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GAAP vs IFRS

Decoding US Accounting Rules: GAAP vs IFRS | Expert Insights in 2024

Navigate the GAAP vs IFRS debate in US Accounting effortlessly. Gain expert insights, make sense of regulations. Your guide to financial clarity.

The evolving landscape of accounting standards unfolds a nuanced debate between the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles and the International Financial Reporting Standards. These two frameworks, while sharing a common goal of transparent financial reporting, diverge in their approaches, giving rise to a multifaceted discourse with far-reaching implications for the financial world.

1. Introduction

The evolution of accounting standards has witnessed the crystallization of two dominant frameworks – General Accounting Accepted Principles and International Financial Reporting Standards. In the labyrinth of financial reporting, companies grapple with choosing between these standards, each with its unique history, principles, and global relevance. The debate surrounding GAAP vs IFRS is not a mere academic exercise but a pivotal consideration with implications for investment decisions, legal compliance, and the global financial landscape.

1.1. Evolution of Accounting Standards

The journey of accounting standards traces back to the aftermath of the 1929 stock market crash when the need for standardized, transparent financial reporting became glaringly apparent. What emerged were the General Accounting Accepted Principles, designed to restore investor confidence by providing a reliable framework for financial statements. Over time, GAAP has become deeply embedded in the U.S. financial system, shaping the way companies communicate their financial health.

On the global stage, the International Financial Reporting Standards evolved as a response to the growing interconnectedness of economies. The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) took the reins in developing IFRS, aiming for a standardized global language of financial reporting. This set the stage for a two-pronged approach to financial reporting standards – General Accounting Accepted Principles dominating in the U.S. and International Financial Reporting Standards gaining traction internationally.

1.2. The Crucial Role of GAAP and IFRS

GAAP stands as the bedrock of accounting standards in the United States, overseen by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). Its principles, rooted in historical cost, revenue recognition, and matching, provide stability and a familiar structure for U.S. businesses. On the other hand, IFRS, under the stewardship of the IASB, operates as a global player, emphasizing fair value, substance over form, and materiality.

The significance of General Accounting Accepted Principles lies in its historical context and its alignment with the unique needs of the U.S. business environment. Its principles have served as a guiding light for American companies, offering a consistent framework for financial reporting. International Financial Reporting Standards, with its global perspective, caters to the interconnectedness of today’s businesses, providing a common language for multinational corporations.

1.3. Navigating the GAAP vs IFRS Dilemma

The choice between General Accounting Accepted Principles and International Financial Reporting Standards is not a one-size-fits-all decision. Companies grapple with a complex decision-making process, considering factors such as their geographical reach, industry nuances, and investor preferences. This debate is not isolated to boardrooms; it resonates in financial markets, legal proceedings, and regulatory landscapes, shaping the very fabric of financial reporting practices.

2. Understanding GAAP

2.1. The Foundation of GAAP

a. Historical Roots and Evolution

GAAP’s roots delve deep into the need for a standardized accounting framework post the 1929 stock market crash. FASB emerged as a response to the chaos that ensued, charged with the responsibility of establishing and improving financial accounting and reporting standards. The journey of GAAP has been one of continuous evolution, adapting to the changing business landscape and regulatory requirements.

b. FASB’s Ongoing Influence

The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) stands as the guardian of GAAP, playing a pivotal role in setting and refining accounting standards. FASB’s mission goes beyond rule-making; it seeks to improve financial reporting, providing transparency and relevance in financial statements. The ongoing influence of FASB ensures that GAAP remains adaptive and responsive to the dynamic nature of business transactions.

2.2. Core Principles Anchoring GAAP

a. Embracing the Historical Cost Principle

One of the cornerstones of GAAP is the historical cost principle, dictating that assets should be recorded at their original cost. This principle provides stability and reliability in financial statements, allowing users to assess the financial health of a company based on the actual cost of its assets at the time of acquisition. While critics argue that this approach may not reflect current market values, proponents emphasize the prudence and consistency it offers.

b. Revenue Recognition as a Cornerstone

GAAP’s approach to revenue recognition centers on the realization and earned criteria. Revenue is recognized when it is realized or realizable and earned. This conservative approach ensures that revenue is not prematurely recognized, aligning with the matching principle. While this method may defer recognizing revenue until later stages in the sales cycle, it safeguards against potential overstatement and presents a cautious picture to investors.

c. The Significance of the Matching Principle

The matching principle is a guiding force in GAAP, emphasizing the alignment of expenses with the revenue they generate. This principle ensures that the costs associated with generating revenue are recognized in the same period as the revenue itself, presenting a more accurate portrayal of a company’s profitability. While adhering to the matching principle might result in lower reported profits during high-revenue periods, it provides a more realistic long-term view.

2.3. Scrutinizing Criticisms and Recognizing Limitations

a. Rigidity vs. Stability

One common criticism leveled against GAAP is its perceived rigidity, particularly regarding the historical cost principle. Critics argue that this approach may not capture the true economic value of assets, especially in industries with rapidly changing market conditions. However, proponents assert that this rigidity provides stability and consistency, allowing for easier comparison across periods and industries.

b. The Balancing Act of Revenue Recognition

The conservative approach to revenue recognition in GAAP has faced scrutiny for potentially understating a company’s immediate financial performance. Critics argue that this caution may not be reflective of a company’s true economic position, especially in industries where revenue realization is instantaneous. However, the balancing act lies in mitigating the risk of premature revenue recognition, ensuring financial statements maintain integrity and accuracy.

c. Challenges in Adhering to the Matching Principle

While the matching principle aligns expenses with revenue, critics contend that it introduces complexities in determining the direct association between costs and specific revenue streams. This challenge becomes more pronounced in industries with diverse revenue sources. Despite these challenges, adhering to the matching principle remains integral in presenting a holistic view of a company’s financial health, helping investors make informed decisions.

3. Embracing IFRS

3.1. IFRS: A Global Framework

a. The Rise of International Financial Reporting Standards

The emergence of IFRS marks a significant shift towards a globalized approach to financial reporting. As businesses expanded internationally, the need for a common accounting language became evident. IFRS, under the stewardship of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), rose to prominence as a framework that transcends borders, providing a standardized set of principles for companies operating on the world stage.

b. IASB’s Pivotal Role in Shaping IFRS

The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) shoulders the responsibility of developing and maintaining IFRS. Unlike GAAP, IFRS operates under a principles-based approach, focusing on broad principles rather than detailed rules. This flexibility allows for easier adaptation to diverse business environments, making IFRS an attractive choice for multinational corporations seeking a harmonized approach to financial reporting.

3.2. Unpacking Core Principles of IFRS

a. Fair Value Measurement: A Paradigm Shift

One of the fundamental differences between GAAP and IFRS lies in the approach to asset valuation. While GAAP predominantly adheres to the historical cost principle, IFRS leans towards fair value measurement. Fair value reflects the current market value of assets, providing a more dynamic and responsive perspective. Critics argue that fair value introduces volatility, but proponents emphasize its relevance in capturing real-time economic conditions.

b. Substance Over Form: Emphasizing Economic Reality

In IFRS, the substance of transactions takes precedence over their legal form. This principle ensures that financial statements reflect the economic reality of transactions, promoting transparency and accuracy. While this approach aligns with the overarching goal of providing relevant information to users, it requires careful judgment and interpretation, potentially introducing subjectivity in financial reporting.

c. Materiality’s Role in Flexibility

IFRS introduces greater flexibility in materiality judgments compared to GAAP. Materiality refers to the threshold at which information becomes relevant to users. The more flexible stance in IFRS allows entities to exercise judgment in determining what information is material, considering both quantitative and qualitative factors. This flexibility, while enhancing the adaptability of IFRS, also raises concerns about potential inconsistencies in financial reporting.

3.3. Weighing Advantages and Drawbacks

a. IFRS Flexibility: A Double-Edged Sword

The flexibility embedded in IFRS is both its strength and weakness. Proponents argue that this adaptability makes IFRS suitable for diverse business environments, allowing for easier integration with various industries and legal systems. However, critics contend that this very flexibility can lead to inconsistencies and a lack of comparability, challenging the reliability of financial statements for investors and stakeholders.

b. Global Appeal vs. Application Challenges

The global nature of IFRS makes it an attractive choice for multinational companies aiming for consistency in financial reporting across borders. The common language of IFRS facilitates international transactions and fosters a seamless global financial landscape. However, the application of IFRS can pose challenges in jurisdictions with varying legal and regulatory frameworks, potentially leading to complexities in implementation and interpretation.

4. Key Differences Between GAAP and IFRS

4.1. Delving into Variances

a. Revenue Recognition: The GAAP-IFRS Divergence

One of the pivotal differences between GAAP and IFRS lies in the recognition of revenue. While both frameworks aim to depict the economic reality of transactions, their approaches diverge in certain key aspects. GAAP tends to be more prescriptive, providing specific guidelines for various industries, whereas IFRS adopts a broader principles-based approach, allowing entities more room for interpretation.

b. Inventory Valuation: Differing Approaches

The treatment of inventory valuation varies significantly between GAAP and IFRS. GAAP typically follows a specific set of rules for valuing inventory, such as the Last In, First Out (LIFO) or First In, First Out (FIFO) methods. In contrast, IFRS permits the use of various methods, including FIFO and weighted average, offering companies more flexibility in choosing an approach that aligns with their specific business dynamics

c. Consolidation Methods: Navigating Complexity

Consolidation methods, particularly in the context of subsidiaries and investments, showcase differences between GAAP and IFRS. GAAP often employs a more rule-based approach, specifying conditions for consolidation. In contrast, IFRS focuses on a principles-based approach, considering the substance of relationships rather than relying on rigid criteria. This variance introduces nuances in financial reporting, influencing how companies present their financial position and performance.

4.2. The Impact on Financial Statements

a. Shaping Investor Perception

The differences in revenue recognition, inventory valuation, and consolidation methods contribute to variations in financial statements produced under GAAP and IFRS. Investors, as key stakeholders, must navigate these differences to gain an accurate understanding of a company’s financial health. The choice between GAAP and IFRS significantly shapes investor perception, influencing investment decisions and risk assessments.

b. Decision-Making Dynamics

Companies, in choosing between GAAP and IFRS, must consider the implications on decision-making dynamics. The framework adopted affects how financial information is presented, potentially influencing strategic decisions, mergers and acquisitions, and capital-raising activities. Understanding the impact of these frameworks on decision-making is crucial for entities operating in dynamic and competitive business environments.

4.3. Global Adoption Trends: A Comparative Analysis

The adoption trends of GAAP and IFRS provide insights into the global dynamics of financial reporting standards. While GAAP maintains dominance within the United States, IFRS has gained traction in numerous jurisdictions worldwide. Understanding the factors influencing these trends, such as regulatory requirements, investor preferences, and global market integration, sheds light on the evolving landscape of accounting standards.

“Accounting isn’t just about profits and losses; it’s about sculpting the financial soul of a company.” Michael Johnson

5. The Evolution of Accounting Standards

5.1. GAAP’s Historical Odyssey

a. Post-1929: A Catalyst for Change

The stock market crash of 1929 served as a catalyst for rethinking the approach to financial reporting. The chaos that ensued prompted the establishment of standardized accounting principles, laying the foundation for what would later become GAAP. The primary goal was to restore investor confidence by providing a reliable framework for financial statements, reducing uncertainty and fostering stability in financial markets.

b. Amendments and Updates: Shaping GAAP’s Trajectory

GAAP’s journey has not been static; it has evolved through amendments and updates to address emerging challenges and align with changing business dynamics. The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) plays a pivotal role in shaping GAAP, ensuring that it remains relevant, transparent, and responsive to the needs of companies and investors. The ongoing commitment to refinement reflects a dedication to maintaining the integrity of financial reporting.

5.2. Internationalization Efforts

a. Pioneering Attempts at Global Standardization

As globalization gained momentum, so did the recognition of the need for global accounting standards. Efforts were made to align U.S. GAAP with international standards, but achieving a universal standard proved challenging. The push for global standardization gained traction with the rise of IFRS, offering a framework that transcends national boundaries and facilitates consistency in financial reporting for multinational corporations.

b. The Challenge of Aligning U.S. Standards Globally

While the concept of global accounting standards gained support, aligning U.S. GAAP with international standards presented formidable challenges. The unique legal, regulatory, and cultural landscape in the United States posed hurdles to seamless integration. Despite these challenges, the pursuit of convergence and harmonization continued, reflecting the recognition of the interconnectedness of global economies.

5.3. Convergence Initiatives

a. The Ongoing Pursuit of Harmonization

Convergence initiatives aimed at harmonizing GAAP and IFRS gained prominence in the early 21st century. The objective was to reduce disparities between the two frameworks, fostering a more standardized global approach to financial reporting. While full convergence remained elusive, progress was made in aligning specific standards, reflecting a commitment to minimizing inconsistencies and facilitating ease of comparison for investors and stakeholders.

b. Prospects and Hurdles in a Unified Global Standard

The prospects of a unified global accounting standard remain a tantalizing goal, promising enhanced comparability and consistency in financial reporting. However, hurdles such as divergent national interests, legal complexities, and varying levels of standard-setting infrastructure continue to challenge the realization of this vision. Navigating these obstacles requires ongoing collaboration and a commitment to the overarching goal of global financial transparency.

6. Regulatory Bodies Influencing GAAP

6.1. FASB’s Pivotal Role

a. GAAP’s Guardian: The FASB Mandate

The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) stands as the guardian of GAAP, wielding influence over the development and refinement of accounting standards. FASB’s mandate goes beyond rule-making; it encompasses a commitment to improving financial reporting, ensuring that standards are not only relevant but also responsive to the evolving needs of businesses and investors.

b. FASB’s Mission in Financial Reporting Improvement

FASB’s mission revolves around the improvement of financial reporting through the development of high-quality accounting standards. The board operates under a due process system, seeking input from various stakeholders, including investors, auditors, and preparers of financial statements. This collaborative approach ensures that GAAP remains a robust and adaptive framework that reflects the intricacies of modern business transactions.

6.2. SEC’s Watchful Eye

a. SEC’s Authority in Recognizing GAAP Standards

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) plays a crucial role in the oversight of financial reporting in the United States. While the FASB sets accounting standards, the SEC has the authority to recognize and prescribe the principles used in the preparation of financial statements for publicly traded companies. This dual-layered system ensures a balance between industry expertise and regulatory oversight in shaping GAAP.

b. SEC’s Contributions to Financial Transparency

The SEC’s contributions to financial transparency extend beyond its recognition of GAAP standards. The commission actively engages in rule-making and enforcement to ensure that companies adhere to accounting principles and provide accurate and timely financial information to investors. The synergy between the SEC and FASB reinforces the integrity of financial reporting in the U.S. capital markets.

6.3. AICPA’s Industry Impact

a. AICPA: Nurturing Professional Standards

The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) plays a vital role in shaping professional standards within the accounting industry. While not directly involved in setting GAAP, the AICPA contributes to the development of ethical and professional standards that guide the conduct of accountants. This commitment to excellence enhances the credibility of financial reporting, reinforcing the trust that stakeholders place in GAAP.

b. Industry-Wide Compliance through AICPA Guidance

The AICPA’s influence extends beyond standards development to encompass industry-wide compliance. The organization provides guidance on best practices, ethical considerations, and emerging issues within the accounting profession. This guidance ensures a cohesive and ethical approach to financial reporting, aligning with the principles embedded in GAAP and contributing to the overall reliability of financial statements.

7. International Bodies Shaping IFRS

7.1. IASB’s Global Mandate

a. IASB’s Significance in IFRS Development

The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) holds a central role in the development and maintenance of IFRS. Unlike the FASB’s role in the U.S., the IASB operates on a global scale, aiming to set accounting standards that are applicable and relevant to entities worldwide. The IASB’s commitment to a principles-based approach reflects its recognition of the diverse needs of global businesses.

b. A Global Perspective in Standard Setting

The IASB’s global perspective is intrinsic to its standard-setting process. The board considers input from various regions, industries, and stakeholders, ensuring that IFRS reflects the nuances of international business. The principles-based approach allows for adaptability, catering to the diverse legal, economic, and cultural landscapes in which entities operate globally.

7.2. IFRIC’s Interpretative Role

a. Navigating Grey Areas: IFRIC’s Guidance

The International Financial Reporting Interpretations Committee (IFRIC) plays a crucial role in navigating interpretative challenges within IFRS. Given the principles-based nature of IFRS, grey areas may arise, requiring clarification and guidance. IFRIC addresses these challenges by providing interpretations and guidance, ensuring consistent application of IFRS standards across diverse industries and jurisdictions.

b. Consistent Application of IFRS Standards

Consistency in the application of IFRS standards is paramount to ensuring comparability and reliability in financial reporting. IFRIC’s interpretative role contributes to this objective by offering guidance on ambiguous or complex issues. This commitment to clarity and consistency aligns with the overarching goal of IFRS – to provide a common language for financial reporting that transcends geographical and industry-specific boundaries.

7.3. Monitoring Board’s Oversight

a. Ensuring Independence in Standard Setting

The Monitoring Board plays a crucial oversight role in ensuring the independence and effectiveness of the IFRS Foundation, which houses the IASB. Independence is a cornerstone of credible standard-setting, and the Monitoring Board’s role is to safeguard the integrity of the standard-setting process. This commitment to independence reinforces the trust that global stakeholders place in IFRS as a reliable and unbiased framework.

b. The Role of the Monitoring Board in IFRS Integrity

The Monitoring Board’s vigilance extends beyond independence to the broader integrity of the IFRS framework. By overseeing the activities of the IFRS Foundation and IASB, the Monitoring Board contributes to the credibility of IFRS as a global accounting standard. This oversight ensures that IFRS continues to meet the evolving needs of global financial markets and remains a trusted framework for transparent financial reporting.

8. Impact on Financial Reporting

8.1. Side-by-Side Comparison

a. Financial Statement Variances: GAAP vs IFRS

A side-by-side comparison of financial statements prepared under GAAP and IFRS reveals variances arising from differences in principles, approaches, and interpretations. These variances extend to revenue recognition, asset valuation, and consolidation methods, influencing the reported financial position and performance of entities. Investors and analysts must navigate these differences to glean accurate insights into a company’s financial health.

b. Interpretation Challenges for Investors

Investors face interpretation challenges when analyzing financial statements prepared under different frameworks. Understanding the nuances of GAAP and IFRS differences is crucial for making informed investment decisions. The ability to discern how specific accounting choices impact financial metrics empowers investors to evaluate risks, assess potential returns, and navigate the complexities of the global investment landscape.

8.2. Revenue Recognition Dynamics

a. The Nuances of Revenue Recognition

The nuances of revenue recognition under GAAP and IFRS reflect the underlying philosophies of each framework. GAAP, with its prescriptive guidelines, provides specific criteria for recognizing revenue in various industries. In contrast, IFRS adopts a broader approach, emphasizing the substance of transactions over rigid rules. Navigating these nuances requires a deep understanding of industry dynamics and the specific requirements of each framework.

b. Implications for Investor Decision-Making

The implications of revenue recognition dynamics extend to investor decision-making. Differences in when and how revenue is recognized can influence perceptions of a company’s immediate financial performance. Investors must factor in these nuances to make informed decisions, considering the impact on key financial metrics such as earnings per share, profit margins, and return on investment.

8.3. Asset Valuation Approaches

a. Valuation Philosophies: Fair Value vs. Historical Cost

The variance in asset valuation philosophies between GAAP and IFRS introduces complexities in financial reporting. GAAP’s adherence to historical cost provides stability and consistency, albeit potentially understating the current market value of assets. In contrast, IFRS’s emphasis on fair value introduces a more dynamic and responsive approach to asset valuation. Companies must navigate the trade-offs between stability and accuracy in presenting their financial position.

b. Balancing Accuracy and Stability in Asset Reporting

Balancing accuracy and stability in asset reporting requires careful consideration of the trade-offs between fair value and historical cost. Companies must weigh the benefits of presenting current market values against the potential volatility introduced by fair value measurements. Striking the right balance ensures that financial statements accurately reflect the economic reality of a company’s assets while providing stakeholders with a stable and reliable foundation for decision-making.

9. Challenges in Adoption

9.1. Corporate Resistance Factors

a. Unpacking Corporate Hesitations

The decision to adopt new accounting standards, whether transitioning from GAAP to IFRS or vice versa, is met with corporate hesitations. Companies fear the potential disruptions, costs, and uncertainties associated with the transition. Understanding these resistance factors is essential for regulatory bodies, standard-setters, and industry stakeholders to develop strategies that facilitate smoother adoptions and ensure widespread compliance.

b. Overcoming Corporate Resistance Challenges

Overcoming corporate resistance challenges requires a multi-faceted approach. Clear communication on the benefits of the new standards, comprehensive training programs, and support mechanisms can alleviate concerns. Regulators and standard-setters must collaborate with industry representatives to address specific challenges faced by different sectors, fostering a cooperative environment conducive to successful adoptions.

9.2. Implementation Costs

a. Financial and Operational Impacts

The implementation of new accounting standards incurs financial and operational impacts for companies. Costs associated with staff training, system upgrades, and adjustments to internal processes contribute to the overall financial burden. Companies must carefully assess these costs and develop comprehensive implementation plans to mitigate disruptions and ensure a seamless transition to the new standards.

b. Strategies for Mitigating Implementation Costs

Strategies for mitigating implementation costs involve proactive planning, phased adoption approaches, and leveraging technology. Companies can benefit from engaging with industry peers that have successfully navigated similar transitions, learning from best practices and challenges. Collaboration between standard-setters, regulatory bodies, and industry associations plays a crucial role in developing strategies that balance the need for improved standards with the practicalities of implementation.

9.3. Training and Skill Gaps

a. The Need for Specialized Training

The adoption of new accounting standards introduces the need for specialized training to ensure that professionals possess the skills required for compliance. Training programs must address the nuances of the new standards, focusing on changes in accounting principles, reporting requirements, and the application of new methodologies. Bridging skill gaps is crucial for maintaining the integrity and accuracy of financial reporting.

b. Collaborative Approaches to Skill Development

Collaborative approaches to skill development involve partnerships between educational institutions, professional organizations, and industry players. The goal is to create comprehensive training programs that equip professionals with the knowledge and skills necessary for successful compliance. Standard-setters and regulators can play a pivotal role in promoting and endorsing such collaborative initiatives, fostering a culture of continuous learning within the accounting profession.

10. Legal Implications for Corporations

10.1. Legal Challenges in GAAP Compliance

a. Litigation Risks in GAAP Adherence

The legal challenges associated with GAAP compliance include litigation risks arising from alleged non-compliance. Companies adhering to GAAP must navigate the complexities of the legal landscape, ensuring that their financial statements withstand scrutiny. Implementing robust internal controls, engaging in transparent communication, and staying abreast of legal developments are essential strategies for mitigating litigation risks.

b. Strategies for Legal Compliance in GAAP

Strategies for legal compliance in GAAP involve proactive measures to minimize litigation risks. This includes fostering a culture of compliance within the organization, conducting regular internal audits, and seeking legal counsel to ensure alignment with evolving regulations. Companies that prioritize legal compliance contribute to the overall stability and trustworthiness of the financial reporting ecosystem.

10.2. Legal Battles in IFRS Adoption

a. Navigating Legal Challenges in IFRS Transition

The transition to IFRS introduces legal battles that companies must navigate effectively. Disputes may arise over interpretations of IFRS standards, potentially leading to litigation. Companies must engage in comprehensive risk assessments, understanding the legal implications of IFRS adoption, and implementing measures to mitigate potential legal challenges.

b. Legal Safeguards for Companies Adopting IFRS

Legal safeguards for companies adopting IFRS involve proactive steps to minimize legal risks. This includes engaging legal experts in the transition process, conducting impact assessments, and implementing robust governance structures. Companies that prioritize legal safeguards position themselves to navigate the complexities of IFRS adoption with resilience and integrity.

10.3. Risk Mitigation Strategies

a. Legal Safeguards: Mitigating Risks in Regulatory Compliance

Legal safeguards play a pivotal role in mitigating risks associated with regulatory compliance. Companies must implement effective risk management strategies, including regular legal audits, compliance training, and a responsive approach to legal developments. A proactive stance towards legal safeguards enhances a company’s ability to navigate the intricate landscape of financial reporting standards.

b. Strategies for Minimizing Legal Challenges in Reporting Standards

Strategies for minimizing legal challenges in reporting standards involve a holistic approach to risk management. This includes collaboration with legal professionals, staying informed about evolving regulations, and fostering a culture of compliance within the organization. Companies that prioritize these strategies not only mitigate legal challenges but also contribute to the overall reliability and credibility of financial reporting standards.

11. Investor Perspectives

11.1. Investor Preferences

a. Surveying Investor Preferences: GAAP or IFRS?

Understanding investor preferences is crucial in the GAAP vs. IFRS discourse. Surveys play a valuable role in gauging investor sentiment and preferences regarding financial reporting standards. The insights gleaned from such surveys inform standard-setters, regulators, and companies in aligning financial reporting practices with investor expectations.

b. Implications of Investor Preferences on Reporting Standards

The implications of investor preferences on reporting standards are far-reaching. Companies that align with investor preferences enhance transparency and communication, fostering trust and confidence. Standard-setters and regulators, informed by investor feedback, can shape standards that not only meet regulatory requirements but also cater to the information needs of investors in a dynamic and competitive market.

11.2. Impact on Investment Decision-Making

a. Investor Decision Dynamics: GAAP vs IFRS

Investor decision dynamics are influenced by the choice between GAAP and IFRS. Differences in financial reporting standards can impact the comparability of financial statements, influencing investment decisions. Investors must consider the implications of these standards on key metrics, risk assessments, and overall financial analysis to make informed and strategic investment decisions.

b. Strategic Impacts on Investment Choices

The strategic impacts of financial reporting standards on investment choices go beyond compliance. Companies that recognize the link between transparent financial reporting and investor confidence gain a strategic advantage. Similarly, investors who factor in the nuances of GAAP and IFRS differences in their decision-making processes navigate the complexities of the investment landscape more effectively.

11.3. Investor Education Initiatives

a. The Imperative of Investor Education

The imperative of investor education underscores the need for initiatives that enhance investor understanding of financial reporting standards. Educational programs, informational resources, and collaborative efforts between financial institutions and regulatory bodies contribute to a more informed investor community. An educated investor base not only demands higher standards of transparency but also actively participates in shaping the future trajectory of financial reporting.

b. Educating Investors on GAAP vs IFRS Implications

Educating investors on GAAP vs. IFRS implications involves demystifying the complexities of these frameworks. Providing accessible information, conducting investor workshops, and leveraging digital platforms for educational outreach are essential components. Investors empowered with a deeper understanding of financial reporting standards contribute to market efficiency and hold companies accountable for transparent and reliable reporting.

12. Ethical Considerations

12.1. Ethical Dimensions in Financial Reporting

a. Ethics in Financial Reporting Standards

Ethical considerations are integral to the formulation and adherence to financial reporting standards. The principles of integrity, objectivity, and transparency underpin ethical financial reporting. Standard-setters, regulators, and companies must navigate ethical dimensions to ensure that financial reporting serves the interests of investors and the broader public.

b. Upholding Integrity and Objectivity in Reporting

Upholding integrity and objectivity in reporting requires a commitment to ethical conduct. Companies must prioritize accurate representation over short-term gains, fostering a culture that values transparency. Regulators play a crucial role in setting the ethical tone, emphasizing the importance of unbiased and principled financial reporting in maintaining the integrity of capital markets.

12.2. Ethical Challenges for Accountants

a. Common Ethical Dilemmas in GAAP and IFRS

Accountants face common ethical dilemmas in navigating the intricacies of GAAP and IFRS. Issues such as revenue recognition, asset valuation, and disclosure requirements present challenges where ethical considerations intersect with professional responsibilities. Accountants must navigate these dilemmas with a commitment to ethical conduct, considering the broader impact on stakeholders and financial markets.

b. Navigating Ethical Challenges in Reporting Standards

Navigating ethical challenges in reporting standards involves equipping accountants with the tools and guidance needed for principled decision-making. Ongoing professional development, ethical training programs, and mentorship initiatives contribute to a culture of ethical awareness within the accounting profession. Companies, in turn, benefit from the assurance that financial reporting is not only compliant but also aligns with the highest ethical standards.

12.3. Regulatory Measures for Integrity

a. Regulatory Safeguards: Ensuring Ethical Conduct

Regulatory safeguards play a crucial role in ensuring ethical conduct in financial reporting. Regulatory bodies must establish and enforce ethical standards, conduct regular audits, and impose sanctions for non-compliance. A robust regulatory framework promotes integrity in financial reporting, reinforcing public trust in the accuracy and reliability of financial statements.

b. Maintaining the Integrity of Financial Reporting Standards

Maintaining the integrity of financial reporting standards requires a collaborative effort between regulators, standard-setters, and industry stakeholders. Periodic reviews, stakeholder consultations, and responsiveness to emerging ethical challenges contribute to the ongoing refinement of standards. The commitment to upholding ethical principles ensures that financial reporting continues to serve as a cornerstone of trust in the global business landscape.

13. Future Trajectories

13.1. The Evolution of Reporting Standards

a. Anticipating Future Changes

Anticipating future changes in reporting standards involves considering the dynamic nature of global business, technological advancements, and shifts in investor expectations. Standard-setters must adopt a forward-looking approach, engaging in scenario planning and staying attuned to emerging trends. The ability to anticipate future changes ensures that reporting standards remain relevant and adaptive to the evolving needs of the business environment.

b. Technological Innovations and Reporting

Technological innovations are poised to shape the future trajectory of reporting standards. The integration of artificial intelligence, blockchain, and data analytics introduces opportunities for enhanced accuracy, efficiency, and transparency in financial reporting. Standard-setters and companies must embrace these innovations responsibly, balancing the benefits of technology with the imperative of maintaining ethical and transparent financial practices.

13.2. Convergence vs. Divergence

a. Assessing Convergence Prospects

The prospects of convergence between GAAP and IFRS continue to be a topic of consideration. While convergence offers the promise of a more standardized global approach, challenges such as differing legal frameworks and regulatory philosophies persist. Assessing convergence prospects involves a nuanced examination of global trends, regulatory developments, and ongoing efforts by standard-setters to bridge divergences.

b. Navigating Divergences in Global Standards

Navigating divergences in global standards requires a pragmatic approach that acknowledges the unique needs of individual jurisdictions. The coexistence of multiple standards necessitates effective communication, education, and cross-border collaboration. Standard-setters can play a pivotal role in facilitating harmonization efforts, fostering a global financial reporting landscape that balances convergence with the flexibility needed to accommodate diverse economic and regulatory environments.

13.3. Sustainable Reporting Paradigms

a. The Rise of Sustainable Reporting

The rise of sustainable reporting reflects a paradigm shift in the broader understanding of corporate performance. Investors, regulators, and the public increasingly recognize the importance of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors. Future reporting standards are likely to integrate sustainable reporting paradigms, providing a more comprehensive view of a company’s long-term value creation and societal impact.

b. Integrating ESG Metrics into Reporting Standards

Integrating ESG metrics into reporting standards requires a collaborative effort between standard-setters, regulators, and industry stakeholders. The development of clear guidelines, standardized metrics, and transparent disclosure requirements enhances the credibility of sustainable reporting. Companies embracing ESG considerations in their financial reporting contribute to a more informed and responsible investment landscape.

14. Conclusion

Financial reporting standards, whether grounded in GAAP or IFRS, serve as the bedrock of transparency, trust, and accountability in the global business landscape. The evolution of these standards reflects a journey of adaptation to changing business dynamics, regulatory landscapes, and investor expectations. While GAAP and IFRS diverge in certain philosophies and approaches, they share a common goal – to provide reliable and relevant information for decision-making.

As we navigate the complexities of GAAP vs. IFRS, it is imperative to recognize the strengths and limitations of each framework. GAAP, with its historical cost emphasis and rule-based approach, offers stability and comparability. In contrast, IFRS, operating under a principles-based approach, provides flexibility and a global perspective. Understanding the variances in revenue recognition, asset valuation, and consolidation methods is essential for investors, analysts, and companies alike.

Looking ahead, the trajectory of reporting standards involves a delicate balance – between convergence and divergence, between technological innovation and ethical considerations, and between traditional financial metrics and sustainable reporting paradigms. The future holds the promise of more standardized, adaptive, and responsible reporting standards that cater to the diverse needs of a dynamic global economy.

In conclusion, as the landscape of financial reporting continues to evolve, stakeholders must remain vigilant, adaptive, and collaborative. Whether one adheres to GAAP or IFRS, the shared commitment to integrity, transparency, and accountability ensures that financial reporting remains a cornerstone of trust in the interconnected world of business and finance.

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[leeknow-thoughts]

୨୧ KISS IT BETTER?

୨୧ cw : tsundre!lee know, a guy being a creep, kissing, fluff, kinda angst, Han is the reader's older cousin, fem!reader, some petnames, overall soft

୨୧ requested : yes

You were practically vibrating with excitement when you got the job as Stray Kids' new manager. Eager to be around your cousin - Han - and hopefully make some money to help put yourself through college.

You made sure everything about you was perfect to greet the boys, although Han would definitely tease you for trying to look your best around him.

And you did look perfect, your hair was curled, your nails were painted a nudeish-pink, you wore your pair of pretty mary-janes, all your best jewelry, your prettiest pink clothes, and did your makeup. You looked stunning, according to your best friend at least.

You looked stunning until a stranger, in a rush, ran into you at full speed, spilling his coffee all over your clothes. Already running 10 minutes late due to traffic you had no choice but to go into the job with coffee-stained clothes.

You looked ridiculous, and Jisung confirmed that when the first thing he did when looking at your disheveled state, was laugh. "Oh my God you look ridiculous! Let me get a photo! I have to send it to halmeoni!" he whipped his phone out when you stumbled into the dance practice room.

Against your will, he got a few good shots of you before you practically jumped on him. You sat on top of him, struggling to snatch his phone out of his grasp. "Get off me you cretin!" he yelped.

You and him wrestled back and forth for a few minutes until you heard the door to the studio open. And in walks the leader of Jisung's group, Chan.

You scurry up to bow to him, while Jisung lays on the floor, "Chan-hyung did you just see that? She jumped me!"

"Did not you fuck face! You were gonna send that photo to grandma!" You squeal.

"I'm sorry what?" Chan questions.

"Chan," Han stands up and motions to you, "my younger cousin, y/n, she's also the new manager."

You bow to Chan again, "ah- Just call me Chris," Chan smiles and shakes your hand.

"Nice to meet you, just call me y/n," you introduce yourself.

You didn't notice Han rummaging through his bag until he tapped on your shoulder, holding out a spare change of clothes, "here put these on."

You gratefully took the clothes and went to change in the bathroom. You slipped on the oversized shirt and sweatpants. They looked strange paired with your Mary Janes and they were definitely not your style, but you were grateful that Jisung let you wear them.

When you slipped back into the practice room, you were greeted with 6 new faces along with Jisung and Chris. You bowed to all of them as they introduced themselves.

Han introduced you, "this is our new manager Han y/n. They're also my cousin, so don't be weird!"

"Don't worry, none of us were planning on it," Lee Know, Han's best friend, interjected, rather coldly.

You laughed off the rather cold comment, and explained the schedule that the boys were having at the moment. Just a simple marketing meeting. But the marketing team was busy, so they left it to you to brief all of them on the subject.

You read over the report one of the marketing heads had typed up for you. "So Lee Know Log number eight is going to be filmed on the 19th and they assigned me to go with you to Tokyo, which in parenthesis they say is a bummer to you because you wanted Jeon Gowook-ssi to go with you instead," you look at Lee Know for a moment before you continue," also a group live is scheduled for tomorrow, and that's all," you finish reading.

"What are we doing for the rest of today?" the boy with fox-like eyes, Jeongin, asked.

You pull out your work planner and flip to today's schedule, "the rest of today is a free day, but tomorrow as you all know you have interviews early in the morning so I wouldn't suggest staying up late tonight," you explain to the boy.

"A free day! I'm getting the hell outta here," Seungmin jumps up and grabs his backpack.

"Lets go get lunch!" Changbin suggests, "y/n you should come!"

"Yeah!" Felix agrees.

"Oh I dunno, I don't wanna bother you guys!" you insist.

"No don't do that c'mon we're gonna go to lunch!" Han persists.

Han practically dragged you along, even though you begged to not go.

When you all sat down at the KBBQ restaurant you were seated between Han and Lee Know. As the boys chatted over bites of food you stayed silent, not wanting to interrupt their conversations. "Y/n aren't you gonna eat anything?" Hyunjin asks from across the table.

You suddenly realize you hadn't eaten a single thing. "Typical y/nnie, even when we were kids, she'd go out of her way to not cause anyone any trouble," Han comments from your left.

Hyunjin takes a piece of steak from the grill and puts it on your plate, while Han starts telling a childhood story of you and him, "I remember one time we were learning how to ride bikes near the Han river, y/nnie was still using training wheels, and my older brother kept teasing her about it, so she took them off. She got about three feet down the path before she accidentally swerved into the freezing river. Luckily she could swim and we had to pull her out of the water. But when we insisted that we take her to the emergency room she looked at me and said 'I just fell in the river, it's not like I got hit by a car or anything!'" Han recalls.

The table erupted in laughter, except for Lee Know.

"You were okay though right?" Felix asks.

"Well for the most part, only some minor bruising!" you explain.

"MINOR!??! Your knee was practically busted open, you were bleeding like crazy!" Han exclaims.

Changbin stifled his laughter. And Han continued telling stories about you and his childhood. "There was this time in highschool when y/n was visiting me over the summer in Malaysia and one of my friends had a huge crush on her, like I'm talking gigantic, and y/nnie felt too bad to reject the guy, so she went on three dates with him until I had to call him and tell him that it was because she felt bad for him."

"Oh my gosh stop Ji, I still feel bad about that to this day!" You exclaim.

"Luckily that has been the only boyfriend of hers I've had to fend off," Han jokes.

"That's because he's the only boyfriend I've ever had!" you bring up.

"Well I didn't wanna embarrass you but yes that too," he chuckles.

"There's no way you've only had one boyfriend!" Felix exclaims.

"Are you gay?" Jeongin blurts.

Everyone stares at him before bursting into fits of laughter. "Stop! I'm being serious!" Jeongin yells.

"Uhm, I dunno? But no just guys don't really look at me like that," you say through chuckles.

"No wait that's sad!" Felix frowns.

You suppose that the two bottles of soju he had were finally starting to hit him. "No! Don't get all sappy I'm fine!" you insist.

Group dinners with you accompanying had become pretty frequent over the past few weeks, so had the clear sign that Lee Know was not fond of you or your presence.

Glares he would send you, cold and rude comments, even Han asked you what you did to make him dislike you so much. It tore Han apart, having to choose between his bestfriend and his cousin. Even though no one asked for him to choose, he always felt like the two of you disliking each other brought him into it.

Yet you had to go to Japan with Lee Know to help him film his vlog, maybe God did hate you, or maybe it was just bad luck. Whatever the case was, it did not help the fact that you were gonna be stuck with him in Tokyo and Kyoto for the next five days.

You had packed accordingly and met him at the airport. No words were exchanged between the two of you, except when he was instructing you to get his good side while you were filming him. "At least pretend you enjoy my company while on camera," you scoff.

Even when you landed in Tokyo, walking around with the man, you both exchanged few words. If you were a bystander on the street, it would seem like the two of you hated each other. He probably did hate you. Why? You have no idea.

"I'm gonna go out," you inform him, when the two of you return to your shared hotel room.

"Where?"

"A club, the one a few blocks west of here," you explain.

"That's dangerous," he comments before you're out the door.

You scoff, "I'm sure I'll be okay."

"Suit yourself," he shrugs.

You walk out the door and down the street to the club.

You mingle through the sweaty bodies to the bar, using the little Japanese that you did know to order a drink. "Long day?" a man beside you asks.

"Tell me about it," you chuckle.

"And what's your name?"

"y/n Han," you smile and give him your hand to shake.

He does but before he puts it down he kisses it, "well you look stunning," he compliments.

"Oh," you pause, "thank you, but uhm I can't really do anything, I'm here on a business trip."

"Well it's not like we have to go anywhere to do anything," the guy insists.

His presence was now making you uncomfortable. He got closer and closer to you, "c'mon sweetheart why don't we just slip off to the bathroom."

"No I'm good," you reply.

But the guy grabs your wrist and begins pulling you across the dance floor to the bathrooms despite your begging that he will let you go and leave you alone. Panic fills your mind, and another hand, a different one this time grabs your free wrist. Lee Know looks at you with worry on his face. "Who are you?" the guy from earlier asks.

"Her friend," Lee Know stares the guy down, "would you mind letting her go?" it was a question, but the only answer he would take would be yes.

"What're you gonna do if I don't? Hm?" The guy poses.

"You don't wanna fucking know," Minho seethes.

You look between the two men, hoping and praying Lee Know will win whatever is going on.

When the guy keeps dragging you, Lee Know punches him right in the nose. The guy's grip on your arm ends and Lee Know pulls you away from the guy and out the doors of the club in a swift motion. Before you can even thank him, he begins talking, "did he touch you anywhere other than your wrist?" rage was dripping in his voice.

You shake your head no, and tears well up in your eyes at the thought of what the guy was going to do to you if Minho hadn't been there.

"C'mon we're going back to the hotel," Minho says, giving you no chance to protest, not that you would.

When he opens the door to the hotel room he lets you walk in and closes the door behind you and him. "Thank you," you finally say.

"Don't mention it, d'you want to go home? I'll book a flight?" he asks.

You shake your head no, "I'm okay, it's okay."

"What happened was totally not fucking okay, you don't have to pretend like it was," he says while taking his shoes off.

He looks up at you, he crosses the room, kneeling beside you before unbuckles your shoes for you, tossing them near the doorstep.

"Why do you hate me?" you blurt.

Lee Know is quiet for a minute, "I don't hate you," he states.

"Then why are you so mean to me? You know what it's doing to Han? So why do you act this way?" you confront.

"Because it's easier to be mean to you and hurt Han then to tell him I'm head over heels for his cousin who is also our manager," he sighs.

"What?"

"You heard me," he retorts.

"Then why are you so-"

"Cold? Mean? Rude? Like I just said honey, I can't like you. I didn't want you to like me, so that way we wouldn't be anything," he elaborates.

"Who says I would even like you if you were nice to me?"

"So you wouldn't like me?" he whispers.

He stands up and tilts your chin up so you're looking at him. The words are caught in the back of your throat, "I would appreciate an answer my love."

"I- yeah- but- I yeah," you stutter.

"Keep it a secret?"

"Keep what a secret?"

"This," he leans down and his lips meet your own.

You immediately kiss back, taking a few minutes to savor the taste of him after the kiss ends. "You're a good kisser for someone who has only had one boyfriend before," Minho compliments.

"Thank you?"

Minho pauses, "I'm sorry, for being a dick, I wanna make it up to you."

You admire his feline-like features for a few moments before replying, "I can think of one way."

"What is it?"

"Another kiss?" you request.

And Minho is happy to oblige to your requests.

[kyph3r]

NEW WORKOUT PLAN

trainer!namjoon x fem!reader

in which... your new trainer is hot, you're horny, and it's past closing hours

warnings: pwp, smut, use of the word "slutty", this is rlly short so be ready for a fast pace, im imagining a chubbier reader but the fic is for everyone !!!

an: just a little drabble, i was listening to the college dropout and the new work out plan played, it inspired me ;)

when your trainer walks in, you swear the world stops for a second

you just joined a new gym, it's marketing said it was rigorous and had the top trainers in the country working to get people in shape. so when a 6'2, bulky, handsome man walks into your assigned training room and says he'll be helping you work out for the next few months with the sweetest smile on his face, should you really be as surprised and horny as you are?

your first day is extremely embarrassing, you swear the universe cursed you to be the most unflexable person on earth. but your trainer, namjoon, says it's all right with a small smile and proceeds to lay you out on the ground and help you stretch. his big arms grab your thighs and pull them back until your knees hit your chest and fuck, you pray to the highest power that you aren't leaking through your tight little leggings.

"you are so tense, is everything alright?" he asks with a concerned look on his face. the hands on your thighs go higher and start gently massaging your calves as an attempt to get you to relax. it does quite the opposite. you can't tell if he's teasing you on purpose or if he is just that oblivious.

"n-no i'm fine namjoon.. i just don't stretch a lot, that's all!" you say with a tremble in your voice, trying to hold back a pleasured moan from the way he's touching you. he lets out a noise of understanding and starts bending you more.

"if that's the case then we should probably spend a lot of time stretching in our first few sessions," he looks down at you and smiles, "i don't want you to accidentally hurt yourself because you haven't stretched." the look on your face after he said that must have been very amusing, because he had to lower his head to let out a chuckle.

namjoon is an excellent trainer. he insists on doing the workouts alongside you "to make it fair" but it honestly just makes things a lot worse. by the end of the workout his voice is breathier, there's a shine of sweat all over him, and the image of a big man dripping sweat and saying your name alongside praises of "keep it up, you're doing so well" leaves you in more of a debauched state than you should be in after a work out.

by the end of the first month you're sore and very sexually frustrated. you've been trying to seduce him in any way possible, wearing the tightest work out gear you own, blinking up at him with eyes that scream "please fuck me!" any time that you can, you really give props to namjoon for being so respectful and proper during your sessions. but every once in a while his polite persona will break and he'll look at you like he wants to devour you right in there in the training room. but it will quickly go back to normal, leaving you a horny mess.

the closest you think you came to him fucking you was the yoga day, you purposely wore shorts that made your ass look amazing. he told you to do the downward dog position and you swear you heard a quiet "fuck" coming from him behind you, quickly covered with a cough. by the end of the session a blush was set high on his cheekbones and the hands around your waist positioned to check your form were gripping firmer.

by the middle of your second month, he finally breaks.

"do you know how much of a tease you've been, huh?" he questions while giving a slap to your ass. he has you pressed against the wall, backside jutting out to flush against his moving hips. his pace is ruthless, one hand holding your own above your head and the other hooking two fingers into your open mouth. "i had to endure your slutty little outfits for all these weeks, shit, take it."

you moan uncontrollably, his thrusts becoming faster as the hand in your mouth snakes down to your core, playing with your clit.

"namjoon! too much, gonna cum," you whine out, grinding your hips back onto his. he gives another slap to your ass and speeds the fingers on your clit and you're cumming, arousal squirting onto his hand and the ground. his groans become louder as he feels the mess you made and angles his head down to suck along the column of your neck.

"fuck, baby, you're so good. so good for me. just let me use you a little longer." his pace slows to shallow thrusts that feel like they hit your guts until he comes with a low moan, filling your insides.

you are both panting, sweat and cum dripping off of each other. he lays his head on your shoulder and slowly pulls out of your cunt.

"so–" he clears his throat, "would you like to go out somewhere?"

[twomindsbrokenheart]

Save the Date || Closed RP @80s-pizza-party

With the hustle and bustle of the holidays over and done with, the new year in the Pizzaplex settled into much the same pattern as the one before it. True, some things had certainly changed in twelve months. The player wasn't coming around much anymore, not even to play Ruin, so Vanessa didn't have much in the way of glitch reports to file; she ended up enrolling in a couple of recreational classes taught by a sprite-based organization at the Gray Market, the same ones who put together things like the winter carnival and fall festival, and now she spent two evenings a week studying botany and art history. Speaking of classes, the kids still had their weekday morning lessons, though sign language was now mixed in with Reading Club and Science Club -- aka gathering together to chip away at a chapter book and doing some basic kid-friendly experiments. Meanwhile, the Glamrocks got together for jam sessions fairly often, and Monty often pounded away at his drum kit even when everyone else wasn't present.

In the midst of all this, Freddy and Bonnie sat down and began planning their wedding. Weekday mornings when the kids were in class had always been their time to get together, to listen to music, dance, or simply talk, but now they spent many of these meetings figuring out the details of the ceremony.

Pretty much all of the major characters of the game would be participating in some way, depending on their area of expertise. Chica was in charge of catering and baking the cake, Roxy would take care of hair and makeup for those who needed it, Eclipse would deal with all wardrobe-related concerns. Monty and Gregory would be the best men, while Cassie and Cassidy were the ring bearer and flower girl, respectively. DJ would provide music for the ceremony and reception. Sun was assigned to decorations, Moon was the bouncer (and also organizing a sleepover for the children on the night of the big day, so that Bonnie and Freddy could spend their first night as a couple together), and Vanessa had offered to do the flower arrangements, although Freddy had also asked her to officiate; she was the only one he could think of to do so.

Around the twentieth of January, after considering and rejecting a Valentine's Day wedding, Freddy and Bonnie finally sent out their "Save the Date" messages. The ceremony would take place on Saturday, the thirteenth of April, just two weeks after Easter. And these messages, the prelude to official invitations, made their way across the Pizzaplex as well as to their neighbors in Help Wanted, following the approximate guest list of the Christmas party.

[kaivenom]

How would you meet the avengers' men

A/N: I know this is very long, if someone wants a one shot about some of these, tell me about it. This is an attempt to remember the good days of Marvel and these awesome man.

Masterlist

Steve Rogers:

You where a new agent in S.H.I.E.L.D and you got assigned to be the supervisor when Steve woke up from the ice.

He was scared about the new era, the technology and all the things but you tried to teach him the best you can about the 21th century.

At some point he got so used to your presence that invited you to take dinner. The night was so pleasasnt that you decided to set the sundays as a 'study period' to do outside.

Bucky:

You were his neighbor at Bucarest and when you heard that someone was moving on you decided to welcome him to the comunity. He got very surprised to see you being so nice to him.

Since then you start to meet many times, ussually in the market. Or in the stairs of the building but he never said more than three or four words, you thought he didn't like.

One day you were carrying a large amount of purchase and he appeared, seeing that you needed help he took some of the bags and you two started going up stairs. He looked nervous but soon started to start a conversation with you. He wasn't very good at it, it was clear that he didn't socialize very often.

From that time he began to talk to you more often when you coincided.

Bruce Banner:

You were sent to Banner's lab to help him with his experiments, especially they selected you because you have a psychology degree and Fury expected you to know how to calm him down if something happens.

The time you got there, Bruce made you work instantly. He was rude and strict. Weeks passed by and at some point you started to get annoyed about his attitude towards you because you didn't do anything to get him angry.

When you aproached him about it he started to say that he was reaching your limits to see where was your limit, because everyone will abandon him. You confronted him about it using all your psychological skills from university, trying to figure out his personality.

He didn't like it, even the Hulk started to show up, seeing that you got on his nerves that much, it was time to show up your mediation skills. He was surprised to see that you got to calm down the Hulk, from that day he started to be more nice at work.

Clint Barton:

Being new on S.H.I.E.L.D and being an awesome archer was something that Clint didn't take well. First started with showing off on the training season, then continued to get on your way on missions.

It was after that you saved his life that he started to calm down with the competitive aspect. Though it didn't disappear, it was easier to cope with it.

Especially because you aren't really good at socializing, at some point Clint realized that and started to be more close to you and include you on plans with other agents.

When you discovered you thought it was because he felt pity about you, after some discussion he said that he felt the same. Being an archer when everyone has guns can be a little isolating from partners and he didn't want you to feel that way.

After that you two started to be inseparable, although you didn't leave the competitive side.

Peter Quill:

You hired the famous Guardians of the Galaxy to get you an object that was stolen from you. Apart from the fact that Quill was just coming in to get extra information about the case every time he can, he even tried haggling for payment.

He tried to add a date with you to your previous agreedment. You tried to decline it, but then you realized that you both where humans but you were never on earth. So that could be the perfect time to see a true human experience like a romantic date.

You accepted and at the end, you were very excited about it. He took you to take dinner and then some drinks in a club. You danced until sunrise and ended up having a very good night.

You thought he would try to make you go to bed with him but he was even more lost in the music than you. It was very fun and you hope to hire them again if that would be the price.

Peter Parker:

Being a new student at Queen's high school was difficult, even more if you didn't fit quite well with other girls or anyone popular.

Then appeared like a miracle, the science club, maybe you can make some lab friends there. When you got there you saw to boys, one was especially cute

They seemed very surprised to see someone there, they asked you if you were lost and when you said It was because you liked to join then it was like a blessing to them. Apparently they dont have many females in the club, they were exited.

The boy named Peter asked if you needed help to know the high school, the classes or anything. You accepted the help and was one of the best mornings you could have, from that day you pass almost all your time on the science club, especially with Peter.

Thor:

You were a sorcerer well known on Asgard. One day he appeared asking for you help and you accepted, after all he was the prince.

After that and some awkard flirting from his side while you were casting the spell, he started to ask for your help more often.

There was a point where it wasn't even credible anymore and It was very obvious that he wanted some excuse to see you.

After confronting him about that behaviour he tried to deny It, but when you said that if he wanted to get you on a date all he need to do it ask, he inmediatly regretted his words and asked you out.

Pietro Maximoff

(in this i imagine he is still alive)

Sokovian invassion, the worst day possible you can have. Dangerous robots and some strange blue and white lighting appearing on the street from time to time. You took a gun and started evacuating all the people you can, you were no soldier or superhero but seeing children being in danger wasn't your preference.

When you saw the strange lighting again you shot it. It turned out that wasn't a robot, it was a men. At least the bullet only skimed his arm but the discontent on his face was obvious. You yelled an apology and when he saw the kids behind you he took them to the evacuation transport.

You didn't let him take you there and obliged him to escort you while you continue to save some people. After someone shoot you on the arm he took you to the transport without the posibility to complain from your part.

Later when all the disaster passed, he searched for you and invited you to dinner, in expense for shooting him.

Tony Stark:

You were an interviewer of the news, one day your boss decided that you would do an articule about Iron man.

You spent the next three months investigation and searching everything you could find about the millionare. And finally you published your work.

Instantly your report was really popular and in a couple of days Tony Stark was at your job, he was looking for you.

When your boss left him on your office, mister Stark started to ask you questions about why you wrote that things and quarrel you about not asking for a private interview with him. When you said that to already did that and ended up with a refusal he said it was a mistake, so he gave you a date.

When the day came, he was really excentric and full of pride trying to flirt with you but after seeing your compromise, stopped little by little on his attempts... at least during the interview, after that he invited you to another date, this time more casual.

Sam Wilson:

This is simple, you two were recluts on S.H.I.E.L.D at the same time, this included rivarly, competitions and you dying of jealousy when he got into the avengers.

You decided to try to ascend the more you can on the hierarchy of S.H.I.E.L.D's comands and you succeded.

After a couple of years you had to supervise an international secret mission that was shared with the avengers so you two encountered. He was shocked to see that you got so far and you made fun of his wings. That resulted in your rivarly to be reactivated during the mission.

When quest ended successfully he offered you to train together again. You accepted and started to spent at least one morning of the week kicking his ass.

Scott Lang

You were the babbysitter of Cassie, provided by the police to be there if it was a problem because she is the daughter of a superhero. The thing it's that you didn't met Ant-man yet because he was on house arrest.

Until one day he showed on the door, without the ankle strap, you supposed his sentenced finished. He was suprised too, someone new was on the house playing with his daughter.

The day was really funny, he was funny, you two instanly connected and tried to make the best day for Cassie.

A couple of days you discovered that he escaped from the house arrest, when he showed up again a couple of days later you aproached him about it. When he didn't take you seriously you sent him to the ground with a fight technique, he didn't expected you to be a trained agent.

After all you had to be more permissive because the man loved his daughter a lot and you can't take that from him. You keeped and eye on him and the surroundings, but the day was as funny as the first day.

Bonus Loki

You were a librarian on Earth, a friend of Jane Foster. One day Thor appeared with his brother. You heard about him, especially after New York's invasion but he didn't look like a maniac.

It was charming, aside from the dislike and upset he appeared to had from being on earth. While Thor was with Jane, he started to look at the books with a annoyed face. You decided to aproach him and offer your help, in the end this was your library.

At first he didn't quite like your presence and he made it clear, but during the evening, your book recomendation's made him change a little his mind.

He started to acompany more his brother to the library and started at some point taking books with him, making a license was very funny. There was a time that he started to bring books from Asgard to you and incredibly, he offered himself to teach you magic. In his words, someone with that much knowledge should be able to used it.

The afternoons on your small library started to be very intriguing.

[cherry-romper]

Days off with them

+ Eren, Mikasa, Armin, Marco, Jean, Connie, Sasha, Levi, Erwin, Hange, Reiner, Bertholdt, Annie, Porco, Pieck, Zeke

Eren; Staying Behind

You and Eren had been assigned cleaning duty that morning - even though it was supposed to be your day off.

Eren listened to you while you ranted and raved about how you shouldn't be doing it and should be allowed to be free for the day.

You'd both been invited to the market with Sasha and Co. but the Eren said he didn't fancy it.

You silently thanked Eren, because you, too, didn't want to go to the market.

The two of you then spent the day sparring together and messing around.

Mikasa; Hanging out

You'd gone camping the night prior to your day off. Your camp consisted of the top ten in the cadets and a few others, such as yourself and Armin.

You'd shared a tent with Sasha and Mikasa, so the three of you all woke up around the same time.

Sasha was excited to go hunting so she left just you and Mikasa to decide what to do for the day.

It was Mikasa who asked if you wanted to spend the day with her, much to your surprise.

Armin; Library

The two of you met, coincidentally, in the library. You'd been looking for a book all morning and couldn't find it anywhere.

As it turns out, Armin had already checked that book out, although he hadn't read it yet.

He told you his plans for the day; to read under a tree until sundown, then go home and read some more.

Since he had the book you wanted, you proposed you tag along with him, and read the book you wanted together.

Marco; Lazy Day

You weren't used to having time to yourself. So, when the time came to relaxing you weren't sure what to do with yourself.

Like most soldiers you slept in, but this made you miss breakfast.

You soon learned that Marco had been waiting for you all morning in the mess hall.

He brought breakfast to your room and helped you adjust to the free time.

You ended up being overwhelmed from actually being able the think for once. Marco stayed with you, per your request, and comforted you the entire day.

Jean; Market

Jean's love language is quality time (among others), so on days off he often waits for his friends to suggest something and just tags along.

He's down for anything as long as he's with the people he loves, especially you.

He also loves doing things, he's not one to just sit around and talk, he like to be actively doing something. i.e. walking around, cleaning, working out. He doesn't mind what he's doing, as long as he's not doing it alone.

He LOVES the marketplace. He finds comfort in the ambience of the bustling people.

Connie; Visiting Family

Any excuse to go home, and Connie is there.

Recently though, he's been torn between savouring the time with his friends or visiting his family again.

Either way he might not see any of them again, so he often acts out of impulse on the day.

So, being the genius he is, he drags you along to visit his family with him.

Sasha; Hunting

She offered to teach you how to hunt, telling you it was an essential life tool.

You listened to her intently, being sure to mimic her movements precisely.

Still when it came to killing a small bunny, you couldn't bring yourself to do it.

She found it so heart warming that you couldn't kill the innocent, contrary to the way you were on a battlefield.

Levi; Tea Shop

Days off for the Scout's faculty don't really exist, most live by the "I'll sleep when I'm dead" motto – especially Levi

Still, you had convinced him to tackle his ever-growing pile of paperwork in a small tea shop in the market.

It didn't last long, he hated how many people came in and out of the shop, no work was completed.

Instead, the two of you peacefully people watched soaking up each other's company

Hange; Experiments

As per, Hange could be found hunched over their notes, frothing at the mouth thinking about the breakthroughs they could make.

They insisted you work with them to come up with new theories.

You were smart and they respected that, plus you had a similar passion as them – less to do with titans and more to do with finding out the truth.

It wasn't how you'd wanted to sped your day off, but seeing Hange light up when you'd theorise with them made it worth it.

Erwin; Working

What else would this man be doing? He was more likely to work himself into a grave than he was to die in combat.

Still, he didn't often get time to simply hang out with his comrades. So, he got up early, working himself to the bone to get his paperwork done at record pace, simply so he could spend a blissful summers evening in your company.

Reiner; Napping

It wasn't his intention, nor yours, to fall asleep in the pasture.

You had been cloud watching, trying your hardest to take your minds off the horrors that played on repeat.

You brought each other so much comfort that it was almost impossible to not feel tired around each other.

It was jean who found you two, tangled together in the field. He NEVER let you two live it down.

Bertholdt; Market

Everyone had suggested it, but neither of you wanted to go. Still, come 7 am, you found yourself in the back of a cart and on your way to the market.

Somewhere throughout the day you had lost everyone, leaving the two of you alone together, to wander the stalls.

Bert felt rather homesick, seeing all the shops gave him a horrid nostalgia. You'd taken notice of his hesitation and hooked your arm with his, trying to offer his as much comfort as possible.

He was taken aback sure, but your touch helped him more than he thought it could. To be honest, it scared him a little.

Annie; Hanging out

Absolutely, not in the mood to do anything, ever. She just wants to get her mission over with, she has no real reason to do anything or make friends.

Still, she's grateful that you, along with some others, still try to spend time with her.

Even so, she spends the day in her room but not without inviting you to come sit with her.

Porco; Beach Walk

You had decided to travel along the coast for your day out, desperate to get away from the busy city.

Was it an authorised absence? Not at all. And somehow you managed to convince Porco to come with you.

You didn't tell him that you 'technically' weren't allowed to be leaving Liberio, when he find out he tried to convince you to go back, scared of the repercussions.

However, after seeing you so happy to be on the beach, he decided the consequences would be worth it, given neither of you had long left to live.

Pieck; Hanging out

Still not used to her legs, Pieck had asked you to stay with her while she caught up on her books.

She'd been wanting to read them when she got back from Paradis, so to do so in your company was more than she could have hoped for.

Though, she often found herself getting distracted by you, who sat next to her, head bobbing as you feel asleep reading your own book.

Zeke; Hanging Out

Simply put, he took you on a walk around Liberio.

He kept you close the whole time, being sure you were safe, talking about everything and nothing.

He was content with just being.

Even for just a moment, if he could exist alongside you, everything he'd done would have been worth it.

[ellieluvr420]

Friends? Never. Pt.9 (Ellie Williams x reader)

SYNOPSIS: You and Ellie had been bitter enemies for years now but before that you were best friends. You had always planned to be roommates one day but when that becomes a reality the situation isn't exactly how you both imagined it.

SMUT mdni!

“El wake up!” You nudge the sleeping girl, but she turns to face away from you as she pulls the covers further over her head. “Come onnnn, we have patrol. It’s my first day back, we can’t be late.” 

“It’s too early.” Her grumbles are muffled by the cover until you rip it away from her to reveal her tangled bed hair and pouty face. 

“Get up, get up, get up!” Your ridiculous amount of energy is frustrating for Ellie, but she can’t deny she finds it a little infectious. She smiles at you before pulling you down to cuddle as you’re slightly suffocated by the way she is pressing you into her chest. She sighs and you feel her body relax before you squeeze her shoulder to keep her from falling asleep again. “We’re gonna be late please Ellie.” You plead and she huffs before releasing you and sitting up to rub the sleep from her eyes. 

“Fine, I’m up.”  

“Finally, how are you not late to patrol when you don’t have me waking you up?” 

“I am late when you don’t wake me up.” 

“Of course you are. Come on, get up.” 

“Alright, alright.” 

It had been just over a week since you had collapsed in town and Maria was finally letting you patrol again, she was reluctant to but a space on the team that Ellie was heading out with today needed to be filled so she finally gave in to your begging. You had been going stir crazy and all you wanted to do was leave Jackson for a little bit. Ellie kissed you before staggering off to the shower leaving you alone in her room. You look around at all her decorations as you always found yourself doing whilst you were in there as you contemplate whether to ask Ellie why she never told you about Maria offering a spare apartment to either of you. You had ran into Maria yesterday and she had mentioned it only to be met with a dumbfounded look on your face as you were completely unaware of her visit. Your memory flashed back to when you saw her as you were walking home from the market and you realised she obviously had come to your home. As you walked away from Maria you couldn’t help but smile at Ellie’s lie, you had suspicions of the reason she didn’t tell you, but you wanted to hear it from her anyway so as she walked back into the room, her skin glistening from the shower, you decided to confront her about it. 

“El?” 

“Hm?” She doesn’t look at you as she’s rummaging through her drawers looking for clothes to wear today. 

“Why didn’t you tell me Maria came over to offer one of us an apartment?” She pauses and turns to face you with the look of a guilty child, her head bowed as she fidgeted with her fingers. You feel bad seeing the obvious anxiety radiating from her as you realise how your tone sounded to her. “I’m not mad, I just wanna know.” She finally makes eye contact with you as she walks over to come sit in front of you on the bed. 

“I was worried if you found out you’d want to move out... and I didn’t want you to.” You gently cock your head to the side as you brush a stray hair out of her face. 

“Ellie, I didn’t even want to move out when I thought my parents wanted to fix our relationship. Let alone to go live in a little apartment on my own.” 

“So you’re really not mad?” 

“No are you kidding? I think it’s cute.” You grin at her as you bit your lip. 

“Oh whatever.” She shakes her head at your compliment and walks back over to her drawer, partially to find clothes but partially to hide the blush that was creeping up her cheeks. 

You made it to patrol with minutes to spare as you stand chatting with the group you and Ellie were both assigned to today. There were five of you, Ellie and you, Jesse, Lacey and Matt; you were looking forward to it because you were fond of everyone in the group and you knew they were all skilled and focused, so they were a good group to be going out with for the first time after your concussion. As the gates opened and you climbed on Greg you met Ellie’s face that was already gazing at yours. 

“You ready?” Her eyes search yours for any sign of fear or uncertainty but they only thing she saw was excitement, she understood how you felt, once you get used to leaving Jackson regularly for patrol, it can be difficult to stay in Jackson all the time. 

You give a firm nod and she nods back before you all begin riding to your first checkpoint. Today was one of the first days that wasn’t blisteringly hot in months and you had never been more grateful for it as the wind whipped past your face. Ellie spared glances at you but never let herself stare for too long for fear that she would get distracted, as she often does, by you and ride into a tree or off a cliff. She knew it was a silly thought, but she still only let herself steal quick glances anyway. 

You looked up at the sky as you reached the first checkpoint and noticed the dark clouds barrelling in from the east and the distinct fog that signalled heavy rain was coming your way. Jackson needed it to rain more than ever so you were relieved but the effect it had on your patrol was a not so welcome one. ”Jess, it looks like its gonna rain bad.” 

“Yeah, I know, there’s a house used for long patrols that we’re gonna stay in tonight. Maria radioed me like ten minutes ago to say we shouldn’t come back today because we’ll end up right in the middle of it, so we’ll do the patrol and then wait the storm out there.” 

“When were you gonna share that with us?” 

“When we got there.” He turns and smirks at you and roll your eyes. 

“You’re an ass.” He chuckles 

At his words you all exchanged frustrated glances with each other but when you caught Ellie’s eye you could only smile, almost every night for weeks now you had slept in the same bed together and knowing that you wouldn’t be apart from each other for the night made you all the more grateful Maria had let you go out today. 

“Oh my god, look Ellie, it’s like us.” You whisper yell at the girl as you look at a picture of the couple you assumed owned the house, two women snuggled together, one smiling and the other kissing the smiling one’s cheek. 

“Yeah let’s recreate it.” You snort at her before looking back at the picture. 

“I wonder what happened to them. You know when the outbreak happened.” She hums in agreement before you move on to looking around the room some more. Patrol had been good and uneventful which was nice considering the things that had happened to you and Ellie over the past few weeks. The pattering of rain when you’re inside had always calmed you and now was no different, you felt comfortable and at ease and the sight of Ellie stood before you only made you feel giddier. You felt yourself falling faster and faster for her as you spent more time together and settled into the new dynamic of your relationship. As you drop down onto the sofa Lacey walks into the room, her eyes switching from you to Ellie and back to you again.  

“There’s only four bedrooms so someone’s gonna have to share or take the couch.”  

Without a beat Ellie turns to Lacey. “I’ll take the couch.” 

“Cool, okay.” You had to admit Ellie’s eagerness hurt just a little bit but as Lacey exited the room once again and Ellie turned to you with a mischievous expression on her face, your curiosity piques. 

“Now we can share without them being weird about it.” 

“Oh my god you’re a genius.” 

“I know.” She grins smugly as she walks over to you, still seated on the sofa, and presses a light kiss to your forehead. “I’m gonna go explore upstairs, okay?” You nod and smile and she walks off upstairs leaving you alone in the cosy living room, you relax into the sofa further and shut your eyes, you were tired, so tired but something was telling you to go upstairs and explore further with Ellie. 

Ellie had wandered into what she assumed was the main bedroom from the pictures of the couple you had pointed out downstairs that were dotted around the room. She made her way around the room slowly until she opened the bedside drawer on the left side of the bed, her jaw dropped as she pulled out a box that was still sealed shut, containing what she can only assume is a sex toy. She spins the box around and sees an image of the harness and accompanying appendage fastened onto a woman’s hips. She spins the box back round to inspect the pink dildo from behind the plastic window and without a second thought she rips the box open, carefully pulling the strap-on out of the box. As she inspects the toy, she gets an overwhelming urge to see what it looks like on, it’s like she was under a spell, she was picturing what it would be like to use it with you and the image in her head only spurred her on further. She walked over to the mirror hanging on the wall in the corner of the room and started to step into the leg holes of the harness. 

She only remembers the door is wide open when it’s too late as you appear in the doorway with an amused look on your face. She spots you in the mirror and immediately jumps causing her to trip as she fails to get her second foot through the harness, sending her crashing to the floor, clutching the toy to her body to try and hide it from you. “Ow fuck! You scared the living shit out of me!” 

“All I did was walk into the room, you got scared because you’re hiding something. What you got there El?” You saunter over to her as her face blushes a deep crimson and she tries to scramble out of the harness to hide it from you before you get to her. She knows it’s no use, she’s been caught, but she tries anyway. As you reach her, she sighs and accepts defeat before shimmying out of the harness and holding it out to you. You stare at it in your hands with an equally awestruck expression as Ellie had before your eyes flick back to hers. “Put it on.” You hand it back to her and she stays completely frozen as she stares back at you. 

“What?” 

“You obviously wanted to try it so put it on. See how it feels.” She looks at you, then the strap and then the door which causes you to spin on your heel and close it before making your way back over to her. You take the harness from her again and find the buckles on each strap before holding them up to her face. “I think these reduce the risk of you face planting.” 

She purses her lips at your sharpness before undoing the buckles and turning back to the mirror to fit it around her hips. The second it’s attached to her she feels a warmth between her thighs as she stares back at her reflection, the feeling only intensifies when your arms snake round her waist as you press your front into her back leaving light kisses over her shoulder blade. “What are you thinking about?” You murmur into her shoulder as she holds onto your hands that clasped together at her waist. 

“Using it with you.” She breathes out as if confessing her deepest secret. 

“You wanna use it with me?” You know the answer, but you adore the way her cheeks redden with every question. 

“Yeah.” 

“So do it then.” At your words she spins round, immediately attaching her lips to yours with a fervour, you push her backwards until she hits the mirror behind her with a loud thump as your hands snake under her t-shirt you had watched her pick out this morning. She spins you both around and slams you back into the wall causing a gasp to leave your lips, letting her push her tongue further into your welcoming mouth. Over her shoulder you see the bed beckoning you both over as you push back at Ellie a little, she realises what you’re doing and begins walking backwards, pulling you with her, her lips never once leaving yours. She continues walking backwards until her hip bashes into the drawers that sat underneath the large windows, and she hisses and groans at the sharp pain that she knew would leave a bruise. 

“Ow motherfucker.” She curses before attaching her lips to your neck and continuing towards the bed where she pushes you down and immediately climbs on top of you. As you wrap your legs around her waist pulling her hips flush with yours you can feel the toy rubbing up against your throbbing bud and the feeling elicits a whine from your lips. She chuckles under her breath before grinding her hips into yours, desperate to hear that sound again. Your lips meet again as your hands find their place in her hair, tugging gently. You’re both utterly consumed by one another until the door slams open and Jesse’s voice can be heard by the both of you. 

“Oh fuck.” He’s frozen in his place as he stares in disbelief as you and Ellie both scramble off each other, Ellie immediately throwing herself to the floor to hide the strap attached to her hips and you jumping off the bed to stand and meet Jesse’s stunned face. “I- er- I heard some crashes. Sorry, I’ll er- I'll go.” 

As he rushes out of the room, slamming the door behind him, you look down at Ellie whose head is in her hands as she shakes it as if trying to convince herself that didn’t actually happen. 

“Oh shit.” 

“Oh shit.” Ellie echoes your words as you both stay frozen.  

“I can’t believe that just happened.” A small chuckle leaves your lips which causes Ellie to lift her head from her hands and laugh also. 

“He looked terrified.” 

“He probably was.” You bend down to her level and kiss her pink nose through giggles before standing again. “I’m gonna go and let you... fix yourself while I make sure he isn’t blabbering to the others.” 

“Okay.” She groans once again as you walk out and shut the door behind you where you stand and take a deep breath before walking downstairs to join the others. 

Ellie slips out of the harness and as she goes to put it back in the drawer, she notices her bag still by the door where she had dropped it. She walks over to the bag and slips it right to the bottom before zipping it up and walking downstairs to join you. 

As she walks in you glance at her before looking away and over to Jesse whose eyes are firmly planted on the floor. You each look shellshocked and Lacey and Matt don’t miss the strange air between the three of you. 

“What’s going on?” Lacey questions. 

“Huh?” “Nothing.” You’re quick to reply to Lacey and so is Ellie, your immediate denial and Ellie’s feigned ignorance work counter-intuitively, only making you seem more guilty. Jesse’s eyes never once leave the floor as Lacey and Matt exchange a suspicious look before they both nod slowly.  

“Well... okay then.” Matt says to fill the awkward silence before looking out the window at the dark, night sky. “I’m dead so I’m gonna go to bed.” 

“Yeah, me too.” Jesse says within a millisecond of Matt before jumping up and racing out of the room, Matt following behind him and turning back to you and Ellie once more before disappearing out of the room. Lacey’s eyes are darting between the two of you with a knowing smirk before she sighs and shakes her head. 

“You know what? I am also super tired, I’ll see you guys in the morning.” She walks away but not without shooting a glance your way that you don’t meet and once again you and Ellie are alone together. 

“Well... they definitely know.” You breathe out as Ellie laughs. 

“Yeah we did not play that cool at all.” 

“Oh my god I think I’m gonna die.” You whine as she walks over to you, wrapping her arms around your waist and pulling you into a tight embrace. 

“Hey at least you didn’t have a pink dick swinging from your hips when he walked in.” You snort and nod at her before burying your face into her chest as if she could shield you from the embarrassment you were feeling at the moment. 

“Yeah I’d be praying for the ground to swallow me hole if I was you.” 

“Thanks for that.” She giggles as she rests her chin on your head. “How about we go to bed hm?” You look at her with a cheeky grin before she rolls her eyes at your unashamed hint. “I meant to sleep.” 

“You’re no fun.” 

“Do I need to remind you what just happened?” 

“Okay fair enough, let’s go.” You both ascend the stairs before you reach the master bedroom once again, you knock on the door to see if anyone else had taken the room but to your surprise, no reply came signalling it was empty. You push the door open before dragging Ellie inside and shutting it once again. You both strip off to your underwear before climbing into the bed and snuggling into one another, the warmth of her skin against yours and the constant pattering of the rain lulls you to sleep. Ellie was awake for not much longer than you but long enough for her to gaze in awe at your features as you slept so peacefully. She had done many overnight stays for patrol over the years but she had never once been this happy and comfortable during one. 

As you and Ellie both walk down the stairs you’re met with the others standing in the kitchen already looking at you both suspiciously, it suddenly dawns on you that Ellie was supposed to be sleeping in the living room but at this point you both know the rouse is up so you just grab your boots as Ellie grabs her converse and begin readying yourselves for the journey back to Jackson now the storm had passed. 

You rode next to Lacey as Jesse rode up ahead with Matt and Ellie behind him engaged in a heated discussion about whether Nirvana or Pearl Jam was better. You don’t realise you’re zoned out watching them until you hear Lacey’s voice calling your name. 

“Huh- what- sorry.” 

“I said what the fuck is going on between you two?” She whisper-yells at you. 

“What do you mean?” 

“Oh don’t give me that. She obviously slept with you last night and Jesse can’t look at either of you. Oh my god!” She gasps loud enough for Ellie’s head to turn ever so slightly back in your direction. “Did he walk in on you guys fucking?” 

“Oh my god no!” You immeidately hiss back. “Kinda... I don’t know, okay? We’re just- well I don’t really know what we are right now.” 

“Oh my, hell has frozen over. You and Ellie, seriously?” 

“Yeah, I guess.” You can’t stop the coy grin from gracing your face as your eyes dart back to the girl in front of you. “Just don’t tell anyone, please. I don’t want everyone knowing.” You pause and move Greg closer to Lacey so you can speak quieter. “I want to make things official before we start telling people, you know?” 

“Yeah I get you, my lips are sealed don’t worry. Jesse won’t tell anyone because I don’t think he’s ever gonna speak again.” She cackles. 

“I know, we really did a number on him huh?” You both giggle like school girls as you continue the journey home. 

When Ellie heard Lacey gasp she went quiet, trying to listen to your conversation, she couldn’t make everything out that you were both saying but she did clearly hear you say you don’t want anyone knowing about you and her, she couldn’t help the sting that pained her chest at your words but she pushed the feeling down as she focused on Matt’s raving about how Nirvana was better once again. 

As you both walk through the door of your home, you breathed a sigh of relief at the immediate comfort brought to you by the space, you turn to look at Ellie who was already wandering off to the living room. You follow her and plop down next to her on the sofa and lean your head on her shoulder, you feel her chest rise and fall as she sighs before you sit up to look at her face, you notice the sadness painted over her expression and your eyebrows knit together as you search for any sign of what she’s thinking about. “You okay babe?” 

“Are you ashamed of me?” 

“What?” 

“I heard you tell Lacey you didn’t want people knowing about us.”  

“See this is why you shouldn’t eavesdrop, what you didn’t hear me say was that I don’t want anyone knowing until we’re official because we haven’t even talked about what’s going on between us yet.” She meets your eyes and you’re relieved to see the sadness is gone and has been replaced with elation. 

“So you’re not embarrassed of me?” 

“God no Ellie, I want to scream from the rooftops that you’re mine, but we haven’t actually established that you are.” She quirks an eyebrow at you before standing up and dramatically dropping to one knee in front of you. “I think you’ve skipped a step here love.” 

“Shut up.” She bows her head and clears her throat before pulling an imaginary ring box from her pocket and opening it in front of you. “Will you please go out with me? Please.” 

“I don’t know I think I’d need some time to think about it.” Her face drops and you giggle at her. “Of course I will Ellie.” She immediately lurches forward and kisses every inch of your face as you laugh at the tickle of her lips pecking at your skin. 

“Wait... so does this mean you’re my girlfriend now?” 

“Well yeah obviously.” 

“Oh shit, nevermind I take it back.” She closes the imaginary ring box and puts it back in her pocket before you dive at her, pinning her to the ground. 

“Too late, no take backs.” 

“Well shit.” You snuggle into her as you both giggle at the scene you had just enacted before she pulls your chin so you’re looking directly in her eyes. “I have a surprise for you.” 

“Really? What is it?” You sit up as you can’t contain your excitement.  

“Well it wouldn’t be much of a surprise if I told you would it? Come on, let’s go upstairs.” You scramble off her and pull her up to start dragging her upstairs, you don’t notice her grabbing her bag as she passed it and slinging it over her shoulder as you’re too focused on getting to the surprise you don’t know is right behind you. As you reach the end of the upstairs hallway where yours and Ellie’s rooms are, you walk into her room without looking back once. Despite the mess, you had become accustomed to Ellie’s room, you loved it because it was hers and recently, you’d find yourself sitting in her bed to read your book even if she was out on patrol. You reach the middle of the room and spin to face her only to see her rummaging around in her backpack. You quirk an eyebrow at her until you see a flash of pink. Your jaw drops but she puts the bag down without retrieving anything from it before gently walking you backwards towards the bed. She places her hands on your shoulders, pushing you down to sit on the bed before kissing you sweetly. You love the affection and you could never get enough of your kisses but all you could focus on was what was inside her bag, she knew that of course, that’s why she did it so as she pushes you to lay flat against the bed as she swiftly unbuttons your trousers before pulling everything on your bottom half down your legs in one smooth motion. “Patience, babe. Don’t wanna hurt you.” Is the last thing she said before latching onto your clit with a might. You scream at the sudden stimulation as you lace your fingers into her hair gently removing the hairband that was holding her hair in a half-up-half-down style, you loved her hair so much, she only ever wore it fully down around the house and there was something so intimate to you about only you seeing her like that. You bite down on your lip so hard you taste iron in your mouth as she fills you with her fingers, your back is arching off the bed before she puts a third finger in causing you to hiss and sit up on your elbows to make eye contact with her. You don’t break eye contact as she savages your cunt until you have to lay back down as you release, trembling and moaning as you see stars. You had had sex before Ellie, but nothing felt like how it did with Ellie. It felt like your souls were entwined with each other, gripping onto each other like your lives depended on it. 

As you catch your breath from your release, Ellie stands and walks over to her backpack before retrieving the strap-on and walking back over to you. You watch as she strips in front of you painfully slowly before putting on the harness with a lot more ease than last time. She nods her head at the pillows and you manoeuvre yourself so your head is laying on them as she crawls to be knelt between your legs. “You ready?” 

“Stop stalling... pussy.” You both giggle at the reference to your first day living together before she spits into her hand and rubs it up and down the shaft of the dick, as you watch the pulsing in your core only heightens. She plants a hand firmly at the side of your head as the other goes down to the strap to align it with your entrance, her face is scrunched up in concentration and the sight is soul-stirring. The air is knocked out of you as you feel her ease the tip into you gently and slowly, she pauses to let you adjust before you nod at her to keep going as you squirm, desperate to feel her inside you. She inches into you gently and as she bottoms out you groan at the fullness, a shiver runs down your spine and you pull her body flush with yours as you kiss her temple that was resting right by your lips. She begins rolling her hips into yours as she had done before but the sensation was different this time, you were so lost in your own pleasure you almost missed the whine that left Ellie’s lips but as you searched her face you realised this felt just as good for her as it did for you.  

You both gripped onto each other as the pleasure became almost unbearable, you locked lips as your tongues swirled around each other's, swallowing the symphony of sounds that left your lips. “Oh my god Ellie, oh fuck, I can’t- I’m gonna-” You whisper onto her lips. 

“I know, I know.” She coos softly through heavy breaths as her pace quickens impossibly. “Let go babe, come on, oh god you’re so perfect.” 

You both finish with choked moans as the heavy breathing and the ticking of Ellie’s clock are the only sounds filling the room as Ellie lays spent on top of you. You had never felt so good in your life and the feeling leaves your body humming in contentment. You scratched at her back and as Ellie went to lean upwards to pull out of you, you pull her back down again and wrap your legs firmly around her waist to keep her in position. “Please can we just stay like this for a little bit?” 

“Of course.” She nuzzles into your neck as you continue scratching up and down her back as you simply revel in the fullness of her still buried inside you.  

tags: @emiliabby @readbydayana @radioheadfan699 @lil-elliesgf

[coco-loco-nut]

Miami

Pairing: Logan x reader

Summary: Logan finally asks the girl he has seen around Williams out

A/n: I kinda hate this, but here it is😬

requests open masterlist

———————————

“Y/n!” You boss calls your name from a few cubicles down. You were new to Willams, having just moved from America and the Baseball industry into Motorsport.

“What’s up?” You ask, leaning against the frame of her cubicle.

“Erica is out sick, can you do her sponsorship activation in an hour?” She asks, looking a little frazzled, holding out a folder with some papers to you. You nod and take them, reading the summary sheets on your way to the car.

Your first assignment working with the drivers, thankfully you are used to ad shoots. They were relatively easy, taking pictures for the portfolio, schmoozing the sponsor, and helping marketing keep things in order.

“Coffee?” One of the sponsorship interns offers you, and you furrow your brow.

“Mark, that’s not in your job description, you don’t have to bring me coffee,” you take it anyway.

“BOGO deal. Figured you would like it since you weren’t planning on being here,”

“Favorite intern, right here. I’ll hook you up wherever you want to go after this,” you laugh, navigating through the site. Mark reads the briefs you brought along as you introduce yourself to the media team and the sponsors.

“Hi, I’m Logan,” One of the drivers introduces himself to you, his American accent making your ears perk up.

“Y/n, nice to meet you,” you extend your hand, your mother taught you manners.

“Georgia?” He shakes your hand, curious on placing the accent.

“North Carolina born and raised,” you smile, ignoring the pleasant warmth of his hand.

“Not many Americans around here. What do you do?” He asks. It’s a relief to you, everyone assumes that you are a sports journalist or work in marketing, but he had the decency to ask.

“Corporate partnerships. Getting the team money so you can race,” you explain briefly.

“That’s so cool, I wish I could ask more, but Albono is calling me over,” he waves goodbye.

“You’re in looooove,” Mark teases, standing beside you.

“Shut up. Offer rescinded,” you blush slightly as the blond driver glances back at you.

A few months later you are in America for the Miami GP. Williams did a competition with one of your accounts, so you flew in a week ahead to make sure everything was set, and the working remote was a plus. One day you took advantage of an old connection and got a free ticket to the Marlins game, and got to tag along with them as they worked. The real bonus was the better food and suites, but you didn’t expect to see a certain blond driver throwing the first pitch.

He wasn’t expecting to see you either. Ignoring the marketing intern, he jogs over to where you and your friend are talking.

“Logan! Hi,” You smile, quickly turning to introduce him to your friend, but Logan is one step ahead of you.

“You are here early,” he smiles back at you.

“My account is sponsoring a VIP trip to Miami contest for Williams, so I’m making sure everything is ready to go,” you explain and he nods.

“Have you seen your family?”

“Yeah, they flew down the other day, I got them grandstand tickets,”

“What are their names? I can get them a paddock pass for FP1 and FP2,” Logan says and the marketing intern looks antsy beside him.

“Here’s my number, text me,” you hand him your business card and apologetically smile at the intern.

For some reason, it didn’t take a second thought to accept Logan’s invite. You had the day off tomorrow, your parents were busy, and there was really no reason not to. Your bag was packed and you were in Logan’s pickup truck before you knew it. The radio is on the top 100 station, and the windows rolled down slightly on the highway, the ocean air washing over you both.

“What do you miss most about America while in England?” Logan asks and you pause for a second.

“Peanut butter and jelly’s, they don’t taste the same. What about you?”

“That’s not what I miss most, but it’s a valid answer. I think I miss the Florida beaches, especially at dawn,” he says, letting a calm silence settle in.

“I would agree with that, but make it North Carolina,”

“Thanks for agreeing to come with me, the house feels so empty,” Logan looks at you. You nod, pushing some stray hairs out of your face.

“I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to be shown around by a local,” you grin, locking eyes briefly with him.

“I know this great place for dinner,” he says as he turns off the highway. You learned about him on the drive, including that he owns a beach house and doesn’t live with his parents.

You both walk into the small restaurant, his hand instinctually going to yours before he quickly stops before you notice. You don’t see the way his heart races when you smile at him. You don’t realize that he’s noticed you around the track and sponsorship events, and how he finally built up the courage to introduce himself. He is so excited to take you to a restaurant that specializes in southern comfort food.

“Logan, you didn’t,” you gasp as you look over the menu, your heart swelling.

“I thought you probably missed a taste of home,” he smiles sheepishly.

“You are the best,” you quickly decide on your childhood favorite. The both of you get to know each other more over the meal and flirt a bit while you’re at it.

“I forgot how good that restaurant is,” Logan says as you both walk out of the restaurant, his arm gently going around your shoulder. You blush, but make no attempt to move it. The ride to his house is short.

“Get changed, Logan, we are going for a beach walk,” you tell him after he shows you the guest room. No more than five minutes later, you are both barefoot on the beach, you in a Williams hoodie and shorts, Logan in an unbuttoned shirt and shorts.

You don’t really know when your hands first brushed and connected, but you didn’t attempt to stop it. Logan admired you against the moonlight and soft crashing waves.

“Lo?” you ask as he seems elsewhere.

“Can I kiss you?” he asks softly, turning towards you. All you do is nod, his soft lips brushing against yours as you pull him closer, properly kissing him.

“Wow,” you breathe, a blush covering both of your cheeks.

“I guess I’m not immune to your southern charm,” he teases, causing you to giggle.

“I guess not,” you agree. The walk back to the house is comfortable, and he kisses you goodnight outside your bedroom door. You wake up early for a run, quietly heading downstairs only to find a shirtless Logan doing the same thing.

“Morning run?” He asks with a smile.

“Yeah, you too?” You ask back and he nods. You both finish tying your sneakers and put on headphones. He leads your morning run, knowing the streets better than you. You both stop into a coffee shop a few blocks away for breakfast before heading home.

“I’m gonna shower then head out to the beach if you want to join me later,” Logan tells you before heading to his room. Once you finish your coffee, you do the same. There are two towels out on the beach in front of Logan’s house, Logan occupying one. After grabbing your book and applying sunscreen, you join him.

“Blue is a good color on you,” he compliments your light blue bikini.

“What are you reading?” You ask him as you lay down.

“The Great Gatsby,” he observes your book cover.

“Good choice,” you hum as you get immersed in the book. Fifteen minutes later, you see Logan set his book down out of the corner of your eye. He rolls over and you quickly bookmark your book.

“Do you know how hard it is to read while next the a beautiful woman?” Logan asks and your lips quirk up into a smile.

“How hard?” you ask, smiling as he pulls you closer to him, happily kissing you.

“Logan, look at this,” you show him your phone, as you lean over the kitchen island. He sets down his water bottle and takes a closer look.

“I’m surprised they even care about me,” he says, brushing it off. There is a public beach a few houses down, so it isn’t uncommon for someone to stray off it.

“I didn’t think about what would happen within Williams,” you sit on one of the stools. Logan moves to sit beside you, grabbing your hand.

“It’s fine, we can fill out the necessary paperwork. There isn’t a conflict of interest, we are in the same department, it will be okay,” he reassures you. You peck his lips and sigh.

“I’m sorry someone saw us, that makes it harder for you,” you frown. His hand moves up to your cheek, rubbing soft circles with his thumb.

“I’m not. I’m happy to be seen with you,” he smiles before going to start lunch.

“I’m glad I met you,” you tell him, happy to be with someone who isn’t afraid to be in public.

“Me too. Would it be too early to call you my girlfriend?” Logan asks, finishing the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches you both have been craving.

“Normally yes, but with you, I would be more than happy to be your girlfriend,” you squeeze his hand. Logan kisses you briefly before starting to eat.

A few hours you make your way back to Miami, Logan having a team meeting that evening. The two of you didn’t see each other much the rest of the week until free practice.

You lead your parents into the Paddock area, taking them to Williams hospitality. You had told them about Logan and they were very excited to potentially meet the driver.

“Hi Babe,” Logan hugs you when he enters hospitality, stopping to say hi before grabbing coffee.

“Hi Lo, ready to meet the parents?” You ask nervously, he kisses your forehead. The rest of the weekend flies by, he charms your parents, you meet his parents, and before you know it you are in England again.

By the time Austin rolls around, you both are inseparable. The team finds it cute how Logan will follow you around like a puppy dog when you are at the GPs and he is free.

“I’m so glad I saw you at the Marlins game,” Logan whispers, his arms wrapped around you.

“I love you,” you whisper back, tilting your head to kiss you.

“I love you too,”

[sungbeam]

nonidol!eric sohn x f!reader

you won't think golf is a boring sport after he's done with you! (but it's not about golf, and it's not about swings. just a young heir with money, love, and a thing for you.)

▷ genre, warnings. technically s2l, country club au, summer break au, starts with him already into you, slight pining? idk, fluff, humor, rich people™, golf lol, swearing, drinking, kissing, it gets like actually romantic, Eric Sohn bc he's so attractive someone help me.

▷ word count. 11.4k

▷ inspired by swing my way (cha cha malone & phe r.e.d.s)

a/n: my submission for the deoboyznet summer on you event! and @mosviqu who implanted the idea of country club rich boy eric into my brain @@

It wasn't like Eric Sohn, heir to his parents' multi-million dollar investment firm, prized shortstop of the UCLA baseball team, planned to spend his entire summer charming his parents' clients and partners. A summer spent at the Beverly Hills Country Club wasn't something new for the young heir either. The rolling, emerald green hills for golf; the clean cement tennis courts; the dim and classy bars were all ingrained in him since childhood. They were environments Eric had learned to thrive in, and when one had the advantage, one was always taught to wield it like a blade.

At least, that was what he was taught. Over the years, he'd also learned that his extroverted personality and charming smile were disarming—and his pretty boy appearance often resulted in others underestimating him. That was their mistake.

"...that trip to Taiwan will be such a great opportunity to explore the relationship between our companies."

Eric clasped Mr. Thomas Tsaur's hand in a firm shake as the two men stood at the final hole of the golf course. Eric beamed. "Yes, of course! I know my mom would love to see the night markets around Taipei; my parents have been looking forward to the trip all year," he said, as easy as breathing air. Of course, he didn't really know if his parents were looking forward to it. If he was the one on his way to Taiwan instead, he knew that he himself would be ecstatic.

During business meetings—and meetings that weren't officially classified as business, but were definitely about business—Eric tried to stay as true to himself as possible. Once in a while, some of the persona he'd built up slipped through the cracks, but there was a reason he liked baseball more than business.

Mr. Tsaur made a pleasant reply back about promising a fun-filled tour of the city with his wife, and the two of them were splitting up. There were offhanded comments about seeing each other for dinner when Eric's parents finally arrived, but that was all that was left of the interaction.

Eric jogged down the hill toward the conventional path where a white-topped golf cart sat waiting for him. His driver and caddy companion for the day was Jacob Bae, a regular worker here at the country club whom Eric had known for at least a couple years now.

But instead of just Jacob and the cart, Eric found that someone else had joined the group.

You sat in the second row of the golf cart with a circular serving tray pressed over your lap. Like some of the other staff members at the club, you wore the standard black, collared shirt and black skort. He'd seen you around this place plenty of times this summer and even greeted you once or twice, but he knew you were new.

Oh, trust that he knew a new face when he saw one, especially when said face was as pretty as yours. The only shame was that you were often assigned to areas where Eric didn't exactly frequent, but he never took himself as the type to give up easily.

You and Jacob were sharing a laugh as Eric approached the golf cart with his golf putter in hand. "Hey guys," Eric chirped.

All the attention flickered over to Eric, but he couldn't stop staring at the way the slight breeze this afternoon was making your hair fall in your face all pretty. Even in a braid, the little strands fell out to frame your face.

"Oh, hi Eric! How was the last round?" Jacob asked as he twisted around in his driver's seat to watch Eric round the back to put his putter away. You had shifted in your seat slightly to follow him with your eyes, as well.

Eric slid the stick into his bag and caught your eyes. His smile widened. "It went well. Same old, same old," he chuckled, bracing a gloves hand on the roof of the cart. "When'd you get here, Yn?" He asked you with a nod of his chin.

You perked up at the sound of your name. Cute. "Ah, just a few minutes ago," you said. You sheepishly gestured to your empty tray. "Haknyeon dropped me off a few holes over to deliver drinks, and then I saw Jacob over here and walked over to catch a ride back to the clubhouse."

"I can't believe he just ditched you," Jacob chortled.

Eric circled around the cart to take the seat in the front beside Jacob. "He ditched you?" He frowned, leaning his arm over the back of the seat to look at you.

As the cart began making its smooth return down the path and over a small bridge, you smoothed your braid over your shoulder. "No, no! He didn't ditch me; we were just headed in the same direction until we… weren't," you mused. "I mean, if Cobie wasn't here, a walk back wouldn't have been the worst thing anyways."

"I guess," Eric agreed, biting his lip. "So, uh… ever played golf before?"

"Golf? It's been a while, but yeah, I've driven the occasional golf ball across a green."

From the driver's seat, Jacob slapped his right hand down on Eric's shoulder. "Yn-ie! This guy's one of the best casual golf players you'll probably ever meet. His swing? So clean."

Eric chuckled, clasping a hand on the back of his neck, when he felt your attention flicker back to him again. "I'm no pro…"

"I'll have to see that for myself then," you said with a smile.

The golf cart slowed to a stop in front of the doors into the main kitchens of the clubhouse proper. Because this main kitchen was so large, they were given their own set of doors directly to the outdoor courts and beyond for easy access. While Jacob would drop you off here, he would have to continue onward for Eric's proper spot.

You clambered out of the golf cart, poking Jacob in the shoulder as you went. "Bye, guys! Thanks for the ride, Cobie."

"Bye, Yn!" Both boys chimed together. When you disappeared behind the swinging kitchen doors, Jacob pulled the cart back onto the main road to carry onward.

Eric settled into his seat to face forward once again. He lifted the cap off his head and carded a hand through his hair to let the strands, dampened with sweat, dry a bit. "I didn't know Yn was allowed to work the golf range," he commented as innocently as possible.

Jacob made a small humming noise. "Yeah, we're short a couple people out here because of the Ferndale event going on down by the gazebo."

"She wasn't sent there?"

"Did you want her to be sent there?" Jacob grinned slyly at the young heir, who turned his gaze elsewhere.

Eric coughed. "I didn't say that."

His companion still would not wipe that knowing smile off his face, even as he slowed the golf cart to a stop and Eric hopped out to collect his equipment from the back. "I didn't say you did," he snickered as Eric walked away.

He didn't give Jacob the satisfaction of an answer, instead, saying a "thank you" for driving him over his shoulder, before ducking inside the clubhouse locker room.

Jacob shook his head in amusement and began making his way further down the path to return the cart. Silly, silly kids.

You didn't realize country clubs were real until you were sitting in the office of the Beverly Hills Country Club's hiring manager and being hired. That was about a month ago, and no, you still didn't believe it was real. The entire training experience, in fact, had swept through like a fever dream.

The summer season had just begun, though, and they had taken you on in a rush of desperation. You hadn't failed to notice how relieved the hiring manager looked when you told him you'd worked as a waitress at an upscale wedding venue before you moved cross-country, and knew how to carry a drink platter and dirty dishes. That was part of the reason you'd been hired on the spot. You'd also mentioned your extensive knowledge of how to fold cloth napkins into swans, and you liked to think that was your true selling point. (Don't ask, the last part was because you had been very bored while waiting in the backroom during a wedding.)

And while you cared little about cleaning pools or catering to rich prick egos, you did care about the crisp green bills that graced your eyes with more frequency than a Superman actor on Hollywood Boulevard. There was also the possibility to gain some more experience in the dining and catering world; if you were lucky, you could butter up your manager to let you help out in the kitchen some.

After all, that was why you were here so far from home.

"Yn, you've got company at table five," Haknyeon said as he passed by you on his way into the kitchen.

You gave a nod out of instinct. You brushed your hands against your black waist apron, absentmindedly reaching up to also smooth out the black vest on your upper half. Usually when you worked at the club's restaurants and bars as wait staff, your uniform consisted of a white button down under a black vest, followed by a black skirt and apron. It was classy and chic, and definitely added to the expensive atmosphere.

You could see table five in your section up ahead. It was a little early into dinner service, but there were still people who came in. To your surprise, the company at table five was none other than Eric Sohn himself, along with two others you recognized as his parents. They were dressed casually—meaning semiformal. It was something out of a dinner cruise, with Eric's dark brunette waves styled effortlessly messy and the top three buttons of his dress shirt undone to reveal the slightly bronzed, toned skin beneath—

You cleared your throat, plastering a smile on your face as you approached the table. "Evening, everyone. Mr. and Mrs. Sohn," you gave a small greeting bow to his parents, then swiftly doled out little napkins for their drinks. "It's nice to see you on the grounds again today."

"Oh, Yn! It's very nice to see you this evening," said Mrs. Sohn with a delicate flourish of her wrist.

"Yes!" Mr. Sohn chimed in, "What have you been up to? Eric says he saw you on the golf range today."

Your eyes darted to Eric's, then went back to his parents when you realized his eyes were on you. You laughed, tucking a strand of hair behind your ear and bracing the end of your serving tray against your waist. "Oh, uhm, yeah! I was just summoned down there to get some drinks to the Santos family—you know them, right?"

Recognition lit up in Eric's mother's eyes. "Yes, yes! Marina and her kids! Ah, well that sounds nice; I'll have to see if I can bump into her at the spa or something. Eric gave you a ride back in his cart, didn't he? The walk back is awfully far."

You nodded. "Yeah, of course. He was with Jacob, so I just hopped in the back and rode back with them here."

"I still owe you that golf date," Eric cut in smoothly, the hand with his Rolex draped over the back of his chair. His smile was casual, innocent, the kind that so easily could make anyone do his bidding.

"Golf date?" His parents glanced curiously between the two of you, and you felt heat rush up to your cheeks.

"It was just an offhand comment," you said sheepishly. "Jacob was telling me about how great of a golfer Eric is and I said I wanted to see his swing some time." Before anything else could be said on the matter, you tucked your tray under your arm and replaced it with your notepad and pen. "Can I get you anything to drink? An appetizer to start?"

That drew away the conversation promptly. It wasn't like you were uncomfortable with the idea of going on a date with Eric Sohn, it just wasn't that simple. Though the club officially encouraged good relationships between staff and club members, they didn't exactly encourage the romantic kind of relationship. Obviously, it would be impossible to enforce a no-entanglement policy completely, but you wanted to stay on your manager's good side.

You nearly folded in half over the counter of the tiki bar at the pool. Sweat streamed down the side of your face, and you were pretty sure your baby hairs looked akin to a lion's mane under your white baseball cap. Thank god the club didn't force you to wear a black colored hat instead; the black polo and skort were death enough.

Jacob chuckled as he passed you a clean, damp towel that had been soaking in ice water. "Before you get heat stroke," he said, then returned to preparing a tray of drinks someone had ordered at the hot tub.

You thanked him profusely, dabbing your face and neck with the cool blessing. "Sheesh," you groaned. "I think I need to reapply my sunscreen soon. How are you out here all the time, Cobie?"

He grinned with a half-hearted shrug. "Well, I work with cold drinks and I'm under the shade. And—" he tapped the handy little fan clipped to one of the structure poles of the tiki bar, "—this beautiful work of engineering."

"I need one of those umbrella hats and squirt bottles kids bring to Disneyland," you grumbled and plucked yourself up from the bar. You returned the towel to Jacob so he could toss it into the soiled towel bin on the other side of him. You watched as he finished up filling the tray and whistled at the pool waiter who had ordered it for the group at the hot tub.

As the waiter walked away with the drinks, you thought aloud, "How could they stand to be in the hot tub in this heat?" From here, you could see the group of girls gathered in the bubbling jets of the hot tub at the far end of the pool in their bikini tops and Gucci shades.

"They're not standing—they're sitting."

You sent Jacob an unimpressed look, to which he simply smiled wider.

"Hey guys!" Ji Changmin huffed and puffed as he collapsed onto the barstool next to you. He had a towel hanging around his shoulders and a white sweatband holding up his dark bangs dripping with sweat. "Can I get an ice water, hyung?"

"Yeah, man," Jacob said, already dumping a scoop of ice in a cup.

"You alright there, Changmin?" You glanced over at the club's dance instructor with barely concealed amusement.

Changmin took the corner of his towel to dry the dribble of sweat making its way down his forehead. "Whoever thought it was a good idea to do hot Zumba in the height of summer needs a reality check. I think I'm dying."

As one of the country club's primary dance instructors, not only did Changmin lead all of the dance activities on the grounds, he was also supposed to take over any dance aerobics classes like said hot Zumba. You knew it wasn't his favorite, but it was still funny to make faces at him through the window as he did can-can kicks in leg warmers with all of the rich moms.

You leaned down to check if he had the leg warmers on. He did not. At least he finally had the good sense to break uniform.

Jacob slid over an ice-cold glass of water, and Changmin drained it like a man who trekked through the desert for seven days. You glanced at Jacob's digital clock on the counter behind him—he kept it so he could be on time for all of his breaks.

"Oh shit," you said, quickly fixing your cap and adjusting your hair, "time for me to get back to work."

Changmin straightened. "Where are you stationed today, Yn-ie? Chanhee and I wanted to come pick you up later for dinner before we have to come back."

"That's right!" Jacob slapped his palm to his forehead. "We have to all be back here for the banquet. I almost forgot, damn it."

You cocked a brow at him. "Wow, you, Jacob Bae, almost forgot about the major event all of our jobs are riding on that's taking place tonight?"

A smile curled onto your face when Jacob narrowed his eyes at you. "Don't you have work to do?"

You let out a laugh and began backing away from the tiki bar and your friends. "Kim has me at the ice cream bar until the end of my shift, Changmin. I'll catch you boys later!"

Jacob and Changmin raised their hands in twin waves to you as you walked away. If you remembered the time on Jacob's clock correctly, you had about fifteen minutes to get up to the indoor ice cream bar for your shift.

Tonight, the country club was hosting a banquet for one of the business men here. It was supposedly one of the most important events for the club's reputation, so it was all hands on deck. Everyone from Chanhee at the spa to Haknyeon in the kitchen were called upon to clock into work once again tonight to help out. You were glad you weren't a part of the set-up and takedown committees, but you were expected to wait on the banquet. Jacob was supposed to be bartending tonight, as usual, and your other friends and coworkers would be waiting alongside you.

You glanced up on your walk out of the pool area and nearly tripped over the soles of your sneakers.

Coming in hot (literally) were none other than Eric Sohn, Lee Hyunjae, and Lee Juyeon—all of whom were very much shirtless. Swim trunks hung low on their waists, their stomachs carved like triplet Michaelangelos. Seeing shirtless guys at the pool wasn't new for you, but these guys were actually around your age.

Eric saw you first and waved. "Yn, hey!"

"Hi guys," you greeted back with a shallow nod of your head. "Nice day out for a swim."

"I know, right?" Hyunjae raised a hand to shield his eyes from the unforgiving summer sun. "You must be baking in that uniform, Yn." He raised his chin to gesture at the all black attire.

"I don't suppose you'd be able to join us?" Juyeon smiled. He knew you probably couldn't join them because you were clocked in, but he had always been pretty nice nonetheless. He and Hyunjae were cousins, and the Lee family was well-known around here for being big names in the legal sphere, as well as being one of the larger families. There was another cousin of theirs around their age running around here somewhere, too.

You gave a helpless shrug. "Duty calls, unfortunately."

"Yn, hey wait—" Eric caught your attention as you were about to continue walking up toward the main clubhouse. He flashed you that smile again, the one that made your stomach do flips and would convince you to do flips for him if only he asked. "You won't happen to be working at the banquet tonight, are you?"

"How'd you guess?" You replied good-naturedly. "Why do you ask?"

He began walking backwards toward the direction his friends had drifted off to, his smile tilting up slightly. "So I know which cologne I should wear."

And it definitely wasn't a trick of the summer sun that made you see him wink at you.

"He's into you."

"He is not—" you wrestled your sleeve up your forearm and made a frustrated noise when the button would not go through, "—into me."

Chanhee gave you a nice, slow eye roll just so you would see it, and he yanked the sleeve away from you so he could roll it up himself. "A lot of men around here like smelling nice, but no one pulls out the Acqua Di Gio just for the service girl or a business banquet," he hissed as a fellow waiter rushed past you two in the narrow corridor. "Jesus, why is this button such a bitch?"

"That's what I'm saying," you hissed back at him as the two of you both struggled to fix your sleeve. "Not the cologne thingy—I hate how you're able to just take a whiff and name the cologne. What kind of demon nose do you have?"

Chanhee sighed and collapsed against the wall opposite to you when he finally managed to get the sleeve right. The two of you were currently on break, not hiding, in this corridor. In T-minus two minutes, you would both have to be back out in the hustle and bustle of cleanup or after-party drinks in the lounge. Because the main course had finally been served, a lot of the waiters were allowed to go on break. The banquet thus far had gone relatively smoothly, other than the fact that when you had served Eric all of his courses, he'd made sure you practically melted on the smell of his cologne.

It wasn't your fault you had to bend down close to him to not spill the hot food. And it wasn't your fault that he chose to put his mouth right to your ear when he told you a joke, masking it as asking for more water.

You couldn't decide if you were going to giggle or let your knees buckle at that moment. Thank god you managed to laugh behind your hand and hustle away before anyone noticed.

But that was besides the point. The point was that Chanhee had also passed by Eric, caught the faint trail of Aqua De Whatever, and connected some dots.

"If you want a demon, you talk to Changmin," he said. "I just know my shit. And I also know that you only break out the Acqua Di Gio when you want to attract someone, and based on the fact he's currently seated around about fifty other businesspeople…" Chanhee made a wild, desperate gesture with his hands, eyes widened. Are you getting this? He seemed to ask. Because I will smack you if you aren't.

You fanned yourself, justifying it by thinking about how hot the back hallway was and this outfit was, rather than admitting that it was because Eric was hot. "Okay, okay. Come on, we have to get back out there," you said, already turning your heel toward the door.

"I'm just saying that clearly he's been trying to tell you something," Chanhee added as you both broke out of the hallway and into the kitchen. He grabbed a circular serving tray from a stack on the counter next to him to hand over to you.

"Well, what do you suppose I should do with that?"

He pressed his lips into a thin smile, taking hold of a small, empty cart and pushing it ahead of him. "Just keep an open mind, darling."

You and Chanhee separated at the kitchen doors out into the banquet hall. While he would be a part of cleaning up, you needed to head over to the next-door parlor where the party had moved post-dinner. Business would continue as usual, just with a few more drinks and pool involved.

The parlor room was arguably one of your favorite rooms in the club with its cozier atmosphere created by the evergreen walls, tiffany-shaded lamps, and dark oak furnishings. It was also outfitted with a hearth (unused during the summer and spring) and a billiards table. Most of those who had chosen to stay had migrated with a certain crowd of people they planned to continue chatting with. Your job, as well as the few others recruited to the parlor, was to be a fly on the wall until somebody needed something. If tips were passed around, you were free to pocket them.

You were probably standing and waiting for only five minutes before you saw Eric stand up from where he was on the far side of the room. He shouldered his suit jacket off and draped it over the back of his armchair, exposing the white dress shirt and black vest beneath. Whew, he was wearing a full suit to this event? You wondered how he even survived, but all conscious thought flew out the window when he caught you staring and started smirking to himself. The smug, little expression stayed etched into the sharp planes of his face even as he strolled over to the pool table and lined up his shot.

You wondered—and it was just a thought—what it'd be like (possibly) for him to lean over you—

"Excuse me, miss?" You shook out of your daze and remembered why you were here. Unfortunately, it was not to admire the young heir watching you from the other side of the room, but to serve guests.

For the next couple of hours, your job was exactly what you did. You had been so focused on running back and forth from the bar in the other room and back that you always seemed to have missed Eric trying to catch your eye again. If he wanted drinks, he had to suck it up and ask someone else who just happened to be near him instead.

As the evening dwindled into a sweet, humid night, the amount of guests also began to trickle down. You had grabbed a rag on your way back to the parlor room and said goodbye to your coworkers on their way out. Some still lingered for last minute clean up, and though you were technically done for the night, you wanted to wipe down anything you had missed. It was something simple that you could do to help out a colleague, and it wasn't like you were in a rush to go home.

When you walked back into the parlor room, however, you blinked—surprised—at the sight of an individual left. He leaned against the billiards table, one hand holding the edge of the suit jacket draped over his shoulder and the other scrolling through his phone.

Eric glanced up from his device and pocketed it at the sight of you. "Hey."

"Hi," you said back. "Uhm, can I get you anything—"

"Oh, no no. I'm good." He shook his head, pushing off from the table. He shot you that signature boyish smile of his and your heart began doing cartwheels. "I just wanted to ask if I could give you a lift home."

You opened your mouth to answer, but nothing came out. Truthfully, you were caught off guard, stunned. This wasn't what you were expecting from him.

He saw your hesitation and let out a sheepish laugh, cupping the back of his head. "Sorry, this is so out of the blue. I… it's a little late out right now, and I didn't know if you had a ride or not. I know you're not usually scheduled to work so late."

"You know my schedule?" You blurted. Though, the thought did warm you and amuse you.

His eyes widened. "I mean, uhm, definitely not in the creepy, stalkerish sort of way! I uh, I like to think I pay a lot more attention when it comes to you." His admission didn't do much to slow the racing organ in your chest cavity. You always saw Eric Sohn as one of those smooth and collected young men who were born to charm. But seeing him flustered and tripping over his words because of you?

You ducked your head slightly, flattered and most definitely charmed still. "I'd really appreciate a lift home, Eric."

You both shared a smile in the slightly dimmed, slightly warmed lights of the parlor room.

Once you had finished glossing over the surfaces of the parlor room with your rag to catch any rings made by perspiring liquids, your manager dismissed you for the night. Eric told you he would meet you out front where he would bring his car around for you. You found yourself standing at the edge of the curb with a gentle, yet rare summer breeze wafting through your hair. You had your bag slung over your shoulder, and you grasped the strap and fidgeted with the material.

A car pulled up to the circular driveway—it was a sports car. The Corvette, sleek and aerodynamic, was doused in a shiny orange coat of paint that glimmered even in the night. The passenger side window rolled down so you could see Eric leaning over the center console and waving to you.

"Hey, hop in!" He said to you with a grin, lowering the music he was playing.

Gingerly, you walked up to the car and managed to maneuver yourself inside. The passenger seat was lined in soft black leather, and the inside of the car made it all the more easy to suffocate on that delicious cologne of his.

Eric had ditched his suit jacket and vest in the backseat of the car, leaving him in just his white dress shirt and slacks.

"Nice car," you whistled lowly as you buckled yourself in.

His mouth tilted upward. "Thanks," he said. He fussed around with his phone for a second before passing the device to you. "If you wouldn't mind putting your number and address in."

"Oh." It was a brand new contact page. You didn't question it, swiftly inputting all of the necessary information before returning his phone to him.

Eric took a peek at the address, then pulled out of the country club's driveway. You didn't live too far away from the club, luckily. It was only a few minute's drive, but the walk sometimes felt a bit longer. California didn't exactly have the most convenient public transportation system, and in an area like Beverly Hills, it was near impossible to find a reliable bus or train service.

"Any music preferences?" He asked you quietly.

You shook your head. "I'm not super picky. What you have on is all good with me."

"I have to confess, Yn," he said with a half smile, eyes darting toward you, "that I was trying to steal your attention all night."

Your stomach flipped and you suppressed the smile that threatened to crawl onto your mouth. "Really?"

He laughed. "Yeah, but obviously, your work ethic beat me out, as well as my own luck."

"Any reason for seeking me out?" He'd technically had your attention all throughout the banquet, but he had also needed to entertain and chat with the other people around him. While the after party was sometimes used for business discussion, too, the banquet dinner itself was the main event.

"I mean, besides wanting to talk to the cute girl eating up all my thoughts?"

He was turning onto your apartment complex's street all too soon. The car slid into a parking spot along the curb, and he twisted in his seat to face you. "I really want to take you out, show you a good time. It doesn't have to be something fancy if that's not your vibe; we can always start with golf."

You let the smile bloom on your face at the reference to the "golf date" you both had yet to schedule. You still wanted to see his swing, after all. "Then it's a date," you said, "I should have a free day two days from now, if that works for you."

Eric bit his lip. "I'm all yours, hon."

Before you could start doing somersaults from excitement, you resolved yourself to getting into your apartment first. "Well, thank you again for the lift, Eric. You have my number?"

He nodded. "Never losing it."

You grinned something fond. He grinned right back at you. "Get home safe."

"I will. Good night, cutie."

You slammed the car door shut and left Eric to his lonesome. Through the passenger side window, Eric watched as you disappeared into your apartment complex, safe and sound. He had almost given into the urge to ask if he could walk you up, but it was a miracle you had even taken him up on his offer to drive you home.

He pulled up your contact and sent you a text so you could have his number, too, as soon as possible. He deposited his phone into the cup holder, then punched the roof of his car with a shit-eating grin on his face. He'd scored your number and a date in one night—damn right, he did.

You had reasoned with yourself that this was okay based on the fact that you weren't on company time.

"Shoooooot," you whistled with a slight arch in your brows and applause. You tracked the distance Eric's driving shot sent the golf ball flying, and in the early morning sunlight, the white sphere disappeared over the crest of green hill.

You figured being courted by a club member during your own free time was a loophole you could live with. Especially when such a loophole looked so good swinging a golf club.

His follow through was just as beautiful as he was, his arms lifting the golf club over behind him from the arc. When he lowered the club to turn back to you, he was beaming. "What's the verdict?"

Your golf club was currently acting as your arm rest as you staked the head against the grass. "I don't know, Eric," you sucked in a breath, teasingly. "I think you could've gone pro."

He laughed then, eyes narrowed into glorious upturned crescent moons. "Thanks, cutie." He made a gesture to the tee. "All yours."

"Let me preface this by saying that it's been awhile," you were quick to say as the nerves suddenly bubbled up into your chest and made you wanna do a jittery shuffle. You should not have let Eric go first.

"No worries," he chirped. "Why don't we practice first?"

Yes, practice. Thank god he knew where your head was at.

You eagerly agreed, and set your golf ball up on the tee. Nervously, you smoothed your gloves down the front of your pleated golf skirt. You lined up the face of the golf club with the ball and pulled it back a millimeter—

Then chickened out.

"Performance anxiety," you grimaced to your date.

"Oh, well, that's okay!" Eric set his golf club down on the field and made his way over to you. "Can I help?"

Yes. "Please do," you chuckled, leaving room for him to take your club.

But instead, he shook his head. "No, no. You won't learn anything from just watching, silly goose."

He grabbed the golf club over your hands and lined both of your bodies up correctly. Your breath hitched at the feeling of his front pressed against your back. His mouth was so close to your ear again, and there was that damned cologne making you see hearts.

"Sorry, is this okay?" He asked softly.

You gulped, nodding. "Yeah. Perfectly okay." You wondered if he could feel your heartbeat quicken like a drum crescendoing. If he wasn't careful, your heart might just fall out and run to his arms.

From this position, Eric smoothly guided you through the steps of a perfect swing. The pullback was cranked over your shoulder, then the club would swing straight through, followed by the arc back over your other shoulder and the appropriate turn of your body. As he had explained to you, getting the perfect swing or shot in sports mostly came down to the follow through. If one could not back up their initial movement, then why make the shot?

"—and you turn your body—yeah, just like that," he praised as you automatically rotated yourself from the side to the front, the toe of your foot digging into the ground and turning with you. "That's beautiful."

He backed up from you then, giving you some space. It suddenly felt like you were missing something with him gone. "You should try it now!"

You took a deep breath in as you lined your golf club up with the ball again. Cranking the club back over your shoulder, you swung it down and back up again. When the face of the club met the ball, it did so with a resounding PING!, and the ball went sailing.

(That sound… mwah. The sweet, sweet sound of triumph.)

"You did it!"

"I did it!"

It hadn't gone as far as Eric's had, but it had definitely traveled farther than it would have without his help. You whirled to him, clasping his hand with yours as you both shared equally radiant smiles. A giddiness flooded into you, and no doubt into the glow of your face.

"See? Not too bad," he said, squeezing your hand.

"All thanks to you," you pointed out.

He shook his head, using your linked hands to lead you back to where your golf bags were waiting a little ways back by the cart. "Nah, you had it in you, Yn. It was just performance anxiety, as you said."

The two of you each grabbed your own bags and hiked them over your shoulder to head down the hill and find your respective golf balls. From this view, you could see that the other patrons of the club were slowly trickling out onto the acres surrounding. It felt strange to be here as not a staff member, but as a guest instead.

Eric piped up, "Is it weird that I was hoping you would ask for my help?"

"Not really," you mused, then meekly added, "'cause I was kind of hoping you would offer your help."

He looked about as happy as you felt, and he swung your hands together between you.

It hit you, then, that you were still holding hands. But you didn't let go, and Eric didn't say anything. He just helped you find your golf ball, line up another shot, and hugged you from behind like it was nothing.

From across the pond, Jacob, Changmin, Chanhee, and Haknyeon pulled up over the bridge. The four of them were all piled into a golf cart, and Jacob stopped it just over the crest. They all knew about where you were today and why you were dressed in proper golf attire rather than the country club uniform. They watched with wide eyes (and maybe a camera or two) as you and Eric had a good time.

"Young love," Jacob sighed fondly from his spot in the driver's seat.

"I think it's gross," Changmin giggled. He yelped, furiously rubbing the place on his shoulder that Chanhee had whacked. "Hey! I was kidding!"

Chanhee rolled his eyes. "Let them have their moment. I'm glad Yn-ie let herself have fun with him."

"They look like they're having quite the time," Haknyeon said. "They're cute."

Changmin poked his head in between Jacob and Haknyeon from the backseat. "Just a thought, but what if we turned on the sprinklers like in High School Musical 2?"

An exchange of looks, a deep consideration… "No," they all chorused. They would get their asses kicked for that.

You were on lunch break when Changmin practically crashed onto the bench next to you with a crazed look in his eyes. "You. Me. Spa. Now."

You couldn't even say goodbye to the sandwich you were eating before Changmin grabbed your arm and dragged you across the club.

"Changmin! What the hell—"

"I'll explain in a second!" He hissed back at you while ducking into the service entrance of the spa.

The backdoor led to a staff break room, where Chanhee was currently (coincidentally) seated on a stool eating a box of Pepero while watching a cartoon on his phone. The man glanced up from his phone at the loud commotion, one cheek full of his snack, and he blinked. "You're lucky I'm not with a client right now."

"Yeah, yeah," Changmin said, dragging you and a stool over to Chanhee at the same time. He pushed your shoulders so you would take a seat. Changmin placed his hands on his hips as he stood before the two of you. "You're never gonna guess what I just overheard."

"What?" You and Chanhee asked at the same time.

"Well, you know Clara?"

Chanhee jumped right in. "The one fooling around with that Brian Yang guy. He's the heir to that one corporation monopolizing SIM cards or some shit."

How the hell…?

Changmin's head bobbed vigorously. "Yes, yes! That's the one. Anyways—I was walking past the manager's office and they were talking loud enough to hear with headphones on. Apparently, Clara and Brian had a nasty, nasty split, and Brian got her fired."

Silence.

Chanhee's eyebrows flew up. "Like… fired-fired?"

A grave nod. "Fired-fired."

You held your head in your hands. "Just because of a break up?" You asked. "Clara is such a nice girl."

Your friend's lips were pressed into a line. "Doesn't mean he's a nice guy. I dunno—" he threw his hands in the air and let them flop back against his legs, "—it's fucked, man. He said it was, like, too awkward to be around her all the time since he was here all the time. And because his father is one of the stockholders of the country club, Manager Kim could do little but do his bidding."

Your heart had fallen into the pit of your stomach. Drama like this didn't really happen often here, but there was always something going on.

You always thought there were assholes here, but sometimes they just kept on reminding you of it.

"And now I'm fooling around with one of the club members," you thought aloud. The realization hit you, a golf ball to the face. "Oh my god."

Chanhee's hand came up to your shoulder and gave you a soothing, warm squeeze. "Eric seems like a good guy, Yn-ie. You never know."

"But you really never know," you murmured. There was a reason why the club discouraged romantic relations between club members and staff. Perhaps this time, it wasn't about work productivity, but about keeping your damn jobs. You needed this job. You needed it so desperately because of the money, the opportunities, the connections. Not to mention all of the people you'd befriended here… it didn't seem right that you were scared of what Eric could do to you, but reality was settling in fast.

The Sohns were a major shareholder in the club, which meant they could pull strings like tying a shoelace.

But Eric is good. He's been good, you reasoned.

Changmin crossed his arms as he leaned back against the wall behind him. "You should talk to him. At the very least, you only went on one date, so it's not like you're completely involved yet."

That was a good point. You were going to run with it.

When Eric invited you over to his house, you should have known you were about to drive your beat up sedan into the driveway of a palace, not a house. A house was for normal people, not whoever the Sohns were, you knew that much. To say you were intimidated by the massive front lawn, iron gates, and limestone arches and columns would be an understatement. Maybe you should have worn something nicer.

You pulled up to the curb of the roundabout—he'd mentioned to you that you could just park there. Apparently the garage was a little inconvenient for guests, but you weren't complaining. The front of the house was a marvel to look at, and wherever that garage was would have left you unable to fully soak in this modern wonder. Plus, you had some time to pull yourself together before seeing Eric.

The plan was… no plan, really. He wanted to hang out with you, and you'd mentioned your love for cooking. Thus, he proposed a miniature cooking class in his kitchen, along with dinner on the patio. It sounded nice. It also sounded great when you remembered what you needed to talk to him about. (Yay.)

It's not a big deal. Eric's cool.

You finally managed to trek your way up to the front door and you booped the doorbell. It was one of those loud bells that must have echoed throughout the house, because you could clearly hear it from the outside.

A couple minutes later, you heard the locking mechanism come undone. The door opened after; you swore that every time you saw this guy, you became speechless.

You had seen him in a dress shirt before, but this tank top and over-shirt thing was new. It was casual and comfortable, yet chic. His hair was styled in the same manner his clothing was—simple and so attractive. A silver chain and matching silver rings added the subtle touch of elegance to pull everything together.

"Hi," he grinned—he was always smiling, you realized. It was such a pretty smile. He stepped aside and gave you room in the doorway. "Come on in, cutie."

"Thanks for having me over," you said pleasantly, trying not to openly gawk at the front foyer with the sky-high ceiling, chandelier dripping with crystals, and grand staircase wrapping around the walls up to the indoor balcony.

He closed the door behind you as you deposited your shoes by the small rack. Eric wrapped a loose arm around your shoulder to guide you through the foyer. "Of course! I'm so excited you're here; I went out—actually no, I…" he scratched the back of his head sheepishly, "ordered it off that grocery app. I wasn't exactly sure what I was looking for."

"Grocery app?" You laughed. "Are you talking about the stuff for dinner?"

"Yeah!"

The two of you entered the kitchen. It was a wide, open space that flowed straight into the living room. The cabinets were smooth and snow white, accented with countertops marbled with black and hints of gold. Though clean, it was a space well-loved with a recipe book left open to a lobster risotto; little candies left in a jar on the island labeled with chalk; barstools that weren't quite aligned, like they'd actually been sat on. The living room, too, was beautiful. Massive, but beautiful, with a wraparound couch sectional and a flat screen with family photos hung above it. It was framed by shelves filled to the brim with CD and DVD cases, more family photos, books, and little baubles.

And the lighting. Oh man, the natural lighting from the windows making up the entire back wall… it led out onto the acres of land his family owned, as well as a patio that overlooked the valley.

Eric had mentioned dinner on the patio. If your math was right, that meant you would probably be dining at sunset, all while overlooking a splendid view—how romantic. God, you hated how giddy you were starting to get. Those butterflies in your stomach would not cease.

"You have a really, really beautiful home," you murmured, letting him take your bag from you to place on one of the barstools.

You had always thought that big houses like this would be so difficult to fill. What was one supposed to do with so much space anyway? From the pictures on the wall, you could see Eric's parents, himself, as well as a sister who must have been out making her own mark on the world in that special Sohn kind of way. Even with just four people in this place… they still managed to make it feel like a home and not a house. It was like your own house back in your hometown, across the country. It was lived-in and warm and yours, and that was the beauty of it. And you were certain by just looking at this place that the Sohns were a family who loved each other.

How could you not believe in Eric? Not with all of this to vouch for him? He had grown up loved.

"Thank you," he said. "It's one of my favorite places to be. That's why I still haunt it like a ghost," he joked. He placed a warm hand on the small of your back and led you over to the fridge where he had put all of the grocery delivery bags in. Even the fridge was relatively stocked. "Not sure if everything I got was right, but hopefully it'll all turn out delicious anyway."

You helped him unload the bags onto the kitchen island, raising a brow at the labels on the groceries. They were on the higher end of price and quality, which definitely wasn't a problem, but holding a hundred dollar bottle of red wine just for sauce was making your anxiety levels spike. "Oh, no. It all looks great, Eric. Thanks for getting these, by the way. I would have gone out and brought them here, but—"

He waved away your worries. "You're busy and you're working. Plus, it lets me technically pay for dinner," he said with a cheeky look on his face and gesturing with a finger gun. It was cute. He was cute.

"Smooth, Sohn. I see you."

"That's what they called me in high school," he played along, dancing on his toes behind you to fiddle with his phone and turn on a speaker somewhere (you didn't know where). "Smooth Sohn."

You snorted, slapping a hand over your mouth. Eric's eyes glittered with a mutual mirth. "Whatever you say, honey."

He waltzed back over to you, tongue in cheek. "I like that better though—honey." He leaned back against the counter next to you and watched as you sorted out the ingredients in different piles depending on how they should be prepped. "So what's the plan, chef? You're the boss."

"I'd love to know where your knives and cutting boards are," you said.

He leapt into action. "Say no more!"

In reality, you did have to say more. It wasn't that Eric didn't know where everything was in the kitchen, he just wasn't as well versed in using the kitchen. He'd told you while teaching him how to hold a knife properly that he really only came in here for ramen. Good news was he could crack an egg with one hand; bad news was that was about all he could do. It was still charming, nonetheless. And the cute cooking lesson gave him plenty of opportunity to get close to you.

He had even insisted on you teaching him how to chop carrots like how he had taught you how to swing a golf club—over and around him—with your hands over his and your body wrapped around his, your chin on his shoulder.

But with dinner well past done, the two of you made your way out onto the patio just as the sun was sinking into the embrace of the valley below. It melted into the sky like a broken yolk, saturated and golden. He let you have the seat staring out into the valley. The way he looked at you though, made you feel like you were his million dollar valley view.

The table was set with twin glasses of red wine (amazing what a good wine paired with beef stew could do for the soul), plates separated by a hot stew pot, and a couple of candles for ambiance.

"Wow," he moaned as the beef melted on his tongue. "This is so good. And you're telling me you're pretty, smart, and can cook?"

You held back a giggle so you could swallow your bite. "And I'm single," you jested.

"And you're single!" He leaned his head back, eyes closed. "Thank god for that."

Eric leaned his cheek on his fist, his head cocked slightly and his eyes on you with a swoon-worthy admiration. "Thanks for coming out tonight and hanging out with me."

You could kiss him. "Please, I should be the one thanking you. It's been really fun hanging out with you." It was surreal, actually. The fact that this young heir had deemed you "worthy" or whatever to court and entertain—it wasn't like you defined your self worth by his attention and affection, but this felt nice. Your conversation with Changmin and Chanhee the other day came to the forefront of your mind.

"I, uhm, think this is a good time to ask if you wanted to do this more often? Hanging out with me, I mean."

You weren't sure if this was what you thought he was asking you. He reached for his wine glass, and in the fading sunlight and the candlelight illuminating the bashful expression on his face, your heart pounded.

"What I mean to say," he tried again after a small sip of wine, "is would you be my—"

"I think we should talk!" You cut in before you heard anymore. You were getting jittery, unable to figure out when was the right time to bring up the thing, but also, you wanted him to say his thing, and it was just a mess. But when you saw Eric's wide eyes, mouth zipped up, you repeated in a much calmer tone, "I think we should talk about something. It's not… it's not super serious or anything. I could just be overthinking."

Oh, you felt bad. He looked like a kicked puppy, but you saw him pull himself together for you. "It's—you're probably not overthinking, Yn. What's on your mind?"

The wine glass was put down. He even put his fork down.

Were you making a big deal out of this? Probably not, right? This was important, you reminded yourself. You pursed your lips. "So one of my coworkers—former coworkers," you amended, "Clara. Her name's Clara. She and this guy you might know, Brian Yang…"

He nodded. "Yeah, I know of him."

"Well, they kind of had this thing going on between them. And the other day, she was fired because they broke up and he thought it was too weird that she was working where he was hanging out all the time," you rambled on. "And I uhm, I just wanted to make sure from the get-go that… you know… it's stupid, I don't know. But it's my job, y'know? And—and I need this job, but I like you a lot, Eric. Am I making any sense?"

Neither of you were eating anymore.

You looked at him, hopelessly, searching for signs of understanding.

He leaned in slightly and reached for your hands over the table. "Yn, sweetheart," he said, lacing his fingers with yours over the pot of beef stew, "that is a valid point to bring up, and I can understand what you're probably thinking. That—that news must have been scary, or at least nerve-racking, and Brian's a dick for that—"

You nodded, swallowing.

"—and I don't want you to risk your job because of me," he said earnestly. "But I really want to see where this goes, you know? If anything happens and you don't feel the same way, then no harm, no foul. I'm not gonna take my emotions out on you like that asshole; that's not right."

The breath you had been holding in fell from your mouth, a wave of relief. A sappy, grateful sort of smile worked its way onto your mouth and you met Eric's own kind expression. "You are actually perfect," you let out a breathy laugh. "Where have you been all my life?"

He grinned. "Funny, that's what I've been thinking about you." Eric set your laced hands on the side of the table as he raised his glass to you. "So what do you say? Can we try this?"

You lifted your glass to gently clink it with his. "Let's do it."

"So he's perfect, but he hasn't kissed you yet?" Chanhee's gasp of incredulity hit you in a gust of air. His lips pursed like a penguin's beak. "Figures."

You sent him a look. "Oh, please. Figures what? He's just being… I dunno, chivalrous!"

"Chivalry is dead," Haknyeon snickered as he waltzed by you with fresh towels to lay out by the pool. "You should make the move, Yn."

"So you two are, like, dating now?" Asked Changmin as he hopped onto the tiki bar stool next to you and Chanhee. He kept on glancing down at his watch; he must have only a small break in between his dance classes today.

"They're 'seeing where things go,'" mocked Jacob with a shake of his head. He swirled a rag around the innards of a glass to dry it.

You sent them all dirty looks now. "Cobie, out of all the times you choose to be an imp—"

"An imp," Chanhee muttered, glancing away as he took a sip of his piña colada, "I'm dead."

"If it makes you feel better, Yn, I'm supervising a tennis match with him and the Lee cousins later today. I can get a feel of where his mind's at," Jacob offered.

You drummed your fingers against the bar. The offer was tempting… "It's fine," you insisted. "We don't have to rush things. We go to the same university and we live in the same city now. It's not like we don't have time… right?"

"Riiiight," Changmin drawled with an over exaggerated wink. He frowned at his watch, hopping off his stool. "Damn it, salsa class time. Catch you losers later!"

As he darted off into the distance, Chanhee sniffed. "Says the loser." He plucked the pink umbrella out of his drink and set the decoration down on his napkin. "You're not wrong, Yn-ie. Taking it slow isn't a bad thing. From what you told us, it seems like you're both on the same page now anyway."

"Thank you," you said.

"Maybe he's trying to plan a romantic moment." Haknyeon rejoined the conversation now that he had done his towel delivery.

Jacob nodded with an approving turn of his lips. "You might be onto something. He seems the type."

Your heart was fluttering as if it sprouted butterfly wings. Oh, the thought of kissing Eric Sohn in romantic lighting…

"I think you should take her back to her job before she drifts fully into La La Land." When you snapped back to reality, Jacob's eyes were twinkling, eyebrows wagging.

Haknyeon nudged you with the back of his hand and nodded up to the clubhouse. "C'mon, Yn-ie. I think Manager Kim wants to brief us on dinner service anyway."

Hours later, Jacob found himself on the tennis courts, overseeing a match between the three Lee cousins—Sangyeon, Hyunjae, and Juyeon—and Eric. He often thought it was luck that got him to land this job where all he did to pass the day was make drinks, drive golf carts, and occasionally play doubles with club members. For all that it was, he considered himself very content.

"—that was a foul," Jacob declared, jogging to go catch the tennis ball before it bounded into the bushes.

Hyunjae let out a groan. "Nooo! It hit the line. Jacob, please, I thought we were cool!"

Sangyeon shook his head, smiling as he caught the tennis ball from Jacob with his free hand. "Hyunjae, we all know your eyesight is shit."

Hyunjae wrinkled his nose. "Hey! No one asked."

"Can we take a break?" Juyeon asked, wiping his forehead with the back of his hand. "I think I need some water."

The boys all murmured their agreement, and Jacob reached down into the mini cooler he'd lugged out to toss them ice cold bottles of water. It was just one of the few perks that came with the club membership.

While Sangyeon and Hyunjae were bickering about eyesight and foul lines, Juyeon settled into a seat by them to referee. Eric sidled up next to Jacob as they both absentmindedly watched the chaos unfold from afar.

Jacob whistled. "So… Yn said she had a really good time with you the other night."

Eric perked up at the sound of your name. "She did? Well that's a relief to hear."

"It wasn't clear?" Jacob asked, face tilted in question. "I mean, not to completely expose her or anything, but she's been gushing about you all day, man."

A giddy smile took over the youngest Sohn's face. "She was?" He licked his lips, drawing the pad of his thumb over the corner of his mouth to catch the water that had dribbled from the bottle. "She's—she's so cute, hyung. Like, I don't know if this is weird for you because you're friends—"

Jacob coughed in amusement. "It's fine. Think of me as your guardian angel."

"Right," Eric piped up. "I think… I think we really hit it off, y'know? And I mean, she probably told you we just kind of had dinner and she had to leave, but she'd come after work, so she was probably tired and—"

Ohhh. Jacob understood exactly what was going on now. His heart warmed at the thought that Eric was being so considerate and not forcing you to stay. He was thinking about your long day, and didn't wish to prolong it anymore. Little did he know, you probably wouldn't have minded hanging around a tad longer.

"—I wanted to kiss her—"

Wait huh. Jacob tuned back in. "When?"

Eric blinked. "Uhm, at dinner. Or at least, when I was walking her out to her car." He glanced away and his smile softened at the thought. "I wish I had, actually. The moment was right there, and the lighting was perfect, and her smile—oh my god, her smile."

Jacob's eyebrows flew up to his hairline. So this was where Eric's mind was at; good to know. "Then do it—kiss her."

"Right now?"

"No! Not right now—"

"Hey, you guys ready to play again?" Juyeon called. The three Lees had already maneuvered themselves back to court.

Eric and Jacob exchanged glances. This conversation wasn't over, Jacob's look seemed to say.

They nodded to their companions, though. "Yeah, we're ready."

It did not come as a surprise to you when you found out Eric had a home theater in his basement. It was something like you'd pictured from the movies, the ones with the rows of dark leather armchairs, deep cup holders, and a giant screen and surround sound system. The foot of the theater room even had a little snack station to make popcorn, and a mini fridge stocked with drinks.

You and Eric shared the couch on the bottom floor that was big enough for the two of you. It was a random Tuesday, and you didn't have work today, so he'd suggested swinging by and hanging out with him for the day. You couldn't possibly refuse.

Eric scrolled through the movie options on the screen with the remote. "Are you sure you don't want any popcorn?" He asked you.

You shook your head. "I'm good, really. But it sounds like you want popcorn, Eric."

He caught his tongue in his smile. "Maybe."

If you weren't supposed to be watching a movie, you would have gladly curled up on that couch and stared at him for the rest of time. His jawline was enough to make a girl go mad, and the fact that he was just so sweet, too—

"How about this one?"

You snapped out of it, barely flicking your gaze back over to the screen in time to avoid him finding out that you were just blatantly staring. "Uhh, sure. I haven't seen this one, actually."

"Really? Oh my god, we have to watch it then." And so you did.

It was about halfway into the movie that you realized there was a draft coming down on you—the air conditioning in this room was awfully high, but you didn't want to say anything. You hiked your legs up onto the couch and hugged your arms, leaning back slightly against the quilt draped over the back of the couch. (How conveniently placed…)

Eric saw your movement from the corner of his eye. "You cold? We can share the blanket."

"My hero," you joked as he removed the quilt from behind your heads and draped it over your laps.

Because the article wasn't exactly miles long, you and Eric had to shift over closer to each other. Not that you were complaining. The arm and leg pressed against yours were warm, and it gave him the perfect opportunity to raise his arm and place it over the back of the couch behind you.

As you both watched the rest of the movie, you gradually let yourself lean into him, and his arm eventually fell to rest directly around your shoulders, pulling you into his side.

"I always liked the ending of this movie," Eric murmured softly to you as the credits rolled. He brushed his fingers along your arm in a warm, soothing manner. "What'd you think?"

You stayed with your head tucked onto his shoulder. "Hmm, not bad. I think they could have cut the romance though."

"Ah, I see your point," he said. "Sometimes directors just like to force it for the sake of a subplot."

"Wholeheartedly agree."

His fingers danced up to your shoulder and began playing with your hair. He pursed his lips. "Are you a fan of romance movies? That's kind of a random question, I guess."

"Not really—a random question, I mean," you said, and pulled your head off of his shoulder to face him. The thought occurred to you of how close your bodies and your faces were, sharing warmth and skin. You saw his eyes dart down away from yours for a split second. "I like romance movies. I think they restore my faith in humanity," you mused. "You?"

"I like 'em, too." He released a small exhale, an almost-shy smile etching itself onto his face. "Most of them are just… feel-good movies. They're really sweet, and I've always kind of wanted something like that."

"High standards," you whispered, though playfully. "Wouldn't we all like something from the movies?" To you, this was what the movies were like—"handsome guy sweeps girl off her feet, and he's perfect and she's happy." You were already living out your too-good-to-be-true dreams.

He laughed. "True. I think it's just a matter of waiting for the right person to come along, maybe. And following through."

You bit the bait. "Following through?"

"Backing up your initial swing," he clarified. "Something to drive the ball home and make sure you mean it. I feel like maybe that's what people forget about romance—that there's still an after, beyond happily ever after."

Wow. "Your brain," you praised. "That was actual poetry, I think. Is this how you get girls?"

He bit his lip through a smile, leaning closer. "Only one girl. I hope it's working."

"I think it's working a little too well," you admitted, voice barely audible now.

You could feel the warmth of his breath fan over your lips as he came closer, about ninety-percent of the way; the other ten percent was left for you to either push forward or pull back. He was giving you the decision on a gold platter.

And who could deny something served so beautifully?

You closed the gap between you and pressed your lips against his. It was soft, at first, as the nerves in your brain and your vital organs threatened to go haywire. You breathed him in, your noses slotting against each other. He cupped the back of your head with his free hand, the other curling around your waist.

When you broke apart, it was for a split second, until he was kissing you again. You were half in his lap at this point, your legs draped over his, your side pressed to his chest.

Foreheads pressed together, you shared a breath of air with him. He nuzzled his nose against you as if unable to be so far from you. "Be mine," he said, simple at first. Then, "Please."

You smiled against him and felt his mouth do the same. "Only if you'll be mine, too."

"As if I would say no," he laughed, leaning in again, and crushing his mouth to yours. The theater room filled with both of your giggles as you fell backward.

If this was the happily ever after, then you would gladly follow through.

a/n: to anyone who read flight risk, i just redeemed myself from valentine's day

tbz m.list

permanent taglist: @flwoie @vatterie @seomisaho @hqrana @ja4hyvn @tinkerbell460 @kaaimins @hyunjaespresent-deobi @otterly-fey @zzoguri @floatingpluto @winterchimez @ethereal-engene @gyulfriend @polarisjisung @jaehunnyy @shakalakaboomboo @loveliestfelix @bless-311 @zhaixiaowen @leaz-kpop-life @amourdsr @pxppxrminty @kqyutie @sseastar-main @kxthleen14 @fluorescentloves @mosviqu @justalildumpling @jaerisdiction @super-btstrash-posts @jundundun @http-gyu @mvvnsseul @outrologist @vernonburger @maessseongs @kflixnet

[hoedamn-eron]

lava rolls & caf in the mornings

Poe Dameron is a persistent bastard.

Warnings: Poe is bisexual (Taslet is a pilot in Blue Squadron). Themes of slut-shaming. Mentions of one night stands and sex. Worries of unrequited love. Mentions of fears of commitment. Small mention of parent death (both Poe and Reader). Some swearing. Lots of dialogue. Not proofread so there will be mistakes. It didn't go how I planned it, but I hope it's okay anyway! Word count: 3,821 GN!Reader, no use of Y/N.

From this request by anon. I apologise if this isn't what you expected!

The first time you had seen Poe Dameron was on a recruitment poster for the Resistance.

Your first impression was to scoff and comment on what a pretty boy he was, that the Resistance must really be struggling to get members if they’ve resorted to posters. But wherever you went, you couldn’t seem to escape them, and your eyes always wandered over the serious looking face of Poe Dameron, looking into the distance with those piercing eyes of his.

And the next thing you knew, you were signing up to join and you were shipped off to their base on D’Qar.

Thanks to your father (“You need a true skill to get yourself by.”), you were good with ships; not flying but fixing. You were immediately assigned to the mechanics, and you were soon tossed into the hustle and bustle of the day-to-day life of a Resistance member.

It was hard at first; you felt like you didn’t fit in. You tried to be friendly, really, but you weren’t there to make friends, you were there to win a war. You understand that companionship was one of the most important things in the Resistance (you needed to trust your team, and your team needed to trust you), but to the top dogs of the Resistance, you were just a mere mechanic that was there to fix their ships after a mission.

All of that changed when you actually met Poe.

He’d practically crashed his X-Wing on the tarmac and climbed out without a scratch on him, like it was no big deal. He was even smiling as the other Resistance members rushed over, expecting him to be half dead, and he even had the gall to ask, “Where’s the fire?”

“Your ship,” you’d replied, running over to help put said fire out.

“Ah,” he’d said, shrugging. “It’s just a scratch, it’ll buff right out.”

It did not, in fact, ‘buff right out’, and you knew this personally because you were the one assigned to help fix his ship.

And you say ‘help’, because Poe Dameron is a stubborn bastard, and likes things done his way, so he was constantly over your shoulder as you tried to fix his ship, but you both just ended up compromising, and he joined you. Once he’d cleaned up after his crash landing, you realised that he was as handsome as his posters, but he wasn’t as conceited as you thought he would be. Of course, he knew how good looking he was, but he was at least humble about it.

That’s how your friendship started.

He’d talked to you about your home planet, and he told you about his. You both – oddly – bonded over the deaths of your mothers. Where yours was but a few years ago, long after you were an adult, your heart broke for him when he revealed he was only 8 when his mother passed away. He’d told you that she was one of the reasons he loved flying so much.

Your friendship only grew more as he went out on more missions and requested for you to help fix his ship. Then it turned into inviting you out for drinks with him and his squad, then dinner together after a hard day working, and offers of going off world, to ‘check out that market’ that you’d heard so much about, and as they say; the rest was history.

You weren’t sure when you’d fallen in love with him. It had slowly grown within you, like a flower blooming in the springtime; its roots weaved through your heart, seeking sustenance from every moment that you shared together. At first, it was subtle, like a faint whisper in the wind, barely noticeable, but you knew you felt…something. You put it down to kinship – he was your first friend in the Resistance and had taken you under his wing with no judgement. But you soon realised it was more than that.

You found yourself seeking him out, wanting to spend time with him. His laughter became the melody to which your heart danced, and his smile the sun that warmed your entire being. As days turned into nights and seasons changed, the love you felt for him deepened. Each day brought new discoveries, new reasons to cherish him. Love, it seemed, had quietly taken root and flourished, transforming your world in ways you could have never imagined, never imagined for yourself.

But then…he asked out that new pilot on Blue Squad, Taslet.

Then Tracey from droid repair.

Then that Twi’lek girl from the medbay…her name escapes you.

And you’ve come to realise that Poe Dameron would never settle down. He was too much of a free spirit or something of that kind. It hurt, to know that you would never really be together, but you would rather have him as a friend than nothing at all.

And over your dead body Poe would ever find out about your feelings for him.

You’d been in the Resistance for two years now, and you have only grown closer to Poe, and gained more friendships with his squad. And you love him, you’ve established that, but you’re about to punch your best friend in the face.

“I said no, Poe,” you say to him.

“Come on,” he replied, giving an overexaggerated groan. “You haven’t dated a single person since coming here – “

“It’s almost as if I came here for a different reason other than dating around,” you say, rolling your eyes as you stomp your way into the hangar, where Poe had obviously put some damage to his ship, again, and now you had to fix it.

This time, it was just a paint job.

Poe whines your name. “Come on, let me set you up.”

“I’m not interested, Poe,” you say, giving him a laugh as you reach his X-Wing. “Besides, I don’t even think anyone here is remotely concerned in dating me.”

He pauses for a moment as you climb onto his wing, focusing your attention on the deep scratches that were left there by Maker knows what. You frown at them, knowing that there’s some matching X-Wing paint somewhere on base, when Poe’s next words throw you.

“I might know someone.”

Your eyes meet his, a mixture of disbelief and curiosity on your face. You merely raise an eyebrow at him.

He gives you a dopey smile. “I might be interested.”

“’Might’ be?” you ask him, your eyebrow still raised.

“Okay, I am definitely interested.”

Your eyes widen a little, your body tensing. He said it so casually. How is he not sweating? The thought of you admitting your feelings to him sets you on edge all the time, and you have to go to a quiet place to calm down. Yet here he was, just…just telling you.

“You’re not serious,” you say, giving a nervous laugh. You’re giving him the opportunity to take it back, to say he’s joking.

He’s not. “Of course I am. Why wouldn’t I be? You’re good looking, you’re great to talk to, I trust you with my life, and my ship. You’re great with BB, why wouldn’t I want to date you?”

You snort in amusement. “You’re just saying all’a this – “

“No, I want to date you. Let me take you out.”

You look at him in disbelief, that smug grin on his face as he just…stands there, looking at you with his hands on his hips, as if he’d just told you how his day went.

You give a small laugh. “No.”

That wiped the grin off his face.

“Why not?” he asked, his brow furrowing, showing off that cute little crease between his eyebrows that you’d imagined yourself kissing away a million times.

You couldn’t answer that. It’s not because you didn’t know why, it’s because the reason might change your friendship forever. He was just teasing you, trying to make you feel better about ‘not dating anyone’. So you tell him so, that he’s just saying that because he’s just put his foot in it.

Poe shakes his head. “No, no, that’s not true – “

“You’ve literally been with every unavailable person on base, Poe,” you tell him.

“Be reasonable,” Poe said, giving you a look. “It’s not every available person.”

“It’s enough,” you say, giving him a grin. You hop down from his X-Wing, standing in front of him. “I think you’re a great guy, Poe, but you’re just…I wouldn’t date you.”

He looks at you still, with a determined look on his face.

You take his silence as a sign to continue. “I don’t want you to take this the wrong way but…but you…you’re – “

“You can call me a slut, it’s okay,” he says, grinning at you.

You shake your head immediately, reaching to run your hands through your hair in frustration, lightly gripping at your roots. “No, Poe, that’s not what I’m saying – “

“Then just spit it out,” he says, almost laughing in frustration. “It’s me.”

You sigh and drop your arms, before averting your gaze. “You’re not a relationship kind of guy. You date a lot and fuck around a lot, and that’s okay…for you. But that’s not…I don’t want that.”

Poe goes quiet as he studies you. He doesn’t say anything as you finally looked back at him, your cheeks warm and you shift uneasily from one foot to the other under his scrutinising gaze. His eyes, like pools of warm caramel, seem to pierce through you, as though probing into areas of thoughts you've long kept long hidden from him, and the world. A faint flicker of amusement dances at the corners of his lips, hinting at the secrets he might already have unravelled from you, and the look on your face. The silence between you stretches as the weight of his gaze continues to bear down on you.

You find yourself feeling self-conscious, as though you’ve been laid bare before him.

“I can be a ‘relationship kind of guy’,” he says, the corners of his lips twitching again in mirth. “For you.”

“Stop,” you say, shaking your head as you turn away from him, suddenly desperate to find that paint for his X-Wing.

“No, I won’t,” he said, having no problem keeping up with you, even when you sped up. “You won’t date me because…I’ve slept with a few people?”

“I just want something serious, Poe,” you say, sighing as you stop and turn around to look at him. “Like I said, it’s okay that you’re not. You can sleep with whoever you want. We’re in the middle of a war, there’s no room for relationships, right?”

Poe looks at you with an uneasy look on his face. “I’m trying really hard not to be insulted here.”

“No, this isn’t…” you heave a heavy sigh and rub your hands over your face. You feel stressed. This isn’t how you imagined your day going. It was supposed to be a slow day, there were no missions, no supply runs, where you could get on with the small repairs you’d been putting off.

But no. Poe had to try and convince you to go out on a date. With him.

“I’m not bothered that you’ve…that…to put it nicely, that you’ve fucked around, okay?” you ask. “I know you. I know you’re safe and use protection, you’re not an idiot. I get it. Commitment just isn’t your thing.”

You’re met with silence again. He’s just staring at you; the crease in between his eyebrows is back again. You both stand there for so long that you look around nervously, about to tell him that you’re going to find the paint for his X-Wing but he cuts you off before you could get another word in.

“I’m going to change your mind.”

You blink at him, your mouth falling open a bit. You weren’t expecting that.

“It’s nice that you don’t judge me for having sex. And I have had a lot of sex,” said Poe, grinning dopily at you. “But I’m going to prove to you that I can be serious. I can be serious with you.”

You shake your head, knowing that he won’t last as long as he thinks he will, before turning away from him. “We’ll see. Now help me find the paint for your X-Wing.”

Poe is persistent.

He’d greeted you at your door every day with a cup of caf, a lava roll, and a big smile, BB-8 usually spinning around at his feet, beeping at you happily. You’d walk together to the hangar, where you would share the lava roll.

He’d invite you to have lunch with him, where he’d ask you about your day so far, and you would tell him about the repairs you’d been assigned with that day.

At the end of the day, he’d walk you back to your quarters, where he would ask you out for dinner, as a date.

And you said no. Every time.

He would just grin at you and tell you he’d see you tomorrow.

Where he started the cycle again.

After the third week, you took a seat with Finn and Rey in the cantina for lunch – the first one without Poe since he was with the General for a mission debrief.

“Hi guys,” you greet them, placing your tray of food down as you sit opposite Finn. You tucked in immediately; you were starving.

“How’re you doing?” Rey asked you, a kind smile on her lips.

“Can’t complain,” you reply, shrugging. “You?”

“Not so bad,” she replied.

“You dating Poe yet?” Finn asked you.

You chuckled as you continued to eat your food. “Nope.”

“C’mon, put the guy out of his misery,” Finn said, smirking at you.

“Poe is fine,” you say, shaking your head and rolling your eyes, giving Finn a good-natured grin. “Stay out of it.”

“It’s sad,” teased Finn. “All he does is pout about how you won’t go out with him.”

“He’s doing it to prove a point,” you say. “He’s not serious.”

“Who’s not serious?” a voice asks behind you, and the three of you look up to see Jess and Karé joining you.

Rey told them how you were talking about you not accepting Poe’s offers of a date.

“You’re already dating him,” Jess said causally, taking a seat next to you as Karé sits opposite her and next to Rey.

You snort in amusement. “No, I’m not.”

“Yes, you are,” she said, giving you a pointed look. “He comes to get you every morning and you have lunch every day. That’s dating.”

“No, we did that all the time before,” you say. “We’re friends.”

“But you want more, right?” Karé asks, giving you a pointed look. “Because we’ve all seen how you look at Poe. It’s like he hung the stars.”

Your mouth falls open. “N-no! No, you’re wrong. He’s just…we’re just…”

“I don’t know why you’re so weird about it, he feels the same way,” Karé said, casually eating her food.

Your heart races as at her admission, and your stomach fluttering with nervous anticipation. Your mind reels, grappling with disbelief. You find yourself questioning the authenticity of Karé’s words. She was just saying that. That’s the silliest thing you’ve ever heard. Poe doesn’t like you like that.

Does he?

It's too good to be true, isn't it? You've dreamt about this moment countless times in your time here, but now that it's supposedly happening, scepticism creeps in like a dark shadow, almost like a plague on your self-esteem. You feel all your insecurities come rushing to the surface, because your friends surely are only making you feel better about your unrequited feelings for Poe.

The thought of allowing yourself to believe it feels like stepping onto thin ice, afraid of it cracking beneath your feet. You've built up walls to protect yourself from disappointment, and now someone is asking you to tear them down based on a mere observation, from word of mouth. You don’t believe it.

“No he doesn’t,” you say finally.

“Honey,” Jess says, giving you a grin. “He’s been trying to get you to agree that you’re dating for weeks.”

“We’re not – “

“Stop, please, you’re giving us all a migraine,” Karé said, almost annoyed. “We all know you’re worried about his reputation, but why should it matter? He’s a good guy who enjoys intimacy, there’s nothing wrong with it. It’s still the same Poe.”

“I don’t have a problem with it, it’s just…” you go quiet before sighing, then lean in. “What if, after a while, he realises I’m not what he wants? What if I’m too serious for him? Because I don’t date around.”

“You don’t think Poe will want to be in a relationship?” Rey asks, raising an eyebrow at you.

You nod. “I’ve talked about this with Poe, but he’s determined to prove me wrong.”

Your friends look at you silently, before Jess eventually shrugs at you.

“So let him.”

“Hey,” you call up to Poe, who was messing with the control panel of his X-Wing.

He looks at you at the sound of your voice before giving you a thousand-watt smile. “Hey there.”

“Can we talk? Please?” you ask.

Poe’s brow furrows in confusion but he wastes no time in climbing out of his X-Wing and standing in front of you, his look of confusion slowly melting into one of concern as he asks you what’s happened.

You’d been thinking about Karé’s words all day, and how your other friends hadn’t denied it. In fact, they seemed to agree. And after thinking about it…maybe they were right.

Maybe it's the way Poe smiles when he sees you, or the genuine warmth in his eyes when you talk. Perhaps it's the way he goes out of his way to spend time with you, or the way he laughs at your terrible jokes a little too eagerly. You had always thought he was just being friendly, but he…he didn’t act like that around the other who he’d slept with.

You’d started to entertain the possibility that maybe, just maybe, Karé was right all along. Maybe Poe did like you in the same way as you do with him. And in that moment of acceptance, a surge of exhilaration had coursed through your veins, and you suddenly found yourself in the hangar.

You refuse to let fear or doubt hold you back any longer.

“Okay,” you say, taking a breath as you look at him. “So this…this is going to be long so just…just stay with me please.”

Poe nodded. “Okay.” He places his hands on his hips as he looks at you.

Oh God, why does he always have to look so good. It wasn’t fair that the Maker made this man into a perfect specimen. A caring, wonderful, funny specimen.

“I just want you to know that I love you.”

Poe slowly smiles at you. “I love you too.”

“No, no,” you say, giving him a firm look. “I love you.”

He falters, his smile fading a little as he stared at you.

Your heart stops.

Oh, shit, everyone was wrong.

You start scrambling.

“I’m sorry to throw this on you,” you say quickly, trying to correct your mistake. “It’s just that you’ve been trying to get me to go on a date with you for weeks and I just thought it was for fun, you know? That it was a bit, but then I thought that maybe it wasn’t, that you were serious, that you actually want to take me out on a date – “

He interrupts you by calling your name, but you don’t hear him over your babbling.

“ – and I really want to go out with you, like so much, and I know I was a dumbass and thought that you couldn’t be sincere, since you…well, you know why, and I’m sorry that it came across as me being judgemental, because I was, a little bit – “

He tries to interrupt you again with your name.

“ – but I was an idiot and I’m sorry, I’m sorry for saying you couldn’t be serious enough for a relationship, I’m sorry for stringing you along for the last few weeks, it’s not fair on you, I should be more considerate to your feelings – “

He shouts your name, causing you to jump at the sudden volume. You look at him with wide eyes, breathless after your rant. You both stare at each other for a moment, and you can feel the panic claw at your throat at the unreadable look on his face. You can always know what Poe is feeling, what Poe is thinking, and it’s unnerving to know that you don’t know what’s going to happen.

Eventually, he reaches out to you, and holds you by your upper arms. “What’s brought this one?”

“Karé told me you like me,” you say quickly. “In a like-like way.”

Poe looked at you for a moment before he broke into a grin and started chuckling to himself.

Now you look confused.

“You are a dumbass,” he says, still laughing.

You couldn’t help but laugh with him. “I’m sorry.”

“Stop apologising. Listen,” Poe says, giving a dramatic sigh as his hands slides down your arms and hold your hands. “I’m not going to lie, it did hurt when you said you wouldn’t date me because I’d…slept around. I understand, though, that it can be a little much.”

You bite your lip nervously before looking at the floor, shamefully.

“Hey, no, don’t look away,” said Poe, before grinning when you look back up at him. “I want you to know that you mean the world to me. And more. And I love you too.”

You give him a slow, dopey smile.

“And although you’ve been ‘stringing me along’ for a weeks,” he says, giving you a teasing look, causing you to giggle. He gives your hands a squeeze. “I still love you and want to date you. Now, will you go out on a date with me?”

You grin excitedly before nodding. “Yes, I will go out on a date with you.”

“Finally!” said Poe, grinning at you. “I was starting to lose faith in myself!”

“I just don’t want to miss out having a lava roll first thing, they’re always the first to go,” you say teasingly, pulling him towards you as you wrap your arms around his waist.

He immediately slid his arms around you too.

It felt food. Natural. Like you were meant to be doing this the whole time.

“Oh so you don’t want me to be with you for love, you just want me to bring you lava rolls and caf every morning,” Poe teases back.

You grin and nod. “Mhm.”

“Now I know where I stand.”

“Bet all your other partners will be upset they’ll never get lava rolls and caf.”

“They never got them anyway.”

[mayasaurusss]

hiii queen!!!! how about some lazy morning with adult lottie where she has a lot of things to do but reader forces her to stay 🫠🫠🫠

Sure queen! Ah, finally a domestic request! I did this pretty quickly so it's not very long... I hope that's okay!

Lazy morning.

Contents: fluff, suggestive at the end.

Lottie felt the sun warm her naked chest, gently waking her up from her short slumber. The night hadn't been kind with Lottie: plagued by nightmares and voices inside her head, she hadn't slept much. The only time her eyelids closed were towards the end of the night.

Now, the sun was already showing, it's white glow contrasting with the pale light blue sky.

Lottie could feel the beginning of a headache slithering it's way into her brain like a worm. Her eye bags felt heavier than usual and she was short tempered. Why did she had to wake up at all? Couldn't she take just one day off?

With a groan, Lottie begun to stir. She felt a tug at her hips. You were naked as her, clinging onto her like a koala. Lottie couldn't help but find it cute, but she had things to do today.

She mentally went over her duties: welcoming the new arrivals, participating in a group therapy session, attending at the beehive...

Natalie always liked to joke about Lottie doing nothing during her teenage years and begin maintained by her parents money, but that didn't apply here. Lottie was a hard worker. For the first years the compound was active, she had worked her ass day and night to make sure it could continue to exist.

But that was years ago, when she was 30. Now, in her fourties, her mind and body weren't the same of once. Everyday at the compound felt more and more like a chore.

She was tired and so in need of the company and love that she had been deprived of.

It was a total accident when she met you. One of the initiates who had to sell the honey that day was known to behave badly and to be short tempered, so, she had made an excuse to go to the market as well. There, you had come to her stand. Lottie could feel, see in you an inner torment that she wanted to get rid of. So, she had invited you to join her. What she didn't expect was for her to fall in love with you: the way you held the bees -without fear-, how gentle you were with humans and nature made her feel fuzzy. She didn't even planned to do it, really.

The first time she had kissed you was after a therapy group night, where you had let all your emotions out and voiced your traumas. You were vulnerable and mournful when you exited the compound's building, heading to a cabin Lottie had assigned you in. She was clever enough to assign you to a cabin near hers, so she had more chances to trap you in her small talk.

That night, you had gone back with your head down, both in shame and sadness. Lottie had trailed behind you and as you approached your cabin, she had called out to you. When you had followed her inside her own house, she had let you weep in her shoulder. It was you who initiated the kiss, you who pushed yourself in her. It was her who took you to the bedroom, her who so gently woke you up and kissed you.

Years have passed since that night and everybody at the compound knew that you were made for one another, even if you hadn't still made your relationship known publicly.

"My dear... I have to go" Lottie whispered in your ear, stroking the skin of your shoulder. You let out a sleepy groan, looking up at her before clinging harder "Mhmmm, no".

"Please dear, I have to... " tugging against your arms proved to be a difficult task since you had hugged her hips so tight she couldn't move too much.

"No! Come on... Stay here" you whined at Lottie, making her slightly annoyed at you, but getting angry wouldn't resolve anything. "You don't need to always be at the compound. Would it kill to stay home just one day? You've been so stressed this days...".

Lottie knows you're right. But she's needs to go... doesn't she?

Lottie watches your naked figure sprawled on the bed. Puppy eyes piercing through her heart and spreading a hot, fuzzy feeling all throughout her body. A lazy morning wouldn't hurt...besides, she needs a day off.

You let out a happy giggle when she gets up and goes to phone her assistants. Lottie hears a flirtatious whistle from you, admiring her butt naked figure from the bed. She let's out a snort "Oh shut up".

You wait for a few minutes, hearing her voice from the other room and hoping that she would grant you what you so desperately need: a lazy lovers morning.

She comes back with a smile, then you are embraced by her hug. She falls back on the expensive, soft sheets, pulling you up with her and down her lap.

She whispers up at you, sending shivers down your spine, "Now, since you're so worried about me stressing over, I expect you to help me, my love".

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sir snuggles henry!sherlock holmes x reader requested by: anon summary: your niece finds the help of sherlock holmes to find her teddy bear. warnings: a child? just fluff lol word count: 1.3k a/n: i'm back baby, and with 2 new obsessions (sherlock and wakanda forever lol). thank you for this request!!! sherlock would be an amazing father and you can't change my mind on that

your niece, iris, was practically the light of your life. not having your own kids to take care of, your brother and his wife were more than happy to leave her with you for short periods of time. 

this summer, he got assigned a month long trip out of london for work, and he wanted to take the opportunity to have a small 'couple's retreat' and they were more than happy to leave iris with you.

it's only been a little more than a week out of the 4 she'll be with you, but it's already proving to be a challenge.

today, was a whole new level of trouble with her.

after you guys had gotten home from the park, you had put her in bed for a nap- but the problem was, she didn't stay there. before you had put her there, she was going on about her stuffed bear- sir snuggles- and how she lost it.

you told her you'd find it after her nap, but clearly that wasn't a good enough answer for her. 

while you read in the living room, she hatched a plan for getting her bear back.

"have you seen sherlock holme's latest case in the papers? my, he's a clever one." you look over the daily newspaper as you speak to your dear friend, a smile on your face. 

"attractive, too.” she responds with a grin. “have you heard of sherlock holmes, sweety?" the lady you were with asked iris, and at the time she shook her head and listened as the two of you went on about this famous detective. 

iris' eyes widen at the memory. "sherlock holmes!" he'd surely be able to find her beloved sir snuggles, you were constantly talking about the cases of his that had been published, expressing how smart he was.

peeking her head out of the room, she saw that you had your back turned, so she ran to the back door where she snuck out into the backyard. 

she'd have to find sherlock holmes and get him on this case.

-

flat two-twenty-one b was quiet as sherlock sat in one of his armchairs, papers from recent cases strewn about as he flipped through the newspaper. 

the day was a boring one, having no new cases to solve and no one to chat with.

he would have gone to the park or the market for a stroll, but he already had everything he would need here and he didn’t see a reason to leave.

so sitting and reading it was.

that was until there was a knock at the door. he looked up at it for a moment, almost wondering if it was a figment of his imagination, but sure enough there was another few knocks after a moment of no reply.

he stood from his chair, tossing the newspaper to the side and going to open the door. when it opened, he saw no one.

but then he heard a small voice.

"mr sherlock holmes?"

he looks down, and surprisingly, there's a little girl gazing up at him. 

his eyebrow raises and he glances up and down the hall for someone who could possibly be her guardian. when he saw no one, he looked back at her. "yes?"

a bright smile spreads across her face at the confirmation. "i’m iris. i lost my teddy bear. can you help me find him?"

"i'm not sure about that," he says wearily, "perhaps we should get you back to your mother."

she shakes her head, "she's not home, mr sherlock." she tells him, "i'm with my aunt y/n. she always says how clever you are." she smiles brightly.

he chuckles softly, rubbing the back of his neck, "really? well, you must be worrying her, so how about you-"

"-it'll only be quick, sir!" she pleads, "sir snuggles needs me."

hearing the name she appointed the bear, he sighs softly. he notices the dirt on the skirt of her dress, "have you been to the park today, miss iris?"

her face lights up at his question, "how did you know?" she questions, amazed.

"you have dirt on your skirt." he grabs his coat, stepping out of his flat. "let's go find this sir snuggles."

-

"why, that looks like it could be your footprint, doesn't it?" he points out in the dirt as he crouched down.

she gasps as she sees it, placing her foot in the print to see if it matches with her shoe. "it is!" she says excitedly.

sherlock can't help the smile on his face, "well, let's follow your steps, then. that should lead us to sir snuggles."

iris nods her head, not giving him a chance to properly stand up before she starts running in the direction the prints came from. he quickly follows.

a minute later, they pass a tree, and something catches his eye. he stops, looking over and seeing a small bear on the ground next to the trunk.

"is this sir snuggles?" he calls out to the girl who was still running along, picking up the stuffed animal and brushing some dirt off of the fabric.

when she turns, he watches as her jaw drops. "it is!" she yells, running back to him. "thank you, mr holmes!" 

"well, i couldn't have done it without your help." he smiles as he hands it back to her. 

there seems to be a light in her eyes, "do you think i could be a detective?" she asks hopefully. 

the question warms his heart, "it looks like you're well on your way. let's get you home shall we?"

as she led him down the sidewalk, they heard a sudden shriek.

"iris!" you grab attention from passing people when you see her, "iris, you get over here right now!"

it's then that you notice the man holding her hand and your eyes widen.

"you! get away from her!"

sherlock is surprised by the fact that a crazed woman has come from seemingly nowhere, yelling at him to get away from the young girl he had befriended- which he does admit, seems pretty suspicious. 

"but aunty y/n, it's sherlock holmes!" she tells you excitedly as you run to her. 

hearing the name, your eyes widen. "what-"

"you're always saying how clever he is, so i asked him to help find my bear!" she holds up the stuffed animal, "and he did!"

it's as if all words in your vocabulary disappeared into thin air, leaving you to stare in shock.

when he realizes you're not going to say anything, sherlock clears his throat. "it's, uh, a pleasure to meet you."

you're broken out of your disbelief and you blink a few times. "yes, same to you- iris, you shouldn't have left and you certainly shouldn't have bothered mr holmes." you scold.

"but aunty, i couldn't find sir snuggles." she pouts. 

"it's no bother, really." sherlock chuckles, "do you happen to be the aunt who, so i've heard, says i'm clever?"

heat begins to rise to your face and you look from him, to iris, and back to him. "well, plenty of folks say that, mr holmes." you clear your throat.

"but you and your friends always say he's very attractive!" iris pops in, causing your breath to catch in your throat for a moment. how much had she been listening to your conversations?

avoiding eye contact with sherlock, you shoot a pointed look at iris. this girl just loves to embarrass you. "i think we should be going now." you take a quick turn on the subject. 

you spare a quick glance to him as you grab your niece's hand, "i'm terribly sorry for the bother." 

"it's really okay-" you turn on your heel and quickly begin to walk away, until his voice raises slightly, "wait, miss!"

you pause, squeezing your eyes shut and biting your lip. you glance down at iris, before looking behind you and seeing him swiftly making his way toward you. "yes?" you ask, slightly nervous as he looks at you.

"i didn't catch your name."