Tumgik
#i understand the struggle of having to Decide what to make. why complain about the pasta boon i have granted you...
corvuscorona · 2 years
Text
when I was a kid my dad did all the cooking so when he was away on the rare fishing trip w/ the boyz my mom didn't know what to make for dinner ever so she'd ask me what I wanted and every time I'd be like 'uh pasta?' because I fucking loved pasta and also didn't care that much and also it was maybe the only thing I knew she knew how to make that I didn't Dislike. and one time when dad came back she was like 'this kid asked me to make pasta EVERY day' like OH SURE the driving force behind us eating Just Penne for dinner for a week was definitely my forceful decision-making skills. come on man
3 notes · View notes
shradsmanifestt · 1 month
Text
Persist on what you want, Not what you think you have.
The law doesn't discriminate. It isn't gonna be like she doesn't deserve it or Manifesting is just not for him.
Yk I think I know why you guys struggle so much with this. You're still seeing manifestation as a process. You're like I have the do this and this in order for me to get what I want. Even the people who are into a+p are like OK I'm gonna affirm for 2 hours in the morning and then 3 at night, then I'll do sats and then sleep and repeat. This is what's gonna get me my manifestation. You guys are seeing affirming like a chore to be completed and manifestation is your allowance for the same. Now don't get me wrong, affirming and persisting is great to make it your dominant thought and to get the new story in your minds. But you guys are sooo into the amount of time and the number of times you're repeating the affirmations. Instead of knowing that you're affirming to let yourself know that you already have it, you're too busy trying to manifest it into your life.
But there's another thing that comes into play here as well. Some people assume that affirming these many times will get you your desire and IT DOES! At the end of the day it's always gonna be what you assume to be true in your life. But if you're struggling I wanna let you know this, STOP VIEWING MANIFESTATION AS A PROCESS or something you need to do to get that into your life. If you already have it, THEN YOU ALREADY HAVE IT. That's all you need to know about manifestation.
This is your reality. You Decide. Everything. If you ever feel like things are not changing, this is the reason - YOU DID IT. YOU ARE ACCEPTING ALL OF THOSE STUFF AS TRUE
I'm fat - You look at yourself every day and think you're fat. She doesn't like me - Everyday you're here looking at the 3d telling yourself how she likes him and not you. I just cannot manifest my dream life, I'm giving up - every single day you're like you can't manifest, then how TF will you actually manifest what you want??
I really don't understand How you expect to manifest what you want when you're clearly choosing your old story every single time. When you're clearly accepting your 3d as the real reality? When you're clearly complaining about how manifestation isn't working for you???!! I am like dudeeeeeee....... You know how good you've got to be at manifesting to be able to manifest exactly what you're focused on?? Now you can't blame your subconscious mind for this coz it's only job is to give you what you perceive as true. It's job is not to consciously choose what you want, NOPE, It's only job is to be neutral and give you exactly what you assume to be true. So..
DO YOURSELF A FAVOUR AND PERSIST ON WHAT YOU ACTUALLY WANT.
553 notes · View notes
bedoballoons · 9 months
Text
Tumblr media
BUT I LOVE THEM SHORT! 😭 Ngl, I struggled with this one a little so I apologize if it's not the best!! Thank your for your request and I hope you enjoy!
I'm doing well thank you and I hope you are too!!
─⊰⁠⊹ฺ❄️𝔾𝕖𝕟𝕤𝕙𝕚𝕟 ℍ𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕔𝕒𝕟𝕠𝕟𝕤⊰⁠⊹ฺ❄️
Tumblr media
{༻~Growth spurt??~༺}
CW: Pretty much crack headcanons, GN! Reader!! Mentions of the character now being taller than the reader! Slight brat vibes for the reader in Wanderers!
(Includes: Lyney, Albedo, Xiao, Wanderer, and Aether!)
Tumblr media
𑁍༄Lyney:
Lyney sat up in his bed, stretching his arms out and yawning sleepily. It took him a minute to fully wake up and even then he still felt a little off, but he decided to ignore it. Moving the covers aside and walking slowly into the kitchen to greet you. "Mmm mon amour, good morning~"
You spun around with a smile, "Morning Lyney- LYNEY?!" You dropped your plate of toast, having to tilt you head up just to make eye contact with the magician, it was like he'd become a giant in his sleep! "What in tevyat happened to you?!?! You're so tall!" He stared at you questionably, like he didn't really understand what you were saying, "What do you mean I'm so tall, I'm many things but tall was never one of them."
You hopped over the shards of glass, disregarding it as you stood next to him, raising your hand above your head to measure the new difference in height, "Lyney, you literally have to look down to see me now. You had like, some sort of crazy growth spurt!"
Lyney thought about it for a moment, leaning down so he could kiss your cheek, "Well well well, I'm not complaining then. Though I'm slightly worried about some of the tricks Lynette and I would normally do...CAN I EVEN FIT IN THE MAGIC BOX NOW?? Oh no...oh no!!"
𑁍༄Albedo:
Albedo had been staring at himself in the mirror for almost ten minutes at this point, wondering why the angle was different, why his body didn't seem right...he was a scientist, one who delighted in waking up to the usual because his work was always so unusual...but this was unlike anything he'd ever experienced. Perhaps he was just...crazy? "Love, could you come here for a moment?"
You set down the book you'd been reading and followed after him, stopping dead in your tracks once you saw his figure looming over the bathroom sink..."A-albedo?!" You covered you mouth in shock, your eyes starting at his feet and trailing, up up all way to his hair. "You're so tall...was this one of your experiments??"
"I almost wish it was, but no...I've just had some sort of insane growth spurt apparently. I wonder if anything else has changed besides my height. I'll have to test it.."
"...what else do you think changed Albedo..."
𑁍༄Xiao:
"You're staring again..is it really such a big difference?" Your cheeks blushed as Xiao crossed his arms, clearly unimpressed with your sudden interest in his height, but in your defense...it actually was a big difference. He went from being a short Yaksha to suddenly taller than all the adepti...and it hadn't just affected his height, it was like he felt even more confident in himself as well.
Everyone who walked by averted their gaze as if him being taller meant he was stronger than he had been before...and he seemed to be indulging in it alittle. Glaring at other men who even dared look at you...and intentionally kissing you in front of everyone whenever there was a opportunity... maybe it was just in your head, but it left you finding it hard to look away from him. "Sorry, I don't mean to stare Xiao, you're just-"
"Different...in a good way?" His yellow eyes met yours and for a second you could have sworn he had a small smirk play on his lips..
"Yes...in a good way, in a very good way"
𑁍༄Wanderer:
"Wanderer, shut up!" You stomped your foot down, clearly annoyed with him, though he didn't really seem to care. Ever since he woke up with this whole foot of height over you he hadn't stopped teasing you about it, just leaning over you and watching as your cheeks blushed or grabbing things you couldn't reach and intentionally moving in closer then needed.
"Say that again and I'll make you shut up instead." He shot you a glare under the brim of his hat, his mouth turned up in a thin smirk as he yet again made your heart race. You crossed your arms and turned away from him, why did his height make him even more of a confident ass? "Yeah right."
"Idiot. I'll show you what this new height can do then~"
𑁍༄Aether:
Aether tilted his head to the side like a dumbfounded puppy, listening to you and Paimon as the two of you panicked about his new height, every possible answer only leaving you both more confused. He on the other hand, wasn't really that interested in a why or how, he just wanted to take advantage of his new found height, something he'd wished he'd had not long ago.
"I don't know, but growing that tall over night can't be good right?"
"I don't know Paimon, but it's definitely worrisome-"
"I think it's a good thing..." His voice was quiet, barely above a whisper as the two of you turned to face him, "I've always wanted to try something at this height actually..." You raised a eyebrow at him as he stepped closer to you, holding out his hand like he wanted you to take it. He smiled at you softly as you placed your hand in his and then in what seemed like slow motion, he pulled you close to him,his face moving in close to yours as he kissed your lips. Your heart skipped a beat, electricity shooting through your body..."A-aether!"
Tumblr media
ଘ(੭*ˊᵕˋ)੭* ੈ♡‧₊˚~Have a nice day!~*⁠.⁠✧
563 notes · View notes
hannieehaee · 6 months
Note
Svt & learning to cook food from s/o’s homecountry (aka not korean food). A different culture & food for each member would rlly cool
making you a meal from your country
content: established relationship, fluff, foreign reader (non-korean), etc.
wc: 872
a/n: this was such a cute concept omg!! i picked the food items and the home countries at random btw sorry if i got some dishes wrong pls lmk if there's any corrections i should make 😭
masterlist
seungcheol -
he wouldn't be able to stand your homesickness for even one second, feeling too sad at your sadness and deciding to do everything in his power to make you feel better. he'd ask around for traditional south african dishes leading him to make you some chakalaka while you were at work. the hours of trial and error wouldve been worth it the moment he saw the happiness in your eyes at his efforts.
jeonghan -
being quite used to simply ordering takeout whenever he so pleased, jeonghan was not used to cooking at home too often. however, if his sweet s/o wanted some homemade tom yum soup, then he'd deliver! after a quick call to mingyu (and an hour or two of messing around in the kitchen), he'd be ready with your food. he loves thai food, so this would be a win-win situation for him.
joshua -
he knew you sometimes missed australia and were unable to go back and forth as you pleased, so josh would occasionally indulge you in making meat pie for you, following a recipe you'd once made for him early in your relationship.
jun -
he'd had indian food before and loved it, so it did not take any convincing for him to decide to make you some indian street food. he'd do it out of his own volition pretty often, actually. by now, he had mastered the art of various dishes, specially panipuri, which he would frequently make for you, and sometimes he'd even share some with his members.
soonyoung -
if he sensed you growing homesick and missing your usual chinese cuisine, he'd go out of his way to seek out jun or minghao to ask what food may make you feel a bit better. he'd then take on the task of making you the most delicious street breakfast, jianbing, knowing it wasnt too difficult a task for him and that it was a meal you'd often have in your youth.
wonwoo -
wonwoo was quite known for his lack of ability in the kitchen, but that would not stop him from making you some laksa whenever you were feeling particularly homesick. despite not knowing how to make any other singaporean dishes, he'd have specifically mastered at least one in order to take care of you in such a domestic way whenever the opportunity arose.
jihoon -
never having been one to cook much (he'd much rather stick to washing dishes), he'd struggle a lot through making you some pastéis de nata for your anniversary, deciding to make a korean-portuguese fusion of meals to celebrate your relationship. ok, maybe he called mingyu over to help, but the joy in your eyes as you shared the meal with him had made it worth all of mingyu's nagging as he followed his instructions to the letter.
seokmin -
he's never been to spain, but he's had a few spanish meals throughout his life, so he'd quickly understand why you'd often complain about the lack of authentic spanish food near your shared apartment. would take it upon himself to learn how to make paella in the most perfect manner imaginable just to see a smile on your face.
mingyu -
making a pizza from scratch was easier said than done, but mingyu had taken on the task the moment you let him know of the fomo you felt at seeing him and his best friends explore your country of origin, italy. you'd watched nana tour happily, but still felt a bit off at knowing you couldn't be there with your boyfriend. but fear not! mingyu was about to bring the authentic italian experience to your door!
minghao -
he's been to the united states so many times by now that he just knows american food by heart. wouldnt even need a recipe to know how to make you some classic barbecue on a sunny afternoon. would even make an entire day out of it, grilling under the sun while you sunbathed next to him.
seungkwan -
seungkwan has always thought himself to be quite a good cook. or at least he was quite good at making korean food. japanese food was another story. he knew how badly you missed homemade sushi, never enjoying any from your nearby restaurants. he'd have to ask for your help at some point, but the end result would be the two of you sharing a nice moment making a meal together, so it all went according to plan.
vernon -
he doesnt know how to cook neither korean nor american food, but you best bet he'll try his hardest to make you traditional vietnamese food in the form of bun cha and bánh xèo. it looked easy and like it tasted good, how hard could it be? would try his bestest but eventually need to ask you for help completing the task. a+ for effort, though.
chan -
he already loves mexican food, so making it for you wouldnt even be something you'd have to request from him – he'd just do it on his own! he'd already mastered all types of street food, eventually opting to make you menudo, knowing how much you enjoyed that meal as a child.
303 notes · View notes
yuikomorii · 2 months
Note
I got a question but I need an objective answer please. So I saw a lot of people complain about Yui being written in a very bad way in Ayato’s routes starting with More Blood and was curious if you think that she became a bad girlfriend as the story progressed?
// I will analyze Yui’s versions from Ayato’s routes and provide an answer at the end of this post.
More Blood:
Even from the first two chapters we are aware of the fact that Yui got a big crush on Ayato merely because of his looks and pleasure he gave her. At first sight, these reasons seem very superficial, but at the same time you can’t blame her completely for that. Yui went to a normal school and used to read magazines for teens, therefore it’s obvious she would have hormones and fall in love with someone who got features portrayed as the beauty standard.
It's understandable why some found her annoying, as she repeatedly cried for Ayato's love without making any real effort to earn it. Apart from giving him her blood, she didn't try to understand what he was going through, even when she noticed changes in him that made him crave so much blood.
Nevertheless, I believe that she did redeem herself in the last chapters, where she admitted being selfish and only thinking about her own desires, instead of focusing on Ayato’s struggles too. I know she paralyzed him out of jealousy and cheated on him in the bad endings, but in the good one, she’s actually a really loyal person. Yui waited years for Ayato to wake up from the coma and Ayato searched for Yui for years in his dream until he finally woke up. This ending confirmed the genuineness of their love.
In the After Story, Ayato planned to attend university for Yui's sake, aiming to get a job and buy a house. Yui helped Ayato with his studies and praised his skills. Initially, she fell for his looks, but in the After Story, she mentioned falling in love with him again because of his caring, determined, and hardworking personality.
Vandead Carnival & Lunatic Parade:
I really liked Yui in both of Ayato's routes and honestly, I can't find anything to criticize about her behavior.
It's not that Yui was a bad partner; it's just that Ayato was portrayed as too good, such as when he ran through flames for her or protected her from a bomb explosion. But that's likely because these are fan service games, where the love interests are designed to be your knights in shining armor. xD
Dark Fate:
I absolutely loved Yui’s portrayal in that route. It was the sweetest version of Yui I’ve ever seen, and I really enjoyed seeing her so happy and soft. Regarding her relationship with Ayato, he was truly the apple of her eye, lol.
The only problematic thing she did was pushing Ayato to face his abuser, Cordelia, even though he didn’t want to. I honestly don’t care if a character does something to another character, as long as it doesn’t affect them and the story, so since Ayato didn’t get mad at her for that, I didn’t mind it much either. However, from an objective point of view, I agree that doing such a thing is quite bad. Being in the presence of someone who ruined your life can trigger intense memories and forcing a confrontation removes the victim's agency in deciding how to cope with their trauma. Ayato might not have been mad at Yui for planning that, but if it had been Laito, I’m sure he would have shown why Yui was in the wrong.
Other than that, she was a kind and supportive girlfriend throughout the whole route, clearly having no ill intent, and I appreciate that she had an actual important role in the route.
Lost Eden:
Ok, I really can’t defend her anymore there. She literally had no redeeming qualities, no matter how many times she got the chance to fix herself. I discussed my thoughts about LE Yui in this post, but I’ll sum it up.
She tried to convince Ayato that despite Cordelia abusing him, she actually did it because she “cared about his future”, and then acted surprised when Ayato started feeling uncomfortable because of her words.
Yui knew the reasons behind Ayato’s behavior, yet when his brothers started mocking him, she didn’t even try to defend him. Everyone ganged up on Ayato, and he was on the verge of a panic attack, yet she remained silent.
Another terrible scene was in one of the last chapters, when Ruki admitted to turning the Vibora Clan and Church organization against Ayato out of envy, aiming to kill him. Instead of criticizing Ruki’s actions, Yui justified them and spoke ill of Ayato behind his back. I wouldn’t like to date someone who claims to love me but keeps hurting me without learning anything… It felt as if Ayato only continued being together with her because he had no one else. No wonder he didn’t marry her there.
Chaos Lineage:
I found Yui quite boring in CL in general, but she started off as determined and sweet in his route, so I liked that.
For most of the route, Yui’s entire personality seemed to revolve around Ayato, and she didn’t do much. There were many cheesy moments between them that made me cringe. Still, I’m sure a certain audience enjoyed those.
My only complaint is that when his brothers started treating Ayato unfairly, despite the fact that he came up with the idea of breaking the glass floor of the church, Yui did nothing to defend him, again.
However, I do appreciate that she gave him that adorable monologue. I just wish she had done it in front of others instead of only acting when Ayato was already insecure and sad.
Now… let’s see what kind of girlfriend Yui was in each route by judging her progress:
MB: Good
VC: Good
DF: Very good
LP: Good
LE: Very bad
CL: Decent
212 notes · View notes
It was Only a Kiss
Tumblr media
Pairing: Simon Ghost Riley x f!reader
Warnings: lots of fluff, angst, college work struggles because I project, Ghost being a softie
Words: 6.2k
Synopsis: Simon wants to make your day better...
Link to The Roommate Series Masterlist
You are currently reading part 3 of The Roommate Series
You sat hunched over the desk in your room, staring into the screen of your laptop which was practically burning holes into your eyes as you struggled to retain any of the information you were supposed to know for your upcoming exam. You had thought that if you started early you wouldn’t have to worry about the possibility of failing but the longer you spent looking over the coursework the more you realize that you had no clue what you were going to do on this exam. 
You tried to power through it, you spent half the day going through all of the notes you had and contacting other people in your class in order to get through all of the material you had in the hopes that it would help, and then you decided to look through the materials your shitty professor so graciously gave to you, but nothing was working.
A heavy sigh left your chest as you pressed the palms of your hands against your eyes, your eyes burning from having been open looking at a screen for so long, and fought against the tightening in your throat. 
Every part of you wanted to throw your laptop across the room and drop out. You shouldn’t be this stressed out about a stupid class but you needed to pass the exam if you want to have a good chance at passing the class as a whole. 
The thought of failing the class caused tears to prick the corner of your eyes. You knew that it really didn’t mean anything if you did, there was the option to take it again even if you had to scrounge up some more money to do so, and it didn’t mean that you were stupid. 
However, the irrational part of your brain wouldn’t let you believe any of that. If you failed this class then you might as well call yourself a failure for not even understanding the most basic classwork material.
There was a knock at your door and you wiped your eyes, taking a deep breath before you turned around in your chair.
“Yeah?” You called out and watched as Simon stepped into your room. 
Simon stared at you with those tired eyes, the same ones that had you feeling safe and warm, a much better feeling than the burning frustration that threatened to explode out of you. They softened and you wondered if his eyes were naturally that kind since you had rarely ever seen him look at you with a cold stare, even when he seemed to be on edge.
He was a welcome sight. Neither of you had really seen each other today, only taking the time to eat breakfast together before you decided that you would sit down to study and he decided to go workout or piddle around the apartment. Just seeing him was enough to calm some of your nerves, though a few old one from last night sparked inside your chest and it was almost hard to look at him. 
Almost.
His eyebrows knitted together slightly as his eyes bounced around your face as he came up to you. He sat on the edge of your bed across from you, slight concern on his face as he glanced between you and your computer.
You scooted the edge of your chair and faced him fully, ready for him to distract you from studying even though you knew you needed to do it.
“How’s studying going?” He asked and you clenched your jaw as you sent a glare to your computer. “Forget I asked.”
“Maybe I should drop out and join the military or something.” You mumbled in defeat.
“No.”
Your eyebrows knitted together and you gave him a look as he stared at you. There was something hidden in his eyes that you were quite sure what to make of and as you raised an eyebrow to ask him why he was so quick to tell you no, he spoke up before you could even get the words out.
“You’re not fit for the military and you’d complain.” He said and you gasped, somewhat offended before you thought about it.
He was right. You were not built for the military and even thinking about it made you cringe. You had been joking for the most part, at least about joining the military, but it seemed that Simon hadn’t seen it that way. Regardless, you were still considering the fact that you could drop out and just go back to working like you had been before you decided that you wanted to go back to school.
A sigh left your chest and you looked away from him, your hands balling up into fists on your lap as you glared at the coursework on your laptop as heat flashed across your body.
Simon was a very goal oriented person and even though you knew nothing about what he did for a living, you could see that he was a hard worker, someone who always saw things through. You couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed about the fact that you were struggling so much you wanted to give up when he seemed like the type of person who wouldn’t let this happen in the first place.
Which was true considering how he’s helped you study in the past. You’re sure that if he went to school, he would’ve been an honor roll student with his crazy amount of discipline and focus.
Simon placed a hesitant hand on top of yours and caught your attention. He glanced at you, as if to ask if the contact was okay, and when you didn’t pull away from him, he wrapped it around your fist. His hands were rough and dry with callouses that scratched your hand as he managed to unfold your hand. His fingertips glided over your skin before he put small amounts of pressure between your knuckles to take out the tension that was there. 
For once, he wasn’t looking at you and you wondered if maybe that was because of how new this was for him. You were honestly a little surprised by the fact that he reached out to hold your hand and went through with it without waiting for you to initiate. 
It had to do with last night and you both knew it, yet neither of you had said or acknowledged it. Nothing was awkward between you two either, you just couldn’t come up with the words to say without getting into a territory that dealt with very intimate feelings. And it seemed like that was the case for Simon as well.
Yet you could tell that he wanted to say something, especially as he held your hand as if you would break from any sort of pressure. His thumb drew circles over your knuckles which was enough to let you relax somewhat.
“Talk to me.” His voice was soft and inviting, enough to have you wanting to pour your entire heart out to him.
“I’m just frustrated with this stupid exam.” You huffed. “Nothing is making sense but if I don’t pass it then I’m pretty sure I’m going to fail the class.”
“Can you retake it?”
You nodded and he gave you a look, one that was confident but calculating something that you really hadn’t seen from him before. It was almost as if he were planning out every outcome, trying to find the one that would be the best for you and somehow kept you calm all the same.
“The exam’s in three weeks, you still have time to study more later but there is always the chance that you will fail it.” He said and you hung onto every word. “If that’s the case, then ask the prof what you can do or retake the class.”
“But if I fail…” You trailed off not really sure if you wanted to admit that his opinion of you mattered that much.
“Doesn’t change anything.”
You looked him in the eyes, wary as if you were trying to see through a lie that wasn’t there. You suspected that he would judge you just a tiny bit for being unable to pass despite the fact that he had never once made you feel that way. It was hard to not feel some sort of shame for not living up the expectations you placed on yourself.
However, Simon gave you a serious look as he continued to hold your hand in such a way that proved you wrong about whatever you were feeling. He never left your gaze as he gave you a confident look, a look that told you that everything would be okay even if you decided to drop out, that he was still going to be in the apartment. Even now, as he talked you through it, he wasn't showing any sort of judgment, in fact he seemed more sure of your skills than you were of yourself.
You took a deep breath and wrapped your fingers around Simon’s hand, careful to not squeeze it too tight but enough that it helped you release the last of the tension left in your shoulders as you let out a long sigh.
You mulled over his words however, realizing that if you repeated them to yourself then you could probably go back to studying for another hour or so with a clear mind. You glanced at your laptop, attempting to let go of Simon’s hand when he gently tugged it to regain your attention.
“You’ve done enough for today, yeah?” He wondered with a hopeful voice, his eyes looking into yours almost pleadingly which stopped you. “Let’s get out of this room.”
“Yeah.” You didn’t even hesitate, the warmth from his hand and the look in his eyes enough to pull you out of your academic mind.
He gave a short nod and stood up from your bed, letting your hand slip from his and go back to his side. He waited for you to get up, keeping his eyes trained on you as you shut down your computer with a hand that felt colder and incomplete.
When you stood up from your chair, you grimaced from the stiffness in your back and shoulder before you stretched your arms above your head, rolling out any of the kinks you had before your stomach growled loudly.
It suddenly hit you that you had barely eaten today and that your poor mood was most likely attributed to that.
“What’d you have for dinner?” You wondered as you followed Simon out of your room.
“Nothing, I was waiting for you.” He said with his back towards you so he could see the surprise or the slight glare you gave him, being a complete hypocrite about your exasperation towards him for not eating.
“Why would you do that? It’s late!”
Simon didn’t answer as he went into the kitchen, ingredients for a meal already set out on the counter, one of your favorite meals which had your eyes softening. It was obvious what he was doing now and yet it didn’t make you feel any less appreciative and warm since you didn’t even expect him to treat you like this.
“Well, for making you wait, I can cook dinner.” You suggested but Simon sent you a look before he gestured to the table.
“No. I’m cooking, so sit.” He said, rather bossy but still in a gentle way, that made you purse your lips together.
“What if I help you?”
“You can help by sitting down. Let me cook for you.”
You crossed your arms, unwilling to back down after he had practically starved himself waiting for you to come out of your room. You felt like you owed it to him to at least cook him something for making him wait and you couldn’t help the slight irritation that bubbled up which was definitely a product of your empty stomach.
Unfortunately for both of you, Simon was just as stubborn, if not more considering he was persistent, as he stood in front of you. He blocked your path towards the ingredients, his eyes staring down at you almost as if he wanted you to try to get past him as he mimicked your crossed arms.
“Let me help you.” You demanded but he shook his head.
“Let me take care of you.” He shot back and you tried hard to not let it get to you as your chest went warm.
You felt yourself get a little weak in the knees, trying hard to push away the soft feelings that broke through your resolve like a wildfire in a dry forest. You couldn’t help it, not when he was trying to “intimidate” you with the paralyzing soft look, his eyes swallowing you up and holding you against him as if you’d even dare try to get away. There was no chance for you to fight back because as much as you wanted to make it up to him, you could see that he truly didn’t care about the fact that he had to wait to eat.
He wanted to do something nice for you, especially since you were stressed out of your mind. He also didn’t care to wait for you, he does it everyday you’re in class, unbeknownst to you. Hell, he even waited to be reunited with you when he was away any chance he got, this was nothing compared to that.
Truthfully, he could’ve eaten without you if he wanted to, it’s happened before, but he didn’t want to. 
Simon wanted to be with you. 
“Can I trust you to make it the way I like?” You teased with a small smile, and watched as the corner of his lips turned upward.
“I remember how to make it.”
You willingly took a seat at the table, resting your chin on your hand as you watched Simon start to make dinner for the both of you. You couldn’t get rid of the warm feeling inside of you as you watched him cook, the sight enough to make you think that this is where he belonged, just like yesterday when he was in the bathroom.
He belonged here, in the apartment, with you as you two argued over who cooked dinner, who did what chore, what to watch on TV. He belonged in the love you gave to him, not wherever he disappeared to for months on end, possibly getting himself killed because of how many scars were all over his body.
Soon he finished cooking and gave you a full plate for you to eat, sitting across from you as he waited for you to take the first bite, hidden eagerness in his eyes as he watched you intently.
You took a bite and your face lit up immensely. 
“What's the verdict?” He wondered as he began to eat, watching you relax the more you chewed.
“Maybe I should start paying you to cook for me.” You teased which made him snort after he swallowed his food.
You chuckled along as well, finding amusement in your own joke as you continued to eat. You could feel yourself come back to normal, the irritation and stress slowly leaving your body as your stomach became full from being empty most of the day. Suddenly, you were in a better mood and you couldn’t help but share that with Simon.
“What’d you do today?” You asked, hoping that whatever he had done had been much more exciting than what you did.
“Cleaned, did laundry.” He listed off the mundane tasks while he continued to eat. “Bought cigarettes at the store.”
“I wish you wouldn’t smoke.”
“We all have our vices.”
You hummed, knowing it was a losing battle so you didn’t press any further. Instead you changed the topic to anything you could think of, feeling the need to catch up on the time you both lost due to your stupid study habits. The more you spoke, the more you noticed the tension in Simon’s shoulders lessen as he leaned against the chair, molding comfortably into it as he listened to you talk.
Before long you both finished dinner and before you could even suggest doing the dishes since he had cooked, he was already by the sink washing them. 
“I could’ve done them.” You said in a low voice which caused him to send you a look. 
“Go put something on the telly.” He nodded towards the living room and you gave him a slightly exasperated smile.
“Don’t complain when it’s something you don’t like.”
Simon grunted as you left the room and you plopped down on the couch with a huff. 
The cushions were a lot more comfortable than normal as your sore back sunk into them. You were barely able to put something on the TV as you leaned your head back, your eyes feeling heavy lidded from a full stomach and because you were exhausted from a stress filled day of your own doing. You almost closed your eyes, just to rest for a moment, but you decided that you wanted to stay awake with Simon for just a little longer.
Your head shot up when he walked into the room and sat down next to you with a grunt. You watched as he settled into the cushions, your knees touching each other, before he grimaced at what show was on. It was a favorite of yours, one that you had already binged watched multiple times and one that you found Simon watching with you whenever you put it on, even when he pretended to hate it.
“Ah, no complaining! You did this to yourself.” You warned him and his eyes narrowed.
“You have horrible taste in shows.” He grumbled and yet his eyes never left the screen. 
“Shut up, you love this show as much as I do.”
Simon rolled his eyes and huffed, amusement clear in his eyes. He attempted to look away from the TV, trying to act uninterested just to mess with you but he couldn’t keep his eyes away from the screen for very long. He leaned back against the cushions and kept his arms by his sides with mock defeat.
You giggled and shook your head at his antics. You watched as his lips upturned into a small smile before you rested your head on his shoulder, hoping that the contact was okay with him as he tensed up ever so slightly. However, he didn’t shrug you off which allowed you to put more of your weight against him as you barely paid attention to the show and focused all of your attention on Simon. 
He was always warm you noticed, never once did his skin ever go cold, unless he decided that he didn’t want to bundle up, and it always pulled you closer to him, consciously or not. His body radiated heat, making him a source of safety and comfort for you even before the two of you had grown close.
You would say that despite the fact that he could act cold, distant, and quiet, Simon’s warmth was also attributed to his personality. He would most likely deny it since he was still crass and blunt, rough around the edges and yet he had never once insulted you in your entire time of living with him
He always found a way to help you, whether that was through something physical or by telling you jokes to brighten your mood. He somehow always managed to alleviate your stress, tonight was a prime example of that, and showed just how reliable he was.
It made him warmer in your opinion. It made you want to hold and kiss him, to sing your praises and to never stop telling him how much you loved him.
You felt yourself warm up slightly and you fought the urge to turn to kiss him. To finally feel his lips against yours and fulfill that want that had been pushed away last night because both of you were too drunk. It took everything in you to not do it but the increasing need was too much the more you stopped yourself.
You couldn’t kiss him. You didn’t want to risk potentially being rejected for a second time.
And yet, you want to feel more of him on you.
You grabbed Simon’s arm and lifted it out of your way. You didn’t say anything to him when he gave you a confused look before you wrapped your arms around his waist and rested your head on his chest. You felt him stiffen up significantly and you silently prayed to whoever was listening that he would push you off.
“This okay?” Your voice was barely above a whisper as you looked up into Simon’s wide eyes.
He was stuck frozen, almost like he was unsure of what to do as his eyes bounced around your face so quickly it was hard to tell if he could actually see anything at all. You waited for him to respond but he didn’t say anything to you, stuck in that place where he couldn’t help but just stare at you silently as if he were a statue.
His arm hesitantly wrapped around your shoulders, pulling you closer into his chest as if you could get any closer to him, before he finally looked away. He grabbed one of the couch pillows and set it against the arm of the couch before he laid down on it, pulling you down with him.
Simon situated himself comfortably, leaving room between his legs so you could lay on top of his chest, without letting you go. He ignored your surprised look, opting to keep his eyes looking elsewhere as he placed a blanket over top of you, knowing full well that you both would most likely overheat from your shared warmth.
When both of you were comfortable, he glanced at you for just a moment before he went back to watching the show, the tips of his ears going pink.
“This is better.” He said and wrapped both of his arms around you firmly, pressing you against his chest as if you would move away.
However, the thought didn’t even cross your mind as your surprise slowly melted away into a smile that had you placing a hand on top of his chest and wrapping your arm around his waist. You felt him tense up from your touch but he didn’t move away, even as you rested your head on his chest, your ear right above his beating heart.
The steady beat took away any lasting stress and you laid your entire weight onto Simon, suddenly feeling a lot more tired than before. Your eyes fluttered shut, the sound of his heart and the feeling of his thumb drawing circles on your upper back enough to have you nearly falling asleep, Simon becoming the most comfortable place to lay on. 
And yet, you still wanted to hold on to some consciousness, you still wanted to be with him.
“Things’ll work out, right?” You mumbled without opening your eyes.
“You’re smart.” Simon’s voice rumbled from his chest into your ear and caused you to smile. “You can get through this.”
You sat up in his lap to look at him, forcing yourself to stay awake, and caused him to finally look at you since he had laid down. You gave him a smile, one that had him letting a deep sigh that moved both of your bodies as he stared into your eyes with soft affection.
“Did you ever think about going to school?” You wondered, the curiosity having spilt over since he talked you out of studying. 
“No.” He shook his head without even thinking about it. “I always knew I wasn’t going to uni.”
Your eyes shot to a scar on his face immediately. You knew there was the possibility that it was a scar from childhood, something he may have gotten when he fell off his bike or smacked his face into a wall, but considering the fact that you had seen him come back from work with new ones every so often, you couldn’t help but assume that he got them from his job. It made you wonder just how long he had been working this way, leaving for months on end, coming back battered and bruised with a mind that attacked him for weeks on end.
Did he hate leaving? Did he hate coming back? Had he even come back before you came around?
Before you could even think you placed your free hand over his cheek and began to trace the scars that your fingertips touched. You studied them more now that you were close enough to feel his breath on your face, noticing how some of them had been the product of skin being ripped open while others looked more clean cut, almost as if something, or someone, had cut him. 
You tried not to let your stomach turn up into knots at the thought, especially as you noticed a scar that was extremely close to one of his eyes. He was fine, he still had his eye.
Simon leaned into your touch and his eyes fluttered shut. He didn’t say anything as you continued to caress his skin, taking in the warmth from your small hand as he settled further into the couch.
“Was what you chose the thing that gave you these?” You whispered and watched as he opened his eyes to look up at you.
He didn’t say anything but the silence was an answer in itself.
Your face fell and you placed your other hand on his face, taking this opportunity to feel all of the scars on his face, naively thinking that if you touched them with a gentleness that was far from the anger that caused them, then maybe they would disappear. Maybe the memories of pain would go away for Simon if you continue to trace them, if you showed them kindness.
But they were as much of a part of Simon as were his eyes and his warmth, something that you wouldn’t want to get rid of even if they had once hurt him.
“Do you hate them?” Simon asked since a frown was clear on your face.
“I hate the pain you probably felt.” You shook your head and traced the scar that was close to his eye. “You could’ve lost your eye-”
“I’m okay.”
You stared at him, unsure if you truly believed him since he had practically blurted it out before you even finished your sentence. It was clear to you that Simon wasn’t okay, that whatever he went through during his work affected him more than what he revealed, especially when he would lock himself in his room and he didn’t want you to worry.
You weren’t sure why and frankly you didn’t have the energy to ask him about it right now even if you wanted to. You didn’t want to push him into that mental state, to have him leave you alone on the couch when you were comfortable being with him in this intimate moment. 
“You don’t have to be specific, I don’t want you to be,” You began and he swallowed hard. “But I’m always here for you.”
Simon’s eyes widened for a moment before he broke away from your gaze. Doubt or maybe skepticism flashed in his eyes, and he clenched jaw. Your eyebrows knitted together at his reaction and you gently moved his head so he was looking back up at you.
“I mean it.” You caressed his cheek with your thumb, unsure of how to convince him that you would always be there for you.
“I know.” He whispered and placed a hand over yours.
He looked as if he wanted to say more, to give you some kind of reassurance that he understood you were being the most truthful you’ve been, but he didn’t. He didn’t open his mouth, he didn’t stop the slight increase in his breathing, and he didn’t look away from you as if you were the very thing that was keeping him calm at the moment.
You nodded, a sad smile spreading across your face before you pulled your hands away from him and laid back down on his chest. You placed your head back onto its original spot and, listening to his quickened heartbeat slow down as he wrapped his arms around you again, more firmer than before. You nuzzled into his chest and he gently squeezed you.
“Gonna watch?” He pulled the blanket back up around you.
“You can change it if you want to.” Your eyes were already closed again as you finally allowed yourself to feel tired.
“‘M’fine with it.”
After that, you almost immediately fell asleep. You were stuck in that sleep where you could still feel Simon’s thumb caress your shoulder blades in comforting strokes and could hear the TV show that was now gibberish, but you were not conscious enough to speak or move. You were stuck in a warm limbo that was the most peaceful kind of sleep you could ask for.
You were sure how long you were asleep for before you heard a muffled buzzing noise that nearly brought you out of your nap.
Simon cursed in a whisper and moved, just barely jostling you around enough to have you pressing your cheek into his chest. He steadied you with his arm, continuing his ministrations as the buzzing stopped.
“Hello.” He said in a low, gruff voice. There was a period of silence that nearly had you falling back asleep until he spoke again. “Understood. I’ll be there.”
A sigh heavy sigh left Simon’s chest and he laid there with his arm over top of you. He stopped moving his thumb and tensed underneath you, enough to have you stirring ever so slightly. It wasn’t until he placed his hands on your shoulders.
“Hey.” He shook you gently and caused your eyes to snap open. “Need to get up.”
“‘M’sorry.” You mumbled, foggy with sleep, and climbed off his lap. 
Simon didn’t say anything as he got up and disappeared down the hallway, the door to his room shutting with a click.
You sat on the couch, slowly trying to wake yourself up as you rubbed your eyes and clutched the blanket that was hanging off your shoulders. You were a lot colder now that you didn’t have your own personal space heater underneath you and in your sleepy brain you figured it was because he wanted to go to bed. 
It was late, you could feel it, so you didn’t really blame him. 
You turned the TV off, yawning a few times as you finally began to regain a clear mind. As much as you were happy that you got to cuddle with Simon for a while, you were ready to go to bed and hopefully not waste your entire day studying.
Just as you stood up from the couch, you heard Simon come out of his room and you were prepared to apologize for falling asleep on him when he entered the living room.
Your face fell and your heart sunk to your stomach when you saw his work bag slung over his shoulder. You stared at him with a mixture of disbelief and sadness that struck your chest with such an intensity that your throat tightened. You stood in the middle of the room, the impending feeling of loneliness slowly enveloping you as you made eye contact with him. 
“You’re leaving…” You didn’t mean your voice to sound so sad but you couldn’t help it.
Simon’s eyes immediately jumped away from yours, his body tensing up as he came up to you and handed you a burner phone. Something he always left you in case there was an emergency or if there was time to call, but you never used them and never he called. 
You stared down at it, fighting back the threat of tears as you let out a shaky sigh, and set it down on the coffee table.
“It hasn’t even been a week yet.” You said and watched him tie his shoes by the front door, walking up to him.
“These things happen.” His voice was even as he kept his back to you. “Rarely but they do.”
You clenched your jaw, trying to control your emotions so you didn’t potentially make him feel bad for leaving even though it felt like you were on the verge of tears.
This was the shortest he had ever been home from his work which made it worse for you. It felt like you had barely seen, you had barely spoken to him in the three days that he had been home and you couldn’t believe you had been dumb enough to waste your limited time with him on studying. You wanted to kick yourself for it even though you had no way of knowing that this would happen.
You wouldn’t know how long he’d be gone for either. You weren’t sure if this was going to be your last moments until you saw him months down the line where the both of you could be entirely different. 
You bit your lip and took a deep breath, calming yourself as much as you could to make this easier. 
The chance to cry about it would be later when he was gone and couldn’t see you.
Simon finished tying his shoes and stood up, finally facing you again with a somber face. He clenched his jaw and balled his hands up into fists when he saw the sad smile on your face as you attempted to show him you’d be okay, his eyes bouncing down to your quivering lips.
“Be safe, okay?” You nodded, unable to say anything else for fear that you would break down right in front of him.
He nodded and you took that as the signal to go to your room.
You turned around to walk away but he grabbed your arm firmly. Before you could react, he tugged you back into his space, held onto you as if you would disappear right in front of him, and pressed his lips against yours. 
You didn’t hesitate to kiss him back, your fingers curling around his jacket to deepen the kiss as his hands roamed over your body before they settled on your hips to pull you into his chest.
Simon’s lips were rough as he kissed you like this was the last time he’d ever get the chance to do it. He sighed into your mouth, pouring every warm feeling he had left into you as he tried to make up for all the countless times he was too much of a coward to kiss you. It was like he was trying to swallow you up, to take your soul inside of him so neither of you would ever be alone, and left you both breathless in the process.  
You took everything he gave you and kissed him back just as tenderly, an attempt to tell him that you felt the same, that you wanted him to stay.
When you broke apart, he rested his forehead against yours and took your face into his hands, taking one last moment to feel you before he stepped back.
You looked at him, still somewhat breathless but full of so much warmth that you nearly pulled him back into another kiss.
“I’m sorry.” 
Though he didn’t sound it, his voice still level yet soft, you could see the sadness in his eyes that only worsened with every second he looked at you. He was breathing heavily, as if he were holding onto a thread, keeping himself together to make it easier for you too as his shoulder tensed so much that they nearly reached his ears.
He didn’t give you a chance to say anything as he opened the front door and left, leaving you in deafening silence.
You blinked a few times, unable to process what fully happened as you stared at the door with your heart beating out of your chest and your stomach in your feet. You listened to the silence that hung so heavily in the air it made your skin crawl. 
The heavy weight returned and suffocated you, like a pair of hands that wrapped around your throat and suddenly everything felt dark. Everything felt wrong, out of place, you felt out of place in your own home as everything reminded you of your roommate and you couldn’t fight against the tears that rolled down your cheeks.
You let out a shaky breath, looking around the living room as if he were still there, as if he would wrap you in his arms and take away your pain with well thought out words. You searched for him but only found fragments of him in the blanket that you had forgotten about and his other pair of shoes.
You stared at the door as if it would bring him back, as if he would somehow know that you were standing there, begging him in your mind to come back and stay with you, and he’d walk through the door like nothing had happened. You wished he would, you wished that somehow he would change his mind.
But he was gone.
And you were alone.
Link to part 4
A/N: haha angst. Totally didn't choke myself up writing the last part lol
Taglist: @msecho19 @old-red-owl @fruitymoonbeams-blog @fruitymoonbeams-blog @palomaxaxaxa @madamemelancholysstuff @hstott @d4z01 @daniquehavinga @multifandom-girl-98 @berryjuicyy @tricksandmagix
3K notes · View notes
nickeverdeen · 1 month
Note
hey, i was wondering if you could write about if five (from the umbrella academy) saw his s/o's sh scars for the first time. no fresh cuts and the s/o is much more stable now but not totally.
Cuts as sharp as love | Five Hargreeves x gn!reader
Tumblr media
Warnings: Self-harm
PS: I love you and if this happened to anyone here, I’m truly sorry and hope things are better now. My DMs are open 24/7 if you need to talk about really anything
—————
The sun hung high in the sky, its rays mercilessly casting down waves of heat that seemed to shimmer off the pavement. The air was thick and humid, making even the simplest of movements feel like a herculean effort. You and Five had retreated to the shaded sanctuary of the Umbrella Academy’s garden, seeking refuge from the blistering heat.
“Why is it so damned hot?” Five grumbled, pulling at the collar of his shirt. Despite his attempts to maintain his usual stoic demeanor, the heat was proving to be quite the adversary.
You chuckled softly, wiping a bead of sweat from your brow. “It’s summer, Five. That’s kind of how it works.”
He shot you a playful glare. “Very funny. Remind me to never trust you as my meteorologist.”
You laughed again, a sound that Five found strangely comforting. It was a rare moment of levity in their otherwise tumultuous lives.
“Hey, it’s not my fault you can’t handle a little heat,” you teased, while a smirk played on your lips.
Five smirked, a mischievous glint in his eyes. “Oh, I can handle plenty. Just wait until winter. Then we’ll see who’s complaining.”
You rolled your eyes but couldn’t hide the smile tugging at your lips. “Deal.”
As the afternoon wore on, the oppressive heat showed no signs of relenting. You, in an attempt to cool off, decided to shed your outer layers, rolling up your sleeves without a second thought. It was an innocent enough action, one born out of sheer necessity rather than any conscious decision.
But as the fabric bunched up around your elbows, the scars were laid bare for the world to see. You crisscrossed your arms like a grotesque roadmap of pain and suffering, each mark telling a story of battles fought in the darkest corners of your mind.
Five’s eyes were immediately drawn to the scars. His usually sharp, calculating gaze softened as he took in the sight before him. It wasn’t the first time he’d seen them, but he never pryed hoping he was mistaken, but each glimpse was a painful reminder of the struggles you had endured.
You followed his gaze, your eyes widening in realization. Panic set in, your heart racing as you hastily tried to roll your sleeves back down.
“Five, I—” you started, your voice quiet.
But he was already at your side, his hands gently covering yours. “It’s okay,” he said softly, his voice a soothing balm to your frayed nerves. “You don’t have to hide them from me.”
You looked up at him growing a tad bit unsure what to do. “I forgot,” you whispered. “I didn’t mean to…”
He shook his head, his thumb gently stroking the back of your hand. “You don’t need to explain. I’m here. I’m always here.”
You both sat in silence for a few moments, the weight of the unspoken words hanging heavy in the air. Five’s face had one question only written all over his features. You took a deep breath, steeling yourself for what you knew was going to be a difficult conversation.
“Five, I… I’m not that person,” you began, your voice barely above a whisper. “I’m more stable now… well not totally, but much better”
Five’s expression softened even further, his eyes filled with a mixture of empathy and understanding. “I’m glad,” he said gently. “You don’t need to hide them.”
You looked up at him, your eyes searching his for any sign of doubt or judgment. But all you found was unwavering support and love.
“I just don’t want you to feel like you have to carry my burdens,” you continued, your voice breaking a bit. “You’ve been through so much already. You don’t need to deal with my issues too.”
Five shook his head, his grip on your hand tightening slightly. “We’re in this together,” he said firmly. “Your burdens are my burdens. Your struggles are my struggles. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
He pulls you into a hug “Thank you,” you whispered. “For everything.”
Five pressed a gentle kiss to the top of your head. “Always,” he murmured. “I’ll always be here for you.”
136 notes · View notes
g1rld1ary · 3 months
Text
a little manpower - neighbour!james potter x reader
wc: 1141
cw: none? reader moving into an apartment and meets james
an: i wish it was summer here so bad I'm struggling!!! what are 1 degree mornings!!!!
Why did nobody tell you it was so bloody hard to move out? Like, everyone talks about the money and the forms and all the confusing adult things, but why did no one tell you about the actual pain in the arse it would be to have to physically move everything you own into a flat three floors up? You didn't consider yourself the fittest person ever, not by a long shot, but you worked out and you didn't think you were weak. Yet there you were, panting like a dog after carrying another box up to your new home.
And of course, it was just your luck that you'd planned your big move-out during what may be Britain's only hot day in the whole year (only slight exaggeration). Still, you felt bad complaining. Your parents had helped you in the morning, moving in some of the IKEA furniture you'd picked out and had a good go of assembling some of it too, so you did have a bed to sleep on. Plus, a college friend had stopped by for an hour or two to keep you company and lifted some boxes with you.
So you didn't have much of a reason to complain, except that you didn't want to be doing it anymore. You were tired of walking up the bloody stairs and your arms were aching from the over-filled boxes. Plus, you had one armchair you'd found at a vintage store that had been sitting near the entryway all day, waiting for you to develop the motivation to drag it upstairs.
When your full-length mirror (deceptively heavy) had you almost in tears you decided enough was enough and it was time for a break. Not brave enough to sit in the woefully unpacked flat you trudged down the stairs one more time, crumpling on the grass nature strip until you were lying on your back.
Everything seemed a bit calmer like that, grass surprisingly cool on the back of your arms and legs. Your muscles relaxed for the first time in hours and you thought if you were in a cartoon you'd probably start fusing into the earth. The only thing that would make the moment nicer would be the peace of mind of knowing your belongings were all safely away in your new flat. And maybe an ice cream.
"Alright, love?" A male voice came from just beyond your head. You tilted it back to crack one eye open. A man was standing a few metres away, more shadow than human because of the positioning of the sun.
"It's hot," You said, "And I'm tired. And my limbs don't work anymore." You knew you probably sounded a bit like a child, but who were you trying to impress? The man laughed and it didn't quite match his silhouette; carefree and juvenile juxtaposing the muscles he clearly had.
"Understandable." You could kind of see him running a hand through his hair, "You must be the new tenant, right? I heard you were moving in soon. We heard you drop something heavy before... and cry a little." Sensing the conversation probably wasn't going to end with that, you sat up and turned to face him, still squinting from the sun.
"You heard a girl cry and didn't do anything about it? What a gentleman."
"I came out here, didn't I?"
"And you're not on the way out somewhere?"
"Touché." He had the decency to appear a little sheepish, at least from what you could see of him. He held his hand out for you, pulling you to your feet effortlessly. It was easier to see him now, the sun not being at such an uncooperative angle, and you tried not to look so surprised. The man was gorgeous, tall and muscular with dark curls, but his face was so friendly you couldn't help but smile. He was physically intimidating, but in the way that you knew he wasn't trying to specifically gain muscle, it was something he'd gotten through activity, like a sport or trade.
You stood for a minute, face to face but both silent. You wracked your brain for something to say.
"I'm sorry about the big old armchair blocking the entry hall, I can't lift it on my own and I just need a little extra manpower but I couldn't get any friends over to help today. I promise it'll be gone by tomorrow," You said, glad for both something to say and to get the guilty feeling off your chest. The man's face broke out into a wide smile.
"It's no worries," He assured you, "The people here hardly ever leave their apartment, I doubt they'll even notice. Don't you worry about it." Something about the way he spoke calmed your nerves, both about the chair and moving into the building as a whole. It was your first time properly living on your own, and you wanted to find somewhere quiet but welcoming. If this neighbour was anything to go by, you'd made a good choice. You smiled in return, weight lifted off your shoulders.
"Right, thanks. I guess I'll see you around..."
"James," He finished, shaking your hand firmly in a way that you didn't expect. You introduced yourself in return and you both hesitated, unsure of how exactly to end the conversation.
"Right, well, I've got training," James said awkwardly, gesturing to the kit bag around his shoulder. You nodded, starting to step back towards the door to the building.
"Have fun with that," You said, giving him a small wave. You waited until you were safely inside before cringing at your attempts at conversation, sending a bitter glare to the armchair as you passed it.
You didn't leave the apartment until the next morning, opting to peck at whatever you had in the pantry for dinner before passing out on a half-made bed. But you had to pick yourself up and decided you did need to grocery shop and actually fill up the pantry you'd just acquired, so you laced up your Converse and picked the keys up from the temporary table next to the door.
And there, waiting outside your door, was the old green armchair, waiting for you as if it had been there all along. You smiled, rubbing a hand along the velvet slowly. There was only one answer as to who it could have been, and James was clearly honouring whatever higher being gave him all that muscle by using it for good. You decided you'd have to make him cookies to thank him and set off for the shop.
276 notes · View notes
yoongiseesawmp3 · 1 year
Text
all things end - mingyu
summary: you grew up with mingyu. he was your first kiss. your first boyfriend. the first man you ever loved. some things just aren’t meant to last, but during some time apart you struggle to forget mingyu, and he does his best to get you back. because who could ever love you as much as he does?
word count: 12.7k
warnings: afab reader, some gendered terms. ex!mingyu / childhood friends to lovers so plenty of fluff and angst, uhhhh scheming cheol too 
masterlist
“what?” cheol groans, answering the phone despite being in the middle of a workout.
“can i come over?” you ask meekly on the other end, and his heart twists.
“bad day?”
“yeah.”
“sure, i’ll be there in 20. come by whenever.”
“thank you,” you sniff, and he hangs up, finishing his last few reps before rushing to get back to his apartment. this is your third bad day this week. your breakup is, understandably, hitting you hard. cheol can’t help but wonder, if you’re so torn up about this, why did you leave mingyu at all? maybe one day he’ll finally ask, but for now he just heads home and shoots you a text asking what kind of ice cream you’ll need tonight.
-
“so i was walking my dog,” you say, scooping a spoonful of ice cream into your mouth before you continue, “and you know how gyu always liked taking him by that lake at sunset?” 
“sure,” cheol nods. “was it sunset when you walked by and it made you think of mingyu?”
“well. yeah.”
“and that’s what prompted today’s spiral?” he asks, grabbing the ice cream from your cold hands so he can hack at it with his spoon. 
“i am not spiraling,” you say, trying to swoop your spoon in but getting knocked away by your best friend. “rude.”
“you spiral every time something reminds you of mingyu,” he says, “or when someone mentions him, or, the most idiotic part, when you see him because someone thought you should stay friends despite the messy breakup.”
“i hate when you try to be the voice of reason,” you complain.
“i’m not trying, i am.”
“it’s annoying.”
“stop having problems then,” he says with a mouthful of ice cream. you get up and toss the blanket in your lap back onto the couch, and cheol whines, “where are you going?” 
“you’re obviously no help so i’ll just go back home and cry myself to sleep or something.”
“no fair! don’t make me feel bad for you! you put yourself in this situation! i don’t even know why you and mingyu broke up in the first place!” 
“i’ve told you a million times,” you whine, sitting back down and tossing your head into the armrest of the couch. “we just weren’t meant for each other anymore.”
“god, why does your answer get more vague every time?” cheol teases, kicking you lightly with his foot. “am i ever gonna get the real reason? did you have a big fight? he doesn’t want kids? you called his mom a hoe?”
“we didn’t fight, i didn’t call mrs. kim anything mean, and we definitely didn’t fight about kids,” you reply, and cheol smiles like the cheshire cat.
“lemme guess. you’ve both already agreed on baby names?”
“shut up.”
“is one of them at least seungcheol? cheol junior? come on, i deserve it,” he pleads, finally getting a laugh out of you.
“if by some act of god mingyu and i get back together and decide to have kids we will consider naming a potential child after you,” you say just to appease him, your heart twisting because you know you and mingyu won’t be together again for that to even be a possibility.
“i’m holding you to that,” he says smugly, and you roll your eyes, leaving it at that. you’re both quiet for a while, passing the ice cream back and forth. you like that cheol doesn’t take you too seriously when you’re like this, because you need the break from your own thoughts. but it’s nice like this too, just being around each other. you decide to break the silence when you notice what time it is, getting up for real. “where are you going now?”
“home,” you sigh. “i have to get up early tomorrow to take fred to the vet, so i should go to sleep.”
“ok,” cheol nods. “text me what flavor you want tomorrow night and i’ll pick it up on the way home from work.”
“i’ll try my best not to need this tomorrow, but thank you,” you say. “i appreciate it more than you know.”
“anytime y/n,” cheol smiles. “let me know when you get home!” 
“will do. night cheol.”
-
you’re up bright and early the next morning to take fred in for his appointment before you have to go to work. it’s allergy season, and no one warned you that your sweet little man could have allergies worse than any human you’ve ever met. fred has a rash on his back that he keeps trying to lick, bite, and scratch, so your vet gave him some medicine and a cone of shame to keep him from bothering the area for a while. you’re laughing to yourself as you take him home, eager to put the cone on him, just to see what it looks like. once you have it on, you laugh again and snap a picture because, yes, he looks silly. you post it to your story and forget about it as you go about the rest of your day.
a little after lunch, mingyu is taking a break from staring at his computer and goes to check his phone. after refreshing instagram, his heart leaps when he sees your icon at the top of his page, alerting him to what you’ve posted. yeah, yeah, he shouldn’t still follow you technically, but he can’t help himself. he only lets his conscious stop him for a couple seconds before he’s tapping your icon and viewing your story, which is fred in his cone of shame. mingyu, who loved you so much but quite possibly loved fred more, freaks out. something must be wrong, and before he thinks better of it he texts you to ask what’s wrong. 
you’re in a meeting when you get the text. you’re bored out of your mind, otherwise you would’ve just let it be. but your mind keeps wandering and now that you’ve heard the buzz of a message come through you can’t help yourself. you lift your phone just slightly to take a look, and you slam it back down when you see mingyu’s name lighting your screen. you do your best to ignore it through the rest of your meeting, but your mind keeps wandering back to him.
your lack of a reply has mingyu freaking out even more. he texts a couple more times, asking questions so hopefully when you do reply mingyu will get the information all at once. but all of those go unanswered too, and he can’t take it anymore. he calls you, biting his lip anxiously as he waits to find out what’s going on.
your phone rings as you’re leaving your meeting, and your heart drops when you see that it’s mingyu. you haven’t had time to read his texts, but if he’s been bothering you this much it must be serious. you take a breath, preparing for the worst, and then you accept the call.
“hello?” you ask meekly, and you hear mingyu sigh on the other end.
“y/n,” he says, relieved. “finally. what’s going on?”
“uh, nothing?” you reply. “i’m at work.”
“huh? why?!”
“it’s a wednesday? most people with jobs work on wednesdays,” you explain. 
“no, i mean what’s going on with fred?” mingyu clarifies, and that’s when you notice the worry in his voice. you used to be able to pick up on his emotions instantly, and it sends a jab to your chest that it took you this long to realize he was upset.
“oh, he has allergies,” you laugh. “he uh, he was bothering a spot on his back so the vet gave him that collar to stop him from licking it.”
“so he’s ok?” mingyu asks, and you nod as you respond.
“he’s fine, just inbred probably,” you joke, earning a little nose snort from mingyu. “listen, uh, i’m at work, so-”
“yeah, yeah, go, sorry for bothering you,” mingyu replies. “give fred a hug for me.”
“will do. bye mingyu.”
“bye baby,” he says without thinking. he hangs up, realization hitting him a second too late. he thinks about texting you to apologize, but he’s bugged you enough today. maybe you didn’t hear it? he can just ignore it, right? it’s not like you’ll be talking to each other soon anyway, so maybe you’ll forget it eventually.
-
the first time mingyu called you baby was an accident, too. you were really close friends, but nothing more. you’ve known mingyu since you were five, when his family moved in next to yours and your parents made you play together because you were both around the same age. 
for you, he was the stinky neighbor boy who would make your heart flutter when he pulled up weeds and handed them to you like a bouquet of flowers. for mingyu, you were the pretty neighbor he wasn’t quite sure how to talk to, so he did things like pull up weeds for you. he usually showed his love for you like that, in more physical ways than verbal. one time, when you were about ten and he was almost twelve, you told mingyu you really liked another neighbor’s bike and you wished you had one like it for yourself. he still remembers asking poor dokyeom if he could borrow it, and he also remembers how much his parents yelled at him when they found out he had given it to you as a surprise. you teased mingyu about that constantly, still laughing over the memory of him walking the bike back to dokyeom’s house with the saddest look on his face. that was the first time he realized he only wanted to do things that made you happy, and it was the first time you realized mingyu was more sweet than he was stinky. 
the first time he called you baby was late one night at his house. you had been friends so long your parents weren’t worried about leaving you alone together (secretly hoping you would wipe the idiocy from your eyes and fall in love already). you were in the basement at mingyu’s, sitting comfortably next to him on the couch and watching a scary movie, despite your protests. mingyu wasn’t usually a scary movie guy either, but your friends at school had talked about this movie so much that mingyu got teased for not watching it. 
he had summoned you like he always did, standing on the fence in his backyard and shouting your name until you opened your bedroom window. your houses were so close you didn’t have to yell once the window was open, so you spoke normally as you told mingyu firmly that you would not be watching that with him. it only took a few seconds of him pouting for you to cave, and once you were settled on the couch he said passively, “don’t worry baby, i’ve got you if it gets too scary.” 
that one little word had haunted you for days, by far scarier than the movie you watched that night. mingyu had called you baby. that’s not what friends call each other, that’s boyfriend/girlfriend stuff. and that definitely wasn’t you and mingyu. 
at least to the two of you it wasn’t. to everyone else, you were an item. it was so obvious you liked each other that guys wouldn’t approach you, and girls knew not to fall for mingyu because he would never fall back. it took ages for you two to notice, but once you did, your life had never been more lovely. to love mingyu and be loved by him is one of the best things you’ve ever done. his love is deep and he loves hard, and for some people that kind of passion can be a little scary. it was definitely scary for you, even if took a while for you to notice.
-
just like the first time he called you baby, that one slip up on the phone stuck with you. you couldn’t tell cheol about it, because he’d just question the whole break up again, so you sat with it quietly as you played the sound of mingyu’s voice over and over again in your head. 
days later, mingyu had already forgotten about it. he was worried at first, but when the world didn’t implode immediately after he basically let it go. you’d assume it was a mistake, not him still pining for you despite what happened. so he pushed it to the back of his mind.
that weekend, you found yourself at hoshi’s for a party. his apartment was packed, so you were prepared to get tipsy and then head home. cheol wasn’t there yet so you were bothering seungkwan instead, and he was doing everything he could to get rid of you. that includes pushing you into someone’s firm chest on accident, and you almost fall through the floor when you look up and see mingyu staring back at you in shock. you’re just drunk enough that you want to have a little fun with him, a mischievous smirk slowly forming on your face.
“hey, baby,” you emphasize, watching as mingyu’s face starts out hopeful and then falls slightly. 
“oh, haha,” he laughs nervously. “hey. um, so you noticed that the other day.”
“i did.”
“s-sorry,” he stutters. “old habits die hard.” 
you nod in agreement as you take a sip of your drink, not so sure now, with his big brown eyes staring you down, why you thought talking to him was a good idea. you usually spent these parties pressed up against mingyu’s chest, back to front, his arm wrapped around you lazily. suddenly you’re cold just at the thought, and you ache to feel mingyu wrapped around you again.
“how’s fred?” he asks, trying to keep you next to him for as long as possible.
“he’s good,” you nod. “doesn’t need the cone anymore.”
“aw, lame, those pictures were funny,” mingyu pouts, and you have to look away so you don’t have the urge to kiss him. 
“yeah, well, i still have it so i can put it back on him if he ever gets annoying.”
“that’s good,” mingyu nods now, awkwardly looking around for a way out of this conversation without being rude. he misses you, and he was totally aware of that, but it’s easier to push it away when you’re not standing so close, your perfume encasing him in memories of when you were his. now you’re not, and mingyu wants to go home. he’s searching the room for someone to talk to so this moment won’t be so pathetic, but cheol comes to the rescue. 
“hey ex lovebirds,” cheol teases, bumping into you enough to make you stumble. mingyu reaches out to steady you, but cheol grabs you by the waist to keep you in place, and mingyu has to look away or else he might light on fire with anger. it’s a simple touch, he knows cheol doesn’t mean anything by it, but it always bothered him when other people tried to take care of you. that was his job, and he didn’t like anyone getting in the way of that. “why do you both look so miserable? it’s a party. drink, have fun, maybe kiss a little-”
“i do need another drink,” you say, taking the first chance to leave this situation. you look to both guys before asking, “do you need anything?” they shake their heads, so you escape to the kitchen and mentally mark the living room off. you can’t go back out there now. maybe it’s time for you to just leave.
“so,” cheol says, smirk hiding behind his cup. “how’s your plan going?”
“what plan?” mingyu asks, obviously confused.
“your plan to get y/n back,” cheol replies nonchalantly. “you have one, right? otherwise i don’t see why you aren’t leaving my friend alone after such a devastating break up.”
“i’m your friend too?! what about me and my feelings?” 
“you annoy me more than y/n does, so i’m on her side,” cheol jokes, and mingyu groans. “but seriously. what’s going on here? she won’t tell me anything.”
“we broke up.”
“i know that. elaborate.”
“no,” mingyu says stubbornly, crossing his arms. “that’s between me and y/n. she won’t tell you so neither will i.”
“god, forget it. i’m on no one’s side, you’re both annoying,” cheol scoffs. “match made in heaven, you two.”
it’s quiet between them for a moment, both men just sloshing their drinks around in their cups, looking around at their drunken friends ruining hoshi’s lovely home. mingyu thinks for a second, deciding if he’ll actually admit this to cheol or not, but he slams the rest of his drink and turns to his friend before he can change his mind. 
“i don’t have a plan,” he starts off. “yet. i’m trying to feel things out. i tried giving y/n space, and that’s not working for me. i love her, dude. i’ll only ever love her.”
“then go get her!” cheol says incredulously, motioning for the kitchen. “she’s hiding in there so she doesn’t have to see you, she’d be easy to corner-”
“but,” mingyu interjects. “but. i don’t know if she wants me back. she broke things off, so i’m trying to respect that. i just...i don’t know if she loves me anymore, man. so i want to make a plan, i want to get her back, but i’m afraid of what would happen if it doesn’t work. if she really doesn’t love me anymore.”
“hm,” cheol hums before he finishes his own drink. he takes a minute, smacks his lips, then turns to his idiotic best friend. “get her back. as soon as possible, actually. she’s a wreck without you. whatever happened for her to break up with you, i’m sorry. but she hasn’t stopped talking about you since. she still loves you man, no doubt. so i think you should try. and let me know how i can help, because, man, she’s really been bumming me out lately being all sad like this.”
“she’s sad?” mingyu asks, sadness appearing on his own features, making cheol roll his eyes. 
“i said a whole essay and that’s the only thing you picked up on?”
“no, i get it,” mingyu nods. “i’ll think of something.”
“good,” cheol nods, then points to mingyu’s cup. “you want a refill?”
“do you mind grabbing it for me?” mingyu asks sheepishly.
“no,” cheol says in disbelief. “you can’t be hiding from her too.”
“what if i am!”
“i’m so close to revoking my offer to help,” cheol complains as he snatches mingyu’s cup from him. “i’ll be back.”
-
mingyu’s conversation with cheol set his mind in motion. he hasn’t stopped thinking about you since, as if that was new. but now he has a reason to spend all his time thinking about you. truthfully, mingyu isn’t sure he knows why you broke things off. at least, he doesn’t know how to explain it to people. he knows it must have made sense to you, and to him, enough for him to let you go. but he just remembers one very tearful conversation where you told him you couldn’t do this anymore, and that was it. he’d steal the sun to make your world brighter, so if he wasn’t making you happy anymore he wasn’t going to stick around if you didn’t want him there. 
but now. now he’s wishing he had fought back. asked questions. tried to fix things instead of just running away. he still loves you, and if cheol’s right and you still love him, then what the hell are you doing? 
-
your first date with mingyu was simple. since it took you both years to realize your mutual feelings for each other, there wasn’t much you hadn’t already done together. you already tried out new restaurants together, went to arcades and movies and concerts just the two of you. you even forced mingyu to get a membership at your favorite museum so you could drag him along anytime there was a new exhibit you were dying to see. so when mingyu finally asked you out, he wasn’t sure what to do. he wracked his brain for the fanciest restaurant he could think of, or searched for romantic movies playing around town, but none of it felt right. none of it felt like you. 
that’s why your first date was simple. he knew he didn’t have to do something grandiose to impress you, so instead he invited you over to his dorm and made you dinner. he wouldn’t tell you what he was making, but when you walked in it smelled familiar. not just because mingyu’s scent wafted up around you when he welcomed you in, but because the food on the stove instantly reminded you of home. you tried peeking at the pots to see if you could figure out what it was, but mingyu cutely pushed you away. 
“you’re gonna ruin the surprise!” he whines, childishly pushing you out to the living room. “you can’t be in here!”
“so you’re telling me i can’t be around my boyfriend on our first date?” you challenge him, and his force falters. “i want to spend time with you gyu, let me at least be in the kitchen with you.”
“promise not to look at the food though,” he says with a finger in your face. you grab his hand and wrap yours in his sweaty, warm grasp. 
“i’ll keep my eyes on you, deal?”
“deal,” he smiles shyly, squeezing your hand before pulling you behind him into the kitchen. he starts working with just one hand, so you let go of his other one to make it easier for him to cook. “why’d you do that?”
“do what?” you ask, leaning against the counter so you can sit back and watch.
“let go,” he pouts, reaching for you again. 
“you have to use both hands to cook, baby,” you laugh, and you watch with love in your eyes as he blushes a deep pink.
“right,” he nods. “ok. it’s almost done, but if you’re hungry there’s snacks in the fridge.”
“i’m good,” you say quietly, watching as mingyu returns to chopping something. you silently admire him as he works, your heart warming as it settles in your mind: mingyu is finally yours. your first love. your only love, probably, is your boyfriend. how amazing is that?
“baby?” mingyu repeats, snapping you out of your trance. there’s the hint of a smile on his face as your eyes meet his. “did you hear me?”
“no, what did you say?” now it’s your turn to blush. mingyu takes a step closer, carefully placing his hands on your hips. 
“i said it’s ready,” he smiles. “you were staring at me.”
“yeah, i told you i was gonna do that.”
“what were you thinking about?” mingyu barely whispers, his face incredibly close to yours now. 
i was thinking about how much i love you.
“um, you?” 
“what about me?” 
“i was mentally critiquing your form,” you tease, a smile breaking out across both your faces. 
“and how was it?” he asks, close enough now that you can feel his breath on your lips.
“you’re gonna chop a finger off one day,” you reply quietly, eyes drifting down to mingyu’s lips as you speak. he notices and the side of his mouth quirks up in a smirk. 
“how’s my form now?” he asks before hastily pressing a kiss to your lips, pulling back almost like the touch sent a shock through him. 
“could be better,” you squeak out, and he nods before leaning back down to capture your lips in a real kiss. it’s warm, delicate but strong, and it’s mingyu. you can’t seem to wrap your head around that part. mingyu is kissing you right now. you’re kissing mingyu. and he’s really good at it. sooner than you’d like, he’s pulling away again. 
“how was that?” he asks, lips just barely grazing over yours.
“better,” you reply breathlessly. “you take criticism well.”
“i’m just here to please you baby,” he says, his words dripping with double meanings. you feel a chill run down your spine as you notice the hungry look in his eyes, and you clear your throat before speaking. 
“so, um, can i see the food now or do i have to eat with my eyes closed?”
“depends,” mingyu replies. “you want me to feed it to you?”
“stop being weird,” you laugh, pushing him away playfully but instantly missing the warmth of his chest against yours. you ignore his smile and lean over the stove, heart picking up as you try to see what he made. mingyu puts his arms around your waist fully and moves you out of the way, back to his childish shoves and whines about ruining the surprise. 
in a few minutes, you’re sat on his couch, eyes closed with a bowl of something warm in your lap. mingyu was serious about feeding you, at least the first bite, because he wants to keep the meal a surprise. as you complain about it for the millionth time, mingyu brings a spoon up to your lips and quietly asks you to open your mouth. you welcome the food, and your eyes shoot open when you immediately recognize the taste. 
“chicken and dumplings?” you ask, and mingyu smiles proudly. “how’d you learn to make that? it tastes just like home. i can’t...i don’t believe you made this.”
“please,” mingyu scoffs. “i was over at your house enough that i saw your grandma, your mom, even you, make this a million times. i made it the exact same way.”
“i can’t believe this,” you shake your head. “i...this is perfect, gyu. thank you.”
“no problem baby,” he smiles as he cuddles into your side, handing you another full spoon. “your turn.”
“what?” you ask, confused, just to turn and see mingyu waiting with his mouth open. you laugh, letting your head fall onto his shoulder. “you’re embarrassing.” 
“yeah, but you love it,” he laughs along, taking the spoon back so he can start eating too. as he goes on about how perfectly he cooked this, he misses the way your face heats up as you think, yes, you do love it. you love him, and you’re trying to figure out how soon is too soon to tell him that. 
-
part one of mingyu’s plan is a little concerning. he’s not following you, no, he’s not doing anything that would make you uncomfortable, but...he is hanging around your favorite coffeeshop in the mornings. he knows he’s bound to catch you here at least once this week, and he doesn’t mind doing a little work in such a cozy place anyway. if he sees you, great. if not, also great. he’s been more productive the past two days than he has all month. 
he gets lucky on the third day, because he hears a familiar laugh at the door and his ears perk up like an excited puppy. he sees you holding the door open for someone, and he tries to not make it obvious that he’s staring. you’re wearing one of his hoodies. if he had any doubts about this, now they’re all erased, because you’re wearing one of his hoodies. he didn’t even remember giving it to you, so it must have been one you stole from him. it’s old too, he can tell there’s a hole near the wrist that you’re trying to not accidentally slip a finger through. he keeps flicking his eyes up to you as you ask for your usual, mouthing the words along with you just to make sure he’s still got it. café con leche, sprinkle of cinnamon. when you turn around after paying, mingyu ducks his head down and goes back to work. he won’t approach you just yet, so he tries to lay low.
but you saw him the moment you walked in. a big dude like that? he sticks out immediately. your blood ran cold when you caught him staring at you, mentally cursing yourself for not changing shirts before you left the house. it might be a little pathetic, but you slept in this hoodie last night. the heat in your place hasn’t been working well and it was unusually cold, so you needed the extra coverage. this hoodie was the first thing you pulled from your closet, and you were too lazy to find something else. you won’t admit being wrapped up in mingyu’s scent helped you have the best sleep you’ve gotten since the break up. you try to ignore the feeling of mingyu’s eyes on you as you order, and when you turn back to the seating area you laugh to yourself seeing mingyu look away like he wasn’t boring holes into your back. you scan the room for an empty spot and find one, but your own eyes pull back to mingyu. you wait at the counter for your drink, and take a deep breath before walking over. 
“should i go ahead and sit with you, or did you wanna stare a little bit longer?” you ask once you reach mingyu’s table, his head snapping up in shock at you approaching him without noticing. 
“uh, i, um, i wasn’t, this isn’t what it looks like,” he blubbers, and you roll your eyes.
“you know if you wanted to talk to me you can just call,” you mumble as you pull the seat out and sit down. 
“hey, i’m actually working,” he says, sliding his laptop around to prove it. “maybe i’m just here to enjoy the ambiance.” 
“fine,” you nod, sipping your drink and loving the way it instantly puts you at ease. “don’t let me interrupt.” you start pulling out your own things, setting up your laptop before deciding you might want to read instead. you compromise and send some emails first, the rapid sound of your typing somehow comforting to mingyu. he resettles himself, accidentally bumping your leg with his under the table. 
“sorry,” he whispers.
“it’s okay,” you reply, a sympathetic grin on your face. “with your long ass legs i’m used to it.”
“still,” he tries not to smile back like an idiot. “sorry.”
you fall back into silence, both of you working on your own things and “enjoying the ambiance.” you’re not sure how much time passes before mingyu interrupts the quiet.
“hey,” he whispers, grabbing your attention. he nods to your laptop and asks, “what are you doing?”
“i’m working, mingyu,” you laugh. “what are you doing?”
“working,” he replies quickly. “been a busy week for me.”
“hm, same here.”
“cold too,” he tries, smiling proudly when you shift in your seat. he caught you. “did you magically lose all your other hoodies and jackets, or does someone miss stealing my clothes?”
“i didn’t steal this,” you counter, accusing finger pointed in his direction. “you insisted i take this one because you didn’t want it anymore but you said it was too sentimental to donate. i did you a favor by taking this ratty old thing.”
“but you kept it,” he says happily, finishing his coffee and pointing to your long empty mug. “you want another?”
“sure,” you reply sheepishly, “a café co-”
“café con leche, sprinkle of cinnamon,” mingyu finishes in unison with you. then a sly smile as he says, “i remember, baby. be right back.”
-
“what the hell did you say to mingyu?” you bark at seungcheol over the phone. “why was he at my coffeeshop this morning? and why’s he suddenly calling me baby all casual like we’re still dating?”
“this is news to me,” cheol says, but you can hear the smirk in his voice. “i didn’t say anything to him. at least not anything i think he heard. that boyfriend of yours can be an airhead sometimes.” 
“he’s not my boyfriend,” you grumble.
“but he bought you coffee this morning?” 
“he told you?!”
“i’m not at liberty to say,” cheol laughs. “just enjoy it, y/n. whatever he’s up to, it can’t hurt to see where it goes.”
“i hate you both,” you groan, hanging up as cheol mumbles a “right, sure.” when the call is over, you fall back down onto your bed, mind working top speed to decide what to do next. you could move and change your name, leaving mingyu and cheol behind. that’s a bit dramatic. you could tell cheol to get fucked, but he’d find a way to bring mingyu into it. and mingyu. you don’t know what to do about him. you could just ask him to leave you alone, and you think he would. but a little part of you does want to see where this goes. 
-
you wake up the next morning to the smell of something coming from your kitchen. you rush up, afraid you somehow left dinner on the stove and you’re seconds away from burning the building down. but when you crash into the kitchen, ungracefully, you’re met with mingyu’s muscular back as he looks for something in your fridge. at the sound of your frantic movements, he looks over his shoulder and grumbles out a good morning in the deepest voice you’ve ever heard. you’re stunned, not totally sure how he got here, and totally confused as to why he’s shirtless. 
“um, whatcha doin?” you ask casually.
“i was gonna make french toast,” mingyu starts out, coming closer to you. “but you’re out of milk. so now it’s just eggs and toast.” as he gets closer, his hands reach out for your waist, and you let him pull you against his warm chest. “is that ok?”
“mhm,” you nod, not sure what to do with your hands. you don’t want to put them on his chest, afraid the skin to skin contact would ignite something dangerous in you. you also don’t want to put them around his neck because that territory feels just as dangerous. so that leaves you with your hands bunched up by your chest and mingyu looking on, amused.
“afraid to touch me?” he asks, a smirk on his stupidly kissable lips. 
“no, um, i just-” you stutter, but what sounds like a phone alarm cuts you off. was mingyu baking something?
“you gonna get that, baby?” he asks, seemingly referring to the alarm but you don’t know where it’s coming from. 
“what? it’s not mine,” you say, and you miss what mingyu says next as you’re jolted awake by something furry laying on your chest. you carefully open your eyes, afraid that maybe mingyu just forgot to shave and somehow he would be the one on top of you right now. but it’s just fred, and the alarm is yours. your phone is going off, reminding you that you’re probably gonna be late to work. you scramble to get up and start your day, but you can’t stop thinking about mingyu. 
-
about halfway through the day, you get a text from cheol asking if you want to get dinner that night. his friend jeonghan, who’s always kinda scared you, has tickets to some concert out of town and cheol wants to make it into a big trip. cheol wants you to come, and he knows you two will be the only ones competent enough to plan the whole thing so he needs you as back up tonight. you agree, eager to get a break from work and from mingyu. going out of town will be a nice distraction, and even though jeonghan is intimidating he’s still really fun to be around. 
speak of the devil, he’s the first to wrap you up in a hug when you get to the guys’ table that night, and he whispers something to you about mingyu being annoying and you’re better off without him. you smile at the condolence and let him drag you into the open seat next to him. he and cheol start filling you in on the plans, when you’ll leave, where you’ll stay, day of the concert, etc. you give some advice on things to do in your free time, and jeonghan types it all into his phone while cheol price checks your options. 
“so there’s one airbnb with enough beds for each of us, but it’s $100 more a night, compared to this one with a queen, a twin, and a sofa bed, which is the cheapest option and also closer to everything we want to do,” cheol says, nose still in his phone. 
“book the cheap one then,” you shrug. “one of y’all can take the queen bed as long as i don’t get put on the pull out.”
“i can take the pull out,” jeonghan offers. “i’ll sleep wherever.”
“and i’ll take the twin,” cheol says. “gives me my own room.”
“so we won’t be able to hear you snoring?” you ask. “thank god.”
“ignoring that,” cheol mumbles, writing something down on his napkin. “so that would make it $80 even for each of us for the whole weekend. i can book it and you can send me your money whenever.”
“sounds good,” jeonghan nods as he pours you all more soju. 
“wait, that makes no sense,” you start. “it’s only $80? for the whole weekend?”
“yep,” cheol nods, waving the napkin in your face. “wanna check my work, teacher?” 
“no, jack ass,” you laugh, pushing his hand out of the way before graciously taking the glass jeonghan hands you. “just shocked you found such a steal.”
“speaking of stealing things,” jeonghan says, “whose car are we taking?”
“mine is in the shop,” cheol sighs. “and y/n doesn’t drive.”
“guess we’ll take mingyu’s then,” jeonghan decides. cheol’s eyes flick over to you on instinct, and when he doesn’t see a reaction from you he smiles.
“cool, i can pick everyone up on friday then?” he asks, and you nod. with everything planned, your conversation can stray off to other topics while the drinks flow, and that’s how you end up flipping through jeonghan’s tinder for him later in the night. you’re maybe too tipsy to be doing this, but jeonghan likes the chaos of it, and cheol is just happy to see you having fun. he hopes this trip will help with that too.
-
cheol comes to pick you up, as promised, but he texts you when he pulls up that you’ll have to sit in the back. you get out of your building and recognize mingyu’s car immediately, tossing your bag in the trunk before grabbing the door to the backseat. when you slide in, you almost jump out of your skin when you see mingyu sitting back there too. 
“told you it’d surprise her,” you hear cheol and jeonghan laugh, but you’re too busy trying to sputter out a question. 
“hey y/n,” mingyu says shyly. 
“hi?” you reply, looking to cheol who’s staring at you through the rearview mirror. “um? hello?”
“hey,” he smiles. “you buckled?”
“no she’s not,” mingyu replies for you, and you roll your eyes before you put the seatbelt in place.
“sorry, but what’s he doing here?” you ask. “you stole the car and the owner?”
“no, he’s coming with us,” jeonghan replies. “i thought i told you i had four tickets to the show?”
“no?” you say, voice at a higher pitch than you’d like it to be.
“is there a problem, y/n?” cheol asks, looking at you through the rearview again so if you really weren’t comfortable with this he would see. 
“no,” you sigh after a second. “just didn’t expect it, that’s all.”
“for the record,” mingyu whispers, leaning close to you, “this was not part of my plan. i swear.”
“but it was part of mine!” cheol jokes, and mingyu kicks his chair. “hey, don’t make me pull this car over.”
“you mean my car?!” mingyu screeches back, and you lean up to whisper in jeonghan’s ear.
“why did you think bringing these two on a trip would be fun?” you ask loud enough for cheol and gyu to hear, making the car erupt in whines and cries while jeonghan laughs. it’s gonna be a long ride, you think to yourself.
you’re able to sleep most of the way there, only getting interrupted every once in a while when mingyu moves his long limbs to get comfortable. each time it’s an awkward half smile in apology, and you just nod in recognition. you don’t really want him here, to be honest. this trip was supposed to take your mind off him. now how will that be possible?
mingyu feels bad for surprising you like this, really. cheol asked him to come on this trip and didn’t say you’d be joining them until it was too late for mingyu to back out, so he wants a minute alone with you to explain. he wants to tell you that he can hang back, if you want to enjoy some time with the guys sans your ex boyfriend. he’ll do whatever makes you happy, like usual.
mingyu’s desire to talk to you is what leads him to follow you to your room at the airbnb, saying he’s looking for the bathroom but really he wants to apologize for the ambush. you turn back to the door once you’ve placed your things on the bed, jumping when you see his large form cowering in the doorway.
“bathroom’s not in here, gyu,” you tell him. “think it’s the next door on the left.”
“i’m not looking for the bathroom,” he says, taking a careful step into your room. “i wanted to say i’m sorry, for this. i didn’t know you were coming either, or else i would’ve backed out. i don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”
“i’m not uncomfortable around you, mingyu,” you say firmly. “i just-”
“you forgot your stuff dude,” cheol says, popping up behind mingyu and handing him his bag. then he looks at you quickly, smiling before he teases, “i see you’ve found the honeymoon suite?”
“the-what?” you ask, confused.
“you ended up with the biggest bed, y/n, so you gotta share with the friendly giant over here,” cheol explains as he nods in mingyu’s direction. “he’s definitely not fitting on the twin with me.”
“and i don’t like him enough to share a bed with him!” jeonghan shouts from somewhere else in the house. 
“you’re fucking kidding me.”
“no time to complain right now,” cheol says as he checks his watch. “we’ve got dinner reservations. mingyu, bathroom is next door, you might wanna change your shirt before we leave. i don’t wanna stare at y/n’s drool while i eat.”
“my what?” you ask, looking at mingyu to see what cheol is referring to. there’s a spot near mingyu’s collarbone that looks slightly wet, and your hand flies to your mouth as you gasp, “i drooled on you?! how? why didn’t you push me off?!”
“you were asleep!” mingyu replies, voice an octave or two higher. “i felt bad! you just kinda fell onto my shoulder, and i didn’t wanna wake you up!” 
“we’re leaving in five minutes, whether you’re ready or not,” cheol tells mingyu. he walks away, and mingyu grabs a new shirt out of his bag before heading back to the door. 
“uh, gyu?” you call, and he turns immediately. “s-sorry..for, that, i guess,” you say, pointing to his shirt. “next time you have full permission to push me. promise i won’t get mad.”
“it’s okay,” he shrugs. “you know i don’t mind.” and with that, he leaves for the bathroom. you can tell there’s a blush on your cheeks, so you close the door and lock it while you take a minute to chill out. you decide to change too, not wanting to wear your old sweats to dinner even if it’s supposed to be laid back. you’re afraid now that you’ve got drool on your own shirt, so you change into something casual quickly and then join the guys in the living room. 
once you’re there, cheol checks that everyone’s good to go, and you all walk out to the car. you don’t catch the way mingyu stares at you the whole time, or maybe you’re just ignoring it. you’re wearing a matching set with a jean jacket, nothing extravagant, but mingyu has the exact same outfit packed in his bag. you bought the sets together, for a last minute trip you took a year ago. mingyu wanted to get matching vacation shirts and you vehemently refused, so you compromised with a his and hers loungewear set. once again, mingyu’s heart soars at the little nod to your time together, because clearly you’re not as detached from it as you claim to be. 
-
at dinner, jeonghan insists on sitting next to you again, so you’re squished into the booth next to him while mingyu looks on in not-so-hidden jealousy. he’s sitting across from you, scanning the menu and trying not to flick his eyes up to you. jeonghan starts talking about what he wants to try, and cheol asks if they should just order a bunch of plates and share everything.
“eh, you guys can do that, but there’s really just one thing i wanted to try,” you say, pushing the menu away now that you’ve found what you want. 
“lemme guess,” cheol says as his eyes scan the menu. “you’re gonna get something lame, like chicken alfredo.”
“no,” you shake your head. “i’m trying something new, but it’s not as tomato heavy as the stuff you want, which all sounds nasty, by the way.”
“why’d you agree to come to an italian restaurant if you think the food is nasty?” cheol counters.
“you all seemed excited about trying it,” you shrug. “and like i said, there’s one thing i want. that’s enough.”
“what’s that one thing?” jeonghan cuts in, trying to stop cheol from bickering further.
“let me guess this time,” mingyu smiles. your eyes meet his and you blush under his gaze, thankful for the low lighting at the table. hopefully the guys don’t catch it. you nod and encourage mingyu to take a stab at it, and he pretends to look at the menu again even though this was the first thing he noticed. “you’re getting the gnocchi in the truffle sauce, but you really agreed to italian because you want to get tiramisu for dessert.”
“i, yeah, you got me,” you stammer out. 
“what drink is she gonna get?” cheol asks with a smile, head leaning on his hand as he watches in amusement.
“hm,” mingyu looks at the menu seriously. “maybe an espresso with the tiramisu, but i bet you’ll try to make us order the digestif spritz thing at the end of the meal.”
“shut up,” you say, kicking his foot lightly under the table. “i was gonna try it myself, i won’t force y’all to try it if you don’t want to.” jeonghan, not picking up on the eyes you and mingyu are making at each other, joins in.
“i thought about trying that too,” he nods, looking at cheol and asking what he wants to order to share. while they discuss an inordinate amount of food, you’re just staring at mingyu, who’s looking at you smugly. finally you just shake your head and look back down at the menu, judging whatever the other boys decided to order. when the waiter comes back, mingyu smiles proudly as you order exactly what he predicted. mingyu nudges your leg playfully under the table, and you’re about to fight back when jeonghan cuts through your thoughts. “wait, did i tell you guys about the dream i had in the car?” 
“i didn’t know you fell asleep,” cheol shakes his head.
“i did, when you were complaining about that girl who wouldn’t call you back.”
“hey!”
“anyway,” jeonghan starts again. “i had a dream that i was at work and y/n came in,” he smiles at you. “i guess you complaining about your job made me subconsciously think we should hire you at my office?”
“anything is better than my job right now,” you laugh, imagining how nothing would get done if you and jeonghan worked together.
“but you came in, and i was going to start training you, and then mingyu comes out of the boss’s office and is like no she’s here to take your job-”
“wait, mingyu was there?” you ask before you can stop yourself.
“yeah, i was there?” mingyu teases. “you in love with me or something?”
“y/n why is that so shocking,” cheol asks more as a statement than a question. “i told you about my mingyu dream, we’ve all got one.”
“please don’t bring that up again,” mingyu groans, head dropping. you smile at the memory of cheol’s legendary mingyu dream, which was basically just dream mingyu being so drunk he somehow climbed a telephone pole and got stuck so he called cheol to come help because he’s “strong and manly.”
“y/n do you have a mingyu dream?” jeonghan asks, and you blush deep enough that they can clearly see it this time, despite the lighting.
“um, i don’t really remember any from when, uh, from recently,” you start. “i guess i had one the other night, but it was one of those dreams that i barely remembered when i woke up. i just know mingyu was there.”
“where was i?” he asks, totally invested now. 
“yeah, where was he?” cheol parrots.
“um, my kitchen?”
“can he even fit in there?” jeonghan jokes, but you ignore him.
“so i was cooking for you?” mingyu pesters you, and you nod.
“well, kinda,” you reply. “i don’t really remember.” 
“was it a dirty dream?” cheol jokes. “is that why you don’t remember?”
“no, asshole,” you reply. thankfully, the first round of plates arrives to the table then and everyone is distracted for a while. you have to shake the feeling of mingyu staring at you though. it’s like he knows there’s more to the dream than you let on, but you’re not gonna unpack it with the other two sitting right here.
“y/n,” mingyu calls your name quietly. you look up and find him holding a small plate out very politely, and then he gives you his sweetest smile before asking, “can i try a gnocchi?”
“sure,” you nod, scraping one off your plate onto his. “it’s really good.”
“give me one,” cheol says, and before he can even finish you shake your head.
“nope,” you say as you pop another piece into your mouth. “you didn’t ask nicely.”
“whatever,” he grumbles. 
the rest of dinner is nice, the food is great, you got your tiramisu and your weird drink at the end of the night, and cheol and jeonghan got sloshed on an expensive bottle of wine. you’re laughing with mingyu as you guide the two drunkards back to the car, struggling to get cheol to put his seatbelt on. once the toddlers are settled you turn to ask mingyu if he’s gonna drive, just to see him waiting for you by the passenger side. 
“what are you doing?” you ask quietly.
“being a gentleman,” he replies simply, opening the door for you and handing you the jacket you almost left in your seat. you thank him quietly, heart picking up speed. he closes the door for you before he gets to the driver’s side, and then you’re on your way back to the airbnb. mingyu wordlessly hands you the aux, and you take it as you shuffle your library, not concerned with whatever song comes on. the first one to play is mary’s song by taylor swift, a song that has always reminded you of the way mingyu loved you. for a second, you let yourself reminisce and feel the warmth that mingyu’s love always gave you. absentmindedly, your hand reaches for his on the center console, and when you realize what you’ve done you just pull back like it was an accident. mingyu knows it wasn’t, though. he drives on in content, happy just to be sharing this moment with you, regardless of the circumstances.
-
back at the house, the guys let you take the bathroom first so you can shower. you promise to be quick, but while you’re in there you relish having a moment to yourself. it’s always nice, even when you’re with people you love, to have a second to yourself on a trip like this. it turns out doing you dirty this time, because the longer you’re left to your own thoughts the more they wander back to mingyu. back to how much you love him, how much he loves you, and how much that scares you. it wasn’t like you left because you didn’t care about him anymore. you were afraid you cared too much, and that it would end up hurting you one day. as all these thoughts pass through your head, you notice you’ve started crying. the shower quickly wipes your tears away, so you finish up and try to collect yourself as you get dressed. you take a couple extra minutes to pamper yourself, using the products the airbnb host left out for guests to try and steady your breathing. you take note of the fancy lotion, contemplating whether or not to steal this one, when jeonghan yelling in the hallway brings you back to reality. 
clean and ready for bed, you emerge from the shower with your things in your arms. you almost drop them when you bump into mingyu leaving your room, arms laden with blankets and pillows. you look at him confused before asking what’s going on.
“where are you going?” you ask as you move further into the bedroom, noticing that mingyu has moved all of his things. 
“i’m setting up my bed,” he replies.
“i thought you were sleeping with me?” you say, noticing too late how that sounds. “i mean, wait, sorry-”
“yeah, i was supposed to sleep in here, but jeonghan said i can make a bed on the floor and sleep in the living room with him,” mingyu explains with a small smile. 
“why?”
“i don’t wanna bother you, y/n,” he says. “i don’t mind.”
he stands there, staring at you, almost like he’s waiting for you to say something. you want to tell him he doesn’t have to sleep on the floor, you want to tell him it’s not a bother, but above all you want to tell him not to leave. with an aching heart you realize, you really want him to stay. but he takes your quiet demeanor as a sign to go, so he turns around and steps back into the hallway.
“mingyu,” you call out quickly, pulling his attention back to you.
“yeah y/n?” he asks, a glimmer of hope in his eyes.
“mingyu,” you repeat, this time with a touch of sadness in your voice. “just come to bed with me.”
his heart jumps into his throat for a few reasons, first, because you asked him to come to bed with you. to share space with you after so long. he could jump and clap with joy right now, but the sad way you said his name is the other reason his heart is in his throat. that’s when he notices your puffy eyes, and he asks quietly, “have you been crying?” 
you don’t need to respond. mingyu already knows. he drops everything in his arms, kicking them out of the way so he can wrap you in his arms instead. you sigh into his chest, willing the tears burning at your eyes to go away, but you let a few slip through as you whisper “i’m sorry” over and over again right above where mingyu’s heart is.
“baby,” he says, pulling your gaze up to his face, then, when your eyes meet his warm ones, “my love. what are you sorry for?” 
“for running away,” you whisper. “i got sc-scared, and i’m s-sorry,” you explain as the tears start to fall again. mingyu wraps you back up in his embrace, awkwardly waddling you both toward the bed. his sounds of struggle make you giggle, a happy reprieve from the heart breaking cries mingyu so deeply wishes he could stop for you, but he knows you need to get this out.
“what were you scared of?” he asks as he helps you sit on the edge of the bed, your hands wrapped tightly in his. 
“you,” you laugh lightly, making mingyu whine. you smile and put your hand on his cheek, rubbing your thumb over his soft skin as you continue. “it was like one day i woke up and realized how much you loved me. and that was scary. you’ve always been my mingyu, you always will be, but life has just changed so much from when we were kids. things aren’t as easy anymore, and i guess i preemptively got scared that we wouldn’t be easy anymore. the idea of losing you,” you take a deep breath, “of you not loving me anymore one day. that scared the shit out of me.”
“things haven’t changed that much then,” mingyu says with that teasing lilt in his voice you know so well. he looks at you mischievously as he goes on, “you’re still that little kid who runs away when our games stopped going your way.” 
“don’t be a dick,” you laugh, head falling onto mingyu’s shoulder. “i know it was silly. but it’s like, once i made that decision, once i decided i had to leave, i couldn’t just come running back the next day when i missed you. i had to sit with it. i made the decision, i needed to face the consequences.”
“you missed me the next day?” mingyu asks, and you scoff.
“you haven’t changed either,” you tell him. “you’re still the world’s best selective listener.”
“i heard what you said,” he nods. “and i won’t say i understand it, but i still love you, y/n. i can promise you that will never change.” 
“but-”
“no buts,” he cuts in, pushing your head off his shoulder so he can cup your cheeks and make sure you’re looking at him as he says, “i’m yours. till the end of forever.”
-
when you were maybe fifteen - that awkward age where you wanted a boyfriend but didn’t want to admit it - mingyu was over at your house. you were so into him, but didn’t realize it yet. mingyu was warming up to the idea of you being his girlfriend, but he was afraid of asking and you turning him down. so you just remained closer than friends, and kept doing what you always did together. 
that day, you were trying to do homework, but mingyu kept going through this pile of things under your desk. your mom made you clean up the storage closet, and you had found y/n relics that you wanted to keep. one of which mingyu was digging for. 
“i’m telling you, it’s not in there,” you say for the millionth time, laughing when he bumps his head somewhere underneath your desk. 
“ouch,” he whines, and you kick his butt to add to the pain. “ouch!”
“get up!” you whine back, pulling at his ankle. “even if you find my diary i’m not gonna let you read it.”
“yeah, but,” he says as he crawls out, “i am bigger and stronger than you, y/n.”
“so?”
“so i could throw you if i wanted.”
“then i’d tell your mom you’re being mean to me.”
“she knows you probably deserve it at this point in our relationship,” he mumbles. your ears warm at hearing him call this a relationship, but the way he’s not moving his right hand from under your desk is more important to you right now.
“whatcha got there?” you ask calmly. 
“nothing,” he smiles the biggest grin you’ve ever seen. 
“show me both your hands.”
“no.”
“mingyu!” 
“y/n!” 
“why do you even wanna see it,” you whine as you join him on the ground, trying to swipe for your diary in his hand. “it’s embarrassing.” 
“i’m looking for something,” he says as he starts flipping through the pages of your pink velvet powerpuff girls diary. you laugh together over the many different ways you spelled diary as a child, until he stops on a page that makes you sick to your stomach.
it’s a picture. of you. and mingyu. on your wedding day. you’re in a big poofy dress and you’ve drawn mingyu with...a ponytail? and a bowtie bigger than his head. it’s clearly the two of you, because baby y/n took the courtesy of labeling you both for future historians (mingyu) to use against you. then down at the bottom, in horrible handwriting, are the words “me and gyu till the end of forever.” 
after you’ve both taken a moment to stare at the page, you in disbelief and mingyu in complete adoration, he tears it right out. 
“wha-”
“bye y/n,” he says, standing up and heading to your door. 
“where are you going? give me that page back!” you shriek. you want to get up and take it from him, but he was right: he’s bigger and stronger than you, so that wouldn’t end well. you kick at his ankles instead, but he just folds the paper up and puts it in his pocket before making a face and leaving.
-
you didn’t think about that day, or that drawing, until just now. until mingyu said those words to you again. you watch in shock and admiration as he finds his wallet amongst his things and pulls out a small, folded piece of paper. he hands it to you, but you already know what it is. you rub it between your fingers, letting every moment that you’ve known mingyu, that you’ve been loved by mingyu, wash over you. you want to cry again. his love is so strong that it makes you feel the most intense emotions, but right now you just feel...content. you hand the paper back to him, and wave away the questioning look in his eyes. 
“like i said, i’m sorry gyu,” you start out. “i’m sorry i ever doubted how much you loved me. i’m sorry i ever doubted how much i love you, too. it’s just scary. we’ve got so many big life things ahead of us, and i know i can’t do it without you by my side, but i don’t want our love to change. i always want you to be my playful, clumsy, perfect mingyu. and i just let my thoughts..and my pride..get in the way of that. so i’m sorry, lovebug.” 
“lovebug?” he smiles, his whole face blushing at your favorite nickname for him resurfacing. he stares at you deeply, his hands itching in his lap to hold you again, and you think for a moment he’s going to kiss you. instead he lets out a breath and says, “i’m sorry too.”
“what do you have to be sorry for?” you laugh nervously. 
“for ever letting you think for a second that i don’t love you as much as i do,” he replies. “i’ll work harder from now on.”
“no,” you say quietly, and you watch the confusion wash over mingyu’s features. “let me. i think it’s my turn to show you how much i love you. you’ve been doing it for years.”
“well if you insist,” he smiles shyly, eyes flicking down to your lips. you don’t have to nod for him to know it’s ok, and then he’s kissing you again. when you pull back, mingyu’s eyes are still closed, savoring the feeling of having your love all to himself again. 
“cmon lovebug,” you whisper over his lips, “let’s go to bed.”
-
the next morning, you wake up sweating. your body amazingly forgot what it was like sleeping next to your mingyu shaped space heater, and it’s made worse by the fact that his arms have been tightly wrapped around you all night. you laugh when you wiggle and he pulls you closer, surprised that you can still breathe despite his tight grip. you get a hand free from his hold and try your old trick to get mingyu to unwrap you, lightly flicking his nose until he brings an arm up to swat you away. 
you use this as a chance to slide out of bed, determined to make it to the kitchen to make good on your promise to mingyu last night. you want to show him how much you love him, and the first step to reminding him of that is to make his favorite breakfast. you think there’s enough ingredients in the kitchen, cheol packed groceries so you wouldn’t have to rely on take out all weekend. so you find one of mingyu’s sweaters and pull it over your pajamas before heading to the kitchen. you put your mingyu playlist on so you have some quiet background noise, careful not to wake jeonghan up in the next room. as you’re searching the spice cabinet, you feel a strong pair of arms wrap around your waist.
“why are you awake right now,” mingyu’s groggy voice whines into your neck. “come back to bed.”
“no,” you say simply. “i’m hungry. you can go back to bed and i’ll be there in a minute.”
“no,” mingyu replies. “miss you too much.”
“baby.”
“yes?”
“no, i’m calling you a baby,” you laugh, turning in mingyu’s arms once you find what you needed. “can you at least let go so i can cook?”
“what are you making?” he asks, loosening his grip but not letting go completely. you shuffle back to the kitchen island, mingyu coming with you, his hands still lightly on your waist.
“french toast,” you say shyly, feeling the warmth of mingyu’s smile without having to look at him. 
“i love you, you know that?” he whispers into your ear, kissing your cheek quickly before he lets you go. you hear him shuffle to the sink, water running as he asks, “how can i help?”
“can you slice the bread for me?” you ask. “and warm the pan up.”
“yes chef!” 
your giggles at mingyu’s behavior are what finally pull jeonghan out of his deep sleep, and he smirks when he sees you two moving happily around the kitchen together. he doesn’t want to ruin the moment so he just snaps a picture and texts it to cheol, hearing the man react with a cheer once the text goes through. jeonghan laughs and rolls back over, falling asleep to the sound of mingyu humming a song to you as the sweet smell of breakfast fills the house. 
-
when it’s time for you all to head back home, mingyu offers to drive and the other two insist on you taking the front seat. mingyu starts planning who to drop off first, beginning with jeonghan, then cheol, then you. 
“you’re dropping y/n off last, hm?” cheol says with a wiggle of his eyebrows. “starting the honeymoon already?”
“shut up,” you groan. 
“yeah, shut up,” mingyu mimics you. “it just makes sense though, y/n’s place is closest to mine and i need to drive my own car home. so it works out.”
“sure,” cheol nods. “no ulterior motives.”
“really!” mingyu shrieks, his ears turning red so you know this is getting to him. “i mean, i want to see fred too, but-”
“babe, stop talking,” you say quietly, placing your hand on his in the center console. “you’re just egging him on.”
“please listen to her,” jeonghan grumbles, obviously trying to sleep.
“she called him babe though,” cheol whispers to jeonghan, and they start giggling like little girls.
“ok, now everybody stop talking!” you say, looking at the boys in the rearview mirror. “quiet game, starting now. first one to speak has to buy lunch.”
“and gas!” mingyu adds.
“hey, doesn’t that mean mingyu just lost?” cheol asks, and you shake your head. “but he spoke first!” you just stare harder. “you’re playing favorites.”
“no i’m not,” you reply. “game starts now.”
-
after mingyu drops jeonghan and cheol off (who bought mcdonald’s and filled mingyu’s gas tank), he finally takes you home. when he pulls up outside your building, he stalls awkwardly at the wheel, unsure of what to do with his hands. you watch in admiration, a smirk playing at your lips. when mingyu looks over to you at last, he smiles shyly.
“hey.”
“hey,” you laugh. “you gonna come in?” 
“really?” he asks, whole face perking up. 
“either come in with me or kiss me goodbye, it’s up to you-”
“what if i come in with you and we make out in your apartment?” he asks with a smile of his own. 
“deal,” you smile, “let me just get my bags.”
“nope. i got em,” mingyu says as he rushes out of the car, running around the front so he can get to your door in time to open it for you. you start to protest, and mingyu’s response is, “complain and i won’t come in!”
“you’re a liar,” you laugh. 
“maybe, but i’m still not letting you carry anything,” he says while you get your keys out. when you’re done you turn and see him staring at the bags in the back really hard. 
“what are you doing? trying to solve a math problem?” you tease, and mingyu looks at you with a blush on his cheeks. 
“um, no, sorry,” he shakes his head, pulling your things out of the back before reaching to close the trunk.
“you’re not bringing your stuff?” you ask nervously. 
“you want me to?” he asks hopefully, and you nod. he smiles and grabs his bag too, hoisting everything onto one arm before joining you by the door. his sweaty hand reaches for yours, squeezing it tightly as you open the door. 
you make the familiar walk back to your apartment, mingyu’s heart beating out of his chest the closer you get. he’s waited for this moment for weeks, coming back home with you. but that’s just it, he’s been racking his brain over what could’ve scared you into running away, and he finally figured it out on the ride here. right before you broke up with him, he started talking about moving in together. he hadn’t asked you yet, but he was planting the seeds for it, and that must have scared you off. now he’s worried that once he walks through the door, he’s won’t want to leave ever again. he just hopes this time you’re ready for him to stay. 
when you get to your apartment, you try to shake mingyu’s hand out of yours so you can open the door, but he just whines and tells you to deal. laughing as you stumble into your place, mingyu looks around excitedly only for his face to fall. 
“fred’s not here,” he says with a growing pout. 
“nope,” you shake your head. “he’s at my mom’s because i was gone for the weekend. sorry i didn’t tell you.”
“you tricked me,” mingyu says accusingly as he places the bags on his arm on your kitchen table. 
“yeah, well,” you shrug. “you would’ve come up anyway.”
“how is your mom, by the way?” he asks as he walks toward you “missing his favorite person?”
“hm, no?” you reply. “she actually said you were stinky and she never liked you.”
“she did not,” he says with a smile, snaking his arms around your waist. “tell her i say hi.”
“and mrs. kim?” you ask as you drape your arms across his broad shoulders.
“she’s good,” he nods. “thrilled that you didn’t give up on me. i got chewed out after the break, by the way, so thanks for that.”
“you’re welcome,” you tease, kissing his chin. mingyu smiles without letting it reach his eyes, and he takes a deep breath.
“speaking of,” he starts cautiously. “the..break up.”
“the bad time, yes,” you nod. “have i said i’m sorry about that today?”
“can we..talk about it a little more?” mingyu asks, and your heart clenches. “if you don’t want to, that’s fine, i just...have questions before we go back to being us.”
“go ahead,” you encourage him. “do you wanna sit down?”
“no,” he shakes his head. “i’m good right here,” he says, squeezing your hips. “i just need to know what made you freak. was i coming on too strong with the moving in thing?”
“the what?” you ask, obviously confused. 
“baby, i’ve been dropping hints since new year’s about moving in together,” he laughs. “you didn’t notice?”
“no?” you cry out. “why didn’t you just ask me?”
“i was scared!” he cries back. “why did you break up with me?”
“i was scared,” you joke in return. “i had no clue you wanted to move in with me.”
“well, i did,” he sighs. “i already have an extra key for you.”
“really?” you smile. he nods, and you lean your head on his shoulder as you reply. “you know my lease is up next month.”
“is it?” he replies, leaning his cheek on your forehead. “how convenient. i’ll make room in the closet then.”
“cool,” you smile, comfortably floating at the idea of living with mingyu. when mingyu clears his throat above you, you know what he wants. you pull him over to the couch as you say, “i know. i’ll explain.”
“kiss me first?” he asks, and you think about it. 
“just one,” you say with a stern finger in his face, mingyu bites it, and then with your finger between his teeth he says, “no promises.” you pull away from him just for mingyu to reach back and cup your face, pulling you softly toward his lips. as soon as your lips meet you melt into him, his arms grabbing you so you’re sitting on his lap. “hey,” you say into his mouth, mingyu trying to kiss you deeper. “hey!” you giggle, pulling back. “i said one.”
“and i said no promises,” mingyu replies. “now cmere.”
“no,” you laugh, holding him at bay. “we need to talk.”
“i’m listening,” he says, playing with your hair. 
“i was serious before when i said i was scared,” you start out. “but no, the move in thing wasn’t what scared me. i was, uh, i was out to lunch, with some of my friends, and one of them just got engaged-”
“who?”
“mingyu,” you whine. he mumbles out a sorry and let’s go of your hair, placing his hands on your hips. “she just got engaged, and we started talking about..wedding..stuff, and then the girls all turned to me.”
“oh?” mingyu asks with a smirk.
“yeah,” you nod. “and um, that freaked me out. they started asking why we hadn’t..weren’t..um, whatever. they started asking me questions, and i didn’t know what to tell them, and that just made me go down a very dark hole.”
“how dark?” mingyu asks with concern laced through his voice.
“dark like, what if you didn’t want to marry me? what if we got married and everything went bad? what if-”
“and you never thought to talk to me about it?” mingyu cuts you off. 
“did i mention how sorry i am?” you try sheepishly. “that was the big life stuff i mentioned the other night. moving in, getting engaged. starting the rest of forever together. that’s scary stuff, and i forgot how easy you make things. i just got scared of the concept, i guess, and didn’t consider how you make everything feel okay.”
“i do?” 
“yeah,” you nod. “you’ve made my life so wonderful, gyu. even though everything ahead of us scares the shit out of me, i can’t wait to do it all with you.”
“let’s wait on all the scary stuff,” he says, grabbing your hands to play with your fingers as he speaks. “we’ll take it step by step. starting with moving in together?”
“starting with that,” you agree. “i love you, kim mingyu.”
“i love you too baby.”
1K notes · View notes
nocturnalpl4gue · 3 months
Text
༊ ⊹ ˚. Yan!Enki and Ragnvaldr x reader 🕸️
CW: Obsessive behaviour, guilt tripping (Enki being Enki), depiction of violent urges, being tied up, bloodplay, biting, borderline cannibalism as a love metaphor, friends to one-sided enemies, slightly suggestive.
Tumblr media
Enki never thought of himself as the affectionate type, never has and never will, but when it comes to you, oh that smile of yours, those bruised limbs from the dungeon struggles, that strong will you could consider contagious; he yearned for it all, for it to belong to him.
Those thoughts keep buzzing around in his head whilst he reads and reads on the dirty library within the main hall, while you were right next to him, looking at his irritated expression with shaky pupils and an unsteady breath. He couldn’t focus with you like this, or him filled with so many thoughts by that matter.
“i can’t focus with you staring at me like that” Enki scowls. “you know, you should appreciate that i brought you here with me, and sharing my knowledge with you in the first place”. Those words make you feel like you’re pouring salt on a wound, but Enki has no ill intentions whatsoever, at least in his point of view.
You decide you look down in and stay silent, but your action is interrupted by a lanky hand grabbing your face by the cheeks, making you look up at the priest’s hollow eyes. “tch. can’t believe one can be so ungrateful” again with the foul words. He has always been the mysterious type, but this behaviour towards you was new. He has drawn sigils nearby every exit to prevent you from leaving, and still he won’t say a word unless it is to complain. He grabs your face tighter and frowns, mumbling to himself. “Why is it that you….”
What you don’t understand is he’s doing this out of pure fear. Not fear of losing, or death, or violence or whatever one could be thinking about, but fear of the feeling that creeps up to his head every time he glances at you. He wants to hold you, to grab you so tight he invades the cavities of your body and rips your heart out, to treasure it like a gem. He wants to kiss you until your skin wears out, and to know your every emotion. Love, he thinks, is something he wasn’t meant to feel. And so he doesn’t know how to behave, lost in a maze made from his own insecurities.
He sighs, trying to remember what those cheesy romance novels he read as a kid told. Enki, still with your face in his hand, plants his dry lips against yours, lapping them with an awkward lick. He looks at your shocked expression. “You don’t seem disgusted.” He mutters. “I assume that is one of the reasons why i put up with your whining.” He continues, acting all tough and indifferent as if his heart wasn’t jumping out of his chest. That kiss, if you could call it one, made everything click in his head. He needs you to be by his side at all times, to channel his insanity and transfuse it into passion. All he wanted right now from the overwhelming emotions that engulfed him, was to tear your skin apart, to pulverise your bones and carry you around like his personal doll. You’re his; the Gods predetermined you two meeting in the hellhole this dungeon is, to save each other, and stay together forever.
“You’re awfully quiet today. I hope you stay like this and follow my orders while we’re in here, or i’ll break your legs and drag you around.” He had this threatening aura around him as these words spewed out his mouth. But it wasn’t with an ill intent, no? He loved you after all, he thinks so at least.
All this was for your own good, he convinces himself; you need him to stay alive, otherwise you’d be mutilated on the floor for the guards to take pleasure with already. So of course you love him, you have to. And he loves you too, for the rest of eternity.
Tumblr media
Even an outlander such as Ragnvaldr has felt love once, but he has also felt sorrow, rage and pain. Those former emotions that haunted him still haunt him now, and are very present in his actions. Alas here he was, covered in blood from head to toe. It’s hard to see which is the enemy’s and which is his own.
The dungeon remains radio silent for the first time in possibly decades, or even centuries. The guards were no more, and so were the lizardmen, yellow mages, cave dwellers, a man who seemed to become a God, and the list goes on. He killed them all. His revenge has been fulfilled, so what now? It was only you and him traversing the passageways and bloody pits that kept him entertained.
Ah, that’s right. You. You’re a nice one to be with, aren’t you? So kind of you to stay by his side while he tainted the walls red, while his bloodlust was satiated. You were like a little lost dog always stepping on your tail, grabbing onto the outlander’s cape to encourage yourself to take another step. And he enjoys that a lot, the fact that you’re always latched to him made him feel the same about you, craving your touch and presence at all times.
So here you were, in a dark, musty room with your arms and legs tied up with your own torn clothing. The humid cold breeze hit the cuts and wounds decorating your body, making you flinch. But what makes you straight up wince is the sound of echoed steps coming closer. It was Ragnvaldr, the man who saved you countless times and you developed a bond with, who now looked at you over your shoulder.
“I’m glad you’re alright while i was out. I found some resources.” He says while crouching next to you. “Here, i got you some bread” You look at him numbly as he pulls out a piece of bread, surprisingly in a fairly good state. “Open up” He directs the piece to you mouth but it remains sealed tight, refusing whatever he gave you. You’d rather starve than accept what the man you used to trust with your life provided. He however wasn’t having it, looking at you with a light frown and pressing the fingers of his free hand against your lips. Without saying a word, he pushes until his fingers enter your warm mouth, opening it with spit coating his hand. With that, he tears a piece of the bread and puts it between your palate and jaw, forcing you to chew on it.
“See? it wasn’t that hard…you need to eat or you will die here, cold and in pain.” He says as if nothing was wrong. Ever since some time ago, could be weeks or days, you lost count at this point, the outlander has been acting out of his mind. At first you thought the insanity of the dungeon got to him, but he reassured you he was okay, that if you were there with him everything was okay. He killed the monsters in gruesome ways, tearing their tendons out with his teeth and crushing their heads with a stomp. It was like he was letting out emotions he didn’t want to go through, and now they all burst out onto an obsessive love and overprotection.
He loves you so much, he really does. So much that he starts shaking while looking at his fingers full of spit, embracing you tightly with his nails damaging your exposed back. It stung. His embrace got tighter, and tighter, much like a snake that caught its prey. He wasn’t letting go, his shaking getting heavier and laboured breathing leaving his mouth. “i love you.” he says. “i love you, i love you” He just keeps on repeating the same sentence over and over, that is until he, without a single thought in his head, bites down hard on your collarbone. You let out a hiss and try to push him off, but he’s too heavy. He just keeps gnawing and clenching his jaw around the bony appendage, so much that blood falls much like the tears around your eyes.
“It hurts….” You manage to let out. But he’s not listening. Much like a hound he has gone absolutely feral, embracing your entirety with his bulky body. His hands claw onto your spine leaving marks, and his legs are wrapped around your waist. He lets go, and switches to your neck, biting just as hard. Like he was starving he licks the blood away, no kisses and no passion put into it, just pure desperation. After protesting more and more the pain just numbs out with the rest, and you decide to relax, and stay in his arms while he devours you away. “i love you” he says, and your mind goes blank.
150 notes · View notes
randomyuu · 1 year
Text
i keep the warmest truth.
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
Well you look at that. Another comic hahahaha why did I do this to myself—
But I do enjoy drawing this comic! It was a different kind of challenge, where this one focuses a lot on close-ups, so I need to learn about the subtlety of expressions. Can’t say I learn a lot (I use lots of copy-pasting of the same position lmao), but I still learn... something!
This beautiful one-shot fic is titled i keep the warmest truth by Dehawny. If I have to summarise the fic, it’s basically Ace!Gojou and Adorable!Yuuji. It's more like gray ace but better keep the “A” going, haha. And as usual, the fic is NSFW, so please do read the tags before you decide to give it a read.
Ace!Gojou is something I don’t know I need. I think I love almost every kind of Gojou headcanons, but Ace!Gojou holds a special place in my heart. I could be biased as someone in the ace spectrum, but the way Dehawny wrote Gojou and Yuuji’s interaction is truly heartwarming. And also a bit possessive, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. Possessive Gojou is my jam.
And Yuuji. Oh, dear lord where do I even start with this boy. I don’t have enough vocabularies to express how much I adore Yuuji. Him being his horny teen-self and constantly worrying about making the pleasure mutual is too much for my heart. And he’s still understanding of Gojou’s sexuality. Yuuji is kind, like that. Don’t mind me as I’m crying out happy tears in the corner.
Alrighty, below are my thoughts as I drew this, as usual haha:
After I got a taste with comic-making from my previous GoYuu comic, this one is a bit easier to plan once I narrowed down the scene I want to draw. I wanted the comic to start with Gojou positioning himself and Yuuji in the futon, bringing up Yuuji’s question weeks ago, but that means I have to draw 10+ pages and I was like, “haha nope”. I still love my hands, thank you very much. So I start with Yuuji’s reaction after Gojou explains a bit about his sexuality.
Panelling is still a struggle. In a way that I still feel that the layout can be improved, but I can’t for the life of me figured out what needs to be improved. I guess this kind of thing will come eventually, but not now.
During the sketching, I must say I got super hyped drawing Gojou’s eyes. That eye close-up? I really want to try making it as ethereal as possible in an achromatic setting. It’s intimidating, don’t get me wrong, but I have always loved drawing eyes since I was a kid and this is a fun thing to test my love for eyes.
If I have to complain… it would be the intimate position of them laying on the futon. I never really try drawing “couple-like” positions before, but it was really hard! Like, holy shit, can you guys stop being so awkward looking? Where the hell did I draw it wrong??? Thankfully references have helped me a lot with positioning.
The line art took sooo much time because I realise I want to make Gojou and Yuuji more… buff (kinda) so I need to re-sketch a bit :(( but the result is better than the previous one, so I’ll take what I can get haha. And I start to really like using screentones for shading—once I properly learn how to do manga layout, I think I might fall in love with drawing mangas!
But overall, this is a fun process to do, and I hope you enjoy the comic and this rambling of mine! :D
626 notes · View notes
lovinpelova · 8 months
Text
try it out | j. fleming
summary; if jessie likes your hobbies, you should like hers.
🎵 jackie and wilson - hozier
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
since you were a little kid you've loved lego, it's just common for children to adore it and want as much as possible until they reach a certain age and decide to throw it out instead of letting it grow dusty on their shelves. you were the opposite to other kids, keeping up with the so-called obsession and spending a fair amount of money on it, hating the idea of making new things yourself and opting to stay with the sets lego would release often. your favourite type of lego set to build was the cars, they were just so cute and didn't take up too much of your day, giving you something to focus on and use to calm down in your free time.
jessie loved your adoration of lego. she found it adorable how you'd get excited when you saw a new set you wanted and bought it almost immediately after a moment of contemplation about the price, the canadian knowing you'd always end up getting it anyways. she'd bought you a new lego set for christmas, a massive white porsche 911 that clearly wouldn't have been cheap due to the size, you complained about the inevitable price but she waved you off with the claim of your smile being worth much more when you saw it and thanked her.
now you were finally getting around to building it and would need help no matter how much you hated to admit it. the bigger sets always got the best of you and you'd either do it wrong or be unable to find a piece you needed, so jessie decided to help out. it was going well so far, sitting comfortably on the living room floor as she'd help you put pieces in place and hand you the odd one you were struggling to find, other than that she would sit and watch in awe as you concentrated more than she'd ever seen- even in training you'd never been this focused.
"since i'm helping you with your hobby, would you wanna try one of mine when we've finished this?"
you looked up momentarily to figure out what she meant before going back to pushing the lego pieces together, finally understanding jessie's question.
"as long as it's not hockey or photography, you know how i am with those two."
"don't worry babe, it's neither of them. i was thinking maybe you'd wanna try painting for the first time?"
jessie handed you a lego piece you were struggling to find for the next step, yourself smiling in thanks and leaning over to kiss her cheek softly as you took it out of her hand.
"yeah, why not? i am pretty bad at painting though, just to warn you."
"you're only bad at painting if you're not fully focused. you'll have me to help out too!"
after another couple hours of piecing together your new lego set you'd finally finished it, looking down in pride alongside jessie as you high-fived to celebrate finally being able to get rid of the hip cramp from how you were sat.
"okay, you go find a place for that whilst i get the stuff for painting yeah?"
"okay baby."
you smiled in response before setting off upstairs and finding your lego shelf, having to move a few things about before you could fit the massive model. looking at it in pride one last time, you set off downstairs to find jessie laying out paints and brushes alongside two canvases next to each other, the canadian opting to sit across from you rather than next to you so you wouldn't get paint on each other.
"oh this is gonna be fun!"
you stated excitedly as jessie grinned at your enthusiasm for her hobby, glad you share an aptitude in exploring each others interests. you sat down across from jessie and picked up a pencil like she did, noticing the small smile she wore once she realised you were copying her in fear of doing anything wrong.
"what are we painting then?"
your question sent jessie deep into thought for a moment as she looked around the room for ideas.
"oh! i've got it. how about we paint what we think the other would be if we were animals but don't tell each other? you know, like a guessing game."
"that's such a cute idea! i'm not sure how i'm gonna draw my animal though."
"just google a picture, you'll be fine baby."
you grabbed your phone and googled 'moose' to remember what they even look like, realising you'd gotten yourself into trouble choosing this animal but it was too late now. you stood your canvas up on the small easel jessie had brought over for you just like she did with her own, making sure she couldn't see when you drew the first couple lines and it immediately went wrong. deciding to commit and feeling it might get better as you draw more, you continued the outline of your moose and it gradually got better, it wasn't the best but it was certainly a lot easier to make out than when you first started a couple minutes ago.
once you'd finished with your outline you grew weary of the painting part, knowing you'd have to get it over and done with otherwise you'd be drawing instead. you grabbed the colours you needed and set them out on a small palette, getting to work on painting the moose and being surprised by how easy it was, deciding to even paint in the background as one that looks like the boreal forest in canada whenever it snowed. jessie was finishing up her painting by now and seemed very proud of it just the same as you, adding a couple finishing touches and putting down her paintbrush a couple minutes before yourself.
"you ready?"
she asked as you stood up in front of your canvases, nodding your head in response. eager to show your work and getting a nod from jessie once she saw your excitement, you turned around your easel and watched her jaw drop in amazement.
"oh my god, baby that's the most beautiful painting i've ever seen. and you think i'm a moose! god i love you so much, you're so good at this!"
"it's mediocre, jess- and of course i think you're a moose! they're all you ever talk about. i need to see what animal i am though, the suspense is killing me."
jessie snapped out of her amazement and grinned down at her painting for a moment before spinning the easel around, showing you a stunning painting of an elephant in the african outback, a beautiful sunset along the background.
"before you take it wrong, i chose an elephant because you're so gentle and caring. you know how nice they can be."
jessie shyly explained as you grinned in appreciation, admiring the painting for a couple more moments before stepping forwards and pulling her into a soft kiss.
"it's almost as beautiful as you jess."
"alright playboy, stop trying to flatter me just so you can get my art for free."
"oh i had to pay hm?"
you teased, jessie nodding her head in response as you smiled at each other and turned towards your paintings.
"of course, artwork like that doesn't come for free. i reckon around three hundred quid."
"i'm selling mine for that amount too, maybe we can swap and call it even?"
"good idea, i want your signature too though."
you quickly grabbed a pencil and signed your painting in a blank area, jessie doing the same with hers as you swapped paintings and shook each others hands.
"pleasure doing business with you."
"but of course."
the brunette laughed with you and leaned forward for a soft kiss, both of you pulling away not long after to clear up all the paints and brushes before looking around the house for a perfect spot. you eventually found one right above your shared bed, the moose being hung up above jessie's side and elephant hung up above yours, like a little inside joke.
362 notes · View notes
glitteredrry · 1 year
Text
harry’s love languages
summary: let’s explore all the love languages, and how it pertains to your relationship with harry.
warnings: fluff and the smallest bit of angst.
wc: 1.3k
author note: hello, i’m back from my little break. excuse any spelling errors i wrote this at 2 AM. enjoy!
Tumblr media
1) acts of service
Throughout your relationship with Harry, you knew one thing for certain he had a heart of gold. His soul was like no other that you had previously dated. From that very first week, you knew that he was different from other guys. You and Harry met due to the unfortunate meeting of you going off on him being a noise disruption, and you having to find out you moved next to a struggling musician. After you left his place, you felt guilty about how abrasive you were. You knocked on his door with takeout in one hand and red wine in the other, and from there you two hit it off. For the following weeks, depending on how both of your schedules worked out you would eat dinner together. During one of your dates with him, you mentioned how because of your schedule with work you never had the time to go stop in the morning to get coffee. Harry’s face immediately frowned but he chose not to continue the topic. So, imagine the surprise when Harry showed up at your door bright in the morning with coffee and a pastry. He didn’t say much and never wanted any money back from it. It was something that he was more than happy to do, and some days that he was in a rush he would often leave it to the side. Your feelings for him were growing rapidly because of how attentive he was. If he noticed a certain drink that you liked at his house he would make sure for it to always be stocked. You would leave him on the couch in your apartment to go take a shower, then end up seeing him in your sink cleaning the few dishes you had inside. He never complained, you never forced him to do these things he did them all out of the kindness of his heart. Your love for him grew, and your relationship grew, but these acts of service never stopped.
2) gift giving
Fighting is normal for every couple right? You get in an argument, say something stupid, and then your significant other buys you a gift…then all is forgiven. Well, not for you. The arguments started because of the gifts and would only cause another argument if another gift was given. As soon as you and Harry hit the one-month mark in your new relationship, you bought each other a gift. It was meant to be something silly but something that would be significant in your relationship. Well, that’s what you told him and he agreed to a budget. No more than $20, so you couldn’t understand why you opened the box with a bracelet that you knew was more than $20. The argument was just that you couldn’t understand why he was trying to spoil you and he just had to explain it because he feels that you deserve it. Once your relationship hit the year mark, you knew that his giving qualities weren't going to fade away. So, the argument subsided but the gifts continued. From fresh flowers sitting in the kitchen in your shared apartment weekly, to him deciding to spend money on any recent hobby you picked up.
3) physical touch
If you were to look up the term clingy, Harry would be pictured right next to it. Looking back, you could remember the signs of him being someone who loved physical touch. It was in the first few months when you had noticed it. If you were sitting together Harry wouldn’t miss the opportunity to lay his head on your shoulder. It didn’t matter if it was just the two of you in the comfort of your home, or out with a group of friends. He didn’t miss a beat. His hand rested in between your thighs, First, he gave a joke saying he needed the warmth of your thighs for his cold fingertips, eventually, it became his place of comfort. His body entangled in yours as you both slipped into a different world in your sleep. Harry never told you that once he slips into his sleep, his mind travels to a different universe. You were always by his side. His hand in yours. You were his forever home.
4) quality time
Harry was one of the healthiest relationships that you’ve ever had. After your first anniversary, you knew he was the man you wanted to spend the rest of your life with. He was gracious, kind, giving, and an all-around amazing boyfriend…although he was amazing doesn’t mean he was perfect. By the time you were living together shortly after your anniversary you learned something about Harry you didn’t know before. He was shit at time management. You didn’t ever get to understand or see this side of him since you both lived in two separate apartments. Harry would have to fit you into his schedule, and it had never been a problem before. Yet, when you moved in with him you were often left with last-minute text, cold food, and a silent apartment. You had never been with a musician before so you couldn’t quite grasp that his schedule fluctuates. One day he could be home before the sunsets, another day he could be getting home at 3 AM. At first, you brushed it off, but once Harry didn’t make it to dinner for a week straight you couldn't help but feel his absence. You took a shower and spent the entire time overthinking the situation, you couldn’t understand why Harry went from in the beginning spending dinner with you multiple nights out the week to not showing up at all. So, when you mix overthinking and coming up with your conclusion it never works out. You couldn’t help but think that Harry might be getting sick of this relationship. Maybe living together wasn’t meant to be. So, once Harry came home to you around midnight, he couldn’t understand the distance he felt between you two. His heart couldn’t take the feeling it had that you might be upset with him. Once he asks, it opens up a healthy conversation. You asked if he was feeling any second thoughts about living together. He asked what made you think that. You explained, he listened with a heavy heart. He calmed your thoughts explaining that this is how his job works, and how he should have communicated better about it. Harry only had to hear your concern one time because he never made you want to feel lonely in a relationship. From there he spent and free time he had within his to go be with you when it fit both of your schedules. From sharing sandwiches on your lunch break, going to the studio as he writes, or making a special night for dinner and a movie at home. Harry never again neglected that quality time with you, he never wanted to take your love for granted.
5) words of affirmation
Harry was big on finding a way to constantly fill up your cup. He wanted you to be confident always, he always wanted you to believe in yourself as much as he does. Harry didn’t miss an opportunity to give you reassuring words. He left sticky notes all around the home wanting you to find them. Somehow whatever sticky note you found is what you need to hear at the moment. Thank you for walking this journey of life with me. You’re better than any dream I could have. My home, have a beautiful day. You inspire me. There aren’t enough words in the world to explain my love for you. With each sticky note, you discover your saved. He didn’t stop there. He was constantly complimenting you in more ways than one. Your cooking, your beauty, and your mind. Harry’s words filled something in your soul that couldn’t be explained. So, how could you say no to him when he got on one knee on the day of your third anniversary?
452 notes · View notes
etherealyoungk · 1 year
Note
thoughts about mingyu when you're on your period
this is like the perfect time for me to answer this rn bc i am suffering atm
this man is spoiling you and taking care of you on your period. also would kinda be slightly confused about you being moody and a little snappy to him but will understand and still shower you with love nonetheless.
you're in cramping and in pain? he's getting you a hot water bottle and reheating it for you as many times. "but baby this is still hot", he says when you ask him to heat it again. "it's not hot enough", you say, looking at him, buried under all the blankets. "but..it's still hot", he says, loooking at you confused. "it's not hot enough gyu", you complain and he just nods and comes back a few mintutes later. will also joke about why you're using a hot water bottle when he's right here, saying he'll be your personal heater and just be ready to cuddle and hold you.
craving something? this man is ready to whip up a 5-star course for you. but when you go to the kitchen and find out you don't have any more peanut butter you go back to find mingyu and tell him rather disappointed about the lack of peanut butter in the house. he offers to go buy some but you don't want him to leave and he's confused because you want peanut butter...but you also don't want him to go buy it. so he decides to make you some and it's worth all the praise he gets for it, seeing you happily eat it with a smile.
it's cold so you're wearing his hoodie and you find him sitting in his room doing some work and just pout at him wanting some cuddles. he says he'll come in 5 minutes, he just needs to finish this up and you're curled up in bed, scrolling through your phone and 5 minutes have turned into 30 minutes and you're getting a little moody and grumpy now. after what seems like an eternity mingyu finally enters the room and smiles while you're just glaring at him, ignoring his presence as you look into your phone. "i thought someone said five minutes", you tell, looking at him as the bed dips as he sits down, looking down. "i know, im sorry babe, i got caught up", he tells. "well i don't need cuddles anymore so you can go continue what you were doing", you tell, grumpy, crossing your arms and giving him an annoyed look. he understands you're a little sensitive and moody now. "come on, i know you can't resist my cuddles hm?", he prompts but you just look at him and shake your head. "i don't need them now", you tell again. "but i want cuddles, you'll give me some cuddles?", he asks. you look at him and finally give in. "fine...only because you want it", you tell and he chuckles, quickly but gently pulling you closer, placing a soft kiss to your forehead. "you're so stubborn", he mumbles. "and you're an idiot", you add, still not ready to give in but you were very happy right now because you really did want mingyu's cuddles.
if you're struggling to sleep because of the pain and cramps, he'll rub gentle circles on your back. is more than ready to make you a cup of hot chocolate at 2am in the night and will shush you if you apologize.
552 notes · View notes
scenteddelusion5 · 5 months
Text
A Daring Creature - Part 4
Zestial x fem reader angel
Note: I at first wanted it to ba a longer chapter but I like the way it ended right here. I felt adding to it would make the sweet moment, like, POP less. If that makes sense?
Word count: 1462
PART 1 - PART 2 - PART 3 - PART 4
Tumblr media
Two months went by, every other day did Zestial take Y/n out to explore the pride ring. The two grew closer and closer, he got enamoured by her antics and she started to appreciate his calm and stoic personality, even though she also liked to rile the demon up sometimes.
The new cloaked stranger that was always with Zestial did not go unnoticed by the masses. Demons either were too afraid to get involved or wanted to know everything about the girl, the latter of which were mostly fellow overlords.
It started to become more and more difficult to keep Y/n away from people like Alastor and Vox, avoiding them became a daily struggle. Zestial almost wanted to keep Y/n inside for a few weeks so the fuss would die out but after seeing how her face immediately lost her shine and became saddened, he scratched that idea. And thus they continued the hide-and-seek game.
And Zestial had to admit, he was pretty good at it. That was until one day the two were walking down the street and saw Alastor walking around the corner. Without a second to think, Zestial turned to two around to walk the other way, only to see Vox and Valentino on the other side.
He quickly grabbed Y/n by the arm and dug into an alleyway. If he remembered it correctly, he was pretty sure there was a backway entrance to Carmine's home there. Finding the door, they swiftly made their way inside without the overlords seeing them.
"I'm getting sick of having the hide every time we see one of them," Y/n complained, "I wish they would just leave me alone."
"I understand, however, we can not afford one of those finding out thy secret." Zestial straightened his own cloak.
"Zestial?" Carmilla walked into the little hallway. "It isn't like you to visit unannounced."
"Mine own deepest apologies Carmilla," Zestial greeted his old friend, "it was an emergency."
"I see." She looked Y/n up and down again, a hint of disapproval could be found in her stare. "Come in, now that you're here I would like to discuss something with you."
Y/n was about to follow the two overlords into another room, when Carmilla stopped her.
"I would like to discuss this alone." Her tone changed from disapproving to downright hostile. "Sit still and stay here, do you think you can accomplish it this time or should I call in someone to watch you like a pet?"
"I'll be fine," Y/n answered while gritting her teeth.
As soon as the two overlords made it to the office, Zestial gave the woman a glare. "Yond wast uncalled for Carmilla."
"It is true. You've been prancing this girl around town like a pet, showing everyone one of your weak links and for what?" She questioned, "we both know there would be easier and safer ways to go about holding up your end of the deal."
"I hast mine own reasons for doing this," he argued back.
"What reasons? Because of your deal you can ask anything of this girl, there is no need to butter up to her so she'll agree to spy on the heavens for you. She'll HAVE to agree!" She took a few breaths to calm down. "As long as you haven't decided why you are doing all this, I can't support you. I won't do anything against you but I can't risk my people's and my safety for a plan you yourself may sabotage."
"Carmilla, I greatly appreciateth thy concern and opinion, however, this is the way I hath chosen to handle mine own planeth." Zestial stood up and made his way to the door. "So thee and I shall not beest meeting eachoth'r for a some timeth."
"Unfortunately yes," the other overlord agreed.
Y/n had been sitting on a small chair in the hallway, brooding. How dare that bitchy overlord woman call her a pet? Who does she think she is? It's true that Carmilla was smart, strong, powerful and a badass business woman... But still, she couldn't just talk to others that way! ....Or maybe she could? Y/n was in hell after all, things like equality and basic respect for others didn't exist here, something Zestial had shielded her from.
Such thoughts plagued the angel's mind
If he had been walking through the streets with Carmilla, all if this wouldn't be happening... Imagining Zestial and the other overlord walking around, laughing, going on outings, it twisted Y/n's stomach. It was the unfamiliar, sickening feeling of jealousy.
That's when Zestial appeared back in the hallway with a scowl on his face, one Y/n had been able to draw out many times with her stunts. However, unlike before, she felt something heavy on her heart.
"Alloweth us wend." Zestial didn't give her glance as left the building, assuming the angel would follow him, which she did.
The two walked the streets in silence. Before Y/n had wanted to propose going to that lovely park with the flowers again but she was afraid their moods would just sour the good memories she had there. Instead she just looked down at the pavement and wandered behind Zestial aimlessly.
The overlord was barely paying attention to where he was going. All he could focus on were Carmilla's words ringing in his ears. It's true that all of this could be done easier but going around town with y/n was a good way to build up trust and a relationship with her. That he needed because, well because...
He needed it. He decided, not letting himself ponder further on the subject, too afraid of what he would find. Instead he noticed the unusual lack of disruption from the angel.
Looking back, he noticed Y/n. She was looking sad, hiding under the cloak and big hood. Zestial could barely see the girl's face. Had Carmilla's comment really bothered her so?
"Doth not beest bothered, Y/N," he spoke up, "I doth not bethink of thee as a pet. Carmilla was simply trying to behold out for me and becameth a did bite too hostile towards thee in the processeth."
"So, you aren't mad at me?" She asked in almost a whisper.
"I couldst never be angry with thee."
Y/n's face lightened up after hearing that. "Really? That's a very dangerous statement you just made there," she taunted.
"I am sure." Zestial had a small but sincere smile on his face. "I doth not maketh false statements."
"Alright then mister tall, dark and spidery, I'm taking your hat!" She jumped up and tried to grab his hat but was unable to reach it.
"Absolutely not." Zestial commented as Y/n made several more attempts to reach it, all of which the overlord was able to avoid.
"What's with the stern tone? I thought you just said you would never get mad at me?" She smirked.
It was truly a sight to behold, first the two were almost dancing around each other as the anger was trying to steal his hat and now she was on her tippy toes staring up at him. The sight made Zestial's heart beat faster.
"No one hast did dare to challenge me in such ways thee doth." Zestial blushed slightly. "Thou art a truly daring creature, Y/n."
"It's called banter." Y/n was swiftly able to snatch the hat off as the overlord had put his guard down.
"Banter?"
"Yes, banter." The angel was adjusting the hat, fiddling with the hem and turning it slightly. "Maybe you should buy a dictionary."
Zestial chuckled at the way his hat was clearly too big for her. "I owneth enough dictionaries."
"A modern one, I mean."
"Anon, thou art very much pushing it."
Having noticed how tired Y/n was, the overlord decided to bring her back home. They had a long day and he had to work on a few of his papers again. Zestial had to admit, he had been neglecting his duties a bit.
Zestial was sitting in his office. The old clock on the wall read 3 am. It had been a while since he had to work this late but it was the price he had to pay for his daytime outings. It did give him time to reflect on the eventful day.
"Edward." The overlord called upon his contractee.
The small demon appeared immediately. "Yes, sir?"
"How is Y/n faring?"
"She ate well and is now sound asleep," he reported, "would you like me to wake her up?"
"Alloweth her to sleep" Zestial sighed, "prithee wend out and buyeth a dictionary for me."
"A dictionary?" Edward mumbled to himself. "A particular preference? I heard the Store for Old Books and Testaments has acquired an old dictionary."
"No, I wanteth a modern one."
"A mode-"
"Yes."
"I'll see to it sir."
Part 5 - unfinished
I was finally able to work in the title!!!
Masterlist/Request guidelines
Taglist: @sirenetheblogger
61 notes · View notes
strawberryya · 9 months
Text
too pure for hell, but fallen nonetheless
Tumblr media
pairing: kang taehyun x reader
synopsis: Do you ever find yourself wishing you could escape your problems? Still, allowing the mind to conjure such a scene may unfurl a worse struggle than the present. As you journey through life, be mindful of the choices you make, for they hold the power to summon the winds of fate.
word count: 7.1k
genre/cw: angst, smut, supernatural au, selkie!taehyun, fem!reader, drowning depicted, death mentioned, killing and murder mentioned, suicidal thoughts, being held captive against your will, chasing/hunting depicted (not animals), unprotected sex, enemies to lovers… or well…, general hatred towards the human race, betrayal and lots of mixed feelings, cold exterior Taehyun.
rating: 18+
a/n: I DID IT! I'm not sure what I did, but I certainly did it.
this is my second fic for the wonderful collaboration thrill of the hunt, hosted by @cultofdionysusnet - check out the other exciting and thrilling stories on the official master list here!
network tagging: @svthub @cultofdionysusnet @k-labels @kvanity-main
Tumblr media
How does one move on? 
It’s an impossible question. Especially when you have just uncovered the biggest betrayal in your life. He had cheated on you. A month before the wedding. 
Your boyfriend since forever, your high school sweetheart, your everything - and your best friend. 
Your soon-to-be husband and your maid of honor had decided it would be a good time to reveal the years of cheating they had hidden from you today. Because your failed project at work hadn't been enough to ruin your entire week, but now your entire future was in shambles at your feet. 
The new park had been planned out to the last detail, your entire team had done their absolute best for half a year and now it was all to be thrown out the window for a new twenty-story building and a parking lot. “Which makes sense, because the world doesn’t have enough of those,” you complained, holding back your tears on the phone as you drove home. Your mom listened halfheartedly.
“Well, sweetie, I know it’s hard, but I think that you should just say ‘okay’ about all this for now. And just focus on the wedding instead! I got these new place cards, and I think they’re absolutely perfect.” 
“Mom. I really don’t care about that right now…” you were going to explain, but you let your words stay inside, afraid you might say something you would regret if you didn’t shut your mouth. 
“No, no… I can understand that…” she conceded, sounding just a bit hurt that you didn’t want to gush about your upcoming wedding. 
“I’ll talk to you later Mom… Tom said he wanted to talk about something tonight, so I’ll just call you tonight or tomorrow.”
Before hanging up she told you to just relax at home with your fiancé, to try and be happy about what life has given you instead of what it takes away… she wanted you to try and look on the bright side of life. 
You weren’t sure you would be able to see anything past the clouds that stormed your mind after the horrible meetings you had been suffering through the entire day. But you wanted to think about something else too and promised her to try. 
That’s not a promise you were able to keep, however. Walking through the door to find Tom waiting anxiously in the kitchen with your best friend right beside him. Holding his hand, gently, supportively. Your heart stopped when you saw the look on their faces, and you felt your once picture-perfect life cracking at the edges. 
When they confessed their love for each other you didn’t cry, you didn’t even ask how, when, or why. You felt so empty as you watched your best friend for ten years wail for you to forgive them and not be mad at her. 
“I never wanted to hurt you. But I fell in love! Can’t you be happy for me?”
Her voice was strained from the tears. You thought the tears looked just as forced. 
Tom didn’t say anything. He had apologized and told you he wanted to call off the wedding. The wedding was supposed to happen in less than a month. The wedding you had planned together since you were only children.
Your head hurts. You needed them to shut up. To get out of your sight.
Couldn’t they just leave you alone?!
Standing up suddenly, your best friend’s pleas stopped, making your body sigh in relief before you stormed right back out of the house. 
You didn’t know where you were going at first. Head and body pounding with anger, confusion, and fear. If you could just find somewhere to think, everything would get better. The car speeding through the streets wasn’t helping you think right now. You needed something that would let you cry the tears that had been held back all day, without a word of comfort in return. Somewhere the salty streams dripping from your face wouldn’t make a difference. Something bigger than all of your problems. 
The sea.
You had always been fond of the sea. As a kid, you used to swim fiercely in even the highest of waves. Your parents standing by the shore with worry in their eyes and hands waving you back towards land. There’s no beach like the one in your childhood close to where you live. But not far from the city is a small port, the sea visible for a good stretch before the land overtook it and hid it away from the population walking by. 
Tumblr media
When you curl up next to the edge of the concrete docks, the salty water ripples calmly in front of you. There weren’t many waves this far into the docks, but further out you could see the white lines appearing and dissolving over and over again. It was hypnotic. 
Silently the tears you had held back began running down your cheeks. You held yourself tighter. The slight breeze scented by the sea mist blew gently in your hair, drying the tears as they came. 
“Why…” you mourned. 
There was nobody around, no one to disturb or comfort you, so your sobs grew louder the more you thought about the reality of what had happened. So many things had gone wrong. Everything was just- so wrong.
You looked over the edge of the concrete land under your body, down at the bottomless waters. What would it feel like to dive in and let your body be engulfed by the dark water? You shook your head at your distorted reflection at the fleeting thought. 
It would hurt just as much to leave everything behind as it did to stay. 
Nevertheless, the pain of holding on even on a day like this was overwhelming. It made your every muscle shake with frustration. Your sobs mirrored your desperation, your tears dripping down your cheeks, pooling at your jaw, and one by one, joining the sea. 
When your blurred gaze met a pair of huge black eyes in the water, you froze up. They were staring at you, watching you cry with their big black eyes that showed no emotion that you could register. 
It was a seal, the shadow in the water revealing its large size. It was bigger than the small ones usually seen around these shores, but it was undeniably a seal. 
The large seal blinked at you slowly, before turning around to swim away. But instead of simply leaving you to your suffering, it began looking back at you at every other meter it swam as if to check if you were coming along. You thought you might be dreaming because there was no way a seal was trying to get you to come with it into the sea. When you didn’t come with, it stopped, seemingly waiting for you again. 
Without really knowing why, you kicked off your shoes and stepped into the water. The freezing waves drenched your clothes, but the cold against your skin didn’t make you go back. You begin to swim, following the seal into the deeper parts of the ocean. Your heart pounded in your chest, the thrill of doing something dangerous filling your entire body with adrenaline. It felt just like it had when you were little, except now no one waited for you at the shoreline. 
You wanted to escape everything, and following a seal into the depths of the sea might be a temporary way, but it was all you had right now. The seal dove under the surface, and you held your breath and followed. 
It was impossible to see anything in the dark, murky waters, and the current quickly overpowered you. You weren’t even able to fight the large body of water when you felt your body being sucked down and away from everything you had ever known. When the cold and the dark enveloped you, you let go of your breath, the light from above disappearing from your vision as you closed your eyes in resignation. 
Tumblr media
You couldn’t remember what happened after that. Your mind was a blur, everything in your memory hazy and seen through the murky waters you had believed you had drowned in. 
Later, you realized that you must’ve washed up on the long rocky beach before they took you. When the fae had taken you captive. 
When you came to, you weren’t cold or wet anymore, but your hair still smelt like the salty water that had enveloped you as you swam after the seal. You weren’t anywhere near the sea anymore, you couldn’t even hear it, but you knew it hadn’t been a dream. 
For days, you only saw the four walls of your new prison. The large window showed nothing but the drop of the mountains surrounding the entire castle. In other words, you couldn’t even dream of escaping. Unless you wished to crash through the colorful glass pains and into a sure death. There had been one other girl in the room, but you had barely spoken. Cuddling together during the cold nights to reserve some of your combined heat, you stayed quiet, knowing that your capturers were most likely listening to you at all times. The only words you had exchanged were simple words of comfort. 
“I want to go home,” she had whispered one night. You had squeezed her tighter, answering with a hushed, “Me too.” 
Even after days in captivity, you had a hard time understanding just what had happened on that day. The guards barely spoke to the two of you but made sure you were well-fed and clean the entire time. It was confusing, being a prisoner, but being taken care of by mystical creatures you had never even believed to be real. 
You had been informed that you were the property of the fae realm inhabitants, of something called the Latha court. Everywhere you went in the short trips guards led you through in the castle you could only see what you would describe as impossible sights. Human-looking people with horns, tails, and skin that ranged in all the colors of the rainbow. You had heard stories of mystical beings, but they had only ever been just that - stories. Fairytales…
Humans existed in the castle, but they never even looked at you or your companion. Always too focused on their assignments. Clad in rags with hands cracked and bleeding from the cold. 
It did seem as though they were being respected as servants, however. None of them were beaten, and none of them were ever heard complaining. You weren’t sure they were able to, but you chose not to think about that too much. Hoping with everything you had, that your captors were nicer than they had shown until now. 
The days all felt the same in that dark room, the stone walls clad in rundown tapestries and flickering candles to fight the long nights didn’t help you or your companion when the horrible truth faced you both: you were either stuck in here forever, soon to be used as servants like the other humans you had seen around, or you would be killed. 
It didn’t take long until the answer was clear to both of you. You sometimes overheard the people who passed by your room, but usually, it was nothing more than gossip or friendly chatter. This time, however, their words would haunt you both. 
"Do you feel the thrill in the air? The Hunt is upon us!" A raspy voice had declared with joy as two sets of feet seemed to be passing by your door.
"The humans have been preparing for our ceremonial chase, let's hope it's more exciting than last year. I mean, come on, not a single scratch? Boring!"
"Well, we did stick to tradition and spiced things up in the Oidhche region. Those humans got a run for their money!" They both chuckle in unison as they continue down the corridor.
Their words sent chills down your back. Would you soon lose your life in the most gruesome of ways? You tried to not imagine what they had meant by “the Hunt”, but the way they had spoken of you and your cellmate as if you were nothing but prey had frightened you. You would need to escape, soon. 
Tumblr media
You had made up an escape plan, a plan you had told no one. But you knew your cellmate had her own plans, she had looked way too scared the day you had heard those two fae pass by your room speaking of the expected slaughter. 
On the day you were both allowed out of your room to walk the short walk to the washrooms to shower, you knew time was of the essence. It had to happen today. 
“Take the chance if it comes,” you whispered to your companion. Her hand closed around yours in response, as they led the both of you out and down the long spiral hallways that seemed to be everything the castle consisted of. You were cold, and your ears pulsed as the two guards showed you the way. They were stronger, and faster. You knew it from the way they weren’t the least bit scared that either of you would make a run for it. That’s why you stood a chance. They had underestimated you, and you would need to use that to your advantage. You were almost at the washrooms you had seen many times before when one of the guards stopped to chat with another fae, giving you just the opportunity the both of you had been looking for. Without a look, you both fled in different directions. the one guard who had been left alone with you was forced to choose who to chase after. Luckily for you, he didn’t seem to choose you this time. 
You ran as fast as your legs could carry you, through the corridors that all looked the same, meeting close to nobody in the endless hallways to your luck. In some twisted fate of luck, you managed to rip open a large wooden door, the wind slapping you in the face as you stared out into the open mountain landscape. You needed to continue running if you wanted to live, but looking at where you must go next, you realized that you might die anyway. 
It wasn’t much of a choice in the end, your life being taken by the elements at least seemed like the better option compared to the hunt that was going to be in your future no matter what you did if you stayed. You ran down the steep hill, not looking back at the large building a single time, praying to whoever would listen that nobody was following you just yet. 
Tumblr media
“Taehyun! Did you hear?” Seungkwan said as he sprinted to catch up with his friend. Or well, acquaintance. Taehyun didn’t see any of the people in his court as friends. Allies, perhaps, but not friends. 
Taehyun had not heard, but judging by the exhilarated expression on Seungkwan’s face, the news he brought were big. 
“Some of the humans ran away, with only three days left until the hunt starts too! And guess what, I heard that one of them was yours!” Seungkwan gossiped, looking intently at Taehyun’s expression to watch for any type of reaction to his words. To his disappointment, Taehyun proved hard to get a reaction from, as usual. Although allied, Taehyun wasn’t much of a fun person to play around with, at least not for his fae friends who loved rousing others for their entertainment. He had learned to keep up his cold facade in front of everyone. No weakness could ever be shown, or he would be exploited. He knew this. It had happened before. 
“So? It’s not like there are too few humans in the world, what’s one less?” 
The disdain in Taehyun’s words showed a bit more than he had intended to, a nice surprise for Seungkwan. “Well, even if they are rather worthless creatures, they sure are fun to play with…” Seungkwan said and winked at him. “Just remember to behave. We’re not like those savages from Oidhche, you know.”
“Behave? Why would I have to…” 
Taehyun’s question was promptly interrupted by a servant hesitantly calling out his name. “Kang Taehyun?”
The servant drew his attention, and Seungkwan left him with more questions than answers, only the sinking feeling that he would have to deal with humans a lot more than he had hoped for this year. 
He was correct, it didn’t take long before he had been informed by the servant that he was to leave immediately. His mission: catch the human he had brought in only a few weeks ago. 
He was seething. 
“Do I have to be the one? Can’t someone who takes pleasure in the damn hunt take her back into custody?”
“She was tricked by you, she's your responsibility. Leave soon, she can’t have gotten far.” Was all the servant responded, his monotone voice sounding more like a machine than a person. 
Taehyun had always loathed the way the courts deprived humans of their free will. However, he despised the humans themselves even more. The servant left him as soon as his orders had been fulfilled. 
Once she’s caught, I will just have to hunt her again once the ceremony begins. Taehyun thought as he wandered after the escaped human into the wilderness he had been informed that his prey had last been seen. He was tired of it all. The annual hunt, the three courts’ fake politeness, the humans that were brought back beaten and killed, or bitten and kept as nothing but pets. 
It all disgusted him. 
But in the end, he partook in it, year after year. Having little choice since he had sworn his oath to the Latha court in his youth. It was for protection, which he and his remaining family got. And honestly, it had been a good way to let off some steam. Having an outlet for all that anger was needed, but now… 
Tumblr media
It hadn’t taken Taehyun long to pick up on your track, seeing as you had no real survival skills and ended up leaving every kind of clue after you as you trudged through the wilderness. 
It had only been a couple of hours since you had begun your run, and the sun was starting to set already. You had arrived at the edge of vegetation that wasn't just rocks and low bushes. The new area was filled with tall trees, high cliffs, and the sweet fragrance of pine.
If you weren’t running for your life, this would’ve been a nice hike. 
As the daylight faded and the cold air grew stronger, you began to feel uneasy. You weren't adequately prepared for this journey and the thought of making it through the night was worrisome. The possibility of encountering wild animals added to your concerns. To make matters worse, it occurred to you that one of your captors, a fae, might also be stalking you in the darkness.
You continued to wander deeper into the patch of trees, hoping for some shelter from the wind, or some water that could drench the thirst that had begun becoming unbearable. 
The warmth from the sun was gone quicker than you had hoped. You were already hungry and thirsty, and you had begun slightly regretting your decision to run. At least they had kept you warmer than you were right now, and you hadn’t had to go hungry or thirsty even once. Maybe you had gotten the wrong idea. 
No. They had held you prisoner, and you had heard them speak of humans as if they were nothing but silly playthings one could kill or capture as one pleased. 
They weren’t human, they meant you harm, and you needed to remember that. 
Tumblr media
It was almost dark now, and you were sobbing on a patch of moss. It was dry and scratched your fingers as you held onto it. You were ready to give up. You hadn’t been able to find anything, no water, to shelter, and in the end, you had even twisted your ankle. 
You weren’t a “survivor”, you had lived a way too privileged life for this to be normal for you. All those movies and books had strong women who knew how to handle themselves even in situations such as these. Now, you realize that that was an ideal you fell short of right now. 
The desperation and regret over how you had ended up in this situation made your body shake violently as you cursed your ex-fiance and best friend. You blamed them. And you couldn’t stop yourself from shouting into the forest at the thought of their betrayal. “IF I EVER GET BACK HOME YOU’RE BOTH DEAD FOR THIS!” 
You almost missed the chuckle coming from behind you. But the echo of your voice didn’t hide the sound of another person in the wilderness completely. You froze. 
“Who’s there?” You asked weakly, “Are you… here to kill me? To take me back to that castle?”
Not receiving any response added to your frustration. It was a matter of life and death and yet, the person on the other side chose not to respond, but instead, laugh at your misery.
“WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU?” 
The voice scoffed, “Does that even matter at this point?” 
As a man's voice pierced through the air, you were taken aback by how alluring it sounded. This unsettling realization left you feeling uneasy- you might consider going to therapy if you make it out alive. It's not ideal for one's first reaction to be finding their possible killer's voice attractive.
“I- Uhm, it matters.” You answered, a bit awkwardly. 
Taehyun was a bit stunned by your shifting emotions. You were truly human, your aggressiveness and stupidity were both visible in how you spoke to him. He should kill you and have it be over with. 
You squint at the shadows beneath the trees. Hoping you will get to see the man who belonged to the voice before your demise. Suddenly, the dim light hanging onto the branches in the woods reveals the man who caught up to you in just a few hours. Your jaw drops in amazement.
He was wearing only a robe, brownish gray and smooth, with specks of dark gray scattered throughout it. Seal skin, you realized and reeled back as you watched the man with eyes as dark as the deepest ocean approached you. The fur flowed with his movements, the part around his décolletage glistening from small pearls of salt and water that seemed to surround him. It was beautiful, the few rays of sun catching on the small drops all around him, making him appear as if he was nothing more than an illusion. 
The scowl on his face dragged you back to your reality. He was coming for you, he had to be one of them. 
“Wait!” you shouted, which miraculously made him stop in his tracks. 
The fur wrapped around him had reminded you of just how you had ended up here, about your last moments in the human realm. “You’re… you’re that same seal, aren’t you?”
“Again, does it matter?” The man answered.
You frowned and swiped the back of your hand against your cheek, wiping away some of the tears that ran cold on your skin. “I told you. It matters.”
Were you irrational and stupid for not running, or were you one of those humans who used their fragility as a weapon? Taehyun couldn’t make up his mind about you just yet. He scanned you up and down, your scratched-up body still on your knees in the dry moss. 
“Even if I am, don’t you think you should be running by now? You have been running all day, and yet, now that you see the one who got you here, you don’t even attempt to escape?”
Without thinking, you responded earnestly, “I don’t stand a chance anyhow. Why run?” 
He considered this. He knew you were right. You were already a wreck, and it had been less than a full day since you had gone off on your own. "Then why should I bother? You speak true, your fate is sealed. The forces of nature shall ensure that humanity receives their due retribution in due time."
He turned to leave, and you panicked. You didn’t want to be left alone again. Left to die. 
“Please, don’t leave me…” you said before you could stop yourself. Tears make your voice thick, sounding more like a plea than anything else. 
Taehyun stopped, but he didn’t turn around. Seeing your sorry figure beg him to save your life was something he had seen enough times for an entire lifetime. The ships of people he had willed into the depths of the sea had all begged to live, and not once had he cared enough to save a single person on board. “I don’t care if you die out here.”
You knew that, but you were desperate for comfort and safety. “Hold me.” 
Your voice was faint, but he heard you loud and clear. 
"What?" he exclaimed, his surprise sounding genuine. He had expected begging, but certainly not a proposition that would require him to spend an entire night next to a human. He spun around to look you in the eyes.
You didn’t hold anything back anymore. You refused to die out here. Any way to survive was a good way, even if you had to agree to things you never wanted to agree to. “Hold me. Don’t go. Hold me close tonight. Let me survive the night, and I’ll go back with you without any fuss and you can hunt me again without having to put in any effort!” 
“Without any fuss?”
“I’ll be super obedient.”
“Humans lie,” he said, pain now visible in his stormy eyes. 
“I won’t survive if I lie.”
“No. You won’t.” 
With that he sat down against the large rock beside you, his big doe eyes catching the last of the sun’s rays as he watched you come closer and crawl over to him and huddle close against his warm body. The fur that wrapped around him kept him warm in even the harshest of conditions. 
You didn’t question anything, already trying your best to live up to the promise you had made. No fuss. Just survival. 
Tumblr media
Taehyun had never expected that he would wake up next to a human clinging to him like this. Let alone one that was supposed to be captured or killed by him. Instead, he watches you as you sleep, the morning sun lighting up your features. 
Your body is soft, your limbs all wrapped around him as if he was someone you loved, instead of someone you should be afraid of. It made his heart beat faster, heat creeping up his face as he caught himself pushing a lock of hair behind your ear. He hated you, he hated you as much as all other humans. Just because you were one of the prettiest humans he had seen up close, he couldn’t just abandon that hatred. He quickly pulled his hand away from you and pushed you off of him. You have gotten enough sleep. He needed you both to get back to the court before the hunt. 
“Let’s go,” he ordered the moment your eyes opened, a hand quickly shielding your eyes from the sharp sun that shone down through the foliage. 
“What?” you asked with a hoarse voice. “Is it time for work already, baby?” 
Taehyun knew you hadn’t meant him. But he couldn’t help the way his heart ached when you called him by the endearment. 
Humans, always playing tricks on each other. They don’t care about anyone but themselves, and they have the guts to pretend that they feel affection towards one another through names like those. 
He hated them. 
And you…?
Tumblr media
You were in a lot of pain, but you didn’t whine as much as you would have liked to as you tried to keep your promise. And your captor didn’t complain about your slow hike back through the forest more than a couple of times. Neither of you were saying much at all if you were being honest. It wasn’t until after a few hours that you had to speak up about how thirsty and hungry you were, that Taehyun did anything but look back at you to make sure you were following him closely enough. He came close to you, stormy eyes looking down at you with disdain. 
“Once you humans get something, you always want more. I spared your life, so why can't you just come with me quietly?"
"I'm sorry, but I don't think I'll make it back without your help." You protested. 
He watched you as he considered if he should simply leave you to die, it was always an option. But with so little time until the hunt, he would have to put even more energy into finding a new human that could participate in the games. You just needed some water, he could use some too if he was honest. And he was always honest if nothing else. 
“Come on,” Taehyun said and turned around. Kneeling on the ground with his back towards you. You stood in shock, watching the back of his body as he waited for you. 
“You don’t mean…” you hesitated to finish your question, what if he would kill you for even suggesting something as absurd as him carrying you, his prey, on his back? 
“I don’t have all day. If you would rather walk yourself, that’s fine by me, but you better keep up.”
You carefully let your body rest against him as he rose from the ground. His body was much stronger than it might’ve looked under the thick fur that hung over his toned limbs. You felt the cold of a blade at his side, your skirt having slipped up just enough for your leg to be bare against the soft fur. It made you remember once again that he could change his mind and kill you at any moment. But he hadn’t, and you couldn’t help but be thankful for that. 
He carried you for miles, over the rocky mountain ranges, and through patches of higher vegetation. The entire time your core was being pressed against his hard back. You held back your thoughts the best you could, but having your hands wrapped around his strong shoulders made it hard not to think about how long it had been since you had last felt the relief of an orgasm. 
Taehyun himself had tried his very best to ignore the tiny sounds you made whenever he adjusted your position on his back. It wasn’t often he had been in a position where he heard that kind of sound coming from a woman, much less a human woman. The way it made blood rush to parts of his body he didn’t want it to, made him irrationally angry. 
Before you could make up your mind on how to handle the sensation you heard the faint sound of water. Salt filled the air, but you couldn’t see the ocean anywhere. 
“Are we there soon?” you asked hopefully. 
“Yes,” Taehyun answered without further explanation. 
Soon you could see what you had only heard, a large ocean, but no shore in sight. You two now stood on a cliff that dropped straight down to the angry sea below. 
“You don’t intend to throw me off into the ocean, right?” you said as a joke, but when you got no answer, you began to get a bit worried. 
He wasn't throwing you to your death this time though. “The stream over there has fresh water. You can do what you need to do there,” he said while dropping you down on your hurt foot, making you wince in pain. Reminding him yet again of how you had huffed right beside his ear for hours. 
You made your way over to the wide stream, watching as it flowed from the high mountains down the barren landscape only to disappear off the side of the cliff you stood on. The freshwater from the mountaintops joined the vast sea with a rumble of thunder that echoed up the rocky walls. 
In the cold but clear water, you drank until you had quenched your thirst, and began washing up. You had gotten both sweaty and dirty from running yesterday and sleeping on the ground last night. As you pulled off piece by piece of your clothing to wash every inch of your skin in the chilly water, you felt his gaze on you. 
He had tried not to look, but it was hard to look away from your sensual body. The way your back curved, your legs that you oh so carefully washed clean, and when you turned a bit he could see the curve of your chest. Nipples hard from the cold, hands smoothing down the curves of your body as you got rid of any signs of your struggles from the previous day and night. 
Taehyun couldn’t take his eyes off of you, his prey, basking in the sunlight, stripped down to almost nothing. If this was another trick of yours, you had succeeded, he thought bitterly. He pressed on his hardness, but it only grew as you threw on only your shirt and began walking back towards where your hunter sat. You had quickly tried to wash everything else you owned and thought that if the sun couldn’t keep you warm enough, maybe your captor could help you yet again. 
Your intentions might have been less than pure, but you never actually thought the man who had seemed so indifferent to you would ever give you the pleasure you craved by now. However, you immediately spot what he’s trying to hide when you come close enough to see his tense stance. It was big. Hard, and hard to hide. 
It honestly turns you on even more. You have been high on adrenaline for hours, then cuddled to sleep by one of the most ripped men you have ever seen in real life. Edged by his back, and then aroused by his gaze on your naked body. His erection was just proof that he felt the same way you did. 
It might be a bad idea to sleep with your enemy, but- 
Why not release some steam before you have to figure out a new way of getting out of this situation?
Taehyun seemed oblivious to your plans, too focused on the way you stood, half-naked, watching him carefully from only a couple of meters away. He couldn’t meet your eyes, but he could feel them seeing through his fur coat, noticing every involuntary twitch of his body. 
When you had made up your mind you didn’t give yourself a chance to change your mind. 
You went straight up to the man where he stood, wrapping your arms around his neck, pressing your soft body against his hardness. “Tell me if you don’t want me,” you stated before kissing his lips softly. 
He returned it with fierceness. The passion of his tongue pressing into your mouth made your core ache for his touch. It didn’t matter who either of you were. It didn’t matter how you had gotten here. When he laid you down on the sun-warm grass and kissed down your body all you could think about was the pleasure he would give you. 
When his tongue flicked over your hard nipples your back arched into his touch. You were a needy mess when his fingers pushed their way inside of you. Your first orgasm washed over you as you moaned into the open sky above and his hand pressed against all the parts you needed him to touch. This only seemed to spur on the fire in your hunter’s actions even more. 
Caressing, more gentle than you had thought any fae capable of, and kisses, laden with the attraction you both held for one another made your mind fog up. 
When you begged him to put it in, he obeyed. Giving you exactly what you asked for. You had never felt so full, and you wished that your ex could cry about how he would never be able to fill you up this good. You meet Taehyun’s thrusts with your hips each time, grinding up against him, chasing your high yet again. His moans echoed in your mind. They sounded like the most beautiful siren melody, and you were already a lost soul in the deep waters that belonged to the man who had you screaming for more even as you knew what awaited the two of you in your future. 
He came on your stomach, your legs quivering as your core clenched around nothing once his length left you empty. The last thing you thought before giving in to the tiredness was that you had finally found your ticket out of this place. 
Not even as he fucked you had he taken his fur off. It had to mean something.
Tumblr media
Your eyes open but your body stays completely still. The sun was setting once again, the sun shone down on your hunter's sharp features. He held you safely in his arms, and you couldn't ignore the fact that he was truly enchanting. Your hand smoothed over the fur that was loosely wrapped around his body. You had no idea what it could mean to him, but perhaps you had been right when you recognized the pattern of the fur. 
Maybe, this man was that same seal. And maybe, this fur was the only way he could shift between the two. 
You remembered what you had promised. But did he truly expect you to stick to your promise even as he was bringing you back to the people who had held you captive as a prisoner for weeks? He couldn’t be that naive. 
He was still asleep when you ripped the fur from his body. Leaving him bare, so gorgeous you almost regretted betraying his trust in this way as it meant you would certainly never see or feel his touch on you again. It was too late now though. You held his fur in your hand, grabbing the knife that had been attached to the garment. Taehyun woke from your movements and the knowledge that what he cared for most had been taken from him. 
“Give that back,” he warned, eyes watching the knife pressed to his fur with caution. You could hear thunder in the distance. 
“Send me home, and you can have it back.” You tried to steel yourself for what he would say or do in response to your actions. 
It was a threat, and he had messed up by even giving you the chance to make the situation disadvantageous for him. 
“I shouldn’t have expected you to be any different in the end. Always lying, always taking everything.” He thought about his own family, his parents, brothers, sisters, and cousins. All were killed by humans, hunters, and collectors. They always betrayed nature, and they were all liars who should never be trusted. 
You had just proven years of hatred and suspicion true with your betrayal. 
“Hand it over.”
“Not unless you promise to get me home!”
“I thought you knew that you wouldn’t survive if you chose to lie to me.”
He sounded hurt under the anger. Surprisingly, it pained you. Had you grown affectionate of the man you had been hunted, led astray, and were supposed to hate after a few gentle actions of affection from him?
You couldn’t think about it. Not now. You needed to get home. 
“Send me home! I don’t want to do it, but I can’t die here!” 
Taehyun’s gaze didn’t leave your grip on his fur. You didn’t know the power you held over him by holding that in your hands. If you truly destroyed it, he would be dead within a day. But telling you would only give you more power. How did you figure it out? Had his stern facade been broken down by a mere human woman?
He growled out his next words. Hating every second you were still in his sight. “Fine. give it to me, and you will go back.” 
You knew it was dumb to trust him, but if his previous actions and the myth about fae not being able to lie was his true self, he would keep his promise no matter what. You lowered the knife, holding out the coat. 
Your chest heaved with adrenaline. You didn’t know if you could bear meeting his dark eyes after what you had done. But it would all be worth it once you got home. Right?
Taehyun reached for his fur, snatching it out of your hand. His gaze was finally able to look at you once it was back in his possession. You looked apologetic, it disgusted him. You didn’t deserve to beg for his forgiveness, even through your eyes.  
When he took a step closer, your grip around the blade you still held tightened. Would he kill you instead? 
The clouds above your head draw nearer, thunder coming closer with every second that passes. You could barely hear him over the sounds of the waves below the cliff you stood on, breaking against the mountainside. You stepped back as he stepped towards you, his dark eyes keeping your attention locked on him. You didn’t even register how far he had pushed you until he put his hand on your chest, worried he might feel how hard your heartbeat was from his intimidating stare.
 “I never want to see you again.” his voice barely above a whisper. With a gentle push, his hand left your skin, and your feet were no longer on solid ground. You fell down the cliffside. 
Did he just push you to your death? You didn’t even scream. You simply accepted what had happened as you fell. At least, you had tried to get back home. Your body cracked through the surface of the water. But it didn’t hurt as much as you had imagined falling to your death would. 
When the darkness enveloped you once again, you were convinced this was the end of your depressing life. But, if he was anything, Taehyun was honest. He would keep his promise no matter what. You found yourself resurfacing from the water onto the same shoreline you had left just a little while ago. Struggling for breath, you managed to crawl back to the safety of the land, coughing up water and feeling your lungs ache more than the rest of your body.
You had made it back from the place no one was to return from. Thanks to him. 
Tumblr media
Reblogging and commenting is highly appreciated!! Hearing what you thought is what makes writing and being here overall so much fun! Ty and ily 💕
98 notes · View notes