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#just gave me zero engagement
mishtershpock · 5 months
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#okay i’m gonna try to keep this short and sweet. 30 tag maximum you are my nemesis lol#my main issue here is not necessarily that the karaoke and other bach party scenes have likely been cut#it’s more that they’re clearly buddie baiting for engagement#journalists were watching the episode as early as saturday. which means the ep was ready by at least this time last week#so they knew that the scenes had been cut. and they chose to continue including it in promotion and interviews#i KNOW that logically the reason they chose those scenes to cut was because they’re less important. and we’d already seen them#they technically already gave us the clips in the promo videos. right? so bye bye#but that’s bullshit. sorry#they used buddie best friendism content as a way to promote the ep and increase hype#and then they just pull it out from under us the day before it airs#this is a madney episode. madney are getting married. buddie having fun is not the most important thing here. i get it#so why did they not promote something else? you’re telling me there was NOTHING ELSE they could’ve used?#nothing else from the episode that was free of big spoilers? at all???#it’s madney’s episode but they chose to promote one clip of buddie talking to maddie. one of chim crawling. and the bach party stuff#they must know that people would focus on the bach party. buddie is beloved buck and eddie are beloved#what were they expecting??#they used buddie as a pairing as bait. not queer bait and not even ship bait i suppose as there was nothing ‘shippy’ shown#but they baited buddie content. that’s literally what’s happened#i would be more understanding if this wasn’t a regular occurrence. it’s normal sure. shows do this all the time with fan faves#but also it is a false reflection of the episode. even journalists are saying the episode is not what they expected from the promo#it honestly feels like they’ve made fools of us. maybe the episode will air and it’ll be better than expected#but i don’t have much hope not much hope for buddie. not much hope for madney getting what they deserve. ZERO hope for eddie’s 7b storyline#frankly i’m expecting b/t to be the main chat after this ep. which is……. anyway#i’m not really liking s7 so far and i feel gaslit when people say it’s great lol#IN MY OPINION it is choppy and too fast and a little ooc and doesn’t make a lot of sense#they didn’t even green light bi!buck until episode. what. 2/3??#so presumably had to change everything from then on#i know that’s partly down to limited episode numbers but… 3 eps for the cruise (unnecessary) but 1 for madney wedding? ok#sigh. if anyone’s read this far pls don’t come for me ok. these are just my opinions#we’re all entitled to them. i’m sad for madney and i’m sad for buddie best friendism and i’m sad for s7 as a whole right now
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aerhartdraws · 15 days
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Gave our girl a big gun.
I'm sure she'll use it responsibly.
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Rescue Mission
“Greyskull-Zero-Two, report.”
Catra surveys the scene before her, brow furrowing as she counts the figures ambling in the valley below her, loading boxes onto the waiting hauler. Their quarry is in there, no doubt about it. Just a matter of– “Greyskull-Zero-Two, report.” An eye twitches at Command’s insistence. “There’s some kind of auditory disturbance coming through my earpiece,” she mutters, through gritted teeth. “It’s very distracting.” “… Very funny, Zero-Two. Report.” Catra sighs, flipping through scan modes on her visor. “Twenty bodies, twelve armed,” she replies. “Most of the cargo’s loaded. Can I shoot them now?” “Negative, Zero-Two. Stick to recon.” Her eye twitches again. “Command, I thought our objective was locating Zero-One. If she’s here, we have to move now. The rest of the 52nd won’t arrive in time to respond to our reinforcement request.” The tension in her voice is barely concealed, the temptation to blurt a string of expletives down the comm withheld but for the thinnest thread of restraint. “Negative,” comes the response. “That’s an order, you hear me? You do not fire unless fired upon.” Catra sits there for a moment, considering. Finally, she stands up, walking towards the edge of the outcrop, her armoured form silhouetted against the planet’s pale sky. “HEY, ASSHOLES!” “Zero-Two, what–” All twenty of the insurgents turn to look at once, twelve guns immediately blazing to life, spewing plasma in her direction. Catra pulls back, narrowly avoiding the hail of glowing bolts spattering across the cliff edge. “Permission to engage now?” A wry smile spreads across her face as she asks the question. It’s greeted with a groan and an exasperated sigh. “… Fine. Cleared to engage. And Catra?” “Yeah?” “You're working for us, now. No more war crimes.” Catra huffs as she steps forward once more, hefting the autocannon to her shoulder, taking aim as her finger finds the trigger. “You’re no fun.”
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bluexiao · 2 years
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#taking off your ring in the middle of a fight
–pretty self-explanatory// this can also mean a promise ring or engagement ring that they gave to you
CHARACTERS. Albedo, Alhaitham, Ayato, Cyno, Diluc, Il Dottore, Kazuha, Scaramouche, Tighnari, Xiao, Zhongli; gn! Reader
THEMES. angst, arguments, slight crack on one of them (guess who), most has no comfort, some has comfort
NOTES. i haven’t been posting multi-hc’s have i? well, here yall go~
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ZHONGLI, at first, failed to notice it until he opened his eyes and turned your way.
It was just an argument, all couples do have one. All normal relationships have such situations, after all. Yet it was beyond him to see the band over the table, where you had just been moments ago, only to leave him to ponder with his thoughts all alone.
He quickly turns and follows you to wherever you might’ve gone, “love?” he calls out with a full voice? “Love?” And a broken one after that when he sees you on the bed, folding clothes on your own.
“Are you… leaving?” He hesitated, clearing his throat and prompting you to look up and meet his eyes.
He braces himself for your answer, brave enough to accept your answer, whatever it may be. He wouldn’t stop you—you have every right to leave, after all.
“What? No, of course not, what made you think-” then your gaze trails down to your fingers upon seeing the ring on his palm, instantly reaching out and taking it from him, “Oh-was that? I was only… I took it off because I had to wash my hands to fold the clothes.” You slowly explained, realizing the intention behind his question as you do so.
“Oh, beloved… I am never leaving you,” you stood up and he was the one who stepped forward and received you in his arms, wrapping you and him sighing out heavily once he felt your body against his.
┌───────── ·  ·  ·  · ꒰⚘݄꒱₊
XIAO felt the way his knees buckled as he zeroes into your hands, now holding onto the ring that was once wrapped around one of your fingers. That same ring that he had created out of the love from the depths of his heart, a ring that symbolized not only his feelings but also his pledge to never sever the bond you have.
Did you not… want it anymore?
Was the first thought that plagued his mind.
Perhaps… you had finally grown tired of him after all that he has done. After all, who was he to expect you’d always be there for him, when he had clearly not done the same.
He couldn’t really blame you at this point.
He had just ruined the only good thing in his life—and maybe for the better… for you.
Just as he was about to turn around and walk away without a word, he slips back into reality and away from his thoughts on the warmth that attaches itself on his cheeks—a familiar warmth that never fails to pull him out of the darkness and into your presence.
“Darling, shh… what’s wrong? Hey, Xiao? Talk to me, please,” the tenderness of your touch and your soft voice envelops his mind and he couldn’t help but lean into your palm further, placing his gloved hands on top of yours and relishing them on his skin. How they were enough to calm him down makes him even more… greedy—how can he live without you now? The mere thought of it scares him, the old XIAO may not be able to admit it, but the new one after you came into the picture would.
“Please… don’t leave me,” despite this, his words left his lips in a hushed tone, slipping out like a whisper meant for your ears only—his weakness that he never let anyone else see, even his own god.
┌───────── ·  ·  ·  · ꒰⚘݄꒱₊
TIGHNARI heard your scoff before he saw it. He frowns at the mere sight of your empty fingers, and the glare that’s ever so present in your face.
He marches forward your way and you stood your ground, ready to be hurt by his usual sharo words only to-
“Are you seriously removing our ring because of a petty argument?”
You immediately glance down and before you can sputter out a response, he takes a hold of your hand and slips the ring back himself, back to where it once was—where it belongs. Once you had glanced at him again, he had this relieved look on his face and the twitching on his ears and tail that you didn’t bother to point out.
Was that… a big deal to him?
Your own harsh words died down before they even got out, realizing that there really was no point to continue it as you heaved out a sigh.
┌───────── ·  ·  ·  · ꒰⚘݄꒱₊
SCARAMOUCHE freezes–not literally, but still–and the ice melts almost suddenly, burning with the intensity of his glare.
“And what do you think you’re doing?”
The thing with SCARAMOUCHE is that he takes—he takes what he wants and he will get it either way. With you, he doesn’t understand how you get your way and he becomes pleased with just seeing you smile.
He just wants to see you smile again.
And that ring on your finger.
But both of them are not really present at this very moment.
“You’re just like the others,” he begins to spat when you respond to his question, then he looks away, knowing that you’re going to leave would only make him regret in glancing through your eyes—one that always understood him well, turns out to be just not too different, “You’re going to betray me, after all.”
And now that he said those words aloud it only dawned on him of the intensity the burden was—how much the truth weighed on his shoulders, just like the several other truths he had kept out of the light ever since your arrival.
His shoulders shook and he cursed at the gods once again.
If only… if only he can replace them, and he’ll never have to suffer like this.
┌───────── ·  ·  ·  · ꒰⚘݄꒱₊
KAZUHA only got home when it happened.
He left in quite a rush before he sailed off with The Crux, thus leaving you with the argument between the two of you still in the air. And sure, he still did send you letters per usual, the only difference was… you have left him unanswered.
And now that he’s home, he did not know if the sight of the empty house, unopened letters, and the ring left on the counter were something he could have not been surprised with as it was something very expected and reasonable enough.
Feeling stuffy despite the emptiness of the place made him go out and decide to find you. And in his course of doing so, he saw you walking the same way.
“Kazuha… you’re home,” if it were from your displeased tone, he would have already left with the unspoken question answered in his mind. But he stood his ground and made his way towards your form.
“Oh! You found my ring!” You spoke before he can even confront you, and in spite of his surprise upon your actions, upon reaching for your ring, he slips his hands to your waist and wraps your form tightly.
“K-Kazu?” Hearing you stutter even made him more delighted and relieved that his negative thoughts weren’t the reality that he was into.
“I thought you left me… please don’t scare me like that ever again, dove.”
┌───────── ·  ·  ·  · ꒰⚘݄꒱₊
“If you are leaving me, you do not need to slip out your ring, you just have to say it out loud. Proclaim it, even!”
IL DOTTORE watches as you looked at him with a bewildered look, eyes wide open and jaw slack, “W-what? I only-“ only for you to purse your lips shut and look away. If you had wanted to say something else, it already flies away like dust and never to be seen again.
“Fine! I am leaving you! Happy now? Well, you certainly would,” there was a venom in your voice that no one around him dares to even whisper a peep about—only you. Only you get to treat him like this and be left unscathed.
Even now.
Even now as he watches you leave and thinks how much your words were very untrue, he can never really admit it out loud, could he?
Certainly not.
He glances down at the ring that once laid very gently on your finger—on your warm skin, and now rests upon the cold ground.
Certainly… not.
┌───────── ·  ·  ·  · ꒰⚘݄꒱₊
DILUC had always admired your eyes, your strong gaze that had crumbled the walls on DILUC’s high walls.
“Love…” his hands reached out to you first before you could go and step out, and despite the glare that he received from you, “shall we talk about this first? Please don’t-“ leave me. The words died down as he stared even more into your eyes.
But… you have the right to leave, don’t you?
A voice in his mind told him that he should let go—it was your freedom to break things off with him.
But another voice told him that you were not as unreasonable as that.
Right?
The only problem was which voice he should follow.
┌───────── ·  ·  ·  · ꒰⚘݄꒱₊
CYNO failed to process the circumstance as quickly as the others, but as soon as he did, you have already walked out of the room and he was left standing there, with your ring–the ring that he once gave you and had never seen you took off until now–on the bedside table.
A sting on his fingertips as he reached out for the golden band, traveling through his arms and to his chest, where he certainly felt the pang that made his heart almost ache—why so? What does this ring symbolize that he hates seeing it on your fingers and not on his palm?
However, before he could interrogate you, you came back to the room and looked at him with a raised brow, “Why are you staring at my ring like that?” And was the first one to ask the question instead.
He frowns and asks back, “Why did you take it off?’
You sigh heavily and rub your forehead, closing your eyes in frustration, “I’m not in the mood to argue with you again, Cyno. Can you just… give me my ring back? Please?”
Upon sensing your emotions and realizing the situation he wordlessly went and followed what you said, only to take your hand and carefully slide the ring on one of your fingers, feeling the sense of contentment wash through his chest.
You wanted to stay angry at him for not even perceiving his mistake, but the gentle rub of his thumb on your hand made you want to forget it and let it die down…
For now.
┌───────── ·  ·  ·  · ꒰⚘݄꒱₊
AYATO was reminded of his oath, the same oath he had declared to you once he had first slipped the ring on your finger.
But seeing you remove it on your own accord made him feel a pang on his chest, almost akin to the one he felt when he first received news of his mother’s death, of his father’s… and now…
He remained silent and for a rare time in his life, he stopped to contemplate. He had always been known for having the mind to make quick but efficient plans, reasons, and words that would not only be able to hide his true intentions but also to force out someone else’s. Being on edge is nothing new to him. Even this relationship was something he had to fight for and survived with his rational mind.
And now, everything crumbles and thaws like thin ice, forcing him in the cold water that he has always been accustomed to but never fully got to soak in. The truth of the inevitable.
Maybe soulmates really were something only her mother and father could have.
Because even if he found you, he couldn’t even make a way to keep you and his oath to you.
┌───────── ·  ·  ·  · ꒰⚘݄꒱₊
ALHAITHAM didn’t care about rings at all, not until he had met you and felt the significance of such a thing.
And so, when he saw the ring out of your finger—the same ring that he bought for a ton of Mora that he could have invested on something else but since it was something that your eyes laid upon and brightened over its sight, he still bought it—he knew something had gone wrong.
“Y/n- Sweetheart… let’s talk about this first.”
Of course, he was also thinking about the Mora he spent—only a little… but he also worried what could’ve made oyu possibly react in such a way?
Or is he just… insensitive like you had said? Insensitive enough he could figure out a lot of things but couldn’t figure you out.
Your uniqueness is indeed one of your charms—and his very weakness.
“We shouldn’t break up over this, Y/n-“
“Who said I was breaking up with you?” You bite back, despite accepting the gentle hold of his hand on your wrist.
“Your ring… Why did you- Oh.” He stares dumbfoundead when you began to wipe the band with your clothes and proceed to slip it back.
“What? I wiped it off because I washed my hand.”
“I… I see.” He clears his throat, looking away.
Right. His weakness indeed.
┌───────── ·  ·  ·  · ꒰⚘݄꒱₊
ALBEDO would not be as much affected. Of course, he did notice how you took it off and placed it on his laboratory table, before walking off completely. Notice the way your eyes watered and your teeth biting your lower lip in frustration, your heavy breathing and your stifled cries.
He saw them all.
The ring was customary, he had heard it from his colleagues, and indeed, you deserved one—you deserve the best, and he proceeded to give it to you.
But the sight of the ring alone made him realize just how much he had been swallowed by greed. Far too greedy to give you a ring and continue to break his promise nonetheless. Hurting you without meaning to and trapping you in a relationship made of the wholehearted love you give him and the pieces that he decides to give you in return.
ALBEDO wasn’t affected by the ring.
But it did make him realize how much he had affected you.
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Reblogs and comments are very appreciated~
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wickedghxst · 2 years
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so far i’m not really enjoying lost judgement as much as i thought i would. kinda sad abt that. not done yet so maybe that’ll change. it’s gameplay & visuals are way better than the first one but the story… i dunno. i’m not nearly as invested as i was for judgement.
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Am I the asshole for not letting my husband have a say for the guest list of our baby shower?
I (21 f) and my husband (25 m) moved very quickly in our relationship, much to the judgement of my sister. We moved in with each other after a month of dating and she basically told me it was a stupid idea. We also got eloped with no family or friends there four months after that. When I texted my sister we got married (yes, I texted everyone instead of called) she asked if it was a joke and when I said yes then sent a picture of marriage license as proof, she didn’t respond for days. She called me later which I sent to voicemail, which was basically her crying saying she always imagined she’d be at my wedding and was hurt. I was upset because no one was invited or even told about the engagement; that was the point of eloping. The rest of my family was pretty happy for us though and I focused on that.
We didn’t talk for months because I wanted an apology, or at least a congratulations on getting married. She texted me a few times about nothing important (she sent a few memes). An apology never happened, but I started to text her again because I found out I was pregnant and wanted her to know about it. I called her about it eventually and she was supportive.
Before the Not Talking stage happened, her and my husband didn’t get along. She has made multiple passive aggressive comments about our relationship in the past. There was one time she visited us that made my husband upset because she showed up with little notice and also insisted on visiting again when our cat gave birth to her litter of kittens. She talked about helping and I didn’t really think anything of it. My husband later said he was upset she acted like she knew our cat better than us based off a couple of other comments she made and didn’t like how she invited herself over. I don’t think she meant anything negative about it, but it was annoying she insisted on one specific cat thing we told her we had under control and didn’t stop pestering until my mom called the vet to ask for advise and the vet agreed with my husband and I about how we handled the cat situation. I’m not sure if I explained that well but I honestly don’t know how to describe it without going into too much detail. This is just background info.
My husband and I wanted to do a gender reveal for the baby. We agreed on the theme and had a general date in mind. I invited my immediate family, best friend, and his immediate family that he talked to (which only consisted of three people). He said he didn’t want my sister at the gender reveal and this caused a huge fight. He said if she was there then he wouldn’t show up and I could tell him the babies gender on the phone. I cancelled the gender reveal because I didn’t want to uninvite my sister when she hasn’t made any bad comments in months and also wasn’t about to have my husband not be there. In my mind, there’s zero point in having one if both parents aren’t there. We found out gender by having our doctor write it down on a paper and we opened it later by ourselves. We told everyone over the phone what we are having.
Now, I am pretty far along in my pregnancy and my family wanted to set up a baby shower for me. I let them and we set up a date for it. My husband and I talked about the baby shower multiple times and looked forward to it. I Facebook invited the same people I invited to the gender reveal to the baby shower and he wasn’t happy when he saw my sister was again on that list. Him and my sister has only seen each other one time during these months, which was at a funeral. My sister initiated a handshake which he accepted and asked how he was. He answered fine and that was the end of it.
The baby shower argument was the same for gender reveal. He didn’t want her there and he didn’t want to come if she was there. He said I shouldn’t want someone who has done nothing but disrespect both of us in the past year to be at this event and should get a say in who comes and who doesn’t. There’s no excuse for the things my sister has done and said but it felt wrong to exclude her. If she wasn’t going to be invited to the baby shower, then what was his opinion on our son’s birthdays and other events? We couldn’t do this forever. She hasn’t been rude in months but we never got an apology. I’m also a little bitter about it but I’m trying to not be harsh. At this point, I didn’t say much when my husband said she couldn’t be there. This is because we just got done with a different argument about something completely different and he said he was done about certain things. I said ‘like what?’ and he told me he didn’t want my sister at the baby shower.
He said he wouldn’t have invited anyone that has disrespected me and I shouldn’t either. It sounds fair but it also sounds very black and white. I get along with the family he talks to outside of family events. I don’t get along with a couple of extended family members but he doesn’t get a say in who was invited to those events and never talks to them outside of those family events even before we were together. I didn’t really say anything for my argument because I knew he wouldn’t agree with it anyway. This sounds calm but he was very angry and I was crying pretty hard. He asked over and over again if she was coming to the baby shower and I refused to respond. If I say she’s not coming then I’ll have to follow my word and uninvite her, probably causing arguments within my family. If I say she is then he won’t come. (I’m not sure if this is relevant but my husband and I are both autistic and have been known to shut down and stim when we’re upset). He said he’s tired of being disrespected when I refused to answer for 30+ minutes and wanted a divorce. He crumbled up our marriage license and took my wedding ring off my finger.
He didn’t say anything about the baby shower and started asking questions about the divorce. ‘How much do you want in child support? When do you want to do visitation? Etc.’ I refused to answer for a while but he kept asking and I mostly gave vague answers like ‘whatever you want’ all while still crying. I didn’t say much except to say he was staying and we weren’t getting a divorce.
I don’t remember what happened next and what I said, but he eventually said that I had one more chance to choose him because he’s always chosen me. This is true because he has put me first. He works a lot while I’m not working this pregnancy and always makes sure I eat and everything. I’m not sure what’s going on with baby shower. I think he said that she can come if I put up boundaries about being nice otherwise she can’t come. I think this will start an unnecessary fight because she hasn’t done anything in many months so it seems insulting. I didn’t say anything though. We fell asleep and cuddled and he apologized the next morning before he left for work. He said he was more mad that I refused to talk. I, personally, was more upset about the marriage license he crumpled up. I still didn’t say anything but ok. He still hates my sister and expects me to tell her to be respectful.
I don’t know what to think really. I sound like a jerk for not letting him have a say for baby shower. It is his kid too. I also don’t want to divide my family by not inviting my sister, but he’s also my family. I know he acted like a jerk for the argument but that doesn’t necessarily means he’s wrong about the guest list and having a say. So would I be TA?
What are these acronyms?
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the-winter-spider · 20 days
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Never Enough | B.Barnes
Word Count: 4.1k
Warnings: Angst, fluff, comfort idk
Masterlist
The mission had been textbook so far, each Avenger playing their part with precision and skill. You moved through the chaos with a focused intensity, your grey-hued powers crackling around your hands as you deflected incoming attacks and shielded your teammates. The battlefield was a blur of noise and movement, but you were in the zone, you always were every action calculated to protect those around you, no one would ever get hurt because of you again.
Sam was high in the sky, engaged in an aerial battle with a group of enemy drones, when you spotted something he didn’t, a sniper, hidden on a distant rooftop, aimed directly at him “Sam!” You yelled through the comms, when all you heard was static you muttered to yourself “shit shit shit”
Your heart skipped a beat as you saw the glint of the scope, without a second thought, you threw herself into action, your powers surging as you manipulated the grey energy to redirect the bullet.
The energy crackled and hissed as it wrapped around the speeding projectile, altering its course just enough to avoid a fatal shot, but in the process, you lost control for a split second, and the bullet grazed your ear, tearing through flesh before embedding harmlessly in a nearby wall.
You stumbled slightly from the impact, your hand instinctively reaching up to the side of your head, when you pulled it away, your fingers were slick with blood. The warm liquid began to trickle down your face, but you pushed the pain aside, focusing on the relief that Sam was still in the sky, unharmed.
The mission wrapped up quickly after that, the team neutralising the last of their enemies. As they regrouped, Bucky’s sharp eyes zeroed in on you, and his stomach dropped when he saw the blood staining the side of your face.
“Doll?!” he called out, rushing over to you. His heart pounded in his chest as he reached out, his fingers trembling slightly as he tilted your chin to get a better look at the wound “You’re bleeding.”
You winced slightly at his touch but managed a small, reassuring smile “It’s just a graze, Bucky, I’m fine”
“Fine?” he repeated, his voice tinged with panic “You’re bleeding all over the place” his hands touching you all over, eyes racking your body to make sure it was the only one.
You gently pulled his hand away from you, giving him a firm look, still holding his hand in yours squeezing it “It’s fine, really. Sam’s okay, and that’s what matters”
As if on cue, Sam landed beside them, his wings retracting as he touched down. He noticed the blood immediately, his eyes widening in shock. “Y/N, what the hell happened?”
You waved it off as if it were nothing, because it was nothing “Just a little sniper action, I saw the shot coming your way and redirected it, no big deal” You shrugged
Sam’s expression softened, and he placed a hand on her shoulder “Thank you, I didn’t even see it coming… you saved my life”
You could feel his eyes peering into the side of your head, as if he was trying to see into your head and what you were actually thinking and what you were actually feeling. Before Bucky could protest further, the rest of the team gathered around, assessing the situation.
Natasha gave Y/N a once-over, her eyes lingering on the blood before nodding approvingly “Nice work out there.”
“Yeah, way to keep Sam in one piece,” Clint added with a grin.
You smiled, though the adrenaline was starting to wear off, and the pain was becoming harder to ignore. Bucky noticed the way your smile faltered, but before he could press you to get checked out, Tony’s voice came over the comms, the ones that were finally working.
“Alright, team, let’s pack it up and head back to the Compound. Dinner’s on me tonight.”
You breathed a quiet sigh of relief as they headed to the jet. You knew Bucky was worried, but you couldn’t let him fuss over you right now. The wound was minor, and all that mattered was that all of you were heading home, all of them, your family…. alive.
The flight back to the Compound was uneventful, the team settling into a comfortable silence as they let the exhaustion of the mission sink in. You sat beside Bucky, leaning your head against the cool window, ignoring the throbbing on the side of your head. You could feel Bucky’s concerned gaze on you, but you kept her eyes closed, pretending to be asleep to avoid another confrontation.
When they landed, the team made their way to the common area, still buzzing with post-mission energy. Tony had ordered dinner, and they all gathered around the large table, digging into the food that was quickly delivered. The atmosphere was light, everyone enjoying the rare moment of relaxation.
As they ate, Tony cleared his throat, drawing the group’s attention “Before we all dig into dessert, I’ve got something to say.”
The room quieted as everyone looked at him expectantly.
“I was going over the mission logs today,” Tony continued, a playful smirk on his face. “And it turns out that our very own Y/N here has officially been on more missions than anyone else on the team this year.”
You blinked in surprise, your fork pausing mid-air. The rest of the team looked at you with varying degrees of shock and admiration.
“Wait, seriously?” Bruce asked, his eyebrows shooting up.
“Y/N joined after most of us,” Natasha added, her tone impressed.
Bucky’s eyes narrowed slightly, a mix of pride and concern flickering in his gaze. He knew how driven you were, but hearing that you had been on the most missions—despite the risks you took—made his heart clench. It made someone chun inside of him, he felt uneasy and nauseous. He knew you had baggage, dark shadows lurking behind you, almost everyone on the team did but this felt different.
You shifted uncomfortably under the attention, forcing a smile as you shrugged, trying to brush off the unwanted attention “Just trying to keep up with the rest of you.”
Tony raised his glass in a mock toast. “Well, here’s to Y/N—the MVP of the team. Just try not to hog all the action next year.”
Everyone chuckled, raising their glasses in her honour. You smiled, but your mind was elsewhere, replaying the events of the day and the worried look in Bucky’s eyes.
As the night wore on, you found yourself standing on the balcony, the cool night air brushing against your skin. You needed a moment alone to process everything—the wound, the mission, and the weight of Tony’s announcement.
As the night wore on, you found yourself standing on the balcony, the cool night air brushing against your skin. You needed a moment alone to process everything-the wound, the mission, and the weight of Tony's announcement.
But you weren't alone for long. Bucky found you, as he always did, quietly joining you, his presence a comforting warmth in the darkness.
"Sweetheart," he began, his voice low as he reached for you, brushing the hair off your face. His fingers lingered near the now bandaged wound. "You've got to stop doing this to yourself."
You didn't turn to face him, your gaze fixed on the stars above. "I'm fine, Buck... really."
He stepped closer, his hand gently resting on your arm, his grip firm but tender, trying to keep his frustration in check. "I'm not just talking about today, you're pushing yourself too hard…you're getting hurt too often. I know this seems minor to you, but... you're everything to me, doll, I can't-" He cut himself off, swallowing hard.
You finally turned to look at him, your eyes meeting his, the weight of his words settling in your chest. "I have to, Bucky. I can't stop, not when there's so much at stake”
He sighed, his expression tight with frustration, pain clouding his usually soft gaze."You don't have to do it all alone, we're a team. You've got us-you've got me…you always have me”
For a moment, you just stood there, the unspoken tension between you heavy in the air. You wanted to argue, to tell him that you needed to keep going, to keep saving lives. But the concern in his eyes, the desperation in his voice, made it harder to deny that maybe, just maybe, you were running yourself into the ground.
"I know you're trying to help," you said softly, your voice trembling as you searched for the right words. "But I don't know how to stop... I don't know how to just... be."
Bucky's face softened, and he pulled you closer, his arms
wrapping around you as if he could shield you from everything. "You don't have to have it all figured out right now. We'll take it slow, okay? You don't have to do this”
But even as you stood there in his embrace, a part of you resisted. You couldn't shake the feeling that slowing down, letting go, meant giving up some part of yourself. And that terrified you.
You pulled away from him, your heart pounding in your chest as a sudden wave of frustration surged inside you. "You don't get it, Bucky," you said, your voice rising despite your best efforts to keep it steady. "If I stop-if I take a break-then what am I even here for? All I have is the next mission, the next chance to save someone else."
Bucky's brow furrowed, his hands hovering near you, unsure whether to reach for you again. "That's not true…you're here because you matter, because we matter. You're not just some weapon to be used over and over”
You shook your head, stepping back as the anger and pain you'd been suppressing for so long started to spill over. "I can't just stop, okay? You don't understand what it's like, knowing that no matter what I do, it'll never be enough to erase what happened." He had his own demons, you knew that, he knew that. You knew he knew what it felt like, that no matter how much good you did, you could never erase the past.
"What are you talking about?" Bucky asked, his voice quiet, pleading "Enough for what?"
"My family," you snapped, the words tearing out of you like a wound being ripped open. "I killed them, Bucky. I was supposed to protect them, and I didn't. I couldn't." Your voice broke, and you took in a shaky breath, tears burning in your eyes. "No matter how many lives I save, it won't bring them back. It won't make up for what I did."
The silence that followed was deafening. Bucky stared at you, his expression stricken, as if he could feel the weight of your pain pressing down on him too. His voice, when he spoke, was raw and filled with emotion. "You were a kid... You couldn't control it. How could you blame yourself for that?"
"Because who else is there to blame?" you cried, your voice cracking with the intensity of your grief. "I'm the one who's supposed to have control. I'm the one with these powers, and I couldn't – didn't save them….and now, I have to keep going because if I don't... if I stop..."
"If you stop, what?" Bucky's voice was sharp now, his own frustration bubbling to the surface. "You think you'll suddenly fall apart? You think it'll undo everything you've done, everything you've fought for?"
You wiped at your eyes angrily, turning away from him. "Maybe….Maybe I deserve to fall apart. Maybe I should."
"Stop," he said, stepping forward, his voice firm, a thread of anger creeping into it. "You're punishing yourself, and it's not helping anyone, least of all you."
You spun back around, the heat of your emotions pushing you beyond the point of caring. "And what if I am? What if this is the only way I know how to keep going?"
Bucky's face hardened, the pain in his eyes replaced with something colder, something distant. "You're going to kill yourself if you keep this up and I can't stand by and watch you do that!”
"Then don't!" you yelled, your chest heaving as the words tumbled out before you could stop them. "If it's so hard for you, then just leave, Bucky! I'm used to being alone."
His silence was like a slap in the face. For a moment, you thought he might actually walk away, that you had finally pushed him too far.
But when he spoke, his voice was quiet, devastated. "You really think l'd leave you? After everything?"
You swallowed hard, the weight of your own words sinking in, but the anger and the pain wouldn't let you stop. "Maybe you should…maybe it would be easier for both of us."
Bucky stared at you for a long moment, his jaw clenched tight, his eyes shining with hurt. "If that's what you want."
You felt the sting of your own words twisting in your chest, regret pooling in your stomach. But it was too late now. The damage was done, you couldn't take it back.
Without another word, Bucky turned and walked away, his footsteps heavy and deliberate, each one echoing like a hammer in your chest.
And when the door finally closed behind him, the quiet that followed was suffocating. The stars above you blurred as the tears finally fell, but this time, there was no one there to hold you together.
You were alone. Just like you always feared you would be.
After the door closed behind him, you stood frozen, your breath caught in your throat. The silence was heavy, thick with the weight of words you couldn’t take back. The pain in Bucky’s eyes haunted you, replaying in your mind like a broken record.
You leaned against the balcony railing, gripping it so tightly your knuckles turned white. The cold wind stung against the cut on your ear, but the physical pain was a dull ache compared to the emotional wreckage inside of you.
“I did it again,” you whispered to yourself, your voice shaky, broken. “I pushed him away.”
You thought back to the mission, to the moment you’d saved Sam without thinking of yourself. That was who you were, wasn’t it? Someone who always threw themselves in harm’s way, someone who believed their life was a bargaining chip to protect others. But with Bucky…it was different. He didn’t need saving. He needed you to let him in, and you couldn’t.
The stars blurred as more tears filled your eyes. All you could see was the look of betrayal on Bucky’s face as he turned to leave.
Maybe you were too far gone. Maybe the weight of your past, of your guilt, was too much for anyone to carry, even Bucky. He’d seen the worst of you, and now, maybe he’d finally had enough.
You choked back a sob, the hollow emptiness in your chest growing, threatening to swallow you whole. Your breath came in ragged gasps as you fought to hold yourself together, but it was no use. The cracks were already showing.
And in the quiet of the night, with nothing but the stars and your own racing thoughts, you wondered if you’d pushed the one person who could understand you too far. If you’d finally driven him away for good.
The door didn’t open again.
You were alone. Truly, completely alone. And the worst part was, it felt like you deserved it. Because you did.
You stayed there, staring at the night sky as if the stars could offer answers, but all they did was remind you of how small and insignificant everything felt. The wind howled through the silence, and your body shook—whether from the cold or from the emotions tearing you apart, you weren’t sure.
Suddenly, the door creaked open again, and for a moment, your heart leapt, thinking Bucky had come back. But when you heard the familiar sound of soft footsteps, you realised it was someone else.
“You okay?” Natasha’s voice was quiet, cautious.
You didn’t turn around, wiping at your eyes quickly to hide the tears “Yeah… just needed some air.”
Natasha came to stand beside you, leaning her elbows on the railing, her sharp eyes scanning your face even though you refused to meet them. “You know, you’re a terrible liar”
You huffed a humourless laugh, the sound bitter in your throat. “Guess I am”
Natasha sighed softly, leaning in closer. “I heard what happened… between you and Bucky, i didn't mean to eavesdrop ”
You swallowed hard, your chest tightening at the mention of his name “Yeah, well, it’s my fault. I pushed him away, that’s what I do.”
Natasha tilted her head, her gaze softer than usual. “You think pushing people away makes you stronger, but it’s only making you more vulnerable”
You stared at the ground, your voice barely above a whisper. “What if I’m too broken to fix? What if I ruin everything I touch?”
Natasha straightened, her expression turning serious. “You’re not broken, Y/N. You’re hurting but there’s a difference.”
You shook your head, your fingers tightening around the railing “You didn’t see the look on his face when I practically told him to leave….and he did.”
Natasha crossed her arms, her voice sharp but not unkind. “Bucky’s not the type to give up easily, especially when it comes to you, he loves you so much…He’ll come back, but you have to let him in. You can’t keep shutting him out, or one day… he might not come back”
You finally looked at her, your eyes brimming with unshed tears “What if it’s too late?”
Natasha shook her head. “It’s not too late..not unless you let it be”
You bit your lip, fighting the urge to break down again. “I don’t know how to stop, Nat. I don’t know how to stop blaming myself.”
Natasha placed a hand on your arm, her grip firm, grounding you. “You have to forgive yourself, you weren’t responsible for what happened to your family and you’re not responsible for everything that goes wrong in the world, You’ve done more than enough.”
You felt the weight of her words, but they seemed so far away from what you felt in your chest. “I don’t know if I can.”
Natasha’s eyes softened again. “Then let us help you, let Bucky help you..that’s what he wants and its what you need”
You looked away, your voice small and fragile. “I’m afraid I’ll lose him, I’m afraid I’ll lose all of you.”
Natasha squeezed your arm gently. “You won’t, but if you keep pushing us away, you’re only going to lose yourself”
For a long moment, you stood in silence, her words sinking in. The night air felt a little colder, but her presence grounded you, reminded you that you weren’t alone—even if it felt that way.
Finally, you nodded, barely a whisper escaping your lips. “I don’t know how to fix this, Nat.”
Natasha gave you a small, reassuring smile. “You don’t have to fix everything, Y/N. Sometimes, you just have to let people be there for you”
You stood there for a moment longer, Natasha’s words hanging in the air like a lifeline. She was right. You didn’t have to fix everything alone, and Bucky—he wouldn’t give up on you that easily.
Taking a deep breath, you turned to her. “Thanks, Nat… I think I need to talk to him”
Natasha gave you a knowing smile, her eyes softening. “Go…He’s probably waiting for you.”
You nodded, your heart pounding in your chest as you made your way inside. The hallways of the Compound were quiet, the hum of the place barely a whisper against the tension knotting in your stomach. You weren’t sure where he had gone, but you knew Bucky—he would seek solitude, someplace quiet to think.
Heading toward the common area, you peeked around the corners until you found him sitting on the couch, his back turned to you. His posture was tense, shoulders hunched forward as he stared blankly at the wall. The sight of him like that—silent and still—made your chest ache. You hated seeing him hurt, especially when it was your words that had caused it.
You took a tentative step forward, clearing your throat softly. “Bucky?”
His shoulders tensed at the sound of your voice, but he didn’t turn around. For a moment, you feared he might stay silent, that you had pushed him too far. But then, he sighed, his voice low and filled with emotion “What do you want, Y/N?”
Your heart clenched, and you took a deep breath before stepping closer. “I… I just wanted to apologise for what I said earlier”
Bucky’s head tilted slightly, but he still didn’t turn around “You told me to leave, so I did.”
You winced at the pain in his voice, the weight of your own words crashing over you again “I didn’t mean it, Buck…I was just… scared. Of losing you, of everything”
There was a long pause, the silence stretching between you like a chasm you were desperate to cross. Finally, Bucky spoke, his voice quiet but laced with vulnerability. “I know you’re scared, but so am I.”
You blinked in surprise, stepping even closer now, your hand reaching out hesitant to touch his shoulder “You’re scared?”
He finally turned to face you, his blue eyes soft and filled with a raw emotion that made your breath hitch. “Of course I am, every time I see you throw yourself into danger like that, I’m terrified I’m going to lose you. You keep pushing yourself too hard, Y/N, and it’s killing me. You mean everything to me.”
Your heart swelled at his words, the intensity of his gaze making it impossible to look away. “Bucky… I’m sorry. I didn’t realise how much I was hurting you.”
He stood up then, towering over you but not in an intimidating way. His presence was warm, comforting, and despite everything, you felt safe with him. He reached out slowly, brushing his fingers against your cheek as if testing the waters “I just want you to be okay, doll…that’s all I’ve ever wanted, you’re all i ever want”
You leaned into his touch, your eyes searching his, the sincerity of his words making your heart ache. “I don’t want to push you away. I just… I’ve been running for so long, I didn’t know how to stop.”
Bucky’s thumb gently traced along your cheek, his touch soft and reassuring “Then stop running, sweetheart. Let me be there for you”
Tears pricked the corners of your eyes as you reached up to place your hand over his. “I don’t want to be alone, not anymore.”
Bucky’s face softened, and he pulled you into a gentle embrace, his arms wrapping around you like a protective shield. You buried your face in his chest, breathing in his familiar scent, the steady beat of his heart grounding you.
“You’ll never be alone,” he murmured into your hair, pressing a soft kiss to the top of your head. “Not as long as I’m here”
You squeezed him tighter, feeling the weight of your fears slowly melt away in his embrace. For the first time in a long time, you felt like you didn’t have to carry everything on your own.
“Thank you,” you whispered, your voice muffled against his chest.
He pulled back just enough to tilt your chin up, his eyes filled with so much warmth it made your heart flutter. “Anytime, doll. You’re stuck with me now.”
You couldn’t help the soft laugh that escaped you, the tension between you both easing as his lips curled into a playful smile. “Good, I think I like being stuck with you.”
Bucky chuckled, leaning down to press a kiss to your forehead, then your nose, and finally, your lips. It was soft and gentle, like he was afraid of breaking the moment, but it sent warmth flooding through your body.
When he pulled back, his forehead rested against yours, his voice a soft whisper. “I love you, Y/N.”
Your heart soared at his words, and you smiled up at him, finally allowing yourself to let go of all the fear and doubt. “I love you too, Bucky…. More than you’ll ever know.”
Bucky’s eyes shone with affection, and he kissed you again, this time deeper, more passionate. The world around you faded away, and for the first time in a long time, everything felt right.
In his arms, you weren’t broken, you weren’t alone. You were whole. And that was more than enough.
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frost-queen · 9 months
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Bodyguarded // part 3 (Reader!Grimes x Daryl Dixon)
Forever tag:@missmelodramatic, @merlin-dahlia, @alex--awesome--22, @elllie-does-the-posts, @floatlosers, @merlieve, @queen-of-books, @glimmering-darling-dolly @denkisclown, @wildieflower, @meyocoko, @bubblybrianna, @justanothercoco, @subjecta13-thefangirl, @m-rae23, @harleyquinnswifeyfrfr, @swampthing07, @melsunshine, @panhoeofmanyfandoms, @venomsvl, @the-uncoordinated-house-cat, @rosecentury,  @imagines-by-her,  @evilcr0ne, @vviolynn, Tag: @strangerthingslover69, @ankhmutes, @yoowhatthefuck, @sseleniaa, @deansapplepie, @abbiesxox
Summary: After your little fall-out with Shane, you start to distance yourself. Daryl gives zero f*cks about you distancing yourself as he keeps himself aroud. During a heart to heart with Daryl, you might discover more of the underlying tone of Shane's attitude towards you. [ read part 1 & part 2 & part 4 & part 5 & part 6 & part 7]
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Crickets cricked in the bushes around the fire. Rick sat by the fire with Lori and Carl. Carl was leaning against him staring at the mesmerizing flames. Lori was in deep thought. Some had joined them but mostly everyone had an agenda of their own. Daryl stood a bit further away, leaning against a tree. His gaze turned away from the fire, but rather turned towards you. You weren’t engaging with the crowd, but keeping your distance from them.
You felt humiliated. Like a spying glass had been cast upon you. Everywhere you went, a set of curious eyes followed. Trying to figure out what was going on between Shane and you. Frankly you hardly had a clue to his behaviour towards you. Perhaps you needed to dig deep. Go way back to old memories from before the fall. Before the world went to hell.
Looking over at your brother made you smile faintly. He looked so happy yet somehow you felt like an outsider. Adverting your gaze from him, you turned your posture to take your leave. Going further away from the others to find solitude. The moment you got in motion, went Daryl after you. Leaving the others for what they were to go with you.
Hearing a second pair of feet trail behind you, you exhaled deep. – “Daryl I want to be alone.” – you told him keeping your pace up. – “Fine. I’ll just keep my distance.” – he answered slowing a bit down. Looking up with a heavy sigh, you stopped. – “Daryl you don’t understand. I don’t want you here!” – you made clear having turned around to him. – “Too bad for I’m not going anywhere.” – he made clear. – “Daryl!” – you groaned out. – “What!” – he called back going in defence.
You groaned loud pressing your palms against your eyes, feeling yourself get worked up. – “Daryl please give me some space.” – you begged. – “I’ll give you space but at least let me be around.” – he asked in return. It made you furrow your brows. – “I don’t want to lose… I mean… if a walker appears…” – he spoke swallowing a lot of his words back in. – “Then what? I can shoot Daryl, remember!” – you made clear.
“I know but you…” – he exhaled loud walking up to you. – “You are not in the right headspace right now.” – he told you, touching your elbow. You turned your head bothered away. You hated how right he was. – “Just… just let me keep you save.” – he lowered his head a bit to catch your attention.
Untensing your muscles with a deep sigh, you surrendered to him. Daryl took you by the other elbow as well, pulling you closer to his body. Sensing just how much you needed it. He wrapped his arms one by one around you. Your arms remained at your side, not feeling it yet. – “Give it a few moments.” – Daryl teased half chuckling. You scrunched your nose, hating how right he was. Not a moment later you gave in, wrapping your arms around him too.
“Good girl.” – he said chuckling. You slapped him hard on the back. – “Don’t patronize me.” – you responded grumpy. Daryl removed his arms from around you, cupping your cheek as he tilted your head a bit back. – “Never.” – he whispered staring down at you. He left a quick kiss on your forehead as it didn’t feel satisfying to you.
He let go of you, spinning you around by your shoulders. He started pushing you through the woody parts of the camp. – “Where are we going?” – you questioned. – “To be alone, like you wanted.” – he simply said, continue to push you forwards. Using you like a compass, navigating his way through.
You came to a clearing in the woods. All the cars were parked over there. Daryl guided you towards the truck opening the door for you at the drivers seat. You got inside, watching him jog around to get in on the other side. He shut the door firm behind him. – “Solitude and silence.” – he joked. – “You are still here.” – you reminded him with a tease. Daryl leaned down in the seat, getting all comfy. – “No I’m not.” – he adjusted the seating lower, leaning back.
“Go ahead and mope or cry or shout, just wake me up when you see a walker.” – he said casually flopping his arm over his head. – “Daryl!” – you said laughingly nudging him hard. – “What?” – he responded unable to hide a smile. – “You’re an idiot.” – you nudged him again with a silly smile on your face. – “I know.” – he answered all smug. He shut his eyes, pretending to take a nap.
You exhaled soft looking out of the dusty window. – “It’s a bit too quiet.” – you said out loud. – “I’m not singing any songs.” – Daryl mumbled in response without moving a muscle. It made you laugh. Daryl set himself back up with a deep exhale. – “Alright fighter, let’s talk.” – he tapped his hand on your knee.
You grabbed the steering wheel staring in front of you. – “How are you feeling with your brother being back, Y/n?” – he asked. You breathed out a laugh, looking at him. – “What I can be serious.” – he let out making you laugh even more. You then calmed letting your hands rejoice at the top of the steering wheel. – “It still feels a bit weird seeing him alive. Don’t get me wrong I am overjoyed he is alive… it is just…” – you started. – “You thought he was dead for so long.” – Daryl finished as you hummed.
“Before… before it all went down my brother was shot.” – You told Daryl. – “They were armed and shot at my brother. Shane… my brother’s partner brought him to the hospital. He wasn’t waking up so they left him in a coma. It was already then a risk if he would make it out alive.” – taking a deep breath you let your forehead rest against your hands on the steering wheel. Suddenly you were pulled back in the memories of the first strike.
Shane drove his car aggressively onto the front lawn. He stepped out all worked up when Lori appeared in the door. – “Shane?” – she said. – “Lori get your bags!” – Shane ordered pointing firm at her. Carl squeezed himself between the opening and his mom, coming in front of her. – “Lori your bags!” – Shane shouted having opened the trunk. – “What for? What is going on Shane?” – She asked feeling herself go in a panic because of his behaviour.
A few houses away broke the window with a clashing sound. Screams filled the streets when a woman tripped. A person going up to her and dropped himself to the ground. A moment later his head lifted a bit of flesh between his teeth. Blood staining his chin as he munched on the flesh. Lori covered up Carl’s eyes, shakingly holding a hand before her mouth. – “Lori!” – Shane yelled startling her. – “The bags!” – Lori nodded shockingly letting go of Carl.
Shane rushed over to Carl, grabbing him roughly by the arm. – “What about dad?” – Carl asked when Shane opened the car door. Shane pushed Carl on the backseat, closing the door on him. Shane ran into the house to help out Lori. Carl looked out of the window, crying silently at what he saw. Flesh being ripped off and blood splattering all around.
You were running horrified by what was occurring. Utter panic in the streets. People eating people. Biting bits and pieces for their own hunger. You didn’t lived far so your first reaction was running over to Rick’s house. There you saw Shane’s car parked poorly on the grass. Upon seeing Carl in the car, you started running faster. – “Carl!” – you shouted loud. Carl heard some muffled sounds before his eyes fell upon you. – “Auntie Y/n!” – he called out, pushing the car door open.
He ran up to you, bumping hard against you. He was crying loud against your body as you shielded him from the horrors. Lori and Shane came out of the house with bags. – “Y/n!” – Lori said surprised. – “Get in the car!” – Shane ordered to Lori. Lori nodded going to the car, tossing the bags in the trunk. Shane walked up to Carl, pulling him off you. – “In the car!” – he shouted at Carl, tossing him towards the car. Lori took Carl, putting him in the car.
“Where is Rick?” – you asked confused. Shane remained silent. – “You were with him! You were at the hospital so where is he?” – you wanted to know. – “Where is he?” – you shouted punching Shane on the shoulder.  Shane grabbed you by the wrist. – “He’s gone!” – he shouted at you. – “No!” – you cried out.
“You are lying!” – you told him. Shane grabbed you by the arms. – “You want to go and see for yourself? Fine! It will be your dead. He is gone Y/n!” – Shane’s hands moved further around you towards your back as it made you step back before they could fully close around you. Shane’s expression hardened. – “Go chase a dead man than!” – he said rudely pushing you away.
You stumbled to the ground in shock. Shane stormed off towards his car. – “If you would just…” – he began, looking over his shoulder to you. Without another word he got in the car. Your eyes widened knowing what he was about to do. You got up to your feet running towards the car. The car got in motion as you missed it. It took a turn, driving off. – “Shane!” – you shouted running after the car.
“Shane!” – you screamed as the distance increased. You couldn’t keep up, you never could. Stopping you dropped to your knees crying and screaming. Carl on the backseat knocking against the glass and shouting was the last thing you saw.
Your head shot up making Daryl blink confused. – “Is…is everything alright?” – he asked after your long silence. – “He told me Rick was dead.” – you mumbled staring hard in front of you. Your hands tightening around the steering wheel. Knuckles turning white. – “He lied…” – you said a bit louder. – “Who?” – Daryl asked getting a bit cautious of how terrifying cold you were being. – “He lied!” – you called out.
Out of anger you started to slap your hand against the steering wheel. Hitting it repeatedly even when your hand felt sore. – “Y/n, Y/n.” – Daryl said trying to get you to stop. He grabbed your hands as you continued to slap, hitting Daryl in the process. He pulled them off the steering wheel pulling at your hands to turn your posture more towards him. He wrapped his arms around you tight as you cried your heart out against his chest.
Pressing his lips hard on top of your head. Daryl turned his head spotting a trailed off walker appear from between the trees. – “Y/n.” – he whispered. – “I’ll be right back… you stay here…” – he said as you felt his grip around you loosen. You lifted your head up as well, seeing the walker. Daryl moved his finger to his mouth, letting you know to remain silent. He then gestured for you to stay put. He was going to take care of it. Your gaze darted down to the crossbow on the floor. His arrows sticking up.
You grabbed an arrow, getting out of the car. – “Y/n!” – Daryl called out, hurrying out of the car. Clenching your grip around the arrow, you went up to the walker. – “Y/n!” – Daryl shouted as it caught the attention of the walker. The walker gaged making it’s way over to you. Daryl ran up to you trying to keep you out of harms way. You raised the arrow, jamming it into the walker’s eye. Pushing it further in, the walker fell backwards with you on top of it.
Pulling the arrow out of it, you jammed it again in it’s eye. Then again and again. Gory blood splashing up. You kept trusting it in the eye, creating a massive hole. – “Y/n! Y/n!” – Daryl called out grabbing your arm to stop you from hitting it once more. – “It’s dead.” – Daryl made clear. You gasped for air with a loud sob, lowering your arm. Daryl took the arrow from you.
You wiped some gore off your face with your arm. Getting up with a loud huff. You wanted to walk off as Daryl grabbed your wrist, keeping you in place. – “What the hell was that about?” – he wanted to know. You didn’t have to speak as he understood. Daryl searched his back pockets taking out a key with the most ridiculous keychains on them. He opened your hand slapping them in your hand.
It made you frown. – “You can drive if you like.” – he said. – “Daryl what… what do you…” – you began as he interrupted. – “I don’t need all of them! I don’t! Hell I can survive better on my own!” – he made clear with a loud tone. – “So f*ck them all and drive off!” – he continued finally making himself clear to you. He grabbed you by the shoulders with a deep exhale.
“All I care about is you Y/n. Let’s get in the car and go. Just go. Leave this pile of shit behind.” – he pulled you closer letting his forehead rest against yours. – “All I want is for you to be save Y/n. So say the word and we’ll leave.” – he finished. You closed your hand with the keys in it, smiling up to him. You kissed him tender on the lips.
Daryl held himself back knowing it was a bittersweet kiss. He knew you couldn’t leave Carl… or Rick. – “I’ll hold you to it.” – you told him not saying entirely no to his offering. Daryl cupped your cheeks, kissing you once more. Deepening his kiss. Lips brushing against one another. A promise made underneath the moonlight.
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hannieween · 10 months
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reverie | city lights series | h.js
Joshua Hong was many things aside from your hot neighbour—he was a menace, a relentless tease. But most importantly, he was the first guy to ever make you feel wanted. And you were yet to know how dangerous that was.
✮ pairings: joshua hong x female reader ✮ genre: smut (18+) ✮ word count: 16.2k ✮ aus: rock singer joshua, neighbors with benefits
› part i — link to my other fics
›🎧: best lover - bibi | thirsty - taemin | crazy like you - chungha, bibi | poison - nct dream ♡︎
› smut tags under the cut
✮ warnings: alcohol use, dubcon: reader is drunk and joshua helps her change to pjs, smut with plot, big dick Joshua, dom Joshua, dirty talk, foul language, praise kink, somewhat inexperienced reader, multiple sex scenes, fingering (f. receiver), oral sex (f, m) guided blowjob, cum swallowing, protected sex, squirting, brat taming: bondage, orgasm control (f), use of toys and overstimulation (f), dumbification, multiple orgasms (f, m), pet names: baby, pretty girl, princess, sweetheart, bunny (hers)
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part ii
"Zero survival instincts," Yen scoffed, "None. Out the window."
"Yen, I'm fine," you insisted. "Nothing bad happened."
She sent you an irritated look. "What if he was a serial killer?"
You rolled your eyes. "He's not, Yen. He's just my neighbor."
"Are you serious right now?" she asked. "The least you could've done was sending me a text: 'hey yen, i'm inviting my neighbour over to fuck me into the next day, don't worry, he's not going to turn me into jerky'."
You laughed at the crude language, your best friend simulating typing on an imaginary phone.
"Shhh, keep it down, Yen," you muttered when you saw people from the tables around you glance at you.
Sitting at a cozy table for two in a charming bar, the atmosphere around him was quiet, with the soft glow of candlelight. The surrounding tables were occupied by couples, either engaged in a romantic conversation or trying to start one.
In the quiet atmosphere, your table stood out as the noisy one, occupied by two women who were indulging in the warmth of alcohol and pastries.
And, truth be told, were quite drunk on red wine.
"If he killed you at least I'd have something to tell the police," she continued with another roll of her eyes.
"But he didn't kill me. We just had sex, that's it."
She looked around your table, and suddenly you could sense that she was really invested. "How was it, then?"
You felt a sudden twinge in the apex of your thighs from just the memory of your last.
"It was so good," you sighed, and leaned on the table. "It was really really good, Yen. The best I had in my life, I think. Yeah, definitely."
"Wow, damn," she muttered, a sly grin appearing on her round face. "Not gonna lie. I'm jealous."
You chuckled. "I'm actually kind of surprised that he accepted, though," your brow furrowed, feeling your cheeks grow hotter in the mixture of being drunk and flustered at the memory. "He is so hot, Yen. Like really, really hot."
"Okay, okay. I believe you," she scoffed. "You know, when I told you to commit to writing sex scenes, I didn't mean to go methodical," she gave you a look and then smiled slyly again.
"What, I felt like I needed to experience the real thing before writing pages about it," you shrugged.
"That's a lame excuse," she said as she swirled her wine glass in the air.
"I think it's working," you leaned your cheek against your palm, your elbow propped up on the table.
"Oh, oh. Can I read the product of your little adventure?" her eyes widened.
"God, no," you recoiled at the thought. "This is just for... inspiration. There's still a lot of things I want to try before finishing the manuscript."
"What—wait a minute," she held up her hand. "Are you going to keep seeing him?"
You blinked. "Yeah, I didn't tell you?" your brow furrowed.
"Do you mean to tell me that you'll be fucking your neighbour until you finish the manuscript?!"
"Yen, it's fine," you shushed. "It's just sex. There's nothing to worry about."
Nothing to worry about. Except there was hardly anything that could take your mind off the memory.
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As you walked to the interior of your building after being dropped off by Yen, all you could keep thinking was to knock on his door. Just go, knock and he'd know. That was your deal.
You have been wanting to do that all week. But you were reluctant about it because you didn't want to come across as needy.
It was now Wednesday, three nights after that night with Joshua. You had slept together, and in the following morning he left.
You stumbled out of the elevator and into the hallway, feeling so tipsy that you almost took a full minute to be certain of which of the doors led to your apartment.
The device on your door was a smart-lock that simply functioned as a key. You didn't bring your keys, so you entered your six number combination.
The beeping noise from the smart-lock of your door indicated that you had only two more attempts left before being locked out of your apartment for the next hour.
You hummed, attempting to keep steady, but couldn't ignore the gentle sway of your body from side to side. Biting your lower lip, you struggled to concentrate, but the effects of the wine bottle were swiftly taking hold.
With a click of your tongue, you stepped back to double check you were standing in front of your door. You were.
"C'mon. You can do this," you hissed to yourself as you tried to enter the combination of your smart lock.
Beep beep. Wrong again.
One attempt left.
"What," you whispered to your lock again.
You tried to rest your head on your door for more stability, but when your forehead landed a loud thud resounded on the hallway.
"Ow," you winced.
Maybe you should ask for help.
No. You can do this. Is a simple stupid lock.
The sound coming from the door next to yours startled you. But you made no attempt to move your forehead from your door, expecting to see either Joshua or his roommate, the latter you haven't met yet.
But the sweet voice calling your name from the next door made you want to sink into the ground and never be seen again.
Joshua doesn't need to see you like this, you said to yourself.
"Are you okay?" Joshua asked, and you jolted to find him next to you, his eyes examining your drowsy ones.
"Um, I can't enter my combination," you mumbled as one of your hands pushed the hair from your face.
"You're drunk," he realized then, his fingers taking your chin for his eyes to survey you, a small smile appearing on his lips. "What did you have?"
Your cheeks were already flushed from the wine, but you could swear a different kind of warmth started burning beneath your skin the exact moment he touched you.
Before you could answer to his question, you take a brief look at him. Joshua wore an oversized gray plaid shirt, a black t-shirt underneath, and light gray sweatpants. A cap adorned his head, hiding his dark hair. You came to the conclusion that, whatever he was wearing, he would no doubt look hot.
Your mouth went dry. "Jus' a bottle of wine," you muttered, trying to brush off his hand but not succeeding.
"D'you have your keys?" he said as you drunkenly tried to enter your combination to no avail. His large hand swatted yours before you could enter any numbers on the pad.
"Keys," you repeated. "Don't think so."
"Let me help you before you lock yourself out," he hushed with his cute smile. "Tell me your combination."
The combination to your smart lock escaped your lips, trusting him with it completely without a second thought. He entered the combination and the lock beeped again, the small light blinking green.
"There you go," he muttered.
"Thank you," you whispered, pushing your door open and turning around to see his face one last time before going to bed.
You opened your mouth, feeling a strange tickling under your skin as you faced him.
"I uh..."
When no other words came out, Joshua smiled softly with a sigh and entered your apartment with you.
"Come on, princess. I'll take you to bed," he muttered and closed the door behind him, taking your hand gently and pulling you to the interior of your apartment.
"Mmkay," you cooed, letting him drag you to your bedroom.
In the darkness of your apartment, you saw him dressed in a way that was atypical of his usual style, almost as if he had thrown on whatever he found first–
"You look cute with a cap," you blurted before you could even stop yourself.
"You think so, princess?" he replied and took his cap off to put it on your head. "You look cute too."
A giggle bubbled up in your chest. "Caps make m'ears look bigger," you slurred.
As you entered your bedroom, you removed the cap from your head and, at the same time, stumbled upon a pile of forgotten clothes scattered on the floor. You vaguely remembered throwing them aside while you were looking for something to wear for tonight.
"Careful," he mumbled, catching you before you hit the ground. "You're tripping with those big ears of yours, bunny."
You burst into high-pitched laughter, which resembled a kid's. As if you had just heard the funniest joke. Joshua smiled as he heard you, an endearing expression on his face.
It made you feel fuzzy inside.
"Why did you drink tonight? What was the occasion, I mean," he asked as he helped you sit on your bed.
He crouched before you and started removing your shoes. Every action was carefully done, nothing was rushed, everything was carried out with delicacy.
"I went out with my best friend to this really fancy bar," you told him with an air of contentment.
"What's your friend's name?" he asked almost a second later.
Then, in the back of your mind where you still had some lucidity, you gathered that he was trying to keep you fully awake as he helped you climb your high bed.
"Yen, Yena," you mumbled.
With a sudden movement, your body fell back against the soft mattress and you gasped. Your head spun rapidly and the rush that ran through your body caused you to giggle.
"Careful there," he cautioned, just as he was taking your socks off. You could also hear him laughing a bit.
"Are you laughing at me?" you whined, your hands instinctively covering your warm cheeks as giggles continued to escape.
"I would never, princess. You're cute when you're drunk," he replied simply.
"Mmm, you don't think I'm ridiculous?" your voice was muffled by the hands burying your face.
"Why would I think that?" you heard him ask.
"Dunno," you mumbled sheepishly. "'m really drunk, J'shua," you slurred.
"I know, bunny," he chuckled. "Where are your pjs?"
You slowly uncovered your face to see him standing before your bed.
"Second drawer," you replied pointing to the drawers next to your bed, feeling your cheeks blaze.
There was no real reason to feel this shy, considering that Joshua had already seen every inch of your naked body. But the idea of him taking care of you took on new meaning in your mind. It made you feel closer to him.
"Oooh, what do we have here?" he said with a cheeky grin.
Then he pulled a pink lace thong, holding it up in the air with his fingers.
"Joshua!" you gasped. "That's not the second drawer!"
He giggled playfully. "Oops, my bad," he said, but continued rummaging on your stuff, pulling out a see-through mesh red bra. "This is really nice, bunny. Will you wear it next time for me?"
You groaned helplessly, but before you could come up with a quippy response, his eyes widened in surprise.
"Princess, you didn't tell me you had toys," he said with a surprised tone, dropping the playful act.
"Stop," you whined with a laugh and turned to crawl across your large bed toward him.
Before you could even make it to the other side of your bed, you stumbled and your face collided with the mattress, making you erupt into uncontrollable laughter.
You heard his genuine laugh resonate through the room, causing a flutter in your stomach, followed by the muffled noise of the drawer shutting close.
"Alright, alright. Time for bed," he announced, and a hand gently flipped you on the mattress. He sat on the edge of the bed next to your body. "I'm going to take your top off, okay?"
You nodded a little too eagerly, and that made him smile with a shake of his head.
"Now don't get any ideas, sweetheart," he said.
Then his hands grabbed the hem of the cute top you wore to your date with your best friend.
As the top came off and you were left under his gaze, you felt as if your whole skin was on fire, every inch tingling with an overwhelming sensation.
But he remained silent. You tried to make out the expression on Joshua's face, while he was deeply focused on his task, giving no signals that he wanted to do more with your body.
"Bra on or off?" he asked softly.
"Off," you whispered, feeling a sudden impatience take over your mind and body despite the effects from the wine still strumming on your ears.
"Kay," he replied in the same tone. "Arch your–"
You instantly arched your back for him before he could even finish the sentence. His eyes examined your face again with a hint of curiosity. 
"I'm starting to think you're enjoying this, princess," he said with a cheeky smile.
When a hand slid behind your back, it was then that you realized he was keeping his touch on your skin at a minimum. Joshua unclasped the pretty bra you wore, his fingers removing the straps from your shoulders without touching your skin.
Something sparked in you when his gaze wandered over your naked skin. Darkened eyes marveled at your tits as your nipples hardened from the bite of cool air and the skin around them bumped helplessly.
A small silent whine bubbled in your chest, your whole body tingling, needing to be sated by his touch. You gulped hard. He noticed.
"Do you want me to continue?" he asked with a gentle tone, so low you barely heard it above the buzzing in your eardrums.
"Yes," you whispered eagerly, looking at his eyes. "I trust you, Joshua."
At that, Joshua stopped and contemplated you. The momentary silence made you wonder if you had said something wrong, and you waited for his response.
But he just booped the tip of your nose.
"Sit up," he commanded with his sweet voice.
He extended his hands out to you to help you reincorporate in your bed so that he could put the top of your pyjamas on your body.
When you lay back on the soft covers of your bed, a sigh came out of you, revealing all the emotions that were bubbling up in your chest.
But Joshua interpreted it differently.
"Don't fall asleep yet. I need you awake for this," he urged with his sweet voice.
For a moment you thought that maybe you looked way too drunk. Perhaps, you felt better than you looked: the sluggishness of your limbs with every movement you made, the heavy eyelids, the clumsy tingling in your cheeks and mouth every time you spoke: all symptoms caused by the wine.
"I'm not sleeping," you said as you blinked slowly.
"Good girl," he muttered.
But the rest of your body was ablaze, desperate for his touch. You inhaled deeply, trying to fill your chest with something other than the desperate need for him.
The room was spinning. Was it spinning a minute ago? Who knows.
"I feel dizzy," you mumbled in a whiny tone.
"Hang on, princess. I'm almost done, okay?" he instructed. Still, you could hear that warmth in his voice. 
With careful fingers, he undid the zipper and button of your pants. You lifted your hips from the bed for him to slide them down your legs effortlessly.
Joshua was piling your clothes carefully on the foot of the bed, you noticed. He folded your pants in half and when he turned to you, he surveyed the lower half of your body, partially naked before him.
His darkened eyes found yours, an unspoken question written in them.
"Off," you whispered before he could ask.
A heavy sigh left him.
"Eyes on me, baby," he instructed again.
Then he removed your white lace thong, with so much care that his fingers didn't even graze your skin. He didn't skip a beat when he was already grabbing the matching bottoms of your bunny pyjamas, sliding them up your legs.
You smiled contently and made a move to sit up on the bed. "Need to wash," you muttered suddenly.
He smiled at the clumsiness to which you lowered yourself to the floor. "C'mon," he extended his hands to you and when you stood, you stumbled backwards a bit.
With his strong hands he helped you get to the bathroom without staggering and stood outside the door in case you needed help with anything, but still giving you the privacy to tend to your needs.
Afterwards, Joshua helped you to get under the sheets and covers of the bed, tucking you in, and then he bent down and placed a sweet kiss on your forehead.
"Such a gentleman," you cooed with a weak smile.
"Here to help," he replied with a pressed smile. "Sleep now, princess. I'll see you tomorrow, m'kay?"
You reached for his hand before he could distance himself any further, stopping him in his tracks.
"Don't go," you mumbled.
He sat back down slowly and placed his hand on your tummy, the mere weight of his hand and the warmth seeping through the fabric of your pyjamas made you repress a whine.
"Sleep with me?" you slurred, clenching the hand that was still clasped by yours.
"You're drunk, sweetheart. I'll come by tomorrow," he said and patted your tummy softly.
"Please? I promise I won't try anything," you mumbled.
You felt your eyes involuntarily welling up a little. You knew it was partly due to the effects of alcohol, yet you also suspected it was because of the emotions you'd been accumulating over the past couple of days.
Looking conflicted, a small guttural groan escaped him.
"Fine," he groaned in defeat.
A smile of victory crept up your face as you did what he asked. He stood from your bed to remove his shoes and the grey shirt he was wearing. You watched him carefully place his stuff on the armchair in the corner of your bedroom.
He lay down beside you under the sheets, approaching you cautiously.
"How do you feel?" he mumbled.
"Better," you sighed softly.
"Still dizzy?" he asked, his eyes hopeful.
"Mm nope," you mumbled, 
Eyeing him shyly, you scooted toward his body and nuzzled softly on the side of his shoulder, feeling his warmth.
"Thank you for taking care of me, Joshua," you said as the scent of his cologne invaded your already overwhelmed senses.
An arm slid beneath your body, pulling you closer to his chest.
"Don't mention it," he replied.
"I didn't ruin any plans, right?" your head snapped back to look at him.
His fingers trailed on the side of your arm, causing goosebumps on your skin at their wake.
"Not really, no," he hummed. "I was thinking about you, actually."
"You were?" you asked in an embarrassingly high pitch tone.
"I wanted to see you, princess," he cooed, moving his head on the pillows to look you in the eye.
A flutter in your stomach took your focus away. Joshua wanted to see you. The way he made it sound was almost as if he missed you.
"Was thinking of knocking on your door."
Oh.
That had an entirely different meaning. Knocking on your door would mean that he wanted to have sex with you.
"You..." you mumbled awkwardly. "D'you still want to?"
Something shifted in your brain. He might have just missed your body, but it was still enough to rouse something within you. The alcohol offered little help, but instead intensified your body's every reaction.
The tingling in your face, the rush of warmth that washed through you, pooling between your legs.
"Definitely not, princess," he laughed softly, putting your ideas to rest. "I won't touch you like this," he finalized sternly.
You let out a whine that sounded more like a childish cry, burying your face in his chest and sighing in frustration.
"It's bad manners to have sex with people who are not sober, baby," he explained, his tone was not condescending, but almost sweet or caring.
"But what if I want to, Joshua," you mumbled, your flushed face still buried in the warmth of his hard chest.
"I'm not going to fuck you no matter how much you beg," he said with a small chuckle.
"But I wan' you to," you whined against his chest.
You were so close to his chest that you felt the strumming of his heart, heard the small sigh leave his body. Your fist scrunched up on his t-shirt.
"You told me you wouldn't try anything, princess," he reminded you sternly.
Joshua took the hand that has balled into a fist, grabbing on his shirt and laced his fingers with yours in an attempt to soothe you.
"Mm, it's jus'—I need you," you mumbled, sneaking a glance in his eyes.
"I'm here, bunny," he muttered softly.
"But I've been wanting to see you all week," you said with a sigh.
Your face grew hotter on your drunken confessions, but you forced yourself to make eye contact with him despite the daze from the wine.
"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked while the hand that grabbed yours played with your fingers.
"I didn't want you to think I'm needy," you mumbled sheepishly, still trying to hold eye contact, but your eyes were shifty. 
"What?" he asked with a feigned tone of surprise. "I thought we had already established the other night that you're needy. Like, really needy," he laughed.
You scoffed and hid your flushed face on his hard chest again, but he pulled back, his fingers on your chin forcing you to face him.
"I'm only joking, princess," he smiled reassuringly. "Whenever you want to you can let me know."
You opened your mouth but before you could protest, he added:
"As long as you're sober."
You let out a bashful sniffle and pouted.
"Tell you what: if you go to sleep now, I'll give you whatever you want tomorrow. How about that?" he asked, looking down to find your eyes, he let go of your hand and stroked the side of your face softly.
Your eyelids fluttered under his touch. "Whatever I want?" you asked, looking at his rosy lips and then his eyes.
"That's right, baby. Whatever you want," he conceded.
"Mmkay," you mumbled.
You relaxed in his embrace, letting go of your demands at that very moment.
"Good girl," he muttered, pressing his lips on your forehead for a long second before resting his head on the pillow next to yours.
Your cheeks flushed and a fluttering sensation invaded your chest.
"G'night, Joshua," you mumbled a second before you closed your eyes and fell asleep.
The following morning, you woke up to a headache drilling in the back of your head.
You groaned in pain, ears ringing as you opened your eyes to only wince in pain at the faint morning light filtering through the parted door of your otherwise blackout dark bedroom.
Still drowsy you looked to the other side of your bed to find Joshua asleep.
Your breath hitched at the sudden invasion of memories—you had partially forgotten that Joshua had spent the night in your bed with you again.
He was lying on his side, an arm extended to your direction. You had the faint memory of him hugging you close to his frame, so perhaps you fell out of his embrace during the night. 
Joshua's features looked relaxed, peaceful even. His flush lips pursed softly as he swallowed and nuzzled the pillow. The way he looked so cute and innocent made you smile a little. 
With every movement you took, your body protested in pain. But you hurried yourself to the bathroom, taking the time to properly wash and refresh yourself to recover from your hangover.
Under the warm stream of the shower, you mentally retraced the events of the night. The drunken confessions that spilled from your mouth. Joshua's careful hands changing your clothes and helping you to bed.
"How are you feeling?" he asked as soon as he saw you come back to your bedroom, your body wrapped in a bath towel.
He was still lying on his side, but something told you that he woke up the second he heard you leave the bedroom.
"I just have a light headache but I'll be fine," you assured him.
His hand, which was still extended in the same way as when you left, patted the space you occupied during the night.
"Come here," he muttered.
With a sigh that denoted your nervousness, you walked toward your bed and climbed next to him over the covers. You lay on your side, facing him, propping your head on your hand, your elbow on the pillow next to his.
"D'you remember what happened last night? Why I'm here?" he asked, his voice still groggy, but it sounded soft.
"It's not like I was black out drunk," you smiled. "I remember everything, Joshua."
"Jus' wanted to make sure," he whispered.
With a small nod of his head, his eyelids closed slowly and he seemed to dozed off again. His chest rising and falling heavily, his face relaxing to his lips parting a little.
You took a moment to appreciate his beauty before jumping down from your bed, darting your eyes toward the man lying on your bed—to find him asleep.
Then you unwrapped the towel that covered your body. Careful not to make a sound, you busied yourself moisturizing your skin while you cast a few glances at him, making sure he was asleep.
But a few seconds later, you noticed him stir in your bedsheets, his eyelids fluttering slowly as he found you standing before your bed, wholly naked.
Your breath hitched, but curiosity sparked within you when his eyes surveyed your whole body from top to bottom.
Attempting to ignore that he kept his gaze trained on your frame, you busied yourself on looking for something to wear.
"Don't get dressed," he muttered softly when he saw you rummage through your drawers.
You darted a look at him. His sleepy eyes on you, the ghost of a smile on his lips.
"Or do, I don't care. Just come back here," he sighed sluggishly, patting the side of the bed again.
You smiled shyly and climbed back to the spot you had taken a few minutes ago. You slid beneath the bed sheets, next to his warm body.
"You talk in your sleep," he hummed.
Then his hands grabbed you by the hips, with a sharp pull his chest was now pressing on yours, his arms encircling your naked body tightly to snuggle you as if he wanted to sleep again.
It was a sweet embrace, almost too intimate. A part of you couldn't deny you liked it—being this close to Joshua. You grabbed him by the shoulders, uneasy of being fully naked in his tight embrace.
"I–uh I didn't know," you whispered, your heart strumming so hard that you could almost sense that Joshua could feel it against his chest.
Truth be told, Joshua was the first man you had ever slept with. He wasn't your first sexual partner, that much was already disclosed with him—you've had a couple of other partners in the past, but none of them were memorable to even matter.
Joshua was the first to make you feel real pleasure, the first to make you orgasm, to make you feel wanted.
And you were yet to know how dangerous that is.
"What did I say?" you asked reluctantly.
He took a breath, as if remembering and then he let out a breathy laugh. "Bunch of nothings, but you went for hours."
"Oh god," you groaned. "I'm so sorry, Joshua."
"You didn't talk that much the other night," he paused. "But maybe you were too tired the other night to even speak, right princess?"
Your stomach jolted a bit.
"Mmm-mmph. So tired," you agreed despite the growing flush in your face. "Last night's ramble wouldn't have happened if I was tired too."
"Oh, bunny. You think you're so slick. But you're so bratty," he cooed mockingly as his hands explored your bare back, his fingers sinking in the skin of your hips.
"What are you going to do about it?" you asked through a breathy mumble when his hands caused your heart to race.
"Nothing," he stated softly.
A long silence happened between you and Joshua. You almost thought that he might have dozed off yet again, but when you pulled from his embrace, he was grinning menacingly.
"But you promised–"
"I never promised anything," his brow furrowed. "When have you ever heard me say the words 'I promise'? Never."
A frustrated groan came out from you before you could stop it.
"You told me you would do anything I asked today!" you whined, feeling ashamed by his game.
"See, I never promised," he cooed again.
"But you said–"
"And I will do it, sweetheart," he cut in. "But I never specified at what time of the day I'll do it."
"Joshua!" you whined again, feeling the need to cover your flushed face.
He laughed merrily, he was enjoying this.
"I didn't bring condoms," he muttered, dropping the playful smile.
Your eyes narrowed. "You're lying."
"It's true," he put in simply. "Someone went through all of them the other night and I haven't bought more," he emphasized with a cheeky grin, he even shrugged slightly looking as if he enjoyed torturing you.
Which, he probably did.
You were a split second away to throw all away and beg him to fuck you raw. But the last thread of sanity you still preserved in your mind stopped you.
"I forgot to ask," he said suddenly. "Have you made your list?"
You stilled and looked away embarrassed. "Um, I've thought of some things."
"Like what? Maybe we could do something tonight," he replied.
In reality you haven't gotten around making a list of things you want to try in bed with him. Your mind only ends up wandering in sex fantasies of what you'd do and never actually write something down.
"I have some ideas, but I don't know yet," you mumbled sheepishly, darting a shifty glance up his eyes.
The pierced eyebrow arched up. "I'm listening."
A smile appeared on your lips. "You're taking this really seriously," you pointed.
"Of course," he frowned, pretending to be offended. "I want to help my neighbor with her book."
You rolled your eyes with a smile.
"Besides, it's not like I get to do this everyday," he paused. "Well, unless you let me," he muttered, tilting his head forward.
"What?" you asked in a gasp. "Like you don't have people throwing themselves at you at any chance they get."
"Only my pretty neighbors," he chuckled and you playfully slapped his shoulder.
"Seriously, Joshua. You don't get a lot of groupies or whatever?"
He scoffed loudly. "Groupies. What are you, a sixty year old lady in disguise?"
"You know what I mean," you mumbled, starting to feel deeply embarrassed.
"Not really, princess. It's not what you think. I can show you if you want. Tonight," he suggested in a low tone.
The features of his face had hardened, denoting that he was more serious now.
"Tonight?"
"Only if you want to, of course," he shrugged, and you could tell from his tone, the lack of warmth and playfulness that he seemed to be detached.
"I'd love to," you replied and his face relaxed. Was he expecting you to say no?
"Kay," his lips pressed in a smile. "I'll come later to pick you up. And after that we can get into your list, deal?"
"Deal," you smiled shyly, not wanting to express the full excitedness you felt.
You noticed that every time he smiled contently, two dimples appeared crowning his mouth. Joshua sighed and then he cupped your chin with his hand, surveying your face for a moment.
"How's your head, still hurting?" he asked, his other arm still pulling you close to his frame.
"A bit. I'm fine, Joshua. Don't worry," you gave him a small reassuring smile.
"Kay," he whispered and pressed his lips on your forehead just like he did before you fell asleep in his arms.
You felt his lips relax on your forehead but he didn't pull away, his other hand returned to its original place on your waist. You assumed that he was dozing off again, and your suspicions turned correct when his breathing gained more depth.
Then you let yourself be absorbed in his embrace and your hands moved from his shoulders to his hard chest over his t-shirt. You felt the soft thumping of his heart, the slow rhythm of his breathing.
Your eyes darted to his face. He was asleep.
The hem of his shirt hung loose over his collarbones, you felt his soft and warm skin under your fingertips, lost in thought of him. Drinking the sweet scent of his skin and clothes.
Your fingers then wandered from his collarbones to his neck, his Adam's apple bobbed as the pads of your fingers touched it carefully.
But then a larger hand seized yours, pulling your arm above your head as his body pushed your body flat on the bed with a groan. The other hand was seized as well, thus pinning your wrists above your head.
A yelp bubbled in your chest, but when you felt his hard body pressing yours against the bed your curious eyes glanced up to see his face.
But before you could say something, your mouth was clasped with his with a chaste kiss.
"You're handsy," he muttered gruffly on your lips.
The grip on your wrists tightened a bit when Joshua dipped his head on the crook of your neck where he pressed his lips on your skin, to then nibble at your skin with his teeth.
"I wanted to wait 'til tonight but you're so needy. Such an impatient pretty girl," he grunted as his hand grabbed your wrists pressed down on the pillows, making you yelp and squirm.
Being somewhat restrained made you feel restless, but you made no attempt to break free, since you were quickly subdued by the feeling of his breath on the crook of your neck.
"'m sorry," you mumbled just as he started placing wet kisses on your collarbone, making his way to your tits.
"Are you, baby?" he asked, and your eyes fell on his. His pierced eyebrow cocked slightly. "I don't think you're sorry at all."
He let go of your wrists just so he could cup your breasts with his hands and before you could muster a response, he wrapped his mouth on one of your nipples, making you cry out instead.
The feeling of having his hot mouth around your nipple made you shiver, the whole area covered by his tongue and drool felt tingling and ablaze.
Hearing the non-verbal response you made, he moved his mouth to do the same with your other hardened nipple, licking and nibbling at it softly with his teeth. He hummed while doing so, as if he liked the taste of your skin on his mouth.
Your hands quickly grabbed at whatever was nearest, fingers landing on his head as you squirmed and moaned helplessly on your bedsheets. 
He pressed his lips down your sternum and he lowered himself to your belly, his hands parting your legs so he could place his body between them and continue kissing and licking your skin.
"Please-" you whispered as you writhe in pleasure under the touch of his lips.
"Please, what?" he asked as he raised his head to look at you. "What do you want, princess?"
"Do whatever you want, just-" you gulped suddenly. "I need you, Joshua. I've waited all week."
His eyes searched yours, just like he did last night when you were drunk.
"Please," you whispered and that apparently did it for him.
He lowered himself pressing wet kisses on your lower abdomen as his mouth reached between your legs, his eyes darted a look toward yours before his fingers parted your pussy lips carefully, earning a high keen moan from you.
"Fuck. You're dripping," he muttered gruffly as his finger swiped a line on your cunt, making you flinch and moan pathetically. "Practically wetting the bed."
Then his tongue dipped between your parted lips, slowly licking a stripe on your wet folds. You let out a loud moan, grabbing a handful of black hair, making him hum softly when you tugged at it.
Joshua wasn't looking for you to say something, because he quickly continued making out with your clit. You were practically crying out of pleasure when you felt his mouth working on the swollen bud, tugging at it with his lips every time he closed his mouth around it.
You felt your legs shake a bit under the building tension but you didn't budge. A faint voice inside you reminded you to relax, to focus on his mouth kissing your cunt, his tongue swirling around your clit and trailing down to drink you in with a moan.
His hands slid underneath your body and cupped your ass, pushing you up to his face, essentially burying his face between your legs. Joshua's mouth flatly pressed on your cunt as if he were thirsty, ravaging you and humming as he did it.
Then his tongue pressed on your clit, his lips encircling it whole as his cheeks hollowed out, sucking on the throbbing bud. You arched your back, crying out loudly at the feeling of being so close to your release.
"I'm close, so close, Joshua," you whimpered, eliciting a groan from him.
You looked down where his head was nuzzled between your legs and the sight was so fucking good that something in your brain shifted. His dark eyes found yours, and you completely came undone.
The tension in your body snapped, sending waves of pleasure, making your limbs grow numb. You called out his name weakly, your eyes screwing shut at the mercy of the waves seizing your body, making you twitch and gasp in short breaths.
Joshua was moaning just from making you cum. And that could probably send you to the edge again if it wasn't for the new feeling of one of his fingers inside you.
You blinked, feeling dazed and you found Joshua on his knees, his finger plunging in and out of your sopping walls, massaging them gently.
"You liked that, baby?" he asked at the same time he slipped another finger in.
"Yeah," you whimpered. "I've been wanting this for days."
His pierced eyebrow arched up.  "This would have happened sooner if you knocked on my door," he smiled fondly. "But I like that about you—too shy to go knock on my door, but not to ask me to fuck you senseless."
You whined at the same moment his fingers crooked inside you, exploring, looking for your g-spot with the tips of his fingers.
"You like it when I talk to you, right? Your pussy squeezes my fingers whenever I do," he mentioned with a grin.
As if to prove his point, your walls fluttered around his fingers and he chuckled.
"Oh, princess. You're perfect," he muttered gruffly, leaning his body to plant a chaste kiss on your lips.
"God, Joshua," you whimpered, the tension between your legs building up again.
"You wanna cum again, baby?" he asked, grazing your lower lip with his teeth before kissing you chastely.
"Yes. So bad," you groaned, wiggling your hips to get more from his fingers.
"Can you cum on my fingers? Or do you want my mouth too?" he asked, his fingers teasing your cunt, making you feel the drag of his knuckles inside you as he pulled his fingers out and in, making squelching sounds every time he moved his hand inside you.
"Yes, please! I want your mouth too," you whimpered desperately.
His smile was the last thing you saw before he lowered himself between your legs and immediately attached his mouth to your clit. Joshua continued fucking you with his fingers, crooking them to find your g-spot.
"Joshua!" you cried out, your body twitching uncontrollably in your bed. "I'm gonna come, I'm ah-"
Now with his mouth and fingers, the pleasure in your pussy was so much more intense, practically tearing your orgasm out of you as you cried out.
Ragged breaths came out from your mouth, blinking tears weakly as your orgasm sizzled under your skin. Joshua's fingers stopped when he felt your walls relax and slipped out of your sopping core, making you shudder at the emptiness.
Then you were being showered with kisses on your face. You laughed meekly as his lips pressed on yours.
"You're being spoiled, princess," he teased. "Was planning on waiting to make you come until tonight but you're so greedy."
"Mm'm sorry," you muttered weakly.
"Sorry for what?" he asked.
"Dunno," you giggled.
"Are you fucked out already, bunny?" he smiled sweetly at you. "But I haven't even given you my cock yet."
You whimpered and reached for his lips, kissing him sloppily. A moan coiled in your chest when you tasted yourself on his tongue and lips.
Joshua stopped and looked at you with a pleased smile on his face, and a finger caressed your flushed cheek fondly, only to dip his head to kiss you again.
"God. You're so pretty, so fucking hard to resist," he grunted in your lips.
You whined and your hands cupped his face to slot your lips in his. "Please don't," you whispered, your lips grazing with his. "I want more, Joshua. I want you."
His eyes lingered on yours and you could almost see when it clicked in his mind.
"You want me to fuck you raw," he asked with a low tone.
A shiver ran down your spine when you heard his words.
You nodded, biting your lip so Joshua wouldn't notice that you were practically salivating at the thought.
The corner of his lips twitched. "You already came twice."
"But I want you, Joshua. I want to feel you inside me," you whispered, still writhing from your high.
The glint in his darkened eyes made you think that he enjoyed this. Whatever this was: your sanity slipping away at the mercy of Joshua pleasuring you, doing everything you needed from him.
"I can't fuck you raw, bunny," he muttered, pressing his lips sweetly on yours as you whined in his mouth. "It's too dangerous."
You understood that you were clawing at a limit of his, so you backed down. "Okay," you whispered.
"Good girl," he said as his lips captured yours in a heated kiss.
He slumped his body next to you on your bedsheets, resting his head on his hand as the other started caressing your skin affectionately.
"Joshua?" you called. 
"Mm?" he hummed as he appeared to be deep in thought, tracing invisible circles around your belly button.
"Can I-" you sighed when the tip of his pointer finger traced back to one of your nipples.
"Yes?" he asked, smiling when your nipple hardened and then he did the same with your other nipple.
"Can I touch you?" you whispered.
"You don't have to ask," he muttered with a small smile.
The pleased smile that spread on your lips made him chuckle.
You eagerly grabbed the hem of his t-shirt and Joshua understood immediately, sitting up on the bed and took his t-shirt off in one swift motion.
You sat up on your bed sheets—thus realizing that Joshua wasn't exaggerating when he said you were wetting the bed. You ignored the wet stain on your sheets and hooked the waistband of his sweatpants on your fingers.
"Do you want me naked, sweetheart?" he asked, noticing your struggle to undress him.
"Yeah," you breathed, looking at him expectantly.
He climbed down the bed to pull down the sweatpants, he did it efficiently, without making it a show for you but he still looked really attractive while doing so; his strong thighs stepping out of his sweat pants to reveal his hardened length still inside his underwear.
Suddenly you had other plans. You followed him, standing in front of him as he tilted his head to the side. Your fingers tugged at the band of his black underwear, taking it off of him to reveal his fully hard cock.
Then you lowered yourself to your knees.
"I wanna suck you off," you explained shyly, feeling your core pulsate to the mere act of you being on your knees for him.
His fingers grazed your chin. "Have you done this before?" he asked with a low tone.
You shook your head silently, eyeing him and his cock in front of you. Your hands caressed his strong thighs, trailing up to his hips. You realized then that you didn't touch him like this the other night.
One of your hands grabbed his cock at the base, stroking the soft skin of the length to his wet reddened cockhead. It was large and thick, and it leaned to the side a bit. You rubbed your thumb on the slit, feeling his precum leak on the pad of your thumb.
You glanced up at his dark eyes as you took the wet thumb to your mouth, licking his precum.
His breath hitched noticeably.
"I'll tell you what to do," he nodded, then he cupped your cheek, a serious look on his face. "You can stop if you don't like any of it, m'kay?" he muttered.
You wet your lips and nodded. "Okay," you whispered.
"Open your mouth," he instructed gently. You parted your lips and took the bulbous head of his cock and hesitantly placed it in your tongue.
His cock was too big for you to take him deeper, but you experimentally, and almost instinctively, relaxed your tongue under the weight of his heavy cock, wrapping your mouth around the half of the length.
"Breathe through your nose and move your head forward," he muttered and you did so, pushing your mouth on the length of his cock.
"Then back. You don't have to take me all," he instructed, his hands pushing your hair back from your face, caressing your face with his thumbs in the process. 
Whatever he instructed, you carried out without a second thought.
"Good girl," he whispered. 
Hearing him like this only pushed you to focus, despite the throbbing ache between your legs demanding for equal attention.
You discovered then that you liked the act of you taking his cock in your mouth on your knees for him. The walls of your core fluttered and you knew you were getting wetter as you started bobbing your head back and forth just like he instructed.
"That's it, baby. Just glide your pretty mouth on my cock. Fuck, it feels so good, so fucking good," he groaned.
Slurping sounds came from your lips around his thick cock as you picked up your pace. You darted a look up.
When your eyes met, the corner of his mouth curved up. "You look so good with my cock stuffed in your pretty mouth like this," he muttered, his thumb caressing your cheek.
A whimper coiled in your throat that otherwise would have escaped your lips if his cock wasn't stuffed so deep in your mouth. His cockhead was almost gagging you, hitting the back of your mouth every time you tried to push him further.
Drool trailed from the corners of your mouth. You wiped a side with the back of your hand but Joshua quickly stopped you in the middle of it.
"Don't. I like the way it looks," he mumbled, taking your hand to grab at his thigh again.
That made you take mental notes of everything he liked, every reaction you earned you kept in the back of your head. You wanted to pleasure him as best as you could, you made it your goal to earn more pretty sounds and moans.
He shuddered. "Fuuuuck," he groaned faintly again, his voice raspy and guttural.
You glanced up back at him, an idea popping in your head—you liked it when he sucked on your clit, so maybe he would like it if you suck on him too. Your cheeks hollowed, sucking him as you pulled your head back and then pushing your head forward, taking on more of his cock in with each bob of your head.
His head was thrown back, so you couldn't see much of his face. But his throat bobbed when he swallowed and you hollowed out your cheeks for him to moan deliciously. 
"Fuck—shit," he hissed. "If you keep doing that I'll cum in your mouth," he groaned and his hands tightened on your scalp, attempting to pull out.
But you dug your fingers on his thigh, pulling him back as you did it again, bobbing your head faster and hollowing your cheeks harder.
"Is that what you want, baby?" he asked, a large hand cupping the side of your face, thumb tapping you gently to make you look up at him.
You saw the muscles of his jaw twitch when all you did as a response was blink at him twice, nodding your head ever so slightly without detaching your mouth from his throbbing cock.
"Taking my cum the first time you give head—fuck, you're so, so perfect," he sighed weakly.
His fingers clenched on your hair and you knew he was really close because he was breathing out heavily, broken groans. 
"I'll tell you when it happens. Remember to breathe through your nose," he reminded you gently.
You continued moving your head forward, so far that the tip of your nose almost felt his pubic hair, his cockhead bumping the back of your throat, making it hurt a bit. And then sucking on the length moving your head back, breathing in deeply.
Your eyes darted upwards, finding Joshua's face riddled in lust. He groaned, furrowing his brow a bit as his eyelids were fluttering shut and his mouth parted a bit.
"Cumming," he breathed. 
Then he started making the most raw sounds you've heard him utter yet. His moans sounded sweet and raspy, almost as if he were about to start whimpering; all music to your ears. The hand on your hair clenched, hard. Joshua shuddered and with a louder groan his cum was shooting in the back of your mouth.
You moaned with him and stopped moving your head to breathe through your nose, swallowing quickly as ropes of cum filled your throat. It was slightly salty, warm and it was so much of it.
A fiery rush ran down your spine. You enjoyed giving him head and having him cum in your mouth. You loved the reaction he had, the lewd sounds he made, because of you.  
He was breathing heavily—not the way he did when he fucked you into your bed the other night, that was out of exhaustion. This was different, he was heaving, looking like he was elated.
"That was amazing," he sighed heavily once again.
A shudder shook him hard when you sucked on his cock again before pulling it out from your mouth.
"Woah, don't do that," he giggled softly. "Tickles."
You smiled sweetly. "Was it good?"
He bent down to help you up, cupping your face in his large hands to pull you into a heated kiss, you moaned in his mouth as his tongue lapped on yours, probably tasting himself on your tongue.
"The best fucking head I've ever had," he muttered gruffly on your lips.
You laughed.
"I mean it," he nodded, pressing his forehead on yours.
Then Joshua bent down a little and lifted your body up, eliciting a small yelp from you. You quickly grabbed him by the shoulders, wrapping your legs around him.
He gently placed you on your bed and pressed his lips against yours.
"You did really well, baby," he muttered before capturing your lips with his, kissing you softly.
A strange feeling of fulfillment swelled in your chest.
Joshua leaned his head against your chest, seemingly still coming down from his high because when he lifted his head ever so slightly to meet your eyes, he smiled lazily at you.
You returned the smile. Your hand found the nape of his neck and started drawing invisible figures on his bare back. A sigh coming from his lips brushed your skin, making you shiver.
You could get used to this, you said to yourself.
"I have to go now," he muttered, pushing himself from your body. "But I'll come pick you up later, m'kay?"
"What should I wear?" you asked, suddenly feeling nervous at the prospect of going out with him.
"Whatever you want, bunny," he smiled. "You look good in anything... and with nothing at all, too."
A fluttering sensation invaded your chest. You laughed. "Ditto."
He laughed, bringing a hand up to push his dark hair back anxiously. Was he flustered?
He planted a kiss on your lips and stood up from your bed, dressing up quickly. Again, he didn't make a show of it, but you enjoyed watching him nonetheless.
When he noticed your lustful gaze practically eye-fucking him, he smiled. "Insatiable little thing," he muttered, bending down to give you one final chaste kiss. "I'll see you later, sweetheart."
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When Joshua came around to knock on your door, it was eight o'clock.
His black hair was parted naturally in the middle and it looked slightly wet. He wore a white faux leather jacket, white t-shirt and black denim jeans and black boots.
"I'm not ready yet," you told him as soon as he crossed your apartment door.
"I can see that," he smiled, looking at you up and down, noticing the silk robe you were wearing.
"Shut up," you quipped.
Rushing back to your room, you quickly got dressed in the outfit you had decided to wear for the occasion, inferring from the style that you usually saw Joshua dressed in for his gigs. 
Facing the mirror, you thought it was a cute outfit, but nothing prepared you for what Joshua's reaction would be.
As soon as you stepped in front of him, his mouth parted slightly, but was quickly replaced by a smile. He took a step to you, grabbing your hand to pull it up and you understood that he wanted you to twirl for him.
"You're gorgeous," he muttered before grabbing your face with one hand to pull you in a hot kiss.
"Thank you," you smiled sheepishly.
"I brought you something," he muttered in between kisses.
"Oh?" you uttered, being showered by his warm lips.
"But you have to open it when we get back. I just wanted to leave it here before we go," he handed a small black box.
It didn't look like a present, it wasn't wrapped or adorned with anything. You wanted to open it as soon as you took it. It was big enough to cover both of the palms of your hands, and it was somewhat heavy for its size, too.
"What is it?" you asked, looking up to his big eyes.
"It's for later," he replied, you noticed a glint in his eyes.
"Oh," you uttered again, smiling. "What's the reason?"
"Consider it one of the many I plan to give you," he smiled playfully.
You cocked an eyebrow. "Should I worry about what's inside?" you joked.
"It's something I know you'll like," he tilted his head to the side. "Or I hope it does."
Your finger slid on the edge of the black box. You got a faint idea of what was kept inside but decided to listen to Joshua and wait for later.
"Let's go, princess. The boys are waiting for us," he said, taking your hand with his.
"Who?" you asked, swiftly putting the gift on the coffee table and grabbing your purse as you headed out of your apartment.
"My bandmates. You'll like them," he assured you, turning to see you. "They've been eager to meet you."
"You told them about me?" you asked in a high pitch tone.
You got in the elevator together and Joshua pressed the button downstairs.
"I told them I'm bringing you with me and they went crazy about it," he sighed, unlocking his phone to show you a myriad of texts from a Jihoon and a Vernon.
You read the oncoming texts, raging for mostly reactions and exacerbated questions about Joshua finally dating someone. But he quickly shut down those speculations from his bandmates at once by saying you were a friend.
Something else on the screen caught your attention.
"You have seven hundred unread messages? And why do they say you're finally dating someone, what do they mean by finally?" you asked, bewilderedly returning his phone in his hand.
"You are a fast reader," he frowned. "I don't like texting," he shrugged.
"And?" you prompted.
His lips quirked into a smile. "Wouldn't you like to know," he joked, then shrugged again. "I've been single for a while."
"Really?" you asked with a smile, cocking an eyebrow.
"You're in no position to tease me about it," he smiled too.
You brushed him off. "Why are you single?"
"I uh..." he frowned and looked to the floor, as if looking for an answer there, "I haven't found the right person, I guess."
A sudden pang of concern jabbed you in the chest. But you made no comment, just nodded.
"And you?"
"Mmph. Same, I guess."
He looked at you. "Are you looking for something in particular?"
You sighed, contemplating your answer. "Nothing specific. Just… someone who feels right, you know? Someone who matches."
He nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, I get it. Has to be the right match, or it just doesn't work."
"But it's not like I'm actively looking," you added, trying to lighten the mood.
"Yeah, me neither," he replied, trying to match your tone, but the awkwardness lingered.
Feeling the change, he cleared his throat.
The elevator doors opened and you walked outside of the building toward a large van. Where two men were waiting for Joshua, as soon as they saw you walking at his side, they exchanged a not so discreet look.
Joshua scoffed. "These two," he muttered with a grin.
Joshua opened the front door for you and you got into the passenger seat, noticing on your way that the back of the van was packed with a full drum set and two large guitar cases, a mic stand and sound amplifiers.
"This is Vernon and Jihoon," Joshua introduced you to the two grinning men who looked at you expectantly.
You told them your name with a shy smile.
"Behave," Joshua sneered as he sat in the driver's seat next to you, eyeing at the two guys sitting on the seats behind.
"We haven't said anything!" Jihoon protested with a smug grin.
You wanted to laugh at the way that Jihoon and Vernon exchanged looks once again.
"So... where did you two guys meet?" Jihoon asked either you or Joshua.
You felt like the question was directed towards you. "We're neighbors," you put in flatly. But sensing that you were being shy, added: "I complained at him for being noisy."
"Complained?" he interjected. "More like berated me," he teased as he started the car.
"I did not berate you," you bit back with a smile.
He rolled his eyes. "Put your seatbelt on."
"You first," you mumbled, but you did as he told nonetheless.
Jihoon scoffed loudly, trying not to burst out laughing.
"That's cute," Vernon commented flatly.
"What is?" you asked, turning to see the man sitting directly behind you.
He shrugged.
"It's cute that you're acting like an old married couple," Jihoon translated for his fellow bandmate with a smile.
You laughed. "Joshua is just a tease."
You felt him shift and noticed that he gave you a look.
"Oh, Shua's a nightmare," Jihoon retorted.
"Shua?" you repeated, looking at Joshua and then at Jihoon.
"He has many nicknames, you know. Joshuji, Joshu, Joshie, but the girls prefer Shua," he teased.
"Girls?" you parroted.
"Joshua's fans," Vernon informed, looking at his phone aloofly.
"Instagram fans," Jihoon complemented.
"Mmmph," you hummed.
"He's garnered quite the following," Jihoon teased, enjoying how Joshua was practically seething at him through the rear mirror.
"I imagine. But he told me he doesn't," you quipped.
"What?! He doesn't shut up about it with us," he looked over at Vernon, who just nodded with his head.   
"I can find more drummers, you know," Joshua bit back, looking at Jihoon through the rear view mirror.
"Please," the drummer scoffed.
"So you guys have been in a band for long?" you asked, feeling a certain eagerness to know more about Joshua's life.
"Two years?" Jihoon inferred, looking at Vernon, who just nodded in silence.
"I haven't listened to your music yet," you realized out loud. "I'm excited."
Joshua smiled without tearing his eyes from the road.
You arrived at a place called The Spot. Which was a bar located a few minutes from your apartment building.
Joshua parked the large van in the small parking lot behind the bar for the boys to unload the equipment they brought.
"Come. I'll show you inside," he said, grabbing your hand to lead you inside the dark-neon lit interior.
The bar was a western rock bar with an 80s theme. It had old movie posters and red neon signs on the walls. A U-shaped bar top in the center of the space, a large red neon sign that spelled 'Heartbreaker' mounted on the wall. Next to the booths and tables was a small stage where Jihoon and Vernon were already the drum set mounted.
The bar was not that big, but it was already starting to pack with people.
You sat in the last stool at the bartop, the spot was facing the side of the stage.
Keeping your eyes trained on him. He was scanning his surroundings anxiously, as if he was looking for something but nothing in particular at the same time.
"You can order whatever you want. It's on me," he smiled, and nodded at the two guys behind the bartop.
He fixed his jacket and licked his lips, then noticed your gaze on him.
"Are you nervous?" you asked suddenly.
That drew his big eyes to yours. "Nervous?"
"Yeah, you're fidgety," you pointed.
"I'm not," he said sternly, eyeing you with a glint of annoyance.
You narrowed your eyes. "You are," you insisted. "Why? Is it because I'm here?"
You laughed when all Joshua did was roll his eyes.
"I'll deal with you later," he brushed off before turning away and helping the guys get everything installed.
A pretty girl came forward almost a second later with a notepad and wearing a big smile. "Can I get you anything?" she asked.
You thought about it for a second. "Can I get a virgin piña colada?" you asked, feeling like a kid again.
The girl smiled. "Of course, right away."
Seconds later, the tall man behind the counter handed you your virgin cocktail. It had a cherry on the rim and a small pineapple slice.
"Thanks."
The tall nodded. "Are you a friend of Joshua's?" he asked.
You nodded, looking at his name tag. Mingyu.
When Mingyu smiled, you saw that his pointed fangs adorned his smile in a cute manner.
"You are his friend too?" you asked.
"He's more my boss's friend," he nodded in the direction of a tall guy that was talking with Joshua.
"Does he come here often?" you decided to pry.
"Just every other Thursday," he shrugged.
"D'you have live shows every Thursday then?"
"Yep. We try at least," he said as he poured beer on a crystal jug and put it on the bartop. "We are planning on having stand up nights, but Wonwoo says it's not a good idea," he said, pointing at his partner.
Wonwoo looked up, his ears perking at the sound of his name. "What?" he asked, pushing the rim of his frames up his sharp nose.
"Nothing," Mingyu brushed off.
"Have you thought about having Ladies’ Night?" you inquired, seeing the groups of women fill in the booths around the stage. 
"Huh. Sure, why not," he said in a thoughtful tone. And he turned to his partner. "Hey, what do you think of Ladies’ Night instead of stand up nights?"
Wonwoo shrugged, eyeing you curiously. "Either sounds like more work for me," he smiled shyly at the taller man. "Don't tell Cheol I said that."
The groups of girls coming to the bar, you thought, were due to the fact that the bar was partly cheap and well-decorated. It seemed like a fun place for a mini photo session while getting a few drinks; as you noticed from the people posing in front of the red neon signs.
A second thought was that a large part of the mostly female clientele was because the three guys who ran the bar were good looking.
Mingyu was the sweet, friendly looking guy, tall and buff; he was hot and well aware of it. Wonwoo was the alluring, quiet looking guy, dressed in all black, but whenever he smiled, his nose would wrinkle, telling on his sweet side. And the guy who was talking with Joshua also looked really attractive: tall, with the poise of a commander. Pale blond hair and full lips.
Joshua noticed you looking his way and smiled at you, making your insides jolt in response.
It was almost funny. He'd throw just a glance at you and have your body reacting like crazy.
But you guessed that it was unavoidable.
The eyes on him weren't just yours, but half of the people sitting around the small stage looked at Joshua expectantly as he nodded to his blond friend once and took the strap of his electric guitar to put it around his shoulders.
He did a brief sound check, which consisted of strumming the chords a few times aimlessly. That dragged dozens of eyes to the stage.
The microphone was tapped twice by his finger, as the speakers that played regular music died down, the microphone catching the sound around it and you could hear Joshua clearing his throat briefly.
You noticed the energy change around you, the buzz of the crowd growing quiet and then hushed almost completely when Joshua took the microphone, a white pick trapped between his pointer and middle finger.
"Hi, we're Midnight Haze," Joshua said, "and we're going to be your entertainment for tonight. Enjoy," his lips rose into a smile.
Then he turned to the drummer and nodded. Jihoon moved to get into position on the stool he occupied, lifting the drumsticks in his hands. He tapped them together twice, and with a thunderous splash, the music began reverberating throughout the place.
Then the guitar chords pierced the air and their vibrations could be felt on the barstool you were sitting at. With his eyes fixed on his guitar, Joshua raised his head to place his mouth in alignment with the microphone on the stand.
Under the red glowing light, his face lit up almost ominously as he began to sing. The sweet voice reverberated in your chest due to your closeness to the speakers, but beneath that, you felt a surge of emotion invade your senses as his voice rose with passion, weaving the melodies.
Midnight Haze sounded heavy enough like when a tidal wave crashes, but light and fun enough to dance along. Guitar solos spiral into your ears, Joshua appeared to be enjoying himself while swaying with his guitar, igniting a blaze of raw energy.
You realized that you were not the only one who was awestruck. Definitely not groupies. But there were some girls ogling at him, which, you realized, was difficult to resist.
At least from what you could catch, they had their eyes glued to the lead singer, who was putting on quite a show: dancing with his guitar, swaying his head to the music and smiling at his bandmates in some unspoken exchange.
They played for an hour non-stop, ending with an upbeat song and then he thanked the crowd and said goodbye for himself and the rest of the band. As they stepped down from the stage, the audience applauded and so did you, but you couldn't help but feel that you were left wanting more.
After some minutes, the buzz of the crowd resumed as well as the music from the bar speakers. Joshua made his way to you, sweat on his forehead and his looking a mixture of exhilarated and tired. But he was grinning ear to ear.
"See? No one is throwing themselves at me," he told you. 
"Point taken, rockstar," you rolled your eyes. 
He smiled widely, making your heart lurch. "Did you like the show?"
"Yeah. It was way too short, though. I kinda want more," you smiled up at him, still feeling dazed and a bit deafened.
"Sometimes we play on bigger venues and for longer," he commented, nodding to the small stage that was being cleared up from the band's equipment.
"I'll definitely want to see that," you stated.
His big dark eyes found yours, the corner of his mouth lifted. "I'll help the boys and I'll come back for you," he said and booped the tip of your nose before turning to the stage and helping with the dismounting of the equipment.
You quietly observed him as he busied himself to help clean up the stage. He's so cool, you internally said abashedly. He laughed and joked around with Vernon and Jihoon, drawing the attention of the people around them.
He looked at you from across the room and sneaked a wink. Did he know you'd be staring at him? He waved goodbye to his friends and turned to you.
"Ready, princess?" he asked, looking curiously at your already finished drink. "You had piña coladas?"
"Virgin piña coladas," you emphasized, nodding.
"That reminds me of something," he noted, and went to pay the bill to then return to you. "Come on."
Joshua took your hand as he led you back to the parking lot and opened the door of the van for you.
"We have to talk about some rules," he pointed as he drove back home.
"Rules?" you looked at him. Fuck, he's hot even when he's driving.
He had one hand on the steering wheel, and the other was relaxed on the windowsill.
"Last night I told you I wouldn't do anything to you while you're drunk, remember?"
"I'm not drunk now," you interjected.
"But you told me you didn't care, right?"
"And I don't. You can do whatever you want with me," you blurted, feeling your cheeks grow hotter.
"I need to know when something is completely out of the question, princess," he told you softly, eyeing you again.
"Like what?" you asked.
"Can I fuck you while you sleep?" he asked, by the tone he used, you could tell he was just giving you an example.
You smirked. "Sounds like you wouldn't do that," you retorted.
"I'm not into that," he admitted.
"That's why you couldn't last night?" you decided to pry.
"You weren't sober. Under different circumstances, I might've considered it. But last night just didn't feel right," he explained, seemingly deep in thought.
"Noted," you smiled at the careful consideration he had over you.
"I think we need to establish a safeword," he said after some seconds.
You saw him toy with his lower lip as the other hand still gripped the steering wheel.
"And I use this safe word whenever I don't like something, right?"
There was a bit you knew about the use of safewords—you were a bit inexperienced, yes. But not completely out of the loop.
"If you want me to stop, you say it and I will," he nodded, as he parked the van in the parking lot. Swiftly unbuckling his seatbelt, he hopped out of the van and then hurried over to your door.
You were both on the elevator when you told him your safeword after some careful consideration.
"Got it," he nodded again, licking his lower lip in a thoughtful expression. "Any reason why that's your safeword?"
"Wouldn't you like to know," you quipped, a playful smile spreading on your lips.
He chuckled, a mischievous glint in his eye. "You've been really bratty today, princess," he pointed.
"Oh, please," you pushed his shoulder playfully. "It's just a bit of teasing, can't you handle it, Shua? What are you going to do?"
The doors opened with a soft ding.
"Alright," he scoffed, and with a sudden movement, he bent down to throw you over his shoulder as if it was nothing.
"Joshua! Put me down!" you squealed.
You heard him laugh as he walked with you secured over his shoulder and stopped in what you guessed was your apartment.
He entered the combination to your smart-lock and pushed the door open.
"Now princess, where did you put the box I gave you?" he asked as soon as the door closed behind him.
"Coffee table," you mumbled, starting to feel dizzy.
Joshua didn't put you down as he took the box from the coffee table by crouching down slightly to reach it. Your limbs and head dangled helplessly, blood rushed to your head but as he moved to your bedroom, he set your backside on the bed, setting you down finally.
"Open it," he encouraged, and started to take off his jacket.
"I think I know what I'm gonna find here," you muttered, recovering with a sigh.
"Oh, do you?" he looked up at you while you took the lid of the box off.
The box contained two things, one of which confirmed that your suspicions were right—rope. Tightly coiled and bundled, it was black and new, by the smell of it. It was also soft, when you gently reached out a finger to touch it.
Next to the rope, a pair of fuzzy pink handcuffs.
"I got two options for you to choose for tonight," Joshua explained and you found his big eyes scrutinizing you.
Instinctively, you grabbed the rope, since it seemed more alluring to you at that moment.
Joshua smiled knowingly, taking the rope from your hands. "Alright, princess. Rope it is," he nodded.
"But I liked the handcuffs too," you blurted.
"Patience, bunny. We'll have plenty more nights," he stated, making your insides jolt with eagerness.
"M'kay," you mumbled, looking at him anxiously.
In reality, you didn't have 'plenty more nights' as he said, since your deal with him was to be fuck buddies until you finished your manuscript. Which you have been dreading to finish.
He noticed your restive eyes on him and dipped his head to slot his lips in yours, giving you a reassuring kiss.  
"Take off your clothes for me, sweetheart," he instructed gently before pressing his lips with yours.
Your breath hitched so embarrassingly you had to bite down your lower lip. You liked the way he told you what to do, you liked that he took control. So you did what he told you to do.
As your clothes came off, Joshua busied himself preparing the rope for you. But his eyes remained fixed on you as you made a show to take off your clothes for him.
He sat at the foot of the bed—watching you with a sweet smile that didn't fully show his teeth. Your heart fluttered uneasily when his gaze darkened slowly when you got to your see through the mesh red lingerie he asked you to wear.
You unclasped your bra and sheepishly moved it from your chest, throwing it to the floor to then tug at the hem of your thong. 
"Leave that on," he stopped you before you could get to the last piece of your undergarments. 
The rope came undone on his hands, it was longer than you expected. Watching his hand twist the rope in an organized fashion, using his elbow as an anchor while his other hand grasped the other end of the knot.
"You've done this before," you pointed.
"Or," he countered with a grin, "I just know how to tie rope."
You squinted, catching the obvious white lie. "How many times have you done this?" you pressed.
"I don't think you really want to hear the answer to that, princess," he quipped.
Fair.
"Mmph," you hummed.
He sighed and looked at you, almost fully naked under the dim lights of your bedroom. "Yes, sweetheart. I've done this before. Don't worry," he nodded to the bed.
You understood and climbed your bed, moving your body to the middle and lying down on your pillows. Joshua followed you on his knees before you.
He extended the rope out for you, organized in two holes for you to fit your hands inside. You anxiously stuck your hands on each hole, at the same time Joshua slid the knot, tucking it closer to your wrists.
"Is it too tight?" he asked, and you could tell he was excited already.
You shook your head, your eyes trained on Joshua as he bent to finish tying the rope on the rails of the headboard of your princess bed—thus pinning your arms above your head.
"Remember our safeword," he said softly before placing a tender kiss on your lips.
You repeated your safeword, and then you started to feel your body heat in anticipation.
"That's my good girl," he sighed, pressing his lips on yours. "You're good only when you're about to get fucked, right?"
You attempted to give him an answer but his tongue dragged on your lower lip, finding your tongue as he kissed you slowly, enjoying the taste of your lips with a soft hum.
"I'm always good," you replied meekly.
"Oh, sweetheart. If only that were true. You wouldn't be tied right now," he smirked and pulled away from your body.
Joshua jumped from the bed, and started getting rid of his clothes, except his underwear. He smiled when he noticed you looking at him and turned to open the first drawer where he knew now you kept your toys.
Your blood rushed to your cheeks, and involuntarily you moved your hands to no avail—your arms were completely restrained.
"Do you keep them charged, princess?" he asked while he rummaged through your clothes to find your toys on the bottom of the drawer, stored neatly inside a shoe box.
"Yeah," you breathed nervously.
"How often do you use them?" he asked.
"Um... last time I used them was... wh-when I had that dream about you," you stuttered.
"Did you cum, baby?" he asked, looking over to your body as he made his way back to you .
You nodded. "And while I was sleeping," you muttered sheepishly.
He cocked his pierced eyebrow. "Is that even possible?" he asked, climbing back to the bed with two of your toys.
"It was for me," you breathed.
"So you came... twice? From a little wet dream of me eating you out?" he asked, his eyes marveling at the sight of you tied to your bed.
You nodded.
He smiled, letting out a sigh. "My perfect little bunny. Who would've thought you'd be this needy," he leaned in, cupping the side of your face to press his lips on the tip of your nose, then to your lips.
The urge of touching his face too invaded you, your arms twitched, the tight knot of rope stopping you before you could even move any further.
It was almost funny—being aware of the impossibility of touching him but still aching to do so aroused you.
"Joshua... please," you gulped hard.
His laugh came as a surprise to you. "Begging already, princess?"
"I need you," you whimpered, looking at him through your eyelashes.
"But you are in no position to make demands, baby," he muttered and planted a chaste kiss on your lips which you returned eagerly, trying to sneak the tip of your tongue between his lips but he pulled back slightly with a smirk.
"But you said-"
"I know what I said," he interjected. "That was before you acted all bratty today, wasn't it, sweetheart?"
You let out a small whine and bit your lower lip.
"So maybe I won't fuck you tonight, how about that?" he asked, tilting his head to the side, his black bangs obscuring one eye.
"You wouldn't do that," you whined, writhing on your bed, the restraints stopping you before you could do anything at all.
"Careful there, princess. These might be soft but I bet you bruise easily, don't you?" he asked, tugging at the knot pinning your wrists.
"Joshua!" you squeaked.
"Yes?" he met your eyes, giving you an innocent look.
It was insane how controlled he looked, the way he looked at you as if you were his prey and he were just toying with you.
You fumbled for the words, but as his eyes bored into yours, you felt at a loss.
"Joshua, please," you whispered when his lips found your sweet spot between your ear and jawline, making you moan when his lips sucked softly.
"Keep begging all you want, baby," he muttered, and you just knew he was smiling.
His hands trailed down your body, roaming, caressing your breasts and playing with your nipples using his thumbs. You moaned helplessly and grinded your hips against the growing bulge of his dark underwear.
"Desperate little thing," he groaned, lowering his body to attach his mouth to one of your nipples, making you cry out loudly and try to reach for his black hair.
Since your head was propped up in your pillows, you had a fairly good view of him biting and sucking at your nipples, it wasn't hard, but just enough to make you squirm and whimper under him.
"You have the prettiest tits, baby," he muttered as he nibbled softly at one of your nipples. "Can I mark them?"
You nodded as his gaze found yours. "Yeah, p-please do," you urged.
The corner of his lips lifted before pressing his lips on the underside of your tits and sucked softly. You moaned softly, wanting to run your hand through his hair, but not being able to make you feel more uneasy.
"Oh, Joshua," you whimpered as he made a trail of angry red spots on your tits. It was a strange feeling, having his hot mouth sucking on the skin around your areolas.
"I like these," he muttered, toying with the hem of your thong. "I love that you remembered to wear them."
"How could I not?" you quipped, feeling a bit breathless at the sight of him slotting his head between your thighs, kissing your pulsing clit through the meshy fabric of your thong.
"You could be a sweet talker when you want to," he smiled before pressing his tongue flatly on your core, making you cry out.
He sucked gently at your clit for a moment and then pulled his tongue away, hooking his fingers on your thong to slide them down your legs.
You saw him purse his lips directly above your pussy, and spit fell from his mouth, coating your clit. The sight of it alone made you utter a ridiculous sound.
And just when you thought he was going to continue eating you out, he grabbed something he had hidden beside him on the bed, and you realized by the pinkish color on his hand what it was.
"D'you use this often, sweetheart?" he asked as he pressed on the button of your rose vibrator.
He gently parted your pussy lips with his fingers, making you whimper when he placed the sucking tip of the vibrator directly on your clit.
"I... sometimes," you answered as the toy sucked your clit in its mechanical, trained patterns.
"And what about this one, baby?" he asked softly, grabbing with his free hand a wavy glass dildo.
You groaned, feeling both aroused and embarrassed. If you had your hands free, you'd use them to cover your face.
"What's wrong, baby?" he giggled, seeing your reaction. "I saw your collection of toys. I have a rough idea of what you like, but I want you to tell me."
You rolled your eyes, deeply flustered.
"That's my favorite," you pointed with your nose to the clear dildo, adorned with a pink heart at the end. "But if I want to... do things quickly I use this," you pointed to the toy trying to swallow your clit.
"Oh, really?" he smirked and bent forward to plant a sweet kiss on your lips. "I love the idea of you fucking yourself with your toys, princess," he told you before he kissed one of your hot cheeks.
"You do?" you asked in a high pitch tone.
"Yeah," he breathed, and you just loved the way he said it. "My pretty needy bunny, bouncing on a fucking toy. Now, that's something I'd like to see."
You moaned in his lips. But he pulled away too soon, suddenly turning off the vibrator, making you groan at the loss of stimulation. Then he spit on the tip of the dildo, coating it completely with his drool.
Joshua had a grin on his face when you whined loudly at the sudden intrusion of the glass dildo, the bulbous tip pushing your walls open.
"I see why you like this," he muttered as he pushed further into the second wave. "It looks insane, baby. Your pretty pussy is swallowing it in," he whispered.
The dildo was only halfway in, but apparently that's what Joshua wanted because he started rocking it back and forth in your walls, at the same time he clicked the vibrator on again and attached it to your swollen clit, sucking and sending waves through your body.
You moaned and gasped. You had never had both toys on your cunt before, for obvious reasons.
But the vibrator was relentless and the combination of both was making you writhe and cry of pleasure, feeling really close to your release.
"Joshua!" you cried, writhing in your bed so desperately that the headboard of your bed rattled a bit. "Please, please, don't stop." 
"Are you going to come, princess?" he asked and you nodded your head frantically.
He pulled the toys away from your throbbing cunt in a second. You blinked and furrowed your brow at him. 
His lips were clashing on yours before you could utter a word. He moaned softly as he swiped your lower lip with his tongue.
"Remember how bratty you were today, bunny," he muttered gruffly. "I want you to think of it when I allow you to come."
"Joshua, please, just-" you moaned pathetically, trying to push your hips to the dildo still held directly in front of your sopping core.
"What, baby? What do you want?" he asked, his voice low and raspy.
"I want-" you gasped and gulped.
"Do you want me to keep fucking you with your toys? Or do you want my cock?"
The rope around your wrists tightened when you desperately tried to move your arms. "I want you, please Joshua" you whined.
He hummed, seeming to consider it. "Such a greedy girl," he muttered while he kissed you slowly with his wet lips. "Only behaves when she wants my cock."
The vibrator clicked on again under his thumb, attaching it to your clit again and thrusting the glass dildo on your fluttering walls. You contorted in your bed, trying to get the best out of the pleasure from the toys to sate your sopping core, biting down the inside of your cheek to stop the whimpers and sobs.
"I want to hear you," he said and you cried out instantly, feeling so close again to your release.
You screwed your eyes shut, propping your feet on the mattress to try and thrust your hips further on the dildo, trying to fuck yourself faster on it.
You arched your back just as you were about to have your much desired orgasm. But then Joshua set  the vibrator aside and from your clit.
"Please, please, please," you moaned over and over again. "Shua, please, I need you. Please, fuck me."
Then he pulled away from your body, with one swift movement he got rid of his underwear and slotted his body between your legs. He was sliding down a condom and before you could see what was happening properly, he was pushing his cock in your core with a loud groan.
You cried out in both pleasure and pain as he immediately started thrusting his big cock inside you, pushing your walls open for him.
"Fuck, baby. How are you still this fucking tight?" he groaned, his hands grabbing your hips as he pushed himself until he bottomed out and you could feel his full length inside you.
"Shua," you cried weakly.
"Are you alright, sweetheart?" he asked, pushing into your walls slowly.
"'m fine," you whimpered, closing your eyes to savor the pleasure of finally having him inside you as best as you could. "I just- I love having you inside me."
He giggled sweetly. "You do?"
You nodded with your head. "I love it s-much," you mumbled. "It feels so good."
"You feel great too," he said in a strangled voice.
Then Joshua started thrusting faster and harder, making your body bounce on his cock and the headboard slam repeatedly on the wall. You closed your eyes and swallowed hard as Joshua quite practically fucked you into your bed loudly.
You moaned deliriously when you felt the vibrator attached to your clit again, crying out when it started sending pulsations relentlessly, just as Joshua's hips buckled slightly, and his thrusts became more precise and calculated, holding your hips down with one hand.
"F-fuck," you whimpered, your eyes welling up with tears as you could feel yourself weaken under so much pleasure. 
"Too much, baby?" he asked and you picked up on the hint of concern in his voice.
"'m fine, Shua," you replied in a hoarse voice, blinking your tears helplessly. "I'm-m fuck-"
"You're squirting, baby," he told you in a low tone of awe, his eyes trained on your cunt as he plunged his cock inside you, his hand still pressing the vibrator on your clit.
"But I'm not coming," you protested, lifting your head to see but his hand blocked your view.
"I know, sweetheart," he smirked. "Tell me when you're close."
A frustrated groan fell from your lips and threw your head back against the pillows, avoiding answering.
Joshua let out an amused sigh at your small tantrum and you looked at him—he looked mesmerized. His lascivious eyes trained on you, his lower lip trapped behind his teeth, his black bangs stuck against a light layer of sweat that covered his forehead. 
He was on his knees, sitting back on his heels, the muscles of his abdomen tightening with every thrust, your legs draped on his thighs, a hand grabbing your hips, holding you in place while the other kept the toy pressed on your swollen clit.
The sight alone made your walls flutter and clench around him. You wanted to grab him, to feel his skin. The rails to which you were tied to made a rattling noise when you tried to move your arms.
The pressure building inside you from the toy pressing your clit and his cock pushing inside you—you moaned and squirmed on your bed.
"Shua, 'm close, fuckfuckfuck 'm so close," you whimpered, blinking some tears helplessly.
"What did I tell you, princess?" he pushed his cock inside you in a more demanding way, as if trying to rip your orgasm from you.
"I'll be good, Shua, I'm sorry-," you breathed desperately. "Jus' le-let me cum, please?"
"You learn fast," he praised with a lazy smirk. "You can cum, baby," he nodded, his face riddled with lust.
A second later you were writhing, crying out his name, the rope tightening around your wrists as you came hard, back arching and walls spasming erratically around his cock.
"Joshua," you breathed as he rode your high with precise and calculated thrusts.
A faint thought appeared in your mind—you probably looked like a mess, tied to the rails of your bed, hickeys all over your tits, crying and babbling nonsense.
"Fuck, I can't—Shua," you moan an writhed, feeling your core ache and spasm helplessly under the overwhelming stimulation.
"Are you safewording, bunny?" he asked, again, there was that tone of concern.
You shook your head weakly on your pillows. "No—don't stop, I want you, oh Joshua—fuck, fuck!"
You tried to press your ass down on the bed, trying to create some distance from the painful sensation in your oversensitive clit. Joshua appeared to be reading on how your body reacted, and changed the mode of the vibrator to a more delicate one. 
You screwed your eyes shut, feeling like you could sink into a void from all the pleasure your body was feeling, it was almost breaking you. 
You heard a soft sigh. "My pretty bunny. Do you like being fucked silly?" he was smiling from the tone of his voice.
"Love it—love having your cock inside me s'much," you replied almost instantly in a slurry babble.
That made him laugh. "Can you give me another one then, sweetheart? Cum for me again."
You nodded, savoring your fourth orgasm of the day. Your fingers clenched the rope as a form of soothing your body from the waves of pleasure threatening to wash over you. 
"Shua," you whimpered.
"I know, baby," he groaned, blinking slowly as he threw his head back ever so slightly. "I know."
Something snapped inside you, making you close your eyes so tightly you saw colors and then a slew of cries and hoarse moans came out of your mouth until you were breathless and crying from the overwhelming pleasure, the tears running down your temples.
"Fuck, baby," he groaned, and you knew from his face that he was cumming with you. His slightly parted mouth, eyelids fluttering, fingers digging at your hips.
The slamming noises from the headboard against the wall of your bedroom ceased, as Joshua threw the vibrator across the bed, his thrusts lazily coming to a stop with a last strangled moan.
You saw him bend his body forward to untie you in a swift tug of his fingers.
Then his hands were cupping your face, his lips slotting in yours, kissing you fervently.
"You're so good for me, bunny," he muttered in between kisses. "So, so good for me."
Your arms languidly wrapped around his neck as you returned his heated kiss. You moaned at the feeling of having his hot mouth on yours, savoring him.
"Are you okay, sweetheart?" he asked after you didn't respond.
"Uh-huh," you replied weakly.
He pressed his chapped lips in a smile that made your heart jolt. Looking at you with a glint of endearment as his fingers gathered some tears that were gathered in the corners of your eyes.
"You sure?" he whispered, his eyebrows knitting together.
You nodded. "'m sure."
"D'you want me to stay?" he asked hesitantly.
"Please?"
He blinked slowly at you, a cute smile stretching his lips. "Of course," he nodded. "Let me take care of you then."
He planted a soft kiss on your forehead and left the bed against your small groan in protest. When he returned a moment later, he had discarded the condom and you could hear the faint noise from the shower running in the bathroom.
"Don't move. I'll carry you," he said as he slid his arms beneath your body, bringing you up to his chest effortlessly.
"Thanks," you mumbled, feeling yourself come back to your senses.
"Don't thank me, baby," he mumbled, glancing at your face with a cautious look.
He set you down on the floor and guided you to stand under the showerhead. The warm water worked its magic, reviving your muscles and senses back to life.
Joshua was looking at you with his curious eyes, as he usually did. But this time, he looked kind of worried.
"Was it too much?" he finally asked as he watched your body soak in the warm water. "You're really quiet."
A reassuring smile crept in your lips. "I'm fine, Joshua. You don't have to worry about me," you replied.
"But I do, let me worry," he said, taking one of your hands to examine your wrists, which were reddened.
Your heart jolted again. "I liked it, Shua. Otherwise I would've told you, right?" you mumbled sheepishly.
His big eyes met yours, and you could see his features relax. His hand released yours to find your nape and pull you into a tender kiss.
"Thank you for trusting me," he muttered, resting his forehead against yours.
It was deafening and alarming—your heart was strumming against your chest, fast; a flutter of nervousness in your tummy. Fuck, this can't be happening, you told yourself. But a part of you knew this was bound to happen.
You were falling in love. 
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✮ a/n: first of all: can we pretend that vernon knows how to play the electric bass for the sake of this chapter pls (˘・_・˘)
thank you to everyone who showed love to part i and for the ones who waited for part 2 ty ty ty! i made this chapter extra juicy for those who waited tehe
what do you guys think Midnight Haze sound like? i thought of something like nothing but thieves or sam fender [especially this cover song] but do let me know your opinions! [links re-direct to youtube vids]
you can send an ask, chat with me, or drop your comments don't be shy (◠‿◠)
✮ READ PART 3 !! ✮
click here to join my taglist (. ❛ ᴗ ❛.)
toodles
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cringefailvox · 2 months
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overlord husk aus are very interesting to me in part because they present such a radically different vision of the huskerdust dynamic that is very compelling to me. present-day husk and angel are exhausted. these are people genuinely at rock bottom, who have been so worn down and chipped away at by the long, dragging stalemate of their circumstances that they have nothing left to give but their bare minimum selves. which is okay, and it's enough for them; a lot of what makes their dynamic so interesting is that it's about two people at their lowest rediscovering what it feels like to not be alone down there, to even begin thinking about the possibility of climbing out of the deep dark hole they've made their peace with now that they won't be doing it by themselves.
in contrast, overlord husk aus imagine a version of husk and angel before they were losers together. they imagine versions of them that haven't been beaten down all the way just yet: husk at the height of his greed and power and reckless addictions, angel riding the high of his stardom while adamantly refusing to peel back the surface and acknowledge the rot. both of them still digging the hole and saying to themselves, "i've got a ladder, i'm not going to get stuck. i can always climb back out."
and having these two meet at this stage in their lives, i think they would really, really not make each other better. husk's consideration for the souls on his chain had to have been close to zero for him to use them as gambling chips the way he did, especially the recklessly self-destructive way he did that ended with his own soul in alastor's pocket. and i imagine that for a long time, angel lived in total willful denial about val's escalating abuse and the toll his increasingly demanding job was taking on him, because acknowledging it would be tantamount to making it real, making it something that could actually hurt him and not just be rationalized away, and so of course he'd put off doing that for as long as he could.
if husk had actually won angel's soul, it wouldn't have been any different from all the other people he traded back and forth across his table just for the illicit thrill of the game. angel probably would've had a whole sunk-cost freakout about it (what was the point of all that pain and suffering and lack of autonomy if all the consequences are coming from a stranger now and not val? when it isn't personal? and now he can't even claim a little bit of power back by saying he chose it, because he didn't.) angel knows full well what it looks like when someone is going to kill themselves with their addictions, but what obligation does he have to the guy who would just as quick give him up to somebody else if it gave him an adrenaline rush? nothing, that's what, and he has enough of his own problems anyway.
crucially, they're both INCREDIBLY self-absorbed. not even in a conceited or vain way, but just in that they're so wrapped up in their own mess that they can't see beyond it, they don't have any space for empathy, and furthermore, they have no reason to even try.
it's why the version of their dynamic we get in canon works so well—they're in the same place now, at just the right time to finally start opening up their worlds to how they affect other people (angel watching charlie interact with val at the studio; husk being forced by alastor to engage with the hotel's residents as the bartender). there's space for empathy in their lives now, because they've finally been brought so low that they can't hide anymore, can't look away, can't deny how completely and totally fucked they are. it's a kind of brutal honesty that can only really come from confronting your absolute worst-case scenario. but for them to even begin connecting with each other in any authentic sense, they needed to have the ladder taken away so they could finally bring themselves to stop digging, look up, and realize there's been someone down here with them all along.
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padfootagain · 5 months
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Only An Almost (VII)
Chapter 7: Tender Bitterness
Hello!! Here is another chapter! So much angst in this fic, I’m sorry (no, I’m not).
I hope you’ll like this chapter! Please, tell me what you think!
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Pairing: Hozier x fem!reader, friends with benefits AU
Warning: No explicit smut or nsfw content, but there are sexual themes and heavy make-out sessions (it’s a friends with benefits AU, I can’t really escape it), so 18+ only!
Summary: Andrew has been in love with you for years, and yet he has never confessed his feelings. But a night out celebrating the engagement of his best friend changes everything. However, you don't seem ready to be with him just yet. You make him an offer that he can't refuse... but will certainly regret.
Word Count : 1759
Masterlist for the series – Hozier’s Masterlist – Main Masterlist
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“Stop cheating!”
“I’m not cheating!”
“Yes, you are.”
“I’m not!”
“You can’t use the same word twice.”
“Since when?”
“Since it’s in the rules.”
“You’re just a sore loser.”
“I’m not, you’re simply cheating!”
You gave him a toothy grin, the kind that made you absolutely adorable, that melted Andrew’s heart…
“It counts.”
“It doesn’t.”
You pouted, gave him your most adorable gaze…
God, you were so fucking annoying…
Andrew heaved a frustrated sigh, hiding his smile and reddening cheeks by grabbing the pen and paper set next to your game of scrabble and your cups of tea.
He counted in silence the points that belonged to you and wrote them down. When Andrew looked up again, you were grinning, clearly proud of yourself. You were so fucking annoying…
… he wanted to kiss that smirk off your face.
It was raining, you were both too lazy to go outside. You had eaten lunch with some friends, including Sam and Daphne who were being unbearably cute together, although the stress of the wedding was growing week after week. You were the one to offer Andrew to drop by to play some boardgame or just watch TV, or whatever. ‘Hang out’, that’s how you called it. You wanted to spend time with him. And Andrew hesitated at first, he thought you meant that you wanted to have sex. And it sounded crazy, knowing how he felt for you and how lovely you looked today and how he wanted to touch you right now… it sounded crazy to think that he didn’t want to have sex with you. And actually, he did want you. If you offered now, he would definitely say yes. But this conversation of yours during your hike was keeping him up at night. He didn’t know what to make of it.
You would never give him a proper chance, he knew that now. The only choice that remained was to enjoy having you by his side for as long as he could, or stop seeing you altogether. He wouldn’t be able to be your friend now. Not after losing all hope, not after learning what it felt like to be yours and for you to be almost his… he couldn’t do it.
So he tried to put more distance between the two of you this past week. It didn’t really work, for the friends part of your relationship. But the ‘benefits’ were down to zero. Andrew wasn’t sure whether he felt good or bad about it.
“Thanks, Andy!”
He mumbled some incoherent answer, playing off annoyance, when the words had simply remained stuck in his throat as you beamed up at him.
Yeah, he wasn’t doing too well…
You both grew quiet as Andrew was thinking, staring at the letters displayed before him. He was losing, by a lot, but then again, his head was everywhere but on the game at hand. It was fun though, you were fun.
He laughed at another stupid joke you said, and forgot the word he had thought of to play. You were laughing as well, and he bathed in the warmth of your smile, in your witty remarks, in how much fun he was having. For a moment, the weight of your relationship was lifted from his heart and shoulders. After all, you could have shared such a moment being friends, or even in a relationship. You could have laughed with him like this too, if you loved him…
“And that is how I will die of boredom… you’re no craic!” you complained, pouting dramatically to make him laugh.
And you easily succeeded, he giggled and it made him blush, the way his heart skipped a beat at how adorable you looked.
“If you stopped talking, maybe I’d be faster.”
“Are you blaming me for your lack of vocabulary?”
“Sorry, who writes lyrics here?”
“Sorry, Mr. Poet. I know your art demands patience and devotion.”
“Exactly, so please, be quiet from now on. I must summon the Muses.”
“If I shove the letters into your mouth, will that help, Virgil?”
“So violent…”
He was struggling not to laugh too loudly all the same.
“Feed the board. It demands your offering.”
“You’re fucking mad.”
“Says you!”
“Says me… here you go.”
He placed a word on the board, nothing too fancy, nothing that would allow him to win. You glanced over at the letters he had left and frowned.
“You could win more points if you moved your word and used the plural.”
“Really? I didn’t see it. Too late now.”
But you picked up the letter, moved his word around.
“Isn’t that cheating?” he chuckled.
“I’m just helping. You’re not focused today.”
Your voice was infinitely gentle as you spoke, there was worry tainting your tone. Andrew looked up at you with a questioning frown.
“I just… you look… you seem a little off these days, Andy,” you went on, clearly cautious in the words you chose. “Is everything okay?”
He struggled to swallow.
“’Course. I’m fine.”
“You know you can talk to me if something’s wrong, right?”
But Andrew shook his head, offering you a reassuring smile.
“I’m perfectly fine. There is no need for you to worry.”
The look you gave him pierced his heart. You looked at him like you… like you were hurting with him. How ironic, considering that you were the reason his body and soul were aching now…
“I’m worried about you. I hate seeing you sad.”
He let out a bitter scoff, he couldn’t help it.
“Like you care,” he spat with more venom in his tone than he meant to let out.
You looked at him with wide eyes, blinking in surprise.
“Of course, I care… why would you say that?”
“You…”
He heaved a frustrated sigh.
“Never mind,” he mumbled under his breath.
“What’s wrong with you? We’ve been friends for years, you’re… you’re one of the most important people in my life… how could you say that? God, we… we’ve slept together. And you think I don’t care?”
His jaw clenched, he struggled to blink tears away. He took in a deep breath.
“I… I’m sorry. I’m just… I’m a little lost. In my life, I mean. In… in everything… I don’t know what to do.”
You silently invited him to keep going. The rain was louder outside, the sky so dark you could have turned on the lights.
“I… I don’t know… I have a decision to take, and I don’t know what to do.”
“You don’t want to tell me the specifics?”
“No… honestly, no, I don’t want to.”
“Okay. Well… what would make you happier? I reckon that’s all you need to ask yourself.”
“I don’t know. I feel like I’m gonna be on the losing side no matter what.”
Slowly, you nodded, but your frown was enough to tell him that you had no clue what he was talking about. You pondered his words for a moment.
“Y/N… I don’t think you can help anyway. I just have to figure this out on my own. Don’t worry about me, okay? I’m fine. I’m simply worried about something, that’s all.”
Slowly, you nodded, although you seemed unconvinced.
“Can I do something to make you feel better?”
You opened your arms for him.
“A hug?”
He chuckled fondly at you. Even if he tried to be mad at you, he simply couldn’t. You were too sweet for that…
“Sure, come here.”
You yielded easily, standing up to hug him. Sitting in his chair you were a little taller than him, for once. He breathed deeply your scent as he buried his face in the crook of your neck. He felt his bones melting under your touch as you stroked his hair, a palm splayed reassuringly across his spine, as if to support his frame. You kissed his forehead, and he almost cried with the tenderness of your gesture.
He held you tightly, more so than he should have, but you didn’t seem to mind, accepting the way he clung unto you.
“What if I ordered some pizza and we watched some disgustingly sweet movie together tonight?”
He hummed in approval.
“Sounds nice,” he answered in a sigh.
“If you’re nice to me, I’ll let you have some of my favourite whiskey.”
“When am I ever not nice to you?”
“When you try to prevent me from cheating at scrabble?”
“It’s called being a law-abiding citizen. You should try sometimes.”
“Huh, huh…. No thanks. I’d rather remain a rascal.”
He chuckled into your neck, sending vibrations through your skin, and he noticed the way it made you shiver.
God, if you held him like that, if you reacted this way to him… it ought to mean something… despite his job and the odds, perhaps one day you would…
He looked up at you when you gently pulled on his hair to guide him away from your neck. He thought you wanted to break free from the hug, and he almost protested, but then both of your hands were gently cradling his face, your thumbs brushing his bearded cheeks. Before he could realize what you were doing, you were pressing your lips to his, in the gentlest, most tender kiss he had ever been given. It was loving. He was shocked by the intimacy of it, how much care and love you were putting into the gesture. Andrew couldn’t remember ever being kissed so lovingly…
When you pulled away, he had to blink a few times to force his brain back into action.
And you looked down at him with so much fondness in your smile, as if you felt the same adoration that coursed through every fibre of his being every time he looked at you, every time he as much as thought of you.
And what if he could change your mind?
None of you said anything. Andrew buried his face into your neck again, held you tight, and you welcomed him in your embrace with a pressing of your lips to his hairline. Not a kiss, just a resting of your lips onto his skin. You inhaled deeply enough for him to hear it, to think that perhaps you were committing his scent to memory too, the same he did with yours. And all the while, there was nothing sexual in your gestures. Only comfort and kindness and maybe even love, Andrew was foolish enough to think of the word.
There was no way you could have held him like this, and not feel a thing… right?
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aweina · 11 months
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ᰔ. pretty little secret : sub-zero. scorpion + smoke.
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bi-han falls asleep at any given moment. years of gruesome self-discipline and carrying on prime titles like grandmaster can be exhausting — even for the cyromancer. in his secluded office, he would have a spread of boring scrolls and unread parchment laying on his desk. for him, that would be a perfect time to take a short nap that he didn’t get the night before. sometimes he would even doze off during training. with his intimidating stance and eyes closed shut, it would seem like he’s in deep thought — listening intently to each heavy punch and swift kick. bi-han is a firm believer that you should never show weakness and for him, that meant his constant restlessness. if a traitor were to catch him off guard in his most vulnerable state, it would destroy all he’s ever worked for. one other thing he’ll never want to admit is that he’s getting old, so keeping his secret habit in the dark is best for his pride.
kuai liang enjoys watching period romance dramas. every since he was formally introduced to earth realm’s technology, he found himself watching lengthy love tales during his free time. there’s a small, television seemingly “unused” in the corner of his room. but if you turn it on — it stores dozens of unfinished chinese period dramas. he even secretly commutes to fengjian to enjoy the melancholic films with the elderly locals — quietly sipping on scorching black tea in interest. aside from an engaging story enriched with beautiful visuals and costumes, kuai liang simply believes that love is a beautiful concept that needed to be seen, whether it would start in a begrudging arranged marriage or through the first moment of eye contact. he isn’t completely worried about his little secret being revealed, rather he would just simply be flustered at the surprised reactions he would receive if word ever got out.
tomas smokes cigarettes when he’s stressed. ironic, right? training with smoke magic all throughout his youth made him fond of the bitter, rich haze. especially with his new appointed duty to mentor the new initiates of the shirai ryu, tomas always found himself on a midnight stroll, his overused lighter flicking a weak flame as a cigarette rested between his lips. it gave him a warm buzz, soothing all the tense nerves in his body. since his robes and gear always have a faint scent of acrid ash, nobody would ever suspect him of smoking. even his soft and friendly personality can be quite deceiving from his smoking habit. although tomas isn’t ashamed of using harsh fumes to get him through a rough patch, he still had his personal reasons to keep this little secret. the main one being that he simply didn’t want to encourage his students to do the same thing — they’re still young after all.
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add. note : thinking about making a part two of this but who knows with me ㅜㅜ
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megumimania · 9 months
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SKIN TIGHT - geto suguru
summary: you agreed to a casual relationship with the uni fboy suguru but what happens when he starts to fall in love with you?
warnings: fwb, geto suguru x fem reader, geto x black! reader, suguru gives me such philosophy major and sociology minor vibes, fboy !suguru is a softie at heart
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suguru geto is a name that both the male and female student body at your university are painfully familiar with. infamous for his short stints of relationships that often leaves the other party in distress, you successfully managed to avoid him for the first two semesters of university. that was until the day he joined your sociology class.
you remember it as if it was yesterday. that pretty smile he gave you whilst you moved your bag to let him sit next to you. the way he kept trying to talk to you even though you ignored him at every opportunity. you didn’t know why he was so persistent but eventually you caved in and gave him a chance. you figured that there had to be a reason to why so many people were obsessed with him.
well one thing led to another and now you’re half naked in his dorm room as suguru lights a cigarette, watching you fumble with the button of your jeans as you prepare to head to your afternoon class. usually you’d engage in light banter with him but these past few hookups he’s been more curious about your personal life. with him asking questions about your degree, your friends and your hobbies etc. you answered them because they were harmless surface level questions. plus it doesn’t hurt to know more about the person you’re hooking up with, right?
you pull on your sweater, feeling his eyes wonder over your body as if he’s committing it to memory before looking up at you. “do you have any plans after class tomorrow?” he asks as he rests his arm on his headboard revealing his torso that is littered with kisses and love bites. he looks at you with a neutral expression that makes it seems like he’s purely making small talk. “not much.” you reply putting your other shoe on. “why?”
“jus’ curious.” he takes another drag of his cigarette before exhaling the smoke. “let me take you out.” he asks after a moment of silence, making you still for a minute before letting out a laugh. “can’t get enough of me huh?” you wiggle your eyebrows just to tease him not missing the slight flush on the tips of his ears. “not really when you were begging for me to—” you didn’t hear the rest of suguru’s sentence as it was muffled by your hands covering his mouth.
you tenatively remove your hand from his mouth as he gives you a lazy grin. “im gonna be late for class.” you walked out of his dorm, sparing no time to hear his response. his sudden invitation to hang out worried you even more. you liked the pace you were both going at and you didn’t think there’d been any issues since you both agreed to be open and honest with each other.
class went on and you could barely focus, you were more busy trying to decipher and decode his simple invitation to hang out and the reasons behind it. the thought followed you from your class to the sanctuary of your dorm room. you eventually gave up with trying to study, collapsing on your bed as you decided that you’d get the answers out of him soon.
as promised, suguru met you outside of your lecture hall. his signature raven locks was pulled neatly into a bun with some strands being pulled out to frame his face. he was dressed in usual all black attire, hands stuffed in his pockets as his eyes scanned the crowd for you. he spotted you talking to a guy, that he recognised to be ino—one of the keen pledges at the frat satoru was apart of. suguru didn’t like the way ino was making you laugh and giggle which was weird since he was supposed to have zero attachments to you at all.
hearing ino crack another one of his tired jokes was enough for suguru to finally step in. “ready to go babe?” he asked taking your hand in his. aside from how natural the pet name sounded coming out of his mouth, you were also stunned at the sudden contact but decided to go along with it anyway. “sure.” you replied as coolly as possible, trying to ignore the glares you got from other students who were probably former flings of suguru.
you pulled him aside swatting his arm. “what was that for!” he rubbed his now sore arm with a pout on his lips. “i was trying to save you from his terrible jokes!” you looked at him with a sense of disbelief. “saving me by trying to play as my boyfriend?” you whisper shouted at him, not wanting to cause commotion. however it seemed that your words fell flat as suguru was lost in a trance, as his eyes hyper-fixated on your plump glossy lips.
you snapped a finger in his face trying to get his attention, “god you’re unbelievable.” you walked off, ignoring the way your heart pounded against your chest. he grabbed your arm and pulled you closer to him rocking you side to side. “you know you don’t mean that, baby.” he purred softly against your ear, sending shivers down your spine. suguru was fine in small doses but having to experience all of him at once was intoxicating, you found that the mild anger you had towards him was slowly evaporating.
“‘m sorry, i couldn’t watch him crack his stupid jokes and making you laugh like that.” he said with an apologetic tone. the new level of vulnerability causing suguru’s usual hawk like eye contact to falter—looking at everything but you. “like i know we said that this was just gonna be casual and shit but like im fucking crazy about you and it’s driving me insane.” he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, his eyes finally meeting yours.
he bent down a little so he’d be at eye level with you. you grabbed his face gently, assessing his features. whilst his words were flattering at the end of the day, the rational part of you was unsure whether to trust them knowing his reputation. “how do i know you’re being genuine?” you asked quietly, trying to remain level headed despite the whirlwind of emotions that were brewing inside of you.
suguru understood where you were coming from. it’s hard to take his word seriously when he’s not a serious person at all romantically but he would do anything to prove the opposite, just so it would quell your doubts and anxieties that were swimming through your head. “if you let me i can show you.” he muttered softly leaning in to press his lips against yours, the cool metal from his lip ring making you shudder.
this kiss was different from all the others you had with suguru, it didn’t stem purely from lust or need, it was something much more gentler, softer and pure. you could argue that this kiss came from a place of love—even if you two were unable to see it at this stage. you pulled away, staring into his glassy onyx eyes that twinkled with something akin to joy.
if sophomore year suguru could see him right now he’d probably go into cardiac arrest. since everyone, including himself, thought he’d never settle down at all. but of course you came along and eventually proved him wrong.
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bvidzsoo · 9 months
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Forget-me-not
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⫿Illegal racer!Mingi⫿
TW: cursing, unprotected sex
Word count: 4,7k
A/N: Well yeah...this is Mingi's fault for posting those freaking pics and my fault for getting inspired at the most random ass times. I know I'm not the greatest smut writer, but don't take my head off for it, thank you. Your feedback is very much appreciated!
⭒Toge racing: 1-1; lead driver <--> chase driver
⭒Sprint: race has more drivers
⭒Dig: refers to all participants toeing a line, aligning the front tire of the vehicles, after which all vehicles race from a stop to a prearranged point
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            My car came to a screeching halt as I slammed on the brakes, which were new. I got them changed a week ago, I have fried the old ones off after the toge race I pulled off in the mountains. My jaw was set tightly as I took in a deep breath, long fingers tightening against the leathery wheel.
“What are you doing—”
“Get out.” I snapped; eyes focused on the road ahead. The other female in the car gasped quietly before I heard her huff in annoyance.
“What did you just say?”
“Get out, Jennie.” I snapped more aggressively this time as my head whipped around, shooting dagger at her. She looked incredulous as she didn’t make any moves to get out of my car. I wasn’t having it anymore; I just couldn’t focus with her around.
“Are you seriously kicking me out of your car when we’re one block away?” She hissed, lips pulled into a snarl, making me smirk at her in annoyance.
“Yes, I am.” I told her, leaning back in my seat, “Get. Out.”
She didn’t have much of a choice as I glared her down, Jennie’s fierce eyes staring back just as harshly while she bit her lower lip. It didn’t take long for her eyes to fill with tears, which were faker than the eyelashes she had on, and I just rolled my eyes before she finally undid her seatbelt and grabbed her purse aggressively.
“I can’t believe you!” She screamed as she threw open my car’s door, making me hiss when it cracked open loudly, “You’re seriously throwing me out of your car on a deserted road in the middle of the night?!”
“Maybe you shouldn’t have fucked my fiancé a week before our wedding, cousin.” I hissed at Jennie, who was also my cousin, as I revved the engine of my 3gen burgundy Honda Prelude. The car was a gem and I cherished it dearly, taking more care of her than I have ever taken care of myself.
“I told you he was—” Jennie started shrieking as she slammed the car’s door shut, her window having been rolled down, but I quickly pressed the button to roll it up and sped off, not wanting to hear another sound coming from her mouth. It’s not like I dropped her off miles away from the car meet, she was just a block away. She should be thankful I even gave her a ride after everything she made me go through not even four months ago.
I thought Jennie and I were like sisters, always there for each other no matter what the matter was. We could talk about anything and discuss all of our issues. I confided in her when problems arose with my fiancé, and her advice had been the best, it helped our relationship…until it completely shattered. Until she went and slept with San like he wasn’t engaged to me, just a week away from his own wedding. She would’ve been the bridesmaid, but there was no wedding to be held. I called it off the second San drunkenly told me about his infidelity, and I also took all of my stuff and moved out from our shared apartment. Indeed, it was a rash decision, in the spur of the moment as my head was coated with anger, hurt and betrayal, but I couldn’t stand to see his face for even one more second longer.
The small house I rented out wasn’t in the best part of the city and it was far from being luxurious, but it worked for now. It felt cozy and the neighborhood was quiet…unless Song Mingi was out and about, keeping everyone up on the street with his obnoxiously loud Dodge Challenger. The car was a specimen, however, truly rare as it was well kept and had zero flaws. Mingi took great care of it and never failed to show it off. Even if it was in the middle of the night, when people were trying to relax and sleep as he didn’t seem to care. Whether he had just come home from racing or God’s knows from where or he was bringing girls over and showing off…he’d keep the engine running for at least ten minutes before he finally shut it off. Mingi and I had known each other for more than a year now as the both of us go to the same car gatherings and do the same illegal street races, and even better than that, we’ve raced each other countless of times already. There was only one problem with him and that was his obnoxiously large ego. His car was good, he was a skilled racer, and he knew he looked good. So, all three combined made him an insufferable jerk and I couldn’t stand being around him for more than five minutes. Imagine my shock when I moved in across from him, his car being the give away of who my neighbor would be for an undetermined time. And what made it even worse…was his bedroom facing the main road whereas it was my living room facing it, and Mingi seemed to not know the concept and usage of curtains. Whether he didn’t do it purpose, seriously have major doubts about that, or it was on purpose, it seemed to be his habit to strip naked and change in front of his windows. He never gave it away that he knew I could see him, so out of embarrassment, I never brought it up to him. Not that this would ever be something I would talk to him about, I try to stay away from that prick as he gets on my last nerve. But some things were inevitable and I would be lying to myself if I said his body wasn’t perfect from top to bottom.
I rolled down both windows of my car as I turned down the usually deserted road, which was now filled to the brim with cars on both sides, creating a pathway in the middle. People were swarming between the cars, looking at them and talking to each other. Some were even fighting, needing to be separated as I slowly rolled down the pathway, nodding my head at the familiar faces as they sent waves my way. My arm hung through the window as I steered with one hand, headed to my usual spot. People who were regulars in the illegal races had their own spots and were paid fairly better than the newcomers. Which meant it was totally worth it to race…unless the cops caught you, it was game over then. I put my car in reverse as I carefully parked my car, Soonyoung cheering loudly from the side as he watched, gaining more people’s attention. I rolled my eyes at his theatrics. Soonyoung and I have met three years ago, at a race where we both drifted off into the ditches. Unfortunately his car suffered unfixable damage, unlike mine. The Universe must’ve been on my side that day, because I was convinced I was going to die, yet here I was…unmarried and completely miserable as I plastered on the most genuine looking fake smile on my face that I could.
“Hey, buddy!” I greeted him as I got out of the car, knocked breathless when Soonyoung’s best friend raced towards me, colling into my body and lifting me up into a hug as he started twirling me around aggressively. I had to hold onto his body out of fear of scratching my own car and Soonyoung’s purple Subaru BRZ as my legs gripped around Wooyoung’s waist tightly.
“You made it!” He shouted into my ear and I cringed, crying out as he abruptly stopped, giving me whiplash, “Soonyoung said you were coming but seeing the time—I thought you changed your mind.”
“I didn’t,” I breathed out as Wooyoung finally released me, only for Soonyoung to engulf me into a hug; they both knew I hated hugs, yet never stopped tackling me into one, “But my mother made plans for me and forced me into picking Jennie up—”
“That bitch!” Wooyoung called out at the same time as Soonyoung went off saying, “I thought you were past the age where your mother tells you what to do.”
“Yeah, okay,” I shrugged, pushing my hands into the pocket’s of my leather jacket, “I didn’t know until I got there, Soonyoung, and yes, Jennie is a bitch, Wooyoung.”
“She is! Oh, my God, how dare she still face you after everything she’s done?!” Wooyoung seemed to be annoyed all of a sudden as he huffed, making Soonyoung glance at him. His eyebrows were furrowed as he nodded in agreement. They both hated my cousin, rightfully so, and I did too.
“She still blames it all on San—”
“Bullshit!” Soonyoung suddenly exclaimed, his face pulled into a scowl, “Where’s she anyway? I don’t see her in your car.”
“I kicked her out a block away.” I couldn’t help but giggle as I told my two friends the shit I pulled off. In full honesty, I really couldn’t listen to her ramble on about her apparently picture-perfect life anymore. I hated her guts, I really did. After she ruined my life she had the nerve to rub hers in my face? I don’t think so, not anymore at least; I have made myself very clear after the ugly hysterical fit I had at my mother’s. Soonyoung and Wooyoung shouldn’t have cackled as loudly as they had, palms pressing against their mouths as they congratulated me for being a bad bitch. I wasn’t, I was simply triggered and still hurting.
“You’re iconic, love.” Wooyoung said as he reached out and touched a wavy strand of my hair. I wasn’t planning on dressing up tonight, but something pushed me to do. It’s been too long since I have looked put together, I have missed feeling beautiful and desirable, “And you look absolutely amazing.”
“Thank you.” I bowed playfully as Soonyoung grinned, bumping his shoulder against Wooyoung’s.
“Dressed up for a certain someone to see?” He teased with a wiggle of his eyebrows.
“As if!” I exclaimed and rolled my eyes, knowing very well Soonyoung was referring to Mingi. No, that prick deserved none of my attention or effort, “Before you can spew out more nonsense, I’ll head over to Hongjoong and enter my name in the race.”
“Oh!” Wooyoung exclaimed with excitement as I walked out from between my car and Soonyoung’s, “Which one are you entering?”
“Which one should I?” I stopped to think for a moment as a wicked grin crossed Soonyoung’s features.
“Do the two blocks drifting one.” He instructed with a glint in his eyes and I narrowed mine at him, wondering why he had that face while suggesting such a mild race. Wooyoung glanced at our friend for a second before realization crossed his features and he giggled into his palm, avoiding eye contact with me.
“Fine, but I have a feeling I shouldn’t trust the two of you…” I muttered as Soonyoung and Wooyoung high-fived each other and sent a wink my way, turning their backs as they went to join their other friends once I took off.
My strides were long as I was headed towards the front, where the checkered flag was being waved aggressively, the path having gotten narrower as I was forced to push my way through the crowd. People were loud around me as they cheered for the driver of their choice, egging them on to show a better performance, to win. Four cars were lined up at the starting line, about to start a Sprint. Seonghwa, Hongjoong’s right hand and who handled the races in this part of the town, went and checked on every driver before he walked up to the front, standing in between two cars, holding the checkered flag as he raised his hand. People started shouting like crazy as Seonghwa started counting down and then, dropped the flag, the cars shooting off one by one, each fighting to win the race. I recognized one car, Choi Jongho’s, he was a newcomer but he was rising in the ranks rapidly, creating a name for himself on these streets. Hongjoong stood to the side, leaning against a pole as he was counting the money in his hands, smirking at Seonghwa as he approached him once the coast was clear of any speeding cars. I watched the two as I approached them, Seonghwa talking to Hongjoong softly as the shorter one reached out for his waist with one hand, placing something in the taller one’s back pocket with his other hand. I raised my eyebrows at them as I came to a stop in front of Hongjoong, Seonghwa’s mouth closing abruptly as he stopped talking. Apparently I wasn’t allowed to know what their conversation was about.
“Oh, hey.” Hongjoong’s demeanor changed as he greeted me with a friendly smile, “You’re racing tonight?”
“I sure am.” I said with a grin and Seonghwa took out a small notebook, eyebrows furrowed as he searched for a pen.
“Which category?” He asked as he finally found it and watched me expectantly. I was feeling like going for a Dig tonight, but I remembered what Soonyoung had told me.
“Drifts, the two blocks one.” I said casually, making Hongjoong look up. He looked a little bit surprised as he shared a look with Seonghwa, one which I didn’t understand. But Seonghwa just hummed and jotted my name down in the notebook before he looked up.
“The usual sum?” I nodded and handed them two stacks of money as Seonghwa jotted down the amount, Hongjoong taking the stacks from my hand with a hungry glint in his eyes. I lingered for a second as I wanted to ask who I’d be racing against tonight, but I changed my mind and thanked the two instead as I walked back to my car, deciding that I wanted to live dangerously tonight. Not knowing my rival made it more satisfying when I would win, not having made a strategy for myself beforehand as I didn’t know who the person would be and their driving style. My mind and body craved for the little adrenaline racing infused into my bloodstream and I couldn’t wait to get my hands on the prize too.
             Of course, I should have known by Soonyoung and Wooyoung’s giggles that they were setting me up. Losing tonight was as possible as winning, really, it would be about who was more skilled and faster. I watched Mingi’s black 2000 Dodge Challenger pull up to the start line, front tires on the line just like mine. The rumble of his car’s engine was already a tell-tale sign of whom I’d be racing tonight, and I couldn’t help but curse as I saw Wooyoung and Soonyoung high-five each other on the sidelines before showing me a thumbs-up. I could only scowl at them as Seonghwa walked around, gathering money as people made bets on who would win this time. Mingi’s window was rolled down and I saw movement from my peripheral so I looked over lazily, raising an eyebrow at him as he waved his ring clad fingers at me in a mocking way. I rolled my eyes and rolled down my own window, Mingi’s mouth already opening to speak up.
“Evening, doll.” He called over the loud crowd and rumble of our cars engines, “Fancy losing tonight?”
“Don’t get too cocky now, Mingi.” I plastered on a fake smile, “I might smoke you out.”
“I have to admit your ass is pretty fine—” He paused for a dramatic effect as my jaw clenched, knowing well he meant it both ways; car’s and my ass, “but I don’t plan on looking at it for too long tonight.”
I chuckled and pushed my wavy hair behind my shoulders as I leaned over the middle console, my low-cut top not leaving much to imagination, “I would hate to kick you off your high-horse, sweetheart, but your Dodge got nothing compared to my Honda.”
“I thought I have showed you my skills countless times, doll.” The way Mingi caught his lower lip between his teeth shouldn’t have made my stomach flip, but I couldn’t help it as my eyes remained fixed on them. Then, Mingi suddenly smirked as if he could see even from the distance where my eyes were fixated and he lowered his sunglasses slightly, leaning over his open window, “You seem to have forgotten, let me remind you tonight.”
My skin got covered in goosebumps at the offer in his tone, knowing damn well what he was talking about. And it wasn’t about racing anymore. But I wouldn’t let him know how quickly his words could make my body react, therefore, I just leaned back in my seat and started revving the engine of my burgundy car, smirking at Mingi as a displeased look crossed his face. I rolled up my window as he started revving his, Seonghwa having made it between our cars with a flag in his hands. He grinned at Mingi before looking at me, earning a firm nod from me. I decided to take a peek at Mingi swiftly, wondering how he could still see and drive while wearing sunglasses at night, but I quickly pushed all thoughts away as Seonghwa’s hands raised. I gripped the steering wheel tightly with my left hand as my right went to grip the gear stick, eyes set on the road ahead. My left foot was on the shift pedal and the second Seonghwa released the flag, I kicked into action as I shifted into first gear and shoot off, leaving Mingi in a dust behind as I worked my way up through the gears, focusing on the road only, familiar with Mingi’s driving. Beating him tonight would be a piece of cake.
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            The windows were fogged up and the leather was scrapping against my knees painfully as I panted, eyebrows scrunched together as I tried to find the perfect rhythm. Mingi’s calloused hands were gripping my waist but he wasn’t doing anything, he was just watching me with an open mouth, leaning forward to press his reddened lips against my flushed skin in no time. He would grunt from time to time as my hips moved up and down, his dick deep inside, hitting every sensitive nerve I had as his tongue licked against my collarbone before I felt him sucking. The small top I was wearing was of no-good use as Mingi’s right hand came up to grope my left breast and I whined as my thighs were starting to strain. It wasn’t a surprise that I have ended up in Mingi’s car not long after our race, which he had won this time, panting and on top of him, desperate for my own release as Mingi didn’t do anything, as he tortured me longer than it was necessary. Mingi’s lips trailed upwards, kissing and biting the skin of my neck before he kissed behind my ear, making me whine as I fastened my pace. A low groan left Mingi’s lips as his nose pressed against the skin of my neck, his hot breath hitting my skin uneven.
“Fuck, I can’t take this any longer.” I panted out, hands tangling into Mingi’s black hair as he slightly pulled back to look up at me. His pupils were blown and his eyes were hazed over with lust, yet he still managed to smirk as his hands went around my naked waist and grabbed my bare ass, helping me out as I moaned loudly, going faster with Mingi’s help. My walls clenched down around him and in response Mingi cursed quietly, biting my neck as his fingers dug into the flesh of my ass, soon enough his body leaning back into the leather cushion of his passenger seat. My arms went to hold onto the headrest of it, whimpers getting louder as my lower region burned, desperate for a release after so much teasing and edging from Mingi. His grunts were constant as I gyrated my hips more frequently, my lower lip in between my teeth as suddenly Mingi hit the sweet spot, making me stutter out a gasp as my walls clenched down around him.
“Fuck.” He cursed in a low rasp, hands releasing me as his hands raised behind his head, eyes shut close for a second, “Fuck, tell me I’m better. He could never fuck you like this, doll.”
My eyebrows furrowed as I went down on his dick again, but missed the angle I have previously found. My brain was in a haze, and I didn’t want his words to register as I continued chasing for an orgasm, but Mingi just wouldn’t shut up, “San could never make you feel this good.”
My body stiffened and muscles contracted as I was snapped out of whatever euphoria I was feeling at the moment, face contorted into disgust as I threw a glare at Mingi, “Why the fuck would you bring up my ex-fiancé during sex, Mingi?!”
Mingi gulped as he opened his eyes, forehead covered in a sheer coat of sweat, “Why? Are you not over him yet?”
I hated the arrogance dripping from his voice, the way he was looking at me, with such superiority, as if he was better, “It’s been four months, only. Would you be over the person you’ve loved for six fucking years and were meant to get married to?”
“I certainly wouldn’t start mopping about it during sex with another man—”
“You brought him up, he wasn’t even in my mind.” I snapped as we remained unmoving, Mingi’s hands latching onto mine against the headrest as he squeezed them.
“He better not be while I have my dick inside you, doll.” Mingi rasped and I scoffed, leaning closer to him, our lips almost touching.
“You sound an awful lot like you’re jealous, sweetheart.” I whispered against his lips before I licked his lips, Mingi’s eyes darkening for a second as he shifted underneath me. He only moved slightly, but the burning and yearning was back as my eyebrows furrowed, “You talk too much. Shut up and fuck me brainless, Mingi.”
“Gladly, doll.” Mingi whispered as he suddenly thrusted upwards, making me yelp in surprise as he suddenly started moving. He wasted no time as he moved fast and sharply, slamming back in before I could even meet his thrusts. My head fell back as I braced myself against his shoulder and neck, mouth open as whimpers kept falling and falling. Mingi’s length reached places nobody’s had before and with his precise and sharp thrusts my thoughts were slowly becoming incoherent again. His face was contorted into pleasure as his eyebrows pulled together, a moan slipping out every now and then as his left hand pushed against the roof of his car as his right hand came down to grab my hips and maneuver them to his liking. The fire was quickly building up in my stomach now with his continuous thrusts and it was starting to get harder and harder to focus on anything else but on chasing my own release. Mingi suddenly leaned up and circled his left arm around my torso as he flushed our bodies together, pivoting his hips up at a relentless pace, making me keen against his ear as my fingers tangled into his hair tightly. Mingi moaned loudly and fucked me harder as I moved messily against him, toes curling from the feeling.
“Fuck, Mingi—” My voice broke off into a loud moan as he finally found my sweet spot again, walls clenching down on him tightly. Mingi gasped and pressed his tall nose against my collarbone as he hit the spot again and again, his moans strained as I screwed my eyes shut, moving my hips in time with his, my hand coming down between us to rub circles against my clit.
“Doll—” Mingi groaned as my muscles tightened, so close to releasing finally as I threw my head back, Mingi’s name falling off my lips in whispers and broken moans. I could feel Mingi twitching inside me constantly and I knew he was close too as his breathing got even more uneven and arms tensed against my body as he leaned back, suddenly holding my jaw, making my eyes snap open, “Look me in the eyes.”
And so I did as I rubbed against my clit faster, Mingi’s thrusts wilder as his hand slipped from my jaw to my neck, putting the right amount of pressure against it. My lips fell open and in a few more desperate thrusts, I was coming undone against Mingi as my body tensed up and spasmed in his arms, moans spilling from my lips until I couldn’t breathe anymore, Mingi’s long fingers cutting off my air. My body shook as euphoria washed over every sense in my body, skin on fire and stomach coiling as I came down crashing hard, ears ringing before I could finally breathe, sputtering nonsense against Mingi’s lips as I fell forward, pressing my lips against his messily. He still hasn’t released yet and as my body went mush in his arms, he continued fucking up into me, head falling back as his moans grew loud. My lips sucked against the sensitive skin of his neck as my body ached from being used too much, but I knew he was close and I wanted him to fill me up.
“Mingi—” I moaned out in pain as my walls felt abused by Mingi’s relentless and messy pace, but when we made eye contact he knew what I was asking of him. His face contorted into pleasure once again and he bit his lower lip and whined as I clenched my walls around his dick, his hands coming to hold onto the headrest as his hips stuttered, stomach stiff as he came too, spilling inside me his warm seed. My stomach twisted at the feeling and I watched Mingi as he panted loudly, pressing his head into the headrest harshly. My right hand cupped his jaw and he lazily blinked his eyes open, watching me with clear eyes. A small smirk crossed his lips as he grabbed me by the nape and pulled me down, our lips meeting for a kiss as we both opened up, tongues meeting in a hot frenzy. I could feel my face heat up as Mingi’s tongue explored my mouth, slowly and sensually, making my skin tingle again as I pressed closer against him, kissing back with the same fervor as he was. He still hadn’t pulled out and I could finally feel the strain in my thighs as everything caught up with me at once, the yearning of my body. I could never get enough of Mingi, but I never allowed myself to think too hard about it. Mingi licked into my mouth with finality, sucking on my tongue before pulling away, a small string of saliva snapping as he went and sucked on my lower lip, making me push him away when he bit down on the soft flesh harshly. He seemed pleased with himself as he trailed his hands down the sides of my body, gripping my hips steadily.
“Wanna go for another race?” He asked seriously and I looked at him with an incredulous look.
“To lose more money that would go to you?” I asked with a scoff, making Mingi smirk as he lightly squeezed my hips.
“So, you do admit I would win again?”
“Don’t think you’re too special,” I rolled my eyes as Mingi smirked, “I’m just too spent after our little session…”
“Poor you,” Mingi mocked and pursed his lips, “Here I was, feeling like going for a second round…”
“I can’t feel my thighs anymore, forget it.” I snapped and made to finally get off him, but Mingi didn’t let me as he smiled, batting his eyelashes at me like he wanted something.
“And if we go home?” He asked airily, jutting his lower lip out, “Will you let me fuck you into the mattress?”
My jaw almost fell open, but I managed to stop myself as I tsked, smirking at him, “Can’t get enough of me?”
Mingi smirked and slightly raised me up by the waist, making me gasp at the friction, “Apparently I can’t.”
I chuckled as Mingi leaned up to peck my lips before lifting me off himself, an unfamiliar glint in his eyes which told me the rumble of our cars engines wouldn’t be the only thing keeping up our neighbors tonight.
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Masterlist (divider)
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throwaway-yandere · 2 years
Text
Dendro NA: 101 (Yandere!Alhaitham/Reader)
a/n: “ansy weren’t you going to write faceless!ayato and music composer!tighnari” well yes but things happened so now here we are. I’m dedicating this fic to crying anon since they’re the person that gave me an idea of an "what if Alhaitham had an elf!darling?" after this fic. The beginning reads like an enemies-to-lovers fic with a slice of crack where nothing goes wrong but trust me it’s not lmao
unreliable synopsis: After Alhaitham forged your signature, you're now forced to become the Acting Grand Sage’s assistant. It's even more annoying when he nearly visited your house all drugged up. Seriously, when will he learn to respect his seniors?
CW: yandere themes, noncon touching, aphrodisiacs, possessiveness, so much bickering, and the reader slanders dendro for plot reasons. 
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Pulcinella, The Rooster, came to visit early in the morning.
“Pups, please… Stop turning my apartment upside down and just tell me what you want.”
It was unexpected how the old man barged into your “unconquerable mess of an apartment” with the intent to celebrate your newfound job at the Haravatat. Mayor Pulcinella isn’t your direct grandfather, but he is your grandfather’s brother. The fact that you are connected to him is a well-known secret (as absurd an oxymoron as that may sound) in the College of Engineering and Technology at the Akademiya. Because of the collectivist mentality that characterized your family, every last pointy-eared relative you are aware of is blatantly nosy and annoying. The "mayor" is much more so.
Pulcinella did come to extend his congratulations, with a generous batch of cookies even, but he had an objective in mind. His way of showing that he cares is usually in the form of letters but he stands right in front of you now. You can only imagine how difficult it is for someone in his position to take a leave of absence this far since Port Ormos is so far away from home and it takes days for mail to arrive here.
Your grandfather is obstinate. Terrifying so since you recognize that expression on his face all too well. Although you are unsure of what he needs from you, you do know that you want him out. Immediately.
“Don’t talk to me in that tone, child.” He scowled, jabbing your briefcases with his wooden cane. “I’m not leaving until I find it.”
That "Rooster" moniker belongs to him without a doubt. Your belongings were seized by the elf-like a bird's beak. He prodded the dreadful equation-filled sheets hanging on your wall and snatched a few trinkets on your work table. Good lord. Pulcinella made so much noise that if you weren’t already planning on starting your day, you would’ve been incredibly cranky when he knocked on your door.
“For Her Majesty’s sake– just what are you trying to find, grandpups?”
He turned to look at you.
Not mad, but disappointed– sad, even.
“An engagement ring. Evidence that you’re dating that fool, Alhaitham.”
You groaned.
“Him again?! Motherf—”
Pulcinella quirked his eyebrow at your outburst, “hmm?”
You chuckled nervously, “ah, sorry, I just… It’s nothing.”
No, it was not “nothing.” That bastard ruined a lot of things for you, including your vision. You didn’t want a dendro vision. You were praying for Rex Lapis every night even after his death but somehow being involved with Alhaitham strayed your path to gaining the “grass fertilizer tool” as you loved to call it. Sure, there’s little evidence that he’s the reason behind the fact that you got a dendro vision instead of geo but that doesn’t change the fact that you want to crush him between your palms like a writhe scarab. Especially after he enlisted you as his scribe-disciple without your consent. What a complete scumbag.
Oh, to quit the Akademiya only to be forced to go back again…
But of course, your grandpups don’t know anything about this and you have ZERO intentions of letting him in on your business. If he knows, then ALL of Snezhnayan elves know.
“I’ve heard from your mother that you’ve gone lovesick and left the Akademiya,” Pulcinella spoke in a slow somber tone. “And falling recklessly in love and gaining a dendro vision does not sound like you at all.”
Eww. Lovesick? Hell no.
If it weren’t for this man, you would’ve graduated as a fully pledged civil engineer next year. If he wasn’t such a great scribe, no, forger, your signature wouldn’t be on that damn contract.
That man seriously has no respect for his seniors.
Nevertheless, it was too late to do anything. You just have to accept the consequences of your inaction. Additionally, if you're going to take this "new job," you might as well act as if you adore it.
Hooray! Don’t you love working for Alhaitham? Isn’t it fun to discard your 4 years of studying? Oh, what joy! You definitely did not burn your eyebrows out trying to ace FIFTY Kshahrewar mock tests!!!–
“Talk to me, poppet.” He continued, eyebrows knitted. His wrinkly hands reached to gently hold yours. Suddenly, you remembered that he is still family. That this was the same old major that your young self boasted their miniature construction toys to.
“I’m worried that something might’ve happened. And my dear, health is not the absence of disease or infirmity, it is also–”
“The complete state of physical, mental, AND social wellbeing. Yes. I know, Pups. You nearly forced me to study medicine.” You groaned and palmed your forehead, weak but playful.
He chuckled heartily.
The old man’s rather soft with you compared to his other grandchildren. If he wasn’t, you’d likely find yourself as Il Dottore’s new assistant.
Although most people would find working for a harbinger, especially The Doctor, to be a complete nightmare, you concluded that being Alhaitham's slave was the epitome of "overrated garbage," and you despise the scribe so much you can't even remember his appearance. Sure, Layla’s jealous that you’re essentially set for life by being a scribe assistant but at least Dottore gives his assistants a hefty pay (discounting his crimes against humanity…)
You’re not proud to call Alhaitham your boss. That stupid #093c0d face doesn’t make your 2 million mora salary worth the trouble. He needs to pay for your mental health insurance–
“Are you alright, poppet? You’re looking at me like you would with one of your test slimes.”
You exhaled deeply, “sorry, I suddenly thought of a hex code #093c0d person.”
Pulcinella closed his eyes.
“A dark green shade?”
“That’s right.”
“...”
With an unreadable yet deliberate face, Pulcinella fixed his gaze on you. Your unique perspective on others didn't seem to disturb your grandpups the way it did your parents. He is one of the select few who is aware of how you assign people's personalities through colors. Pulcinella raised his glasses further up before giving a sage-like nod. The moment he crossed his arms, you knew he understood what you were trying to express.
“So it’s a lover’s quarrel.”
“Yes, exactly.”
“Wait, what– NO!!! Pups, please stop assuming shit– things!!!”
Never mind— he is SO far off.
Why is he convinced that you’re dating that prick? What the hell did your mom tell him?!
“I heard that, poppet. And do not misunderstand, I think this is a good thing.”
Your uncle-grandfather cupped your cheeks and squished them between his fingers. Perhaps this is what people consider a wholesome grandpa-grandchild dynamic– but social norms should’ve also labeled this as domestic violence. His pinching hurts. Your clipped groans made him grin wider.
“After all, this means that you have seen his flaws and true character. What better way to break a couple up than a genuine argument?”
“PWUUUPS!!!”
Pulcinella pulled his hands away.
“I felt distraught when I heard you have given up your pursuit of civil engineering and chose a career in the Haravatat,” he sighed and took off his hat, holding it against his chest. “I was rooting for you, dear. I had faith in your aspirations. Even Lord Capitano found it upsetting to learn that the future engineer I frequently boasted about had become a lesser Lord Kusanali underling.”
You squirmed and rubbed your cheeks, staring at the ground.
Lord Capitano was not someone you often interacted with, but you knew that he had an eye for talent– and he sought after yours. Perhaps this is your ego talking, but it felt like even he believed you’re best suited for an engineering course too. Other than your grandpups and subsequently his recruit, Ajax, Lord Capitano was one of the Fatuis you respected.
Alhaitham truly crushed your dreams.
“I know, Pups…”
“You know what to do, right?”
You nodded solemnly, before looking him dead in the eye. Pulcinella can see your determination clear as day.
You breathed in.
“I’m going to commit arson.”
He patted your back, smiling.
“That’s my grandchild!”
Pulcinella tip-toed and ruffled your hair.
“Alright, this old man had given up. Just show grandpups where the ring is.”
“Her majesty the Tsaritsa’s sake– I already told you Pups– ALHAITHAM AND I ARE NOT DATING!!!”
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It was an exceptionally hot evening in Sumeru City despite being far from the desert. You should be inside your apartment right now, studying the Dendro Vision book Alhaitham gave you but you’d rather be where you are now. It’s about to get warmer, yet you’d dare argue that both you and master architect Kaveh’s headache can compete with its 38°C average temperature.
“C’mon, please?”
“No, I’m not helping you burn Alhaitham’s house down.”
“What?! Why not?!”
“Damnit, (Y/n)– BECAUSE I LIVE THERE!!!”
“Oh, right.”
You flopped back to your seat, eyes rolling back, deflated.
Kaveh cried out in pain while lowering his head to the table. He somewhat resembled a dried-out raisin. He had a drinking binge the night before, so this isn't because he's not a morning person. Although you expressed regret for knocking on his (Alhaitham's) door, the architect never misses a chance to rant about his housemate. Kaveh's pain wasn't even close to how much he detested Alhaitham. Now here you both are, sitting outside Lambad’s Tavern like morons because you both forgot to bring your wallets.
Not a sight you’d expect from a master-of-all-trades (ex-)engineering student and a genius architect.
“Damn it…” You whined. “What else am I supposed to do now?”
“Await until Focalors passes her judgment,” he answered hoarsely.
In other words: curl up and die, probably.
“Yeah… Yeah, that sounds viable. Let me just go to Fontaine real quick– oh wait, I can’t, because some dumbass scribe paid the corps to keep me from reaching the borders.”
Kaveh chuckled, still caressing his headache, not caring how his messy and unwashed locks covered his eyes. You’d be surprised if he told you he didn’t just get out of bed. He appeared like he was ready to sleep for all eternity, or more accurately, Kaveh’s starting to look eerily similar to Layla. In terms of colors though, he’d still be a #ffda29 and not a #003153.
He sneered, “did the sun always look this bright, powerful, and oh-so hateful?”
“It wouldn’t look like that if you didn’t down the pitcher I left on the table last night, Kaveh.”
You both turned to look at the voice– rather, the abyss. Alhaitham stood behind you. Or at least, you think it’s him.
Okay, here’s the deal: you hate remembering his face.
You handle your memory much like a student would a personal bookshelf– you’ll occasionally take out the information you no longer wish to retain in favor of more useful and relevant ones. As a creature with longevity, an elf should be picky when it comes to memories. You believe your approach is in the same vein as Pulcinella disposing of “less valuable assets’' without hesitation. If there’s no point in having it, why carry the baggage? But there are at least two facts that you can easily recall about Alhaitham: it’s his voice and the color #093c0d.
In other words, he’s just a talking dark green slime in your eyes.
Which he considers a major step up, by the way. You went from ignoring him to recognizing his voice, to associating him with one color. That’s quite a development. A pathetically slow progression, but still a positive one.
“THERE YOU ARE, ALHAITHAM, YOU PRI–”
The man swiftly dodged his slap by crouching down. He honestly didn’t have to put in the effort when Kaveh’s attacks were sluggish.
“–CK! WHY’D YOU LABEL THE ALCOHOL AS WATER?!”
Tons of passersby stared at Kaveh as he flailed around, but they were quick to look away. It’s no longer a secret that he lives with the scribe. Everyone in Sumeru City knows about his tactless antics and none are deaf when it comes to his loud gripes about his housemate. Even so, you went up to him to soothe his worries and restore his reputation because not everyone understands he's not a bad person.
Alhaitham scoffed, glaring.
“I didn’t. The label said "Fire-Water.””
“WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES THAT MAKE?!”
“Fire-water? Oh.”
Your hand flew to your mouth as you connected the two dots.
That beverage from Snezhnaya is notorious for having a high alcohol content and is only known in Mondstadt as the drink Master Ragnvindr forbade exports of. As a quote-unquote "wine connoisseur," you were invited to one of his parties. Fortunately, you were able to warn Diluc of how potent it is firsthand– Kaveh? Not so much.
You snorted.
“Yeah, Kaveh, I hate to take Alhaitham’s side on this but this one is on you, friend.”
The blonde’s eyes widened, betrayed.
“HAH?!”
“Need I remind you that fire-water is an alcoholic beverage, Kaveh.” Alhaitham waved his hand, emphasizing his condescending tone. “Maybe if you listened to me instead of ranting about my work ethic, you would’ve known that I received it as a gift from a Fatui Harbinger.”
Your ears perked up. “From a Harbinger?”
Alhaitham smirked but it was gone as quickly as it came.
“Hmm. I’m certain that you know him, assistant (L/n). His name is Pulcinella,” the scribe said. “He left me a note. He said he wishes that I drink to my heart’s content as a thank-you gift for hiring his grandchild. I wasn’t aware you have a kind grandfather.”
You smiled back, crookedly.
No. No, your uncle-grandfather DEFINITELY wanted to see Alhaitham in pain. He didn’t even bother giving him a bottle– he gave him a fucking leftover pitcher.
Alhaitham took your arm. Unfortunately, he’s taller than you with muscle strength you can’t compete with. You squirmed but resistance was futile. Doesn’t mean you can’t bite his arm off–
“Assistant (L/n)–”
You gritted your teeth. “Don’t touch me, sir.”
Alhaitham paused, processing how much emphasis you put into pronouncing the word “sir.”
“–I’ll be taking you away now.” He looked down on your friend and scoffed. “Kaveh, do try your best to not be a burden to Mx. (L/n) again.”
Kaveh clutched his head, still in pain.
Sorry, Kaveh. That drink and beating headache were not meant for you in the slightest. You made a mental note to make it up to him, but not today. You have a lot on your plate right now.
“Idiot. They’re the one that invited me here!”
“True–”
“I quite frankly don’t care,” Alhaitham spat coldly.
“From now on, refrain from having conversations with my assistant. Unless you’re prepared to face the consequences.”
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“Do you remember the approximate damage multipliers an aggravate reaction causes?”
“Nope.”
“Tch. I just discussed this, I can’t believe you already forgot.”
“You think I forgot? Haha, hell no. I didn’t forget, I just wasn’t paying any attention.”
Alhaitham dragged you down a secluded area in the rainforests with a sword in hand. Quite frankly, you hoped he brought his weapon to kill you, but you’re well aware of what this is about.
This is a lesson straight out of a page of “Dendro Vision Qualifications 101: Normal Attack Patterns.” The Acting Grand Sage thinks that you should have at least enough fighting proficiency for you to start formally working for him. As for you? You think this whole charade is utterly meaningless.
Sometimes, you truly do wish you were born as a rock instead. Maybe then you would be able to perform the “gray-rock method” whenever Alhaitham starts his drivel about dendro visions. You bet you’d make a pretty good tombstone for your dead childhood friend if you were a rock. Being a rock is probably the nicest thing to be. You get to be something created from the Geo element– the element and vision you desired. And not dendro.
Anything but lame old dendro.
This is so stupid. You wanted a geo vision, damn it. What on earth did you do to make Rex Lapis spite you, and what kinda breakthrough did you accomplish to gain the Lesser Lord Kusanali’s favor instead?!
If only you got something that isn’t the same as Alhaitham’s vision. Maybe if you got an electro vision you’d be learning how to brandish a lance with the General Mahamatra instead. Unlike most people, you enjoy being in his prolonged company and dry jokes. You’ve exchanged letters with Cyno multiple times– but your friend’s on-the-spot puns are 10x funnier than the things he writes down. Of course, that’s only because his earnest delivery sells it.
“In this fighting stance, you can perform up to 4 consecutive attacks, dishing out dendro damage approximately every 2 seconds interval–”
You held up your Eye of Perception.
“Bold of you to assume I’ll use this vision.”
“–charge attacks on the other hand require a hefty amount of stami–”
You yawned, halting Alhaitham in the middle of his “lecture.”
There’s a reason why you chose an Eye of Perception, and that’s because, unlike most catalysts, it procures physical damage as well. With someone as petty as you, it’s only natural that you’d brandish a weapon that doesn’t rely too much on dendro reactions.
“Yeah, I’ll just hit the enemy with my catalyst. Like, aim and shoot, or maybe I’ll just go with blunt force. This eye of perception looks like it’s made of metal, it can probably dish out some physical damage–”
Alhaitham shifted forward. Your gentle yet insouciant voice forced him out of his momentum.
“(Y/n).”
“...Yes, sir?”
His gaze sharpened.
“Pay attention.”
You snorted. Was he trying to intimidate you?
You, an elf who lived longer than him? How arrogant. It was becoming clearer why Alhaitham never once had a girlfriend or boyfriend. Or maybe a genuine friend in general. His senior who happens to also be his housemate does not count.
“No thanks.” You laughed to yourself, barely containing your amusement. “I think I’m doing fine.”
“What do you expect will happen if you don’t listen to my instructions? Your unfailing indifference sickens me.” He sheathed his sword back. “Do I have to spell everything out? You’ll get injured in combat. You won’t be able to defend yourself from fungi, eremites, and other enemies on the prowl. All for what? Useless pride? Grow up. Accept that you got a dendro vision and be done with it.”
“Tch…” You know how you feel, but you do not have the strength to say it out loud.
What an impossible task. He’s telling you– the most stubborn person you know– to give up on your goals? Inconceivable. You bet he sees the mediocre majority as nothing more than defective pawns, and you’re well aware you belong in that lowly category.
To him, grief may as well be easy as breathing. For you, years had gone by and you could still hear their voice. The scribe knows nothing about tributes for the dead. 
Your old childhood friend beckons you back to the chasm. His voice comes once the dark rears in, reverbing his desperate pleas for a fitting grave. It’s a voice that twists around your chest like a knife. You can’t get their faces out of your memetic bookshelf, but it’s not as if you’re willing to dispose of them.
You didn’t want a dendro vision. 
You wanted a geo vision to construct mausoleums for your dead friends.
Alhaitham scowled.
“Fine. We’ll resume our lesson next week.”
He bumped into your shoulder as he walked by. For a split second, you’re reminded that your superior had longer eyelashes than you do. And it made the gesture more annoying.
Strange. 
Alhaitham wouldn’t normally let you off so easily…
Maybe he’s busy?
“If you’re so insistent on only utilizing physical attacks, be my guest. Next time, I will not back down a single step.” Alhaitham walked away with heavy feet, stamping the dirt with his heels.
The consequences of your actions began to sink in. You may have lived longer than Alhaitham, but needless to say, he had more experience in combat.
Admittedly, you may have done yourself a disservice by acting out… You huffed.
No, no way.
“What could possibly go wrong? He’s just a feeble scholar!”
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Unsurprisingly, Alhaitham was not, in fact, a feeble scholar.
Thankfully you have the Eye of Perception at your disposal because the moment he found you walking towards Devantaka Mountain the following week, the bastard went for your jugular.
“What the fuck, Alhaitham?!”
You fired a single shot, aimed higher this time knowing that he would attempt to evade. Much like his actions with Kaveh last time, Alhaitham was quick to dodge that projectile. His timing is impeccable as he activated his vision.
#ff0e0e starts blaring in your line of sight. You’ve always trusted these colors— your instincts.
You’re in danger.
“Tch!”
You almost didn’t recognize that it was him. If he wasn’t breathing heavily, you would've mistaken him for an assassin. Alhaitham never made any unnecessary movements. His slashes were not done with the intent of harming you, but shepherding you to an appropriate trap. Your knee scraped against the grass and minuscule rocks. Prioritizing distance over attacks was a wrong move– he’s faster than anticipated. You gasped sharply as the scribe pinned you against a tree trunk–
… His scent caught your attention.
“A cicin mage’s perfume…?” You mumbled, eyes wide.
That didn’t seem right. Their perfume usually doesn’t smell this unpleasant and metallic.
Your ears drooped down as you realized this Alhaitham did not attack because he’s a lunatic, no. That malodorous stench was akin to a grandmother’s bittersweet husk.
This Alhaitham was under the influence of aphrodisiacs, and it is not something you can fault him for.
“What– What on earth happened?”
He twisted your arm slightly, not enough that’ll make you scream but just rough for a tiny yelp–
and that’s how he boldly claimed your lips.
You froze in horror, letting him take advantage of your plight. Alhaitham pulled away, panting slightly.
“F-Fuck…”
Alhaitham moaned as he slipped his tongue back inside. You tried to stop him but you yelped the moment his hand groped your thigh. His breath fanned your flustered skin as he moved to slither his arms around your waist, closing the already small distance between you two.
You weakly pulled back. The rainforest had never felt this humid before.
Something is truly off about his scent.
“L-Let go!!!” You hissed and punched his chest, completely forgetting your catalyst in your panic. “What the hell is wrong with you?!?! Are you out of your fucking mind?!”
He didn’t listen despite your physical protests. Alhaitham disgustingly crooned down and sloppily dabbed wet kisses down your neck. His saliva dripped over his shoulder, coating you in hopes that it would leave his trace.
It felt wrong. You felt dirty– like you were kissing an actual #093c0d slime.
“P-Please…” He whispered, his voice dropping dangerously weak and vulnerable. “H-Help me, (Y/n)…”
Your face flushed as you wiped the saliva that connected you both from your lips.
You’ve never heard Alhaitham beg before.
Is this really him?
His fistful grip on your clothes grew taut as desperation colored his knuckles white. You had never seen Alhaitham lose his cool the way he does now, and the broken sight in his eyes made you uneasy and uncertain.
He looked pathetic.
“Haitham, your…” your hand supported his neck and he hungrily leaned in to feel your touch. “Your heartbeat is loud.”
“I know,” he whimpered.
You bit your lip. You could sense his pulse going faster.
This isn’t the first time you’ve been kissed– or first anything. You’ve had your fair share of “soulmates” and “flings”, but those happened decades ago. Before you were mastering engineering, you were a freelance artist who’d had many affairs with humans and elves alike out of the undiagnosed emptiness that was grief. Up until Faruzan made you start a new leaf, you indulged in numerous vices, including wine and one-night stands. She was the closest a human could hope to understand the loneliness an elf would have.
Both your appearance give the illusion of youth, but your bones are held together by flesh older than this man. She would undoubtedly be angry with you as soon as she learns that you enabled Alhaitham's small rendezvous.
“Alhaitham, I’m more than a decade years older than you–” you squirmed.
“But I want you,” he groaned.
Those words felt so different when he was the one who said them. Nearly sinister.
“I know,” you said, but your voice doesn’t match the confidence you were meant to exude. “But this isn’t you, this is your hormones doing the talking. Where did the cicin mage attack you?”
“Between Pardis Dhyai and Yashna Monument”
“Between WHAT?!” You gawked. “That’s miles away from here!”
“Doesn’t matter.”
“Yes, it does!!!”
You yanked his shirt. It’s thin, yet surprisingly durable. The strength of the fabric is not what made you unnerved, but his stare.
He gazed at you as if you were his lifeline— as if you were the only thing that allowed him to breathe. Alhaitham’s hot breaths were shallow, fanning your face as you took note of how red his face, neck, and ears were. You noticed how he struggled to gulp— struggled to keep his composure. His bedroom eyes had not once diverted their attention away from you.
“It doesn't matter how far I ran. You were the one I wanted to see. You were the face that came to mind after getting poisoned."
You pretended not to hear that.
“Alhaitham, we need to get you to Tighnari.”
“He can’t help me.”
“The forest watcher can most certainly help you more than me.”
“You don’t know that.”
You don't want to hear him talk anymore, to be honest. You're horrified by how weak and inaudible his voice sounded.
“Why did you come to Avidya Forest all the way from there? Why not head straight to the city?”
“So many questions…” He irritably spat. “Just stop talking and kis–”
“I refuse,” you glared. “Why were you heading towards Port Ormos? Did you think I was going to help you get over this mess out of the goodness of my heart?”
Did he forget how much you loathe him?
“No. No, of course not.”
He chuckled, full of self-loathing.
“I know you hate me, (Y/n). I would hate myself too.”
You raised an eyebrow. Of course, he’s self-aware— you just didn’t expect him to say that out loud.
Alhaitham continued, “but I’m not the one at fault here.”
Defeated, he rested his head on your shoulder. To avoid having you look at his expression, Alhaitham cupped your back, running fingers through your scalp so that you may only look forward. His body pressed against yours firmly. There’s no possible way for you not to be wholly aware of how warm he was and how fast his heart was beating. 
It was distracting to know how much the poison affected someone like Alhaitham, whom you thought was damn near untouchable.
Awkwardly, you returned the favor and played with his hair. Alhaitham gasped softly, making you shiver as you realized how sensitive you are to his breathing from this position.
“And who would that be?” You asked quietly. “If your pride won’t let you seek Tighnari’s aid then since you’re here you might as well tell me everything, starting from the very beginning.”
“T-That won’t be necessary.”
“If we want to rule out who your true assailant is, then yes it is,” you answered. “I think this is what you call the process of elimination.”
Suddenly, he pulled away from you with his arms stretched out. Alhaitham still kept you pinned on the tree, but there’s more space for you now to move and see his face. 
Ah, you’ve nearly forgotten again.
Alhaitham has green-orange eyes.
“No need.”
He clicked his tongue.
“It was Pulcinella. Your grandfather sent a cicin mage in an attempt to seduce and assassinate me.”
… Oh.
You should’ve guessed. You really should’ve guessed that he was behind all this.
Instinctively, you tried to cover your mouth from shock, but he quickly grabbed them and pressed them back to the tree behind you again. He tightened his hold once more, making you wince.
“I didn’t mind at first because your grandfather reminded me of my own grandmother,” Alhaitham gritted his teeth. “Pulcinella—”
He bit his bottom lip, his seafoam eyes looking unstable and royally pissed.
“He’s not after me because of my position as the Acting Grand Sage. H-He was merely looking after you. His expression was one I recognized. It's a grandfather's love. I may not show empathy as frequently as my housemate would like, but at least I am conscious of how important family is. I don’t want you to have to arrange your grandparent’s funeral like I did.”
You’re not unaware of who Alhaitham’s grandmother was. At one point, you had befriended her back when she was out on a mission to acquire 1,000 books. To think that you’ll meet her grandson for the first time in college and that you’ll end up in a situation like this… you’re sure she would’ve never condoned any of this. She wouldn’t appreciate that her grandson was trying to fuck the elf that helped her build her small library.
This is wrong. 
Everything about this is wrong. From the age gap to the work power distance– it’s vile– 
You want to vomit.
“So— s-so what did you do?”
“I didn’t want to kill your grandfather in retaliation.”
“Yes, you’ve established that. You don’t usually beat around the bush— go back to being the Alhaitham I know and just get straight to the point, damn it!”
“I ended up tracking all of his people in Sumeru down.”
He chuckled lowly.
Your heart started racing as well. 
If his heart was beating out of excitement, yours were out of a rational fear that you wouldn’t get out of this unscathed and mentally sound.
“It’s laughable how his lackeys were so incompetent. If they listened to my lectures at all, they would’ve known how to defend themselves.”
“What… What the hell are you talking about?” 
There was nowhere to run. You’re trapped unless Alhaitham lets go of both your wrists. Your dilated eyes surveyed the woodland, but you weren't confident that, should the occasion arise, your shaky knees could put some distance between you and the scribe.
“Didn’t you notice? They were stalking us from the moment I was teaching you how to use your vision last week, and likely even before that.”
His face drew near and you strained your neck to hopefully maintain at least a hair of distance between both of your lips.
Alhaitham closed his eyes.
“Did you honestly think I’d postpone our practice due to your mild complaining? Don’t you understand how excruciating it is to be away from you for a week?”
He pressed his forehead against yours.
“But I had to do it. For us.”
“Where… Where were you when you were gone? What did you do to them?”
You didn’t want to ask.
You already know the answer. 
“When will you start thinking before you speak?”
With fears renewed, your body felt small underneath his gaze. He’s not even looking at you— his piercing green eyes weren’t even looking directly at your soul. You turned away and gazed at his left shoulder— shrieking.
Never in your 100+ years of life did you feel so stupid. Only now did you realize that it wasn’t just a cicin mage’s perfume you smelled earlier.
There was blood all over his coat.
“Stop screaming, (Y/n). I’ve finished the job and it’s high time you reward me, wouldn’t you agree?”
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artist-issues · 4 months
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every now and then I play with the exercise of "what if we're wrong" because sometimes I get bored and also as an actual exercise. I usually apply this to Christianity/religion, matters of the after life, or about other people.
So sometimes I poke at the big question, if Christianity isn't real, what does that mean? And I don't usually go the route of atheism or bad sci fi, just that the religion is proven to be fundamentally inaccurate to reality, so what does that mean?
Anyway it wasn't until I was reading a really good sci fi story, where this one dude explains to some aliens the concept of "Love your enemies, do good to those that hurt you" and of course the aliens are like what? (Because in the sci fi narrative the universe is functioning under a Dark Forest Theory) And the dude explains its from one of earth's greatest teachers. And the aliens are like, if the inhabitants of the universe could believe that, this universe would be a different place entirely.
And it was at that point where I realized bro... even if it's not accurate, practicing Christianity is still worth it, for a human being. Loving your enemies means loving them like humans. The Poor, the Meek, and those who mourn, those are promises and comforts that we shouldn't toss aside even if heaven isn't real.
I don't know, this is just a terribly simplistic because I'm not the best at putting my English thoughts into english out loud, but that crack gave me a touch of useful coping. I asked my dad, if aliens are proven to exist it doesn't automatically mean christians stop practicing and believing, right? And he said obviously not.
I don't know but have you ever engaged in such a question " what if we're wrong?" And if you ever have what answer had you arrived at?
EDIT: As @atwas-meme-ing correctly pointed out in the comments section of this post, who cares whether or not I’ve played this game: God answered the question through Paul in his letter to the Corinthians: “If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.” 1 Corinthians 5:19.
There’s no “good moral teaching” to be found in Christianity if Christ wasn’t God, or if God didn’t exist, or if eternity weren’t real. My rambling logic is below the cut.
I mean, I play that “game” all the time about other things, and sometimes I do it for work. I’ll take two established characters and a setting me and my friends have agreed on, and I’ll “run a scenario.”
But the thing is, once my brain picks out something that doesn’t make sense, or that wouldn’t be in-character for the characters to do, the whole scenario grinds to a halt and I have to start over. I can’t suspend my own disbelief once I notice that something doesn’t line up. Even if I really liked “where the scene was going” before I noticed that thing. Whatever I’m getting stuck on because of it’s out-of-character nature unravels the parts I like, too.
All that to say I can’t even run a scenario in my head where “what if all this isn’t true? What if it fundamentally doesn’t line up with reality?”
I can’t. Once or twice I have tried. But I hit snags immediately. I’ll go, “pretend all of this Christian religion really is just a centuries-old conspiracy humanity’s been patching up the holes in.”
But then that little simulation-checker in my brain goes, “then how do you explain people dying for it? That many martyrs aren’t likely to have allowed themselves to be tortured and murdered for something they knew was a conspiracy.”
And I go, “well, pretend they died because they didn’t know it was a conspiracy, they believed it.”
And the sim-checker goes, “but the original disciples of Jesus, ground-zero of the faith, were all martyred. Not just people who learned from them and came after them and could’ve been hoodwinked: the starting points, themselves. They would’ve had to know it was a conspiracy, if it was a conspiracy, and they still willingly died for it.”
Maybe I’ll pivot and go, “pretend there isn’t objective truth.”
And the sim-checker goes, “there isn’t truth…objectively?”
Maybe I’ll pivot again and try, “pretend that everyone really does just measure morality based on what they’re used to, what their individual society’s trained them to associate with pleasant feelings and reactions.”
And the sim-checker goes, “Okay, where did those societies get the training manual? Where did it come from? Why do so many different societies’ and people groups’ ‘association with pleasant feelings and reactions’ around the world have so many things in common?”
And the answers to all that leads me back to Christianity. Even if I go the longest way round I can think of.
And eventually I quit running those scenarios. Because guess what?
Where’d the ability to run scenarios come from?
How did I get that? How did you?
See, the thing is, we go, “what if all of this isn’t true?” But it’s right there in the question. “Where did you get that desire? The desire for “truth?”” Is it to keep yourself safe, like the natural animals have an instinct toward, or is it to keep yourself sane, because you need some sense in this life to make it through? Sure. Maybe. But why? What’s “sane?” What’s “safe?” Sanity presupposes order. Why do you, and all humans, naturally lean toward wanting things to be “the way they’re supposed to be?” Where’d that come from, that idea of “supposed to be?” And Safety presupposes good being found in avoiding pain and damage and fear. “Good?” Where’d you get that idea?”
The further you dig, even into your own psyche, the less you can run any scenario that has God absent entirely. And no wonder. He designed it.
One more thing.
“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.” - C.S. Lewis
I used to lean into the idea you’re saying here. “Even if it’s not true, I’m going to live like it is and believe it just in case. Besides, it makes me better, and makes the world better.” That’s not belief at all. That’s ends-justify-the-means thinking. The teachings that Jesus gave which “make the world a better place” are utterly worthless if they’re coming out of the mouth of a liar. Because why should anyone believe Him? Why should anyone “turn the other cheek,” or “do unto others?” Because it makes us “better?” Who gets to define “better?”
The answer, of course, is Jesus does. The One who taught those sayings. But only if He’s God. Only if He was telling the truth. If He wasn’t God, what right has He, to tell us to give away our possessions to others and let them abuse us and give our lives up? If He was a liar, all of those “good teachings” would be tainted and untrustworthy. Besides, like I just said, they’re all only able to be called “good” teachings if you accept that there is one objective, universal “good.” And we’re right back to “where did Good come from?”
All roads lead back there, to Him. But we humans like to do this thing with God where we pretend there could be any reality outside of Him. It sort of makes sense, how we got that way. After all, when was the last time you noticed oxygen? How often during the day do you consciously inhale and exhale? As often as it happens automatically? How often during the day do you notice oxygen touching your skin or moving your hair or drying your eyeballs? As often as those things happen automatically? No. But it’s ever-present. Without it, you couldn’t live, let alone notice anything. But oxygen has always been around and everything in our lives interacts with or can only exist WITH it. God is much more than that, but that’s as close as I can get to communicating: He’s so good, and He’s so constantly there, everything, all the time, that it’s easy for us to take Him for granted, forget Him entirely, then use our two-pound brain matter to say, “He might not exist.” You might as well say, “imagine a world with no matter.” 🙄 “Ohhhh kay. Then it wouldn’t be a world.”
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0w0tsuki · 11 months
Text
Hey can we stop pretending like the only feasible reason that a trans woman would not like the term femboy is because she's some puritan anti-kinkster or somehow against men being able to dress femininely?
Like perhaps maybe the group of people who had to go through a phase of having to figure out and explore their femininity while being perceived by society as a man DON'T WANT to police the way men are able to present and express their genders? Like maybe WE DON'T want to make things even harder for transfem eggs. Like maybe we might have an interest in protecting transfem eggs and are speaking from the harm that we experienced as eggs ourselves?
Like maybe it might have to do with the fact that outside of Tumblr your average femboy is a trap fetishist? Like did we all forget the memes of "trying to figure out if the Astofolo icon is a trans woman or a fascist?"
Like some of us were discovering our transness during puberty in the early 2000s. You remember the early 2000s right? Where South Park and Family were at the height of their cultural influence, the R slur was a substitute for stupid, and bigotry was so common that "traps are gay" jokes could be made in polite company without having to worry about backlash. So imagine what kink spaces were like. Especially when you're a teenage trans girl just discovering herself.
I personally was so damaged by that experience that I began to believe that my gender-no my EXISTENCE was a fetish to be embarrassed and humiliated by and to be reviled for. I genuinely did not engage in relationships because I believed I was going to have to give in and tell them that they fell in love with a sex object. I did not believe that I was worthy of love. And it took YEARS of working through that for me to be comfortable with transitioning.
And after I worked through that I still have to deal with them. They haven't left kink communities they had their roots in. To this day there's a kink website I frequent that has community suggestions for tags IE: Unless the OP of the work goes back to delete this feature, anyone can "recommend" deletions or additions to the tags of the work. This is in place to make the proper labeling/searching/blacklisting of kinks easier to help curate content. In practice though it allows transmisoginists to basically graffiti any transfem artwork they come across. And let me tell you Femboy tags are getting added on right after they replace F/F with M/M on a transbians t4t work. And it happens so frequently that I have to check in about once a month to these trans tags to inform the most recent victim about what's happened to their works.
And outside of kink spaces I go into fandom spaces where I have had to deal with trap fetishists positioning themselves as fucking lore scholars when they harass trans positive folks about the Correct and Moral gender of the transmisoginistic character that they've got a fap folder dedicated. I got to see someone rise to twitch fame off the back of trap content turn into a “femboy icon” because he gave some of the trap money to trans charities and has a trans girlfriend. Who is still making trap content by the way.I've gotten to see reddit lose their absolute goddamn minds when the term Trap was banned from r/anime, shitting themselves so hard about it that they made their own separate website with transmisogynistic wojaks on the home page and everything. And then I got to see the fucking Bridget Debacle.
The reason I always talk about Bridgets trans confirmation is that it's the most widely recognized recent event where the exact shit I'm talking about was on full display. The reason why her being confirmed as a trans woman was such a big deal for trans girls was not just because she was one of the anime caricatures with her own folder in the trap enthusiasts masterbation portfolio. It was because she was GROUND ZERO for original coining of the word trap. And the EXACT same guys who deemed her a trap were now coming out in DROVES fuck EN MASS. But this time as self appointed femboys. We had so many examples of fucking Astofolo icon twitter facists trying to drudge up any type of left sounding argument using the femboy identity after having their initial arguments revolving around mistranslation were debunked. Crying that transfems were “stealing femboy representation” and trying to say that it was an “antitransmasculization force feminization trope” unironically. You know the cry of “Let men be feminine!!!!” y'all always bring out in defense of femboys. THAT'S who you're parroting! THAT'S who you got it from! We have had direct evidence of former trap fetishists dawning the term femboy when it became less cool to be openly transmisogynistic and then started appropriating leftist language to give their transmisogynistic arguments an air of legitimacy.
Like y'all need to understand that this magical space we got here is a FUCKING BUBBLE. Femboy communities in literally every other online space are former trap/sissy communities and are fucking cess pits of transmisoginy. I have seen posts by people who's only experience being around femboys was on Tumblr go out and check a place like r/mildfemboys to be horrified by the obsessiveness of the transmisogyny the femboys they interact with. And the femboys here aren't much better by treating being forced to acknowledge that these people exist and that is a still very active part of their community even if they don't personally interact with it as a personal attack on them and their gender presentation.
Y'all just want to pretend it doesn't exist and treat the idea that a Transfem might not WANT to interact with YOU(OH GOSH!!) because of it like it's some sort of personal judgement instead of something you're just going to have to accept happens when there's a large portion of people who share that title who are responsible for traumatizing them. But y'all got to go one step further. Y'all who go on about how femboys are our closest allies and about how “femboys and transfems are actually closer than transfems want to admit”. Y'all treat femboys like they're out little fucking brother in the queer community and it's our personal fucking responsibility to leave behind any personal baggage at the door in order to make them feel welcome.
Y'all can't handle the fucking idea that a trans woman might not be comfortable with sharing community with someone who's average member would call her a trap while jacking off to her selfies if he thought he could get away with it. That's she's not interested in playing the Astofolo icon game with them. Y'all gotta create a backwards narratives where she is against her own interests, where she is for making it harder for eggs in the future instead of you know. Asking for better from the communities those eggs are drawn too.
I have been forced to fucking put up with femboys in nearly every online space I've ever been in. And I
Am sick and fucking tired
Of putting up with femboys
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