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illfoandillfie · 3 years

Text

Good Boy

it’s a little late but this is the final blurb from my Platonically event for Aggressively Arospec Week! Usual caveat that I didn’t really edit it. Sort of follows on from the last smut blurb i posted but can be read as stand alone.

Words: 2,071

Warnings: smut (obv), cockwarming, dom reader, sub ben, orgasm delay

The evening where Ben bent you over the arm of the couch really opened the door for you to play with some other kinky ideas. Nothing too heavy or painful was suggested – spanking with a hand was about as far as you wanted to push it, at least so early on. But both of you had some experience with a couple of kinks from previous relationships and could suggest things that might be fun to try. Neither of you claimed to be experts and google was consulted more than once to answer questions for you, but through the process you found out that Ben was quite good at being dominant when he wanted to be.

Mostly you played around with elements of degradation since, while talking about the couch incident, you admitted it was a key part of why it was so hot – feeling as if Ben was putting his pleasure above yours – though you also tested out some light bondage and incorporating toys into your sex more often. There was one night where Ben put his fleshlight between your thighs, making you hold it as he fucked it (though of course he’d also made sure you came eventually with a mixture of a vibrator and his tongue), and another time he told you how to masturbate, directing your fingers so you got what pleasure he wanted you to have but only when he decided you should have it, and all without lifting a finger himself. Even when he’d got so hard and horny from watching that he just wanted to be in you, even then he made you do all the work, telling you how to rub your clit and when to clench down on his motionless dick until you both came. He even managed to call you a slut once or twice, though it never rolled off his tongue as easily as Kitten did.

Then one day you made what was meant to be a harmless joke. “Maybe you don’t like calling me a slut because you’d prefer it if I called you that,” Ben’s reaction was interesting. He laughed but it was a higher pitch than normal, his cheeks flushing lightly. You suspected he might not hate the idea and proved as much when you cooed at him, “Do you want to be my pretty slut Benny?” He nodded slowly, the pink on his cheeks getting more pronounced. It made sense really. Ben liked pleasing people, especially pleasing you sexually. He liked going down on you just because, sometimes not even letting you return the favour afterwards, and liked to make sure you felt good while you were having sex, even if you couldn’t actually get off. So when you made a gentle suggestion for him to take off his clothes, he did exactly what you asked. There was no questioning, no talking back, no snarky comment, no brattiness at all. Just service. When you talked about it later you both agreed that you’d liked the dynamic. He obviously enjoyed following instructions and making you happy and, aside from the physical sensations and the orgasm that made you feel good, you also really enjoyed the gentle domination. It was caring in a way. Knowing you were making Ben happy by letting him make you happy. And trying to show it through your words and your touch so he’d know he was appreciated. It was clear that you should experiment with that dynamic more, as well as the other things you’d been trying. And you were already looking forward to the next time you’d get to instruct him, ideas for what to do and how already forming in your mind.

So when Ben had a particularly busy day a few weeks later, you decided it was your chance to try the gentle domme roll again. He left the house by eight in the morning and you didn’t see him again until after six that night. A combination of errands and meetings with his agent and just general business kept him occupied and when he finally did get home he seemed quite tired, flopping onto the couch with a grateful sigh, stretching his legs out down the length of the seat. You sat on the edge of the couch, in front of his knee. “Sorry, Y/N, did you want to sit here too?” “No, it’s fine, you stay there. I was just thinking that maybe I could...” you lay your palm over the front of his pants, softly rubbing until he took the hint. “Oh, really?” “If you’re up for it. I could look after you.” “Go ahead,” he voice sounded huskier than it had before and he cleared his throat as if that would help. You adjusted the angle of your body as you brought your second hand to his crotch, popping the button and tugging down the zip on his jeans, “Lift your hips for me,” He complied easily, letting you tug his jeans and underwear down to his thighs so you had better access to his cock. You got a little more comfortable, laying down beside him on your front, your legs in the air behind you, as you began to tease his cock, tracing your fingers along his length. It was enough to make his breath hitch. “Just relax,” you cooed, laying your head down on his hip so you could watch him get harder under your attentions, “that’s right. Doesn’t take much to get you hard, does it? Such a greedy slut, aren’t you? You kept your voice soft and sweet as you spoke, though you sped up your hand a little “Always so ready for me.” “Thank you,” he said breathily as he nodded. “You’re welcome. I know you just want to feel good right now, don’t you? Yeah, and this feels so good. My hand on your cock, stroking you over and over. Probably my breath too, when I talk, yeah?” “Mmhmm, yeah.” “Yeah. Must feel so nice. So good.” “Yeah,” it was nearly a whine. “I don’t blame you sweetie, I want to help you. I want you to feel good. That’s why I’m doing this. So my pretty needy little slut can feel so good. But y’know what would feel even better?” “What?” “My pussy. Right? Being deep inside me, so warm and tight. That’d feel so good, wouldn’t it?” “Oh f-fuck, yeah, yeah it would.” “Maybe I could give you that instead. My pussy instead of my hand.” It seemed to take a moment for the words to reach Ben’s brain. There was a pause where all you could hear was him panting as you brushed the head of his cock with your thumb, and then, “Really?” “Do you like the sound of that?” “Yes please,” “Okay. Why don’t you keep touching yourself while I get ready.” Ben nodded, his hand replacing yours on his cock as you stood up and began to shimmmy out of your pants. Immediately he began stroking himself faster, touching himself the way he usually liked. “Careful,” you warned, “I know you’re a greedy slut. I know you want it, you need it,” you stretched the word out sweetly, “but if you cum now that’s it, sweetie. No pussy.” Ben whimpered and, with great effort, slowed the pace of his hand to better match the one you’d been using. “Good boy,” you leaned in to kiss Ben, feeling him whimper against your lips. You were a little wet already but not enough so you let Ben dangle, let him wait a little longer, reminding him to cum yet, as you spat on your fingers and rubbed them along your slit. Ben groaned as he watched you press two fingers into yourself, his hips bucking a little as he released his cock. “In a second, sweetie.” You laughed, “You’re so good for being so patient. I know you’re a desperate fucking slut but you’re being so good.”

Ben breathed out another, “thank you,” as you finally sank down onto him. You went slowly, partly because that was the game you were playing and partly because your fingers hadn’t quite been enough to get you ready for his cock. But rubbing more of your saliva over his length helped make it easier and there was only a small sting that accompanied the stretch as you took him fully. When you properly situated on his lap, you felt Ben release a breath he’d been holding. Gently you placed your palm against his chest, rubbing it in a soothing circle. “Is that better? Is that what my slut wanted?” “Yeah,” he whimpered as you quickly clenched on him. “You like being inside me, don’t you Benny?” “Yes, of course. Feels incredible.” It was a bit of a boost to your ego and you couldn’t help but smile, “Well that’s good, sweetie, cause I’m going to stay here for a bit. I like feeling you inside me too and I want to keep feeling it. So why don’t you just watch TV and don’t worry about how tight my pussy feels or how badly you want to cum or anything like that.” Ben nodded and turned his head towards the TV. You settled against him, leaning your head on his chest and slowly running your fingers along his side. It was strangely intimate even though neither of you was looking at the other. A type of intimacy that didn’t feel too close to any of your romance limits. Every now and then you’d reward Ben by pressing kisses to his chest or neck or lips, letting your arms slip around to his back so you could squeeze him tightly. He’d whimper whenever your movements changed, feeling his cock shift inside you or feeling you tighten around him for a moment. But he didn’t complain. His arms were as tight around you as yours were around him. There was no way for you to be any physically closer than you were already and yet it felt like he was trying as he embraced you. You could feel his breaths through the rise and fall of his chest, the way he trembled slightly whenever you clenched or moved. You kept reminding him that he was being so good for waiting, that you loved him, loved how obedient he was and how well he listened to your instructions. That it was okay if he was a slut who liked to feel good because you liked making him feel good and wouldn’t waiting for it just make everything so much better anyway. The praise made him bashful. He focused his gaze on the TV, eyes seeming almost out of focus as he made sure he didn’t look at you, but his cheeks flushed and he squirmed in his seat. But he also seemed a little proud oh himself, proud that he was pleasing you.

You made him wait through six advertisement breaks before you began to rock against him properly, your own breath feeling less even. He moaned as soon as you moved, though he kept his head directed towards the TV until you guided it with your fingers, gently turning him to face you. Seeing you, seeing the way you intentionally grinded your hips against his, made him moan again. “Such a pretty sound from my pretty slut,” you whispered, “Keep sounding pretty for me. I like knowing how good I’m making you feel.” It didn’t take too much longer for him to actually cum, worked up and teased as he was. You didn’t mind either, even though there was no way for you to reach your own high in such a short time. But that had never been the point. He panted into your shoulder, mumbling out more thanks and words you only half heard which just made you chuckle as you carded your fingers through his hair.

You stayed like that for a while, just cuddling as he collected himself, listening to his breathing even out and an odd whimper or two leave his lips. “That was nice,” he eventually said, laughing a little, still seeming a bit coy about how into he’d gotten. “If you don’t mind, we could stay here for a while. I could keep warming you until you got hard again.” “You’re filthy,” “Thats not a no,” you laughed back, “I promise you can cum in me again. If you’re good.” “If that’s what’ll make you happy.”

#my writing #my blurbs #ben hardy x reader #ben hardy smut #ben hardy imagine #platonically event #ahhhh i did it!!#seven blurbs in seven days (or near enough skdjkjsasl)

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mintchanniemint · 3 years

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[angst ; wordcount: 2k]

Pairing: Bang Chan x Reader

pt.1 ; pt.2

[08:49 a.m]

The warm, sweet smell of freshly baked chocolate croissants quickly filled up the small kitchen in Chan's apartment. He had a day off and after going to the bakery nearby to treat himself to a nice breakfast, he checked the mailbox and strangely found, among the different advertising magazines and usual bills he had to pay, a letter addressed to him.

He left it on the counter and kept staring at it while taking big, slow bites of the warm brioche in his hand. His mind started wandering from one thought to another, he really didn't know who could possibly leave a letter to him since he usually kept in touch with people either via emails or texts.

But suddenly, a specific thought flashed in his mind for a fraction of seconds. He stopped chewing on the croissant as he slowly walked closer to the counter and his eyes analyzed the handwriting properly.

"I'm so dumb…"

He mumbled to himself, a big sigh following right away. He left his unfinished breakfast on the small table and his fingers quickly traced his name written on that envelope. It was your handwriting, he couldn't explain why he didn't recognize it the second he saw it, but it was probably because he convinced himself that the two of you weren't gonna cross paths anymore.

What was the content of the letter? Why did you leave a letter? And when? Why not a text message?

Chan quickly shook his head, annoyed by all those unanswered questions floating around in his head, and he rapidly opened the envelope, but he closed it again right away, cowardly.

"Dear Chan…"

That was all he read. Yet, he felt scared. Scared of what you carefully wrote for him in that piece of paper. He felt so small and coward, but at the same time he knew it was wrong to just ignore it. He also had to admit that if he was already over you, he probably wouldn't have felt this way at all.

"Three, two, one…"

He got the piece of paper out of the envelope and took a deep breath before letting his eyes absorb every single word written on it.

"Dear Chan,

Yes, yes it's me. I don't know why I'm not texting you. I promised myself I wouldn't have contacted you but here I am… a coward as usual!"

He lightly bit his bottom lip as he snorted and looked away for a moment. You didn't change at all, no matter how much time had passed.

"But don't expect something long. No, this is something important and I want to keep it as short as possible so you can read this quickly."

His mind was telling him to stop reading.

Why am I even reading this? We're not together anymore-

But he actually cared so much. Cared for a relationship he, himself, had ruined with his own hands.

"Focus, Chan. Focus."

He sounded mad at his own thoughts, and decided to proceed with reading the rest of the letter.

The piece of paper slowly left his hand as it delicately reached the floor, by his feet.

"...so you can read this quickly.

Thank you, Chan. Thank you and sorry.

Thank you for keeping me warm during lonely, cold nights.

Thank you for showing me how bright your eyes can shine whenever you smile.

And thank you for breaking me, too. I was able to get up again, maybe with some scars, but I'm not gonna stay stuck here. We have to move on.

I don't have any bad feelings for you. Thank you for loving me, and thank you for letting me love you.

I'm actually leaving tonight, you know, I acc accepted a job overseas.

I wish you the best, always. "

Leaving?

Why were you leaving? Was it because of him?

A relationship that Chan knew he had completely ruined. He wasn't able to make you as happy as he thought he was, he actually hurt you multiple times and didn't know how to fix it, until it reached a breakpoint. And after letting you down, he just thought it was better to leave you. Because he didn't want to hurt you more than he had already done.

His fingers started running through his messy hair, messing it up even more than it was already ruffled. His mind was running even faster than a few moments earlier and he was feeling somehow lost.

What was he going to do? He noticed that you left the time of your flight in the letter, did he have to meet you there? Were you actually trying to leave a message to him? Were the two of you really over that relationship?

What were you telling him? What was he supposed to do?

"Gosh, this is destroying my mind."

His voice filled the silence in the kitchen with slight anger and confusion.

Did he actually want to go and meet you? Was it going to be worth it? What if you two ended up arguing?

He reached for the piece of paper, leaving it on the table as he tried to finish his breakfast, although his hunger was already more than gone.

His mind once again drifted away as he let the sweet, warm taste of chocolate fill his senses. His eyes focused on those few words at the end of the handwritten letter.

Bite after bite, he could feel his own thoughts getting more and more mixed up.

As he arrived home, he left the grocery bags on the table in the kitchen and sat down, his eyes automatically moving to the handwritten letter, that simple yet scary letter.

He felt like a weird pang in his heart decided to bother him.

As he tried his best not to think about that letter, he tried to get distracted throughout the day; he went out for a stroll, met with some friends, and went grocery shopping. Yet that weird feeling in his chest wasn't leaving him alone. It really felt like something was wrong, not in its place…

Chan took a deep breath and put that letter back in its envelope. He finally made up his mind, there wasn't much time left before you would have left the country. He had to meet you.

"What should I do…"

He sighed soundly, his heart tightening, his throat suddenly feeling dry as his hands caught that piece of paper for the thousandth time that day. Reading and rereading those few sentences, his eyes couldn't help but let his mind memorize the time you had written at the end of the letter. There, before your signature, at the corner of the paper.

[9:23 p.m]

He tried his best to look somehow good; he kept his hands from distractedly ruffling his hair, he didn’t fidget too much with the hem of his coat because he knew he would have ruined it somehow. He didn't want to look like a whole mess, he didn't want that to be the last image you would have had of him vene though it was getting quite difficult for him to hide it.

He sighed once again, leaning his head against the window of the cab, on his way to the airport, as the bright neon lights of the city were occasionally caressing his features while he let the soft, distant music coming out of the radio fill up his mind, accompanying his thoughts.

Chan kept mumbling to himself the time you wrote in that letter as he looked at all the huge screens listing the different flights. He was scared he was late, maybe he didn't understand the letter properly. Maybe it was all something his mind made up for him, maybe-

Once he arrived, he didn't hesitate much before entering that huge building; seeing that huge crowd of people, bright white lights, luggage, voices, smiles, cries.

It felt as if the realization started to hit him.

You were leaving. You were leaving the country, you were leaving him and all the memories you were able to make with him.

And that was going to be his last chance to see you again.

As his mind kept running through irrational thoughts, his eyes met with yours. You were in a queue, waiting for your turn for the check-in. You were wearing a warm coat, a black scarf covering and warming up your neck while your fingers were distractedly tapping on your suitcase.

Chan felt like time stopped the moment your eyes met with his. He just looked at you, a little bit out of breath, as one of his hands went through his hair, ruffling it. He bit his lip and looked down for a second, probably cursing at himself for ruining his looks.

You mentally pointed out how his hair was longer than you remembered. Before you could notice anything else, it was finally your turn to the check-in. Your mind kept giving you so many rushed thoughts, as if you were somehow thrilled to be seeing him after so long. You unconsciously didn’t expect to see him, you had to admit it. So much had happened in the past months; since seeing him at work was getting unbearable, you asked for a shift with a colleague in order not to see him when you were there, not even on accident and then you got that job offer and didn’t even think about it twice before accepting. You saw it as a chance to leave everything behind.

Chan quietly stayed there, his hands both in the pockets of his coat as his eyes couldn't leave, not even for a second, your figure.

As Chan saw you walk closer to him, he froze. He felt like he was supposed to run away, as if he couldn't face you nor deserve to even talk to you.

"Have a safe flight!"

You thanked the lady in front of you with a smile and a nod as you walked away from that huge queue, directed to the gate for your flight.

You kept getting closer and closer to where he was standing.

His heart was racing, that ache not leaving his chest as your figure just kept getting cleaner and closer to his eyes.

You stopped a few steps far from him, enough to hear each other.

"Hey, you got the letter."

"Yeah, I did. I… I did, yeah."

As you were able to better observe his face, you noticed how his eyes were weary, his hair was messy because of excessive ruffling and he overall looked so exhausted. You couldn’t help but worry for him.

"Are you okay-"

"Chan, it's not just your fault-"

"I'm sorry."

He blurted out so quickly, he probably didn’t even hear your question. His eyes not brave anymore to keep eye contact with yours.

"I should have known better. It is my fault."

"It's okay. Maybe we just weren't meant to be."

"Don't... say that."

His voice sounded full of pain and regret as you slowly walked closer to him.

You gently placed two fingers under his chin, encouraging him to make his eyes focus on yours.

"Then, Chan… Do something to make me stay."

Those few, painful words left your lips in a hidden, loud and surreal cry as your eyes were trying to stay strong and keep eye contact with him.

Chan was there, in front of you, his lips slightly parted as you could tell panic was slowly filling his mind. His hands ruffled his slightly long hair again and as he did so, you started taking a few steps back, ready to turn and walk away.

“Anything.”

You insisted, your hand leaving his chin.

And you suddenly found yourself in that warm, familiar hug. A hug you had missed for months, already. A hug you thought you were not going to experience anymore.

"Stop it!"

His loud voice pierced your ears, followed by a swift, messy row of footsteps sounding louder and louder as you felt his hand grabbing you by the arm.

"Whatever I try to say, it will only make things worse."

He mumbled between soft sobs as you could feel his embrace getting tighter around your waist.

"Maybe it's just supposed to go this way."

You tried to hide your trembling voice as much as possible as you closed your eyes, your hands now reciprocating the desperate hug.

"Thanks for letting me love you, Chan."

"I'm so sorry."

He let his words leave his lips in a low, trembling whisper as he tried to feel that hug as much as he could.

"... I'm sorry I wasn't worth it-"

"You were."

You broke the hug and looked at him one last time with a light smile painting your lips as your eyes were starting to get filled with tears.

"You're a whole mess, Chan."

You lightly giggled as you wiped his tears with your thumb. He didn’t say anything back, so you decided to hold him in a last, warm hug.

Your figure getting more and more blurred to Chan's teary eyes as he finally let you go.

"It's gonna be alright. Believe me."

You caressed his cheeks one last time before you had to turn your back and walk away, the loud, robotic announcement voice mentioning your flight as you kept moving one step after the other.

#bang chan au #bang chan imagine #bang chan angst #skz imagine #skz au #stray kids imagine #skz angst #stray kids angst #skz chan #stray kids bang chan #skz bang chan au #skz chan angst #skz fic #chan x y/n #chan x reader #self insert #kpop fanfic #Kpop fanfiction #kpop angst

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cheri-translates · 4 years

Text

[CN] Gavin’s S2 R&S - Border (Eng Translation)

🍒 Warning: This post contains detailed spoilers from an R&S (边境) which has not been released in English servers!🍒

This S2 R&S features S1 Gavin, but it follows directly after Ch 37 - Gavin’s Farewell. If you don’t wish to spoil yourself on how S1 ends, please don’t read this!

Follow along with the audio here!

[ Chapter One ]

The dismissal bell has rung for a very long time.

With an almost inaudible sigh, Gavin takes a final glance in the direction of the rooftop, then turns around to leave.

The pale yellow light divides the light and darkness, akin to the black and white keys of a piano which are no longer played by anyone.

The companionship and breaths belonging to the girl have become too warm and natural. Having gotten used to them, the temperature seems to have dropped when walking alone in the school grounds.

Gavin walks over to the school wall. Gently exerting force on his ankles and wrists, he leaps over the wall.

“This time, it counts as a proper goodbye, doesn’t it?”

He smiles a little bitterly.

The enclosing wall, trees and plants are silent, leaving the answer to the evening breeze passing through the leaves.

The city is silent.

The Special Task Force has already issued instructions to every team member to be dismissed. Even the team members who wanted to leave last have returned to their families.

The cluster of comets in the sky brush the atmosphere, burning long trails of unclear rays of light in their wake.

In the distance, some dark smoke can be seen rising faintly, probably the embers of a disaster-stricken building.

Gavin looks at the night sky as many meteors streak past. Getting onto the motorcycle, he drives far away.

Since an unknown point in time, he’s been running in the direction of the girl.

Despite not knowing where such inexplicable confidence came from, Gavin has always felt that whether it’s in the form of protecting her, standing by her side or waiting, the end-goal of the path they walk on will always coincide.

When he told the girl to "walk forward", he was already convinced that the girl would follow her own path, no matter how difficult it is. She would definitely reach the goal she’s searching for. As for himself, he would definitely stand there, welcoming their reunion once again.

Walking forward without turning back, they will eventually meet again in the future.

Gavin secretly vows that when the time comes, no matter what happens, he will definitely not let go of her hand again.

The wind howls. The high-speed motorcycle carries its partner, galloping through the devastated city.

Moving a little closer to that place in Gavin’s heart.

[ Chapter Two ]

Although no new natural disasters have occurred for the time being, the wounds inflicted on the city are still dripping with fresh blood.

The pavement that was originally clean and wide have occasional piles of rubble and rocks. The asphalt is cracked, and the iron railings are in tatters, curled at the side.

The originally lively and bustling Loveland City is now struggling whilst at death’s door, providing its citizens a final refuge.

"Ahh--”

A harsh sound of scraping metal suddenly arises from the roadside, followed by exclamations from the crowd.

A large advertising billboard that was originally on the roof of the building is swinging downwards, and the steel bars fixing it in place are gradually cracking, and it’s clear that it’s about to fall.

Gavin pulls in the direction violently, and the motorcycle sweeps half an arc on the road. Amid the billowing dust, the tyres almost create sparks on the ground.

Changing directions, the motorcycle gallops toward the tall building, leaving behind only the sound of rustling wind.

Citizens who sense the danger in the streets rush for cover. But the falling billboard is too humongous, and the shadow from the top hangs over the heads of all who are fleeing.

Finally, the steel bars are no longer able to hold the billboard. Along with the cracking sound of the final steel bar, the billboard quickly plummets towards the ground--

On the ground, some people have already closed her eyes, waiting for the unexpected calamity to arrive.

What arrives before the pain is a gale rising from the ground, rushing into the air with a mighty force.

"Don't panic. Evacuate to an open area."

Gavin raises his voice, giving instructions to the citizens who are still in a state of panic.

The howling wind turns into a sharp blade, slicing the huge billboard into countless small pieces immediately. Amid the sparks, the sliced metal emits a pungent smell.

Another gust of wind rises, wrapping the debris, and landing on an unoccupied area.

In an instant, the shadow hanging over everyone's head disappears. Even the stinging gas in the air has been dispersed by the wind.

After doing all of this, Gavin breathes a sigh of relief. Just as he’s about to leave, the citizens he saved surround him, thanking their hero.

A little girl, with tears still clinging to the corners of her eyes, tugs at Gavin’s clothes, putting the candy in her pocket into his hand carefully.

"Thank you, Big Brother."

"You're welcome."

"Big Brother... are you the Commander Brother who was on TV the other day?"

The little girl blinks, her hands clenched till her knuckles have turned white, not allowing him to leave.

"…yes."

"Will Big Brother protect us afterwards? From the stars?”

She points to the top of her head, eyes filled with anticipation.

"Don’t worry. I’ll do everything I can."

Gavin squats down and rubs the top of the little girl's head. His eyes become much more tender.

“Aside from me, there are also many other people who are doing everything they can.”

"There’s also a very incredible Sister. Even though she isn’t here now, she’s definitely working hard.”

"Is that Sister an even more incredible person than Big Brother?”

"Mm. She’s very incredible. She’s overcome many obstacles and has done many difficult things."

"Is Sister a fairy? After she finishes what she has to do, will she come back?" Ignoring the gentle tug of her mother, the little girl continues asking Gavin questions.

"She will. I believe her."

The little girl nods faintly, then takes out another candy.

"In that case, when you see Sister, remember to give this to her!"

"Okay. I definitely will."

He watches as the little girl finally smiles, pulling on her mother as she hops away. Then, he shakes his head at the apologetic lady, indicating that he wasn’t bothered.

Gavin scans his surroundings. After hesitating for a while, he begins to clear up other hidden dangers that still linger in the city.

The wind rolls up the rubble and bricks that have fallen to the ground, shifting them to the side of the road. Remnants of buildings hanging in the air are either cut or fixed in another manner.

He’s silent, quietly tidying up and protecting the city, no different from the other things he has been doing during this period of time.

[ Chapter Three ]

When Gavin returns to his senses, many people have already gathered on the street.

Everyone is like him, doing things quietly. Whether it’s helping others or cleaning up the city, they simply hope to make this city a little better than the second before, bit by bit.

"Commander!"

Gavin turns his head, looking at the man who called him. Dressed in military attire, the childish aura of his face hasn’t completely faded away despite his dirty face.

Around him, there are several people of around the same age: the same childishness, the same tiredness, and the same fire burning in their eyes.

"We’re part of the Special Task Force Medical Corps, but we’re still reserves. We responded to the call for support, and didn't expect to see you here."

They line up in front of Gavin, standing at attention and saluting, their voices trembling slightly with emotion.

Whether it’s because of fatigue or because they weren’t properly trained, their posture is not up to standard, and their greeting was overly casual.

But Gavin doesn’t care that much, and simply gives them a nod.

"Commander, what instructions do you have next?"

Gavin pats him on the shoulder, getting him to relax. "Don't be so nervous. You should have received the order to evacuate.”

"Yes. But there are minor damages nearby, and there are citizens in need of medical assistance, so we returned to the frontline on our own accord."

Gavin looks at these young people who have yearning and decisiveness in their eyes. Half-seriously and half-jokingly, he says, "So you’re all blatantly violating instructions?"

Another young man stands upright, replying in a bright voice. “The Commander hasn’t rested yet, so we’ll also continue to provide assistance."

Hearing this, Gavin smiles slightly. “You’re free to act anyway you want. Provide medical and follow-up support to the citizens."

"Yes!"

"Take care of your own safety.”

"Yes!"

"Also...”

Gavin's gaze softens, his lips curving upwards.

"Also, set aside some time to keep your family members company.”

The cluster of comets burning in the night illuminates the group of people who refuse to give up even at the last second.

Despite knowing what’s coming, the people gathered here are still igniting with the hope in their own hands.

Hope that this world wouldn’t end.

Hope that there can be a tomorrow.

Light rips through the night, and the people who look up at the starry sky stand hand in hand.

Gavin leans against the motorcycle, suddenly feeling as though what he has always been holding onto, what the girl has always been protecting, and what everyone who’s unwilling to give up has been safeguarding - wasn’t the city or this world. At the same time, they were also the most ordinary, trivial matters in life.

Just a small place, a warm breakfast in the morning, a light left on when one returns late, and a “welcome home”.

Being able to hold the hand of the most important person on an ordinary day, waste time luxuriously, watch the sunrise and sunset every day.

The time on the display board is constantly approaching the number that has been engraved in everyone's mind recently.

It’s as though Gavin has never noticed the ever-changing numbers at all. He simply looks at the picture of the girl on the screen. In a quiet voice that only he can hear, he says things he wouldn’t typically say to a person he doesn’t know when he’d meet again.

“If only this could last a little longer.”

“A little longer than after the dismissal bell rings.”

“A little longer than tomorrow.”

On the screen, the girl smiles very sweetly. The moment her hair blows upwards slightly, it’s the most affectionate caress of the breeze.

"...stay by my side a little longer."

Gavin lowers his eyelids slightly, the final soft whisper being shattered and taken away by the night breeze, following the wind's trajectory toward the horizon.

The sky gradually lights up, and the cluster of comets get closer to the surface, like thousands of unformed suns, emitting fiery light, scorching the planet.

Soon, fragments of the first star descend from the sky, and the flaming tail of the comet burns before it hits the ground.

Then comes the second, the third... Even more tiny fragments begin to penetrate into the atmosphere. They are reminiscent of an advancing army beginning to sound the horn, announcing that the collision of the comets is about to begin.

Before the comets officially land, a flash of light suddenly lights up in the direction of the northern suburbs, followed by a deafening sound.

Gavin looks towards the sound, brows furrowing.

After a while, another loud noise drifts from the northern suburbs. Without much thought, Gavin gets onto the motorcycle, driving towards the northern suburbs to check out the situation, and to prevent other disasters from occurring.

He understands very clearly that at this juncture, doing such things is perhaps meaningless.

But even if it’s the last second, Gavin still hopes this world can look the way that girl likes it.

[ Chapter Four ]

Gavin reaches the northern suburbs, then walks a few kilometres further north. To his shock, he discovers that the ground has split into a giant ravine. But it doesn’t appear to be a crater.

He looks at the ravine, which is so deep that he can’t see the bottom. Just as he’s about to leave, he realises that a strange light is shining faintly in the darkness.

After a moment of hesitation, Gavin decides to go down and have a look.

He dials the communicator out of habit, following procedure in giving a report to the Special Task Force.

"An unidentified ravine has been found in the northern suburbs, and I’m commencing an investigation immediately. No additional support is required."

While speaking, Gavin descends into the ravine.

The ravine is deeper than expected. The sky above his head has shrunk into a thin slit, but he’s still unable to see the boundary of the pitch-dark emptiness beneath his feet. The ramparts around him gradually morph from sand and soil to something thicker and more solid, even with a foreign material with a touch of metal.

Since entering the ravine, the wind entwining round Gavin protects him all the way deep into the ground. The deeper he goes, the muddier the air becomes. Even Gavin is unable to judge how deep he has gone, only that the bottom of the ravine is still far out of reach.

Descending further, even the sky is no longer visible.

Light seems to be swallowed up by the hole, and doesn’t bring back any visual signals. The concept of direction becomes meaningless, leaving only darkness and silence.

Only the sensation of continuous descent and the occasional light passing by underneath his feet tell Gavin that he’s getting closer to the target.

After an unknown amount of time, light finally appears.

At the end of the darkness, the light seems to have a solid body, surging and flowing in a form between a liquid and solid state. Occasionally, the light breaks free from the shackles of that area, escaping and rising, then dissipating. Come to think of it, this was the strange light that Gavin saw earlier.

Gavin makes a preliminary judgment that this is some kind of unstable, strange space. Hence, he presses the communication button again and tries to give a report on the situation. What returns to his ears is the noise of an electric current, affected by the unique magnetic field of this place. Gavin doesn’t know if the information was transmitted.

Speeding up his pace, he plunges into the wave of light that shouldn't exist in this world.

The light is distorted, and his field of vision becomes skewed and odd. The flowing sceneries and figures slip past Gavin. He sees the construction of ancient buildings, the sailing of inter-galactic spacecrafts, the melting of glaciers after the world was frozen, and the formation of the galaxy and then its fall... It’s as though all the hidden information about the universe are exhibited here.

The spatial nodes are dazzling. No matter which one it is, they’re all worth spending more time to study and mull over meticulously.

But at this moment, Gavin doesn’t have time to care about these things. In the darkness, he can only feel that the thing he’s searching for isn’t here.

This isn’t the direction he wants to go in.

He enters a certain node in the space, then comes out from another node. There is neither direction nor goal.

He shuttles through many places, passing by various sceneries, and finally halts in front of the only node that’s different from the others.

Akin to a painting that has never had its curtain drawn, the undulating light stops here. Gavin looks around, sensing that this might be the origin of all the distortions.

So he strides forward, stepping into it.

After a moment of dizziness, a black door appears in front of his eyes, fixed abruptly in the empty and boundless void.

Complicated symbols are engraved in spirals on the huge door, seeming to rustle and whisper the answer to the origin of all things and the mystery to the riddle.

The most eye-catching one is a horizontal, interlocked “8”. It’s surrounded by thorns and irregular geometric patterns. It has an unknown beginning, and he can’t see its ending.

Gavin reaches out to touch the door, only to find that he’s unable to open it.

No matter which method he employs, the door doesn’t budge.

"You shouldn't be here."

Suddenly, a voice appears out of nowhere. But in the youthfulness of the voice, there’s a calmness that does not match this age.

Gavin looks around his surroundings but sees nothing, and he’s unable to determine where the voice came from.

"Who are you?"

Gavin voices out the doubt in his heart.

"I am everything and nothing."

Gavin frowns, clearly not satisfied with the answer that doesn’t count as an answer. After pondering for a moment, he decides to ask another question.

"What’s this door?”

“It’s a question, and an answer.”

"What's behind the door?"

"It's not time to disclose it. Even if I told you, it would be of no help. Even though I don't know how you got here, you should return now.”

The voice once again gives an answer that doesn’t count as an answer, putting an end to the conversation.

"Wait...”

"You should go. There’s someone waiting for you in the future."

Before he finishes speaking, an irresistible force repels Gavin, throwing him out of that space firmly and easily.

Before Gavin has time to digest the information he had just engaged with, he vaguely senses that a strange change has arrived to this planet.

In an instant, sunlight shines from the west, and withered grass turns green.

The universe moves forward in a reversed manner.

And the wind that was brushing past him before entering the crack is rushing in a retrograde motion.

💙 More S2 content: here

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wordsfromthesol · 4 years

Text

Research Paper

Author: @wordsfromthesol Pairing: Tim Drake x Reader Summary: You and Tim get assigned to complete a research paper together. The two of you end up spending way more time together than originally planned. Warnings: Cursing and balls of fluff Word Count: 2k A/N: I still have a few requests, they are coming I just haven’t had too much time to write new stuff...so I’ve been posting old stories I’ve already completed.

The two of you sat at your dining room table, typing away at various research sites and scribbling down miscellaneous notes that could be helpful later. Finally, you looked up at your silent partner.

“So, why the rush to get this research paper done?”

“I’m busy. This is when I have time to do it.”

“Hm –” Before you could continue the thought, Tim cut you off.

“Look, I know you don’t want to be paired with the weird kid. Let’s just finish this and you don’t have to talk to me anymore.”

“Woah there Tim, relax. I don’t know anything about you. Especially not enough to qualify you as the weird kid.” You watched his face turn a slight shade of crimson. “Ya’know, there’s only 20 kids in this class. I bet if you actually talked to some of them you would make friends.” You got up from your seat and sauntered into the kitchen. “So weird kid, you want something to drink?”

“Oh…uhm…I’m fine.” You chuckled to yourself as he stuttered through his response.

“Well, if you insist on completing this in one night, I need some wine. Sure you don’t want a glass?”

“Okay…” Tim hesitantly responded.

The bottle was gone and you began to spiral down a YouTube worm hole. Clicking video after video, ending up on the ever popular topic of vigilantes. “Why do you think they do it?” You mumbled out loud, forgetting your research partner was still sitting across from you.

“Why does…” Tim tugged at your computer and glared at the screen before him. The video was paused on an image of Nightwing and Red Robin. He remembered that night. Mr. Freeze had armed some kind of mass freeze ray in the subway system. There were 5 casualties that night. His voice echoed throughout the room. “Sometimes the police aren’t enough. They have too much red tape or not enough training to handle certain criminals.”

“There’s just so many of them…”

“I think they need each other. Each one making sure the others don’t cross a line they can’t come back from. Keeping them responsible for their actions.”

“You think they aren’t just inherent do-gooders running around?”

“No. I don’t. This city is a toxin, no one born of it is inherently good. Everyone comes to a crossroads, some chose to go left and others, right. Once one goes to the left, you may never go back. However, those who chose to go right are always tempted to take a shortcut to the left. Even knowing they could never return.”

“Dang…you should write a book or something Tim.”

“Just a lot of experience I suppose?” You furrowed your brows and shot him a questioning look. “I was…uhm…rescued by Batman awhile back. Though not before my parents were poisoned.”

“I’m so sorry…” Your eyes cast to the ground as your hand reached across the table, landing atop of his. “I didn’t know.”

Tim brushed it off, “I didn’t expect you to know. I don’t advertise it. Anyways, how’s the ACTUAL research coming along.” You rolled your eyes and turned back towards your computer.

Tim realized he hadn’t heard from you in awhile, so he glanced up from his computer. You were asleep at the table. His eyes shot over to the clock, 4:07am. “Shit.” He mumbled under his breath. Tim then sat there debating what to do for several minutes before pushing his chair back and taking you up in his arms. He laid you on your bed, draping the covers over you, before heading back into the dining room. Almost as soon as Tim sat back at his computer, his phone buzzed.

Don’t forget to get some sleep tonight, baby bird.

Dick had started sending reminders almost every night. Tim debated ignoring it, until more messages came in. Jason, Damian, Barbara, Stephanie, even Cassandra had texted him. Dick truly went all out tonight.

I swear if I have to listen to Dick complain about you not sleeping one more time, I will lose it. Go the fuck to sleep, replacement.

Drake, I was just informed to remind you to sleep tonight. May this serve as that reminder.

Dick just let me know you haven’t slept the past two nights. The body can only properly survive without three nights of sleep. Please sleep.

Timothy Jackson Drake. If you do not sleep tonight, I will be forced to take drastic action. One word: computer.

Don’t make me come knock you out.

Tim quickly sent a group message to everyone. Everyone calm down. It’s only been a day and a half. I’m going to sleep now. And Steph, don’t even look at my fucking computer. Tim sighed and threw himself on your couch, welcoming some much-needed sleep.

You woke up very confused. You glanced around your room, you definitely did not remember going to bed. You threw your legs over the side and noticed you were still completely dressed. What the fuck. Hesitantly, you opened your bedroom door. Your eyes darted around the room, noting the two computer still at the dining room table. Tip-toeing over to the living room, you saw Tim passed out on the couch, his phone buzzing beside him. You attempted to end the call, but it answered instead. Shit shit shit. You leapt as far from Tim as you could before whispering into the phone.

“Look I didn’t mean to answer this, but Tim is asleep…and he strikes me as the kind of person who doesn’t get much –” The man on the other end cut you off.

“I’m sorry, who is this? Why do you have my brother’s phone?”

“Oh…uhm…I’m in class with him. We were partnered on a research paper. He slept…is sleeping here.” You heard the man sigh before he continued.

“Do me a favor and try not to wake him, but tell him Dick called when he does get up.”

“Uh…sure…”

“Oh and put his phone on silent…actually I’ll just block the calls from here. Oh and thanks...I didn’t actually get your name.”

“Y/N.”

“Right, thanks again Y/N.”

You hung up the phone on the weirdest conversation ever and set it next to his computer. You snatched yours up and went back into your bedroom. Might as well get some work done while you waited for Tim to wake up. A few more hours passed and you heard footsteps coming from your living room. Thank god, I so need coffee. You threw open the door and saw Tim standing over his computer.

“Oh, uhm, sorry I slept here last night.”

You waved off the apology, “No problem. What time did we stop?”

“I noticed you were asleep at like 4 in the morning. So I…” Tim ran his finger through his hair, “I just figured the bed was more comfortable.” You smirked as you watched his face turn crimson. Stronger than he looks apparently. “Then I thought it was probably best not to leave that late…so I just crashed on the couch.”

“So we didn’t finish then? As in you better not have finished it without me.”

Tim held up his hands in defense. “No no, I stopped once I saw you were asleep.”

“Well…want coffee and some...” you glanced at the clock. It was nearly noon, “brunch I guess.”

“Oh, uh…if you’re offering? Then sure, I guess.”

“Great, then we can just finish up today.” You made your way to the kitchen, “Oh your brother called.”

Tim’s eyebrows furrowed, “which one?”

“You have multiple? Uh…Dick, I think he said.”

“Yeah, three of them. Do you mind if I call him back?”

You shook your head as you put on the coffee. Tim grabbed the phone from the table and went into your bathroom.

“Dick? Is something wrong?”

“Nah, Alfred just told me you hadn’t been back to the Manor yet. Wanted to make sure we didn’t need to send search and rescue.”

“I’m fine. Listen, do you mind if you cover my patrol tonight?”

“Oh, hot date with Y/N?”

“How do you – nevermind. No, we are finishing a project.”

“Hm, whatever you want to tell yourself Timmy. She seemed sweet on you though.”

“How – who even says that anymore? Are you 60 years old?”

“Awe, look who’s deflecting.”

“Bye Dick!” Tim screamed into the phone before hanging up on his brother.

After brunch was had, the two of you got back to work. However, it didn’t take long for you to get sidetracked.

“Alright, if I sit in this damn chair for another minute I’m going to have permanent back problems. I’m moving to the couch.” You huffed out, before scooping up your computer and plopping down sideways with your back against the armrest. Surprisingly, Tim joined you, propping is feet up on the coffee table. Once the two of you moved to the couch, no more work got done.

“So you close with your family?” You began the barrage of questions. People often called you out for being nosy, but you still couldn’t help it.

“Oh,” Tim glanced up from his computer. “Yeah, I suppose. Too close sometimes.”

“Eh, they wouldn’t be family otherwise. I gather you have a big one?”

“What are we playing 20 questions?”

“Just curious…”

Tim huffed, but began to answer your question anyways. “Yeah, I guess. Though it’s a family forged from bonds, not blood.”

“I’d say that’s the better kind. You chose to stay with and support them, as opposed to being guilted into it because they’re family.”

“Well that clearly struck a chord.”

You shrugged it off, “So three brothers. Blood or bond?”

“Well…a forced bond? Bruce adopted all of us, except Damian I guess.”

You continued to pose questions to your newfound friend, though you found getting most answers was like pulling teeth. Eventually, you made progress and after a few hours you closed your laptop, which had been long since asleep, and tossed it to the floor. “I vote take away and a movie.”

“But we haven’t finished.” Tim argued.

“And I don’t think we are going to tonight. Come on, we still have a month. Relax a little, we’re like 75% done anyways.”

“I –” Before he could protest further you pulled yourself off the couch and reached for your phone.

“I vote Thai.”

You heard a sigh come from the other end of the couch, “Sounds good.” A smile grazed your face as you placed the order and settled comfortably back on the couch. You turned on the movie and didn’t realize you were laying half on Tim until the doorbell roused you. This time it was your turn to don a shade of red. Thankfully, it was too dark for Tim to see.

The food was gone and the movie continued to play in the background, but the two of you were fast asleep laying against each other. That was, until Tim heard a knock on the window. He looked up to see the familiar costumes of his older brothers. He gently held you in place with one arm, while stretching to grab his phone with the other. Tim quickly typed a message.

I’m clearly alive. Leave me the fuck alone.

Tim saw Dick smirk through the window just before a bright white light shone through. Tim’s phone buzzed.

Look Timbers found someone to put up with him.

Of course Jason just had to send that in the group message. Tim typed out his response.

I’m muting this conversation until further notice. Also I’m never telling you guys where I am ever again.

That’s alright, I’m sure Y/N won’t mind telling me. We had a great conversation earlier.

Tim ignored the baited message Dick sent and threw his phone to the other side of the couch before settling back into the comfortable position at your side.

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shreddedparchment · 5 years

Text

Pseudo Princess Pt.16

A Shared Bed

11/17/2019

Pairing: King!Steve x Reader Word Count: 6,113

Warnings: nakedness, angst, fluff, lots of fluff, finally some fluff, language

A/N: I don’t know how often I’ll be updating after this one as work is about to blow up with the holidays. Please be patient and thank you to those who already are! xoxo I hope you enjoy this chapter. I had such fun writing it and finally...just...FINALLY. If you happen to reblog, thanks so much for helping me spread my work! xoxo

TAGS ARE CLOSED FOR THIS STORY!

The castle is brimming with people.

They have been coming and going since late afternoon yesterday and you haven’t seen his Majesty since your reunion in the open courtyard outside of the gardens.

It’s all felt a little like a dream too good to be true. Except for the blonde. Lady Sharon. Who has stuck close to his Majesty’s side—or so you’ve heard from Peter who you finally sent for.

“Why is she with him?” You wonder, trying not to let your jealousy show but there’s an edge in your voice. You’re on pins and needles with this woman.

“They uh…” Peter hesitates, shifting from foot to foot uncomfortably.

You turn to look at him, having been watching the come and go of decorators, musicians, and the general gentry. The castle is echoing with laughter and chatter and there’s an air of excitement flowing through the staff. Only your friends are receptive to your own mood.

Only Nat has been with you since yesterday and watched you go from a smiling idiot to a stressed-out pregnant woman.

She’d been a little surprised that you were so ready to forgive him, but she was also pleased.

“They have business to speak of.” Nat tells you, getting up from her seat by your fire and moving to serve you some tea. “Come have some tea. Don’t worry about Sharon. She’s nothing to worry about. Trust me.”

You turn to move to your designated chair, extra padding added at Grandmother’s request. She and Nat are serious ramping up the overprotectiveness as of late.

“Why don’t I need to worry about her? And what business would she have with him?” Okay, so you’re more than just a little jealous.

It’s icky, and deep in your chest. No, in your ribs. In your bones. Moving like searing magma, charring your insides and making you feel wretched.

“Didn’t he tell you that you didn’t have to worry about Sharon?” Nat asks.

“Yes.” You sigh, reaching for your cup as she holds it out.

“Steve is a man of his word. You have nothing to worry about.” She promises.

But you’re not convinced.

You give Peter a wary look and he seems to read you easily as he gives you a quick smile then backs out of the room and shuts the door for you to give you and Nat some privacy. Not that he won’t be able to hear you…but at least he won’t see you directly.

“But she had her hands all over him.” You sigh, taking a sip. “And she was so…”

You bite your lip, thinking of the regal woman you’d seen holding tight to his Majesty’s arm. The two of them had looked so right side by side. A beautiful couple. The queen he deserves.

“I know what she looks like. And she’s a lovely person. She wouldn’t try anything, Y/N.” Nat assures you, but you’re only half listening.

“Nat…” You begin.

“I promise you, Y/N. If he says that there is nothing to worry about-”

“No.” You interrupt her, “It’s not…I told him.”

Nat’s face blanks as she slowly sits herself down, placing the plate of cold meats she’d been serving you down.

“You told him you’re pregnant?” She whispers, so quiet that you have to read her mouth to understand.

Peter’s just outside.

“No.” You shake your head. “I…I told him that I’m not really father’s daughter. That he found me on the side of the road.”

“What?” Nat asks, her hand completely still, unlike the shift in her eyes that tells you she’s on alert suddenly. “Why?”

“Because he was telling me that I was his pearl and his gem and that I was true royalty and grace and all these other really nice things and I-I’m none of that, Natasha. I just couldn’t stand there and watch him make love to me thinking that I’m more than I truly am, so I told him.” You swallow hard, your mind reliving the beautiful memory over and over.

“What did he say?” She asks, voice tight and controlled.

“I know it was your specifically assigned task to keep my secret. To protect it. To make sure that I was never exposed but-”

“What did he say?” She repeats, a bit sterner.

“I told him I was no one. But he told me that I’m a Rogers.” The flutter that fills your chest is pleasant. The smile that tugs at your lips us unstoppable. “I thought he would throw me out.”

Nat releases a slow breath, then reaches over to place her hand over yours.

“And you haven’t told him you’re pregnant?” She asks, a bit more loudly than she probably planned but at this point, you figure she doesn’t care.

There’s an audible sound of a chair clattering on the other side of your door and you guess that Peter now knows.

A split second later, the door is thrown open.

“You’re pregnant?!” Peter gasps.

“Shh.” Nat chastises him, rushing up to shut the doors behind him after taking a quick peek out.

You’re smiling at him thought, biting into your bottom lip.

“And you’re not really King Stark’s daughter?” He shakes his head. “Not that it matters. You’re my queen. And my friend. I think. Right?”

You chuckle a little, so happy to have Peter in your life as your personal guard and a true friend.

“Of course, you’re my friend. More. You’re family, Peter.” And he beams. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about my true-”

“As happy as I am that Steve seems accepting of your true lineage, we should not advertise it. There are people who would use it to hurt you. From this moment on, you don’t speak of it. Okay?” Nat orders, turning a rare look of authority on you and Peter.

“Right. Of course.” Peter nods.

You’re more intrigued by her reasons though and though you promise yourself not to bring it up again ever, your brow is furrowed with curiosity.

“Who? How would they use it to hurt me?” You wonder.

“There are people who don’t want Steve as King. People who think they could do a better job. People who don’t think he deserves to be on the throne.” Nat moves to push your plate food closer.

“Why? He’s a good king.” You observe, thinking about how he was so kind and accommodating during his meetings with the people. The way he’d praised you for taking the initiative to help the poor.

He truly seems like a good man trying to rule his kingdom as best he can.

“There’s only one reason that he would have reacted badly to your…revelation yesterday. And it’s exactly for that reason. Because it’s a weapon that his enemies might use against him. But he loves you too much to care about that now.” She says.

“So, my low birth wouldn’t have mattered to him to begin with?” You wonder, watching Nat as she settles into her seat and relaxes now that all your cards are on the table.

“No.” She nods at your plate. “Please eat.”

You pick at the food. “Why?”

Nat meets your eyes and offers you a smile.

~~~~~~~~~~

“No. Not that one. Blue or red. Keep the blues around my queen. She looks lovely in blue.” Steve gushes, smiling like an idiot. “She looks lovely in anything.”

Behind him, Bucky laughs. Sam’s smile is wide as he shakes his head.

“What?” Steve asks, turning to look at the two as they linger by the doorway.

“She’s forgiven you for a few hours and she’s already got you wrapped around her finger.” Samuel notices.

“I am not…” Steve begins, attempting to deny it but there is no sense in doing so. Every bit of what he just said is absolutely true. “I can’t help it. I thought I’d lost her.”

“We know.” Bucky assures him. “We’re happy for you, Steve.”

After a moment, Samuel moves over to a few of the decorators and whispers in their ears.

They drop their tapestries and tablecloths, ornamental candelabras, and plush reupholstered cushions. Quietly they leave the large room and shut the door behind them.

Sam follows. Checking to make sure the door is properly shut and locked before he moves with Bucky over to Steve as he fusses with your seat beside his. Both are even in height though before yours had been smaller.

Steve can’t believe he’d let you keep sitting in that. You’re his Queen.

He feels a sudden surge of pride and pure elation at the thought of such a woman by his side.

A pigeon you most definitely aren’t and he’s not sure why you’d pick that name of all the things he might call you.

“…I’m of no consequence.” You’d said. “I’m no one.”

He could see it in your eyes, the way Sharon must have made you feel. Out of place. Not good enough even though that’s far from the truth.

Sharon is trained, taught to be a lady from the day she was born. Like Maggie. Like all the other women in his life, save two. Natasha, and…

“How are you holding up?” Sam asks, and because Steve’s mind is already there, he knows what Sam means.

Steve moves to his seat and settles in, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees.

The sleeves of his plain cream linen shirt are rolled up, his eyes heavy with exhaustion. He’s sleepy. He hasn’t slept since the night before last. And yet, he smiles. His pink lips curl up into a small smirk as he looks up and meets Bucky’s grinning expression and Sam’s worried gaze.

“I’m fine.” He assures them, looking down at his hands. He can still feel you in them. Body trembling a little but pressed softly against his own.

You’d melted against him, as if you couldn’t help yourself. You still like him. For some odd reason…

“I didn’t think you’d be.” Sam says.

“I did.” Bucky counters.

“You always said-” Sam continues.

“I know what I said. I should have known better. My own mother rose from nothing.” He begins.

“Not exactly nothing,” Sam says, “She was a noble woman.”

“A poor one.” Steve nods.

Sam continues. “She owned extensive lands without having access to them because of the clause in her father’s will that she had to marry first. The dowager Queen was rich, Steve. Before she married the King. Not poor.”

“In name only. She didn’t have access to any of that wealth.”

“Point is,” Sam continues more firmly. “She was raised as a lady. She attended feasts and dances and she came to court which is how King Joseph fell in love with her in the first place. If Y/N had not agreed to do what she did, the two of you would have never crossed paths.”

“And I would have lost my kingdom.” Steve points out, feeling a little miffed that Samuel is painting this picture of you forever poor in whatever village you came from, away from him. Never to be seen or held. Not by him.

Maybe you’d have married some farmer? Or a butcher? Maybe you’d have married a drunk and he might have beat you every day?

Steve sits back and grips the arms of his chair, squeezing them until the woodgrain is etched into his skin and the creak of it bending in his angry grasp brings Bucky’s and Sam’s eyes to them.

“I don’t know what motivations Y/N had for agreeing to this arrangement. I know that it’s odd. It’s suspicious in some ways. But Tony trusts her, and I’ve seen her as she truly is. She’s not capable of deceit of this magnitude. Not on her own.” Steve’s grip relaxes.

“She has been lying to you about her lineage since she arrived. What do you mean she isn’t capable of deceit?” Sam questions, and although Steve knows he’s only doing his job as one of his advisors, he really hates him for planting these seeds of doubt in his mind.

You’re so sweet and perfect. Why can’t you just be you and not have an ulterior motive?

“Sam…” Steve sighs, shutting his eyes tight then opening them as if to clear them. “Why are you trying to ruin this for me?”

“I’m not.” Sam tells him. “I’m not.”

Steve opens his eyes and sees him eyeing Bucky who’s frowning at him.

“All I am saying is that you need to talk to her. Get her side of the story. The truth. Until we know everything, this is risky, Steve. We could be putting the whole kingdom in jeopardy.”

As if Steve doesn’t know that he would be the one putting the kingdom in jeopardy, not we as Sam says.

“I doubt she’s a spy, Sam.” Bucky interjects, moving to sit on the table fully, metal hand and flesh hand held between his legs loosely. “I met her in King Stark’s castle and she’s just as she was then, now.”

“And you’re probably right.” Sam nods. “She’s very sweet and kind and she is the queen our king deserves, but I just want to be certain.”

For a long minute, silence invades the room as Steve’s mind reels with the possibilities of what your lie might mean. You’d confessed so readily, as if you’d been dying to do so for so long.

He also knows you were coerced into confessing by jealousy.

He can’t help it. He smiles, cheeks sore from how happy he’s been, grinning like a fool.

“What?” Bucky checks, tearing his eyes away from Sam.

“Nothing.” Steve continues to smile. “It’s of no consequence.”

“That can’t be true if you’re grinning like that.” Bucky argues. “Tell me.”

“No.” Steve gets up then moves towards the doors.

“Come on, Steve.” Bucky complains.

“Maybe it’s private?” Sam offers.

“No. It’s not private.” Bucky realizes. “He’s just embarrassed. Are you being sappy again?”

Steve’s cheeks burn scarlet and his ears flame on as he stops by the doors, hands on the handles.

“She’s cute when she’s jealous.” Steve smiles. “She doesn’t know how impossible it is for me to want anyone else.”

“He’s being sappy again.” Sam agrees.

“You need a wife.” Steve tells Sam, then turns to Bucky. “And maybe if you were a bit more eager to make love to Natasha she would come around and finally say yes.”

“I do make love to her!” Bucky says. “I tell her how beautiful she is. I bring her flowers and gifts.”

“Nat said that Y/N hasn’t opened even half of my presents. She’s kept them in a pile in her room, but she reads my letters often. Sometimes, you need to tell a woman what you truly feel, or she might never know.” Steve looks at his best friend. “When’s the last time you told her you loved her and exactly what she means to you?”

Bucky opens his mouth to speak but then shuts it when he can’t remember when.

“I’m going to go remind my own beauty how much I love her. You’re welcome to tag along.” He offers, then turns and heads out the door as his decorators bow their heads.

Sam and Bucky watch him go, observing the bounce in his step.

“When do you think he’ll forgive himself?” Sam wonders.

“For which part?” Bucky asks. “Never, Sam. Even if they’re married all their lives. I don’t think he’ll ever stop trying to make up for what he did to her.”

“You mean their wedding night?” Sam nods.

“All of it. If I did to Nat what he did to Y/N…well, I’d be dead for one, but she would never forgive me.” Bucky moves towards the door as the decorators come rushing inside and back to work.

“Has she forgiven him?” Sam follows.

“I suppose there’s only one way to find out.”

~~~~~~~~~~

A knock on your door startles you.

“Wait!” Peter’s voice pipes. “You can’t go in there yet.”

“Why not?”

His Majesty’s voice sends your heart into a thrill and you quickly rise from your tub.

Freshly bathed, you make to step out, but Natasha throws her arms out towards you.

“Wait!” She cautions. “Don’t! I’ll come to you.”

The panic in her eyes throws you and you realize that she’s afraid you’ll slip. But you’re already halfway out of the tub so you freeze with one foot on the carpet and the other inside your tub.

“What’s going on?” His Majesty asks, knocking on the door again. “Y/N? Are you okay?”

“She’s fine. What do you want?!” Nat asks, irritated and rushing to you to help you step out fully and then wrap you up in your robe.

You look down as it clings to your form and you can see the bump of your barely forming belly and you can’t let him see you like this. He’ll know. You’re not ready to tell him yet.

I should tell him, though.

You chew your lip as Nat suddenly throws a thicker robe over your shoulders and wraps you up tight.

“There you go.” She smiles at you, reassuring you. “Should I let him in?”

“What do you mean, what do I want? I want to see my wife.” His Majesty argues, the grumpy note in his voice clear.

He doesn’t like being kept out of your room and it’s probably because he doesn’t want to take a step back after yesterday.

If you’re honest, you can’t wait to see him either.

You nod in answer to Nat’s question and she makes sure that your tummy is carefully padded with robe and then moves to open the door.

She cracks it open at first and you watch her back, relaxed from previous tension, as she looks through the split in the door up at a single blue eye as it peers in, eager to get a look at you.

“What if she doesn’t want to see you?” She wonders.

“Should I leave?” His Majesty asks, ready to comply but you can hear the regret in his voice and your heart gives a small ache.

You shake your head without speaking.

“If it was me, you’d be castrated and beheaded by now.” Nat informs him.

“Are you threatening your king?” His Majesty wonders, playfully though, so you know this must be normal.

“Every day.” She promises, then moves aside and pulls the door open.

His majesty is a vision…

He’s not dressed in anything fancy. He’s wearing a pair of plain trousers, the ones he wears when he goes on his rides or for a walk. His shirt is simple white linen, sleeves clinging tight to his arm’s muscles except around the forearm where they puff out and meet cinched at his wrist.

He looks tired, however. Eyes slightly dry. Hair a little limp. You can see it in him when he blinks, and his eyes struggle to reopen.

“You’re tired.” You realize, out loud, without meaning to.

The smile his mouth twists into, bright and brimming with joy dazzles you and you’re out of breath.

“You’re worried about me?” His gasps, moving towards you, ignoring Nat as he passes her.

Behind him, another familiar head with long black hair peeks in. Ice blue eyes look at the redhead and he wiggles his eyebrows. “My love.”

“What are you doing here? I thought you and Sam would be tied up all day.?” She wonders, reaching out for him and he takes her hand, kisses it, then smiles.

“I was given a lecture about showing appreciation for my woman.” Bucky explains.

“Your woman? Excuse you, good sir, but I am my own woman.” Natasha argues, her hand still in his.

“And yet, you’re mind. Come, let’s go for a walk before we lose the chance. You won’t mind if I steal my lovely betrothed, do you, your Majesty?” Bucky asks, looking at you as his Majesty reaches you and places his arms on your forearms, caressing them, holding them as he pulls you closer.

“N-no.” You reply, distracted.

“I’ll be back in half an hour to get you dressed.” Natasha says, fixing you with a reassuring gaze.

She wants you to tell him about the baby. She’s worried about the throne. She also wants you to be happy.

“Okay.” You whisper, very aware of the heat radiating off his Majesty’s body.

“Come on, Peter.” Natasha says, gripping his arm.

“What?” He replies in shock. “But-”

“I’m sure they don’t want an audience. Go get something to eat and maybe change for tonight? This’ll be your only chance.” She points out and without further argument, she closes the door behind her leaving you and his Majesty alone in your room.

The crackle of the fire is loud. Deafening in the weighty silence between you and his Majesty.

Your heart begins to pound. Nervous, you think about your tummy and almost look down at it but remind yourself that you shouldn’t, so you don’t.

When you think you might go crazy, your mind worrying about a million different things, you shut your eyes and inhale.

“Are you alright?” His Majesty asks. “I’m sorry I haven’t come to see you. I would have but something has happened, and we had to act very quickly.”

“What happened?” You wonder, grasping at anything to fill the silence.

His Majesty looks down at your chest then back up to meet your gaze as he considers what to say.

Does he not trust you?

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t trust me.” You say, miffed, and your voice is suddenly a bit colder.

“No.” He sighs. “No, Y/N, it isn’t that. I just don’t know how much to tell you. You need to know. It concerns your safety too.”

“My safety?” You ask, squeaking a little in fear but not for your own life but the one you carry in your tummy.

He nods. “Mmm.” His hands are explorative. Tracing the lines of your arms all the way back to your shoulders then down again.

As you begin to chew your lip, he reaches up and traces your bottom lip.

“Don’t be nervous, my flower. I’ll never let anyone hurt you.” He assures you.

You shut your eyes, relishing in his touch but also trying to comprehend this man with the one that wouldn’t let you touch him.

“I’m…I’m a little overwhelmed.” You admit.

“Why?” He checks, suddenly pulling you towards a seat by your breakfast table. He makes sure you’re sitting then squats down in front of you.

He’s so tall even low as he is, he’s only an inch or so shorter.

“This change between us-?” You begin, but he sighs, and you stop speaking.

“It’s my fault, this distance between us. We have a lot to talk about. More than you know but know that I’m ready for you now.” He nods.

“I wish you’d been ready before.” You sigh.

“Me too.” His Majesty admits. “Every word that I’ve written to you is the truth. I have loved you since almost the moment we met. I fought myself hard because I didn’t think it was right, but she would not have wanted me to be cruel. She would have wanted me to be happy.”

You frown, hating the mention of Maggie from him. It’s bad, but you can’t help it.

“And I know I’m risking expulsion from your presence again by bringing her up but trust me when I say that I will never compare you to her again. I-Do you want to hit me?” He offers.

“Will it hurt?” You wonder, tempted.

He smiles, a small smirk at your threat. “Probably not. But I’d understand that it should.”

“I don’t want to hurt you, your Majesty.” You sigh.

“Steve, please, flower. Call me Steve.” He begs.

“I can’t yet.” You sigh.

He buries his face into your lap, just hating himself more for what he’s done to you.

Your heartbeat spikes, he’s so close to your stomach.

“I don’t want to replace Margaret.” You continue, eager to move on. “I never wanted to. Or to hurt you. All I wanted was for you to give me a chance.”

He looks up at you and your voice nearly chokes. Somehow, you push through it.

“I love you.” You confess, and the brightness in his eyes becomes unbearably pleasant.

He takes a deep breath and his chest swells with pride.

“All I want is a fair chance.” You bite your lip again and this time his Majesty leans in, thumb smoothing out the softness of your lip before he reaches back to hook his hand behind your head.

Your lungs are suddenly empty, and you inhale and hold it.

“May I?” He whispers against your mouth, the heat of his breath overwhelming.

You nod.

His Majesty presses his lips to yours and you whimper a little, unintentionally as his lips move against yours.

He devours you, a smattering of wet tongue and a soft kiss as he settles in between your legs while dropping down onto his knees to kneel more comfortably.

Your hand closes around the neck of his shirt, gripping it tightly as you cling for dear life.

His hands are wandering, moving away from your shoulders down to your waist and awfully close to your stomach.

The kiss is heated but because you have both been wanting it for so long. As he pulls back to tilt the other way, you lick your lips and sigh, finding his hands with yours.

“I’m pregnant.” You whisper, shocked yourself that it slipped out. “I…”

His Majesty pulls back a little, face suddenly pained as he stares into your eyes to see if you might be joking.

“Grandmother says that I am about four months along?” Your shoulders heave up and down as you try to catch your breath.

Your little revelation makes it harder to breathe because you’re nervous about his reaction.

“I didn’t want to tell you because I-I wasn’t sure whether you really wanted me.” You sigh, voice cracking a little in sorrow. “You’ve pushed me away, told me in so many ways that you don’t love me and I was afraid that if I told you that you would want me only because I was with child and I don’t want that.”

You smile at him tightly, on edge. “I want you to love me because you love me and not because I’m carrying your heir.”

His Majesty is silent, watching you with that same pained expression until he reaches up and cups the side of your face.

“If Thor touches you again, I’ll have him beheaded. I don’t care if it brings about war. If he looks at you with that wistful look again, I’ll scoop his eyes out with a spoon. He’s one of my closest friends, but if he ever tells me again how you taste like honey, I’ll slice his tongue out. This is how I feel.” His Majesty says. “You are mine. And I am yours. Before any children. Before any obligations or duties, if I don’t have you by my side, I don’t want this crown.”

You know you can only believe so much. If he had to fight for the Kingdom to save the people, he would, but you also understand what he’s saying. He kissed you before he knew you were pregnant. He loves you.

How much, you’re not sure. But he does love you. You smile.

“Do we have to have this feast tonight?” You wonder, reaching up to trace the lightly discoloration underneath his eyes.

He really does look very tired.

“Yes.” He tells you, rubbing your back with his large heated hands. “I have to correct other mistake that I’ve made with you that are not as personal and more politically driven.”

“What mistakes?” You wonder, still tracing the shape of his cheek.

He reaches up to take hold of that hand and pulls your fingers to his lips to kiss and just hold against his lips.

“There are rumors that I hate you.” He sighs. “Rumors that I don’t care about you. That you and I only married because it was my duty. Our duty.”

“Which is true.” You point out.

“Yes. But I do love you. You are my chosen Queen. And maybe things were different before, but I need them to know that you’re right where you should be.”

“Because I’m not really-?”

“You’re true royalty, Y/N. Never doubt it. I will show them that you are irreplaceable. That they’re wrong.” He assures you and presses a firm kiss to your palm.

“There’s something else you’re not telling me.” You frown.

His Majesty sighs.

Suddenly he brings both hands to your waist and then carefully begins to undo your robe. Your cheeks burn savagely, neck coursing with sudden heat. As he exposes your first layer, he undoes the second robe and moves that open too.

You sit before him, naked, with only the edge of the fabric shielding your breasts from full exposure.

His eyes are not on your nakedness however, but on your tummy.

He slides his hands into your robe, caressing the sides of that belly gently while also greedily taking in the feel of your freshy bathed skin.

“You smell good.” He says without thinking.

“I j-just bathed.” You remind him.

“While you were gone, we made a show of playing up an illness for you. The word was spread across the people that you were sick and that is why you had not been seen in weeks. Most believed it. Some didn’t.” He sighs.

He runs his thumbs along your side and though you might have once been focused on his words, the fact that he’s never touched you this way also keeps your brain from focusing.

“The meeting yesterday was about a resurgence of what is known as Hydra.”

You gasp, knowing the name. “They’re back?”

“And I think they’re the ones that attacked you the day you came home.” He nods, looking up to meet your eyes, speaks in a whisper. “We think that there are spies in my council. Trying to destroy my chances at keeping the kingdom. That’s why you’re in danger.”

He looks back down at your tummy and renews his caress.

“You and our little one.” He sighs, smiles, and then his expression darkens.

“This isn’t good news then?” You sigh too, reading the situation with new eyes and a fresh perspective.

He tears his eyes up to you and shakes his head. “This is the best news.”

He smiles.

“Please don’t let my need to contemplate every scenario darken this moment for you. I am so happy that you’re with child. I’m only sorry that I didn’t do my duties as your husband properly. I’ll make it up to you.” He runs his hands back to your lower back and halfway down your bum.

You gasp lightly, your body reacting to his touch again.

“I promise.” He smiles.

No, that’s a smirk.

“I wanted it to be you.” You confess, dropping your voice to a whisper in slight embarrassment. “When Thor kissed me. When he touched me.”

His Majesty’s brow furrows, and he growls as he pulls you closer, dragging the chair along the floor so that it groans loudly against the stone. You’re surprised by the pull and your hands hurry to his shoulders to cling in surprise.

“I swear I’ll kill him.” He says.

You shake your head. “He’s why I came back. If he hadn’t shown me that it could be good…that there might be a different way with you…I would have kept running.”

Your legs are spread around him, lifted up slightly so that your feet are hanging off the ground as your knees rest on the sides of his hips.

“I want to show you how good it can be.” He whispers, bringing his left hand down to your ankle to take hold of it possessively. “I was a fool. An idiot. A moron in denial.”

“You’re tired.” You realize as he closes his eyes in one quick blink, but they stay closed a bit too long.

“I have enough energy for you.” He swears.

“Your Majesty,” You chastise.

“Steve. Please, please. Call me, Steve.” He begs, leaning up to kiss your neck.

You shut your eyes; lips slightly parted as he pulls your leg up higher against the side of his hips.

“I c-can’t.” You gasp, breathless.

“I’m going to make you scream it.” He whispers into your ear and your body is red hot metal iron, heated until pliable.

As his tongue traces the shape of your ear, a heaviness begins to settle on your chest. Your lungs struggle to pull in a breath, and your heart is racing but not in excitement.

“No.”

And as if a sudden gust of wind has blown out his flame, his Majesty pulls back, hands move to your waist again, and he gives you a bit of space.

“No, I…I can’t.” You shake your head, disappointment flooding your chest as the fear and tightness there takes hold.

“I…” But you don’t need to go on.

“I’m sorry, my flower. Forgive me. I’m a little eager.” He says, his caressing hands trying to reassure you that you are safe.

“I-I’m eager too, I just…”

“I know it wasn’t good with me.” His Majesty suddenly says. “And our wedding night was—I will never forgive myself for what I did to you.”

“You’ve said that before.” You point out, feeling calmer by the second.

“And it will never stop being true. I did something unforgivable and somehow you’re able to love me still.” He reaches up to stroke your cheek.

“We love you.” You remind him, then reach for his hand and drag it down to your stomach. “Both of us.”

His Majesty is all smiles. As he continues to stare and as he feels your barely there bump, his eyes grow misty.

“Thank you.” He gushes. “For giving me this gift. For coming back home. For putting up with me.”

You nod. “Thank you for trying.”

He dives down to kiss your belly, nuzzling it with his nose as you slip your hands into his hair hesitantly.

Will he like the affection? You’re almost afraid to give it.

As your fingers card through his hair, he relaxes more and shuts his eyes.

“How much time do we have until the feast?” You wonder, looking towards the window at the day outside.

“Hours.” He says weakly.

“I’m tired.” You tell him, hoping that if all of this devotion is really true, he’ll try to make you feel better.

“You’re tired?” He worries, sitting back again to look at you.

“Yes. But I don’t want to part with you yet.” You admit. “Do you have anything to do this afternoon?”

“Nothing.” He says eagerly.

“Will you lay with me?” You hope he doesn’t see through your ruse and even if he does, that he’ll pretend not to.

“Yes!” He says, too eager. “Yes, of course.”

Carefully he helps you to your feet.

He’s just like Nat and Grandmother already, protective. Watchful.

You peel off the top robe, the thicker one, and set it aside then move towards your bed as you tie up the first, much thinner one.

Dry, it sways around you smoothly as you climb into bed and look for his Majesty.

He watches you from the foot of the bed, a look of concern on his face.

“The last time we were here I wasn’t-”

It’s true, you don’t have good memories with him in this bed, but you’re eager to change that.

“Come.” You tap his side of the bed. “I’m cold.”

Like someone has kicked his bottom, he springs forward to his side of the bed and climbs in quickly.

He lays down. Feet hanging off the bed.

With a frown you move over to them and undo his boots.

“I’ll do that.” He makes to sit up, but you push him back with surprising force.

You make quick work of his shoes and then lay beside him before you roll into the circle of his arms and press your hands against his chest.

He’s hesitant, his arms hovering around you loosely.

“Don’t you want to hold me?” You probe, eyes already shut.

Tight arms pull you close, leaving you in no doubt that he does indeed want to hold you.

It takes ten minutes of his hands gently stroking your back before they still and you peek to find him fast asleep, mouth slightly open.

You shut your own eyes and hope this isn’t a dream.

#king!steve x reader #king!steve rogers x reader #king!steve x you #steve rogers x reader #steve x reader #marvel fanfiction #mcu fanfiction #medieval au #royal au #arranged marriage au #avengers x reader

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curedeity · 3 years

Text

Summary: After a late night working, Hikaru and Tsubasa hang out, with Kyoya along for the ride. Quiet conversations are had in the dead of night. (These three deserved to hang out, fight me)

Work was strewn across the table as Hikaru and Tsubasa shuffled through paper after paper. There were emails to be sent to publicity companies, bladers to invite, a stadium to reserve, hotels to contact for discounts for participants. Planning a tournament certainly was a monumental effort of organization.

No matter how many tournaments Tsubasa had helped organize, he never really got used to the amount of work that came with them, and from the mounting frustration on Hikaru’s face, it was clearly the same for her.

Hikaru sipped the cup of coffee in front of her, despite the fact that it was nearing midnight. The tournament would be in two weeks, and to stay on schedule she would need to start sending out notifications for the necessary tournament officials already. They’d need a nurse on scene, security, an announcer, etc.

Kyoya sat on the couch, every so often looking over at the duo and raising an eyebrow. Tsubasa had invited him to stay in his house while Kyoya prepared to participate in the tournament. When Kyoya had agreed though, he hadn't expected to watch this duo run themselves ragged every night.

Wasn’t his concern though, he continued to half-listen to whatever was playing on the television.

“What do you think about using the Piffling Advertising Agency?” Tsubasa mumbled as he fumbled through some files on his computer.

“I think they have a good enough track record,” Hikaru rubbed at her eyes as she tried to remember. So much about planning tournaments was just remembering past experiences, but her brain had begun to pull blanks. Who were the agencies that had done good work in the past? Which DJ was best for hometown crowds?

Tsubasa hummed and started to type out an email to them. Thankfully, they already had a draft format for emails like this, and now he had to just fill in all the openings.

Kyoya went over and grabbed a soda can from the fridge, popping it open and drinking as he watched the duo slowly try to focus on their computers. This was just a waste of time at this point. With a sigh, he resigned himself to having to get the duo to bed. “Yo,” he tried to get their attention, but they barely even flinched. “Yo!” He repeated again, slamming his hand down onto the table.

In an instant Hikaru had her launcher pointed at him and Tsubasa had knocked a sheaf of papers off the table.

“Take a break you two, you ain’t getting nothing done anymore,” Kyoya snarled at them.

“The fuck was that for?” Hikaru hissed back at him, her chest heaving with uneven breaths. Tsubasa nodded in agreement as he turned to tiredly glare at Kyoya.

“Listen, if you both want to stay up the next hour trying to write just a single email because you’re too tired to focus, that’s your choice, but you’d be using your time much better if you just slept.” Kyoya rolled his eyes at the two dumbasses. He would’ve thought that with the duo working for the WBBA they’d have learned how to manage a workload, but apparently not.

Hikaru sighed as she realized the truth behind his statement and cast her eyes toward the clock. It was really time to just turn-in for the night, there was no way she could focus now.

“You wanna stay here instead of having to get back to your apartment?” Tsubasa asked her. He gestured at the couch, indicating it was hers for the taking. This wouldn’t be the first time either had crashed at the other's house, they’d spent many nights up late working together, and getting home was a bit of a pain.

Besides, Hikaru had been on the blading circuit for a while, she could fall asleep almost anywhere.

Hikaru collapsed onto the couch while Tsubasa wandered into his room, Kyoya sat at the table to finish drinking his soda. The whole house fell into silence.

But no one was able to fall asleep.

Hikaru groaned as she sat up and turned back on the TV. If she couldn’t fall asleep, at least a break would still do her some good. She curled up and pulled a blanket over her limbs as she watched whatever was playing with bleary eyes.

It seemed to be a romance movie. But there was also some magic going on, so maybe there would be some interesting action.

“Can’t sleep either?” Tsubasa asked her as he joined her on the couch, having given up on getting his own rest.

Hikaru flicked him. “I drank a shitton of coffee, what’s your excuse?”

“Being an insomniac,” Tsubasa deadpanned. The bags underneath his eyes supported his claim.

“Take some melatonin then,” Hikaru grumbled as she shared the blanket with him.

Tsubasa hummed and ignored her. “What are we watching?”

“Not whatever this is,” Kyoya interrupted, grabbing the remote and switching the channel. He was not going to put up with watching whatever crap that had been. Within a few seconds, he settled on a cheap spy movie.

“Hey look Tsubasa, it’s you,” Hikaru commented as the spy got caught almost immediately.

Tsubasa didn’t even have a response for that.

Kyoya got up from the table and started moving around, shuffling through the junk that had begun collecting around the house. He wasn’t really tired either, but the movie couldn’t hold his attention span, and sitting around was grating on his nerves.

“What even is that cell?” Tsubasa mumbled as the spy was thrown into what seemed to be the flimsiest jail cell ever. The bars were so far apart that it looked like a person could strut out of there, and the padlock at the door looked like a tap would open it.

“Paper mache,” Hikaru guessed, her face perfectly flat.

Kyoya rummaged through a collection of small bottles before lifting one up and wiggling it at Tsubasa. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you with nail polish on,” he commented.

Tsubasa broke away from the TV and looked at what Kyoya was holding, his tired brain taking an extra second to process what had been said. “Yeah, I guess I haven’t been putting it on recently. Been too busy with everything. Used to wear nail polish often though,” Tsubasa shrugged.

Hikaru wiggled out of the blankets and padded over to look at Tsubasa’s collection. She let out a low whistle. “Damn Tsubasa, you got a lot here.”

Kyoya picked up as many bottles as he could hold and walked over to the ground in front of the couch, where he sat everything down. “Come on nerds, let me show you how to properly paint nails.”

Tsubasa rolled his eyes and slid out from under the blanket to join Kyoya on the ground. Hikaru joined them as well, looking at Kyoya with a hint of teasing in her gaze.

“Which of you wants to go first?” Kyoya asked, gazing at the rainbow of colors he had brought over.

Tsubasa shrugged. “Sure, show me what you can do.”

Kyoya pulled out a bottle of purple nail polish and began painting a thin first layer over each of Tsubasa’s fingers. His hands were surprisingly steady as he moved, with barely a drop of nail polish staining the skin. True artistry being performed in the dead of night.

Hikaru had decided that braiding Tsubasa’s hair would be a good use of her time while she awaited her turn, even then she only had half her attention on it, the other half on the movie.

The spy was now making plans with the prisoner in the cell next to his, who he seemed to be slowly falling in love with. Somehow, he still hadn’t broken out. Hikaru was pretty sure he could slip through the bars without a bit of effort.

She stood up and went to heat up some popcorn for the group. Well, mostly for her because Tsubasa couldn’t eat with wet paint on his nails, and Kyoya wouldn’t want to get his grip oily. She laughed at the look of betrayal Tsubasa sent her when he figured that out.

“You’re gonna want to eat the quick, ‘cause you’ll be up soon,” Kyoya grumbled as he applied the second layer to Tsubasa. “Eagle boy, you gotta stop picking at your nails, these are so uneven.”

“Fuck off,” Tsubasa responded.

Hikaru went into the bathroom and got a nail file for them, resisting the urge to throw it for emphasis. It was sharp, her brain reminded her, you cannot throw sharp things, that’s how people get stabbed and in the hospital.

Tsubasa already had enough hospital trips under his belt.

“Tsubasa, do you wear any other makeup?” She asked as settled back down beside him.

He couldn’t shrug with his hands needing to remain still, so he purposefully kept his body motionless as he responded, “Some eyeshadow sometimes.”

Kyoya rolled his eyes. “I think I remember seeing you once in that, please tell me you were just tired that day and that’s not normally how you put on eyeshadow, otherwise I’m going to have to confiscate it all from you until you learn to do it properly.”

“I look amazing fuck you,” Tsubasa deadpanned.

“I’m sure you do,” Hikaru agreed dryly, flicking his hair. “So, you the makeup expert here then Kyoya?”

“Seems so, do you even wear makeup?” Kyoya asked.

“Not often,” Hikaru replied. “I know how to put on a full face of makeup, but I don’t want to put in that much effort or want to look like that every day. I wear lipstick every once in a while though.”

“On the days you go out for lunch with Madoka,” Tsubasa added in, shooting her a sly smile.

Kyoya retracted the brush just in time for Hikaru to punch Tsubasa in the shoulder.

The spy and the other captive seemed to have escaped their imprisonment and were now kissing on screen.

“Put your hands back into place dumbass I’m almost done,” Kyoya huffed.

“She’s the one who hit me!” Tsubasa protested as he did as he was told.

Hikaru stuck her tongue out at him.

In a few deft strokes, Kyoya completed his work, and Tsubasa lifted his hands up and started fanning them.

“Alright, you’re next,” Kyoya gestured at Hikaru, and she and Tsubasa swapped places. “What color do you want?” He droned as he already was trying to think of what colors would go with her.

“Blue,” Hikaru answered immediately, which came as no surprise to either of the boys in the room. Her entire wardrobe was made up of blues. “It’s a good color!” She defended herself as Tsubasa snickered.

Kyoya pulled out a royal blue and began to get to work.

The spy was now running through a base, a gun in his hands as he shot at the group of enemies.

“Is he even trying to be discreet?” Tsubasa critiqued, grabbing a few pieces of popcorn for himself.

“I dunno Tsubasa, you’re the only one of us who’s actually worked as a spy,” Hikaru said slyly.

“Is that what spying’s like,” Kyoya deadpanned, earning a cackle from Hikaru. “Don’t move dammit!”

Tsubasa shook his head, a breath of air whooshing out from between his teeth, “If you want to continue talking about my undercover activities Kyoya, maybe we should also talk about the time you and Gingka’s gang tried to break into the Dark Nebula. That’s a lot closer to what’s actually going on onscreen.”

Kyoya whipped his hair up to glare at Tsubasa while Hikaru turned around just as fast to look at him with excitement. “Don’t you dare,” Kyoya warned him.

“I don’t think I’ve heard about this escapade,” Hikaru grinned. “So they tried to break into the Dark Nebula?”

Kyoya grumbled as he resigned himself to this.

“Yes, there was security footage of the event. Yu used to watch it for fun so he could shittalk about what a terrible infiltration it was. I believe it was when Kyoya truly defined his tactic of hitting walls until they collapse,” Tsubasa shared a smile with Hikaru.

“And it worked damn well,” Kyoya huffed.

“Sure it did sweetie,” Tsubasa responded without sparing him a glance.

Kyoya growled as the other two returned their attention to the movie.

“Alright then bastard, you’re done,” he declared, pushing Hikaru away. She giggled and repositioned herself against the couch, fanning her own hands.

Kyoya got ready to return the bottles, but Tsubasa laid his hand atop of his, stopping him momentarily. “Come on Kyoya,” Tsubasa said, reaching over and grabbing a bottle of forest green polish. “You did it for us, let me do it for you.”

Kyoya laid out his hands and watched Tsubasa slowly paint his nails. Tsubasa’s brushes weren’t quite as neat as his, but he was completely focused on the task, his braid falling down to brush against the floor as he leaned over Kyoya’s hand.

The movie ended with the evil base being blown up. Hikaru was disappointed by how underwhelming the explosion was. She vocalized that very vociferously.

They put on some soft music as Kyoya let his nails dry. Hikaru had already fallen asleep against the couch, and Tsubasa draped a blanket over her. They didn’t talk much, only a few whispered comments here and there as Tsubasa cleaned off his Earth Eagle.

Within half an hour, both boys were asleep against the couch as well.

The next day, Tsubasa and Hikaru went into work, their laptops open in front of them with their fingers click-click-clicking away. Both of their nails shone as the light hit them, Tsubasa’s being painted a soft purple with gold glitter, and Hikaru’s a deep blue with pink sparkles. Kyoya went into training and carefully didn’t chip his dark green with silver glitter painted nails as he did launch after launch.

And if they happened to do their nails more often when they hung out now? Well, none of their friends commented on it more than a few nice compliments.

#beyblade #beyblade metal fight #beyblade metal fusion #its just hikaru tsubasa and kyoya hanging out AS THEY DESERVE #fanfiction #fanfic #swearing #these three have so much narrative potential surrounding each other

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rexsjaigeyes · 4 years

Text

Tease - Part 3

Steve Murphy x female reader | NSFW, 18+ only

[Part 1] [Part 2]

Words: 4,100

Warnings: oral sex (female receiving), unprotected sex

A/N: I am sorry that this took so long but damn I think I delivered ;) Here’s the ending you were all waiting for!

You weren’t sure why you thought this would be a good idea, but you had already made the long journey to the American Embassy in the hopes that you could find Steve. The only problem was that your desire to find him made you momentarily forget that the farthest you could go within the Embassy was the reception area. And since he didn’t tell you exactly what he did there, you weren’t sure how you were going to find him. Hell, you didn’t even know his last name.

This was a stupid idea; the logical side of your brain finally kicked in and berated you for wasting your time coming here. But the romantic side of your brain didn’t want to give up so easily.

It wouldn’t be long before the staff realized that you weren’t there for any important reason, so you quickly glanced around, trying to create a last-minute plan. Luckily, you saw a familiar man walk into the building at that moment.

Shit, what was his name again? Something with a ‘J’....

“Javier!’ You called out for him enthusiastically, catching his attention before he strayed too far.

He whipped his head in your direction, his face scrunched up in a fleeting look of confusion before he recognized you. You made your way over to him with an apologetic grimace on your face as you realized you had called out his name a bit too loudly.

When you stopped in front of him, he chuckled in disbelief while you tried to figure out what to say without sounding like an idiot. He was your only ticket into the Embassy so that you could find Steve, so you didn’t want to screw this up.

“Uh, I don’t know if you remember me,” you nervously started saying before he cut you off.

“You’re the girl from the bar.”

You were briefly stunned into silence at how he remembered you; it had been a while since you met him.

“Yeah,” you stuttered, “I uh– I came here to see Steve. Do you think you could take me to him?”

He took a second to think about it, his eyebrow raising as he looked at you and then at the Embassy staff. You stuck your lips out in a little pout before he nodded reluctantly and gestured for you to follow him.

As you walked through the hallways, Javier glanced at you over his shoulder with a look that said he had questions about why you came to the Embassy to see Steve. It looked like he knew something you didn’t, but neither of you wanted to bring up the awkward subject as you walked through the long corridors.

At the end of a long hallway, the two of you reached a locked door with a special logo on it, and you finally discovered what exactly Steve and Javier do at the Embassy. He unlocked the door and held it open for you to walk through.

“DEA, huh?” You asked curiously. “Now I know why you were so vague about it when we met.”

“It’s not something we like to advertise,” he responded and led you to a small office.

You followed Javier into the office and your heart skipped a beat as you set your eyes on Steve. He looked good, wearing a navy and white-striped polo under a brown leather jacket.

“Murphy, I’ve got someone here who wants to talk to you,” Javier announced as he walked further into the room.

Well at least now I know his last name.

Steve had a concentrated look on his face as he stared at a folder full of papers on his desk. He sighed in exasperation, not bothering to look up at Javier before speaking.

“I’m kinda busy here, Javi. I don’t have time–” He froze as he looked up from the papers and saw you standing awkwardly besides Javier.

“Hi Steve,” you muttered softly, feeling guilty that you interrupted whatever work he was doing.

The tension in the room was thick, and out of the corner of your eye, you saw Javier fidget before deciding it was his time to leave.

“Uh, I’m gonna leave you guys to it.” He gave you a polite nod and said, “Steve can show you out when you’re done.”

Once he was out of the room, Steve seemed to snap out of his brief trance and quickly got out of his seat to greet you properly.

He said your name softly, shock evident on his face. “Uh, what are you doing here? How did you–”

“I remembered you said you worked at the Embassy,” you explained with a sheepish grin. “Javier helped me get in, though. I didn’t really think this plan through all the way.”

Steve chuckled, still looking surprised that you had come all this way to see him. His eyebrows were furrowed in confusion, and you could tell he had questions but didn’t know how to ask them, so you saved him the trouble.

“I saw you… last night,” you said hesitantly. “I tried calling out to you but I guess you didn’t hear me.”

“Last night?” He asked with a small grimace.

“Uh, yeah,” you responded, unsure why he looked a little embarrassed about it. “You were in front of the bar where we, um met.”

Damn, this whole conversation sounded better in your head when you had practiced it this morning. You wished the ground would open up and swallow you, but there wasn’t any turning back now.

“Anyway, I just– I decided to come here because I wanted to see if you’d like to go out with me sometime.” You paused and waited for a response from him, but he just looked at you with wide, surprised eyes. “I’d love to get to know you better,” you said, hoping he’d say something to cut through the awkward silence in the room.

After what felt like minutes of silence, he finally placed his hands on his hips and cocked his head to one side. You noticed that his cheeks were flushed, and you wondered what was going through his head.

“Uh, yeah I’d like that,” he answered with a small smile as he looked down at you.

You couldn’t stop the wide grin from growing on your face as you took in how cute he looked with his face tinted red.

“Yeah?” You asked, chuckling softly at how nervous you had felt minutes ago.

“Of course, I’d love to go out with you,” he said more confidently this time. “It’s a relief actually. I thought you were dating someone,” he muttered with a grimace as he saw the questioning look you gave him. Knowing what the question would be, he explained, “I saw you with that guy last night. I thought–”

Realization dawned on you and you interrupted him with a smug grin on your face. “Oh my god, you were jealous of some guy you saw walking with me?”

Steve groaned softly as you started laughing at how stupid he was for assuming you were dating the guy you were with last night. He chuckled as he watched you get a kick out of his idiocy.

“Hey, I had a few too many drinks, alright? Could’ve happened to anyone,” he explained with a smile, raising his hands in defeat and leaning closer to you as your laughter died down.

You caught your breath and looked up at him with a more serious expression. “Well don’t let it happen again,” you scolded and stepped closer to him. You rested your hands on his chest, wishing you could kiss him to reassure him there was nothing to be jealous about. “If I hadn’t come here, you would have never seen me again. So don’t jump to conclusions like that.”

He nodded as he looked down at you, his hands moving to hold onto your hips. The two of you stood there, staring into each other’s eyes for a moment before you remembered where you were and slowly pulled away from him.

You licked your lips and confirmed, “So, a date. How’s tomorrow at eight sound?”

Steve smirked and moved over to his desk to tidy up the mess of papers scattered all over. “Yeah, that sounds good. It’s getting pretty late actually, so how about I give you a ride home and we can exchange contact information there?”

You blushed at how sweet he was and decided to take him up on his offer. You didn’t miss the knowing look that Javi threw your way as you and Steve left the Embassy together, so you winked at him as you walked past.

Steve was a gentleman, opening the doors for you and keeping his hand on your lower back as he guided you to his car. The drive to your apartment was not as awkward as you had expected it to be. Luckily, Steve broke the ice first and the conversation between you two flowed easily after that.

Before you knew it, he had arrived at your apartment and you were wishing the night didn’t have to end so soon. He got out of the car and opened your door for you before helping you out. As the two of you stood under the faint light of the moon, you twiddled your thumbs and thought of a way to ask him if he wanted to spend the night.

“Um, do you–” both of you tried to speak at the same time, causing Steve to laugh softly and motion for you to talk first.

You sighed and decided to just go for it. “Do you wanna come inside?” You bit your lip, hoping he’d agree because even though you barely knew him, you felt like you missed him.

He exhaled softly with a grin, as if he was relieved that you had asked him to join you. “Lead the way,” he said and followed you inside your apartment.

Your heart was beating out of your chest as you took him inside and gestured for him to take a seat on the couch. You knew you shouldn’t have been so nervous, but you couldn’t help it. It felt surreal that after all this time, you finally had him where you wanted him.

It didn’t help that he was still just as attractive and kind as he was the day that you met him. You felt like you couldn’t tear your eyes off him, and the way he looked at you made your stomach do flips.

“Can I get you some water?” You asked and walked into your kitchen after he nodded ‘yes’.

You tried not to show how much your hands were shaking as you walked back to the couch with two glasses of water, handing one to him as you sat beside him. Both of you drank a sip in silence. It felt like you both knew what you wanted, but didn’t know how to say it without being so blunt.

“This is a nice place,” Steve said as he placed the glass down on your coffee table.

Yet again, you were grateful for the way that he was able to break the silence so easily. You placed your glass beside his as you thanked him, the movement causing you to briefly lean closer to Steve’s body and he noticed. He looked at you intently, his gaze flickering to your lips.

Somehow, the gap between your bodies on the couch got smaller as he gently placed one hand on your cheek, his thumb brushing over the corner of your mouth.

“I haven’t stopped thinking about you since that day,” he confessed, his eyes getting darker as he kept glancing down at your lips. He was so close that he only needed to whisper and his raspy voice made you shiver. “Tell me you feel the same way.”

You nodded in response, your breathing speeding up as he leaned even closer to your body, his lips ghosting over yours. Feeling impatient, you grabbed the collar of his jacket and crashed your lips against his. He reacted with equal fervor, his hand gripping the back of your neck tightly and holding you in place as he nipped on your bottom lip.

His other hand slid down your body until it reached your lower back so that he could nudge you onto his lap. He moved your small body with ease, never breaking the kiss as you straddled his lap and pressed your body against his.

With the new position, he was able to grope your ass through your skirt. His large hands squeezed you harshly, making you gasp from the feeling. It was the same move he pulled when you danced with him, but it still worked, giving him the chance to slide his tongue inside your mouth. One of his hands returned to the back of your neck to keep you from squirming too far away, and just like that, he was controlling every movement like he did in the bar. Your body was pliant to his touch, his hands pushing you down harder against his lap.

Steve grunted against your mouth when he felt you grind down on the growing bulge in his pants. You held onto his shoulders and gyrated your hips, dragging your hot core against his lap. The friction of your lace panties rubbing against your clit made sparks shoot through your body.

Breaking away from the kiss, you panted heavily. “Fuck, Steve,” you were gasping and frantically pulling at his jacket. “I need you,” you begged with swollen lips and made another pass over his crotch to emphasize your desperation.

He held onto your hips and got off the couch, carrying you effortlessly as you wrapped your legs around his waist. “Where’s the bedroom?” He muttered and looked around as you kissed his neck.

You hummed and pointed in the direction of your bedroom lazily before running your hands through his hair. He got you there in record time and fell onto the bed with you still clinging onto him.

“Hm, take your clothes off,” you whispered and started clawing at his shirt.

He let go of you and quickly slipped out of his jacket, throwing it in the corner of the room. The two of you worked on taking off each item of clothing separating your bodies. It was messy and frantic. Once both of you were left in your underwear, Steve stopped you from making another hasty movement.

“What’s wrong?” You asked and looked at him nervously, wondering if he had changed his mind.

He let go of your hand and caressed the side of your body, running his fingers over your bra strap and leaning down to kiss your shoulder. “We had to rush last time.” His fingers hooked into each of the straps and pulled them down your shoulders before peppering kisses over the swell of your breasts. “I wanna take my time now,” he whispered in between his kisses.

You gasped as his hand covered the entirety of one of your tits before squeezing it gently through your bra. Your breath hitched when he pulled your bra down slightly so that he could tease your nipple. He grunted for you to take off your bra and watched as you threw it to the side, your nipples turning hard from the exposure to the cool air.

“Beautiful,” he murmured and brushed the pad of his thumb against one nipple, causing your back to arch off the bed slightly.

He leaned back down, his tongue flattening against your nipple before sucking it into his mouth. You moaned for him, loving the way his teeth scraped against the hard bud as he expertly swirled his tongue around it. The feeling went straight to your pussy and you knew you were probably soaking through your thin panties.

As if he read your mind, his hand wandered down your stomach before sliding under the waistband of your underwear. You writhed underneath him as his fingers met your aching clit. He tapped it teasingly before dipping lower and swiping up and down your entrance to feel your arousal.

“Fuck,” he muttered against your breast, “you’re so wet for me already.” He didn’t sound too surprised about it; in fact, you could swear you felt him smirk as he placed another kiss on your nipple and started making a path down your body.

You shuddered as he slowly shimmied down the bed until his face was hovering over your hips. He looked up at you, his eyebrows raised as he chuckled in satisfaction from how needy you looked. Resting his hands on your thighs, he pushed your legs further apart so that he could get a better look at your pussy.

You watched him look down with a grin before he kissed your thighs. He took his time pressing kisses on each leg until he reached your panties and placed a gentle kiss right above your clit through the lace. You gasped, able to feel how hot his lips were even through the fabric. Noticing your reaction, he kissed you there again, but this time, he stuck his tongue out and flicked it over your clit, making you jolt from the sensation.

“Steve, please,” you whined and grabbed his hair in desperation.

You heard him chuckle softly before he hooked his fingers into the waistband of your panties and pulled them down your legs. He tossed them away and spread your legs again, pushing down on your thighs so that he could see every inch of you clearly.

He groaned softly at the sight of you before laying down on the bed and using his thumbs to brush over your entrance, spreading you open. You shuddered when you felt his tongue tease your slick cunt, just licking it lightly. He was teasing you, but with his hands holding you firmly in place, you couldn’t move your hips to meet his mouth.

Steve moaned and licked another stripe up your pussy before muttering, “Fuck, you taste so good.”

His words made your eyes roll to the back of your head and you knew you were gripping his hair too tight, but he didn’t seem to mind. You gasped and bucked your hips, desperate for more. His tongue slid up your cunt until his mouth latched around your clit, sucking on it gently.

“Oh god, just like that,” you moaned enthusiastically, his full lips felt like heaven as he swirled his tongue around the aching bud.

He hummed, causing vibrations that made sparks shoot through your body as you wriggled underneath him. His hands held your thighs so tightly that you were sure it would cause bruises, but in that moment it felt so good.

You threw your head back against the mattress, arching your back as you felt the pleasure building in the pit of your stomach. “Fuck, I’m so close,” you whimpered, but as soon as you uttered the words, he stopped what he was doing.

Looking down at him in disappointment, you whined breathily, “Why did you stop?”

Steve pulled away from you, letting go of your thighs while licking your arousal off his lips with a smirk. “As much as I’d love to taste you,” he said in a low voice, “I want you to cum while I’m inside you.”

He pulled down his underwear and threw it onto the pile of clothes in the corner of your room. You bit your lip as you stared at his hard length, impatient to feel it inside you. Steve wrapped his arms around your torso and pulled you off the bed so that he could sit against the bedframe with you straddling his lap. Your breathing was heavy from how close you were to an orgasm, and now your heart was beating out of your chest from being so close to him.

“Come here,” he grunted, pressing your chest against his as he pulled you into a kiss.

You could faintly taste your arousal on his lips as he groaned into the kiss. One of his hands massaged your breast while the other slid down your back before he was nudging you against his hard cock.

You got the hint, so you lifted your hips and gently held the base of his dick so that you could position yourself before sinking down on his length. He pulled away from your lips slightly, moaning against your jaw and biting down on your neck as he bottomed out inside you.

You whimpered from how well he filled you, your head fell back as his strong hands held you impossibly close to his body. You took a second to adjust to how he stretched you out, relishing in the way his fingernails dug into your skin as he waited.

Finally, you started rocking your hips, causing Steve to groan and grip the back of your neck to bring your lips back to his. It was like he couldn’t get enough of you. He had you pressed so close to his body that you felt like you could feel his heartbeat pounding in his chest.

Your hands ran through his hair before settling on his shoulders so that you had something to help you bounce on his cock. He thrusted his hips, slowly starting to gain a rhythm now. Soft praises left his mouth, telling you how good you were for him and how he loved the way you felt around his cock. His words fueled your desire, making you drag your nails down his chest as you bounced faster.

His mouth was all over you, leaving sweet kisses wherever he could reach. One hand was touching you all over, brushing over your nipples or groping your ass while the other stayed around your neck to keep you close. He snapped his hips in time to yours, his thrusts getting faster and more erratic. You couldn’t stop the loud sounds from leaving your lips as you gasped and moaned for him, letting him know how well he was fucking you.

“Don’t stop,” you whined, feeling yourself get closer to the edge.

“You gonna cum for me?” He asked, his voice muffled as he kissed and nipped your neck.

You moaned and nodded your head, bouncing frantically on his cock. He groaned as your walls clenched and spasmed around him.

“Fuck,” he grunted, “cum with me, that’s it.”

You moaned loudly as pleasure shot through your body and you came undone. Steve shuddered and bit down on your shoulder, reaching his orgasm at the same time. You milked his cock, both of you gasping from how intense the feeling was.

He kissed your neck and jaw as you caught your breath, your body shaking from the aftershock. He muttered sweet nothings against your skin, his hands caressing your body before slowly lifting you off his dick.

Whimpering softly, you felt his cum dribble out of your cunt as he pulled out and helped you lay back on the bed. You giggled from the way Steve was being so loving and attentive, peppering kisses all over your body and soothing the places he had left bruises.

He laid down beside you, his hand resting on your hip bone and pulling you close to his chest. You stared into his baby blue eyes before kissing his cheek in a silent ‘thank you’. He smiled and stopped you from pulling away so that he could kiss you properly, his mustache tickling your lips.

Steve hummed and broke the kiss, his breathing growing steady. “Damn it,” he muttered, “what am I gonna tell my date tomorrow?” He joked with a wide grin.

You lightly slapped his chest and laughed, realizing how silly the whole situation was. “You know, I think we’re going through the dating process in the wrong order.” You looked up at him, trying to stifle your laughter as he pretended to look surprised.

“Wait, you’re telling me this isn’t how normal people date?”

“Shut up,” you scoffed and hit him again for making such a stupid joke.

“Hey, this whole thing was your fault anyway,” he said with a sly smile on his face.

“Oh yeah, and why’s that?” You asked.

“Well if you hadn’t been such a tease that night…” he drawled and let his hands wander down your body as his sentence trailed off.

Rolling your eyes, you moved to straddle him on the bed and held his arms down against the pillows. “Hm, well I can show you what real teasing is like,” you whispered seductively before shutting him up with a kiss.

--------

Steve Murphy tag list: @sirianfromsixties @mijachula @sabinemorans @moonlightmvrvel

Let me know if you wanna be added to my Steve tag list!

#divswrites #narcos #narcos fanfic #narcos fanfiction #narcos smut #steve murphy #steve murphy x reader #steve murphy fanfiction #steve murphy fanfic #steve murphy x you #steve murphy x y/n #steve murphy smut #boyd holbrook

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halothenthehorns · 3 years

Text

All in the Family

Chapter 29: The Dueling Club

Peter found it a genuine relief, once his head stopped ringing, to find themselves not in Hogwarts for now. There was just too much going on in their school that was giving him the creeps, too much trouble Harry kept getting into that they somehow managed to follow.

His confusion still rose of where exactly they were. There were glass cases lined all along the walls and a metal bar protruding from the wall in front of all that as if it were any kind of deterrent, and it took a few moments before he could get to his feet and peak into the nearest one, prepared to dart away the second another dangerous thing lunged out. Instead he found a strange, very tiny little creature with rough brown skin and buggering blue eyes. There were three prongs coming out the back of its head, but four legs that seemed webbed in appearance and a flat tail. His eyes swept down further and he saw a plaque reading Axolotl- Ambystoma mexicanum, with some description of the beast. Looking more properly now along the way again he saw the same type of thing in front of every display. They were in a reptile house.

He'd been to the zoo a few times in his youth, but his mum being a seamstress meant they hadn't much money and it had been a treat. As far as they knew Harry had only been the one time, but that didn't explain why they were here now. Up until this point they'd been following Harry along, this seemed rather out of the way.

"Hey, I think I found the boa Harry was talking to," Frank said as he eyed a great mound of green coils snoozing away.

"I don't think so," Alice corrected. "I distinctly recall that one being brown, and a Brazilian boa. The Emerald's are from Brazil, but not the right species."

"Maybe they don't have it on display anymore," Lily muttered, thinking that whether it had escaped captivity or been caught, someone likely wouldn't want it on sight anymore.*

"Oi, I found a door that opened!" Sirius whooped in triumph, keeping the book loosely under his arm as he sucked in the fresh air. "How about we put this nasty business on hold lads and get some space, I've never been to a zoo before!"

"That was just sad," Remus told him at once, and Peter was more than happy to follow them out of this place. Too many things in here would find him a snack, in both bodies he could assume.

"I want to see the Dudley gorilla," James agreed as he darted past, coming almost at once to a fork in the road. He didn't even hesitate, high on pure energy he darted right and took off at full speed still shouting about all the animals he wanted to see.

"I vote Wormtail fetches him," Remus smirked.

"You literally just used a Padfoot joke on me, I can't decide if I'm offended or flattered," Peter rolled his eyes as he strolled past the two, who were clearly enjoying the clear skies and shady foliage more.

"Go with flattered and do what he says," Sirius suggested.

Peter was already doing so, scoffing about the two turning into layabouts, but turning into a jog to keep James in sight as he took a left. He finally caught up to him as he was bouncing in place and reading the plaque of a reindeer. "Look, look it Wormie! My distant cousins!"

"Prongs, you know just because you can turn into one doesn't mean-"

"Shhh! Don't spoil my fun, think I can get in there with them? Bet I can be king of the herd!"

"James, I really wouldn't recommend-"

He was being ignored, he'd already slipped under the wooden boards and was standing in the space in between, fingers pressed into the mesh gate, eyeing the top as if he could gauge how far the jump was. "Wonder why they only have males in there," he said absently as he tried to fit a trainer into the metal.

"This is one of the few species of deer where females can grow prongs to, I'm sure they're in there," Peter said in resignation as he managed to get both feet off the ground, but stayed there for a moment rather than lifting himself higher.

James hesitated, trying to stretch his arm up higher to get more purchase without toppling over, but couldn't get his feet in well enough to manage such a thing. "Where's Sirius?" He demanded as he wobbled dangerously, looking for more backup than Peter's silent unsupport.

"He and Moony were taking their sweet time while you ran off."

"Been noticing that a lot lately," James groused as he let himself loose and hit the ground, deciding to focus on this. Of course he could have made the climb if he wanted to...it just would have been easier if he'd had his broom.

"Yeah," Peter agreed, keeping the bitterness entirely out of his voice as James acknowledged this as well.

"Probably just catching each other up on every mundane detail Pads missed the past month," James sighed, even as he did gaze back curiously.

"Wasn't much to miss," Peter reminded.

James ignored this, no need to go back and reminisce how quiet their life had somehow gotten with one of their numbers not on speaking terms, so grabbed hold of Peter and began towing him further on. "Oh well, they'll catch up. I saw an exhibit for meerkats isn't far off, let's go see your cousins Pete!"

"I think this place got the sign for this one wrong," Frank told Alice as he inspected the odd creature before him. "That's clearly some kind of zebra."

"Says here an Okapi is a subspecies of giraffes and zebras," Alice agreed. Shrugging at how odd Muggels were for their many sciences, especially in naming creatures. The two moved on, stopping with increasing frequency and more than happy to have Lily around whenever they ran across something odd, like a cart full of bobble-heads.

She seemed to be in a radiant mood, having tied her hair up and was all but skipping ahead of them and only rounded back when they called out a question to her. When curiosity had gotten the better of her and Alice had finally asked why, she'd just smiled and admitted, "the peace and quiet is nice."

It was true they hadn't heard a word of the book yet, which was rather odd, and they wondered if distance had finally pulled the magic too far and they didn't even know if the Marauders were continuing the story somewhere else. Only Frank seemed disappointed in this prospect, the mystery of that monster at Hogwarts still on his mind, they could be missing clues. He was having far too much fun though to really offer the complaint, and didn't dare suggest actually hunting the lot down, bringing the girls moods with this.

"Let's go find the birdhouse," Lily suggested, her eyes sparkling with excitement. They spotted a huge dome like structure in the distance which must have been what caught her eye and easily kept pace with her as she kept up a happy babble. Alice suddenly realized this was really the most she'd heard her talk since this began. "I love birds, did you know their bones are hollow, but still incredibly strong. You can't just snap them in half like a chicken bone."

"Do you own an owl?" Frank asked kindly, but to his surprise the smile dropped from her face.

"No, ah, my parents won't allow it." Her answer sounded very diplomatic, but Frank still regretted asking, having brought her mood back so low.

"My sister, really," she tacked on defensively, her tone edging harder every word now. "She, err, I've asked, but she hates animals, and my parents, err, I mean I have to respect her wishes too."

"Must be hard having siblings," Alice offered.

"Yeah," she agreed, her hand trailing up to catch strands of her hair now and playing with it, walking along at a much calmer pace so to stay even with them now. "She, ah, doesn't like that I can do magic but she can't. It's, been hard to talk to her lately. Last time we really did was our last trip to the zoo, first summer back from Hogwarts. It's like she forgot where I'd been gone all year, and we just talked and had fun all day. Even though she took no interest in the animals, we played games watching Muggles pass by and mum and dad let us even go off ahead of them a bit to show they trusted us being bigger. Then we went to the birdhouse, and I saw the most beautiful owl in there! I started telling her about all the ones at school, and -" She stopped there, both in speech and walking, staying frozen on the spot in front of a cart advertising plushies for all sorts of critters to see in this zoo.

Then she blinked as if coming back to reality and gave them a very guilty look. "Sorry, looks like I'm always putting my foot in my mouth no matter the company. I'll just let you two-"

"Don't be silly," Alice said at once, reaching out and taking her hand with the best smile she could offer. "As if we're going to let you off on your own after spilling your guts like that. Your sister's a twat for not wanting to hear about your life, but we'd love to."

Frank gave an encouraging smile as well, thinking the poor girl needed some fun in her life. Between such a home life and someone like Snape for a friend, she probably didn't get much. "We don't have to go to the bird house, how about we find the food court?"

"No, I want to," she insisted, her eyes lighting with some spark again. "I really did love the place, it's so exotic and probably as close as I'll ever get to seeing the rain forest. Err, it's also on the way to the restaurants," she offered herself.

"Sounds perfect," Alice agreed, now the one dragging both of them along.

Remus and Sirius were unintentionally taking turns watching each other. It was a miracle they'd managed to keep their school bags on them all this time, but when Sirius realized he had, he'd slipped the book into it without a second glance yet, and that had been almost an hour ago now. Finally he could just enjoy some time out, and some alone time with Remus.

The two had already stopped and had a good snog once already, before the sound of something had drawn their startled attention. It didn't sound particularly threatening, and in fact it turned out to be a lion attempting to mimic a roar, though it more sounded like a giant cat hacking up a hairball. Remus had dragged Sirius over and began mocking the beast, and the proud cat actually responded in kind. Sirius nearly fell to the ground laughing as the two kept 'roaring' at each other for a good few minutes.

Then the two had taken off to actually find their mates, looking first in the gorilla house where they'd expected to find them. They did indeed spot the apes, but in the very back hiding in the shaded trees and various equipment they had available to play in. Then they'd been sidetracked at where the warthogs were rummaging about, Sirius being genuinely amazed how tough they looked compared to the bacon he was craving.

Remus had to drag Sirius away from the anteater, while Padfoot still insisted he wanted a closer look at such an odd creature and surely it wouldn't run if he turned into a friendlier dog. They had another good pass at each other before they realized they had an audience in front of the lemurs, and still red faced and fixing their clothes from that, they finally stumbled across their friends gazing at some naked mole-rats.

"There you two are, we been looking all over!" James called in excitement.

"What's with you two, you look all hot and bothered," Peter agreed. There was an odd look in his eye as he saw the pair and then looked back at James, but both ignored him and the question.

"Probably walked right past each other in a place this size," Sirius said off hand. "Let's go find that place Harry mentioned, where we can get some ice cream around here."

They all stopped and had some fun in front of the tigers, each bidding how far they could get in before the big cat realized they were there. Peter insisted he'd make it the farthest, without becoming a meal. Then they came across a bear enclosure, two huge beasts tossing each other about inside. It seemed in good fun, for the animals.

"Come on, we run around with a werewolf once a month, I'll bet I can take them!" James insisted, now more than willing to levitate himself into the enclosure and give it a go.

"Prongs, you are literally something they'd have a joy eating," Peter tried to protest.

"Not if he has backup!" Sirius insisted, bouncing on his heels in preparation.

"You two idiots are going to be murdered and then we're going to be zapped around with corpses," Remus pleasantly informed them. "Please, let's go have some lunch, and then we can come back," he quickly pacified.

They were still happily bickering about it when they found a good sized restaurant and went into the cool air with gratitude, raiding the kitchens for the sweet treats and each making their own scoop before Sirius finally took a grateful seat at a table and digging into the bag for the book.

"So you weren't reading that this whole time?" Peter asked with interest.

"Nah," Remus shrugged, "was just having some jollies about the place like you two."

"I'd been wondering if we'd just get yanked out of here before we'd find you two," James rolled his eyes.

Sirius ignored him too as he finally got started reading the chapter title.

"Glory Black, we could hear you outside, can you yell that any louder," Smith said as she poked her head inside, her face flushed from heat as well but looking almost grateful to have found them.

"You just getting started on that?" Longbottom asked as he came inside as well along with Evans, all three clutching stuffed parrots.

"Yep, glad you could join us," James smiled and very obviously moved himself over to make room for them, her, nearly pushing Peter out of his seat in the process.

Peter scowled and shoved him back just as hard, James nearly face planting his ice cream.

Ignoring the two making snipping comments at each other now, the three sat around comfortably, though not nearly as far away as they could. James still beamed at the proximity, wishing they could spend the rest of this reading adventure here, it was clearly putting Evans in a good mood, she was even smiling as Sirius started off and it didn't even dim that much as the Muggleborns in the school were described during this monster fear.

Regulus spent the entire time staring at penguins. They were funny little things, he'd instantly decided, and had been captivated at once by the flightless birds zooming through the water at such speeds. For a moment he'd even tried to see if he could run faster and been amazed the bird swam the length of it's glass before he could do any such thing. Smiling as the one he'd locked eyes on darted away, he tried to circle around and follow it, finding a nice large tree he could sit under and observe the whole area.

He was sure if a Muggle were to come along he'd be terribly scolded, he'd had to clamber over a large ridge right into the enclosure and several of the birds came up to him within reach, clicking their beaks and eyeing him for food. When he offered nothing they lost interest and began preening each other, the splash of water as the bodies leaped free of their miniature ocean the only noise he heard until Sirius finally began reading the next part of the chapter.

His voice had been so clear Regulus had startled, scattering all the webbed critters that had gone near him back into the water, but when he looked around, there was still no one in sight. Sighing and inching himself further a bit more so that his feet nearly touched the clear surface, he relaxed again and let himself enjoy the tale from a distance for once. He couldn't hear the commentary going along, to which he was grateful for. He could almost imagine it all anyways, his idiot of a brother and his friends laughing about the Potter kid causing trouble in Snape's class, Smith and Longbottom being happy about everything and chatting about the good merits of a dueling club. By the time the chapter even got to the part of Harry attending it Regulus was so relaxed he'd even slipped his shoes off and dipped his feet in the water, surprised by how pleasantly warm it was.

Hearing of Harry actively speaking Parseltongue was of great interest to him, his fascination with Potters child growing all the more as he took control of the situation and spoke the language he'd only heard rumor the Dark Lord could as well. Knowing the child could and actively hearing him do it twice now was enthralling, what his family would give if he could do such a thing as well! Potter and his friends treated it like some bad thing, and Regulus just had to scoff, those kids didn't know how good their life could be if they'd just be a bit smarter, instead all three reminded him of his idiotic brother.

The idea of something happening to a ghost did get his attention, a chill sweeping through him that had nothing to do with the warm sun still beating down. He couldn't blame that Ernie fellow for thinking Harry had done it given the circumstances, but a pureblood should be smarter than that! He should realize you should always look at more options available than just blaming the obvious source, shouldn't he? He was really starting to question that, considering that Hermione friend of Potter's obviously knew better but so many purebloods didn't. Then he swallowed and looked around again, waiting for his mother or one of his friends from school to spot him having such traitorous thoughts-

He cursed and jumped straight out of the enclosure in surprise, not because Potter was going to see the headmaster, but a penguin had taken a nip at his foot, apparently under the delusion it was a snack rather than toes. He drew his wand and took aim at the pestilent bird, but lowered it at the last second as he conceded he had been asking for such a thing to be happening. Then he was pulled away altogether.

#Harry Potter #fanfiction #Marauders #CoS #Wolfstar #reading the books #zoo #Regulus Black #Regulus Black and Penguins #Sirius Black #Remus Lupin #Peter Pettigrew #James Potter #Lily Evans #Frank Longbottom #Alice Smith

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wolfandwild · 4 years

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My Shadowlands Wish List

Now that we’re getting closer and closer to pre-patch and the inevitable launch of the expansion, I thought I’d rattle off a wish list of things I hope we get to see in Shadowlands, largely from a lore/story perspective. (Or rather, my stupid foot was hurting so badly I couldn’t concentrate on writing my fic properly, so I decided to ramble off some not-so-hot takes, honestly they’re pretty mild in the grand scheme of things). I was in the first alpha wave, so I’ve had a pretty good opportunity to play the game as it is thus far, and I did want to make it clear up front that I’m fully aboard the hype train. Shadowlands is looking like a great expansion for a number of different reasons, and while I do have a few areas of concern, on the whole I am currently feeling very positive. Please also note these are just my random, late-night personal musings - your mileage may vary, and that’s a-okay. Mild Shadowlands spoilers below the cut.

You Get A Customisation! You Get A Customisation! Everybody Gets A Customisation! This one is pretty much a no-brainer. I don’t necessarily think Blizzard need to have absolutely every possible character customisation ready to go before launch, but I’d like them to continue adding further options over time. I move in a couple of different circles in Warcraft - I’m obviously involved in the writing/lore/character aspect of the game, but I’m also GM of a raiding guild and closely follow the gameplay/competitive side of things too - and customisation is one of those few things that gets everyone excited, regardless of their reason for playing the game. I’m looking forward to seeing a much more vibrant, unique and diverse Azeroth come Shadowlands pre-patch. (Mostly irrelevant side story - when Wrathion returned in the Patch 8.3 cinematics, my Twitter and lore Discords were basically going berserk with excitement, meanwhile there’s a hundred very confused dudes in my raiding guild who don’t read quest text being all, “What the hell is a ‘Wrathion’?”. I live in two different worlds, honestly). Another reason I’m excited about customisation (and I’m probably in a very small minority on this one) is because I actually really dislike allied races, and I think it gives Blizzard an option to add more flavour to character creation in the game without always having to cobble together a new race. I honestly think they should have simply gone for sub-race customisation from the beginning, to avoid having to ass-pull allied races out of nowhere. Using customisation over allied races also makes it far simpler to give something to both factions (e.g. high elves), or to add something for one faction without necessarily having to always add something to the other faction to keep things in balance. Giving an extra hairstyle to humans but not orcs generally isn’t going to cause that much of a fuss, but if one faction were given an allied race and the other wasn’t because there wasn’t a logical racial option, there would be a shitstorm of epic proportions. So you end up in a situation where one faction* gets saddled with a really random, sucky allied race just to be ‘fair’. *The Alliance. It’s the Alliance. Leave Britney Arthas Alone Arthas has never been a personal favourite of mine, but I respect that he has a fantastic story, and that he’s a cornerstone of Warcraft lore. His story is both satisfying and complete, and that’s exactly why they should leave him the hell alone. I don’t mind if he’s visited in flashbacks (like the Bastion cinematic), or if we explore how he affected still living characters (e.g. Jaina, Sylvanas, Bolvar), but I think it would be a mistake to try to make him a central character in the expansion. In contrast, someone like Kael’thas is an excellent choice for an additional arc, because his original story was a bit all over the place and there is still plenty of room for his character development. Arthas doesn’t need it, and I don’t think the minute potential gain is worth the risk of retroactively making the rest of his story worse. On a similar note... Warcraft III Was Released Nearly 20 Years Ago, It’s Time to Move On The Warcraft RTS was a landmark series of games, and was obviously without them we wouldn’t have the World of Warcraft. However, I think the future health of Warcraft’s lore depends on the ability of the writers to grow the story outwards and upwards, not to always default back to the same handful of characters for nostalgia’s sake. While characters like Jaina, and Thrall, and Sylvanas are great, they can’t carry the narrative forever. Shadowlands represents a unique opportunity to build up the next generation of characters and to blow the cosmology of the universe wide open. From what I’ve seen on the alpha/beta, Blizzard are definitely taking a step in this direction, and I’m hoping that’s what we get instead of Patch 9.2 - Oh Look, It’s Thrall Again. On an additionally similar note... Sylvanas Is Crazy, And She Needs To Go Down (I don’t actually think she’s crazy, but one should never miss the opportunity for an Avatar reference). One of my complaints about the recent lore developments in Warcraft its that it’s starting to feel a lot less like the World of Warcraft, and more like the Sylvanas of Warcraft. She’s playing 469D chess; she’s behind everything; she’s the sole driving force of the narrative. I don’t think that works in an MMO that’s meant to tell the story of an entire expanded universe. It makes things feel small. And before I get eaten alive, I want to be clear that I don’t dislike Sylvanas as a character - in fact, I think she’s very compelling and on a night when my foot wasn’t killing me so much I’d be happy to get into an argument as to why she’s actually one of the most consistent and well-written characters in the World of Warcraft. I don’t necessarily think she needs to die, either, but I think it’s time for her narrative to come to a close to make room for other characters in the story, and I don’t think Blizzard are going to get a much better opportunity to give her a satisfying ending than in a death-themed expansion. Justice for Tyrande (Or Vengeance, Whatever Uther Wants to Call It) Tyrande got done dirty in Battle for Azeroth, probably more than any other character. I’m not a massive night elf fangirl by any means, but their entire race was basically used as grist for the mill in Sad Orc Dad’s story, with no next to no narrative follow-up besides a cool cinematic that went absolutely nowhere in game. Outside the game, her character then got subjected to the cacophonous misogynistic crowing of the fanbase that occurs whenever a female character dares to be angry in the World of Warcraft. Much like Jaina, she’s decried for being ‘crazy’ or ‘irrational’ for, you know, being pissed that her people and her homeland were wiped out in an act of wildly disproportional aggression. I don’t know about you guys, but that would tend to make me a wee bit testy, but maybe I’m crazy and irrational too. In any case, I want to see her go off in Shadowlands. Fuck ‘em up, girlfriend. You Get One Villain. If You Drop It, I’m Not Buying You Another One I think most people will agree with me that the two weakest expansions (at least from a narrative perspective) were Warlords of Draenor and Battle for Azeroth. There are a few reasons for this, but for me one of the biggest issues was that they were chop-and-change expansions. Both were advertised and started off with narratives and themes that were wildly different from where they finished up. Warlords was part Iron Horde expansion, part Legion expansion; BFA was part faction war expansion, part Old God expansion... and that’s exactly the problem. Both times, I felt like we got two half-done expansions, instead of one single, cohesive narrative experience. If you look at expansions like Wrath of the Lich King and Legion, both of which were very well received, a lot of their success hinges on their presentation of a consistent narrative with a clear goal for players within the story. The Lich King, for example, was a consistent and very present villain. He menaced you throughout your entire journey, and so his eventual defeat on top of Icecrown Citadel was meaningful and impactful. Defeating N’Zoth, by contrast, felt pretty hollow, as we hadn’t had enough narrative build up to really care about taking him down. Part of the reason I’m excited for Shadowlands is it looks like we’re getting a nice, focused story development that builds up to a logical and satisfying villain in the Jailer. Why Can’t We Be Friends? Look, I bleed blue. I love the Alliance... but the faction war should not continue to be a driving narrative element in the World of Warcraft. I don’t want the factions to be removed, I think they’re a core part of the Warcraft experience and I’d be pretty sad to have to let them go entirely, but the cycle of hating one another then teaming up in an uneasy alliance in order to defeat a bigger bad, only to go back to being at one another’s throats the next day is... tiresome.

Ideally, the war would have ended after Legion - it was the most logical place to do so, and I think it was a big missed opportunity that they ran with Battle for Azeroth immediately afterwards. Unfortunately, I think this means the Alliance is going to just have to forgive and forget, which doesn’t really make a lot sense at this point given everything that happened in BFA, but for the sake of the overall story, it might be a necessary sacrifice. That said... I Am Once Again Asking for Alliance Narrative Agency I know there are a lot of (valid) complaints to be had about the Horde storyline, but the one thing the Horde has always had over the Alliance is that they actually get to drive the narrative forward. The Alliance are pretty much exclusively reactionary, and in a lot of ways are side characters to the main Horde storyline. I’ve made this argument elsewhere, but it honestly wouldn’t be too hard to remove Anduin’s part in Saurfang’s storyline in Battle for Azeroth and have it turn out more or less exactly the same way... which says a lot about the importance of the Alliance in the overall storyline. In short, the Alliance are secondary players at best, and downright irrelevant at worst. One of my biggest hopes for Shadowlands is that we’ll actually get to see some Alliance narrative agency. To be clear, however, this does not mean a simple rehashing of Horde conflicts with a blue coat of paint. Alliance stories are not Horde stories, and nor should they be. Having an Alliance leader turn into a genocidal despot is not the only way to create conflict or agency in the story - there are plenty of opportunities for character growth, development and conflict on the Alliance side without having to have one of our leaders do a heel turn (e.g. Tyrande as the Night Warrior, Anduin dealing with his experience in the Maw, Jaina confronting the fates of people like Kael’thas and Arthas, Taelia meeting her father, etc.), and I really hope we get to see some of those narrative threads come to fruition. I Want to Mount Everything Add a hundred new mounts. Two hundred. A pot plant with googly eyes, the four hundredth Alliance horse, your mum. I’ll ride anything; I don’t even care. (Please note this is the most important opinion I have).

#world of warcraft #shadowlands #shadowlands spoilers #battle for azeroth #lore #turns out i had a few more opinions than i originally realised #anyway shadowlands looks cool guys y'all should check it out #but i would always rather have some warcraft than no warcraft #so take that how you will

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steve-rogers-new-york · 4 years

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August

Warmest greeting my sweet, soft snickerdoodles <3

Last Month — July

What a shock! Last month I got up-to-date on all my physical perks, posted all my scheduled posts, and made great headway on one of my long-term, major-massive-huge projects for the blog. So progress. So success. So respectable adult! It was so cool to post two posts I had been looking forward to: The US flag one and the Dip Pen’s post :D I hope you guys enjoyed them! I also revived our old love: Recipe Wednesday! I’ll try my best to keep them up.

The aforementioned mega-huge-totally-all-the-work project is an extensive list of period accurate slang terms. If you’ve been with me a while you may know I have a gorgeous 720-page dictionary of slang (”The Concise New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English”) that is a beloved fixture of my small SRNY-related bookshelf. I have been, for a while, going through and compiling a list of terms that are historically-accurate language that would relate to both our boys, as well as Steve’s mother, Peggy, and the other Commandos. It really is a long-term project, and I am only just finishing up the C’s, but when I’m done, I’ll have the full list available to everyone for fic (and other) reference, as well as a series of themed posts!

Aside from posts, I have been trying to be more sociable. I’ve been semi-active on the Put on the Suit Stony Discord server, so if you see me (Owlish Fun) over there say hi <3 I’ve really enjoyed chatting with peeps over there about fic and cannon, and you know, whatever. And obv, I’m still loving the SRNY Discord, we’ve getting some new members recently and we’ve been having some great research-related chats!

Upcoming Posts — August+

August is a little behind on the post due to some health issues I’ve been having the last couple of week (see later in this post), so I might not get as much up this month as I would like :( I alway have a number of projects on the go, so below are some you can expect to see in the next month or so:

Asthma Cigarettes — Part of Patreon Ephemera Club Perk

Art Deco (art, furniture, architecture etc — on special request)

More Recipe Wednesday!

Coney Island’s Thunderbolt — Part of Patreon Ephemera Club Perk (late)

More 1920s-1940s slang

August Ephemera Club Perks (Patreon)

This month’s perk theme is medications, and will include...

ONE box for "Dr. Guild's Green Mountain Asthmatic Cigarettes" and TWO matchbooks featuring advertisements for medicines available during this time period! I was so excited when I found these boxes, and I’m really excited to share them with your guys! They have all the directions and commentary for the products, as well as price. I still have two more sets of these items for new subscribers in August, so if you would like to receive your own and support the blog, you can join the Ephemera Club tier over on the Patreon!

What’s Up with Me

So, as you may already know from my earlier post, I’ve been dealing with a rather persistent ear infection this past couple of weeks. Not only is it really painful and annoying, it also makes is nearly impossible to focus properly. As such, I’ve pretty much been unable to work on the blog for more than short bursts, and I’ve not written anything new in a while. I’m trying to be productive despite this, doing some clean-up of existing research notes and minor additions. Mostly, I’ve been working on the aforementioned vocab list of slang-terms from my dictionary. It’s just absent minded enough I can do it without too much trouble. I’ve actually made great progress actually, finishing the B’s and soon the C’s! I’m new about 1/4 the way through the dictionary! Very excite.

So yeah, I’m still under the weather. Most of the stronger pain is going thanks to a course of antibiotics, bit I’ve still only got about 20% hearing in that ear, near-constant ringing, regular discomfort and with occasional stabbing pain, and just generally feeling off thanks to having a problem ear. I guess the good news is that two doctors have said their pretty confident I don’t have COVID, so joy? It’s not fun guys — 0/10, would not recommend.

Beyond all that, I also moved at the beginning of this month, and how is that not the biggest news I have?? Dang health. I actually just moved (quite literally) around the corner from my other place, so with the help of my old housemate the move was quick and easy. The house is lovely, my new human housemate is great, and my new feline housemates are good company, if crafty and mischievous. Only downside is that I am allergic to cats xD Not extremely, but i get all-day sniffles if I don’t take antihistamine daily. Totally worth it.

August is a bit of hurry-up-and-wait. I start my Masters programme next months, and nearly everything is sorted by this point. I was lucky enough to be in a small programme so I got into all my first choice courses (enrolment was at 6am on the the day I moved, such fun!). This week I’ve been giving my credit card a work-out getting supplies so I’m ready for courses, including notebooks and other stationery products. I’m pretty picky about notebooks, so it took a month to finally settle on which ones I wanted to get. I might be mad.

I guess the last life note to make is the fun mid-point I’m occupying between intentional deluded calm and constant panic over my finances. I’ve been luck enough to live in a country that is providing financial support for those effected by COVID, so I have been receiving financial aid from the Canadian government since March. However, it’s going to be coming to an end soon, and with me starting a Masters degree in Sept, and my job still not really existing because of the pandemic (I work in tourism), it’s unclear what I’m doing for money come October. I have a line-of-credit set up to cover rent/food should it come down to it, if I cannot get any government assistance and my job continues to be unable to get my work. But that will just add to future Me’s debt coming out of my Masters, and a course I’m trying to avoid. I wasn’t able to get any scholarships this year, which was a huge let-down, as I had the academic clout that should have made me a shoe-in. While it is weighing on me, there is only so much I can do about it, so I’m keeping positive and know I have the worst-case safety-net of credit if it comes to it. In the meantime, I’m working on framing some vintage prints and comic book covers to offer on Etsy — something I’ve been wanting to do for a while but kept putting off. They’ll be items at a higher sell price and hopefully will bring in a little more income from the store. I’m also looking for suggestions on what other things people would like to get out of the Patreon, things that might make it more appealing for new and existing Patrons. I have recently added a Patrons-Only perk of a Masterlist of and access to my full research notes for existing and un-finished blog topics.

Ugh, this personal section won’t be this long in future, It’s just been a very eventful month so far. Love you guys, D.

[ Support SRNY through Patreon and Ko-Fi ] And join us on Discord for fun conversation! I also have an Etsy with upcycled nerdy crafts

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nubnubblr · 4 years

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If You Do. 27 Detoxing Doobin

THEA

"It's so early," I whined.

"No one said you had to come in this early," Charlie frowned at me as we got in her car.

"The profile photos will be better if you haven't been in class sweating," I mumbled resting my head on the window.

I regularly took photos for 1Millions website and advertising, I had been asked to come and take some new profile photos for each of the choreographers because they had a new one being brought on or something, and they wanted some updated class photos. It had been probably 3 months since I last did it, I guess it was good that they keep everything so updated.

"Why are you even complaining? You get up this early for school,"

"Yeah but I don't have to go to school today,"

"You can get out of the car of you l9ke and go back to bed,"

"No, I'm already awake,"

"Well then stop complaining,"

"Argh, you're so grumpy in the morning," I huffed.

"I have to go and deal with Doobin while trying to not have sex with him,"

"Why don't you just have sex with him?"

"Because he is Shawn's brother and he is 19,"

"He is over the legal age of consent," I shrugged.

"Barely,"

"Well of not sleeping with him didn't work, why don't you just sleep with him a lot until you get bored?"

"That won't work,"

"Why not? That's what you do when you crave something, you have an excessive amount of it and then you get tired of it and don't want it anymore,"

"That... actually makes sense," she frowned.

"Obviously,"

"Except I can't just go sleeping with Doobin while Shawn is there and we can be caught at any moment,"

"Doesn't that kind of make it so much better though, the thought that you could be caught any second?"

"That's beside the point,"

"Oh relax, I'll keep Shawn distracted while you bone his brother," I shrugged her off.

"I'm not going to bone Doobin while Shawn is in the same building,"

"Yes, you are," I rolled my eyes.

"What would you know?" she huffed.

"Can we stop for coffee?" I changed the subject.

"Only if you shut up about Doobin,"

"What even is a Doobin?" I shrugged.

She just shook her head at me.

CHARLIE

She wasn't wrong, I mean I wasn't' sure how I was going to get Doobin out of my system with Shawn and basically everyone else there. Not that I wanted to be caught at all but I especially didn't want Shawn to find out about it. I've tried to just avoid him but apparently, all that does is make me want to sleep with him more like he's some kind of forbidden fruit.

We got to the dance studio after we stopped so Thea could have her morning coffee. Most of the choreographers were in the staff room, of course, Doobin was also there. I reframed from groaning out loud. I had done a pretty good job at ignoring him the past few days, which as just resulted in me having to use every ounce of self restrain that I have to not just jump him in the middle of my class.

Yesterday he had the nerve to wear a sleeveless shirt and take all of the classes I was teaching that day. at one point he had even taken his shirt off and I had ended class early because I was worried that if I stayed in the room too long with a shirtless Doobin I wouldn't be able to keep my hands to myself.

"Hey girlies," Austin greeted.

"Girlies?" Thea frowned at him.

"Ladies?"

"Ew

"Homies?" he tried again.

"Much better," she nodded.

"You're weird," he laughed at her.

"And you're first," she smiled lifting her camera bag into the air.

"Why me?" he huffed.

"Because you're my favourite," she shrugged.

"Liar,"

"You're the only one who looks awake enough to have their photos done,"

"I can go first," Junsun offered, he probably just wanted to get them out of the way.

"No, you're last,"

"Why?"

"Because you're my least favourite," she smiled sweetly.

"Where do you want me?" Austin interjected.

"Nowhere I should have you," Thea winked.

"BM is already mad at you, can he really get any madder?"Austin laughed and got up from the couch.

"You wouldn't think so but knowing him, probably," she shrugged like it was nothing but her face flashed something different.

The fact that BM wasn't talking to her and had been so cruel to her was killing her. She hadn't really been the same the past few weeks. Not that BM seemed to care. I don't really know why he's so mad, I mean I kind of get it but really I don't know why he's surprised, we were all a little surprised that they hadn't slept together. Knowing they had actually made more sense.

They had spent an entire summer together and we were all pretty sure that Drew had liked her even before she lost all the weight.

"Come on, we'll go to the terrace, the natural light with be better," Thea shrugged leading the way.

"She's not going to be able to focus on her job," Junsun smirked.

"What do you mean?" I frowned.

"Austin isn't wearing a shirt under that denim jacket, he plans to unbutton it," Jinwoo stated.

"You realise she sees you all shirtless all the time, right?" I raised an eyebrow.

"She also has no self-control," Junsun pointed out.

"She photographs shirtless guys as a majority of her photography work, she isn't going to be thrown off just because Austin decided to show off some abs," I rolled my eyes.

I'd been counting the money carefully the past few weeks, just to figure out whether someone was stealing or just wasn't doing their job properly. After the first week, there was a substantial amount missing so I was pretty sure it wasn't just a mess up on someone's part. So, at the beginning of the week, called to organise someone to install CCTV so that I could catch whoever it is stealing from the bar. They finally installed it yesterday, so now that I actually had a days worth of footage I could look over it and figure out.

So far I had probably skimmed through about half the day and nothing weird or suspicious. Honestly, I wasn't really sure what I was even looking for, I trusted my staff, if I didn't I wouldn't have hired them in the first place, and I'm here most of the day so If someone was actually stealing from me then I clearly wasn't focusing enough on my surroundings. Maybe someone wasn't charging customers properly? It's a substantial amount to be undercharging.

I sighed getting frustrated with the lack of clarity I was getting on the issue. I almost turned the recording off to give myself a break just as I saw what I have been looking for. I'm not sure who I was madder at, myself for not noticing it sooner, or hiring them in the first place. Or at them for stealing from me.

THEA

"What took you so long? Did you get distracted?" Junsun asked.

"By what?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Austins abs,"

"I've seen better," I shrugged.

"Ouch," Austin pouted.

"I told you, photographing half-naked dudes is most of her job," Charlie stated.

"Yeah, have you seen Yuri?" Jacob nodded smirking.

"Yeah," Charlie and I nodded

"Unfortunately," Doobin mumbled.

"Jealous?" Koosung smirked.

"Of that playboy? No," Doobin rolled his eyes leaving the room.

"You're breaking that kids heart," Jinwoo shook his head.

"He's fine," Jacob, Charlie and Shawn stated. I had to try and cover my laugh with a cough, Charlie frowned at me.

"Who's next?" I changed the subject.

CHARLIE

I was trying to remember who I was teaching a class with this morning, the schedule had been all over the place lately and honestly I'd been busy worry about other things than focusing on which choreography I was supposed to be teaching. It didn't help that Doobin was in every one of my classes, I wasn't even exaggerating. He was like some super attractive, dangerously addictive, stalker student. I couldn't seem to get away from him and it was getting to the point that I wasn't sure that having a class full of students was going to be enough to stop me from jumping him anymore.

I was on my way to check the schedule when I was pulled into one of the dance rooms. Seconds later my back was against the wall and Doobin's mouth was on mine, his hands on my hips pushing himself onto me. He pulled away without warning and my body et out an objective moan without my permission. He smirked at me knowing he was winning.

"See you in class," he winked walking out of the room. I stood there staring at my reflection in the mirror walls across the room trying to catch my breath.

"There you are," Thea poked her head in the door, the sudden noise caused me to jump.

"Did I just scare you? Are you okay?" she frowned at me, I wasn't normally startled by anything.

"What? yeah, I'm fine," I tried to force myself back into reality.

"Did you just jump Doobin?"

"Did I jump him?" I frowned.

"I'll take that as a yes," she smirked.

"I have class," I rolled my eyes.

"Do you though?"

"I have students to teach, yes,"

"That makes more sense, you're far from classy," she teased.

"Shut up and go take your photos," I sighed.

"I was actually coming to take photos of your collab class with Shawn, but it seems like you were a little too busy coming with his brother,"

"Wait. My collab class is with Shawn?" I felt like my stomach relocated to my throat.

"Clearly you're so busy coming with his brother that you don't even know you're own schedule. This is going to be fun," she smirked.

"Not funny dude," I sighed.

"Maybe not for you," she mumbled leaving the room.

THEA

I had never seen Charlie so awkward in my life, she couldn't concentrate on the dance steps and forgot the choreography a few time. I didn't really blame her with the way Doobin kept looking at her, I could barely concentrate on taking photos because I was a too focused on the suspense of the two possibly getting caught out or the conversation the Doobin and Jacob were having about Charlie, of course, they didn't use her name so the other girls in the classroom were getting frustrated with hearing a story about Doobin with a girl but not knowing who it was.

"Why don't we take a break?" Shawn suggested giving Charlie a concerned look.

"Yes, let's do that," Charlie agreed, leaving the room. I followed her out, it's not like I was going to get any good shots of students not doing anything.

"You okay?" I asked when I caught up with her, only because she had collapsed into the couch in the staff room.

"No, I want to jump him and the face he keeps making at me is draining all of my willpower," she sighed.

"It's not like you had a whole lot of that, to begin with," I mumbled.

"Not helping,"

"My offer to distract Shawn still stands, it's probably better if you get Doobin out of your system," I commented.

"Don't say his name," she frowned at me.

"Why?"

"What if someone walks in and you're just throwing his name around? Then everyone would know," she rambled.

"Everyone would know what?" Koosung asked walking through the door.

"Nothing," Charlie gave me look to prove her point.

"You really need to get laid," I shook my head.

"I'm not busy," Koosung smirked.

"Your penis is tainted," Charlie retorted.

"The penis and the taint are two different things," Koosung shot back.

"You're all useless," Charlie shook her head getting up from the couch and leaving the room.

"What's up with her today?" Koosung asked.

"No idea," I shrugged putting my camera on the coffee table.

"Oh, can I look?"

"No, don't touch it, I just need to pee," I glared.

"Lame," he huffed.

I just rolled my eyes leaving the room. As I walked past the men's bathroom a hand came out from the door and pulled me inside. A squeak was all I managed to get out, my back was against the wall, the hands that were on my hips were gone almost as quickly as they were there and I was now looking up at a very mortified looking Doobin.

"Oh my god," he shuttered, his face contorted and he made an action that I thought was him dry heaving.

"What the hell?" I frowned.

"I thought you were Charlie," he defended and seemed to dry heave again. I would be offended if I didn't want to do the same thing.

"I'm obviously not Charlie,"

"I can see that, what are you doing here?"

"I was going to the bathroom, you're the one who abducted me," I retorted.

"Because I thought you were Charlie, she just went in there,"

"What are you doing stalking her to the bathroom you creeper? Also, who wants to be made out within a men's bathroom? That's gross," I frowned, retreating out of there and into the women's bathroom where Charlie was washing her hands.

"What's with your face?" she raised an eyebrow.

"You're illegal just tried to make out with me because he thought I was you," my whole body shuddered.

"He's legal," she retorted.

"That doesn't make a difference,"

"Doesn't it? Hmm, a little different when you're on the other side huh?"

"No, it's not actually. I don't want to jump his barely legal penis,"

"Wait, where did he try and make out with you?" she asked.

"In the men's bathroom,"

"Ew," she frowned.

"That's what I said," I nodded.

The bar was supposed to open in 20 minutes, and no surprise, Austin wasn't here. He was supposed to be here 0 minutes ago to get the kitchen ready, but like usual the kitchen hands were getting everything ready for him. He had been on thin ice for a while now and I had already spoken to him about it.

"Hey, sorry I'm late. Car trouble," he stated casually as he strolled through the front doors.

"Can I talk to you for a minute," it didn't sound like a question and I hadn't intended it to.

"Sure, let me just put my bag down," he nodded.

"Bring it with you,"

"Why?" He questioned.

"Because someone has been stealing, I wouldn't trust your belongings unattended," I watched his reaction but he didn't even bat an eyelid.

I lead him through to my office, I gestured for him to take a seat, he dropped his bag next to the chair he dropped himself into.

"Okay, before you say anything I know you've already talked to me about my behaviour and being late, but I am trying to be better and I do really need this job," he stated.

"Why?"

"Sorry?"

"Why do you need this job?"

"Honestly, for the money,"

"The $10, 000 that you've stolen wasn't enough?" I asked casually.

"What?"

"I've noticed that money has been going missing or not adding up. So I went back through the books and since we've opened $10, 000 has disappeared,"

"And you think I did it?" His tone had gotten defensive.

"I know you did it,"

"You have no proof,"

"I do actually, I had CCTV installed," I nodded.

"It's illegal to install CCTV and not have some sort of signage informing people they're being recorded,"

"It's also illegal to steal, but you're right and that would be why there is a sign on the front door and behind the bar," I nodded.

"There is not, I would have noticed them,"

"You have had verbal warnings, about your behaviour and lack of interest in showing up on time. You were already on thin ice, so just in case it wasn't clear, you are fired and I will be reporting this to the police,"

THEA

I was taking photos of Shawn and Austin's collab class. There was a lot of collab classes today, I think that's half the reason they asked me to come out today. I wasn't sure how the class had managed to learn any of the choreography with the way these two mess around.

"Are you sure you don't want to jump in and learn a few steps?" Shawn asked.

"I'm okay behind the camera, besides I can't really dance," I shook my head.

"Yes you can, you do burlesque which is basically the same thing," Austin stated.

"It is not the same thing, my burlesque routines don't really have any dance structure, I just have to be flirty and sexy. It doesn't require any technique, just a shimmy here and there,"

"Don't downplay your ability, I've seen you perform,"

"So has everyone," I retorted.

"Dude," he frowned at me.

"Now you sound like BM," Shawn also frowned.

"Of relax, it's a joke," I rolled my eyes.

"Just learn a few steps, you do have your one free class voucher thing that we got you for your birthday," Austin encouraged.

I was going to tell them to stop asking because it wasn't going to happen when I noticed Doobin and Charlie out the door sneaking into an empty room. I was assuming Charlie was following my advice so instead, I let out a sigh, turned my camera off and said;

"Fine, but I'm warning you, I can't dance,"

The taught me a few steps with the other students, some of the girls who were clearly only taking the class because of the way Shawn and Austin look bickered to one another while giving me unhappy stares. I had to admit I was doing pretty well, until they wanted us to put all the steps together, rather quickly. Honestly, I probably would have been fine if it was something slower rather than a hip hop class. some parts were manageable but some of them were too fast for me to remember the steps and keep pace.

"Oh honey," Austin laughed.

"I told you," I huffed.

"Charlie has to see this," Shawn stated, heading for the door as Austin tried to teach me the steps to the beat.

I panicked, I knew that Charlie and Doobin were still in that room and if Shawn went looking for Charlie, then he was probably going to find his brother in her and that's not something anyone needs. I couldn't think of anything to say to keep Shawn in the room so instead, I faked a fall, except the fake fall felt like it did some real damage.

I let out a shriek as pain shot through my foot, I was sure that I had heard something pop or snap. I let a few curse words slip out of my mouth while internally cursing myself for getting myself into this situation.

"Let me look," Austin knelt down.

"No, don't touch it," I snapped.

"I can't help you if I can't see it," He frowned at me.

"Austin I swear if you touch me I'll hit you," I warned, the pain was setting in properly and tears were beginning to form in my eyes.

I looked pleadingly at Shawn, I did not want to sit in the middle of a group of judgy girls and cry. I didn't like to cry in public as it was, I definitely didn't want to do it where was right now. Shawn seemed to forget what he was doing and came straight over to me.

"Put your arm around my neck," Shawn instructed sliding an arm under my knees and using the other to support my back.

I wanted to object, I wasn't an infant I didn't need to be picked up. But I was pretty sure that if they tried to help me walk out of here that I would just start crying. I sighed and put an arm around his neck, hiding my face in his chest as the tears started to fall.

"I'll just take her to the staff room and take a look," he told Austin.

"I've got this, just make sure our clumsy little friend is okay," Austin tried to joke.

"Asshole," I choked out.

"Come on you," Shawn started walking out of the room.

He walked me through the building into the staff room where he sat me on the couch. He knelt down in front of me and reached for my foot.

"No," I sobbed.

"Thea I have to look at it," he sighed.

"No, it hurts and if you take the shoe off it's just going to hurt more, what if taking off the show actually does damage?" I rambled.

"Thea, seriously?" he frowned at me.

"What? I don't know I'm in pain," I cried. The initial pain just kept intensifying.

"Fine, I'll go and get Charlie," he sighed.

"No," I stood up to stop him and instantly regretted.

"Why did you do that?" he frowned.

"I don't know," I sobbed.

"Are you going to let me look at it?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Fine," I sighed covering my eyes so that I couldn't see when he was doing it, I knew that if I saw him go to take my show off I would pull away and then he would go and find Charlie and probably find more than he thought he would and me hurting myself will have all been for nothing.

"How is she doing?" Austin came walking in.

"She's only just letting me look at it," Shawn stated.

I felt the pressure release as he pulled my shoe off my foot, there was a sharp pain and I squeaked out which I wasn't very proud of.

"This is so weird," Austin stated.

"What?" I panicked looking at my foot, which had instantly bruised.

"You acting like a girl," He said.

"Don't do that, I thought something was wrong with my foot," I threw a cushion at him.

"There she is," he smirked.

"There is something wrong with your foot," Shawn frowned at me at the same time.

"It looks bad," Austin agreed.

"I think it's broken, but we'll have to take you to the hospital to be sure," Shawn stood up looking around the room.

"I'm sure it's fine, if it's still bad in the morning then I'll go to the hospital," I tried to shrug it off.

"Thea, it's bruised, you're still crying so clearly you're in a lot of pain, and as we speak the swelling is increasing. Were going to the hospital now, not in the morning," Shawn went all parent on me.

"But I don't want to go to the hospital," I mumbled.

"Dude, just take your shirt off, she'll stop talking if she's surrounded by abs," Austin stated.

"You take your shirt off, I need to find a pressure bandage," Shawn frowned at him.

"My abs do nothing for her," he sighed.

"Can we just bandage my foot and take me home?" I asked.

"Sure but we're stopping at the hospital first," Shawn agreed sitting through cupboards.

"Why? It's probably just bruised and sprained. Maybe it's a pulled muscle but I think I fall over enough to know if it's broken or not," I really didn't like going to hospitals, especially not for myself.

"Thea, we're going to the hospital," Shawn stated ad my phone buzzed in my pocket.

"I really don't think it's necessary," I sighed checking my messages.

ChaCha: So, I'm going to Doobin's to test your theory. Keep Shawn distracted for me?

"Thea,"

"Okay fine," 8 sighed again.

Thea: Not a problem.

"Let me just go tell Charlie," Shawn seemed released.

"I would rather you didn't,

"Let's just take her to the hospital before she changes her mind," Austin stated,

"I'll text Charlie," I nodded.

2 notes · View notes

wackygoofball · 5 years

Photo

Moodboard: Jaime x Brienne - Erin Brockovich AU

To send this ahead... I know that Brienne’s character is much different from that of Erin in the movie, but by giving some over to Jaime and twisting and shredding things, I found it a very intriguing plot bunny! :D

Brienne doesn’t have it easy lately. Just recently she had to move into a new, shabby house on the outer outskirt of King’s Landing. She can no longer afford her old apartment in King’s Landing after she was fired from her secretary job because she had to take off to take care for her foster children Arya and Sansa and the boss showed little understanding for a single parent taking care of two traumatized girls. And now she stands there with bills to pay and no one willing to hire her.

Sometimes she really wished Catelyn had chosen any other person to take care of her girls in case of her demise, but as things stand, there was no other way. Bran and Rickon are with Osha and Luwin whereas Jon could not possibly take care of his siblings as he was drafted for service at the Wall. Brienne wants to honor that vow since Cat helped her a great deal in the past, but she feels all the more like failing as she cannot provide for the girls what they would deserve after the losses they had to suffer: their parents, oldest brother, his wife, and their home in Winterfell.

However, Brienne won’t let this stop her, so she goes through advertisements and calls any office offering jobs in the hope to find something new. She applies for a job as a secretary in Tyrion Lannister’s law firm, a small thing that mostly runs itself as far as she can judge. Brienne is little impressed when she meets the boss, because Tyrion Lannister does not strike her as a passionate lawyer. Instead, he spends his time looking after women to check them out and drink from his flask hidden under the table.

Brienne applies not as “Brienne of Tarth” but “Brienne of Morne,” her mother’s maiden name. She would rather not, but whenever she applied for jobs she was linked to her father’s ruined company and her failure to ever become a top lawyer due to personal choices she made in the past. She applied for jobs in law firms as a lawyer again and again because she went to the best schools, had excellent grades, but her past continues to haunt her. She is either overqualified, they tell her, or she doesn't have enough courtroom experience, or they think she is a failure because her father's firm went downhill without her being able to stop it. Thus, she writes applications below her profile, leaves out most of her personal past and just hopes to finally get a steady job to provide for Sansa and Arya. She is desperate.

Tyrion is hesitant at first, arguing that he normally looks for "prettier" secretaries, but he has to give in eventually because Brienne won't budge and proves that she can do the job better than any of the other applicants. Sansa and Arya give her trouble too, Arya gets into fights at school whereas Sansa won’t stick to Brienne’s rules, stay out late and leave her guessing to where the girl is headed.

So no, things are not easy on Brienne, but she won’t let that wear her down as she, at the very least, finally got a job at the law firm to cover the costs. She works her ass off at the office until she stumbles over what seems to be a small case involving selling property to a big chemical industry called The Alchemists' Guild, a business that focused on wildfire and its derivatives. They want to buy properties close to their plant on the outskirt of King's Landing, in a very poor area not that different from the one where Brienne now lives with her girls.

Brienne asks Tyrion if she can look into the case, after all, she can tell something is odd with the numbers due to her experiences she did not list for her application. He handwaves her proposal, much more concerned with his pretty new “intern” Shae.

Fueled by her wish to finally do something close to her past in the law, Brienne heads down the dusty roads to meet the people The Alchemists' Guild wants to purchase the properties from. While most won’t speak to her at first as Brienne doesn't think she has it in her to make people listen to her, the young woman is surprised when people start to tell their stories. Sooner rather than later, they trust her because she listens to them and gives them the facts rather than what they call “lawyer talk”. Brienne continues to gather information, doing what she is accustomed to as a former lawyer: she talks to experts, puts together evidence, and essentially starts to build a case she has any intention to present to Tyrion once she made certain that she is onto something.

Back home, things don't look as bright, however. Her nanny quits on a whim, leaving Brienne with no one to pick up the girls, make them dinner and the like until she gets home. It gets so bad that one day, the woman she hired to look after Sansa and Arya just doesn't show up and leaves the girls to walk home all by themselves. She is in a panic until she finds them with the recently moved-in and to her mind totally annoying one-handed biker-wannabe Jaime. He has barbecue with them and particularly Arya seems to like the guy who insists on only being referred to by his first name. Ever since he said he took fencing lessons in his youth and would have no trouble teaching her the basics, the girl is sold on the wannabe-biker. Jaime and she thus suggest to Brienne that she should hire him as the new nanny.

Brienne doesn’t know what to do with all this because a man looking like this, acting like this, making lewd comments all the while supposedly being good with teenage girls? How does that fit? The two eventually agree that he gets a shot at taking care of the girls in exchange for a bit of extra money. Jaime says he can use it because with just one hand, working on the construction sites became difficult and the gigs are scarcer around this season.

And so, a truce is born.

Brienne continues her investigation and puts in all of her efforts as she grows increasingly aware of the sheer importance this case has to the people involved. She starts to piece together that the The Alchemists' Guild tries to cover up literal dirty business, relating to people around the area getting sick in large numbers and their usage of wildfire. Brienne suspects a pattern behind this and figures that there must be a connection between the water supply for the town and the plant.

Thus, Brienne wants to request the records to obtain copies. However, the lady sitting at the front desk of the archive won’t let her in. Brienne suspects that she is in cahoots together with The Alchemists' Guild. Brienne fails to charm her way into the archives, that’s never been her strong suit, which is why she heads back to the house feeling like an utter failure.

Back home, she sees that Sansa and Arya really take a liking to Jaime, who runs the house just fine, if a bit unconventionally. When Jaime sees Brienne drag herself into the house, looking like someone just took her favorite medieval sword fighting film away, he wants to know what's wrong with her. She won’t admit at first, after all, Brienne hates to show weakness, but Jaime won’t budge and continues to poke her for information until she gives in and admits that she failed today.

“The downsides of being as ugly as a mare: I can't charm my way into the archive,” Brienne sighs.

“You can be charming in your own way if you try.”

“Shut up. And anyway, it's a lady.”

“Doesn't mean you could not put on a flirty face. Maybe she's looking for a bit of an adventure after all. I don’t judge.”

She rolls her eyes. “I never should have told you.”

“Fine, fine, I stop. I stop,” he laughs. “But I may have a solution.”

“Which is?”

Jaime points at himself with a smug grin. “Me.”

“You are the solution how? No offense, but you don't inspire... confidence in your legal status, shall I say?” Brienne scoffs.

“You said it. It's about flirting. And I am really good at that.”

“Are you? I did not notice.”

“Because I have no intention of flirting with you. I am your employee after all. If you properly compensate me, though, I can do expand my services, only just for you, wench.”

“Compensate you.”

“Well, you will have to give me a bit of a starter to set things up. For that, you get all the copies you want so desperately.”

“You are supposed to take care of Sansa and Arya. That’s what the truce is about, remember?”

“And they will be gone for a whole week for that school trip, remember?”

“... I forgot.” Brienne grimaces. It rubs her in the wrong way that Jaime already handles things so well that she finds herself forgetting things she wouldn’t have, but the job consumes so much of her time that she doesn’t know what to do with herself.

“Thought so,” Jaime chuckles. “So I got nothing to do anyway. Give me fifty stags and I will get you those copies tomorrow after we dropped the girls off. Deal?”

“... What's the worst that can happen, huh?”

Brienne is to find out the next day, remaining rather irritated by Jaime’s cryptic messages who says he will meet her outside the archive and that she is supposed to wait for the “big show.” She doesn't know what to expect until a very suave looking Jaime walks up to her, dressed in nice clothes, his hair in a neat bun, beard trimmed, stump securely hidden away in his fancy jacket, looking nothing like the biker she got to know and yelled at the first time she met him.

Jaime is having his dear fun at Brienne’s ogling at him before proceeding inside and charming the lady into giving him access to the archives. Jaime pretends to be an “intern” working for some “nasty lady” who only ever treats him badly.

“She yells at me and only ever bosses me around. Can you imagine?”

“Oh, trust me, I can.”

Brienne is bound to wait until Jaime re-emerges with the promised copies, looking like he just won the lottery. Brienne almost feels tempted to hug him, but just almost. Jaime is feeling pretty ecstatic at her blushing and evidently checking him out. He tells Brienne she can request his services again any time she needs it.

“Though next time, you may have to take me out for dinner afterwards.”

“… We’ll have to see about that.”

Brienne finally feels a bit vindication when she comes to the office, ready to present her findings to Tyrion, but that hope is instantly crushed when she finds her desk cleaned, stuffed into a box, and the other employees looking at her with nothing but misgiving. When she demands to know what is going on, Tyrion calls her to his office to inform her that he can’t keep a secretary who doesn’t come to work, seemingly having forgotten that she told him she wanted to investigate this case, and to top it all, he does not appreciate that she lied about her identity. He reveals to her that he did some research on his own and figured out that she is actually the “infamous” Brienne of Tarth.

Brienne is enraged because he dug through her past without her consent, looking at what she tried to bury, all of that pain that cost her so very much, not just the family company, not just her reputation as a lawyer, but also her father who died shortly after he had to file for bankruptcy due to business partners making bad investments on his behalf. She storms out of the building, furious but also desperate because she just lost her source of income.

Back home, Jaime is fixing things around the house to the best of his abilities. Brienne loses her cool a last because she can't afford to pay him anymore, she can't do anything right.

“Everything I touch, it just breaks apart.”

She confesses to Jaime at last what went on in her past, tells him all about her father’s failing business, how her father didn’t involve her in the business until it was too late because he wanted to give her the freedom to follow her personal mission of defending those people in court who couldn’t defend themselves. She tells Jaime all about her father’s death, and how that left her with massive debts to pay, but despite her experience and education, she was forced into taking small jobs, hide herself, because she never made more out of herself when she still could.

“And now I am not just failing myself, I am failing Sansa and Arya. Seven Hells, I am even failing you. I am failing everyone!”

To her great shock, she finds herself in the arms of the man she has a truce with. Jaime comforts her and holds her close when her world is on the verge of falling apart. And for the first time in a long time, she simply lets go, allows herself to accept that comfort, to let someone else hold her when she is so used to keeping it together for others.

Jaime trusts her with some of his past at last, something she never demanded of him to know, how he lost his hand during his time in the military and returned a war veteran with trauma but no family to support him when it mattered. His father just wanted him to join the family company and his sister could not care less about him as she was too absorbed into her own affairs. Even his little brother, who used to look up to him, wasn’t there for him when it mattered. Jaime only ever found joy in riding his motorbike and eventually he was so fed up with the family that he could not take it anymore and simply started to drive, never looking back.

One thing leads to another and the two fall into each other’s arms and into the bed. And for a time, things seem fine again, however broken, because Jaime is all the things Brienne wouldn’t have thought him to be when they first met. He is soft and caring as well as witty and snarky. And Jaime finds that with Brienne, he can finally talk to someone who understands, who bothers to listen, who doesn’t look at him as a lesser man for the choices he made, for the hand he lost and the lifestyle he chose for himself. For the first time in a long time, neither one feels alone in this world.

Sometime later, Jaime takes the girls out for something fun to do so that Brienne has the house to herself and can make some phone calls to find a new job. Brienne is surprised when shortly thereafter, Tyrion winds up on her doorsteps. He says he read her report and finally understood that he was being “kind of a cock” for thinking she was taking time off without telling him and was indeed working this whole time as she had insisted.

“I just thought you were lying,” he admits.

“I don't, not when it comes to those things.”

“You lied about your name.”

“I put in my mother's name because whenever I applied with my own, no one would give me a chance. And I find that kind of unfair, wouldn’t you agree?”

“It is... So, can I come inside?”

“Under the condition that I will throw you out the moment on I am fed up.”

“I suppose I will have to agree to those terms, Miss Tarth.”

Tyrion and she sit down for a long overdue conversation about the case. Tyrion lets her know that he is now convinced that she is onto something big. He wants to work the case, with her, and have a look at the research she gathered but did not include in the report she left at the office before storming out.

Brienne, remembering Jaime's words about how she has to see more worth in herself, demands not just her job back, but to be accepted as who she is and what she is, lawyer Brienne of Tarth. And a raise. Tyrion likes the change of tone and agrees, telling her that he found a replacement anyway, in Shae.

“She does not know how to file reports, but she is good at making coffee.”

“I suppose that's not the only thing you see as being of merit.”

“Far from it.”

“Be it as it may... I have one more condition.”

“Which is?” he wants to know.

“If we go to court with this, if we really work this case, you will cut down on your alcohol consumption. I won't have a partner in on this case who sleeps under the office desk. The people I talked to, they matter to me, their lives depend on our success, and I won’t let someone in on the case who isn’t a hundred percent committed to the cause.”

“I am a very highly functioning alcoholic.”

“Cut it down or cut me out. Your choice.”

“You learn fast.”

“I may have a good teacher, though he still has to prove himself.”

Tyrion asks her to have another look at the archives because there must be more to what she currently has. Brienne says that she will have to ask her “friend” to do that, letting him know that she had no luck whereas her friend did. Tyrion is amused by the arrangement and jokes about how that sounds more like this “friend” is to her what Shae is to him. Tyrion suggests to her that he should meet that guy as well, to instruct him on what to look for. He has a greater knowledge regarding those matters than Brienne happens to have because he worked similar cases before. Brienne agrees to the arrangement.

That is the moment Jaime returns with the girls. Brienne tells him about the good news, only for him to go completely blank when he sees Tyrion and Tyrion sees him. Brienne doesn't know what's happening until both drop the bombshell that Jaime is Jaime Lannister and that this is his brother. Brienne never mentioned the name of the law firm to Jaime because he said he did not care.

As it turns out that the brothers were estranged after Tyrion took off to Essos to work for Daenerys Targaryen as a legal advisor when Jaime would have needed him most after the loss of his hand. When he made the cut away from Cersei and Tywin, Jaime thought Tyrion would stand by his side, but he did not. Instead, Tyrion rather kept out of the affairs and hid away in Essos. Jaime never forgave him that and broke with him the same way he did with the rest of the Lannister clan.

Jaime leaves the house in a hurry, unable to deal with his brother and his past catching up to him. Brienne goes after him and comforts him, to “return the favor.” While she won't ask him to go back to the archive and thus help his brother, Jaime says he will do it because he's seen what wildfire can do in the warzone under Aerys in particular, and he could not live with himself if he let people get away with using it.

“Just don't expect me to make peace with my brother.”

“I don't.”

“Then the truce remains intact.”

The work continues and the three work on their parts of the case. Brienne keeps gathering evidence and interviews to connect the dots, Tyrion preps up the battle tactic alongside her and gets back into his old game as the stellar figure he used to be in court despite his height, and Jaime ventures through the archives and on occasion charms his way into the hearts of the locals they have to interview when Brienne can't seem to get through to them.

However, big trouble is on the way and one set-back hunts the next. Running out of money, subtleties from the team of lawyers they are up against, files disappearing, threats, and unknown phone calls are only some of the problems they are facing.

The investigation starts to take its toll on Jaime’s and Brienne’s burgeoning relationship. Jaime doesn’t know whether he can commit to this kind of life he slipped into, after he embraced a life without strings attached for so very long. Brienne, for her part, can’t slow down and dedicates almost all of her time to he work. She would love to spend more time with Arya and Sansa, but she has a responsibility towards those people, she made a promise and has to keep it, has to, has to, has to. However, she also struggles with her feelings for Jaime because she doesn’t want to hold him back, well aware that he is still coming to terms with his PTSD he suffered in the war. She doesn’t want to burden him and doesn’t feel like she can make him stay. After all, she is not flirty, is not charming, and bad luck just keeps sticking to her flat heels.

And all of that happens in the midst of a legal war about to begin between The Alchemists' Guild and Brienne and her team.

But will they win?

Will justice win?

And what may be the costs of that battle?

Only time will show.

Additional Image Source: Erin Brockovich (2000).

#jaime x brienne #jaime lannister #brienne of tarth #game of thrones #got moodboard #got aesthetic #moodboard #aestheic #wacky tries gimp #fanfic #in smol #wacky writes fanfic #erin is evidently very much unlike Brienne in character #but I found the story totally intriguing #and with a bit of a change-up we can actually make it work I believe #at least I like it

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learning2manage · 5 years

Text

Frustrated today. Have bids to do. So much to learn. Work to get done. Things to teach the new handywomen. Need a damn closet option for a customer and I can’t seem to find the solution.

So a positive to remind myself that what I am doing is working. It is just going to take a while for me to find a groove and get past this huge learning curve I am on. (like a bid to put in an attic access ladder, retrofit drawers into walk-in closet, add sliding drawers to kitchen cabinets, dismantle a mantle and rebuild and fix stone tile, contract for a custom set of cabinets with fireplace, and install under deck ceiling... all for one person..)

Letter of recommendation from a client who took my 10,000 lumen work light around to look at my painting.

4/3/19

To Whom it May Concern

I would recommend Victoria to be your leading handywoman for any job she believes she can do. I as a client will start by saying I’ve had multiple handy(men) come to my house over the years to give me a bid on a long to do list of projects who I then never heard back from again nor would return my phone calls let alone give me a bid. These include handymen who advertise “no job is too small for me to do”.

The first time Victoria came to my house to assess some house projects I needed done, without hesitation she fixed a toilet paper holder that I’d had fixed a couple other times from previous handymen, to find, a couple months later, the tp holder fell out of the wall again. So far, my tp holder is still intact. Victoria appeared to be sensitive & concerned with all my issues such that it wasn’t just business but she also made it personal. I asked her when she could get started & she gave me a date that was in the near future.

On 3/25/19 Victoria called to have me meet her at Menards to check out wall materials for a basement project. She had already spent time looking for ideas & emailing me pictures to get ideas on what I might be looking for after listening in depth of my desires that were ‘out of the box’ & would be a challenge to implement for anyone but Victoria (from my previous experience). She wanted to make sure I’d be happy with all the decisions.

On Monday 4/22/19 I rescheduled our appointment because I was grieving over having my dog euthanized over the previous week end. On 4/24/19 Victoria arrived for our appointment with a beautiful pot of flowers she put together herself in sympathy for my dog & got to work. I probably didn’t tell her how much that meant to me & I am still enjoying that pot of flowers. It proved an extremely kind gesture considering she could see how much I love flowers.

After working on my project & other peoples projects at the same time, Victoria finished with the corrugated metal walls downstairs on 4/30/19 which I was VERY pleased with. She even redid some of it that she wasn’t totally satisfied with. I am very thankful that she is detail oriented & does not try & cut corners. I was also pleased that she cleaned up after herself every day. I don’t recall that happening with handymen. On 5/10/19 Victoria started painting the basement walls & finished on the 21st . She offered to work the week end of 5/17/19 but I told her that was not necessary as she was putting in full days everyday between all of her jobs. I was not on a timeline like her client that needed to sell her home after repairs were being done by Victoria.

Victoria did finish all the other projects I had for her & I am making another list because I know she’d get them done properly & in a timely manner. I’ve never known anyone else to spend the time researching all the tasks I had for Victoria to do but she didn’t let that slow her down.

If Victoria was going to be late, she would call & let me know it was because she insisted on making another client happy even though it would take longer than anticipated.

I now consider Victoria more than merely my handywoman. I’ve come to find out we have a lot of common interests & work ethic.

Sincerely, M

#handywoman

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inyournightmares97 · 6 years

Text

My Youth (Chapter 6)

Broken and miserable, Park Jinyoung returns to his hometown to learn that no matter how hard he falls, there are still people who think he’s a hero.

Warnings: Mentions of suicide/depression, death, angst, slow build, maybe some language.(Please don’t ask when I’ll update. Wait until the series is finished to read if you’re impatient.)

Word Count: 5.7k+

(Can’t put links to the other parts here, please check my Masterlist/the reblog for the Prologue and Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5)

“-Mom, I’m busy,” Jinyoung muttered into the phone. He had been sitting in a crucial meeting with the Finance Director of GOT Tech and representatives of the Financial Regulatory Board. Receiving approval for his company to go public was one of the most critical and risky steps in Jinyoung’s career.

His mother, however, had been calling him constantly for the last twenty minutes.

Mrs. Park sounded upset. “I’m sorry, Jinyoung, dear. I just needed to reach you-”

“Mom, I’m in an extremely important meeting right now. Do you know how it looks when the Managing Director of GOT Group keeps getting calls from his mother during business meetings? What do you want from me?” Jinyoung demanded in a frustrated whisper, running his fingers through his hair. He tried not to let his agitation show on his face; the other high-profile attendees of the meeting could still see him through the glass wall of the conference room.

“Jinyoung, there’s been a terrible tragedy in town,” his mother began nervously. “I don’t… I don’t know how to tell you this, but i suppose there’s no easy way to talk about a death. Remember I told you that I’ve been going to the hospital every day to meet-”

Jinyoung felt a burst of irritation. The clock was ticking. The Board members were waiting for him impatiently and he could see the disapproval on their faces. “Mom, did you call me to tell me that someone died?”

“Well… yes, but-”

“Mom, I have been preparing for this presentation for months. The future of my company depends on this meeting. This is absolutely the worst time you could have chosen to tell me something like this,” Jinyoung muttered through gritted teeth. He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself. “Please don’t mess up my focus right now. We can talk about this later. Do you need anything from me urgently?”

Mrs. Park hesitated. “You always seem to be busy these days. I just thought… if we could maybe help out with the funeral expenses or the hospital bills…”

Jinyoung closed his eyes. “Mom, you can just call my secretary for that. She’ll send you whatever amount you need. Send them flowers from me or something, okay? I have to go now.”

“Take care, Jinyoung, dear-”

“Bye, Mom.”

Jinyoung hung up and sighed, pressing his fingers to his temple. His personal secretary had followed him out of the room and was watching him nervously. He hadn’t even asked his mother who it was that had passed away. Was it somebody he knew? Maybe it was best that he didn’t think about it too much for now.

“Take my Mom’s call and ask her who died, send them money for the funeral and all those formalities,” Jinyoung told his secretary shortly. She nodded and made a note of it on her phone quickly while Jinyoung cleared his mind.

Focus. The presentation. The numbers.

Jinyoung took a deep, calming breath and plastered a rehearsed smile on his face before he turned to enter the conference room once more.

“I’m so sorry to keep you gentlemen waiting,” Jinyoung greeted all the well-dressed men with a bright smile. “I hope you can forgive me. Mothers seem to have a knack for calling at the most inconvenient times, don’t they?”

The men chuckled politely. “That’s perfectly fine, Mr. Park.”

“May I begin the presentation?”

“Please, do.”

--------

Jinyoung believed that to achieve something great, you needed to make certain sacrifices.

He had always known that the path he was embarking upon was not an easy one. Establishing your own business meant that you didn't get off work at 5 pm sharp, you couldn’t spend your weekends at a countryside cabin or getting drinks with your friends. You needed to keep working until things got done. You needed to compete in the market. You needed to be strong enough to pick up after your losses and clever enough to make friends in the right places. People were depending on you.

Jinyoung hadn’t merely chosen a career, he had chosen a life.

A very lonely life.

Whenever his mother would call him and try to have a casual chat, Jinyoung would find himself irritated. Who cared whether Mrs. Lee from the grocery store was giving a discount on strawberry bread? What did it matter if Mr. Cha had been trying to sell his little farmland? There was important work to be done. Jinyoung needed to talk to the advertising agents to make sure his products were being launched properly, he needed to negotiate discounts with suppliers to ensure he could meet the planned pricing goals. There were employees relying on him. There were investors who had trusted him with their money. There were quarterly goals that had to be met.

Every second of Jinyoung’s time was precious. Why couldn’t everyone understand that? Why couldn’t his mother stop thinking that her tiny little world in this tiny little town was everything, and understand the importance of what her son was doing?

There are a limited number of hours every man has at his disposal. We each make a conscious choice regarding how to spend each one.

It was only now, standing in front of your mother’s grave, that Jinyoung came a terrifying realization.

He had made the wrong choices.

------

“It was heart failure,” Mrs. Park whispered.

Jinyoung’s hands clutched the cup of tea firmly. It was hot and uncomfortable, but not more than the sick feeling in his stomach. Every word his mother spoke made him feel more pathetic.

What had he been doing all those months while your mother was in hospital and when she’d died? Preparing for his company to go public? Sitting in meetings and sucking up to corporate officials? Only to be fired and thrown out of the company. Only to have missed the death of somebody who had trusted him and cared for him.

“But she couldn’t have been that old…” Jinyoung muttered.

Mrs. Park shook her head softly. “She’d always had a weak heart, Jinyoung. Her health was fragile and after her husband passed away she had no choice but to work to support her daughter. All those long hours and late nights for years… they took their toll in the end. She had her first stroke three years ago. She was in hospital for a few weeks and then she had the second one; the one that took her life.”

Jinyoung closed his eyes, remembering your mother in his mind’s eye.

“She always looked tired. And worried.”

“She was.” Mrs. Park reached out and placed a hand over her son’s nervously. “I’m sorry, Jinyoung. I should have told you about it sooner. But you were always so busy in Seoul, always doing important things. It never seemed like the right time to tell you about something so devastating. It’s my fault.”

Jinyoung let out a small scoff. “Don’t take the blame on yourself. That doesn’t help me.”

Mrs. Park looked upset. “Jinyoung-”

She was interrupted by a loud knocking at the front door. Jinyoung closed his eyes and pressed his fingers to his temple while he listened to his father go to the door and yell at the person on the other side. The reporters had already found his home address. They had started arriving one-by-one since this morning. Each of them desperately wanted an interview with Park Jinyoung, the man who had lost his empire overnight. They wanted to know what he had to say about his dismissal from his own company.

Mr. Park re-entered the living room and sighed. “They’re getting more persistent. I think I should call the local police before they start trying to shove their way into our house.”

Jinyoung nodded and stood up. “I’ll go down to the police station myself and ask them to send someone to deal with this harrassment. Mom, you’ve told everyone we know to deny any reporters who request them for an interview, right?”

“Yes, but is it really a good idea for you to be going outside now-”

“I think I’ll lose my mind if I stay indoors,” Jinyoung muttered. He grabbed the black hoodie that was slung over the back of the sofa and glanced at his parents. They were both looking at him with wide, worried eyes.

Jinyoung felt a sudden wave of guilt wash over him; why should they have to deal with so much because of his mistakes? Why was he always the one taking and yet never giving?

“I’m sorry,” he apologized softly. “I’ll try and be back for dinner.”

------

Jinyoung’s legs carried him naturally towards the elementary school.

Perhaps it was a subconscious urge to see you, even though he had no idea what he would say if you really appeared before him. Anything Jinyoung could have said to help should have been said three years ago. Words like I’m sorry seemed like an insensitive joke at this point; too little and far too late.

Jinyoung sat silently on the bench by the schoolyard with his face covered by his dark hoodie, and wondered how his life had brought him to this point.

Left with nothing with shame.

“Ahjussi!”

By the time Jinyoung looked up, there was already a tiny figure running straight towards him at full speed. He flinched and braced himself for the impact; only to have the small boy stop centimetres away from him and throw his arms around him happily. Jinyoung stiffened.

“What-”

“Ahjussi, you are Park Jinyoung!” Ki-woo cried delightedly. The boy was beaming. Jinyoung noticed for the first time that one of his front teeth was missing, but it was still one of the brightest smiles he had ever seen. “Miss told me yesterday! Why did you lie and say you weren't? I can’t believe the King of the Playground walked me home after school and I didn’t even know!”

Jinyoung couldn’t resist a small smile. The sight of the little boy bouncing on his feet warmed him for a moment and he patted Ki-woo on the head. “If somebody asked Clark Kent if he was Superman, he wouldn’t say yes, now would he?”

Ki-woo’s eyes widened in understanding. “Wow. That’s so true! You’re so cool!”

“You’ll have to keep my secret.”

“Of course I will! Ahjussi, can you tell me how you did it? How did you manage to climb the oak tree?” Ki-woo demanded, grabbing Jinyoung’s arm and tugging on it eagerly. “You have to tell me, you just have to! Were you really tall?”

Jinyoung blinked. “Tall? Not particularly…”

“Then how? How did you do it?”

Jinyoung opened his mouth to respond but he was cut off by a loud yell. He had been so preoccupied with Ki-woo that he hadn’t noticed the much larger man that was making his way across the school yard. Jackson Wang had a huge smile on his face and without greeting, he threw his arms around Jinyoung in a fierce hug.

“Park Jinyoung! Look who finally decided to grace us with his presence!” Jackson cried happily. He pulled back and noticed the blank look on Jinyoung’s face. With a frown, he pointed to himself eagerly. “Remember me? Jackson! Jackson Wang! You used to pass me all the answers in History class!”

Jinyoung swallowed. “Uh…”

“Mr. Wang, you’re friends with Park Jinyoung?” Ki-woo asked, his mouth gaping open.

Jackson blinked and looked down at the boy sheepishly. “Ah, Ki-woo. I didn’t see you down there. Didn’t your teacher tell you to wait inside until someone came to pick you up? Go back indoors now.”

Ki-woo pouted. “But-”

“Nope. Back inside. Now.”

Jackson waited until Ki-woo began to slouch back towards the school building and then turned back to Jinyoung. “Man, you’re pretty much the celebrity around these parts now, eh? We had a couple of reporters come by the school this morning, asking for anyone who used to know you. You have nothing to worry about! I scared them off. These babies aren’t here for nothing,” Jackson beamed and flexed his bare bicep.

Jinyoung didn’t really know how to respond. “Nice.”

Jackson narrowed his eyes. “You do remember me, right?”

“Yeah, yeah, of course-”

“We should get drinks sometime and catch up now that you’re back in town! Man, I really owe you. You did me a solid one that Christmas before you left, remember? I’ll buy you a couple of beers at the pub. What’s your phone number?” Jackson demanded.

“I don’t really have a phone right now…”

“Don’t have a phone?” Jackson looked confused. “Weird but okay. I guess I can always ask Miss First Grade to get in touch with you. I can’t believe she didn’t tell me you were back in town!” he cried, slapping Jinyoung’s arm playfully. “Hold on… you’re here to see her, aren’t you?”

Jinyoung cleared his throat. “Not exactly…”

Jackson chuckled knowingly. “No worries, man. I’ve got your back. I need to go inside and take care of the kids now, so I’ll tell her to come out and meet you here, yeah? Let me know if any more of those reporters come around. I’ll take handle them for you!”

Jinyoung forced a smile. “Thanks-”

“No problem, man. It’s what friends are for. We’ll catch up soon!”

“Sure.”

Jinyoung watched Jackson half-run back to the school building, letting out a sigh of relief. Each person he came across in this town seemed to remember something about him and the one who possessed the most dangerous knowledge was Jackson Wang. In addition to having been the resident supplier of inappropriate magazines and the one who’d convinced Jinyoung to try his first cigarette behind the park back in high school, Jackson simply knew a little too much about everybody.

Jinyoung sat down on the bench and took a deep breath. He just realized that Jackson had said he would send you out to meet him. Why hadn’t he told him not to? He wasn’t prepared to face you. Idiot.

It was a few minutes before you emerged from the school building and walked towards Jinyoung. There was a pleasant smile on your face as you approached, and it made Jinyoung’s stomach turn. How could you smile at him like that? How could you be so calm about everything?

“Jinyoung,” you greeted him, confused. “Should you be roaming around out here? There are reporters buzzing all around town.”

Jinyoung cleared his throat. “Uh. Yeah, I know. Jackson said he drove them away...”

You rolled your eyes. “That idiot Jackson Wang? He was fully prepared to seize his five minutes of fame by telling them how you used to help him cheat in History class. I had to step in and force him to deny the request for an interview,” you muttered. Jinyoung’s eyes widened and you gave him a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry. I sent a message to the principal of the middle school and the high school. Nobody’s going to give any interviews about you.”

Jinyoung felt small.

“Thanks,” he muttered.

“Did they find your house?”

“Yeah. They’ve been knocking the door all day. It’s really starting to bother Mom and Dad.”

Your expression was sympathetic. “Should I call the police?”

“Don’t worry. I was going to go down to the station myself and ask them to send someone to get rid of the reporters,” Jinyoung reassured you. He felt his heartbeat thump wildly as he looked at your gently smiling face. Should he say it? Should he talk about the elephant in the room? Even though he hadn’t prepared what to say?

“About… about last night…”

You blinked. “Yeah?”

He sighed. “About your mother. I’m sorry. I didn’t know. I know that’s no excuse, but I should have been there and-”

You cut him off with a forced smile. “Jinyoung. It’s okay. It’s not like you could have done anything for her even if you were here, you’re not a doctor. Everyone did the best they could.”

Jinyoung swallowed. “I might not have been able to help her. But… I should have been there for you.”

The smile dropped from your face. What could you say? Jinyoung’s eyes were filled with shame but it wasn’t the right time for him to be offering condolences. That time had long passed.

But you still remembered his words from last night as he’d hugged you. I don’t feel as alone when I’m here. Jinyoung had been through so much. How could you say anything to such a broken man except for it’s okay? How could you offer him anything but comfort when he had nobody but you?

How could you not be the bigger person when he was suffering?

“It’s fine, Jinyoung,” you promised him softly. “You don’t need to worry about it.”

“How can I not-”

“Seriously. Please. It’s in the past and nobody was to blame. It happened around the time your company was going public, so I can only imagine how chaotic your life and work must have been back then. I don’t resent you.”

Jinyoung looked up at you in disbelief. “How can you not?”

“I just… don’t. It’s fine.”

“Do you really mean that? Do you really mean that?” he demanded.

“I do,” you insisted firmly. You glanced at your watch and sighed. “Wow, it’s getting late. We have a PTA fundraiser at school tonight so I need to start setting up. Oh! Did you bring my bicycle by any chance?” you asked him hopefully.

Jinyoung shook his head. “Uh, no. The reporters were in front of my house so I slipped out through the back…”

“Can you drop it by the school later? I’m going to staying back pretty late because I have to wrap up after the event is over. It might even take till midnight and the buses stop running at 9 so I need a way to get home. It’s not too much trouble, is it?”

“No, that’s fine. I’ll drop it off here later.”

You gave him a small smile as you turned to go back indoors. “Bye, Jinyoung.”

“Bye.”

---------------------------

The PTA fundraiser left you drained of energy.

You would much rather have dealt with a hundred kids at once than with a handful of parents. At least kids could be made to see reason, they could be convinced with a little bit of logic (however flawed). Adults, on the other hand, believed that they knew best and that things had to be done exactly the way they wanted. Adults were unreasonable. Adults liked to throw around their authority.

You had never wanted to get into bed so badly.

You stayed back late to clean up after the fundraiser was over. It wasn’t required of you, but it was something that you somehow ended up volunteering to do. All the other teachers had families to go home to and kids to take care of. You only had an empty apartment.

Asking them to stay back instead of you felt selfish.

You slung your bag over your shoulder and trudged out into the parking lot to see that the bicycle racks were empty. Shit. Had Jinyoung forgotten to leave the bicycle behind for you? Where was he?

You pulled out your cell phone and then sighed. Damn Park Jinyoung. He didn’t even have a stupid phone. It was far past the time that Mr. and Mrs. Park would have gone to bed and you didn't want to wake them by calling them. But your apartment was too far to walk and you would have to pass by the pub; you had no interest in meeting the town’s drunkards alone in those narrow alleys at midnight.

You sighed and dialled another number.

“Jackson, hey. I’m so sorry, I know you just left a little while ago, but…”

-------------------

It was 1am when you heard a loud banging on your front door.

You had just finished taking a shower and were getting ready to slip into bed when the noise began. Your heartbeat racing, you grabbed hold of a kitchen knife quickly and then slowly approached your door.

“Who’s there?” you yelled out, voice shaking.

The voice that replied was muffled. “Jinyoung!”

Jinyoung? At this time of night?

You opened the door carefully. The first thing that hit you was the awful smell; Jinyoung stank of sweat and cheap beer. His eyes were red and his face flushed as he looked at you almost wildly.

“Are you okay?” he demanded, grabbing your shoulders to look at you properly. His hands were trembling and he seemed unaware of how loud his voice was. “Are you all right? I was looking for you everywhere!”

You raised an eyebrow at him. “Wow, you’re drunk.”

Jinyoung’s eyes widened. “I’m sorry- I’m so, so, sorry-”

“How about you come inside before you bring my neighbours running over with all of your noise?” you snapped. You had little patience for drunks, and knowing that Jinyoung had been out getting drunk instead of returning your bicycle did not please you. “Where have you been?”

Jinyoung stared at you helplessly, his arms waving around as he spoke. “I-I was just going to get one drink, I swear. But it led to another and I totally forgot about your bike and I was so scared that you might have walked home because I know that path passes by the pub and it’s not safe-”

“Relax,” you told Jinyoung as you guided him gently towards your couch. “I didn't walk. I called Jackson, he drove me home.”

“Jackson? Wang? Why? Are you guys close?” he asked, plopping down heavily on the couch.

You shrugged. “He’s a good friend.”

Jinyoung paused for a moment and then hung his head quietly.

“We used to be good friends.”

You looked down at Jinyoung properly. He was a wreck. His dark hair was a tangled mess and the light blue dress shirt he was wearing was wrinkled with a beer stain on it. There were even large sweat stains under his arms; he’d probably cycled all the way here in a panic.

And he’s one of the Most Eligible Bachelors under 40. If only the magazine had seen him like this.

“We’re still friends,” you told him lightly. “Although it wouldn’t do any harm to return my bicycle when I ask for it. Do you want a glass of water?”

Jinyoung blinked at you dazedly. “Do you have beer?”

“Absolutely not. Haven’t you had enough?”

His lower lip pouted slightly as he stared down at the floor. “I’ve been drinking all evening but I haven’t reached the point where I feel good or forget about my problems yet. In fact, I keep thinking about them even more. How about a cigarette?”

“You will not smoke in my house,” you told him with a firm glare.

To your surprise, Jinyoung suddenly smiled. It was only a gentle curve of his lips but you spotted it and frowned at him with your arms folded across your chest. “Are you feeling proud of yourself right now? Do you think your behaviour is something to laugh about?” you demanded.

Jinyoung looked up at you softly. “No.”

“Then why are you-”

“Because this is the first time you’ve given me that look since I came back,” Jinyoung admitted quietly. His voice trembled. “This is the first time you got angry at me. You don’t seem to get angry at me anymore.”

You didn’t understand. “Why would you want me to be angry at you-”

“Because you have to be angry with someone before you can forgive them. You have to first admit that they hurt you or that they did something wrong, and only then can you begin to repair your relationship,” Jinyoung whispered. He looked up at you and you could see the tears brimming in his eyes. “So tell me honestly. Have you forgiven me already?”

You swallowed. “I was never mad at you to begin with-”

“You’re lying.”

You clenched your fists as your heartbeat thudded. “I’m not lying. You’re drunk. You should drink some water and you can sleep on the couch-”

Jinyoung looked up at you, his eyes bloodshot yet surprisingly clear. “You are lying. Either you’re lying or you’re not the same girl I remember.”

“Why would you say that?”

“Because the girl I knew wouldn’t have pretended to forgive a friend to spare his feelings. She would have grabbed me by the shirt, looked me in the eye, and said Park Jinyoung, you’re an absolute bastard for leaving me here when I was having a hard time. She wouldn’t have spared my feelings. She would have expected me to be there for her because that’s what friends do. They count on each other.”

You closed your eyes. How had Jinyoung seen right through you? Even after 10 years, how could he see through you like you were made of glass?

“I’m not angry,” you tried to tell him slowly, even though you weren’t sure who you were convincing anymore. “Because I never expected you to be there. You were busy and I had no expectations-”

Jinyoung scoffed. “You’re lying again.”

“I’m not-”

“You are. Friendship is when you help someone, because you trust that they would do the same for you. What you’re doing for me isn’t friendship. You don’t trust me anymore. If you have no expectations from me, then that’s charity!” Jinyoung spat out. Tears were brimming in his eyes and his voice was choked. “Is that what I am to you? Charity?”

You clenched your fists and let out a small, humourless laugh. “I can’t believe I’m hearing this.”

“What?”

“Where the fuck do you get off accusing me of treating you like charity? After what you did?” you snapped.

Jinyoung stared at you blankly. “Tell me.”

Your throat closed up. You didn’t want to talk about it. You didn’t want to drag yourself back to what had been the lowest point of your life, especially not in front of Jinyoung. You didn’t know who he was to you anymore. How could you open up to him?

“I can’t,” you muttered. “I don’t want to talk about it, Jinyoung.”

“Please,” Jinyoung whispered. “Please. At least tell me I was a terrible friend for not being there. Tell me I was a terrible friend for not even knowing about your mother.”

You took a deep breath and sat down, your knees feeling weak. You had never imagined that you would have to sit next to Jinyoung and say these words to him while he was drunk. Yet, as his dark eyes pierced into yours, he looked more sober than ever.

“It was my fault she died,” you whispered, shakily. “I know how hard my Mom worked to raise me. I know how much she struggled after my Dad passed away. The doctor told me her heart attack was probably caused by stress- years of it. She was growing old but she’d never even gone for a health check-up because we couldn’t afford it.”

Jinyoung stared at you silently.

“I needed someone to say this to back then,” you admitted quietly. “I needed someone who would listen to me and who wouldn’t try to convince me that it wasn’t my fault or that I didn't do anything wrong. That’s what everyone kept doing. They kept trying to comfort me but I just wanted someone who would listen. I wanted you,” you mumbled.

Jinyoung only nodded. His hands reached out to take both of yours. He grasped them tightly.

“I knew you were busy, but I always had this hope that maybe you would come to the funeral,” you whispered. “I thought… surely, whatever I did to make you cut me off, it wasn’t so bad that you wouldn't even turn up to my mother’s funeral. But the truth was that I couldn’t grieve properly because the hospital was hounding me about the bills, I…”

You took a deep breath. You hated thinking about those moments. You had felt so helpless and alone, backed into a corner. “I don’t think it even sank in that my mother was dead until a few days later,” you mumbled. “ I spent the first day wondering how the hell I was going to pay the hospital bills instead of thinking about her. Your mother tried comforting me, she told me it would all be fine and that she would call you for help.”

Jinyoung closed his eyes; tears were clinging to his eyelashes.

“She did,” he mumbled.

You felt the walls around you come crashing down as you looked at the broken man in front of you. You remembered how badly you’d wanted to see him then, how much you’d craved his comfort. You remembered how furious you had been when you realized that Jinyoung had abandoned you.

“I thought you would call,” you mumbled. “I didn’t want to disturb you but at the same time I trusted that you wouldn’t leave me alone at a time like that.”

Jinyoung’s voice was soft. “I’m sorry.”

“It would have been better if you hadn't done anything at all,” you mumbled. “Maybe then I could have forgotten about it in the mess that I was going through. But you didn’t. I got a call from your secretary the night before the funeral.”

Jinyoung lowered his head. His hands were trembling even as they held yours and you could hear his soft sniffle. “Shit,” he muttered, his voice thick with tears. “Shit, I can’t believe-”

“I thought you’d finally called. But it wasn’t you. I had to hear some strange woman tell me over the phone that Park Jinyoung is sorry he can’t make it to the funeral but he sends his condolences,” you choked out. You smiled humorlessly. “As if I was some distance acquaintance you barely knew. You sent me your condolences through your secretary.”

“I didn’t- I didn’t know it was you…”

“And then she told me that if I would just email her a copy of the hospital and funeral bills then all the expenses would be taken care of,” you mumbled. “She said that she could send me as much as I needed, no limit. I was so embarrassed. I wanted-I wanted to tell her that you could go fuck yourself and that I didn’t want your condolences and your money. I wanted to refuse so badly, but…”

You hung your head in shame. “But I couldn’t,” you whispered. “I couldn’t say that to her because it was true. I had no other way of paying those bills. So I sent her the details and I let you pay for them. Whether you know it or not, you paid for all my mother’s hospital bills and funeral while I sat here and wondered how I had become such a worthless daughter.”

Jinyoung’s hands clasped yours so tightly that it hurt. His shoulders were shaking and you could see the sobs racking his chest. “I didn’t mean to-” he sobbed. Jinyoung’s tears landed on your clasped hands. “I didn’t mean to, I swear…”

You slowly removed your hands from his. “I have the accounts,” you muttered. “I’ve been saving up to pay you back. It might take me a few more years but-”

Jinyoung flinched. “Don’t say that.”

“It’s not open to discussion, Jinyoung.”

“Don’t say you’ll pay me back, please-”

“I will pay you back,” you said firmly. You took a deep breath. “You know why? Because I might be able to forgive you for not being there when I needed you. But I will never, never forget how cheap I felt the moment I ended that phone call. So don’t talk to me about charity; I know how it feels to be on the other end of it.”

Jinyoung closed his eyes. He felt light-headed and blank as he thought about everything you’d said. No wonder you didn’t consider him a friend. No wonder you couldn't bring yourself to be honest with him. No wonder there was something fake and forced about your every smile.

Jinyoung hadn’t just messed up.

He had destroyed something precious to him without even realizing it.

“It’s late,” you mumbled after a brief silence. “You should go to sleep. Here, just; make yourself comfortable on the couch and I’ll get you a blanket and some pillows.”

Jinyoung swallowed. “I-I can’t…”

“You’re not going anywhere at this time of night while you’re drunk,” you told him. You pushed him lightly so that he leaned back against the sofa. “Stay put. I’ll be back. I think we’ve talked enough for tonight.”

“Can you just promise me one thing?” Jinyoung asked quietly.

“What’s that?”

“Even if you don’t consider me your friend anymore, even if you’re just being nice to me because you’re that kind of a caring person… don’t give up on me completely.” Jinyoung looked up at you desperately. “Please. Tell me that I can fix things. Tell me I haven’t broken our friendship and my life beyond repair.”

You looked down at him. Lying on your couch in his crumpled dress shirt and the beer stains, Jinyoung looked pathetic. Perhaps it was because you’d finally let out all the resentment you’d been bottling up for so long. Perhaps it was because, looking into Jinyoung’s eyes now, you could see that he did care. But you suddenly didn’t feel so hollow anymore.

You didn’t feel so lonely in your pain.

“Everything can be fixed, Jinyoung,” you told him softly.

“Even us?” he mumbled.

You nodded. “Even us.”

“Even me?”

“Especially you.”

Jinyoung slowly closed his eyes and you went into the other room to get him a spare pillow and a blanket. He let you place the pillow under his head and snuggled into the soft blanket. You turned to switch off the light when you heard him mumble.

“You know something?”

“What, Jinyoung?”

“I thought that the most unbearable thing about being fired from the company was all the effort I’d put into it. I thought I couldn’t bear it because I’d done so much for it for the years,” he said slowly.

You blinked at his curled up figure under the blanket.

“But it’s not?” you asked.

Jinyoung shook his head. “It’s not how much I’ve done for the company that I can’t bear. It’s how much I sacrificed for it.”

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