#literally anywhere else: *polite and proper*

[cordeliawhohung]

Liquid Smooth [4]

main masterlist | series masterlist

bodyguard!Gaz x fem!model!Reader

After the break in at your home a week ago, your manager hires another bodyguard for extra security. However, Kyle is certain he's more than capable of taking care of you on his own, and he only grows more sure of this fact after learning just who this new bodyguard used to work for.

warnings: slight nsfw at the beginning, kyle is totally NOT jealous, mentions of war/war crimes, alcohol, club setting, crude language

wc: 4.9k

a/n: !!! huge thanks to @captainfern for this idea! ily so much this helped with the writers block ):

Though Kyle Garrick was a professional, he was only human, which meant it was extremely difficult not to stare at you and what very little the lingerie on your body covered.

It all started making sense on why you tried to convince him not to go to the shoot that day. Certainly there was some sort of boundary being crossed with him seeing you in such… revealing clothes. Or lack thereof. The bra you wore didn’t look supportive at all and was purely for apperance, he was sure, and the thin panties looked like they were hardly holding together. Yet the way you worked, the confidence you had in yourself as you posed on that inhumanly pristine bed, had Kyle completely enamored. 

He tried to keep his mouth closed as he watched your fingers pull at the straps of your panties, or as you threw your arms over your head, back arching with the movement. You were working. This wasn’t some special show you were putting on, you were just doing your job. 

Goddamn A.Lynn. If it wasn’t for her calling him to the studio he could have been literally anywhere else; anywhere where you weren’t half naked in front of him. Even getting his sorry ass kicked in some video game. Yet, whatever it was that she called him for was apparently of the utmost importance, and so there he stood, towards the back of the studio, arms crossed as he tried to ignore you. Your smile, the way you laughed with your set members, how the strap of your bra kept sliding off your shoulder…

“Gorgeous,” someone said next to him. 

Caught a little off guard, Kyle turned to face the man who spoke only to realize he didn’t recognize him. Not as part of the crew, security, or anyone else. He thought he heard something of an American accent, but other than that he was as plain as could be with a well shaven face, short cut hair, and dark clothes.

“Sorry?” Kyle asked dumbfounded. 

The man turned and looked at him with a smirk, as if he knew something Kyle didn’t. It wasn’t long before his gaze turned back to you, thirsty eyes drinking up every inch of your exposed skin as your photographer posed you against the headboard and plush pillows of the bed. 

“The broad,” the man explained as if it were obvious. “Easy to understand why she’s the top model in the world with a body like that.” 

It was then that Kyle remembered just how vile people were capable of being. Some of the horrors of the world had gotten lost in his life as a civilian as he was no longer subjected to the blood, sweat, and tears he was exposed to in the military. But then he ran into people like him, whoever he was, and he was painfully reminded that not only were people gross, they were also quite annoying as well. 

Luckily, he didn’t have to come up with a response to the man's disgusting comment as A.Lynn had caught his attention. Always proper and buzzing like a bee, she cut a straight path through the studio with so much confidence he was certain the equipment would move out of her way if it could. She approached the two men with her hands on her hips and offered them a polite smile. 

“Mr. Garrick, thank you for coming on such short notice. I’d like to introduce you to Mr. Adams,” she said, gesturing to the man standing next to him. “He's the extra security I hired after the incident last week.” 

Incident. That’s exactly what it was; something scary but nothing bad. That little break in at your home that had you calling him at some ungodly hour to help. He still remembered how you looked, half awake and yet too anxious to sleep, wandering out of his bedroom. How you were late for some photoshoot and had to wear his clothes… but it wasn’t anything major. Nothing had come of it but a broken window and she hired this prick as extra security?

“Michael, is fine,” the man said, holding his hand out for Kyle to shake. 

The last thing in the world Kyle wanted to do was to shake this man's hand, but he knew he couldn’t afford being unpleasant. So he took his hand while mumbling something polite, and noticed how icy cold he was, like a snake in human flesh. 

“I’ll let the two of you get acquainted. The shoot should be over soon, and I’ll bring her over and get her up to speed,” A.Lynn finished before wandering off to speak with some set members. 

“So,” Adams said once she was out of earshot, “what’s this incident?” 

Kyle shifted slightly while still keeping his arms firmly crossed over his chest. “Someone tried breaking into her home last week,” he answered bluntly, uninterested in conversation.

“Really? On your watch?” Adams questioned. 

He didn’t like the patronizing tone in his voice, and Kyle could feel his features melting into a glare. “It was in the middle of the night,” he defended. “Besides, it’s not like we get to live with her.” 

The man hummed. “Shame.” 

This was going to be a headache. He already felt it beginning at the base of his skull, tightening around his head and neck as it radiated outwards. Maybe A.Lynn was just neurotic, but he wished she would have talked with him before hiring anyone else. Of course he knew how to play well with others, but there was something off about this guy; something painfully familiar that he didn’t want to dive into. 

Instead, he did his best to ignore the man as he turned his attention back to you. You were no longer taking pictures, and you had a floral patterned silk robe to cover your body as you reviewed some of the pictures with your photographer. He couldn’t help but feel a little grateful about that; knowing that Adams eyes couldn’t soak in the view of you anymore. Perhaps it was silly; half of the world would see those pictures of you once it was published in a magazine or two. 

It wasn’t long before A.Lynn was dragging you away from work and over to the boys. Your smile was as radiant as ever as you caught sight of Kyle, but the moment your eyes wandered over to Adams, he saw it falter as confusion took over. But you kept it up as your manager explained everything, and you shook his hand in greeting when it was prompted. It was hardly noticeable, but Kyle still picked up the way your arms self consciously crossed over your body, as if trying to hide yourself and make yourself smaller. That even though Adams hid the way he had looked at you before, it was like you could still feel his lingering gaze. 

Things only grew more awkward once A.Lynn left again, allowing the three of you to talk, which was nothing short of painful. Between your obvious discomfort, Adams’s cockiness, and his own frustration, Kyle was ready to drag you out of there just for his own sanity. 

“Kyle,” you suddenly spoke up, catching his attention, “are we still good for lunch today? I’m starving.” 

“Lunch sounds like a perfect idea,” Adams butted in before he could respond. Kyle shot him a poorly concealed glare, which only made the man smirk. “What better way to get to know each other? Since we’ll be working together, and all.” 

You were too nice for your own good, he thought, pretending to concur with him and inviting him to lunch. Not that it was supposed to be anything special or closed off to others in the first place but, maybe a part of him was a bit too hopeful. And still he found himself silently praying that between the time it took for you to get dressed and him to drive you to the restaurant, Adams would get lost. 

Unfortunately, he did not. You and Kyle had gotten settled comfortably in a table in the far corner of the restaurant next to the windows that looked out at the busy streets around you. Not even five minutes after ordering appetizers, Adams strolled into the building, eyes scanning and finding the two of you instantly, where he then weaved through the tables before sitting himself between you and Kyle. 

And he was the perfect gentleman. Asking you plenty of questions, tilting his head as he smiled at your responses, as if trying to lure you into a false sense of security. You answered with the poise and grace that you always held, and he wondered how much bullshit you had to swallow in your life to be able to listen to Adams speak without so much as a grimace on your face. 

“So, what did you do for work before getting into the bodyguard business?” you asked as you carefully picked at your food. It wasn’t lost on Kyle how slow and little you had eaten throughout lunch as compared to when you normally ate meals together. 

“I was a PMC,” Adams responded simply. 

“A PMC?” you echoed. 

“Private Military Contractor,” Kyle interrupted. 

“Oh, so sorta like soldiers?” you asked. 

“More like mercenaries,” he muttered. 

His comment caused Adams to laugh, his mouth full with half chewed food. The sound of his voice was grating against Kyle’s ears; hell, everything that man said or did was annoying. Things were easier when it was just you and him. 

Just… you and him.

“Mercenaries are solo workers,” Adams corrected. “PMC’s are recruited in an organization, so…” he paused to turn to Kyle with a grin, “not so different from soldiers.” 

The tension at the table was so thick it looked like you were choking on it. A part of Kyle felt a little bad for getting so pent up over this guy - this intruder - but how could he not? It was his job to protect you, to look out for you, and as far as he was concerned this guy was just getting in the way. He was perfectly capable of looking out for you on his own.

“What, uh, organization were you a part of?” you asked awkwardly, trying to keep things light. 

“Shadow Company.”

Kyle’s blood ran cold. Everything started making sense. This was more than just some awkward rivalry in his mind; his frustration was coming from a gut feeling, one that he shouldn’t have ignored. Fucking Shadow Company. Led by that bastard Phil Graves who betrayed his teammates, his brothers, in Mexico. Hunted them down and slaughtered civilians like animals. A goddamn monster, who was now one of your bodyguards. 

Fate was a fickle bitch. 

This new revelation made the rest of lunch nearly unbearable for Kyle. He knew there was no way he could out himself to his new co-worker like that, even if he was no longer a soldier and that man was no longer a PMC. Some things just couldn’t be forgiven. Perhaps he was wrong, maybe he should have given Adams the benefit of the doubt. He could have left Shadow Company after learning of all the malicious crimes they committed. No, even if that was true, he didn’t care. Not with the way he kept looking at you like you were more appetizing than the meal right in front of him. 

“Are you alright?” 

It was the first string of words you were able to speak to Kyle without Adams butting in or inserting himself in some sort of way. You sat in the passenger's seat of his car, a place you found yourself in more and more each day as he had become accustomed to being your chauffeur. Not that he minded, of course. He’d take you anywhere in the world if you asked him to. 

“Yeah, all good,” he assured you, hands gripping the steering wheel and eyes watching the dull road in front of him. 

“You don’t like him, do you? Adams?” you concluded as you tapped your fingers against the center console. 

Kyle chuckled, but it was only half-hearted, and more of a hum than anything else. “That obvious?” 

You hummed back in response. “I don’t like him, either,” you admitted. “He seems nice enough, or acts like it anyway, but… I don’t know, he just sets off a little alarm on my do-not-trust radar.” 

“Well, if there’s anything I’ve learned during my time in the military, it’s that you should always trust your gut,” Kyle said, though his mind screamed at him, telling him to try and stay neutral. 

The quiet hum of the car filled the silence between the two of you. You looked out the window at the scenery passing by. Nothing but glassy buildings and colorful advertisements. Even from inside the car the rancid scent of the city was nearly overwhelming. 

“What’s Shadow Company? You seemed to recognize them,” you then asked. 

Impressed, Kyle shot you a quick look before returning his attention to the road. “Did I make that one obvious, too?”

“You got quiet the moment he dropped the name.” 

There was some part of Kyle who wanted to tell you everything. How Shadow Company betrayed his teammates, the civilians they slaughtered, their royal fuck up in transporting missiles and landing them in the hands of terrorists. Maybe if you knew, if A.Lynn knew, she’d fire him instantly. God, what an idea that was. But at the same time, the last thing he wanted to do was scare you. Perhaps it would have been better to tell the truth, as informed consent was something he thought everyone deserved even if it was classified, but your peace of mind was also something he wanted to protect. Besides, if it really came down to it, he was certain he could neutralize one more Shadow with ease. 

“Worked with a few of them while I was still in the force,” he admitted after a moment of thought. “Not the most enjoyable people to be around. They do whatever’s asked of them, I’ll give them that.” 

“Oh, how comforting,” you said facetiously. 

“Try not to worry too much about it,” Kyle said in an attempt to soothe whatever thoughts that could be swirling in your brain. 

“I won’t,” you assured him. There was a soft pause as you shifted slightly in your seat, eyes focusing on everything but Kyle. “I never worry about anything when you’re around.” 

For the next few days, Kyle tried to brush your words off, pretend that they weren’t leaving holes in his brain, but it was the only thing he could think about. You felt comfortable, safe, around him, and honestly that was all he could ever ask for. 

That knowledge got him through the rest of the week, all the way up to Saturday night. A.Lynn had ensured that he (and annoyingly enough, Adams) knew all about the party you were supposed to attend that night. Some other A List celebrity had closed his club down for some big, rich person get-together. Hundreds of people were bound to be there, and both he and his new Shadow Company friend were supposed to accompany you. 

When he picked you up at your house, you came bounding through the door wearing the sparkliest dress he had ever seen in his life. It was a stunning rose gold that complimented your body nicely, and your heels matched perfectly with the rest of your outfit. He exited the car and opened the door for you, and you gave him a dazzling smile that rivaled the shine of your dress as you made yourself comfortable in the passenger's seat. 

“You look lovely,” Kyle complimented as he settled back behind the wheel again. 

“And you clean up nice, yourself,” you chuckled. 

And he did. A dark red suit shirt hugged the curves of his arms nicely, and he forwent the suit jacket that normally accompanied it, as he didn’t exactly fancy sweating in what was bound to be a packed club. Other than that, a nice pair of dress pants and a thick leather belt finished everything up nicely.

“Where’s Adams?” you then asked. 

“We’re meeting him there,” Kyle said simply. “No way in hell I’d put myself through the pleasure of a car ride alone with him.” 

“Can’t imagine why,” you quipped. 

The drive to the club was more difficult than it should have been. More people than he could have imagined showed up, and it really bogged up traffic something fierce. Photographers and paparazzi lined the sidewalk and entry way, taking pictures of various people pulling up. Looks like because of the precarious parking situation, many attendants were being dropped off and escorted inside rather than walking from any lot. 

“Shit,” Kyle muttered, removing a hand from the steering wheel to rub at his chin. “Didn’t know half of London was invited.” 

“Do you want to drop me off?” you offered, glancing around at the crowd and the long line of cars in front of you. 

“I’d rather not leave you alone,” Kyle countered. 

“Adams is waiting by the entrance,” you pointed out. 

He found the man as soon as you mentioned him, and he wasn’t able to hold back the sigh that left him. Like everyone else, Adams had dressed up too, though looked a bit less put together overall. Plain black suit shirt, dark jeans, and a bored expression on his face. He didn’t like the idea of leaving you alone with him, he hated it honestly. But what was he supposed to do? Drive you around until he managed to find parking, and then attempt to ward off any prick trying to get bright ideas while walking the mile plus back to the club? 

“You’ve got your phone on you, yeah?” Kyle asked after a moment of thinking. 

“‘Course.” 

“I’ll message you when I’m back and I’ll come find you, alright?” 

Once you agreed, Kyle was able to pull up along the sidewalk where he parked his car. The very moment he stepped out Adams had caught sight of him, and sauntered over as Kyle opened the door for you. You didn’t even stumble in your heels as you got out, and Adams greeted you with a grin. After one more confirmation of the plan, Kyle got back in his car and waited impatiently in line as he tried to find parking. He wanted to get back to you as soon as possible, and he hated watching you weave through the crowd and paparazzi with Adams by your side. 

Overwhelming was the only word you could think of when you stepped into the club. Somehow, there were more people inside than there had been outside. Colorful lights threatened to blind your vision and the moody drum of the bass shook you to your core. A handful of familiar faces could be seen in the crowd, some actors you recognized, a few other models you had worked with, and yet you felt terribly out of place. Especially with Adams behind you, wandering around you looking at the scene as if he was there to spend the night on the town rather than do his job. 

If you were going to be stuck there the rest of the night, you knew for sure you were going to need a drink. Balancing carefully on your heels, you descended the stairs into the lower levels, taking care to say hi to anyone who greeted and recognized you. A large dance floor full of people rested towards the back of the room and you could feel the heat radiating off of so many bodies even from the bar. Adams settled next to you as you waited to be served, leaning close to you just to be heard over the deafening sound of the music. 

“Go to parties like this often?” he asked.

“Only the ones A.Lynn tells me to go to!” you shouted in response. 

He gave you a patronizing smile, as if he didn’t believe you, but really you were telling the truth. Going out in public places like that always brought trouble for you. You could see it in the sneaky pictures people took of you between bodies in the crowd, and you knew it was only a matter of time before someone worked up the courage or got drunk enough to try and talk to you. 

God, you wished Kyle would hurry. 

“Hey, hun,” the bartender greeted you. “What can I getcha?” 

She was a pretty thing wearing a neon crop top that glowed under the blacklights. Her hair was pulled up into a high ponytail and adorned with gems. She had a beautiful smile, and you couldn’t help but melt into the bar at the first kind presence you felt since walking through those doors. 

“Yeah, I’ll just do a vodka cran, please,” you said. Simple, perhaps a bit cliche, but it got the job done. 

“Single or double?” she asked, already getting the supplies ready. 

You opened your mouth to respond just as someone placed a well timed jab of their elbow into your spine. “Make it a double,” you sighed. 

Not even a minute later and the drink sat in front of you, already half gone. Adams was talking about something, trying to keep the conversation going but you were distracted. Between the noise, the bodies, everything, you weren’t sure how anyone could even think in a place like that. You kept checking your purse for your phone every few minutes, waiting for Kyle to message you saying that he was back, and yet there was nothing. 

“That’s gotta be bad for business,” Adams spoke up, catching you off guard. 

Confused, you looked up at him as you shoved your phone back into your purse. “What do you mean?”

“Fucking your bodyguard.”

He spoke those words so blunt and with so much confidence he almost had you choking on your drink. You looked up at him only to be met with a shit-eating smirk, and you had a hard time ignoring the heat that boiled in your face. 

“What?” you asked, as if you misheard him. 

“Oh, come on,” Adams said incredulously, “I’ve seen the way he looks at you. Or more importantly, the way he looks at me. Like he’s about to rip my goddamn head off.”

Eyebrows furrowed together, you tilted your head to the side as if challenging him as you leaned further against the bar. “So that means that we’re sleeping together?”

He shrugged. “If you’re not, I know he’d certainly like to.” 

Your mouth opened in shock and you found yourself sliding off of the stool and onto the ground. Shaking your head, you took a step away from him, which prompted him out of his seat as well. 

“I can’t fucking believe this,” you muttered to yourself before turning around. 

You weren’t sure where you were headed, but you knew you wanted to get far away from Adams and his wild accusations. Kyle was right; you should have trusted your gut. Should have told A.Lynn to hire another bodyguard, or better yet, keep it to just Kyle. But you didn’t make it far before you felt a firm hand wrap around your bicep, yanking you backwards. 

“Running off?” he taunted as he turned you to face him. 

“Let go of me,” you demanded through gritted teeth.

“Not happening,” he retorted. “Gotta keep an eye on you.” 

“I am your employer and you’re going to listen to me when I tell you to get your fucking hands off of me,” you snapped. 

Adams sucked on his teeth as he shook his head gently. “You see, it was actually A.Lynn who hired me. Not you,” he corrected. “Imagine how disappointed she’d be if she found you were fucking the guy she hired to protect you. I imagine the bad press would give that old hag an ulcer.” 

Your eyes widened when you realized exactly what it was that Adams wanted. This wasn’t about you, or Kyle, or your image. This was about obtaining as much blackmail as he could. This was about extorting as much money as he could get from the most successful model in the industry. You should have known better. It always turned out like that eventually. 

“Kyle was right,” you spat, “you PMC types are the worst.” 

Chuckling, Adams raised an eyebrow. “He said that.” 

“No,” you admitted, a small smirk pulling at your lips, “but I’m sure he’s about to.”

A strong force violently yanked Adams away from you, and he let go of you as he nearly stumbled onto the floor. Kyle wedged himself between the two of you and he glared down at the man. His presence was looming, the most threatening you had ever seen from him before. He was always so kind and gentle with you, always laughing and joking, that you forgot just what he used to do for a living. 

“The fuck do you think you’re doing?” he demanded, but he didn’t even give the man time to answer before he continued. “Does it make you feel big? Strong? Doing shit like that? If you’re not going to do your job, stay the fuck out of my way so I can do mine, yeah?”

As they exchanged heated words, you suddenly became aware of the crowd of prying eyes that surrounded you. Several people stood with their phones out, some without even bothering to turn off the flash, as they took pictures and recorded the scene playing out in front of them. Well, if Adams wanted to give you bad publicity…

Eventually the two finished their awkward standoff, and Kyle instantly turned his attention to you while Adams stormed off into the crowd. His hands were on your shoulders, his warmth sinking into your skin as if he was melting you into him. Beautiful dark eyes scanned your face as if checking for injuries, and whatever anger he held slowly melted into concern. You found your throat constricting at the sight of him, like he had taken your breath away. 

“You alright, love?” he questioned, the harshness in his tone gone.  

Nodding your head, you quickly glanced around the area one last time before fully bringing your attention back to Kyle. “Yeah I just… can you take me home?”

There wasn’t a single request that you could make that Kyle wouldn’t deliver on. With Adams having vanished in the crowd, Kyle led you out of the building with a firm and comforting hand on your lower back. It was strange how that the very moment Adams left it felt like a weight had been lifted off of you. Things were back to how they were supposed to be; just you and Kyle. 

On the ride back to your house, you made sure to tell Kyle everything that happened. Well, mostly everything. Not wanting to make him uncomfortable, you purposefully made it seem like that Adams said the two of you were dating in secret rather than fucking, but other than that, you kept true to the events. 

“I’m sorry you had to deal with that. Wish I could’ve gotten there sooner,” Kyle apologized, the slight anger in his voice not lost on you. “Those PMC types are the worst.”

And you giggled at that, which confused Kyle, but it was nice. Kyle was predictable, in a way. Familiar; safe. And so when he asked you what was so funny, you told him it was just your nerves getting to you. 

He got you home safe with the promise of picking you up for brunch the next day to make up for the shitty night you had, and the next morning he was in your driveway waiting to pick you up. As usual, he opened the door for you and you made yourself at home before he drove off, taking you to the cute tea shop the two of you had discovered by accident one rainy day a few weeks back. But before the shop even came into view, your phone started ringing. 

Kyle wasn’t trying to eavesdrop, but it was certainly a challenge with A.Lynn’s panicked voice booming over the speaker. Videos of the previous night apparently were circling the internet, and she wanted to know exactly what had happened between you and Adams. So, just like you had for Kyle, you explained the entire story with a bored expression and tone; as if you were already over the whole ordeal. 

“What? No, A.Lynn, I don’t need another bodyguard,” he heard you speak up. Your manager tried to respond with something, but it was difficult for him to hear, and it sounded like you cut her off mid sentence anyway. “No, Kyle is the only person I trust, and he’s done a great job so far on his own. He’s the only one that I want for this job.” 

As he was supposed to, Kyle kept his eyes on the road during your conversation with A.Lynn. But at hearing your words? Admitting that he was the only person you wanted around? Well, he had to admit it was a tad difficult hiding the smile pulling at the corner of his lips.

[truegoist]

⌗⌗ IN A TRANCE !

where a strange guy decides to interrupt your mid-lecture nap..??

1.5k words. sendo shuto x gn.reader, reader is kind of mean& sendo is sendo. uni/collage au.

You lean back onto the plush of the chair, getting ready for yet another lecture. Honestly, you’d rather spend your 8 a.m. doing literally anything else. You curse your past self for thinking this was a good idea. your spot is perfect in a sense, right next to a colon. Not too far on behind, but perfectly hidden. Letting your body go limp, you get ready for a nap that your neck will hate you for later.

A few minutes of comfort pass, then you feel something, more like someone, weight to your left. You can feel the slight heat radiating from their skin; their arm is on your armrest. 

However, starting a fight over an armrest seems stupid, at least for now, to you, and you decide to focus on your well deserved rest instead.

And for about 5 minutes, you do exactly that, drifting in the blissful arms of sleep, but whoever is next to you cannot sit still, whether it be bouncing a leg or shifting in their seat for the 10th time.

You can't enjoy one thing in peace, can you? With an audible sigh, you hope they hear it and feel bad. You open your eyes to meet your intruder.

"Oh, hello, good seeing you here." In front of you is a man, one you don’t really recognize; surely you would remember the salmon hair color, but the expectant look in his matching-colored eyes puts you in doubt. The tone of his voice, which he probably thinks is charming, just sounds rehearsed.

“You were the one who sat next to me.” You don't exactly mean to deadpan, yet you do. He winces at your words.

"Yeah, right, right, right...” He quiets down for a moment and then immediately shots right back up, “Sendo shuto, nice to meet you.”

You look down at the hand directed towards you, then back at the pink eyes. A moment later, you hesitantly shake back "name.”

His hand is warm—not the sweaty type of warmth you’d have expected from such a man, but a rather soft warmth that radiates from his gentle hold on your hand. The male doesn’t even squeeze back, just softly holding your hand in his. Even through the obvious tenderness of his touch, you can feel his strength. The tense muscles make it hard not to.

Sendo is reluctant to pull back, very much obviously. A moment or two passes before he quickly shuffles away.

A sorry and chuckle is all that gets out of him as his fingers drum on his thighs. His gaze that was fixated on you not long ago now seems to look anywhere but you.

This is the first time you get a proper look at him, without the sleep or annoyance clouding your vision. His bangs are asymmetrically cut, with the left side being longer while the right has an undercut. His eyelashes are long, with plump, soft lips. Perhaps not handsome in a traditional sense, but the man sure is pretty.

Only after you come to your conclusion do you realize that you've been examining him for a while now, and he too is aware of it, albeit either too polite or embarrassed to remain glancing between you and the ground.

With a soft huff, you turn your attention back at the professor. Now that you’re awake, you might as well do what you're supposed to and learn.

Sendo next to you also seems to be listening to the lecture, miming your sitting position, although it is almost comically tense.

“So...” and there he starts again. “You come here often?”

“My lecture? Yes, pretty often, I guess.” You snicker. You first took it as a joke, but looking at his face, you're not too sure, he looks like he’s in a mix of emotions, none very positive, as he stammers over his words.

“Yeah, um, I know that. I was just joking, yeah, joking...” Despite his convincing words, even he doesn’t seem to be sure of what he’s saying.

“On that note,” you start, sparing him some grace and changing the subject. “I should be asking you that, I have never seen you here before.” 

You were just messing around, but his reaction catches your attention: unbelievably guilty.

Now that you think of it...

The participant size of this lecture is nowhere small, but you’re pretty sure you’d have at least noticed such a guy before. You're not that blind to your surroundings, even if you sleep through most of the lecture.

"Well, I-" he starts. You’re not sure how this is possible, but he’s talking even faster now. “I just enrolled.”

God, he is a bad liar.

“The term is about to end,” you say with a smile, the playful kind, to him. “Come on, you can do better than that; what are you actually here for?”

Sendo takes a few moments to answer, “I do go here though,” just not this lecture. He doesn’t have to say it, though that much is obvious.

Even though seeing him like this is mildly entertaining in the least, you decide to drop it. Mostly because the guy in front of you keeps giving weird looks to both of you.

Some time goes by, with you too busy taking notes to care for Sendo. The time you shift your attention back to him again, he is staring at you like he's in some kind of trance.

Soft pink in his cheeks compliments the lips that are slightly parted in deep concentration, formed in to a dazed smile. 

Eyes, deep hazelnut that seems to be alive, swirling and tousling around in an intensity you haven’t seen in a human before.

Adoration... no. devotion.

Taking all of you in, it’s almost too intense. For the first time during your small talk, you're the one who can't catch his eye. It's too much. Even for you. Even if he's the weird guy who decided to bother you mid-nap by sitting next to you,.

Shuffling away, you try to focus on the professor once again. What was she saying again? Something about the upcoming finals...

"I'm on the football team, y'know." He speaks up again. "Second striker. Pretty cool, right?" His expression tells you you're supposed to be impressed, but you're not sure if you are.

Probably in response to the blank expression on your face, he babbles on, "It's basically like a striker, but more important, we are the ones carrying the game, actually." For the next minute or so, he rambles on about how important he is to the team, about his teammates, and about football in general.

You don't particularly care about the sport, but it is kind of cute to see him so passionate about something.

"I'd like to see you play sometime." You don't know why you said that, you're not particularly into football or anything, but you mean it. Perhaps it's just to see the way his face lights up at that, which he does; his whole demeanor opens up at the words—the brightest smile you've seen on a man. You do not know him, but somehow you're sure this is the look he has on when he wins a game.

"Great! We have one next Friday; I'll tell the guys at the front so you can sit in the front." Even Sendo seems to realize he's getting ahead of himself, his voice lowering down until it's just barely above a whisper. "Benches...only if you'd like to..." He looks up at you. He is a fairly tall man, yet right now he looks like he's six feet underground—he probably wants to be, looking up at you.

"Do you want to?"

You could say no. Something inside you wants to say so—not that you'd mean it, just to see how he'd crumble down. But you keep from it. Perhaps during these very awkward forty-something minutes of your life, you've developed a soft spot for this man. You just can't bring yourself to say no.

Plus, a small part of you says you should go and see him play. Get to know him better.

"Sure" You smile, this time not a smirk or teasing like the ones you've had in the earlier part of your conversation. A genuine one matching the one he had previously. "Guess I'll see you there, huh?"

Sendo looks like he can combust right there and now. He doesn't; instead, he takes a moment to process. "Yeah...See me..." It's as if he has to convince himself that, yes, this is, in fact, real. And as it clicks, he springs from his seat, giving you a shaky wave and stumbling his way out of the lecture.

His grand departure leaves many people (including your professor) staring behind him and then towards you, forcing you to hide behind the column once again, away from the eyes on you.

But for some reason, you can't bring yourself to care. And for some reason, you have a smile tugging at your lips.

[magnus-the-maqnificent]

I know the show is like, way more serious on this matter, but when it comes to the books, I love how casual the whole politics area is

Shadowhunters? The Consul is like *the* most important person in the wholeass world and they’re elected on a random afternoon with candidates who were nominated like two minutes ago. Before that, Jia kept trying to make Alec Head of any institute like she was assigning chores in a house or something. (“Alec, you should wash the dishes you’re GOOD AT WASHING DISHES” “I DON’T WANT TO JUST WASH THE DISHES LET ME DEEP CLEAN THE WHOLE FUCKING HOUSE!!”).

And yeah sure the Consul has a fancy house in Idris and all but they can just choose to live anywhere they fancy to. Imagine the US President living in an apartment in New York and just showing up at the White House whenever he needs to do work. Alec and Charlotte on the other hand can like, do exactly that. (Tho tbh Alec doesn’t have much of a choice, and even when he does he’ll choose to live in NY anyways)

Warlocks? Literally any random Warlock can call himself the High Warlock of anything and everyone else will just be like “*shrugs* Yeah sure”. Magnus literally switches places with Catarina for the Warlock member of the council as if it’s a random corporate brunch event all like “Cat I can’t be there my ex is gonna show up” and then again all like “Actually nvm I kind of want to see my ex Cat, Imma go”

And yeahhhh sure they have the Spiral Labyrinth Council but since literally every warlock is the personification of “fuck you I do what I want” it doesn’t help much anyways.

Werewolves and Vampires are a wee bit better when it comes to leadership but their literal only rule for someone becoming a leader is “you have to kill the previous leader”. And that is how a 16 year old girl became the head of a werewolf pack and a literal 12 year old became the leader of the NY Vampire clan.

Faeries are like, the only group in this world with a proper political structure, kinda ironic since they’re known to be the most chaotic creatures.

[gothhabiba]

I'm so inspired by the amount of work you put into your food history research! I've learned a lot about the political history of food, and following along with your posts about how the research is going is giving me a whole new appreciation for good proper scholarship. I don't really have anywhere I'm going with this, just that you're appreciated!

thank you so much!! I'm very flattered that people find my food research essays interesting, much less the research notes I write about the writing of those essays, lmao.

of all the projects I've done these past few years, this essay series is for sure one of the ones I'm most proud of. like, when I first started my alleged cooking blog, the tongue-in-cheek title "another vegan cooking blog" was literally how I felt about it--like I was adding noise to a market that was already very saturated--but at this point I feel like I'm consistently doing something that no one else is really doing.

[tinyywriterr]

WHO WILL IT BE?

*+:｡.｡.·:*¨༺༻¨*:·.｡.｡:+**+:｡.｡.·:*¨༺༻¨*:·.｡.｡:+*

{NANAMI + POC READER}

∘°∘♡∘°∘𝓒𝓗𝓐𝓟𝓣𝓔𝓡 𝓕𝓞𝓤𝓡 ~ 𝓓𝓞𝓔𝓢 𝓣𝓗𝓘𝓢 𝓒𝓞𝓤𝓝𝓣 𝓐𝓢 𝓐 𝓓𝓐𝓣𝓔?∘°∘♡∘°∘

⟿ Song to Go with the Chapter: Sex Type Thing by Stone Temple Pilots [Geto & Gojo’s feelings this chapter] AND Yes by Coldplay [Nanami’s feelings this chapter]

⟿ Word Count: 4,300 words +

⟿ Nanami fluff w/ Reader | Nanami shower smut scene

⟿ Summary: This chapter you have the cutest date with Nanami and he’s such a gentlemen. Sadly Geto & Gojo show you another side of them you don’t like. So will this be the last time you see the pair? Will you commit to your feelings you have for Nanami?

*+:｡.｡.·:*¨༺༻¨*:·.｡.｡:+**+:｡.｡.·:*¨༺༻¨*:·.｡.｡:+*

𝓒𝓸𝓷𝓽𝓮𝓷𝓽 𝓦𝓪𝓻𝓷𝓲𝓷𝓰: contains smut, pet names, mentions of past abuse, alcohol, masturbation, fem reader, black fem reader/you, and etc.

◈━◈━◈━◈━◈

𝓐𝓾𝓽𝓱𝓸𝓻𝓼 𝓝𝓸𝓽𝓮: 18+ please & please don’t copy and paste my story anywhere else. This chapter is a lot of dialogue slightly shorter and has some parts with Nanami being a sweetheart. It’s definitely more fluff with a slight edge to it nothing to graphic besides a bathroom scene. This is my first AO3 fic so please comment and leave kudos. If there are any errors I am open to anyone correcting me in the comments. I hope you will enjoy this.

'*•.¸♡ ♡¸.•*'꘎♡━━━━━♡꘎'*•.¸♡ ♡¸.•*'

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*𝒫𝐼𝒞𝒦𝒮 𝒰𝒫 𝒲𝐼𝒯𝐻 𝒴𝒪𝒰 & 𝒩𝒜𝒩𝒜𝑀𝐼 𝒯𝒜𝐿𝒦𝐼𝒩𝒢 | 𝑀𝐼𝒳𝐸𝒟 𝒫𝒪𝒱 𝒪𝐹 𝒴𝒪𝒰 & 𝒩𝒜𝒩𝒜𝑀𝐼✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

Before you could answer the server brought you your food and kindly asked if Nanami wanted anything he politely declined and resumed his attention back to you. You had already started eating your food so he just politely waited till you were done. You scarfed it down not really caring if he was watching you didn’t realize how hungry you had been. Nanami pours you a shot of the sake and pushes it towards you. You smile as you take your last bit and sip of every food item and downing the shot.

“I am okay..just been having a lot extra fun lately.” You explain trying to leave it to his imagination what ‘extra fun’ could mean. Which could be anything from partying, drinking, smoking literally anything.

“Well, I am glad you’re enjoying yourself y/n. I’m happy I saw you through the window I wanted to see you again but you never texted.” Nanami says pouting at the end before pouring you another shot.

“That was my bad I’ve been meaning to I’ve just have been so busy. I’m glad you stopped by to speak to me. I hope we can go out on a proper date soon.” You state before leaning back and crossing your arms. Unknowingly you were pressing your breasts together with no bra on basically pointing your laser beams for nipples directly at Nanami. Blush covers his face before he can hide it so he pushes the shot toward you while clearing his throat.

“Why can’t this count as one I’ll pay for your bill and take you somewhere else afterward. How does that sound princess?” He asks slightly bowing his head in embarrassment at the last part he had let slip out as it was what he called you in his head. Ears turning red he hears you pick up your shot and knock it back. Nanami lifts his head to see you smiling flirtatiously back at him so he grabs the glass and pours you another.

“Welllll, when you put it like that Kento,~” you let his first name roll off your tongue drawing out certain syllables. “I wouldn’t mind but you take the next 2 shots I can’t be the only one drunk,” you suggest before smirking at him then grabbing the glass and knocking the 3rd shot back. After passing the glass back to him you lick your lips seductively to taste the leftover alcohol. “So, tell me about yourself?” You ask pouring him a shot before leaning in to show your interest. He smiles down at you then grabs the shot and knocks it back gracefully before placing the glass down softly.

“Well I’ve lived here my whole life born and raised in Kita-Ku so I spent a lot of time outside away from the city. I guess that’s what drew me here in the first place but now I’ve been thinking of moving out of the city. I’ve graduated from law school and started my own business law firm. I put a lot of time and energy into it making me miss out on a lot in life but it’s brought me where I am today so I wouldn’t change anything.” Nanami explains trying to not get too deep into his personal life not wanting to damper the mood.

You smile at him as you nod digesting what he just said. “That’s amazing Kento! I would love to own my own business I know it takes a lot of sacrifices but to know I made something with my own ideas would be super fulfilling. Are you happy at your job?” You inquire getting a hint he might not enjoy it as much as you thought. You pour him another shot pushing the glass back towards him. He chuckles softly shaking his head ‘no’ before knocking it back.

“Not as much as I used to beautiful but enough about me tell me about yourself. What do you like to do for fun?” Nanami sighs before leaning in meeting you halfway your faces inches apart.

“Well, I haven’t really been able to figure those things out. I’ve always taken care of people or trying to survive so I haven’t had a lot of free time.” You explain leaning back as you begin to think.

‘What are the things I like doing? Eating, sleeping, and getting fucked that can’t be it.’ You think to yourself truly shocked you didn’t know what you like to do. 

“I can always help you figure that out y/n. How about this on our next date we’ll walk around the city and see what you’re drawn to?” He asks grabbing your hands softly drawing you out of yourself pity.

“I’d enjoy that very much actually. Let’s get out of here pour me my last shot please,” you respond with in a shy tone rubbing his hands for comfort. Nanami made you feel something you haven’t felt since a child, safe. He nods ‘yes’ smiling letting go of your hands so he can pour your last shot. Passing you the glass he waves down the server and like he promised pays for your bill. You smile as you down your last shot when you stand up you wobble a little and within seconds Nanami is standing and grabbing your forearm. You whimper slightly at the touch and his eyebrows furrow together.

“Are you okay? I hope I didn’t grab you too-“ Nanami starts to say before you cut him off.

“No-no, it’s fine I just umm hurt it earlier nothing to worry about.” You say in a soft but stern tone you grab your things before holding his hand instead and guide him out of the restaurant. You really hoped the other love bites and hickies weren’t noticeable so you pull your ponytail down hoping the braids will hide them. Once you got out on the sidewalk Nanami took the lead guiding you to an unknown location. “Kento, where are you taking me?” You ask running up next to him and looking up at him.

“A dessert spot I hope you like sweets.” He explains as he slowly comes to a stop as it isn’t far from the other restaurant. Walking in your eyes go wide at all the bright colors and wide selection of sweets to choose from. This wagashi shop had everything from mochi, dorayaki, daifuku, yokan, and a variety of seasonal nerikiri. You smile up at Nanami trying to contain your excitement and begin to pull him to the counter to order your sweets. Nanami gets you a whole box of a variety of everything so you can try them all.

“Let’s take these to my apartment I’m tired of the loudness of the city.” You propose to Nanami grabbing your box as he pays the bill. You're already out the door before Nanami can even say ‘thank you’ to the cashier. You open the box taking a bit of a mochi ball smiling and humming as you savor every bit. Nanami can’t help but chuckle softly before grabbing the box from you.

“You gotta wait till we get to your house. Show me the way beautiful.” Nanami requests before gesturing for you to lead the way. You smile up at him as you nod softly still humming as you begin to lead the way. Practically skipping home you show him up to your apartment Nanami can’t help but just trail behind and watch you. You are so cute without trying the little things you say to yourself as you point things out that you find interesting or beautiful. The way you’d periodically check behind you to make sure he was still tagging along was all so heartwarming.

“Well we’re here if I could just unlock my doooorrr,” you complain softly before falling into your home once your door opens. Slightly embarrassed you realize the state you left your home in. “On second thought maybe we should just eat them outside.” You plead turning around frantically trying to close the door. Nanami just walks past you placing the box on your coffee table before sitting gracefully on your couch. You huff before turning around, closing, and locking the door behind you.

“It’s cute y/n it has you written all over it. I don’t care about the mess princess come sit next to me.” Nanami reassures you as he pats the open space next time to him; you kick your shoes off before plopping down into the empty space. Nanami grabs the box placing it in between the two of you opening it so you can start to try them out. “My favorite is the red bean mochi but it seems you already ate it,” he teases grabbing a dorayaki and getting ready to feed you. You open your mouth and take a generous bite humming again closing your eyes. Nanami smiles softly seeing you enjoyed it very much he then takes a bite from the same one finishing it off. You both sit in silence feeding each other the different sweets you and hum with satisfaction every time.

“Thank you for paying for my food and buying me this it means a lot to me Kento.” You explain sweetly before kissing him softly on the cheek. You suddenly get super sleepy and cuddle into Nanami who lets you.

“Anytime princess you're too cute to not want to take care of,~” he coos into your ear brushing your braids behind it. As he pushes your braids out the way Nanami notices the bite on your neck he frowns slightly trying to think of ways you could’ve got it. Soon you were fast asleep in his arms snoring softly shifting at any movement Nanami made. He continues to pet your head before picking you up to put you into bed properly. He hated the idea of you still being in your work clothes but didn’t want to cross a boundary. “Y/n, y/n, wake up you gotta get ready for bed,” Nanami explains into your ear as he places you down into your bed soon your eyes slowly flutter open. Feeling the familiarity of your bed you sit up pulling your shirt off still half asleep. Nanami is stunned frozen into place at your willingness to just strip right here or maybe you were just that tired it was somewhat late as it was creeping to 10 pm. Suddenly you throw your skirt at his feet as you are completely undressed now just leaving you in your thong seconds later you are slowly stripping that off too. Nanami is left dumbfounded and drooling slightly at the sight he’s seeing right now he has to control himself. He clutched his hand closed into a fist coming closer to you as you were fully asleep again. Nanami scans your body noticing the semi-dried fluid between your thighs, the bruises slowly forming on your forearm, and how adorned your chest is with love bites. He felt jealousy flood over him the thought of another man enjoying you drove him nearly insane but he especially hated how bruised your forearms had become. He then connected the dots with you flinching when he grabbed your forearms and when you said ‘extra fun’. You’ve been too embarrassed to tell him straight up what ‘extra fun’ you were having which he understood; it wasn’t like he had claimed you, yet. After several minutes you begin grabbing at your cover as you had become cold doing it half asleep. Nanami steps in covering you fully before placing a soft kiss on your cheek. You smile in your sleep slightly grabbing at him. You caught hold of his tie yanking him to you which he was surprised you could do half asleep and pulling him with such force. He stumbles slightly before you yank again making him land in your bed.

“Sleep with me tonight Kento I’m lonely,~” you whine cuddling closer to him. Kento in shock looks down at you nusseling into his chest. “Take these offfff,” you groan yanking at his suit again before turning on your side and beginning to snore. He sighs before taking his clothes off just leaving himself in boxers and getting under your covers. Nanami stares up at the ceiling thinking about how he got here. He wanted to take care of you and show you that you don’t always have to be strong but he also wanted to rail you till you forgot about the other man you were fucking. He never knew he could feel so possessive of a person and jealous of another. Nanami turns his gaze to you sleeping peacefully back turned to him. He begins to rub on your body softly making sure not to wake you and nowhere to sexual. He slowly falls asleep rubbing your soft back and listening to your gentle breathing.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*𝒯𝐻𝐸 𝒩𝐸𝒳𝒯 𝑀𝒪𝑅𝒩𝐼𝒩𝒢 | 𝒴𝒪𝒰𝑅 𝒫𝒪𝒱✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

In the morning you wake up once again to your alarm blaring before you smack it to turn it off. Stretching as you sat up you remember the night you had running into Kento, talking, and drinking with him. And him buying you sweets before walking you home. You look around your room and see no sign of him you also don’t remember how you got into bed. Or how you got undressed but it didn’t feel malicious at all. Trying your hardest to remember bits and pieces come back to you. ‘Oooh ya he picked me up tucked me into bed woke me up for a second to tell me to get ready for bed thennnnnn,’ you think to yourself as your thoughts get interrupted by your door opening. Getting up without a second thought you rush to your front room forgetting you're naked.

“Y/n I got you-“ Nanami says before getting cut off by your naked presence. “Breakfast..” he says after clearing his throat and placing the food down. He turns around to give you your privacy but to also close the door.

“Oh crap I’m sorry!” You yell as you run back into your room grabbing another pencil skirt this time gray, a flowy long-sleeve blouse that was white, and the same heels you wore yesterday. You reappear decent this time and rummage through the bag Nanami came back with. “Thank you, Kento you didn’t have to.” You explain before pulling out a bagel sandwich once again scarfing it down within minutes.

“Like I told you before you deserve it don’t worry about it beautiful,” Kento explains grabbing a coat for you and a coffee he got you.

“Oh shit I gotta go I can’t be late!” You exclaim as he reminds you by passing you your coat. Snatching both items from him you frantically put it on grabbing everything else you needed.

“I can drive you or order a cab for you?” Nanami offers before stepping out of your home with you in toe.

“No-no you’ve done enough for me this morning. I’ll text you later,” you yell waving ‘goodbye’ as you choose the stairs today. You speed walk to your job thinking about the way Nanami treats you. Something about it is so refreshing and comforting seemingly full of love and care. You can’t help the heat exploding in your cheeks as you smile to yourself before walking into the office.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*𝒩𝒜𝒩𝒜𝑀𝐼 ‘𝒮 𝒫𝒪𝒱✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

He stood in front of your door a while after she left deep in thought. ‘Who would hurt her like that? Did she enjoy the time we had together last night? Would she give me a chance?’ Nanami thinks to himself still stuck outside of your door. He still had so much to learn about you so he decided to take it slow he didn’t want to mess this up. You are breathtaking and seeing you naked was enough to make Nanami’s dick ache from horniness. Your perfect breasts, your beautiful sun kissed skin that’s soft to the touch, and your juicy ass was intoxicating to look at he couldn’t help but sigh as he turned towards the elevator. Once he reached the outside of the complex he began to walk to his car he had left overnight close to the restaurant you ate at. As he approaches he sees a dumb ticket and snatches it off his windshield. He got in his car and threw the ticket into the passenger seat starting the car. Pulling off he drove to his home as he had given himself the day off in anticipation you’d text him later to go out. After about a 15 minutes drive he pulls into his apartment complex and gives his car to a valet. Nanami walked through the lobby and entered the elevator taking it to his floor, floor 25. As the door opens he turns a corner walking towards his door unlocking it with a keypad. Once inside Nanami drops his keys and wallet into an ashtray by the door before kicking his shoes off. Walking out to the balcony he grabs a pack of smokes from his pocket and sparks one taking a long drag and exhaling slowly as he thinks about you once again. It’s been hard for him to focus on his work as he was always thinking about you. He takes another drag shaking his head to think he hasn’t even fucked you yet and he’s this enamored by you. He exhales as he walks back into his home leaving the balcony door open. Nanami hated the way cigarettes stuck to everything so he tried his best to air it out whenever he remembered. Walking to his shower he turns it on letting it warm up before turning some jazz on to calm his mind. Leaning against the bathroom counter he takes another drag before stripping one handed mainly cause he didn’t want to put his cigarette out. Once naked he exhales sticking the cigarette in his mouth and hopping into the shower. Leaning his head back in the shower so it wouldn’t get wet was hard. Finally giving up he puts the cigarette out so he can focus on bathing. As soap bubbles began to form once again you crossed his mind. ‘I wonder what she’d look like showering? Would she let me wash her body for her? I bet she’d sounded beautiful moaning as I ate her out. She’d be my princess..’ he thinks hanging his head letting the water drench his hair and coat his face.

“Fuck” he cursed to himself as his imagination got the best of him.

‘I know her pussy is so soft and warm. I would be addicted to fucking her till she couldn’t speak.’ Nanami thinks to himself as his hand began palming his growing boner which slowly turned to him stroking it. He grips the base of his dick before stroking up and down his length at a frantic speed. You are all he can think about how your breasts would bounce if he was fucking you. The sounds you’d make, even yelling his name. He swipes a finger over his throbbing tip which made him twitch in his grip and groan softly. The lewd sounds he was making thinking about you were driving him mad. 

“Fuck princess,~” he groans between strokes he couldn’t wait to feel you wrapped around him. His strokes become more animalistic as he’s close to cuming he grips at the wall with his free hand. Within minutes his cum shoots out of him and then disappears down the shower drain. Nanami tilts his head back letting the water hit his face as his breath is rapid.

“You’ll be mine soon, princess,” he says in a breathless tone as his hands become fists.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*𝒴𝒪𝒰𝑅 𝒫𝒪𝒱✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

“I don’t think I can today Gojo I'm still sore..” you explain shyly bowing your head not wanting to disappoint either of the men.

“It’s okay. I’ll see you tomorrow then I’ll let Geto know what you said” Gojo says in a dry tone making you nervous before turning away and walking to his office.

‘Was it happening again? Was he mad at me?’ You think it triggers you mainly because in past relationships your partners treated you like shit if you refused sex. Either being petty giving you the silent treatment, cursing you out, or even beating you. It hurt to think Gojo hated you for this and what Geto’s reaction would be. The slamming of Gojo’s door shakes you out of the spiral you were about to go down. Hanging your head low you return your focus back to your work typing away at the computer. Soon it was your lunch break noticing the time you ran out the door not wanting to run into Geto. As you walk down the street you head towards a food truck and order some takoyaki. The owner of the truck hands your food beckoning you to stand to the side and eat your food. You smile softly handing him the money you owe bowing before you move to a designated spot for customers to eat. As you chow down on your food you look around you glancing at passersby and wondering what to do. You knew this day would come when the two men would be angry at you-you just didn’t think it would be this soon. They didn’t even know you very well besides the sob story of a life you dumped on them. Regretting opening up so quickly & thinking things would be different you finish up your food throwing it in a trash can close by. You begin to walk back pulling your phone out of your purse. The way Gojo acted really cemented the fleeting thoughts you had. You didn’t want a casual situationship just having sex when THEY wanted to. Geto was nice enough but something about him not even showing his face today really made you uncomfortable. They went out of their way to make sure you were okay once before but now that you’ve rejected them once the silent treatment has commenced.

Scrolling through your phone you open the messaging app putting in Nanami’s number and sending him a text that reads ‘Heyy, this is y/n! I was thinking we should go on another date. If you are free I know you're a busy man.’ You send the message nerves start to envelop your whole body which makes your stomach turn slightly.

Within seconds you feel your phone vibrating you look down at it as Nanami’s name lights up the screen ‘one message from Nanami’. You open it smiling uncontrollably it reads ‘I'm glad you took me up on my offer and even more happy you texted me I was worried you wouldn’t. I'll come by to get you at 6 pm tonight wear something casual,' from Nanami sent at 11:30 am.

Before stuffing your phone in your purse again you respond with a simple 'okay' truly not knowing what to say. You walk back into your job once again hanging your head low not wanting to make eye contact with anyone.

“Y/n, come into my office,” Geto commands sternly as you stroll in. You snap your gaze up at him trying to read him through his eyes. They are cold, stiff, and tense like he was holding back how he truly felt. You slide past him walking towards a chair in front of his desk but you're cut off by his words. "Stand this won’t take long,” Geto explains coldly sitting down in his seat and leaving the door open proving his point. You shift your weight in your heels as you look down at your shaking hands. You couldn’t afford to lose this job and your irritation towards yourself was radiating off of you. “I heard you turned us down for today. Care to explain why?” Geto inquires leaning forward placing his elbows on the desk using his hands to prop his head up.

“I-I umm, I am sore still from yesterday. My body is just super achy.” You explain rubbing your upper arm in embarrassment. His gaze never wavers from you staring deep into your soul.

“Well as our personal office slut I’m kinda confused by this. You see I never really needed a secretary I was just bored at work. You caught my eye when I saw you I’ve wanted you ever since. But now you’re telling me you are sore maybe even tired from yesterday. Do you think whores get breaks?” Geto asks sharply looking you up and down slowly. Your clothes looked so good clinging to your curves the color looked amazing against your skin and you're refusing him. He scowled at the thought letting his eyebrows knit together. “We feed you, pay you, show you a good time and this is what we get? Refusal because yourrr soreeee,” Geto teases saying the last part in a higher pitch voice to mock you. “You’re nothing but my office whore don’t forget that. Now go you better be here tomorrow morning wear nothing underneath your outfit you need to be punished.” He commands turning his chair around and not waiting for your response. You stand there in shock at the harsh words Geto was using you thought it was all just for show when he’d call you those names but now it hurt. Clearing your hoarse throat you turn around walking towards the door to leave; you actually leave the building entirely sighing as you grab your things frantically. Holding back tears you walk back to your home and after closing your door you slide down to the floor crying into your hands.

‘Did he really just say those things? Am I really just a whore to him? I know I was being a little sexual creature but for some reason, I thought they saw more than that in me.' You think to yourself hugging yourself softly. You kick your shoes off stripping yourself of your work outfit and slide into bed. ‘Why do men feel like they can talk to me this way?’ You inquire to yourself racking your brain for answers. It wasn’t the first time this has happened but it hurts like it is. You get up to grab your phone plopping back into bed scrolling through your contacts.

“I am doing this I can’t go through this again.” You say firmly in between sobs you swipe and delete both of their numbers before turning your phone off as well. You didn’t care to explain to them or even show your face at that place ever again. You sob until you fall asleep forgetting all about what you texted Nanami earlier.

'*•.¸♡ ♡¸.•*'꘎♡━━━━━♡꘎'*•.¸♡ ♡¸.•*'

༶•┈┈୨♡୧┈┈•༶

Once again I hope you enjoyed this one and it’ll be Nanami time next chapter!! Also let me know how you guys like the smut and the chapter overall. Sorry if my descriptions or the characteristics of characters aren’t spot on this is how I see them in my mind. Don’t forget to comment, reblog, like, and follow me; thank you!!

(●ᴥ●)

©™ TINYPROPHETT

[Please don't copy or plagiarize my work thank you. I don't own any rights to JJK and all photos are from pintrest or here I'll try to tag people if I can]

⟿ Credit for the inspiration for the Chapter:

[controlledchaos1342-blog]

so did anyone else take like... forever to realize < , > would stop a tag midway. is kind of annoying but i won’t question it because coding is basically magic and i still remember pieces of the story where a game only worked right when there was a picture of a coconut in the code.... the coconut didn’t show up anywhere, and it wasn’t connected to anything... it just sat there as the lynchpin to the whole thing.

come to think of it it would be neat to read a sci-fi fantasy thing where there’s this really powerful spell-castor/rune-user [or rather a spriptomancer as my girlfriend has pointed out that runes are specifically norse and it’s a pet-peeve of hers] who uses what is basically coding

come to think of it coding and ancient written magics are really similar especially since when i open the terminal i always feel like a person politely asking the local gods to give me a cookie and hoping to everything ever they don’t either A; make everything cookie [because they didn’t realize what i wanted was A Cookie and not All Cookie] or B; turn me into a cookie for my hubris

hey anyone who has the know-how [or sufficient data gathering skills because i feel i would screw it up regardless] and want to write silly thing i would love to see stories of magic person treating it like straight up coding

like treating eldr deities like hackers and source code providers and just going “okay this guy is great, they make neat things that help you skip all the annoying steps included in these really common tasks it’s like they made the ctrl-C thing but irl but this one here will randomly decide to insert fifty pictures of sheep on your drive and it would be fine but by ‘drive’ i mean your lawn and by ‘pictures of sheep’ i mean literal sheep you literally be swimming in sheep do not talk to them”

treating what are basically those weird eldritch sludge slug things i forget the name of [shagoths?????] like you just got a bug that randomly adds a dancing chihuahua every five minutes to your dash before replacing them all with one larger dancing bear no this is not a real experience my mind is just going faster then my ability to hit backspace

{”hey how ar-WHAT DID YOU DO???” <insert Peanuts’ adult womp-womp sound thing> “I told you not to touch that without proper back ups!” <womp-womp-womp!> “You know what? Screw it! Give me the Himalayan salt so I can start getting rid of these guys before they become ransom ware.” <womp-womp!> “Oh no you definitely owe me for this!”}

oh btw before i forget:: @elfwreck [did i do that right? did you see this? i feel like if nothing else you could show me the results of this after a bit]

[awellboiledicicle]

I keep imagining that first night Crumb and his mother, Lana, spend in Margit’s office.

Because she wouldn’t want to leave, in case the healers that would hurt him found them, and she likely... couldn’t leave? Not under her own power, anyway. She did have a baby with horns on it and then sprint away with said baby in a haze of adrenaline and protective instinct.

I imagine that, once Margit agrees to speak to the king about conscripting the child in the morning, she just sort of.. falls to her knees and nearly passes out. When he asks her if she’s alright and sort of hovers a few feet back, all she can get out is a “thank you”. She tries to get up and her legs just won’t let her.

Which is how she passes out fully and he has to awkwardly catch both her and baby Crumb. I imagine that after that he’s just kinda lost for a moment before relocating them to the straw bed he keeps in his office for nights when he’s got more paperwork than energy. He casts a meager healing incantation on her mostly because there’s still a uh. not inconsiderable amount of blood on her and he’s not a doctor. He doesn’t know how things went and he’s not going to ask beyond what he can figure out himself. He made sure to position Crumb on her chest so he’d stop fussing and then he just. went back to his paperwork.

Sure enough, about an hour later there’s a hesitant knock on his office door and opening it reveals a Perfumer looking like he wanted to be literally anywhere else in the world. “Pardon the intrusion at such an hour--” The perfumer fidgeted under his heavy glower. “I do hope i did not wake you.” “Tis the Night’s Calvary.” He snorted and some small part of him was satisfied by how the other man jumped. “What do you want?” “Right-- has a woman come by here? She--” “No.” A roll of his shoulders had the perfumer jolt again. “Is that all? I am busy.” “I... right.” A jerky nod. “Apologies.” With that the perfumer turned on his heel and left, though Margit had some feeling that it would not be the last person to come looking for the two sleeping soundly in his office.

By the time Lana awakes to Crumb fussing, he’s no longer in his office. There is, however, a pitcher of water and some towels by the bedside. He returns to find her feeding the babe, both mother and child looking far more presentable. “Apologies for not standing on ceremony, my lord.” She gave him an apologetic smile before grinning down at the baby in her arms. “Someone is taking their breakfast.” “So I gather.” Clearing his throat, her attention returned to the omen. “His majesty has issued a writ. The child--” “Percy.” At the narrowing of his eye, she looked mildly alarmed. “Apologies again, sir! It’s just... his name. It’s Percy.” “....right.” He straightened his back and reworded his statement. “As of the issue of this writ, on the mercy of his majesty.... Percy... shall henceforth belong to the Night’s Calvary. Upon his seventh year, his training shall commence in earnest.” A look of apprehension stole over her as Percy finished nursing and yawned. Worrying at her lower lip, she held him to her chest to be burped. “And until then, my lord?” “Call me commander or Margit; there is hardly cause to call myself a lord.” He politely looked away while she set the babe aside to fix her... well, clothes would have been a kind description. It was more that she’d simply turned his blanket into something to preserve her modesty. The sheets she’d come to him with were still, after all, in a small pile of mess on the floor. He rapidly accepted that he simply wasn’t going to get the blanket back for a good while. While she tugged fabric into place, he took his seat back at his desk. “His majesty has thought of this as well. As care for the boy would be a burden upon the regular staff of the barracks, there shall be a wetnurse until the proper time. Given that thine duties are hardly essential in the palace proper, you have been reassigned to the task.” He spared a glance over to the bed and was rather unnerved to see tears streaming down Lana’s face. “Thank you, m-- Thank you, commander!” The smile that beamed through her crying took him almost as off guard. “Please, please pass on our thanks to his majesty. I know we must seem like nothing to him, but his kindness has saved us. Your kindness has saved us. Thank you.” A nod before he made a show of shuffling papers on his desk. Perhaps if he looked like he was busy, she wouldn’t notice how very much this was not how he was used to people reacting to him. “Thine room is being prepared and the barrack’s head maid has been informed of the arrangement. She will fetch thee once it is ready.” Another glance confirmed that she was still grinning at him as she scooped Percy back up and smoothed his fur around the horns already sprouted on his forehead. It was... oddly heartwarming to see her do so with so little hesitation. He tamped down the distant memory of his mother doing the same. Straightening, he shuffled his papers yet again. “Next we meet, thou shalt be presentable.” “Yes, commander!”

He actually lets her properly introduce herself once she’s dressed in actual clothes and returns his blanket. The knights are curious as to what moved him to do something like take in a page seven years early, and rapidly accept it once they see said child. The running joke in the early days is that Margit just wanted someone around that would be his height.

[unproduciblesmackdown]

would have too much to say that inevitably repeatedly breaking things up into tweets wouldn't be a pain but already going back like, lets check out andor episode one again in full true connoisseur mode and i'm not pressed if i make it into a proper in order rewatch, also when the bonus for me is that i'm always more likely to better keep track of names or faces or pick up on something that was supposed to be like a straightforward plot moment or whatever else, right, though i didn't have any especial problem with that. anyways i'm just already like oh this entire first sequence fucks, and i didn't really go into this that skeptically but do remember like yeah first time around it was like with this intro premise alone like ah i see this fucks then

like first of all an initial shot choice that is stylish, which tells us that there will be stylishness. fun that the couple evil [police procedural] characters are great at being pathetic zero charisma soaking creepy & wet disgusting in their own special ways, but cassian is getting rained on all the time he's cutting the plumbing line he swam here soaking wet literal treatment

things feeling figuratively and literally grounded (walking, only seeing that walkway, streetview, no soaring establishing shot to show This Isn't Your Ordinary City (scifi edition)) like, also still clear enough it's scifi but really with the Magical Realism type of approach, which i do imagine i enjoy more

the scoring is so good. BANGER of a track used when walking into the bar, also used later when dropped into the introduction of his beach getaway new life scene, brief as it is. the sexy edm style track, and it Is also like "well i mean. sure then" getting so far into this scene before it's evident like oh you're not actually here to have sex. pretty flirtatious w/this proprieter but it's like, maybe discreetly acting natural, maybe just acting naturally for real and it's just like that, we've all been there re Blend In, Follow Their Lead as a rule for operating anywhere ever, presumably relevant here, the Everyone's Wary nature of the whole series....tbt talking about jyn like yeah idk maybe her brand of wariness that's not charismaticly intense enough nor closed offedly intense enough is like, itself confusing or whatever but absolute "what's not to get or like" sense from me, and naturally cassian cropping up like it's your wary kindred spirit

anyways then having fun in there. looking at the required sexy hologram dancer like hmm they're a little space androgynous. a little space gnc af. the guys who are just immediately pissed off b/c the supposed new customer is getting preference. the delay after the proprieter lady is like Behave to them and cassian looks at her, then them. his immediate brooking no nonsense w/the two as soon as they're all hostile mode at him about all of it, at least in terms of like, not playing it utterly neutral. the It's Political times of him asking about a woman from kenari, proprieter lady going for both a) how about this other planet of origin and [names an inferred similar feature] as well as this kind of establishes already that [from kenari] can be space racially profiled, since cassian doesn't have to explicitly confirm that's where he's from too, and her inferring this is a Preference that can be catered to around physical features, and certainly once cassian's Wanted about this, the urgency around maarva & co asking who they've ever told that cassian's from kenari is sure like ah, space borders, space immigration, space [indeed the racial profiling when the soaking is he creepy or wet pathetic heinous cop pulls up an Image], the repeated like space colonialism and space indigeneity and space resource extraction that gets to come up more with [i've been in this fight since i was six years old] flashbacks....it's great like, the magical realism aspect where it's like [yeah Real Life but slight au] feeling immediately relevantly recognizable and as viscerally dramatic as you'd want, like, everyone's daily lives involving this inherent lack of safety that can turn into the stress of imminent danger on a dime. also the eventual b) asking if he's a Boyfriend or Husband like, space gender, magical realism style where it's like of course the space misogyny power disparity they'd be on the lookout for, might be vulnerable to a partner who is a space man. oh and then also the shift when he says it's his sister he's looking for, from more guarded to sympathetic when it's like, the context then isn't the woman's vulnerability being heightened if this is someone here out of like, a possessive angle, and rather that he's now not only presumably sympathetic to her as well, but potentially some of that vulnerability being extrapolated to him as well. which is not inaccurate

obsessed w/the Long Shot where cassian's getting held up by the two company sentry guys and it's him close up center frame slightly from above and just tearing it up acting while we only hear the other two for a good while until they wander in out of focus, that at first we also can't see and thus can't immediately Know they're talking to him....as well as again establishing like, yeah this is a prequel where we know our protagonist won't die no matter how [people are definitely dying] the situations are, yeah we know he's cool action guy even, but he's not operating in a story here where it's all about his protracted solo epic action sequences, he wants to avoid those, other people want to avoid those, everyone's better off operating more stealth mode if they can help it, but also that it doesn't matter to him that We know he's not gonna die, he doesn't know it, and Everyone knowing those stakes and reacting to the stress rather than being like stoic too epic to be at all fazed badasses. d luna crushing it, everyone's great but yeah sure acting as hell huh

also this time around i was just so much more noticeably affected by like oh i feel bad for this guy who's realizing his buddy who also sucks is dead and now that he's in over his head majorly life and death....everyone acting in every part is just going ham like bevy of these varied performances in varied roles and nobody dropping the ball in the least. while it's obvious too that like, feels bad for the panicky source in rogue one intro as well but cassian can't give much away then b/c he's not the protagonist and it's all very mysterious at this point. and that in addition to upping the surprise, it's presumably nonzero meant to be a kindness from him to take the time to comfort the guy before then blowing him away. whereas here the guy sees it coming and like, really brought this upon yourselves and you made this potentially life or death for cassian from the start, as he was aware, but this time it's like yeah cassian wasn't expecting that to turn into [bad luck, that headbutt killed you. and/or also the fall] and is Not so mysterious to us so can be clearly surprised and less than thrilled about things as well....but feels apropos that also w/ this intro of these two rando sentry guys from the bar who the proprietor was like yeah they're not really cops but they annoyingly like to act like it, it can be a bit more genuinely pathetic vs the Pathetic(tm) quality of the like imperial space feds characters. like oh i do feel bad for this guy and all the time he has here to plead for his life :( but doesn't feel like it's meant to be some [dun dunnn?] moment re cassian b/c it's like, tells us the stakes, tells us he's not fucking around and Will shoot someone but we've also been told he's not like here to be, or feel, badass invincible, is not unaffected by fear of death nor of having killed someone / death in general, but also Will be blowing you away if need be, also speaking to like, he's run calculations before abt like, whaddaya gonna do, what are the risks and which are you willing to take, and obviously has fought before and if he's ever killed someone before it wouldn't be surprising, some like "my god i've never done that before / now i'm out for blood, never look back" factor does not seem to be relevant. but fr was fun to be surprised by like oh i feel bad for this guy this time around lol noticeably much more than affected me the first time around. true [oops in over your head] vibes but which also then speak to like, yeah probably would've stopped pretending to be cops, just feels like yeah he's more distant from [uh oh, attention from Empire cops now] figures so it's like, ah, you bring it upon yourself but. i'm not quite sure what got me this time around lol, again i guess just more ability to focus on details and thee moment b/c i'm not like, needing to intently devote my attention to potentially following names and faces and plotlines b/c it's the opening scene here and don't get lost before things even happen. maybe it's having subtitles on where i'm all the more sure of the dialogue and him talking about "we'll go in together" has me like "there but for your fucking around, no need for this, i remember the vaguely friendly acknowledgment before your egos were bruised and you got hostile about it and escalated it to This" maybe it's even him offering a story and phrasing it like "we played too hard in hitting" when i have this like, vulnerable association lol like if anyone's upset / distressed enough And there's the immediate proximity / presence of something meant to be like, purely fun, where even talking about Playing may be enough to be like oh no lol, even when that's not really what happened. again, the acting from everyone, maybe it's just focusing all the more on that, wherein truly epic seeming distressed and miserable, maybe it also helps that we also get shots of more diego luna acting which is also to the effect of: pretty distressed and miserable, soaking wet. i dunno but i'm like hell yeah being all the more caught up in whatever.

also that this was like, oh a seeming potential thread establishment? and of course "whoops killed two guys" is indeed an established thread, the [looking for his sister] remaining latent as the setup to that inciting event and otherwise like, just something he does, characterization and [backstory thread] relevant, but only that. and yet, the way that opening scenes are generally meant to do, this whole sequence conveying plenty about how things are going to be, establishing overall contexts, thee vibe, that the soundtrack fucks, that nobody's messing around here in the least like. just as these first minutes didn't have to go so hard, so neither will the rest of the series have had to. i also didn't have to say all this or post at all but i get hype and when i have anything to say i really do. no concision. oh shit and we end with like the directional reverse of the first opening stylish shot but w/cassian in frame as well yeahh boyyee

[poobit]

My tumblr Year in Review (the graphic was ugly lol

I posted 6,355 times in 2022

757 posts created (12%)

5,598 posts reblogged (88%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@strangeauthor

@kindestegg (<3)

@curly-fried

@taptrial2

@laslloronas

I tagged 3,045 of my posts in 2022

#the owl house - 288 posts

#art - 238 posts

#animals - 148 posts

#video - 146 posts

#samsa´s art stuff - 140 posts

#gif - 112 posts

#insp - 101 posts

#maru - 90 posts

#death note - 82 posts

#fashion - 79 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#when deviantart tells you “take this tutorial draw a picture n well give u whats essentially a tiger shaped sticker for ur page” well then

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

it doesnt matter what game you want to play, ive just gotta live long enough to see the end of all of this.

See the full post

178 notes - Posted May 15, 2022

#4

im gonna be honest as someone with over 50 original characters across decades of my life...and as someone whos really into concept and production art...

most "how to build your original character!" advice is utterly useless because you cage the character into a superficial box of traits and trying to build some sort of proper reference for it when you have no idea what the story youre trying to tell actually needs the character for, proffesional productions literally dont work with a chart of what the character likes or dont if its not relevant to the design or the narrative shown,

thats post production shit you talk abt with your coworkers for fun or put it in a fucking booklet , stop trying to build huge reference sheets when you havent even built a basic story to follow, you are GONNA forget about it, even if the character has like a huge family tree , unless its explicitedly exposed or paced correctly, you gotta be FLEXIBLE with your characters instead of caging them to irrelevant details, or else you gonna find yourself rebuilding the same characters OVER AND OVER every 2 years because turns out the ref sheet is outdated or you got feedback and now you wasted a lot of time and energy on something that wasnt even usable !

start SIMPLE guys let a character develop through the story NOT a phamplet , i assure you , it is way more organic that way.

194 notes - Posted October 15, 2022

this one should have more

#3

My condolences to the families of the victims in Uvalde, Texas. This is another senseless tragedy , especially a direct attack on children.

230 notes - Posted May 24, 2022

#2

some of you have no idea of the ripple effect that “su critical” had in the terminology and way ppl interact with “being critical of media” in tumblr and anywhere else rlly,  critical fandom blogs where not started by random white kids overthinking things and taking kids media too seriously, they were spearheaded by , first and foremost as i remember? black bloggers who were really sick of the amount of casual racism and antiblackness that was plaguing (and honestly still does) kid´s media. 

overall you can thank black bloggers in almost every niche group of topics and discussions for BUILDING the present day tumblr , the amount of racism and shadowbanning and censorship these people have gone through (and continue to go through) is fucking ridiculous to the point theres still ppl here thinking that russian tumblr psyops where an actual Real Thing and not just some scheme to delete black people´s accounts whenever they said anything against politicians or even anything political. 

654 notes - Posted January 27, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

4,942 notes - Posted January 1, 2022

so glad my first post of january was also my most popular lol

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[lizseyi]

How To Ensure Quality Sleep When Recovering From Injury –Fourfive

All too much evidence down the years indicates that many of us just don’t get enough sleep; this could be the case for as many as one in three adults. 

It is believed that most adults require about seven to eight hours sleep every night. And you’re probably familiar with some of the obvious ill effects of not getting enough of it, such as feeling crabby and unrefreshed the next morning. 

But the longer-term consequences of failing to sleep enough could be worse than that; it has been linked to a heightened risk of such health issues as heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. 

So, it is definitely in your interest to do everything possible to close any sleep deficit you may be suffering from. 

There’s another powerful reason to ensure you get sufficient sleep… 

…yes, you guessed it from the title of this article: sleep is also believed to be a crucial “secret ingredient” aiding recovery from injury. And as you will know if you have some familiarity with fourfive, our business was literally founded by professional sportspeople who know how important it is to adopt every possible measure to support rapid and successful recovery from injury. 

There are various factors that have been cited as to why and how achieving quality sleep helps improve injury recovery. One of those is the increase in blood flow to the muscles when the body falls into the deeper stages of sleep; this process delivers oxygen and nutrients to the muscles to aid their recovery and repair. 

Bear in mind, too, that the deep sleep stage – known as non-REM sleep, causes the pituitary gland to release growth hormones, stimulating muscle repair and growth. Again, all of this underlines that you should be taking every possible step to make good-quality sleep a priority. 

But how can you achieve that quality sleep when you just can’t get to sleep? 

This is a very reasonable question. If, in particular, you suffer from stress and anxiety, you might find that your mind races and you struggle to “feel sleepy”, even at night after a seemingly exhausting day. 

So, let’s take a look at some of the methods that could be instrumental in your efforts to calm down and drift off to sleep: 

Try a few destressing exercises

Even simply Googling “destressing exercises for sleep” (or similar) will help you here. But even something as straightforward as taking several slow, deep breaths, and paying attention to the air as it enters and leaves your body, could greatly help you calm down. 

Some people, meanwhile, schedule themselves a specific “worry time” during the day, when they’re allowed to sit down, worry, and figure out how they will address some of the issues that concern them. Although of course, we would urge you to not schedule your own “worry time” anywhere close to bedtime. 

Different methods seem to work well for different people, so you shouldn’t be afraid to try out several. 

Develop a sustained and consistent sleep routine

Do you depend on doing everything “spontaneously” and “instinctively”, right down to heading to bed with your smartphone or tablet in hand, and tapping away with outrage at what you see on Facebook or Twitter, when you’re supposed to be catching some winks? 

OK, that might be an exaggeration of the reality of your bedtime routine. But a lot of us could benefit from having a much more ordered and organised regimen for ensuring we relax and feel genuinely sleepy once bedtime ‘proper’ arrives. 

For you, that might mean enjoying a bubble bath before bed, petting your cat, or immersing yourself in a good book. It should certainly mean staying away from stressful activities, such as ‘doomscrolling’ on social media apps or discussing politics with someone, in the hours immediately before bed. Again, what works for you might not be the same as what works for someone else. 

Consider the merits of CBD for sleep

We should probably emphasise at this point, that there is no definitive evidence that taking a CBD product will support someone to get to sleep – although some early studies indicate that might be the case. 

So, alas, we find ourselves returning to a recurrent theme of this article, the importance of seeing what works in your personal experience. We, personally, have certainly heard of people saying that taking CBD seems to help them get to sleep, and we have felt more relaxed after taking CBD following training sessions. 

Otherwise, though, the notion of taking CBD as a sleep aid is something else that you might want to try in your own time and on your own terms, bearing in mind factors like your own health and medical record. So, we would certainly urge you to discuss this subject with a medical professional before you try taking CBD for sleep. 

Whether you’re specifically seeking out CBD for sleep in the UK, or you have other reasons for contemplating CBD use, our team at fourfive is committed to making available top-quality CBD and vitamin supplements for your consideration. 

And don’t forget that if you do try and like the CBD products UKyou purchase from us, you could also save a lot on your future supplement purchases by committing to a subscription, delivered for free every month. That will hopefully be one more thing that helps you sleep easier. 

[jar-of-vicissitudes]

54

Tomorrow, Wangji is leaving Gusu. Before sleeping, he checks if A-Yuan has packed everything to spend the week at Brother's.

“Dad, I'm not eight any more.”

“Do you have your comb?”

“Yes,” sighs A-Yuan. Who taught him to sigh like that?

Without giving Wangji a break, A-Yuan adds: “When can I come with you on a night-hunt?”

“When you are old enough to be named Sizhui.”

“I'll go with my class before that. And Uncle told me you would accompany him before you were fifteen.”

Brother, why.

“You need more training. Next year, maybe.”

A-Yuan pouts. Wangji only thinks: Already?

_____

previous - next 

[1ddiscourseoftheday]

Thurs 15 April ‘21

A proper OT5 day today, how are we doing? Well, #stressed, apparently, LOL! Oh darlings, don’t worry...

First up, Liam finished his Prince Phillip drawing and captioned it “rest in peace… small tribute to you and your service,” sighhh. As Louis put it “boss drawing and that but get your priorities straight”, I truly couldn’t have put it better! I mean Louis may not have been referring to his politics, he was following up a tweet demanding Liam’s attention (“I see you on Instagram lad, answer your phone!!!!!”), but still he hit the nail on the head. Anyway, maybe Louis wanted to chat to weigh in on Liam’s haircut! (‘WTF mate I thought we were growing it out YOU LOSE’, perhaps?) Yes, Liam’s lion mane got a shearing; he posted a picture looking handsome showing the change, and #jesusLiam trended in memory of the lost hair as fans mourned dramatically. Also there’s a little behind the scenes video of Liam making his BAFTAs performance avatar (last glimpse of the long hair, RIP)-- no footage of him making funny faces but it does feature the very tight suit and the even tighter mo-cap outfit.

And what else is Louis up to? Well he came back to say that yes, he did talk to Liam, and to ask, “how’s everyone doing?” Just saying it wasn’t enough, fans trended the answer for him; STRESSED. We’ll be all right, said Louis, “Faith in the future. Keep your head up.” Faith in the future again!! Nice. We hear you sir and are looking forward to knowing what this is the title of… Also, a geotagged photo of him that wasn’t meant to be shared, was; it shows that Louis flew into LA the other day after leaving Mexico (it’s him at LAX in the outfit he left Mexico in-- look at that hair!! FLIP FLIP FLIP.) Is he still in LA, no way of knowing, so even if the pic wasn’t supposed to go out at least there was a delay and his location remains unknown, as he likes it, though he doesn’t seem to be home to London yet. For some reason people are really stuck on the idea that Sergio (his new footie bestie) said he was going back to London but even aside from the fact that I doubt they got that deep into itineraries, I’m pretty sure he actually just said that when Louis was back in London they’d meet up; not the same thing.

Assuming Louis is still in LA that’ll be convenient for him to go punch Nick Kroll if he wants! Nick said that during DWD filming Harry fell in love with him and they ‘made an omlette’ together... oh wait, no need, he just said they literally made some eggs and fake meat and ate it one night (and obvs that he was joking about their love, but it can for sure be hard to tell Harry’s supposed love affairs from jokes, I get it if you were confused.) He also said Harry is “very good at making everyone around him feel very comfortable. He's just very grounded.” Gucci is having some kind of online fashion opening today and there was a rumor Harry would attend which, yeah, sounds legit, and there’s a Harry puzzle in a Gucci puzzle book. First clue to the Harry Styles Puzzle, “a fictitious narrative.” Timely! Yes indeed, he and Olivia “were spotted together” in London last night, oooh my the scrambling to try and come back from those legal documents is really ON! Really though, WERE THEY? The tabs claim to have interviewed multiple people who were dining there and saw them. Reaaally, okay tell me- how did this come about? Were these people so excited to see a celeb that they called the papers… but none of them took a single picture or posted to their social media about seeing them?! Pics or it didn’t happen guys, COME ON: this is very much in keeping with how unbelievably half-assed they’ve been from day one but still, pretty pathetic attempt. Then rumors went around that Harry was actually out with GEMMA which would be hilarious, but seems more likely to me that no one was actually out anywhere at all.

The To Begin Again video is out! It’s pretty and tearjerk-y and it’s got sweet laughing Zayn content, good times!! It’s mostly sweeping shots of New York City and people there, living and laughing and being quirky and stuff, big humans of NY vibe, and Ingrid and Zayn in their studios happily making music. Zayn’s studio of choice (in Pennsylvania) celebrated their star turn by posting a pic of a signed guitar Zayn gave them back when he recorded Icarus Falls there. The TBA video director says, “we filmed this video in one day- sunrise to sunset.” TBA merch is on sale today in Ingrid’s store.

And there were lots of pap pics of Niall and Anne Marie filming their video (which is not out yet) in Essex. Seems they were FILMING it on the 8th, the day of Niall’s “it’s happening” post. So what’s HAPPENING is not the actual release of it, just yet, okay then. When will it come out? Who knows! We’ll be able to tell though, Niall will come back online for non-golf posting when the time is nigh, you’ll see. Meanwhile, pics of Niall out at a pub with his friends (outdoors) last night were posted, because that’s a thing that happens when celebs go out for public outings and lots of people see them.

[ggukcangetit]

If The Bra Fits - JJK Fic

Final part of The Unbearable Lightness of Being... Something More series

Part 1 | Part 2 | 

Pairing: Jungkook x reader

Genre: ex-roommate au, f2l, fluff, smut, low-key crack

Rating: 18+

Summary: Jungkook knows you hate it when he pops into your apartment to borrow something, but in the 2 years that you’ve known each other, that hasn’t deterred him much. But one day when he manages to (accidentally) ruin your favorite bra while raiding through your emergency snack supply, he knows that he’s fucked. With only a brand name to help him on his search, Jungkook spends the next 48 hours buying all the bras that look even remotely like the one he ruined. The only problem is - how would he figure out which was the correct size without asking you?

Warnings: a lot of talk of breasts and the trials and tribulations of finding a good bra, oral sex (f receiving), masturbation, kissing, grinding, nipple play

Word count: 3.8k

a/n: thanks a ton to @hesperantha​ for beta-ing this! i was super nervous about writing proper smut >.< anywho, hope y’all enjoy this!

Jungkook knew he was fucked. Worse than when Jimin had walked in on Yoongi doing the do with his girlfriend. Worse than when Taehyung had lost his pet frog in Seokjin’s spice drawer. Worse than-

“Fuck.”

He would probably have to leave the country. Maybe he could move to Canada? Or New Zealand? Anywhere that wasn’t here. Or he could change his name! That might work…

“H-hello?” 

“What the hell, Jungkook? You were supposed to meet me for lunch 40 minutes ago! This is rude and, frankly, inexcusable behavior on your part.” Seokjin’s annoyed voice, talking at 300 words a minute, rang through the phone’s speaker. “And why the hell do you sound like that? Did you walk in on Yoongi and Soya this time? I swear, that guy needs to learn to lock his door. Or maybe just change his locks. I mean this is probably-”

“Seokjin!” Jungkook pinched the bridge of his nose as his friend slowed his word flow. “I’ll be there in 10 and explain everything.”

Hanging up the phone, he surveyed the site of the massacre once more before stuffing the offending object into his backpack and rushing out. True to his word, he was at the hole-in-the-wall dumpling place in 10 minutes, attempting to explain to an irate Seokjin, the reason behind his tardiness. 

“No! You did not do that!” Seokjin yelled, nearly choking on the hot soup dumpling that was hanging - half eaten - from his chopsticks.

Jungkook had, in fact, done that. That being the most cardinal offense his frazzled brain could think of at this point. That being sneaking into your apartment when you were at work, hoping to swipe some of your favorite shrimp puffs, placing his cup of steaming hot mocha on your study table, rummaging through your emergency snack supply but somehow inadvertently knocking over the coffee on the table, and cleaning it up with the nearest article available, which tragically, happened to be your mint green bra. 

“She’s going to kill you. No” - Seokjin picked up a egg cream bun and popped the whole thing into his mouth - “she’s going to whip your ass and then hang you upside down from that metal pole on Hobi’s balcony.”

Jungkook stared at the way the cream bun smoothly travelled down Seokjin’s throat after a couple of chews, and shivered. “What do I do??”

“Why do you have to do anything? She won’t know it was you who spilled coffee on her table and then wiped it with her bra. Unless...” 

Jungkook stared at his fingers guiltily. 

“You took the bra with you, didn’t you?” Seokjin sighed, lightly smacking his friend on the back of the head for good measure. “Well, you could always blame it on Namjoon. That’s what I would do. Heck, that’s what I did when I accidentally broke Hobi’s favorite figurine.”

“I don’t know…”

“You have to commit to something, Jaykay.” Every time Seokjin used his nickname for Jungkook, it meant there was some kind of terrible scheme being cooked up. “Either be a complete little shit and blame it on Namjoon, or just go and own up to y/n. You can’t teeter on the edge like this.”

“I could always just sneak back in and leave her bra where I found it.” Jungkook felt better already. This was it. This was the middle ground he was aspiring towards - the sacred path between Seokjin and Hobi, the Yoongi of all decisions. 

“You might not have to sneak in” - Seokjin held up his smartphone where the group chat was open to a bunch of notifications - “Tae said we’re meeting at y/n’s place for tacos and UNO.”

“Why is Tae so invested in our UNO games? He gets confused every time we play it.” 

“Because” - Seokjin swiped his credit card at the counter and thanked the cashier with a quick wink - “like every good strategist, he plans to improve by observing everyone else’s style of play. He definitely knows how to play by now. He’s just giving us the confused puppy look so that we underestimate him and he can learn all our little tricks. Just you wait - a few more games and that sneaky shit will be handing our asses back to us.”

Jungkook, while mildly interested in Taehyung’s card game antics, was more concerned about returning your bra without arousing any suspicion. The perfect moment presented itself when Seokjin, Namjoon, Yoongi, Taehyung and Hobi were immersed in a game of UNO, while you and Soya were munching on tacos - because let’s face it, food trumps just about everything else. Coming up with a half-convincing bathroom excuse, he snuck off towards your room, hoping to finally rid himself of the mint green burden.

Seconds before he pushed your door open, a snippet of conversation floated towards him and made his heart stop beating.

“I can’t find it anywhere.” You were complaining to Soya about something, loud enough for him to hear. “I must’ve turned my room upside down looking for it.”

Soya didn’t seem too perturbed. “What’s the big deal? It’s just a bra. Yoongi regularly loses my underwear after we have sex in new locations.”

Jungkook chuckled because he could almost see the look of horror on your face at receiving this piece of information. 

“Ignoring that TMI,” you continued. “That’s my favorite bra, Soya! You know how our sizes keep fluctuating - well, this was the first bra I bought after getting measured at a proper place. It literally changed my life. Do you know how fabulous it feels to have your boobs at normal chest level - neither squished up towards your collarbones nor jiggling like that everlasting jello Seokjin keeps buying? I’m tellin-”

Jungkook stopped listening at this point. If he didn’t, there was little chance that he’d be able to think of anything other than that. As it was, the mere sight of you these days, was enough to get blood flowing to certain parts of his body. 

There was clearly only one thing to do.

“You want me to help you do WHAT?” Once again, it was Seokjin who barely managed to stop himself from choking on yet another scrumptious food item on yet another lunch date with Jungkook. 

“I’m going to replace her bra.” The resolute expression on Jungkook’s face crumbled ever so slowly under the scrutiny of Seokjin’s pure, unadulterated skepticism. “It’ll be easy. I-I already know what it looks like, and all the information I need is on the itchy tag she always complains about.”

Seokjin’s thick brow remained masterfully arched. 

“Are you going to help me or not?” Jungkook whined in frustration.

“What do I get in return?”

“Why would you want anything in return? Why can’t you just help me out this time??”

The masterfully arched eyebrow did it’s trick once again.

“Fine. You can borrow all my gaming equipment for a week.”

“A month.”

“No way!”

“Good luck shopping for y/n’s favorite bra.”

“Fine! A month! Now can we get a move on please?”

Thankfully, it wasn’t too difficult to find the particular store that you had bought your favorite bra from. It was a niche boutique on the third floor of the mall, full of politely judgmental staff members and pointedly supercilious patrons, all of whom were highly skeptical of Jungkook’s grey and black hoodie-sweatpants combo. 

“Guess they didn’t really get on board with the whole athleisure concept,” Seokjin whispered, earning a hard elbowing from Jungkook.

The looks of skepticism were further enhanced when Jungkook produced the ruined bra, asking one of the assistants where he could find the same one. Jungkook hadn’t received such a disapproving look since his junior year of college when he had eaten 8 cups of instant ramen on a dare, done a celebratory jig, thrown up all over Yoongi and Hobi’s sofa, and promptly passed out. 

“Er… I, uhm, need something!” The exclamation from Jungkook was received by a few expertly raised eyebrows. One assistant, in particular, narrowed their eyes at him and walked over.

“This is a lingerie store” - they scanned him up and down a couple of times - “sir. If you’re here to buy any lingerie, I’d be happy to assist you.”

Jungkook gulped at the expensive clothes and flawless complexion of the shop assistant. So far, things were not really going according to plan. 

“Ow!” He felt a bony elbow dig into his ribs and glared at Seokjin, who was glancing between him and the assistant so rapidly, Jungkook was surprised he hadn’t gotten dizzy and passed out already.

“Right. Umm, I’m actually looking for this particular one” - he produced the once-pristine, but now covered in ugly brown splotches, bra from his backpack - “in this exact same size. Do you have it?”

If the shop assistant didn’t look particularly eager to be breathing the same air as him before, they now looked like they’d rather choke on month old guacamole than be near him.

“Our products are made for exclusivity. We do not carry the same sizes as the general marketplace. There are 4 basic sizes with 4 variations to each size. And this particular product” - they held the ruined bra delicately between two fingers and examined the tag - “is now only available in 3 particular size variations. You are free to choose whichever one you think is the closest fit.”

Jungkook’s doe eyes widened as he realized the itchy tag that you always complained about, truly had no other purpose but to inconvenience you. His panicked stare fell on Seokjin who had busied himself examining a very interesting leaf on the potted plant near the entrance.

It was up to him now, Jungkook realized. His fate was in his own hands. Walking over to the shelf carrying the mint green bras identical to the one he was holding, he inspected the 3 options carefully. 

“I think I’ll take this one.” Was what he said out loud. Inwardly, however, he was screaming a very different tune.

“HOW THE FUCK AM I SUPPOSED TO DECIDE?? I’VE NEVER BOUGHT A BRA BEFORE! I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT SIZE WOULD BE APPROPRIATE! IT’S NOT LIKE I SPEND ALL MY TIME SCRUTINIZING Y/N’S BREASTS!”

Thankfully, no one was privy to his internal screams except for himself.

“Thank you, sir. That will be $89.99.” Jungkook took out his debit card as the song playing over the system changed to No Tears Left To Cry.

Once out of the store, Seokjin let out a low whistle. “Wow… that was, undoubtedly, one of the most awkward situations I’ve ever been in. And I wasn’t even really in it.”

“At least the toughest part is over.” Jungkook felt like he had been running a 50 mile marathon while simultaneously figuring out the square roots of 5 digit numbers. In short, he was exhausted.

“Depends on what you think of that…” Seokjin pointed at a familiar figure, slowly walking towards them - someone Jungkook hadn’t expected to bump into in any of his worst case scenarios. You.

Confronted with an exceedingly dire situation with a bleak set of options, Jungkook vaulted into the nearest store, his entire being on high alert as it entered survival mode. Unfortunately, he hadn’t been paying attention to where he rushed into because-

“Congratulations! You’re our 100th customer this week! You get a complimentary hair spa and perm!” Five extremely eager faces stared back at him as he realized he had walked into some sort of hair salon. 

Whoever was writing the script for this day was definitely high on something because Jungkook walked out of the salon 3 hours later, slightly traumatized, with a head full of small curls, clutching onto the cursed purchase with every fibre of his being.

Seokjin had left hours ago, dropping a text to Jungkook which read something along the lines of catch ya later sucker - but that was the least of his problems right now.

It was nearly midnight when he finally entered his apartment after managing to sneak in the new bra into your apartment. Thankfully, you lived two floors above him, so the trek back to his place wasn’t too long. The stress from the past couple of days was finally catching up to him and Jungkook would give anything for a nice long massage and a bowl of steaming hot ramen. 

Unfortunately, all that he had at home was a few leftover containers Taehyung had left behind on his last visit a couple of days ago. There was also bread, eggs, and milk, but he didn’t feel up to making anything at this point. So dinner ended up being heated, two-day old dumplings. 

Just as he was about to head to sleep, a loud pounding started on his front door. It was well past midnight at this point and Jungkook wondered if he should be carrying some sort of weapon with him while answering the door.

There really wasn’t any need for worry because on the other side of the door stood a very angry, very disgruntled, very flimsily dressed-

“Y/n?! What’re you doing here?” 

“You!” Jungkook stepped back as you poked him in the chest. “What the heck is your problem?” Many more pokes followed, which Jungkook barely registered but which left your index finger increasingly bruised. 

“I- uh, I guess you found the parcel I left for you.” He scratched the back of his head, looking everywhere but at you.

“I CANNOT believe you!” You were fuming and Jungkook was contemplating calling someone for backup. Maybe Namjoon? Or Yoongi? Mayb- “First, you ruin my favorite bra! What were you doing in my apartment anyway? Trying to steal more stuff from my emergency snack supply?! Why can’t you just buy your own s-”

You definitely had a point about the snack stealing. But Jungkook couldn’t stop himself from going over and taking something that would undoubtedly attract your attention, because the last time that had happened, you both had ended up making out aggressively against the wall. 

“-and not just that!” You were clearly not done with being mad at him. “You go ahead and try to replace my favorite bra? With this???” You held up Jungkook’s purchase from earlier during the day.

“What’s wrong with this? It’s the same one, isn’t it? I went to the shop to make sure it was the same.” He didn’t really understand why this particular fact was making you so upset.

“You think this is the same?” You were standing very close to him and Jungkook gulped as he caught a whiff of your lavender body lotion.

“Yes?”

“You think my boobs are this small?? After the way you basically kneaded them with your hands last time??” 

Jungkook’s eyes widened, his face growing hotter with every word you were speaking.

“Why the fuck do you look like that?” you muttered, crossing your arms over your chest. 

“L-like what?” His voice came out sort of strangled as he tried to make sense of the situation.

“Like you’ve been caught eating the last cookie.”

Jungkook didn’t know how to respond to this. He was very aware of the fact that you were wearing a flimsy grey t-shirt and very old, very small, sleeping shorts. He gulped and wondered if this was some kind of dream that he’d suddenly wake up from.

“I’ve been waiting for you to make a move since you stuck your tongue down my throat last time. But nope! Nothing.” Now he knew that there was something wrong. This didn’t seem like the rational next line in a dialogue between real people who had just been in a, slightly one-sided, fight. “So, are you gonna kiss me or not?”

“W-what?” His voice was barely louder than a whisper at this point and you scoffed loudly before fisting your hands in his t-shirt and crashing your lips to his.

It took him a few seconds to get his bearings, but Jungkook was soon responding with impressive enthusiasm. His lips glided over yours with a desperation borne out of nearly two years of attraction and chemistry. He groaned in pleasure as your hands travelled into his hair, your fingers running through his freshly done curls. His hands travelled down your back before cupping your butt-cheeks and squeezing them until you moaned into his mouth. The feel of your body against his was enough to make him slowly lose his mind - but your tongue swiping into his mouth brought out a strangled noise from deep inside him. This was so much better than the first time you had both made out - there was more experience and knowledge of each other, and you seemed much more determined than the last time.

“Tell me what you want,” Jungkook’s voice came out huskier than you had ever heard, sending a surge of electricity to your core. “Tell me what makes you feel good, y/n.”

His voice was sultry and his body rock-hard at the perfect places - his breath falling in harsh pants as he recovered from the intensity of the kisses. But his eyes held the soft sincerity you had grown to lov-

“Against the wall,” you breathed, your face flushing as you verbalised your request. “And then on your bed.” You took one of his hands and placed it on your breast, firm with arousal, and guided his other hand to the waistband of your shorts. 

A beautiful pink blush dusted his cheeks as he captured your lips once again. He had you against the wall in seconds, his lips leaving a trail of devastation from your lips to your throat to your breasts. You moaned loudly as you felt his fingers rub against your clothed core while his tongue flicked over your nipples at a deliciously slow pace. 

“Gguk…” God he loved to hear that name coming from your lips. He loved it even more now that it was in the midst of him pleasuring you to the best of his ability. 

“Bed. I can’t… stand...” You managed to say. He obliged, placing his hands below your knees and scooping you up with ease, all while his lips kept pressing soft kisses to yours. 

Once on the bed, you removed your t-shirt and shorts, instructing him to do the same. Jungkook stared at your bare body for a moment, his eyes glazed with lust before he stripped himself of his clothes and continued kissing every part of your body he could find. 

Your insides were coiling, the heat growing at your core as you watched Jungkook’s magnificent, completely naked, body move over yours. Your hands itched to run over his abs but your eyes were fixed on his throbbing dick, your core growing wetter by the moment. 

“Can I?” Jungkook’s hoarse voice broke you out of your dilemma, his face hovering over your thighs. “Only if you want it, y/n.” You were pretty sure his soft, caring words would be enough for your undoing, but you nodded your head anyway.

The first swipe of his tongue against your core had you arching yourself off the mattress, your legs kicking up involuntarily. This was definitely where his gym prowess came in handy, as he held your thighs down with enough force for the feeling to be unbelievably pleasurable. Your hands found themselves in his curls once more, as his mouth alternated between dropping feather light kisses on your core and swiping along the wetness with a swipe of his tongue. 

“I-I’m not…” You didn’t have to complete the sentence as stars exploded in your vision, the high hitting you with more force than you had ever experienced. 

Something inside you tightened as you watched Jungkook emerge from between your thighs, his curls sweaty, and his mouth slick with your arousal. He smiled at you, dropping a light kiss on your lips, even as his dick stood red hot and angry with arousal.

“Can I help?” You asked, although your voice was hardly above a whisper, the tiredness seeping in, as you came down from the orgasm.

“Next time?” His voice was soft as he gave himself a few strong pumps before spilling onto his stomach. 

He grinned at you sheepishly. “I’m also kind of exhausted today.” Getting up quickly, he went into the bathroom and cleaned himself off, before coming back with a wet towel for you as well. 

You smiled shyly as you took the towel from him, wiping between your thighs quickly. 

Jungkook was beside you in a few moments, cuddling you from behind as sleep slowly overtook you both.

“Jungkook!” 

You cracked your eyes open slowly, wondering why someone was yelling at the crack of dawn. You were still pretty much wrapped up in Jungkook, both your legs entangled as your head rested on his chest while he snored softly.

“JUNGKOOK!”

A second, much louder, yell, woke Jungkook up as well. His eyes widening in alarm as he realised what was going on.

“It’s Tae! What’s he doing here?!” He whispered, his voice still thick with sleep.

“Umm what?” You were panicking now. As much as you had been wanting things with Jungkook to pick up, you did not want Taehyung to find you both wonderfully naked after a night of wonderfulness. “He cannot see us like this! Not yet! I refuse to let this be how everyone finds out about us!”

“Jungkook, I’m coming in!”

Jungkook quickly pushed you below the covers, fluffing it up sufficiently to hide the fact that you were under it. He barely managed to close his eyes before Taehyung walked in, much too sprightly for this early in the morning.

“Aww!” His deep voice sounded through the room. “Jungkookie, are you still sleeping?”

Much to his horror, Taehyung made his way over to the bed, his long fingers smooshing Jungkook’s cheeks together as the poor boy tried to feign sleep.

“Did you sleep late last night?”

“Mph.”

“Jungkookie’s still sleepy? Aww!” The cheek smooshing continued, and Jungkook wondered how much longer you could stay hidden without Taehyung’s perceptiveness deducing that you were there.

“Hmmmm.” Jungkook managed to grunt out, tossing over to trap you underneath him.

“Okay, go back to sleep.” With one last cheek smoosh, Taehyung got up and left the room.

“Thank god!” Jungkook whispered in relief, pulling the covers off your face.

“I’m so glad he didn’t figure out I was here,” you sighed in relief. 

Jungkook grinned at you, his bunny teeth poking out adorably as he pulled you closer to him. You giggled, reaching up to place small kisses on each of his moles - there were 5 according to your last examination. 

“The curls are cute,” you said between kisses, running your fingers through his hair. He sighed contentedly, resting his forehead on yours. If it were up to him, he’d stay here forever.

“Oh and y/n-” You both stiffened as you heard Taehyung’s voice from the living room. Apparently, he hadn’t left yet. “-thanks a lot! Seokjin now owes me 50 bucks!”

please reblog this post if you enjoyed reading the story! thank you 😊 

[roguestarsailor]

my hot take on mal and why hes wonderful and why malina is the proper coupling (and im gonna shit on darkling/darklina for a bit)

*these might not be new thoughts but i want to express my love for mal and malina (and i just finished the books like a few hours ago so my brain is on fire) there was so much mal slander on the malina tags and i wanted to throw in my 2 cents!!*

- mal literally had nobody. this kid is a literal orphan! i love that he figured out what to fight for and kept his head in the game. i am a sucker for characters who needs to fight to get anywhere in life. he was gifted the tracking skill and befriending alina and thats it. characters like him have grit and a personality that makes them tough and fearless and i am always going to root for their happy endings

- this poor man has to face these super powerful beings without powers. its hella intimidating to be just regular while being surrounded by folks who can blast light, manipulate winds and waters and fabricate things from nothing. he worked with what he got and that was tracking and being physically fit to fight and i fucken applaud that!!!

- he never got in alina's way. i think whats tragic is that he internalized how much of a "low born"/"nobody" he was and saw that alina was destined for so much more and he made sure he was useful at all times. at the beginning of seige and storm, it felt like mal was hindering alina because she couldnt use her powers and that made her feel like complete shit (i wasn't team mal at that moment but what else were they suppose to do. darkling was worse tbh!!)

- he's just a kid. hes struggling! i was sad when it was confirmed that he and zoya were a thing for a bit (and has been with other girls) but thats just being a teen in a war torn society (and also hyping him up to be desirable for the audience)

- even his maturity is very much in line with him being a kid and trying to navigate being a soldier and then having to shifting his entire purpose to aligning with just alina. he was suppose to just be a soldier, and die honorably depending whos attacking who. but he rejected his training/soldier mindset and found alina because he knew she needed him! he could have died soooo many times, he lost friends but he had to roll with the punches the entire time. and again, this man got nothing going for him! just his love for alina!

- i dont think YA books appreciate the boys without power; those who aren't royalty and aren't born with wealth and poise. mal had to learn to survive at an early age and that includes learning to be likeable and social, being a skilled soldier, and tracker (but that was a gift). i love that alina also started out in a shitty position but she also learned her power and voice.

- mal lets alina be herself! I love female protagonists who are ambitious and want to stay in power but for alina, i like that she wants the ordinary things. she wants a normal life that isn't full of explosion, talk of war or politics or grand dresses. mal let her be goofy and let her be childlike-- see their banter, see their mischiefs growing up. darkling and nikolai needed her to be a summonor/weapon and a queen/leader. they demanded her to use her powers and be a face that decorated their arms; they demanded her to be this surreal being that hordes of people will follow. she has to be regal; has to be poised and laugh and smile on command; be an intimidating figure especially in this war torn country.

- mal wanted alina because she's his best friend! thats it! my favorite moment (and ended up being the sad moment) was in ruin and rising when there was a meteor shower and nikolai found alina first and them walking together arm-in-arm to go see it. mal, with a big smile on his face, was rushing to her to tell her about the shower but stopped short when he saw them together. in that paragraph, alina talked about how mal always ran to her when something that made him happy happens (ugh my sappy heart!!!)

- grishas are the marginalized group and face horrendous torture and systematic prejudges and ravka should have been a place they could feel safe. i like that darkling was fighting for them...but it falls apart when it seems he was hell bent on making sure alina fall in line. he could be that radical; thats fine but he was so obsessed with alina; he was manipulative !!

- i know we're suppose to sympathize with him because he grew up filled with hatred from his mom, grew up in a society that hates people like him and at its core, hes just a lonely boy where nobody understands him because hes soooo powerful and can live 5ever and only alina could understand him because her power measures up to him. but heres the thing, just learn to be a good person wtf??? also he had his mom???? he had someone???? also learn to make friends?? mal fucken did it and he got nobody. learn to build ships??? like nikolai who is an outcast in his own family. (im harsh to characters that live forever and refuse to budge from their original notion about the world. because u spent all that time being alive and not do a thing about that??)

- darkling just latched onto alina for her power. and he is demanding her to be his partner without understanding her and what she needs. he flirts w her, seduces her and plays her so he can be the ultimate powerful figure to lead ravka--so his goal stopped being saving grisha and demanding things from people. ugh how can anybody ship darkling and alina???

- at no point would it feel balanced if alina and darkling were a thing because alina will constantly play catch up. she will always feel like she has to be an adult and has to be this face for the people to follow. she could live with him forever and what?? learn to love him??? i guess??? doing what?? controlling ravka forever???

- anyways i love mal. i dont think hes boring. while browsing the tag for s&b and malina, it was just filled with mal slander! and this is my response to some of the hate. he's literally trying his goddamn best; he literally has no power and has to learn to defend himself the best he can. he is the type of character that has to fight for his survival, fight for his worth and fight for his love!!!! whats not to like???

[iguessweallcrazyithinktho]

Remember that night

Summary: one rough argument led you and Harry to break up. As time went by it hurted you both

Warning: angst, post break up pain

Pairing: harry styles x reader

Word count: 1.2k

Harry Masterlist

Author note: I really gotta write for harry some more

Please don't post any of my content anywhere else without my permission! comment and Reblogs welcome!

Silence filled the car as Harry drove you both home from a bar you both were just at. The night was going well at first but it quickly turned ugly after a guy started talking to you. Even though you hated the guy trying to come on to you, you tried to be as polite as possible,but Harry took that as you were flirting with him. To summarize it faster Harry caused a big scene by yelling at the guy in front of you and everyone else in the bar. It was embarrassing, Harry didn't see why either. Now here you both were not talking to each other because of it.

-

As Harry pulled into the driveway, you quickly took off your seatbelt. The car came to a stop and you were the first to get out. Harry watched as you rushed to the door and into the house, he didn't get why the hell you were so upset for. 

A few minutes later Harry made his way inside of the house. You weren't in the living room or the kitchen when he walked in. He sighed, shutting and locking the front door before making his way upstairs. As he inched closer to the door he can hear you mumbling to yourself. It was inaudible but he can tell you were pissed. Harry took a deep breath before walking in.

"What's your problem?" He looked towards the bed where you were sitting on the edge pulling off your shoes. You looked up at him, completely dumbstruck and confused at his question. 

"What's my problem? Are you joking me Harold?" You stood up and threw your shoes in the corner of the room. Harry scuffed. "It's a serious question and don't call me Harold." Harry wasn't yelling at you, he could never, but he was pissed just like you but for a totally different reason. 

You turned to him. "Well, I don't know." You released a laugh before continuing. "You embarrassed me and some guy who just talked to me and you have the audacity to ask what's my problem." You walked into the connected bathroom, Harry followed you. "Y/n he was flirting with you. How couldn't you see that?" Harry hated that you didn't see it. In his eyes he saw the guy flirting with you but you didn't. 

"He wasn't flirting with me." Harry scuffed again, rolling his eyes. "Yeah he was all over you." 

You groaned as you sat your toothbrush down on the counter. "Why are you so jealous? Every Time a guy talks or even looks at me you act so possessive. I swear it's so fucking annoying." You turned back to the mirror not wanting to look at him anymore. 

Harry felt his blood boil. "Yeah and you don't act all jealous when a million girls are all over me. That's a bs argument." 

"No it's not because I don't fucking attack them, and embarrass them unlike you." You blurted out. Harry stood there, jaw clenched. "Maybe we should break up." You looked over at Harry with wide eyes. Your heart felt like it stopped in your chest. "What."

Harry exhaled, "we should break up. We're both jealous and flirt with other people so why are we wasting our time with each other?" Harry said. He didn't know it but he'll regret this moment for forever. You looked down at the ground, "fine. If that's what you want then we'll do that." 

Harry nodded, "ok, I guess I'll leave." Before you could even say anything, Harry walked out of the room, out of the house. As soon you heard the door close you broke down in tears. This wasn't what you were expecting.

--

3 months have gone by since yours and Harry's break up. It still hurted you. In past relationships you could handle break ups but with Harry it was different. Maybe it was because you really loved him.

Without knowing it, Harry was taking it hard too. The guilt he had because of his decision ate away at him. Every slightest memory of you sadden him. He was now regretting it.

You both wanted to run back to the other one but it were to dumb not to. 

Harry woke up one morning. He reached over to where you would usually be to feel a cold empty bed. He lifted his head, remembering that you both weren't together anymore. He laid on his back sighing. "Fucking hell harry." He mumbled to himself. He laid there for a second before kicking the blanket off his nude body. He pulled his sweats over his legs before walking out the bedroom. He made his way to the kitchen to make himself a bowl of cereal. 

The whole time Harry sat in silence and thought about you. He literally couldn't help himself. He thought about your smile, your laugh, your corny jokes, and you being all handsy. He missed it.

"Fuck!" Harry stood up from the table, he needed to go make this right. He can't go another without you. It was insane. 

-

Harry traded his sweats for some proper clothes. It wasn't as fancy as it always was but he didn't care. He got in his car and made his way to your house. For the whole drive he gripped the steering wheel making his knuckles turn white. His heart was racing in his chest. Soon he pulled into your driveway. He parked and turned off the car. Before he got out he took some deep breaths. 

"You got this." He told himself. He ran his fingers through his hair before getting out. It was now or never.

He walked up to your front door before knocking lightly. You were sitting on the couch when you heard the knock. You were really confused as to who was at your door at 8am. You got up with a groan. As you reached the door you heard another knock. You were pissed. "I'm right he- harry!?" 

Your breath hitched in your throat. Harry looked at you, he looked exhausted as hell. "What are you doing here?" 

Harry tucked his hands in his pocket, "um.. can we talk?" His voice was so low because he was so shy. You nodded, "yeah," you moved out of the way letting him in. Harry walked into your house straight to the living room. Surprisingly nothing has changed about it. He took a seat, you followed. "What do you want to talk about?" 

Harry looked at you. "I want to talk about us." He sighed before continuing. "I messed up. I was stupid and jealous… I didn't mean it. I feel so stupid. I still love you and if I can I'll go and take it back." He ran his hands over his face groaning. "I'm sorry." 

You felt your insides turn to mush and your heart break. "Harry it's okay. We're both at fault. I still love you too and I'm sorry if I ever made you feel like I was flirting with someone else." You pushed Harry's curls out of his face making him look at you. "Can we try again?" He asked, taking your hand and kissing your palm. You smiled, "yes, we can." You leaned over and kissed him on the lips. Your lips moved with his chapped ones. You missed the feeling of his lips against yours. Harry pulled away from your lips out of breath. 

He rested his forehead against yours. "I missed you so much." He whispered. "You can tell he was smiling. You laughed softly. "I miss you too."

[flowerwrites06]

break my mind’s eye VIII — jjk

Plot: Jungkook thinks marriage is the only way to seal a deal.

Pairing(s): Druglord!Jungkook x Fashion Designer!OC (Name: Belle)

Rating: G | PG | M | R 18+

Type: Drabble | Oneshot | Two Parter | Series

Parts: Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV | Part V | Part VI | Part VII | Part VIII | Part IX | Part X | Special 

Word Count: 7k+

Genre: Mafia | Angst/Smut/Fluff

Tags & Warnings (for entire series): drug dealing, marriage through trickery, explicit smut, drug use, dubious consent, prostitution, miscarriage, lots of manipulation, impregnation through manipulation 

Picturesque day framed by the window of the brightly lit clinic, cool air swirling around them aiding Belle’s anxiety in whatever slight way it could. Fingers gripped at her knitted lavender cardigan, pressing her legs together to somehow prevent more chill to flow through the white floral dress. She seemed to focus on every other little thing while the man in a white coat in front of quickly typed and clicked in his own time.

“Congratulations, Mrs. Jeon.” The doctor smiled as if he just confirmed the happiness of a new family.

Six weeks passed since Belle took the dozens of pregnancy tests haunting her with pink pluses until finally the doctor gave the final verdict. Thankfully with the Spring Line show coming in close to around a couple months, she was able to avoid any conversation of whether the ritual worked.

Ritual. Fucking hell what year was this?

Her silence caused a slight awkward confusion to grip the doctor’s face, almost as if he was inching close to a verdict that something was wrong.

Nothing should be wrong, Belle reminded herself. Happy relationship, remember?

The woman quickly adorned the perfect smile on her face using her glossy eyes as the sparkle of joy. “Sorry…it’s just all very exciting to take in.” She chuckled and thankfully the doctor was immediately convinced giving her a proper smile.

“Of course—very happy news though. I’m sure your entire family would be elated.” His grin stretched from ear to ear like he was related to her some way.

Then again anyone who so much as knew the Jeon family seemed to have that mindset.

“I’ll have your report prepared in just a few minutes, Mrs. Jeon.” He nodded in reassurance while Belle leaned back on the chair.

Gaze moved to the window looking out at the people strolling back and forth living their lives. She wondered how many were living by their own accord. Based on their own needs. Were they happy with where they were? Some rushing in suits trying not to drop their coffees, mothers and fathers pushing their strollers with toddlers skipping next to them and then couples walking calmly in casual clothing.

When she was younger, Belle told herself she would not end up in any of those situations. She would get a car, halt on marriage and kids while focusing on her career entirely until her thirties at the very least.

The naivety of dreams. Dreams of a life no one could ever control. Dreams that were already in the hands of fate.

“Mrs. Jeon?” The doctor addressed for the third time.

Belle finally realized that was her name now, stripping back to reality. Even her name was not under her control any more. Legally she had her original name but people wouldn’t care. Taking the husband’s name was more popular. So now she was officially Mrs. Jeon to society.

Quickly smiling she accepted the envelope handed to her and bowed slightly. “Thank you, doctor.”

-

Walking out of the clinic into the beautiful day, she spotted Yoongi leaning back against the side of the car with his arms folded over his chest. Raven hair a little longer now hovering over his eyes as he watched her taking a deep breath at the entrance stairs. “So?” He asked, squinting a little in the sunlight.

“What do you think?” Belle mumbled with the envelope heavy in her hand much like the twisted feeling in her stomach. Stepping down to the end of the stairs, she looked around every corner that was visible to her. Scanning for any movement.

“No peeping in the bushes, don’t worry.” The older male reassured, pushing off the car and opening the door for the new mob queen. Even though he would never use that term in front of her without risking a kick on his foot.

Strolling to the other side of the car, Yoongi couldn’t help but mimic Belle’s scanning and ended up seeing a figure lurking in one of the alleys. Not that he was proud of it but Yoongi pretended to reach into his coat for a gun which evidently caused the figure to rush out to the streets.

“Fucking reporters.” Yoongi muttered under his breath before climbing back into the car and driving them back to the mansion.

-

Being invited to Sangria House during the day had not been on Taehyung’s to-do list but here he was anyway being driven to the establishment, by Kim Seokjin’s personal request.

The establishment exuded a different aura during the day as they parked to a halt in front of it. Flowers adorned the entrance in an arch matching the blossom trees behind the building creating a beautiful frame, most of the angels strolling around with their customers linked in hand while a lot of the juniors were simply having picnics under on the ground like it was their own paradise rather than people who entered.

As he walked into the makeshift garden, white coats welcomed him with a bow and led him into the private room with a brief statement of having a full days’ appointment with the best angel in the House.

Full day. Seokjin seemed to know his way around apologizing, he supposed.

Even on the inside things were so much more different. Customers were eating food normally instead chortling the whole way through; they were genuinely having good conversations with the red and lavender coats as if it was not going to lead anywhere. Purple drapes were replaced with more floral arrangements in strings trailing across the walls and he could have sworn butterflies passed them a moment ago.

The white coats stopped down the hallway to a familiar door knocking politely first.

Taehyung already had an achingly strong hope of who to see on the other side of the door.

And thank god, luck was on his side today.

The door opened and gracing him with her presence stood Angel in a different attire. It was still golden but a more casual hanbok with intricate floral designs on the overcoat that shimmer in the light against the silk. Less extravagance but more quality. Taehyung could immediately recognize who designed the dress.

Angel’s heart swelled finally being able to see the man again especially after the horrid way he was dragged out. She could still remember all the things he told her…all the things that haunted him now slowly taunted her.

Once the door closed behind Taehyung, the golden lady padded closer to the male.

Eyes moved around his body before she took a leap to cup his cheeks. “You’re okay.” A bright grin spread across her lips but her forehead knitted like she was close to crying. “Come in.” Gently Angel took his hand and walked to the table.

Taehyung couldn’t help but feel his entire body relax into her touch, leaning slightly into her touch before happily holding her hand. “You did full day appointments too?” He would have asked for that package in a heartbeat.

Angel smiled as they sat next to each other this time, shoulders brushing together. “No this is not a normal thing. Mr. Kim just wanted to apologize for the inconvenience caused last time.” She reached out and gave him some rice cakes. “I know you probably don’t want our tea right now so…I asked them to make these.” She pulled apart one rice cake in half and took the first bite to ensure him that it was safe to eat.

Warmth spread across his chest watching how her cheeks puffed when she ate, hiding her mouth and smiling, trying to stay elegant but still enjoy the taste. Taehyung had the strongest urge to press little kisses on her adorable cheeks.

The golden lady held up the other half of the cake to his mouth, giving him a reassuring smile that it was okay to eat.

Taehyung was not proud to admit that it did not matter if she offered him literal poison, he would still drink it just so the last thing he saw was that fucking smile. Though the cake did smell heavenly. Opening his mouth slightly he waited until Angel brought the cake so close that it brushed against his lips before he took the treat into his mouth. As soon as Taehyung bit into the soft texture, a burst of warm sweetness burst through and he felt a small lump in his throat.

How long had it been since he was able to really taste something properly? The man could never tell whether he was healing or not in the process of vomiting, taking medications and other methods Taehyung deemed boring or painful. It was only now at this incredibly simple moment of recalling just how tasty a rice cake was. How much he loved it in the years before.

“Is it bad?” Angel noticed the smile faded from his face. “I could go get something else.” She tried to get up but Taehyung softly touched her arm.

“No I’m just—” Taehyung chuckled after swallowing, eyes a little glossy as he met her gaze. “I haven’t had rice cake in a long time. It was really nice.”

She relaxed once more sitting next to him allowing a comfortable silence to seep through the air for a few moments.

Eventually the curiosity peeked far too much for her to control. “So…how was the wedding?”

A boulder seemed to drop and crash onto the hope of relaxing in this session now the question lingered. Taehyung could not blame Angel for being curious as she probably had been working the whole time it was happening.

But now he was reminded of the things other than the actual ceremony. The fake vows and calculated kiss under the blossom trees was more for the press.

Taehyung learned the hard way that the real ceremony was behind closed doors. He only found out after it happened because every relative from the Jeon family wanted to chat with him giving him no time to go and check on his sister. Now he wished he just pushed past all of them and ran to her.

It was too late though. By the time Taehyung got the chance to see Belle in the early morning, she was already in tears and shaking beyond belief before jumping into his embrace. She did not say a word to him or anyone for that matter. The whole two nights they were there, his sister stayed quiet merely smiling to the people who didn’t matter. When he found out about the secret ceremony Taehyung did the same.

With Jungkook, he didn’t even bother smiling. Every time he came close his fingers automatically curled into a fist conjuring up all the ways he could just get rid of him.

Now more than ever Taehyung grew aware that his baby sister was going through pain beyond belief while he healed. Aside from the heart clenching sadness, he grew determined to see an end for Jeon Jungkook.

“Taehyung?” Angel placed a hand on his arm gently before pulling away quickly. “I’m sorry, you don’t have to answer.” Her fingers played with the fabric of her dress with her head hanging.

Taehyung jumped back to his current state and shook his head quickly. “No—” He shifted closer until his hand rested behind her. “No it’s okay. Please ask me anything you want.” He gave her a reassuring smile trying to meet her gaze again.

The golden lady’s eyes flickered up see him so close that the warmth of his body radiated onto her.

“The wedding—” He sighed. “The wedding was beautiful…in a sense, I suppose.” Taehyung spoke with bitterness touching his tongue, pursing his lips together. He wondered for a moment if it were too much to speak these things out. Were these walls thick enough the hold the dark thoughts in his head long enough? Was it worth it show a side of him to Angel that he despised? A side of him created as soon as Belle told him, holding a teary smile that she was going to marry a monster and bear his child for his own benefit.

It turns out that part of Taehyung didn’t care who saw or heard him. “Do you ever have that situation where—you despise someone so much—because they’ve hurt you or someone important to you?—a hatred that runs so deep, the mere thought of them—” He huffed out a breath to somehow to cool down the anger erupting inside him. “Makes you thinks things unimaginable.”

Angel’s chest rose and fell slightly as her eyes now grew glossy. In a rush of painful memory, she remembered those words rushing in her own mind at some point. “Yes.” She muttered immediately pressing her lips together. All the nights of hiding in a bathroom and covering her ears hoping that her ex-husband would just pass out drunk. The way she trained herself to zone out every time he climbed on top of her.

Eyes shining and vision blurring just a little but enough to see Taehyung’s welcoming features so she could feel at ease. “You end up stripping them down to being nothing but a human. Not someone powerful…or someone with status that you can’t touch…Just a human. Vulnerable…soft…if you just grabbed a knife and stuck it at the right place. They’re nothing but meat.”

Taehyung’s expression softened hearing such a composed woman speak out the unimaginable things in his mind already. “What if that powerful person is Jeon Jungkook?” It was not something he didn’t think about before. There were dark points in his time living in that place knowing the man was just sleeping soundly in the room with no one really watching over him.

“You can’t do that.” She shook her head.

“But you said—”

“No, Taehyung—your sister is now a Jeon.” Angel raised a hand to ensure that the man listens to her every word. “If you sister is widowed in the Jeon family, it won’t bode well on her. She’ll be tied down to the family until her death. If Jungkook is doing something then there needs to be a divorce.”

“How do you know all that?” His brows furrowed.

“Seok—Mr. Kim told me a story that Jeon Boyoung was a widow…she had to marry someone arranged by the family a day later. It’s a terrible life, Taehyung, remarried widows are not given any kind of respect in the family. The new husbands are allowed to be unfaithful to them or abusive to them without any consequence. The only reason Boyoung is doing somewhat well is because she is a Jeon by birth. Belle isn’t.” Concern riddled her expression hoping to the high heavens Taehyung understood what she was saying. “Jungkook cannot be killed while they’re still married.”

Taehyung shifted in his position feeling a slap of clarity right across his face. “Seokjin—how does he know all these things?” He shook his head. “And how does Belle get a divorce? That family controls everything.”

“Not everything.” Angel whispered so low, she had to lean closer to him. “Belle needs someone to support her alibi. Someone just as powerful as the Jeons. It’s not just them that controls everything, there are other influential people in the city.”

“How am I supposed to find someone just as powerful?”

Sighing shakily, she glanced around the room before moving to stand on her feet. A quick smile tugged at her lips almost as if this whole conversation never happened. “Would you like a take a stroll with me, Mr. Kim?”

Taehyung nodded before trying to return her smile, standing up as his mind filled with nothing but confusion.

-

By the time they reached the mansion the envelope in Belles hand scrunched up as if it has been read a million times already. She tried smoothing it out a little when the car parked but it still look just about as messed up as her mind orientation. Crinkles mimicking a drought riddled land and light stains of foundation remnants from her fingers.

Yoongi climbed out of the car first as the two guards from the front walked a bit closer. Standing on her side now, he waited for her to take a break to breathe before opening the door and watching her step out. “You’ll be fine. I’ll be waiting just outside the room.” He muttered as they moved to enter the mansion.

Guards as usual welcomed them with a bow and Belle had the urge increase her pace towards the second living room, her heart racing at the same speed. Fingers shook, body burned from her toes to her head and her legs moved slower than normal at the lack of concentration. She hated wearing a lavender cardigan today because the colour looked far bright for her actual mood.

Looking over her shoulder, Belle saw Yoongi standing with his hands in his jacket, giving her a reassuring nod.

She couldn’t hide it for too long. At some point it was going to get difficult to avoid everyone on the truth. Especially Jungkook.

For a moment Belle paused again hearing muffled voices on the other side of the office door. A usual sound now for the past few weeks. Padding closer to the wooden barrier, only one voice stood out like a teacher scolding an empty classroom. It would be easy to just turn away with the excuse that Jungkook was too busy but no one should be too busy for this. At least in her mind.

She stood close to the door that someone might mistake her for kissing it. Closing her eyes, Belle knocked twice before opening the door just enough to walk inside.

“Move the surviving associates to the other dens, fucking fight back next time!” Jungkook growled slamming the phone down so hard that she heard a crack. He stepped away from the phone, rubbing his face with a frustrated sigh padding through him.

Belle stood inside the room, immediately regretting that she entered but it had be done now or the courage would never arrive again. “Jungkook?”

“Not now.” He muttered without even giving her sideways glance.

Anxiety faded a little; the same heat but it ignited a different kind of fire in her belly. “Yes now.” She spoke firmly, lips pursed together.

Slightly reddened eyes met Belle’s gaze as he padded over to the table once again more, leaning on the edge, dark curls falling over his face. Jungkook tried to control his heavy breathing but it only seemed to get worse when he started thinking about it. “Belle, I’m not in the mood for any more drama today, alright?” He shook his head slowly, hands nearly trembling with fury.

Belle sighed to calm the fire down somehow as the envelope grew so heavy in her hand, she worried her grip would relinquish without her knowing. “This is important.” She took a step forward but quickly jumped back.

Jungkook knocked the phone off the table with the back of his hand, harsh thuds and broken rings echoing throughout the room. “Important?! What could be so fucking important that you can’t give me a moment of peace?” He stomped across from the table almost leaving steam behind him.

“My entire goddamn empire is breaking apart into pieces!” He threw his hand towards the fallen phone as his feet nearly stepped over hers. “I’m sure whatever you have to say can fucking wait.” Hot breath brushed against her already warmed up face.

“It can’t fucking wait!” Belle shouted back despite her mouth feeling incredibly dry, the heat around them collecting and making her a little dizzy. “This—” She jabbed the envelope at his chest not really caring whether it caught or not as it dropped to the ground. “This is what your screwed up family wanted, you got it.”

Eyes burned with tears once again, stomach clenching and her head spinning abnormally. “You won.” She smiled sadly. “Congratulations.” She seethed turning on her heel and stomping out of the door, slamming it so hard that it echoed through the whole mansion.

Stomach twisted in such a way that it almost meant to give Belle as much pain as humanly possible making her wince while tears forcibly streamed down her face. She rushed across the second living room completely ignoring Yoongi who tried to call out her name.

It didn’t take a genius to see that breaking the news had been worse than he expected. The family wanted the damn baby so why did he have to see Belle running out with one of the most heartbreaking expression he had ever seen on the girl? And Yoongi had seen a lot, much to his own discontent.

Yoongi tried to open his mouth to say something but Belle already flashed past leaving the gust of wind behind with her speed. If he knew what happened then it would be easier, right now nothing but confusion and a little sadness gripped his face.

“Get my car ready, please.” Belle announced to one of the guards who immediately bowed and rushed off to do her bidding.

The older male lurked at the edge of the second living room and watched a young looked guards who he remembered was called Jongho. One of Belle’s regular guards who usually kept an eye on her the most. The amount of influence this woman had in the entire Jeon mansion honestly could frighten even Yoongi. Every guards seemed to lose their composure and give her a sad look as if wanting to comfort her in her time of need.

Jongho leaned in a little to hear her whisper, possibly about her location because it had to be known to someone just in case. The young guard nodded and opened the double doors for her.

Yoongi would have rushed to the girl and provided some comfort but if she purposely ignored him then it was clear that her intention was to be alone. All he knew was no woman should ever come out looking that fucking upset after trying to tell their husband she was having their baby.

Jungkook tightened his jaw as the sound of the door still rung in the air. Roughly raking his fingers through his hair as if he was pulling it from the roots, gaze flickered down to the discarded envelope. Crouching down Jungkook picked up the slightly crumpled paper and ripped it open letting the little pieces drip carelessly to the ground.

His heart began to race when he saw a doctor’s pregnancy test report details. Forehead knitted reading through the report until the word ‘results’ caught his eye.

Then in big capital letters, his mistake came crashing down harder than a bag of bricks to his head.

POSITIVE.

All the anger faded away quicker than Jungkook prepared for as it replaced with a painful clench in his chest and the whole world momentarily crashing down on him.

The ritual worked.

‘You won’ she said.

His family won.

The walls of his mind closed in on itself tightly not knowing whether to spread elation or guilt through his body. Instead a deadly mixture of both feelings pumped in his veins making his fingers tremble for a whole different reason.

Jungkooks’ biggest den had been infiltrated by the police, once again with the mayor’s direct orders and the speculations of his hand being involved grew stronger by the day. He knew with all his heart how important it was to keep his business and empire safe but now…

What was more important now?

Something wet dropped onto the paper soaking through the ‘I’ and ‘E’ of the word ‘positive’ bringing him back to reality. Jungkook sniffled quickly, wiping away the tiny trickles of tears escaping down his cheek before opening the door.

“Where is she?” The question posed and everyone’s eyes were on him now, even the maids paused in their tracks to look at him. Could they notice the tears gathering in his eyes? Once again Jungkook had to succumb to feeling like a lost boy who didn’t know what to do without the guidance of his family.

Hair over his face managed to cover most of his distress but Yoongi only had to glance down at the paper clasped tightly in the younger male’s hand to know why.

“She drove out.” He nodded towards the entrance.

Jungkook did not utter another word before practically rushing out of the second living room but immediately paused when Yoongi stood in front of him.

He raised his hands in defense seeing Jungkooks’ glossy eyes burning into him at the disrespectful action. “Sorry, sir but—I believe your wife wanted to be alone right now.” Yoongi attempted to explain in the most careful way possible. Though his mind conjured much more colorful words. The last person she wants to see is the dickhead who impregnated her against her will.

Anger burned to his very core seeing Yoongi speak to him so casually. “Do you even know where she went? What if she gets into danger?!” Jungkook growled making the maids jump back and frantically continue on with their work.

Fortunately Yoongi had been significantly numbed to acts of intimidation. “I know where she is and she’ll be as just as safe there as she would be here. You don’t have to worry.” He shook his head, trying to keep his voice calm and collected.

“But—” Jungkook held up the paper pathetically, sighing shakily.

“I know…I went to the clinic with her.” Yoongi nodded. “She’s okay. She just needs a little space, it’s completely normal.”

It’s not normal and she wasn’t okay but he really just needed to live right now.

Jungkook had the strongest want to keep fighting and just push past to find her but where would that even lead? Ever since that night, Belle couldn’t even look at him properly. Honestly he didn’t have the courage to look at himself either. All his life his parents taught him that the family customs existed for good reasons. Reasons which kept them alive for so long. As a naïve child he found himself never finding anything wrong with these customs.

Until he had to go through them. Along with dragging the woman he grew to care about into it.

Turning away from Yoongi, Jungkook dragged his feet towards one of the couches in the second living room and slumped down.

“I made her think it wasn’t important.” He stared at the paper, reading the same word over and over again. “My father would always tell me how happy he was when my mother told him she was pregnant.” Jungkook scoffed, his vision blurring a little. “He picked her up and twirled her around right in front of all his men not giving a care if he would look weak.”

Yoongi pursed his lips together leaning on the wall behind him.

“Family makes you stronger, he said. Nothing stronger than family.” Jungkook pressed down the inner corners of his eyes with his index finger and thumb, shutting his eyes tightly to stop any more tears from flowing.

“Anyone can pretend to be happy at first.” Yoongi spoke plainly. “It’s what you do for the next twenty years that actually counts.”

Jungkook licked his trembling lips not completely convinced but it wouldn’t be the first time he succumbed to the alluring beauty of a lie.

-

Clouds spread out to welcome the heavenly blue and golden warmth as Belle padded across the entrance gardens of the Sangria House. For a second, a few people stopped with their usual activities to stare at her, twist of recognition on their faces. With a sigh Belle hugged her cardigan again being the only comfort for today despite the colour being so harsh on her tired eyes.

Through the entrance doors, she looked around the area like a slightly lost puppy. The lobby used most of the natural light making it look like a beach hut of some sort as the warmth was now replaced with fresh cool air.

Belle hoped with all her soul that the person she wanted could just appear right here out of luck. Unfortunately luck was not a trustworthy friend in recent months.

More eyes now fixated on her presence and a figure even padded towards her; tall with lines adorning his face, tattoo peeking out from his shirt and a smirk playing on his lips.

“Are you open?” The man’s gaze trailed up and down her body. Waft of cologne and tobacco swirling around his aura as he moved closer.

“Excuse me?” Brows furrowed but before she could channel any more of her frustration, a red coat rushed over to her side.

“Sorry, Mrs. Jeon…” The red coat bowed in a meek tone even though it was not her fault in the slightest.

The rude customers’ smile immediately disappeared into a look of despair and fear, widened eyes staring back at Belle. “Mrs. Jeon…” He bowed so low that he almost vanished from her line of vision. “I’m sorry I didn’t recognize you.”

“Would you have continued on with your shenanigans if I wasn’t Mrs. Jeon?” She glared down at the male.

He gripped at the fabric of his trousers tightly, still bent down as if ready to be flogged.

“I assumed too quickly, Mrs. Jeon. Please accept my deepest apologies.” His voice shook slightly knowing the smallest word to Jungkook about this behavior would end in a whole lot of limbs being lost.

Belle sighed lightly, averting her gaze. “It’s alright. Just make sure I don’t find you doing it again.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Jeon…” The man smiled giving repeated bows as he backed away. “You are most kind.”

The man now led away by the red coat, Belle was being hosted by one of the white coats who asked what she needed today.

The previous aching in her stomach seemed to get worse despite getting the fresh air while even the mildest rush of heat from the day increased tenfold when it reached her skin.

Oh god…not now.

“Park Jimin, please. If he’s free.” Belle spoke, her strength wavering a little as every part tried to suppress the pain in her chest pushing something up to her throat.

Giving her another bow the white coat led her off to one of the private rooms.

Once again her feet seemed drag across the floor like the world moved too much to catch up properly. More swirling around in Belle’s head, the bitterness in her throat erupted with cruel strength, forcing her to grip on the edge of the door to steady herself.

“Mrs. Jeon? Are you okay?” The white coats’ hands hovered over her to prevent any dreaded fall but distant enough for manners.

Belle gave her a shaky smile through she still held onto the edge as if her life depended on it. “Just a little queasy…” Stomach clenched again and her mind grew stubborn, only thinking about something heavy being pushed up her throat almost choking her. “Is there a—” She tried to swallow it down but it seemed to get more violent. “Is there a bathroom anywhere?”

Her eyes widened before quickly nodding and gesturing towards the private room. “This has a bathroom, madam.” The younger girl tried to gently lead her inside where a small door stood closed.

Passing the little empty table, Belle felt saliva flooding inside her mouth until drool almost leaked out of the sides forcing her to burst open through the door without waiting for the girl and throwing herself in front of the toilet.

Knees ached against the cold wooden floor, chest lurching painfully as the contents of her stomach spewed out in the form of a burning liquid. Tears gathered at the corners of her eyes struggling to breathe, a small part hoping it was over before her stomach lurched again.

She vaguely heard footsteps coming closer before her hair was being brushed back gently and her back soothingly rubbed.

Belle coughed feeling a harsh burn in her chest but finally being able to breathe easy as the nausea faded albeit taking its sweet time. As soon as she turned to the side, a hand towel gestured her way. She accepted it with a rush of gratitude as she wiped off her mouth still letting out small painful coughs.

Glossy reddened eyes flickered over to the side, seeing a familiar pair of sultry eyes and pouty lips look back at her with an expression of concern.

“You okay?” Jimin whispered, hand sliding from her back to her shoulder, squeezing it a little as a form of comfort.

Belle sighed before pursing her lips, more tears threatening to flood out if she continued to speak. So the woman merely shook her head, chin trembling and heart crumbling into pieces. The action alone held more truth than anything she ever forced herself to say.

His expression softened not needing any type of explanation as to why Belle looked so upset. Jimin saw the whole thing with his own eyes. No one could ever come out of that and still feel the same. All he could truly do was pull her close and wrap her into a warm embrace, allowing the woman to sob into his shoulder.

Fingers curled into the lavender fabric, sobs now pushing out of her as Jungkooks words replayed over and over again. All the smiles, laughter and kisses. All of them were fake. Nothing was real. Now more than ever Belle had been forced awake from the fantasy that began to thicken far too much. It stripped down to the harsh reality. When her whole future was taken away in one night.

-

They embraced until their legs fell asleep before eventually moving over to the main private room. Jimin’s hands still on Belle’s arms carefully guiding her to a seat.

Once the new air brushed in, the nausea slowly fizzled out allowing her to breathe in without feeling like a nasty potion being conjured in her throat.

As the pair sat across from one another a moment of silence lingered. Whether to consolidate the memory of their embrace or just time to adjust to their usual setting, both of them were not quite sure.

Then she spoke in a raspy and exhausted voice.

“I always thought I’d feel like the happiest woman in the world when I got pregnant.” Belle said with her head hanging, tears still freshly formed and a heart that could not seem to stop clenching into itself like it hid from something. “Every time I saw a baby smile…I’d always think…I’m going to have that one day with the man I love and he loved me.” She shook her head before scoffing at the naivety. All those stupid dreams of a happy life filled with love, loyalty and trust. Everything replaced by deceit and manipulation.

Jimins’ could feel the burning behind his eyes watching the broken shell of a strong woman speak out thoughts of a time when she was whole. Fingers twitched wanting to embrace her again but the moment for that passed. Now they both had to come to terms with speaking the truth. “You–you can still be happy…” He winced a little at his own words. “Arranged marriages can—” He swallowed hard. “—they can work out through time.”

Not this kind of arranged marriage. At least some arranged marriage gave the couple a chance to say agree or disagree on things. Here Jungkook merely took a fake girlfriend, then he and his family proceeded to do whatever they needed to her for their own benefit. All she had to was sit there, smile and take it.

Belle smiled at the lavender figure as if to reassure him that she appreciated his help. “It’s—complicated…” She chuckled, a small droplet trickling down her cheek. Averting her gaze, she wiped away her tears quickly with a light sniffle. “I supposed I shouldn’t complain. You probably have it worse.”

Jimin hummed in disagreement, shaking his head. “I feel safer here than anywhere else.” His brows furrowed lightly. “Seokjin—” He stammered a little accidentally calling Mr. Kim by his name. “I know he has a reputation but he’s a good man. Really. Never gets angry unless it’s at customers which is rare. He’s always keeps us safe.”

Eyes flickered to meet his, blinking slowly as her curiosity now peeked more than she ever felt it before. “But…what he did to Taehyung…” Belle gestured towards the table before them which had a half-drunken glass of water near her.

He leaned in and spoke in a whisper. “To protect Angel.”

“That doesn’t make any sense, Taehyung didn’t do anything. Why would he get punished like that?” Belle kept her voice soft but loud enough for them to hear. As her words became consolidated in the air and in their memories, something struck in her mind that seemed to muffle everything out for a moment.

Jimin paused thinking over what to say before slowly taking a breath. “His… methods are little—”

Calculated. Planned.

For the first time in too fucking long, Belle could see past this thick veil of confusion. It wasn’t all just cruel fate. Her heart raced so hard it tried to crash through her ribcages and even her toes began shaking from the rush of adrenaline pumping in each vein.

Taehyung wasn’t drugged so Angel could be safe.

Tears dried up and a new rush of determination touched her broken form. Belle leaned in, gaze fixated on his, speaking in a firm tone. “Is there any way I could organize a meeting with Seokjin?”

-

Taehyung tried his best to suppress the intense heat on his cheeks feelings Angels’ soft hands interlock with his slightly rough ones. Through one of the backdoors, they were welcomed by the bright light of the beautiful day and the beautiful blossoms in all their glory.

Pink, red and purple petals falling to the green ground or continuing to fly through the wind to their own personal freedom. Subtle scent of jasmine and lemons touching his nostrils despite the actual plants being situated all the way at the end of the large backyard. A few angels both red and lavender wore more comfortable clothing rather than extravagant while entertaining their customers. Some of them danced in front of the picnic set up or simply sat with them engaged in light-hearted conversation.

He almost forgot the purpose of their visit to this slab of imaginary heaven as Angel led him past the laughing the patrons and towards the jasmines hanging on the fence just facing all the lemon trees. Taehyung wondered if this was what they used for their tea recipes. The small wonder momentarily halted when he felt himself being pulled under one of the lemon trees.

Subtle scent now became potent in his nose, the heavenly jasmine and citrus mixing with Angel’s sweet vanilla perfume. It would have been overwhelming if Taehyung had not lost his focus when meeting the golden ladys gaze.

Her grip on his hand loosened a little but a few fingers still struggled to depart from one another. “I wanted to say this to you in more privacy. The rooms are always watched.” Angel whispered with a light smile. “I’m so sorry…I was the one who put the drug in your tea.” She hung her head. “I didn’t know it was going to make you sick.” The usual composed walls around her once again opted to fade away when standing so close to Taehyung. “I—I thought it was going to make you feel more relaxed and calm—I didn’t…” Angel paused in her shaky words when she felt his hand cupping her cheek gently.

Taehyung watched her beautiful eyes getting glossier every second she continued speaking, each second his heart sunk deeper into a pit. “Did Seokjin ask you to do it?”

Angel pursed her lips, blinking frantically to get rid of the tears forming. “Yes.”

He scoffed averting his gaze, rush of heated fury erupting in his belly. “They’re all the same.”

“No…” She shook her head immediately holding onto his arms. “Taehyung, look at me.” The leaves rustled in a gust of wind causing her hair to flow over her lips a little. “Seokjin isn’t the man you think he is.”

Taehyungs’ brows furrowed searching her expression to find some sense of delusion or lack of surety but the woman looked collected as normal. “What kind of a man is he then? Who drugs their own customers for intimidation?” He seethed more so directed at Seokjin than the beauty before him.

Angel glanced quickly to the side ensuring that nobody was close to listen in. “The helping kind. Taehyung, if he was anything like Jungkook you’d be dead by now or he’d never allow you to see me ever again.” Her own heart jumped at the very mention of the idea. “Seokjin would never do what Jungkook did to your sister.”

He tightened his jaw as his stomach twisted and leaped causing an ache in abdomen. “What?”

“I know about the deal.” She whispered. “Seokjin told me as soon as you walked into Sangria House.” Angels’ bottom lip trembled moving one of her hands to caress his cheeks.

“How much did he tell you?” Taehyung swallowed down hard.

“Everything. He always does.” She smiled sadly, brushing her thumb over his temple. “I’m glad you’re okay.” Her smile quickly disappeared however as she halted her actions. “But your sister isn’t.”

“What can I do?” He muttered leaning in closer with the guise of being secretive but really he desperately wanted to close the distance between them. “Please tell me.”

-

Door opened gently by Jimin who quickly bowed as soon as they walked inside. A rush of cold air flowed through even Belles’ thick cardigan gushing from the air conditioner swirling with the soft linen waft of cologne. Seokjin sat at his table in the middle of writing something out on a paper before he peered through his glasses to see the two figures walk into the room. A calm expression across his handsome features as per usual despite clearly being disturbed in his work.

Belle padded further inside, fingers intertwined with each other and her posture at its perfect stature determined to look her most composed.

Seokjin quickly stretched a smile across his plump lips before standing up as a sign of respect. “Madame Belle, it’s always nice to see you.” He gave her a nod. Eyes flickered over to Jimin who stood politely in the corner looking a bit confused as to what he was supposed to do. “Thank you for escorting our prestige guest here, Jimin.”

It was a kind but clear sign that the lavender adorned male could leave the vicinity for their private conversation.

“Jimin can stay.” Belle glanced towards him before facing Seokjin. “I trust him if you do.”

Silence plunged into the room as both males still attempted to figure out just what Belle was trying to do or say. However Seokjin had to suppress a smirk at a few theories conjuring in his mind. He gestured for the two of them to sit at the vacant chairs.

Jimins’ confused gaze flickered from Belle to Seokjin before quickly closing the door of the office and following the woman to the chairs, sitting down as soon as she did.

Belle brushed away any creases on her dresses as she situated herself on the chair, the chill creating goosebumps on her bare skin.

Seokjin pushed away his blazer careful not to crease the ends as he sat down. Sighing happily, he smiled at the both of them leaning back on the chair. “What can I do for you, Madame Belle? Has Jimin been doing something inappropriate?”

The lavender males’ heart jumped frantically looking over at Belle with wide eyes.

“No. In fact the reason I wanted him here is to thank him…for helping me answer a question I could never wrap my head around.”

“And what question is that?”

Belle searched his expression, heavily impressed with how he could keep such a composure. Deep down she almost worried that her theory might sound silly at the end. “Why would a man with such a heavy security system in his facility—and security guards the size of buildings feel the need to drug a potential threat?” She squinted lightly.

Silence plunged into the room like a welcomed disease as Seokjins’ smile appeared back again even wider. “Well…I have less than glorious methods sometimes but it’s all to protect my beloved angels. Especially my wife.” He explained in the most rehearsed way possible even though they both knew it was merely a dialogue recited many times for people more gullible.

“Angel was never in danger.” The corner of her lip twitched as her goosebumps dialed down through the warmth radiating inside. “Your angels are always safe. At all times. The second something goes wrong, the guards are there in seconds.” Twitching turned into a steady smirk that for the first time Belle did not have to think about or force. “You knew that.”

“Knew what?” Seokjin asked, much to Jimins’ confusion, the man looked utterly pleased with the exchange.

“You knew Taehyung would never do anything to hurt Angel.” Belle shook her head. “You just needed an incident…the perfect incident to get anyone who could carry a simply vial to the Jeon mansion.” She chuckled softly at her own gullibility despite her cried out eyes burning in the harsh cold wind. “The most foolproof infiltration. Make Jungkook’s beloved girlfriend think her brother was terribly sick and sneak a police officer in to play the medic just at the right time.”

The older male grinned brighter than Belle or Jimin had ever seen it. Clearly this was not a dark secret he meant to keep from the woman otherwise the conversation would have turned into something a lot more different. “I must say, Ms. Belle…” Seokjin leaned in and rested his elbows on the table. “I’ve been at this for years now—possibly longer than Jungkook has been leader. Never once did anyone decide to question me or my involvement in traitorous behaviors. Why do you think that is?”

“Because you’re a powerful man.” Belles’ smile faded away for a moment. “They won’t question anything you do even if they know it’s wrong—because you can make them lose everything with a flick of your fingers.” She pursed her lips together. “I’ve already been one of them once…I’m not doing it again.”

Seokjin nodded slowly, noticing how her gaze mended from shattered shards to the woman who was ready to pick all the pieces up and mend herself together. “And who are you now? Mrs. Jeon Jungkook? Kim Taehyungs’ sister? Or Madame Belle?”

It always came down to this, didn’t it?

In a series of mind breaking and heart clenching events, one rushes out of the woods to find themselves wondering if they were the same person who entered in the first place. Was she still the same little sister who desperately wanted her brother to get better? Was she the perfect wife for Jungkook? Or was she the designer striving to be as successful as Saito herself?

Maybe Belle was all of them combined. Or none of them and this was all a sick dream playing out in her head but it couldn’t be.

The path in front of Belle now split into two; a fork awaiting her to step into to lead into a future that might make more sense than this one.

This felt too real. It didn’t feel good or satisfying nor did it make her feel relaxed.

This was real. It was time for her to wake up and draw the curtains on this fantasy.

-

Sun began moving over to the other side when Belle drove back to the mansion after feeling a significant brush of relief in her body.

For the first time she walked through the door with an air of both confidence and a little fear when her hand caressed her belly. You’re not going to be born in this mess. I promise. Padding across Belle smiled at Jongho who waited politely just at the entrance before returning a smile of his own with a nod.

Inside the main living room, Yoongi paced around biting down his fingernails mostly trying to stop himself from drinking something at the bar. Not that it would help since it was full with fucking apple juice. He wished he bought a coffee earlier but in his past experiences a boost of caffeine almost never helped with stress.

Footsteps made him pause in his tracks. A rush of calm pulsed through him when Yoongi saw Belle walking towards the male. “Jesus fucking Christ…” He whispered padding closer. “You okay?”

The woman stayed silent, completely dried out of tears and Jimin comforted more than enough. Now the only thing left was that feeling of exposure when the truth finally revealed itself. She felt naked in front of it but free from the lies. “I just went out to the Sangria House, I was safe.” Okay was a difficult word to associate with her right now.

Yoongi nodded fingers curling into themselves before he repeated the same action at the payphone.

“Taehyungs’ there too, I’m told.” Belle didn’t get a chance to catch him but she now knew that Seokjin had no intentions of hurting him in the first place. “Where’s Jungkook?”

He gulped, averting his gaze and gesturing towards the stairs. “He—read the report. Hasn’t come out of the room yet.”

Stomach started doing leaps again, fear rising that she might have another episode with her head over the toilet. Belle hummed mulling over her thoughts before leaning into his cheek and pressing a chaste kiss. One couldn’t even truly call it a kiss, just a light press of her soft lips against his burning skin. When she pulled away the woman smiled proceeding to cause more heat to bundle up inside him. “Thank you.”

Yoongi merely breathed out a sigh unable to speak as Belle gently walked past him up the stairs.

He felt the guards’ eyes on him, some of them judging his reddened cheeks while others smirking. Quickly clearing his throat Yoongi bolted towards the guestroom.

In the same gentleness Belle did earlier, opening the door with care peeking inside briefly before completely entering and closing the door behind her. Turning around Jungkook sat at the edge of the bed just as she was the first time they came into the mansion. His head hung, dark locks forming a slight curtain while his hands rubbed his face, light sniffling riddling the air mixing in with the strong stench of tobacco.

Gaze flickered over to the study table to see a few used cigarettes including one still exuding smoke almost halfway used.

The woman winced accidentally taking a big waft when she tried to breathe in causing her to cough and break the silence.

Jungkooks’ head shot up hearing the sound, quickly jumping off the bed and rushing to the study table. Picking the cigarette he roughly pressed it against the ashtray waving the smoke away from the woman. “I’m sorry.” He muttered in a slightly shaky voice.

“For what?” Belle padded towards the bed to her side, placing her bag on the nightstand before carefully sitting at the edge. Her legs melted into the soft surface finally being able to rest physically at least. Lazily she swung them over fully onto the bed after taking her shoes off, shifting back she rested her back on the headboard.

Jungkook leaned on the edges of the table before hanging his head again. “For everything.”

The vague answer was always the easiest.

Belle reached out for the throw blanket and placed it over the bare parts of her legs providing extra comfort and warmth. “You were stressed, I should’ve waited.” She replied simply.

“You shouldn’t have to wait to tell me something like that.” He shook his head finally turning around to face her. “Six weeks.”

“Six weeks.” Belle gulped, fingers beginning to tremble a little. “I had to make sure.”

Jungkook blinked slowly before nodding as he padded over to his side of the room, pushing off his shoes. Sitting against the headboard the male let out a small sigh as he unbuttoned one more button on his white shirt to feel less constricted. “How big would it be right now?”

“Probably the size of a peanut.” She looked down at her belly and instinctively caressed it.

He immediately flickered down at her belly, still unable truly to understand how a human was going to grow in there. Despite the things Jungkook had seen in his life this was going to be the most surreal of them all. “You’re important to me, Belle.” He reached out and placed a hand over her belly. “Both of you.”

Belle moved her fingers over his and caressing the back of his hand slowly.

“Everything’s a mess right now I can’t—” Jungkook sighed leaning on the side of his head against the headboard. “I can’t think straight.” With his biggest den taken down, one after the other like a cruel domino effect his empire seemed lose each of its pillars. At the same time he had to try and pick all the pieces while protecting the standing pillars making his mind curl up into itself. As if a survival mode to get away from extreme stress.

She shook her head, patting his hand. “It’s okay.” Belle whispered knowing the word lost all its meaning a long time ago.

Jungkook tilted his head to search her expression watching the dull sunlight shine onto her locks making them look golden. Like a sailor being allured to the siren, he leaned in and pressed a kiss on her cheek and another on just on the corner of her lips. “I want you to be happy.” Nose nudged against her cheek.

Belle closed her eyes momentarily feeling his hot kisses against her skin, heavy remnants of tobacco on his breath forcing her to breathe through her mouth for a while.

Pulling away, the male shifted to lay his head on Belle’s lap facing her belly and blanket covered thighs used as a pillow. Finger traced at the little creases on the dress from her sited position as Jungkook relished in the scent of her perfume hopefully masking his cigarette riddled one. “It doesn’t matter what happens to the empire.” He whispered, gaze fixated on her belly. “So long you’re both happy…I’d give everything else up.”

Her heart swelled for a brief moment as Belle allowed herself to succumb back into the comforts of his words. His beautiful lies. “Do you promise?” Shaky hand moved to brush through Jungkook’s hair.

His gaze flickered up to meet her glossy one, giving her a soft smile. “I promise.” Jungkook looked back down at her belly caressing her skin through the clothing. “I’ll always keep you happy.”

Belle bit down her bottom lip to suppress the sob being forced out of her, closing her eyes shut tightly to stop the tears but they merely created constellations on the womans’ lashes. Letting out a small sigh she relaxed into his touch, struggling to swallow down the lump in her throat.

Quickly for one of the final times Belle forced herself to stretch a smile across her lips.

I’m not happy.

-

Cheeks finally cooled down as Yoongi leaned back on the chair of his temporary bedroom, dark as the thick curtains perfectly shielded him from the sunlight. Fingers scratched at the fabric of the armrest not thinking of anything in particular but merely drowning in an empty zone away from reality just for a few moments. He grew accustomed to this feeling after seeing one too many dead bodies of children.

Two knocks rapped on the door before it opened to reveal the senior maid, Nana. “Hello, Master Osamu.” She smiled closing the door behind her and walking further inside to do her usual cleaning starting with fixing his bed up.

Yoongi made it himself but unfortunately not the way that it was usually designed to fit the aesthetic of the house since most of the fancy cushions were on the floor. “Sorry I’ll—” He tried to get up from the chair.

“No no it’s okay. This is my job after all.” Nana chuckled picked up all the cushions and threw them onto the bed to make it easier for her to organize them.

The younger male smiled and relaxed back onto the seat with a light sigh.

“You did well. Helping Mistress Belle like that.” She muttered placing all the bigger pillows close to the headboard then the medium ones just afterwards.

Yoongi chuckled nervously observing her actions and how effortlessly she put everything in place when it took his entire soul to neaten the blanket. “What’re friends for?” He pressed his lips together in a thin line.

Nana smirked, fluffing the larger pillows. “Just friends?”

Eyes widened at the sudden change of tone from the older female making him stammer a little as he spoke.

“I wasn’t born yesterday, boy.” She continued speaking casually while wiping off the collected on the side lamp. “This isn’t just an undercover mission anymore and you know it.”

Yoongi could have sworn his core shivered hearing those words so easily fall from Nana’s lips without a damn care in the world. Glancing over at the door of his bedroom, he shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “How did you—”

“I raised Jungkook, you think I wouldn’t be able to see a rat under my nose?” Nana continued to keep her gaze anywhere but the younger male pretending like they were either having a regular conversation or none at all since Yoongis’ tongue seemed to lose its purpose. “Don’t get so scared. I don’t rat police officers out, you’re doing the right thing.” She neatened up Yoongis’ things on the nightstand. “Every king needs to be taught that they can crumble just as easily as a servant.”

Once everything stood in order, Nana stood in front of the male with a bright smile. “And every servant knows when to help the right people. I clean Jungkooks’ office too.” She gave him a bow and turned on her heel to leave the room.

Needless to say Yoongi was heavily reminded of how Namjoon and him were not the only ones who wanted an end to Jungkooks’ reign.

<< PREV CHAP | NEXT CHAP >>