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#maybe if i could get my brain to focus earlier too lol
soaps-mohawk · 2 months
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So...
I've been doing some thinking about a couple of things.
This blog has grown considerably, even from its start and I appreciate each and every one of you so much. Your support never ceases to amaze me and I owe all of you a lot for giving me something to focus on this year instead of spiraling into insanity.
But
Things have gotten a tad bit overwhelming recently between trying to run the blog and trying to write. I find myself either having to ignore the blog to get writing done, or sacrifice writing time and energy to spend time on the blog and keep up with all the replies/reblogs/asks etc. Definitely not complaining, you all never cease to amaze me.
But, I am just one person and my brain only has so much power right now. So, I'm planning to take some (more) time off each week right now while I focus on writing and planning since we're getting into some serious plot stuff soon. So I'm planning to be on the blog three days a week for a while: Saturday, Sunday, and Thursday. That gives me some time to get some writing done as well as some time to rest my brain.
Saturday and Sunday of course to post the chapter and respond to replies and reblogs so I don't get super behind. Monday I'll have some asks queued up as well as maybe a few reblogs. I'll still use the queue Tuesday and Wednesday for reblogs/asks with spoilers as usual. Thursday I'll be on the blog answering asks from Monday - Wednesday as well as things I get that day. I'll queue up a few things for Friday since that day gives me a little break between to prepare for the weekend and posting the chapter.
I'll probably add more days as time goes on. You can still send in asks on the days I'm gone, but just know I won't see them or respond to them until later in the week. I already get behind by a couple days on asks anyway so that's not much of a change.
Don't feel bad for sending them either, I love getting all these asks, I just tend to get behind on days I spend more time writing.
The second order of business
has to do with my taglist. Most of you probably haven't noticed (which I don't blame you lol) but my taglist has gotten very big. Very, very big. It's just over 230 people right now, and I'm sure there will be others asking to join. It's quite time consuming to do all of these tags for every chapter (especially since we can't tag in blocks anymore) so I've been doing some thinking into how I can make it easier for me, and for you.
I know there's at least one blog I've heard of, though I'm sure there's more, that have made side blogs that they have people follow and turn on notifications for and just make a post on that blog when they post a chapter or fic, etc. I've been considering doing that since the taglist is a lot of work and time.
I've also seen blogs that have side blogs that just post chapters/fics and nothing else. I know quite a few of you only follow for the fic, so if anyone is interested, I could put together a side blog like that as well that you can follow and get notifications from instead of having to follow this blog and having to go through the probably 100 posts that I make a day 😂 (at least it feels that way for me)
Having a separate blog for the taglist too would allow me to schedule posts so I can have them come out a bit earlier than I get up for those of you across the world who stay up to read and have to wait for me to post in the morning when I get up (or later like today because I slept in). Of course Ao3 will get posted later because I can't schedule posts there, but at least for Tumblr I can have things post earlier.
So let me know what you think about the taglist side blog and the possible just chapters/fics side blog. Feel free to send in asks (anonymously or not) with your opinion. I might not answer them all (not tonight because my brain is fried and honestly i'm not sure if this is even comprehensible English) but I will at least use them to make the decision (or make a post with all of them and answer it as just one).
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forlix · 10 months
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talking ab fallen star cos that fic consumed me when i first read it and consumed me again when i reread it earlier 🤚
firstly the way he kept his promise to bring mc to the airport it really broke me. it's so melancholic like there have been broken promises before but hyunjin wouldn't dare end their relationship on another one? you can still feel the love he has for t hemin the way he tiredly made his way to drive to their house and to the airport after he came back from his own long flight it honestly makes me insane.
i love how in the car there's this like faint and twisted idea of hope lingering between them. some part of them still longs for the other and it's right there they could just grab the very thing they yearn for but it's incomplete. it's not the same. honestly when mc mutters "idiot" it really made me think like are they calling hyunjin an idiot? or themselves an idiot? and ac i feel like they meant both of them are idiots for allowing themselves to end up in this awkward but necessary situation.
there are some unresolved feelings and unanswered questions while they sit in silence on the way to the airport, but the airport scene™️ gives them both the closure they need. they're not getting back together, no matter how much one might like, but the tension in the car shows a sliver of hope that they would and i feel like it really emanates in your writing and makes me as a reader reader hope for a happier ending as well. also the shaky "fuck" describes my feelings as i read this as well thanks btw 🥲
and this is all from my own mind but i imagine reader saw a photo or maybe got an invitation to hyun's wedding and they realize he's okay and it makes them reflect on themselves and with a heavy heart they realize theyre okay too. the worst part is there's no definitive point where they felt or "became" okay, because like you said, time is the best medicine and gradually mc just healed. but knowing that hyun is okay and has moved on kind of popped a bubble of reserved feelings and its not necessarily sad its just kind of disheartening or numbing?
idk how i started yapping sm lol i read wayyyy into this HAHAHA. i chose to analyze this instead of study for my finals ☝️🤓 but in conclusion, xian i love falling star and its yet another product of ur mindblowing sexy brain i love you so much bby and i js wanna say im so proud of you <3
when i tell u i saw this while studying (also for my finals) and it had my jaw on the floor my head in the clouds i couldn't focus for the LIFE of me afterwards. WDYM YOU WROTE ME AN ESSAY OF UR THOUGHTS ON MY WRITING? IS IT MY BIRTHDAY?? i love you so fucking much omg. thank u for sending this in my lovely star :') putting my VERY ramble-y response under the cut
"there have been broken promises before but hyunjin wouldn't dare end their relationship on another one" is soooo poignantly put and so so so correct. honestly him remembering the day and time of the flight was supposed to be a show of pettiness at first, like "you called me unreliable so here i am bitch" lmfaooo but let's be real you're right on the money with his real intentions. he was literally counting down the days until he had an excuse to see mc again.. he was also worried about the flight being so early and wanted to ensure their safety... AGGHHH not me hurting myself thinking ab this couple 😭
"when mc mutters "idiot" it really made me think like are they calling hyunjin an idiot? or themselves an idiot?" I LOVEEEE LOVE LOVE THIS? god u are a genius i adore you. i totally see this being the case. if i may add, maybe mc thinks they're an idiot because they reciprocate hyunjin's yearning even after everything that's transpired. like inward frustration that there are still feelings there? yeah. ur a genius.
about the slivers of hope after the car scene, i apologize for the lack of a happy ending love </3 the fic was definitely challenging (and saddening) but also refreshing to write. i really wanted to explore a couple that is well and truly doomed bc some of the relationships in our lives are doomed, yaknow? and you can recognize that and still have a lot of love for the person at the same time bc human beings are fucking complicated like that. but please consider this my official justification for posting something so depressing
"and this is all from my own mind but i imagine reader saw a photo or maybe got an invitation to hyun's wedding and they realize he's okay and it makes them reflect on themselves and with a heavy heart they realize theyre okay too." FUCKKKK NOT THE WEDDING PICTURE. this just made me frown irl. if i may add.....again..... what if they physically run into each other and that's how mc knows? at the start of the convo mc kinda feels the familiar stirrings again but it's more out of habit than anything. they talk for a bit and it's really pleasant and mc notices he has a ring on his finger and they realize they feel ✨ nothing ✨ about it anymore. but there's just an inkling of remorse remaining about the whole situation. like a passing thought of "maybe in a different universe we would've made things work"....haha.....fuck. BUT mc is happy hyunjin's happy, and mc is happy to have recovered, and life goes on
as for ur entire last paragraph i might actually cry, i'm so glad you love the fic and i truly do appreciate u taking the time to look into my fic this closely so so so much :'( you keep me going, I MEAN IT
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6
A different skull: The 8th. Doesn't have to do with the Eighth house necessarily. Ianthe is the "Eigth" to be taken into the Emperor's service as Lyctor, right?
Could mean more Ianthe. Or could mean some actual people from the 8th house. I forgot what the 8th in GtN were called - the nephew and uncle pair. They both died, though.
This is a second person chapter, so post-them dying, presumably.
you were seated in some kind of chair being wheeled down an Erebos corridor, and that someone had pinched a high cervical nerve right into your spinal cord—not deforming the bone at all, but manipulating the flesh only—in such a way that you were locked out of your body from the neck down.
you fucking WHAT??????
They can do that??????
Hey, Tamsyn Muir, that's terrifying.
(Anatomy brain in me is going: Oh she can breathe, so C5 at the earliest, MAYBE C4. She should still have SOME movement in the neck, as Trapezius and Sternocleidomastoid are innervated by a cranial nerve- I'll suspend my disbelief for a second and believe that it would not be enough to fully raise her head.)
(Direct anatomy questions to me, please. I love anatomy. I have a full degree in it. I don't get to nerd out about anatomy nearly as often as I would like to. It's a special interest <3)
a thick, fatty webbing joined the hilt to your forearm, a webbing that you had no memory of creating but was nonetheless your lacework. Perhaps you had woken up at an earlier point to stash the letters down your shift and fix the blade to your arm; you did not recall, but that was not unusual. Sometimes your conscious days were dreamlike ordinances of movement, functions, sounds.
Another insight into her mind: she often has memory lapses like this. I mean, we kinda knew that from the letters, though that may have been exceptional circumstances. Apparently, it wasn't.
You concentrated hard on whatever had been done to the back of your neck—visualized your known friend, the odontoid peg that protruded from your other known friend, the cervical vertebra—the bracelets that surrounded the vertebral arteries, the tangle of physeal joints. If it had simply been bonework, you would have been able to identify the mischief immediately, and unfuck accordingly.
This is why you need to learn flesh magic, Harrow. (Do different types of flesh magic differentiate between muscle, nerve, organ, vasculature magic? I kinda really wanna be a necromancer rn.)
Though, interestingly, the odontoid process is only found on C2, and that's decidedly too high for someone to fuck with her spinal nerves and her still being able to breathe. To me, this looks like Tamsyn Muir has definitely done her research - maybe even has a background in medicine/adjacent science; but can still get things wrong.
DAMNIT! Why did I have to get the Anatomy Chapter full of possible anatomical analysis to be had, when i was actually kinda getting ready to go to bed soon? Lol.
Okay well looks like voices are happening, so probably less focus on the anatomy for now. Let's hear some plot shit.
... okay, no, I can't get over the anatomy details. She should still be able to speak. Is she? (If not, I'm going to find Tamsyn Muir and subject her to a lengthy lecture on cranial nerves.)
(If any of you reading this are interested in a lecture on cranial nerves, well. It would go far beyond the scope of this liveblog. I'm only digging into this so much because I'm SUCH an anatomy nerd. I can expand on it if you ask nicely. hah)
Am I no longer Lyctor of the Great Resurrection, the second saint to serve the King Undying? Have I lost my rank among the Four—or, now, as I so horribly find, the Three? Am I not the last sister serving in a charnel house of dead sisters,
Ohhhh one of the old Lyctors. I've been dying to meet them, aside from Cytherea. I'm not sure who the other person is, (the other "voice" rather.)
Oh, just some guy. Now they're on the floor. The Lyctor - according to the Dramatis Personae, this is Mercymorn, most likely - has some impressive skills. I want to see more of her.
You were busy flexing the ragged end of your dorsal root—you had assumed it must have been severed, which would have been the simplest thing to do, but you realised all at once that it had been tied into a knot. It had been bowed out, twisted, and looped.
Lucky she's a Lyctor, with a Lyctor - otherwise, this sort of damage might not be easy to repair.
... Yeah okay I've focused a lot more on the anatomy than anything else. The chapter's barely gotten started. They just made it to an elevator.
Gonna leave it here for now though. I'm very tired.
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You told me to remind you to write Em teaching Uyu to flirt, but my memory span lately has been similar to one of a goldfish. So maybe if this stays in your asks you’ll see it when you get time? I think my brain reset this afternoon lol
Also my weakness is script writing so if I have a base I can use that later to draw the scene >:D I still want to try and design their casual clothes bc that’s fun. Also I’d imagine they’d have the lesson in city clothes? Ever since you wrote the draft I’ve been imagining them playing in the saloon when it’s closed
THANK YOU as I almost forgot I wanted to do this already as these days I too am at goldfish level. It’s also super fun to build of each other’s content and ideas ( ´ ∀ `)ノ~ ♡ and all the drawings you do make me cry tears of gold.
I also apologize for how messy this is as I’m trying not to overload ideas and am failing + I rewrote too many times TT. I’ll also totally admit all of my best edits got erased 1st time and I got too lazy to go back and re add all of that work. And I’ve been nitpicking with no direction——
Uyu- my cmc
Em- Mel’s cmc
This AU once again belongs to @marshmallowprotection , based on her Cowboy!Unknown fic “Cereus”! Here’s the link to go and check it out: Cereus
.♡♡♡.
Uyu was easy to perceive as shy and docile. On many fronts, she felt herself to be cowardly, always afraid of reaching for objects on higher shelves due to the possible “what ifs”. What if she’s simply not tall enough to grab what she desires? What if as she tries, she knocks over the object she wants? It took a lot of personal growth for her to start reminding herself not all “what ifs” in life are negative, but it’s not something that’s easy to wipe clean from the brain forever. It’s a deep conditioning that’s going to take time to shake.
Self confidence is a skill that she has to learn later in life than most of her peers, tossing away the stick she often beats herself down with. Even as someone with small acting experience back home, working up the courage to shine like a star never comes easy.
One thing she can say performance has taught her is that success tends to blossom under practice and familiarity. At first, it’s normal for most people to trip over their own heels, but sooner rather than later it becomes a flawless routine you can give your all without extra thought. With song and dance it’s easy to feel more alive than ever, all of your focus trained on hypnotizing your audience using what you already know like the back of your hand. On stage, there is no time for worries and “what ifs”, only the solid fact that the show must go on as you pretend to be something you’re not. It’s a transformation of the self under those bright lights and she’s always loved the feeling of playing pretend, now doing so in a new way that often tripped her up. The role of the sexy and confident desert flower was a big spin on reality really, but acting is simply that. Acting. A job is just a job, and today like any other, her role was to complete it.
As Em and Uyu’s getting ready process takes a bit longer than the other workers’, they usually started their mornings earlier to have enough time to get in full costume and clean up the stage. Together they swept the area to prepare to mop before changing for the day, as something as small as a random sticky patch could cause injury to a performer. This was simply their routine, as was the way they deviously twirled and span round on that stage to get you to empty your pockets. The longer you were here ogling the eye candy, the more inclined you were to order another cool and refreshing glass, and then another, and a another.
A tricky ploy it may be, but it was one that worked like a charm. It was their job to be on display in order to attract customers, and as professionals they each had their own ways of ensuring you left with a much lighter wallet. With Uyu’s set of pipes and the movements she followed taught to her by Zen, she eased the worries of each and every guest, so trained on her they let their guards slip for the idea of it being “party time”. And with them relaxed, Em could approach and flirt up a storm, encouraging them to drink up as she giggled and teased, asking how much alcohol “such a big guy” could really handle. And of course, they never forgot to leak out everyone’s secrets as well as their savings. Em especially was a natural at it, even with them “both” being new to the trade.
On the few and far between visits from their favorite outlaw as well as in those letters, Em took most of the charge when it came to collecting and delivering the goods. As the bolder desert lovely, she was able to squeeze her way into being at the bigger league’s tables, fake laughing it up as they ordered her drinks and Yoosung poured her colored water instead to trick them. Those poor fools paid full price for a drunken sleaze and instead only hydrated her for the same price as their beers, wondering how she was so good at holding her liquor. She saved her real thirst for her own stash of bottles she’d discreetly acquire during the shift.
Uyu’s lack of helpfulness with secret trading was something that bothered her, at times feeling a bit unable to prove her own usefulness. At first it was a matter of “will I be killed if I’m no use”, but now it’s morphed into the gut feeling that comes with being no good at your biggest assignment.
Unlike Em, when the guests at the tables coo at her and beckon her near, she froze before picking up her feet. Uyu felt lucky that her stage presence was advertised as coy and angelic, as it allowed herself to tie her nervousness into the act she had to put on. Her and Em were hyped up as the “devil and angel” type duo, but watching the way Em could even get their boss to blow steam out his ears on occasion made her wonder what it would be like to take on the role of Lucifer. It seemed fun in a way, knowing you had the power to wrap everyone in the room around your finger with Em’s devilish confidence. It’s what chipped away at her during today’s morning routine, still not yet dressed and ready for work. Uyu never stopped the motion of her broom on the upper stage as she bubbled out some of those thoughts to the other lady sweeping away behind her. Em was quick to respond to their conversation’s switch up.
“Let me explain this to you, since it looks like what you desire is a lesson in flirting.”
Em placed a gentle hand near Uyu’s rib cage, the other landing atop her shoulder. Long forgetting about their cleaning tasks for this more import matter, Em pressed right up against her pinker counterpart’s back, speaking in a quieter tone than earlier. Uyu stiffened in response to the physical contact.
“You see…you’ve actually got the foundation of this all wrong. You don’t need to be bold or sassy to sink your claws into everyone who is already tempted by you. You’ve already got a good thing going, you just need to make it better and pay attention to your surroundings.”
Uyu awkwardly twisted to look over her shoulder to make eye contact with her coworker, confused.
“But I don’t understand how to do that.”
“That’s the point ‘little hedge’, you just don’t get it.”
Em’s teasingly pouty expression made her partner scream internally, as did Em’s finger which was now drawing slow circles onto the pink fabric which clothed her stomach. Uyu tried not to sound panicked as she continued.
“So…can you help me to understand what you mean by that, then? Don’t keep me in the dark on this, elaborate please.”
Em chuckled, “Sugar wants to understand the art of manipulation better?”
“Uh- I mean…I guess that’s kind of what I’m asking for, isn’t it? What exactly do you think I should be doing better?”
“Well, if you really want to know-here’s what I think.” Em pulled back slightly to start playing with those long blond locks which belonged to the other performer. “To them, you’re innocence. To them, you’re a sleazy lady, but a lady none the less. Your appeal lies in the idea that those dirty fools can all strip those sweet titles from you with their grubby hands.”
Uyu gave a funny mix between a dramatic frown and grimace. “Ew.”
“Hah- but do you see how that ends up working out? On the other end of the spectrum is where I sit, so the pieces fit together like this. My appeal is that I’m their match, and yours is that you’re everything they’re not. This makes them hungry to taint you, while for me they’re worked up at the thought I’ll play ball with them. Get it? Tease them with that fact about you, but never let them have the satisfaction of blackening any of your white feathers. It’ll keep them coming like the idiots they all are, and as you pose no threat being a small female I see them all talking easy peasy~”
Uyu shuddered uncomfortably, “Ugh, that feels gross to play along with.”
“It’s just a performance remember? I thought you’d get that, and you’re definitely some kind of saint compared to them so it won’t be too hard if you get the guts. Think you could go gun down a man with that pistol you carry around right now?”
“No.”
“Yeah, or maybe go rob the local bank and load up on whatever is in their vaults? Or maybe catcall me or Zen?”
“No-”
“See? Everything they’re not around here and maybe then some.”
Em then released her, coming around to face her front. Her grin was mischievous.
“So go on then, see yourself as a shiny prize but don’t act high and mighty about it. Let’s practice. Pretend I’m an old fat bastard drooling over you here rather than spending time with my wife and kids. Get me to empty the money I should spend on feeding my family on beer, and get me to open my big mouth about how I actually am having a gay love affair with the sherif.”
“The sherif?!”
“Shhh, pretend!”
“Wait but if you’re gay, are you really all that interested in me? Or in your own wife for that matter-”
“You’re missing the point here- this dude just likes everyone ok? He’d even stick it in a cactus, and don’t comment on that either.”
“Right…Uhm ok-”
“So what’s your first move going to be with me after you finish a song?”
Uyu paused to ponder on that question before replying, mostly to use as breather due to the awkwardness of the situation. Her smiles were laced with anxiety.
“I’m going to seductively walk my way over to you… and then pretend I care about you specifically, despite the fact that I’ve got a hundred other customers to flirt with too and I’m being payed to do this.”
“Yes, now that sounds like the game we play! Make me feel like I’m the only person in the room. Trick me into thinking I’m a special somebody deserving of your attention. Go on and try it, sweetheart.”
Taking a few steps back until she reached the set piece chaise lounge, Em waited on Uyu for her next move. She sat with a wide man spread, putting on her thickest town accent she loved to poke fun, joking around some to set the scene and establish a character.
“Oh man! I’m so werked up, I’m tweakin' like em raccoons in the back of this establishment on trash day! It’s been a whole eighteen hours since I last screwed with someone, that being our finger lickin' good sheriff-”
Damn near loosing composure and the ability to seriously continue, Uyu pantomimed writing a letter. “I’ve heard every vital piece of information I needed without even working at it. Time to report this word for word back to the boss.”
And only after a few more giggles were exchanged did Em drop the accent, straightening herself up. Uyu cleared her throat and followed suit.
“Nerves shrunken up now? Don’t think I can’t see how stiff you are. I hope you realize just how foolish this game we play is overall as we practice for real this time. Give me all you’ve got, Uyu baby.”
Taking a deep breath while ignoring the flush which that nickname brought to her cheeks, she worked up the courage to try her idea for a plan of attack. She wanted to push her limits by playing a card usually off limits for her as she never liked to invite physical contact. “Do I have your permission to-”
“Don’t ask me for permission, just do it. If this were an actual client, you’d just have to stroll right up to him.”
“Right….Uhm- here goes nothing then?”
Sending all of her worries off on a train to a different part of her subconscious so that she could dismiss them best she could, Uyu tried her best to get into character. With the closing and then reopening of her eyes, coupled with a moment to breathe in, it was mission to go time. Like a sweet and slightly awkward lynx, she approached her current target with a walk Zen drilled into her head, hip movements exaggerated and her posture straighter than usual. It was nothing cartoonish, but seriously , no one really walked this way did they? It was hard not to feel ridiculous, but acting is all about silencing your screaming brain telling you you’re making a fool out of yourself for not following your normal social cues and patterns.
Next came the narrower doe eyes and the sweet batting of the lashes in Em’s direction, her gaze never leaving the lady’s which sat upon their set piece. She practiced this look in the mirror far too often to ensure she never came across as idiotic, but it was certainly difficult not to worry that right now she wasn’t nailing the expression as planned.
Uyu secretly wished to win some shock out of Em by pushing her own boundaries like this as she then plopped down in her lap, facing her sitting sideways by twisting. She reached out to toy with an outfit accent in the middle of Em’s chest, but drew back before having a chance to fiddle with the piece.
“Now now, bravery is the key here darling. Bring that hand back where you meant to place it.”
And with that command, Uyu listening, toying with the expensive brooch’s pearls. Em then placed a hand on one of her hips as if to either stabilize her in her position, or to add to her part in this production further.
“So, you prefer taking orders from others as opposed to listening to your own ideas, huh little floozy?”
Uyu pressed their chests together slightly, hoping the other could not feel the nervous and fearful drumming of her heart. And if she wasn’t so caught up in her act, she may have noticed the new shade that which adorned Em’s face.
“Well- I’m always worrying about our guests, you see. What if what I was about to do made you uncomfortable?”
She allowed her nerves to shine through as part of her character with a little spin on how she actually felt.
“Oh, I would have made it clear that I was uncomfortable starting when you took this seat. A pretty lady’s hands on me is always welcome.”
Uyu let out a fake giggle, “why thank you for the compliment. Glad to know I’m not a bother then~.”
“You a bother? Never. Those hands can wander wherever they like, although they might only end up making me a different kind of bothered.” Em then solidified her nasty joke with a wink.
Pretending this was a real situation, to neither offend nor instigate, Uyu played it off with more false laughter, as if she was amused rather than grossed out. She then allowed her arms to wrap around the back of Em’s neck as she snuggled closer, solidifying her place as the lap dog you enjoy attention from but pay no attention to.
It felt easier to slip into character with this scene partner as she could trust that they’d never beg for more than just a fun chitchat. Convincing scoundrels, highups and hooligans that you were attracted to them was a dangerous gamble, and you never knew which fool would come around and act entitled to more. Playing it off as goofing around with a friend made it easier to try, but would something like this really help rid her of the anxiety that came with dealing with a real client? The only real way to be sure was to keep the scene going.
“Do you feel confident enough to try this with a guest now?”
“Not really.”
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depressionspiral · 2 years
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I'm actually in a mostly good place emotionally right now. I haven't had any serious ideation for nearly a whole year, new record. Reading this blog back is wild, ESPECIALLY the memory logging. I find it interesting that I mentioned that symptom (which turns out - tism and trauma related) but didn't mention it bothered me because I legit wanted to develop amnesia to make the pain of losing Naomi less. Which like...kinda got that, because dissociation can be a hell of a thing. I have my memories still, but all the emotional associations to them are just...gone. Because we were so close and did nearly everything in childhood, most of those memories automatically remove her from the scene. Its like my brain allows only close-up shots in scenes I KNOW she was in previously - I struggle so hard to imagine her reactions or words in those memories now, and if I try to focus on it for too long, a wall appears and there's nothing but cold, hard facts. At first, it was just the childhood memories. But when I started to really, truly heal this last year, everything pre-2022 got included in that. Going through this blog tonight felt so strange. I went through it back when Naomi passed too, because I love self torture like that I guess. But back then, I remember deeply, deeply connecting to those posts, remembering the hurt and having it mingle with the agony I was in. Now, its like I'm reading someone else's words. My heart hurts for that person but...they're so far removed from me emotionally, I could convince myself it was someone else - except I have those factual memories. "This is what happened before that x-acto knife incident, what happened after, the discussion I had with my therapist." "Wow describing my feelings sounds so petoc but I'm pretty sure that was what it felt like at the time?"
Its wild. Like emotionally, I got reset or reborn. I still had downs in 2022, and a part of me still remembers how agonizing losing Naomi was but...thinking about it doesn't create an echo, the way thinking about past depressive periods used to. I don't instantly know how painful it was compared to when dad passed. It's more cognitive or almost scientific than that; like "Oh scrapping my knee hurt differently than when I tripped and fell earlier" but I can't FEEL that throbbing sensation. I just KNOW that's the word I would use to describe it, if that makes sense.
Anyway, I came on here mostly because what's truly been eating me away this last year is how my sister Amy essentially ghosted me, and how late 2021-early 2022 I was in a fucked up place where I contemplated suicide as a way to get attention from her because of it, and to hurt her the way I felt hurt at the time. But then I started reading and now I'm just in more of a contemplative mood rather than a frustrated, needing-to-put-it-down-in-words mood. So maybe later when it comes up again lol.
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kyoosoup · 15 days
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reading through my old messages and vents is always a rollercoaster
some of my takeaways so far:
1. i can be proud on some counts cause in many cases i've grown or gotten better. some of my messages/vents were from very specific situations that i had either forgotten about or gotten closure to and it's weird to see?? these things that affected me daily are now just memories.
for instance the first time i got creeped on (not counting cat calls) was at work and we called the cops and stuff cause i was maybe 15?? and that really affected me and i mean i still think about it but i was a lot more paranoid back then and it was fresh yk. And im still wary now but it's not as present in my mind as it was.
another thing is how i would often be upset at myself for being lazy and having a hard time focusing and not being able to do schoolwork and burning out. and i would wonder what was wrong with me (poor little me). and now i know ! adhd! lol. my mom was confused about why i was happy to get my diagnosis when i did but for years i had been thinking that i just wasnt doing enough or trying hard enough when i didnt realize it was literally how my brain was wired. ( this was actually a very common theme in my vents thank you diagnosis)
2. sometimes i see replies from old friends and im like man. we used to be these daily presences in each others lives and really close and now we dont even speak or had falling outs. spooky???
3. i see how I myself used to type/speak too and it's weird . i am practically a different person now. the amount i feel like ive changed in the past few years alone is like . exponential compared to before. meeting new people, losing people, losing family, discovering new interests, discovering and accepting more about myself???? actually socializing lol.
4. also just some of my issues were CRAZY ??/ how did i forget that i was working 10 hour shifts back during covid. 6-4 . and then i had to go home and do school ( i couldnt focus at work). omg that was just awful how did i do that
5. whenever i look back at old stuff i am even more grateful for the friends i have now. i had friends at the time but a lot of them weren't very close as the friends i have now or the relationships weren't as healthy as they shouldve been. i often felt incredibly lonely and i can say for sure i have not felt like that in a while (at least not for long periods of time, ive probably had bad days like everyone). maybe some parts of my life now sorta suck but i haven't hated it as much because i have good people supporting me and a lot of close friends who make life well worth living. i could write about how much i love my friends for hours probably
6. omg i remember when some of my big problems were my crushes on boys . THEY WERE ONLINE CRUSHES TOO. you dont understand im actually so embarrassed for myself for like 80-90% of my past real crushes (i am not counting what i thought were crushes but i realize was just admiration or squishes/friend crushes) some people go for looks. some go for personality. somehow, 14-16 year old me chose neither. theres only one of those past crushes that i still keep in touch with and i will say he is chill and we are friends and i am not as embarrassed over that one since he wasnt a sucky person. but like i definitely liked this one guy who was not good for my mental health hahahahha woops. there were more recent embarrassing experiences for me but theyre too fresh i cant laugh at them yet without cringing
7. you know this isnt as related to the old stuff but im writing all this while once again basically forgetting i was kind of a mess earlier this year too. thank you bad memory but let me rewrite my mental history. i am only thinking about the good things this year .
Anyways i dont know why i even wrote this theres no target audience that this applies to i think i just got really bored
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kiirotoao · 1 year
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S2 rewatch highlights pt 3
Episode 5
“Super spy” - Mike’s infatuation with super powers is showing
Okay I feel like those spores are really important!! They seem to be the only things capable of sedation and I really wonder if that’s gonna become a factor for s5 as the spores seemed to be everywhere. Like maybe those flowers are gonna spread??? Especially considering the first thing we focus on dying is the greenery when El picks the dead flower in s4
The mellow yellow lights, I swear I’m not insane; yellow is such a heartfelt color in the show. Turned off between Jonathan and Nancy to represent the distance
GOD can you imagine your 13 year old son telling you your friend/confidant/love interest/a police man who normally is in control of heavy situations no less - is going to die please they don’t deserve this 😭😭😭
I strive to have Dustin’s confidence and heart wth 🥺
I need more Nancy and Murray!!! Omg they could save the world together - I’m kinda scared for them in s5…
“Do you accept the risk” HURTS SO MUCH AFTER S4 HHFJFHFHF she’s so bold.
I need more Mike and Joyce too the Will protectors!!!!!!
Haha oh I love when Bob’s brain kicks in, not before his heart, as he enthusiastically and smartly figures out the map. Such a great character moment.
Eww I forgot those body parts in the cave?? Ig the demodogs are a lot less calculated than Vecna in handling victims
El and Becky are trying to find each other’s story. Oh the heartbreak as they communicate through the simple like “dream” and “home” and understand each other HGHFFHDUJ
Once again the yellow throughout the Ives’ house. El’s room. Covered in yellow, in heart, a baby once meant to dwell there but unable to, still felt through the loss.
AHHHHH AND HERE BEGINS THE MOST AMAZING FRIENDSHIP STEVE AND DUSTIN OMG!!!!! Wow halfway through the season I could’ve sworn it was earlier but apparently not!!
“Friends don’t lie” unless it’s under cause for protection!!! Love how it’s emphasized here with the fake out of order game
OOOO I have a greater appreciation for that “water it down” metaphor now I feel like that flew over my head before lol
“Hey, Bob.” “Hey, Jim.” LMAOOOO the difference between Joyce and Bob
OHJFJFJD my jaw never fails to drop with that seizure scene EVERY TIME
Episode 6
AHH omg I missed that key toss from Steve to Dustin - the tiny cue for their synergy right off the bat (pun not intended I’m sorry) is so good
Feels so good to see Joyce silence the entire room of professionals she's so justified!!!!
JANCY GET MURRAY'D HELL YEAHHHH - I love how they're both so stubborn that they needed that push to show them the highlights of what they hadn't fully acknowledged
THE FIRST LIEEEE Oh dear theme how I do adore you
AHWHHGHJH Bob is so accepting. Oh my gosh. It hurts because I feel like he's gotten a fair amount of background compared to other newly added characters my hearttttt
OMGG WAIT I forgot that Will didn't remember Hopper!!! OH my gosh! Bob I get, he hasn't seen Bob, but Hopper???
Oh my gosh the way that Hopper holds his hands over the wheel is SO HHUHG you can tell he wants to hold El's hand and apologize but oh the empty room. The seemingly unreached message.
MAN I miss the handshakes for reconciliation!! I feel like they ended after this season
AWH MAX 😭❤️ her anger scares her ouch too real
WAIT OMG CAN WILL FEEL WHEN PEOPLE DIE HOLY CRAP THAT IS SO HFHG UHOHGOF
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one-year-experiment · 2 years
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Day 2
Today has been a decent day so far. I wish I had maybe sat down and figured this post out a bit earlier to focus my day, but there is still enough of it left so I figured it's still worth doing.
I clearly want to start feeling better as soon as I can, so I've been thinking about what types of changes will hep facilitate that faster. And I think while I am prone to having big dreams of the future (music, theater, job), there are more basic things that would help build a foundation going forward. Things like exercise, trying to change my typical diet up, focusing on sleep, and an activity journal for a week (for therapy).
One thing that I love doing is brainstorming big goals, and then wanting to "get there faster," which then causes me to not be consistent with it. And the lack of consistency could be because of a variety of reasons: the daily goals are too aggressive too early, my goals are too rigid (wake up at X time, and if you don't you've already failed, etc.), lack of progress (or progress I deem worthy of recognition), and an external event of some kind (I've had consistent exercise/diet regimens completely derailed by a weekend trip - I just don't return to the old habits).
The issue with all of the habits I've formed in the past and then gave up is that I do think these habits help me feel better and more in control of my life. But when you do these habits for long enough, you almost forget that they were the very things that made you feel better. I've gotten pretty fit in the past, and the circumstances were very similar to where I am now, but I think depression and negative self-esteem/stress just maes it fele like you can't just do it again. I find myself coming up with reasons I can't do things now ("I'll do it later tonight" - spoiler: I didn't). It's like I have a list of things I know would help me feel a bit better (exercising, eating a vegetable each day, get my sleep in order) but I just end each day wishing I had done one of those things. I know easy things are often more difficult for people who are depressed. I feel lucky because I'd describe my depression (which is pretty severe for me) as a dulling/hopeless of experiences and emotions rather than more severe symptoms.
Here's where I want this journal/experiment to help guide me. I want to give myself tasks for the next week and then at the 8th day (after a full week, so that'll be Day 10 of this blog I think…) see how I did and rerate my depressive symptoms and reflect. I know nobody will likely read many of these, but even the thought that one person might be reading this is a new level of accountability I don't have right now, especially for the little things (because who wants to talk about how brushing their teeth is hard to anyone? lol)
My plan for 10/26 (tomorrow) - 11/1 (ew November):
Brush teeth twice a day
Skin care twice a day
Track my activities and moods in my therapy worksheet
Move my body for at least 30 minutes a day (yoga, walks, cardio, weights/resistance)
No fast food or soda
(Side note: I've drank soda for most of my life and I love the carbonation so when I originally lost weight and was exercising I was drinking diet soda and carbonated water, but I think I want to kick my carbonation addiction so I'm going to try to limit my carbonated beverage consumption to ~1 a day as long as it's not soda)
Take all medications and vitamins each day (antidepressant, vitamin D, fish oil when I get more)
Get outside for ~15 minutes each day, especially in the morning for light
Be aggressively kind to myself (accepting that this might not be the most "productive" week to my warped brain, and things might be hard and I might not do each of these each day but I should strive for "good enough" and consistency above a streak or perfection)
(Another side note: I always kinda roll my eyes when people say they're a perfectionist because I feel like it's oftentimes someone trying to casually flex their high standards, but my perfectionistic attitudes are more "this idea sucks, throw it away" before the thought's wings carried it off the ground. But I think this issue might be better putting on the back burner for now)
Keep updating this blog during the week (ideally in the mornings to focus my intentions for that day)
While this seems like a lot (and I really hope that this isn't one of my "going too fast moments"), most can be done in shorts bursts of time (and I can double up on sunshine + walks). This blog is also another way for me to see this plan, see if it works out, and reflect on why. I hope this year will be a year of getting to know myself, what I can do, and being better at estimating and planning.
Whew… okay I know this was a lot, but thanks for reading. I hope to look back at these entries a year from now and be proud of the person typing this out right now because I helped lay the foundation for a healthier life.
See you tomorrow :)
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manchasama · 2 years
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As as an avid bird enthusiast AND submas appreciator I absolutely love your wing AU! I hope you don't mind but I came up with some fun birdy ideas for you to consider <3 🕊️
• • • • • • • • • •
- Birds usually allopreen each other around the head/neck, since thats the one spot they can't reach themselves. The human equivalent of this would be the middle of the back (conveniently enough, where the base of the wings would be) since that's the one spot human hands can't reach well
- Emergency wing first aid tip: you can stop a bleeding blood feather with corn starch/flour! Probably useful to keep a pouch of that on hand while out in the field
- I assume the twins have the same wings, but alternate colors. Ingo's wings are their natural crow-like black color, but Emmet's are leucistic.
• though, it would be weird for the trait to show up on one identical twin but not the other. (I think another anon mentioned a similar phenomenon but) Periods of sickness/stress/malnutrition can permanently screw with pigment color. So consider: Emmet got a nasty fever or something as a little kid and the color never came back to his feathers. The twins started wearing color coordinated outfits to help Emmet feel better about "not matching" anymore. He's stopped being self conscious about it, but it's still a permanent reminder of an unpleasant experience. Cue the angsty reunion moment when he sees Ingo's dull, greying wings; realizing in horror that sweet Arceus, he never wanted to match like that.
- You mentioned before there was difference between conscious flight and instinctual flight. Maybe with their scrambled memories, Ingo/Akari forgot how to manually fly. Ingo got the handle on it pretty quickly—he's older with experience and muscle memory to boot. Akari on the other hand is just a young teen. Just barely not a fledgeling! It's like asking a kid with a permit to try and remember how to drive. Ingo basically has to teach her from square one.
- The best way to figure out manual flight is to induce instinctual flight first. The best way to do that is... ah... .....you know how parent birds will toss their fledglings out of the nest? yeah. Not fun! FAR too unsafe for Uncle Ingo's taste. But without modern equipment—and the fact that it is substantially more dangerous NOT to teach her how to fly—He has an "Oh My Goodness I Do. Not. Want To Do This I Am So So Sorry" moment and remorsefully shoves her off a ledge in the highlands. It's like the terrifying flight equivalent of taking the training wheels off your kids bike and praying they don't crash when you let go. (dw though, he catches up to her midair and it turns into a wholesome flying lesson)
- Birds have to oil their feathers to keep them waterproof and sleek! Humans don't naturally produce that so it probably has to be sourced externally, like how we use soap or shampoo. Since this is ancient Hisui and you can't, y'know, go to the corner store and buy a bottle of wing grease, Akari's wings are probably extra raggedy from all the wind and rain in the field. They're borderline unsafe to use until Ingo gives her a crafting recipe for the makeshift feather balm he's managed to concoct with forageables.
- The scene in which Ingo first tries to do damage control on her feathers plays out like a well-meaning but inexperienced dad trying to do his daughters hair. He gets progressively better at it each time he tries :)
- I feel like Akari would have sparrow-like wings. Sparrows just exude protagonist energy tbh. They're pretty common, "generic" birds, UNFATHOMABLY adaptable, tiny but scrappy and headstrong, capable despite their outward cuteness, etc. From my understanding, sparrows are also prominent symbols in Japan too, which fits the setting. (I believe they represent luck and longevity)
- Speaking of symbolic bird mythology; while crows symbolize death and misfortune in the west, they represent familial love in Japan. Do with that info what you will :)
- On an angstier note, birds that are bored, lonely, anxious, and/or depressed will pluck their feathers out. (Neglected caged birds, for example.) This can form into a serious bad habit. With the serious anxiety and residual trauma of Ingo's disappearance, I imagine Emmet's wings are just as disheveled as his brother's. sorry I'm being so mean to Emmet in this ask lol
- On a cuter note; sneasels/sneaslers also have feathers! I imagine they naturally groom eachother's head plumes as a show of affection. Their head plumes aren't quite like Ingo's flight feathers, but lady sneasler/the sneaslings still try to preen them the best they understand. They're not very good at it, but they try! especially when they notice his wings looking extra worn. This is partially inspired by my well meaning parrot's attempts to preen my "pin feathers" (eyelashes) out.
• • • • • • • • • •
Sorry again for the obscenely long ask 😅 I wrote this while cuddling my bird and I think she just possessed me into writing this.
...That and your AU just makes my brain go brrrrr. I hope some of this is useful to you and I'm excited to see where your AU goes :)
Anon, dear 'nony, I love that you left an essay in my ask box<3
As someone who has not owned birds, I read this with a big smile on my face, ngl.  :>  So let's see.
- The preening is definitely a thing!  As mentioned, both Ingo and Emmet have a hard time taking care of their wings once they are separated.  Emmet in his depression, and Ingo in his self-shame (and lacking of the right kind of support).  Elesa is going to step in and help Emmet out, so he will manage well enough.  Ingo tho….  
So he's pretty set on hiding his wings forever, but Sneasler at least doesn't let him.  She'll bully him into stretching them out, which he'll humor her on if he's in her den/cave.  He's not comfortable doing it in the open, not with Irida's warning still echoing in his head.  It's not her fault it struck harder than she intended, but if you think about it, it's one of the /first/ things that Ingo can remember.  Certainly the first human interaction he can remember.  So he holds it as more important than he really should.
That said, Sneasler definitely does her best to take care of him.  While she may have limited knowledge to feather care, she doesn't have the dexterity needed to deal with the full wings.  It's better than nothing tho!  
Trying not to kill people's dashboard, rest going under a cut.
And here's where my other idea comes into play as well.  I think Melli finds out about Ingo's wings.  I haven't, admittedly, seen a lot of canon Melli first hand.  But while he is a braggy sort, I sincerely doubt he'd be made a warden if he was a truly terrible person.  Instead, I see his bloviating as overcompensation for maybe people thinking he's not suitable to be a warden for some reason or another.  Adaman excluded Melli from a discussion about his Lord, but then turns around and immediately tries to prove to Melli that the MC is a good person.  It's just such a weird interaction, you know?  Why bother trying to convince Melli if you're just going to exclude him?  Unless Melli has to force his way in to be recognized, and won't go away once he has a foothold.  
*handwaves*  The /point/ is, that I think Ingo has some respect for Melli.  Yes, they butt heads over the torches, but Melli's reasoning is for the good of pokemon, not just because he's an asshole.  Melli though, probably has a lot of animosity toward someone who was an outsider, but was accepted as a warden with little to no objection.  (Unlike him, who's born of the clan.  Was Pearl clan that much better?  Or would they too have been against Melli?)  So he goes out of his way to find Ingo and antagonize him.  (Ingo doesn't take the insults to heart, it honestly usually just devolves to Melli talking about random things to him, until he realizes he's being /civil/ with a Pearl warden, and stomps off.)
When it comes down to it, Ingo gets a little sloppy.  He's relaxed a bit, partially due to Sneasler's constant prompting, partially due to becoming familiar and friendly with the people of the area.  So there's one day where he's out in the mountains, wings out as he takes a rare moment to stretch them out, let the wind run through his feathers.  (Working the knots out of his back.  He hadn't realized how cramping his wings so much had affected his posture.)  Melli's shocked exclamation surprises /him/ and he locks eyes with Melli for only a moment before he panics.  Buried reflexes kick in and he tries to take off.  
But it has been a long time since he's flown, and his muscles has atrophied.  He tumbles rather ungracefully into a groaning heap, the fire of pulled muscles burning in his back.  Melli's footsteps approach, and, well, he must look pretty pitiful because Melli's reaction is to loudly complain but also gently help him recover.  (Melli feels no particular need to spread the rumor around.  It's just one more weird thing about the weird pearl warden, and he's not one to spread the cruel kind of gossip.)
Melli, having worked with Sabi for long enough, can recognize that Ingo's wings are in a pitiful state.  So after he finds out, every few weeks he loudly announces his presence, along with the brushes and oils he's "borrowed", and demands Ingo's attention.  It's a mark against all wardens if he lets Ingo go around looking more of a wild man than he already does, and /no/ it doesn't matter that no one else can see them, /Melli/ would know they're there and that's all that matters.  Ingo finds it easier not to argue.  (Ingo finds comfort in the feeling of someone preening his wings.  A memory he can almost grasp, but remains stubbornly out of reach.)
…Okay so that was bullet point one.  This may get long lol.
- What is a blood feather?  Are they repairable?  Replaceable?  I mean, I /could/ google it, but I havent had to yet!  :p  Still, that sounds like a pretty serious injury if it bleeds.  *rubs chin*  It's definitely likely they carry around flour (or equivalent), considering the various kinds of cakes they make in the field.  Does Ingo remember enough to keep some on him?  Or is it buried memories that cause him to carry it without considering why?  
- So I admittedly am being a bit handwavy on why the wings manifest the way they do.  Mostly because I can't be bothered.  That said, yeah, the twins wings were supposed to be same shape, but black/white respectively.  Why?  *handwaves*  :p  But man, you're just /handing/ me a reason!  I really like the childhood sickness being a reason for it, as well as the color coordinating to make them feel better about "not matching".  
On the other hand tho, it's creeping deeper into angst than I necessarily wanted for this au.  But on the other other hand, I /do/ like the hurt comfort it provides.  *chinhands*  This is partially why I'm tempted to split some of these ideas up into two different AUs.  I just don't think I could come up with enough material for two distinctly different ones.  And yet some of the ideas clash, so you can't have it all.  @_@  I need to outline the fic, is what I need to do.  That'll solidify what I want to see!
- …Did I mention something about conscious flight vs instinctual flight?  I don't honestly remember!  Unless you mean when I was commenting with answrs on their art, where winged Ingo was falling?  If you find it, point it out, I'd like to try and remember what I was thinking!  
So flight in general for them I think is fairly instinctual.  It's just that Ingo (and Emmet) /really suck/ at high flying.  I mean, they can get up there, but they don't really get a good feeling from being so high up, and the /landings/ are the worst part.  What they do like is the quick glides, the tight turns, the /speed/ they can get up to with their abrupt take offs.  
Ingo, as I mentioned earlier, hides his wings for so long in Hisui that he basically loses a lot of the built muscle that would hold him in flight.  That, coupled with an abrupt attempt to jump back into a quick getaway, leave him sore for a while with the strained muscles.  After that tho, I think he's encouraged to try small flights, to build back up.  He can't quite put his finger on why he doesn't want to soar around the mountains, but chalks it up to not wanting to be accidentally seen by anyone who doesn't already know at this point.  It never occurs to him to try any quick flying, or low ground maneuvers.  (Until a certain someone needs protecting ofc lol)
As for the MC….well this is as good a time as any to say I'm contemplating twin MC's.  :>  I think I mentioned it in passing on another post's notes but like.  So you have Dawn and Lucas as twins themselves.  While they are from Sinnoh, they have a recent enough ancestor (grandparent maybe) who's from Unova, and thus carries the genes for these kind of shenanigans.  There isn't the unspoken (potential) stigma in Sinnoh, about flaunting the twin features, so Dawn and Lucas don't have the same sort of subconscious bias against showing their wings.  In Sinnoh it's certainly considered /strange/, but unless the circumstances are right, they may just be considered tacky accessories rather than /actual/ wings.
Part of the reason for them to be twins is because it fits the history on why these kind of features show up on twins, but also because it's a different twist on Hisui so I'm not just retreading same ground.  Having both of them makes it just different enough!
That said, again, it does take away from Ingo (and Emmet's) story to give the same features to another set of twins.  The idea is the features are fairly random, and often more subtle.  I definitely think there's a pair of twins running around with horns around the same time as Ingo and Emmet (they wear headbands, so it's easily "explained" as part of the accessory).  Ingo and Emmet were supposed to be a bit unusual in having such an obvious tell of their ancestry.  It doesn't stop me from wanting to play with the idea!  It's just part of why I'm tempted to make two stories out of it.  *shrugs*  IDK man.
But yeah, back to Rei and Akari.  If I go the angle of they too try to keep the reminder that they have wings on the down-low, they probably wouldn't choose to attempt to fly anyway.  But!  If they go a more casual route, I could definitely see them fumbling around.  Probably doing more dangerous stunts than they should, just on account of having no adult supervision, as well as necessity to get out of sticky situations.  If tho, if we wanted Ingo to teach them….
That would go along the angle of Rei and Akari not using their wings.  They get roughed up and scruffy, and being kids don't really think much about proper grooming.  (I bet their hair are both rats-nests under the hat and bandana!)  They're so focused on proving themselves, on fulfilling their mission, on being useful, that by the time they do meet Ingo, they're pretty wild to look at.  
The greeting on the tip of Ingo's tongue dies, as well as his intention to send them on to the Galaxy Team headquarters.  Part of him is stunned to see a pair of children with wings like him.  (Something is banging around the back of his brain for attention, on why that is familiar.)  The larger part of him feels an uncontrollable urge to /act/.  Before any of them realize it, he is there in front of them, fussing over the mis-aligned and loose feathers, as the grit and dust covering them, and are there /twigs/ in there??  When he realizes what he's doing, he does step back, embarrassed, and they are also a bit too stunned to really know what to do about it.  (It had been nice tho?  To have someone fuss over them.)
Ingo tries to deal with it as he does most things, by moving on and leaving it alone.  He's already made the children uncomfortable with his strange and unexplainable ways.  No need to make their forced alliance any worse.  It works until they are traveling along the mountain trails on the way to their destination. 
Rei and Akari spoil that plan by being pushy, questiony little hellions.  They want to know how he knows so much about wing care.  Does he have any pokemon with wings?  Not like theirs?  Did he learn from somewhere?  What, he doesn't remember?  How can /that/ be?  How can they help him remember?  Just two curious chicks circling around him, not letting up.  He /will/ be forcefully adopted if they have any say in it!
(When he comes clean to them about his own wings, they beg him to teach them all he can.  While he doesn't actively remember much, if he just lets himself react, he finds he can guide them in ways he's forgotten.  It helps him as well, to remember how to properly care for the wings, how to properly train for flying, etc.  I think if I went this route, he'd get much /much/ stronger flashbacks of Emmet.)
 - *snorts*  I MEAN yeah, sure, just shove a child off the cliff why don't you.  I probably wouldn't go that route, but it does make me laugh a lot.  What I /could/ see happen though is one of the kids deciding the best way to learn to fly is to just up and jump, giving poor Ingo a heart attack.  It's a 50/50 on if they end up in a snow pile at the bottom of the cliff they jumped off, or if Ingo goes careening after them to catch them instead.  Or, you know, both.  :p
- I love all the animal care needed to go into pokemon when it's incorporated into a story, and that includes wing care for the blorbos!  But at the same time it is really hard to remember to include it in any story.  That's okay tho.  Ingo knows that Melli with the fabulous hair has a source.  Now if he can just convince him to part with the supplies without spending an hour nattering about proper care….
- …I'm sorry I'm not sorry but the thought of Ingo being super awkward at his first attempt at grooming the kids is too adorable.  Please be patient with your new uncle, he is trying.  While he may be fumbly, and while his memory takes a while to really kick in, it slowly turns into teaching lessons for the kids as well.  He guides them both on how to care for each other.  (Ugh I just feel like these would be the times he misses Emmet the most.  Depending on how his memory is at the time, that could be bad or worse :<)  Even when they know how to care for themselves, he continues to do it for them.  Because they ask, and he can't say no.
- I am rapidly losing steam so I shall just touch upon the rest.  Akari and Rei being sparrows is adorable, I like the scrappy little duo.  Also THANK YOU for putting the image of the white crow and familial love in my head.  I also don't know what I will do with that info, but it feels /important/.  Emmet isn't left alone enough to develop the bad habit of feather plucking, so we're okay there.  And Ingo is content to hide them, unless he's with people who would also stop him from forming that kind of bad habit.  (You may of course be mean to Emmet in any way you like, but I may pull a counter Elesa on you!  :>  I'm still trying not to let this AU tip too far into the angst as well, so I will resist!  Besides, I'm…./really/ mean to Emmet in one of my other fic ideas………imsorryemmet)
*rubs eyes*  Once again it's late and I need to sleep, but it was fun answering this ask, ngl.  I certainly didn't get anything else done, but HEY that's okay.  Whatever makes my brain go brrrrr is appreciated<3  Considering how often it needs a kickstart to get going lolol~  Thank you for playinggggg
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tommyspeakycap · 3 years
Note
Can I request some chilly fluff? Anything really, just some cute sweet chilly fluff with a little bit of angst maybe?
of course! here's an idea that's been swimming around my brain all day lol
helping hand
ben isn't coping with his newest responsibility and his best friend comes to save the day once again
It's honestly less about the news than it is about the fact that you didn’t here it from him. Texts have gone mostly unanswered since you read that online article you first believed was false, only for it to be confirmed by him. You offered a congratulations despite the pain it brought to you to hear that you had completely lost your chance.
You had probably called him about a million times, each time ringing out and some even being hung up after merely a few rings.
At first, you worried that something had happened. Then you managed to wrangle the news out of Mason that everything was well, you let yourself have those days of utter heartbreak that he had found a girl, started to settle down and then completely cut you out of the picture. This was the first time in all of your 23 years that you hadn't been able to speak to him about things that were going on. He seemed to have completely fogotten about you and you couldn't bring yourself to think of a reason why.
She never really did like you, his girlfriend. You could only imagine it had something to do with the fact that Ben was incredibly close with you. A lot of girls had been unhappy with the fact that while dating Ben, they were subject to teasing that everyone was surprised he was dating when they had thought he was so clearly in love with you. You understand that, it would be irritating but nothing had ever happened between you and Ben that might suggest you would ever get together. People just love a rumour.
What had really hit you, however was seeing her from the Instagram you followed. She didn't even appear to be in London, never mind with him and that made no sense by the timeline you had managed to figure out.
That's how you found yourself standing at his door with what felt like a million bags and a feeling of hurt you had never actually had before. You cornered Mason, refusing to leave until he told you what the hell was going on and when he did, you were gone like a flash with a broken heart to seek out the man who needed you now more than he ever did.
Your heart shatters even more when you step into his house, pushing it open and pulling out the key he gave you a few months ago as you head carefully to the kitchen. You can hear him trying to talk, his voice strained and croaky as he attempts to speak over the sound of the screaming baby girl.
"Come on sweetheart," he begs, "Please take your bottle, I promise you're just tired."
His house is messier than you've ever seen it with gifts unopened, blankets and bottles, baby toys and clothes strewn around everywhere you could see.
You're quick and quiet to get to work clearing the place up, clean clothes being folded and sat in his clean laundry hamper while sorting the dirty things and shoving them into the washing machine by colour before tidying away all the blankets into the baby boxes he had set up in his front room. The infant upstairs screams the entire time you whiz around, throwing an entire bin bag worth of rubbish out of his kitchen before restocking all the shelves and his empty fridge with food for him and milk powder for the little girl. The pizza you shoved in the oven the second you arrived was finished after 15 minutes, so you plated that and left it on the kitchen island before you decided to make you presence known to him.
"Need a helping hand?"
His head whips around rapidly, instinctively tucking his daughter closer into his chest before he recognised your voice and turned his face back away from you. "You shouldn't be here, (y/n)." He mumbles, bouncing his legs to try and get that screeching to stop before he starts crying again himself.
How had everything ended up so messy? He found a girl that he thought he loved, he had his best friends and he had you. She got pregnant and he was ecstatic until she told him she wasn't interested in having a baby. It was too late to do anything about it, so she gave birth to that baby and legally signed over parental rights wholly and fully to a destroyed Ben. You, of course, had to find this out half from the tabloids and half from Mason. Ben was absolutely affronted. He was mortified. How had he gotten himself in this position?
You were the first and only person he wanted to tell. He was desperate to seek out your arms and have an absolute sob to you so you could help him fix this like you do with everything else, but he couldn't bring himself to face you. He cut you off slowly and carefully without even noticing himself because she had coaxed him into it. She played him like a fiddle, let him grow her platform and fund her lifestyle until she had everything she wanted from him and left him with something that was supposed to be theirs to love forever.
As if things couldn't get worse, from the moment he found out she was having a baby he had realised he didn't want kids or a life with anyone but you and now here he is, with a baby that has no mother and he had lost you. How could he just go back crying to you now after all the hurt he had caused you? What kind of person does that? He made this mess and it was his to clean up.
"Mason told me what happened. You can fight me all you want, Ben but I'm not going to go anywhere so you may as well just let me help." You say firmly, not inviting a single space for him to actually contest your words. His shoulder deflate even further than they already are as he finally turns to meet your eyes.
There's bags and dark circles beneath his with greasy, messy hair and a shirt he probably hadn't changed in longer than he should.
"I'm sorry." He croaks, clamping down on his lip with his teeth so he doesn't immediately burst out crying at the sight of you standing there in his house. God, he's missed you so much he couldn't even begin to put it into words and his emotions are so messed up from the lack of sleep that he'll cry at just about anything right now. "It's forgotten about. We don't have to talk about it, I'm here to help."
The weight that lifts off of Ben's shoulder is the kind of immense relief that only really you can bring to him, honestly. There are few people that he has ever met that can ease him like you can and knowing he doesn't have to explain this whole situation really is something he's so thankful for.
"This is Lilly," he says weakly, nodding his head down at her whining. You smile immediately and without thought, stepping forward to get a closer look at the small baby, only two weeks old and already giving her dad a run for his money. "Hello Lilly," you coo softly, raising your hand to stroke her cheek with your finger in the most gentle manner he's ever seen. "Can I? I feel like I've missed out on two weeks worth of aunt (y/n) cuddles."
He tries not to think much into the fact you refer to yourself as her aunt because if he lets enough thought onto it, he'll find himself breaking his heart over you all over again. Ben nods, passing her into your arms carefully.
"I'll feed her, I made some pizza for you so you should go eat." You hold our your hand to take the bottle from him, but he frowns. "I-" Ben stutters, "I don't want to just lump you with her, plus she's upset so I shouldn't leave her y'know? It's not fair on-"
"Go and eat Ben, and have a shower while you're at it. We'll be fine in here, I've babysat a million times before." You shrug, taking the bottle from him as you step further into the nursery instead of standing in the doorway cradling the still whimpering little girl in her pink onesie. "But I-"
"Go."
"I should-"
"Ben go, now."
Ben sighs in defeat and turns on his heel, the rumbling of his stomach finally giving him away as he realises just how hungry and smelly he actually is. No wonder the infant was crying in his hold.
He trudges downstairs, hearing the sounds of those winging dying down as he does, half expecting to walk into the messy swamp he had left when he went upstairs earlier this morning, only to see the whole bottom floor of the house was basically as spotless as it had been the day he moved in, bar the baby variety adjustments he had made to welcome the new arrival.
He makes a mental note to thank you more and do some grovelling and apologising later on. He knows he has to do it and he knows he'll explain in more detail what really happened probably later today, but for now he will scoff that pizza down his throat faster than he has ever consumed a meal in all of his life before raining the cupboards that he discovered you had stocked. He is reminded with every step he takes around his house that this is you, again, here holding him up when the world around him feels like its completely crumbled.
This is what you do, you keep him together, fix him up after the heartbreaks and breakups preparing him for the next girl who's pieces you'll have to pick up when they hurt him. This time he doesn't want another girl, he wants you. This time, the one time that he would be miles too late. He's got a baby now that he needs to focus on and he can't imagine that you're going to want an instant family even if you could really see past the fact he had ghosted you for nearly five straight months from the moment he found out his girlfriend was pregnant. He can't forgive himself, so how on earth would you?
If he would ask, you would tell him you already had. Seeing how hurt he was, how genuinely sorry things had ended dup like this with everyone in his life he was was enough for you. It was enough to cause you actual physical pain. You never could hold a grudge considering the situation he had ended up in.
Ben had never ever once in his life being more thankful for his shower. He’s also pretty sure he fell asleep against the wall with the heat of the shower steam loosening his muscles and the fatigue of barely an hours sleep catching up to him. He towel dries off his hair, letting the towel hang around his neck as he rubs it against his head while he pads along the soft carpet of his hallway from the bedroom to his beautifully done pink nursery where he hears no crying, at all.
But he does here soft talking.
“Giving your daddy a hard time eh, pretty girl.” You hum softly, slowly swaying from side to side. She lays in your arms, looking up at you and stealing every bit of your heart with her daddies eyes. “He deserves it a little, you know. Just ‘cause he done me out of some adorable baby cuddles y’know?” Ben can hear the teasing smile on your lips as he leans against the doorframe out of your sight, keeping quiet so as not to be detected. “But he’s a good man, sweet girl. One of the best, actually. And i know he’s already such a good daddy to you, he loves you so so much. Do you know that, eh?” You say quietly. Ben catches the sight of you swaying that amazed little baby who coos up at you, reaching for your finger to hold. “Mhm, and i love you too. You have no idea how loved you are.” That’s one thing Ben can agree on.
“And you might not know it now because you’re little, but i do know one thing for absolute certain; I’m always gonna be here for you, and for your daddy even if he’s as stubborn about it as they come. You’ve got to help me out though, eh sweet girl? Be good to that daddy of yours. Yeah, sleepy baby? Mhm, my sweet girl.” The way you hum, bouncing her carefully and swaying in just the right way for her to fall asleep in your arms. Ben watches you for only a minute more, softly singing a little lullaby to her that makes Ben’s heart swell to ache so much that he has to take a small little video before he heads off downstairs with one last look.
When you finally greet him downstairs with a tight hug that he sinks into immediately, resting his cheek on your shoulder as your hands massage your fingers through his freshly cleaned hairs as his arms hug around your waist. “I’ve missed you.” He admits, words muffled by your sweatshirt. The feeling of your fingers at the nape of his neck makes him hum in content and sink into you peacefully just like his baby daughter did not half an hour ago. You’re just perfect for them both in every way and there is not one bone in his body that doesn’t wish he had started his family with you.
But with that realisation comes one more; that he will not settle until he has given everything he has, tried with every morsel of him to earn your forgiveness. He might not of started his family with you, but he is damn determined to make you part of it.
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somethingpoetichere · 3 years
Text
lovebug- caliban imagine
sup. fic inspired by my favorite song in THE world. not as soft mushy as it may sound I promise caliban is a nice lil sarcastic SHIT with a big ole crush. mild sabrina bashing but its funny in context and I think it’s the way family behaves. reader is a Spellman, not a witch but DOES know about the supernatural/is part of the supernatural world. here with my once in a blue moon post lol. feedback would be appreciated!
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called her for the first time yesterday
finally found the missing part of me
felt so close but you were far away
left me without anything to say
Caliban was not an idiot- he knew not to underestimate the Spellman half-witch that had gone and declared herself queen of hell. So he’d taken the liberty of learning everything he could about her, noting her habits and schedule and the people she surrounded herself with.
And then he found you.
You weren’t a witch- at least, he hadn’t found your name in his diligent searching through the Book of the Beast- but you were something. That he was sure of. There was something slightly off about your presence, tinged a little glittery, though not altogether unpleasant.
No, not unpleasant at all, he mused as he watched you make your way towards your car. Tucked into a little yellow sundress, you stood out like a ray of sunshine in the wave of doom-and-gloom that hallmarked high school. The school bell rang out behind you, and Caliban felt his knees go disgustingly weak as you smiled brilliantly at Sabrina through the crowd.
It was a stupid, stupid decision that Caliban would never have made in the right state of mind, but he reasoned that pissing off Sabrina was validation enough to get your attention. He ducked into your path on purpose, taking advantage of your momentary distraction as he gently bumped into you. oops.
You collided with a solid wall, books tumbling out of your hands as strong arms reached out to steady you. You let out a surprised yelp at the collision, peeking up curiously as the wall you’d hit laughed.
Oh, well that was a sight for sore eyes.
The golden haired stranger holding you was, well, gorgeous. Bright blue eyes peered down at you as he grinned, and you felt the whole world shutter around you. You’d definitely been watching too many soap operas with your auntie, but goddamn it if you weren't positively putty.
“Hi there, stranger.” You giggled nervously, and Caliban suddenly remembered he’d had his arms around you for far too long to be acceptable. He reluctantly retreated, feeling something claw a little uncomfortably in his chest.
“I’m sorry, I wasn’t looking where I was going.” He apologized, moving to pick up your books as you bent down to retrieve them. He ran a hand through his hair in barely concealed bashfulness, unsure of why he felt so... unsettled, all of a sudden. 
“It’s alright, my head was in the clouds.” You waved off his apology, accepting the books he offered you with a grateful smile. “Are you new here? I don’t think we’ve met.”
“He’s new here!” Sabrina’s shrill voice interrupted, training her icy glare on Caliban, who fought back a smirk. “This is Caliban- he’s from... Australia! Yeah, down under!”
“Oh, I can show you around tomorrow! I know how scary it can be to be new here.” You patted his arm sympathetically, ignoring Sabrina’s stream of indignant protests. “I was with student council all day. If you’re a senior, we probably have most of the same classes.”
Caliban had shit to do. Caliban had trials to plan and souls to torture. But you were looking at him- all warmth and sunshine, and Sabrina’s look of pure horror only sweetened the deal.
“I’ll see you in class tomorrow then, sunshine.”
so worth it.
now i'm speechless, over the edge
i'm just breathless
i never thought that i'd catch this love bug again
hopeless, head over heels in the moment
i never thought that i'd get hit by this love bug again
Caliban didn't understand why the mortals all bemoaned high school as hell on earth. It certainly wasn't so bad once you got past the wave of body spray and the questionable cafeteria food. In fact, darting to class with a pretty girl beside him was pretty enjoyable, all things considered. 
You’d spent the day introducing him to the other students, passing him silly notes in class, and had even tugged him from the lunch room to hang out with your friends in the library. He learned that you pretty much did it all- student council, cheerleader, top of your class- all while managing to somehow know the name of everyone you passed with a smile in the halls. You were silly and sweet— smart as all hell with a wit that certainly kept the clay prince on his toes.
and he was smitten.
The groan that escaped your painted lips was delightfully sinful as you slumped in the seat beside him in english class. “I hate Romeo and Juliet. How do two people fall in love in a few days anyhow? And Mrs. Willows always makes us reenact the scenes, and it’s so corny.” The blush that colored your cheeks as he looked at you in concern was something he did his best to commit to memory- cheesiness be damned, Caliban was enjoying himself far too much.
Caliban smirked, skimming through the booklet he’d been passed as the teacher droned. The prince of hell had a certain flare for the dramatics, and Sabrina’s glare burning into the back of his head only fueled his antics. He had one scene in mind, and it was the scene that was certain to kill four birds with one stone- totally make you fall in love with him, he would somehow manage to kiss you (that part was a work in progress), piss off Sabrina, and also- piss off Sabrina.
And kiss you. So maybe five parts. Damn it, Caliban was going to have to make a list.
“Partners?” He whispered softly, gently tugging at your hand as the teacher sat back down. Caliban’s eyes were alight with a tinge of mischief that you either failed to notice or were simply amused by- and your answering nod was more than a little bashful. “We can do my favorite scene.”
“If you say the first kiss scene, I’m punching the daylights out of you.” You warned, playfully nudging his knee with your own. “It will be unkind and I will not feel bad.”
“My lady wounds me.” He dramatically rested his hand above his heart. “And we absolutely have to do this scene-” He raised his hand to silence your half-hearted protests- “because Billy told the guys in calculus that he was specifically going to be pissed if we did this scene.”
Okay, so maybe he’d stretched the truth a little bit. But Caliban knew that the mention of your seedy ex-boyfriend (who you’d enlightened him about during lunch) would absolutely get you to agree to the scene. And it wasn't like he’d lied— Billy Marlin’s glare was nearly as icy as Sabrina’s. And, it wasn't like the way Billy looked at you- with something akin to possession in his eyes- totally made Caliban want to fast track the kid to damnation right then and there. Nope.
“We can meet up later today to practice? I have cheerleading practice after school, but I’m free after that!” You grinned at him, and he felt the tension ease out of his shoulders as you rested your hand on his arm. The gesture was so effortless- but to Caliban, who’d never really experienced connection like this- you reduced him to all but clay again.
“I can drive you home after practice?” Caliban offered, enjoying the yelp that Sabrina let out from the back of the classroom. He shouldered your bag as the bell sounded, noting the way your eyes softened even further at the gesture. “We don't really have cheerleaders down under, you know.”
“You’re welcome to stay and watch.” You shrugged, ignoring the way your heart thudded erratically as he walked you to the locker room. “It won’t be too long today, and Sabrina has a date with Nick after, anyways.”
it was really just too easy.
i can't get your smile out of my mind
i think about your eyes all the time
you're beautiful but you don't even try
(you don't even, don't even try)
modesty is just so hard to find
Caliban wasn’t sure if he regretted his earlier offer. Sure, the sight of you tucked into the tight cheerleading uniform (did they make them that short on purpose?) was pretty much the pinnacle of male fantasy, and the smiles and winks you’d thrown his way whenever he caught your eye during your routines were something else altogether.
But getting the sight out of his brain as you rambled aimlessly in the car about today’s chapters of Dante’s Inferno, while he simultaneously tried to focus on the road and definitely not the way your skirt hitched on the leather seat...
Yeah, Caliban was pretty sure he was in love.
You weren’t too far off, in all honesty. Caliban’s large hands had a firm grip on the steering wheel, and you took the time to admire further up his toned arms as he drove. His hair fell in loose, windswept waves, and his side profile looked like it was sculpted by the freaking gods. Every so often he would glance your way, his perfect lips parting to reveal his perfect teeth and perfect smile and gods-
Yeah, you had the lovebug bad.
“So how did you meet Sabrina?” You questioned innocently enough, and Caliban had to restrain the urge to spill all of the hell-related gossip to you. How Sabrina had managed to keep all of her throne-seeking from you was beyond him, but it certainly added a thrill to his pursuit of you.
“I had some administrative issues the other day and ran into her. She doesn’t like me too much, I’ve gathered.” Caliban was careful not to lie- his entanglement with you had the added perk of pissing off your dearest cousin, but it was genuine on Caliban’s end. He found he didn’t really want to lie about things.
“Sabrina is... touchy.” You offered carefully, shifting in your seat as you pointed out directions to your home. “I don’t really understand why she doesn't like you, to be honest. I was actually going to have a word with her about being nice- you’ve been so sweet, and I was the new kid too a few years back. It's hard to find your place in the established dynamic of a small town.”
Caliban doubted you’d had too much of an issue, with the way the halls seemed to light up around you, but the accompanying smile you gave him was bright enough to soothe his imagined woes. “It’s alright, I reckon she’ll get used to having me around.”
“Used to you?” You mused with a giggle, leaning on the console in a gesture that brought your face much, much closer to his own. He was overwhelmed with your floral scent- something soft and summery and altogether you.
“I plan on being around you a lot, sunshine. If you don’t mind.” He grinned, turning to face you momentarily at the stop sign. Your eyes were wide with hardly concealed surprise at his words, and he watched the realization of the close proximity of his face flicker through them.
It happened so fast that Caliban was almost certain he imagined it- but your eyes had definitely glanced at his lips. The blush that tinged your cheeks as you pulled back confirmed it, and in a moment of calculated risk, Caliban moved to rest his hand on your exposed thigh. 
“No, I wouldn’t mind at all.” 
If Caliban squinted, he could almost picture that he was a normal teenage boy, driving a beautiful, normal girl home from school. The sinking sun was peeking through the windows, bathing you in an ethereal glow, and - at least for right now- everything was perfect.
you were perfect.
now i'm speechless, over the edge
i'm just breathless
i never thought that i'd catch this love bug again
hopeless, head over heels in the moment
i never thought that i'd get hit by this love bug again
Caliban draped himself across your bed, a languid smirk on his lips as you kicked haphazardly placed piles of clothes into your closet.
“I promise I’m not usually this messy,” you apologized with a sheepish smile, shoving a mass of shoes under your bed, “okay, that's a lie. I’m always this messy, I just didn’t expect company.”
Caliban hardly minded. It was adorable how embarrassed you were, and he took the time to take in your bedroom (drawn from his reverie only by the occasional delighted shout when you found a shirt you’d thought had been sacrificed to the laundry gods, or worse, Sabrina’s room).
The first thing Caliban noticed was the books. While your clothes lay in scattered piles, all of your books were meticulously organized and lovingly tucked into shelves that took up an entire wall of the room. Sabrina may have answered that Caliban’s only hobby was torturing babies (or her, which was the same thing, really— and also, what the hell? Caliban may have enjoyed the occasional soul flaying, but only when it was well deserved!)— but Caliban loved to read.
What was one lifetime in one world, when he could learn of a thousand others in just as many universes? Immortality could grow dull, and eternity had to be spent somehow. Caliban tried not to smile as you precariously placed the book that had found its way onto your nightstand back into its place, and supposed that it might be far more enjoyable with someone else.
You seemed satisfied with your damage control, and slumped onto the bed dramatically with a groan. It was then that Caliban’s hand found a stray victim of your clothing massacre.
“Nice.” He grinned, and you peeked up from your playbook to find him dangling a pink lace bra.
Shit.
“Give me that!” You lunged, but Caliban was too fast. He quickly moved them from your reach, laughing wildly as you wrestled him desperately for the bra. 
“You are the worst.” A groan escaped you, and you huffed in fake-defeat as Caliban smirked victoriously at your retreat. You leaped at the chance, tackling Caliban with all your might. While momentarily surprised, he reacted quickly and shifted so that he was now pinning you to the bed, his hair dangling wildly in your face as you both laughed.
Caliban’s face was so close that you could see the flecks of green in his eyes. For a moment, his eyes seemed to flicker to your lips, but in the seconds it took for you to find your voice again, you’d lost your nerve. 
“We should get back to the scene.”
The moment was broken, and Caliban retreated with a bashful look on his face. He ran a hand through his hair and moved to sit across from you, his cheeks tinted a little red as he politely handed you back your intimates and pretended to shield his eyes when you tossed it somewhere. You’d never been so freaking embarrassed in your life, but Caliban was smiling so softly at you, like you were—
“If I profane with my unworthiest hand this holy shrine, the gentle sin is this: my lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand to smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss.” He motioned around with his hands dramatically, tone playful and light.
You were so dead. Caliban was freaking made for this romantic swooning nonsense that you’d tried to protest nearly the whole ride home, Billy Marlin be damned.
Giggling nervously in what you hoped seemed scene-appropriate, you tried your best to forget being a horny teenager to instead play a horny teenager. “Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much, which mannerly devotion shows in this, for saints have hands that pilgrims' hands do touch, and palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss.”
Caliban’s voice lowered, a smile still tugging at his lips as he took your hands in his own. “Have not saints lips, and holy palmers too?”
“Ay, pilgrim.” Your own voice softened in turn as Caliban began to trace mindless patterns on the backs of your hands with his thumbs, “lips that they must use in prayer.”
“O, then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do. They pray; grant thou, lest faith turn to despair.” Caliban’s eyes were soft, and you imagined that Shakespeare had pictured the man in front of you when putting the words to paper. The words fell so naturally from his lips and he seemed engrossed in the scene— he was, for lack of a better word, enchanting.
“Saints do not move, though grant for prayers' sake.” Your voice was hardly more than a breathless whisper, the proximity of your faces and the intimacy (however imagined) stealing the air from your lungs.
Caliban paused, his eyes meeting yours intently as if searching for something. Whatever it was, he seemed to find it as he took your face in both of his hands.
“Then move not, while my prayer’s effect I take.” 
It was all too much. You could hardly be blamed for kissing him as fiercely as you did.
It was like fireworks, like every cheesy romance novel and play (cough, Romeo and Juliet) claimed it would be. You’d had plenty of kisses before, but never one that melted your brain like this. You forgot all about the scene, about how not real this was supposed to be as your hands tangled in his windswept hair and he pulled you onto his lap.
It was Caliban who first pulled away, only just so that your noses were touching. He was breathing heavily, eyes blown wide— and you felt your whole face turn red as reality consumed you again. “I am so sorry, I’ll just—”
“Where do you think you’re going, Juliet?” Caliban’s hands firmly gripped your hips, preventing you from moving away. His fingers thumbed the band of your skirt, and his next words were a whisper against your lips. 
“Thus from my lips, by thine, my sin is purged.”
kissed her for the first time yesterday
everything i wished that it would be
suddenly i forgot how to speak
hopeless, breathless, baby can't you see?
Caliban was in love. He’d spent the next three weeks with you reciting Romeo and Juliet, sharing shakes at Dr. Cerberus, and tugging you into empty classroom and closets at every opportunity to kiss you senseless.  Every moment not spent with you was at least somewhat occupied by the thought of you, and Caliban found he wasn’t the least bit upset about it.
And Sabrina was pissed.
If she’d hated him before, she positively loathed him now. It was the latest point of contention between yourself and your darling cousin, who’d you taken to threatening with various kitchen utensils and promises to tell the aunties she’d been sneaking out to make her behave. And Caliban, for his part, was perfectly polite— even though he still had every intention of taking the throne from the inexperienced witch who promised to destroy the balance of heaven and hell.
Which presented Caliban’s own latest dilemma. He was going to have to tell you eventually— and in a way that didn't make you totally hate him. He had a plan. Okay, maybe a skeletal plan. Or no plan. Yeah, Caliban was going to wing it. 
After today. He just had to make it through your reenactment of Romeo and Juliet with no demonic catastrophes or maiming Blly, and then he would tell you everything.
But even that was too much to ask.
Sabrina burst through the english classroom doors, yelling in barely concealed panic that there was a BIG problem and the principal needed Caliban now.
Caliban moved to leave with an apologetic smile in your direction, which you were absolutely not having. Despite your current frustration with Sabrina, she looked downright terrified, and you were both concerned for your cousin and overwhelmed with a gut feeling that something was up.
After a few moments, you excused yourself to use the restroom.
You hauled ass to the gym, where the screaming sounded to be coming from. When you entered, you were met with the strangest sight.
The gym was filled with winged... rats? And at the center of the chaos was Sabrina and Caliban, back to back and armed with what appeared to be lacrosse sticks. Caliban’s shirt was tattered from the rats, and you took a fraction of a second to banish the completely innappropriate and untimely thoughts from your head.
“And no one thought to call me?” You shouted angrily through the swarm, snagging a baseball bat from the rack and smacking it around with reckless abandon. Caliban hooted, laughing loudly as you took your place beside them. Rats tore at your clothes, but you were more frustrated that Sabrina had called your boyfriend (or whatever he was) over you.
“Why did you get Caliban! I was right there! Is there something wrong with you? Were you dropped on the head as a child? He’s not even from here Sabrina, he has no idea what-”
“For hell’s sake, he’s not the new kid! He’s not even from Australia! He’s a stupid clay prince from hell who is trying to take my throne and raze humanity, and his stupid plague king sent these after me, and now he’s dating you!” Sabrina spat out the word dating as if it was even more disgusting than the winged vermin tearing at your clothes. 
“Will someone please explain what the hell is going on here?” 
You were no less frustrated when Sabrina revealed her trek to hell and the all ensuing madness she’d partaken in, but you remained calm enough to not turn the bat on her clearly empty skull. 
“And you’re the clay prince of hell... challenging her throne?” You questioned with a sharp glance at Caliban, who nodded reluctantly as he swatted a rat hurtling towards you. 
“Do you even have a driver’s license!” You screamed, waving your baseball bat around wildly.
“I’m a demon prince of hell made out of clay, and you’re worried about if I can legally drive?” Caliban shouted back in astonishment through the wave of shrieking rats. The lacrosse stick he’d snagged was surprisingly effective.
“I was getting to that part, thank you for reminding me!” You hissed, debating whether to smash his face in with the bat. “How about we start with how you completely lied to me, and how our whole relationship or whatever it is a lie! Were you ever going to tell me? Or was this all part of some throne grab?” 
“It wasn’t a lie!” Caliban demanded hotly. “You were not a lie!”
“Really!” You whirled on him, eyes alight with anger. “Because I sure feel like one!”
The rats numbers were dwindling rapidly, and you smacked the last one heading towards you directly at Caliban’s face. It collided with a satisfying shriek, and you threw your bat down as you stormed out of the gym.
Sabrina and Caliban rushed after you, but you’d disappeared in the hall.
now i'm, yeah, oh!
now i'm speechless, over the edge
i'm just breathless
i never thought that i'd catch this love bug again
now i'm hopeless, head over heels in the moment
i never thought that i'd get hit by this love bug again, (oh)
love bug again
You’d remained collected until you’d transported into the middle of the living room, collapsing into auntie Hilda’s arms in a puddle of tears as you told her everything. She’d muttered a stream of ancient curses about Sabrina, but beyond that merely smoothed your hair and told you that all boys were awful— especially demonic princes of hell.
“I hate him.” You glared half-heartedly into your cup of steaming peppermint tea. You couldn’t believe you’d been so stupid. Falling blindly in love with a stranger who had only sought you out for some elaborate game with Sabrina. Screw Caliban and his perfect hair, his perfect smile, his perfect— “I want to bash his face in.”
“No you don't, love.” Hilda smiled knowingly. “You’re angry, yes— and hurt. But you care for the boy. I’ve never seen you so happy as you’ve been these last few days. I think you ought to cool down and hear what he has to say.”
“I never want to talk to him again.” You groaned, burying your face in a pillow. “I’d rather die.”
And because the universe was truly conspiring against you, a knock sounded at the door.
“Well, best get over that quick.” Hilda warned, ignoring your stream of indignant protests as she hustled to the door. 
“Caliban! Yes, do come in love. Oh, yes, we will be having a little chat later, but for now I think it’s my niece you must be speaking to.” Hilda’s cheerful voice trailed in from the foyer, and you jumped up to make a break for it. 
You were halted by a familiar pair of strong arms tugging you back by the waist.
“Get off of me!” You shouted, pushing Caliban away harshly and ignoring the warmth that lingered where he’d touched you. “I want my baseball bat. Somebody get me my baseball bat! I’m going to bash your stupid pretty face in you asshole—”
“Five minutes.” Caliban pleaded desperately, “just give me a five minutes to explain, and then I’ll give you back the baseball bat to bash my face in, okay?”
You considered his offer for a moment, swallowing the sob crawling its way up your throat as you nodded reluctantly. If it made him leave faster, you’d do anything. 
His shoulder sagged in barely concealed relief. “Okay. I am Caliban, Prince of Hell. I am not from Australia, clearly, and am not a transfer student. I am trying to take your cousin’s throne. She does not understand the realm of the damned— she thinks it needs to be generous, rather than a fair judgment of life. I am not her father, and I do not believe in reckless or cruel damnation. I do not wish any harm on Sabrina, and I’ve managed to keep the worst of the plague kings from her. Even if you were to reject me now, I would continue to try to protect her— you have my word.” Caliban paused as you released a breath you did not know you were holding. Your eyes finally dared to meet his, and you nodded for him to continue.
“I agreed to attend Greendale because yes, it did piss off Sabrina, but you were there.” He raised his hand to halt your protest. “You intrigued me, and I wanted to know you better. I will be fully honest that it had the added bonus of irritating your cousin, who I so delight in irritating, but my primary focus was you. You... enchanted me. I had never found myself so invested in anything before as I was in spending mundane days at high school— of all things— with you. Truthfully, it confused even me at first. And while the past you knew is false, I am real— and my feelings for you are true.”
“That is such bullshit, and you know it!” You exploded furiously, smacking his chest with untamed rage. “You knew exactly what you were doing. Who agrees to go to high school because they like a girl? Are you unhinged? Who doesn't just ask someone out if they were so interested, huh? No, you came here with your stupidly perfect little ‘oh I’m Caliban, and I’m so dreamy’ act, knowing full well that it would make me completely abandon all rationality. Well guess what, I did! I fell stupid head over heels for you, and it was all one big lie.”
Your voice broke on the last few words, anger shifting to broken sadness as you continued to pound relentlessly on his chest. “I was a lie.”
He caught your hands, holding them against his chest as he pressed you against the wall. “You weren't a lie, Spellman.” 
His words were breathless whisper, his beautiful eyes pained and desperate as he gripped your hands harder. “I fell for you the moment I saw you. I enrolled in high school because you smiled at me. I learned every line of Romeo and Juliet to recite them to you. When we first met, you wondered how Romeo and Juliet could possibly fall in love after a mere few days, but I understand it now. I have never been driven so completely insane by anything or anyone like this before. The power you have over me is unmatched. I am completely and wholly yours. If you were to ask me right now to leave, to never bother you again, I would leave my heart with you and spend my eternity in endless sorrow. I would think forever of the way you smiled at me, the way you kissed me, how soft your hair felt in my hands, and how my heart raced every time you laughed. I would never forgive myself for the pain I had caused you, and you would haunt me every day, every waking moment, every dream.”
Caliban moved your hands to his lips, nearly kissing them as he pleaded to you with tears in his beautiful eyes. You were motionless, turned to stone by his heavy gaze.
“So please, don’t become my specter. If I am a stranger to you now, let me make you fall for me all over again. I would do it a thousand times, if you'd let me. I could think of no sweeter way to spend my eternity.”
When you’d thought that Shakespeare had been imagining Caliban when he wrote, you’d been wrong. There was no poetry, no book, no lyric that could possibly compare to the way he spoke to you— the way his eyes so desperately tried to convey his anguish.
You removed your hands from his, and his whole face seemed to shatter.
“You’re not a stranger,” you muttered softly, moving to take his face your hands. His face remained guarded, but he leaned instinctively into your touch. “You’re Caliban.”
When you kissed him, it was like falling in love all over again.
And you supposed you did.
“But we are having a long, long talk about everything.” You warned as you pulled back, poking his chest sharply as he nodded profusely. “And if you ever, ever lie to me again, I’ll set something worse than flying rats on you. I’ll let Sabrina have you.”
Caliban laughed wildly, picking you up and spinning you around as he kissed you over and over again in sheer relief and joy. “I love you, Spellman. Anything you want, it’s yours.”
“I just want you, clay boy.”
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avnkin · 4 years
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Shake On It [ 2 ]
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Author’s note: I was really in my harry feels whilst writing this so sorry about that lmao also I proofread this so many times and it still SUCKS ASS. I posted this entire thing earlier from my phone but tumblr deleted everything except the title so yeah I’m sorry if there aren’t italics and bolds on some of the words where they should be but i’m just to lazy to go through the entire thing and find them all again, maybe i’ll do it later but who knows. I do not own harry potter or the storyline/characters they are the intellectual property of J.K Rowling. (not my gif)
Word Count: 5.9k
Summary: There’s little to nothing Draco values more than his reputation so when he sees it slipping, he’ll do anything in his power to catch it.
Pairings: Draco Malfoy x Fem!Reader / Platonic!Harry Potter x Fem!Reader
Warnings: angst, foul language, asshole!draco and daddy issues lol
This is an AU so all the information doesn’t exactly line up with the HP storyline for example Voldemort hasn’t returned but still exists so little from Harry’s history changes but Dumbledore’s still alive.
After yours and Draco’s interaction the other night you’d strongly begun reconsidering his offer to accompany him to the ball, maybe he wasn’t as bad as you thought, I mean what’s the worst that could happen? So many things your anxiety was quick to answer, the most important one being that Harry and Ron would probably never speak to you again.
“Y/N are you even listening to me?” Hermione’s voice snapped you out of your trance, her blurry hand waving in front of your face, you quickly began blinking in an attempt to bring your surroundings back into focus, “sorry” you then muttered sending her an apologetic smile before gesturing for her to continue with whatever she’d been talking about.
“As I was saying, I need a cute date for the ball, who do you think will annoy Ron the most?” you were about to answer when a voice from behind you beat you to it.
“Annoy who the most?”
You rolled your eyes having a pretty clear idea of who it was, you reluctantly turned around your eyes immediately locking onto Draco’s who stood there in all his glory a smug smile plastered onto his lips as he crossed his arms over his chest.
“Excuse me who invited you to this conversation?” you retorted before turning back to Hermione who had an amused grin on her face causing you to lightly kick her from underneath the table, you didn’t want Draco putting two and two together and realizing you’d talked about him with Hermione.
“I was just wondering if you’d changed your mind about going with me to the ball” Draco cajoled causing your eyes to widen realizing you still hadn’t told Hermione about the fact he’d asked you in the first place.
You sent Hermione an an ‘i’ll tell you later’ look before twisting your body to face Draco’s who now had his hands placed in his robe pockets, his self assurance radiating off of him despite the fact you’d rejected him only days before, the boy had clearly never been told ‘no’ his entire life.
“No and I won’t be, so run along” you stated before making a shooing gesture with your hand which only seemed to have the opposite effect you’d intended it too, since he began to take a few steps forward, licking his lips as he looked you up and down.
“Yes you will” he stated matter of factly and it took all self control you had not to smack him right across the face, who did he think he was?
“Is it really that hard to get it into that tiny little brain of yours that there are girls alive who don’t like you” you practically growled missing how Hermione’s attention had drifted away from the scene unfolding before her and to the two figures who had begun making their way towards you.
“Yes because there aren’t an-”
“Malfoy find someone else to bother can’t you see she’s not interested” Harry cut him off as him and Ron now fully came into view, the two of them standing tall behind Draco whose attention had now shifted from you to them.
“Oh look who it is, dumb and dumber” chortles could be heard from the Slytherin table at Draco’s words causing you to roll your eyes, it was pathetic how they would lick up every single thing he did.
“Offers still there Y/L/N” Draco turned to you before he slowly started to ascend back towards the Slytherin table where he was greeted with numerous pats on the back as he squeezed himself in between Crabbe and Goyle.
“What a slimy git” Ron huffed as he took the seat next to yours, immediately beginning to scoop all the food in view onto his plate.
“What did he want anyways?” Harry asked resting his elbows on the wooden house table as he sat down opposite you.
“He asked if I wanted to go to the ball with him” you feigned disgust as you shook your head, hoping he would drop the subject, you’d never been a good liar and if anyone could see through you it would surely be your best friend.
“Just tell him you’re going with me if he asks again, then he’ll leave you alone” Harry suggested, Ron nodding along with him as he stuffed a chicken wing into his mouth.
“Yeah- yeah ‘course thank you Harry” you scratched the back of your head cringing at the obvious hint of disappointment lingering in your words which thankfully no one but Hermione seemed to notice since she reached her hand out across the table and laid it gently atop of yours, giving it a reassuring squeeze.
You gave her a small smile before your eyes began dancing around the Great Hall somehow coming to a halt on Draco’s figure, he had his chin resting in the palm of his hand as he engaged in conversation with Blaise.
No one could say that Draco Malfoy wasn’t handsome, rude and a prat? Sure, but unattractive no. He was the only boy you’d ever seen who was able to pull of such a hair color and as your eyes travelled along his sharp jawline up to his chiseled cheekbones you felt the uncontrollable feeling of heat rush up to your face as his eyes met yours.
He sent you a wink before turning back around, you mirroring his actions the feeling of butterflies swarming your stomach slowly melting away as you pushed any remaining thoughts of him aside.
-
The ball was only a few days from now and you and Hermione had decided to take a trip down to Hogsmeade in an attempt to shop for dresses, not wanting to repeat what had happened last year when you both had made the mistake of trusting your parents with your attires, the dresses they’d choosen had arrived the same night as the ball and you had been forced to show up in matching bright pink gowns since it had been too late to go and buy new ones. You’d been the laughing stocks off the school for a couple months after that, never again.
You cringed at the memory that would surely be edged into your mind forever but as you pushed open the wooden door that led into Gladrags Wizardwear you found yourself entranced with all the beautiful dresses littered around the shop.
“Have you decided who you’re gonna go to the ball with?” Hermione hummed as her fingers trailed over a blue gown that hung along with hundreds of others at the front of the store.
“Yeah I think I’m just gonna go with Harry, I don’t want to risk my friendship with either him or Ron by going with Draco” you sighed not feeling the need to hide your disappointment in front of her.
“I get that but if you really do like Malfoy you should just ease Harry and Ron into the idea of you two being together” Hermione shrugged in response before removing the dress she’d been looking at from its hanger and placing it into her arms as you continued browsing.
“How am I supposed to do that you know how much they hate him” you sighed as you lightly dragged your hand over the multiple fabrics that hung on the clothing rag next to you.
“You could dance with him at the ball” Hermione suggested, you nodded silently in agreement before coming to an abrupt halt as a certain dress caught your eye. It was champagne colored and made out of silk with a thigh high split running down the side of it, not the type of dress you’d usually go for but nevertheless you carefully placed it into your arms deciding their was no harm in seeing how it looked on you.
“Who are you going with?” you changed the subject not feeling like talking about Draco anymore, it was really killing your mood.
“Hero Finnigan asked me” your eyes widened at Hermione’s words. Hero Finnigan was in the year above you and was quite the heartthrob around school, he’d been known for having a new girl underneath his arm every week and it seemed that this time around it was going to be Hermione, much to your surprise.
“Please tell me you said yes, if anyone’s going to make Ron jealous it’s definitely him” you assured her, looping your arm with hers as you continued skimming through the store.
“Of course I said yes, I’m not that daft” she shook her head before continuing, “I don’t know though I-I guess I was just hoping that in the end Ron would ask me, but apparently he’s going with Lavender” her nose scrunched up at the mere mention of her name as she let out a heavy sigh.
Your heart ached for your best friend as you put an arm around her shoulder giving her a tight side hug, a subtle way of letting her know you were there for her no matter what.
“Enough about that let’s go try on our dresses and we can tell each other what we think” Hermione was obviously trying to distract herself but you didn’t feel like pressing the subject any further so you only nodded in agreement as you started searching for the changing rooms, it was a surprisingly big shop compared to how small it had appeared from the outside.
Once you’d finally found them at the far end of the shop you both entered separate rooms, simultaneously pulling the curtains shut shielding you from the watchful eyes of the other customers, although there weren’t that many.
You took one last look at the dress letting your fingers wander down the silky fabric before carefully removing it from its hanger and slipping your legs in between the opening.
Once you got it on, you weren’t able to reach the zipper on the back, no matter how hard you tried so you stealthily peeked your head out behind the curtain and seeing no one you began to make your way towards Hermione’s changing room hoping she could be of some assistance.
“Need some help with that?” a voice stopped you dead in your tracks, swiftly turning to see Draco standing there, a mischievous smirk resting on his lips as he took a step closer to you.
“Are you stalking me or something?” you shook your head, furrowing your brows once you noticed how his eyes weren’t meeting yours, instead they were trailing up and down your body, devouring every inch of you.
“Eyes up here Malfoy” you teased which made him finally look up at you, but instead of replying with a snide comment of his own he threw the suit he’d been holding onto a clothing rag nearby and slowly began to stride towards you.
You weren’t able to get a word out as he tenderly placed his ring clad fingers on top of your bare shoulders scanning your face for approval witch you granted by carefully nodding your head taking in a deep breath as you felt him begin to slowly turn you around.
You shivered once the cold metal wrapped around his fingers began to run down your arms, his fingertips then gently dancing down the small of your back in a painfully teasing manner.
You couldn’t help but let out a breathy sigh as he took a step closer to you his lips ghosting over your ear as he began to pull the zipper upwards causing you to almost involuntarily lean into him. As soon as you did his scent consumed you, he smelled of expensive cologne and spearmint, even better than you could have ever imagined.
He stopped as the zip reached the bottom strands of your hair, he thought for a moment before he carefully wrapped his hand around your h/c locks, twisting them gently around his fingers before letting them fall over the side of your shoulder, the tips of his fingers ever so slightly running across the side of your neck as he moved them back down to where he’d stopped.
You gently tilted your head, closing your eyes in content once you felt his hot breath fan over your neck, you leaned your head back at the sensation resting it atop of Draco’s shoulder, shivering once you felt his lips ghost over the sweet spot just behind your ear, one of his arms finding your waist as the other continued to work its way up your back.
Once you heard the faint sound of the zipper click as it reached its closing you slowly opened your eyes feeling him take an impossible step closer to you, your behind now pressed into his front as he trailed his hands down to your hips.
“You clean up quite nice Y/L/N” he breathed out as he began running his hands up to your stomach before finally reaching your waist where they abruptly stopped so that he could turn you back around, you let out a gasp at the sudden forced movement your hands clinging onto his shoulders to prevent you from falling.
You opened your mouth but no words came out as you were consumed by the feeling of his fingers digging into your sides, his lips mere centimeters from yours you almost unknowingly began to lean in.
He mirrored your movements but just before your lips could meet someone cleared their throat from behind you causing you to jump away from him, frowning at the sudden loss of contact.
Once your eyes met Hermione’s you quickly cleared your throat acting as if nothing had (almost) happened, she raised an eyebrow obviously confused at the scene unfolding before her.
You turned back towards Draco who was looking at you almost expectantly, “I’m going with Harry to the ball” you suddenly felt the need to tell him, hoping he wouldn’t get the wrong idea from the little moment you had just shared.
“Potter seriously?” Draco scoffed in return before making his way around you and Hermione, your eyes following his figure and as soon as he was completely out of sight you finally felt like you could breath again, staggering backwards into Hermione who quickly put her arms up to catch you.
“Oh I’m in trouble”
-
You’d decided to buy the dress you’d tried on in the store, even though every time you put it on you couldn’t shake away the feeling of Draco being pressed against you as his lips hovered dangerously close to your neck.... You shook your head in hopes that it would toss the memory out of your mind, you couldn’t be thinking about Draco right now, not when Harry was standing just outside the Gryffindor common room patiently waiting for you to get ready.
“Can you zip me up?” you turned your back to Hermione who quickly rushed to your side swiftly beginning to pull the zipper on the back of your dress upwards. As you closed your eyes you got momentary flashes off Draco’s ring clad fingers wrapped around your body and you tried with all your might to shake the tingling feeling you got away, but nothing seemed to be working.
“Okay do a little spin for me” you let out a laugh at Hermione’s words but nevertheless you began spinning around your dorm playfully, letting your hair fall across your shoulders as Hermione threw her head back in laughter.
“You look incredible” she complemented as you engulfed each other in tight hugs mentally preparing yourselves for the night ahead.
“Oh please, I’m nothing compared to you” you stated linking your arms together before the two of you began to make your way to your awaiting dates.
Once the door to the Gryffindor common room opened the first thing you saw was Harry engaged in conversation with Hero, you could tell by his uncomfortable shuffling that the exchange had been awkward causing you to let out a small giggle which captured the attention of the two boys.
Harry’s mouth hung open as he let his eyes wander all over you, from the thigh-high front split on the front of your dress to your flawless makeup and perfectly styled hair, he was speechless, if you two weren’t best friends he’d probably be tripping over his own two feet by now.
“Well this is certainly an upgrade from last year” Harry let out a teasing laugh as he bowed down to take your hand in his.
“Oh shut up” you feigned annoyance as you stood beside him, feeling goosebumps run up your arms as his hand came to rest on your lower back, leading the two of you towards the Great Hall.
“In all seriousness Y/N, you look amazing” Harry gushed as he pulled you into his side. An uncontrollable blush creeping onto your cheeks at his words as you let your head fall on his shoulder.
“You don’t look too bad yourself, Potter” you teased, the two of you letting out simultaneous fits of laughter as you followed closely behind Hero and Hermione.
After a moment of silence Harry suddenly spoke out, “Ron was going to ask her you know” the two of you shared knowing glances at his words, it was so painfully obvious that your other two best friends were head over heels in love with each other but neither of them dared to make the first move, either to scared of being rejected or ruining their many years worth of friendship.
“Figures” you shrugged a comfortable silence overtaking you as you walked over to one of the many rows of couples stood in front of the entrance leading into the Great Hall.
As the doors begun to open you excitedly smiled up at Harry but before you were able to move forward another couple had harshly pushed their way in front of you and you were immediately able to identify the mob of platinum blond hair.
“Excuse me” you rolled your eyes causing the two of them to turn their heads towards you, you couldn’t hold in your scoff once you saw who he’d decided to bring, Pansy Parkinson of all the people in this bloody school.
“Don’t start anything Malfoy” Harry warned before either of them were able to get a word out, it looked like Pansy was going to throw a snide comment your way but stopped as soon as her eyes met Draco’s, she let out a huff before reluctantly turning back around.
“You look dashing” Draco complimented, you could feel Harry tense up beside you and you snaked an arm around his waist in an attempt to calm him down, the last thing you wanted was to cause a scene.
“Shouldn’t you be telling that to your date?” you retorted gesturing towards Pansy who seemed to be strangely quiet, usually she couldn’t keep her mouth shut no matter the circumstance, but you weren’t complaining.
Draco didn’t respond instead he just shrugged his shoulders before turning back around his arm slipping down towards Pansy’s lower back, you felt the inkling feeling of jealousy begin to form inside you but you forced yourself to push it away giving Harry’s bicep a reassuring squeeze knowing it had taken all his might not to hex Draco then and there.
As soon as Draco and Pansy had left you two be you quickly pulled Harry along with you into the hall so you wouldn’t get trampled by the entourage of students crowded behind you who were also squeezing their way through the double doors.
You intertwined your fingers with Harry’s as you took in your surroundings. It looked even better than last year, snow was falling from the starry black ceiling stopping just a few feet above you, mistletoe’s and every traditional Christmas decoration you could think of were littered all across the hall and instead of the usual house tables there were hundreds of smaller silver ones, each having it’s own floating candle above them.
Once you spotted a decent place to sit you tugged onto Harry’s arm gesturing for him to follow you towards the table your eyes were set on, somehow along the way you managed to spot Hermione and you threw your arm up gesturing for her hand Hero to come sit with you and Harry.
It wasn’t long until the chair beside you was being pulled from underneath the table and Hermione placed her self atop of it along with Hero, you happily greeted both of them but all joy inside you seemed to fade away once you noticed Ron and Lavender heading your way.
Oh please no
Ron placed a chaste kiss on Lavender’s cheek as he pointed towards your table.
Don’t sit here
Lavender eagerly began to nod following behind Ron as they inched closer and closer.
Anywhere but here
Despite your silent praying Ron was now pulling a chair out for Lavender before taking a seat himself and as soon as he did an awkward tension filled the air. You grabbed Hermione’s hand from underneath the table giving it a reassuring squeeze noticing how she’d tensed up once Lavender had bitterly greeted her.
“Whose this then?” Ron could be heard from the other end of the table, you rolled your eyes at his tone, how did Hermione not realize he was jealous hell even Hero seemed to notice it as his eyes uncomfortably shifted between Hermione’s angered expression and Ron’s annoyed one.
“Hero Finnigan, and you?” he reached his hand out over the table and for a split moment your eyes had widened thinking Ron was actually going to sit there and ignore him but thankfully the ginger haired boy reluctantly reached over the table and connected his hand with Hero’s.
“Ron, Ron Weasely”
“Weasely, eh? could have guessed, I’m good friends with your brothers” Hero attempted to make conversation but Ron didn’t seem all to keen on it only muttering a “whatever” underneath his breath causing you to kick him from underneath the table, you gave him a warning glance to which he replied by throwing a small ‘piss off’ in your direction.
Before you could begin to scold him for his rude behaviour Dumbledore’s voice tore throughout the Great Hall preventing you from doing so although you had a feeling that if it hadn’t had been him it probably would have been Harry.
“Welcome students to our annual Jingle Ball, may I say you all look wonderful tonight” Dumbledore gingerly smiled, his wand lightly pressed against the side of his neck as he gestured towards the numerous students all dressed in their finest attires.
“We’ll start the evening with a three course meal prepared by our lovely house elves” claps begun to sound around the Great Hall which you quickly joined in on, smiling brightly once you noticed the numerous elves clumsily standing up from their seats and waving at the students.
“Once you’ve finished eating a band will be preforming for us and I hope that you and your dates will be joining me and McGonagall on the dance floor” laughter sounded around the hall at the last part of his sentence but instead of joining in like you usually would you found yourself draining out all noise as your eyes met Draco’s.
He’d already been looking your way and you couldn’t help the small smile that appeared on your lips as his icy grey eyes burned through yours, you felt like there was some type of force drawing you to him and you couldn’t do anything about it, even though your head was screaming at you that shouldn’t be developing feelings for someone as arrogant and cruel as Draco Malfoy your heart seemed to be having trouble following.
-
Once everyone had finished eating you were eager to get away from your table, somehow Hero and Ron had begun a full blown argument which you and Hermione had to quickly shut down by asking Lavender to take Ron somewhere else until he’d calm down, that boy could not control his temper if his life depended on it.
You’d managed to cheer Hermione up after the entire ordeal telling her that she should focus on herself for once and have fun, thankfully she’d listened and you couldn’t help the giddy expression overtaking your facial features as you watched her and Hero sway together on the dance floor.
“Care to dance M’ lady” Harry merrily bowed down in front of you reaching his hand out towards yours, you placed a hand on your chest in feigned surprise before gently laying your hand in Harry’s palm.
“Why, I would be delighted to” you attempted a posh accent unable to contain the giggle that fell past your lips as you let Harry lead you to the dance floor.
As soon as his arm had wrapped around your waist and the other intertwined with your hand another slow song began playing, most of the students were still digesting their food so their weren’t many on the dance floor, it was only you and Harry, Hero and Hermione and about six other couples.
You leaned your head on Harry’s chest letting him slowly sway you to the soothing melody of the song. “You know I love you right?” Harry mumbled as he placed a kiss on top of your head.
“I love you too, silly” you brightly smiled up at him, you both knew there weren’t harbored feelings for the other hidden behind those three words so you had no trouble voicing it to each other.
You tightly wrapped your arms around his waist continuing to slowly move around the dance floor. You knew how hard his life had been leading up to this point, losing his family, Sirius, and then Cedric he always had the inkling fear that one day he’d lose you or Ron or Hermione so you wanted to make sure he knew you weren’t going anywhere.
Sometimes silence speaks louder than words and you knew you were saying everything you needed just by being there with him, it felt like hours that you’d stayed that way wrapped in each others arms but soon students begun to make their way to the dance floor so you and Harry decided to take a short break, heading hand in hand back towards your table.
-
Unbeknownst to you whilst you and Harry had been in your own world gently dancing with each other for all eyes to see, Draco had been enduring pure torture over at his table.
“I can’t believe she choose Potter over you”
“That’s gotta sting”
“How’s it feel being the second choice”
“Hope you’re ready to do my homework for the rest of the year”
Was all he had heard for the last hour as he’d watched you and Harry dance with one another. No matter the threats he threw their way and menacing looks they just wouldn’t stop, he felt as if his power of being crowned the Slytherin prince was slipping away from him, since in his world losing to someone like Harry Potter was as low as you could get.
Then and there Draco decided he wasn’t going to endure it anymore he was making his move tonight no matter the circumstance.
-
“You know Ginny’s been eyeing you all night” you wiggled your eyebrows nudging Harry’s shoulder who awkwardly began shifting in his seat as he mumbled a ‘really’ in response to which you nodded.
“Go ask her too dance!” you stood up so you could force him out of his seat along with you, you subtly pointed towards Ginny’s direction who had swiftly looked away as soon as her eyes had met Harry’s.
“But what about you?” Harry frowned realizing you didn’t have anyone to spend time with if he’d leave since both Hermione and Ron seemed to be preoccupied with their dates.
“Don’t worry about me I’ll be fine! now go” you ushered him forward giving him a reassuring thumbs up as he began to walk towards her.
“You’re quite the matchmaker aren’t you?” Hermione had suddenly walked up behind you and you both watched in amusement as Harry almost fell over twice before he was able to reach Ginny who had happily agreed to dance with him.
“Where’s Hero?” you asked as you turned to face Hermione eyes wandering around the hall in an attempt to spot her date, “oh he’s just gone to get us some drinks, you’re welcome to join us if you’d like” Hermione offered but you shook your head.
“No its okay honestly I’m fine” you assured her, you did not want to spend the evening third wheeling your best friend and her date.
Hermione began opening her mouth surely to convince you to join them but stopped once her eyes landed on something behind you or rather someone behind you.
“Care to dance?”
You swiftly turned around to see Draco with his hand reaching out towards you, you tried your best to contain the smile that was so desperately gnawing at the sides of your mouth as you turned back to Hermione who was giving you knowing smile.
“Find me if you need anything alright?” you eagerly nodded at her words only turning back to Draco once Hermione had fully vanished into the crowd.
“One dance, that’s it” you attempted to sound serious but it came off in a more teasing manner as you let your hand fall into Draco’s.
“Agreed”
As soon as you’d reached the middle of the dance floor, Draco’s arm had snaked around your waist pulling you into him whilst the other intertwined your fingers. You let out a giggle as he began twirling you around, gracefully catching you back in his arms as both his hands moved to rest on your lower back.
“You’re quite the dancer” you complimented, without a doubt boosting Draco’s already large ego, “I know” he had replied with a knowing smirk, twirling you around one last time before pulling you flush up against him your noses bumping together since you’d already been looking up at him. You’d held the eye contact for a minute as you brightly smiled at each other before you gently let your chin rest on his shoulder as he slowly began swaying you from side to side.
As your eyes began dancing over the students you didn’t think anything could burst your happy bubble until your eyes found Harry’s who had a look of disappointment edged onto his features as he pulled away from Ginny who had frowned at his sudden dismissal as she watched him begin to make his way out of the Great Hall.
You cleared your throat as you uncomfortably began shuffling away from Draco who gave you a look of confusion as he watched you pull your hand out of his and back away from him.
“What’s wrong?”
“I’m sorry I can’t do this” you muttered before hurriedly turning around and squeezing your way through the crowd of students all huddled together on the dance floor, most of them giving you annoyed glances as you pushed them out of the way but you didn’t care all you wanted to do was find Harry. You couldn’t imagine how he’d felt once he saw you his best friend, dancing with someone who’d made his life a living hell ever since the first year.
Once you’d exited the Great Hall you frantically began looking around the empty corridors in an attempt to find Harry who’d stormed out here only moments ago.
“Y/N!” you heard Draco call from behind you but you ignored him, picking up your pace once you heard his nearing footsteps echoing around the empty hallways.
“Y/N please wait” you felt him grab ahold of your wrist swiftly turning you back to face him, his grip only tightening as you began attempting to pull your hand away.
“No! You can’t treat my friends like shit and then expect me to give in on whatever the hell you’re trying to do” you finally managed to rip your hand out of his grasp as you turned back around but he quickly ran in front of you placing his hands on your shoulders to keep you in place.
“Listen I’m sorry alright, bloody hell I just- I can’t stop thinking about you I don’t know how to explain it but I think I might-” he cut himself off hesitating to speak his next words unsure of how you’d react since he didn’t want to return to his friends with yet another failed attempt.
“You think you might what?” you crossed your arms over your chest glaring up at him as you watched his mouth open and close again.
“Fancy you” he finally let out, your eyes widening as you let your hands fall down to your hips. You took a few steps back until you couldn’t move any further the tall walls of the castle preventing you from doing so.
“You what?” you barely whispered and Draco took that as his chance to walk towards you placing both his hands on the wall next to you.
As you looked back up at him he slowly started to remove one hand from the wall so he could place it onto your cheek and just like he’d done in the store, he began leaning in until his lips were barely hovering above yours, you so desperately wanted to close the gap between you but a part of you was screaming to push him away and never look back, but as your eyes met his once more you couldn’t bring yourself to do it your heart taking control as he pressed his lips against your own.
Your lips continued dancing with each other at a normal pace until he’d moved to deepen the kiss swiftly wrapping his arms around your waist so you were able to loop yours around his neck, he pushed you even tighter up against the wall causing you to let out a gasp allowing him to slip his tongue into your mouth.
You ran your fingers through his hair gently pulling on the strands on the back of his head before letting your head fall to the side as he began leaving kisses down your neck his hands trailing down your sides until they wrapped around your hips pulling you even further into him.
You gently blinked your eyes open as you pulled away from him, your lips undoubtedly swollen and your lipstick smeared but you didn’t care.
“No one can know about this, not until I talk to Harry” you breathed out leaning your forehead against his as you attempted to slow your heart rate by taking deep breaths in and out.
“Of course I won’t tell anyone” he lied, he’d gotten quite good at that after having to continuously lie to his father ever since he was a child, one particular incident that he would never forget was when he’d accidentally let one of the house elves go because he didn’t know that to free them they had to be granted an item of clothing and on a particularly cold night he saw no harm in granting the elf his jacket since it had been shivering beside him and when his father had barged into his room later in the night furious at his son’s stupidity Draco had lied and told him that the elf had tricked him into doing so and upon hearing this his father had tracked the elf down and casted the unforgivable curse onto him, after that Draco lied to his father about almost everything he did to ensure something like that would never happen again.
Amongst his peers he was powerful and feared but when it came to his father he was nothing, never good enough and always in the way. School was the only place he felt he was more than his father’s words so he knew that as soon as he would make his way into the Slytherin common room the first thing he was going to do was tell his friends that he’d done it, that you were slowly but surely beginning to fall for him, which put him right back on top. 
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chasingpj · 3 years
Text
𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞
"You’re really sweet, water boy.”
pairing: percy jackson x child of hecate!reader
words: 5,379
warnings: angsty, mentions of breaking down, one curse word
timeline: post sea of monsters
if you want to be tagged every time I update this story click here
a/n: hi hi! I hope you guys like this chapter. If you have any feedback let me know. i've read this chapter over like 1,000 times while editing so i can't even give my own opinion on this chapter lol. i hope someone likes it at least cause i'm a little iffy about this one.
Part One Part Two Part Three Part Four Part Five Part Six
“Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? Caught in a landslide, no escape from reality!”
The singing voices of the Apollo cabin harmonize as Atticus stands in the middle of their cabin, eyes closed with his arms swaying side to side in the air. You sit against the window frame at the end of the room, your lips curl in a soft smile as Harvey prances around his feet, enjoying the spotlight as much as Atticus is. You were glad that Atticus was still up for karaoke night despite his mood. Although you didn’t plan on coming yourself, you had hoped that he would as he needed it as an outlet to let loose. A part of you wasn’t surprised when Atticus was begging you to come with him, insisting that your plan of staying in and sleeping early was too lame for a Friday night at camp. You didn't want to make him upset so you decided to suck it up and go with him. Besides, you did need to get out.
The past few days, you’ve had your nose in books, drowning out your thoughts with everything from studying demonology to enjoying fantasy novels. You’ve been keeping an eye on Lou Ellen as well, noticing that she too was avoiding her feelings by drowning herself with books back to back. And now, as a result of your similar coping mechanism, you two have an exclusive book club where you spend hours reading and mercilessly criticizing Twilight. Meanwhile, Atticus has been up and around, constantly surrounding himself with people to distract him. He seemingly was doing fine on the surface, but it was a facade. Sorrow was radiating off of him like never before. Even if you didn’t have the ability to sense his emotions, his song choice for tonight was a dead giveaway. Bohemian Rhapsody is his comfort song.
“I’m just a poor boy. I need no sympathy!” Atticus sings passionately into the microphone. Cheers break throughout the cabin, and you giggle, joining in, cupping your mouth as you whoop for him. You look over at Lou Ellen, talking and laughing with a few girls across the room. You smile, content that for right now, the two of them are occupied and happy. You, however, couldn’t get into the mood. Sure, the chaos of the Apollo Cabin easily entertained you, but you were having trouble shaking off the heavy feeling in your chest. You frown, your hand coming down to pet the top of Ambrose’s head, the other nuzzling his snout against your leg to comfort you. You look down at him, smiling softly as a silent thank you, and you sigh, hoping to lighten the feeling in your chest, but to no avail, it remained.
A nudge on your shoulder draws in your attention, and you turn to face the boys standing to your left. You meet Lee Fletcher’s bright blue orbs, a smile plastered on his flushed face.
“You’re next!” He shouts over the music, pointing his index finger at you in the same hand he held a red solo cup in. You scrunch your face, moving a little closer to him and the group so they’ll be able to hear you.
“I’m not really in the performance mood tonight,” you say, and the immediate protests from the boys around him made you smile. They insisted that you had to sing tonight and that they were going to make sure you went after your brother. On any other night, you would have agreed, gladly taking the mic. You weren’t a stranger to singing karaoke, and you had to admit you did enjoy it just as much as Atticus did. Last week, you sang an interesting rendition of Wannabe by the Spice Girls with Lou Ellen, Silena, Katie, and Sage. You were Scary Spice, of course; you wouldn’t have been anyone else. But tonight, you were unable to see yourself singing. Now that the boys returned to whatever they were talking about, you were planning your escape. You tune back into the song, realizing that Atticus was almost finished.
“Nothing really matters; anyone can see. Nothing really matters. Nothing really matters, to mee.”
You take a deep breath for a moment, accepting your fate. It’s only one song, you tell yourself; it’ll be quick. You cringe, expecting to be pushed up to the front by the others any second now. Suddenly, chanting fills the cabin,
“Encore, encore!"
Atticus smiles, bowing like a Broadway actor as the crowd cheers. You sigh, relieved, and you hoped whatever he picked would be able to conceal your exit. There was no way Atticus was going to pass up the microphone, and over the chanting, he announced his next song choice: Dancing Queen.
He’s so depressed.
You didn’t want to miss your opportunity, slowly scooting yourself away from Lee Fletcher and the others. As the instrumental of Dancing Queen fills the cabin, a chunk of people get up from the bunk beds and the floor to dance and sing along. You take your chance now that everyone is distracted, and you walk into the crowd, carefully weaving through bodies.
The cool summer night air was refreshing on your skin compared to the stuffiness of the crowded cabin. The collective singing of Dancing Queen becomes faint as you make it across the camp. You didn't realize how loud the song was while you were in there, and you could just imagine what the other cabins were doing. You couldn’t help but smile at the idea of an annoyed Ares' cabin, all of them with pillows covering their ears in an attempt to drown out the music and screaming.
By the time you reached the beginning of the woods, the disco instrumental was long gone, and you took in the stillness of the night. There was barely a breeze tonight; the only sounds were the faint chattering of campers hanging around the hearth and taking walks. You stare into the forest, uncertain if you should venture by yourself. You hear a soft whine come from Ambrose, signaling you that it was a bad idea. It was a couple of hours away from curfew, and you can already hear the faint roars of monsters. That wasn’t enough to turn you away, though. Your desire to be somewhere silent was more prominent than your fear of the monsters.
You walk in without another thought, your pace slow and slack, and Ambrose unwillingly follows close behind you, checking around to make sure you are safe. As you walk farther in the forest, the thoughts you had sent to the back of your mind were returning with a vengeance.
The departure of your siblings felt surreal. When you had woken up to their empty beds the next day, you had chosen to believe they had left for breakfast earlier than usual and that everything that happened was a dream. Yet, as the days went by, the absence of your siblings became more apparent. A part of you refused to grieve. You had wanted to declare your brothers as monsters and convince yourself that you didn’t care. You had hoped that deciding to hate them would allow you to move on, but even that came with a desolate aftertaste.
You had blacked out in your thoughts, allowing your feet to take you where they wished, and you find yourself at a familiar boulder. You look to your left at the picnic table, staring longingly at it. It was quiet for a moment before the sight of your brother and sisters sitting on the top of the picnic table, their feet resting on the bench, appeared. They sat quietly, Atticus frowning as he looked out in the forest.
“Focus on your breathing. You won’t shift if you’re impatient.” Your gaze snaps in the direction of the voice. You saw yourself slouched in defeat as Alabaster’s hands gripped your shoulders. His green eyes peered into yours.
You were the only one that hadn’t become ethereal after trying for the past 30 minutes. Atticus had transformed on his second try, Lou Ellen on her third, and the others followed close after. But you had lost count, growing more tired and discouraged after every failed attempt. Alabaster noticed you were on the verge of tears, your lip trembling, and he easily saw that you were crawling into a bad headspace.
“I can’t do it,” you sniffled, feeling embarrassed as your siblings waited for you. You were aware they weren’t judging you and had instead been encouraging you the entire time, but you still felt ashamed. The voices in your mind taunted you, making you forget any positive feedback you received that day. You were the weakest link of the group. You were never going to be powerful as your brothers, and so you’ll never be recognized by your mother, it said.
“You can, Y/n. You’re getting too in your head,” Al reassured you, his hands falling to his side, taking a step back. You were confident that he had given up on you, and you didn’t blame him. You looked down at the ground and fiddled with your fingers. It was silent for a moment before you heard him sigh.
“Try again,” he said softly.
You groaned and rolled your eyes at yourself. You were drained from trying so long, and you were ready to accept your defeat and stomp away. You looked at Alabaster again as he patiently waited for you.
You swallowed hard, and you closed your eyes as you heard the encouraging words of your siblings. Their words failed to cancel out the negative thoughts in your own head, though. You were already bothered by the little voice that said you would never transform. You dwelled on being the last one and what made you feel worse was that it was nighttime - when your magic is at its strongest - yet you still hadn’t transformed. Maybe you weren’t as powerful as your brothers gave you credit for. Disappointment swirled in your stomach, clouding your brain, and your fist clenched as you tried to shake off the thoughts in your head. You were well aware that your mindset was holding you back. You inhaled deeply, somehow finding the will to set aside your negative thoughts.
You decided you won’t allow yourself to be the only person who couldn’t transform. You weren’t going to let your insecurity of being the “weakest link” get to you, at least not on that night. You huffed out and felt a tug in your core before your fingertips and toes began to vibrate. You gasped, and your eyebrows furrowed tightly, the vibrating sensation gradually becoming more intense to the point where it almost hurt.
You heard an excited cheer come from one of your sister's lips as the feeling crept up your arms and legs. It finally met your core, and it was as if a ball of warm, electric energy sat right in the pit of your stomach. You opened your eyes, immediately seeing the bright smile on Alabaster’s face. A relieved laugh came from your lips as a few tears ran down your face from your previously pent-up anger.
“I told you.”
You snap back to reality, looking around you to see that you were still alone. No one was at the picnic table other than Ambrose, who was laid down at the foot of it, watching you cautiously. You swore you heard the sound of Al’s voice as if he was right in front of you, but that wasn’t possible. As much as you wished for it to be, you knew your siblings were long gone.
Though you were incredibly grateful for Atticus and Lou Ellen deciding to stay, the dynamic that your siblings had as a whole was something that you wouldn’t be able to get back. Now it was the three of you, left to figure things out on your own. It’s not as if you three were incapable of figuring things out, but you’ll miss your brother's guidance.
You think perhaps if your mother didn’t give them the okay to leave, they would have never left. You couldn’t help but be mad at her, and lately, you’ve been a little petty towards your mom. Tonight, you had decided to go to dinner and dedicate your burned offering to Hestia instead. You’ve been praying to her every night as well, hoping that maybe she’d be able to bring your siblings back to you.
You hadn’t noticed anything out of the ordinary to inform you if your mother was aware of your silence or if she cared. You also found yourself wondering what she thought of you for not leaving. How could she not visit you? Were you really not worth, maybe, five minutes of her time? Did you have to prove yourself worthy? If so, how? You were yearning to know, but even for that, you were unable to find the answer.
Your jaw clenches, feeling your sorrow shifting to rage in your core. Take a deep breath, Ernest would say, and you do, filling your lungs to their capacity, and you hold it. Think of your surroundings. Meditate on the question: If I erupt, will I hurt someone? If the answer is yes, take a step back, breath in for 10 seconds, out for another 10 until you’re calm. If the answer is no… well, fuck it. Everyone needs to be angry sometimes.
Your head tilts slightly, taking in the clear night sky for a moment. From your peripheral vision, you can see your green aura wildly swirling and flickering around you. You close your eyes, and your chest expands, ready to release the air you’ve been holding. There was no rustling of the trees or grass, no monster screams, no sounds of the surrounding camper. The forest was still until it wasn’t as you let out a deafening scream.
After hearing the news of your siblings running away from camp at the counselor's meeting a few days ago, Percy had made a mental note to check up on you. In the time between his activities, he had checked the strawberry fields, the arts and craft center, even the arena in an attempt to find you. For a moment, he had thought you had left with them, but when he saw that Atticus was still at camp, he knew you had to be somewhere. It wasn’t until he passed by the Hermes dinner table the other day did he decide to ask your brother where you were. By then, you had not shown up for your meals for two days straight. Atticus told him that you weren’t doing too good, deciding to isolate yourself in the company of Lou Ellen. He had offered to let Percy come with him to drop off your dinner, but he had decided not to go.
He figured that you needed time for yourself, and he didn’t want to intrude. He was also worried if it would have been weird to check up on you. Surely, you were friends? You considered him as a friend, right? He hoped so since he had considered you one. He thought maybe he was overthinking it but then he began to worry that you would blame him. He had to do some mental gymnastics to come up with a reason why you would be mad at him, but he was able to come up with something. He would understand if you were mad at him since he is, well, suspected to be the child of the prophecy. So obviously, none of this would have happened if he wasn’t born? Right? He had told Annabeth about it, and from the way she blankly stared at him, he knew that the reason wasn’t solid, but still, he was nervous.
He was surprised to see you walk out of the Apollo Cabin. After hearing that you were hiding away, he didn’t expect you to attend one of the most lively events tonight. From afar, you seemed upset, but you also glinted with determination as you walked with purpose. He was seated with Annabeth, Grover, and Thalia by the campfire, listening to Annabeth ramble about the architecture of the Palace of Versailles to Thalia and Grover. It was her newest hyper fixation, and Percy had been listening though he got a little lost at some point. He didn’t want to lose his chance to approach you, not sure when the next opportunity would be so he quickly finished up the s’more he was eating before getting up from the bench.
“Um, I’ll be back,” he says. The only person who had heard him was Grover, who nodded to acknowledge him while Annabeth didn’t miss a beat in her ranting.
He checked in the usual places you would hang out in, but you were nowhere to be found. He found himself walking along the gravel road in front of the forest. He slows down, turning toward the trees and he hums,
“Did she go in there by herself?” He mutters softly, becoming concerned. It was kind of an unspoken rule that campers shouldn’t venture out on their own.
He looks over when he hears chattering, the wood nymphs slowly making their way out of the forest. They seemed to be gossiping about something as they huddle in a circle right outside of the trees. Percy found it strange that they were away from their homes, especially at this time, and he noticed they all looked a little stunned.
“Hey,” he smiles as he walks over to them. He halts hesitantly, the girls becoming quiet as they turn to him. “Have you guys seen, y/n?”
They exchange looks with each other, Juniper shifting on her feet as she stands in front of him. “Yeah…” she trails off, facing the dark trees. “Just keep walking. You’ll hear her.”
Percy furrows his eyebrows, unsure what they meant by that, but he takes their advice anyway. It didn’t take him long to find out what they meant, hearing your yelling before he saw you illuminating in the dark. He had imagined that you would be upset, but he definitely did not expect you to be yelling at the sky, rapidly throwing blasts of energy at a boulder.
Seeing you like this was odd. It was so different from the calm and collected demeanor that you gave off. He had considered you as the quieter twin. Compared to your brother, you weren’t as out there. He hadn’t seen you have many interactions with Atticus, but he could tell that you took on the big sister role. You just seemed more mature.
“How could you- how could you offer something like that?! I’ve never seen you once an- the first message I get from you is to join his stupid army! You took them from us!” You ignore the burning in your throat and the trembling of your arms. You felt lightheaded, and you didn’t know if it was due to how hard you were yelling or the amount of energy you were burning out. “I HOPE YOU KNOW WHAT YOU’RE DOING!” You shout weakly, looking up at the sky, hoping that your mother was listening to you. You wanted her to know how you felt betrayed, angry, and heartbroken.
Despite your anger, you still held back on what you said. You were wary not to push too far, preferring to not meet your mother's wrath the first time she visited you. You wanted an explanation; you wanted to hear the orders and the promises she made from herself. But you doubted she would appear.
Hot tears roll down your cheeks, your breath ragged, and you wail, blasting the last long beam you were able to muster at the boulder. You stumble from your own force, a sob leaving your lips, and your forearm wipes your tears.
“I really hope you know what you’re doing,” you strain in a whisper.
You gasp as you hear a twig snap behind you. You freeze in your spot, your heart beating hard in your chest. You were confident that you had summoned your mother. You took a deep breath, ready to face her, but to your surprise, you were met with Percy.
Percy's body tenses the moment you snap your gaze to him, swallowing hard as your glowing eyes bore right into his. He was hoping that his speculations of you being mad at him were wrong. The burning smell from your beams filled the air, and he definitely did not want to be charred up like that boulder. To his relief, he watches your clouded expression soften. He shifts, rubbing the back of his neck.
“Are you okay?” He asks, immediately cringing at himself afterward. Of course, she isn’t okay, why would you ask her that?
You sniffle, and you nod, “Yeah, I’m just doing my nightly prayers.” Though you tried to lighten up the mood, your voice was sad and hoarse.
Percy frowns, and he steps over a log in his way. He walks over to you as you plop down to sit on the grass with your legs crossed. Ambrose comes to your side, resting his head on your thigh, and you pet him softly.
“I heard what happened,” Percy’s tone is soft as he hesitantly invites himself to sit beside you. He wasn’t sure you wanted to be comforted right now, but you didn’t tell him to go away, so he took that as a good sign. He hums, looking down at his hands, “Travis reported it during the counselor meeting the day after,” he mentions. “Atticus told me you weren’t doing too well. I can’t do much, but if you want to talk about it, I’m listening.”
You didn’t want to dump everything on Percy, but the genuine concern in his tone made you feel comfortable enough to consider laying all your thoughts out on the table.
You haven't had the chance to discuss your feelings yet. There was a silent understanding between you, Atticus, and Lou Ellen that none of you were ready to bring it up and would rather go along your days pretending it didn’t happen. But as you continued to avoid it, it began to fester like an infected wound.
You were so lost in your thoughts, you didn’t realize for how long you were quiet. In your silence, Percy waited patiently, not wanting you to feel pressured. Every once in a while, he would look over, noticing the flickering of your aura slowing down until it’s absorbed into your body, leaving you both with the soft white light coming from Ambrose’s body. If you decided not to talk about it, he told himself he wouldn’t pry, but he would be worried about you for keeping everything in.
You didn’t know how much Travis had said at the counselors meeting. Your mind was rushing with thoughts, asking yourself where you should start while also deciding if you should be completely honest with him. It wasn’t until now that you were faced with all the conflicting feelings you’ve had in the past few days. They came at you all at once, and a sniffle cuts through your silence. You sigh shakily, resting your head on Percy’s shoulder.
Percy looks down at you, able to make out some of your features in the dark. Your eyelids were a little puffy from crying, and you look exhausted. He frowns as a small sob leaves your lips, shifting to wrap his arm around your shoulders. He debated if he should say anything to you. He didn't find that this was a situation where an “it’s okay” was appropriate. Kronos was rising, war was on its way, and Luke was recruiting campers, 5 of those campers being your siblings. None of that was okay. He felt a pang in his chest, grasping on to the fact that you’d be fighting against them when it was time for battle.
“I’m sorry,” your voice quivers. You hated feeling as if you were losing control of your emotions. You didn’t want Percy seeing you like this, and you began to feel embarrassed.
“Don’t be sorry,” he shakes his head, and he opens his mouth to say something else but is too stunned when you pull away abruptly. Your gaze is fixed in the opposite direction as you try to catch your breath, hiccuping and gasping softly for a bit. “Y/n?”
“I almost left, and I feel guilty because a part of me regrets not leaving,” you blurted out the confession that was eating you up the most. It was what you were afraid to admit out loud, especially to Atticus and Lou Ellen. You didn’t want to admit that you, the one who found the courage to voice your opinion to your brothers, the one that declared she was staying at the camp, had begun to regret her decision. As much as you wished to not regret it, the what-if questions that filled your mind were hard to avoid. Were you actually missing out on the opportunity to be taught by your mother? Was it true what James said? Was deciding to stay a death wish?
You refused to look at Percy. You were wondering if he thought he was talking to a potential traitor to the camp. You were wondering if he would think of you differently now that you have confessed to having the slightest thought of joining Kronos.
Percy was lost for words, his face flashed with surprise, and he was glad you weren’t looking at him. He didn’t want you to think that he was judging you because he wasn’t; he was just taken aback. The tension between you started to thicken the longer he stayed quiet. His eyes scan the ground, frantically searching for something to say.
“Why did you stay?” He asks hesitantly.
Your teeth chew on the inside of your lip, and you now regret saying anything. You didn’t know if the shift in the air around the two of you was in your head, but either way, it bothered you.
“Because…” you trail off. The list of reasons why you stayed was long, and you didn’t want to go through all of them. You were determined to keep this conversation short, afraid that if you keep dwelling on this situation for too long, you will find more reasons to be angry.
“Because I’m not going to die for a cause I don’t believe in,” you declare. “I understand their side. I understand why they decided to leave. Alabaster was always saying that he wished things were different for us here at camp. I mean, so do I. They also had the approval of our mother, and they were promised to be taken care of if Kr- the Titan Lord wins. I can’t blame them for not giving that up because even I was hesitant to give it up,” you confess.
You sniffle softly, peeling the skin around your fingers before continuing, “But… for the change they're looking for, I don’t think this is the way to do it. Like really? Allying with him? Yeah, the gods are big jerks, but I don’t understand how he would be any different of a leader.” You sigh, “I considered leaving just to be with them, but I couldn’t go through with it. I wouldn’t feel right. I tried to convince them to stay, but they were set on leaving.”
Percy was quiet for a moment, and you found the courage to look up at him. His vision is fixed on the forest ahead before he meets your gaze. “I don’t think you should blame yourself for regretting not going. I think if I were in your position, I would have thought about the same things. They mean a lot to you. They’re your family.”
You nod, relieved that he understood where you were coming from. “Atticus was my last straw. If he had decided to leave, I would have left despite everything.”
“Understandable. He’s your twin,” Percy shrugs. You sigh shakily, your chest feeling a little lighter after being able to voice your thoughts. You felt more satisfied with yourself now. Your challenged morals felt solidified, and you decided with confidence that your choice was right for you.
“I give you a lot of props, Y/n. You were in a tough situation, and it must have been hard to stand your ground, especially since most of them decided to leave.”
“Yeah…” you say softly, and you realize that maybe you should have been kinder to yourself for having that feeling of regret.
“I think it’s really awesome what you did. Doing something like that takes a lot of guts,” Percy says, and you can hear the smile in his voice.
“Thanks…” you say shyly.
A soft smile plays on his lips, and he can tell you were starting to feel better. He was glad that he could help because he understood what you were feeling. He didn’t exactly go through the same thing, but he knew how it felt to second guess your choices and how it was easy to spiral when you dwelled on it for too long.
“You’re really sweet, waterboy. Thanks a lot," you say playfully as you return the smile. Your heart flutters as Percy’s face brightens before sheepishly looking away from you for a second.
He didn’t get compliments like that often. Well, he has, from his mom, but he didn’t count that. It wasn’t the same as getting the compliment from a girl, a girl as pretty as you are.
“I-it was nothing,” he moves his hand in a dismissive wave, and you giggle. “Well… I don’t know if you were done with your ‘prayer,’ but I think you should go back to the party in the Apollo Cabin. I’ll come with you. It sounded like a lot of fun in there."
"Ugh, but they’re going to make me sing,” you slouch, and Percy laughs at the slight pout on your face.
“I’ll sing with you,” he says, and you furrow your eyebrows, surprised at his offer. You’ve only seen him at karaoke a few times, and he always stayed on the sidelines.
“You can sing?” You ask, amused. Percy definitely didn’t seem like the musical type.
“Nope, I’m pretty much tone-deaf, but I’ll embarrass myself for you since you had a rough day," he nudges you softly before standing up. You look up at him as he pats down his pants, and you lean back on your hands.
“I’m gonna pick a ballad so you can embarrass yourself even more," you smirk at him, and he stops patting his clothes, squinting at you.
“Don’t make me take it all back,” he jokes. He reaches his hand out to you, and you grab it, letting him help you up from the ground.
“You know, I’d kill to hear you sing a Britney Spears song," you mention as you pat your own clothes down and begin to walk out of the forest, Ambrose acting as your guide by trotting ahead of you.
Percy is quiet for a moment, and you glance over, positive that he's starting to regret his offer to sing with you.
"Please don’t do that to me.”
You laugh at him; the thought of Percy singing a Britney Spears song was way too funny to you. Percy gave you a cautious look, not sure if you were serious or not. “Fine, fine! I shouldn’t take advantage of your kindness,” you admit as your laugh ceases. Percy nods, playfully agreeing with you. “You listen to My Chemical Romance?” You ask, and he scoffs,
“Of course, I listen to My Chemical Romance.”
“Let’s sing Teenagers then,” you suggest. “It’s a crowd favorite. Everyone sings along, so no one has to suffer through your singing. What do you think?” you tease, and you take in his bright smile as he nods his head,
“Sounds good to me.”
masterlist taglist: @nct127bee @xxyrr @mochabreezeee @minamisulemisa @yanfeisluvr
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dreamyjoons · 4 years
Text
Our ‘Get Along’ Shirt - pjm
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⇢ another day, another endless round of you and Jimin bickering. It’s never ending, all-consuming, and your friends have had enough. Namjoon decides to end it once and for all - with help from a shirt for squabbling toddlers.
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Genre/warnings: smut, 18+! ‘enemies’-to-lovers, swearing, semi-public smut, mutual masturbation, fingering, honestly at this point a sweat kink, multiple orgasms, light choking, some spitting, unprotected sex, creampie.
Words: 14.2k lol
A/N: well hello! I’m back baby, and to celebrate i had to exorcise some Jimin demons. Did i talk about him sweating a lot? Yes. Did i use my favourite pic of him for the header? Also yes. Don’t @ me, i already know. I hope you enjoy!!!
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"You're so wrong about this, it's actually kind of embarrassing."
"No you're wrong, only an idiot would think the way you do."
"Guys, no one - and I really mean this - no one cares about what kind of cups you need for beer pong. You've been arguing this for like twenty minutes now." Hoseok huffs, sitting back into the couch.
"Eighteen minutes." Namjoon sighs, tipping back his cup and gulping down its contents.
"But solo cups are far superior-"
"Jimin, they aren't!" You snap, dragging your glare away from his rolling eyes, deciding you never wanna look at him ever again.
"Please stop." Jungkook sighs, slipping off the chair beside Hoseok. His eyes flick between you before scanning the rest of the people in the room, slowly moving to the thump of the music. "Gonna find Yoongi and Tae." He mumbles before disappearing through the mass of bodies.
You'd been at the house party for less than three minutes before you and Jimin found a reason to have an argument. At first, it was how late you were - even though you found out he only got there five minutes before you. Then when you commented on the music choices to Yoongi, he found a way to disagree - despite you both knowing he loved the artist. On and on it went. Now here you were; Namjoon and Hoseok on the couch watching you both with bored expressions, Jin tuned out and typing rapidly on his phone beside them. Jimin stood to your left, and you made sure to keep him totally out of your sight.
But it was getting harder to hear him, thankfully. And he was losing steam. The house was crowded and loud, lively dancers everywhere and the smell of alcohol rich in the air. It was already way too hot out, but being stuffed inside at this party was causing everyone to sweat. You could see condensation forming on the walls.
The house was huge and expensively decorated, belonging to some producer friend of Namjoon. Marbled floors met white walls, a rug carpet covering the floor that made you wince when you thought about the price. It was sprawling and full of a ridiculous number rooms. Yet still, people had to squeeze between the spaces, excuses and polite taps lost in the fury of heat and confinement.
You held your can to your forehead to cool yourself down but it had grown warm waiting for you and Jimin to finish your current spout. You grimace but take a sip anyway - at least if you get a buzz you can ignore him for a little. You felt a pit of guilt at making Jungkook leave. But you were riled up, and you couldn't back down. Not to Jimin.
You saw Jimin tip his head back to drink out of the corner of your eye, but you daren't look at him. He was as insufferable as he was hot as hell, and not just in temperature.
However, you had managed to take a better look at him earlier in the night. His beige silk shirt was already sticking to his skin, tucked into tight jeans blacker than you had ever seen. Who wears silk to a house party? The necklace that he always wore sat just below his collarbones, and you're reminded of all the times you've wanted to throttle him with that damn chain. He'd been pushing his dark hair back all night - you could tell by how it fell about his face, silky strands falling into his eyes. Was he wearing some kind of lipgloss too? You grumble into your drink. He was too pretty for his own good.
At first the sparring was fun. There was an attraction there, on your part at least. It was spicy, something hot and fast, a way to see how compatible you were. Maybe you had some feelings for him. Possibly, potentially.
But over time it devolved. It felt like he'd say things just to get a rise out of you, to draw your attention into a battle with him. And now here you were, bitterly avoiding the man's existence.
"God, why is it so hot here?" Jin gasps, blotting his face with his sleeve.
"Probably haven't got the air con on." Jimin shrugs, taking a swig from his glass.
"It's on-" You start, eyes flicking to where you thought you could see a vent in the ceiling. It was open, so you assumed it would be on - it had to be.
"I highly doubt that."
Jimin gives you the look he always does - where he tilts his head back and stares into your soul. His plump lips part, tongue pressed behind his teeth, goading you into his trap. He gets his way every time.
"Why would they not have it on? It's burning hot even without a house full of people."
"Then it's clearly a crappy unit." He shrugs, but his words are quick and his eyes are still intensely focused on you.
"Jimin have you seen the rest of this house? Don't be dumb-"
"Shut up!"
You and Jimin spin to your friends who had all shouted in unison. The ones who could still stand to be around you both arguing, anyway. Several of the dancers that were nearby stopped to look at the exclamation but slowly drifted back into the music - albeit before taking a step further away from your group.
"Enough. I'm gonna put an end to this once and for all." Namjoon gets to his feet and strides away with purpose, standing a head above nearly everyone in the crowd.
You shiftily look at Jimin before silently waiting for Namjoon to return, confusion thick in your brain. You awkwardly chewed on your lip as the seconds ticked by, before finally he stalks back, his bag under his arm.
He throws himself back into his seat, flips open the top of his bag and rifles through.
Finally he pulls out a heap of bright yellow material, and with a small noise, he dumps his bag beside him before bolting up. He unravels the material and holds it up to you, grin growing on his face.
It takes you a few seconds to focus on what he is holding out to you and Jimin - but when you realise, you gasp.
"'Our get along shirt'? Namjoon you've gotta be joking." you splutter, scanning the shirt.
It was a sickly yellow, 'our get along shirt' printed on it in what appeared to be black glitter. It could probably fit both you and Jimin in it, maybe Yoongi could slip in too. It looked somewhat roomy, but that was not the point.
"What?" Jimin asks, lips parted as he stares into the glitter.
"You're both gonna wear it and get over whatever bullshit is going on here." Namjoon says so casually, as if he was asking the time or giving directions. But you saw the seriousness in the minute movements of his face. The clench on his jaw, the hardiness of his eyes.
"We're adults Namjoon, you can't expect us to wear that." Jimin's face had gone into a full blush, but his frown was deep as he stared at Namjoon.
"You are both gonna wear it."
"No-" You shout, but Namjoon pointedly huffs at you, and you take the hint.
"Put the shirt on. By the end of the night, either one of you will have killed the other or you have this sorted out. Because if not, you'll end up pushing us all away. For good." Namjoon finishes with a sigh, the depth of his gaze so severe it confirms that he isn’t playing with you.
You look behind him at Jin and Hoseok, and the direction in which Jungkook had walked away. Jin and Hoseok looked deadly serious, no hint of a smile or a cackle of laughter like you'd expect.
He had a point. You knew it. But it was so hard - Jimin couldn't let things lie, and you couldn't back away from a fight when it was him you were fighting. But to see others dropping out from around you...
"Hand over the shirt."
You spin to stare at Jimin. His face was tight, jaw set and eyebrows drawn. It had dawned on him too, just how far this had gone. But he obviously didn't like the idea of it, and neither did you.
"Fine but if I do kill him I’m taking you all down with me as accessories." You sigh, reaching forward and taking the shirt from Namjoon.
“How long have you had this, Joon?” Jimin asks, fiddling with the rings on his fingers.
“Long enough.”
You turn it in your hands and with a deep breath, you pull the shirt over your head, sticking your arm through the sleeve and head through the collar. Your left arm hangs loosely in the shirt, and you begin to fret about what you should do with it. Maybe you should just stick it in your pocket? You don't wanna brush anything-
Before you could follow that train of thought, Jimin tugs you and the shirt towards him. You follow, gulping thickly. He casts one last look at Namjoon before putting his head under the bottom of the shirt. within seconds his head is through the collar, his shoulder bumping yours as he tries to get comfortable.
The air is thick around you, the extra warmth of him being so close to you making the heat rise on your face. You were strongly aware of every microscopic move he makes, your senses keenly aware of his proximity. He lets out a harsh sigh, and you feel the breath ripple over the collar and down the shirt. A pout settles on his lips, glossy and wholly enticing - and entirely too close.
His face was inches from yours, shoulders stuck rigidly together as you subtly wrestle for space. The shirt was obviously made for kids, and much smaller than you had originally anticipated. Two kids would be able to almost comfortably stand side by side. You and Jimin had barely enough excess shirt, but the collar was far too small. His hand grazes mercilessly across your thigh, the hardness of his rings pressing into the material of your jeans.
You hear a click of a camera, and your attention snaps up to see Hoseok taking a photo of you both on his phone. With both you and Jimin glaring at him, he snaps another and giggles.
"One for Jungkook." He grins, before flipping his phone to you.
Instinctively you step forward to look, but the lack of space drags Jimin along with you. He crashes into your back, a steadying hand reaching out for your hip, a strangled grunt by your ear. You choke on your breath, and weakly tug at the collar as if it was the cause of your shock.
His hand is warm, the heat pulsating from his palm across your hip. If you weren't sweating before, you definitely were now. You shuffle back a little, easing the tension in the shirt that tugged tightly against you. Jimin brings up a hand and anxiously pushes his hair back from his face, his jaw set so sharply you could cut your finger on it.
"Well, there's bound to be a few teething problems but I'm sure you'll both work it out." Namjoon smiles, eyes bright and full of mischief. "Come on boys, let's give them some space."
You give Namjoon the fiercest glare you could muster before he walks away, but all he does is chuckle at you. Hoseok waves brightly whilst Jin merely winks - until soon all that remained was you and Jimin, hot, flustered and already tired of it all.
"Okay, now that they're gone-" Jimin mutters, twisting in the shirt so that his back was against you. You shuffle back as not to touch him, your mind a hazy hot mess.
Your hand dances threateningly close to his ass so you snatch it up to your chest, staring at the ceiling and holding back an agonised groan.
He brings his hands up and after a few seconds you hear a loud rip.
You snap your head to him to see that he'd ripped the collar almost to the end of the shoulder, giving you more space. You let out a breath and you both adapted to the space, but his shoulder was still brushing you. At least his face was at a less dangerous distance from yours now.
"Do... you wanna sit?" He asks quietly, A faint pinky blush crossing his cheeks. You forced your eyes away, determined not to be distracted.
"Jimin, Namjoon's gonna flip about the shirt."
"No he won't-"
"Yes, he will-"
"Ah, can we just sit?."
You huff, weighing his words before silently nodding, moving forward slowly to give him time to get his brain in gear. He stepped behind you and you shuffled around so that you wouldn't be sat under him.
"Okay sit." You order, and to your surprise he followed your words. You both crash back into the couch, his arms pressing back against you, his legs spread and pressed against yours.
You sit, the silence stretching. You finally get the smell of his cologne, the silk of his shirt sleeve brushing against your arm. It was filling your senses, and though it had only been seconds, this was stretching for an eternity.
And there were all those emotions you felt towards him, rushing to the surface, bubbling beneath your skin.
"Okay this is dumb, why are we doing this?" You grumble, slamming your head back against the cushions, desperate to be away from his heady scent.
He looks at you out of the corner of his eyes, so you pointedly avoid meeting his gaze.
"Because we don't want to lose our friends." His voice is low, the cogs turning in his head.
"Yes I know that, but why do we have to 'sort our problems' from inside the same damn t-shirt?" You snap.
"I... don't know. But I'm not gonna lose friends. Them or you - so get used to being stuck in this shirt with me."He purses his lips in thought, but you’re struck by his words.
"Well it's you who's stuck in here with me." You snark, unable to stop yourself before you say it.
He huffs out a laugh through his nose, and you can’t help but smile. You finally meet his eyes, and like a kid caught doing something he shouldn’t, he snaps his eyes away.
“So we have to like… work on our problems?”
“Apparently.” He murmurs, throwing himself back into the seat.  
The temperature feels ten times hotter than when you weren’t sharing clothing. Your hair sticks to your skin and you shift uncomfortably. Everywhere you touched him felt like it was on fire, every sensor in your body and edge and firing. You force yourself to breathe, in and out. Park Jimin was not going to get the better of you.
But he seemed affected too.
His swallows are thick, adam’s apple bobbing with each gulp. You could see his ringed finger tapping in his leg whilst his other hand was pushing back his hair a little more aggressively than usual.
“So uh…” He starts, but tapers off when you look at him.
“Yeah?”
The seconds tick on, the gap between you non-existent. You avert your eyes and try to focus on the crowd that swirls around you.
You couldn’t help but notice the fact that things were going well. No issues were being resolved per se, but you hadn’t fought properly for a few minutes. And for you both, that was progress. Even if every word that comes to your mind flights away, leaving the silence to stretch.
“Maybe-”
“How about-”
You both blurt words at the same time, letting out an embarrassed laugh as you squarely avoid looking at each other. The music seems louder, making it harder to think about anything that wasn’t directly in your senses. Essentially you were stuck in a Jimin lockdown.
“You go.”
“Oh, I was just going to say I’m gonna need a drink or two for this.” you confess, heat burning across your face.
“That’s… Not a bad idea actually. Let’s go to the kitchen.” Jimin rushes, a little too enthusiastically. It seems like he’s a little on edge too.
Without thinking he tries to stand up, causing you to get ruffled inside the shirt as he staggers to his feet. You’re ripped through the collar of the shirt, your face getting knocked into his hip. Your eyes widen and your breath catches in your throat as he’s slingshotted back into the chair beside you. Your head reemerges through the hole, leaving your hair vigorously disheveled.
“I-, I’m sorry!” He grits, a reddish blush bursting across his cheeks.
You bring up your hand inside the shirt to touch it to your face whilst the other tries to right whatever mess your hair had become.
“It’s fine, just, we gotta move as one.” You mumble, flicking your gaze at him.
“Agh, this isn’t gonna be easy.” He sighs, shuffling to the edge of the chair.
You take a deep breath and follow his lead. You put a tentative hand on the couch to shuffle yourself to the edge, but jimin had the same idea. He puts his hands on top of yours, but instantly snatches it back. He mumbles to himself before turning and giving you a nod. With a steadying breath you both move, almost effortlessly getting off the couch together. It takes you by surprise at how straightforward that was, until the clatter of a noise reaches your ears over the din of the music.
Following the rattle of the noise you look down, only to watch your phone skittering across the floor.
“Oh, shit.” You murmur, watching it stop out of reach. “Jimin, my phone!”
He follows your gaze to where it lays on the floor, narrowly avoiding being stepped on by dancers. Your heart flutters as people step around it, totally unaware.
“Go, go!” He mutters, placing the palm of his hand at the bottom of your back, steering you towards it.
You flush as you’re pushed through, stopping just above it. You’re both jostled by the people around you as you stand guard above your phone. People were dancing dangerously close to it,and all it would take is one drunken fool to stamp on it or you for this to end in disaster.
“Okay let’s drop, carefully this time!” you order, but Jimin scoffs at you.
“I’m trying to be careful!”
“Just don't thrash me about again, that would be nice-”
“I’m not doing it on purpose! I can if you want me to-”
“Oh my god, stop, just bend over and help me!”
“That sounds dirt-”
He starts, but before you let him manifest that in your mind you start to crouch, the force pulling him down to bump his chest into your back. The heat of him crashing into you is instant, an insatiable warmth that spreads in contact. He puts a stabilising hand on your hips as his breath rolls across the back of your neck. A shiver trickles down your body despite trying to hold it back.
“What did you do that for?” He grunts, his mouth closer to your ear as he tries to rebalance himself.
“Y- you’re taking too long trying to argue!”
He presses himself off your back and shuffles down beside you. You finally get crouched on the floor, tentative hands placed on the sticky surface to stop you from toppling over. Jimin crouches next to you, his body facing yours with his leg behind you, tight against your back. It was hard to stay focused with him pressed against you like that, but you know he was just trying to stay stable. So why were you blushing so hard?
Carefully you reach out, your fingers just brushing the edge of the phone. You’re just able to get your fingers over the edge when you’re slammed from the side. Your phone is knocked out of your reach once more as you’re thrown onto Jimin, both of you landing in a tangled heap.
You let out a yelp as you’re falling, the impact to the side of you bristling with shock. His back hits the floor and you land awkwardly, right on top of him.
“Watch what you’re doing, you moron!” Jimin snaps after your head slaps onto his shoulder.
Your heart slams erratically against your chest, his words stinging. You’d come to blows many more times than you can imagine, but he’d never spoken to you in that way, not ever.
“God, I’m sorry.” you murmur, pressing yourself up off his chest, your face practically aflame.
“What? Oh, no no, not you! Whichever idiot smacked into you. Are you alright?“ He asks, his fingers gently gripping your chin and turning you gently in his hands.
Your eyes are wide as he stares at you, your fingers twitching on the silk covering his chest. Once he’s satisfied that you’re okay, he softly releases you. You bring your gaze back to his, beads of sweat rolling down your face.
Jimin looks down to his hand and back up to you after realising what he had just done, before he clenches his fist closed and puts it down to his side. His forehead is creased, his face burning bright.
“We should… ah, should get your phone.” His voice is low, barely audible above the music. But you hear him all the same, stealing your hand back from his chest.
You swallow thickly, stabilizing yourself as you crouched back on your own two feet. Your phone isn’t too far out of reach, but just beyond the touch of your fingertips. You strain, tugging Jimin along behind you. His throat is pulled against your shoulder, but it was no good, you still needed the stretch.
“Hold on.” You mumble, slipping your head out from underneath the collar.
You keep your arm inside the shirt sleeve for plausible deniability - you’d never be able to lie to Namjoon if he asks if you stayed in. But you pull your head out from the bottom of the shirt and reach out, gripping your phone and snatching it up. You shove it in your deepest pocket of your jeans and pat it, relieved.
You crawl back to Jimin and try to climb back into the shirt. He throws the bottom over your head and you push it through - only to slam your head into his arm.
“Ah, sorry!” You yelp, trying to push yourself past him.
He tries to guide your head back up through the collar but manages to get his rings caught in your hair. You yelp at the tug, your hands flying up to untangle him.
“Sorry, sorry!” He shouts, bringing his other hands up to slide his rings off altogether.
Once they’re off his fingers it’s easier to free your hair. With the rings tucked safely in his pocket and with gentle easing, Jimin moves your head up to the collar of the shirt. You rapidly brush your hair out of your face and look at him out of the corner of your eye.
He’s flustered, roughly pushing the hair that sticks to his sweaty forehead back. His lips are parted and his eyes are fixed away from you.
Briefly, the thought of just running away from him crossed your mind. There’d be no more issues if you never saw his face again. No more embarrassment! Of course it was a silly idea, but it would be better than getting the opportunity to make yourself look like an idiot again.
You huff out a breath, blotting your damp forehead with the back of your hand. Your brush with the floor had left your clothes feeling sticky, and your brush against Jimin had set everything else on fire. You needed some fresh ai-
“It’s too hot for this, I need some air.” Jimin shifts in his spot, gesturing to the backdoor that was through the kitchen and blocked by a thick group of party goers. You follow the direction he points and nod enthusiastically.
“I wanna grab some water too.” You murmur. Ignoring his presence.
The people that stood between the cloying heat that you and Jimin were trapped in and the cooler climate outside were dense. You’d have to fight through, but the reward of fresher air to clear your head of Jimin was too tantalising.
With a look at Jimin, he motions with his hand for you to proceed. You roll your eyes at the gesture but you take a cautious step forward, slow and deliberate.
You started pushing your way through, bodies warm and fluid as you tried to champion the way. Jimin got ganged much closer to you, practically pressing into your back as you moved. You focus on finding a path ahead, ignoring the beads of sweat that form in your hairline.
Something had changed between you. This is the closest you had been together, the most you had touched, the longest you had been alone. And you wanted to hate it. You certainly hated how messy he must think you are. But you didn’t. A trickle of something different slides down your body, all your attention focused on his hand on you.
The music changes to something even louder and riles the crowd up. With a swell of movements in the dancers you’re sent flying, knocked by some erratic dancer’s elbow. With the force of the shirt Jimin is dragged with you, crashing into your back and pinballing you against another person.
Subconsciously you turn back to him - but as soon as you’re pressed together, you realise how big a mistake that was.
Stomach to stomach, his face is barely an inch or two from yours. His fingers wrap around your wrist, chest rising and falling as you stare at him.
The sweat that had rolled down his face had reached his throat, dropping down the column and hovering at his apple. The minutest of smirks pulls at his lips, and you realise you’ve been caught.  
He swallows, purposely. The bead rolls the rest of the way down his throat, dropping below his necklace before disappearing down the neckline of his shirt. The silk was clinging to his skin in the heat, and it took every ounce of dignity you had not to look down. You could see in your periphery, and that was more than enough. The man was hot, in every sense.
Your eyes flick back up, a different kind of heat burning up your face. You anxiously lick your lips, eyes finally meeting his. He has an eyebrow propped, a smugness radiating that let your blood boil. But his gaze drops to your mouth, watching your tongue gloss across your lip before looking back up. You can feel his breath hit your chest as his cheeks flushed more than they ever had. Now you were the one to have an audience.
Maybe this was it - the answer. You just needed a moment for everything to click, you could reach an understanding! It had nothing to do with how his stare left you feeling like you could burst in every way possible. Or that his pupils seemed to be blown wide, big enough for you to swim in. His fingers were hot against your wrist, and it felt almost as if his pinky was tracing the tiniest circles into your skin-
“I need the bathroom.”
The words are blurted loudly in your face, and for a moment you forget what reality is.
“I- what?”
“Bathroom. Gotta go. Bathroom stuff.” Jimin splutters.
Before you can respond - not that you knew how to -  he turns from you. His hand still holds your wrist as he pulls you through the crowd, uncaring as to who he pushes aside. All you can do is stare at the back of his hair and be lead.
“Jimin what the hell?!” You yell, ignoring the glares of the nosy partiers.
Your voice is lost, muffled by loud music and Jimin's deaf focus. You finally break free from the throng of people but your journey doesn't end. You're being whipped past busy rooms until you hit the staircase. The odd person watches you in fascination, some even snickering at what was written so plainly in glitter on the shirt. you felt your face burn, and make a silent note to fight Namjoon at the soonest opportunity.
He begins scurrying up the staircase, and with your wrist still firmly in his iron grip, you're soon flying up behind him. He casts a shifty look behind him to check you were still attached, his face flushed but his eyes focused. You have to remember to regulate your breathing.
"God, careful!" You snap, almost stumbling on the top step.
He doesn't acknowledge that he hears you, but then he slows for a second before darting down the winding corridor. He rushes into one of the rooms, a sprawling guest bedroom, before finally letting your wrist drop from his grip. It was almost bigger than your entire place, with an ensuite and even a door leading out to a balcony.
You close the door behind you before Jimin drags you towards the ensuite. Once he's at the open door he pulls his arms through the sleeve and slips out from the shirt. You know you're in the privacy of a bedroom but you suddenly get nervous, eyes turning to the bedroom door.
"We're gonna get in trouble." You murmur. Namjoon is a mind reader, you’d stake your life on it - he'll know you're separated and find you.
"You gotta relax. We're not gonna be spotted through floors and walls. Unless you wanna come in here with me?" He asks, that trademark smirk pulling at his lips. Your stomach flutters, but it is a relief to have a flash of the jimin who pushes your buttons back.
"I -wha- no! Just hurry up, god." You splutter, turning your back to him.
"I won't be long."
With that he saunters back, his cheeks blown out as he sighs, and finally closes the door for some sweet separation. You step back and move to the balcony - the door was unlocked so you push it open and finally breathe.
The air is still warm, but instant relief from being cooped up inside with Jimin washes over you. You close your eyes and soak up the moment of peace, the shirt hanging off your solitary frame.
Your brain was barely processing the situation you were both in. It was enough being stuck in the same item of clothing as someone, but with Jimin? It was hard.
But then again, it was also easy. It was too easy to get wrapped up in him, to be so close, to let yourself be taken with him. It was a place you had hoped to be before, and somewhere you couldn’t go.
You and Jimin were tumultuous. You weren’t sure why it had to be that way. It’s not like either of you were toxic or nasty people - so why did you have to make a stand on everything? Why does every time you stand off with him make the hairs on your neck stand up, make your heart beat so fast in your chest you swear he could hear it?
Maybe it was because you did, after all this time, like him.  
You're snapped out of your thoughts by an erratic knocking at the door. You dart your eyes to it as if you could see through the solid wood, your heart in your throat.
"Y/N? Jimin? You there?" Namjoon calls through the door, and you swear under your breath.
"One second!" You cry, scrambling back from the door and scurry to the ensuite.
"Jimin! Open up!" You whisper at him, your voice a hurried rasp.
"What?"
"I'm coming in!" You wait a few seconds just in case, and then finally throw the door open.
"Y?N!" Jimin yells, scrambling back against the basin.
He was standing with his silk shirt in his hands, His lips parted in shock as he stares at you. His chest was heaving, the faintest glimmer of abs visible behind the thin fabric. Your face was burning almost as much as his, your jaw dropping. His hair was tousled, strands covering his wide eyes as he stared at you.
"Wh... Why are you topless?" Your breath is barely above a whisper as you fight to keep your eyes on his face.
"It's so hot!”
“I’m hot! Do you see me taking my clothes off?” You rush, using every ounce of restraint in your body to not lick your lips.
The thought of you and Jimin taking your clothes off together flashed through your mind and you internally screamed at yourself. This was not the time to unpack that, though you’d be lying if you said the thought hadn’t crossed your mind before.
“Wah- uh, you... I was trying to cool dow- why are you barging in here?!" He rushes, taking a hasty step towards you. To have to sort through your frazzled thoughts before you remember why you were there in the first place.
"Namjoon! He's at the door!" As if to accentuate your point, Namjoon raps on the door again, calling out to you both.
"Agh!" Jimin cries, rushing forward and grabbing the hem of the shirt you still wore.
He begins to get into it as he pushes you towards the door. You could feel the horror fill your veins as the heat of his body slips in beside you, his hand at the small of your back as he guides you. Your arm brushes against his bare hip, the skin hot and smooth. You snatch your arm up and hold it against your chest as if burned and ignore the rapid change in your breathing.
"Why haven't you put your shirt on?!" You whisper, but he just huffs.
"To save time, Now show me your pretty smile and let's get rid of him so I can get dressed." Jimin's hand is on the door, and all you can do is stare at him, eyes wild.
"My wha-"
The door flies open, but you're still staring at Jimin. Pretty...?
"Well hello." Namjoon is leant against the doorframe, arms crossed as he gives you both a crooked grin. His eyes flicker to the room behind you, his eyes landing on the bed just beyond you both.
"Just needed the bathroom." Jimin rushes, hand once again settling in his hair.
"I didn't ask." His voice is light, but his eyes are fierce as he scans you both thoroughly.
"You were thinking about it, though." Jimin mutters. He tries to cross his arms at Namjoon, but with one arm under the shirt and one over he soon drops it. Your gaze was still stuck on him though. Pretty?
"How's the shirt working out, you both talking?" Namjoon asks, and you finally snap your attention to him. He's already watching you and raises an eyebrow. You scramble to stamp down your emotions, despite every nerve in your body sizzling.
"Oh yeah, we’re the best of friends now, right JimJam?" Your voice is bubblegum sweet, giving Jimin the goofiest smile you could muster.
"Totally! We've been braiding our hair and sharing juicy stories. We're basically besties."
Jimin beams at Namjoon, before stepping close and wrapping an arm around your waist to hug you. It was all part of the charade, of course. But as you're pulled back against his chest, you swear your heart could explode. His hand sits lightly on your hip, his every breath rolling down your neck. It didn’t matter that the move was practically hidden under the shirt.
"Yeah..." you laugh, but it's more of a choke as you pat his hand over the shirt and avoid meeting Namjoon's probing gaze.
Jimin clears his throat awkwardly behind you, his finger twitching on your hip. The heat between you swealters, every inch of your skin electric against his body.
Namjoon's eyes flick between you. You could see his thoughts brewing but they never pass his lips. Instead you and Jimin wait, his hands singeing your skin where they rested, his bare chest like fire against you.
"Well, I can see you're obviously working on something. But until you're actually convincing, you can stay in that shirt." He shrugs, grin widening across his face. With a final flick of his eyes, he pushes off the door frame and heads back towards the stairs.
"This is ridiculous Namjoon!" You yell at his back, crossing your arms across your stomach.
"Maybe - but you're both still wearing it." He smirks back over his shoulder.
You yell incoherent words at his back before huffing out a breath. Your fingers twitch in anger, putting a stubborn hand on your hip, the skin hot under your touch.
Faintly you realise the contact isn’t registering on your hip, and it isn’t until Jimin loosens his grip on you that you realise your hand had been resting on his. His hands fall from your body as he shuffles away, swallowing a throaty gulp.
You couldn’t look at him. It was all fun and games to begin with- oh, who were you kidding? This had been sucky, but something had shifted. You needed air, a chance to breathe, to not be tethered to the man that seems to haunt you.
“Need air.” Your voice a rasp as you step back into the room.
Jimin barely shuts the bedroom door before you’re marching to the balcony, not caring about whether you drag him along or not. Once you’re outside you heave in a breath, letting the air fill your lungs.
“That was too close.” You murmur, fiddling with the hem of the shirt.
“How was I supposed to know Namjoon would be keeping tabs?”
“I’m not blaming you Jimin! Why are you making this into an argument too?” You snap, your eyes fixed on the treeline on the edge of the property.
You feel him wriggling aggressively next to you, only to look back and see him climbing out of the shirt. You watch in horror as he slips out from under the sickly yellow material, keeping his bare back to you.
“What are you doing?” You yelp, scanning over the edge of the balcony for any sight of your friends. They couldn’t see you apart, they would never trust either of you again.
“What are we doing?”
“We’re meant to be working this out from inside the same ugly shirt-”
“No not right now. I mean, kind of. I just… Why did we let it get this far?”
You let his words hang in the air, your thoughts scattered. The thump of the music below drifts up to you, the mass of partygoers that stood out in the gardens laughing and chatting loudly. It seemed a world away from the tension that fills the air between you and Jimin.
He turns back to you with a look on his face so intense you can’t place it. But you could tell he was tightly wound - his shoulders were squared and his jaw was tight. He avoids making eye contact with you for as long as he can. But when he finally does, it was too easy to get lost in what you see there.
“We just argue, I guess.” you shrug, averting your eyes from his chest and stomach. This wasn’t the time to be fawning over him. It was hard - he was beautiful, there was no escape from that. It’s one of a million reasons you had liked him in the first place.
“You can't tell me you’re happy with that explanation.” He huffs, crossing his arms.
“Of course I’m not but what do you want me to say? You don’t like me, you’ve made that plain enough. Not everyone gets along.”
You bite your lip, admitting the words you’d been too scared to think out loud. But when you hear a faint gasp, your eyes shoot up to his face. His lips are parted, a look of abject shock written on his delicate features.
I d- I do like you.” His voice is so quiet you can barely hear him. But you do, and the words strike deep.
You can’t open yourself up to this right now. Namjoon will find a way to know that you’re both separated, and the rest of the guys will drift away. You want to be civil with Jimin, not have your entire soul bared open to him. You couldn’t survive that.
“Can you please put your shirt back on?” You mumble, your eyes laser-focused imploringly on his face, but he doesn't hear you, barrelling on.
“It’s not like I enjoy arguing with you!”
“Then why are you making it so difficult?” Your voice cracks, the hurt of your never ending battles threatening to surface.
“Do you know how hard it is to get your attention-“ he starts, his fast flow of words immediately cut off as he gawks at you, delicate fingers slamming over his lips.
“What?” You blurt, processing his words.
“No no, nothing! Forget it.” he shakes his hands at you, eyes wide and face blushing a deep pink.
“Jimin! What do you mean, get my attention?”
“I… yeah. We’re always with the guys, I guess I didn’t know how else to get you to focus on me.”
“Why?” Your voice is faint, a million thoughts crashing in your head.
“No, forget it!”
“Jimin!”
“Ah, I like you, okay?”
The air around you thickens, the distance between you a thousand miles yet still too close. Your heart thumps rapidly in your chest, your eyes wide as saucers and your skin prickled with goosebumps.
“You- huh?”
“I… like you. A lot. It happened pretty quickly.” He sighs, running a shaky hand through his hair.
"Why have you never told me?"
"Because it's humiliating as hell?" He laughs bitterly, his eyes darting to anywhere but you.
"Jimin..."
"No seriously. If I had told you, you'd reject me because why wouldn't you? All we do is argue."
"You think I'd reject you?" You ask, voice quiet as you step closer to him. His gaze finally snaps back to you at your movement.
"I mean, I... yeah?"
He runs a hand roughly over his face, turning his back to you. He looks so flawless in the moonlight. But he always looked flawless to you. Watching him fret like this was something so alien to you, but so human, so Jimin. You couldn’t let him suffer these feelings alone.
"Well, I wouldn't have." You mumble.
“You- what?”
Your brain scrambles, your heart hammering in your throat. He stares at you, wide eyes and chest heaving as if he was winded. Swallowing thickly you press on, despite the fear that churns in your gut.
“I wouldn’t reject you, Jimin. I… uh. I like you too.” You fiddle awkwardly with the hem of the stupid shirt.
The whole scenario had you feeling like a girl going through a childhood crush again. Though last time you had a crush on a boy who was fighting with you, you punched him in the nose. It was doubtful that would work this time around-
“Jimin?” You ask, watching as he shrinks back on himself.
You watch as he breathes, his chest rising and falling, the rapidly cooling night air raising goosebumps across his skin. It was hard to keep your brain on track.
After a moment he meets your gaze with a softness so potent it was enough to choke you.
In two steps he was on you, his lips crashing against yours. Your entire body threatens to shut down, the shock rippling through you. Before you even had a second to comprehend how good his lips felt against yours he pulls back, fear in his eyes as he worries.
You know then what you want. Who you want. You wondered why you wasted so long arguing to get it.
With your blood thrashing violently in your veins you reach your hands out to his face, caressing the smooth skin of his cheek before you surge forwards. The feel of the gloss on his lips smudges as you let yourself be consumed, the slightest hint of cherry seeping in.
Kissing Park Jimin. You. You’re kissing him. Your eyes slam shut as you sink into him, electricity crackling on your skin.
With no doubt in his mind at all Jimin slides his hands to your hips, fingers curling into the shirt as he moves you back, pushing you into the wall. You moan into his kiss, and he smirks against your lips. To trip him up you press the kiss deeper, letting the tip of your tongue dance at his pretty lips, wanting to taste him.
He does you one better, turning the tides and pressing the kiss back to you, tongue flicking to you.
Just like normal, you weren’t one to back down from Jimin.
Letting a hand move into his silken hair, you brush it back the way you’d seen him do a thousand times. But instead of letting your hands fall out of the soft locks, you let the strands wind around your fingers and give it a tug.
Jimin lets out a low groan, breaking the kiss to pant against your lips. Pride flows through you, but so did a sense of admiration - it was something you wanted to hear from that pretty mouth over and over.
“That’s a dangerous game you’re playing, Y/N.” He whispers, tugging sharply on the shirt so that your body was flat against his.
You try to not let the gasp from you come out too loud, the lines of his body startlingly apparent as you’re pressed together.
“You think that scares me?”
At your words he smiles. It spreads slowly, but soon his whole face is alight, brightness shining out of him. With his fingers at the hem of the massive shirt, he gives you a filthy giggle before kneeling and slipping himself inside of the material.
“What are you doing?” You yelp, feeling the familiar sensation of being stuck in the stupid shirt with him again. But it was different too, it wasn’t suffocating like before.
His head popped back up through the ripped collar, grin still annoyingly plastered across his face.
“Shouldn’t you be trying to get me out of this shirt, Park Jimin?” You whisper, breathless as he presses you back against the wall.
“I can’t deny that you have too many clothes on.” He smirks, delicate fingers sliding up your shirt to rest on your hot skin. “But there’s something… ah, satisfying about having you in this shirt.”
“Seriously?”
“What’s the matter Y/N, don’t think you can handle it?” His fingers circle agonisingly slow on your hips, a mischievous glint catching in his eye. He knows you so well.
“You’re gonna be the one who can’t handle it.”
“Prove it.”
You almost growl at him as he presses your buttons, but the burning in you meets the heat in your stomach. You need him more than ever.
You pull him back against you by the hair, crushing your lips together once more. He moans into you, nails pressing into your hips as your lips collide. You roll your hips against him, the fire in your veins white hot as he stutters against you. He breaks your kiss to gasp needily, eyes shut tight as your stomach brushes against the bulge in his tight jeans.
His eyes finally open, unfocused and swimming. But after a second he fixes his gaze on you, determined. A flicker of anticipation fills you, awaiting retribution.
His fingers move from your skin to the hem of your shirt, tugging it up until you have to help him. The shirt you were sharing was making it difficult, and you start to regret ever letting him get his way. But as soon as you are free he presses back into you, his hot skin flush against yours, his fingers idly tracing the straps of your bra.
Just with the gentle brush of his fingertips he nudges the straps down your arms, goosebumps rising along his trail. He presses his lips to your cheek, pecking slow, soft kisses across your cheekbone as he moves towards your ear. You sigh as his mouth moves lower, plump lips pressing dainty kisses down your neck. With you swept up, his hands move behind you and unclip your bra.
A gasp passes your lips while his own are still planted at your neck, sucking on a soft spot there. Your bra slides off your body, landing with a quiet thud on the floor of the balcony.
His fingers find their way back to your hips, slowly caressing their way up. An excited shiver catches you, and you feel him laugh against your skin. His warm hands find your breasts, thumbs rubbing over the soft skin before finding your nipples.
You suck in a breath as he kisses back up your neck. He pauses to capture your lips again, lulling you into him as his thumbs brush out across your nipples.
With your staccato breathing he smirks once more into your skin. Not one to ever be outmanoeuvred by Jimin, you decide it’s time to flip the switch.
You purposefully run your fingers down his stomach, featherlight and teasing. He hitches his breath, mouth detaching from your neck as he waits, anticipating your every move. His hot breath rolls down your neck, rippling off your chest. You hide a smirk in his hair and focus on your goal.
Letting your fingers rest on his belt buckle - no doubt something obnoxiously expensive - you begin to undo him as slow as you possibly could. You slide it off, inching it so little that you could feel him get restless against you.
“You’re a nightmare.” He whispers, looking up at you through his eyelashes.
“I’m just savouring the moment.” You offer softly, the soft clinks of the buckle resting against his thigh.
“You’ll pay if you tease me like this.” His voice is high, airy. The voice of a man in complete control - though you knew that was far from the truth.
“Mm, sure Jimin.” You smirk, bringing a hand up between you to his face.
You angle him back up to kiss you, which he does with ferocity. You smile into him, the power to provoke him rich in your veins.
Your hand sinks back to his belt, and with him distracted you pull it off him fast, dumping it somewhere on the floor and popping the button of his jeans. He gasps into your kiss, fingers automatically flexing across your breasts. You hold your reaction to yourself, intent on giving nothing away until you are ready.
You tug down his zipper, pressing it back onto him so he feels the teeth unclipping against his boxers. You knew they were gonna be some annoyingly expensive brand too, but the thought of getting him to ruin them for you was intoxicating. He leans his forehead against yours, the desperation rising his face palpable.
With a sharp tug you drop his jeans to his mid-thigh before moving your fingers back to him, running teasingly around his waistband. You didn’t have to look under the shirt to know his boxers were tented, his erection straining against the fabric. You dip a finger just below his waistband, tracing along the lines of his hips. He lets out a choked breath, hips subconsciously bucking into you.
“Y/N…”
“What?” You ask sweetly, moving your fingers to brush along his pubic bone. Your knuckles barely graze the base of his shaft, but he lets out a murmur of swear words as his eyes flicker.
Not one to be overshadowed for long, Jimin lets his hands drop to your hips and immediately flies to your zipper. He presses his crotch into you, and you feel just how hard he is for you. With a flapping mouth you watch him, challenging eyebrow raised.
Everything was a game. One that you were intent on winning.
Plucking at your courage, you slide a hand back down, wrapping your fingers around the base of his cock. His hips stutter in your hand, a gush of air forcing out of his lungs.
He felt good in your hand - really good. Firm skin, warm and pulsing in your hand. You experimentally ran a finger along his underside, tracing the vein all the way to his tip. He lets himself go then, head thrown back, eyes tightly clasped. A low groan rumbles from his throat, his fingers stilling on your zip.
“Feel good?” You whisper, pressing your lips to his.
“Ah, mm…” Is all he can manage as his head falls back.
He’s totally lost in your touch, and you’d barely started. A ripple of excitement darts through you, the sight of having Park Jimin needy and in your hands was too powerful to overlook.
A small giggle falls from your lips, the tiniest of noises. But it’s enough to spur him back to reality with his dark eyes finally refocusing on you.
He takes a breath to center himself before pulling down your jeans slowly. You feel the material slide over your hips and sit above your knees. Your panties quickly follow, thrust down faster than you can blink.
He lets a hand drag back up your thigh, running across to where you want his hand the most. Your touch on him falters as anticipation runs through your body. Ever so slowly he lets a finger stroke across your slit, barely grazing your skin. You wrap your free arm over his shoulder, taking a grip of his soft hair.
He smiles at you, and you let your eyes drag across his face. He drags his bottom lip between his teeth at your scrutiny. You can’t help but admire him: the way his lipgloss is smudged up across his cupid’s bow, the sweat that seemed to be dribbling so aesthetically down his sharp jaw, the blown out pupils of his deep eyes. Your breath catches in your throat as you soak him in - and that’s when he decides to strike.
He slips his fingers between your folds, feeling how wet you are for him, before sliding his fingers up to your clit. He applies only the slightest bit of pressure but it’s enough to have you gasping at his touch. He lets out a soft moan as he feels you, letting his fingers move in the tiniest circles.
You slowly rock your hips on his fingers, knotting your own in his hair. You instinctively flex your hand only to have his hips instinctively thrust his cock into your hand.
Deciding to move things on just a little, you move back just enough to see his cock in your hand. His eyes flutter open at your movements, only to blow wide when he sees a trail of spit drop from your lips onto his tip. You catch it with your thumb and rub it into his tip, rolling it down his length.
A low moan leaves him, his free hand coming up to wipe your bottom lip ever so delicately. You meet his eyes, a fire burning there just for you. He drags you into a kiss, his hand scrunching in your hair.
His hand start to move again, circling you and getting into a slow rhythm on your clit. You moan into his kiss, starting your movements too until both of you were breathless messes.
The kisses became scattered and sloppier as you both let your hands work. The delicate touch of his fingers was enough to blur your vision, and your firm grip that was growing in speed on his length rendered him weak in your hands.
His own hand moves deftly, nimble fingers moving between circling your needy clit to running through your wetness. His jaw slackens each time he feels how wet you are for him, pride drifting somewhere in his lust-blown eyes.
Jimin is slick under your grasp, rock hard as you twist up and down his length. Staggered gasps fall from his lips, getting more and more careless as you drag him higher.
His circling gets a little more pressure, and it’s enough to send your head lulling back, barely able to focus on the task literally in hand. You returned his zeal, putting an extra squeeze on his length. The choke that passes his lips sends pride through your already thrashing veins. His face twitches; his forehead creases, pretty lips part slightly further, eyebrows jolt. You know he’s close, and you have the power in your hands.
But he has you, too. The pressure pulsing from your core builds, your eyes slamming shut as you're barely able to form words. You can feel it rising, teetering on the edge of something good-
-until he jerks his fingers from you. You whimper at the loss of his fingers, orgasms skittering disappointingly away from you. Your eyes open as you snap your bereft gaze to him.
“Fuck, Y/N, too quick-“ he murmurs, grabbing hold of your wrist and gently pulling your hand of his throbbing cock.
“Jimin?”
He’s fully flushed, strands of silken hair stuck to his forehead. His chest rises and falls rapidly with his chest, eyes wild.
“I don’t wanna cum just yet.”
“What if I wanted you to-“
“Don’t argue with me on this,” he laughs, pressing a kiss to your lips. But then his voice drops low, lips pulled into a deadly smirk. “I have to make you cum first.”
You barely have a second to swallow down a gasp before you’re pulled from the wall to crash against his lips.
You hold him against you with the collar of the shirt you were still trapped in, matching his energy as he kisses you desperately. Your hands are held tight against his chest, his cock resting teasingly against your stomach.
His hands let go of you to grab your hips, steering your towards the edge of the balcony.
Once you're spun he pushes you gently, bending you over to lean against the railing. Forgetting that you’re stuck in the same damn shirt, he gets yanked down with you, body flush against your back. He lets out a tiny giggle into the back of your neck and it’s as if your heart could stop from the sound.
The cool of the metal railing presses into your chest, hands bracing it through the shirt. You look to the party happening below, guests hovering out in the garden to escape the heat of the sweaty party. You were pretty well out of sight - as long as nobody looked up.
“There’s quite a few people down there.” Jimin’s lips are by your ear, making the hairs on your neck stand on end.
“Don’t think you can make me loud enough? That’s a shame.” You smirk, unable to stop teasing him.
“You’re gonna regret those words baby.”
The pet name strikes deep within you. It’s perfect coming from Jimin, warmth radiating across your body. And you couldn’t blame that one on the heat.
Jimin presses his body onto your back, thick erection settling just above your cheeks. You feel the heat of his hand smooth from your thigh round to the front of you. He takes a few swipes across your clit to make you jerk beneath him before his fingers drift further back.
He swirls a finger around your waiting hole, agonizingly slow. You gasp at him, pushing your hips back into him. His shaft brushes against your cheeks and you can hear him suck in a desperate breath. Spurred on by his own need, he dips his finger gradually inside.
It’s slow, pushing past his knuckle until his finger sits inside you. You feel your walls pulse around him, desperate for more. His hand stills, taking his time to pepper kisses behind your ear. He nips playfully at your lobe, taking his sweet time with each movement.
You know he’s doing it to make you suffer. And god were you suffering, using every ounce of restraint to not whine for him.
Slowly he turns his finger so it sits better inside of you. The graze of his knuckle causes you to moan, and you feel him smirk into your skin.
“That’s what I was waiting for.”
He slowly begins to pump into you. It’s instantly better than his stationary finger, but still agonizingly slow. You needed him, harder and faster.
“Jimin…” you whine, pushing your rear back into him. He tuts into your ear, stilling his fingers.
“You need to let go, Y/N. I’ve got you.” He punctuates his point by kissing a trail along your shoulder.
You bite your lip, his words hitting a little deeper than just him getting you off. You always had to be in control of yourself around Jimin - you had to win, had to be alert. You couldn’t let your emotions get hold of you.
But it was all out in the open now. He knew how you felt - and he feels the same too. Maybe you can let go, just a little. It didn’t mean you had to start losing arguments any time soon, though.
You nod, turning your head to where he was pressing kisses into your skin. He beams at you, eyes scrunching as he surges up to catch your lips.
His movements cause his thumb to brush across your clit, and you moan wantonly into him. He pulls away to peer over the balcony, the loud noise escaping you both. You follow his gaze, but you’d drawn no attention. Not yet anyway-
He looks back at you and winks, the move cheeky and completely Jimin but he silences by pulling his finger almost completely out of you. Your jaw drops at the sensation, but just as quickly he pushes it back inside you, as far as he can go.
You bite the collar of the shirt to muffle your noise. His skin was still hot against yours, a sheen of sweat building on your forehead as you focused on him.
Mercifully he begins to fuck his finger in you, curling inside you. You inhale sharply through your nose, eyes shut tight as you let yourself go.
He carries on for a few more pups before he lets a second finger coat in your wetness. On the next thrust into you, he gently presses in a second finger, and you feel yourself clamp down at the stretch. Jimin keeps pressing kisses against your skin, but he gets breathless, his own erection pressing tauntingly at your back.
He sits his fingers for just a few seconds, letting you get used to him before he works them back out of you. In and out, in and out. He’s slow again, teasing you to the point of madness. You groan in frustration, but it was just what he was waiting for.
He thrusts his fingers deep into you, fucking you fast. Your hips roll to meet his pumps, the drag of him inside you delicious.
He brings up two fingers to your lips, and instinctively you take them into your mouth, swirling your tongue around the digits. You make sure to meet his eye as you run your tip up the crack between his fingers, eliciting a groan from him and a buck of his hips against you.
He pulls them from your mouth and moves them between your legs. His fingers find your clit, and to match the rhythm that he was fingering into you, he begins to circle your needy bud.
It pushes you over the edge, almost literally. You cling onto the balcony as you’re thrust into it, Jimin sucking marks into your neck. You groan, the contact all over your body making you weak. The wet noises that surround you are pure sin, making you bite down on your lip. Jimin groans into your skin, teeth sinking softly into your shoulder as his fingers work fast.
“Fuck!” You yelp as his fingers brush your soft spot inside.
You slap a hand over your mouth as you stare down into the garden below, fear icy in your veins as you hope you’re not spotted.
Jimin doesn’t stop though. He hides his head in your neck, thrusting his fingers faster now that he knows your weak spot.
A few people below scan around them for the source of the swearing, but thankfully none of them think to look up. You bite your lip, eyes closing as you let yourself fall back into Jimin.
“That was a close one, huh?” He whispers, a lilt of a giggle in his voice.
“Shut up.” You murmur, voice cracking as he circles your clit so well you almost see stars.
“That’s no way to talk to the man who’s got two fingers deep in your-“
“Fuck, Jimin please!” You gasp, his next words dancing at the front of your mind.
The circles on your clit get defter, pressure hitting you just right as your hips start to roll uncontrollably. You grip tightly at the railing, unable to stop the flow of moans that echo from you. Being spotted from below is less important as you can feel your orgasm rising, your legs feeling weak underneath you.
Your skin prickles from the heat generating between your bodies, Jimin’s hot breath rolling across your neck as you flush harder.
“I’m gonna...” you whimper, your words lost to pleasure.
“Cum baby, all over my fingers.” His whisper sends shivers through you, a welcome change to the heat that dribbles down your temples.
He curls his fingers on every thrust to bring you closer to the precipice. You push back against him furiously, riding his fingers and your knuckles turn white on the railings. You feel it coil in your stomach, and you know you’re so close.
“Let go Y/N.” He whispers, breath ragged from exertion, but still peppering your marked skin with tiny kisses. You screw your eyes shut as you embody his words, letting yourself give in to the feeling.
“Jimin!”
Your orgasm crashes around you, a litany of swear words moan from your lips. Your walls clench down on Jimin’s fingers, twitching under his fingertips. You slam your hand over your mouth as your moans subside, wide eyes scanning the crowd below.
Heads turn in your direction, and before you can begin to scramble Jimin pulls you back from the balcony to stand flush against him. Your heart pounds in your chest, but the thrill that runs through your veins is undeniable.
He finally pulls his fingers out of you, the gush of wetness and noise make your face heat up. He wraps that arm across your chest and holds you against him, a wide grin wrinkling his eyes. You kiss him, soft and delicate, plump lips locking with yours.
Once you pull back he grins again, before moving the fingers that were in you towards his lips. your mouth parts as you watch him slip the digits inside, taking his time to suck off the taste of you. A light whimper leaves you as you watch him finally slide them out from between your lips with a pop, devilish glint in his eye.
Witha shiver you turn in his grip, pushing him firmly back against the wall.
He hisses lightly as his back hits it, and hisses louder as you're bungied in the shirt against him. He lets out a laugh and you do the same as you right yourself. But you can't keep yourself away from him as your lips are on his again. You flick your tongue at his, the taste of you on him.
“Wanna be inside you...” he whispers between kisses, his hot fingers idling their way up and down your sides. You groan at his words, nodding dreamily at him.
“God, yes please.” you sigh, feeling his lips trace kisses along your jaw.
“Well, since you asked so nicely.” He smiles against your skin, grabbing you by the hips and spinning you both.
He pushes you back against the wall, the bite of the wood pressing into your skin.
“I’ve never heard you so passive.” He laughs, thumb and finger coming up to gently grip your chin. You grin at him, a flutter in your stomach.
“Don’t get used to it Park Jimin.”
He tips his head back to laugh, a pinky flush hot on his cheeks. All you can do is watch in awe, soak him in as he glows in the moonlight. But then he looks back down at you with the stars in his eyes and you realise that, yes - this is what you had wanted all along.
You bring his lips crashing back down to yours, letting your fingers knot in his dark hair and you touch him, drink him in. The silken strands flit through your fingers, and you idly think to yourself about him running his own hands through it. You can see why he does it now.
His thumb strokes across your chin, gently pulling your face from his. You open your eyes to look at him, the flush on his face even brighter.
“Ready?”
“Give it your best shot.” you smile, peppering his jaw with kisses.
You’re stopped in your tracks when he hoists one of your legs over his hip, a teasing eyebrow raised at you. Not to be bested, you hook your leg over his ass and pull him against you. You feel his erection sit against your stomach, hard and leaking onto your skin.
He takes hold of himself and strokes across your wet slit, coating himself. A withered sigh escapes your lips as you watch his frown deepen. His face contorts as he concentrates, teasing himself just as much as he was you. You lean forward to let a trail of spit fall from your lips and drip down onto him, coating his cock even more. You don’t know what possessed you to do it again, but the way he stuttered in a gasp made it well worth it.
Then with an agonisingly slow pace, he begins to press himself just inside you. Your mind clears, all that you can see and feel is Jimin. You had waited long enough.
A wimpery sigh strangles from you, Jimin pressing against your walls until he is fully seated in you. He was so warm, stretching you in all the right places, as close to you as he could physically be.
You give him an encouraging squeeze with your leg. He takes the hint and slowly starts to pull out of you, hair flopping in front of his eyes as he looks down to watch himself pull out of you. The drag of him is good, too good, as you let a warble of noises fall out of your mouth. He doesn't seem to mind though, his focus transfixed elsewhere.
"Jimin..." you whisper, fingers digging into his skin as he slowly begins to reach a rhythm.
His tongue darts out to wet his lips, any mischievous glint in him gone. He was a man on a mission now, aiming to make you feel as good as possible. You could feel that in every stroke, the way he let you feel the length of him drag almost fully out before he pushes back inside you.
You start to roll your hips back at him, determined to not let him have all the fun. The tentative thrust of your hips had his head snap up to you, a fresh sheen of sweat glowing on his skin. You try to play it off coolly - another attempt to throw him off his game - but he squeezes your ass cheeks and holds himself deep in you, and your resolve melts away.
"Don't start something you can't finish." He smirks, and despite the need to fight him bubbling in you, you tip your head back and laugh.
"I guess that applies to both of us." You smile, pressing forward to kiss his lips softly. "Now fuck me Park Jimin, or we're really gonna have a fight on our hands."
He laughs against your lips, a gentle bubble that rises from his chest. But he takes on your words, pressing you hardest against the wall and hiking your leg higher.
He only goes slow for a few thrusts, getting a feel for you before he decides to ramp it up further. 'Typical Jimin' seems to float through your head, but you just grip him tighter, moving to meet his thrusts. You wanted to savour how full he made you feel for as long as possible.
His speed picks up, a hand moving to the underside of your raised legs and digs in deep. You let your own hands slide to his hair, keeping hold of the soft locks as he starts to hit harder inside you.
The sound of your skin making contact seems to echo loudly, and you barely spare a thought to people below working out what the noise was. You didn't care if they heard any more.
It was so hot inside the shirt together, and you could feel beads of sweat rolling down your chin and down your neck. This definitely wasn't helping the heat problem at all, but there was nothing on earth that would make you stop.  The edges of Jimin's hair were getting damper, and with every tug of his hair he let his head fall back into your touch. His throat was bared to you, salty beads dribbling down his hot skin.
You murmur a series of curses as you watched him, the thrum of him being underneath you almost unbelievable.
But then he pulls out a power move.
With fast thrusts he rolls his hips, his cock dragging almost perfectly across your soft spot inside, and all your senses seem to leave you. He repeatedly manages to hit your spot and you are sure he is planning to end you, it was the only way to explain it. Death by good dick, you could see it now.
"Fuck fuck fuck." you repeat like a mantra, The wet slaps that echoes just adding to the sensation.
"Wanna turn you." He mutters breathlessly, and a part of you is glad he's also feeling so affected.
You can't seem to vocalise an answer so you nod emphatically, unhitching your leg from its vice-like grip around him. He pulls out of you and you almost complain, but then his hands are on your hips.
He spins you and presses you against the wall, lifting your leg up and lining himself back inside you again. You're practically dripping for him, so it doesn't take much for him to push back inside. You push your ass back into his thrusts making his movements stutter, and with a playful squeeze he whines behind you.
A small smirk picks up on your lips as you roll your hips back at him, starting him out of his stupor and back to where you need him.
He pounds his hips into you and you have to steady yourself against the wall. The shirt bunches awkwardly, caught in your grip as the rough wood of the wall digs into your skin. Jimin presses his front against your back, the hotness of his skin pricking against your own.
An arm slides around your waist, guiding you, holding you steady as he ferociously fucks into you. His other arm settles across your chest, his fingers clenching across your collarbone. His mouth is by your ear, ragged breaths blowing across the taut collar of the shirt and hitting the warmth of your body.
“Y/N.” Jimin groans, the lilt in his voice uneven as his hips crash into yours.
Your entire body was tingling, the pleasure from your core and the bite of the wall against your bare skin a fight for your senses. You could feel perspiration form on your forehead making your hair stick to you awkwardly but it didn't matter.
Jimin filled you in every way. The hot touch from his fingertips on your waist and across your chest, the heat of his stomach at the base of your back, the soft moans that he sings by your ears.
"That's it, baby." He groans, his fingers curling onto your skin.
The hand that he has sat on your waist slinks across your stomach to reach between your legs, letting his fingers circle your throbbing clit. The pressure makes your eyes slam shut, letting your head fall back onto Jimin's shoulder behind you.
A small single laugh falls from his lips, but your inevitable clench off your walls around him cuts it short. He thrusts a little harder, rocking you against the wall. You have to brace yourself as he fills you repeatedly, his athletic hips working overtime.
The hand that has been pressed to your chest finds its way to your throat, holding just below your jaw. You let out a moan as you cover his hand with yours, pressing his fingers into your throat.
"Shit..." He gasps, his hips stuttering.
"I bet you've been wanting to strangle me for ages." You rush, voice cracking as he circles your clit a little harder.
"Only when I've thought about fucking you."
The moan that leaves you is barely human. In fact, you were barely human any more. you were turning to putty on his cock and under his fingers. It wasn't going to be long until you reached your peak.
His fingers press into your throat under your guidance, the delicious bite making your vision slowly pool. You gasp, shivers tingling down your body. He lets up his grip a little to let your blood flow one more, your body practically vibrating from stimulation.
"Close, Jimin..." you whine, rocking your ass back into him.
"Let loose for me, Y/N." He whispers, pressing his lips to the shell of your ear.
He lets out one last surge of energy, fucking into you and rubbing your clit with a renewed vigour. you throw yourself back at him without care, chasing the high he was leading to you.
With a few more pumps and circles on your clit, you come undone.
Your body pulses on him, clenching down hard as your orgasm crashes through you. Your fingernails dig into his hand and the wall, a strangled cry of his name bursting from you. You cum hard on him, helping him finally reach his peak too - you could tell by the way his hips stuttered, the way he throbbed inside you.
"Cum, Jimin." you whimper, rocking your throbbing core on him.
He doesn't hold back, pumping a few stuttery thrusts into you as he cums. He fills you, gasping against your ear as your walls milk him dry. He thrusts until he can’t anymore, slowing his hips as the fullness inside of you trickles out past his length.
Both of your movements slowly lull to a stop. Jimin holds your body close against him, ragged breath hot against your ear. Your skin is prickled from the heat but you nestle into him anyway.
He finally pulls his softening length from inside you, a small dribble of your combined juices trickle down causing shivers to cover your body.
Turning your head you smile at him, slightly out of breath and dewy. The sight of him is godly: Messy hair sticking to his damp forehead, a pretty red blush spreading across his cheeks, plushy lips parted and sucking in breaths. He smirks back, a lazy grin growing. He moves closer and kisses you, gentle brushes of his lips against yours.
His hand that sat on your throat moved to stroke your cheek, and you let your hands thread in his hair as your kiss trails off into small pecks.
The air is different around you. It’s still hot, swirling close and untempered. But there’s something else too - a coolness, an understanding. A person behind the battle lines. Someone you could lean on, and someone who could keep up with you in an argument.
You pull back from him and look at him, his eyes slightly starry and his lips swollen from all they had been doing. With a soft smile you rub your thumb across his cupid’s bow, wiping off the last of his lipgloss.
“We should probably go downstairs, right? We don’t want Namjoon sticking that long neck of his out here.” Jimin whispers, his eyes finally focusing on you.
You nod, but not before pressing one last soft kiss to his lips. Now you’ve started, there was nothing in the world that could stop you from peppering him.
“Yeah.” You sigh, voice cracking slightly.
But neither of you move, both unwilling to be the first to break apart.
“I don’t want to leave here either.” He smirks, but it’s softer. Not the smirk he throws out to purposely disarm you, though it still has that effect on you.
“Where do we go from here though?”
“I guess we’ll have to work that out. Maybe we can discuss it if you let me take you out tomorrow?” He asks, eyes darting over your face for an answer.
Excitement crackles through you, electricity rippling through your head to the end of your fingertips. A smile rises on your face, and you can see the relief flow through Jimin.
“I’d love to.”
“Perfect. Now, let’s go and rub in the guy’s faces how well we’re getting on.” He laughs, his eyes crinkling.
He kisses you one last time, hard and fast, satiated for now. With that you finally separate, Pulling your clothes back on before facing each other again.
The shirt felt big now. Too big.
You couldn’t get close enough to him. You both head for the door when you feel Jimin’s fingers interlock with yours. Your entire body flushes as you open the door to the bedroom, the wall of heat from the house hitting you both.
You’re both undeterred though, determined to find your friends. You pull him down the stairs, not caring at who stares at you both in the sickly shirt. The house felt hotter, a visible mist descending over the sea of people.
You find them where they last left you, congregating around the couch. When you stop in front of them with Jimin in tow, they all take it upon themselves to scrutinise you. It was quiet for a long while, and you could feel your resolve buckling. You didn’t want them to see through you, see what happened. But you wanted them to know that things would be okay. For all of you.
You can only imagine how you looked. Out of breath and flustered, both of your hair messy and fully damp. They couldn’t see your hands knotted together inside the shirt, but they didn’t need to. The demeanor change between you both must have been glaringly obvious.
“How’s it going?” Namjoon asks, glaring between you.
“Good, we, uh. We’re getting on. Yeah.” you smile awkwardly, completely lost on why you were being so suspicious. You had more guts than that!
“That was smooth.” Jimin grins. He was worlds away from you, utterly content and calm.
“Oh my god, shut up.” You roll your eyes, but give his hands an extra squeeze under the shirt.
“Where have you guys been? I haven’t seen you all night.” Jungkook asks with wide innocent eyes, and for a moment you feel like if he knew what had just been happening he would have been tainted.
“Oh, just… exploring.” Jimin smirks, and you fight the urge to pinch him. Who knew this would go to his head?
Well, you knew. You shouldn’t be surprised at all.
“About time.” Jin sighs, eyes still glued to his phone. The others laugh and throw in their agreements.
“What?” you and Jimin both yell, eyes scanning your ‘friends’ suspiciously.
“We knew you both liked each other. It got a bit weird towards the end there but we knew you’d work it out - or Namjoon would.” Hoseok shrugs, but his face is bright as he grins at you both.
“The shirt was a bit of a, well… drastic option.” Namjoon's smile was crooked, but his eyes were bright as he grinned at you.
“Oh… I don’t know what to say.” You murmur, heat creeping across your face again.
Jimin, however, throws his head back and laughs, slapping a hand on his chest for good measure. You stare up at him in shock, but you can’t help the smile that grows on your face. He was infectious. And your friends understood. You feel a tightness unfurl in your stomach.
“Well, it worked out. It worked out really well. I mean just so so good-”
“Jimin, shut up!”  You gasp, eyes wide as he winks at Namjoon.
Well, it’s good to know that the fire is still there between you. He was still impossibly infuriating and unendingly Jimin - but it was all for you. And it was only the start.
“Sorry baby.” He whispers as he lets go of your hand to wrap his arm around your waist pulling you into his side. You flush at the move in front of the others, but easily melt into his side. You had been waiting for this, after all.
“I’m glad.” smiles Namjoon, warm eyes flicking over you both in the stained and rumpled ugly item of clothing. “Maybe we should burn the shirt, though. Just for hygienic reasons.”
2K notes · View notes
bibbawrites · 3 years
Text
Can’t Keep My Hands Off You - Owen Joyner x Reader
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Request:  there’s not enough owen content on this site so i’m begging u to go write for him!! fluff, smut, angst whatever you want! i’ll take any crumb! 
Word Count: 1527 words
Summary: you had never been a terribly touchy feely person, until you fell in love with Owen and everything changed...
Warnings: swearing
A/N: couldn’t help myself i had to give you guys another fic tonight lol, i’m smashing these out!  not much else to say other than enjoy! 
Tag List:  @happinessinthedarkesttimes​ @molinaroberts​ @joynersgoatblog​ @courageous-she​ @littlemissaddict​ @gloomybrieyxb​ @itsyagorlemmalyn @jatpxmultifan​ @moneybagmgk​ @emeliii1​ @mybradforddream​ (the strike through means it wont let me tag you)
“Can you stop playing with my hair, I’m trying to concentrate.” You sighed, removing your hands from your boyfriend’s hair. You were sat in a hotel room, on a JATP cast trip to New York, Owen’s head in your lap, watching some musical on the TV. Owen had been chattering non stop about the musical being shown, so the two of you had turned down an offer from Kenny for a cast dinner and instead ordered Uber Eats to the hotel and had curled up to watch the musical.
“Sorry, I didn’t realise I was being annoying.” You responded after a moment of silence. Normally Owen loved having his hair played with when you were relaxing.
“I’m just trying to concentrate and I can’t do that with you braiding or whatever you were attempting to do.” Owen sighed, sitting up. “It wasn’t that you were being annoying baby.”
You nodded, ignoring the look that your boyfriend gave you. A look that made you feel like you were a child who had been reprimanded and Owen was your parent who was feeling slightly guilty for being harsh. But then again, he should feel guilty. You weren’t doing anything wrong.
You picked up your phone as Owen laid back against the headboard. You had a missed text from Savannah, asking you if you wanted to meet up, so you sent a quick text back to say maybe later, before turning your phone off and lying down.
“You tired?” Owen asked. You made a noise in response. You weren’t really, but all you wanted to do was sulk in peace. Owen rolled his eyes, knowing how you could be.
“Hey, I love you.” He said, reaching out and rubbing your back. After a moment of silence you sighed.
“I love you too O.”
And with that you shut your eyes, forcing yourself to fall asleep.
-
A few days later you encountered an issue again. You and Owen had been sitting in the lobby of the hotel along with Charlie, Jeremy and Carolynn. You and Owen were curled up on a chair, and you were absentmindedly playing with Owen’s hair with one hand and his fingers with the other.
You were completely tuned out of the conversation, and didn’t focus until Owen announced he was going to get a drink. The remaining four watched as he walked away, before Charlie spoke.
“You know you don’t have to touch him all the time Y/N, we’re not gonna try and steal him.” He teased, turning to face you. You rolled your eyes.
“You of all people can’t be commenting on being clingy, Gillespie. Besides, I don’t touch him that much.”
Jeremy and Charlie laughed.
“You sure about that?” Jeremy said between laughs. You didn’t respond.
“Come on Y/N, you’re basically attached to him at all times. If you’re not holding his hand, you’re touching his arm or playing with his hair. He’s not gonna run away if you let him go.”
“Oh hush, I think it’s cute how touchy the two of them are.” Carolynn defended.
You glanced across the room to where Owen was stood, waiting for his drink.
“Do I really touch him that much?” You asked, turning your attention back to the group. They nodded.
“He asked me to stop touching his hair the other night, said it was because he couldn’t concentrate. What if he thinks I touch him too much too?” You could feel your brain beginning to explode with thoughts. Were you being too clingy? Maybe Owen didn’t like being touched... Had you ever asked him that? Were you just invading Owen’s personal space constantly and making him uncomfortable and you hadn’t even asked permission?
You zoned back in when you heard your name.
“Huh?” You asked, noticing Owen had returned.
“I said, do you want to go to the pool now?” Owen repeated.
“Yeah sure.” You stood up, grabbing your water bottle. “You guys coming?” Jeremy, Carolynn and Charlie shook their heads.
“Looks like it’s just you and me then babe.” Owen smiled, reaching out to grab your hand. You pulled your hand away, ignoring the confusion and hurt that appeared on Owen’s face. Clearly you were too hands on, and you needed to take a step back. And if that meant no touching, then so be it.
-
The indoor pool was empty as you walked into the room, the smell of chlorine filling your nostrils.
“Where should we put our stuff? The place is packed.” Owen joked. You bit your lip, ignoring him. Owen frowned, muttering something under his breath.
You put your stuff down on the nearest chair, pulling your shirt and shorts off and jumping straight into the pool. You let yourself be submerged in the water, before kicking up and glancing at your boyfriend, who was still standing next to the chairs.
“You coming in or are you going to stand there all day?” You asked, treading water.
“Oh so you do know I exist, that’s good to know.” Owen spat, throwing his bag down. You frowned.
“Did I do something wrong?”  Owen rolled his eyes.
“The fact that you have to ask that clearly speaks for itself.” He spoke, sitting down on the edge of the pool.
“Okay so tell me then.” You said, trying not to get agitated. Fighting wouldn’t solve anything. Owen was silent. You sighed.
“Or don’t.” You muttered. There was a moment of quiet.
“Why didn’t you hold my hand?” Owen asked, his voice barely loud enough to hear. You paused.
“Because I’m too touchy.” You mumbled.
Owen looked up, frowning. “What?”
You climbed out of the pool and sat down next to your boyfriend.
“It’s because I’m too touchy. Everyone knows it, I can’t keep my hands off you. You said yourself the other night that you didn’t want me touching your hair, and then Charlie told me that I touch you too much and Jeremy and Care agreed, so I decided that I would back off.” You said. Owen rolled his eyes and grabbed your wet hand.
“Y/N, I love you but god you can be a huge fucking dumbass sometimes.” You looked up at him, frowning. Owen smiled.
“I love it when you touch me. When we’re out somewhere and you grab my hand. Or at a meal and you put your hand on my thigh. Or if we’re chilling and you play with my hair or my fingers. I love every minute of it. I didn’t mean to give you the wrong impression the other night, I just really wanted to concentrate, and when you’ve got your hands in my hair my brain goes to mush.” He lent closer to you. “All I can think of is how much I love you, and how much I want to do this.”
He pressed his lips to yours gently, before pulling away.
“So what I’m hearing is keep touching you?” You whispered softly. Owen nodded.
“Never stop.” You moved away, smiling.
“Can we go in the pool now?” You asked. Owen didn’t respond, he just stood up and pulled his shirt off, tossing it in the direction of the chair, and jumped into the pool. When he resurfaced he looked up at you.
“You coming in or are you going to sit there all day?” He grinned, repeating your words from 5 minutes earlier. You laughed, sliding into the pool and swimming over to Owen, who had moved into the shallower section of the pool where you could stand up with the water reaching your shoulders.
“I love you.” He whispered once you arrived.
“I love you too O.” You replied, leaning in and kissing Owen again. Your bodies pressed together under the warm water, hands roaming each other’s backs.
“God can you not have sex in the pool, other people have to use this thing.” A Canadian voice broke you apart. You looked up to see Charlie, Jeremy and Carolynn standing there, smirks on both of the boys faces.
“Okay, first of all fuck off.” Owen said, his tone sounding annoyed but the glint in his eye giving him away.
“And second of all, clearly you don’t know what sex is if you say this is sex. This was barely first base.” Charlie jumped into the pool with a splash, Jeremy not far behind, leaving Carolynn to curl up on one of the lounge chairs, not wanting to swim just yet.
“Keep telling yourself that bro, but there were tongues in mouths that they do not belong in.” Charlie joked back.
“Oh yeah?” Owen asked, before splashing water at Charlie. The Canadian gasped playfully.
“Fuck that’s it, you’ve started a war Joyner.”
“Bring it Gillespie, you don’t scare me.” The two began splashing again, Jeremy now getting involved in the fight.
You swam over to the shallow end, before climbing out and sitting on the lounger next to Carolynn.
“Do you think they’ll ever grow up?” You asked, as the three boys began wrestling, trying to shove each other under the water.
“No, I don’t.” Carolynn laughed. “But that’s why we love them, right?”
You nodded.
That was why you loved them
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ahtsumu · 4 years
Text
the mystery of love ; kuroo tetsurou
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pairing: kuroo tetsurou x f!reader
synopsis: kuroo tetsurou does not believe in soulmates. he believes in science, himself, and sometimes other people. but that doesn’t mean he can’t believe in love.
tag(s): sweet summer lovin’, friends to lovers, inspired by call my by your name, university student!kuroo tetsurou, lab intern!kuroo tetsurou, so much pining lol, fluff, angst, slow burn ; warning(s): profanity, mentions of alcohol ingestion (it’s legal bc they’re in italy!), suggestive themes ; wc: 4.8k
a/n: happy birthday tetsu!! i hope you guys like this. i really enjoyed writing it ♡
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Kuroo Tetsurou does not believe in soulmates. He believes in science, himself, and sometimes other people. At least, that’s what he tells you. Sometimes you treat this information as a source of hope; other times, you’re not sure what to make of it.
This, you realise with his shoulder pressed against yours and both your bodies sprawled across his wrinkled bed sheets, is one of those other times. You turn your face to look at his.
“What?” he asks, one side of his mouth curling up in a smile.
For a moment, you wonder what would happen if you just said it. You could blame the alcohol. Get away with it scot-free. While you mull the option over in the dead silence of his room, your brain suddenly registers the music still playing from the living room. The low bass reverberating through the walls. How close your lips are. The sound of his breaths.
“Earth to Y/N?”
And like that, the little what-if that rose in your mind falls back with its tail between its legs. You bite your lip, look around his room like the walls have a script printed on them. Unfortunately, they do not.
“I was just thinking about my shirt.” It’s not great, but it’s the best you can do while still feeling the vodka and orange juice burn in your stomach. And smelling it on yourself.
Kuroo’s laugh booms through the room and you can’t help but giggle along with him. “I said I was sorry!” he says, hazel eyes twinkling with mirth. He pauses and glances at his closet, then nods his head in its direction. “Take a hoodie. Your pick.”
A smile–– one you try to downplay but fail miserably to–– creeps up your face. “Really?”
“Yeah,” Kuroo replies. “You can also shower here if you want. It's the least I can do after spilling my drink all over you.”
When you emerge from Kuroo’s bathroom in one of his thinner hoodies, a lot soberer and drying your hair, he’s not on the bed anymore. Quietly, you step out of his room and look for him through the house. People are crashed everywhere–– on the sofa, over the kitchen counter, even propped up against walls. The floor is covered with plastic cups and mysterious pools of liquid. Wrinkling your nose, you try your best to step around the messes, looking in every corner in the house for the raven-haired boy.
You find him back in his room, actually. He’s back on his bed scrolling through his phone, the light illuminating his sharp features. When he hears you close the door behind you, he looks up, eyes immediately zeroing in on the black hoodie over your torso. The corner of his mouth twitches up.
“Where’d you go?” you both ask at the same time. He chuckles; you grin. Crawling back onto the bed, you tell him to go first.
“I went around to make sure nothing’s broken,” he explains. “Perks of being the only sober intern in the house, I guess.”
A beat passes.
This house is rented. You forgot about that. All his expenses are paid for by your mother’s lab. You forgot about that. He fits in your world so well, like maybe he’s always had a spot there, that you forgot that Kuroo Tetsurou is only here for the summer.
“Right.”
Kuroo raises a brow. “And you?”
“I went to look for you.”
He smiles and holds his hands out like a magician at the end of a trick. “Well, you found me.”
“Yeah,” you muse. “I guess I did.” Aren’t you lucky.
With that, something shifts in the air. A contemplative expression crosses Kuroo’s face. Maybe he’s realised how his words come out sometimes. Kuroo often says things that sound like they have more than one meaning and it used to throw you off, but now you just go with it. You’ve even picked up that habit yourself. “Do you ever wish that you’d met someone earlier? Maybe under different circumstances?” he asks.
Sighing, you fall back against his mattress and stare up at the ceiling. Telling the truth feels easier when you can’t see him. “Yeah. All the time.” A few seconds pass. “Do you think we would’ve been friends if we went to the same college?”
He also lies down. You’re both back in the same positions you were in an hour ago, but something’s changed. “No,” he admits. You’re not surprised–– that’s what you’d expected. “I’d be a junior and you’d be a freshman. We probably would’ve never met. And even if we had, I wouldn’t be caught dead hanging out with a… freshie.” He chuckles softly at the end. “And look at me now,” he adds softly, more to himself than you. You look over at his face. A contemplative smile rests on his lips.
That urge to just say it returns.
“Kuroo, I think––”
“You’re my favourite p–– oh, my bad. You first.”
And it goes away again.
“Um, uh,” you stutter, “how long do you have left here?”
Kuroo raises his brows. “On this planet? Hopefully a while, Y/N.” He sees your unamused expression and drops the front. “Three more weeks.”
Your eyes widen. Eight weeks have already passed. Blood rushes to your ears. Eight entire weeks have already passed, meaning that in three weeks, Kuroo Tetsurou will leave forever. And in four, you will, too. Except you’ll come back. You’ve done so every summer since you were born, probably will do until you die.
But this place will never be the same as it used to. Not after him.
“Y/N?” Once everything comes back into focus, you see the concern riddling his features. “Everything okay?”
“Hmm? Yeah.”
Say it.
“You didn’t have too much to drink, right?”
Say it.
“I just got buzzed. What about you?”
“The only drink I was planning on having all went to your shirt.”
Say it.
“Kuroo.”
“Yeah?”
Not yet.
“Let’s go on an adventure.”
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At two AM, everything is different. The streets feel different, the villas look different, and you–– you can’t put your finger on it but Kuroo Tetsurou has changed, too. He sits behind the wheel of your father’s white 1953 Cadillac with the convertible roof down, unruly hair blown back by the breeze, a euphoric grin stretched over his face. In the passenger’s seat, you sit with an equally large beam and your hands raised into the dark sky.
“Where to, Miss?” he shouts over the wind.
“The stars,” you shout back with a laugh. Kuroo’s cat-like eyes briefly flit over to your side profile, lips curving to form a smaller, more tender smile. But you miss that–– your gaze falls on him just a second after his return to the road.
“I heard you say Jack’s,” he says, smirking.
The 24/7 diner sticks out like a sore thumb in the row of sun-baked stucco and stone buildings with its bold neon lights and shiny exterior. During the day, it seems gaudy, way too American for a small town in northern Italy. But at night, this place feels like home. You’ve been stumbling into Jack’s completely shit-faced since you were sixteen. Of course, all those other times had been with the kids of your mother’s coworkers. All those other times, you could hardly remember what you even ordered when you woke up hours later.
But this time, you walk in with Kuroo Tetsurou at half-past-two in the morning, the chemicals running through your bloodstream epinephrine and dopamine, not ethanol; if you’re drunk then it’s on a feeling and your only poison is the boy next to you. You study his face and consider that thought. No, he’s not poison. He’s the antidote.
“Y/N!” the server exclaims, rushing over with two menus. “And Kuroo! My two favourite customers, but together this time!” Giovanni ushers you two to a booth by the window and takes your orders, purely for show, of course. He knows your orders by heart: the Lorenzo for Kuroo and the Quentin for you.
“With fries on both, please,” Kuroo adds, throwing you a wink. “Aren’t I a gentleman?”
“You only did that to have more for yourself,” you reply drily. Having him over at your house for dinner every night made picking up his idiosyncrasies so unbelievably easy. You know them like they’re your own. You know him like he’s your own.
Kuroo clutches his chest and pretends to be offended, then changes the conversation to what happened at the lab today, or rather, yesterday. That your mother and the other researchers are so close to finding a cure for the strain of virus that’s recently hit crickets in southern Italy.
“You should drop by again sometime,” he says. “Last time you came around was, what, two weeks ago?”
Your face breaks in a grin. “Are you saying you’ve missed me? Chemistry getting boring?” you tease, drawing a loud laugh from him.
“Sodium hydrogen, you little shit.” Your mother’s used this one on you before, but hearing it from him makes you giggle anyway.
Giovanni comes back with two plates, each loaded with fries. You both say your thanks and he retreats to the kitchen again, but not before wiggling his eyebrows at your reddening faces. Wordlessly, you grab your fork and knife and transfer at least half of your fries onto Kuroo’s plate. Kuroo stares at you with the slightest smile. That look sends your stomach into flips.
“What?” you question nonchalantly, cutting into your burger.
“Nothing,” he says, mirroring your actions. “Nothing at all.”
It’s hard to imagine that after spending almost every day together for eight weeks straight that there’s still more to learn about each other, but there is. You tell him more about your real home. Your best friend who called you at 3 AM last night because of timezones. Stories from every summer before this one, when you were a different person in the same place you are now.
He tells you more about Kenma, his best friend from high school. How they played on one of the best volleyball teams in Japan. Stories from training camp, literature class, the metro ride home after school–– you listen to every single one in rapt attention. There’s not enough time in the world for all the things you want to know about Kuroo Tetsurou, so you take what you can get. If only you’d known him before you’d known him.
“If we’d met earlier here, do you think we would’ve been friends?” you ask after paging Giovanni for the check.
“No,” he replies, picking up a few remaining fries with his fork instead of his fingers. The corners of your mouth turn up. That’s your thing. He considers the scenario seriously. “I think we met right when we should have.”
“What about the future?” you press, leaning into the conversation. “Let’s say we meet in two years here, instead of now. Would we be friends?”
Kuroo sets his fork down, eyes you steadily. “What’s this about?”
You blink. “What?”
“What’s with all these hypotheticals today?” Perhaps worried that he came off too harshly, Kuroo adds, “I thought I was the scientist.”
“I just… it feels like I’ve known you since forever.” This feels like it was meant to be, you don’t say. And I want to know you forever.
A sigh–– fond, but still a sigh–– blows through his lips. “Don’t tell me you believe in soulmates,” he says with a wicked grin.
“Are you calling me your soulmate?” The question, shamelessly genuine, painfully hopeful, leaves your mouth without you intending it to and you regret it instantly. Because Kuroo Tetsurou has told you many times that he does not believe in soulmates.
Is it so bad to dream, though?
You watch him carefully but he doesn’t say anything, just continues smiling wryly like you’d intended to tease him. Like he knows that you know better. But you don’t.
“Are you?” he suddenly replies. Sharp eyes hold yours, daring you to respond. Do you dare?
At that moment, Giovanni returns with the check. “Who’s paying?” he asks, unaware of the tense exchange that just occurred across the table. Inaudibly, you sigh in relief. Kuroo is about to say that it’s on him when he catches himself in the middle of his sentence, looks your way, then back to Giovanni. He says you’ll go Dutch. You nod in approval.
“So,” Kuroo drawls once you’ve both paid for your meals. “Where do we go from here?”
Good question.
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Kuroo Tetsurou has never been to an outdoor club period. And though he’s been clubbing, he has never once gone dancing in his lifetime. You tell him that’s about to change as he parks the car in a lot near the venue. Before him, all your summer nights were spent here.
“You’ve been here for two months and you haven’t been to an outdoor club yet?” you ask while unbuckling your seatbelt. That can’t be possible. If you’d been in his shoes… an attractive college student in a foreign country for the summer, you would have gone wild.
“Nope. I’ve been a little busy, y’know, spending my days in a lab, handling chemicals, studying viruses, washing lab equipment, writing up reports for your mother and her colleagues, working on my own research on the side… the usual.” He flashes you a bright, sarcastic smile.
“Poor baby,” you coo, ruffling his hair. Kuroo laughs while you continue messing with the dark locks. “Was your first full day here the only tourist-day you’ve had so far?” His weekends, you already know, are spent either lounging around cafés, pools, or the great outdoors with you or the interns. But you’d assumed he’d had time to do some exploring on his own.
Kuroo nods. “And my guide wasn’t even that great,” he mutters, shooting you a dark look. “She sped through every attraction and hardly spoke a word outside of the tour to me. I think she hated me.”
You giggle and open the door, letting the music from the outdoor speakers infiltrate the bubble inside your car. “Maybe she was just nervous!” you say as you get out. That’s a lie.
“About what?” Kuroo follows suit, the gravel crunching beneath his feet. “I was so friendly to you and you just brushed me off each time.” He pouts.
But you don’t reply. Instead, you just grab his hands and pull him towards the venue. As you step into the boundaries marked by fairy lights and rustic wooden fences, Kuroo stops in his tracks and tugs on your intertwined hands. You glance down before up, trying to memorise how his hand looks around yours in the few seconds you can steal.
“Y/N,” Kuroo says. The strobe lights paint his skin pink, blue, purple like it’s a canvas. “Tell me why you were nervous.” Grammatically, it’s a command. And yet it sounds like he’s begging.
“What’s it mean to you?” you ask, feeling your heartbeat speed up in your chest. So what if you just… said it? What would happen?
“Everything?” he replies with a cheeky smile. The odds that he seriously means that are slim. But… they’re there. You shake that possibility out of your mind. That’s just the hope talking.
“Depends how convincingly you say it.” You tug on his arm. “C’mon. Let’s dance.” But he doesn’t budge–– he just continues to stand by the entrance of the club with an expectant look on his face. People are starting to stare.
“Fine,” you say with an eye roll. “I’ll tell you." Kuroo smirks, something self-congratulatory ready to leave his mouth, but then you let go of his hand and dance backwards into the throng of moving bodies. “But first, you’re gonna have to dance with me!” 
You allow yourself to be swallowed by the lively music, the people, the moment. Seconds later you’re deep enough into the crowd that you lose sight of Kuroo. Something in you says that he’ll show up soon, though. For now, you let yourself breathe. Forget about the heaviness of what-if’s, the itch to confess, the dread of the aftermath. Feelings are a lot like gravity. Sometimes they keep you grounded, other times, they weigh you down. This is one of those other times.
You dance up to a friendly-looking group of teens your age. Three guys and two girls. You shout your name and follow up with how it’s nice to meet them, hoping one of them finds you nice enough to keep around. Dancing alone in a club is one of the worst things that can ever happen to someone. Luckily, one of the girls–– the one wearing a purple wig–– pulls you in for a hug, drunkenly shouting back, “Bianca!” Bianca pushes you into their circle next to one of the guys and, just like that, you two start moving to the beat, feeling it in your feet, shoulders, hips. At one point, you turn around and take a good look at his face. The guy’s cute enough, but he’s not Kuroo. Still, you say nothing as he moves closer to you and grabs your hand, lifting it up and motioning for you to twirl.
Suddenly, a pair of hands grip firmly onto your waist and pull you out of the circle. “Hey!” You look down, suddenly realising they’re Kuroo’s. A shiver runs down your spine. He spins you around to face him. His lips are set in a firm line, eyes completely devoid of humour, nostrils slightly flared.
“Hi,” you say quietly, testing the waters.
“Hi,” he replies curtly. His hands are still on your waist. Selfishly, you choose not to point that out. Instead, you try to defuse the situation with a light question. Playful tone.
“Where were you this whole time?”
“Looking for you.”
“Well… you found me.” You flash him a sheepish grin. A peace offering of some sort.
“I did.” He doesn’t take it.
“Lucky you.”
Irritation finally seeps through his features. “You just left me on the dance floor!” he snaps. “And then when I find you after searching the entire venue, you’re dancing up on some random guy!”
“It was in good fun!” you retort, wriggling out of his grip. “And I wasn’t dancing up on him.” You want to ask if he’s jealous so badly, but you take a good look at his face and decide against that.
“Fun?” he asks incredulously. “Worrying about losing you, worrying about myself getting lost, then having to worry about that guy after finding you isn’t very fucking fun to me, Y/N!” The words fly out of his mouth like daggers without pause. Once finished, he looks at you with a disappointed gaze, shaking his head lightly, chest rising and falling with each heavy breath.
“I’m sorry,” you say, looking down at your shoes. It doesn’t matter if you disagree with him–– a sort of shame drills itself so deeply into your conscience that all you can think about is making things right again. “I didn’t think my actions through.”
A second passes. You wonder what he’s thinking.
“Hey, look at me.” Kuroo lifts your chin up with an index finger. Your wide eyes meet his narrow ones. Just as a pink beam glides over his face, his gaze softens, falls down to your lips. And then you feel his thumb on your chin, barely grazing the skin of your bottom lip. His Adam’s apple bobs up and down. The revelry in the background fades to dull beats against your eardrums. Suddenly, you register that he smells of, as usual, blackcurrant and amber.
But now you also smell of blackcurrant and amber.
You’re wearing his clothes. You smell of him.
Kuroo’s eyes crawl back up to yours, wide like he’s just been caught in the middle of a crime. You blink expectantly, ignoring the furious way your heart pounds in your chest. Shallow breaths puff through your slightly parted mouth.
“I am.” It comes out barely a whisper. C’mon. Kiss me. Kiss me. Kiss me kiss me kiss me kiss me kiss me kiss me––
You gently touch the hand he has on your chin. Kuroo jolts back like he’s been burned. “I’ll, uhm, I’ll be in the car,” he stutters, looking away from your face. He pushes through the sea of people, leaving you all alone on the dance floor, body doused in blue light, fingers touching the area his thumb had been as if preserving its print.
Kuroo hardly notices you slip into the passenger’s seat minutes later. He’s got his forearms hanging over the steering wheel and gaze fixed ahead into the darkness, mind probably running off to a place he wishes his body was, too.
As soon as you’ve buckled yourself in, Kuroo starts the car.
The entire drive home is silent.
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Once Kuroo pulls into your courtyard and parks, he turns off the engine, unbuckles his seatbelt, and steps out of the car. Wordlessly, you follow his actions and meet him by the stairs to your door.
“Hi,” you say quietly. He doesn’t look at you.
“Hey.”
The two of you stand outside your front door in silence as you both consider what to say next. This can’t be the way it ends.
“I shouldn’t have… done that,” Kuroo says first.
“Done what?” You choose to play dumb. Call it selfish, but you want to hear him say it. Maybe then it’ll feel as real as it had been. Kuroo sighs and leans his shoulder against the stone wall, crossing his arms over his chest. There’s no way he can dance around what happened. Perhaps the past two months can be summed up as the development of a strong friendship with skilled doublespeak and metaphors and just enough artistic licence, but this can’t. And Kuroo knows that. He can’t feed you an alternative truth like he’s done so many times before. What’s more, he can’t lie to himself anymore. So maybe it’s better just to not speak at all.
Your eyes burn holes into the side of his face. Fine. You’ll concede first. “I was never nervous.”
Kuroo blinks, turns his head around to look at you. “What?”
“I was never nervous. I was playing it cool because I didn’t want to risk befriending you and getting attached.” I’m still playing it cool, you don’t say. And I’m already attached. “Guess I just came off as a bitch instead.” You laugh. “But can you blame me? You were this cute, older guy. Smart, too, since you were interning with my mom. You were my dream guy.”
An amused breath blows out of his nose. “Were?” he questions, grinning, only remembering the fragility of your platonic relationship a second later. “Um––”
“Are.” It slips out of your mouth without you realising. Fuck. Kuroo stills. It’s too late to take back your words now, so you might as well just keep going. “You still are my dream guy.”
Seconds pass and neither of you says anything. Sweat gathers in the palms of your hands. You start to feel your heartbeat through your neck. The buzz of the cicadas grows louder. Oppressive. Behind Kuroo, the sky is starting to turn pale blue and pink in the horizon. That means it’s almost sunrise. The night is almost over, and, hopefully, so is this awful conversation.
“And… you don’t feel the same.” Funnily, you feel like you’re lying. You’re telling Kuroo how he feels and you think you’re lying. Does that make sense? None of this night even feels real. God, you hope this has all just been a dream. Mustering a soft smile, you say, “That’s okay. Thank you for the party. And the adventure.” It was fun while it lasted. You feel the house key in your pocket and turn to unlock the door. “I hope this doesn’t change anything between us, Kuroo. Can we still be friends?” The words leave your mouth feeling like barbed wire. You know damn well you can’t still be friends.
And suddenly, you feel his calloused hands around your cheeks. Suddenly, his hot breath fans over your face.
“Can I kiss you?” he murmurs.
Your eyes close instantly. “Yes, please.”
And suddenly, his soft lips are on yours.
Kuroo breaks the kiss seconds later. “Fuck,” he whispers, resting his forehead against yours, touching the tips of your noses together. “Y/N, I don’t want to be friends. Fuck.” A dry chuckle leaves his mouth. He pauses to collect his thoughts but decides that that can wait. Instead, he presses another kiss to your lips so fervently that he backs you up against the wall with no space between your bodies. You wonder if he can feel your heartbeat like this, chest to chest. Kuroo’s hands travel down your waist and rest on your hips. His tongue runs across your tongue, your teeth, the insides of your mouth. You gently suck on it, drawing a satisfied moan from him. When the kiss ends, you see that his lips are red and cheeks are swollen. A warm feeling spreads through your chest. “I thought I could be happy just being friends with you but I can’t. I want you so bad it hurts. Not to mention, when I saw you in my hoodie?” His fingers pinch the material. “I thought God was testing me or some shit.”
“Sure didn’t feel like you wanted me that way,” you retort, still breathless.
“In my defence,” Kuroo says, thumbs tracing your cheekbones, “I was very scared.”
“Of what?”
It looks like he’s about to tell you, but he changes his mind and doesn’t answer. He grabs your hand and pulls you back to the car with a cheeky grin. “I’ll tell you only if you tell me where we can watch the sunrise.”
Kuroo holds your hand, stroking your thumb the entire drive there.
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After a short hike, you plop down on the grassy hillside, supporting your body with outstretched arms in the back. Kuroo sits down beside you with one of his hands covering yours, fingers intertwined like a honeysuckle vine around a hazel tree. You tell him that you grew up running along this hill with your parents. It used to be your playground. Maybe, you think, it’s time to make new memories here.
“Beautiful,” Kuroo breathes, a wonderstruck look in his eyes. The sun’s just risen halfway above the pink and blue horizon, the saturated orange casting the entire city below gold. It’s not just the city, though. He’s also gold. He’s just as beautiful. You watch him with a soft smile on your lips, noting how his wide eyes and slack jaw return to normal as he stares off into the distance. After resting your head on his shoulder, you fix your eyes on the sunrise ahead. You wonder what he’s thinking so quietly about.
“Penny for your thoughts?” you finally ask once the sun has finished revealing itself.
Kuroo blinks, returning to reality, but continues to stare straight ahead. “I was just thinking about… soulmates.”
You lift your head off his shoulder. “Don’t tell me you believe in soulmates now,” you tease.
“Hmm.” He turns to look at you, the sun turning his hazel eyes the colour of honey. That same wry smirk from Jack’s returns to his face.
“You wanna know why I was so scared?”
“Pray tell.”
“Because I’ve never felt this way towards anyone.”
“That’s bullshit.”
“No,” Kuroo laughs, laying his head down in your lap, looking up into your eyes. “I’m serious. I used to purposely stay away from girls in high school. Same in college. Same all the way until you somehow wormed your way into my life. That’s why we wouldn’t have been friends.” You cock your head to the side.
“Why?” you ask, running your fingers through his hair.
Kuroo’s eyelids flutter shut. He inhales deeply before talking. “My parents are divorced. The years before the divorce were… very ugly.” 
(He spares you the details of the midnight arguments, the smashed plates, the holes in the walls. He spares you the details of how he only ever knew how to fall asleep with his head sandwiched between two pillows, how he hasn’t seen his sister in a decade, how he’ll curse and snap but never yell because he always feels like a child again around the noise. That’s for another time, if you’ll have any.) 
“I still remember all the fighting and yelling. For the longest time, that’s all I knew about marriage and relationships.”
“Did you think all relationships were like that? Fighting and yelling?” you ask.
“For a while, yeah. I’m still a little scared of that, to be honest. Ending up in a relationship where all you do is fight.” Kuroo sighs. “But that’s not the only thing. I thought I wouldn’t know how to love someone, growing up like that.” At that, your fingers pause in his hair.
“Wait,” you say, furrowing your brows. A wave of immense sadness (not for yourself, for him) washes over you. “You think you wouldn’t know how to love someone else?”
“Thought.” Kuroo cracks open his eyes and smiles up at you. “I’m in the process of changing my mind.”
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