things, you both were aware of your feelings and that was enough for now.

Soon after he ended the call, you received a text with an address and a heart emoji next to it.

When you left work, you texted mason letting him know that you were leaving and asking for him to meet you outside.

Once you got to the address, you fixed your clothes a little bit, trying to look more fresh and also checked yourself on your phone to make sure your hair was still looking good. You walked the rest of the way and felt someone's eyes on you and when you looked up, you saw mason. You felt your heart flutter at the sight of him waiting for you, hands in is pockets.

"Hey" he said pulling you in for a hug, placing one hand on your cheek, kissing you softly before pulling you towards the pub, but you stopped him, pulling his hand.

"Do I look good?" You ask causing him to move both of his hands to yours, grabbing one and making you do a little spin

"Are you kidding me? Most gorgeous person in this whole country, hell, in this whole world. I'm one lucky guy to have you." His words made you blush and look down, when his other hand grabbed your chin, softly forcing you to look at him. "They're gonna love you, I promise. Are you ready?"

You just nodded, suddenly not feeling brave enough to said any words.

When you walked in the pub he held your hand and gave it a soft kiss, all while looking at you with complete love and adoration.

He pulled you by your hand through the pub until you reached a table full of his friends

"Guys, this is y/n, my girlfriend" he said while dragging his hand across your back, softly caressing you in an attempt to calm you.

Everyone greeted you and you ended up sitting in mason's lap, due to the smallness of the table, along with some of the other girls who were sitting in their boyfriend's lap as well.

"Are you okay?" Mason softly whispered on your ear

"Yeah, just tired" you said and he pressed a kiss to your cheek, followed by kai making 'wooo' sounds, clearly mocking mason

"Let them be, they're in love" sophia, his girlfriend, said, softly slapping his arm. You ignored the love comment and so did mason, only laughing at her gesture.

"Well, it was fun guys, but I think we're gonna head home"

"It was so nice meeting you all" you said as mason man hugged his mates while tou said goodbye to the girls.

.

The car ride home was quiet, his hand on your thigh, softly caressing it, while humming to the song the radio was playing

His eyes were on the rode but he often switched his gaze to look at you.

"You didn't need to come home with me, you were clearly having fun"

"I know, but I wanted to, where you are is where I want to be" he reached for you hand, kissing your knuckles sweetly

The rest of the ride was spent with you both singing along to songs, before he parked in his driveway.

You walked into the house, dropping yourself on the couch before sighing loudly

"I'm gonna run you a bath, be right back" he kissed the top of your head and you smiled at him

.

You got out of the bathroom, hair still half wet and saw mason lying on the bed, only in his sweatpants, scrolling on his phone before he noticed you and patted down on the bed next to him, signaling you to join him.

You laid down next to him and he wrapped his arms around you, pulling you on top of him, head resting on his chest as he massaged your scalp.

"You know" he said, catching your attention causing you to look up at him "what they said, about being in love, they were actually right. I'm in love with you Y/n, you know, I think since the day I met you, and it's time you officially know that." He smiled at you, kissing the top of your head, making you blush slightly

"You're lucky, you know, because I happen to love you too, mason mount" he chuckled at your comment and hugged you tight, planting a million little kisses to your whole face.

The rest of the night was spent cuddling, talking about the future together, and a lot of make-out sessions.

[nburkhardt]

My beloved baby Pikachu I bring Pokémon ideas~

Eddie as ghost type gym leader whose gym looks like a metal concert and he has his sweetheart strapped to his back at all times

Steve as a water/fighting type gym leader whose gym is half a pool. Everyone is surprised to find this guy in a soft pastel sweater, tight jeans, and the fluffiest hair is the leader. Until he brings put his nail bat as the battle starts.

Everyone thinks they hate each other because they seem polar opposite but no one notices the skull ring on Steve's left hand nor the soft purple sweater Eddie sometimes wears.

They're married your honor!

The Party is a group of newbie trainers that get taken under their wings of course.

🖤❤️🖤❤️🐼

AHHHHH!!! PANDA I LOVE YOU, I already freaked out in dms with you but I’mma say it again: I LOVE YOUR BRAIN, you get ALLLLL the forehead kisses 🥹🥹🥹 I’m sooo gonna ramble away. Maybe not a full fic but my god I’m obsessed. (It’s a full fic, with a surprise pov!)

We’re going to mix up all the gens together (so if you only know some Pokémon, I’ll include pictures at the bottom of the ones I mentioned)

ALSO: if you have any ideas for anyone else’s Pokémon, let me knowwwww.

Onto my rambling fic under the cut 🥰

Here’s the thing, when Dustin decided to take on the gym challenge, he had no idea what he was going to expect.

He didn’t think picking a grass type to start could both hurt and help him between each gym. But Snivy was a little spitfire and like him; dramatic. She didn’t like any of the nicknames he threw out at her. She also didn’t like her pokeball, instead she preferred to sit on his head.

All of his friends were also doing the challenge but he was getting distracted by figuring out more information on each Pokémon instead of just battling. They’re all ahead of him, which, is okay it’s annoying but’s fine.

Especially when he ran into Steve.

Dustin was supposed to take on the fairy gym next but he heard the leader was ruthless. So, he decided to train up a bit. Maybe even evolve Natu and Trapinch. But instead of that, he was grumbling as he carried his very much knocked out, Trapinch to the Pokémon center instead of battling more.

Servine was walking next to him now, too big for staying on top of him when walking. She was also grumbling in her own way, crossed arms and nose in the air.

“We’re trying to get them to evolve, Servine, not knock them out!” He threw out at her getting closer to the center, “can’t believe I let you get your way all the time”

She apparently didn’t like that information and huffed before walking away, which would normally be fine if they weren’t in a new town. So, instead of reaching the Center like he wanted, he turns around to follow her. Returning Trapinch to his ball for now.

“Come ON, Servine I didn’t mean it like that! You’re so good at everything but-” he immediately knocked into somebody and knocked to the floor, “fuck, ow. Dude!”

Looking up he finds a guy, probably in his early twenties with a Mimikyu sitting on his shoulder while a tiny Pumpkaboo floats next to him. Which is a weird combo with the dude’s outfit choice of a soft looking yellow sweater and light wash jeans. “Not my fault you weren’t looking, dude”

Dustin glares up at him before getting up and dusting his legs off, “hey! I’m only looking for my Pokémon, she ran off from me!” Looking around he can’t tell which direction she actually went in, “by any chance you from around here?”

The guy makes a funny assumed face, both ghost pokémon snicker as well- which is so confusing. But he’s not too concerned for that, more so about the fact that his goddamn starter ran off.

“Yeah, you could say I’m from around here. What’s the Pokémon? A tiny Bidoof? Oh or is it a little Oddish?” He laughs and makes a weird hand movement that clearly both ghosts know and move away, “they got a name? That’d be way easier”

Crossing his arms he looks away, “Servine, and no. She didn’t like anything I came up with, so”

The guy’s laugh dies down and he frowns, “what, were the names lame or-” he shakes his head, “you’re upset, sorry, I’m Steve. Let’s find your Pokémon instead of bickering”

“I’m Dustin, and- SERVINE!” His eyes widen as the tiny Pumpkaboo (seriously how is that Pumpkaboo that small?) leads his Servine towards them, “I’m sorry, seriously, you’re the best and that was uncalled for. Are you okay?”

Servine nods and curls into his arms. He doesn’t bother saying anything else to her, cuddles her close and turns to find Steve picking up Mimikyu and whispering to Pumpkaboo, “Thanks. Seriously”

Steve smiles, “no problem, Oz here is pretty good at finding things.” He looks at his watch before wincing, “I gotta run, we’re gonna be late. You at the fairy gym?”

What the- “how do you know?”

Steve gives another funny look before shrugging, “Got an eye for these things, anyway, next gym is ghost. Be wary of him, he’s a little, hm, much. Yeah?”

All he can do is nod and watch as Steve just walks away.

Fairy gyms are brutal, even with Trapinch evolving into Vibrava. His saving grace was Slugma and that was it still rough since it’s fire isn’t that effective against fairy.

Maybe he should’ve gone with more poison types.

But that was two days ago, and now he’s making his way towards the next town and their gym. He is wary. Not only because of what Steve told him but because of running into Lucas.

(Lucas had decided on a water type, Totodile. Which was a little surprising for Lucas but Dustin didn’t question it, the little Totodile was energetic and lovable.)

He was minding his own business trying to figure out whether or not he could, technically, learn how to speak in the Pokémon’s language. When a blue bundle ran towards him, looking around he spots Lucas trying to catch his breath. “Hey! I thought you would’ve been passed this one”

They play catch up and once it’s all been said and done, Lucas shows him where the gym is. It looks fairly normal on the outside but Lucas swears it’s a whole other world inside.

“It’s like a concert, and there’s an actual audience too! Which was overwhelming at first, but once I got my footing it was like they weren’t there” Lucas explains, stopping only once their in front of a normal looking gym, Lucas laughs and shakes his head, “yeah that was my first expression too. I think you’ll enjoy it. Might have a hard time”

He looks away from the building to raise an eyebrow at him, “what does that mean?”

“Dude you picked a grass type as your starter! And you have no dark types!”

Rolling his eyes, “thanks for the encouragement, I’m sure I could handle it. Even with the disadvantages.”

Lucas looked like he didn’t believe him, but it didn’t bother him. Their whole party looked at him funny when he went with a grass type. Hell, Max made fun of him for it.

It didn’t matter, the gym challenge is turning out to be nothing he wanted to do once he’s able. He wanted to be a professor anyway. This was just temporary, even if he gets beat a bunch of times.

Walking inside the gym, he bypasses the annoying tips guy at right next to the door and makes his way to find the actual battle area. Lucas gave him the directions, it was confusing he said.

Sure enough, there’s a goddamn maze and cords everywhere.

After what feels like hours, he makes it to the end and is faced with a stage. Cords and what looks like vines everywhere, sure enough a small audience is there too. It looks all badass and a mix between rock and metal.

As he opens his mouth the lights go away and he has to immediately cover his ears as a loud beat starts. There’s a guitar being played even louder, clearer too. A spot light hits the stage and now he knows who’s playing.

Standing in the middle of the stage is a man. Long frizzy hair, leather jacket over a t-shirt with a band on it, ripped black jeans and black shoes. His guitar really completes the look, red with black lines all over.

The guy plays for a few minutes before stopping and walking closer, “Welcome to my metal concert, you ready for your ass to be handed to you?”

Right as he’s about to open his mouth a little orange and brown blur pops up behind the gym leader, it looks oddly familiar.

The man follows his gaze and groans, shifting his guitar to his back and focusing on the tiny Pokémon next to him, “Ozzy, we talked about this! Either stay in your ball, off the battle field or at home.”

Dustin blinks, moving closer he finds that the tiny Pokémon is a Pumpkaboo. That’s definitely moving and saying something back, which makes the guy shake his head before glancing around.

“Uh-“

“Hold on, I’m trying to find- HONEY LOVE! Come get your child!”

There’s no movement but he hears a snort, then the tiny Pokémon moves away and he sees the gym leader shake his head again, “sorry, that little guy is only a baby. Let’s get this show on the road, shall we?”

The guy’s smile is wild and maybe Lucas was right.

An hour later and Dustin is sitting on the edge of the stage freshly beat and definitely ready to call it quits for the day.

“Did Eds give you a rough time?”

His head snaps up, there’s Steve with Mimikyu on his head and a Vaporeon sitting next to him.

“I just need to do some more training.” He doesn’t want to admit that yes, the gym leader, Eddie, definitely gave him a rough time. It was fun, but Eddie was even more brutal than the fairy gym.

Maybe he just needs to catch a dark type.

Steve nods slightly, making Mimikyu squeak. “Doesn’t hurt to train more, V here” he pats the Vaporeon’s head, causing a pur to happen, “wasn’t the greatest battler, we had to do lots of training. Before you do any of that, want to come have dinner with us? You and your Pokémon can all rest for the night”

Dustin can’t figure out how he didn’t put two and two together. He feels like an idiot right now.

“What do you mean you’re also a gym leader? The final one at that?! Why didn’t you tell me?!”

Steve snorts, putting his hands in his pockets as he leads them to a house, “not my fault you didn’t pay attention when the professor talked about the gym challenge to you.”

Crossing his arms he glares at the ground, “yeah well, Professor Owens forgets shit. How is it you’re the water gym leader yet have a ghost type with you?”

There’s an amused smirk on Steve’s face and what sounds like a giggle come from Mimikyu, “I might specialize with water types, I do have a fond experience with ghost types. And dude, it’s okay to try catching other types. I just so happen to work better with water types. Queen here was a gift, basically, my partner found an egg and gave it to me.”

He nods because Steve’s right, it is nice to use all different types. Though if he did only pick one, grass or bug type is where he’d stick with.

“Alright” Steve smiles and comes to a stop, “we’re here, once we get inside you can let your Pokémon out.” He leads them up to a door and Dustin takes in the mixture of aesthetics.

There’s clearly two different personalities living in this house, whoever Steve’s partner is, definitely enjoys the darker aesthetic compared to Steve. Who gives off a more pastel aesthetic. Not that he fully knows, he’s still going off or how Steve is dressed.

“Hey baby, I brought a guest!”

They both hear a crash and then a curse. A Gengar floats out of the kitchen and snickers as it stops in front of Steve, “What did you do?”

“He’s over the moon for beating up a Nin- woah! Honey love, you brought the kid I just beat?”

Blinking hard because there’s no way, Dustin also rubs his eyes before looking over at the kitchen doorway. His vision clears and yep, there’s the gym leader, Eddie, standing there in a pastel purple sweater and black sweats with his Decidueye leaning behind him.

“You’ve got to be kidding me, seriously?”

Steve outright laughs and pats his shoulder, “dude, you’re face. Oh man, should’ve taken a picture.” He moves closer to Eddie and presses a kiss to his cheek, “He looked so sad after the defeat, I had to.”

Eddie shakes his head, amusement clear on his face, “Honey, you gotta warn people when you bring them over. Even if they look like a kicked Eevee”

He scruffs and looks away from the couple to find the Pumpkaboo, Ozzy apparently, next to him. It makes him groan, “I’m an idiot, you’re the one who found Servine!”

Ozzy nods excitedly before floating down and nudges his bag, confused he opens it and Ozzy dances around him. He’s curious and looks over at the couple, “uh, what?”

“He’s asking you to let your Pokémon out, they’ll enjoy some play time and food.” Eddie answers and looks at the time, “which is done by the way. Come on, let them out and we’ll give you some tips”

Shrugging, he does just that, all his Pokémon looking around curiously before spotting the backdoor where Ozzy and Steve are now in front of. All of them rush over and Steve laughs before opening the door, letting all of his Pokémon outside.

“Don’t worry, we got a fence and there’s food already out there.”

He can only nod and watch as his Pokémon all play together with Steve’s and Eddie’s Pokémon.

Dustin doesn’t know how he ended up here, honestly, he’s sitting inside a home that belongs to two gym leaders. Who are not only two of the strongest ones but also married to each other. Of all the things he was learning, this might’ve been the most surprising.

————

I’m gonna end it there because if I keep going this post will be stupid long (it already is 😅) BUT!! I decided to make this into a series!! It’ll be a fun one that I could write and post whenever I want. Can switch up povs and everything this way. Please don’t ask me why I went with Dustin’s pov this time around, I don’t even know. I just..kept going.

Anyway! If you enjoyed this let me know what you think and if you have any ideas/suggestions you can totally leave me some!!

Taglist: (sorry if you don’t like Pokémon 😂)

@spectrum-spectre @itsfreakingbats @mysticcrownshipper @artiststarme @thereindeerlady @justforthedead89 @ronniescontinuum @freyaforestafay @littlewildflowerkitten @estrellami-1 @gregre369 @zerokrox-blog @bookworm0690 @flustratedcas @carlprocastinator1000 @marvelmwah @solliesolesito @navnae @i-less-than-three-you @strangersteddierthings

Here’s the graphs of the Pokémon I have mentioned and also the full teams of the main three (Dustin, Steve & Eddie) and also Lucas’ totodile (didn’t come up with his full team)

[itsmealaiah]

The Award Show (Tokio Hotel x y/n)

a/n: thank you to @mistyda1 for this request!

tags/ warnings: none!

The lights dimmed, and the audience quieted. I took a deep breath, feeling the weight of their expectant gazes as I stood before them. It was my first time hosting an awards show, and I couldn't help but feel a mixture of nerves and excitement coursing through me. I smoothed my hands over my dress, adjusting the microphone in my grasp, and forced a confident smile onto my face. As I scanned the crowd, a familiar face caught my eye: tokio hotel. They were sitting in the front row, looking as handsome as ever.

I cleared my throat, feeling the butterflies in my stomach flutter. "Good evening, everyone. Thank you so much for joining us tonight," I began, my voice steady despite the pounding in my ears. "I have to say, I am absolutely thrilled to be here, and I can't wait to see who takes home the awards. But first, let's get the show started with a performance from one of the nominees, shall we?"

I gestured toward the stage, where a group of dancers had already begun to take their places. The music started, and the crowd erupted into applause as the performers began to dance, their movements fluid and captivating. As I watched them, I couldn't help but feel a sense of awe at the level of talent in the room. When the performance came to an end, the dancers took a bow, and I stepped back up to the microphone, eager to announce the next award.

"And now, for the award for Best New Artist, let's give a big round of applause to…" I paused dramatically, scanning the card in my hand. "Tokio Hotel!"

As the members of the band stood up, the crowd went wild, screaming and chanting their names. I couldn't help but smile as I made my way over to them, shaking each of their hands as they accepted their award. "Congratulations, guys," I said, grinning. "You deserve it."

Georg smiled back at me, his dimples appearing as he took the mic. "Thank you so much, y/n. This means the world to us. We couldn't have done it without our amazing fans," he said, gesturing to the crowd, who went wild once more. Bill, Tom, and Gustav nodded in agreement, beaming beside him. "And a special thank you to our families, who've supported us through thick and thin. We love you!"

The show went on for another two hours, rapturous applause filling the place. I eventually made my way down the staircase as everyone was leaving. I wanted to congratulate Tokio Hotel again, maybe get to know them better.

"Hey, y/n," Bill said as I approached them, a drink in hand. "You were fantastic up there."

"Oh, thank you, Bill. You were amazing out there too," I said with a grin, nodding towards the stage. "And the rest of the guys, of course."

"Thanks," Georg replied, flashing me a smile. "It's been a long night, but it was worth it. We had a blast."

I glanced at my watch, realizing it was getting rather late. "Well, I should probably be heading off," I said, a little reluctantly. "But it was so great meeting you all. Maybe we can hang out sometime?"

Gustav nodded. "Absolutely. We'd love that. Here, let us get your number." He pulled out his phone and scribbled something down before handing it over to me. "We'll be in touch."

I smiled, taking the phone. "Thanks, Gustav. It was a pleasure meeting all of you." I leaned in and gave them each a hug before heading out into the night, feeling a sense of exhilaration coursing through me.

As I made my way to my car, I glanced back at the venue, a warm glow spreading through my chest. The awards show had been a huge success, and I was proud to have been a part of it. And, of course, there was something special about sharing the stage with Tokio Hotel. They had an energy that was infectious, and their music had the power to bring people together in a way that few other things could.

a/n: hope you enjoyed, thank you again. 🤗 🥰 requests are open!

[roosterscockpit]

His Little Girl | Bradley Bradshaw x Reader P. 1

click here for the master list

It's that moment you've all been waiting for bessssties! 🥺 I just want to thank everyone for your support. It truly means a lot to me. ❤️ I've been wanting to try to write a Bradley x reader story, but I was so nervous! But I really hope you all enjoy this first part! 😭 I love you all! Thank you all from the bottom of my heart. 🥰 Happy reading! 💕

A/n: This is a flashback chapter for a little background! Enjoy! (sorry for poor grammar. I'm sure I missed a lot of errors lol.)

Word count: 2.3K

Warnings: cursing, drinking, throwing up, fainting, angst (If there are more I'm sorry I literally can't remember all of them 🥺)

Please don't take my work, I will find you.

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You and Bradley had met each other in college, both taking engineering classes at Virginia. You two became awfully close and were inseparable. You felt in your gut he was it and you thought so too when he introduced you to his uncle Pete, or Mav, his callsign he was given being a pilot in the Navy. He was all the family he had. Bradley always said Mav was like a dad to him growing up. He said he wanted to be just like Mav and his dad. He wanted to fly just like them. You were the happiest girl in the world and nothing could ever change that as long as you had Bradley….. 

Isn’t 21 supposed to be fun? You had been so stressed and sad ever since Bradley was deployed. This was his first deployment since being in the Navy. You spent all your days home slumped on the couch binge-watching every show possible to pass the time, but I don’t think you could watch another year worth of TV shows… or maybe you could? Bri, your best friend, and roommate planned for you and a couple of others to go to the Hard Deck to get you out for some fun. So against your will, you went and had some drinks and finally started to let loose and have fun. 

Some drinks later, you felt a wave of sickness hit you when you were out at the Hard Deck with your friends. You thought maybe it was the drinking not sitting well with you. You were never really good with holding your liquor. So you excused yourself to the bathroom. You barely made it before you were falling to your knees head in the toilet throwing up everything you had in your stomach. You felt dizzy and began to throw up again. The room was spinning and you just laid up against the wall until everything was still. You finally gathered yourself and made your way to the mirror. You rinsed with some water and wiped your mascara that was now running down your face. You popped in a mint and straightened out your shirt before you went back out to meet with your friends. You tapped on your best friends shoulder and let her know you were going to head home.

Y/n: “Hey girl, I’m not feeling very great.” You let her know, your eyes were still glossy. “I think im going to head home.”

Bri: “Oh no! Are the shots of whiskey catching up with you?” She looked at you concerned. “I can take you, I haven't had anything to drink tonight.” She offered looking around for some water.

She handed you some water and you drank the whole glass. You started to feel unstable. “I’m never drinking like that again.” You thought to yourself. 

Y/n: “Please? That would be great! I’m feeling a little dizzy again.” You said starting to sweat.

Bri:”Of course, let me just grab my things.” She said as she turned to grab her purse.

You started to feel weak, you sat on the barstool near you and began to blackout. “Oh my gosh! Y/n!” Was the last thing you heard before you hit the floor.

 You woke up on your couch the next morning, smelling like the whisky you had the night before. You were sweating all the alcohol out of your system. Your best friend came over to you with a banana shake and some ibuprofen.

Bri: “Hey sleepyhead. How are you feeling?” She said as she handed you the shake and medicine.

Y/n:  “Like a million bucks.” You said as you took the medicine and chugged down the shake. “What happened to me?”  You folded your arms and sat back against the couch. 

Bri: “You had quite the ride last night. You passed out face first into the barstool next to you, after you asked me to take you home.” She laughed. “How is your head?” She sat at your feet and rubbed your leg.

Y/n: “It feels fine, I had way too much to drink last night.” You put your face in your hands. “Never let me do that again please.” You said In embarrassment. 

You looked over to the patio door and saw how bright it was. “What time is it?”

You pulled out your phone and looked at the time, 2 PM. “Great, I missed the opportunity to text Brad before he went to bed.” You threw your phone next to you and laid back again. 

Bri stayed quiet for a little bit and bit down on her lip before asking, “Do you think he will actually respond this time?”

Y/n: “He’s working in a completely different place and time zone. I know he will respond when he can.” You smiled weakly knowing its already been 2 weeks and nothing from him. Not even an “I’m here now" email, text, call, messenger bird, something.

More time passed and you started to feel really sad again, you had no energy. You barely were eating and when you did, you would just throw up. You didn’t feel like yourself. You just felt off. You were sad because it had almost been another month and you hadn’t gotten anything from Bradley, you almost started resenting him. 

You couldn’t figure out what it was. You two were so happy when he was here, it seemed he had the same feelings you were feeling. But now just the cold shoulder, you were getting nothing. It's like he got what he wanted from you and now he’s done. Like you were his “just in the moment, while he was home” kind of person. You always gave him the benefit of the doubt and would say he’s just getting used to everything with being away, settling in, getting used to the work and the hours. You just wanted to feel better about the situation. You knew Bradley wouldn’t hurt you like that. You always said when he has the time, he will get back to you. But more and more time kept passing. You kept calling/texting/emailing and nothing. You started to think that maybe he changed his number and forgot to tell you.

It’s been 2 1/2 months and still nothing from Bradley. You started to text and call him less. You started to just try to get back to your life before him. At this point you were mad at him, making you wait, putting you constantly into a bad head space; wondering if something bad had happened to him. You were beyond hurt. You were being left in the dark on purpose now. 

Tonight, you and Bri went out to the Hard Deck to have a couple of drinks. The two of you sat at the bar having conversation with Penny. You all were just having causal conversation and Mav came in and sat down with you. He hugged you and Bri and gave Penny a kiss.

Mav: “Hey Y/n. How have you been with Bradley gone on his deployment?” He said with a loving smile.

Y/n: “I actually am fine.” You said monotoned then pressed your lips together and giving him a small smile.

Mav cocked his head at you and looked a little concerned at the tone of your voice. “Do you get to talk to each other as much as you’d like?” His eyes now narrowed at you and took a sip of his drink Penny had just given to him. 

Y/n: “We haven’t talked since he’s left.” You took a deep breath. “He doesn’t respond to any of my calls or texts.” You said now looking down at your drink, counting the ice cubes. 

Mav: “Oh I see.” He looked at Penny with wide eyes and she gave him the same look back.

Bri saw their exchanges with each other. “What’s going on, Mav?” She said now eyeing the both of them.

Mav opened his mouth slightly and looked at Penny who now turned around to serve some Pilots that just walked in. “I, uh..” He stopped. “I can’t imagine…he doesn’t have the time. I have a buddy of mine who’s son is out there with him and I talk to him all the time. I don’t really talk to Bradley very much anymore, but my buddy’s son is always out with him during their free time after work.” He started to tap his finger on this glass and looked at you nervously. 

Your head shot up to him saying that he LITERALLY has some free time. You furrowed your brows, “Im sorry, what?”

You started to feel it again, the nausea. The over whelming taste of saliva in your mouth. Everything went silent, your ears were ringing and your vision blurry. You weren’t going to make it to the bathroom this time. You ran out the back door to the beach and threw up right then and there. Right on the edge of the deck, barely missing it and into the sand. Mav and Bri came running to you and comforting you as you kept on throwing up. Your knees on the deck, you were hunched over, hands buried in the sand. Bri holding your hair and Mav rubbing your back saying they’ve got you. 

Bri and Mav looked at each other very concerned for you. They were comforting you as you kept on heaving and releasing everything you had in your system. Mav covered his face in disbelief. This wasn’t the Bradley he knew, he would never just leave you hanging. He wished he could do more, but at that specific moment in their lives they had no communication. 

You were hurt, why was he ignoring you? Why did he want you to hurt? And why were you so damn sick? Wait…you’ve been sick. Shit. 

You slowly got up and rubbed your hands together to get the sand off. Bri and Mav looked at you with concern. Bri rubbing your arm and Mav pushing hair out of your face as you looked at them scared. 

Mav: “Are you okay?” No response. “Y/n, you okay? You okay?” He said now cupping your cheek.

Y/n: “Can I have some water, Mav? I just- uh need to get this taste out of my mouth…” You said looking at him scared.

Mav: “Yea, of course. I'll go get some.” He went back into the bar to get you some water leaving you and Bri alone.

Bri: “Honey, what’s wrong? You’re really scaring me.” She said brushing our hair behind your ear. “Is everything okay?” 

Y/n: “Bri, Ive been so sick. Like sick sick.”

Bri: “Yea we know you can’t handle liquor, y/n.” She cocked her head at you and let out a little chuckle. “It happens to everyone girl. Just let it all -” 

You cut her off, “No girl. I’VE BEEN SICK!” You looked down and covered your mouth.

Bri: “No…you don’t mean…” her eyes were wide. She gasped.

Mav: “Here’s your water y/n.” He gave you the water. “Can I get anything else for you, sweetheart?” 

You grabbed the water and chugged it. You hugged Mav, “Thank you Mav but we have to go.”

Mav hugged you tight, “Im so sorry Y/n. If you need anything, I’m just a call or text away. No matter the time or place.” He rubbed your arm and hugged you again.

 You grabbed Bri’s hand and ran for the car. Bri drove quickly to the nearest store. You were shaking when she came back with the pregnancy test. You were terrified. You’ve drank a couple of times. You haven’t been eating a lot. You hadn’t even thought of being pregnant as a possibility. You were so scared. You weren’t being the best mom you could have been or should have been if you were pregnant. You felt so guilty. 

You finally got home and busted through the door and ran to your bathroom. You peed onto the small pink stick and set it face down onto the counter. You threw a tissue over it and didn’t want to see it. You set a timer and paced around your bathroom. Bri was out sitting on your bed waiting for you to come and tell her the result. She gave you your privacy as you waited. 

A million thoughts ran through your head. “Ive only had sex once. Jesus Christ, y/n… THAT’S ALL IT TAKES!” You said to yourself in a loud whisper. You were pacing up and down your bathroom. “C’mon hurry up you damn thing.” You stood at the counter watching the timer count down. You tapped your fingers on the counter top. “C’mon, c’mon, c’mon.”  You took a deep breath and cover your face as you leaned against the cold wall behind you. Then finally your timer went off. You took your hands slowly off of your face and just stared at the tissue that was hiding your fate. You slowly walked over and stopped the timer on your phone. 

Those two minutes were the longest two minutes of your life. You pulled the tissue off of the test and dropped it on the floor next to you. You were shaking as you picked up the test. You flipped it over and it  revealed the two little pink lines. You gasped. “Holy shit….” You were frozen. You couldn’t breathe. All you could hear was your heart pounding in your ears. You put your hand up to your mouth and looked at yourself in the mirror. You started to sob. At first quietly. Then you gasped louder and the tears running down your face. You couldn’t catch your breath. You were terrified. Bri came running in to comfort you. You sat in her embrace the whole night in the bathroom crying. What were you going to do? How were you going to do this? How were you going to raise his child?

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

Thank you all for your support! Please like and reblog if you're ready for the next part! 🫣 I can't wait to share it with you all! Thank you so much! Let me know if you would like to be added to the tag list bessssties! ❤️

Tag List:

@lonelywitchv2

@shakespear-picaso-lovechild

@emma8895eb

@beebslebobs

@creativitybeware

@peachiicherries

@hotch-meeeeeuppppp

@b-uckyreadss

@winterrebel04

@rosiahills22

@treblemakeronbase

[hongcherry]

pretty please (stay with me) || c.sc | 1

"After being assigned a fashion show for your big senior project, you set off to find volunteers to make it successful. However, when you meet Choi Seungcheol and his unfriendly clique through your volunteers, you realize they’re an unwanted package deal you can’t escape from. Can you handle Seungcheol's obnoxious friends, and can he handle your brash behavior?"

🍒 Pairing: businessMajor!Seungcheol x fashionMajor!Reader (afab)

🍒 Rating/Genres/AUs: M(18+); Slice of life (!!!), slow burn, drama, fluff, angst; Unrequited enemies to lovers (lol), strangers to lovers, college au

🍒 Warnings: [general tw (won't be repeated in the other chapters)] reader has she/her pronouns (referred to as girl, miss), reader dresses really feminine, reader is not nice, character outfit descriptors, parent/family issues (marital problems), bullying | [chapter tw] “joke” that implies prostitution in a negative way, near car accident (rear end), brief mention of death thru a joke

🍒 WC: 14.8k

🍒 Betas: Huge shout out to my bae, @love-strike, for being with me throughout this whole process, for listening to me whine, for helping me brainstorm majors for OT13, and for being so supportive! tysm 😭 And thank you to @playmetheclassics, @here4kpopfics, @angelwoozi for also beta'ing this series! ty for your time and for your sweet feedback! i really cherish everyone's efforts and brains hehe 🥰💖 i understand this was not an easy task to take on.

🍒 Author's Note: HAPPIEST BIRTHDAY TO THE LOML, CHOI SEUNGCHEOL!!!!!!!!! 🎂♥️ I started this fic in September 2022 and contemplated even publishing it multiple times. I think this will be the first fic I've worked on for so long and published. Also, this is the longest fic I've ever written, so that's exciting! It was supposed to be one long one-shot, but I ended up writing way too much for a one-shot LOL. I'm really proud of myself for powering through and not abandoning it, as I've done in the past. I also wrote this all in past tense and spontaneously decided to change it to present 😪 Anyway, please enjoy the start of this couple's journey 😁

also read here: AO3 | Wattpad

seventeen masterlist | main masterlist

previous chapter \\ series masterpost // next chapter

When people say good students are those who arrive on time, you find it hard not to scoff. Professors should care more about how hard-working one is rather than if they show up on the dot.

Of course, you do try to make it on time, but can you really leave your house looking less than perfect? Absolutely not. Plus, the first fifteen minutes usually consist of professors getting set up for their classes, so you don’t feel like you are missing anything of importance.

Today is no different.

Ten minutes past the official class time, you stroll inside the room. Students are seated where they normally sit, some are on their phones, and others are trying to finish some last-minute homework assignments. It’s a fairly small class, and being in your senior year means everyone knows each other well. Although, most of the people in your class think ill of you and don’t talk to you.

At first, you thought it was a pity, but in the end, you realized you didn’t want to befriend those who would only talk shit behind your back. This is what you figured they did since they were never discreet when they exchanged whispers with their eyes glued to you. 

Luckily, you have at least one friend in the class. Quality over quantity, right?

“Right on time,” your friend, Dae, says with a sly smile when she spots you.

You chuckle and slide into the seat next to her. “Class started fifteen minutes ago.”

“It did, but you’re right on time for you,” she explains with a knowing grin.

“Guess I need to be more late from now on,” you tease as you take out your iPad.

The device is a holy grail to you. Majoring in fashion design means all your ideas and creations over the past few years are stored there. When you don’t have it, it’s stored in secret in your house. Maybe that’s a little excessive, but losing it would feel like losing a part of yourself. After all, art creations always include a part of the creator. The device almost feels like it’s an extension of yourself—something too personal for others to peek at.

Dae rolls her eyes. “Or you could come on time. That would be different.”

“Why would I? The first fifteen minutes are worthless,” you huff and open your notes.

“I wouldn’t quite say that,” Dae answers, sliding a piece of paper over. You glance down at it.

Prepare for the annual Senior Fashion Show! Students are to create their own fashion show with a theme of their choice. The show will be toward the end of the semester in the Main Theatre (official times and dates TBD). The project will count for 80% of your grade as this will require you to use all the skills you’ve acquired as a student. When creating your show, be sure to be mindful of the following…

“This was handed out at the beginning of class. Seems like we’re going to have to work with students from outside our department,” Dae comments after she gives you a few minutes to read everything.

So, this is it.

Every senior majoring in fashion design is required to participate. You attended every fashion show hosted during your time as a student here. You were always left in awe, motivated to be a student that would leave behind a name for themselves at the college. You want to inspire the next seniors just as the ones inspired you before.

While this assignment has your body giddy with excitement, there is a part you are dreading.

People skills are not your forte.

Not because you feel awkward talking to new people, but because the conversations always end unpleasantly. Sometimes with back-handed compliments, insults, or them trying to scold you. You hope that won’t be the case while recruiting volunteers.

“So, do we have the class period to start getting things together?” you question once you finish skimming through the instructions again. You’re responsible for a lot more elements than you anticipated. You need lighting, music, a theme, backstage helpers, hair and makeup artists, an advertiser, and most importantly, models. This is when you wish you had a large network. Though, every friend you tried to make didn’t end up lasting. Dae is the only person who has stuck by your side.

“Yup,” she replies. “We’ll be doing mini assignments throughout the semester to help us prepare. I think it’s just a way for Dr. Lim to give us grades so he doesn’t get in trouble.”

“Probably,” you sigh. You are already feeling stressed. Quickly, you scribble down a list of to-do’s in your notes.

“Do you have a theme in mind already?” Dae asks after a moment.

“No, do you?” you wonder.

Dae sits back in her chair, pen resting between her fingers. “I was thinking about something with space? Maybe my main colors will be blue, purple, and black.”

“Oh? Isn’t that what you’ve been doing, though? Don’t you want to try something different?”

Although the question is harmless, the tone of your voice must have rubbed Dae the wrong way. She closes her eyes, takes a deep breath, and then looks at you again.

“Think of it as branding, okay? Why does it bother you so much?” she wonders with a frown. Realizing your mistake, you inhale slowly.

“It doesn’t. I didn’t mean to sound rude. I’m sure your stage will do well,” you reply, forcing a small smile on your lips.

“No ‘sorry’?” Dae asks despite knowing it isn’t part of your favorite vocabulary.

You narrow your eyes at her. “Nope. Just don’t be so defensive next time.”

“You’re insufferable,” Dae answers. “One day, you will be sorry for your behavior.”

Shrugging, you say, “There’s always a chance, but maybe if the world wasn’t so insecure, saying sorry wouldn’t be so wanted.”

Dae exhales disapprovingly at your thought process, displeased with your reply. “Well, for now, maybe try to be more empathetic?”

“I have bigger things to worry about right now. For instance,” you start, a finger at the top of your to-do list, “I’ve got to find someone who can provide me with music.”

Fuck, it’s too loud in here.

The sounds of different instruments being played at once, all emitting different tunes, have a migraine bubbling in your head.

You make a beeline to the professor who is sitting in the corner. She is an older lady, evident by her wrinkles and gray hair. Yet, her features are soft, and the smile she gives you makes you feel at ease.

“Hello, miss, can I assist you?” she asks when you’re in hearing range.

“I didn’t mean to interrupt, but I was hoping you could help me with an assignment?” you wonder and offer her a kind smile, hoping she won’t shoo you away immediately.

“Ah, it’s alright. They’re just practicing for an upcoming assignment today. What is it you need, dear?”

“Who would you consider your best student? Is there a way you can get me in contact with them?”

The professor’s eyes widen slightly at the question. She didn’t expect that. Nevertheless, her gaze rises to scan the classroom.

“There,” she points as discreetly as she can. You follow her finger, which lands on a blonde-haired guy tuning his guitar. “Lee Jihoon. He’s the most talented student I’ve ever had.”

“This semester?” you ask out of curiosity.

The professor shakes her head. “Ever.”

You can’t stop the small disbelieving huff that escapes you. The best student ever? You aren’t sure how long she’s been teaching, but you doubt out of all her time, he is the best. He looks too young.

“Now, now, don’t judge a book by its cover,” she scolds gently. You have to force yourself not to roll your eyes at the phrase. You’ve heard it too many times that its meaning lost its effect on you.

“What makes him your best student?” you question, sight going back to the man who is oblivious to your stare. He sits next to another student who also has a guitar. They seem to be friends from the way they are laughing together.

“His work is versatile and very good. I’m positive he will be the perfect person for your project.” The way she speaks about him makes you believe her. There was no waver to her voice, and her eyes hold a fondness in them you know one can’t replicate if not genuine.

“How long until they have their assignment due?” you wonder, realizing you may have to wait until the class ends before you could talk to him.

The professor smiles. “I’ll let them have five more minutes so you can introduce yourself.”

Internally, you sigh in relief. You’re grateful you don’t have to wait.

“Thank you,” you say before strolling to the man.

As you near, his friend glances up. He’s mid-sentence when he spots you, eyes growing slightly at the sight of you. You’re used to getting looks like that. Your fashion is always dressier than the average college student's. People just aren’t used to it.

“Hi,” the brunette friend says. He has prince-like features, and you almost consider asking him to be one of your models. You give him a small grin out of politeness before turning to the whole reason you came over.

“Lee Jihoon?” you ask.

Jihoon’s mouth parts slightly in surprise. “Uh, y-yeah. Do I know you?”

“No. My name’s Yn. I have a project in a class and need someone to provide music for me. You won’t get paid, but any extra experience is always good, right?” you greet, not wanting to dance around the subject. After all, this is only the first of many on your to-do list.

“What major are you in?” he wonders, brows knitted in confusion.

“Fashion design,” you answer.

Jihoon is silent for a moment. “And how did you find me?”

This guy is more difficult than you wished. You just need him to say yes.

“I asked for the best student, and you were recommended. So, what do you say? Will you help me?”

Jihoon gives you a small smile, but something about it rubs you wrong. “Sorry, my plate is a little full right now—”

“Do you need money? I can give you some afterward.”

You try not to sound desperate. Lee Jihoon is not the only music major—this is obvious by the amount of noise you hear in the background.

But you never settle for less than the best.

You have been looking forward to this project since your college tour here. 

“It’s not that,” Jihoon chuckles awkwardly. “I have other assignments I have to practice for, but I’m sure there will be someone else to help you. There’s a lot of talented students her—”

“But they’re not the best,” you interrupt. What else can you offer him that will make him say yes?

“Well, being the best is subjective,” Jihoon counters, voice light so you know he doesn’t mean it rudely.

You open your mouth to bargain with him more, but his friend leans into his ear. The noise from the other instruments behind you makes it hard to hear what they are saying.

Patience is something you rarely have. The longer you stand there waiting, the more annoyed you get.

“Look, you have almost a full semester to get a song done by then. I’m sure you can find some tim—”

“Fine,” Jihoon grumbles as he shoves his friend away. “I’ll do it.”

“Oh,” you pause. You are fully prepared to go down the mental list of how helping you will help him in return. One that will be complete bullshit, but if it gets him to say yes, then so be it. Luckily, you don’t have to. 

“Great!” you say.

You aren’t going to give him time to back out, so you quickly retrieve a business card you had made from your purse. It’s easier to exchange contact information, and you never know when you may run into someone important. Being in an artistic field means competition. You always need to have an eye out for something, or someone, that will help you get your name out there.

“Here’s my number. Please contact me before the day ends.”

Jihoon takes the card and examines it. “Got it. What kind of music will you need?”

“I’m not sure yet, but I’ll let you know,” you reply. He nods in response.

“I look forward to hearing your music. I’ll talk to you later then,” you say.

You have half a heart to wish them both luck on their assignment, but part of you is a little petty that Jihoon put you through some trouble. Instead, you give them a wave before turning on your heel.

As you’re leaving, you hear a loud sigh followed by a laugh from behind you. 

“Shut up, Shua,” Jihoon groans before the professor calls everyone’s attention.

Music, check. Now, what’s next?

As you make your way down the hallway, you stumble across Dae. She is surrounded by two other male students, none of whom you know. You don’t plan to greet her since she seems busy, but the sound of your heels clicking against the tile catches her attention.

“Yn!” she calls out cheerfully.

You halt in your tracks, turning to see her smiling at you. She gestures for you to come over, so you do.

“Hey,” you say to her.

“How’s your project going?” she asks.

“I got someone to help me with music,” you reply, then glance behind her to see the two guys staring at you. Dae follows your gaze and makes a small “oh!”

“Is that all? Do you have anyone for advertising or graphics?” Dae wonders, her voice seemingly excited.

“I don’t,” you answer hesitantly. Her eagerness has you worried.

“Perfect!” she exclaims, then turns to the others. “This is Yejun and Jeonghan. They’re both advertising majors. Yejun agreed to help me with my project, but Jeonghan,” she pauses to address the man. He has blonde hair that goes past his eyes. His soft features are handsome and almost angelic. 

“Jeonghan, would you mind helping my friend with hers? She’s super talented.”

Jeonghan glances at you, but before he can say anything, you ask him, “What are your skills? Do you have some work I could see first?”

Jeonghan looks taken aback. “O-oh, I don’t have a portfolio yet, sorry.”

“Ah, that’s fine,” you say before looking at Dae. “Thanks for trying to help me, but I’ll find someone else.”

Dae’s eyes narrow at you. “Come on, Yn. Jeonghan is really good!”

“Didn’t you just meet him?” you question and try to stop the scoff that threatens to escape.

“Well, yes, but Yejun has been my friend for a while, and I’ve seen his work. Yejun and Jeonghan have worked together as well, and their creations are unique!”

You inhale deeply, eyes roaming from your friend to Jeonghan. He offers you a smile.

“What your friend said,” Jeonghan replies with a small chuckle.

“Trust me on this,” Dae says. “Jeonghan won’t disappoint you.”

You don’t feel at ease agreeing to someone blindly. Dae’s definition of “really good” could be different from yours. Although her work is good, you feel your standards are way above hers. You had planned to ask for the best student for each assigned task, so having been offered a random helper with no proof of their credentials is unnerving. 

Granted, you haven’t heard Jihoon’s work, but you were sold on the way the professor spoke about him. Dae, on the other hand, is not a professor and could be biased as Yejun is her friend. Though, you still have a lot more positions to fill, and you need to do so soon.

Sighing, “Fine. You can work with me.”

From the way you word your sentence, it’s almost as if Jeonghan is supposed to jump up and down with glee. He doesn’t.

You grab another business card from your purse and hand it to Jeonghan. He takes it slowly.

“Just so you know, I have the right to replace you with someone else if I see your work isn’t fit,” you warn as Jeonghan slips the card into his pocket.

His eyes lock on yours. “That won’t be necessary,” he answers, not bothered by your comment.

“Oh?” you wonder and quirk an eyebrow up.

“Hm. You also need graphics, right? I have a person for that as well,” Jeonghan says.

“I haven’t seen their work yet—”

“You’re not very trusting, huh?” Jeonghan observes with a laugh. You shift your weight on one hip, not liking the way he is trying to tell you about your personality when he doesn't know you.

“I just know what I want, and I won’t settle,” you answer sharply.

Dae huffs next to you and gives you a gentle shove, indicating you to ease up. That isn’t going to happen.

Jeonghan doesn’t reply and instead takes out his phone. His fingers dance around the screen for a minute before he turns the device for you to see. On the screen is an Instagram account with various posts of different art and graphic pieces. Your eyes drift to the username. by_xuminghao_o. His art is impressive and definitely not an amateur like you half expected.

“So, about not settling,” Jeonghan trails off, a hint of a cocky smirk on his lips.

“I expect you both to contact me before the day ends,” is all you respond with.

Jeonghan pockets his phone and nods. He seems content with your answer even though you don’t confess the art meets your standards.

“All good then?” Dae asks, glancing between you two.

“We’re good,” Jeonghan replies and gives you another smile of his—one you are starting to hate seeing. There is just something about it that seems like he knows more things than you in a cocky, condescending way.

Yejun glances at his watch and then nudges Jeonghan.

“Thanks, ladies, but we have a class to attend. Nice to meet you, Yn,” Yejun says.

You hum in response while turning away from them. Dae says her goodbyes, watching as they leave before putting her focus on you.

“Do you have to be so picky?” she sighs.

“As I said, I know what I want. I’ve waited to do this project for years. It has to be perfect,” you explain and pull out your iPad. You check off music and advertising from your to-do list. Graphics aren’t listed, but you figure it will be a nice addition.

“I understand, but—”

“Just focus on your project, and I’ll focus on mine, okay?” you interrupt. You don’t feel like hearing her lecture you for a second time today.

“Alright,” Dae answers. “I’ll see you around,” she says, walking away before you can say anything else.

With her back turned, you roll your eyes at her attitude. It has your mood lowering, and you conclude you’re done with human interaction for now. You carefully place your iPad back in your bag, then make a beeline to the parking lot, ready to go home to figure out a theme for your show.

Home is somewhere you don’t enjoy being.

It always has this melancholy cloud looming over you. You can never seem to get rid of it completely. Even on the good days, it lingers in the corner of the room, always threatening to float above you. You doubt it will ever dissipate.

Your back is against the headboard of your bed, your iPad resting against your legs that are pulled to your chest. The music playing is too low for your liking, but you know if it’s any louder, your father will scold you for the high volume. Sometimes you will raise it just to get him to talk to you. Though today is not one of those days. You want to be left alone for once, which isn't usually too hard to do unless your sister needs attention. Like now.

“Today is the last day. Pleaseeee, Yn!” your sister whines at the foot of your bed. Her small body is bouncing with desperation and eagerness.

Reluctantly, you flicker your gaze up at her. The slight scowl on your face doesn’t seem to faze her… Probably because she’s seen it so much.

“Can’t you see I’m busy?” you exasperate, gesturing to your iPad.

Seoah frowns. “When are you not? Come on! It’ll take, like, ten minutes. I’ve been looking forward to getting a Fallin’ Flower frap for months! You know it’s a seasonal drink.”

“Didn’t Dad say you couldn’t have any more sweets?” you say and peer down at your iPad again. You’re in the middle of brainstorming themes for your show. There are various words within bubbles, each connected with a line.

“I’ll just get a small,” she explains. When you don’t move, she walks around the bed to stand next to you. Her voice becomes softer, sadder. “You said you would take me. Dad can’t.”

“That was before I got assigned this project. It’s my—”

“Senior project that you’ve been looking forward to since your freshman year, yeah, I got it,” she responds, reciting what you’ve told her before.

You finally look at her once more. “I’ll take you for the next seasonal drinks, okay? They’re probably better anyway.”

“But I really want a Fallin’ Flower,” Seoah pouts.

“Next year,” you offer and return your attention to your homework.

“Yn—”

“Next year,” you repeat firmly without looking up.

Seoah pauses in her begging. You think she’s going to continue, but you hear the soft padding of her feet as she moves.

“Oh, Seoah?” you call out, glancing up.

She pauses by your door and looks up with some hope in her eyes.

“Don’t forget to shut the door all the way.”

“Right,” she mutters slowly, then leaves the room. You wait until you hear the door click close prior to getting back to work.

You sit on your bed the remainder of the day, only getting up to cook dinner for your father and sister. Your eyes feel strained and your body weak, but the sooner you pick a theme, the sooner you can get started. 

It’s days like these when your body is mentally and physically exhausted, that you miss your mom. You try not to think too much about her as it only makes the gloomy cloud above your head darker. 

Is she happier? Surely, she is. She is living her dream as a traveling journalist. Sometimes you will see her adventures if you peep at her social media. It’s self-torture to do so, but curiosity gets the best of you. You hope one day you’ll have the willpower to block all her accounts. 

At this point, you’re having the same conversation you have with yourself once a month. It never ends the way you want.

Inhaling deeply, you finish plating all the food before calling your family for dinner. While your father eats in his office, needing to continue his work, you and your sister eat in silence in the dining room.

Maybe one day things will change, but for now, you’ll have to settle with this.

You are about to knock on the door a second time when no one answers it. You have allotted only an hour for this meeting, so the longer you wait outside, the more you grow impatient. You have set mini-deadlines throughout the semester to ensure you will complete this assignment in a timely manner. You just hope your recruitees aren't going to slow you down.

Suddenly, the door is yanked open. Jeonghan stands on the other side, hair a little damp and a few wet spots on his shirt.

“Sorry about that,” he says hastily. “I thought I could shower quicker.”

“I told you eleven o’clock,” you scold. Jeonghan simply smiles.

“Never hurts to give people some wiggle room. Plus, aren’t you the early one?” Jeonghan leans back to view something. He looks at you after a few seconds. “It’s only three minutes past.”

“Early is on time,” you say as if that is an obvious life choice. Although you’re never really on time for classes, you reason that to be because the first fifteen minutes are a waste of time. This, on the other hand, is not. “Invite me in?”

Jeonghan moves aside and lets you enter. His apartment is tidy for the most part. It seems as if he had started to clean up but gave up toward the end.

“Where’s Minghao?” you wonder when you saw you were the only one here. He’s supposed to be here with Jeonghan, so you can all go over the advertising designs.

“He called and said he hit some traffic. Have a seat anywhere; I’m going to grab my laptop,” he instructs before jogging to another room. Shaking your head in disappointment, you glance around again.

Spotting his couch, you walk over and make yourself comfortable. You take out your iPad and open what you have so far—color ideas, font ideas, and a few mock-up fashion designs. It has been two weeks since you last saw Jeonghan. The majority of your tasks have already been assigned to people, but you still have to find a few more models.

“Alright, so, what’s the theme?” Jeonghan asks when he comes back. He sits down next to you, causing you to bounce slightly from his weight.

You angle your screen, so he can see it easier. “I decided on the four elements—water, ice, air, and earth. The title right now is Pinwheel.”

“This gives us multiple color options,” Jeonghan examines. “Maybe we could have five designs. One for each element and then one with all of them? That would give you a variety of exposure and make the audience feel they’re not looking at the same promo material every time.”

You sit still as you ponder his suggestion. “You don’t think people will get confused seeing different designs?”

“We can make it all tie in some way. You have your own logo, as I saw on your card. We can use that and the same fonts.”

“Okay,” you say slowly. “That sounds—”

A knock on the door stops you.

“Ah, that must be Minghao. Do you mind getting that? I’m going to get my notepad, so I can try to sketch some layouts.”

You nod, setting your iPad down next to his laptop, then walking to the entrance.

“You’re late,” you groan while you pull open the door.

“Oh? Am I?” the person says with a little playful smile on his lips.

Although you’ve never met Minghao, you have seen pictures of him on his Instagram. You expected to see a head of blue hair, but you are greeted with black. Instead of a narrow face, his is slightly wider. He wears an oversized white shirt, jeans, and a colorful necklace. He looks like every other college student. Sure, he’s more handsome than the average, but not by much. Behind him are two women and one man.

“Can I help you?” you exhale a disheartened sigh when you conclude it isn’t Minghao. Meaning, he’s even later than you wished for.

The guy chuckles. “I doubt it, but Jeonghan can. Is he here?”

His voice is slightly deep. You may have found him soothing to listen to if it wasn't for his irksome words.

“He’s busy right now. You can come back in an hour, though,” you instruct and start to close the door. You don’t need any distractions.

The man sticks his foot out to stop you, causing you to exhale annoyed when you can’t get rid of him. You open the door slightly again.

“Just tell him I’m here,” he says, his teasing tone not so visible anymore but still light enough to not sound too rude.

“And who are you?” you question apathetically.

“Jesus,” someone hisses behind him before shouting, “Jeonghan, come here!”

Your eyes gaze past the man to see a woman with short-length dark hair. She eyes you haughtily, hand on the man’s forearm as if she were to push him away. Though she never does. She takes in your attire, and you once again get a look of judgment at your choice of dress. Your white dress paired with a same-colored, opened button down and beaded chain around your hips is apparently not her style.

“What’s going on?” Jeonghan asks behind you. Reluctantly, you move aside so he can see. “Oh, Seungcheol! Right. One second. Come on in. I’ll get those papers for you.”

“Actually, do they need to come in? They’re not staying long,” you say quickly before any of them can move.

“Relax, princess, he’s just being friendly. You know, like when someone is kind, thoughtful, and considerate?” the girl questions as if you’re dumb and makes her way inside despite you standing close to the door. It forces you to move over. 

Her friends follow along. Three of them stand in the living room, while the second guy sits at the kitchen bar before pulling out his phone. You watch them with a fire inside your chest. Not only are Jeonghan and Minghao late, you now have to deal with this obstacle.

Just as you’re shutting the door, you see a glimpse of blue down the hall. Finally.

“You’re late,” you repeat, but to the correct person this time.

“I know, I’m sorry! Oh, are they helping too?” Minghao says, pausing at the entry when he sees the group of people inside.

“No. Get in,” you huff and point a finger in the apartment. Minghao enters without a fight.

“Hao!” the second girl exclaims with a smile.

Great. Do they all know each other?

“Hi, Hana,” Minghao greets with a gentle grin.

“What are you doing here?” Hana wonders.

“I’m helping Yn with her project,” he answers and gestures to you while you shut the door.

Hana looks your way, and you can see the distaste in her expression; however, she doesn’t say anything.

Jeonghan walks out of his room with a folder in his hand. “I hope this is what you need,” he tells the first man—Seungcheol, you presume.

Seungcheol smiles and takes it from him. He flips open the folder, doing a quick glance through the papers inside.

“Looks great,” he says. “Thanks for getting these for me.”

“Of course,” Jeonghan replies.

“Hannie, do you want to come to Shining Diamond with us this weekend?” the first girl asks, tilting her head in a way that appears as if she’s begging for a yes.

“Ah, this weekend?” he hesitates. “I have a test on Monday I was going to study for.”

“A few hours won’t hurt you,” she replies.

“Alright, Hajun, but only for an hour or so,” Jeonghan says with a not-so-stern voice.

“Great! Minghao, do you want to come, too?” Hajun asks.

Minghao shrugs. “I’ve got nothing else, so sure.”

Hajun grins widely. Her eyes go past Minghao to see you standing in the corner, your arms crossed and eyes staring daggers at everyone.

She doesn’t say anything, but her look tells you you aren’t invited. As if you are silently begging to join. The thought makes you scoff quietly.

“Cool. You all scheduled your weekends,” you start and walk back to the couch. You turn briefly to Seungcheol, who is eyeing you already. “And you got your things. Can we please continue?”

Your gaze shifts to Jeonghan at your question. He offers you an apologetic look before nodding.

“I’ll see you all this weekend. You can text me the time,” he says while walking to the door.

“We can decide that now,” Hana suggests.

“Or over text like Jeonghan said,” you interject. She narrows her eyes at you.

“Be patient. It’ll only take a few minutes,” she replies.

A few minutes, my ass.

“I’d rather you use those minutes to walk out the door.” You give her a faux smile.

“Have some respect,” Hajun scolds.

You laugh though you don’t find any of this humorous. “What a hypocrite. How about you respect people’s times?”

“I did tell Yn I’d help her,” Jeonghan cuts in sheepishly and opens the door to hint at them to leave. “I’ll text you all later, or you guys can come back in a bit.”

Seungcheol’s gaze lingers on yours as he walks toward the door. Your eyes catch on his as he makes his way into your line of sight. His stare has an unsettling feeling form in your stomach, and you contemplate asking what his problem is. Before you can, he turns to Jeonghan.

“Thanks again,” he says as he lifts the folder.

“No problem. Talk to you later,” Jeonghan replies.

All his friends have filed out except for the one male who hasn’t said a word. He glances at you. You expect to receive another jab about who knows what. Instead, he gestures at your body.

“Nice chains,” he compliments with a smile.

Your eyes widen slightly as you glance down briefly at your outfit. That was certainly unexpected. “Uh, thanks.”

“Come on, Vernon!” Hana yells from the doorway. Vernon gives you a thumbs up, which is uncanny given the situation, then follows his friends out the door.

Once they leave, you narrow your gaze at Jeonghan and Minghao. They’re quick to apologize again and start asking questions about your project before you can lecture them. Lucky for them, your hour is almost up, so there isn't enough time to do that anyway.

Weeks go by with you working nonstop on your project. Annoyingly, you also realize that the majority of the people you recruited to help all know each other. It usually isn’t something to be irritated by, but each time they run into each other, they usually end up making small talk that you have to break up. They can do that on their time, not yours. Even more frustrating is that this so-called Seungcheol and his groupies know them all as well. Their reactions to seeing you are always the same—ones of displeasure. Though the feeling is mutual.

You learn they are all business majors, except for Vernon. Well, he was a business major, but he plans to switch to something else. You can’t blame him. If all the business majors act revolting, you would leave that department as well.

Seungcheol… He isn’t as bad. 

You have only ever hung out with him by himself for less than five minutes. Those conversations spur when you’re both left alone after one of your “mutual friends,” because none of these people are your actual friends, abandon you both. The conversations are awkward and never hold any weight. He doesn’t throw snide remarks at you, but his presence still makes you uneasy with the possibility. You’re normally the first to leave because of that. Maybe if he didn’t have those obnoxious friends, you could tolerate him more. You can’t help but associate him with them though. You simply want to get away from them, even if that includes him. Not that you are craving his presence anyway. You barely know him and aren’t interested in changing that.

“Those are looking awesome so far!” Dae exclaims when she peers over your shoulder to see your sketches.

You smile at her and set your iPad down on the table. The weather outside is perfect, given the cool breezes in the heat. It eases your mind, and you feel more creative being in a new environment.

“Thanks, how are yours coming along?” you question and wait for her to angle her own iPad to you. On the screen are various designs, each with a hint of purple or blue.

“Those are neat,” you compliment.

“Yeah?” she says and beams at you. “What about this one? I think the shoulder looks a little weird.”

You reach over, using two fingers to zoom in on the screen to examine it.

“Maybe just lower this,” you gesture on the screen, careful as to not move the screen on accident. “You could take this part out too and make it asymmetrical.”

Dae hums, lips pursed in thought. “I’ll try it. I guess I won’t really know until it’s on someone.”

You nod in agreement before focusing on your designs again. After a while, Dae excuses herself from your homework session. She had planned to meet with one of her helpers. You bid her a quick goodbye.

Ten minutes pass when you see someone standing in front of your table, blocking your sunlight. Your eyes rise to see who it is.

“Hi,” Seungcheol greets.

You straighten your posture upon seeing him. He wears a basic navy suit that fits him well. To your surprise, it actually looks decent on him. Your eyes dart around him to see if any of his friends came.

“Just me this time,” he answers the question in your head.

“What is it you need?” you ask blankly.

“Must I need something?” he retorts.

You suppress the eye roll you want to give him. “Well, I’m sure you didn’t come here to tell me about your day.”

“I can if you want,” he responds, then to your utter dread, he sits down across from you. From the position he is sitting at, the breeze is blowing his hair forward and into his face. He raises a hand to push it back, but it’s no use.

“You can spare me. Tell me what you want and go,” you instruct. This is the first time he has approached you—and alone, for that matter. You don’t want to make it a regular thing.

“Always straight to the point,” he chuckles.

“I just don’t like my time being wasted,” you explain.

“So, I’m wasting your time now?” His eyebrow quirks up.

“Should I spell it out for you?” you scoff. It should be obvious that you don’t feel like talking to him.

“You can try, but do you know how to spell it?” he stares at you through the hair on his face. Even though you can’t see him clearly, you can tell he has a challenging gleam in his eyes.

“At this point, I think you just came to bother me,” you sulk.

He smirks at you. “I didn’t, but it is a little fun to see your feathers ruffled.”

“They’re perfectly content being unruffled.”

Seungcheol chuckles at your response. He pushes his hair back, but this time he rests his hand against his head, keeping his hair in place. His elbow is propped on the table while his other arm lays flat on the surface. 

All the times you have seen him, his hair has covered part of his forehead. Now, it’s all exposed, and you feel you can see him. Maybe it’s because he’s donning a suit for once, but he looks almost… handsome like this—dressed formally with a small glint in his eyes and his lips spread in a gentle smile.

“Where’s the fun in that?” he replies. “I think you need to have more fun.”

Well, he was handsome until he opened his mouth.

“I don’t need a stranger telling me how to live my life,” you say.

“A stranger? I would think we’re at least acquaintances,” he frowns.

“You only see me because your friends are helping me. Speaking of, is that why you’re here? Does it have anything to do with one of them?”

Seungcheol bites his bottom lip, and you can’t stop your eyes from lowering to his mouth.

“Maybe,” he answers slowly. Your eyes snap back to his when he speaks. He gives you a knowing smile that has you shifting in your seat. You had only looked at his lips because he brought attention to them. Nothing more.

“Are we playing twenty questions?” you groan, finally unleashing the eye roll you have been trying not to do.

“We can,” Seungcheol says with a shrug. “You asked three already—more if you start from the time I sat down.”

Exhaling a deep breath, you put your forehead on the hand that’s propped on the table. The conversation is slowly draining your energy. The need to be alone becomes stronger with each second.

“Seungcheol,” you warn. You are not about to play a guessing game with this man. “Please.”

“Oh, so that word is in your vocabulary.”

“Yes. Would you like me to use it in a sentence?” you question, pitch raised as if you’re talking to a toddler. You lift your head to glare at him.

“Sure,” he smirks and leans forward. He still holds his hair back and this time, you can really see the way he is goading you.

“Please fuck off,” you grin widely. Your head tilts to the side as you push your arms together to act overly cute.

“Please make me,” he counters. The smirk he wears is still plastered on his lips.

“If we weren’t in public, I would,” you say, voice returning to normal as you relax your body—the cute act over.

“Oh? How?” he chuckles. From the way he looks at you, you know his mind has gone elsewhere.

You push at the arm that is stretched across the table. “Because I would rather not get caught for murder, you pervert.”

Seungcheol laughs and sits back, letting his hair fall back into his eyes. It’s the first time you notice he has dimples. Your first impression is that they are cute, but you quickly recall who they belonged to and shove that thought from your mind.

“Seokmin wanted to let you know he lost your card,” he finally discloses. “Asked if you could give him another.”

“If he lost a simple card, is he really reliable?” you sigh as you grab another from your purse.

“The good news is those stage lights are so big, he won’t be able to lose those,” he says, taking the card from your hand.

“Thankfully,” you mutter. “I hope you’re better than Seokmin at not losing things.”

“I’ll get this to him, don’t worry,” he replies and puts the card in his suit jacket. You want to ask why he is wearing that, but that will mean you will prolong this conversation. Fortunately for you, he starts to stand up before you succumb to the temptation.

“Thanks for the talk,” he says as if you had a choice. “I’ll see you around.”

You would have doubted that, but you know that won’t be true.

The second time Seungcheol approaches you by himself is a few days later when he catches you exiting a building he is approaching.

“Don’t tell me someone else lost my card as well,” you say after he calls your name. You readjust your bag on your shoulder as you wait for his response.

“About that,” he starts sheepishly.

You put your weight on one hip and cross your arms, and set your mouth in a straight line. You wait for him to tell you who is the perpetrator.

“I may have left your card in my suit jacket when I washed it.”

Well, that explains why you haven’t received a message from Seokmin yet.

“Seriously, Seungcheol?” you exasperate.

“I didn’t do it on purpose!” he says, lips pouting and eyebrows angled.

Shaking your head, you retrieve another card. You make a mental note to restock later as you are running out.

Seungcheol reaches out to grab it from you, but you quickly pull back.

“Put this in your bag,” you instruct. 

You slowly give him the card and watch as he slings his bag around to his front. He makes a show of unzipping one of the front pockets and sliding it inside.

“Done,” he says, acting like he should be rewarded for doing as he was told.

“Good. Is that all?” you wonder. You’ve just finished your last class of the day, and all you want to do is climb into bed.

“Yes.”

Seeing no need to continue the conversation, you start walking in the direction of the parking lot.

“Great. Bye, Seungcheol,” you say over your shoulder.

“Hey, wait,” he says quickly, walking briskly to be by your side. “We’re going in the same direction.”

You peer up at him momentarily. “That doesn’t mean we have to walk together.”

“You said before we’re strangers. This would help us not be that anymore,” he shrugs casually.

“I never said I wanted that,” you reply flatly.

“It might benefit us since we’ll have to see each other a lot.”

“Is that so?” you sigh sadly.

Seungcheol smiles at you before shoving his hands in his pockets. “You did ask my friends to help you.”

“Well, if I knew you were a package deal, I wouldn’t have.”

“Come on. I’m not that bad.”

Sighing, you slow your steps to look at him better. He stops next to you, awaiting your response. His gaze is hopeful, but you’re not sure why.

“I’ll agree if you leave me alone,” you finally say.

Seungcheol’s lips dip in a frown. “I’ll get you to admit it one day.”

He starts to walk again before you can reply. Now is your chance to let him get a few feet from you. You have the opportunity to finally end this conversation you’ve been dreading. Though, for some strange reason, your feet quickly move on their own accord.

Seungcheol’s steps are small, and you catch up with him easily. Neither of you says a word, but you can see a hint of a smile on his lips.

Instead of parting ways once you reach the parking lot, he follows you to your car. Something about it being dangerous for you to walk to it alone, even though it’s light out.

“Yn?” he says to catch your attention when you open your door. You turn and give a small “hm?” in response.

“My friends and I plan to go to this poetry lounge in two weeks. Would you want to come?” he asks. You aren’t sure why he appears to be anxious.

The shock you feel must be evident on your face because Seungcheol’s apprehensive expression relaxes into a gentle smile.

“Business friends or our ‘mutual ones’?” The idea doesn't sound so bad if you are hanging out with the people who are helping you. Although you have your issues with them, they aren’t that bad to be around if you’re being honest.

“Business.”

That’s not what you want to hear.

“Do your friends know you’re asking me this?”

Seungcheol shakes his head. “No, but I don’t need their permission. What do you say?”

You can’t recall being invited to a night out with someone other than Dae. If you were to go out without Dae, it would be with your family or for a class assignment. To be invited to a place by Seungcheol, out of all people, catches you off guard.

Despite having an opportunity for a different change of pace, you answer, “No.”

“No?” he asks, perplexed.

“Your friends don’t like me, Seungcheol,” you explain matter-of-factly through a sigh, leaning against your open door.

“They just like to tease you. I’ll talk to them before,” he explains. 

Tease is a funny way to describe it, you think.

“I don’t need you fighting my battles,” you answer, referring to the latter part of his reply.

“Still. I want you to enjoy yourself. You’ve probably been glued to that project of yours. Step away for a bit,” he reasons.

He isn’t wrong. Your focus has solely been on the project. Of course, you have other classes, but you aren’t putting as much effort into them as you are this one.

“I’ll pick you up and pay for any expenses,” he offers. The more he talks, the more taken aback you are. You figured he’d drop the offer once you rejected him. From every interaction you’ve had with these “friends,” it never ends well. You doubt this will be any different. Regardless, something in you feels a little… honored he is so adamant about getting you to come.

Thus, hesitantly, “Fine.”

Seungcheol’s face breaks out in a grin. “Okay. I can give you my number, so you can text me your address.”

He starts to pull out his phone, but you stop him.

“No need,” you say. At Seungcheol’s confused expression, you continued with a faint smile, “You have my card.”

His mouth opens briefly in realization before the corners are pulled up.

“One step ahead, I see,” he teases, pulling it out to inspect it as if confirming your number is there. You suppose he may think you’re lying to get out of going.

“I’ll text you then,” he concludes and places the card back.

“Alright,” you say, shifting your weight. You aren’t sure if he wants to say anything else. Why are you giving him the time to? You have already given him enough of it.

Sensing your readiness to leave, he waves as he slowly takes steps backward. “Drive safely, Yn.”

“You too, Seungcheol.”

You climb into your car’s seat, turn on the engine, and watch as he makes his way through the maze of cars until he is out of sight.

That Friday comes sooner than you would’ve liked.

Throughout the times you had met with your “friends,” you had bumped into Seungcheol one-third of the time. Sometimes, you were left alone with him again. Each interaction you had with him became easier the more you talked to him. 

Dare you to admit; his presence wasn’t actually teeth-gritting anymore? At least when he was alone, you didn’t have to deal with his business friends. Despite him not usually laughing at their jokes, he never really stepped in to stop them teasing you at first. Maybe only a few times when he felt things got too heated. He wasn’t your best friend, but part of you did hope he would’ve said something. 

Each time he didn’t, you felt your disappointment rise. He apologized on their behalf constantly, but his apology meant nothing when they kept insulting you. However, lately, he has been stepping in sooner. Although you didn’t want him fighting your battles initially, some things you couldn’t do alone. One thing you and his business friends had in common was that no one really knew where the sudden change of attitude came from. For once, you didn’t complain, though.

You’re tempted to cancel this outing, but talking to Seungcheol a few days ago made you realize he was a little more excited than he was letting on. The reason is unknown to you—maybe he really likes poetry lounges—but you’d feel slightly guilty if you ditch last minute.

It’s not like you haven’t been out on a Friday night with people, yet your heart is beating rapidly in your chest. You have changed about six times, exchanging your accessories with each outfit. Normally, you would dress up more, but these aren’t your friends you’re about to hang out with. They are Seungcheol’s—business majors who think skirts more than two inches above the knees mean you’re a slut. Though, you can’t figure out why that matters. You never dress with the thoughts of others. If you want to wear something that day, even if it’s “over-the-top” for some, you wear it. So, why are you in such a fashion dilemma now?

In the end, you settle for a simple, spaghetti-strapped red dress that is slightly bunched on the sides with strings that are tied in bows. You pair it with a small, heart-shaped purse and white heels. There isn’t any bling in your outfit, which is unusual for you. The accessories you wear are minimal and small. They are a matching cherry set you were gifted by your mother on your 12th birthday. Although it’s been years since you received them, they’re still wearable and delicate enough not to call much attention—unlike some of your other accessories. 

You reach for a white fur jacket only to stop when your fingers graze it. Your eyes travel to yourself in the mirror as you debate on wearing it. The jacket will be too much, you conclude.

The buzzing of your phone catches your attention. It’s Seungcheol telling you he’s five minutes away. After stuffing your phone in your purse, you quickly apply red lipstick and toss it in your purse for later touch-ups.

When your phone buzzes again, you hurry to your front door. Your family is home, and you don’t want Seungcheol to meet them. Life at home isn’t ideal, and the only person who has a hint of what is going on is Dae. You doubt Seungcheol will find that out from one quick meeting, but you don’t want to risk it.

You throw your door open, ready to meet him at his car. Instead, he stands in front of you with a hand raised. He takes a step back in surprise. His eyes glide down your body quickly, but you’re too concerned about your family coming to notice.

“Oh, hey,” he greets. “I was just about to knock.”

Before any of your family can intervene, you close the door and start your way down the porch steps. Seungcheol follows you.

“You didn’t have to. I can make my way to your car by myself,” you answer. Although you’ve never been in his car before, you’ve seen it around. Plus, it’s the only unknown vehicle near your home.

You stand next to the passenger door and wait for him to unlock it, arms wrapped around your body when the chilly weather hits you.

“You sure you don’t want a jacket?” he asks when he notices you didn’t bring one.

“It didn’t go with my outfit,” you explain. It’s a lie. The coat did go with your fit, but you didn’t feel like disclosing the fashion crisis you had gone through.

Seungcheol chuckles. “So, you’re going to freeze instead?”

“It’s not that cold,” you lie again.

“It’ll get colder later, though,” he explains and comes closer to you. You step aside when he is a few inches from you. You press your arms tighter around you, eyes averting from his because of his close proximity. The small distance has you wanting to squirm away, but your feet can’t move. He peers at you with a small smile while he reaches behind you.

“My lady,” he murmurs when he pulls the door open and gestures for you to get inside.

“How chivalrous,” you reply after you force your nervousness away. You carefully slide inside his car, situating yourself comfortably in the seat.

Seungcheol waits to ensure you have all your limbs inside before shutting the door. As he walks around to the other side, your eyes scan his car. The seats are leather, and the interior has higher tech than you thought it would. It is a nice car—not overly luxurious, but enough to show it isn’t cheap. It makes you wonder how much it costs.

“You warm enough?” Seungcheol questions after he gets in and buckles.

“Yeah,” you reply quietly, hands resting awkwardly in your lap. The heat from the vents aids in your goosebumps disappearing.

Your mind is already wondering what to expect tonight. You know his friends aren’t fond of you. At least most of them. That guy, Vernon, seems nice enough. He is the quiet one in the group; however, you did notice he has his own quirks that make him unique. You foresee yourself hanging out with him most tonight. But even then, you don’t feel too great about going.

The longer you sit in Seungcheol’s car, the more you regret agreeing to this.

He stares at you for a moment; brows knitted together slightly. You feel uncanny acting so meek, and Seungcheol can't help but notice.

Silence consumes the small area for a few seconds until Seungcheol says, “Seatbelt.”

You look at him confused, then realize he is talking to you. Of course he is, who else?

“Right,” you mumble, quickly pulling the belt over your body.

“You don’t have to come, you know?” he says with one hand on the steering wheel while the other is on the gear stick.

You sigh and gesture to the road ahead. “Let’s just get going. I’ve got stuff to do after.”

It isn’t completely a lie. You still have to work on bringing your designs to life for the show, but it isn’t like you are behind schedule that you need to do that tonight. You just know you might actually back out if you ponder on leaving more.

Seungcheol bites his bottom lip, averting his focus to the road. He doesn’t reply and obliges to your request by shifting the car into drive.

During the ride, your gaze drifts to Seungcheol. He is relaxed in his seat. One arm stretches to hold the wheel while his other rests on his thigh. One which is clad in a pair of light-washed jeans with a black belt between the jean loops. He wears a white shirt tucked in and a black jacket.

You peer forward slightly to read what his shirt says. Propriety of Balenciaga? The Balenciaga? You don’t think he’s wealthy enough to afford one of those shirts. Perhaps it was a gift or a knock-off brand? Maybe he thrifted it… Though, Seungcheol doesn’t seem like the thrifting type.

“Do you need this?” he asks, breaking you out of your thoughts. He’s holding his jacket open to show you what he means. You must’ve been staring too much.

“No, I’m okay,” you say and turn your attention away quickly. “I just didn’t realize you wore glasses.”

Although the comment is true, you need something to say before he questions why you truly are staring at him. You had noticed the spectacles earlier but didn’t feel like mentioning them.

Seungcheol laughs lightly, “Actually, I don’t. I just thought I’d try to improve my fashion. What do you say, did it work?”

He glances at you after stopping at a traffic light; his mouth quirks up in a teasing smile. You turn toward him and scan his face quickly. They do look good on him, but you aren’t going to tell him that.

“They certainly did something, but whether that effect is good or bad is a secret,” you reply, looking away again.

“I’ll take that as you not wanting to admit they look nice on me,” Seungcheol says and continues driving at the green light.

“I think they’d look better on someone else,” you answer. Though, you don’t believe what you said. Something about the glasses on him has you wanting to stare at him more. They fit his face well and make him appear more attractive. You don’t want to sit on that thought for much longer.

“Is that so? Here,” he says, pulling them off his face. The glasses come into your view, and you stare at him, puzzled. 

When you don’t take them, he adds, “They won’t bite.”

You roll your eyes at his comment and finally grab them from his grasp. You pull down his sun visor to look at yourself. After sliding on the spectacles, you turn your head from side to side to see the different angles.

“I think I was right. They do look better on someone else,” you tease and face him as you shut the visor. Seungcheol turns to you at your reply.

His eyes wander across your face, a hint of a smile appearing on his lips.

“Maybe I’ll have to agree with you this one time,” he says. His stare lingers on yours so much that it has you shifting in your seat. When you avert your gaze, your eyes widen.

“Cheol!” you shout as he was about to rear-end another car. Instinctively, he shoots an arm out across your chest that has your back pressing firmly against the seat. The sudden act causes you to reach up and grab onto his arm tightly.

The car screeches as it comes to a sudden halt. Luckily in time to not hit the other car.

You both sit still, breathing intensified at the near accident. After a few seconds, Seungcheol retracts his arm. It’s then you realize you’re still holding onto him. Your eyes dart to his forearm and frown when you see small crescent shapes indented in his skin.

“Sorry,” you say sheepishly.

Seungcheol’s focus is ahead of him but glances at you in confusion at your apology. “What?”

You quickly gesture to his forearm. When he sees the marks, he rubs a hand over them absentmindedly. “It’s fine. Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Are you?” you reply, heart rate slowing down to normal.

“I’m alright. Sorry. I guess I shouldn’t make you play dress up in the car.”

“No, it was my fault.”

Seungcheol eases on the gas pedal when the light turns green, keeping a safe distance from the car in front. He remains quiet for a while to ensure you are both safe.

“Are you sure you’re okay? First, you apologize, and now something is your fault?” he jokes.

You don’t remember what you said a few minutes ago, so it takes a while for you to comprehend what he is saying. “Shut up,” is all you can respond with in the end.

Seungcheol laughs but doesn’t pester you about it any longer.

“Oh, you can take these back,” you say and tug off the reason for almost hitting another car.

“Thanks,” he mumbles as he slides the glasses back on his face.

You nestle yourself back in the seat again and glance out the window. As the buildings pass, it dawns on you that you’ve never called him Cheol. The thought of using a nickname for him has your body tingle with an unknown feeling. It’s strange. You aren’t the first to call him that, but you aren’t that close to him to start using nicknames. Annoyingly, you spend the remainder of the car ride fretting about how he felt toward you shortening his name. 

Did he even notice? If he did, did he like it? Had you crossed a line?

When he parks, you become acutely aware of everyone’s attire. Many wear jeans or tights with a plain shirt and jacket. A few have on skirts or dresses, but they are more t-shirt dresses or plain skater skirts, if anything. Plus, they are accompanied by tights because of the weather. No one has as much skin showing as you do.

The sinking feeling of not belonging consumes you. You can’t remember the last time you felt this way, and that alone has you questioning yourself even more.

“I’m too dressed for this, aren’t I?” you think out loud.

Seungcheol turns off the car, eyes raking your body again. Though this time, you’re aware of it. You tug down the bottom of your dress at his stare. It’s not like it’s predatory, but it still has your nerves skyrocketing.

“Since when did you care about what others thought of your outfit?” he wonders. The question has you sighing, momentarily closing your eyes as you remind yourself you dress for you, not for others’ approval.

“Right,” you swallow harshly and sling your purse over your shoulder—mentally throwing away the negative thoughts too. “Let’s just go.”

With that, you open his car door and step out.

“Yn wait—” you hear Seungcheol call out right as you shut the door.

Your hair is immediately pushed from your face as the wind blows past. It makes your body shiver, and for a split second, you wish you took up Seungcheol’s offer to grab a jacket when you were at your house.

Seungcheol’s car beeps as it locks before he stands in front of you. His broad body blocks the wind, and you feel your own ease from feeling a tad warmer.

“I’m sorry if that came off rude,” he apologizes softly. “I think you look great.”

You look at him, face void of emotion. You don’t believe him, but you don’t want to argue. At least not standing in this weather. 

“Okay,” you reply. “We need to go meet your friends.”

You take a step forward, thinking it will get him to start walking toward the building, but he doesn’t budge. You only decrease the distance between you two.

“I mean it,” he whispers.

Goosebumps are forming on your exposed skin the longer you stay out. You blame the cold weather for them, but something in your chest tightens at the way Seungcheol is speaking to you.

“I think red is your color,” he pauses. “You should wear it more, Cherry.”

Your head tilts at his last word. “Cherry?”

The corner of his mouth raises at hearing it from your lips. Slowly, he brings a hand to your face. You stand still as you stare at him with wide eyes. His hand brushes past your cheek before he grazes his fingertips along your ear. 

“It suits you,” he murmurs, eyes moving away from yours. 

You follow his gaze and realize he has been looking at your cherry-charmed earrings. His eyes then flicker to the matching cherry-charmed necklace resting below your bare collarbones. You’re not sure if he means the color suits you or if the nickname he just made suits you. Either way, you’re surprised at his words.

Suddenly, the weather doesn't feel as chilly anymore. Your body heats quickly at his comment, or maybe it’s from how close he is to you. Nevertheless, you need to distract yourself from this warm, odd feeling bubbling in your chest.

You clear your throat and step back. His hand lowers steadily.

“I’ll think about it,” you reply more confidently and clearly.

Seungcheol takes the hint and moves aside, hands stuffed in his jeans pockets. He nods his head in the direction of the building, and you start walking toward it. Your pace is slightly faster than his, but you don’t mind not walking next to him. If anything, you need distance from him anyway.

The moment you open the door to the lounge, the heat from inside greets you in full force. You step inside and are welcomed by a worker. He is young, maybe a few years younger than you. He gives you a friendly smile.

“Hi, are you wanting to be seated, or are you with a group already?”

“With a group,” you reply. The worker nods.

“Do you need help locating them?”

You shake your head as the jingle of the door opening sounds behind you. Seungcheol stops behind you. His hand comes to hover over your lower back, not really touching you, but close enough to feel the heat radiate from his hand onto your skin. It has you shuffling away.

“They’re over there,” he says. You peer up to see where he is gesturing. Fair enough, you see his friends at a table toward the back of the building. There are five of them, all smiling at each other. You can spot a few familiar faces—one of them being Vernon. You feel a little at ease knowing he made it here.

“Thanks,” you murmur to the worker before making your way to the table. The closer you get to the table, the slower your steps become. You’re used to keeping your chin high in situations you aren’t completely comfortable in. The whole “fake it until you make it” is on repeat in your head.

Yet the saying is not encouraging you much right now.

“You’re not mad at me, are you?” Seungcheol asks when he catches up to you. You don’t realize you had stopped a few feet from the table.

“No,” you say. You aren’t mad at him; you just need some space from him for now. You don’t like how you aren’t in control of your emotions when you’re around him. “I’m going to freshen up in the bathroom.”

Seungcheol eyes you for a second before nodding. You make your way to the bathroom, but right before you enter, you can hear the welcoming echoes coming from his table of friends. All of them sound cheerful and excited to see him. You don’t expect any of them to look forward to your presence, yet you feel a little disappointed when no one brings up your name—in a positive way.

After using the restroom and washing your hands, you stand in front of the mirror with your hands lingering under the warm water. Your eyes roam your face and body, taking in your appearance. Compared to your normal fashion, you really did dress down. You sigh when you realize you’re circling back to the same issue.

You retract your hands from the faucet and grab a few towels to dry them.

It doesn’t matter if you’re overly dressed. You usually are and don’t care. You look great. You should feel confident in your fit. 

You gently tug the dress down before turning in front of the mirror.

You look fine. You look nice.

As you reapply your lipstick, you keep repeating compliments and reassuring phrases in your head. 

They’re going to look at you funny. You are going to ignore them.

“That’s right,” you sigh to yourself as you toss the lipstick back into your purse. 

Suddenly, your phone starts to vibrate. You pull it out to see Dae’s name appear across the top. You eagerly answer her call.

“Hey babe,” Dae’s voice comes from the other line. “How’s it going?”

“I’m ready to go home,” you say with a small huff.

“Damn, that horrible? Is he treating you badly?” Dae questions. You had told her about Seungcheol’s invitation when you got home that day. She was shocked, but ultimately supportive of you going.

You shake your head despite her not being able to see you. “No, he’s been fine. I just,” you pause. Although you have your ups and downs with Dae, she has stayed with you when no one else has. You don’t disclose your troubles often, wanting people to not see that side of you, but you’re feeling too low that you can’t stop the confession from coming out.

“I’m way overdressed for this place. Everyone’s in jeans or tights. I don’t belong here,” you say.

Dae sighs sadly. “Jeans are boring. I think I only own a pair,” she answers, trying to make you smile. “Just remember, if you were to die right now, would you want your last outfit to be something boring?”

“No,” you answer slowly.

“Exactly. These are people who are used to looking plain. They’re probably jealous you’re outdressing them. Don’t let them get to you, Yn. I’m sure you look beautiful.”

Your shoulders ease at her words. “Thanks, Dae.”

“No need. If they had the talent to dress themselves better, they would.”

You let her words sink in, but the reassurance doesn’t last long.

“I shouldn’t have come,” you say, beginning to pace the small area in the bathroom.

“It’s good for you to be around people from outside our department. It’ll make you more open-minded,” she encourages. “Plus, Seungcheol isn’t as bad as he seemed, huh?”

There is a teasing tone to her voice that you don’t like.

“One outing with him doesn’t mean he’s my friend,” you argue.

Dae giggles. “No, but it’s a start. Do you like him?”

“No!” you answer quickly.

“I was just asking in general. Not ‘like’ as in crushing on him,” she explains nonchalantly, but you can hear her smile.

“He’s,” you pause as you try to think of a word to describe him, “he’s been alright.”

“Well, I better let you get back to him then. I just wanted to check in,” Dae answers.

“Thanks. I appreciate it,” you say.

“Remember, you don’t need their approval. You never have, and you never will. People want the confidence you have.”

“I’m not feeling too confident right now,” you mumble.

“That’s because you’re overthinking. Chin up, okay?”

Sighing, you reply. “Okay.”

“Good. Talk to you later!”

“Yeah,” you say before hanging up.

Taking one last look at yourself, you roll your shoulders back and exit the bathroom.

Seungcheol is sitting in the middle of Hajun and someone you don’t know. His eyes lift to meet yours when he hears the sound of your heels.

“Hey, you okay?” he asks. 

Nodding, your eyes roam for a spot to sit.

“You knew you were just going to a poetry lounge, right? Not the runway,” Hajun comments with a small scoff.

Your eyes move to look at her, and you quirk an eyebrow. She wears leggings with a graphic tee. Her discarded jacket is slung over the back of her chair. “Are you sure you know that, as well? Or did you think you were just going back to your bed?”

“This is how normal people dress,” she replies.

“Relax, Hajun,” a voice you don’t know sounds. You direct your attention to them. 

The guy has black hair that is parted on the side to expose his forehead. His eyes are narrow, and even though he has a soft appearance now, you’re sure his gaze can be fierce when needed. 

“People don’t need to dress up for special occasions,” he says.

You’re taken aback by his comment. Seungcheol’s friends have always questioned your wardrobe, so for this new “friend” to not agree with Hajun is surprising. 

“No, they don’t, but you gotta’ admit she’s a little overdone huh, Soonyoung?” Hajun replies.

“Hajun,” Seungcheol interjects, giving her a pointed look.

“I understand not everyone knows how to dress. It’s okay, though. I can offer my services if you need some help,” you comment, half tempted to reach in your bag to get a business card. Although you aren’t on campus, you never know when you’ll run into someone who will make a good connection, so you keep them with you wherever you go.

“Services?” Hajun laughs and rests her crossed arms on the table. “And what ‘services’ are you offering? Because from the looks of it, I can tell exactly what you offer. Sorry, I’m not interested.”

Her eyes roam your body once more, indicating that the way you are dressed, means your services consist of paying to be with people in bed.

“I don’t think those services would help you anyway. Your rotting attitude is enough to repel anyone. Though I guess some people are willing to lower their standards when they’re desperate,” you counter.

“You’re such a—” she starts.

“Can we talk?” Seungcheol asks Hajun quickly, but he doesn’t give her the option to answer because he takes her hand and pulls her away from the group.

The table is silent for a few seconds before Soonyoung speaks up again.

“Don’t pay any mind to her. It’s nice to meet you. You must be Yn?” He smiles at you, slightly bowing at you.

“Correct,” you say, trying to not show how irritated you feel.

“Come sit,” he offers, pulling up a chair so you’re sat between him and Vernon. You thank him before sitting in the chair. You sit your purse in your lap as conversations begin to spark again.

Their voices become background noise as your gaze drifts to Seungcheol and Hajun in the corner. They stand close to each other and are in a deep conversation—clearly about you. Seungcheol has his back to you, so you can’t see his expression, but you can see Hajun’s. Her lips are in a frown, her expression not as sassy as before. 

Though her pouting seems forced, her bottom lip a little too far stuck out. Soon enough, she rolls her eyes, an expression similar to how it was earlier. Her eyes then move from him to you over his shoulder. When she catches your gaze, she smiles and raises a challenging eyebrow. However, her gaze doesn’t last long because Seungcheol’s hand comes up and guides her eyes back to him. Even though his hand isn’t touching her completely, she leans into his touch. The act has you stilling.

“Yn?” Vernon questions, tearing you from your thoughts. You don’t realize you’re clutching your purse until your focus goes to Vernon. You ease your grip and raise an eyebrow.

“Soonyoung was asking what your major was,” Vernon explains.

“Oh,” you say, glancing around the table. It appears the others are in their own conversation.

You look at the man to your left. He gives you a reassuring smile that tells you he is patient. “I’m studying fashion design. Are you in business, too?”

Soonyoung shakes his head with a laugh. “I could never. I’m a dance major.”

“Wow, that sounds nice,” you say. “Aren’t your career choices limited with that, though?”

“A little,” Soonyoung replies honestly. He doesn’t seem offended by the question. Maybe he gets it a lot. “But it makes me happy. I can always teach or maybe even become a dancer in a well-known group.”

You hum, understanding his words.

“Isn’t fashion design limited, too?” Vernon asks.

“Clothes are everywhere. I can do a lot with it.”

“But not everyone will wear your clothes,” Hana says, having finally heard your discussion.

“There will always be someone,” you argue, confident in your work. It may be a slow start, but you believe in your designs.

She laughs. “Who? Your mother?”

Your eyes narrow at the mention of your mom, and Hana is quick to notice the change in attitude. Instead of letting go of the topic, she continues.

“Ooh, trouble at home? See? I knew the ‘Great Yn’ isn’t as perfect as she seems,” Hana says. What makes her think you are so “great” is unknown to you, but you aren’t surprised to guess people have made up a persona for you. 

“Stop, Hana,” Vernon says, but it has no effect.

“Oh, so we were right?” Hajun’s voice comes from above. You glance up to see she and Seungcheol have returned. It appears their little chat did nothing to keep Hajun from being a bitch.

“Seems so,” Hana says with a smile. “Care to share with the class what kind of mommy issues you have?”

“No wonder she dresses like that,” Doyun, another one of Seungcheol’s alleged friends, adds. “She’s not getting attention at home. I guess Daddy isn’t there either?”

“That’s enough,” Seungcheol scolds them all.

Your eyes are darting from everyone at the table. Their stares are akin to shrink rays, making you feel tiny and minuscule. You know when you aren’t welcomed, and there’s no reason to stay listening to this. You want to snap back, end the conversation with your own last words, but nothing comes to mind.

In lieu, you push your chair back and stand up. Your hands twitch with the temptation to dump their food all over them, but you just want to get out as soon as possible. 

You waste no time careening for the exit. 

Seungcheol calls your name; you ignore it. The worker from before sees you, telling you goodbye, but you couldn't care less and push past the door before he can finish his sentence.

Your breath gets caught in your throat at the sudden breeze that slams into you. Instantly, your arms wrap around you once more. You glance around and see a bus stop down the street. You don’t care that it’s the other way from Seungcheol’s car. You hurry to the station, not sure when the next bus will come.

The bus stop isn’t deserted despite the cold weather. The area must be busy all the time since the sidewalks are littered with more people than you expect. All the seats at the stop are taken, yet you still shuffle under the shelter in hopes to get away from some of the breeze.

You are shaking, and your teeth are chattering. It’s impossible to force your body to stop since you need to generate heat somehow. You probably look like a pathetic naked chihuahua in winter.

You take out your phone, open up a browser, and search for bus times. Thankfully, there’s one coming in three minutes in the direction you need. The thought of taking the bus is not pleasurable. You hate the idea of your skin touching something so many others have touched. It feels unsanitary.

Accidentally leaning back against the wall while you silently groan has you jumping at the cold material touching your bare skin. Your jolt catches the attention of an older woman who is sitting near you.

“Aren’t you freezing, child?” she asks as she stares at your attire—or lack of. 

“I’ll be fine soon,” you say, not really in the mood for talking.

“Where is your coat? Did you not know the weather was going to be cold?” she continues.

Utterly done with all the people-talk tonight, you hiss, “Focus on yourself. I’ll focus on me.”

She seems startled at your outburst. Her already crossed arms tighten as she turns away from you. Her muttered “bitch” doesn’t go unnoticed, but you don’t say anything about it. There’s no point in arguing with a stranger.

The sound of the bus calls your attention, and you mentally thank the universe for the great timing. After people leave and all the new patrons enter, you finally take a step up the bus’ steps. Before you can climb all the way, you hear your name being called. You look past the bus doors to see Seungcheol running toward you.

Just what you need.

You disregard him and step farther up the steps of the bus.

The bus driver looks expectantly at you, and it dawns on you that you need to provide payment before you can board fully.

“Card?” you wonder. The bus driver nods and gestures to a device to the right.

As you unzip your purse, you feel a hand grip your arm.

“Where are you going?” Seungcheol asks, slightly breathless. His hair is disheveled from running, but he doesn’t seem to care.

“Home, idiot,” you huff and pull your arm out of his grasp so you can retrieve your card.

“Just come with me. We can talk somewhere else,” he pleads, a hand stopping your movements again.

“I’m not going anywhere with you, Seungcheol,” you hiss. “Now, let go of me.”

He hesitates but slowly releases your arm. He doesn’t leave, though. “I’ll take you home. You don’t need to take the bus. Come on.”

“Go with him or get on! We have places to be,” a passenger exclaims, clearly annoyed with your drama.

You raise your head to the person, narrowing your eyes in a glare that tells them to pipe down. It has no effect on them. They shoot a fierce look back.

“I know you don’t want to take the bus,” Seungcheol comments quietly.

He’s right. Not only do you not want to sit next to a lady whose arms are filled with shopping bags—the only available seat—you really don’t want to add time to your trip home.

Seungcheol reaches out again and carefully takes your hand in his. This time, you don’t fight him as he guides you off the bus. Once you’re both off, the bus doors shut and begin its trip down the road.

You watch it silently, not knowing Seungcheol is discarding his jacket until you feel the warm material cover your shoulders. Your eyes snap back to him as if remembering who you’re with.

“I’m sorry they said all that stuff. I told them not to do that tonight,” he says remorsefully.

“Oh, so you’ll let them talk shit about me another day?” you chide and start walking away from him. Thankfully for Seungcheol, it’s in the direction of his car.

“No, that’s not what I meant,” he replies as he hurries to catch up, which doesn’t take much effort as you aren’t walking too fast due to your cold, stiff legs.

“Don’t worry. I’m sure they’ll do that whenever they want to. They wouldn’t be the first,” you scoff.

“It doesn’t make it right regardless,” he says. You halt in your steps, causing Seungcheol to stop and turn to look at you.

“I talk shit about people behind their backs, too. Does that make me a bad person?” you question. Perhaps if he sees you as one he’ll leave you alone.

He exhales a deep breath. “Let’s just get in the car, okay?”

“You can admit it,” you challenge and walk closer to him. “Does talking shit about someone make me a bad person, Seungcheol?”

He stares down at you, soft gaze turning dark with annoyance.

“To the car, Yn,” he demands slowly just in case you won’t understand; his tone is sharp in a way you haven’t heard before. You don’t let that scare you away. Maybe if you weren’t so fired up, you would have been a little intimidated.

You laugh darkly and roll your eyes at his command. “You want me to sit next? Bark, too?”

“Now, you’re just being dramatic.”

Dramatic, he says.

“Woof?” you reply, dramatically giving him the best puppy-dog eyes you can muster.

Seungcheol’s jaw clenches at your response—not pleased with your sarcasm. However, instead of replying in an annoyed tone, he takes a step forward. His head draws closer to your face to ensure your eyes are glued to his.

“Wanna be a good girl and go to the car, Cherry?” he murmurs lowly, an eyebrow quirking up for a second.

His sudden change in tone has you stiffening. You want to bite back—figuratively or literately… you aren’t sure yet—but you can’t even remember what you are mad about in the first place.

“Hm?” he croons when you don't reply quickly.

Rather than a sarcastic reply, you simply grumble, “whatever,” before pushing past him to get to his car.

You stand next to the passenger side like before, waiting for him to unlock it. Seungcheol comes beside you and swiftly unlocks the vehicle. Although you aren’t arguing at the moment, you can sense some irritation lingering from him.

You get the feeling he'll always hold the door open no matter how annoyed he is with you.

You feel suffocated.

The air in the car is too hot. The weight of his jacket has you overheating. The tension is unbearable.

Seungcheol keeps his eyes on the road, not throwing you a single glance as he drives. Every once in a while he will tighten his hold on the steering wheel. One time you even catch the way his muscles flex at the motion—now exposed from not wearing his jacket. You never realized how fit he is. This isn’t the first time you have seen him sleeveless, but you just never stared long enough to notice. Or if you did, you simply didn’t care. Regardless, you notice now, and you have to force your eyes away before he catches you staring.

You want to ask for music so you don’t have to sit in this insufferable silence, but your mouth feels dry. You decide to just deal with the quietness, shifting in the seat so you’re facing the window more. Your eyes drift close as you let the hum of the car distract you. 

Seungcheol’s jacket is snuggled around you, and his woodsy cologne fills your senses. It’s pleasant, and you don’t mind if you smell more of it in the future.

By the time you arrive home, you are on the verge of sleep. You stumble out of the car and shut the door without saying a word to Seungcheol. You expect him to drive off, but the sound of his tires moving never comes. Instead, you hear his car door opening and closing.

“You don’t have to walk me to the door,” you say while you glance behind you. Seungcheol is following you languidly.

“No, I don’t,” he says and pauses at the bottom of your porch steps. He places a foot on the first step while a hand holds onto the rail. You have your keys out, ready to slide them into the keyhole when you speak.

“Then don’t,” you reply sternly.

He chuckles lowly but doesn’t say anything about it.

“You can go now,” you say when he doesn't move.

“You have something of mine.”

Puzzled, you stare at him for a second. Seungcheol gestures to your body, and you quickly remember you’re wearing his jacket. You tug it off and toss it to him. He grabs it from the air with ease. The loss of heat makes you wish he didn’t say anything.

“Goodnight, Cherry,” he murmurs as soon as you click open your door. You step inside before turning to face him.

The nickname you used earlier forms on your tongue, yet you can’t find the courage to say it consciously.

“Night,” you answer, then shut the door before either of you can say anything else.

With your head bowed, you turn the lock slowly while you exhale deeply. His nickname falls from your lips under your breath—unable to keep the desire at bay.

previous chapter \\ series masterpost // next chapter

A/N: Can't believe the first chapter is actually published 😭 I sat and stared at this for a few before hitting "post" because I'm so anxious! dfl;kbjdvs. Please feel free to share your thoughts on it so far!

For my “shy/silent” readers, I’ve created a feedback form where you can share your thoughts on my fics in a more anonymous and private way. ^-^

taglist: @iammisstora, @christinewithluv, @lithelust, @musingsofananxiouspotato, @yoozuku, @lockburn-castle, @mystikhal-blog, @oncloudvii23 (couldn't tag :c), @cheolcherries (tysm!!!)

©️hongcherry // DO NOT REPOST OR MODIFY Please consider reblogging if you liked this work to show your support. Feedback/commentary is always welcomed.

[rosenallies]

my job has been stressing me out to no end so… perhaps a plane and nymphia office au prompt where one of them is anxious because of their work? thank you angel 🥰

same bestie same <3

——

“Hey,” Jane said, hardly looking up from her computer when Nymphia walked into her cubicle, leaning against the wall.

"Hey," Nymphia replied simply, irritation inching into her voice, making Jane look up.

"What's wrong?"

Nymphia crossed her arms. "Are you really asking me that? Jane, it's Friday."

"It is," Jane trailed off, failing to see what Nymphia seemingly was hinting at.

"Friday, the 3rd."

It hit Jane just then, Friday the 3rd, that meant it was their 3 month anniversary. After dancing around one another and their feelings for so long, they took to celebrating monthly because both were over the moon with the fact that they were now an official item. But Jane had forgotten, so wrapped up in her work this week.

"Oh god," she muttered, tears pricking at her eyes, "I'm so sorry, I forgot about dinner. I've just been so-"

"Stressed?" Nymphia sighed, sitting on the desk next to her, grabbing her hand and squeezing gently.

"That's an understatement," Jane huffed, hiding her face in her hands.

"Hey," Nymphia whispered, gently removing her hands from her face, "Come on, pack up your stuff. We'll go back to mine."

"But dinner-we had reservations."

Nymphia tucked a strand of hair behind Jane's ear. "It's okay. Just let me take care of you. If that's okay?"

"You want to take care of me?"

"Of course I do, why wouldn't I?"

Jane shrugged. "Well, I ruined our date night."

"It's okay, I forgive you, now come on, I'll even let you use my good bath bombs."

Helping Jane pack, Nymphia then led her by the hand to her car so Jane didn’t have to take the train back home.

Nymphia drove in a comfortable silence, content with listening to Jane hum softly to the radio.

Once they were inside her apartment, Nymphoa turned all of her attention toward Jane, yanking her to the bedroom and nudging off her blazer.

“I didn’t know that’s what you meant when you said you wanted to take care of me,” Jane chuckled, but Nymphia noticed the tiredness in her eyes.

“Not at all what I meant, Janey,” she replied, bopping Jane on the nose, “bath first, yeah?”

Jane hummed, nodding her head slowly, imagining the bliss that was to come. Nymphia’s apartment had an impressive bathtub, perfect for soaking for hours.

“Which bath bomb do you want?”

“How about one of the pink ones with the rose petals? It smells so nice.”

“Perfect, let me go start the water and then I’ll help you undress. Stay here.”

As odd as it felt to be doted over like this, Jane felt herself fall into it and relaxing, letting Nymphi strip her of her work outfit in the most tender and loving way possible. Jane had never been undressed in a way other than sexually, but she found herself melting internally as Nymphia unbuttoned each of her buttons on her blouse then slipped it off her shoulders, the rest of her clothes following until she was nude and being guided to the bathroom where the tub was already almost full, warmth emanating from it.

Nymphia dropped the bath bomb in and watched as the water turned pink around it. She lit a few candles and dimmed the lights before she deemed the setting perfect.

“Alright, in you go,” she said, grabbing Jane by the hand and helping her in.

The warm water enveloped Jane in a calm sense of bliss. She sighed as her muscles relaxed and for the first time in a week, her mind thought of something other than work.

Nymphia smiled, admiring Jane as she relaxed. “Alright, Janey, I’m going to go order dinner and tidy up, just yell when you’re done, okay?”

She was about to walk away, but Jane grabbed her hand, pulling her back. “Wait-“

“Did I forget something?”

“I-“ Jane hesitated, “I want you.”

Feeling her heart melt, Nymphia sat on the side of the tub. “You want me to stay with you?”

Jane shook her head. “No, I mean yes, but I want-I want you to get in with me. If you want.”

There was something sweet and vulnerable to her voice that Nymphia couldn’t say no to, even if she wanted to. She stripped herself down to nothing and climbed into the tub, resting against Jane’s chest.

Jane immediately wrapped her arms around Nymphia’s middle, nuzzling her nose in her neck and kissing her there gently. “Thank you,” she whispered into her ear.

[transingthoseformers]

Bets on the identity of Star Saber's sire are widely split with the top contenders being: Skyfire & Optimus Prime.

Most of the Decepticons are fully aware of Starscream's former "friend" and his reaction in the months immediately following Skyfire becoming an Autobot. Everyone saw when they finally confronted each other and it somehow turned into a dragout shouting match that Skyfire returned with small snippy comments and drunk Starscream running around base having a shouting match with Skyfire over the official Decepticon frequency while Megatron stumbled after trying to get him to hang up. They were arguing over Starscream's thesis because the two of them agreed in most things but were constantly writing rebuttals against each other.

Optimus meanwhile is voted "Starscream's type" and most likely to "go for it" given his taste. Megatron is the main backer of this theory and firmly convinced Elita-1 and Starscream have a lot of similarity qualities which is really revealing a lot more about his taste than Optimus's. But a few others are on this bandwagon because the "amnesia thing" that nobody talks about did happen and Starscream and Optimus became close and Optimus sometimes still throws him disappointed doe eyes.

There are arguments pets and a lot of side eying on the battlefield.

They are, of course, all very wrong. Which the Sire, who is quietly freaking out once he gets the news and promptly sneaks into the Victory via the vents confirms when Starscream post reveal to the Autobots who've been trying desperately to figure out why the Decepticons have "lost their collective shit". Bumblebee dusty and freaking out having not slept since he found out is then introduced to Star Saber by Starscream who retrieves the napping baby from his cockpit but doesn't let Bee touch him until he's washed off. Slightly hysterical Bumblebee showers off and spends the next few hours cuddling his baby while finding all sorts of neat coding he didn't know existed while Starscream lounges satisfied and naps stress finally leaving him because he has been on edge for months.

Bumblebee decides then and there that clearly this means he has to end the war.

Yep yep, of course of course.

Makes sense they'd blame Skyfire, yes yes they were rather close, after all...

Lol nice to see they'd blame Optimus just like I originally did, at this point when someone's knocked up and the sire is a "mystery" I'm starting to blame Optimus first (if, of course, he was not the one sparked up).

zdcv nOT MEGATRON BEING THE MAIN DEBATER IN FAVOR OF THE STAROP THEORY

He's just sitting here insulting Optimus's taste, or at least thinks he is

ohhh oppy? Oppy Oppy?

Very very wrong yes yes

~time to abuse spec ops skillz~

Nice to see I was right that it was Bumblebee!!

oh bee

Aww, yes! Bee meets Saber🥰

Bumblebee you are seriously gonna use this as motivation to end the war, I'd like to see you try

[eddieschains]

Virgin!Eddie X Fem!Reader

Massive thank you to @choke-me-joey for helping me on this one!! Love you to pieces 🥰

Just a reminder that i am taking requests and also… virginity is a construct

TW: 18+, drug use, Jason and Chrissy making out, Steve Harrington is bad at sex, p in v sex, unprotected sex (wrap it before you tap it)

Eddie Munson. The freak. The weirdo. The cult leader. And surprisingly, the virgin.

You and Eddie were becoming fast friends when you accidentally walked in on a hellfire meeting while looking for after school study hall. He made some sarcastic and borderline mean comment about you interrupting, but after seeing what he was like in the school cafeteria, you knew he didn’t mean it. He saw you sitting on the sidewalk after his campaign was over, and drove you home when your dad didn’t show. The two of you had practically been attached at the hip ever since.

You and Eddie had created a friday night tradition of getting high at skull rock, watching the constellations, then going back to his trailer for snacks and a movie. You had just pulled up to skull rock, gathering your supplies before looking beside you. You see another car parked next to Eddie’s. Being the nosy person you are, you look over to see Jason and Chrissy inside. They had their tongues shoved down each other’s throats in the front seat.

“Ed.” You tapped him on the shoulder. He turns towards you as you point to the car next to you.

“Is that?” He doesn’t finish his sentence before you start nodding anxiously.

“Goddamn it i just wanted to smoke some weed.” He pouts.

“Well isn’t Wayne out of town for the weekend? Can’t we just do it at your place?” You ask, frantically wanting to leave this situation.

Eddie nods, stuffing his supplies back into his tin box. “Yeah we can do that. Kind of ruining our tradition though.”

You put your hands up and shrug. Implying an oh well. He turns the engine back on, putting the car in gear and driving off.

Eddie pulls into the driveway and you hop out running into the trailer. He grabs you some sweatpants and a shirt to change into for the night while he makes some popcorn for your movie night.

“What movie are we watching?” You ask while rummaging through his movie case.

“You can pick tonight. Forgot to stop at family video.” He sits on the couch, bringing the bowl of popcorn with him.

“Ooh! Footloose?” Eddie whips his head around.

“I own footloose?” He asks. You hold up the tape in your hand, wiggling your eyebrows up and down. “Fine. You’re lucky i like you enough to suffer through it for you.”

“You like musicals.” You put the VHS in before plopping down on the couch next to him.

“Some musicals. Footloose is just a bunch of horny teenagers trying to fuck each other without anyone knowing.” He rolls a joint, lighting it and handing it to you. He always let you have the first hit, knowing it would hit you hit you harder than it would him and you’d enjoy it more.

You sat there passing the joint back and forth, stuffing popcorn into your face until Eddie piped up.

“So Jason and Chrissy.” He states.

“Yeah. Jason and Chrissy.” You respond, uninterested.

“You ever done what… what they were doing?” You turn to him, confusion written on your face.

“Made out?” Eddie nods. “Yeah i’ve made out with people Eddie.” You snort.

“With people? As in multiple?” He always asked weird questions when he was high, but usually bounced between subjects once you answered.

“Yes i’ve made out with multiple people. Is that bad?” Eddie shakes his head.

“No no of course not. I just- have you ever done anything more?” He stumbles over his words.

“Like sex? Yeah i’ve had sex Eds. What are you getting at?”

“What does it feel like?” His curiosity was killing him.

“I mean it can feel good or it can feel bad. Depends on who you’re with.” Eddie just nods, returning his gaze back to the TV.

“Harrington is shit at it.”

He snorts out a laugh, “That’s probably why he can’t keep a girlfriend.” Taking another hit from the joint.

“Eddie?” He turns back to you. “Are you a virgin?”

He looks down, playing with his hands in his lap. “I mean i fingered that one girl in the back of the hideout once. But… that’s pretty much it.”

“Do you want to have sex?” You place your hand on his thigh, feeling it twitch at your touch.

“I mean of course i want to have sex. Just… just haven’t found anyone that wants to do it with me.”

“I will.” You move closer to him, your chest pressed against his arm.

“Y/N… i cant- i can’t do that.” He stands up to throw the but of his joint in the trash.

“And why not? You’re comfortable with me aren’t you?” You respond, wondering why someone who was so eager to have sex is turning it down.

“Because i like you.” He blurts out. Your eyes feel like they’re going to pop out of your head. “Fuck im sorry.”

“No no it’s okay. Come here.” You pat the seat next to you, inviting him back to the couch.

“I like you. I like you a lot. And i was trying really hard not to act on those feelings because i like what we have right now and i don’t want to ruin it. But seeing Jason back there- it made me think of how badly i wanted that to be me and you.” You don’t know what to say. You’re shocked. Shocked that your best friend has just confessed his feelings for you, and that you feel the same way. “Fuck i shouldn’t have said anything.” You grab his face and pull him into a kiss. It’s quick, but rough.

When you pull away, Eddie is left staring at you. His big eyes burning into your skin. It was rare for him to be at a loss for words.

You wrap your legs around his waist, straddling him before kissing him again. This time you’re savoring it. Putting more passion into it as his hands find their way onto your hips.

“If you want me to stop just say so. We can forget this ever happened.” You say, not wanting him to feel pressured to do anything.

“Babe, i just told you how much i like you and how much i’ve been dying to fuck someone. Put two and two together.” You laugh into his neck, placing another peck to his lips before lifting your shirt over your head. Wearing no bra, you’ve now exposed your chest to him.

He just sits there, staring at your tits in awe, not knowing what to do next. You grab his hands and place them on your chest, letting him squeeze his hands over them.

“You’ve never touched anyones boobs before?” He shakes his head mumbling uh-uh.

You hold his hands on top of your boobs, guiding them around your chest.

“This okay?” He asks breathily.

“Yeah yeah this is good. You can play with my nipples too.” He grabs your nipples between his fingers, twisting them around. “Yes oh my god like that.” You bury your head into his neck, kissing and sucking while grinding yourself on his crotch. “Wanna fuck you Ed. Please, wanna feel you inside of me.”

Eddie groans into your ear before attaching his lips to yours. You reach your hand in between the two of you, palming his dick under his pants. You stand up to take your sweatpants off, pulling your underwear with them.

“Oh my god…”’Eddie groans at the sight of you. “You’re so- fuck.”

“Pants off pretty boy.” You smile at him. He eagerly undoes his belt and pulls his pants down to his ankles. You straddle him again, grinding your naked pussy on his hard cock, coating it in your wetness. “Ready?” You ask, Eddie’s head nodding so fast you’re scared he’s going to snap his neck.

Reaching down you grab his member, sliding it up and down your cunt, taking in the sounds coming from his mouth, before slowly pushing it inside of you.

“Oh shit.” Eddie wraps his arms around your back, holding on to you for leverage as you sink yourself all the way down.

“Fuck you’re so big Eddie. Fill me up so good.” You begin to grind back and forth slowly, letting him get used to the feeling of being inside of you. Both of your heads are buried in the others neck, moans and groans seeping into each other’s ears. “Gonna go faster now okay?” You breathe on to him.

Lifting your head from his neck, you place your hands on his shoulders before lifting yourself up and back down quickly. His eyes start to shut as you grab one of his hands from your waist and place it on your chest. He grabs your mound and starts to squeezing and kneading the way you had shown him earlier.

“That’s it baby. Just like that. Such a good boy for me.” Eddie throws his head back, a loud moan escaping his mouth at your praise. You keep bouncing up and down, feeling him deeper each time you slam back down. “Eddie, you okay?”

“What? Yeah im fuckin great.”

“You’re not talking. This is the quietest i’ve heard you.” You laugh.

“Didn’t know i was supposed to.” Eddie’s cheeks flush red.

You grab onto his face, pushing your foreheads together, still bouncing up and down. “Just tell me how it feels. Tell me if i’m doing okay or if you want something different.” He nods, wrapping the arm that wasn’t on your tit around your back.

“Feels so good. So fucking wet and-shit- and tight.” He starts bucking his hips up to yours, earning louder moans from you. “Think im gonna cum soon.”

“Me too. Go ahead cum for me Eddie, wanna feel it.” Your words push him over the edge, and you feel his cock twitch inside of you as his body tenses. It’s not long until you’re doing the same. The feeling of his orgasm triggers your own, feeling the walls of your push clench and tighten around him, earning one last moan from him.

You lay on top of him, keeping his cock inside of you while placing small soft kisses on his neck. “You’re not a virgin anymore.”

He laughs, “That i am not. Kind of hoping i’m not single anymore too.” You look up at him, smashing your lips on to his. “Nope. Not single either.”

[canirove]

In The Name of Love | Chapter 10

Previous chapter | Next chapter

Masterlist

"This has been the best Christmas present ever, Val. Seriously."

"You're welcome" I smile.

"Barça won, we watched it from some of the best seats, and Pedri scored! It had been a while, you know?"

"I don't keep up with what they do." 

Which is a lie, because whether I like it or not, this season I am paying attention to what Barça does. 

"Did you see Pedri's celebration? Today it was different."

"How so?" I ask.

"He started doing it this season, and the first time it was towards the stands. Then he started doing it towards the camera, and today again to the stands. We believe it is dedicated to someone."

"We?"

"His fans, of course."

"Of course" I chuckle. 

"Some people say he does it for a friend, but many think it is for a girl, because he sends a kiss and then does a peace sign. But it can also be a V for Victoria or Verónica for example."

Or Valeria, I say to myself.

"Oh my God, Val! I just realized something!" Marina says, squeezing my arm. "He did the celebration looking at where we were! What if we were sitting next to whoever that person is?"

"Could be a possibility, I guess."

"Oh… my God" she says. "And it's my turn to go into the bathroom. Don't leave, ok?"

"I won't, don't worry."

Once she goes in, my phone pings.

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

Where are you?

Bathroom

I'm done in 5 minutes. Do you know where to go?

Yep

Do you have your passes with you?

Yep

Are you going to use more than one word on your replies? 😂

Maybe 🤷‍♀️

🙄 

Did you like my goal? 🥰

Meh

I'm gonna stop dedicating them to you if you don't appreciate them 🙄

I liked it.  Though I would have liked it a lot more if it hadn't been the winning one

🙄

😚

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

"Who are you texting?"

"Fuck, Marina! You scared me!" I say, quickly hiding my phone.

"Was it your boyfriend?"

"I don't have a boyfriend."

"Then your no boyfriend. You were smiling like an idiot."

"I wasn't… Whatever. There is somewhere where we need to go. Here" I say, giving him one of the passes.

"What does this mean?" she says, inspecting it.

"That you are a very lucky girl. Let's go."

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

"Oh my God, Val. I can't believe we are in the lounge area! It is so fancy…"

"It is just a room full of people, Marina."

"Yes, but that's Anna Lewandowska over there. And Coral is over there too. We are surrounded by wags!"

"Yeah…" I say, looking around. Could I see myself hanging out with these people?

"How did you manage all this?"

"I told you I know someone" I shrug.

"Is it your no boyfriend? Does he work for Barça?"

"No."

"Val, are you dating Ferran?"

"What?" I laugh.

"I know he follows you on Instagram."

"He doesn't."

"He does. The other day I was checking who had liked that photo of us together that you posted on Christmas, and I saw him. He follows you with his private account."

"I didn't know."

"Oh, c'mon Val. Your account is private too, you know who follows you and who doesn't. And your cheeks are so red right now…" Marina chuckles. "It's fine if he's the one you are shagging, he's hot."

"I'm not…"

"Val, hey!" Ferran says behind us.

"Shit" I whisper. "Hello."

"How are you, did you enjoy the game?"

"You won, so no" I shrug.

"Always so honest… Is this your cousin?"

"Yep."

"Marina, right? Nice to meet you" he says with his best smile before kissing her cheeks.

"Hi" she giggles. "Are you Val's no boyfriend?"

"Marina!"

"If I am what?" Ferran laughs.

"Nothing, ignore her."

"Val got the tickets for today's game and these passes through someone who definitely works for Barça, this isn't available for everyone. You two follow each other on Instagram, and you clearly behave as friends, so…" she shrugs.

"Sadly, it isn't me" he says.

"But I am right about her dating someone who works for Barça, am I not?"

"Maybe" Ferran shrugs.

"Eric! You are dating Eric García! Of course! He is so your type with the beard and the hair… and when he wears his glasses he looks very posh. Totally your type!"

"He isn't my…"

"Oh my God, that's Gavi!" Marina says, grabbing my arm and squeezing it once again. "And that… Val, it's him" she gasps.

"Who?"

"Him, Val. Him! And he's coming this way with Gavi. Ok, ok… Deep breaths. How do I look?"

"Beautiful" Ferran says, making her giggle again.

"Hello, Val. And company" Pedri smiles.

"Hi" both Marina and I say at the same time and using the same silly tone. My teenage self is back, great.

"You are Marina, right?" he asks. "Nice to meet you."

"Oh my God, Val. He knows my name! Did her boyfriend tell you about me?"

"Her boyfriend?" Gavi says, his eyes wide.

"Do you have a boyfriend, Val?" Pedri asks, arching an eyebrow.

"I don't."

"They aren't official yet, but she is seeing Eric García" Marina smiles.

"What?" Gavi says, his eyes now even wider.

"He apparently is her type" Ferran chuckles.

"Is he?" Pedri asks with a teasing smile.

"He isn't. Marina is talking nonsense, don't listen to her."

"Maybe being at the Camp Nou also affects her like happens to you" he says, still smiling. "How is it going, by the way? Feeling itchy?"

"Now that you mention it, I do feel a bit itchy, yes."

"I can help and scratch you where you don't reach" Pedri smirks.

"Marina, why don't we take some photos, uh?" Ferran suddenly says. 

"Oh, yes! Please!" she smiles.

"The light is really good next to those windows. Gavi, why don't you accompany her?"

"Sure…" he says, looking at everyone with a confused look before walking away with Marina.

"You're welcome" Ferran says, crossing his arms over his chest.

"What for?" Pedri asks.

"What for? Really?" he replies, rolling his eyes. "You were shamelessly flirting in front of her. I don't know how she didn't notice."

"We weren't flirting" I snort. 

"I'm feeling itchy. I can help you where you don't reach" Ferran says with a funny voice. "You were flirting and giving each other sex eyes."

"What?" Pedri a I say at the same time.

"I get it, you haven't fucked in a while and are horny for each other. But try to tone it down in front of the kids, ok?"

"In front of the kids" I laugh. "As if you were much older."

"Whatever. Let's go take those photos with your cousin, Gavi is already asking for help" Ferran says, walking away.

"You heard him, Val. Tone it down" Pedri smirks.

"Me? You were the one who started it all!"

"But you were the one who started with sex eyes."

"I wasn't."

"You were, Val. But if you are so needy, we can meet tomorrow."

"I am not needy." Well, maybe I am a bit needy. But just a bit.

"Lunch at my place?" 

"Fine" I sigh. "Now let's go meet the others."

"Don't you want to go say hello to your boyfriend? He just walked in" he says, nodding behind him and towards where Eric is.

"Fuck you, Pedro."

"Tomorrow, Val. We are fucking tomorrow" he grins, making me roll my eyes before walking away while he just smiles like an idiot.

[itzsana-kiddingmenow]

SKZ Reactions to You Blowing Raspberries on their Stomach Randomly: Maknae Line Edition

●～●～●～●～●～●～●～●～●～●～●～●～●

Hyunjin:

it’s no surprise that hyunjin’s insanely ticklish

no one (except maybe innie) has ever been more ticklish 

if you blow a raspberry, expect him to ACTUALLY ascend

scream laughing baby

cutie 🥰 

It wasn’t every day that you got to exploit your boyfriend’s ticklishness, but when you did it was a real treat. Such as right now. 

“Hyune? I’m kinda in a…mood. Can i try something out with you?” You asked, flushing a shy pink when Hyunjin smiled sweetly at you. 

“Sure sweetie. What is it?” He asked, putting down his art magazine to sit next you on the couch. 

“Well Jisung was doing something to me earlier to make me laugh, and it’s been a while since i’ve seen you laugh so mind if i try it out?” You ask nervously, bracing for a harsh no. 

“No problem hun. Do whatever.” Hyune replied as you glance at him nervously. 

“Okay…” You start as you pulled him to the floor slowly and straddled his thighs. Hyunjin’s eyes widened but he didn’t stop you. You slowly pulled his shirt up to expose his flat stomach before taking a deep breath. 

Hyunjin screamed loudly when you lowered your lips to his stomach, blowing out all the air like a trumpet. 

“HAAHAAHAA PLEHAHAHAEASE NOAHA!” Hyunjin thrashed and wriggled as he was seemingly unable to escape your grasp. 

When you felt him finally gripping your hair in an iron grip, laughter silent, you decide he probably had enough. 

“Wahahah i wasn’t expecting that…” He giggled quietly as you got off of him.

“Cmon. you definitely liked that” You retort, grinning at his reddening face.  

I mean, he didn’t deny it.

Han Jisung:

knee ticklish baby

so maaayyybee not the stomach 

idk i’m sorry to whoever requested the stomach but his kNEES ASHSHDJSKSHF

tickle there and you’ll have a begging jisung in seconds 🥰💖

“Hi bun!” You exclaim as you walked into the recording studio. Jisung ran into your arms, exhausted. 

“Awe baby, long day? You want a massage?” You ask, heart melting at the sight of the boy smushing his face into your chest. 

So that’s where you were now, straddling his lower thighs as you slowly work out all the knots in his back. The shorts he was wearing made the exposed underside of his knees very tempting, and you suppressed the urge to nibble the sensitive skin. 

Slowly the urge are you up slowly until you were desperately craving Jisung’s laughter. He was more pouty than usual. 

So you turned around, ignoring Jisung as he asked what was going on, and grabbed his right foot before suddenly taking a deep breath and blowing it all out on the underside of his knee. 

“Don’t you da-HAHAHARE! Y/N!” Jisung screeched, his left leg swung towards your face. However you had been hanging out with Minho and managed to inherit some of his reflexes, catching the other’s foot and scratching over his bare sole. 

“NOOOAHAHAHA BAHAHABY IHIT TIHICKLES-” Hannie choked out as he tried his hardest to pull his foot out of your grasp. 

“ ‘Course it does, Sungie. I’d be a little concerned if it didn’t tickle.” You stated matter of factly, only tickling harder as you managed to get a proper grip on his legs. 

Jisung howled with laughter as you continued blowing raspberries on his knees, switching between each leg to produce a loud squeal. 

“HAHAHA PLEHEASE I CAHAHANT!” He squealed as he tried his hardest to stop your nimble fingers on his sole. 

You decided to finish off by blowing the longest raspberry you could while your hands absolutely destroyed his other knee. 

Jisung screamed loudly, tears flowed freely down his face as his body writhed in ticklish agony. 

You ran out of breath soon enough and took another just to scare the boy, almost doubling over yourself at his frantic screech of mercy. 

“ihim so tihired…” Jisung confessed as he buried his head into your chest once more, a demand for cuddles for which you happily obliged. Only the best for your Sungie. 

Felix:

my lil sunshine 🥹

so ticklish on his stomach and sides it actually insane

will thrash so you gotta be careful 

i may be self projecting but his sides probably have freckles

cuuutee

💛🧡😁

The smell of freshly baked brownies wafted through the room as you watched Felix load the brownie batter into the over, closing it before setting the timer. He then turned to add some sugar to his already half-done cupcake mix. 

You walked up behind him and wrap your arms around his waist, lightly clutching the thin material of his t-shirt. 

He didn’t say anything, just smiled slightly and peacefully continued his baking. However you had other plans to disturb the peace. 

You slightly lifted his t-shirt, pausing every few seconds to make sure he didn’t notice, before you dropped to your knees and blew the longest raspberry right on Felix’s freckled side, wrapping your hands around the other side of his stomach to keep him in place. 

He squealed as he tried to move to one side and found himself trapped. Lixie started laughing as he mixed his batter, eyes crinkling around the edges as his whisking slowly became more shakier. 

“AHAHAHA AGH YOUHU LIHITTLE BRAHAHAT!”

You continued until Felix begged for mercy, and then stopped only when he threatened your brownies. 

“sAURRR cuteee~” You drawled.

“Copying my accent now, eh?” Lixie asked before turning around and grabbing your waist as you begged for forgiveness, and he made sure you laughed just as much as he did. 

Seungmin:

aGH what a sweetie 

raspberries murder him

even tickling him isn’t an often occurrence 

BUT WHEN IT HAPPENS

his lil “aH”

seungmin’s laugh should be bottled up and sold

i would be the first buyer

🐶💖

Lazy days with Seungmin were usually the quietest. Being alone together. As in you both sit next to each other however you both would be doing your own thing. 

Usually Seungmin would read a book and you would continue or start some knitting or watch videos on your phone. 

Although it was your lazy day, you still felt as though you wanted to have fun with Minnie, however he was way to enthusiastic about finishing his new book, and you didn’t want to ruin that for him. 

A few minutes of fun couldn’t hurt…right? You scooted next to him slowly while pulling up his hoodie to reveal his pale tummy, before leaning down and pressing your lips to his stomach before heaving and blowing the biggest raspberry you’ve ever blown…ever. 

“Oh-noHOHOHO! NAHAHA SOHO MEHEHEAN!” Seungmin squeaked as he jolted and squirmed wildly. You only latched onto him like a baby before blowing and nibbling the sensitive skin of his stomach. 

“WHAHAHAT DID I DOHOHO?!” Seungmin screeched when you managed to sneak a nibble onto his belly button, book long forgotten on the other side of the couch. 

“mmm nofing…” You mumble into his side, only resulting in some more crazed laughter. 

That’s when you got a good grip and blew a raspberry into his hip. 

Seungmin wailed in laughter as tears slipped down his face, head thrown back and back slightly arching. 

You let up when his laughter cut out, and he started weakly slapping your head while he silently begged. 

“youhu ahare sO mehean…” He commented before snuggling up to you. 

“You love it though…” You teased, grinning at the squeak and the sudden blush on his face. 

Jeongin:

ticklish BABY

CANNOT HANDLE IT

AT ALL

will ascend and die in heaven

if it’s possible

will wiggle around 

🦊

You watched as your boyfriend slowly flipped the pages of his book, incredibly unaware of the brewing plan in your head. You just had to wait for the right moment to strike. 

When he yawned and stretched from the long hours sprawled on his bed, you decided that it was that moment or none. 

A quick pull of his shirt and duck of your head was enough to alert the fox as he yelled and begged for ANYTHING but that. 

However, he was drowned out by his own hysterics as you blew a long raspberry to his belly button, latching your fingers into his hips and kneading into the hollows. 

“NOAHAHA STAHP!” He screeched, trying to sound stern but failing miserably. You soon did stop, but not before pouting at the boy as guilt started to pool at the bottom of his stomach. 

“Okay. I’m sorry baby. You can blow one. JUST ONE. Got it?” 

You nodded aggressively while Innie took a few breaths to brace himself. You quickly took a deep breath and blew another raspberry, smiling when Jeongin burst into another round of hysterics, and you know you promised, but you just HAD to hear more of his laughter. 

“YOUHU PROHOMISED! STAHAP I CAHANT TAKE IHIHIT!” I.N cackled as you continued to blow more raspberries, and he thrashed as much as he could. 

Jeongin could only hope the vibrating sensations through his stomach would stop, however the raspberries only get bigger every time. 

Soon enough you let up, grinning down at the boy’s red, teary face. 

“ahaha youhu prohomised…” He whined, and you couldn’t help but shower him in kisses 

“Don’t worry baby, i’ll make it up to you.” You promised before leaning down for one more kiss. 

●～●～●～●～●～●～●～●～●～●～●～●～●

i’m so in love with this AGHHH 😭💗✨

[captainlunaxmen]

Be My Queen

Chapter 7 (finale)

Eddie Munson x reader x Steve Harrington

This is a repost since the old blog doesn't work anymore. 🥰

Chapter summary: finally home.

Chapter warnings: none.

I sense movement around me, but when I open my eyes it still dark so I can't recognise who's in the room with me.

As I try to sit up I hear something whispering "shit", I instantly recognise the voice.

"Eddie?" I ask, finally sitting up straight and turning the lights on.

I find him sitting in a chair next to my bed, or he was trying to... I think he fell asleep and fell.

"What are you doing here?" I ask.

"Hello, sweetheart" he innocently greets, "I... uh... I'm here to visit."

I look at him perplexed and look at the time.

1 am.

"It's... 1 in the morning, Eddie... did something happen?" I'm suddenly feeling worried.

"No... no... I just missed you"

I look at him suspiciously.

"Eddie,"

He deeply sighs and come sit back next to my bed.

"Had a nightmare," he states, looking down. "I needed to check if it really was a nightmare."

"Do you wanna talk about it?" I ask, reaching out to gently grab his hand.

"It's nothing... I mean, now it feels a lot more like a nightmare and not like reality, you know when you think back at the dream you were having and you realise all those things that were obviously not real, but felt real when you were IN the dream... it's stupid.. I'm sorry" he shakes his head, stopping his rambling.

"It isn't. Trust me, I know." I squeeze his hand to get his attention, "we all do, Eddie."

"I did think I lost you," he chokes on his words, "I... had to check,"

"Come here," I scoot a little on the side so he can lay on the bed with me.

He wraps his arms around me, careful not to touch my bandages. He lays his head on my chest, sighing deeply.

"I'm sorry, I woke you up," he mutters.

"Shush. You have nothing to be sorry for," I gently play with his hair. "You can wake me up anytime you want."

"Thank you,"

"Take a deep breath, nothing's gonna hurt you," I kiss his head, "We won. That asshole got what he deserved, he's not gonna do anything anymore"

"We won," he quietly.

"You're not alone, know that, okay?" I whisper.

"Okay"

With that we both lay down and fall asleep in each other's arms.

--------------

I wake up suddenly when I feel a hand on my forehead.

"It's me, kid. It's me," I look up and immediately calm down, seeing Hop beside my hospital bed.

"Sorry..." I mutter as I sit up a bit straighter.

"Not your fault, kid. Deep breaths," he says.

I take a deep breath as he said.

I notice Eddie's not anywhere in the room, I look around confused and Hopper, knowing what I'm about to ask, answers.

"I sent him home to get some proper sleep. He didn't want to wake you up... again, apparently" I can feel his curiosity.

"He had a nightmare and came to check" I explain and he nods, understanding. "How long have you been here?" I then ask, wondering what time it is.

"Don't worry about it," he smiles at me.

"Since the visiting hours started?" I tease.

"What did you expect?" He laughs, and I follow, "How are you feeling, sweetheart?"

"I'm okay," I notice his expression turning into a concerning one, almost guilty. "I'm okay, dad, I promise." I reassure him."The pain is almost entirely gone. And I'm alive."

"You're so brave," he smiles.

"Yeah, yeah... they already told me, " I say faking arrogance.

"Of course they did. You don't need this old man telling you how proud I am of you." He points out.

"I'll always need you to tell me if you're proud of me," I confess.

He smiles, moved, I think I even see his eyes slightly watering.

"Well, I am very, very proud of you... what you did wasn't for everybody. "

"Did... did they tell you..." he nods, and I let out a little sigh of relief, knowing I don't have to tell the whole thing again.

"What about the nightmares and... visions?" He tentatively asks.

"What about them?"

"Are they still that bad?" He asks, " and don't lie to me, kid. When I walked in yesterday, you were terrified." He warns.

"Kind of..." I sigh, defeated. There's no way to avoid telling him, "They feel so real. At first, when I first woke up after everything, I couldn't separate reality and dreams. When I saw you walking in, I... I thought he was using you to haunt me... and I mean, you can't blame me... I thought you were dead!"

"I'm sorry, sweetheart," he says softly.

"No, no, I mean, it's not like it's your fault," I let out a humourless chuckle, "what happened anyway?"

"Russian prison," he simply answers.

"What!?" I exclaim.

A knock on the door stops Hop from explaining.

"Hey, sweetheart," Joyce walks in with a box in hand.

"Hi, Joyce," I smile at her, "What's in there?" I ask, curiosity taking the best of me.

"Breakfast," she answers with her usual reassuring smile.

She gently puts the box on the bed, opening it, revealing several kinds of doughnuts. My eyes light up immediately.

"Oh, I love you!" I cheer.

"Don't let those boys hear you," Hop jokes as he hands me a doughnut.

"Jim," Joyce scolds him with a look.

"I didn't say anything," he defends himself, taking a bite himself.

"Stop teasing her."

"I'm just doing my job, Joyce!" He explains.

"You... are you sure you're not mad?" I ask.

"Of course not, as long as they treat you right, I have no reason to be mad about it." He states, "They do treat you right... right?" He checks.

"Yes, Hop. They treat me right." I smile at both him and Joyce, "but... a Russian prison? What the fuck?!"

"Okay, first of all language-" he starts.

"Don't give me that, you can't just drop a bomb like that and expect me to 'watch my language', alright?" I scoff. "You have to tell me everything."

"In due time, kid," he chuckles, taking a bite from his doughnut.

"Oh, c'mon," I insist.

"I promise, I promise!" He laughs, mouth still full.

"He got captured, befriended a guard, Enzo, and sent a message to me letting me know he was alive," Joyce starts, earning a betrayed look from Hop, "Murray and I flew to Alaska to this guy who was supposed to take us there, but he drugged our drinks, because he wanted to hand us over to the police. We managed to escape and found a way to get into the prison and save Hopper and Enzo."

"Wow..." I say.

"Oh... and we fought some of those ugly creatures too," Joyce then smiles proudly. "That's basically it,"

"Shit..." that's all I manage to say.

"Yeah... pretty much," Hopper sighs.

"Makes sense though," I say.

"What?" Hopper asks.

"You befriending a guard,"

"I got my ways, kiddo" he proudly grins.

"I gotta thanks this Enzo guy, then," I smile, "for saving my dad."

Hop smiles back at me and lean closer to kiss the top of my head and I catch Joyce looking at us lovingly.

----------------

"Are you ready, sweetheart?" Steve calls from the door.

"Yeah, not that I had to pack that much," I smile, walking to him and kissing him.

"Let's go then," he winks and grabs my hand, leading me out of the hospital. "It doesn't hurt anymore, right?"

"Well... it just stings every now and then, but it'll pass" I nudge him reassurignly, "Where's Eddie?" I ask, curious why I'm not seeing him anywhere.

"What? Am I not enough for you?" He puts his hand on his heart, feigning hurt.

"Well... I need someone with decent music taste," I tease.

"That's hurtful, honey," he playfully scolds me, "gotta have to punish you."

He says it so lightly, but it's just enough for my brain to start racing, along with my heart.

"Oh is that so?" I smirk.

"Yep," he squeezes my hand and pull me more to him as we near his car.

"Hope you can keep your promise," I hint and squeeze his hand back.

"You know I can, sweetheart," he moves his hand on my hip, squeezing it before opening the car door, and I get in.

"Are you sure Hopper is fine with you staying at my place?" Steve asks once he's in the car, too.

"Yap. Since El is still wanted and staying at the cabin, it's better not to bring any attention to it, " I answer. Steve must've noticed the worry in my voice, because he gently take my hand in his as he drives.

"It's gonna be fine, okay?" He reassures me and I nod, smiling grateful at him.

"So," I start, changing the subject, "did Eddie move in already?"

"Yep," he answers, popping the p, "he's been a pain in the ass since."

"Don't be mean," I chuckle amused.

"Just kidding, it was all fine. Except yesterday morning, I couldn't find him anywhere, not until afternoon."

"He didn't say anything?" I ask, wondering why Eddie didn't say anything about the nightmare. Steve shakes his head. "He came to the hospital. He apparently had a nightmare and came to make sure it really was just a nightmare."

"He could've told me."

"I think he was embarrassed," I explain, "he didn't want to tell me either, but I mean, it's not like he could hide anything from me. " I chuckle slightly, "we've been through a lot, we are, sort of, used to all this... he wasn't."

"Yeah... it makes sense," Steve nods, "well, now he's part of the gang... I'll make sure he knows that."

I bring his hand, that was holding mine, up to my lips kissing it lovingly as a thank you.

We arrive at his house rather quickly, and as soon as I step foot out of the car he rushes to my side.

"Now... I need you to close your eyes." He simply asks, or better, demands.

"Why?" I sigh.

"Just keep 'em close, will you?" He smiles at me and takes my hand in his ready to lead me into the house.

I give him one last sceptical look, and I close my eyes, letting me lead the way.

"I swear, Steve, you make me fall, I'll kick your ass," I warn him, chuckling.

"You won't fall, love, don't you trust me at all?"

"Not one bit," I answer.

"You wound me!" He feigns hurt.

I tentatively walk with Steve until he stops, and I hear him opening the door.

"Alright, watch your steps, sweetheart," he sweetly warns.

"I can't see..." I laugh.

He leads me into his house for a few more steps, and then he leaves my side.

"Steve?" I call, "Steve, I warned you, didn't I?"

"Open your eyes, love," I recognise Eddie's voice and immediately open my eyes seeing everyone in Steve's living room, with a big sign with "Thank you" written on it.

"Welcome back!" They all scream.

"Oh god!" I exclaim, covering my mouth with my hand holding in a sob, "You're terrible!"

I walk to them and let them hug me.

"Never do that again, okay?" Lucas, basically, scolds me.

"I promise, I promise!" I comfort him, and everyone else around me, already knowing it is not the last time I'm scolded.

"You better!" Max supports Lucas.

"Alright!" I exclaim laughing, "Alright! I said I promise."

"Especially without us here!" Mike complains.

"As if it would've made any difference," Dustin teases him.

"We could've helped," Will tentatively speaks up.

El simply stays by my side, sending me a knowing look, almost to say "I will always protect you even from afar"

"She's way to stubborn, and, not to mention, that monster was fucking crazy!" Lucas argues back, all of them still around me.

"Alright guys, let her breath." Eddie chuckles making his way through the sea of bodies.

"I am breathing, let them be," I laugh.

"Well, I want to hug my girl, can I?" Eddie complains and opens his arms ready to give me a big hug.

"Come here," I let him wrap him arms around me, holding me tightly to him, "welcome back, my love."

"Thank you."

"Hey, my turn!" Robin chimes in, pushing Eddie out of her way only to replace his arms with hers, "you have no idea how scared you made me! Don't do it again!"

"I said, I promise!" I exclaim once she lets me go, "and I mean, next time something like-"

"It won't happen again!" They all exclaim at once, cutting my sentence off.

I look at them all surprised, not expecting all this noise.

"You rehearsed that, didn't you?" I accuse.

"Of course we did," Dustin says with a huge smile.

"C'mon guys. We got the food, we got the music. Let the celebration begin," Steve claps his hands to get everyone's attention.

Eddie's again by my side, hugging me with one arm.

"I'm really happy you're okay, you know?" He whispers to me.

"Me too," I kiss him and lead him with the other dancing and celebrating.

"May I have this dance?" Steve holds his hand out for me to take, making a small curtsy. I laugh, but before my hand can touch his, another comes into view and grabs my hand.

"May I?" Eddie gently turns me towards him.

"C'mon man," Steve starts to complain, he lets out a soft laugh, "I asked first,"

"Should've grabbed her hand faster," Eddie shrugs.

"Alright, you two," I scold them, "you both may,"

I squeeze Eddie's hand that I was already holding, and I take Steve's. I pull them close to me so we can dance together without leaving out anyone.

For the first time I actually believe that everything is going to be okay. My friends are all okay, all alive, we defeated (once again) the threat and... shit... Hop is alive!

Everything is just perfect.

----------------

I'm washing the last few dishes left when I feel two strong arms wrapping around my middle. The amount of hair tickling my cheek suggests me it's Eddie coming to annoy me.

"How about you go take a shower or lay down, relax a bit?" He suggests, for the millionth time.

Him and Steve tried to talk me out of cleaning up after everyone went home.

Silly boys.

"How about you let me help here, uh?"

"I'm pretty sure you've done enough, love," he laughs, kissing my neck. He's definitely trying to distract me.

"I'm fine, plus I'm almost done if you stop distracting me," I accuse.

"Me? Distracting you? How could you know me so well, sweetheart?" He keeps on kissing my neck, his hands slowly stroking my sides.

"You're terrible, Munson," I hiss when he starts to bit a little, always careful to not get to the wound.

"Oh I know,"

I basically stopped washing the dishes a little while ago, too distracted by him to properly function.

"You managed to make her stop, finally." Steve's voice comes from behind us, I go to turn around and look at him, I find him right beside me.

"I'm actually almost done, Steve,"

"Mh..." he looks at me then at the few dishes I have left, "go lay on the couch, sweetheart, we got this."

"It's just a few left, I'm more than able to finish," I wickedly smile at him, "plus, if you just stop distracting me..."

"We are... okay, okay, you heard it, Munson?" Steve says, as his hand softly graze my thigh.

"Keeps saying it's our fault" Eddie tsks, his hands grabbing my flesh softly.

"It is," I insist.

"Well then..." Steve leans down to whisper into my ear, "we'll need to make it up to you."

"He's right." Eddie gently slap my ass, "go lay down on the couch and let us make it up to you."

"C'mon," Steve insists again, leaving a kiss on my ear.

"Fine." I say. "Fine, you're so demanding!"

I laugh, they move back a little to let me move out of their grasps.

"We'll see you in a bit, love," Eddie says, he gently take my hand and kiss the back of it, before letting me walk to the couch.

"Turn the TV on, if you want!" Steve shouts from the kitchen.

That's what I do. Taking the remote, I turn the TV on, looking for something entertaining enough.

After a few minutes, Eddie and Steve walk into the room with me. Taking a seat next to me.

Steve makes me lay my head on his chest, while Eddie does the same, on my lap, letting me play with his hair.

"How do you feel?" He asks.

"I'm alright." I answer, I feel their worries so I give Steve's hand a reassuring squeeze and I caress Eddie's cheek, "I promise. Okay? I might be stubborn and I might not like asking for help... but I promise you, I'm okay. Especially now, after today, having everyone here. Celebrating. Knowing it's finally over. Knowing everyone is alright. Nightmares are something that will pass only with time," I let Eddie grab my hand, holding onto it, "but we're all alive. We're all here again, so yeah... I'm alright."

I look up at Steve smiling at him, he kisses my head. I look down at Eddie, who smiles and kisses my hand once again.

"We're all here together, yes. We'll get over this shit together, as always," Steve agrees, I see him moving his hand to mine and Eddie's giving them a good squeeze.

"That's very comforting, actually." Eddie chuckles nervously, "I mean it. I...I'm just... "

"Hey," I get his attention, "I know what's going on in that head of yours. You're not a bother."

"Yeah, man," Steve chimes in, "we might've been through this before and you haven't, but that doesn't mean we're gonna leave you behind."

"That actually means a lot, Steve. Thank you." Eddie tells him, "thanks you too, princess,"

"You're welcome, love,"

"No problem, man."

We stay like this for a little while, not exactly paying attention to whatever is on the TV, just cuddling and comforting each other.

"Let's get to bed, guys," Steve declares after a while, seeing we were all able to fall asleep, "it will be come comfortable."

"Good idea," I sleeply says and Eddie just nods.

We all walk upstairs and get ready for bed.

I walk into the bathroom to wash my face and change into one of Steve's t-shirt.

When I walk back into Steve's room I see him and Eddie debating which side to take.

"I'm okay to sleep on the right," Eddie offers putting a pillow on the bed.

"Yeah, no, that's fine by me," Steve agrees, fixing the sheets.

"What about me, uh?" I intervene.

They both look at me dumbfounded, they share a look, and then Steve speaks up.

"You're sleeping in the middle."

"Yeah, that's not up for debate," Eddie adds.

"Are you-"

"Yes!" They say in unison.

"Alright!" I raise my hands up in surrender.

I get into the bed with then, back against Steve's chest and front towards Eddie's, their arms securely around me.

"Are you comfortable, honey?" Steve asks from behind me, nudging his face into my hair.

"Mhm," I humm, "the bed is comfy, the sheets are warm, and I got my boys to protect me. It's perfectly comfortable."

"We will always protect you," Eddie says and kises my nose.

"Exactly, after all..." Steve starts.

"You are our queen." They say at the same time.

I laugh with them at their own antics, pushing them both slightly.

"You rehearsed that too, didn't you?" I guess, the biggest smile growing on my face.

"This is all talent, love," Eddie says proudly, making all laugh.

And just like that, we start to fall asleep together, safe and without a worry... except maybe help Eddie finally graduate... and improve Steve's music taste... yeah.

I can relax, at last, I know the nightmares won't stop right away, but I know Eddie and Steve will be by my side no matter what.

We can finally live our lives properly, starting here, cuddling in Steve's bed and not thinking for one bit about the UpsideDown, or about demogorgons, or the Mind Flayer or even Vecna.../Henry/one.

Not for one bit.

[tyongf-nct]

hey i’m a long time follower but i do not want to show who i am! your stories made me want to learn english so thank you for that :-)

i wanted to ask if you could write a wayv (any one) x reader where the reader is a soloist and the wayv person (sorry i forget the word 😂) mcs with them and they fall for each other

sorry for my poor english i am still learning !

hi!! thank you so much for the long time support 😭 and WOW that is a huge thing for my writing to do so THANK YOU for telling me that!! that is so kind of you to say and i am really glad my content has been enjoyable for you. pls never be afraid to slide into my inbox whenever!! and your english is literally amazing, you’re doing great!! 🫶 i am sorry this has taken me so long to answer, school has been killing me these last few months 🥲 but i hope you enjoy! 💕 i decided on kun bc this story idea felt so sweet just like him 🥰

dynamic: fem!reader x qian kun

warnings/tags: fluff, love confessions, mc!reader, mc!kun, fluffy blurb feat. romantic kun

~

“Cut!” The producer’s voice echoed out across the sound stage, and you sighed in relief as the work day came to an end. You smiled to the staff member who took your MC microphone from you as you stepped off the small platform, a hand swooping in to guide you gently down the step.

Your breath hitched as you looked over to see Kun’s nimble fingers clasping yours, his handsome face smiling. You felt the heat brush up onto your cheeks as you nodded your thanks. Your hands stayed connected for just a beat too long before he released you, walking off the stage in the direction of his green room. You bit your lip, gathering the courage to follow him before walking a little too fast to not be embarrassing to anyone watching. Which, you hoped, no one was.

His door was already closed by the time you reached his room, and your fist that was ready to knock on his door froze in midair. You didn’t want to bother him, but you were dying to get asking him out over with. Over the past several months that the two of you had been working together you had grown closer, sharing meals nearly every day on and off set and filming for hours together. Now that your time as an MC was almost up, you weren’t sure if you and Kun would stay connected. Even if he didn’t feel the same way, at the very least you wanted to remain friends.

Huffing, you gathered the courage to draw your fist back again to knock when his door suddenly swung open, revealing a shirtless Kun. Unable to stop yourself, you looked down at his defined abdomen and greedily took in all his deliciously sharp angles and muscles. It wasn’t until you heard your name uttered by his smooth voice that you whipped your eyes back up to meet his. You tried to calm your racing heart as you laughed nervously, Kun’s face gentle and amused.

“Can I help you?” He chuckled.

“Yes!” You squawked. Clearing your throat, you tried again, “Mm. I mean, yes.” There, much calmer.

“I just, er, I just wanted to talk to you. Quickly, I know you’re probably tired,” you smiled brightly. He returned your smile, ushering you inside.

“Of course. Although I’m never too tired for you,” he hummed. That familiar heat made its way back up your neck as you giggled quietly.

He slid a plain t-shirt over his head, much to your relief, as you sat gingerly on the small couch in his room. Kun came to sit next you to and gave you his full attention as he faced you.

“What did you want to talk to me about?”

You picked at the skin near your thumbs as you took a deep breath, trying to find the right words.

“I—well, I’m just going to be honest. I have had so much fun MC-ing with you this year, Kun, and I hope that we can remain friends after our contracts are up. I…I just wanted to tell you that I think you’re amazing. And I’ve…I’ve grown to…” you trailed off, suddenly nervous at his possible rejection. Kun was calm as ever though, watching you with his gentle and open expression you had grown to love so dearly. He nodded encouragingly, letting you gather your thoughts.

You inhaled and exhaled, looking him in the eyes. “I’ve grown to like you. As in, more than a friend. I understand if you don’t feel the same way, but I just wanted to tell you, before it was too late,” your voice was quiet, just above a whisper. The room was silent for a few beats, and a small horror that you had ruined a wonderful friendship began to creep up inside you.

Kun banished those thoughts in the next moment, though, as he slid closer to you and grabbed your clammy hands. He held yours in his one of his own as the other held your face with devastating softness.

“Y/n…I…I’m so glad you told me that. That took a lot of bravery. Certainly more than I have,” he chuckled to himself. “I feel the same way. I have for a long time, but—honestly, I was just too nervous to confess.”

Your mouth dropped open in shock as you stared at him, watching his full lips curl into a grin as he let you take in his confession. Kun still held your hand and your face as you processed what he had said.

“Really? You, you feel the same way?” Your heart raced even faster as Kun nodded, taking his hand from your face to clasp both your hands into his.

“That’s…well, that’s great! Awesome! Ha!” You laughed brightly, relief crashing through you as your mind raced with the fantasy of finally dating the man you had fallen for.

“It is great,” he laughed with you, bringing you in for an unexpected hug. You paused only for a moment before returning it, breathing in that comforting scent you had become so accustomed to being around. The two of you pulled apart and watched one another with happy faces.

“So, do you want to go on a date?” You asked merrily.

“Wow, I have got to learn how to be this confident,” Kun shook his head, and you shoved him playfully. He snorted, then looked into your eyes with his big brown ones.

“Of course I do,” he said softly. You struggled to contain your squeal, throwing your arms around his neck once again and relishing in feeling his chest shake with laughter before his arms came around you once more. You stayed like that for a while, racing heartbeats calming and beating as one.