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#ok originally i had the last 2 gifs as one
apute11as · 6 months
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Everything happens for a reason ~ Alexia putellas x reader
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Author note: The poll was close but I’ve decided to do it as parts as it’s easier for me to get regular smaller posts out with my work and things but I hope you enjoy❤️
⚠️ suggestive themes, slight smut, pregnancy, failed ivf mentions
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The sun light pierced your blinds, bathing your room in a gentle yellow glow. As your eyes fluttered open, you were met with the beautiful site of your wife’s naked, tattooed back asleep next to you. You knew she’d be tired, as were you after your late night activities that went on into the early hours of the morning, needing to make the most of your time together before a gruelling 2 months likely without seeing each other at all.
You admired the woman next to you, and the way that the light made her tanned skin look ethereal. Tucking the loose strands of hair behind her ears, you pressed a light kiss to her cheek but as you went to bend back up, you felt an unusual lurch in your stomach. Rising immediately, you went to empty the contents of your stomach into the toilet bowl. After gagging for a couple of seconds, you felt a warm hand on your shoulder, one that surely belonged to your girlfriend.
“¿estas bien mi amor?” she questioned with a soft look of concern present on her features.
“Si carino estoy bien I think it’s just nerves because of how soon the World Cup is and the pressure that I’m going to be under.” you replied patting her hand that rested on your shoulder.
“Ok if you’re sure let’s get some water” she exclaimed, offering her hand and using her other to lift you by the hips.
As you entered the kitchen, she quickly made you water and a warm cup of coffee which seemed to work pretty well to soothe your aching stomach, a sure sign that this wasn’t a bug but simply nerves.
——
A couple of hours passed and you were feeling almost completely better which definitely helped in reducing your girlfriend’s anxiety. She had helped you with all the finishing touches to packing your bag so that you were now completely ready to go to the airport. Despite the original plan being for you to get a taxi to the airport, after this morning Alexia insisted she drive you in her car, claiming that she could easily divert her taxi to take her to her camp from the airport. After a large discussion, filled with many kisses, you finally agreed.
You planned to leave at 8am but it was currently 7:30 so with half an hour to spare the two of you were cuddled up on the sofa, with Nala settled asleep across both of your laps.
“I’m going to miss you so much amor” alexia whispered into your neck, tightening her grip around you.
“I’ll miss you too Ale, but I’ll see you in the final, when we both get there” you replied, kissing her cheek.
“Hmm” she hummed into you, her hands creeping up your jumper and onto the bare skin beneath it.
“what do you think you’re doing love” you giggled as her cold hands made contact with your exposed midsection.
“Mmm gonna miss you so much” she mumbled as she pulled you into her further, startling poor Nala who preceded to fall into the rug, showing her annoyance with a small bark. At this point, you were now straddling her hips, and she was leaving open mouth kisses on your neck on the marks she’d left last night. She then carefully slotted her thigh in between your legs, trying to make contact though the layers of fabric between her legs and your pussy.
“Ale I need to get ready to go soon or else I’ll miss my check in.” You reminded her but she seemed unfazed as her hand reached your breasts and began to massage them. You moaned as she reached your nipples, allowing her to keep going despite the more logical side to you saying no. However, you draw the line when her hands reach down into your sweatpants to touch your pussy. “Alexia putellas segura you are like a teenage boy are you always horny?” you questioned, whilst simultaneously trying to escape her newfound grip on your hips.
“No I just love you so much bebita and I’m going to miss you and these” she said groping your breasts again.
“Ale stop it I mean it we have to go” you say sternly, finally managing to escape her grasp.
“Fine” she huffed like a child being scolded by their parent. She made a move to stand up but not before giving your ass a smack as she shuffled past you.
“You little-“ you remarked as you began to chase her, Nala joining in with her mami’s playing.
After a painful 15 minutes of Alexia touching you in anyway she can, you finally made it to the car with all of your stuff and Alexia of course opting to carry as much of your stuff as humanly possible, the princess treatment ever present as always. And of course once you had begun your journey, Alexia had placed her hand on your thigh for the entire 30 minutes.
Once you finally reached your destination of the airport, Alexia parked up her Cupra and promptly strolled around the other side of the car to open the door and offer her hand to you so you could get out. Hand in hand, you both ventured to the car trunk to collect your bags, and of course Alexia carried as much as possible; ever the gentlewoman.
So you walked over to the airport hand in hand. After unloading your stuff into the baggage section, it was time to say goodbye to your girlfriend for the next two months. What you hadn’t expected was for the tears to form in your eyes so easily.
“Amor are you crying” alexia asked, her eyes slightly glassy too.
“Yes sorry my love” you responded, letting the tears fall without restraint now as she held you tight in her arms, just had she had after every failed IVF attempt.
“Don’t be sorry I’m just shocked you don’t normally get this emotional I’ll see you soon I promise cariño” she stated with a pitiful smile.
“I think I’m just having one of those days my love I’m really going to miss you” you replied
“And I you guapa” she smiled.
With one last hug, the two of you parted ways and you headed to security and baggage check, boarding pass in hand and unsettling feeling in your stomach.
Once you boarded the plane, you quickly found your seat, it was next to a woman and a small child. Placing your stuff in the overhead storage, you sat down by the window staring into abyss. Around 20 minutes into the flight, the unease in your stomach returned and you suddenly felt bile begin to rise up in your throat. Noticing your discomfort, the woman next to you spoke up.
“are you alright love” she questioned with a maternal glint in her eyes.
“Oh- yes sorry just feeling a bit ill” you replied hesitantly.
“would you like travel sickness tablets?” She asked with a smile.
“Oh no thank you I don’t usually get travel sick” you assured her.
“Well haha I thought the same until I was pregnant with this one here” she said pointing at the toddler asleep next to her.
“I was great with travelling but then I just started to feel sick every time I entered a moving vehicle” she chuckled.
“Oh wow I’m sure I’m not pregnant though” you offered weakly.
“Probably but you never know” she rebounded.
“Actually I took a test the other week we were trying for a while, but after the last negative we’ve decided to give it a break” you replied with a hint of sadness.
“Ah I see but those box tests aren’t always correct, I’m sorry if I’m overstepping here but given what you’ve told me maybe it’s worth taking another” she professed.
“Maybe” you said weakly, offering a small smile.
Throughout the journey your thoughts spiralled, what if you were pregnant and the test had been wrong? How would you explain this to your coaches, to Alexia? The sickness persisted, you excused yourself to the bathroom once or twice, but nothing but dry heaving occurred. The likely reality of your predicament began to settle in and what felt like an extensive flight, despite the fact it was only 2 hours, the plane touched town in rainy England and as you stepped out of the plane, all that you felt was dread.
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st4rymoon · 11 months
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 𝘉𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘮𝘦 𝘱𝘵. 2
。⋆⸜ ˖ ࣪◦ Miguel x afab Reader
Warnings - Angst, fluff, kissing, arguing, language
a/n: this will be the last part to this part but I will be continuing other stories connected to this plot! So no worries it won’t end, It’ll just not continue in this order! Thank you for all the support on my previous story btw<3 hope you enjoy!
Continuation to this series (Pt.3) → Say It
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You don’t know how long you were in Miguel’s arms. He didn’t bother moving you after he cleaned the both of you up. His fingers ran down your arm as he watched your chest rise with every breath.
“As much as I’d love to stay like this, I think someone will come knocking soon” Miguel chuckled. “I know” you sighed as you got up from his lap.
You don’t remember how or when Miguel put on your panties and bra, and both of you put on your suits while his eyes never left you as you struggled to put on your suit.
“Let me help” he hummed as he repeated the actions he did a few minutes ago. His fingers curled the hem of your suit and pressed the button on your suit, causing it to tighten around your body.
“Hermosa” his voice vibrated through you as he planted a kiss on your neck. “Miguel…” you moaned as his hands snaked onto your hips. [t: beautiful]
“MIGUEL I FOUND SOMETHING” You heard a boy's voice boom from the other side of the door followed him his loud knocks.
“For fuck sake this kid drives me crazy” Miguel groans while running a hand through his hair. “WHAT MILES!” Miguel yelled as you rummaged to put his desk back together.
You walked towards the door as Miguel was about to open it “Don’t leave ok?” You swear you could hear a hint of plead in his voice. “Can’t make any promises” you coo as you kiss him on the cheek.
You can see him stiffen at your actions. You chuckle as he opened the door but before you walked off he pulled you into a kiss. “Migue- oh” Miles gasped as he saw the man he believed had no emotions kiss someone with a smile on his face.
“A new spider?! Who are you, I’m Miles! You know Miguel?” The boy blabbered on seeming to forget what he originally went there to say.
“Miles leave her alone what do you want”
“Trust me that’s not important anymore. GWEN GWEN THERES A NEW SPIDER!” The young boy yelled as he ran up to you.
“You know miles? It’s miles right?” You ask “Yep it is!” He nods enthusiastically “Gwen is the one that found me so I’m pretty sure you don’t have to yell for her” you chuckle.
“No way really? I swear she never tells me anything” he pouted. You could hear Miguel walking behind you but he didn’t bother interrupting your conversation.
He couldn’t help but smile when he saw you talking to Miles, he wondered if you were good with kids. He frowned at the thought of it. He’s always wanted another child but the thought of having another made his mind go places he didn’t like remembering.
He felt like having another child would be shameful. He felt like he would be forgetting the past life he had if he even thought about having another.
He snapped out of his thoughts quickly. He barely met you why was he acting like this would go anywhere?
As miles was talking about how surprised he was Miguel hasn’t yelled at him yet, you swore you could hear a baby.
“What is that?” You perked up “What’s what?” Miles questioned. You stopped in your tracks allowing Miguel to catch up. “That noise? It sounds like a baby?”
“Ahh that’s May, peter has been looking for her all day” Miguel smiled. You followed the noise, the distant coos and banging got louder as you walked into a room.
You were in a library now, your eyes shooting up to the left and seeing a ginger-headed baby crawling on the wall. “PETER MAY IS IN HERE!” Miles yelled as he ran out of the room to find Peter.
“So Peter is her dad right?” You asked as you turned to look at Miguel and all he did was nod.
“Hey, May? Come down! Your dad has been looking for you!” You said in a soft tone. May crawled down the side of the bookcases and fell into your hands. You laughed as she crawled her way onto your head.
“Aren’t you a cutie!” You smiled as her ocean blue eyes looked at you with a smile on her face from over your head. She poked at your cheeks, now on your shoulder as she played with your hair.
“She’s adorable” You smiled at Miguel as he watched you with his arms crossed. He smiled weakly at you, you could tell he was forcing the smile. “You ok?” You question as you walked up to him with May still poking at you.
His eyes widened at your question. He’s never met anyone who knew how he was feeling with just one look at him. Both times he was keeping his emotions to himself you managed to always ask if he was ok.
It was relieving to hear someone ask him how he was doing. “Yeah, yeah why wouldn’t I” he smiled. You nodded, not wanting to press him further as you watched him sink into his thoughts.
“FINALLY! MAY! New spider chick I hope you stay here for a while because those ears of yours will grant me some peace of mind” Peter groaned as he picked up May from your shoulders.
“You rascal how did you manage to end up here”
Peter turned to Miguel, his eyes traveling up to look him in the eyes with a hint of confusion. “What’s up with you?”
“Nothing gosh!” Miguel slightly yelled as he felt the number of questions was making him anxious. He didn’t mind when he heard you ask him, but hearing it from Peter just made his blood boil for some reason.
You ran up to Miguel’s side as he was walking away “You told me not to leave and now your leaving? Such a douche move” you fake cried.
He looked down at your trying to hide his smile “Oh shut it I’m not leaving you, I’m just leaving the vicinity” he chuckled as he wrapped an arm around you.
You didn’t hesitate to lean into him, laughing along with him as you hugged onto his side.
“What the fuck?” You heard Gwen gasp. Miguel noticed everyone staring, his arm moving away from you as he cleared his throat. You didn’t mind his actions, you could tell Miguel wasn’t used to showing any emotion other than rage or annoyance around anyone.
You backed away from him slightly hoping to let him loosen up since he was so tense. “I’m not sure how long she’ll be staying, but she is always welcome” Miguel announced.
“So what do you know about the multiverse?” You heard a spider with spikes on its suit mutter “I explained everything to Miguel, I know very little” You nodded.
“You single?” You heard another ask. You laughed at their comment “Obviously I am” you nodded. You looked over at Miguel from the corner of your eye.
“Miguel, could I talk to you for a moment?” You blurted out suddenly. The others looked at you with curiosity “You grew a liking to that grumpy man already? That’s the first” Miles joked.
“Well this grumpy man isn’t so bad” you tease as you nudge Miguel with your shoulder. You pull Miguel to the side, hiding behind a wall enough for no one to hear your conversation.
“As much as I want to stay I have to go back for a little Miguel” you sigh “I didn’t bring my phone and who knows what’s going on over there, I know Strange will yell at me for being gone so long. You know time mostly likely works differently here ” you chuckle.
You see Miguel’s face sadden at your words “Wh- I- of course don’t worry” he replied. “I’ll come back I promise” you nod.
“Why are you promising? It isn’t like we’re anything to each other” he shrugged. He could see your face drain from the happiness it once had. He felt like shit once he saw you nod.
“Um… you’re right. I’m sorry I shouldn’t have assumed anything” You nod. “Assume? What did you assume huh? Something would happen more than just sex?” His voice loudened slightly.
You felt your face burn from embarrassment. Why was he acting like such an ass suddenly?
“Well I assumed it since you did say you wanted to get to know me but obviously I was just some thing to fuck to you which is fine. I just should’ve known someone like you doesn’t mean what they say” you seethed.
Miguel could feel his heart pumping in his chest. He was processing your words, he thought you wouldn’t want to get to know him. Honestly, he wished you had forgotten about it just in case you’d never want anything between the both of you to save himself the embarrassment.
“It’s not like that” Miguel shook his head. “Oh sure it isn’t. You just fucking lectured me about how this isn’t anything more than sex” you hissed as you pointed a finger at his chest.
Miguel wasn’t good with words, he hated that about himself. He did the thing he knew would speak louder than his words. He pulled you onto his chest, kissing you passionately as he cupped your face “I’m sorry. I really am muñeca, I'm not good with words” he sighed. [t: doll]
He pulled away from you before pressing one last kiss onto your lips. “Well I’d appreciate it if you talked to me about it and not make me feel like shit” you sighed. “I will, I promise” he reassured.
“Why don’t you come with me? To see my universe for a bit? I mean I just need to check up on everything and you could talk to strange although I’m not sure he’ll say much” you smiled. You were excited at the idea, Miguel wanted to meet Dr. Strange and you’d both be able to spend time together.
You just had to prepare yourself for the lecture Strange would give. “Yeah I’d love you” Miguel lit up at your invitation “I’d just have to make sure someone can keep charge here but yeah” he nodded.
He pulled you into a kiss again, humming into you as his hand snaked onto the nape of your neck “What’ll strange think knowing I came in you huh? What type of incursion will that do?” Miguel chuckled.
“Well, who said I was pregnant? Maybe the birth control I was on a few months ago is lingering” you chuckled. “Mmmh, maybe it will maybe it won’t” he hummed onto your lips. “OH MY GOD!” Gwen yelled.
You looked behind Miguel and saw a few of the spiders looking at the both of you kissing. “Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you about that Gwen” Miles shrugged.
“Just like I thought!” Peter clapped his hands “knew there was something off with you Miguel. Finally, you’ll have someone else to annoy” Peter added.
“He isn’t annoying with me” you smiled. Miguel didn’t turn around, he just had an annoyed look on his face knowing the moment between the two of you was ruined.
“You little shits always ruin everything” Miguel groaned. “I was about to ask you out you know” Miguel whispered.
“Well it would’ve been a yes either way” you returned in a whisper.
“Well if we pretend that never happened, would you like to be so lucky and date” he cooed. You laughed at his condescending words “I do acknowledge how lucky you’ll be dating ME so yes. I would love to” You smiled as you wrapped your arms around his shoulders.
He couldn’t control the smile he had on his face, his hand tangled into your hair, allowing him to pull you into a kiss. “I genuinely never expected you to ever see you smile or even date anyone” Miles said.
The both of you realized they were watching “Again, always ruining the moment” Miguel groans in annoyance.
Tag list: @tati-the-fangirl @taleiak @prodyng @zelzablues
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cup1dt3a · 1 year
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Hi, hope this is ok to request, if not feel free to ignore it. Can I request a continuation of the story you recently wrote about reader and their sister watching welcome home and them talking with Wally?. I would love to see Wally and Reader starting to bond and if you’re comfortable writing it, the reader falling in love with Wally too. Thanks so much.
Your wish is my command! Also you’re too kind and your request is so wholesome I like it. Way more fluffy than my original idea but I like it better since my last post was kind of dark! Anyways hope you all enjoy!
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“ Wally! Look it’s us! There’s me, big ___, and you!” Your sister happily exclaimed to the puppet wanting to show off their stick figure drawing.
“ Oh that’s very nice little one have you shown ___ yet?” He asked through the screen with a small tilt to his head as they shook theirs.
“ No it’s a surprise so don’t tell them!” They said putting a finger to their lips as a way to say it’s a secret.
It’s been a month since your “conversation” with Wally and true to his word he watched over her like a hawk. Taking care of them with their limited reach throughout the screen. You were just happy he kept his word but you still had an odd feeling about him. Throughout the passing month as you supervised their interactions each one was wholesome and sweeter than the last. Almost too cute in your opinion. Your sister tried to hug the Tv once and accidentally brought it down with her thinking it would be a good idea to pick it up. After having the biggest scare of both your lives her and Wally were ok. Thankfully the Tv didn’t shatter and the weight didn’t crush her. But she had sobbed her eyes out from the scare of the Tv coming down onto her.
Both you and Wally comforted her after the scare and for once she had calmed down very quickly. Completely fine just a little scratch on her cheek. She called it her battle scar it made her happy so whatever. But you were just amazed at how fast she calmed down. Still flabbergasted as you made your way back from work. You set out enough food to last her a few hours and she knew to get food she wanted from the pantry or fridge so she would be ok. But with Wally’s help you had a free babysitter so it was a win win.
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You turned the key to your apartment yawning as you made your entrance. Right as your younger sibling excitedly hugged you in the darkness of your home startling you for a second.
“ Geez, you almost scared me!” You chuckled hugging them back before putting your bag down.
“ I made you something!” They said before could ask turning on a light switch to show the colorful stick figures.
They explained it was all of you. Each drawn out as stick figures she was at the side of you holding your left hand while a very tall Wally held your right.
“ Hmm…very lovely buuut.” You said as they looked up at you in confusion before snickering adding “ I think Wally would be a lot shorter.”
You saw the puppet huff out in the corner of your eye making you giggle. Your sister also huffed at you upset for making Wally upset. The puppet blushed upon seeing your gorgeous glow as you giggled out ever so graciously. If only you knew what you did to him with that beautiful smile.
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You plopped down onto your comfy bed sighing in delight to finally be off your feet. You had just put your sister to bed and they compliantly agreed to go to bed right away if they got pancakes. Pancakes also had been sounding super good to you so why not? Besides you were too tired to argue with anything at the moment. You had worked 2 extra hours and went through three rush hours. They were all so much fun. Your feet were aching and your eyes formed bags getting heavier as you kept your irises open.
As you turned over to face your Tv about to put a horror movie or something on Wally all the sudden appeared with his big smiling face.
“ Tiring day huh my sweet dreamer?” He said with a tilt to his head as you nodded.
“ Poor thing always working so hard. You’re wilting more than a flower in the winter.” He cooed at you as you slowly dazed off.
“ Good night my sweet.” He told you.
“ Night love you.” You replied only half awake to have any conception of what you said as you snuggled your pillow closer to you
He froze. He couldn’t believe it. You just said that. You said you love him. Oh how the words just replayed in his head as if they were his favorite lyrics of a song. Repeatedly echoing through this head as he watched you ever so peacefully sleep going off into your own fantasies. He wondered if you ever fantasized about him. What would you think or see him as in your dreams. Oh he hoped they were as good as his. He yearned everyday for the feeling of your flesh on top of his. Oh how would you smell? How would you feel? What would you do if you were given the opportunity to have him in person? Oh he hoped you’d embrace him as tight as he hoped to. You’re such a delightful little sweet of his. His own forbidden fruit that was all his to savior and enjoy.
As you dreamed away in your fantasy land the puppet had longingly gazed at you the whole night admiring every bit of you he could take in. Even with his limited access to you you never failed to grace him with your generous looks. Oh great gods how you reduced him into nothing other than a mushy mess of putty for you. Just for you. After all everything he did was for you.
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You woke up earlier than usual but still felt so well rested. Stretching out you noticed the the screen was blank for once. It was odd usually Wally was there to greet you. You oddly wanted him to greet you. Your morning just felt off if he wasn’t there to greet you with his big dark eyes and wide smile on your Tv screen. You got up to go check if he was busy with your little sister. You checked their room just to be sure they were awake and to your surprise they were sleeping. You looked at the time seeing it was only 6 in the morning. No wonder they’re still knocked out. You swiped your hair back pushing your bangs and loose strands of hair to go and find out where Wally was. You yawned again as you went to the living room still not seeing your little friend.
“ Wally?” You called out hearing no reply.
“ Wally you there?” You asked out again.
You didn’t know why but you felt your heart stop knowing he wasn’t here. You couldn’t help but no notice ho empty you were starting to feel without him as you continued on with your day. You made pancakes at 8:15am he still wasn’t there. You finished getting ready for your shift at 9 o’clock. You took your sister to work with you not sure if he’d even come back. It was a rainy day out so you made sure they brought their raincoat and umbrella. Your boss was fine with you bringing her even without asking before hand. He had expressed this multiple times, so you hadn’t bothered to ask this time.
It was again a very busy day at work. Your sister this time had to play with herself since Charley wasn’t there today due to him having to go on some diet because of stomach inflammation. Along with them not having any food suitable for his diet here. And yes, your sister had asked your boss all about that while you insisted she didn’t and left them alone. He once again said he didn’t mind but you felt so bad! As you dragged her to an area where she wouldn’t bother any customers you finally got back to your shift, after getting her some food. Sure you wasted your own lunch break but she needed to eat either way. She was still a growing girl she needed protein even as much as she protested against broccoli she ate it with a glare at you.
As you went back to your shift you couldn’t help but have your mind wonder to where Wally possibly could have went. You sighed out pulling back a strand of hair as you wiped down the messy table. Some people seriously can’t even try and have some decency as to not make a huge mess. You wondered if they poured their food all over the table at this point.
You chuckled at a thought lingering where you accidentally poured soup into your lap. Wally had made it a joke where-
“ Hey! Hello anyone home?” Your coworker clapped their hands in front of you getting your attention.
“ What is it?” You asked as they crossed their arms. “ Wha- What’s been up with you? Smiling and gazing off into the distance…Do you like some one?” They asked.
“ No!” You said “ Lies! Plus you suck at lying.” They exclaimed teasing you.
This is how your day continued being constantly teased by your co-worker and checking up on your little sister. Before you knew it was the end of your shift. Just as you were about to leave your boss pulled you to the side. First, thanking you for your hard work then requesting you to work another shift for tomorrow since they’re low on staff. You tiredly agreed wishing him a goodnight as you went to get your sister. Helping her zip up her raincoat and sort her stuff back together you both walked back home. Glancing at any Tv screen to see if Wally was there. Sadly none of them displayed the yellow puppet all just a blank screen or some show. But soon enough you didn’t have anytime to see if he was on them because the rain had started to get heavier. You both rushed back hand in hand trying to watch your step as the rain drops flooded the streets.
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Panting as you made your way up the stairs you finally reached your apartment door. Just as you got out your key the door had ever so slowly opened nothing but darkness was seen in the room through the creek. Someone must have broken in while you were gone. Your heart raced on what to do. You just wanted to lay down and go to sleep but no the universe just loves to fuck you over everyday. You looked down at your sister while she looked up at you with nothing but confusion and worry. You softly smiled at her and dropped her over at your neighbors apartment across from yours. Even asking them if they heard anyone going into your apartment which they replied no.
Now this is even more concerning. Did they take anything? Oh no what if they took all the money you’ve been saving up? What if they stole every ounce of clothing, money, or food you had. Sure it wasn’t that much but still!! Before leaving your neighbors house you unzipped your bag grabbing out your trusty old bat you used to use. Slowly opening the door trying to make it not creak as lid you went inside. You held your breath as your heart raced protesting. Walking through the empty darkness slowly creeping towards where you leave any money in case they had left or you just forgot to lock the door. Just as you opened the drawer the lights suddenly flickered on. Blinding you as you squinted only to feel long thin arms wrapping around you while a head rested onto your shoulder.
“ Hello my sweet-“ the familiar voice said as you punched the poor soul behind you cutting them off. Wait a minute my sweet? That what…oh shit.
“ Wally? Is that you?” you stuttered turning around as the tall figures head lied low cupping his now bleeding nose.
“ In the flesh. Literally I have flesh now.” He said looking up as he dusted his rainbow trousers off ignoring his bleeding nose now.
“ How-“ you questioned as he answered quickly ” It’s a tricky process buut I managed.”
He then gazed into your eyes with his own. It was odd but he really did resemble his puppet form in this now human one. His hair still in his signature swirl with his large black eyes peering down onto yours with admiration.
“ Tired hmm?” He asked as you nodded before he scooped you up.
This was going to be getting some used to. Now with his lanky tall figure being able to scoop you up and embrace you any moment. You had made fun of him being short once any now this is what you get great. Your tired mind wasn’t comprehending many many questions that should have been asked but right now you didn’t really care.
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Tysm for reading hope your day is going well or gets better
Sincerely - Cup1sT3a💌
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space-mango-company · 21 days
Text
Stranger | Chapter 4
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Chapter Links: [1], [2], [3], [4], [5]
TW: Mentions of Cannibalism, Choking
Tags: Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen x Atreides!Reader, Arranged Marriage, Eventual Smut, POV Second Person, No use of y/n, Original Characters, Canon What Canon
Word Count: 1.4k
A/N: Ok, so clearly I'm a big fat liar. I'm sorry this chapter also took ages. I think I'm just a slow writer lmao. Anyway, it was fun writing this so I hope you guys enjoy it. As always, thanks for all the lovely comments I appreciate them a lot. Take care and have a good one!
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"Where is he?" you snarl as you march through the halls gripping Iassa's choker. "Where is the na-Baron?" Your voice a threat.
"He is doing his morning drills, my lady," Zora, your new servant chases after you, growing increasingly panicked, "he trains with the Warmaster."
You pick up your pace, "Take me to him." When Zora hesitates, you yell, "Now!"
When you arrive, Feyd-Rautha is sparring with who you assume to be the Harkonnen Warmaster in a shallow recessed pit in the center of the training room.
"Where is she?" you call from the doorway, your voice filled with vitriol.
Your unexpected presence catches Feyd-Rautha off-guard and his sparring partner manages to cut his right abdomen through his shield. He growls at the Warmaster and snaps his head to you, "I am preoccupied at the moment, my lady."
"Where is Iassa?" your glare pierces through him.
"Who?" he asks genuinely confused.
Your grip on the choker tightens, "Don't pretend. The servant girl assigned to me. You left this in my room, didn't you?" The realization he had snuck into your quarters while you were asleep quietly creeps on you. "What have you done with her."
"Ah," he tilts his head, ignoring his bleeding wound, "I thought about just cutting her tongue out." A smirk grows on his lips, "but my darlings were hungry."
It was only then you noticed his concubines in the room, lounging in a corner of pillows. Their sharp-toothed grins only stoked your fury.
You scoff in anger, "because she revealed your farce? Are you so insecure?"
Is cocky expression evolves into a glare. "Leave us," he orders, eyes staying on yours. Servants flood out of the room asking with the Warmaster but it seems his pets were exempt from this command. "Why do you cry for a girl you knew less than two days?"
He was right. Why do you care so much? You were hardly 'close' with Iassa. You've had servants on Caladan and you were never particular with any of them. Would you anger for them the same way? Why must you suddenly be a paragon of justice? And at the risk of the Harkonnens' contempt?
When you remain speechless, the na-Baron continues, "You may not be familiar with slaves but here, their death is inconsequential—save for the economics of it all."
"Is that so?" You look at his pets then back at him. Your breath is dragon-like and your tone hardens, "then relieve your concubines."
"What?" Feyd-Rautha's low voice echoes through the room. His concubines hiss at you from their raised platform.
You stand taller, shoulders back, still clutching Iassa's choker in your hand, "If I am to be your wife, I demand you take no other women."
He takes a moment to determine how serious you are being, then decides it doesn't matter. He walks up the steps surrounding the pit and you aren't given time to react before he has your neck in his grip. "You are in no place to demand such things, Atreides." His black gritted teeth at the last word match the darkness of his voice.
Your hands fly to claw at his wrist, "How dare you lay a hand on me." You struggle against his unrelenting grip, "Let go of me!"
He leans down to your ear, "You're a feisty one, aren't you, little hawk?" You feel his hold continue to tighten and panic rises in your chest. Before you can be rendered speechless, you make a decision.
"UNHAND ME."
The Voice echos from your mouth seizing Feyd-Rautha's mind and his hand releases your throat. As you gasp desperately for air, he attempts to recover from the haze of the mental intrusion. When he finds his bearings, you see the thrill in his dark eyes. Witch, you can almost hear him say.
"Aren't you just full of surprises," he smirks.
"And I will have many more," you say bitterly. Straightening your dress, you regain your self-assured stance and meet his eyes with a cold stare, "Be rid of your harpies before we are wed or I will kill them myself."
You don't spare his concubines a glance as you turn to leave. You don't see the way Feyd-Rautha looks at you, head tilted, as you storm off.
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You dismiss Zora and lock yourself in your chambers. Sprawled out on your bed, you stare up at the dark gray ceiling and question what could have possibly possessed you to challenge Feyd-Rautha the way you did. You go back and forth on whether or not it was an overreaction but eventually chalk it up to the Atreides' fiery defiance. Certainly, it wasn't the brightest decision but you sense that your father and brother would not have condemned it. Your heart is still pounding from the encounter. And the flicker in Fey-Rautha's eyes—you dismiss the idea that he might have enjoyed it.
You had hoped to hide your mother's training for longer. She had trained you and Paul in The Voice and Prana-Bindu. As a high-born lady, you could have been sent to a Bene Gesserit School in your formative years, but it was decided against due to Baron Vladimir's thinly veiled aversion to The Sisterhood. So, Lady Jessica resolved to teach you in secret. You were grateful for it anyway as you didn't have to be separated from your family. You think about how your mother would be able to continue to train Paul without you. You had always been more adept at The Voice than him. Now, he has the opportunity to surpass you. The thought triggers your competitiveness against your sibling but the feeling quickly melts into melancholy. You miss him. You miss all of them.
Is this to be your life? Married to a twisted psycho who feeds his concubines human flesh and kills people you care about? You sit up and place Iassa's choker carefully in the drawer of your nightstand. You hoped she didn't fear you as she did the Harkonnens.
Your thoughts are interrupted by a knock at the door. You had really hoped no one would bother you for the rest of the day but then you feel the emptiness in your stomach. You had skipped breakfast that day to confront the na-Baron. When you open the door, Zora is holding a covered tray which you assumed, and hoped, to be lunch.
"Would my lady like to eat in solitude?" she asks after she sets your meal at the small table in your quarters. Your heart sinks. She is so young.
"Ah no, I would like you to stay if that's alright." You sit at your table and cut into your food while Zora stands politely to the side. "I'm sorry for yelling at you earlier. The na-Baron—my fiancé—he has caused me some aggravation."
"It is quite alright, my lady," she says, her head bowed low.
After your meal, you ask Zora to fetch you various projections on the planet of Giedi Prime from the Harkonnen archives. You were hesitant to make the request considering the fate of your last servant but you hoped you managed to convince Feyd-Rautha you were not to be trifled with. Besides, what harm could you do by learning about flora and fauna.
You spent the rest of the day watching informative holograms about your new home's ecology and biodiversity. Apparently, one of the planet's greatest exports is wood from the Pilingitam tree which is prized for its pliability when freshly cut but sturdy hardness once aged and dried. It was also anti-fungal and naturally fire-resistant. It was a surprise you didn't see much of it. Everything in the fortress was cold stone and concrete. You wonder how beautiful furniture made out of Pilingitam must be when carved by a skilled artist.
That night, you make sure to lock your door and fall asleep to images of sprawling landscapes.
The following day was similarly spent, watching projections about Giedi Prime's geographical features. You were left undisturbed save for Zora's quiet knocks on your door to serve your meals. Your life as a baroness is days away so you might as well educate yourself. Although, you suppose you should probably focus on politics and history more than the planet's Obsidian Planes but you weren't really in the mood to learn of the Harkonnens' gruesome past right now. You would cross that bridge when you got there.
Come evening, you hear an unfamiliar knock at your door. Zora had already brought you dinner earlier so you are wary as you crack open the door.
"Hello, little hawk." Feyd-Rautha's tall figure looms past the doorway.
You stare him down, making no move to let him in.
He tilts his head slightly, "Would you really kill my darlings?"
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Chapter Links: [1], [2], [3], [4], [5]
Taglist: @torchbearerkyle @austinswhitewolf @dreamlandcreations @emeraldsgirl @strawberryfieldsforevermore @bornslippys @vexis-world @aoi-targaryen @alexandrainlove
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skzstannie · 4 months
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"I'll take care of you"
SKZ-> Felix x Reader
genre: angst, hurt/comfort, stranger to lovers wc: ~3,100 cw: Abusive/toxic boyfriend, yelling, violence, Felix is literally the biggest sweetheart
summary: you'd never expect the coffee shop down the street to be your saving grace, but a certain sunshine had other ideas
A/N: Hellooooo! I reached 200 followers today, so THANK U AGAIN! Should I do something special for it?
Part 2 is now posted!
Happy Scrolling! | Masterlist
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"Baby, please," you sob, your cheek throbbing in pain.
"Don't 'baby' me, you know this is what happens when you don't do your chores." His smirk is villainous as he stands over you. "Don't be a bitch! Get up and go do what you were supposed to do," he seethes, making you flinch.
You slowly get up off the floor, brushing yourself off as you stand. You feel his eyes on you as you scramble into the kitchen.
You forgot to do the dishes again. You should've known better than to forget; you know he gets like this every time. You don't necessarily blame him, though. He does so much for you, and you can't even remember to do a simple household chore.
You scrub the plates clean, the hot water burning against your skin. His footsteps echo into the room, coming closer to you.
His hands wrap gently around your waist, holding you close. "You know I don't like to hit you, baby. Why can't you just listen?"
"I'm sorry. I'll be better for you," you tell him as you lean back into his touch.
"I know you will be."
~ ~ ~
"One medium Iced Americano!"
You stand from your seat in the coffee shop, making your way towards the counter to grab your drink.
The cafe is crowded, the queue at least 10 deep. You squeeze past people, muttering the occasional "Excuse me" as you pass.
You're disappointed when you get to the counter, seeing your drink nowhere to be found.
"Excuse me," you call out to the barista behind the counter, "What happened to my drink? The Iced Americano?"
"Oh, some guy just took it. It was yours?" she asks distractedly, another cup already in her hand as she pours coffee into it.
"Yea..." you trail off, your eyes scanning the shop for the drink-stealer.
"I'm sorry about that, I'll whip you up another one. What size would you like?"
"Medium, please." The barista nods her head and gets to work. "Thank you so much."
You sit down at a table near the counter to wait. Your mind starts to wander, thinking about all the work you have to catch up on this week. You're an editor for the local newspaper, and your boss decided to dump a bunch of stories on you last minute. While they weren't set to be published for another few weeks, you were incredibly meticulous with your work, so it usually took you longer than necessary to get through them.
You're brought of your thoughts by a boy walking up to your table. "I'm sorry, but I think I accidentally took your drink. My friend ordered a large iced Americano, and I think this is the medium." His cute face is twisted in an apologetic expression.
"That's ok, she's making me a new one. No worries," you reassure him, giving him a soft smile.
"Oh good, sorry again." You expect to him to walk off, your original drink in his hand, but he continues to stand in front of you, his eyes never leaving yours. It's a little uncomfortable, and you're about to get up to avoid the awkward tension when he speaks again.
"Mind if I sit? You look like you could use some company."
You hesitate to answer. If your boyfriend found out you let some random man sit with you, he'd freak out.
"I was actually just about to head out. I have to get back to my boyfriend," you answer, deciding that rejecting his offer was for the best.
"Here you go miss, one medium Iced Americano," says the barista. Her arm is stretched over the counter, your drink in hand.
"Thank you so much," you immediately stand, stepping around the man to grab it.
As you go to step away, the man stops you, "My name's Felix by the way. I've seen you around here before." His eyes twinkle from the dingey lights overhead.
"I'm Y/N," your lips morph into a smile at his kindness.
"I'll see ya around?" there's a questioning twinge to his voice, a hint of hope peaking through.
"Sure. See ya around, Felix." With that, you walk towards the exit, heading back home.
~ ~ ~
"What took you so long?" your boyfriend's voice booms through the house as soon as you open the door.
"Someone else took my drink, so I had to wait for them to make me another," you explain, hopeful that you're calm energy will have the same affect on your boyfriend.
"You think that's a good enough excuse?! For all I know you could've been cheating on me! What am I supposed to think when you're gone for so long?!" he yells, his heavy footsteps approach you quickly from the living room.
"Babe, I promise it was nothing like that," you panic, your eyes darting around the foyer for an escape.
"Next time," he's in front of you now, his face red in anger, "tell me if you'll be longer." His rough hand reaches towards your face, roughly grabbing your jaw between his fingers. You wince, sure it'll leave yet another bruise. "Got it?"
"Yes," you mumble, your jaw stinging from his tight grasp.
"Good." He releases your face and wipes his hands on his pants, like he's disgusted by you.
You hurry off to your bedroom, quietly closing the door behind you.
~ ~ ~
It's been a couple weeks since you've been able to stop by the cafe. Your boyfriend's been stricter since the last coffee incident, not letting you leave the house without him.
"Hi Y/N!" your eyes glance above your computer screen, meeting the happy face of the man you met the last time you came here. What was his name again?
"Hi..." you say, hoping he'll fill in the blank.
"Felix!"
"Oh yea," you chuckle, embarrassed by your forgetfulness, "Sorry, it slipped my mind."
"That's ok!" You're heart warms, his bright and happy personality filling the emptiness of the coffee shop. "May I sit?" He gestures to the chair across from you.
You think on it for a moment. You really need to finish this article, but you guess a little break won't hurt. "Sure."
You didn't know it was possible, but his smile turns brighter at your answer. "Thanks!" He pulls the chair out and sits. It's silent between you for a minute, and you go back to typing away on your computer. "What are you working on?"
"I'm an editor for the newspaper, so I'm just finishing up this story," you reply.
"Oooh, that's cool? Do you like being an editor?"
You and Felix hit it off right away. He asks you more about your job, and you love the way he genuinely seems interested in what you have to say.
You ask him a few questions about himself, too, and you find out he's in a band with his friends.
"That's so cool!" You've finished you're article by this point, and you're nearing the end of your coffee, as well.
His eyes light up as he talks about his friends. They sound like an interesting bunch from all the stories he tells you.
"And then," he stops, letting out an adorable giggle, "he fell right on his ass, in front of everyone!" He laughs again and you join in. Something about Felix's aura just makes you feel so comfortable around him, like you've known him forever.
You both quiet down, and you become a little uncomfortable under his intense gaze. His eyes focus on your chin.
"What happened to your chin?" It's obvious he doesn't mean any harm with his question, pure curiosity taking over his features. However, the attention to your bruises makes you severely uncomfortable, and you instinctually look to flee.
"Oh, it was nothing," you think for a second, trying to come up with an excuse, "I'm just clumsy and hit my chin on my nightstand. No biggie," you tell him distractedly as you hurry to pack up your things.
His eyes widen at your panicked movements. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry," he apologizes, standing up as well.
"It's ok, I actually had to go anyway," you lie, swinging your bag over your shoulder. "I'll see you around." You quickly make your way out of the cafe, not even giving him a chance to say goodbye. He stands there with a slight tilt to his head, watching you rush out of the shop.
~ ~ ~
Weeks go by before Felix has the chance to talk to you again. He waits for you on your usual days at the cafe, hoping to see your familiar figure walk through the door, but you never do.
His eyes light up one particular Monday morning as you walk through the door, the little bell dinging, alerting the employees someone came in.
His smile falters a little upon seeing the man holding your hand. You're expression is stiffer than normal, your lips pursed in a tight line, replacing the bright smile you usually wear.
Felix watches as the man orders for both of you. "One medium iced Americano and a small Hazelnut latte," he says.
The man looks nothing like he thought your boyfriend would look. His eyes are cold and emotionless, practically burning holes in the side of the barista's face. Felix doesn't miss the way he rudely tosses the money onto the counter, not even gracious enough to hand it to the cashier.
Felix's gaze shifts down to your hands, your boyfriend's grip looking unnecessarily tight around your small hand. He notices the way your fingers are white from lack of circulation, and his blood boils.
Felix manages to catch your wandering gaze, your cheeks heated in embarrassment from the way your boyfriend was treating the staff.
He gives you a small wave, the corners of his lips upturned.
Your eyes widen at his show of friendliness, and you give him the smallest of head shakes. Your expression conveys, "Please don't say anything to me", and his heart clenches at this. Who does this guy think he is?
As much as Felix wants to go up to you and rip his hand from yours, it's clear you don't want him to acknowledge you right now. He knows it is because of the man next to you, and he begins to wonder if those bruises he saw on your chin weeks before weren't from your clumsiness after all.
~ ~ ~
"You never order anything when you're here. Why is that?"
It's a nice, sunny Monday morning, and you and Felix sit in the corner of the cafe.
"I don't actually like coffee much," he chuckles, his face flushing in embarrassment. You raise your eyebrows at that, waiting for him to continue. "I just like the atmosphere here, and now I come for you, too!"
Now it's your turn to blush, a pink shade creeping up your neck. "For me?"
"Yea, I figured we're friends now, and I like to spend time with you." his voice is deep and charming as he speaks, his eyes soft.
Friends aren't something that have come easy to you. Your boyfriend rarely lets you go places by yourself. Work is the main exception, and after some begging a few months prior, he allows you to come to the coffee shop by yourself, too.
Being friends with Felix sounds nice. It's been months since you first met, and most weeks you both sit at the same table, you working on your articles and him doing various other activities. Sometimes he'll bring a book to read, other times he'll just play on his phone until you're finished working.
The silence sits between the two of you as you think, and Felix worries he's made you uncomfortable. "I mean- we don't have to be, like friends, or anything. I just thought-"
You cut off his rambling, a smile gracing your lips, "I'd love to be friends with you Felix."
His shoulders slump in relief, and he gives you a relaxed smile. "Oh good, I was worried I'd scared you off."
"You're practically the nicest person I've ever met. How could you possible scare me off?" you laugh.
"I know I can come off a little strong sometimes, but I'm just a friendly guy, and I like your company," he explains to you, and you can't help but agree with everything he says.
That first day he talked to you he did seem a little overzealous. Now, after hanging out with him numerous times, you know that's just him, and you're ok with that. You love how Felix is able to bring a little sunshine into your life, even if it's only for a few hours every week.
"Well, don't worry about it. I wanna be your friend, too, and I like hanging out with you just as much," you assure him.
"Perfect! As my first duty of being your official friend, I have to ask you to stop lying to me," his voice goes serious, the light in his eyes dimming.
Your breath falters a little at this. "What do you mean?" you try to play it off, taking a swift drink of your coffee. You know he's not stupid; anyone with eyes can see the various bumps and bruises that litter your body.
"All these bruises... nobody's that clumsy, Y/N."
The familiar urge to escape fills your body, and panic bubbles in your throat.
"Felix," you choke out, your gaze lingering on your hands nervously rubbing against your pants. Tears gather in your eyes.
No one has ever confronted you about this. You pushed your family away long ago; it was upon your boyfriend's request, but who were you to tell him no? You've not been close with someone since then. You had friends before, but after so many unanswered texts, they just stopped texting. Stopped calling. Now their contacts sit in your phone as constant reminders of what used to be.
Felix's heart softens as your eyes well with tears, but he stands his ground. If he was going to be your friend, he couldn't let this slide any longer. "No more lies."
"Felix, I can't," the anxiety becomes too much, and you're quick to run out of the cafe, leaving your bag and coffee sitting on the table.
Felix quickly gathers your things and follows you out, earning a few curious glances from the people standing in line.
His eyes find your form, speed-walking down the sidewalk in the normal direction you leave in. "Y/N, please wait!" he calls after you, jogging to catch up.
He only has to run for a few seconds, catching up to you quickly. He reaches out to grab your elbow, and he immediately recoils upon seeing the way you flinch at his touch.
You stop walking, knowing there's no point in running anymore. Your head hangs low, your gaze permanently set on the ground in front of you. You allow Felix to guide you towards a secluded bench, sitting on the side of one of the buildings.
Felix's body immediately kicks into comfort mode upon seeing the tears flowing down your face. He softly sets his arm around your shoulders. You don't flinch, so he takes that as his sign to wrap you up into a hug, pulling you further into his body.
You continue to cry into his shoulder, not sure how else to deal with the emotions that overwhelm you.
"Y/N," he whispers as he rubs your back, "Can you look at me for a second?"
You raise your head from his shoulder, your eyes glossy with unshed tears.
"Please let me help you," he begs, his arms firm around your body.
"Felix, I can't," your sobs return, your arms leaving Felix to cover your face.
"Y/N, you've let him control you long enough."
Your lips wobble, and you don't know what to say. You've dated your boyfriend for years; he's all you know, all you have.
You've listened to his verbal abuse for so long, his words constantly swimming in your head:
"No one else will love you like I do."
"Nobody cares about you."
"Your family and friends left you, but not me. You can trust me."
His physical abuse marks your body. Old scars litter your arms and legs, bruises coloring your jaw and neck. You're always aching, different parts of your body always healing. You know your body needs a break.
"I know you probably feel stuck, like you have no one to go to," Felix continues, hoping that there's room in your cluttered mind for his words to get through to you, "But I'm here now. I'll help you. I won't let him touch you anymore."
Your mind is full of every emotion imaginable.
You know you can trust Felix. The problem isn't whether or not you can trust Felix. After all these months, he's proven to be one of the greatest people you've ever met. He's kind, loving, caring; everything you're boyfriend is not.
No, the problem isn't whether you can trust Felix; he's one of the most trustworthy people you've ever met. You just don't know how.
"Please, Y/N, I can't sit by and continue to watch you walk into the cafe with new bruises every week. I'll help you get out of this mess; you don't have to stay with him anymore."
Felix's pleas swirl around in your mind. The kindness he emits mixes with the words of your boyfriend like oil and water. If Felix was ice, your boyfriend would be fire; the two polar opposites in every way.
"That boyfriend of yours is no good for you," you remember your mom telling you. It was one of the last conversations you had with her before he made you cut all contact with her.
Maybe she was right. Maybe it is time for a change. Felix has always made you feel safe, like you could tell him anything. He could help you.
"It's your call, don't let him think he has power of you. All you have to do is tell me, and it'll be taken care of. I'll take care of you, Y/N."
You sit in silence for a few moments, nothing but the sounds of your sniffles filling the air.
The cold wind whips past your clouded head, bringing you back to reality. You finally gain the courage to look up at him, and his eyes have never looked softer.
"Please help me, Felix," you sob, your hands going to grip his hoodie as you lay your head against his chest. Your ear presses against his heart, the gentle beat soothing you better than words ever could.
"Oh, sweet girl," he whispers, running his hand through your hair. He's holding you so tight now, like he never wants to let you go. "You'll never have to see him again. I've got you now, nobody will hurt you anymore."
Part 2
402 notes · View notes
Text
To Know
aaron hotchner x reader
Summary: You attend your best friend's wedding where you see Hotch for the first time in four years since you were shot on your wedding day by Peter Lewis, forcing him to go into witness protection and leave you.
Part 2
AN/explanation:
Listen it’s been a minute since I’ve written anything and by minute I mean 4 years so bear with me!! There’s probably spelling and punctuation errors but I wrote this in the middle of the night so cut me some slack.
OK so a bit of an explanation on this.. so you know how everyone has their imaginary scenarios they make up before bed or wherever (and if you don’t you’re weird!) well this is mine!! OK not really but ever since I watched CM which was probably about 5/6 years ago now, Hotch was on my mind 24/7 and I have this plot in my head with YEARS worth of scenarios thought out with original characters and everything!! This is just a small snippet of the whole plot I have had thought out for Hotch and Alex (that is what I have named her in my head, but have obviously written it as a Y/N to make it more enjoyable I guess? Idk what people prefer!!). I could probably write a book on this crap but I’ll just start with this part. I am in the process of writing a part two to this so if anyone’s interested I’ll try to get it out before the weekend’s over as this is the only free time I have currently! Now if I ever was going to make this into a series (that’s a very big if) this would be a chapter towards the end of this plot that I have created. Anyways enough rambling…
I am an angst over any other kind of genre girly so that’s all this will be :D this seemed better in my head and it ALWAYS does but I just wanted to get it out of my system.
Hope u enjoy xx
Warnings: smut (a little not too much), cheating.
Word count: 3.9k
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It was your best friend’s wedding and you couldn’t have been happier. Henry was your rock and pretty much the only family you ever had. He had been with you through everything, all the highs and lows, so he deserved today to be absolutely perfect.
You were helping Luca with his tie and giving him a final check over before he went out to marry your best friend. Luca knew how important you were to Henry and how important Henry was to you. The three of you were practically a throuple. OK maybe not a throuple but anyone who was important to Henry became important to you. They had been together for almost 5 years but knew each other for even longer. 
“He’s here you know...” Luca said “Henry invited everyone from the BAU..”
You raised an eyebrow at Luca whilst finishing up with his tie.
“I know,” you replied simply.
Henry was the one who got you a job at the BAU. He knew almost everyone and if he didn’t, he knew someone who did. He had helped out with several cases and knew everyone at the BAU well, so of course they all got an invite to his wedding which was in London. Henry knew your history with Hotch and that meant so did Luca.
“He has them all staying at the Ritz you know, booked a suite out for everyone,’’ Luca rambled.
“I know,” you repeated and rolled your eyes.
Of course he has you thought to yourself, money was never an issue for him. Not that it was for you either but you were slightly more modest than him.
Luca could sense that he wasn’t going to get anything else out of you so he decided to change the topic.
“You think we’re doing the right thing?” He asked referring to him and Henry.
“Absolutely,” you confirmed “he needs you Luca, I don’t even want to imagine what he would be like without you. It’s not something I’m prepared to take on” you let out a laugh. “You two have practically been married for the last 5 years, now it’s just time to make it official!” You gave his arms a squeeze.
“I’ll see you out there, no backing out now,” you gave him a wink and Luca gave you a nod with a smile.
You took that as your cue to leave and made your way towards the alter and towards Henry. As you made your way up to the front you saw all of the guests take their seats. You spotted JJ, Will and her boys a few rows from the front, who were staying at your place for the next few days. Emily, Spencer and Garcia were seated a few rows behind them and you spotted Morgan and Savannah seated on the other side of the room. You were trying to find Rossi and Krystall until your eyes landed on someone else. There he was sitting right next to Rossi with a brunette next to him which you assumed was Beth.
“How is he?” Henry’s voice snapped you back to reality.
“Huh?” Was the only thing that came out of your mouth as you slowly dragged your eyes away from the man that left you on pretty much your death bed and then divorced you.
“Luca – how is he? He’s not making a run for it is he?” Henry laughed but behind the laugh he needed the reassurance. He hadn’t been the perfect fiancé and has put Luca through the wringer at times, but there’s no one else for Henry other than Luca and vice versa.
“Stop being stupid!” You swatted him gently, “Of course not! I stopped him just before he got to the fire exit,” you replied playfully.
“Ha ha very funny,” Henry replied dryly, “And how are you? …You know with him being here.. You did say it was okay for me to invite him but I can send him home if you want. Just tell me and I’ll have him escorted out by security-”
“Please stop, it’s fine. Honestly I mean it. We’ve both moved on. I’m with Avery now and he’s with Beth,” you answered. “Besides today is not about me or my woes, it’s about you!”
-
The wedding ceremony was beautiful and it was now time for the reception. You made your way round to all the tables saying hello to the people you recognised until you reached the table you dreaded the most. Thankfully your husband Avery caught up with you to let you know that it was time to make your way to your seat as it was almost time for your speech.
You gave Rossi a smile in the distance before walking back to your seat, avoiding contact with Hotch for now who was sat right next to him.
-
After the speeches were done and the drinks began floating around the room, everyone felt a lot more relaxed. You were listening to the conversation Emily and Avery were having about a book they both had read, until you felt someone tap your shoulder.
“Hi you must be Y/N! I’m Beth, Aaron has told me so much about you!” Beth exclaimed as you turned around to face her.
“Yes hi! It’s lovely to meet you, I’m sorry I couldn’t introduce myself earlier,” you gave her a smile.
It was a genuine smile, she seemed nice and in any other situation you could even be friends. She is not to blame for what had happened between you and Hotch, however you did wonder what kind of things he has told her about you.
“It’s okay don’t worry about it! I understand how stressful weddings are,” she continued and for a second you thought if she had married Hotch without anyone telling you. Your eyes flicked towards her left hand that was wrapped around a champagne flute. No sign of a ring. You cursed yourself for still caring enough to check.
“That’s a beautiful ring” she said bringing you out of your trance.
You followed her gaze which was now on your own left hand. You hadn’t realised that you were twisting your own wedding ring with your thumb, reminiscing about how it felt when you had the ring on that Hotch gave you. It was a lot smaller than the one you have now. It had an oval diamond in the centre with three green sapphire leaves holding the diamond in place on each side. It was a delicate ring and you loved everything about it. Everything but the dreaded memories that came along with it. The ring was now replaced with a big teardrop diamond from Harry Winston and it was beautiful. It sparkled even in the dark and felt almost heavy on your finger. You had to admit that Avery had great taste, the two of you had now been married for almost 2 years.
“Thank you..” you smiled and let a breath out you didn’t know you were holding.
“Uhm this is Avery my husband-” you cleared your throat, almost forgetting to introduce him to her.
They shared a few polite words until Beth excused herself. You assumed she had gone to find Hotch as she disappeared into the crowd.
“She seems nice,” Avery said and gave you a small smile. He knew what had happened with you and Hotch and he wasn’t his biggest fan but he was never the one to bad mouth him.
“Yeah she does…” you replied quietly whilst your mind drifted off elsewhere. Emily sensed that you were uncomfortable and resumed her conversation with Avery in an attempt to take his attention off you.
-
It was several hours into the reception and you had stepped outside with Luca and lit a cigarette for you both to share.
You had noticed Beth was in the distance on the phone but Hotch was nowhere to be seen.
“Today has been beautiful,” you hummed as you took a pull of the cigarette and passed it to Luca.
“It really has been, thank you for helping Henry with the planning,” he expressed.
You both conversed about the wedding and your favourite parts until someone had interrupted you.
“Oh sorry,” your eyes followed his voice, “I thought Beth was out here,” he explained as he looked between you and Luca.
“She is,” you pointed with the cigarette between your fingers “she’s just gone into the gazeebo over there to take a call I think,” you replied.
“Thank you,” he looked into your eyes longer than he should have before he began walking her way.
“Is this the first time you’ve spoken to him tonight?” Luca asked whilst following your gaze that was still on Hotch.
“Yup.”
“There’s an explanation. I am sure he has an explanation,” Luca tried standing up for the man he barely knew.
You didn’t respond and instead focused your gaze on something else.
“You know… and I really shouldn’t be saying this but... I think Henry might’ve had something to do with it,” Luca continued.
“What makes you say that? Has he told you something?” You questioned focusing your attention back on Luca.
“Nope. He doesn’t tell me anything when it’s to do with work and I thank him for it. But it wouldn’t surprise me if he did. He would do anything to keep you safe. Even if it meant putting your newly husband into witness protection…”
You thought about it for a minute or so and yes maybe Henry was the one who suggested going into witness protection but that still doesn’t explain the radio silence from Hotch even after Peter Lewis was caught.
“I want you to have what me and Henry have,” Luca brought you out of your thoughts once again.
“I have that. With Avery, he makes me happy,” you replied not knowing if it’s the full truth. Avery does make you happy and you love him but you’re not sure if it compares to what you and Hotch had and it seems like Luca doesn’t either.
“Let’s get back in there shall we? I’m sure Henry is looking for you!” You perked up, trying to change a conversation that was becoming too heavy for your liking. 
-
Since you were one of the few people who didn’t drink at the wedding, you decided to give Emily, Spencer, and Garcia a lift back to the hotel whilst Avery, JJ, Will, and the boys got an Uber home back to your place.
The car ride back to the hotel turned into an episode of carpool karaoke with Emily blasting any and every song that came on the radio.
Once you pulled up to the hotel you helped Emily out of the car and then let Spencer take over. You were about to shut the passenger door when you noticed a phone on the seat Emily was sat in.
“You left your phone Beyonce!” You called out to Emily as she was finishing her 3rd run of single ladies from the start.
You caught up with her and placed the phone in her hand, she took one look at it and blurted out that it’s Beth’s and that she had found it by some gazebo outside.
You pressed the lock button on the side and the phone lit up revealing a picture of Hotch and Beth set as the lock screen.
“What room is she in do you know?” You asked Emily but she just shrugged her shoulders and carried on signing. Spencer and Penelope both gave you a shrug signalling that they didn’t know either.
“Right I will just leave it with reception. The three of you get some sleep ok, we have brunch tomorrow!” You shouted even though the three of them were already inside the hotel queuing up for the elevator.
You pressed the lock button once again making the phone light up just to stare at the lock screen once more. With a sigh you then began to make your way into the hotel and walked towards reception.
“Hello Miss can I help you with anything?” The lady asked.
“Uh yes actually, I’m trying to return a lost phone to a friend of mine but I don’t remember the room number. Could you please let me know? It should be a suite under the name Hotchner, they’re here for a wedding,” you smiled hoping she’d give you the information you needed.
She typed away on her keyboard for a few seconds before replying to your question.
“I have an Aaron Hotchner on the system along with a Beth Clemmons sharing suite 107?”
“Yes that’s the one! Thank you so much!” You thanked the lady and made your way to the elevator. Emily and the others were long gone, probably passed out in their beds by now you hoped.
-
You tapped softly on the door waiting for someone to open it and hoping that it wasn’t Beth. You weren’t even sure what you were doing, what you were going to say, what if Beth’s awake, what would happen then?
You had no excuse and no business to be knocking on his hotel door. Well aside from the fact that he left you on your wedding night right after you got shot, had someone serve you with divorce papers as soon as you came out of your coma and you still haven’t had an explanation even though it’s been close to 4 years.
After a few moments the door was gently pulled open and there he stood. Still in his shirt and trousers from the wedding. He looked taken back seeing you stand there in the hallway. Although you were the only one on his mind tonight, you still had caught him off guard.
“Hi…” Was all that he managed to say.
“Hi…” you breathed out. “..Beth left her phone at the wedding reception,” you said holding it up as proof.
You looked behind him and could see 3 mini whisky bottles that were now empty, lined up on the coffee table. On the left you could see two large double doors that were shut behind the sofa. You had assumed that’s where Beth was sleeping as there was no sign of her anywhere else.
“Oh… Well thank you for bringing it here, you didn’t have to go out of your way...”
“It’s okay I was dropping Emily and the others off anyway,” you replied whilst handing him the phone.
As he took the phone from you he moved slightly to the side, almost inviting you in before actually saying it.
“Would you like to come in?” he paused for a moment, “…please come in” he pleaded. “I’ve been meaning to talk to you the whole night I just didn’t want to disturb you. Beth’s asleep so you don’t have to worry about her or we could take a walk somewhere,” he went on; desperation clear in his voice.
Instead of replying you walked past him making your way into his room, a completely different side of you taking over.
You made your away towards the sofa, never sitting down just standing in front of it. You turned to face Hotch who closed the door and walked towards you, stopping just a few inches away. You could tell he had been drinking. You had obviously seen him drink at the wedding but he left several hours ago yet here he was emptying the mini fridge in his hotel suite.
You eyed the bottles on the coffee table.
“Rough night?’ You asked but it sounded more like a statement. When you looked back at him his mouth was slightly open, almost as if he was thinking of what to say but no words were coming out.
You tilted your head to the side as you took in his features. He looked different. Good but different.  After all these years had passed, you never knew when you would be able to get a good look at him again, and god how much you’d missed his handsome face. The last memory you had of it was when you collapsed in his arms after being shot during your first dance as Mr and Mrs. You don’t remember much after that, just faint shouting in the distance as your vision went blurry until you eventually passed out in his arms.
“I- um I don’t know what to say Y/N… I don’t even know where to begin,” he expressed. Concern, pain and regret all clear in his voice.
Before he could continue you lifted your hand up in an attempt to stop him from saying anything else. That’s not what you came here for.
“I am so sorry,” he breathed out but you took a step closer to him and placed one of your fingers on his lips to silence him.
“Shh,” you whispered whilst you ran your other hand slowly down his chest stopping at the belt of his trousers. You could feel his pulse quicken as he took in what you were doing.
Never breaking eye contact you began to gently move your hand lower until you reached his crotch. You then began to palm him with a bit more force, feeling him harden underneath your touch. A slight smirk played on your lips as you realised how much of an affect you still had on him, how much his body still responded to you. You believed that you were the only one that could get him this flustered, to get him to cheat on his girlfriend, to get him this hot and bothered over practically nothing.
“Take off your trousers...” you hissed.
The concern and regret was now replaced with confusion and curiosity but he did as he was told and began to undo his belt. You watched him carefully as he dropped his trousers to the floor stopping at his boxers.
“You can leave those on, this won’t take long,” you instructed coldly and pushed him onto the sofa. As he sat down he reached over to switch a small table lamp off, leaving a soft glow on your silhouette that was coming from a floor lamp on the other side of the room.
You lifted your dress and rolled it up stopping at your waist whilst you straddled Hotch. The familiar feeling of his dick beneath you was enough to send you over the edge.
You lifted yourself up slightly using your knees and grabbed him through his boxers, silently thanking him for wearing a pair with the slit. He watched your every move and took in a sharp breath when your hand made contact with him and took another when you gently lowered yourself onto his dick.
You began rocking your hips, savouring every single second. You started to pick the pace up and you felt Hotch move in to kiss you to which you gently pushed his head back with your hand, not wanting any other intimacy other than the feeling of him inside you and maybe you inside of him.
You took two of your fingers and placed them on his lips again, this time using them to part his mouth. You gently slipped them inside and he welcomed it. You decided to push them in deeper. Not deep enough to hurt him but deep enough to your liking. Your fingers felt cold against his tongue.
At that point you knew you were close and so was he, your fingers in his mouth helped him to stifle his moans, whilst you watched him intently. After a few moments you felt him twitch beneath you as he threw his head back when he came and you shortly followed.
You removed your fingers from his mouth and gently stood up lowering your dress back down giving the man you still loved one last look before turning around to leave. Just before you got the door you stopped and turned around, he was now up grabbing his trousers off the floor.
“You left me… I was in a coma Hotch and when I came out of it you weren’t there. You left me Aaron.”
Without giving him a second to respond you left and closed the door behind you.
-
As you stepped into the elevator a thousand thoughts were racing in your head. You began to question yourself on why you had come here in the first place, but you knew exactly why. You wanted to see if you still had that control over him, you wanted to see if you could still have him, if he still belonged to you. And he did. You thought about how your relationship had evolved from being just co-workers to friends from friends to lovers and from lovers to strangers. That’s what it felt like being in that room with him. Just two strangers having sex. That was probably the first time the two of you had sex instead of making love. There was a difference between the two and you knew which one you preferred.
Deep down you knew why he had to leave and most importantly leave without you, but it still didn’t make it any less painful. You had thought back to what Lucas said earlier when you were outside, that Henry might’ve had something to do with it... But the truth is whether he did or didn’t it wouldn’t have changed the outcome. He needed to leave, to hide and go into witness protection. Not only for his and Jacks safety but for yours too. It all made sense. Peter Lewis couldn’t hold you over him anymore if you had no connection to him so he left. He left without you and then had you served with divorce papers.
The elevator doors opened and snapped you back to reality. You shook your head in an attempt to get rid of the thoughts. You didn’t want to go back there, you had tried your hardest to move past that part of your life and dwelling about the details and the what if’s is something you didn’t want to do anymore. You had wasted enough time doing that and you’ve moved on since then and so has Hotch. But sometimes late at night when you can’t sleep, those thoughts creep back in and they have a way of suffocating you.
“Did you manage to return your friends phone?” The lady behind the reception desk asked with a smile.
“Yes I did, thank you so much for your help again!” You replied and returned the smile.
You made your way to the parking lot and got into your car and made your way home… To your husband…. Who you had just cheated on with your ex-husband. You pulled out of the parking lot and let the memories from earlier fill your mind. You had glanced briefly at your watch and the time told you that is was quarter past three. You groaned at the thought of having to be up before 11 am later that day for a brunch that Henry and Luca had organised with a smaller amount of guests, which included the BAU team.
You had wondered if he’ll be there with Beth or if he won’t show.
To be continued....
Part 2
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livsbrutalitys-blog · 5 months
Text
Unfinished business
Pt. 1
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summary: you and Rhea have known each other since you were teenagers training at the same wrestling school except only one of you made it to the big screen but now it was time for you both to share that same fate.
pt.2|
trope: enemies to lovers
warning(s): SMUT (eventually), ANGST, swearing, yelling, DRAMA DRAMA DRAMA (lmk if i missed any)
pairing(s): rhea x f!reader, judgment day x reader (not romantic), and more but there’s to many :)
a/n: this is going to be a series, i’m not sure how many parts but this is my first time writing a series or anything like this so please be kind and if you have any helpful advice or tips lmk <3
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Backstory
You had moved to Adelaide at the age of 16 to train at this very wrestling school. Luckily you had family that lived in Austrailia and your parents always let you follow your dreams and be your own person. Your first day at the school you had been so nervous slightly second guessing your re-location. Your nerves were suddenly calmed by a hand on your arm. Your head whipped around to see who was behind you.
"Hey my name is Demi, this your first day?" She said with a welcoming smile and her accent thick, it took you a moment to gather your thoughts because the girl that you had just met just so happened to also be the most beautiful girl you've ever met.
"uh-yeah, it's nice to meet you my name is y/n" you said sitting your bag down on the floor against the wall. You stood back up and started putting your hair up in a ponytail to keep it out of your face.
She stared at you like you hung the stares and the moon. You noticed her out of the corner of your eye, not thinking much of it at the time but you took note and stored this moment in the back of your brain.
" good to meet you y/n, can't wait to kick your ass out there" she said smirking at you waiting for what you were going to say. " Your on but be prepared to have your day ruined cause you have no idea what I'm capable of" you said walking close to her, tilting your head up slightly to meet her gaze.
She enjoyed the playful banter, she chuckled walking past you to go meet the trainer. You followed behind her just a few moments later after putting the rest of your things in your bag.
Once you made your way to the group that was training with you the trainer started to speak "Alright ladies and gentleman welcome back to another wonderful day of wrestling, How is everyone feeling today?". The group collectively said 'good', "Great now we are gonna start a little different today since you may have noticed with have a new student joining us today" He said pointing at you quickly, you did a small wave to everyone.
"Okay y/n we are gonna go over some of our basic rules real quick" you nodded waiting for him to speak again. "Rule one, when you are in the training area everyone goes by their ring name so if you have chosen yours, great, if not then get to choosing kid you have a free pass tonight but next session I wanna hear you using your ring name" he said waiting for you to nod or something so he could continue. But, you already had one picked out so you spoke up, "I actually already have one, it's the one I've been using since I was at my last wrestling school" you said in an up-beat tone. "Ok, well, let's hear it" he said impressed that you had already had one and felt confident using it at another facility. "It's y/r/n" you said with confidence, "Alright, sounds good, I like it, it's very original, good job kid" he said with a nod of approval.
"Alright and rule number two, do not and I mean absolutely do not bring your personal life into your wrestling life. You wanna date someone in this group, I'm not one to stand in the way of love but that love needs to say at the door." You nodded agreeing, you never planned to combine the two but it was a great rule to have.
"So, now that all of that is out of the way let's get to kicking some ass!" he said in a more energetic tone. "Y/r/n I want you to start us out, wanna see what you can do and what we need to work on, Rhea I want you in there with her" he said motioning towards the ring and moving out of the way to allow you two to slide in the ring and your now standing just a few inches apart.
You start feeling those familiar nerves build up in your gut. You let out a deep breath shoving those feelings down because it's not like you can walk out of the ring and fly back home now. Rhea noticed the anxious look on your face she mouthed to you as to not draw attention to you "You got this". That's all it took for a strong wave of confidence to wash over you.
"Okay, ladies we are gonna start with some basics" he said instructing you with a strong accent. "Let's go ahead and do some grappling" you waited for his cue to move towards the buff girl ahead of you. You lock up, her hands on your shoulders and yours on her shoulders shoving each other back and forth. Suddenly you dropped to the ground and perfectly executing an arm drag with her landing on her back.
She stood up but for that she smacked the mat in frustration. She was not messing around now, she was in full Rhea mode. You grabbed her arm and swung under it as you twisted her muscular limb. Once you fully up again she turned towards you with a look of discomfort on her face from her arm being twisted in an unnatural direction. In a split second her fist was connecting with your cheek, sending you down to the mat in pain. She wasted no time pouncing on you, grabbing a fist full of your hair in her hands, dragging you back up to your feet. Once you were back up you couldn't think of anything else so you just bitch slapped her. She let go of your hair to put a hand on her face and then glaring back at you. You were totally fucked.
"Alright, alright guys that was good and y/r/n I'm impressed to fair I didn't see a lot but you held your own and that's what I'm looking for" you smiled to yourself not wanting to seem conceited in anyway. Rhea stood behind you leaning in to whisper. "That was good and might I say you have one hell of a slap" she said pulling back with a chuckle. "How about this, you two are gonna have a match right here right now" you looked at Rhea to try and read her to see if she was up to it. "I'm down if you are y/r/n?" she said looking at you waiting for your response. "Of course, how could I pass up kicking your ass. Ripley" you said with a mischievous look on your face and saying the last part with a hint of aggression.
The bell rang and you two were sizing each other up. You made the first move, running to her and kneeing her in the stomach. She stumbled back to collect herself but you didn't let up throwing uncoordinated punches and slaps at her back while she was hunched over. She finally caught one of your hits and you realized you did not think this through. She pulled your arm and slung you into the corner, once you hit the turnbuckle you looked up and she was hurdling towards you and she jumped up and dropped kicked you right in the chest. That blow sent you crumbling to the mat laying there clutching your chest and coughing. She pulled you up and threw your limp body over her broad shoulders carrying back to the same turnbuckle and sitting you on the very top. A surge of adrenaline rushed through you as you slowly sat back up as she was climbing to meet you at the top of the ropes. You used all you strength to push her off. She stumbled back in shock as to how you mustered up the strength to fight back. You waited till she was fully alert again and stood up tall on the top rope you jumped putting all your faith in your aim and in Rhea's ability to catch you. You landed on her shoulders and then slung your body down to send her flying, her doing a messy front flip from all the momentum traveling through her body.
The match went on for about another five minutes and you guys were laid out on the mat. You decided to take advantage of getting up before her. You decided to submit her because all of your pin attempts have failed miserably. You locked in a prism lock, she was writhing below you and you were using all your strength to hold her up eventually you couldn't anymore so you placed a knee on her upper back and twisted her like a pretzel. She finally smacked the mat, giving into your torture.
You dropped her body to the mat and looked down at her. You squatted down to her and leaned your head in to whisper "What was all that talk about you kicking my ass huh?" She groaned and glared up at you. "I'll get you next time" and she wasn't kidding, after that day you guess had a heated rivalry going.
Even though you guys had a serious rivalry going you never hated her and you two knew that the tension and fighting was only improving both of your wrestling abilities.
One day a couple years later you were 21 and Rhea had just turned 22. You two were still training at the same school but now you were training the younger students while also competing in the indie circuit. You had become the the IWJP champion in your time in Japan, and now making your way inside the facility to do some training and teaching later that day. You sat your things down and you were tying your hair up, once it was up you stood up from your crouched position and turned around unexpectedly she was also here. You didn't think she would be here since she had been in the U.S trying out for WWE NXT, you had felt a lot of jealousy towards her for that, it had always been your dream to make it to WWE but she managed to do it before you.
You walked past her with no intention on speaking to her since you knew how you felt and she did to. She saw you walk past and felt a little hurt you didn't at least wave or say a quick greeting. She hopped of the ring apron and made her way over to you. " Aw is someone still mad that I managed to get a try out and they wouldn't even think to reach out to you" she said with a mocking tone, now was not the time for her to be messing with you. Your head slowly turned towards her "You know what Rhea soon the WWE is gonna realize who really belongs there and it's not you. In the meantime I'll be in Japan as a matter of fact across the world gaining more titles while your still just training to hopefully even make it on TV. So, you have fun in states just hoping you make at least one TV appearance I'll be here putting in work and carrying a new title every time you come back" you said glaring up at her and speaking with an aggressive tone. She chuckled at what you said but you both knew she was gonna make it and you were just upset she wasn't gonna be here for much longer. It was true you were gonna miss her even when she destroyed you in the ring.
"You know what y/r/n, your delusional, you'll never see the inside of a WWE ring unless it's from the stands and you paid to be there. I'll be on the big screen and you'll still be here training other people, not even trying to make any of your dreams come true" you were stunned at her sudden aggression but to be honest you were used to squabbles like this with Rhea. You nodded and walked away flipping her off as you were making your way over to the lifting area. She chuckled and went back into the ring she was training in.
Suddenly Rhea's phone rang and you heard it from where you were since the building wasn't that big. She walked over to her back that was on the stairs beside the ring. She quickly grabbed her phone and answered it. You only heard a few yes's and some ok's coming from her but you also saw the nodding of her head but what was most noticeable was the growing excitement on her face as her eyes lit up she said a quick "ok thank you so much, I'll be there in the afternoon tomorrow" her accent thicker than ever caused by the amount of excitement. She hung up and quickly gathered her things, she was quickly making her way out of the building but before that she went up to same trainer she had been working with since she was young girl. You couldn't hear what was said but you saw them share a quick hug and the look on his face was one of a proud father.
You hadn't seen or heard from her in months. You called and texted but to no avail. Where did she go? Is she ok? Can she just please respond to me?
You tried texting her again but gave up hope. You were sat on your couch in your small apartment, you decided to turn on the TV and watch WWE NXT UK. The show started and you weren't paying much attention as you had started scrolling on Instagram. That was until you heard something that caught your attention immediately. The ring announcer was saying her name, you almost thought you were hearing things that was until she appeared on your screen. She looked so different, her hair was short and a light shade of brow, her outfit was dark and edgy. Your mouth hung open as you saw her, you watched the match in shock and a little bit of anger. It was nearing the end and Rhea was going for her finisher, little did you know she took some inspiration from you and locked in your signature prism lock. This bitch really stole my move, you thought. After she won and held her first title a fire was lit inside you and you worked harder than ever to catch her and prove that you deserve to be there too.
Present day
You had been apart of a new wrestling promotion in the US called AEW. It was WWE's biggest rivalry, you were so close but after a few years of working your way up to the top you were finally happy. You were sat on the plane checking your email while waiting to land in the next city, that's when you saw an email that stuck out. It was from your agent, the agent you were kind of forced to get since you were one of if not the biggest female wrestler in the world right now, you held so many titles across the world but mostly in Japan and AEW. You opened the email and it read:
Good morning y/n I hope this finds you well. I have just received a call from WWE management and they really want to talk to you about signing with them. I know how we have talked about making it to the big time and now it's here. The decision is all yours, please call me once you land and we can talk more.
Your hand covered your face in disbelief. Your friends noticed and they nudged you snapping you out of your thoughts. "Hey you ok?" Your close friend Ruby said. "Yeah, I just got an email from my agent s'all " you said glancing at her then back down to your email. "Oh, really, what'd it say?" she said inquisitively "Uh, nothing everything's good, I'm just dramatic" you tried to distract her from earlier by being sarcastic. You felt bad that you couldn't tell her but if you were gonna make the move it had to be done in secret to really keep it a surprise.
You got off the plane and immediately called your agent. You spoke with her for a few minutes and luckily you there wasn't a show tonight because now you were jumping in your rental car and drove for about 2 hours to a city close by to meet with WWE management. You haven't decided if you were gonna leave AEW yet but you wanted to hear what they had to offer. You made it to the arena WWE was performing in that night and went in the back to avoid being spotted by fans or talent.
"Hi, y/n it's great to finally meet you" Stephanie said sticking her hand out for a handshake. "It's great to meet you too, Stephanie, I'm excited to hear what you guys are planning" you shook her hand firmly. You walked behind the powerful woman. You finally made it to her office for the night, "please have a seat, make yourself comfortable, who knows maybe this'll become your new home" she said motioning to the couch as she sat across from you in a comfortable looking arm chair. You chuckled at the last part of what she said, "ok y/n we have a few idea's" she said making her self comfortable and crossing her legs making eye contact with you.
"Alright let's hear 'em" you said looking at her. "So as you might know we have Wrestlemania coming up in a month and I'd love for you to be apart of it. We already have a match going on for the Women's World Title" you nodded and she continued "We want you to start your WWE journey by interfering in the finish of the match. Our title holder is Rhea Ripley." the name sent shivers down your spine. You didn't know she was the title holder since you had stopped watching WWE when you joined the rival company. It had been years since you saw her or heard anything more than a brief mention of her reign of dominance on the women's division.
"I understand you two have a long history" you nodded hiding the look of nervousness on your face. She continued to explain her plan and you liked it a lot. The feelings you had for Rhea had reappeared as she continued to talk. "You know what Stephanie" you pause briefly, "I'm in, let's do this" you said with a wave of confidence washing over you. She looked at you with pure excitement in her eyes. "Alright well I'm glad to hear that, I'm even more excited to have you joining our family your gonna fit in just perfect here" she said as she initiated a quick hug. You hugged her back, you were walking out of the arena and back to your car as you saw something. It was quick but it caught all your attention, you saw a broad figure, backside facing you. She was walking in, she didn't see you thank god. But you surely saw her. She was more muscular than you remember, her hair was black like a raven and her skin was covered in beautiful works of art. The tattoo's she had always talked about wanting to get.
You made the journey back to your designated city for the night and you laid in your bed. You emailed your agent and let her know what happened with Stephanie. Your agent called you and then discussed the next steps. She contacted AEW management and set up a meeting with them. The meeting was happening the next night before the show.
You did your nightly routine and climbed into bed. Your thoughts were all over the place but finally you drifted off to sleep. Once you woke up you hopped in the shower. You got out and got dressed and ready to head to the arena. On your way there you were nervous to tell your management about your decision to leave. You made it to the arena and walked inside, waving at the fans that were camped out at the fence and walked up to few kids that wanted pictures. You always loved talking to the fans because you were human too. You got to the locker room and put your stuff up. You found your agent waiting outside and you two walked to Tony's office and knocked on the door, he answered "come on in" he said moving to the side as he held the door open for you and your agent. After about an hour of discussion, you and the team had devised a plan for your last night. You were gonna drop your title, the AEW TBS Championship, to your long time friend, Julia Hart. You had no problem doing this since you viewed her as a little sister, she deserved the title and you were over the moon that you'd be able to give it to her.
You asked if you could be the one to tell her since you also had to tell her that you would be leaving. You waited for her to get to the arena, "Hi gorgeous" she said in a giddy tone as she hugged you. "Oh, hi, how was your drive" you said happily returning her embrace. "Ugh, I hate being stuck in the car with those guys, y'know, it's like a testosterone overload 24/7" you laughed at her "I'm sorry you had to be stuck in there, buuuuuutttt I have some good and bad news for you" you said to her as she finished putting her things up. She gasped "Someone finally told MJF to shut the hell up!!" you laughed once more as did she "no, no, no, but someone should really do that" you said with a brief pause. "you, my friend" you said pointing at her and taking a step forward "you are going over tonight" you said waiting for her to say something. "OH MY GOD WHAT!" she said jumping up and down with excitement and jumping into your arms. "wait" she letting go of you, "who's putting over" she said confused and you pointed to your self. "WHAT! oh my god, we get to finally have a match together!" she said with more excitement.
You guys had been clamoring for a match together but it always got shut down. Tears threatened to spill as you saw how excited she was. "I can't wait for them to announce you as champion tonight Jules" you said going for another hug. "What? Your dropping your title? To me? NO! You are the greatest champion this promotion has ever seen you cant just drop it to me!" she said with a little anger and a hint of sadness as she got a feeling of what the bad news might be. "Julia you deserve it, you've worked your ass of to get here and it's time for the world to show you some respect" you said convincingly, she nodded as you continued. "Ok now the bad news" you paused glancing to her, "Tonight is my last match" you both became teary eyed, she knew that was coming as soon as you said she was gonna be champion.
"I-i-i can't believe it. Your really leaving?" She questioned you hoping that she heard you wrong. "Yes, and I'm leaving knowing that my best friend is gonna be champion and is gonna continue kicking ass" you said trying to cheer her up. It was part of the business, friends leave and move on to other things, you both knew this very well and understood. "Thank you y/n, Thank you for trusting me enough for you to drop your title to me" she said. You nodded not being able to speak since you were torn up about leaving her.
You made your final entrance with your title, putting on your mean face as you made your way down the ramp. Julia's music hit and she made her was down the ramp and to the ring. The match lasted for 10 minutes, that was 10 minutes of you trying to soak up every last bit of the crowds energy. She finally got the 3 count and rose up off the mat, grabbing the title and holding it high. The show went to a commercial break as the lights dimmed slightly you two embraced each other tightly, not knowing when you'll see each other again. The crowd noticed at the last second and let out a simultaneous "Awe" you held her and pulled away and grabbed her face and whispered to her. "I believe in you, you can do this, keep being you, do what you do best a whoop ass, ok?" you said to her as she nodded soaking up your words of encouragement. "I love you, Jules, if you ever need me, you know where to reach me" you said "Ok, I will and if you need me just call me, good luck, I love you y/n" you kissed the top of her head and pulled away and walked away, out of the ring, leaving her in there alone with her music playing loudly as she held up her title with confidence. She glanced at you making your way back stage, you felt her glance and turned around and waved her goodbye and blew her kiss with a smile at your face feeling proud of her.
You got to your locker room and got ready to leave. You said goodbye to all your friends and acquaintances, you walked out teary eyed. You got back to your hotel and laid on the bed lost in your thoughts as your phone started going off. You grabbed it and unlocked it, your comment section was going crazy with a mix of the fans emotions some sad, some happy, some started speculating what might be going on. None of them guess right though. You plugged your phone up for the night and drifted of to sleep.
You woke up to Stephanie calling you and asking you to meet her in Florida at the PC. You jumped on the first flight out and while you were on your flight you scrolled through Instagram. Swiping through stories and the biggest news on your feed was you and Julia's match last night. You went to her account and saw she posted a heart-felt message that made you tear up a bit. The message ended the way you thought it would, at the bottom it read:
"...But in the end, The house always wins."
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bonbonchocolates · 5 months
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Taxi
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Yandere Jungkook x Reader
Summary: When you take the wrong taxi.....
Warnings: yandere jungkook, obsessive behaviour, non-con touching, smut (not descriptive)
A/N: Again originally from my Wattpad account. If you like it please leave a like.
Masterlist
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You checked the time on your wrist watch.
9:45pm
It read.
You are really late today it's all because of your rude and arrogant boss. Sometimes you feel like to kill him. You don't know why he is always after you, giving you more work than others, making you work at late hours.
What problem does he have with me?
You thought.
It is already too late. Now your mother will scold you as soon as you reach home. But still you want to return back home as soon as possible. You know it is not safe for a young girl to be out at this time. Moreover, recently a lot of young girls are going missing and you don't want to be one of them.
You booked a taxi but it still had not arrived. You are waiting for it patiently for the last fifteen minutes.
Then you finally heard the honk of a car, indicating your taxi has arrived. You could not get more happy and this. You rushed towards your taxi. You quickly opened the door, got inside and closed it.
As soon as you closed the door the driver started the taxi and towards your way home. Just then you got a call, you checked your phone, it was from your mother. You quickly picked it up.
On Call:
Y/M: Y/N dear where are you?
You: I'm in a taxi on my way home.
Y/M: Why are you so late?
You: Mom you already know my boss.
Y/N: Oh yeah. Come back fast, you heard the news, right?
You: Yes mom.
Y/M: Ok bye.
You: Bye Mumma.
With that you ended the call. You were busy in the call that you could not notice that the route the driver took was not the way to your home. As you looked outside you noticed it.
And you panicked.
"Excuse me"
(In Jimin's voice. Hahaha. Sorry, back to the story)
The driver looked at the rear view mirror to look at you. You knew that you grabbed his attention but you could not see his whole face. You couldn't see his eyes because he wore a black coloured cap.
"This is not the way to my house."
You told him but he just shrugged it off. After a long moment of silence he finally decided to speak.
"Mam, this is the shortcut."
He said in a husky voice. After hearing it you felt relaxed and you believed it because it's only been a year since you came to this city. The only strange thing is that you felt like that you heard the driver's voice somewhere but you decided to ignore it.
(Typical Y/N thing)
You checked on your phone and found a message from an unknown number.
Unknown: Mam, where are you?
You: Who are you?
Unknown: Your taxi driver, mam. Actually I have been waiting for the past half an hour but I can't find you.
You: What are you saying I already got my taxi and I am on my way back home.
It was really weird. Did the company sent two taxis for you? You then just to confirm you opened and found that the taxi that you booked arrived five minutes later you boarded the taxi.
What? How can this happen?
You then quickly opened google map on your phone and found your location to be 2 kilometres away from your house.
You panicked and as soon as you looked at the rear view mirror you found the cab driver stealing glances at you from the rear view mirror. Now you can see his whole face, he looked oddly familiar.
You quickly dialled the emergency number and waited for them to pick it up but as soon as they picked it up, someone snatched your phone away from you and threw it out of the window of the car.
(I wrote it as emergency number because all the countries have different emergency numbers and I have not mentioned which country this story takes place. So you can imagine as your country.)
You looked at the driver who gave out an evil smile. You were terrified of him.
"Who are you? And where are you taking me?"
You asked with all the courage that you had gained.
He then stopped the car and looked back at you. As soon as you saw his whole face you were shocked.
"Don't tell me that you already forgot me, love?"
Flashback:
You were currently at the last year of high school. One day when it was lunch time, you saw the one and only Jeon Jungkook, the most popular playboy of the school approaching you. He is in the last year of college.
(I don't know if such schools exist or not. Please let me know.)
But why is he coming towards you when you always wanted to stay a mile away from him.
He came towards you and did something that you never expected him to do in his whole life.
He took your right hand on his left hand and got down on his knees. Everyone was staring at you. You hated attention and and wanted to disappear from there.
"Y/N the moment my eyes fell on you, I felt something strange which I never felt before. I know that I'm a playboy but I'm ready to change that for you. I really love you Y/N. I want you to be in my life. Will you become my girlfriend and maybe my future wife? Please don't say no I love you very much."
Everybody started to clap. You looked at his face, his eyes were filled with hope and love for you. You contemplated what to do? It's not like Jungkook is a bad person but the only problem is that he is a playboy. Each and every week he has a new girl with him.
"Y/N"
The sound of his voice brought you out of your thoughts. You once again looked at his eyes. You don't know why but his feelings for you seemed genuine but still you can't trust him because it can be one of his bet with his friends.
"Sorry Jungkook but I can't be with a playboy like you."
You tried your best to sound kind and gentle. You quickly withdraw your hand from his and ran away.
End Of Flashback
After that he never approached you again. You assumed it was one of his bet with his friends. The next year your father got transferred to another city so you all shifted from there. You never saw or heard of Jungkook again until now.
"J-Ju-Jungkook"
You shuttered.
"So you remember me, good."
In a moment he was at the back seat near you. You tried to open the door of the car but he was quick to grab you.
"Don't you dare try to escape me"
He warned you.
You were terrified you had no idea why he was doing all this. Is it just because of a simple rejection? You didn't even have the courage to question him.
His hand then went down to your pants and he tried to pull it down. But before he could do anything you tried to push his hands away but he was too strong. So your attempt to push his hands away went to vain.
"Let me do what I want or othe-"
"P-ple-please l-leave me"
You begged in him. You don't know when you started sobbing. You kept on begging in front of him but he just gave you a smirk.
In a moment he ripped off your pants along with your undergarments. Now your lower body was completely naked and he could see it clearly. You were embarrassed and started to cry even more in the fear of what is about to happen to you. You tried to hide yourself from his gaze but he stopped you by grabbing your thighs.
"You are beautiful, love. Don't hide from me."
You then saw him opening the zipper of his pants and pulling down his boxers. Now you were well aware of his intentions.
In a moment both his pants and boxers were gone and he lined his member near your entrance. You wiggled about but he grabbed you and without any preparation he pushed his hard member in your entrance.
You screamed.
It hurts a lot and without letting you adjust to his size he started to move. You kept on crying due to the pain and there was no pleasure in it. While you cried he kept on moaning and groaning.
"For others it may be a simple rejection but not for me."
Saying that he kissed on your forehead.
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0097linersb · 9 months
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Meddle About Pt.2 (Last)
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Pairings: Haechan x Reader / Jeno x Reader (Briefly Mentioned)
Genre: Smut
Summary:  Mark doesn’t think you or Haechan would have a problem with killing each other, not even bat an eye at it in fact. 
Word count: 11.2k ish
A/N: I love y´all sorry this took so long. ALSO! FOLLOW ME ON MY NEW TWITTER @wooyodefender we can chat there
Part 1
“I don´t get it, you guys already fucked so why isn´t the bet ove-” 
“We didn´t fuck,” You and Haechan corrected a confused Jisung at the same time, except the two of you had very different tones when delivering the message.  
“Are you just letting anyone watch now because I´m intere-” 
“I´m begging you to not finish that sentence,” Jeno interrupted Jaemin, rubbing his face harshly out of stress. You gently touched Jeno´s hands so he would stop stretching his skin, looking out for any future wrinkles on that pretty face. 
The chaotic scene definitely didn´t match your current environment - which consisted of a breakfast place, one of those where the cooks look like they haven´t showered in weeks, piles of waffles, bacon and the shittiest coffee you have ever tasted filling the tables.  The restaurant was full of families with loud annoying kids running around - Maybe Donghyuck could go play with them. It was hell, but hey, that was hangover brunch. 
Maybe it was the universe´s way of punishing you for allowing whatever happened with Donghyuck to... well, happen.  
“I´m just glad the two of you are finally getting along,” Mark tried changing the subject, smiling at his best friends who for the first time looked like they weren´t going to punch each other at any given moment.  
“We are absolutely not,” But you were more than happy to burst his bubble. “In fact, I have never been more disgusted by Donghyuck before.” 
“That´s not what you sa-” 
You interrupted Haechan with a fake smile, using your best customer service voice to not upset Mark so early in the morning as you stabbed your pancakes, “You can shut the fuck up now, thank you.” 
“So, he slept over and no sex?” Chenle teasingly pushed his friend as he laughed in his face. “You really have no game - ” 
“Speaking of which: Mark, please control your bitch, she made me sleep on the couch without a pillow or a blanket.”  
“I should have kicked you out to sleep on the street, you fucking -” 
“Ok, enough! It´s only Monday and I´m still too hungover to deal with you two,” Mark rolled his eyes, rubbing circles into his temples.  
“So, when are you fucking?” Jisung asked, returning to the original topic where his single neuron was still parked at. 
You groaned and buried your face in Jeno´s shoulder, the man gently patting your head to calm you down, “Can we all please stop reminding me of that?” 
“Probably this Saturday or the next,” Haechan ignored you. 
“Do we have it freaking scheduled? Ew.” 
“Why? Did you want me sooner?” The man teased you, an annoying fake pout on his face. “Awn, someone´s eager.” 
Jeno had to physically hold you back from smacking Haechan down after his comment, “I would rather bungee jump without the -” 
“What a cliché, Y/N. You can do better than that-” 
“Let´s not speak on the subject until then,” Mark cut you off, his tone was strict and final. 
★ 
Somehow, as if it was even possible, Haechan managed to become even more insufferable after the recent events. Firstly, because now that he knew you were slightly attracted to him – and also knew you were not happy about it - the man had massive leverage on your fights. Secondly, as previously stated, the thought of finding Haechan even remotely alluring had you wanting to take a nap on the highway during rush hour every time you caught yourself even considering his appearance, causing your stress levels to be significantly higher ever since. Lastly, if there is one thing Haechan has always been, is cocky, and now... Oh, now he was just unstoppable, and you hated yourself for thinking it was kind of hot.  
Kind of. 
But as equally annoying. 
Now, you caught yourself staring at the man, lost in thought, more often than you´d like to admit, and he managed to catch you every-single-fucking-time, sending you an annoying wink like he was hot shit.  
Which maybe he was. 
You didn´t understand how he could accept being into you so easily when you wanted to throw up at the thought that maybe you were excited that he was going to fuck you some time soon. Before everything that went down, the two of you would just simply offend each other to your hearts 'desires, but now there was a sudden shift in your dynamic as he started hitting on you nonstop, which somehow managed to annoy you more than when he would call you the most degrading offensive things he could think of - which he could probably be arrested for if anyone from outside your group heard a minute of your conversations.  
“You do know you´re going to die alone and miserable, right?” You asked him Thursday night, after only an hour and a half around him, figuring that was your time-around-Haechan limit.  
“I don´t think I will,” He smiled at you, a condescending tone to his voice as he leaned back against his seat. 
“Oh, I can assure you. No one can put up with you for long enough.” 
“Everyone puts up with me just fine. Have you ever considered maybe you´re the problem?”  
“As if- ” 
“It´s ok baby, I´ll fix your attitude when I fu-” 
“Can you two shut the fuck up and just never talk again?” Mark looked stressed as he reminded you and Haechan that you were not alone at the restaurant table. “I swear to God I´m going to start leaving one of you out from each group hang out.” 
“It would be the best thing you have ever done,” You assured Mark. 
“C´mon, I´d miss you,” Haechan sent you a flying kiss. “You´re nice to look at.” 
“I will stab you in the eyes to assure you never look at me aga-” 
“If any of you say another world I´ll drag you outside by the ear.” 
You did shut up after that because you honestly felt kind of bad for Mark, he genuinely loved the two of you and you´ve been making his life hell by not getting along. At the same time, it´s not like you haven´t tried! When you first met Haechan, after only 5 minutes with him, you were already sure you disliked the man; but you made an effort for Mark, you spent weeks trying to make yourself grow any positive feelings towards Haechan, or just anything that didn´t involve strong wishes of strangling him, but the man never returned any of your efforts, always wanting to hog Mark all to himself and bad mouth you to the man,  so you gave up - 
Wait.  
Donghyuck had really nice fucking hands. 
Which you unfortunately noticed as he places more meat on the grill occupying the center of the table between your friends after Mark made the two of you change seats so you´d sit far away from each other. His fingers were just somehow very delicate and clean but manly at the same time, he had big hands and veins appearing through his skin, his long fingers adorned by rings – Did he always wear rings? Because they were surely doing something to you.   
And with that thought process, you were suddenly reminded those fingers had been inside of you and you had to cross your legs to contain the very sudden and very fast pulsing that started between them. You let your forehead meet the table in a very loud thud as you groaned in frustration. Every day that passed made you despite Haechan a little bit more.  
When the weekend did come, your group´s chaotic schedule didn´t allow you a time window to complete the second part of the bet, although you did meet. It was a common friend´s birthday, a small get-together at his place to celebrate another year and even though there were suggestions that you could finish the bet that night, you were absolutely not about to get fucked on Doyoung´s bed. Also, Haechan had some things to do and had texted the group chat he would be late to the party – Chenle had informed you Haechan had a date and you prayed to all gods out there that he would bring the girl along so he would leave you alone for once.  
When he did show up though, he was in fact, unaccompanied. But the main point was that Lee Donghyuck, had dyed his hair a light shade of brown that had you wanting to swallow down your own fist.  Ok, maybe you could fuck on Doyoung´s bed after all. 
But Haechan´s leather jacket and rings stayed on during sex. 
What?  
No! 
Fuck, maybe you just needed to get laid, it has been a while. Would Jeno mind taking whatever you had a step further? 
“Hello friends,” Haechan greeted his friends before turning to you. “Hello stalker.” 
“What? Why stalker?” 
“I don´t know, the way you´re looking at me seems pretty obsessive,” He shrugged as he jumped over the couch to take a seat in front of you, who was sitting on the floor. 
“You´re delusional.” 
“It´s ok,” He assured you, accepting a drink from Doyoung who was walking around welcoming and giving everyone attention like a good host. “I like them crazy.” 
“Because that´s the only crowd you can pull.” 
“Let´s remember who was begging me just a week ago,” He winked at you before taking a sip from his glass, you along with all the boys around gagging at his comment. 
“I thought we were forbidden from talking about the subject,” Jaemin informed. 
“I did my best,” Mark sighed. “I give up on these two, just kill each other for all I care.” 
Haechan and you managed to prove once again Mark´s repulsive argument that the two of you were basically the same person when you replied by asking at the exact same time, “Who would you rather survived?” 
“Right now? I hope none of you.” 
“Cold,” You pouted at Mark before turning to the other man. “C´mon, Donghyuck and I are besties, soon he will even give me his computer and his most precious hoodie. If that isn´t friendship I don´t know what is.” 
“You really think you´ll win, huh?” At least Haechan looked amused.  
“I don´t know, did you get your date there today?” 
“What date?” 
“Chenle said you were on a date.” 
“He told me he had a date,” Chenle corrected. 
“You mean I hanged out with a friend so she could dye my hair?” 
“Same thing,” Chenle shrugged. “Didn´t you already fuck her before?” 
“Yeah, but that doesn´t make it a date. We were at her hair salon – Wait,” Haechan stopped mid-sentence to look at you. “Awn, are you jealous?” 
“Donghyuck, I´ll put this the nicest way that I can so Mark doesn't have a nervous breakdown: Why the hell would I be jealous?” 
“I don´t know, there´s really no reason for it. If you want me just say so and I´m all yours-” 
“Ok, I can´t take this anymore. I know Mark asked us to not talk about it and I was very happy to oblige but I have some matters to discuss,” You interrupted Haechan. 
“Yeah, whatever,” Mark rolled his eyes and shrugged. “Go for it, see if I care.” 
“Let´s make a rule that when we reach the 4 minutes mark and Donghyuck has already lost, we have to stop everything immediately.” 
“We can´t do that,” Jeno carefully informed you, already prepared for the murderous glare you sent his way. 
“And why not?” 
“Since we couldn´t bet on the same thing you two, we bet on how long Haechan would take,” Jaemin explained.  
Oh, right. You remember very clearly betting on 6 hours because it was simply not going to happen. Jaemin, who went for the 12 minutes mark went as far as asking you to have at least some faith on his friend.  
You could argue that now that you and Donghyuck had some form of sexual encounter, he already knew your body a bit better and that was kind of cheating, but then you reminded yourself that none of the guys knew what actually happened that night after the club and you´d rather leave it that way, so you simply sighed in defeat. It´s not like Haechan did much besides literally putting is fingers inside of you, so you guessed that didn´t really count either. 
“Cheer up, princess. You´re about to have the time of your life,” Haechan smirked at you and you answered him by chugging your drink in misery. 
For the rest of the night, you tried avoiding Donghyuck like the plague because if you thought about how his rings would feel around your neck one more time, you would be forced to punch the guy and cause a scene – You liked Doyoung enough to not do that on his birthday. It wasn´t a full-out house party, but there were enough people around to make it possible to stay far away from Haechan, at least for a while, until he decided he didn´t want to let you have a peaceful night after all. 
And so you drank. 
“Daydreaming about me?” He sat next to you on the couch. Jeno had left you alone for a single second to grab more beer for fuck´s sake. 
“You wish.” 
“I do, in fact.” 
“Can´t you find literally any other girl to torment?” 
“But it´s so fun annoying you, though,” He smiled. “You look hot when you´re mad.” 
“Take your degradation kink elsewhere, thank you very much.” 
“Will do, wanna come with?” 
“Are you serious right now?” 
“C´mon. We don´t have to fuck, you´ve been staring at my thighs the whole night, you could just ride them-” 
“Oh my god, leave me alone.” 
“Well, let me tell you something,” He informed before turning his body in your direction so that he could lower his voice, suddenly deep against your ear. “I appreciate your act, it´s cute, really. But there´s no one looking. If we go somewhere, we can come back, and no one would know a thing. You could stop pretending you haven´t been clenching at the thought of my fingers the whole week and I could do all the fun things I´ve been thinking about-” 
You could sense his smirk at the way your body violently twitched. It was only once, but it was one time too many.  
“Oh. Wanna know what things?” He teased. 
You could just stand up and leave. But you didn´t really want to? 
 So you simply crossed your legs and took a deep breath to try and sort your mind out. 
His chuckle hit the sensitive skin on your neck, “I´ll take that as a yes.” 
And then his palm found your thigh once again, holding it from the inside like it was his, “I know we can´t actually fuck, but I think there are things that can be even more fun, don´t you? You know what I can´t stop thinking about ever since I´ve seen your pretty little pussy? How much I want to eat you out. You sound so good, I´d love nothing more than have you sitting on my face for hours-” 
You took another shaky breath, nails digging deep into your own right thigh, “Donghyuck.” 
“Yes?” 
“I will go to the kitchen get another drink and you will let me.” 
He laughed once again but retrieved his hand from your body, “You know where to find me.” 
And unfortunately, you did, because later, after a few more drinks and 1 very frustrating hour of trying to focus on anything else other than your panties sticking to your skin, you found yourself grabbing Donghyuck´s arm to get his attention while he talked to some guys you didn´t know. 
“Yes, princess?” 
You ignored the pet name and everyone´s eyes on you for your own sake, “Can you please follow me?” 
His cocky smile had you immediately regretting your impulsive choices, “Always.” 
You groaned but accepted when he grabbed your hand and motioned for you to lead the way, which you did, practically running up the stairs so none of your friends would see you before getting the two of you inside a bathroom and locking the door.  
“What do you want?” He amusedly raised his eyebrow at you, his body leaning against the bathroom sink now that you were alone and the music wasn´t so loud. 
“Don´t pretend to be dense,” You called him out before pulling him down by his shirt so you could smash your lips together.  
He smirked into the kiss before getting into it, wasting no time pressing you against the bathroom door as his tongue entered your mouth to match your desperation. When his hands found your hips to pull you closer, a moan escaped your lips and he groaned, his grip on you tightening enough to bruise your skin. 
Your hands in turn found their way around his neck, pulling harshly on his hair so he would get the message and just do something before you regretted bringing him here. You didn´t need foreplay this time, you already had hours of your very creative mind flashing images and trying to drive you crazy, all you needed was someone´s fingers inside of you  – And maybe they had to be Haechan´s. 
Thankfully, Donghyuck somehow got the message and pulled your thighs up around his waist, so he could carry you over to the sink as you two practically devoured each other, like air wasn´t something necessary for human survival, but his lips sure were. You used your legs wrapped around him to grind his crotch against yours and he groaned at you, “Don´t play dirty.” 
“Then do something.” 
“What do you want?” 
“You know what I want.” 
“Do I?” He played dumb, suddenly stepping away from you like that was just perfect timing to be a fucking little tease. “I can go grab you a drink if that´s what you mean-” 
“Good luck with that boner out there.” 
“Yeah, gonna find someone I can actually fuck.” 
“Oh my god, just fucking finger me please,” You groaned in surrender, letting your head hit the mirror behind you in frustration. 
The biggest smirk filled his face as he closed the distance between you in satisfaction once again, eyes shining in victory, “That´s what I like to hear. Good girl.” 
“Don´t be condescending.” 
“C´mon, I know you like it,” He teased before his lips met yours once again. 
He bit your bottom lip to be annoying before licking inside your mouth so you would let him do his thing – And since you had already thrown your dignity out the window an hour ago on Doyoung´s very elegant couch, you just let him. The man must have gathered how desperate you were from the way you were kissing him back, because he simply found your panties under your skirt and slid them right off with no ceremony, before his palms were pulling your thighs open and he found his place in between them. 
“Hand,” He ordered. 
For once, his voice didn´t sound like he was teasing you or playing around. It was just a plain order looming over you and you liked it, being able to forget who you were and who was standing in between your legs, your hand raising in front of him without even knowing what for. You watched in shock as he took two of his rings out and put them on your finger, before moving to the next one. 
“Leave them on,” You quietly pleaded, kind of ashamed of yourself for liking the idea and not believing you actually said that out loud. It just escaped.  
He smiled at your tone, “I´d love to, but these would really hurt.” 
“Oh.” 
“It´s ok, I´ll leave the ones on the other hand,” Haechan assured as he finished putting all his rings on you and his mouth met yours once again. 
You always kind of expected that for a kiss to be good and effective, it needed to have a build-up, to start slow and make its way up – But Donghyuck had a way of reminding whoever he was kissing of how needy he made them in just a few seconds. His mouth was working so good against yours that it was almost a pity that you had to break the kiss to gasp as you felt two of his fingers gathering slick around your slit and when he felt like his fingers were lubricated enough, he slowly pushed them inside of you, you had to close your eyes and let your head meet the mirror again to process the feelings. 
You see? He didn´t even have to do much and you were already so worked up, clenching around his fingers and hands holding harshly onto the sink. You were honestly scared of the power Donghyuck had over you and what he would do if he ever found it out.  
When you opened your eyes, Haechan was watching your face attentively before moving his fingers slowly. He looked so fucking good with his new hair and dark eyes that even this rhythm to get you used to being filled got you biting on your bottom lip to keep your whines inside.  
He noticed that and smirked, “C´mere,” 
And so you complied, lips chasing his until your tongues met once again. 
You had a theory that it´s not that Donghyuck was good in bed, you were just really horny. Your thought process made a lot of sense considering he never actually did anything to you besides looking hot while you actually did all the job – But you could throw your whole theory in the trash next to the sink once Haechan sped up his fingers. 
You bit his lip to keep yourself grounded at the fact that the man in between your legs actually knew what he was doing and did it really well. 
Shockers. 
And you meant well enough that if he fucked anything like he fingered you, you were kind of screwed (at least when it came to the bet). 
“It´s loud outside, don´t worry,” He smiled once you let go of his lip, noticing you were having a hard time keeping yourself together  - and you really tried pretending he didn´t have the perfect rhythm, that his fingers weren´t hitting all the perfect spots, that his kisses down your neck as you caught your breath weren´t doing wonders for you, but it was a really hard task considering he was in fact making you feel all sorts of new things in this short amount of time. 
When Haechan felt like you still weren´t letting yourself go, he bit harshly on the side of your neck and you couldn´t force inside the gasp that left your mouth. 
“You know I won´t let you cum until I´m satisfied, stop being stubborn.” 
“M-maybe you´re just not doing a-ah- good job.” 
“Oh, sorry. My bad,” He apologized, but the smirk on his face, once he stood straight, didn´t match his tone nor his words. Suddenly his thumb was on your clit, drawing circles as he pumped his two other fingers inside and you almost came undone at the way he cockily winked at you when a loud moan escaped your lips.  
“Oh, fuck-” 
“Yeah, that´s more like it.” 
“Just shut u-up,” You groaned as your nails found his shoulder, digging into his skin to try and keep yourself grounded as he sped up. You honestly didn´t feel like you would last very long under his ministrations and that just wouldn´t do.  
“Want me to stop?” 
“God- No!” 
“Awn, look who´s finally not being a bitch.” 
“Donghyuck, I swear to god-” 
“What? What will you do, huh? Cum around my fingers? Threatening. Maybe next time do it on my tongue.” 
You really didn´t need the imagery right now.  
You closed your eyes and your forehead met his chest as you felt your high approaching, trying to conjure all your willpower to not cum and give Donghyuck the satisfaction of doing it so fast, but it was no use. Haechan had some kind of magic fingers and when his free hand found your neck and you could feel the cool rings pressed against your skin, along with his lips brushing against your open ones that just couldn´t keep quiet, you were done for. 
Your whole body trembled as your cursed during the longest and hardest orgasm of your life, breaths mixed together. 
Once you regained your sanity, you just had to suck Haechan off in return after that. 
 It was good manners after all. 
★ 
You would be indeed lying if you said the bathroom incident didn´t occur more than once. Thankfully, you only allowed it to happen 3 times other than that one – 3 was a good number, you could forgive yourself for slipping 3 times. You could even argue that since he had already fingered you once, if he did it once or twenty times, it was the same thing, so it was not like it was going to impact on the bet.  
Yeah, you knew it was bullshit but who cares. 
The first time it happened, just like at the party, you were drunk. It was during trivia night, Donghyuck´s team was winning, and you were very unhappy about it. It´s not your fault that Mark was stupid and ended up on your team! By the time you got to the final questions, you were practically raging and somehow managed to beat them after getting 4 questions right in a row (once you got Mark distracted with something on your phone). After managing to rub your win in Haechan´s face in every way known to mankind, he got annoyed enough to drag you to the bar´s bathroom and “get you to shut up” as he so kindly put it. 
The second time you couldn´t use alcohol as an excuse, although you could say you were high on the adrenaline of playing ranked matches online. It happened when you and Donghyuck were playing Valorant and after you cursed at him for the 30th time about sucking over the call, he finally snapped and told you to come say it to his face – Which you did, because he really did suck. What happened once you were in his house, in his room, was completely unexpected. No one could have guessed he would end up fingering you as you played another ranked match on your account, right? 
The third time would have looked strangely like a 90´s parent trap kind of movie if you weren´t genuinely annoyed by the situation. You had invited Mark to watch the new horror movie at the cinema, Mark had agreed. Donghyuck had also invited Mark to watch the new horror movie at the cinema, Mark had agreed. Mark had also thought it was a good idea to not show up and not let either of you know about the other, resulting in a very angry surprise meeting at the movie theater´s door. 
“I´ll just sit very far from you,” Haechan had groaned. 
“Don´t be ridiculous,” You rolled your eyes, grabbing his arm and practically dragging him to your seats. 
“Awn, you´re scared. Aren´t you?” He teased once you were sitting down, finally processing why you weren´t putting the many rows of distance between you two yourself. 
“Yeah, very much. Now be quiet.” 
“I will have to inform you I am scared too.” 
“Oh, that´s just great. Do you even have anything to offer in life at this point?” 
It was kind of expected that he would finger you during the movie after that. 
★ 
“And who the fuck is that?” Donghyuck asked dumbfounded after you appeared in front of him, arm laced with another man´s. He earned an elbow on the ribs by Jaemin for his comment. 
You rolled your eyes and apologized to your date before turning back to the very rude person in front of you once San reassured everything was ok, “Donghyuck, I know you were raised by animals or something, but here in the city we normally greet people when we see them.” 
Haechan´s reaction must have been genuine shock because he was quick to apologize and give his hand out for San to shake as he introduced himself, even if he didn´t look anywhere close to happy.  
“Oh, so this is San,” Donghyuck raised his eyebrows in entertainment.  
Your date gave you the cutest smile once he heard those words, “You talked about me?” 
You were not about to let Haechan ruin this for you and tell San that all you said about the man was that he didn´t fuck you and that was the exact moment that resulted in the stupid bet that will end up with the man in front of you fucking you instead – So you simply smiled at San, “Of course.” 
“I didn´t know we could bring dates,” Donghyuck sent you a pointed look. 
“You´re supposed to bring dates to these kinds of things, Hyuck. I´m sorry you couldn´t find anyone to put up with you.” 
“Did your boytoy bring anyone?” He raised an eyebrow at you. 
Both you and San gave him a confused look, not sure who he was talking about. Jaemin rolled his eyes and grabbed his arm to drag him away but he didn´t budge. 
“Jeno,” Donghyuck clarified.  
Oh, you see what he was doing. 
And you were not about to give him the satisfaction. 
“Jeno brought Karina,” You informed calmly, not playing his game. “As expected.” 
“I see,” Haechan nodded before turning to your date. “Good luck filling the position then.” 
You couldn´t even say you were surprised, of course he couldn´t let you have anything. 
“Enjoy the party, Donghyuck,” You rolled your eyes before dragging San as far as possible. 
“Well, that was something,” Your date tried to break the ice when he saw you breathing out in annoyance. 
“I´m so sorry,” You sighed, calling over the waiter with the champagne tray. “Donghyuck´s insufferable.”  
“Well, now I have to step up my game to fit the boytoy job description,” He smiled at you, getting two glasses from the tray and handing one to you.  
“I´m sorry about that too,” You smiled in gratitude over the rim of the glass.  
“It´s ok, it´s a position I´m more than happy to fill. Specially if it will make your friend even more jealous.” 
“Oh, don´t worry. It´s not like that, I can assure you. He simply has something against my happiness, which is ok, because I also have something against his.” 
“Yeah, I don´t think we´re close enough for me to comment on that so cheers,” He laughed, raising his glass in your direction. 
You clinked glasses and laughed too; you loved a self-aware king.  
Turns out San was a really great guy and you were happy you had invited him to be your plus one to this fancy party thing. He complimented your dress and makeup every hour, he got you new drinks whenever the ice on the ones you were holding started melting too much, he got along with your friends, he looked absolutely stunning and most importantly, he kept you entertained. He also didn´t back down whenever you were at the table with the whole group and Haechan tried teasing him, politely putting the man back in his place – which really, was more attractive than anything.  
“Things going well, huh?” Jeno asked as you two met at the bar. San was in the middle of an excited discussion about music with Jisung, so you offered to get the drinks this time. 
“Very, actually.” 
“Think things are finally going to escalate tonight or are we thinking boyfriend?” The man teased. See? He could tease you just fine because you knew he actually cared.  
“We still haven´t even kissed, so I don´t really think I´m about to get railed,” You laughed, lowering your voice a bit so the bartender and people around wouldn´t hear your vulgar words as you waited for the drinks.  
“Well, you can always call Haechan over to complete the bet.” 
“I´m not that desperate.” 
“By the way he looks like he´s going to murder San anytime, I think he is. Always knew all this tension between you two had to be something more.” 
“Yeah, I wouldn´t dwell too much on it. Sometimes people just don´t like each other, Donghyuck´s just bothered he´s not the center of attention tonight.” 
“He´s bothered he´s not the center of your attention.” 
“Guess I´ve spoiled him too much, huh? How´s Karina, anyway?” 
“Still working on wooing her.” 
“You wooed her the first time you talked to her, Jeno. Don´t worry, she wouldn´t be here if it wasn´t the case.” 
“Well, since it didn´t work on you my game has been a little off balanced.”  
You laughed at his teasing but didn´t have time to reply as the bartender came back with your two drinks and Jeno´s. The two of you thanked the man and made your way back to the table and Jeno was right, Haechan did look like he wanted to murder San. Once his staring was getting too much, you kicked him under the table and he simply gave you an annoyed look before turning his attention back to your date, who was oblivious to the stares. Or at least pretended to be. 
Tired of Donghyuck´s attitude, you asked San if he wanted to dance and he was more than excited to stand up and offer you his hand like a real gentleman, before leading the way to the dancefloor. Sadly for you, the fancy ballroom didn´t offer any ass shaking music, but San being the dancer he was, had no trouble leading you in his arms. 
“I do have to say things are spinning a bit,” You laughed, commenting on your many drinks. 
“Yeah, I think that last Whiskey was a bit too much. Are there really that many chandeliers or am I seeing things doubled?” 
“I think both.” 
★ 
As expected, San didn´t rail you that night. But he did kiss you goodnight once he dropped you off at home and your heart was happy enough with that.  
Haechan also ignored you the week following the gala, you even tried sending him an invitation on Valorant when you saw he was online on Saturday but he never answered, same when you sent him a slightly offensive meme on Whatsapp, expecting him to offend you back.  
Well, guess you were living the dream.  
When the next weekend came around with no acknowledgment from Haechan, you figured he finally had enough of you and was over with your little frenemies routine, meaning the bet was also over. You were fine with that. What you weren´t fine with was with the fact that he got you used to having the best fucking orgasms of your life and now you were left high and dry.  
Life also wasn´t as much fun when you didn´t have anyone to try and beat at everything.  
So with no thoughts in mind, you put on your hottest outfit for group outing that night, even going as far as putting on the skirt Haechan always teased you about because you knew he liked it too much. You kind of expected him to not show up after icing you out for weeks, but there he was when you got to Jaemin´s house and he simply treated you as if absolutely nothing had happened. 
“Awn, wore this skirt for me?” He asked as soon as you sat down next to him on the couch.  
You were so surprised at him suddenly referring to you after weeks, that your eyes were wide when you asked, “You talking to me now?” 
“I was never not talking to you.” 
“Donghyuck, of course you were.” 
“Was not.” 
“Was too.” 
“Yeah?” He entertained; his face petulant. “And since when am I supposedly ignoring you?” 
“Since the gala with San, you-” 
“Oh, I see. You want me to be jealous so you´re projecting.” 
“That´s not- What in the gaslighting?” 
“Don´t worry, princess. I wasn´t ignoring you, was just busy.” 
“I saw you online when I was playing Valorant.” 
“Yeah, I saw your invitation. But you see, you´re just really bad and I was playing with the guys from college.”  
“So you two talking again?” Jaemin interrupted. 
“See?” You told Donghyuck as you pointed to your other friend to prove your point, downing a shot of tequila as frustration started to build up on you. 
“Just shut up and drink,” He rolled his eyes against his own shot glass. 
Well, guess you could say things were normal after all. 
“So, the bet,” Jisung brought up and everyone around the table groaned. “What? It was supposed to end like weeks ago, I kind of impulsively bought tickets to a Monster Truck show counting on that money!” 
“As if you would win,” Chenle attacked. “But he´s right, we really need to get this over with.” 
“We don´t need to do anything. Very easy for you to say when you´re involved nowhere near the actual completion of the bet.” 
“I could fuck you to end this already,” Chenle shrugged.  
“We´re doing it tonight, just shut the fuck up,” Donghyuck groaned, downing another shot of tequila. Yeah, he looked even more frustrated than you. 
“And how are we going to do this when you´re not even talking to me?” 
“Are you serious right now?” He looked murderously at you bringing the topic up again and you became small under his eyes. Since he started hitting on you, Haechan had stopped actually being rude and insulting you and you kind of missed him feeding your ego. Maybe you complained enough he stopped, maybe he didn´t want to fuck you that badly anymore -  
“Wait, are you dating the girl from the salon?” You asked when the possibility crossed your mind. “Because we´re not fucking if you´re da-” 
“What?” He looked at you like you were the world´s most stupid person. “Why would I- Oh, wait, so the bet is off in case one of us starts dating?” 
“Obviously?” 
“Guess you´ll have to tell your new boytoy you just lost your friends a lot of money.” 
“What? We´re not dating, we´re just – Oh, so you are jealous.” 
“I´m disappointed.” 
“At what?” You asked in disbelief, already swallowing another shot. You noticed Mark tried to say something, maybe stop the two of you from starting a fight, but you also noticed how he shut himself up before saying anything.  
“At how easy you just drop everything to get with some dude. I thought you were a worthy opponent -” 
“Donghyuck, this isn´t a game.” 
“No, this is a bet.” 
“Oh my god, just admit you have a star problem or something. Can´t handle not being the center of attention for a night? Is it too much for you? Go cry about it and leave everyone alone.” 
“Guys-” It was Jeno who tried this time but you were quick to shush him. 
“Not you acting like you didn´t came running the second I wasn´t down your neck.” 
“So you were ignoring me!” 
 "Yes I was fucking ignoring you. I don´t like you, I guessed that was established.” 
Wow. 
Yeah, you knew that. But it kind of stung now. 
A bit. 
“Is this some kind of foreplay?” Chenle asked. 
“Ask Y/N, I bet she´s getting off on this,” Haechan rolled his eyes, another shot finding its way down his throat.  
“Oh my god, chill. What got your panties in a twist?” You rolled your eyes too, more Tequila passing your lips because you couldn´t let Haechan drink more than you. 
“I can´t even tell if they´re really fighting or not anymore,” Mark raised his hand in defeat, a deep sigh leaving his lips.  
“You´re the one suddenly all sensitive. Homeboy didn´t fuck you good or are you just pmsing?” 
“You know what? Let´s go to the room and end this right now so I don´t have to put up with you ever again,” You half-suggested half-ordered. 
 No one said a word after that, noticing how Haechan was actually really mad. Jaemin didn´t even whine about you two using his room as you had expected he would as his friend stood up and made his way down the hall.  
“Wish me luck,” You rolled your eyes before downing another shot and following Donghyuck. 
When you got to Jaemin´s room, Haechan was already inside, so you quietly entered and closed the door behind you. You were thankful for Jaemin´s colorful lights because the blue room got you relatively calmer than you would be if you had to face the man in front of you in a normally lit room. 
“We´re not fucking until we have an adult conversation for once,” You informed, leaning your body against the door. 
“There´s nothing to talk about.” 
“Of course there is.” 
“I know we have this playing around thing but I´m really not in the mood.” 
“And I´m not in the mood to be fucked like this, so what´s wrong?” 
“Why do you need something to be wrong? It´s not like we ever treated each other well.” 
“Yeah, but you kind of did for the past weeks -” 
“Yeah, because I wanted to fuck you. Why? Did the princess fall in love?” Haechan gave you a fake pout. “I said you convinced me you were hot enough to fuck, not to date.” 
“I can assure you that´s not the case. I just don´t enjoy this whole childish act, we never liked each other but you don´t need to suddenly be a bitch about it.” 
“Guess I learned from the best.” 
“So you want to not fuck me anymore and call off the bet? Is that it?” 
“I guess. It wouldn´t really be fair now that we had someone else meddling in, would it?” 
“What the fuck are you even talking about, Donghyuck?”  
“I just wasn´t aware we were allowed to have sex with anyone else during the duration of the bet -” 
“Oh my god, you´re still talking about San – Oh. – Oh! Hold on! You´re mad because you were counting on me to be untouched and desperate or something so you could win the bet!” 
“Dear lord. I had you moaning like a whore around my fucking fingers and you think I need to count on something to get you anywhere? You really are stupid.” 
“Since you suddenly care about the integrity of this bet so much I will let you know that San hasn´t fucked me yet, so that´s all cleared. Now, if you could be a dear and go inform everyone you want to cancel everything so I can in fact go get railed by said man, I´d be really happy.” 
He answered everything you said by crossing his arms and scoffing, “As if.” 
“Oh I see how it is, wanna up the bet? See who gets me there faster? I bet my League account with all the legendary skins that San can beat you.” 
Well, that was enough to get Haechan practically throwing you against the door, a loud bang echoing through the apartment. You knew playing with his competitive nature would work. 
“Are you really that desperate for me to fuck you that you´re trying to get on my nerves?” He asked, voice more like a growl and face mere inches apart from yours. 
“You´re not the only attention whore in town,” you teased.  
“I told you all you had to do was ask, baby,” He smirked before smashing his lips into yours. 
Excited that this was finally happening and with the few shots in your system, you were more than happy to return the enthusiasm, hands now finding their familiar place in his hair as he pressed you harder against the door. As always, Haechan´s lips had you whining for more in no time, his hand expertly exploring your body as if you had no more time left in the world.  
Oh, right.  
The bet. 
“Get on the bed,” He rasped out after he felt you starting to grind against him.  
“You´re making me do all the work?” You teased, just wanting to be annoying. 
He stopped and stared you down in silence, thumb finding its way to your lips as he watched your face lost deep in thoughts, something in his eyes started to crumble down and it got your anxiety to start coming out. Not wanting to give him the time to process whatever he was trying to, your mouth engulfed his finger as you sucked on it. A smirk filled your face as you saw the way Haechan´s jaw clenched at the action, so you gently bit his thumb before letting it go. At least your distraction plan seemed to work out. 
“Honestly, fuck you,” the man sighed but his words had no bite as his lips found yours once again. You were so distracted by his tongue inside your mouth that you almost jumped when you felt him slowly slide the straps of your top down your shoulders. The sudden change of speed getting your brain to malfunction.  
Now, you were not generally sensitive around your boobs but there was just something that happened to you whenever it was Haechan touching your skin that had your back arching when his fingers accidentally brushed against your nipples when he was dragging your top down, goosebumps erupted up your body in a single second. A weak moan left your lips at the surprising feeling and the man answered it by rubbing the pad of his thumb over your right nipple, his tongue in your mouth not doing much to keep your noises inside at the way your core violently clenched around nothing.  
Donghyuck´s lips left yours to find their place on your neck, where he left wet hot kisses while you did your best to not squirm under him. The man made his way down your shoulders, to your collarbones, the top of your boobs until his soft lips found your nipples too - He looked up at you so smugly once you hissed at the sensation of his tongue circling the left one.   
You kind of found a new appreciation for his insufferable cocky face. 
“The timer,” You managed to breathe out, voice shaky.  
“Go ahead baby, I trust you with that chore.” 
An annoyed whine left your lips because honestly, you were not in the right headspace to be given any tasks - But as Donghyuck´s fingers dug into your waist to hold you still as he left marks on your boobs, you managed to get your trembling hand inside your pocket and get your phone out.  
“Don´t start it until I tell you to,” He ordered, looking up at you before dropping down to his knees and honestly, the view was enough to keep you from arguing. He could win the bet for all you cared. 
The man in front of you unbuttoned your shorts and gently pulled them down your legs, kissing up your thighs when he made his way back up. Your whole body was shivering as he approached where you were pulsing and you violently shook as he left a kiss right on your center over your lacy panties, his hot breath against your wet skin forcing a moan out of you.  
You hated that your body could simply not react normally to this man.  
Your knuckles were white from gripping your phone so tightly as he licked and kissed you slowly over your panties like he had nothing else to do for the rest of his life, it was hard keeping your moans inside and he didn´t even really touch you yet.  
“Donghyuck-”  
“Yes?” His eyes met yours from between your legs and you seriously wanted to scream.  
“Do something, please,” Your voice sounded so broken. 
The man chuckled at the way you dropped your attitude so fast, “Well, since you asked so prettily.” 
His fingers found the seat of your underwear, dragging it to the side as his face approached your core once again, now with nothing in the way. 
“I´ve been wanting to do this for a long time.” 
“Then fucking get to it,” You whined, the back of your head hitting the door in frustration. You hadn´t completely forgotten the bet was supposed to include no foreplay, but you were so desperate to feel his mouth on you that you could make an exception.  
Another low chuckle left his mouth before he got straight into work. If you thought his fingers were magic, you didn´t even know how to begin describing his lips.  
“Oh my fucking god,” You moaned, not even sure you had said it out loud or the words were just repeating themselves over and over inside your head. 
He kissed your clit, sucked on it and his tongue lavished you and all you could do was try your best to hold your sounds in because your friends were right outside and they didn´t deserve the show. Your free hand found its place tangled in Haechan´s hair and the whimper he let out at the way you tugged on it got you almost reaching the edge. 
He fucking whimpered.  
A high whiny breathy groan. 
That man was going to be de death of you. 
You were about to stop him, push him away because you were already so close, but he could probably already guess that by the way your body was twitching and you were pulling harder on his hair, so he leaned away after a final chaste kiss to your clit. He cleaned his face with the back of his hand as he looked up at you, appreciating the view of your semi-wrecked form. 
Donghyuck on his knees was such a pretty sight.  
“Get on the bed and start the timer.” 
Your legs were wobbly but you obeyed this time, eager to finally get fucked -  
Yeah, you were excited to be fucked by Donghyuck, so what? It was about time you accepted defeat and indulged a bit in your sexual taboos - Haechan himself being most of them.  
You sat down on the edge of the bed, not trusting your voice to ask how he wanted you. Also, this was his part of the bet, he would have to work for it for all you cared. You pressed START on the timer and tossed your phone away somewhere under the pillows, watching as the man approached you.  
“It´s annoying,” He said once he stood between your legs, his hand holding your jaw to tip your head up so you were forced to look him in the eyes. 
“What is?” 
“How hot you are.” 
“The timer is running.” 
“And?” 
“Hyuck-” 
“Are you going to start dating San?” 
“Do you really wanna talk about this now? Donghyuck, why-” 
“Maybe I really was jealous.” 
“What?” 
“I didn´t like seeing you with him. At the time I blamed my ego or whatever, but now thinking about you with him it´s making me mad - I mean, maybe it is my ego.” 
“Are you thinking about another man when you´re supposed to be fucking me?” 
“Can you shut up for a second?” 
“Is this your idea of a confession?” 
“No, Y/N. I´m not saying I´m in love with you, I´m just saying I realized I was jealous and I´m not sure why.” 
“Ok, can you figure that out after you finish fucking me, please?” 
“Eager?” 
“Yes, actually.” 
“I´m so hard.” 
“A romantic,” You roll your eyes. 
“No, it´s just- You have a weird effect on me.” 
“I- I know. I feel it too.” 
“Nah, I´m just that good.” 
“Ok, I take it back.” 
“I´m clearly joking.” 
“You´re clearly being annoying.” 
“Shut up.” 
“Come do it.” 
And so he did. Donghyuck bent over and his lips found yours once again as he gently pushed you back down onto the mattress and climbed on top of you. You wasted no time wrapping your hands around his neck to try and pull him impossibly closer, your fingers once again tangling themselves into the hair in the back of his neck and tugging at them. The way his hips automatically rutted against yours in reaction made your vision blurry. Man was not kidding when he said he was really hard.  
“Like hair pulling, huh?” You teased once the two of you let go of each other to try and catch your breath for a second.  
“You should try and choke me a bit if you´re curious,” He winked at you playfully.  
“You for real?” You really tried teasing him, but you´re the one who ended up choking around nothing and looking at him like he hung up all of the starts in the sky himself. 
He didn´t answer you, his lips catching yours as his hands found the hem of your panties, pulling them down your legs the best he could without breaking the kiss, which was not hard considering you were eager to help.  Ha, who would have guessed. 
You felt Donghyuck fitting himself between your legs once again, his whole weight supported by his left hand as he snaked his right hand in between your bodies. You felt his fingers circling your clit and you whined, trying to push him away, “Hyuck, no. I´m already clo-” 
“Just let me stretch you out a bit,” He explained, his same finger now finding its way inside you. Now, that´s something you had already experienced a few times before, but every time Haechan had his fingers slowly pumping inside of you, it felt like the first time all over again.  
“Oh, dear lord,” You whined, trying to hold back your orgasm because that would be simply humiliating.  
“I could literally cum just because of the way you keep clenching around my finger.” 
“I´m close-”  
“I know, baby. I can feel it. But you can hold it in for me, right? I want you to cum on my cock.” 
“Fuck. Donghyuck-” 
“Yes, princess?” 
“If you don´t add another finger right now-” 
“Anything you ask,” He smiled down at you, complying with your request - which you immediately regretted because if one of his fingers was already too much, you were definitely not prepared for two. Your nails dug into the skin of his arms without you even realizing, but you needed something to ground yourself. He was fingering you so slowly and yet you wanted to scream at how good the drag along your walls felt.  
When he judged you were ready, he retracted his fingers and you breathed out in relief, finally not having to use your full mental capacity to focus on not cumming.  
“We should go on a date sometime,” He stated in a matter-of-fact tone, like you were discussing the weather on a nice little walk. 
“Lee Donghyuck, what are you-” It was hard talking when you were still trying to catch your breath.  
“Indulge me.” 
“You´re not helping yourself win the bet.” 
“I don´t give a fuck about the bet, I´m already happy proving you wrong.” 
“And how are you doing that?” You knew the answer to that question, but you wanted to hear him say it.  
“Because baby,” He paused to give you a soft kiss on the lips, " this exact moment, we´re chatting to give you a break since you can´t even handle being fucked just from my fingers inside of you.”  
Touché. 
Maybe you loved his voice, especially when saying lewd things.  
“You´re not so much better,” You rolled your eyes, squeezing the bulge in his pants and earning a groan in response. “Now, can you please undress?” 
“Undress? How fancy,” He laughed, but his hands were already undoing his belt. 
“Do you always talk this much during sex? Maybe we should gag you.” 
“Careful with your promises, I might come demand their fulfillment.”  
“Just fuck me, Donghyuck.” 
“Never wanted anything more,” He smirked after he finished taking his pants off. 
He kissed you once again, but you were quick to break away, sitting up to pull at the hem of his shirt and he complied, raising his arms so you could take it off.  You pulled Haechan closer, kissing down his neck and ecstatic with the little whines he let out, especially as you started lowering the kisses to his chest. His skin felt burning hot against your lips and you wanted to stay there forever.  
It came as a surprise when he grabbed onto your waist and manhandled you, spinning you around, so you were now with your back pressed to his chest. His hand found your neck to hold your head as he chuckled darkly right against your ear, “I appreciate the attempt, but today I´m in charge.” 
You moaned as he used his knee to force your legs open, his hand leaving your throat to push your back down the mattress. You didn´t even have time to react or support yourself with your arms, your left cheek meeting the bed sheets as you felt the tip of his cock against your entrance.  
You pushed your hips back without even realizing, just wanting Donghyuck inside of you once and for all. But to no one´s surprise, it was just teasing you that he wanted. 
“You´re so fucking wet,” He marveled, rubbing his tip up and down your folds. “Just like you always are for me.” 
You wanted to retort, but you also wanted his dick inside of you – today, preferably. So you just whined impatiently and arched your hips a bit more, “Donghyuck!” 
“Beg.” 
“No.” 
“I want to hear the high oh mighty miss I´m-always-right begging for me to fuck her.” 
“Please.” 
“Not good enough.” 
“Donghyuck, please fuck me. You won ok? I need you. I don´t care. Just please, fuck me,” You could seriously cry.  
Maybe you weren´t used to not getting things your way. 
“Tell me you´re mine.” 
“Am I?” 
“Yes, but I need you to know it.” 
“Fuck me well and I might be.” 
“Good answer.” 
You could tell he was smirking as he finally slid inside of you.  
“Oh god,” You moaned. You had been waiting for this for months! 
“You can call me Haechan.” 
“You´re not as funny as you think you are,” You breathed out, your hands gripping onto the bed sheets as he waited for you to adjust for a second.  
“Maybe, but I am about to give you the fuck of your life.” 
“Why are you still talki-” 
Donghyuck didn´t let you finish the sentence, his hand that was caressing your lower back now grabbed onto your waist for support as he took his dick out before pushing it back in. He took absolutely no time to find a rhythm that drove you crazy, and as expected from mister tease himself, it was a slow one, but with that, you could feel every single vein and piece of skin dragging against your walls, every single pulse and twitch of his cock. 
“Fuck,” You moaned, closing your eyes harshly to try and focus on something other than the way the man you hated was about to make you cum in approximately 20 seconds just from teasing. 
“I´ve been imagining fucking you for years,” Haechan groaned. 
“Then fucking do it properly,” You cursed between gritted teeth, sentence interrupted by a gasp when his cock hit something inside of you that had you involuntarily clenching around him.  
“You can´t take it.” 
He was probably right, but you wanted him to anyways. 
“Maybe you just can´t do it.” 
Haechan´s answer was a laugh; his movements didn’t stop as you felt something grabbing your hair and pulling you up, your back once again against his chest, “I wanted to have my fun, but I guess that´s not something you´re familiar with.” 
His movements then sped up, his right hand finding your clit and rubbing circles on it and his other hand moved to your favorite place, your neck.  
He was absolutely right. You couldn’t take it.  
You were pretty sure you were being loud, but you couldn´t even be sure because your mind was in another dimension.  
“Happy now, princess?” He groaned against your ear from the effort of how he was harshly fucking into you.  
“Yes, oh my god. Don´t stop – Ah-  I´m so close.” 
Your body was shaking at this point, you threw your right arm back to latch onto Haechan´s hair for any sense of stability as you felt everything beginning to turn white.  
“I thought you would put more of a fight,” His hand around your neck tightened. “But I love seeing you like this, so no complaints.”  
You heard his voice but his words didn´t register, leaving your mind as soon as they entered because you were so so close.  
“Tell me you´re mine.” 
“I´m yours.” 
“This pussy is mine, only mine.” 
“Only yours.” 
“Good girl.” 
Never in a million years did you think you would let Lee Donghyuck say those words to you, and never in a million years did you think those exact words would trigger the most earth-shattering orgasm of your life. 
“Oh fuck, oh my god. Hyuck”-   
He didn´t let up, fucking you all throughout as you were moaning and twitching, his fingers never losing speed against your clit, his groans from the way you kept squeezing around him were enough to almost give you another orgasm back-to-back as he let your cheek gently hit the mattress once again.  
“If you keep calling me that I might cum soon too.” 
You didn't even mind the overstimulation, your ears were still ringing, you were still gasping for air but he didn´t stop, in fact, he only begin fucking you harder. Another high started building up and you weren´t even done with the first yet.  
You barely registered when he pulled out for a second to flip you around, finding his place in between your legs once again, which you automatically wrapped around his hips as he pounded into you.  
“Fuck,” He groaned, looking into your eyes. Sweat was running down his forehead and neck and you so desperately wanted to pull him closer and lick it. “Maybe I was jealous, can´t stand the thought of someone else seeing how pretty you look like this.” 
“Hyuck.” 
“I want to ruin you for any other man. Fuck, you feel so good.” 
He was close too, you could feel his cock twitching inside of you and how he lost control once every few thrusts. Your nails scratched his back enough to draw blood but he seemed to enjoy it, his head dropping down your neck and a whine leaving his lips. The vibration against your skin got goosebumps erupting once again all over your body and you felt yourself at the edge again.  
You stopped caring your friends were right outside about 10 minutes ago and Donghyuck just never did - Oh, right. He probably wanted Jeno to hear it all.  
“Hyuck, ah- I´m close.” 
“Me too, baby.” 
You didn´t think it was possible for him to go any faster, but he did. Now supporting his weight on his two arms, Donghyuck drilled into you and his lips met your neck, leaving wet kisses and sucking on it to leave as many bruises as possible.  
Man really had a possession problem. 
You couldn´t take it anymore, as the man bit a particular spot on the side of your neck, you closed your eyes and let it hit you. No man had ever been able to make you cum just from penetration alone and your world was suddenly turned upside down with your second orgasm of the night. Donghyuck probably did manage to ruin you for any other man.  
Fuck him. 
With your body spasms and the way your walls started clenching when you came, Donghyuck followed right along with you. He had his eyes closed, eyebrows furrowed as moans left his pretty lips - Haechan was insufferable but he was also the hottest man in the world, you were going a bit crazy.  
You felt warmness hitting your insides as he slowly stopped his motions and started trying to catch his breath. You watched with hazy eyes as his chest stopped heaving and he opened his eyes to stare right back at you. 
“Hello beautiful,” You smiled at him, breathing somewhat closer to normal even if you were still shivering.  
“I figured it out,” He smiled back at you.  
“You´re still inside of me.” 
“And I plan on being for a long time.” 
“Is that a threat?” 
“I want you to go out with me.” 
“Awn, someone has a crush.” 
“Maybe. Let´s have a date and figure it out,” He shrugged. “Maybe we will end up killing each other, maybe we will end up boyfriend and girlfriend, maybe we will end up fucking – No, we´re definitely fucking either way-” 
“You just want to keep staring at my boobs.” 
“That too.” 
“And you´re still inside of me.” 
“You never said yes.” 
“We´ve known each other for many years, Donghyuck. What makes you think we will start liking each other now?” 
“I guess I already like you and even when hating each other we still had fun, you get me, I get you. Let´s not overcomplicate it.” 
“Ok, let´s give it a try.” 
“You just want me to fuck you again,” He joked. 
“That too,” You smiled. 
★ 
“Oh, fuck.” 
“What´s wrong?” Donghyuck asked worriedly, tightening his belt after the shower you took. 
“The timer.” 
“Oh, yeah. Was too lazy to turn it off,” He shrugged. 
“But the bet-” 
“I told you I didn´t care about the bet.” 
“That´s because I won.” 
“That´s because I let you win.” 
“So you´re just giving me your stuff like that?” 
“Nop, because many rules were broken and that makes the bet invalid.” 
“I never agreed to that.” 
“So you really want my computer? Yours is perfectly fine, I know it because I´m the one who assembled it!” 
“No, but I do want your hoodie.” 
Donghyuck stared at you in silence long enough to make you uncomfortable before shrugging, “Fine, as long as I can fuck you in it. Now go outside and tell our dear friends the bet was canceled.” 
“Shouldn´t we just lie? I kind of feel bad for Jisung.” 
“If I agree, I get to choose where to go on our first date.” 
“Let me guess, your bed?” 
“What do you take me for?” He fake gasped. 
“Do you really want me to answer that? Because then I don´t think there will be a first date.”  
“Look who´s all mouthy now, not only 15 minutes ago you were-” 
“Don´t you dare.” 
“Oh, I dare.” 
“Just give me your hoodie and shut up.” 
“You´ll go out wearing it.” 
“What- Why?” 
“I want Jeno to see it.” 
“To see that I won the bet?” 
“No, that you´re mi- You know what I mean! Must you always be so annoying?” 
“You´re the one begging me for a date.” 
“Don´t complain if I end up making you sit down and watch all of the Fast and Furious movies.”  
“That would still be more pleasant than having a conversation with you.” 
“You know what? Then I´m taking you to a fancy restaurant and forcing you to look at me all nnight.” 
“It´s a nice view,” You smiled, calling a truce for the time being.
Donghyuck accepted the white flag and smiled back.  
Maybe this could work out. 
321 notes · View notes
yuri-is-online · 5 months
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Seven Plus One Happy Haunts (An 800 Followers Thank You)
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"NRC is having a culture festival?" You blurt out, immediately drawing the attention of everyone in your class. Normally this interruption would be met with a swift smack, but the thought doesn't even flicker across Crewel's mind much to the envy of your classmates. Instead, something similar to a stress headache seems to work it's way across his face as he takes a brief pause to breathe.
"I take it the Headmage has neglected to inform you of this?" He says it like a question, but really it sounds more like he is begging you to prove him wrong. "He was supposed to ask your permission."
"Permission for what?!" You try not to sound too panicked but that's difficult when Crewel's normal sternness re-emerges to silence Ace and Deuce's whispers.
"Sit!" He cracks his crop and returns to the black board. "And Yuu, once classes are done for the day, meet me back here. It will be much easier for me to explain things to you and Grim than sending you on a wild crow chase." Oh you don't like the sound of that at all. ~~~~ By the time classes are over, you are drooping under the weight of an entire school's worth of whispers and surprised you remember your way back to your Homeroom.
"Where's Grim?" Crewel asks, though he doesn't sound terribly worried. So it's bad news bad news.
"He decided to ditch me for Ace and Deuce and I didn't have the energy to chase him down, sorry." Your book bag drops with just as dramatic a thunk as you do.
"Let me make you a coffee, you are going to need some." Crewel sighs. "As you might be aware, culture festivals tend to involve things like booths and side show games."
"Typically they're run by the classes or clubs, right?" You aren't really liking where this is going.
"In anime and at normal schools yes. And if this had been any other year that would be the case for us too but someone-" the same tension headache from this morning reappears, "got the bright idea to suggest that we form groups by putting the entire student body into an ai generator of some sort to encourage team work or something like that."
"Oh." No wonder Crewel can't seem to tell the difference between the containers where he keeps the instant coffee packets and the wet wipes. "Are you ok? Is there anything I can do to help?"
"Very sweet of you to offer pup." He lets you take over the coffee and smiles gratefully when he sees you move to make him a tea. "But back to how this effects you, one of those groups got the bright idea to run a Haunted House, and the Headmage suggested they use Ramshackle for 'authenticity's sake' and generously offered them your assistance as well."
"Compared to some of the other things he's done I guess it could be worse?" Not that you are thrilled, your tone makes that clear. "I mean it's a haunted house, it could be fun. What is it you want me to help out with anyway?"
"That's what they've been arguing over." Crewel looks and sounds very, very tired as you finally notice the growing chatter of voices just outside the classroom door that is finally making an entrance alongside a very familiar face.
"I'm telling you, it makes the most sense for Yuu to help me!"
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notes: Thank you all so much for 800 followers! Normally I'd run an event but I got a wee bit burnt out with the last one, so please accept this humble Haunted Mansion themed offering~ And feel free to guess who is who, I originally intended this to be a Halloween themed thing so I picked most of the cast members from boys people thought were getting neglected from the SSR pool (。•̀ᴗ-)✧ Emphasis on most
Haunt 1- Host With the Most: Vil
Haunt 2- Manipulating the Buyers: Rollo
Haunt 3- Life Lines
Haunt 4- Tie the Knot Tango
Haunt 5- Nevermore
Haunt 6- Life Hereafter
Haunt 7- Rest in Peace
Bonus Haunt- ???
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Taglist: @nothingfuninthislife
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thatdeadaquarius · 1 year
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OKAY OKAY SAGAU BUT THE CREATOR IS A HUGE KPOP FAN LIKE IMAGINE THE MOST STOTIC CHARACTERS DANCING TO TWICE
ANON I HAVE SEEN UR ASK SITTIN IN MY MAILBOX AND BEEN WAITIN FOR THIS ONE-
GOD IM SO BASIC ANON I ONLY KNOW LIKE 2 SONGS BY TWICE (LIKE "FEELS" OR SMTH POPULAR), I KNOW A LITTLE MORE ITZY, BUT MY MAIN'S JUST BEEN BTS SINCE 2019😭
(send me recs pleassseeee ;-;)
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Hey this'll be the last time I use colored words for characters!
I think it's a bit too distracting, and the only reason I was using them was to let ppl know if their fav was in there, but now I'll probably just use CW/TW to mention character heavy asks/fics :)
Thanks for being patient with me for so long if ur still reading my stuff :0 <3
Listen as you read?
EDIT 1/1/24: Hey I expanded more about this on my Eldritch Fanfic Part 2 post, but unfortunately I did a form of exoticism by including the term "Huangdi" inappropiately here. I have since replaced it with "Emperor" as was the original untranslated term I would've used. I'm genuinely sorry that I did this, and will absolutely be on the look out/do better in the future. I hope you can understand.
----
AGONIZED OVER THE GIFS THIS TIME THEYRE SO PRETTY AND I WANTED TO GET THEM DANCING ONE OF THEIR CUTER ERA/THEMES ALL DRESSED UP TOO-
also im so sorry?? Idky i was in such a scenario mood today??? Ig im in my exectutive dysfunction paralysis state so maybe that’s why, like it unconcoiusly wants me to waste more time not catching up on uni work??? anyway, hope u like this chaotic addon 😭
or i just love this ask sm, that’s entirely possible too <3
I JUST NEED YOU TO KNOW I PUT ON A MEGA TWICE PLAYIST WHILE WRITING THIS ENTIRE THING LMAO
ok but they’d totally heard ur music tastes thru the screen right?
like just imagine-
the video game music is normalized, and to them its just another one of those “all kinds of magic in teyvat” causing the music, like the seelies wandering around all the time or elemental energy
Jean is flipping through a folder filled with the reports for the week, she’s got to get the routes ready for the week, then there’s the liyue shipments the knights need to help escort over, then checking in on any of the emergency stations/rations throughout Mondstadt for weary or hurt travelers/merchants-
She sighs, and yet another irritated thought is thrown Varka’s way in her mind, she can’t even muster the energy to make it outright dislike she’s so tired…
Jean was so concentrated she just now is starting to hear the Favonious Headquarter’s music once more, it’s peppy upbeat tune… grates like nails on a chalkboard.
and if she has to hear that damn flute for the next hour she works, she’s going to start banging her head onto her desk.
Out in Jueyun Karst, Xiao is dealing the finishing blow to a flying ruin hunter
He’s huffing and stabs his spear into the ground to lean on and catch his breath, the gentle music of the peaks begins to float around him once more
The Yaksha feels the earth beneath his feet shake. Not like from his Lord, not the other adepti angered, but an enemy so large it’s stomps shake the ground he stands on
Xiao quickly straightens less he fall over, pulling his spear out of the dirt with a little more effort than it probably should’ve taken…
The high sounds of the guzheng trickle through the air, a perfect representation of the base of the slopes, trees, streams, and nature all around him
Xiao turns to face the enemy behind him, his arm popping with tired joints,
…A ruin grader, two ruin hunters, and finally regular three ruin guards, follows it. they come around the corner of the bottom of another slope, and they're still simmering with black smoke, curling off their metallic shoulders.
Xiao sees several red targets layer over his chest,
the music fades a little, but sticks around, plucking strings gently. Xiao sighs, exhausted already.
Kazuha and Beidou had to redirect the Alcor from a nasty storm at sea that intercepted their usual route between Inazuma and Liyue,
the storm had practically chased them further and further down form the Inazuman islands
it wasn’t until Kazuha, from the crow’s nest, spotted fog on the waters that they realized they’d be forced to go into said creepy fog, what with the crackling looming clouds at their backs pinning them in
“Not good Captain, the fog is miles long, I’m not sure I can see a way around it…” Kazuha calls down to the deck, Beidou letting out a sharp sigh through her nose
“Damn… fucker’s not even sentient and it practically backed us into a corner, feels like we literally gotta escape the damn thing… BRACE YOURSELVES CREW, WE’RE HEADING INTO THAT FOG!”
The Alcor makes it’s way into the fog, a piano swells with a strange tune…
Beidou, Kazuha, and the crew know to listen to the music of teyvat, especially if you have a life at sea, where storms can appear in the middle of the day or other pirates could attack any moment.
The music means nothing good, but at least Kazuha can see the storm staying at the border of the fog, moving no further in, unlike themselves
“Shit… see anything up there Kazu?” the Captain steering the ship doesn’t even reach a shout, for the music has creeped out all conversation on board
“No ma’am, wait,” a chill breeze brushes through the wanderer’s white hair, he feels goosebumps jump on his neck and spine,
“…Yes! Portside Captain, land, no enemy movement yet!”
“Alright, here goes a bad idea…” Beidou’s arms flex as she easily turns the heavy wooden wheel, steering left,
the Alcor gently comes ashore, and they make anchor.
…there are no enemies, like Kazuha said, but the tune worsens, it had gotten louder now that they’re actually on the theme’s land
It plays slowly, encasing the crew of the Alcor in a paranoid quiet, and it almost has a melancholy note
Crows caw and fly off of a stone gate up ahead, they can see flickers of a strange blue light further inland, like figures carrying lanterns everywhere they go…
“Damn music, I wouldn’t feel half this anxious if it didn’t sound like we were walking into a monster infested cave…” the first mate says, the first person to break the quiet the music held over them.
“Yes, while we might need to stay here for awhile, I think we’re all very aware how dangerous this is…” Kazuha agrees, crossing his arms and squinting at the moving blue lights… the piano plays on.
You open on Spotify on your computer, clicking on your favorite kpop playlist, it’s been rainy all day, so you need the peppiness of this dance playlist to actually not be half-asleep playing Genshin-
You hum along to the Korean lyrics as you boot Genshin up, ugh, ur in-game music is so loud, u forgot u turned it up last time to hear the new Sumeru music…
Turning it down, you let the Kpop songs fill ur headphones as you nod to the beat, your team materializing on screen. Right, off to do commissions first!
Jean is like.. seconds away letting out a scream of frustration, anger, tiredness, loneliness, etc. her hands clenching her hair and ruining her ponytail when, thank Creator, the theme quiets down finally.
The loss of her immediate ire gone, she lets go of her hair, her hands just kind of hovering midair, not knowing what to do with herself, all the negative emotions giving her face wrinkles just melt off, leaving her stunned, blank face behind
🎶 Dalkomhan chocolate ice-cream-cheoreom Nogabeorineun jigeum nae gibun so lovely! Kkamkkamhan uju sok gajang banjjagineun Jeo byeol jeo byeol geu yeope keun ne byeol 🎶
Acting Grand Master Jean actually screams when abruptly a song in an unrecognizable foreign language, blasts into her office, around it, filling the entire Favonius Headquarters with its… cheeriness??
Jean lets her hands fall onto the desk, still in shock
..well, she quickly decides she’s grateful for the new music either Barbatos or the All-Parent had heard her pleas for…
…actually, it’s kind of,, catchy?
Jean takes out her ponytail, massaging her aching scalp, huh, she really did have it tight she’s just now noticing, she feels a small smiles appear on her face,
she actually kind of wants to do something now (she kind of hopes this new foreign bard song sticks around..)
If you asked Xiao what happened in that battle he’d be hard pressed to tell you,
without going completely red in the face. LMAO
He probably wouldn’t tell the other adepti this, especially Cloud Retainer, but Xiao had definitely had to get used to fighting brutal battles to the sound of gentle summer day-esque music
Right as the aruguably, army of ruin machines spotted the Yaksha, he’d launched himself into the air to try and evade the rusted beasts, aiming his jade spear, adding winds to swirl around the staff to better boost his attack, the machines warm up, their targets moved and locked onto him midair, right as both sides launch their attack-
🎶 Geogi neo I fancy you! Amuna wonhaji anha Hey, I love you (Love ya!) 🎶
Xiao nearly falls out of the air.
Quickly recovering, he uses his anemo power to propel himself off to the side dodging, he swears to his Lord and his Emperor himself, delayed attacks, as if the machines were caught off guard too,
missiles whiz by him, exploding behind, the peppy song of foreign women’s voices sings out into Jueyun Karst bright and happy-
🎶 Geurae neo I fancy you! Kkumcheoreom haengbokhaedo dwae 'Cause I need you! (What?) 🎶
Xiao’s face goes from being confused to concentrated throughout the rest of the battle, and the worst part… it actually helps his energy levels.
and he finds himself nodding along
Kazuha takes the lead, his sword unsheathed and at the ready to cut down the slightest movement before it can get to any of the crew behind him,
He’s flanked by the Captain of the Alcor herself, Beidou’s electro shield emitting a deep hum as it blocks in front of both himself, and the crew behind him
all of the pirates have unsheather their own weapons, daggers, swords, claymores, bows, their all on high alert, waiting for.. well, any enemies at all.
In fact, Kazuha hopes he sees hilichurls soon, just for the familiarity it could give him and the his crew-
the music begins to fade away.
The crew stops just shy of the entryway that was perched with crows before they scattered, the white fog hasn’t moved beyond its lazy drifting, but the creeping sounds have stopped entirely. Not good.
Captain Beidou sighs after a few silent moments, other than the quiet breathing and shuffling of weapons from the Alcor crew.
She lets her claymore sword thunk against her shoulder, and just as she opens her mouth, turning to address the all, deciding camping here will have to do for the night-
🎶Fancy! youu, ooh Nuga meonjeo johahamyeon eottae Fancy! youu, ooh Jigeum neoegero gallae Fancy! ooh!🎶
Kazuha’s shoulder shoot up to his ears in a flinch, red eyes wide, he barely stops his reflexes from taking a hard swing with his sword, several crewmembers shriek, collide with metal clinks into one another, Beidou drops low, her sword swinging off her shoulder into almost a full swing at the ground-
…..
……..
🎶 Dalkomhan chocolate ice-cream-cheoreom Nogabeorineun jigeum nae gibun so lovely! Kkamkkamhan uju sok gajang banjjagineun Jeo byeol jeo byeol geu yeope keun ne byeol 🎶
the music plays on, the only one making any noise as the entire Alcor crew just, stop. after their initial shock.
Kazuha’s the first to break.
He desperately tries to contain a quiet chuckle, which turns into a giggle, which turns into a full-on wheeze, as he buries his sword into the ground to brace himself on it and one of his knees
the Captain cracks by the time Kazuha wheezes, her laughter going straight to guffaws and knee slapping, her claymore shaking the ground where she stabs it to lean against
the crew erupts into laughter, both as the peppy foreign song echoes into the mysterious fog, and Beidou’s ridiculous laugh, as always
they don’t recover until two songs later when there’s finally a slow kpop song, Kazuha’s had to sit down, tears streaming down his face, Beidou’s half-dead, wheezing out complaints about her stomach, as the crew keep sending each other into more and more laughter right as they think they’re done.
They decide their Akitsu Mikami must have the best sense of humor and must just be sitting on their celestial throne pranking some of their subjects from time to time, and the Alcor crew find themselves all the more appreciative for it, their nerves entirely gone about the island
Kazuha and Beidou are constantly asking other bards they meet to try and see if anyone can recreate the song for the crew sometime they liked the beat and the memory so much, Fancy by Twice will still get a laugh out of Beidou and Kazuha, and they’d quickly let you in on the inside joke so you’d be a part of it too (afterall you did it lol)
NOW MORE IMPORTANTLY, BC IDK IVE BEEN ON A SCENARIO KICK LATELY?? SORRY IDK WHY U GUYS KEEP GETTING SCENARIOS-
There’s only TWO 2 CATEGORIES THAT MATTER HERE-
Who’s DANCING!! w/o u needing to do anything but play the music:
NILOU (she got those choreos done in like, an hour flat everytime u teach her, shes always begging for “just one more dance lesson Greatest Lord? 🥺”),
YUNJIN (difference betweeen the two dancers is that nilou asks :) → yunjin lowkey demands, she like always gets u into a situation where you have plenty of time to teach her and feel obligated, u just got gaslight gatekeep girlbossed into teaching her another kpop dance LMAO), they also see it as they’re (literally) god-given job to dance better than any idol you’ve seen do it before, esp when they recruit groups of other dancers to join for group choreos
Yoimiya! cutie #1, CHILDE, amber, eula, ITTO, bennett,
Collei (but shes shy u gotta encourage her),
Diona (cutie #2),
FISCHL (would form an actual group to dance all the choreos like a real kpop group),
Gorou (shy #2, needs encouragement),
Kazuha (tbh I think he’d have fun and be weirdly good at it, fem or masc dances),
Ayaka (shy #3, needs encouragement and would rather die than dance in front of ppl other than you),
KLEE CUTIE #3, NAHIDA CUTIE #4,
Qiqi (but u gotta teach her slow bc she needs to memorize it, and also it takes her a bit to write down the dance steps in her journal so she doesn’t forget as much),
Razor (another person i think would just have fun with it! also he’d do it but it would be very, aggressive? like making finger hearts but violently shoving his arm out at ur face lmao),
HEIZOU (shutup he’d actually be good at it and brag- and flirt at you-),
Aether (shy #4), VENTI, xingqiu, xinyan, KAVEH
BARBARA (she literally stalks u around Mondstadt all like “oh hello your highness! just happened to walk by you and was wondering if you heard any new of those “kpop” dances, you know I’d LOVE to show it off at my next show-!” like she hasnt been a block behind you the entire day 💀)
WHO YOU MANAGED TO CONVINCE TO DANCE LMAO-
babygirl Wanderer (he literally surveyed the area before he finally let u teach him any moves, and refused to any sort of dramatic moves, like fem or masc),
Alhaitham (but only like a small part of a guy group choreo like a bit from God’s Menu or smth, he was too lazy to do anymore even for u lol),
Cyno (dammit some of these bitches look way too good doing even girl group dances-),
Diluc (u got him to do like, a pose. LMAO and he saw Kaeya in the distance and quit immediately LMFAO),
Kaeya (but it didnt take much convincing, if anything it just took forever to teach him, he’s talented in footwork for swordfighting but apparantly not dancing, at least not modern dances he tripped so much ur convinced he did it on purpose at one point so he’d fall into your arms again lol),
Ganyu (super shy, wont do it around anyone but you, and maybe Shenhe),
speaking of Shenhe (she just took awhile to teach bc she wanted to stay upright a lot, kinda stiff),
Keqing (once again, another who’d only dance when it’s just u two lol),
Yae Miko (she just wanted to learn the whole choreo that’s what took so long… and now she’s making comments like “My goodness, my god wants me to dance for them? They’ll even show me how? Oh, now I must do it perfectly so I can satisfy you, my Kami.” STOP TAKING THINGS OUT OF CONTEXT UR TEACHING EVERYONE-),
Ayato (he’s acts so theater gay he refuses to do anything but the girl group dances/fem dances lol),
SARA (easy, give her ur strongest, saddest pout and she cracked like glass, u got her to do a whole dance with u/she actually got into it too, its her secret guilty pleasure now lol),
Kuki (did one sort of move then got BARRELED OVER by Itto’s crazied boy group acrobatics he likes so much, u know the backflips over each other type of ones? yeah. ),
Ei (the god herself/not the puppet, catch her never doing that lol, she tried but didnt, get it? she’s also pretty stiff, but she looks like she’s having fun so u just keep teaching her moves, and she likes that its you teaching her something new),
Thoma (shy #5 ? idek what number we’re on anymore lol),
TIGHNARI (u nag that bitch so hard he nearly throws a drink at you to get u to stop bothering him- NO he does NOT think those dances would suit his ears- dammit he wont do that dance, no matter how much he likes you- DAMMIT MY LORD-),
Xiao (if u thought nagging Tighnari was hard, this is like nightmare mode, not only does he not wanna do the dances, but he also wants to understand WHY u want him to dance each and every move- !! bc he would “look cute or cool”?!?!!?!!! …yeah he’s gone, he went so red u cant even get him back with tofu),
Zhongli (would like, be so confused on how to make his body do that, that he ended up just sort of posing, at least he looks cool)
(anyone not on these 2, u did, in fact, not manage to convince, yes, even if their god asked them to, nor are they doing it of their own volition lol)
WHAT THE HELLLLLLL-
THIS IS SO LONGGG IM SO SORRRYYYYY
ANYWAY HOPE SOMEBODY LIKED THIS, DW ILL STOP THE WEIRD SCENARIOS AFTER THIS ASK I JUST GOT IN A PHASE I DONT KNOW WHY
also, im like, three weeks away form graduating uni? NICE, soon i will be free to assault u all with responses mwhahahaha (rubs my little gremlin hands together)
Safe travels,
💀 ♒
♡the beloveds♡
@karmawonders / @0rah-s / @randomnatics / @glxssynarvi / @nexylaza / @genshin-impacts-me / @wholesomey-artist / @thedevioussmirk
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empressofmankind · 5 months
Text
On My Silent Days
I Miss You A Little Louder
[Crocodile x female!OC]
Explicit with a capital E
Word count: 7k / 15 pages
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A/N: Writing this has been my whole life the past 5 days, as anyone who has frequented my Dash recently can attest. I am obsessed with their chemistry.
Technically, this is part of 'The Show Must Go On'. You don't have to read it, but I recommend it. You'll get to know Shivs and her helter-skelter relationship with Buggy which sits as the background to this whole ordeal.
You see, this is like, Arabaste arch at the earliest - Cross Guild era more likely. By then, Shivs and Bugs have rollercoastered through so much bullshit and they've come out rock solid on the other side somehow. Clown keeps failing up, even with this relationship. Sir Crocodile finds the whole thing insulting, to say the least. And seems to think it is one well-placed remark away from utterly crumbling. Jealous ex, whomst? My dude, you fucked that up yourself. Repeatedly. You had more chances than you have fingers. Chemistry aside, this is absolutely a desert of his own making.
What else do you need to know? Shivs is only 2 or 3 years younger than Buggy (i.e. my age, come sue me), but Crocodile is 5 years older than the clown. So, she's in her mid 30s, he's in his mid 40s. She originally met him when he was maybe 28? Do the math. Oh yes, and for those less familiar with the Cross Guild era: our favourite clown has managed to accidentally become the lauded public face of what is actually Mihawk and Crocodile's venture. Understandably, the ex-warlords are a little miffed by this and spend decent amounts of time physically abusing poor Buggy.
Shivs' absolutely flawless plan is basically swapping sexual favours with her ex for get-out-of-jail-free cards for the clown.
My girl literally barging in here telling Croc: "I'll take ur cock if u leave my clown alone."
Yes. That's it. That's the plot.
She almost had him, too. Arguably, she had him the entire time. And then he gdamn snapped her from the pond edge like an unwitting gazelle in the last minute. Cuz we all - her included - forgot who we're dealing with for 14.5 pages straight. APPARENTLY.
screams into a pillow
Tag(s): Oh? Ok. Sexual favours! Is she fucking her boss? No, but he always makes it feel that way. Is she fucking her ex? Yes. Are they technically still married? Maybe. Blow jobs? Deep throat. Size kink? 100%. Filthy language. Graphic sex. Soft dom? Power bottom? I am on the fence. Little girl vibes on the margins, like, he tries. She too sassy and sooner a brat. Oh, orgasm denial! Big time. Humiliation? A little bit. Stretching? Yes. Moar size kink. Choking? Big yes. Spoiling? Also yes. She deserves nice things. Power imbalance? Yes. In whose direction? It kind of flip-flops. Did I need to spend so many words on their smoking and his cigars? Probably not, but it scratched an itch. With them, it counts as foreplay; I am sure. You know you're doing well when he takes the damn thing outta his mouth. World class banter, too. If I may say so myself. But really, the bottom line is that it's just oral and PIV dressed up real fancy.
ON MY SILENT DAYS 
I MISS YOU A LITTLE LOUDER
The double doors were as tall and foreboding as Shivs remembered. All bevelled hardwood and delicate gilding. She stood before them, gazing up. In the dead centre sat a brass knocker shaped like a bananawani's head, polished to a sheen. 
Knocking was for people with appointments, and waiting wasn't something she planned on doing here ever again. She put her palms against the cold, expensive wood and pushed the massive doors open as if breaking a siege. They swung on smooth hinges despite their weight and struck the marbled walls with resounding booms.
The opulent office beyond was exactly as she remembered. Marquina walls, fishbone parquet floors, blackwood furniture. The taxidermied juvenile bananawani set in the wall vitrine behind his desk was new. What had been there before? A map? A ship? No, a stone. An artefact of some kind riddled in curious glyphs.
Crocodile glanced up from his papers and the irritation flitting across his scarred face in the split second before he realised who'd dared barge in, set the hairs on the back of her neck on end. How often had she seen someone shrivel into a desiccated husk straight after that look?
Shivs held his pale gaze, set her jaw and strode into his office as if down the plank. 
The creak of leather as he leaned back in his seat. “You know I've killed people for less.”
She paused in front of his outrageous statement piece of a desk. She put her hands in the pockets of her baggy pants and forced her shoulders to unclench, her stance to relax. If Buggy’s dumb luck had managed to rub off on her in these past months, then now would be the time for it to start working for her.
“Lucky I am not ‘people’,” she said as she crossed her fingers in her pocket. 
Amusement squinted his eyes as the corner of his mouth twitched up behind his cigar. “No, you're not,” he said as he rose.
Shivs was not short. Not by any regular definition of the word. Buggy was only a head taller than her. She hadn't forgotten how tall Crocodile was, not really. And yet, as he came around his desk and towards her, there appeared to be no end to him as he approached. If she reached up, stretched her arm, she could nick his cigar. But only just.
"Do you still smoke?" he said as he stopped well within her personal space, forcing her to crane her neck to meet his gaze. He took a flat, brass case from the inside pocket of his coat and held it out to her. She remembered it. Remembered the exquisite taste of the narrow cigarillos in it.
"No."
"Liar." His gaze flicked down along his cigar at her. "You smell of cigarettes, doll."
"I have changed my ways."
Humour flitted under his gravelly voice. "For the worse." 
Shivs pursed her lips. "It's an expensive lifestyle when they don't come free with a goodnight kiss."
"Hah." 
The bark of laughter actually reached his eyes, crinkling their crow's feet for a moment. He held out the case to her again. "You poor thing. I do support charities, you know."
She took it this time and flipped it open. The rich waft of tobacco and sweet Goji berries greeted her as if no time had passed at all. Might as well enjoy her sojourn back to hell while she could.
She put one of the thin cigarillos between her lips and let him light it. Watched the firelight catch and reflect in his rings. Took a moment to savour the blend, rich and sweet as polished Beli.
They were very good.
Always had been.
Shivs took the cigarillo from between her lips and blew the smoke up in rings through a slow smile. They almost reached him.
Crocodile leaned down through the cloudy hoops to pluck the shoulder of her red-and-white striped sweater between thumb and index finger, a judgemental 'hmph' escaping around his cigar.
She enjoyed the expensive smoke and his fascination while it lasted. Maybe, just maybe, this would be enough? Letting him treat her like a doll badly in need of a better dress up? He liked to spoil, always had. Now, more than ever, he had the means to take it to completely nonsensical levels. Her ego could take it, if that was the price of leaving Bugs alone.
Shivs indicated his everything with an up and down wave of her free hand. "No way to afford the good stuff on a waiter's salary."
He let go of the fabric to brush his thumb across the smear of grease paint near the collar, staining his skin and the gold of his ring red.
"Or a dud's haul." 
He hooked the silk kerchief from his vest's breast pocket and wiped his hand. She followed the length of his arm up to his face.
"The entertainment isn't half bad."
“Yes.” He chewed the butt of his cigar, derision twitching his thin lips as he tucked the kerchief into an inside pocket of his coat. “His pathetic antics can be mildly amusing.”
Shivs’ grip on the cigarillo tightened, but she smiled pleasantly. “I like it when a man can make me laugh,” she said, pointing at him with the thin smoke between her fingers. “Even if at his own expense.”
She frowned at his broad back when he turned away from her without a witty reply, retreating to the button tufted camelback near them.
“You're not here for a social call,” Crocodile stated as he sat down, putting his arms along the sofa's curved back. Something flitted past his pale eyes, but it was gone so fast Shivs couldn't nail it. “What do you want, doll?” 
Shivs rolled back and forth on the balls of her feet, pursing her lips as if preparing to drive a hard bargain. She intended to seem casual, unconcerned. But her palms were slick with sweat and her heartbeat drummed in her ears. She filled her mouth with smoke, tasting the rich flavours. Savouring them before blowing it out in small puffs through her pursed lips.
"I want you to leave him be," she said, extinguishing the cigarillo in his ashtray.
Crocodile shifted and put his shin across his knee. Her gaze flicked down and she saw him take note. 
"And if I do?"
She held his gaze. One breath, two breaths, moved her jaw but didn't form the words. She wanted him to leave Buggy alone. Even if that meant taking his… beating, instead.
He blew out smoke through his nose, waiting patiently for her answer. The hint of a smile lingered as his pale eyes held hers from above the waterline of his scar. And in that moment, he reminded her so strongly of a lurking crocodile. Watching. Waiting. Biding its time to strike. It sent a shiver down her spine, and not entirely out of fear.
Shivs pursed her lips, steeled her emotions, checked her resolve. I'll do it for you, Bugs. It's a deal I know he won't refuse.
She met his intense gaze head on, then dropped hers slowly to his crotch once more. Allowed it to linger there, before looking back up.
He chewed the butt of his cigar and beckoned her. "You never could fit all of me down that skilled throat of yours." 
Shivs watched him uncross his legs as she approached. She trailed her fingertips along his clothed thighs before leaning on them. It brought her face level with his and she deliberately took a moment to breathe in his secondhand smoke. 
“Want to judge if that hasn't changed for the worse?” she whispered against his lips as she savoured the distinct flavours that made up his private blend. 
Strong muscles flexed and relaxed under her palms, and she presumed that to mean ‘yes’. 
She ran her hands down his muscular thighs, taking in their shape until her palms rested on his knees. His breathing changed, she could tell from the way he exhaled smoke. Denser palls, deeper breaths. No resistance as she pushed his knees apart far enough to kneel between them.
Brushing her fingertips across his overstated belt buckle, she smiled to herself. Some things never changed. She slipped the tooled tip through the frame, her movements slow and deliberate as she listened for the subtle shifts in his breathing. She loosened the prong with a sharp tug on the strap, using more force than was strictly necessary. An undercurrent of need laced the grunt that escaped him in response. 
Shivs reached into his pants with both hands, catching his gaze as she drew his penis out, feeling it swell against her palms. She made a noise of appreciation as she let her hands slide down his shaft. His pale eyes hunting after hers when she broke their gaze to look at her fingers fitting around the base. She had not forgotten how tall this part of him was.
Leaning forward, she trailed teasing kisses from halfway down his shaft towards the tip. I’ve swallowed swords longer than this, and dicks aren’t even sharp, she thought as she flicked her tongue past the rim, playful-like. Length was only half the problem though, she knew that perfectly well.
She put a hand on his thigh and leaned on it as she ran the flat of her tongue across the head and took him into her mouth, suckling the tip. Inched his cock further with deliberately slow, short bobs, tilting her head to ensure he’d catch every movement of her lips as they worked around him. Need strained his stoic expression when she stole a glance up. A twitch of his eyebrows when the tip bumped against the back of her mouth. She sucked down and drew his cock back out, watched it twitch and his grip tighten on the backrest as she felt his thigh flex under her palm.
She took him into her mouth again and ran the tip of her tongue along the underside of his cock. Relaxed her neck and let it slip further than before, teasing at the entrance to her throat. Nudging it, stretching it just a bit before sucking down and drawing him back out, tasting precum for her efforts.
The frustrated groan that rumbled up from somewhere deep within his broad chest sent sparks flying down her spine. This is gonna work, she thought as he reached for her head, petted her hair while she teased the precum from him with fleet, wet kisses.
“Stop messing around and swallow my cock, sweetheart,” Crocodile grunted, pale eyes alight with hunger. The petting stopped, fingers tangling into the hair at the back of her neck instead. It was like the twitch on the line that told a fisherman to react.
Shivs glanced up along his hard shaft, and reeled him in: 
“Yes, Sir.”
The horny groan that drew from him, before she’d even begun to take him again, settled comfortably in her bones. Gotcha, she thought.
Shivs breathed slow, deep, steady breaths as she slid his cock along her tongue, lining him up. The head pushed past the entrance of her throat and she switched to shallow breaths through her nose. The grunts and huffs that escaped him every time she swallowed were inhuman and she needed more of it.
She slid his cock further down, felt his thighs tremble as she did. The closer she got, the more his musk pervaded every stifled breath she managed around his thick cock. It was a heavy, heady scent and she shifted her position to press her thighs together. He didn’t notice.
She stroked his legs, ran her hands up to his hips as she leaned closer, and took him deeper still. His fingers were fisted painfully tight into her hair, but his large hand followed her without force or resistance, resting heavily against the back of her neck.
Almost. 
Almost there.
And then the tip of her nose bumped against his flat stomach. She could hardly smirk with his dick this far down her throat but counted on the crinkle of her eyes to work for her as she caught his gaze and slowly raised her hands, palms up. She didn’t care that they trembled. 
Look. No hands, motherfucker.
Crocodile grinned down at her through a huff of smoke, cigar dangling between his teeth. She thought it looked a little worse for wear.
“The pathetic clown doesn’t know what a dirty little slut you are, does he?” Crocodile said, his gravelly voice thick with lust as he petted the back of her neck. “Giving such sweet head to save his sorry hide.” He ran his fingers along her throat as if trying to feel how far down his cock had gone. “I always knew you could do it, sweetheart.”
“Now,” he added as he huffed out a pall of smoke and she felt cool metal sliding around the back of her neck, barring a retreat. “I need my cock-hungry doll to make me feel good.”
Shivs dropped her hands to his hips, gripping the folds of hard muscle there for support. She slid her tongue between her bottom lip and the underside of his cock, making sloppy little noises with the slightest bob of her head. Even those small movements pressed the round curve of his hook into the back of her neck, sending a shiver down her spine that made her squeeze her thighs together. She didn’t bother to try and hide it.
His large hand joined his hook, strong fingers digging into the back of her head, twisting into the hair there and holding her put as his thick cock twitched so far down her throat she didn’t even know anymore where precisely she felt it. She worked her throat around him, drawing rumbling moans from him that pitched.
“Ah -nngh- you feel so good, doll. So. Damn perfect.” His thighs tensed under her arms, flexing his hips with short jerks. She closed her eyes as she swallowed around him, frowning with effort. His breathy grunts as he lightly fucked her throat made her pussy throb.
Suddenly, his grip tightened like a vice and he shoved her nose-first against his hard, trembling stomach muscles, stealing her breath. Her eyes flew open as her throat strained and cramped, swallowing around him in reflex.
 “Fuck, honey. Ah---! Yes, yes.” The satisfied, drawn-out moan as Crocodile spilled his hot cum down her throat reverberated through the quiet office. 
Her fingers dug around his hips, tears jumping into her eyes as she gagged, feeling cum come up around his cock as stars danced into her vision. His grip weakened as he rode out his orgasm and she pulled back before he was quite done pumping cum. Shivs swallowed it mindlessly while coming up for air. His dick slid wetly out of her throat and mouth, streaks of cum connecting them before they broke.
She glanced up from his softening cock, glistening with her saliva all the way to the hilt. He’d tilted his head back, held his cigar nowhere near his mouth as he came down from his orgasm with deep, steadying breaths that expanded his wide chest and flared his nostrils.
He straightened with a lazy groan and a roll of his broad shoulders. 
Shivs met his gaze, panting.
“You’re still my pretty little thing, aren’t you?” Crocodile said, his gravelly voice breathy as he reached for her, stroking her cheek with his thumb. The gold of his ring was smooth where his fingertip felt rough, the warm touch grounding her fried senses. It lingered at her eyepatch, lightly brushing the faded leather. “The things we let people do to our faces…”
He hooked the kerchief from his pocket and dabbed her mouth. She reached for his hand with both of hers, touching the back of it, taking the cloth. She watched him watch her as she cleaned her face.
“Don’t you have a new pretty thing? Miss Face-of-the-Casino in her cute kimono?” Shivs forced her tone to be casual, edged with light mockery, maybe. It was stupid that it’d stung when she’d seen the younger woman. An irrational, petty feeling. An old pain. And, none of her business, at any rate.
The dismissive look that flitted past his pale eyes was rather unexpected. “An investment, nothing more.”
“She’s pretty,” Shivs said. Perhaps, part of the sting had been the fact that Miss Pretty had not responded to her the way women did when they were into other women.
Crocodile looked at his cigar before putting it back in his mouth. “That she is.”
Their gazes crossed and she pursed her lips. He reached for her jaw, fingertips grazing its curve. Then leaned down and pressed a peck against her frown. She sat up and chased after him as he took another draw from his cigar, stole the aromatic smoke from him as she teased her tongue into his mouth. He blew it out through his nose, taking the cigar from his mouth as he caught the back of her neck with his hook and took control of the kiss.
“You can have one if you like, sweetheart,” he said when they broke apart, indicating his cigar. 
And lord, if she wasn't tempted.
“You share ‘em these days?”
His derisive ‘hmph’ made her smirk as she rose to her feet. 
“What about Miss Pretty? She enjoy your… cigars?” Shivs said, and noticed she’d gotten his cum all over Buggy’s sweater. Shit.
Crocodile glanced at her, pale eyes searching. “I prefer making deals with those who have something of value to offer, doll.”
Shivs put her hands in her pockets and rocked up on the balls of her feet with a mildly overacted grin. “Oh, it’s a deal then? You’ll play nice?”
“My compliance doesn’t come that cheap,” he said through a huff of smoke.
She crooked an eyebrow, risking a hint of ridicule in her tone. “Cheap? And here I was, thinking I have a unique skill up for offer.”
He actually cracked a smile as he flicked the butt of his cigar into the general direction of his desk and ashtray. Then beckoned her with hook and hand. 
“Come here, doll.”
It would have been too easy.
She sauntered back to him and linked her fingers with his, curling the others around his hook, letting him draw her into his lap, straddling his thighs. He shifted so his cock was between them, pressing against her clothed cunt.
“What else will it cost me?” she said as she rested her hands on his shoulders, lightly riding against him. Every rub along his dick pulsed pleasure up her spine, and she hadn’t failed to notice it was already stiffening again.
He stoked the tip of his hook along her cheek as his large hand took in the shape of her firm butt, guiding her movement. “I want to know if your tight pussy can take all of me now, too.”
“Here, on a couch?” she said as she slipped her fingertips under his coat and pushed it off his shoulders. She trailed her hands down the revers of his vest, grabbed hold of them as she dry humped against him. “I thought you said you weren’t cheap?”
The bark of laughter that drew from him shouldn’t make her smile the way it did.
He pressed a kiss against it. 
“I wouldn’t dare, honey,” Crocodile said as he gathered her up in his arms and rose smoothly from the couch, leaving his coat behind. He strode across his study and through the adjacent library to the expansive bedroom beyond. She remembered the sweeping view from its curving window wall and the sea of nightlights twinkling far below.
Instead of depositing her on his spacious bed, he set her down on the plush rug beside it. And motioned up and down her clothes with a dismissive gesture. “Take those rags off.”
Not my rags, Shivs thought as she kicked her boots aside, removed her baggy pants and grabbed the edge of the sweater. She didn’t wear a bra. She didn’t like them, and she hadn’t bothered wearing one this evening either.
Fingertips traced the lacy sides of her underwear while she had the sweater pulled over her head.
“You still have those.”
He sounded…not surprised. Curious, maybe?
“No reason to get rid of perfectly fine underwear,” she said as she freed herself from the sweater, finding he’d already undressed.
“They can stay on,” he said as she folded the sweater, her hand lingering on it before she turned to him.
“For now?”
A smile twitched the corner of his lips. 
“Here, doll.” He held something out to her, cream-coloured and neatly folded. It seemed small and delicate in his large hand.
When she took it, the fabric cascaded into a surprisingly classy, mid-thigh negligee of shimmering silk. The top was constructed from intricately detailed lace with tiny bananawani worked into the pattern.
“Pretty,” she said as she brushed a finger across the delicate lace. She put it on and it fit her so neatly it felt like a second skin. An outrageously luxurious second skin for the silk felt soft as sin and the lace light as air. She turned a full circle on her tiptoe, overacting it just a little. She knew he liked that.
“Looks good on you.” He reached for her head, combing his fingers through her tangled red hair, tucking stray bangs behind the strip of her eyepatch. “I’d never let you get so grimy.”
“Can’t be a dirty little slut if you wash me.”
“Hah.” Crocodile leaned down and scooped her up into his arms, just like that. “Come here before I shove my cock down your throat again to shut you up.”
“Don’t tempt me- ah!”
Her reply cut off when he suddenly let go, dropping her into his bed. And that was quite the distance, even if the landing was soft. He immediately climbed on top of her, caging her with his much larger body. She spread her legs, accommodating his wider hips as he reached for her breast. His thumb traced circles around her nipple through the fine lace, stiffening at his touch.
“Like what you see?”
“Always have, doll,” he rumbled against her collarbone. Though no longer smoking, she could still smell it on him. Would be able to pick it out of a crowd. Subtle tones that reminded her of burnt coffee, dry glass and cinnamon, mingling with the faint wax smell of his hair gel and heavier citric notes of his cologne.
A small gasp escaped her when he brushed the lace down and kissed her hard nipple, taking it into his mouth and licking the sensitive tip. She felt the curve of his hook press against her hip, hitching up the silk as his hand slipped between her thighs. Strong, confident fingers pressed against the fabric of her panties and outer labia underneath. It ignited old desires, flickering life into fires she’d thought snuffed out.
His rough fingers traced the delicate lace, undulating with its curling, stylised waves. Her breath caught when they found the edge along the crease of her thigh. A mewl on her lips as he dipped them under the smooth fabric, fingertips grazing the warm, sensitive skin of her outer labia and sending sparkles of anticipation up her spine. The delicate fabric stretched with an alarming whimper from the seams as strong digits brushed between her folds, not quite able to reach. He grunted against her breast at the soaked pussy he found there.
She felt him slip the hook under the edge, warm from resting against her hip. The thought of him pulling her panties down with it lit up every nerve in the vague vicinity of her hips. Her eyes snapped open at the sharp jerk, the sudden cry of fabric tearing at the seam between silk and lace. 
Shivs made a noise, nose wrinkling. Those were the nicest-.
“I’ll get you new ones,” Crocodile promised against the curve of her breast, his gaze down as he hooked the fabric from her hips. The hunger in his pale eyes as he looked at her pussy made her spread her legs further. He leaned down to caress her labia and press a light kiss against them that made her throb, thinking about his tongue.
A breathy huff escaped Shivs when he slid his middle finger between her folds instead, running slow circles around her inner labia. Gathering the moisture there before teasing them apart and brushing across her clenching entrance. Pleasure sizzled up her spine when he pressed it inside, mapping her inner walls and finding all the right places far too easily. If he kept this up, she was going to come very soon.
He switched to her other breast, teasing the sensitive skin as he inserted a second finger. “I seem to remember you liked getting your little hole stretched,” he rumbled against her nipple, and spread his large fingers apart. She moaned at the strength in them, the ease with which they pried her open. It sent twinges of sweet, sweet pressure blazing through the haze of need fogging her thoughts.
She reached down to his hand, stroke the back of it. Found his thumb and guided it against her clit with a needy moan. Her thighs trembled as he massaged it firmly, pushed his fingers all the way in, then spread them as he pulled out. She felt his knuckles and the hard edges of his rings press into her labia when he pushed them back in but she didn’t mind, kind of liked it. She reached a hand for his shoulder, neck, grabbing hold of the tout muscle there as she arched her back towards him. His pace was torturously slow and she was loving it.
Shivs let out a drawn out whine when he stopped, pulled at his neck, wrist, knowing perfectly well neither will give an inch but trying, anyway. She tried to clench her thighs, rub them together, nurse the need smouldering in her veins, but his knees were between hers and she writhed in vain.
Crocodile shifted unto his elbow, bunching the silk further up her hips while taking his hard dick in hand. A hoarse whisper close to her ear as he guided the head against her slick pussy: “Won’t you beg for my cock, sweetheart?”
“I need to feel your cock in me,” Shivs said as she caught his hungry gaze. “Feel it fill me, stretch me.”
He grunted with barely contained need, she could see it in the straining of his back as she reached for his thick neck, folding her hands behind it. Felt it in the way his hips twitched as he pressed his shaft through her wet folds, coating it with her juices.
“Am I not a good girl, sir?”
“Yes, you are.”
Shivs moaned loudly when he entered her. Whined at the delicious pressure as he pushed deeper into her soaking wet pussy, stretching her around him. She clung to his neck, mewling with incoherent need. Her hand went to his hair, messing it up but not caring. Neither did he.
“Ah -ngh- fuck,” Crocodile grunted, his breath hot against her neck.
Shivs held onto him for dear life as she arched against his hard body, savoured the sharp pleasure of him stretching her cramping, soaking cunt wide enough to plough through. He’d not bottomed out yet. If she could take him, she’d have him wrapped around her finger.
“You’re. Fuck. As tight. As I remember. Sweetheart,” Crocodile groaned into her neck, his gravelly voice strained to the point of being near unintelligible. It was getting tougher and tougher to push further through her tight, contracting walls.
“Almost there,” Shivs whispered as she brushed a stray bang of dark hair from his eyes.
The noise he made in response was inhuman and she drank it in as she closed her eyes, spread her legs further to accommodate his hips and relaxed every muscle she could still feel. A whimper bubbled from her lips when he pushed up against something deep within her that twitched a pleasure so sharp up her spine it sat right next to pain. 
“Fuck, yes,” he ground out as his hips pressed flush against hers, his breath hot, heavy pants buffeting against the crook of her neck. “Feels. So good.”
He managed to push himself up onto his elbow, satisfaction animating his whole face as he looked at their joined hips, her soft labia squashed against his pubes. Shivs whimpered, his movement nudging tight bursts of pleasure deep within her. 
“I knew you could do it, doll.” His tone was thick with lust, laboured from his heavy breathing. He gently brushed a strand of sweat-slick red hair from her forehead with his hook, looking so proud. “You like getting your little cunt stuffed, don’t you?"
Shivs gave a sharp nod, struggling to form words.
“I know you do, honey,” he whispered as he rolled his hips against hers, not truly thrusting. She reached for his face with trembling hands, stroking his hard jaw. He grunted under his breath with each push and she pressed pecks against the puffs of hot breath until he responded. Until he chased her tongue back into her own mouth and pressed her head back into the pillow with the desperate force of his kiss, demanding entrance with his tongue that she was more than willing to give. 
“That's all you g-got?” she whispered through a moan and a bated breath when they broke their kiss for want of air. “I b-barely feel it.”
“Ah? You want more, doll?” Crocodile pulled out with a grunt, just a fraction, before shoving himself back inside her to the hilt, making her mewl with pleasure through clenched teeth as his cock bottomed out and up against her cervix. “Shall I take you back to my study? Pound you bend over my desk, like I used to?”
Shivs whined into his mouth as she latched onto him again, arms tightening around his thick neck as her cunt squeezed around his cock from the pleasure coiling around her spine. If he took her from behind, he could probably push deeper still. Oh, she’d be in trouble.
“Who’s cheap now, hrm?” A breathy hum into her ear as the obscene slap of his hips against hers filled his bedroom. She whined in need, the heady mix of mind numbing pleasure laced with an edge of pain making her tremble against him. “Do you want to be my little whore again? My pretty fuck slut to sit on my cock whenever and wherever I want?”
All she could do was whine and roll her hips to meet his steady thrusts. Fingers digging into the taut muscles across his shoulders, keeping him close as he fucked her deeper than she’d ever felt a man, even him. She whimpered, the heady mix of mind numbing pleasure laced with an edge of pain all but overwhelming her. Especially when he thrust just right, shoving his cock against a sensitive spot so deep inside her she didn’t even know she had it.
“I missed my. Pretty cocksleeve,” Crocodile grunted into her ear. “The. Only. Little slut that can take me -hng- properly.”
“Fuck me harder,” Shivs whispered, hands massaging his broad shoulders. He groaned with effort, she could feel the bridled strength in the muscles working under her palms. His pace picked up, and so did the strain in his body. Every thrust stretched her so deliciously, stimulating every needy nerve inside of her. 
“Do it,” she moaned wantonly as his thrusts started to push her up on the bed, her weight no match against his strength. “I c-can take it.”
“Ah - hng- you’re. Going to. Make me cum, doll,” he growled through clenched teeth. He grabbed her shoulder, holding her in place as he jerked his thrusts up against her. Her mind was unravelling. The only thing she could think about was his cock filling her, burning up every single nerve she had as needy pleasure coiled in her belly. She wanted him to cum. She really did.
When he paused, she struggled to comprehend why. Her gaze found his. Sweat beaded on his forehead, his mouth slack to accommodate the deep breaths heaving his chest. He was barely holding still, strain thrumming through every inch of his large frame above her.
“Does. My pretty little thing want. Cum as deep in her tight pussy. As her pretty throat?”
She whined, pulled at his neck with both hands. “Y-yes.”
“Beg. For it.”
“P-please,” she whimpered as she tried to make him move, weakly rolled her hips towards him. 
“Please what?”
“Please, s-sir.”
The noise he uttered in response to that settled somewhere at the primal base of her brain. She wanted, no, needed, to hear it again.
“Please, sir. Pound my needy hole like I deserve,” she mewled into his ear, savouring the way his breath hitched, that noise came again. 
“Damnit, doll,” Crocodile grunted through clenched teeth as he picked up a pace that became quickly rougher, slightly erratic. He locked his hold on her shoulder, broad fingers digging around her thin muscles and narrow bones, keeping her put as he pounded into her soaking, cramping cunt. “Gonna fuck you so full, you'll be leaking my cum well into tomorrow.”
“Please, please, pleaaasse,” she whined and clenched around him as he fucked her into the sinfully soft matrass with long, deep strokes that shoved his cock shamelessly up against her cervix to fit it all in. She wanted, needed, to cum around it, desperate for release. “Fuck me full of cum, sir. Stuff my tight cunny like you did my slutty mouth.”
“I -ngh- will, honey. I am,” he ground out, barely intelligible as his pace lost all semblance of rhythm and he bucked against her in the grip of his orgasm’s first throes.
“Oh! Yes, yes,” she moaned as he shoved his throbbing cock as far as she could take it, cumming against the deepest corner of her cunt as she shuddered around his cock with unfulfilled need. He stayed buried inside her as he came down, breath erratic before steadying, slowing. She whimpered in need, clenching around his softening cock. She hadn’t been able to cum around it like she wanted. It was too thick to cramp enough for a proper orgasm. She knew that, but had thought maybe this time…
He knew it, too. Remembered it.
“You’re still my pretty little thing, aren’t you?” he said as he caressed her cheek, ran his thumb across her parted lips. “Unable to cum around a cock like a big girl.”
She made a small noise that he swallowed in a kiss.
They stayed that way until her breathing steadied as well. Then he sat up and gathered her into his lap. She held onto him, her cheek against his collarbone. Not quite ready yet to let go.
“You look parched, doll,” Crocodile said as he brushed a bang from her eyes.
Shivs peered up at him. “I would not say ‘no’ to a sweet white.”
A noise escaped him that could have been a fond one as he lifted her off his lap and rose. The sound of his retreating footsteps filled the quiet. He’d gone to his study, judging by the distance. Shivs got up as well and shimmied the negligee down. Despite everything, she did not feel like taking it off. It felt nice against her flushed skin.
She sauntered to the curved window wall and found the view precisely as she remembered it. A sea of nightlights twinkled across the city below, mirroring the deep blue, star-speckled sky above. The moon hung low, waning from view. It wasn’t long before he returned. She heard him uncork a bottle behind her and fill two glasses. The snap and swoosh of his lighter. The familiar scent of his cigar preceding him as he came to stand beside her, still naked.
He held a glass out to her, a cigarillo clamped against its curve. The wine was a deep bronze instead of the pale yellow usual to white wines. She accepted the glass and smoke, gaze lingering on the narrow slot through its delicate stem. It allowed him to hold them with his hook without slipping. She glanced sideways and up at him. A fond smile twitched her lips when she noticed his hair was neater than before. He’d evidently taken a comb to it for a hot second.
Shivs put the cigarillo in her mouth and turned to find his lighter lying on the nightstand beside the wine bottle, and a corkscrew with its split cork still attached. She glanced at the label as she lit the cigarillo. It read ‘1811’ in large, proud capitals, and a name in a curving script she couldn’t be bothered to try and decipher. She would not be able to afford it, anyway.
Taking a sip, she returned to his side. The wine was sweet, indeed. With hints of lime, honey, saffron. She made herself comfortable against him, her bum resting on his thigh. “It’s a nice view,” she said as she blew out a thin pall of smoke.
He glanced down at her and their gazes crossed as he idly stroked her hip. “It is.”
Shivs leaned into his touch, sipping the wine. It really was, very good.
“Clever scheme you’ve gotten up to, in order to save the loser’s sorry hide,” Crocodile remarked as he blew a smoke ring against the narrow cloud she’d just produced. “But it has a flaw.”
Shivs let her weight shift from his thigh to his loin, only the soft silk between them. “You sure?”
A self-satisfied smile twitched behind his cigar as he gave her hip a squeeze. “None of this will work on Dracule.”
Only because I don’t have a penis, she thought, but no matter. They may have both grown older, but Croki was still fundamentally the same man she’d left years ago. And that would work for her, she was sure of it. Inevitably, Mihawk would pick on Bugs. She would take it upon herself to get irritatingly upset about it. Mihawk would no doubt insult her next, and Sir Self-Satisified here would take it personally by-proxy and shut him up. It’d be a win.
“I’ll think of something,” Shivs said as she blew a thin pall through his smoke ring, dispersing it.
He glanced at her, amused. “He’s partial to good wine, at least.”
“I’ll take it under advisement.”
She nipped her own wine, idly rubbing her thighs together. Pleasure skulked around the base of her spine, denied but not forgotten. She made a little noise against her glass when she felt his hand move up her thigh, his thumb brush under the edge of the negligee.
“Still needy?” he said as he bunched up the fine silk, rubbing his middle and ring finger against her clit in slow circles. It sent lazy sparks of pleasure straight to her brain. Drawing a shuddering whimper from her as he dipped his middle finger between her folds.
“Cum for me, honey,” Crocodile rumbled as he lightly ran the tip of his finger along the inner rim of her vagina, then teased the sensitive spot further down. Shivs gasped through her moan as the briefest shudder of an orgasm stole over her like a thief in the night. It was not enough, not nearly enough.
“N-need more,” she said as she put the glass down with a wobble. Reached for his large hand when he stopped, withdrew, tugging it back. Bunching two of his fingers together, of a mind to stick them into herself if he didn't.
“Come to our board meeting tomorrow. You’ll come sit with me and I’ll take good care of your needy little hole.” He shook her fussy touch and caught her pubes, massaging his palm firmly against her soft cunt, pressing her bum against his cock. “You can ride my palm like you used to, and I’ll make you cum on my fingers till your tight pussy is sore from cramping around them.”
Shivs wasn’t particularly keen on doing any of this semi-publically, least of all anywhere Bugs would be. Though she feared she wouldn’t be able to talk herself out of this, as easily as she’d talked herself into it.
“Don’t worry, doll. I’ll leave the pathetic clown alone,” Crocodile promised as he stroked her flat belly with the rounding of his hook. “Can’t beat the loser if my hand is occupied with something sweeter, hm?”
Shit. She had to tell Bugs. Forewarned, forearmed, and all that. She turned in his hold, his hand moving to her butt instead. “I’ll see you tomorrow, then,” she said, but he caught her wrist when she took a step back.
“Ah, ah,” he admonished as he stopped her, pulled her with him, back into bed. “You’re staying with me tonight.”
“I, what? Why?” 
Suddenly, she wanted to leave as he gathered her against him, nestling her into his lap and chest, spooning his large body around her like a cage. She wanted to leave, wanted to go to Buggy and cry when he guided his cock back inside her still moist pussy with an incriminating noise and a satisfied rumble. She’d meant to turn this trick and tell Buggy about it. Tell him her plan to manipulate the ex-warlord to leave him alone, to leave them alone. Tell him it had worked. 
Shivs pushed herself on her elbow but Crocodile pulled her back down to him.
“Stay,” he said as he hooked the fluffy underblanket and silk cover sheets about them, his arm around her waist, hand on her hip.
“Why.” She had to tell Buggy, but now she couldn’t. She’d left after they’d gone to bed. She hadn’t told him yet. He didn’t know. He’d wake up alone.
Crocodile stroked the midline of her belly with the tip of his hook, rippling the cream-coloured silk as it moved up her chest, counting to the fifth rib. The one behind which her heart sat.
“Wouldn’t want to spoil the surprise.”
A quiet sob escaped her.
"Ssh, sleep, honey," Crocodile whispered into her hair, fingertips stroking her hip. “I’ll take good care of you tomorrow.”
~
Honourary mention tags: @smut-goblin , @ruledbyproblematique , @gingernut1314 , @swirlsofblackandwhite
(N/A): To anyone reading & making it to the end. Writing this has consumed me the past days. I want to know what you think! What did you like? What made you laugh? Was there something specific you noticed? Something you now wonder about? I am 100% open to lengthy comments and blow by blows, ngl. I am obsessed with this.
If you want for more, I jotted down some of my own thoughts regarding this debacle. I may also be plotting another stint. Because Impel Down, do you understand me??
125 notes · View notes
kanmom51 · 11 months
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JK live 5 June 2023 7:03 am KST
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Cr./ The creators of the media used in this post.
First thing first - we address the elephant in the room. JK cut his hair!
It's only a trim. Keep telling yourself that. Only a trim.
Breath in, breath out...
But I'm telling you, if he shows up soon with another "just a trim" I'm going to literally lose it. 😭😭
Now after we addressed that are we ok to move on? K?
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This my peeps is a close to 2 hour live. I ain't gonna and can't talk about every single thing this man talked about. Not when JK was in such a chatty mood. Nope. No can do. In any case you should be running to watch this, cause the man is friggin adorable, and no matter how many times I say it or describe it, which I definitely will, it's no comparison to seeing him yourself.
JK is happy.
This is the second live we can see that figurative jump in his step.
The man is super chatty, sharing stuff that maybe, just maybe, he wasn't supposed to share (or another theory is that he's done this so his bf doesn't have to talk about that certain thing he promised us he will talk about in his next live...). He's also being an utter brat, and I am loving every single moment of it.
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Figures.
I'm putting this here now.
Why, you ask?
Because you remember those Feb 2023 lives? You know, the ones where we felt something was off? When I said it looks like he was struggling, he's off quilter for lack of structure and support?
Well my friends, it looks like our JK is back. With his more or less set schedule. With his Jiminie by his side to be his anchor and his catalyst all in one.
Did I tell you yet how much I love this man?
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shhhh, JK wants to set up a movie date with us. Don't tell the company about it though...
The whole conversation is happening but it's literally him just thinking out loud, hilarious.
JK brain power. That man is something so so special. The time and effort it took him to try to figure out what time he will be eating lunch when his dermatologist appointment is at 11 am and he has a workout straight after that. He's hilarious.
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It was 1:30 pm. That's what his final result, btw, lol.
Mingyu and the Super dance challenge
I had a whole thing written in my vanishing post about Mingyu and how JK said he'd called him but that he's not serious. Speculating if this will ever come to pass.
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Well, looks like JK decided to take things into his own hands now, didn't he?
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JK caught him by surprise, so much so that Mingyu did the challenge in his socks. My guess is that JK is telling us all, including the higher ups, that doing this, dance challenges, is going to be on his terms. When he wants. Where he wants. With whoever he wants.
JK being JK
I love how JK tells it how it is.
He reads through the comments, says army is cute and will never change. interacts with comments. Answers questions. But he also isn't afraid to call bull, lol.
For example, loved his reaction to the comment "I'm not going to breath until you read this".
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Being savage without being savage, lol.
The rainy day fight
D'ya think I wouldn't talk about this one? No way, no where, no how.
Do we ignore the fact that JK literally scrolled back when seeing the comment?
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Nope. I don't think so.
JK saw the comment just run by, and he scrolled back cause he wanted to see it properly, and once he read it, well, of course, answer it. Idk what caught his attention there. Was it the account name? I saw talk and an actual clip showing that from the name it was a clear Jikook account. But then again, saw somewhere else mention that might not be true. This is one I'm not 100% sure about, so will leave it open with a question mark.
Anyway, that smile when reading the comment.
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That last one was him reading the comment, not him commenting on if JM is or isn't doing a live.
But in saying that, JK with that smirk,
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knew that JM ain't gonna be telling no rainy day story, so he might as well, lol.
The difference between JK describing it and JM, lol.
JM's short version:
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JK's is a more lengthy one, although at the end of the day, if you pay attention, you realise that JK didn't tell us what they actually fought about, or more so, what was it that he said to JM to have JM tell him he's on his own from there on...
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So, let's talk a bit about the fight, why don't we?
First thing first, JK puts a timeline on the fight, it being during their trainee days. That gives us a clearer time stamp, which would be anywhere between mid 2012 to a day before debut, which is 13 June 2013.
Now, you may ask why is it that JM was so off with the dates? And more so, why didn't JK correct him?
To the first question I say that this fight was way more impactful for JK than it was for JM. JK was the one who wrote a song referencing it. JK is the one that brought it up to start with during Festa 2020, and it took JM a few seconds to register and remember it. He was kind of caught off guard and could have just messed up the on the spot math, or he could have forgotten exactly when it took place.
To the second question I say that possibly JK didn't want to correct JM in front of the cameras, that the timing was less important for him to talk about and more so the fight and the making up. Or, he didn't want to correct him to stop the flow of JM's story telling, or just didn't want to correct him in front of the others, or he did the math wrong too, lol.
Now that we have cleared up the timeline, pre-debut days, let's talk about the fact that the other members clearly did not know about this fight, including Hobi.
This was a fight that happened between the two. Something that had a profound impact on JK. So much so he referenced it in a song. So much so he brought it up to apologise for it once again in during the Festa dinner.
But as impactful as it was for JK, I feel like it didn't have the same affect on JM. Not that it wasn't memorable, because it was, we saw it was, but it wasn't life changing for him as it was for JK. Yes, I think it was life changing for JK.
So, what are my thoughts about why this fight was so etched in JK's mind, so carved into his consciousness, so much so he literally wrote a song about it (that is a hill I am willing to die on) and brought it up in Festa 2020, years later, with so much water under the bridge since then?
All while I don't think it meant the same to JM? Yes he remembered it. Yes it was emotional for him. But it wasn't as impactful as it was for JK.
I am willing to go as far as to state that I feel that this fight was teenager JK's eureka moment as to how important JM was to him. And please do not get me wrong, this is not about JK crushing on JM or realising he is attracted to him. Not then. Not yet. This is way back in 2012-13. But this is about JK realizing that he needs JM. That he wants him by his side, he wants him close as a close friend, as someone to look up to, someone to help guide him, someone to care for him, someone to look out for him, someone who can understand him.
Do we remember this?
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Because of Still with you, because JK brought this up 7 years after it happened, because of JK's facial expressions while talking about it, this was a truly meaningful moment for him, in my opinion perhaps the moment where their friendship shifted for JK or more so solidified.
You know what they say? When you think you lost someone is also when you understand just how important they are to you. It takes losing them for you to realise just how important they were to you.
As for JM, well he always had a soft spot for JK. His behaviour through this also shows us that. He didn't scold JK in front of the others, respected him enough to take him aside and try to talk to him. Although he walked out, he answered JK's phone call and straight away went into carer mode. He forgave him pretty much immediately and was almost as emotional as JK was (crying hugging). So yes, it was a fight to remember (he does once JK reminds him of it) but it wasn't as impactful on JM as it was on JK because maybe for him it didn't change the way he felt about JK, while for JK it was, as I mentioned, a moment of clarity, of understanding.
Lee Mujin's Limousine Service April Fool's day - the JM episode.
Well, the episode shows up on JK's YT. Surprise surprise? Not really, lol.
JK's initial statement is that he should watch that...not that he hasn't seen it yet. And why the distinction you may ask? Well, because his behaviour during this was a little puzzling. On the one hand he does things like FF the episode and avoids Lee Mujin calling JM oppa, and you can't think that this was unconsciously done. Or he imitates JM down to the nose touch and it feels like this was not the first time he's seeing this. All while on the other hand his reactions at the start of the episode seem to be of someone watching the episode for the very first time.
Is it possible that JK's oh so accurate imitations stem from him knowing JM oh so well? Down to the nose touch? Of course it is. I mean those two are fully in tune. We've seen so many moments where it's like this is the same person, same brain. So, definitley a possiblity.
Either way, the look on his face and his reactions never lie when it comes to JM.
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JK sings Like crazy with JM.
First time he does this. Watch Like crazy with us and join in on the singing. And it's so beautiful.
Do we talk about it? Why it's taken him so long to do this?
Well, obviously I can't know for sure, but I do think that this one is an emotional one for JK.
This song is about JM's struggles during the pandemic. He told us so. Struggles that JK clearly witnessed. Struggles that JK clearly experienced with him. Struggles that JK probably also tried to help him cope with. Obviously this was not an easy time, and if this song was a type of release for JM, for JK it might be reliving something that is still weighing on him. A reminder of helplessness. Of not being able to help JM through. A reminder of the coping mechanisms. A reminder of not being enough.
But that isn't to say JK doesn't love the song. You can see how it does make him emotional, closing his eyes as he sings "you and I" and in several other moments during the song, including towards the end.
And maybe he wasn't ready to show us that just yet in his previous lives.
He was now.
And again, showing us he does like the song, he hums Like crazy again later on in the live.
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JK is JM's happy place. That is part of his love language. He makes JM laugh, and many times it's by being his bratty cheeky self.
JK makes JM laugh. In JM's own words, he's his happy virus.
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This part is funny and cute and JK just being JK by imitating JM.
And this time it's all about having fun, but JK as a whole mimics JM, not only for fun, but also as a compass, a guide as to how to behave or react. We saw him do it a lot in the younger years. JK wasn't joking when he told JM he's watching him, lol. We certainly do have the receipts for that one.
He has been doing this since forever. So very neuro divergent of him.
@jikookotters said to me after this live that JM should release a book - "My life with a brat".
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and
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Well, it has bestseller written all over it, guaranteed.
LMAO.
All fun aside, I'd say it's a small price to pay. You know, having a bratty bf that brings a smile to your face in the process. Same man that looks at you like this:
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For the whole world to see.
Literally the whole world, having millions of people just sitting there watching him watch JM and melt.
Songs JK listened to and sang for us:
Traffic light - Lee Mujin
Wasurenai TANAKA
Jay Park yesterday (Omg, the lyrics...)
Your love's the sweetest sound Around you, my heart just pounds Your touch, I'll write it down So high, I can't come down Was hopeless, took notice Baby, like a siren, mm, and you gave me faith, oh You're the answer, all my problems solved Life with you is so beautiful, I won't trade it away I was lost but found my purpose now I'm glad you're keepin' me around, I won't trade it away Whether I'm up or down or I wear no crown Love me the same way, the same way you did as yesterday Whether I'm rich or poor, just call me yours Love me the samе way, the same way you did as yestеrday Oh-oh, oh-oh Did as yesterday Your smile is all I need Without you, these lungs can't breathe I'd fall from the sky for you Wanna do better and thrive for you Was hopeless, took notice Baby, like a siren, oh-oh, and you gave me faith You're the answer, all my problems solved Life with you is so beautiful, I won't trade it away I was lost but found my purpose now I'm glad you're keepin' me around, and I won't trade it away Whether I'm up or down or I wear no crown Love me the same way, the same way you did as yesterday Whether I'm rich or poor, just call me yours Love me the same way, the same way you did as yesterday Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh Oh-oh-oh-oh Oh-oh Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh Oh-oh
I know he's a problematic person, but that song, I definitley get why JK likes it.
I have seen many are worried this is a precursor for him having a collab with Jay Park (we did see JK in his studio last year), and that very well may be. We will just have to wait and see about that.
JK also watched "JK vocals I liked", well tried watching and gave up in the middle because The best of me on replay was just too much for him.
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And his G-Dragon imitations, lol.
This was in no way him dissing G-Dragon. This was him being a fan of the man, something he has also shared with us in the past.
OK, Is it time to address the other elephant in the room?
JK's unwillingness to sing a BTS song...lol.
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Maybe better not🤣🤣
JK's goodbye to us.
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Questions to ask ourselves after watching the live:
Is someone going to explain to JK why the comments are disappearing?
What is JK working on his English super hard for? He makes a point of telling us multiple times during the live that he's working on it hard... I doubt it's only for his TikTok narration for Take two...there is more coming from JK. Question is what and when? Hopefully soon.
So why did JK want us to know about the book he's going to be reading? JK made a point at the start of the live to grab the book and place it on the table in front of him, later to show us the book and tell us he bought it and will read it. Why did JK want us to know about Michelle Zauner or her book? Collab? This is a bit of a stretch, well ok, a huge stretch, but could it be because Michelle Zauner, an openly bisexual woman, married her bandmate Peter Bradley back in 2014? So many questions...
How many times does JK have to mention JM while talking about the rainy day fight?
What was up with JK's glasses? He clearly told us that he needs them. And he was also about to get up go get them, but then stopped and said he's too lazy. But was that it? Really? Or did he just remember/realise that he forgot his glasses at that very place he came from shortly prior to the live? You know, the same place he came from arriving at Brunnen and placing his jacket (is that a motorcycle riders jacket?) on the sofa. Same Jacket he moved aside so maybe we don't notice it too much.
JK getting the book and moving the jacket:
Will we be seeing JK at one of Yoongi's Seoul concerts? Did Yoongi see the live, hear JK's request for a formal invitation up on stage? Lol. JK did say that if Yoongi asks him up, he'll do it... Oh, and do we buy concert tickets for the streaming with those prices???
What's up with JK's YT algorithm?
Do I bring this up again?
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Yeah, I guess that explains the algorithm with all the cooking and JM going on there...
Kookie, your obsessions are showing...
What was it with the guitar JK left out to tell us that he's not practicing at all although he should be? At first I thought it might have something to do with JM's acoustic performance, Letter with the guitar, you know, being the JM spoiler king and all.
But now that Take two is out, I can't help but consider perhaps this time it wasn't about JM but more about Take two... the opening guitar. Although (yes, this is me flip flopping here) the opening guitar in Take two is an electric guitar... So yeah, no idea.
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Do his neighbours, by this point, have Hybe on speed dial? I mean, I'd love to have JK as a neighbour, I really would? Nah, I lie. I love JK, you know I do, but my god, the noise that man makes, I would be hospitalized by now for sleep deprivation. And the creepy creeps that are out and about looking for him? Nah. Love him, but would rather not be his neighbour, lol.
And last but not least what so ever - why the heck is this man so utterly adorable? This man that on stage is a lean mean killing machine (well, most of the time). How can that be the same person? HOW?
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Once again JK has come to us, in his time and on his terms. And once again he's shown us in few words and many actions just how much he loves and appreciates army, and how much he loves JM. He does what he does, says what he says, within the limitations, showing us all his love and support for JM.
He's so friggin loud even those that are unwilling to see are having difficulty ignoring it.
So, are we taking bets on when we're going to be getting him live next? And will we finally be getting a JK Letter sing along? Now that we have an official Letter (Dear.Army) release on YT that is. Now, wouldn't that be an interesting one?
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comicaurora · 4 months
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Hi Red! I was curious if you've watched the new Yu Yu Hakusho live action, and if so, what your thoughts were on its pacing and handling of various plots. Personally I thought it did some very clever things and it genuinely pleasantly surprised me at a couple points, but at the same time the fact that it's only 5 episodes hurt its ability to do the story justice a bit.
Also I was rewatching the Dark Tournament arc of the anime today and wondering what it must've been like to watch when it originally aired, considering all the multi episode fights. Do you remember any of your thoughts at the time?
On an unrelated note, I'm really excited for arc 2 of Aurora!!!! Also sorry this is so ramble-y
I have watched it! For the most part, I really enjoyed it, although in pursuit of compressing everything down to five episodes it did a couple things I think definitely harmed the overall impact and characterization.
Spoilers below!
The first episode is I think nearly pitch-perfect. The visual design on the Spirit World is top-tier, and the choice to make everything that was a sacred artifact move like ferrofluid was a very clever bit of visual design. It's absolutely weird and original and I think it was a very fun way to spice up Fluffy Cloud Heaven.
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Of all the things they sped through, I'm very glad they did not speed through the crucial characterization of Yusuke initially choosing to stay dead on the assumption that everyone is better off without him, and the show subsequently taking its time to show the wake, let Yusuke's mom and Keiko really feel their feelings, etcetera. The adaptation of the wake was, to my memory, almost 100% true to the anime version, including the gut-wrenching moments like Kuwabara starting off angry and then breaking down, and the toddler Yusuke saved not really understanding that he's dead. And I had no complaints about the parts of this arc that they did speed up - a lot of the timeline of the original show is training arcs and Yusuke having to prove himself, and I had almost no problem with them skipping over that. Yusuke not having to do any tasks before coming back to life is A-OK with me.
I also entirely lost my shit at The Dropkick.
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And then the last bit of episode 1, where they have to deal with the possessed kid, was absolutely top tier. The way they make demonic possession look and feel in this show is truly horrific, and I loved the way they played it like a one-man zombie apocalypse. The fight choreography was also very impressive and I liked how much they used the environment. Also, letting Kuwabara fight this guy first was a very good way of making the power-scaling clear and establishing that Kuwabara is a fundamentally very decent person willing to punch above his weight class to try and help.
However, this episode did get me excited for something they ended up not doing, which was a bummer. The first thing we see in the show is a Makai insect, which in the anime are the tools of the villains in the Four Saint Beasts arc - at the climax of that storyline, Makai-insect-possessed students and faculty corner Keiko and Botan in the human world while Yusuke fights an increasingly desperate battle against Suzaku to try and stop him. If the full-on body horror zombie thing was what makai insect possession looked like, that scenario immediately seemed like it was going to be butt-clenchingly terrifying.
Of course, they ended up entirely sidestepping the Saint Beasts arc, which is understandable - narratively speaking its only real function is to let the four protagonists team-build after their contentious first meetings. It became clear pretty quickly that with the time they had, it wouldn't be worth it to go there. That said, I think they really could've used a little more team-building time - more on that later.
The first episode also pretty solidly established the tone they'd be taking for the rest of the show - much more dark, almost no comedy. Normally I find those sorts of adaptations pretty dour and joyless, but in this case I thought it helped make the stakes feel solid, and if anything it lined up better with the original premise of "the demon world is a truly horrifying place and its incursion into reality would be an absolute nightmarish apocalypse." I didn't mind that it felt like the stakes were real and the heroes fighting demons was really necessary.
The second episode made it pretty clear where they were going with the series adaptation. While it speeds through the intro of Goki, Kurama and Hiei, it also lets Yusuke's fight with Goki feel - again - extremely well-choreographed and tense. The choreography in this show is consistently very impressive, especially considering how often our heroes have to fight fully CGI bad guys - and this fight doesn't even have any dialogue in it, but it still makes it entirely clear what Yusuke is thinking at every point, which is very impressive, especially since he goes through an entire arc from "I don't need to figure out how to use the Spirit Gun" to "I desperately need the spirit gun to start working right the fuck now". They also handle Kurama's intro very well, making it very clear that he's cunning and kind of inscrutable but not necessarily malicious, and in the scene where Yusuke's tailing him it's pretty clear from the choreography that Kurama knows he's there and is very carefully waiting long enough for him to follow him without feeling like he's being lured, which is entirely in-character, and again a very impressive way to show characterization without any dialogue required. And of course the reveal that Kurama is in fact a Nice Boy who is trying to sacrifice himself to save his mom is real good, and letting Yusuke's past experience with seeing how his mom reacted to his death make him immediately ride or die for Kurama was a very solid bit of characterization - and adding Kuwabara to this subplot where he wasn't originally there helped balance out the characterization a little bit with an entirely justified naysayer pointing out "dude he's a demon maybe don't trust him immediately." It also helps get Kuwabara involved in the main story nice and quick, where he originally is a bit of a late arrival.
The part I was getting a little worried about at this point, and an element of the adaptation that I legitimately think is a detriment, was how they were handling Hiei. A huge part of what makes Hiei fun in the original series is that he is legitimately a huge bastard, and in his introduction is a full-blown bad guy who Yusuke very nearly dies fighting. Classic Hiei kidnapped Keiko and nearly turned her into a demon just to fuck with Yusuke. And what makes their relationship great is the team-building that happens in the Four Saint Beasts arc the adaptation is evidently skipping over, where Hiei is so baffled - and so touched - by Yusuke's completely unearned trust in him that he immediately becomes 100% ride or die for Yusuke and only Yusuke.
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He's a vicious little asshole who takes himself very seriously and legitimately has the power to back up his grandstanding 90% of the time, and that's what makes him so fun to watch - those little slivers of characterization where he's goofy or baffled or vulnerable or lets himself be visibly impressed with one of his teammates, mixed with the moments where he's like "okay this has been fun but it's time to die now" and just one-shots the bad guy with another dangerous forbidden technique he picked up for shits and giggles.
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So I was getting a little worried that the adaptation wasn't gonna let Hiei be, like. An actual asshole. Because what makes him fun as a character is that he is an asshole, he just also has a handful of sympathetic motivations and nice qualities that he usually doesn't own up to. And I ended up being right about that, which was a bummer, but again, the way they did it was a bit of extremely efficient streamlining. In the anime, Hiei's introduction is just him being a dick for no reason - then everyone has a team-building bonding arc with the Four Saint Beasts, and then Hiei is revealed to have a real heroic motivation hiding somewhere in there: rescuing his secret twin sister Yukina from a nasty human holding her prisoner.
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So the adaptation basically just streamlined the entire rest of the show into that arc. Hiei's intro stealing the fancy knife? He's using it to get the Jagan Eye to look for Yukina. Hiei storming this compound full of humans? They're the ones holding Yukina prisoner. It's 100% sympathetic, he's just not willing to own up to that to anybody. Everything he does that's dubiously moral or kind of a dick move? It's actually fine, or he's being framed (like in the shot they perfectly remake from the anime where he kidnaps Keiko, except just kidding it's a shapeshifting bad guy framing him), or Yusuke's the one who attacks him in the first place.
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And that's extremely efficient storytelling! It just makes Hiei kind of an antisocial dick and not even slightly a villain, which I think dramatically reduces how fun his character is - it just flattens him into a very standard-issue lancer archetype who refuses to express any sort of emotional or physical vulnerability to anyone, which is a fine character trope, it's just kind of more boring than the dickhead outdoor cat I was hoping for.
The same thing also happens to Genkai, who in the original series has dozens of episodes of screentime to show off how she is the best kind of mentor ever written - a dickhead mentor.
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She's rude and snarky and a full-blown asshole, and she and Yusuke have a truly hilarious mentor-stydent dynamic because they're both assholes. And it's not until a good way into the Dark Tournament that we see them in a dynamic that's not just being assholes to each other - when Genkai consolidates all her power into a sporb for Yusuke to absorb, and he spends several episodes nearly dying about it. The fact that Genkai truly cares about him as her student - and the fact that he truly cares about her as his master - only comes out in this subplot, when she honestly believes she's fucked up and killed him and he goes beyond his limits to absorb the power she's given him. It's a beautiful moment of payoff after dozens of episodes of planting, and right after that happens, Genkai is killed.
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So when the live-action show introduced Genkai, and after a good solid montage of training and anime-accurate fight scenes and some really good Kuwabara moments, she told Yusuke she had one final technique to give him, I said out loud "oh my god please don't speedrun this." And then they did. She gave Yusuke the sporb and he absorbed it immediately and painlessly, and then they left, and then she immediately gets killed.
My notes on that part were just
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So I didn't like that part. Like Hiei, Genkai is such an effective character because her moments of vulnerability and non-assholeness are so rare, and the rest of the time she's an absolute goblin nightmare. Getting rid of that reduces her to another, much flatter trope, and killing her in the same episode she's introduced almost entirely removes the impact of the moment and just makes her another dead mentor. But again, this is episode 3 of 5. This isn't the writer's fault, this is the writers making a very hard decision on what they need to get into the plot if they're planning on speedrunning the entire Dark Tournament arc - which they are. The primary rule they seemed to use when adapting Yu Yu Hakusho is "if the heroes fought this bad guy more than once, no they didn't." So the first fight with the Toguro brothers is going to become the only fight with the Toguro brothers, and they need to speedrun the entire core plot of the Dark Tournament arc within the confines of Toguro's introduction in the Rescue Yukina arc.
And the thing is, hot take? I'm not mad about that. The Dark Tournament is an iconic moment in Shonen anime history, but like. it's a tournament arc. Like all tournament arcs, it goes on a very long time, a lot of it is extremely repetitive, and it eventually arrives at the foregone conclusion end state of "team protagonist vs team final boss". In a five-episode adaptation, you pick the smallest number of good fights with real stakes and you just use those. And that's what they do here. Kurama and Hiei both get little bottle-episode fights with their respective most plot-relevant opponents from the Dark Tournament, and they both get to show off their dangerous forbidden techniques.
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And it slaps. It could've used more buildup for maximum punch, but again, five episodes. And frankly in the original they didn't get much buildup either, just "this is a thing I've been working on, hopefully I don't die about it."
And consistently, the fight choreography continues to be really good. The physicality of the actors is very solid and the way CGI attacks and opponents get worked into the choreography is so fluid it's sometimes hard to tell where the CGI ends. And considering the final boss is two full-CGI photorealistic bad guys, I think they do an incredibly good job making the fights feel real and solid.
Characterization-wise, since so much of the final episode is just a lot of fighting against a big damage sponge, there's not a ton of time for talking, but the choreography is, again, a standout. Even outside combat, the secondary characters get a lot of little moments to shine - even Damsel In Distress Du Jour Keiko gets to pull the "oh no, I, your valuable prisoner, am sick, please come into my cell within easy throttling range" trick and breaks herself and Yukina out, which slaps and makes the whole breakout feel like much more of a team effort, and it also lets Keiko and Yukina share some brief but extremely tender moments of characterization that does a lot to make them feel like well-rounded characters. And back in the main fight zone, the characters don't have much dialogue but show where they're at through how they move. Everyone is exhausted and beaten down and has already used their finishing moves, but Yusuke's in trouble, so it's time to scramble back up and tackle the bad guy. It's just such good choreo and such good acting that it makes me forgive a lot of the pacing struggles they're dealing with from boiling everything down to 5 episodes, and without dialogue - just through fight choreography - they manage to make me buy the teamwork dynamic they've thus far failed to establish due to speedrunning past all the stuff that's supposed to help them bond. This is the first part of the show that makes me believe that Hiei has any affection for the gang and any reason to fight alongside them beyond coincidence.
And they continued the trend of hitting all the major plot beats from the stuff they were speedrunning, which led to me counting down the minutes to the Kuwabara Fake-Dies To Motivate Yusuke moment.
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The rest of the fight is pretty much just a shot-for-shot adaptation of the final stage of the Toguro bossfight, plus the added fun that it's the first time in the show Yusuke has actually yelled "spirit gun" out loud, which is neat. And it took every second of those five episodes, but in the closing scene they finally reached the group dynamic I was hoping for.
All things considered, given the parameters they had to work in, I think this is the best we could've possibly gotten in only five episodes. I would've probably preferred one where instead of cramming the entire dark tournament into three episodes they just left it alone and just did Rescue Yukina plus maybe the Saint Beasts, but if this is what we were getting, this was a very solid way to do it. I, at least, had an overall very good time, and have been thinking about rewatching it, which is wild since it's only been like three weeks since I watched it the first time. But yea, overall the pacing is wild but I think there was a lot of love and thought put into it, and it really shows.
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spnhunter4life · 1 year
Text
Familiar Chapter 2
Word Count: 7.9k
Warnings: little bit of canon typical violence
A/N: This story was originally meant to be a one shot. But then I decided, "You know what? I'm not really happy with this ending. I'll just write one more little chapter to wrap things up." 🙄 Well guess what? If you've been following my work, you know that things always turn out longer than expected. So my 'little' wrap up chapter ended up being kind of long and had to be brought to a stopping point. So here's chapter 2 for you, and you can expect a third chapter as well! That will definitely be the last chapter though (she says with way less confidence than she would like).
Thanks to everyone who has liked, commented on, or reblogged the first chapter! I'm completely blown away by how many notes it's gotten. If you missed the first chapter, read it here!
Summary: Y/N comes back from a walk one day only to realize she can't remember where she was or what she was doing. The new case she and the boys were working must be abandoned in order to recover her memory.
Masterlist
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Two months had passed since the shapeshifter hunt, and despite Sam’s encouragement, I still hadn’t said anything to Dean. He was making it extremely difficult for me to ignore my feelings for the older brother the way I always used to. Between his constant pointed looks and making up excuses to leave us alone together, I was about ready to snap.
My dreams about Dean were becoming more frequent too. With thoughts of him almost always on the forefront of my mind, he regularly featured in my dreams. I still had dreams like the one the shapeshifter had taunted me with, but these dreams had branched out into more sweet versions of Dean that left me longing for him even more.
I woke up from one such dream – one where Dean and I were in our very own house, snuggled up together on the couch, a movie playing in the background as we talked – in the back of the Impala. I looked around and saw that we were still on the interstate. We were on our way to Nebraska to check out a new case Sam had found. Four teenagers had shown up dead, all apparently drowned, but their bodies nowhere near water.
“How much further is it?” I asked.
“About 20 miles,” Dean answered.
I sighed and leaned my head against the window. Sam met my eyes in the rearview mirror and raised an eyebrow in question. I just shook my head. He glanced at Dean and back at me, smiling at the small frown on my face this gesture caused. He was getting annoyingly good at figuring out when I had been dreaming about his brother.
By the time we got to a motel, I was irritated and in need of some time away from both brothers. I told them I was going to walk to the diner we saw about 10 blocks away and bring home food for everybody. It would give me time to clear my head. I really needed to find time to talk to Sam about stopping all the teasing and trying to be supportive. Even though it wasn’t his intention, it was only making things worse.
~~~~~
“There you are!” Dean’s relieved voice greeted me as soon as I walked in the door.
“Seriously, Y/N, what took you so long?” Sam chimed in. “We were getting worried. I think Dean was about ready to start a search party.”
“Sorry,” I apologized, not sure why they were so worked up. “I haven’t been gone that long.”
“It shouldn’t have taken you an hour and a half,” Dean argued. “Where’s the food?” He added almost as an afterthought.
“What food?”
“The whole reason you left was to get food,” Sam told me. “What have you been doing?”
“Nothing,” I answered. Then I thought about it. What had I been doing? I was certain I hadn’t been gone for very long, but then, I realized that all I could remember was the walk back to the motel. “Just walking I guess? I don’t actually remember.”
“How can you not remember?” Dean asked.
“I don’t know!” I yelled, frustrated and confused.
“Ok, well what do you remember?” Sam asked.
“I remember… waking up in the Impala on the drive here. I guess I kind of remember getting to the motel. Other than that… I’ve got nothing.”
“Come here,” Dean said, gesturing for me to walk over to him. 
“Why?” I wondered.
“Just come here.”
I walked over to him and he immediately began feeling around my head.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Looking for a lump or some other injury,” he said, continuing his search.
“I think I’d know if I hit my head,” I told him, backing out of his reach.
“Apparently you’ve lost your memory. How are you supposed to know what happened?”
“If I’d been hit on the head hard enough for it to affect my memory, don’t you think I’d have a horrible headache at the very least?” I reasoned.
“Point taken. But clearly something happened. We need to figure out what.”
“Let’s just all head towards the diner,” Sam suggested. “We still need to eat, and maybe something on the way will jog Y/N’s memory.”
Nobody had any better ideas and he was right, we did still need to eat. So we went outside and started walking towards the diner. We’d made it six blocks when Sam stopped us. This particular part of town was the area where commercial buildings started being replaced by residential. There were multiple small businesses scattered throughout the neighborhood. Some buildings were obviously both people’s place of work and their home. 
“Do you think you might have gone in there?” He asked, pointing at the music store across the street. Through the window I could see guitars spaced out on the wall, a row of pianos under them. I loved the piano. I grew up taking lessons and badly missed being able to play. It was an easy, surefire way for me to calm down and clear my head, a fact both brothers were aware of.
“You did seem stressed when you left,” Dean agreed. “I’d actually be surprised if you didn’t go in. And that would explain why you were gone for so long.”
“Maybe, but it doesn’t explain my memory loss. Think about it. An hour and a half, just gone. What are the odds of me forgetting such a specific chunk of time? Someone had to have done this to me. We need to find out who. And why.”
“I agree. Which is why I think we should go in,” Dean said. “If we’re going to find answers, we need to retrace your steps. We have nothing else to go off of.”
We crossed the street and Sam led the way inside. A little bell above the door announced our arrival. I scanned the room, looking for anything familiar but coming up empty. I walked over to the line of pianos, lightly running my hand along the tops of each one I passed. I stopped at the fourth one in line. A blur of memories raced through my head, but nothing that would help solve my current memory loss problem. 
This piano was very similar to the one I grew up playing. I remembered the hours spent on it, favorite songs learned and played enough times to become annoying to my family. The very same songs forgotten about when they became too easy and a new favorite came along. I placed my hands on the keys and played a few chords.
“Anything?” Dean asked. I just shook my head.
“Oh! You’re back!” Exclaimed a balding man who appeared out of the back room. He was probably in his early 50s and had a very friendly, cheerful demeanor. “You decided to buy this lovely instrument after all?”
“Uh, no. Unfortunately I have nowhere to keep a piano. No, I was just… passing by again and couldn’t resist,” I told him.
“Well, if circumstances ever change, I’d love to help you out!” He said.
I thanked him and placed my hands back on the keys, playing the opening notes to an old favorite song.
“Have you had a lot of business today?” I heard Sam ask.
“No, it’s been pretty slow today. But then, Mondays usually are,” the man answered easily. 
“I figured it must be a slow day when you recognized Y/N so quickly,” Sam said, subtly fishing for information.
“Well she was the only one in the store at the time, but even if there had been 20 other people around, she plays so beautifully I could hardly have missed her.”
The conversation ended there. Or at least, I think it did. I lost myself in the song I was playing, and all other noise faded away. Once finished, I turned around to face the three men. The owner of the store was looking at me with the appreciation of a fellow musician. Sam looked impressed as he always did when he heard me play. Dean… I couldn’t quite read the look on his face. The closest word I could come up with to describe it is awe. But I knew that wasn’t right.
The store owner glanced at his watch and regretfully informed us it was closing time. He thanked us for coming in and I thanked him for letting me play. The three of us exited the store and started walking in the direction of the diner again. 
We stopped in a couple more stores we passed that I might have gone into in an effort to destress. A small little used bookstore that was absolutely packed from wall to wall with books and an antique store, the kind that always reminded me of my history loving father and the countless stores he took me to growing up. Neither of these places sparked any memories either though, and as far as we could tell, I hadn’t stopped inside earlier.
“Well we have some explanation for where you were at least,” Sam said when we’d been seated at the diner.
“Yeah, but we still have no idea what happened to me. How are we supposed to get my memory back when we don’t even know where to start?” 
“I don’t know yet. But we’ll figure it out. We always do,” Sam assured me. This wasn’t much of a comfort to me at the moment, and Dean seemed to realize that.
“We’re going to figure it out, Y/N. I promise. I’d never let anything happen to you. You’re our priority right now. Everything else gets dropped until we figure this out. You’re our new case. Have we ever not solved a case?” He asked.
I smiled, feeling more confident with my situation. He was right. There was nothing we couldn’t solve when we worked together. 
“What’s our next step, then?” I asked.
“I have no idea,” Dean admitted. 
“Our next step is going to the motel and getting some sleep,” Sam answered. “It’s getting late and we have no leads. Our best bet is to sleep on it and get a fresh start tomorrow. And who knows? Maybe we’ll get lucky and your memories will be back in the morning.”
I didn’t really want to wait. I wanted to solve this now. But I knew Sam was right. We had nowhere to start, and being low on sleep wouldn’t help anybody, so I grudgingly agreed to this plan of action.
~~~~~
When I woke up the next morning, I kept my eyes closed and just laid there for a minute, working up the energy to actually get up. I heard the deep, even breathing of a sleeping person coming from the direction of the beds and the occasional shuffling of paper or clacking of a keyboard from the other side of the room. 
I rolled over so I wasn’t facing the back of the couch and was greeted by a rare sight when I opened my eyes. The unmistakable sounds of research I’d heard were coming not from Sam as I’d assumed, but Dean, up before his brother, the notorious early riser.
“What time is it?” I asked as I sat up. He looked up at me.
“Oh, hey,” he greeted. “It’s… almost seven.”
“And Sam’s still sleeping?” I asked around a yawn. Dean still picked up on the disbelief in my voice.
“I know, right? Lazy ass. Of all days to sleep in.”
I chuckled at his annoyed teasing and went to the bathroom to start getting ready for the day. When I stepped back into the room, dressed and teeth brushed, I saw Sam up and rifling through his duffle.
“Hey,” he said. “I don’t suppose you remember anything?”
“Unfortunately, no,” I sighed.
“Ok. Well I guess we should go get some breakfast and discuss next steps.”
“No need,” Dean interjected. “I already came up with our next step while you two were catching up on your beauty sleep.”
“You did?” I asked, surprised.
“What do you think I’ve been doing?” He answered. Before he could continue, Sam interrupted. 
“How long have you been up?”
“I don’t know. Couple hours.” He took a drink from a to go cup of coffee that I hadn’t even noticed he had.
Sam glanced at me, the look on his face one that he reserved for times he wanted to say ‘You two are so meant to be together’ but couldn’t say it out loud because Dean was in the room. He had said it to me on more than one occasion when Dean wasn’t around, which is how I know what the look translated to. 
“Anyway,” Dean continued. He picked up a phone book that was laying open beside him. “I found this psychic in town that should be able to help us. I figured we’d stop by her place after breakfast.”
“A psychic? I don’t know, Dean.” The thought made me nervous. Most of the people who advertised themselves as psychics were phonies. And even if this one wasn’t – which I didn’t know how Dean could be sure of – what if she wasn’t able to help? What if she saw something I didn’t want her to see? I’m a pretty private person, and the thought of someone digging around in my head is incredibly unappealing.
“Hear me out,” he insisted. “I’ve done my research, ok? She’s the real deal.”
“How can you be sure?” Sam asked.
“Because. I’ve done my research,” Dean repeated. “Look,” he said, spinning the laptop to face us. It was open to a website for The Amazing Annabelle. “There are dozens of reviews on here, and every one of them says she was able to help. And look at this.”
He slowly scrolled down to the bottom of the page, showing off the dozens of symbols and sigils scattered throughout. A lot of them I recognized as protection from various supernatural beings. There were a lot that I didn’t recognize too. They clearly marked her as knowing about the world of supernatural creatures though. Unless she had just pulled together symbols she thought looked cool in order to give herself an air of authenticity.
“Alright, fine. But a few good reviews and a bunch of symbols used by hunters doesn’t exactly prove that she’s psychic,” Sam argued. I had to agree. I didn’t want to hurt Dean’s feelings since he’d clearly put some time into this and I knew he was just trying to help, but psychics made me nervous. There was no way I would agree to go unless we knew for sure she was legit.
“Yeah, I thought the same thing. Which is why I talked to Bobby,” Dean responded. So this was the reason he was so confident. Bobby was highly respected among the hunter community. If he gave his approval on this Amazing Annabelle, then we really couldn’t doubt her abilities. “He said he’s not super familiar with her, but he has heard of her. She’s good at what she does and someone who can be trusted.”
“Ok,” I agreed. “Breakfast and then a visit to the psychic. I suppose the worst that can happen is she isn’t able to help.”
~~~~~
The first thing I noticed about Annabelle was how… normal she was. With the exception of Missouri, all the other psychics I’d ever seen were dressed in over the top outfits, their places decked out with all sorts of nonsense that was supposedly necessary for them to do their job.
If I’d seen this girl on the street, I would never have guessed what her occupation was. She was about our age and short, standing a full head below my 5’ 6” frame. And she was very pretty. I noticed both Sam and Dean’s immediate appreciation of her beauty. She was wearing white leggings and a purple shirt, her night black hair was in a messy ponytail that suited her very well, and her golden brown skin was flawless.
“What can I do for you?” She asked when she opened the door. Dean cleared his throat before answering.
“I’m Dean. This is Sam and Y/N. We were hoping you could help us with something.”
“I gathered that much,” she smiled. She opened the door wider and stepped to the side. “Come in.”
We stepped inside and she led us to a room that had an armchair and a comfortable looking couch as well as a round table with four chairs. She sat in the armchair so the three of us settled ourselves on the couch, Sam and Dean on either end and me between them.
“So. What can I help you with?” She asked again. 
“Do you have any experience with trying to recover memories?” I asked.
“Some, yes,” she said. “It really depends on how the memories were lost. Some are easy to find. Some take work, but can still be found with patience. Some, like in the instance of an injury to the brain, can’t be recovered.”
“We don’t actually know what happened. That’s part of what I need to remember. Our assumption is that magic was involved though,” I informed her.
“That shouldn’t be a problem,” she assured me. “If you’ll come with me?” She stood and moved to the table, gesturing for me to sit across from her. The boys came and stood close by to watch.
“I’ll need some information from you in order to know where to look,” she said. “Give me as much detail as you can about these memories. How long ago was it? How much time are you missing? Is it relating to any specific object or person? Anything you can give me will help.”
“It was yesterday,” Sam explained. “She has an hour and a half chunk of time just missing and we have no clue why.”
“What were you doing when you lost your memory and how did you realize you’d lost it?” 
“I was just walking from our motel to a diner to get some food. I only realized what happened because I couldn’t actually remember why I left the room and I definitely didn’t think I was gone that long.”
“Ok,” she said, taking my hands in hers. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and instructed me to do the same. “I need you to concentrate as hard as you can on the moments from that walk that you can remember.” 
Then she chanted a couple lines of Latin and suddenly I was back on the sidewalk outside the music store. I was walking in the direction of the diner once again when I hit a block. It was like an invisible barrier I couldn’t pass. I tried to go around it and when that didn’t work, turned around to go the other way. No matter what I tried, I was stuck where I was.
And then I was back at the table with Annabelle, Sam and Dean hovering over my shoulders.
“Well?” Dean asked.
“I still don’t remember anything,” I told Annabelle.
“I know. Your memories were definitely blocked using magic. It’s a stronger magic than I was expecting. It’s up to you to decide how important it is that you get them back. If you want to continue, I’m going to have to put you into a trance in order to access them.”
“Is that dangerous?” Dean asked.
“It can be. But only if you don’t have a good anchor,” she answered.
“What does that mean?” Sam asked.
“I’m going to have to send Y/N deep into her subconscious to find answers. Doing this requires an anchor, a tether to reality, someone to bring her back. Otherwise she could be stuck in her own subconscious with no way out."
“That’s not a problem. Both of them would be willing to do that,” I told her.
“I’m sure they would, but your anchor can’t be just anyone. It has to be someone with a very strong emotional connection. Normally I recommend close family members or significant others for this sort of process. I’m assuming they are neither?” 
I hesitated. The answer, of course, was no. But I didn’t see how I couldn’t have a strong enough connection with them for this to work. Living the way we did – being with each other 24/7, trusting each other with our lives – created a very strong bond. Not to mention the way I felt about Dean. But maybe if it was one sided it wouldn’t work. And I wasn’t about to say that Dean was the safer bet because I felt our connection was stronger.
“Dean can do it,” Sam announced.
Dean and I both whipped our heads to look at him. I was sure the shock, irritation, and minor panic I could see on Dean’s face was mirrored on my own. I knew we were panicking for entirely different reasons though. For Dean it was worry that he wouldn’t be a strong enough connection for me. He didn’t want to risk me not coming back. For me it was worry that Sam was going to rat me out. And boy would we have words if he did.
“What?” He snapped at the death glares we were both now fixing on him. “You know it’s true. You’ve known Dean longer than you’ve known me. You two get along so well and know each other so well that if I didn’t know any better I’d think you’d known each other your entire lives. I promise your emotional connection is more than strong enough to handle this. And I swear if either one of you tries to deny how close you are right now, I will not hesitate to punch you.”
I looked at Dean at the same moment he looked at me. There was uncertainty in his eyes, but his jaw and shoulders were set in determination.
“I can leave you alone to discuss it if you’d like,” Annabelle offered.
“I don’t think that’s necessary,” Dean said. “It’s up to you of course – you’re the one taking the risk – but I’ll do my best to bring you back if you’re willing to trust me to do it. Otherwise we can try to find another way.”
“Of course I trust you. That’s not even a question,” I told him.
He watched me for a minute, weighing the sincerity of my words.
“Ok,” he said. “What do you need us to do?”
Annabelle stood up and moved to a shelf full of drawers on the edge of the room, opening different ones and pulling things out as she explained.
“As I already said, I’ll be putting Y/N into a deep trance. The magic is blocking your memories on a conscious level. Sending you into your subconscious will allow you to access them, but only while you’re in the trance. Once you’re awake, you’ll forget everything again.”
“Then how does this help us?” Sam asked.
Annabelle set everything she’d grabbed down on the table and then opened a cabinet underneath, grabbing a clear glass ball and setting it in the middle of the table.
“It helps, because you and I will be able to see everything she’s seeing while she’s in the trance.”
“What about me?” Dean asked.
“Since you’re the anchor, you’ll be inside her head too. You’ll be able to see and hear everything. Sam and I will only be able to see, so you’ll need to pay particular attention to things you hear as you’ll be the only one who knows those details.”
She began combining her ingredients, crushing leaves and mixing together powders and liquids.
“While she’s out, I need the two of you to be absolutely silent,” she told Sam and Dean. “You’ll both be fully aware of the noises happening around you. It could be tricky getting to the hidden memories, and distractions won’t help. Once we’ve found the information you’re looking for, we’ll need your anchor. At that point I need Dean – and only Dean – to start talking to her.”
She now had a liquidy brown paste in front of her. She dipped her finger into it and began drawing symbols on my forehead.
“It doesn’t matter what you say. Your voice, as well as your physical connection, will lead her back into consciousness.”
“Our physical connection?” I asked.
“Yes. You’ll need to be holding hands during this,” she said. Done with my forehead, she quickly drew an intricate swirling knot on the palm of each of my hands. She drew the same design on both of Dean’s palms and then worked on his forehead as well. I assumed the design was identical to mine. “Dean, if you’ll sit across from her, we can get started.”
She sat in one of the two empty chairs and gestured for Sam to sit in the last one. 
“Alright. I need you to tell me everything you can remember from the time just before your memories disappeared. Once you’re under, you won’t be able to talk to me. The more details I have, the easier I can guide you to the missing time.”
“I already told you what I remember.”
“No. I need more. Tell me exactly what the last thing you remember is. Is it walking out the door? Did you get a ways before you forgot? What were you thinking? What were you feeling? What could you see, hear, smell? Give me everything you can remember.”
“Well… I don’t remember leaving the room. I kind of remember getting to the motel, but that’s a little hazy. I guess the clearest memory I have is waking up in the Impala about 15 minutes before we got to town.”
“Ok. Let’s start with that then. What details can you give me about that?” She prompted.
“I don’t know. Not much. We were in the car. On the interstate. Dean had Metallica playing. I’m sorry, I don’t know what else to say,” I told her. If this is what it took to get my memories back then I was screwed. Coming up with little details from hazy memories wasn’t exactly easy.
“That’s ok. Don’t worry. How about how you were feeling? Can you remember that?”
I’d just had a dream about Dean. So a big mix of emotions. Happy, sad, longing, irritation. Irritation. Yeah. I definitely remembered being annoyed when we got to the motel.
“I was annoyed. When we got to the motel. I remember being annoyed. I imagine it’s why I left to get the food. And Dean said I seemed stressed.”
“Great!” Annabelle praised. “What else? Do you know why you were annoyed?”
“Um…” How to answer that truthfully but without giving anything away. I looked between Sam and Dean and remembered how Sam had picked up on what I’d dreamt about and silently teased me about it. “Just an argument with Sam.” Sam rolled his eyes.
“What argument?” Dean interjected. “You guys didn’t even talk to each other.” 
“No, but just because we’re not as close as you two are doesn’t mean we can’t communicate without having to say anything,” Sam said.
Dean looked shocked. No doubt he was wondering how often we’d had these silent conversations. Little did he know, they were always about him.
“Ok. Anything else you can give me?” Annabelle asked.
“I know I went into a music store and stopped to play one of the pianos. I don’t actually remember doing it though. Sorry, that’s all I’ve got.”
“That’s fine. I’ve got enough to work with. Remember, I need the two of you to stay quiet,” she told Sam and Dean. They both confirmed that they would. “Ok. Dean and Y/N, take each other’s hands and close your eyes.” 
She waited for us to follow her instruction before continuing. A stream of Latin, different from the first time, fell from her lips and I felt myself sinking deeper and deeper into my subconscious. It felt a little like drifting off to sleep, so gradual that you’re somehow both aware and unaware of it at the same time.
~~~~~
Dean’s POV
As Annabelle’s chanting trailed off, a picture of my surroundings slowly began to take shape. I recognized it immediately. It was the inside of the Impala – from Y/N’s perspective. She was in the passenger side backseat, her usual place.
“Can you hear me Y/N?” Annabelle asked in a calm, soothing tone. “If you can hear me, I want you to get out of the car.”
I watched as my hand – No. Not mine. Y/N’s – reached for the handle and then she swung her legs out and stood up.
“Great. I’ll do my best to guide you to your forgotten memories, but this is mostly on you. If you seem stuck, I’ll help you figure out where to go, but otherwise I’ll stay quiet and let you figure things out for yourself. Now I need you to focus for me. I need you to think about the motel.”
The background around us flashed through a series of images. Different motels we’d stayed at over the years.
“The motel you’re staying at now,” Annabelle clarified. “The one you got to last night.” 
The flashing images slowed and came to rest on one. 
“That’s good, Y/N. Now I need you to focus on your emotions from last night. You got to the motel and were annoyed with Sam because you’d just had an argument.”
Y/N’s mind flashed back to the backseat of the Impala, Metallica’s Fade to Black playing through the speakers. She was looking at Sam in the rearview mirror, his eyebrows raised. I could tell by the view shifting back and forth that she was shaking her head. Sam looked quickly at me and then back to her, smiling. And then, memory over, we were back outside the motel. 
That’s it? That was their argument? No wonder I’d missed it. What did it even mean? I caught myself just before I actually asked these questions out loud, remembering Annabelle’s instruction to stay silent.
“You wanted to take a walk, so you offered to go get food for everyone,” Annabelle continued. I watched this memory version of Y/N walk out the door. “You stopped at a music store along the way. Did you stop anywhere else?”
We all sat in silence as we watched Y/N walk for several blocks, never stopping. She looked around as she walked, frequently turning her head to look at different things. I remembered Annabelle telling me I would be the only one with access to the sounds in her memory and started paying attention. I heard the chirping of birds, the occasional car driving by, a bell ringing inside a store as someone opened the door. Nothing out of the ordinary. 
Y/N walked past a group of teenagers and I listened in to their conversation. They were discussing the loss of their friends. The information I got from them was useless as far as Y/N was concerned, but I memorized their faces so we could question them once we’d helped Y/N and were ready to work the case we actually came here for.
She walked for another block and then stopped outside the music store. She stopped for a moment to look at it, and the world around me disappeared as she relived a different memory. I saw a child’s hands on the keys of a piano. I heard the music being played, a simple melody of Jingle Bells that the child was singing along to. I heard a grown man singing with her. The song ended and she looked up into the smiling face of the man I knew to be her father.
She crossed the street and walked into the store, heading straight for the pianos and trailing her fingers over them as she walked by, much as she had her second time through with me and Sam. She stopped at the same piano she did with us. Having seen the childhood memory, I now understood the draw to this particular instrument. 
I listened as she played a complex set of chords that transitioned into a haunting melody. I was entranced, as I always was when she played. It was clear it was something she deeply enjoyed and missed. I was startled as Annabelle’s voice cut in over the music.
“What did you do next? What happened when you were done playing?” She asked. I suppose this part of the memory would be particularly boring to her and Sam, who couldn’t hear what I could. Not to mention it wasn’t exactly helping us find out what happened. We did need to keep moving, I supposed.
The memory jumped to the last few notes of what had to be a different song entirely. Then Y/N turned around and saw the store owner standing there, listening intently.
“You’re a wonderful pianist,” he told her. 
“Oh, that? I was just messing around,” she mumbled at the compliment. 
I listened closely to their conversation. While he was pretty low down on my suspect list, he was also technically the only person on that list as he was the only person we knew to have interacted with her. Nothing sparked my suspicions though.
He continued to praise her abilities, she continued to brush them aside, and he asked if she had any interest in buying the piano she’d been playing. 
“I would be very happy to sell it to you,” he told her. “It’s not often I get to sell an instrument with the confidence it will be used and well loved.”
She politely turned down his offer and then told him she needed to be going, that her friends were expecting her to be back soon.
She left the store and continued her walk. Although I couldn’t actually feel her emotions, I could tell that playing had calmed her down significantly. There was just something about the way the world looked to her now.
She made it another half a block before she stopped. I could discern no reason for this. She simply stopped walking. After a few minutes it became apparent that something wasn’t right.
“This is where you got stuck the first time we tried finding your memories, isn’t it?” I heard Annabelle ask. “Whatever happened to block your memories, this is where it happened. The magic is still putting up a fight. I need you to push back. It can’t stop you from seeing. It’s all in your head that you can’t go any further. Just keep walking.”
We all waited for a couple minutes as she struggled with pushing past whatever spell was holding her in place. 
“You can do it,” Annabelle encouraged. “You’re stronger than the magic is, I promise. Keep walking.”
Another minute passed and I knew she was winning because noises – which I hadn’t even realized had disappeared – started filtering through. It was like hearing something from underwater. Muffled, hard to make out, but definitely there. Then, all at once I could hear voices clearly and we were moving forward again.
I heard the sounds of a struggle coming from the alley in front of her. She quickly walked to it and then slowed to a stop just outside, listening. There was the unmistakable sound of chanting and underneath it, gurgling. 
“Perfect,” she muttered under her breath. She reached into her boot to grab the silver knife she always had with her. “Wish I had my gun right about now.”
She peeked her head around and saw a teenage boy standing over another one. An endless stream of water was spewing out of the lips of the boy on the ground and he was choking on it. The chanting boy was facing her. The second she stepped into the alley she’d be spotted. But the drowning boy didn’t have time for her to find a better plan of attack.
She rushed in and the boy stopped his chanting when he saw her. He started a different chant, just a few words, and then he raised his arm, flinging her into the building beside her. The knife she’d been holding went flying out of her hand. I desperately wanted to run to help her, to make sure she was ok or to kill that boy. I didn’t know which desire was stronger, but I reminded myself that it didn’t matter. This was a memory. It was all in the past and I couldn’t change it now. I just had to watch and learn what I could. That’s how I would help her. Because now we had his face and we could track him down.
Hand still stretched out to hold her in place, he looked back to his original target, now desperately gasping for breath. He continued his chanting, and the poor boy on the ground only lasted a few more moments.
“Why are you doing this?” Y/N asked him. “What could he possibly have done to you to deserve that?”
“I don’t expect you to understand,” the boy snapped at her. “No one does.”
He started marching in her direction.
“You should have left it alone,” he snarled. “If you’d just kept walking, everything would be fine. But now you’ve seen too much. And you have to go too.”
He started up his chanting again, directing it at Y/N this time. I could hear water falling from her mouth and hitting the ground. I could hear the sound of her gurgling and choking. I couldn’t bear it. How had she gotten out of this?
“Thomas!” A sharp female voice called from the other end of the alley.
The chanting stopped as the boy looked in the direction of the voice. Y/N immediately started coughing the water out of her lungs and gasping for breath. She looked at the person who had spoken. She was a woman in her late 40s or early 50s at a guess and she was fuming.
“What is wrong with you?” She asked as she smacked him over the head. “Don’t you think you’ve left enough bodies behind? Do you want to attract the attention of a hunter?”
“She saw me! What was I supposed to do?” He protested.
“You were supposed to have not killed another person to begin with! We talked about this! I’ve covered your messes your whole life, but I can’t hide murdered teenagers. Especially when you’re as sloppy about it as you’ve been and especially when you don’t even tell me about it!”
The boy hung his head in shame. But not guilt. Apparently he’d been raised to do a better job of hiding his crimes. Witches. I hated them.
“Well I have to kill her now. She’s seen too much,” Thomas argued.
“No. We’re already far too at risk of hunters coming to town. You can’t add another person to the body count. Especially so close to your father’s store. Do you want him to find out it's you killing people? About the fact magic is real, and you use it? No. We’ll erase her memory and send her on her way. She won’t be a problem.”
The witch grabbed an already made hex bag out of her purse and placed it in Y/N’s immobilized hand, forcing her fingers to close around it. I knew that she would have been fighting to get free, but since she was completely stuck there were no visible indications of this. I had been in that position more than once and knew the frustration of being unable to move.
The boy’s mother started up her own chanting and the memory we were in started fading to black. It continued with Y/N standing just outside the music store. She seemed confused at first, looking around as if trying to get her bearings. Then she turned and headed back in the direction of the motel, completely oblivious to what had just happened.
“Ok,” Annabelle said. I’d forgotten she was even there. “It’s time to bring her back. Go ahead and talk to her, Dean.”
At the mention of my name, I saw my face flash through her mind. I was sitting beside her on a couch and smiling. I didn’t remember this particular day. It could have been on any given day at any random motel. 
I wasn’t really sure what to say, and just babbling whatever words came into my head seemed silly, but getting her back was more important than my discomfort.
“Y/N,” I said, pausing to think of my next words. The memory in her head changed. Now, rather than seeing from her perspective, I was in an outsider’s point of view. And I felt like the wind had been knocked out of me. “What the hell is that?” I gasped out. 
With a mix of excitement, shock, and confusion, I watched a guy who looked remarkably like me – although it couldn’t have been because I knew this had never happened before – lift Y/N in the air, spin her around a couple of times, and then set her back on her feet before leaning down to kiss her.
“I thought we were in her memories,” I said.
“You are,” Annabelle answered.
“No we’re not. We can’t be. That never happened.” 
“Then it must be a memory of a dream. Focus, Dean,” Annabelle instructed. “Be her anchor. Bring her back.”
I tried to concentrate on my job, but all I could see was the image of us kissing playing over and over in my head. 
“Can you please think of something else?” I practically begged her.
I was grateful when the memory – or whatever it was – flickered and changed into something else. Only this was no better. We were kissing again, only this time sitting on a very nice couch in a very nice room. It changed again. Sitting in the front seat of the Impala together, just the two of us. Kissing. Another change. I had Y/N pressed up against a wall. We were really kissing in this one.
It changed again and I breathed out a sigh of relief. She’d pulled up a random memory of her in one of her college classes, back before she quit school.
“Ok,” I breathed out and then cleared my throat. “Ok.” If I thought I didn’t know what to say before, I was really stuck now. What was I supposed to say to her after seeing all of that?
“Ok,” I said yet again. “You need to come back now. You have to find your way back. Sam and I are waiting for you.”
“It’s not going to work,” Annabelle said. “She’s trying too hard to keep her memories in control to focus on finding her way out of the trance. Y/N, don’t worry about what memories surface during this. Your only job is to come out of it. Listen to Dean and don’t worry about anything else. And Dean. Don’t worry about finding the right words. Say whatever comes naturally. That’s what she needs.”
Say what comes naturally. This would be a lot easier if I didn’t know Sam was listening to my every word. But Y/N was counting on me. I took a deep breath to prepare myself.
I said her name again. The memory of the classroom flickered to one of me in the driver’s seat of the Impala, singing along to Led Zeppelin. Y/N was in the back, singing with me and Sam was smiling in the passenger seat, refusing to join in.
“If I’m being honest with you, I don’t really know what I’m supposed to say right now. But you trusted me to get you out of this and I’ll be damned if I let you down. So I need you to do your part too. Find your way out of this. Come back to us.”
Memories flashed by as she searched for a way back into consciousness. I saw memories of real things, memories I shared. Us in the car, in motel rooms, on hunts. Her patching up a knife wound on my bicep, me holding her close and carrying her after her run in with that shapeshifter. There were more memories of things I didn’t recognize too. More dreams, I suppose. Us out on what could only be interpreted as a date. Us curled up together in bed, talking. Us dancing together in an empty parking lot, a slow song playing from Baby’s speakers. And more dreams of us kissing in various scenarios.
It would have been so easy to get lost in all of these memories, in seeing myself the way she saw me. And in wondering how she could apparently dream about me so much, apparently have feelings for me, without me ever knowing. But I made myself focus on being her anchor.
“Do you know how glad I am that you’re a part of my life? I sometimes wonder how I ever managed without you. And you know you can’t leave me and Sam on our own. We wouldn’t last without you. We’d probably kill each other.”
I watched as the countless swirling memories of us switched to ones of me and Sam. She remembered more than one instance that proved me wrong. She thought about all the times Sam and I had leaned on each other and kept the other going. She was essentially telling me that while she appreciated the sentiment, she knew we’d be fine without her.
“Alright, fine,” I said. “Maybe we’d get by fine on our own. That doesn’t mean either of us want to. You’re too important to us. So come back to us,” I repeated. 
She seemed to be flipping through her memories, as if looking for the right one to bring her back.
“Come back to me.”
I became the focus again, a memory of me standing outside on a bright sunny day and laughing at something she’d said flitting into her mind. But she pushed it away to start looking again.
“Don’t worry about the memories, remember?” I told her. “Just focus on me. Listen to my voice. Try to feel my hands,” I encouraged her. Different memories floated by again, pulled up at random by my words, or maybe the tone of my voice. I didn’t know. They almost all circled around just the two of us though. More dreams of us kissing flashed by.
The shock I felt at these images was lessening and I was beginning to be more comfortable with them. So, following Annabelle’s advice, I let myself respond naturally. I let go of the tight leash I usually kept on my natural inclination to flirt. It wasn’t something I’d ever done with her, not wanting to scare her away. If only I’d known how she really felt.
“You know,” I drawled, wishing I could flash her a smile. “If you wanted to kiss me so badly, you only had to say something. We can definitely do something about that. But only if you come back to me.”
There was a rush of memories flipping by so quickly I couldn’t make anything out in any of them. Then everything went black and I became aware of my own body again. I tentatively opened my eyes and saw Y/N sitting across from me, Sam and Annabelle on either side of us. 
I smiled a little. I wanted to know if she’d found her way out so suddenly out of embarrassment and a desire to escape or excitement and anticipation. 
“Don’t forget, she won’t remember any of what just happened,” Annabelle warned me. 
“I know,” I said. That wasn’t a problem. It was a lot easier to take a shot when you could see clearly. And I could finally see everything.
Chapter 3
Tags: @123passwort @buckybarnes-1917 @chicken-nuggs-and-cozy-hugs @globetrotter28
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thefallennightmare · 2 months
Text
Fika-Joakim 'Jolly' Karlsson: 1/2
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*made by @madomens. check her out!*
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*gif created by me. feel free to use, simply give credit*
Pairings: Joakim 'Jolly' Karlsson x OFC.
Warnings: some angst, swearing, lots of fluff, smut, mentions of death.
Summary: To appease her dying father’s wishes, Astrid takes over the family coffee shop: Fïka. Plans to restore it to its former glory: setting her dreams and ambitions aside- that is until she meets an unexpected stranger. This very stranger changes the trajectory of her life.
Authors Note: Ok what originally was a 26k word one shot is now a two parter! I have the link to part two at the bottom of this one! Enjoy my lovelies. I hope you all enjoy my first time writing Jolly. Oh, make sure you all pay attention closely to this 😏 It took me a month to write this btw.
Tags: @thescarlettvvitch @sammyjoeee @somewhere-diamond @concreteemo @ladispo0p @to-be-written @lilmonster218 @whenthesummerdies @lizzieseveride @blackveilomens @malice-ov-mercy @lma1986 @klutzy-kay24 @baddestomens @cncohshit @jilliemiw86 @cookiesupplier
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ASTRID
“Son of a bitch,” I grumbled while struggling to carry the large and heavy box from the stockroom up to the front area of the cafe. 
Another curse fell from my lips as I nearly tripped over the discarded and broken coffee machine that I seemed to have forgotten was lying on the floor. Then when I walked past the break room where two of my employees were enjoying their break, one of them waved me over. 
“Yes?” I grunted while pausing for a moment, still carrying the large box. 
“The turbo oven is doing that thing again where it either burns the food or doesn't cook it at all,” Jessica said with a frown. “Any idea when the new one is supposed to come in?” 
I nodded towards the box. “Two steps ahead of you.” 
As I went to push myself through the door that encased the back of the cafe from the front, my other employee, Sean, yelled after me. 
“The front door is getting stuck again! Can you WD20 it again?!” 
“IT’S WD40!” I yelled back. 
Pushing my way through the door, I felt the box beginning to slip between my sweaty fingers and I quickly walked over to the front counter, letting it fall onto it with a loud thud. 
Curious eyes from the few customers landed on me and I smiled sheepishly while shrugging. “Sorry.” 
“Uh, Astrid?” 
Whirling around, I brushed away strands of my white hair to see another one of my employees standing in front of me with an apologetic face. 
“Oh no,” I shook my head. “What’s broken now?” 
“The sink in the restroom is slow to drain and we’re running low on cold foam,” Tori said with her hands behind her back. 
“Low? How?! We’ve only been open a week and that stock was supposed to last us at least three!” I exclaimed with a high squeaky voice; one that only showed when I was stressed. 
“Sean doesn't understand the measurements,” Tori sighed. “I’ve gone over the sheet with him like four times but he still doesn’t get it.” 
Running my hands over my face, I let out a deep and calming breath, which seemed to help until the front door rattled before being thrown open, almost smacking against the black brick. 
“Jeez, you should really get this door checked out.”
Whirling around on my heels with a low scowl, I was ready to lay into this person because frankly, it was one thing after the other and I’ve fucking had it. But when I took in the appearance of these two guys, I quickly shook my head, heart dropping into my stomach. 
“You guys aren’t supposed to be here until after closing!” 
There’s that high-pitched voice again. 
“Yeah well,” the guy carrying a bucket and paintbrush shrugged. “We finished our other job early so we thought we could get started here.” 
I hired this local paint company to paint the tallest wall inside the cafe only because I didn’t have a tall enough ladder to reach the highest point. I painted everything else but didn’t want to bother with this one; it was right in the middle of the cafe lobby. 
“No, that’s not going to work,” I walked around the counter so I could stand face-to-face with this guy. “I have customers and I can’t have you paint while they’re in here.” 
“Listen, lady, all due respect-.” 
I craned my neck to the side and let out a low hiss. “I fucking hate when people say that.” 
The two painters shared a look before the one who seemed to be in charge raised a brow. “What?” 
“Typically when people say all due respect, it’s rarely followed by a respectful remark,” I said with my arms crossed. 
“Did you want us to paint this wall or not?” The guy who had been silent spoke. 
I snapped my eyes over to him. “Do you want my money or not?” 
That seemed to have shut both of them up but my hands were still shaking as my heart was hammering hard in my chest. Ever since we opened this morning, it seemed like it was problem after problem. 
Why the fuck did I agree to take over this place? 
Because it was your father's cafe and his father’s before him. You promised you’d take care of it when he passed.  
Running a tattooed hand through my long hair, I let out a deep breath. “I closed at nine. Can you come back then?” 
The one painter shook his head. “Nope. We don’t work that late.” 
Glancing at my watch, I noticed that it was barely one in the afternoon, and with less than eight hours left, I had to make a decision quickly. 
Biting the inside of my cheek, I eventually nodded. “Fine, you can start now. But please, be respectful of my customers.” 
There were only three customers in here currently, a total of six since we opened at nine a.m., but I didn’t dare let them know. 
Leaving them to do their work, I let the heels of my combat boots thud against the aging wood floors as I walked back behind the counter to go over the mental checklist of my list. 
Unclog the bathroom sink.
Order more cold foam. 
Personally show Sean the correct measurements. 
WD40 the front door. 
Set up the new turbo oven. 
Quickly tying my hair into a braid, I set to work on the list. Had I known the amount of work and updating this cafe needed before I took it over from my father, I would have said no. I was twenty-five years old and had the rest of my life ahead of me, I didn’t want to be stuck trying to keep this place above water. 
Fika first opened sixty years ago when my grandparents came to the United States for an opportunity for a better life. From day one it was a music-themed cafe where they had live music nights every Friday. It succeeded well after they left it to my father when they retired. He hated the live music nights so as soon as he took over, he axed that idea. 
However, when my father got sick about five years ago, that’s when everything went to shit. 
I grew up inside of these walls and saw the stress it brought on my parents until they divorced when I was twelve. My mother wanted nothing to do with this place, claiming it was cursed, so she left. 
My father did his best to raise me solo while trying to run this cafe full-time. I would help out when I could; be here in the morning before school then here right away after school until closing. I would sit in the corner booth in front of the window to do my homework in between bussing tables. It was like that every day until I turned eighteen and went off to college. 
But any weekend I could, I’d be right back here to help my father out. Then when he got sick five years ago, I dropped out of college so I could stay home full-time to take care of him. He was in this place every single day until the day he died a few months ago. It didn’t make a lot of money the last few years so not only did he leave me the cafe, he also left me all of the debt. I wasn’t drowning in it, I still have a decent amount in savings to at least update it but not enough to create a living. 
So that was why I had put the word out that it was for sale if anyone wanted to purchase it. I needed the money to pay off my father's debts and at least survive the next few years until I figured out what I wanted to do with my life. 
With a groan, I stood slowly from my crouched position as I finished fixing the front door and smiled in victory when it didn’t stick. It was after three in the afternoon and peering over my shoulder, I noticed that the painters were finishing up the now black wall and I had to admit, I felt giddy when I saw my vision slowly coming to life. 
I had a red neon sign that read Fika and I planned on hanging it up on that wall and then hanging a bunch of different guitars around it; my grandfather’s favorite on full display. 
Yes, I did have plans to eventually sell the cafe but that didn’t mean I couldn’t enjoy getting it to where I envisioned it.  
Wiping my hands on the back of my black jeans, I set to work on reading the manual for the new turbo oven, wanting to make sure that I understood every aspect of it to show my employees. 
“Hi! Welcome to Fika!”
Jessica’s cheery voice greeted a new customer who stepped inside, the little bell that hung above the door ringing. It was a special bell, my grandparents brought it with them when they moved here. It hung up in that same spot for the last sixty years and I planned on taking it with me if this place ever sold. 
I paid no mind as I focused on now setting up the turbo oven in its new spot on the back counter. 
“Uh, Astrid?” 
My shoulders slumped at hearing Jessica’s wavering voice from behind me. I didn’t bother turning around; not yet. Maybe it was a simple fix that she could handle on her own. 
“Yes?” I answered while wiping down the new oven. 
“The credit card machine isn’t working,” Jessica now stood in the side of my vision so I had no choice but to turn towards her. 
“I swear if my hair wasn’t already white, the stress of today would have given me gray hairs,” I joked with a faint smile as I turned toward the register. 
My eyes were cast downward to the small white credit card machine, not bothering to gaze up at the customer. 
“It’s working fine,” I showed Jessica. “You just have to remember to type in the total before hitting payment.” 
“OH! Makes sense,” she squeezed my arm. “Sorry.” 
I waved her off. “It’s fine. It’s a new machine so it will take some getting used to. I’ll ring him up if you want to start on his order?” 
With a nod, Jessica scurried off to make the drink as I finally gave the person on the other side of the counter my attention. 
“Hi, it’ll be $3.25.” 
However, my breath caught in my throat at the sight of the man in front of me. Dark amber eyes shined back at me, long strands of even darker hair cast around his face, and his pink, plump lips curled up into a faint smile. The facial hair that encased around those lips made my stomach twinge in the best way and when I caught sight of the small nose ring, I nearly fell to my knees. 
It wasn’t until I saw the black card in front of my face that I snapped out of my ogling and took it with a blush covering my cheeks. 
Ringing him up, I handed back his card with a slight waver in my hand but ended up dropping it on the counter before he had the chance to grab it. 
“Shit,” I cursed as I went to reach for it but ended up knocking over the small tip jar, coins spilling over the counter. 
“Fucking perfect!” I groaned while throwing my head back. 
Could this day get any worse?
An older couple that was sitting on the stools at the bar a few spaces down from me gave me an ice-cold glare. 
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to curse,” I apologized with a fake smile. 
Even though I never watched my mouth around anyone, I couldn’t risk scaring off customers because of my vulgar words. 
I made fast work of picking up the spilled change and placed it back in the jar before looking up at the man through my lashes. 
“That will be up soon,” I cleared my throat. 
The man smiled, his dark eyes drinking in every inch of my face. “Thank you.” 
Oh fuck. 
Those two words alone made my cheeks deepen even more in a shade of crimson because there was a hint of an accent to them. I couldn’t place it but it sounded heavenly to my ears. 
Turning swiftly on my heels, I scurried to the back, not wanting to embarrass myself in front of him anymore. 
About an hour later after catching up on all the office work I had, I ventured back up to the front of the cafe when I was told the painters had finished and were waiting for a check. 
“We’re all finished, ma’am,” the older painter said with a thin-lined smile. 
My own matched his when I handed him the check. “Thank you. It looks great.” 
He went to leave but slowly turned around. “Fika? What does that mean?” 
I broke out into a genuine smile when the memory of my grandma telling me why she named this place came creeping into my mind. 
“It's Swedish. It essentially means coffee break,” I answered while pulling my black cardigan closer to me. 
As the painters left, I turned to my right to look up at the freshly painted wall and kept smiling. 
“Looks good.” 
Looking over my shoulder, I nodded to Tori. “I’m just glad they managed to stay out of customers' way.” 
“Speaking of customers,” Tori smirked while pulling me closer; she was fresh out of high school and any chance she had to gossip about something, she took it. 
“That guy in the far booth hasn’t stopped staring at you since you walked out here,” Tori whispered low in my ear. 
I raised a brow. “Who?” 
She rolled her eyes, the color matching the blue apron she wore, and turned my chin to face behind me where I saw the man from earlier, perched in the corner booth; exactly like she said. 
He had a laptop on the table in front of him and a notebook next to it; the pen scratching quickly against the paper. As if he felt me staring, his eyes bounced up from the notebook to land on my face. Our eyes locked in such an intense battle of who would look away first but neither of us gave up yet. With the way he was watching me, it brought a heat to my insides and I swallowed thickly, my mouth suddenly running dry. 
“You should go talk to him,” Tori pushed me a little his way. 
I dug my heels into the ground. “You should get back to work.” 
“Yeah yeah, whatever,” she giggled while throwing a hand over her shoulder as she turned to head back to the counter. 
With one final glance over to the man in the corner booth, I bit my lip when I realized he was still watching me with curiosity in his eyes. I felt this unknown pull in my heart, dragging me over to him, and as my foot took one step in his direction, Sean’s voice called from the back. 
“UH, ASTRID! WE HAVE A PROBLEM!” 
Son of a bitch. 
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ASTRID
“Wait-what do you mean delay? I was told the sign would be here last Friday,” I groaned into my phone. 
“I’m sorry, miss, but with all the shipping delays it might be another week until you receive what you ordered.” The sales rep said. 
I pinched my eyes shut and sighed. “I need that sign. It was for the outside of my cafe, right now I have a dingy one that has been here since my grandparents opened and the ‘A’ is barely hanging on so now all it says is FIK so imagine my horror when people keep saying “Oh my, fik is a terrible name, dear.” 
I was rambling on to this complete stranger on the phone because of my stress and nerves. When I first took over the cafe a few months ago, the outdoor sign was old and broken so I ordered a new one but I had hopes that it’d be here before I reopened. 
Wrong. 
“I don’t know what else to tell you. We’re hoping to have it for you by the end of the month.” 
“THE MONTH?!” I nearly screeched as I came to a halt in the middle of the cafe lobby; curious eyes landing on me. 
Sean furrowed his brows while making a drink. Waving him off, I turned my attention back to my phone. “Is there any way you could put a rush order on it? Please.” 
“No,” the sales rep deadpanned. 
“Gee thanks,” I grumbled before hanging up the phone, stuffing it angrily into the pocket of my olive green jumpsuit. 
Running both hands through the long strands of my hair while I muttered a few curses. It seemed as if the last week had continued problem after problem. 
The sink in the bathroom ended up having to be replaced. 
Torri accidentally dropped a stack of brand-new coffee mugs, breaking all of them, so I still need to go out and buy some more. 
The new employee I hired last week didn’t show up for their third shift this morning, meaning we were down a person. When I texted them, they never responded. 
There was a family of raccoons living next to the dumpster outside. Sean wanted me to call animal control but I immediately declined. They weren’t hurting or bothering anyone so they could live there. 
“What are we, a wildlife rehab?” Sean asked with disbelief. 
I raised a brow while crossing my arms. “Sean, are you afraid of a couple of raccoons?” 
He scoffed. “Please. Those things just eat trash and cause havoc.” 
“Well, they’re staying. If anyone doesn't like it, they can come to me with their complaints,” I pointed my finger playfully at my employees.
With a sigh, I busied myself for the next little while cleaning up tables, talking with guests, and helping out my employees with anything they needed. I was a hands-on owner and boss, always helping when I could. Anything to make their lives and jobs easier. 
Every so often, when I mingled with the guests, I let my gaze drift to the empty corner booth; where the mystery man sat every day for the last four days. He never came at the same time but when he did show up, I managed to always be busy with front-of-house things or stuck in my office. But when I wasn't in my office, our eyes would catch every so often. However, it was my nerves that stopped me from going to ask him if he needed anything else or to strike up a conversation with him. 
Flirting in general was easy for me but with this man, his dark yet bright eyes locked me into place with a swollen tongue every time his gaze struck me. 
“Astrid, my dear!” 
Pausing from refilling the straws, I glanced at the open door and smiled at one of Fika’s regulars from when my father owned it; an older man named Phillip. 
“Hi, Phillip. How are you?” I helped guide him to a table against the black-painted wall; still empty. 
I haven't had time to hang up the variety of guitars that were slowly overtaking my office. 
“Fine, fine,” he patted my hand as I slowly helped him into the seat. “Just here for my usual honey tea with-.” 
“One piece of lemon so you can squeeze it yourself and two cannolis,” I finished for him with a nod. “Coming right up Phillip.” 
Turning on my heels, I peered over to the counter ready to tell Tori about the order but raised a brow when I noticed no one standing behind it. Glazing at the clock on the opposite wall, I cursed when I remembered that Tori’s break was now and Sean was busy watching a safety training video in the break room. 
As the door above the bell rang, indicating a new customer, I glanced down at Phillip while tapping the table. “Give me a bit and I’ll hand deliver it myself.” 
He paused reading the newspaper to give me a warm smile. “Of course, dear.” 
“I’ll be right with you,” I then called to the tall man standing at the counter but froze when our eyes met. 
His usual long hair was pulled back into a low bun, showcasing the hardness of his jaw, and I absentmindedly licked my lips. He wore a simple gray hoodie and black jeans but something about this casual outfit made my stomach flip. Since his hair was pulled back I was able to see the small piercing in his left ear. 
“Take all the time you need. I’m in no rush,” the mystery man smiled while holding onto the strap of his bag; the same bag that he brought in every day. 
I’ve come to notice that it held his notebook and laptop, with the occasional book he brought out to read every so often. 
“Th-thanks,” I stuttered while rushing behind the counter to get started on Phillip’s order. 
As I was pouring the tea into the cup, the phone from the cafe rang and I quickly answered. 
“Thank you for calling Fika. This is Astrid.” 
“Astrid!” The cheery and younger voice ran in my ear. “It’s Laura. I’m bringing in my study group, we’re a party of seven so I wanted to give you a heads up in case you didn't have the space.” 
Glancing up to the farthest corner of the cafe, secluded away from the rest, the two long sage-green couches were currently empty. 
“The loft is already booked for a private event for tonight but your usual spot is open. I’ll reserve it for you guys. Thanks for the heads up, Laura! I appreciate it.” 
“Oh please, Astrid. You’ve done so much fueling our late-night college study sessions. We’ll see you in a bit!” 
Hanging up the phone, I placed it on the counter while grabbing the tea mug in one hand and the two cannolis and slice of lemon in the other. As I passed by the tall mystery man, I gave him my best smile. 
“I’m sorry for the wait.”
He peered up from his phone. “No need to apologize. I’m very patient.” 
Ignoring the way my skin pricked and burned at the accent in his voice, I gently set down Phillip’s order with shaky hands. 
“Oh, why so nervous, dear?” Phillip commented. 
I stuffed my hands in my pockets. “No reason. Enjoy.” 
Before I could leave, he gently grasped my elbow. “Oh, I’ve been meaning to tell you. I’m sorry to hear about your father.” 
My body went rigid at the mention of my father. It was rare that a customer would bring him up because they were all new so there was no need to talk about my father which I’d been thankful for since it was still raw. The occasional regulars, like Phillip, were the ones that did. 
I swallowed thickly. “Uh, thank you. We knew for a while how sick he was but still, it was a shock.” 
“And you were the one that found him?” 
Out of the corner of my eye, the mystery man turned his head briefly my way but I kept my attention on Phillip doing my best not to let the tears win. 
“Enjoy your tea, Phillip. Let me know if you need anything else.” 
I tapped his shoulder while making my way over to the two couches in the far back of the cafe and flipped over the RESERVED sign then made my way back to the register. 
“Thanks for waiting,” I smiled up to the mystery man. “What can I get you?” 
“Black coffee with two scoops of sugar, please.” He smiled while handing me his black credit card. 
“Any sweets?” I teased, already knowing his order. 
According to Jessica and Tori, every time he came in he ordered the same thing. 
Black coffee with two scoops of sugar. 
They tried to upsell him into something different or add a sweet for his side, but every time he politely declined. 
The man’s eyes sparked as he looked at me and just as I was about to prepare myself for giving him the total, he surprised me. 
He hummed low. “What do you recommend?” 
Tapping my fingers against the edge of the counter I peered at the display case of all the homemade desserts I baked this morning. 
“Depends. What do you like?” I asked, giving him a small smile. 
I didn’t miss the way his eyes ghosted over my entire form, lingering on my tattoos. First, flowers and a crescent moon chest piece that was visible thanks to my thin straps and the low cut of my jumpsuit. Then he looked at the tattoo on my left forearm. It was of four crows flying away with their feathers falling. Then to the sleeve on my right arm, I called my Witch arm; it had different witch theme designs. 
When I scratched my cheek, I noticed the way he tracked every movement of it, seeing the Medusa head I had tattooed on the back of my hand. I had more tattoos that were hidden underneath my clothes but the thought of him stripping me to trace over them with his tongue made my face burn and I shifted on my feet. 
Finally, he shrugged. “Surprise me.” 
Pursing my lips, I grabbed a plate and the tongs, deciding on two small pieces of my grandma’s famous Kanelbullar. She passed down the recipe to me in hopes I would continue to sell them at the cafe. 
“These are a huge hit with everyone. My grandma’s recipe,” I said while handing him the plate. 
“Oh?” The man raised a brow as he looked down at the plate on the counter. 
Suddenly my palms began to sweat as he assessed the dessert. “They’re called kanelbullar; a famous Swedish desert. Otherwise known as cinnamon buns. Some people are turned off by it at first because of how it looks but I promise, they’re delicious. I made them myself this morning. All of these desserts are made fresh every morning. ” 
Now the man was smirking. “Swedish, huh?” 
I nodded. “My grandparents were born in Sweden and moved here to start their dream of opening Fika. When they retired, they moved back.” 
“Are you Swedish?” 
I cringed. “Fifty percent but don’t ask me to speak it because I’ll butcher it.” 
“How much?” He asked with a laugh while pointing to the plate. 
I waved him off while ringing his total up on the credit card machine. “I’ll charge you just for the coffee, in case you don’t like the kanelbullar. But, it’s a one-time thing.” 
I playfully pointed a finger at him, one he chuckled at before taking his card back. 
“That’s very sweet of you, thank you,” he gave me a smile that made me weak in the knees. 
Clearing my throat, I brushed a strand of hair from my eyes and reached for a cardboard cup. “Can I have a name for the order?” 
“Joakim.” 
I paused mid-writing. “Uh, do you mind spelling it? I don’t want to be the kind of a barista that messes up people's names.” 
“You can call me Jolly,” he chuckled.
“See,” I pointed the marker at him. “That I can spell. Joakim is an interesting name though.” 
I began pouring the coffee into his cup but nearly spilled it when his next words shocked me. 
“It’s Swedish.” 
“Wait,” I set down the pot and cup before turning back to him. “Are you telling me you let me ramble on about a Swedish dessert when you fully knew what it was?” 
The man, Jolly, was full-on grinning now as he popped one of the kanelbullars in his mouth, licking off the sticky cinnamon syrup. I had to force myself to bite back a moan at the sight. 
“Du var söt så jag sa inget,” Jolly said, then took a drink of his coffee when I handed it to him. 
With my furrowed brows of confusion, he chuckled. “You have no idea what I’m saying do you?” 
“Not a fucking thing,” I giggled while scrunching my nose. “I was born here in California and my grandma only taught me the basics but those are long forgotten.”
“How long have you owned the place?” He wondered. 
I tucked a piece of hair behind my ear. “A few months now but I only recently reopened. When I took it over after my father, it needed a lot of upgrades and fixes. Which it still does. But I plan on selling it once it is ready.” 
Jolly raised a brow. “You’re going to sell?” 
“Uh, yeah,” I rubbed my elbow nervously. “Owning this place was never my endgame. It’s been in the family for years, yes, but the potential of the money if I sell would help out a lot.” 
Tears gathered in the corner of my hazel eyes when I knew deep down the real reason why I wanted to sell; it reminded me too much of my father. 
“You’ve created a nice place here,” he admitted while looking around at the place. “The plants add a nice touch.” 
I had a variety of different plants littered all over the place as a way to bring life and color into the dull lighting.  
I hummed. “Here I thought it was the coffee that brought you in every day.” 
“Oh, it is, however, I’m more into the barista who made it today,” Jolly winked. 
My cheeks burned all the way to the tops of my ears. “Oh, well. That’s very sweet of you.” 
With the cup in one hand and plate in the other, Jolly winked. “Thank you, Astrid. I’ll be coming back for a refill.” 
“I’ll be here to help with that,” I rushed out a bit fast and mentally cursed myself for sounding desperate. 
But then I realized he said my name and the way it sounded on his lips made my core itch with desire. 
“You know my name?” I asked while twirling my fingers. 
“I’ve heard it quite a lot the last week from your employees needing something,” he joked. 
I playfully rolled my eyes while making a new batch of black coffee so he could have the fresh stuff when he needed it. “I love them. It’s not their fault this place is old and falling apart.
Jolly sat in his typical booth that was near the ride side of the counter, in front of the window. “Do you know the meaning behind your name?” 
“I know it’s Swedish,” I answered with a shrug.
He nodded. “It means divinely beautiful.” 
Now my entire body was inflamed with how Jolly was staring at me, his dark eyes devouring me, but before I could respond, Sean and Tori emerged from the back. 
“Alright, boss. Where do you want us?” Tori clapped her hands. 
Her break was over and Sean must have finished his training video. 
“Tori, you’re working the private party. They should be here by 3 so can you make sure everything in the loft is set up?” I asked. 
She nodded with a wide smile. “Of course. Who’s it this time?” 
When I took over Fika, I noticed there was this huge, unused space upstairs that I could use for either extra seating if we got too busy or for private events. Tonight, there was a local book club that rented out the space. 
“LA’s Book Ladies.” 
“Again? Weren’t they here last week?” Sean asked. 
Nodding, I handed Tori the box of supplies she would need to set up the loft before ushering her away. “They're interested in renting out the space every Thursday for their book club.” 
The bell above the door indicated a new group of customers; Laura’s study group. 
I motioned Sean over to them. “Jessica will be here in five minutes. She can help you prepare their order once you take it.” 
Once Sean scurried over towards the group, I darted my gaze over to where Jolly was sitting, noticing that he had headphones on as he worked on his laptop, the plate empty. 
Before I could bring him another round of coffee and kanelbullars, my phone rang and I immediately recognized the number. 
“Hi, mormor,” I smiled into the phone. 
“Min älskling,” my grandmother’s old, frail voice made me smile even wider. “How are things?” 
With the sudden commotion from the study group settling in, I decided to take the rest of my phone call in my office.
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JOLLY
“Son of a fucking bitch!” 
Snapping my eyes up from my phone, I watched Astrid with a small smile as she stepped onto the small ladder to hang up a guitar, only to be a few inches short. She’d been working on hanging up guitars on the black wall for the last ten minutes, something I watched with intent and curious eyes. 
It had been a few days since our first conversation and since then, we shared stolen glances anytime I was here and she was working up front. We talked when she wasn’t busy but it always pertained to the same topic. 
“How's your coffee?” 
“Would you like a refill?”
Astrid did try to deter me from my usual order but I always stayed the same. 
Black coffee with two scoops of sugar. I did, however, let her decide on my sweets. Today it was something simple; baklava. 
Another thing she baked herself. 
When Astrid slid over the coffee to me this morning, I curled a brow at the mug she had given me. She merely shrugged with a coy smile before busying herself with going about and watering all the plants in the cafe. 
I snicked while grabbing the white mug that had ‘Jolly’ written across it and sat in my usual booth in front of the large window. The green velvet of the bench seat and the oak wood of the table I sat at became a sense of familiarity. 
Out of the corner of my eye, I marveled at how her ice-white hair was pulled back into a tight bun, showcasing her defined cheekbones and bright hazel eyes. Astrid’s leg was exposed due to the long slit in her long black skirt and I caught a glimpse of the tattoo on her shin; a moth, a rose, and a half-crescent moon. She was covered in tattoos and I couldn’t ignore the voice in my head that begged me to find out if she had any other ones hidden. 
When I was walking downtown a few weeks ago and saw the opening soon sign on the battered door of Fika, I was curious about who was taking over. I used to stop in every once in a while when Astrid’s father ran the place but ever since my life and work schedule with Bad Omens took off, I came in less and less. 
But that day when I saw Astrid’s faint figure covered in a type of green paint as she painted the walls, I was transfixed. The vision of her took my breath away and I stopped to watch her for a few seconds. The few times I stopped in when her father owned the cafe, I never noticed her. So when I heard that she was the one taking over, I decided to make more of an effort to stop in when I could, however, I never expected I’d be here every other day. 
Noah called me out last week about how often I came here and told me not to “fall in love”. I had no intention to, not wanting to get into a relationship with how often I was gone on the road, but the second my eyes met with hers, I knew Astrid would consume every part of me. 
“I chose the wrong day to wear my fucking vans.” 
Shaking from my thoughts, I peered over to Astrid as she now stood on the tips of her toes to try and hang up a guitar on one of the highest hooks. 
“Need some help?” I asked while rising to my feet. 
She was only a few feet away from where I’d been sitting. 
“Oh, no, Jolly. I don’t want to bother you,” Astrid said, waving me off. 
I shrugged while brushing the hair away from my face; opting to leave it down today. 
“I mean this is the nicest way possible Astrid, but you’re shorter than me. I could reach that hook with ease,” I informed. 
She playfully gawked with a hand over her heart, the other clutching the guitar. “My, I thought you were one of the sweeter ones.” 
I chuckled and motioned her to step off the ladder. “Get off of there before you hurt yourself.” 
“I’ll have you know,” she came down the three-rung ladder, “I did every single update in this place. Without hurting myself.” 
I took the guitar from her with a raised brow. “Are you sure about that?” 
Astrid rolled her eyes. “Okay, maybe I tripped over a bucket of paint and cut my finger while setting up the new coffee machine but that’s it.” 
“For now,” I joked while taking a tentative step toward her. 
“Oh, someone thinks they’re funny today,” she crossed her arms but the smile on her blood-red lips told me she was loving our banter. 
With mere inches between us, Astrid peered up at me through her long lashes and swallowed thickly. 
“Well, I must say. You are taller than me,” her voice was quiet but yet loud enough just for me to hear. 
My fingers itched with the want to brush away the loose strand of hair that hung in her eyes. When her tongue darted out to wet her bottom lip, I internally groaned at how seductive that simple action was and I almost had to force myself to take a step away from her. One of my hands was still holding onto the guitar, and the other was hanging to my side, so close to Astrid’s that I could feel the heat radiating off of her. Our eyes were locked with each other, my dark ones paled in comparison to her bright hazel ones. They burned deep into my soul, in the best way, and I found myself swimming in their depths. I was hypnotized by her gaze that I didn’t realize our fingers brushed against one another, sparks shooting through my entire essence with the simple touch of her skin on mine. 
“How many do you have left to hang up?” I cleared my throat, breaking the sudden sexual tension, and held up the guitar. 
“Uh,” Astrid blinked. “Just two more. I have to run to the back to grab the last one.” 
With a nod, I let her run off to grab the last guitar as I took the two steps up the step ladder, hanging up the guitar I had on its designated hook. Once back on my feet, I took a few steps back to admire how the guitar wall looked. The bright red, neon FIKA sign was in the middle with one unused hook underneath it. 
“Here we go!” Astrid smiled as she came back to the front of the cafe. “Please be careful with this one. It’s an old one and means a lot.” 
For once, she didn’t have my full attention. It was on the guitar in her hand. 
A blue Teisco Del Rey ET-312. Otherwise known as a sharkfin guitar. Something I made known. 
“You know guitars, huh?” she asked as I gently took it from her. 
“Yeah, I know a thing or two,” I kept my answer simple, not wanting to give too much about me away. It was clear she had no idea who I was outside of the cafe and I wanted to keep it like that for a little while longer. 
As I gazed down at it, Astrid told me the story behind it. 
“It was my grandfather's. He absolutely loved playing it when he wasn’t spending all of his time here. I remember he let me play it one Christmas when I was 7. I was terrible and my parents vowed to never put me into any lessons to save their ears,” she ended her story with a light chuckle. 
“He didn’t take it back with him when they moved back to Sweden?” I asked, remembering she told me her grandparents moved back a few years ago. 
“Nope. He gave it to me. I’m not sure why, though. I never learned to play. Hopefully, he won’t be so mad that I decided to hang it up.” 
Ever so carefully, I went back up the step ladder and placed it on its hook. It wasn’t until I was standing next to Astrid again that I gave her a wicked smile. 
“This looks pretty badass, Astrid. I love how it turned out,” I admired. 
She smiled, eyes sparkling as she looked at it. “Me too. Thank you for your help, Jolly.” 
Astrid bumped her shoulders with mine and not only did the sparks return but so did the fluttering in my stomach. 
The bell above the door jingled, making her jump slightly before turning around, her voice raising an octave to greet the customer. 
“Hi, welcome to Fika!” 
I didn’t miss the ‘woah’ under her breath and with furrowed brows, I turned on my heels but rolled my eyes at who walked in the door. 
Noah took one look between Astrid and me, how close we were standing next to each other, and the corner of his lips curled up. 
“Hi,” he smiled. 
“What can I get you?” Astrid asked as she walked over to the register behind the counter. 
“Oh, I’m fine. Thank you, though,” Noah declined politely while holding a hand over his chest. 
“You sure you don’t want some mochis? I hear they’re pretty special,” I teased. 
Noah shot me a glare, one I ignored by packing up my things. He must have finished his therapy session early and we're going to head to rehearsals for the next two days to prepare for the upcoming week-long festivals Bad Omens were set to headline. 
“You two know each other?” Astrid pointed between us. 
“He’s my roommate,” I answered before Noah could. 
He picked up on how rushed my answer was but knew with my pleading eyes not to say anything else about how we know each other. 
“I’m Noah,” he extended his hand towards her. 
She smiled while shaking it. “Astrid. Owner of Fika.” 
“I’ve heard great things about you. And this place. It’s one of Jolly’s favorites,” Noah said. 
Astrid’s eyes glinted as we looked at each other and I swore all of the oxygen left my lungs with how intense her gaze was. 
She hummed low. “I’m starting to realize that.” 
Hiding my burning cheeks beneath the length of my hair, I cleared my throat and patted Noah on the back.
“We should go.” 
He nodded at me before turning back to Astrid. “It was nice meeting you. Maybe next time, I’ll join Jolly.” 
“Sure,” she nodded, still wearing that beautiful smile. “Oh, here. At least take some coconut water for the road!” 
Astrid bent down to reach into the fridge and I couldn’t help but let my gaze linger on her. Noah snickered next to me which in turn, made me smack his chest. 
“Fuck, man,” he grunted while rubbing it. 
“Here you guys go!” She handed us the two bottles of coconut water and my fingers grazed hers yet again when I grabbed mine. 
This time it was Astrid who seemed affected by it with the way her breath hitched and quickly stuffed her hands in the pockets of her long skirt. 
“What do I owe you?” Noah asked while reaching for his wallet. 
“On the house,” she said.
“Now I can see why Jolly likes you,” Noah ran a hand through his hair. 
The new shorter length was something not only he but I was getting used to. As long as I’d known him, Noah had some sort of long hair. 
Before I could retort, one of her employees came rushing up behind Astrid, needing her attention for something. 
“Sean, they’re just raccoons. As long as you leave them alone, they won’t bother you,” she laughed. 
The noise made my heart ache in my chest, wanting to be the only one to be the reason why she laughed like that. 
“I’m telling you, Astrid. There are at least six of them now. How am I supposed to throw away the trash if they’re living in the dumpster?”
With a deep sigh, she excused herself from us with a small wave and that was my cue to pull Noah along as we stepped out into the late Los Angeles afternoon air. 
He took a long drink of his coconut water as we walked towards his car which was parked down the block. 
“So that’s Astrid,” he noted with a hum. 
“Don’t start,” I grumbled while putting on my sunglasses. 
Noah held up his hands. “She’s cute, Jolly. I can see why you spend a lot of time here. Though it doesn’t seem like she knows who either of us is.”
I shook my head with a thankful breath. “No, she doesn’t. Although you seemed to take her breath away when she saw you.”
He snorted. “You don’t have to worry. I only have eyes for-.” 
“I know, I know,” I waved him off before he finished his sentence. 
It was clear who Noah only had eyes for. It took a long time for him to finally realize that.
We reached Noah’s car and as he stood in front of the driver's door and me on the passenger side, we both rested our arms on the hood of the car. Noah’s almond eyes were hidden behind his black sunglasses but I knew they were assessing my face. 
“Do you plan on telling her who you are and what you do?” He wondered. 
“If I’m being honest, it’s been nice not having her know or treating me differently.” 
Noah nodded. “I understand that. But take it from me, not communicating the truth can delay things. And it’s not healthy.” 
Understatement of the year.
“I’ll tell her; soon,” I said. 
“What is she going to think when you’re gone for 9 days and don’t show up for your daily coffee?” 
“We should go, you know how Matt gets when we’re late,” I said, changing the subject, and opened the door to slide into the passenger seat. 
Noah tapped the roof of his car before he followed my actions. 
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ASTRID
“I don’t know what to do, mormor. One guy put in an offer, it wasn’t great but enough to keep me afloat for a while if I do decide to sell,” I spoke into my phone as it was perched between my shoulder and ear, hands busy stocking the cafe. 
“Astrid, I sense there’s something else stopping you,” my grandmother observed. 
I shrugged with my free shoulder. “If I’m being honest, I like running Fika. It keeps me motivated to get out of bed every morning. My employees are great, same with the customers. I have a lot of regulars that tell me I should keep the place; keep it in the family name.” 
One especially lingered on my mind always. His long brown hair, ever darker brown eyes, and that nose ring that seemed to accentuate his face perfectly. 
“Min älskling, it’s whatever you decide. We left Fika to your father who in turn left it to you because we trust you. Don’t feel as if you need to keep it for us. We don’t want to see you do something with regret.” 
I finished stocking the straws and went to work stocking the sugar packets. “I know. I do wish you and farfar could come visit and see what I’ve done with it.” 
My heart sank when I thought of my grandfather and knowing the real reason why they couldn’t leave Sweden right now. My grandmother was still young and healthy enough to travel but she couldn’t leave my grandfather in case something happened to him. 
Alzheimer's had slowly been deteriorating his brain, making life difficult for both of them. It was the same disease that took my father months ago. 
My grandmother sighed. “Someday I’ll come visit. But your farfar-.” 
“I know,” I said suddenly. “It’s alright.” 
We talked for a few more minutes before I said goodbye and pocketed my phone into my jeans. Rolling up the sleeves of my orange cardigan I busied myself with more work. It was Saturday afternoon and Fika was busier than normal; the sunshine and cool LA weather brought everyone out. 
Well, not everyone. 
For the last week, anytime the bell above the door jingled, my head would snap up expecting to see Jolly, but every time my heart would drop when it wasn’t him. I had become so accustomed to seeing him almost every day that when he stopped coming in, I couldn’t help but wonder if it was something I had done. 
Maybe he finally grew sick of your coffee. And you.
Shaking the thought from my mind, I went about mingling with some of my regulars. The cool air slipped inside as someone walked in through the door, tickling the exposed skin of my stomach because of the black lace bralette I wore. 
Deciding to head to my office, I was in my head thinking about what I possibly could have done to make Jolly leave for a week, that I didn’t see the body I collided with until it was too late. 
Strong arms wrapped around me from behind, large hands gripping the small of my back, as my hands sprawled out on the thick chest. Peering up through my lashes, I drank in the sight of those dark eyes. 
“H-hi,” I stuttered while swallowing thickly. 
“Hello,” Jolly smiled as his hands absentmindedly rubbed at my back. 
The feeling sent a shockwave through my veins and I reveled in his touch, desperately needing it all over me. 
His hair was hidden beneath the hat he wore, the hood of his black sweater pulled over that. There was a new look of exhaustion in his eyes, something I hadn’t seen before. It was as if the usual light behind them had dulled since our last encounter. 
However the longer we stared at each other, I could see the light returning. I so badly wanted to ask him where he’d gone the last nine days but didn’t want to make it seem like I noticed. Even though I did. 
I also found myself missing his presence after the third day he didn’t show up. 
“The usual?” I asked after a beat of silence. 
Jolly gave me a warm smile, hands still wrapped around me. “Have I worked myself up to a usual kind of guy?”
I playfully patted his chest. “It's easy when I can make your drink in my sleep.” 
“I like what I like,” he said, keeping his eyes on mine as he did. 
Silence fell between us as we continued to stay in each other's embrace, neither of us ready to break apart. Until Tori’s voice broke through the small bubble Jolly and I created. 
“Astrid, there’s a Jackson on the phone for you.” 
Shit. 
Slowly removing myself from Jolly, I cleared my throat. “I have to take that, but give me a few minutes and I’ll bring you your coffee.” 
“Of course,” he nodded. 
Turning my back to him, I took the cafe phone from Astrid while ignoring her smug smirk as she watched Jolly walk to his table.
“This is Astrid,” I answered the call. 
“Astrid, this is Jackson Hewitt, I’m calling about that little coffee shop you own on the corner of W. 9th Street. Freka.” 
“Fika,” I corrected with a stern voice. 
This was our third conversation and he still couldn't pronounce the name correctly; either he couldn’t or didn’t bother enough to care. 
“Right,” he cleared his throat. “Anyway, I’m calling to check in to see if you’ve thought about my offer.” 
Staying on the phone with him, I poured the black coffee with two scoops of sugar into the white Jolly cup and plated two chocolate chip cookies. 
“You only sent the offer the other day, Jackson. I need longer than that to think if I accept or not,” I said as I made my way over towards where Jolly sat. 
His usual booth in the corner by the large window.  
“Or not?” Jackson repeated my words. “Come on, Astrid. This is probably the best deal you will get for that place. It’s better if you take it now because I can’t promise it will be the same amount next time I make it.” 
I set the plate and coffee down on the table in front of Jolly with a bit of force, not meaning to, so he glanced up at me. 
“Listen, Jackson. With absolutely no respect, I’m not interested in selling my place to someone who’s going to turn it into a chain restaurant. If I lose money, so what? At least I kept my dignity and didn’t sell out.” 
I placed my hand on my hip, still standing in front of Jolly who watched me with a slight smirk. 
“Woah, Astrid. In no way are you selling out. I just have great plans for that space. I know how hard it has been keeping it afloat after your father died.” 
My body went rigid as a low scowl pulled on my lips. This asshole knew absolutely nothing about my father or how well Fika had been doing. The first few weeks were rough but I found a good rhythm and soon, we began to flourish. The income had been steady for everything and everyone involved. 
Plus, I hadn’t smiled or felt this good about my future in a long time. 
“My father and his passing have nothing to do with my decision. You’ve never stepped foot inside of Fika, so don’t pretend you know how my business is doing,” I did my best to keep myself composed in front of the customers, especially Jolly. 
“You know what, I’ll give you another day to think-.” 
“No, I’ve made my decision. Fika is no longer for sale, thanks for your interest but please do not contact me again.” 
Before Jackson could respond, I hung up the phone and pinched my eyes shut; the ongoing onslaught of a migraine creeping its way into my head. 
“You’ve decided not to sell?” 
Jolly’s soft voice made me jump slightly and when our gazes met, it pulled me in to sit across from him.
“Yeah,” I nodded while tapping my fingers against the table. “I’ve talked with my grandma a little bit about it. She supports me no matter what I decide but I couldn’t imagine letting this place go. It has too many memories behind it.”
“It’s a great place, Astrid. You should be proud of what you’ve done here,” he said. 
I smiled. “I am. I’ve slowly put myself into this place so I can’t let it go.” 
“Well,” Jolly took a small sip of his coffee. “I’m glad you’ve decided to keep it.” 
I rested my chin on my palm. “Me too. It helps that the clientele have been so wonderful.” 
A low rumble emanated from his chest as he pointed to his coffee. “Does anyone else get a special cup with their name on it?” 
“No, those are saved for the real special ones,” I winked. 
Something dark flashed in Jolly’s eyes as he leaned farther back into his chair, extending his long legs on the right side of me, locking them at his ankles. My eyes dragged up the length of them until my gaze landed on his eyes, a playful gleam behind them as he caught me staring at him. 
My cheeks burned as I shifted in my seat. 
“Nervous?” Jolly questioned with a sudden darkness in his voice as he leaned forward, resting his arms on the table. 
We were so close now, that I could feel his warm breath across my face. 
“N-nope.” I did my best to remain calm and poised but was failing. Something he immediately picked up on. 
“Are you sure about that?”
Licking my lips, I parted them to speak, something Jolly tracked with intense eyes. My pussy was aching with such a force of desire I was afraid he would be able to smell my desire with how close he was to me. There was this sudden pull between us that made me lean up towards him, Jolly’s lips meters from mine. I almost missed the intake of his breath, the sound muted with the hustle and bustle of the cafe.
“Astrid, the delivery truck is outside!” 
Jumping away slightly from Jolly, I cleared my throat while looking towards the counter, Sean waving me over. 
“I should-.” I threw a thumb over my shoulder when I looked back at Jolly. 
He nodded, adjusting the hat on his head. “Of course.” 
With one final glance, I stepped out of the booth and spent the next long while putting away the respective boxes from our weekly delivery. It was a bit larger than normal so by the time I finished, it was nearing 4 in the evening and when I emerged up the front of the cafe, the large groups that were there earlier dwindled to only a few. 
“How have things been?” I asked Jessica. 
She was wiping down the front counter and shrugged. “Not too bad. A steady influx of customers. But one managed to stay the entire time you were busy.” 
“Almost as if he was waiting for you,” Tori popped up from in front of the counter as she was cleaning the glass of the dessert display case. 
I crossed my arms. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” 
Sean snorted from his spot in the little kitchen to my left. “Astrid, this guy has been in here almost every single day and stays for a few hours all while looking at you. Take it from me, this guy is interested.” 
While they were a few years younger than me, I didn’t brush off their observations yet. 
“Jolly is a regular,” I started to defend. 
Tori’s eyes widened. “That’s why you’ve been giving him his coffee in that cup!” 
I hushed her with a wave of a hand when other customers peered over at us. Thankfully, it seemed as if Jolly had his headphones in as he clicked away at his laptop. 
“You should give him your number,” Jessica suggested. 
“No,” I shot down with a shake of my head. 
Although the prospect of giving Jolly my number did make my heart flutter. 
“Oh come on, what's the worst that can happen? He ignores you?” Tori wondered. 
I placed my hands on my hips. “Don’t you guys have better things to do than worry about my dating life?” 
“He’s here almost every day and I hate to break it to you, but it’s not because of the coffee. He can have simple black coffee at home but he chooses to come here,” Sean said once he finished cleaning one of the ovens. 
“I’m going to see if he needs anything else,” Jessia piped up, quickly scurrying around the counter. 
Her name fell in a hushed tone as I watched her walk over to where Jolly sat. Their conversation couldn’t be heard from my spot in the cafe but when he smiled politely at her with a nod, my stomach fluttered with those damn butterflies. Every part about Jolly made my skin buzz with electricity and heat. Jessica returned to the front counter with a sly smirk. 
“Jolly said he will take a coffee for the road and a dozen of you famous Kanelbullar’s. Oh, and a pack of those chocolate mochis. Something about a friend of his loving those. But Tori and I can’t make his order because we have to clean the loft.” 
“We do?” Tori asked with confusion which made Jessica smack her arm. “Oh, yes! Right. We do. Sean, can you take care of Jolly’s order?” 
“No can do. It’s time for my break,” Sean said as he walked into the back.
I playfully narrowed my eyes at all three of them. “You guys think you’re so slick but I know what you’re doing.” 
As the three of them dispersed, I went to work on getting Jolly’s to go order together. With my fingers wrapped around the togo cup, I mewled at my decision for a long moment before internally saying fuck it. The worst that can happen is that he ignores my texts. 
And break your heart in the process. 
Choosing to ignore that thought, I scribbled down my number with the letter A on the cup, then filled it with black coffee and two scoops of sugar. As I was bagging his desserts, Jolly came up to the counter with his card in hand. 
“Tell your friend these mochis are a favorite here,” I smiled. 
“I’ll make sure to let him know. He kind of has a weird obsession with them,” he chuckled. 
Ringing him up for everything, I handed back his card then hesitantly his cup and bag of goodies. Jolly gave nothing away that he saw my number written in black ink on his cup. 
“So, see you tomorrow?” I asked, not being able to hide the hope in my voice. 
He ran a hand over his jaw. “I actually have this party that will have my attention all day. But I’ll be back on Sunday. Can't go too long without these Kanelbullars.” 
The front counter stood between us and with the way he smiled, I wanted to jump across it into his arms. 
Instead, I decided to remain professional and nodded. “Well, I’ll make sure to have a fresh batch for you on Sunday.” 
With a wink, Jolly raised the cup to his lips to take a small sip of his coffee. “I can’t wait, Astird.” 
The way my name fell from his lips nearly made me moan in pleasure and I wanted to hear him say it again; the accent doing wonders for it. 
With a gentle wave, I watched him walk out of the cafe before busing myself to help close up the cafe. Every so often I would peek at my phone to see if there was a new message from an unknown number and every time, my heart would sink when I realized there wasn’t. 
Just as I was about to give up hope, my phone buzzed when I was locking up the front door and walking to my car parked across the street. 
Unknown: Hi, it’s Jolly. Apologies it took me a while to text you. I noticed your number on the cup the second you handed it to me. But with work, it pulled me away from my phone. So now that I have a minute, hi.
I grinned as I read the message over a few more times before plopping into the driver's seat of my car. I debated on how to respond for a few minutes. 
Me: Hi :) how did your friend like the mochis?
As I finished saving his contact, Jolly responded. 
Joakim: Loved them. Ate half of the Kanelbullar as well. 
I giggled at the next message that came in; a simple frown emoji. 
Me: Well, I’ll make sure to throw in a few extra just for you next time.
Joakim: I’m looking forward to it. 
With the smile still plastered to my face, I plugged in my phone to my car and for the first time in a long while, enjoyed the drive home after a long day's work. 
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ASTRID
I opened Fika about two hours ago, a slow steady stream of customers coming in as soon as the door opened, and I’d been carefully watching to see if Jolly would show up. We texted for a little while yesterday since I was home sick in bed and when he sent me a picture of the outfit he wore to his party, I had to pause my movie to stare at it. Black jeans, black long sleeves, and a black jacket on top. 
With the large mirror I had leaning against one of the cafe walls, something I set up for people to take selfies in front of with their coffees, I brushed away any lint on my black sweater dress and adjusted my tights. I made sure not a strand of hair fell out of my French braid and smiled to myself. 
“You know what they said about Narcissus,” Sean chuckled as he caught me giving myself another once over. 
“Ha, ha,” I narrowed my eyes while resting my hands on my hips. “Shouldn’t you be bussing tables?” 
“Waiting for a certain someone?” He teased with a raised brow before he went to work cleaning up the tables. 
Before I could retort, the bell above the door rang which made me turn swiftly on my feet. My heart rate picked up at the sight of Jolly as he walked in with two other guys on each side of him. His hair was falling to his shoulders in chocolate waves and when he took off his sunglasses, his dark amber eyes immediately found me to scan every inch of me. I felt frozen but hot under his gaze and pulled at the ends of my sweater dress, suddenly feeling as if it wasn’t perfect enough for him. 
“Hi,” Jolly smiled. 
The two men he came in with watched us with curious smiles, the one of Jolly’s left I recognized as his roommate that came in here a few weeks ago. 
"Hey you, the usual?" I asked. 
He smiled with a slight nod. "You know me so well."
I peered over to the two others, pointing to the one I recognized. “Noah, right?” 
The heavily tattooed man nodded while adjusting the hood of his sweater and that's when I noticed the writing along the front of it. 
“Oh, shit. Hereditary! I love that movie,” I exclaimed. 
Noah's eyes brightened. “Yeah?” 
“A24 has made some phenomenal films. Although, the ending kind of fucked me up,” I admitted with a laugh.
As I looked over to the other man who wore glasses, I missed the look that Jolly and Noah shared. 
“Hi, I’m Astrid.” 
“Jesse,” he held a hand against his chest. “Jolly’s other roommate. It’s nice to finally meet you. I’ve heard a lot about this place.” 
“Oh,” I gazed back over to Jolly, never taking my eyes off of him. “All good things, I hope?” 
Jolly licked his lips. “Definitely.” 
It seemed as if time slowed to almost a stop as we stared at each other and there was a pull deep within my soul that made me want to step into his embrace, letting him wrap those arms around me. 
Clearing my throat finally, I motioned to the coffee machines. “What can I get you guys?” 
Already knowing Jolly’s order, Noah and Jesse gave me theirs and I went to work getting it ready while they sat in Jolly’s regular booth. When Tori came in for her shift, I asked if she could carry Noah’s and Jesse’s drinks while I carried Jolly’s and the large plate of a variety of sweets for them. 
“The one in the black hoodie is cute,” Tori nodded towards Noah. 
I tilted my head towards her. “Oh, what happened to Tyler?
“Ugh, don’t say his name. I want to forget the last two weeks of my life with that man,” Tori stated. 
“Fair enough,” I nodded firmly and chuckled. 
“Besides,” she shook out her long red locks, “I seemed to have found someone else to occupy my mind with.” 
“Tori,” I warned as we walked over to the guys’ table. 
“Here you guys go,” she all but ignored Jesse while smiling down at Noah as she gave him his drink. 
Noah kept his attention on his phone, only briefly giving Tori a smile of thanks before he went back to typing away on his phone. Her confidence deflated but she still kept that brightening smile on her face. 
As I set down Jolly’s cup and plate of fresh kanelbullar as promised, he gazed up at me with a smile. 
“Thank you, Astrid.” 
I shivered at the way he said my name. 
“Of course. Do you guys need anything else?” I asked all three of them. 
“Actually,” Noah spoke up while giving me his full attention. “My girlfriend is meeting us here and asked if I can put her coffee order in.” 
Tori faux sighed before retreating to behind the coffee counter. Jesse watched her with raised brows. 
“Tori will be fine,” I chuckled. “What does your girlfriend want to drink?” 
“Medium chai tea iced with oat milk, please,” Noah smiled warmly as he rattled off the drink; almost as if he was remembering a memory. 
“Oh, a girl after my own heart,” I joked. “What’s her name?” 
After Noah told me her name, I tapped the table twice before stalking back to the coffee bar, feeling a set of hot eyes on my back the entire time. I was quick to make the drink, all while humming a soft tune to myself, and as I turned back to bring the drink to Noah, the bell above the door rang. I watched as a brunette walked in, eyes gazing almost over every inch of my space with a faint smile before she noticed the guys. Quietly, she tiptoed over to Noah and wrapped her arms around his neck from behind, leaving a gentle kiss on his cheek. 
Just watching how the two of them interacted and all the love in their eyes, as they stared at each other before Noah cupped her cheek to lay a kiss on her lips, made my heart yearn for love like that. 
"Sorry I'm late,” the brunette apologized as Noah pulled out the seat next to him. “Chase and Malcolm wanted to catch up after the album release party.” 
"Order for Y/N!" I called out with a smile.
The brunette, Y/N, went to stand, but Noah was quick to force her gently back into her seat. “No, angel. Let me get it.” 
My eyes locked with Jolly’s and he quickly waved off his friends. “I can do it. Sit.”
While he walked towards the counter, I noticed Noah mutter something in Y/N’s ear, her giggling widely. 
“Could I also get a few mochis?” Jolly asked as he reached me. 
I nodded. “Of course. Any specific flavor?” 
“Whichever is fine. Y/N and Noah have a weird connection with them.”  
My brows furrowed as I went about to plate a few of them. “Really?” 
“That’s his nickname,” Jolly smiled as I handed him the plate of mochis and Y/N’s coffee. 
“A nickname, huh?” I wiped my hands on the sides of my dress before leaning my elbows on the counter to rest my chin in my palm.  
“Don’t tell him I told you, he gets uptight.” He chuckled while leaning down towards me. 
I peered up at him while fake-locking my lips. “Your secret is safe with me.”
“Have you,” Jolly’s fingers grazed over one of the tattoos on my arm and I shivered under his touch. “Have you ever had a nickname?”
His tattooed fingers brushed back the long strands of hair as I gazed upon the sharp features of his face, the defined cheekbones, and the facial hair that surrounded his perfect, plump lips. 
“You know, I don’t think I’ve ever been given a nickname," I answered truthfully. 
“Oh well that’s just a shame,” Jolly shrugged. 
His confidence gave me some of my own and I gazed up at him through my lashes as he continued to stand on the other side of the counter. 
“It is," I tucked a strand of my white hair that somehow fell from my French braid behind my ears. "Any suggestions?”
“Käraste," Jolly said almost too quickly, as if he thought about this before. 
My cheeks burned as I locked eyes with him. Hearing the unknown word fall from his lips made my stomach flip and pussy clench. I squeezed my legs together to curb the itch. 
“What? Too much?” He asked, suddenly self-conscious. 
I quickly shook my head to reassure him while standing straight up on my feet. “No. No, I- I like it. What does it mean?”
With a smirk, Jolly tapped the counter before grabbing the cup and plate of mochis. "I think I'll keep that to myself." 
I chuckled while shaking my head and watched as he walked back over to the corner couch, where his friends waited for him.
For a while, I was busy running the front counter while Sean and Tori worked the kitchen area. There’d been a slow steady stream of customers that kept us all busy but I knew that at some point I needed to slip back into my office for management work. However, before I did that, I brought the pot of black coffee and a small jar of sugar over to Jolly to refill his cup and then set down the sugar. 
“Hi, I’m Y/N!” 
Giving her a bright smile, I shook her extended hand. “Hi, I’m Astrid.” 
Y/N motioned to Jolly. “I’m glad I listened to him about coming here. I’ve been wanting to for a while now, my therapist is right next door, and every time I walk past, the smell of the sweets gets me.” 
“Oh, Dr. Poulos! She comes in every day before her two p.m. appointment and gets a small cup of Greek coffee and baklava to go,” I informed. 
Noah spoke next. “You know, I noticed the to-go bag in her office one time but never put two and two together.” 
Y/N linked her fingers with his to rest them in her lap. “Well, it’s a lovely place you have here. The mochi are delicious.” 
“Thank you,” I smiled. “Well, I won’t bother you guys any longer. If you guys need anything else, let Tori or Sean know and they’d be happy to help you.” 
Before I could walk away, Jolly’s fingers grazed over mine and I peered down at him. 
“Thank you, käraste.”
My cheeks burned as I squeezed his hand and slipped away from them, into the confines of my office to enjoy the way the nickname set every fiber of my being ablaze. 
Since it was Sunday, I always closed Fika at 5 p.m. so I could enjoy the rest of my evening at home. So for the next few hours, I spent time in my office to finish my bookwork. By quarter to five, I dismissed Tori and Sean, sending them home, and walked up front to start closing up. Nearly tripping over my feet, I was shocked to see Jolly was still sitting in his booth. 
“You’re still here?” I asked, coming to a stop in front of his table. 
He shrugged while closing his laptop. “I know the shop is closing soon and wanted to make sure you’re fine closing up by yourself.” 
I quickly shook my head. “Oh, you don’t have to do that, Jolly. It’ll be a while before I’m ready to leave and I can’t ask you to stay around and wait for me,” 
“You didn’t ask. I offered,” he smiled while rising from the table, and going about to help me clean up. 
We worked in silence as I shut down the machines and when I was shutting off the lights, hiking my bag up on my shoulder, I let Jolly lead me out the front door so I could lock it, not before setting the alarm. 
“Can I walk you to your car?” Jolly asked. 
“Yeah, I’d like that,” I bit my lip and nodded. 
The setting sun cast him in an orange hue, with pinks, and purples emanating from behind him and I sucked in a breath and how gorgeous he looked. We began walking step by step to the back alley where I parked my car, Jolly’s fingers grazing over mine and it was just enough contact to make my heart hammer loud and hard in my chest. 
“Your friends seem really nice,” I said, finally breaking the silence, as we came to a stop in front of my car. 
Jolly smiled. “They are. I love them, they’re my family.” 
My lips pulled in a tight line. “It must be a nice thing to have. I’m the only family I have here.”
He picked up on the way my voice faltered with my words but didn’t want to press the issue. Instead, he lifted a hand to brush away a strand of hair, tucking it behind my ear. His fingers were on the side of my neck and I let my eyes flutter shut at the feeling. 
“You’re welcome anytime with us, Astrid,” Jolly’s voice was hushed. 
Now his fingers were wrapped behind my neck to tilt my head up towards him. Opening my eyes, I sucked in a breath at how close his lips were to mine, his warm breath fanning over my bottom lip. 
“I’d like that,” I admitted with my bottom lip caught between my teeth. 
His eyes scanned my face. “We’re having a small party tomorrow night. A little housewarming thing. I’d love it if you’d come.” 
We were so close now, that I could almost taste his lips.
“You would?” I questioned. 
Jolly eyes told me his answer before his words did. “Definitely.” 
When I first opened Fika, I told myself not to fall into bed with the first handsome customer I met because it could spell disaster if things went sour. I needed to focus on my business, not let a pair of dark almond eyes distract me. And yet, here I was sinking further deeper into the abyss of those eyes. 
“Sure, I’ll be there,” I said while my hand gently played with the strings of his sweater. 
One of his hands was still grasped behind my neck while his other rested on my hip. “Käraste, kan jag kyssa dig?”
I blinked up at him, confusion etched on my features, and I shook my head in his grasp. “What did you say?” 
“Can I kiss you?” 
Jolly’s voice dropped to a dangerously low level and it made my insides burn. My stomach flipped a few times over as he repeated the question in Sweden again and throwing out all the negative thoughts on how this could be a bad idea, I stood on the tips of my toes to close the small distance between us finally. 
His lips were warm with the bitterness of his coffee but the sweetness of the kanelbullars. At first, we stood frozen, unsure who would make the next move, but soon Jolly’s tongue brushed against my bottom lip in a way to ask permission; one I immediately granted. His tongue glided over mine and it swallowed my moans when Jolly walked me back against my car, locking me in place with his hips. 
What started as a slow, passionate kiss, suddenly became one with force. Teeth scraped against each other before biting into the flesh of lips, hands grasping at anything they could touch. Jolly's mouth never left mine as he focused solely on making every one of my senses ignite with a blaze that shot straight to my core. He held me in place with his large hands on my lower back while I ran my hands through the long strands of hair, reveling in the softness of them. 
His scent engulfed my senses, making me dizzy, and when I fell into him Jolly made sure to hold me tighter. I felt the hardness of his cock pressed against my clit and dropped my head back against the car to let out a moan, one he quickly hushed by finding my lips again; almost as if he didn't want to let them go. 
To let me go. 
“Astrid,” he muttered against them, pressing his hips into me once again. 
I was nearing release by his kiss and the gentle brush of his cock against me. My body was sensitive to his touch as rough fingers dragged down the sides of my face to pull me closer to him. Our tongues danced together in perfect harmony and I nipped then sucked on his bottom lip just before he pulled away, resting his forehead against mine. 
“Woah,” I whispered while bringing my fingers to my lips. 
Jolly brushed his mouth over them in a feathery peck. “If I’m being honest, I’ve been wanting to do that for a while now.” 
I giggled while wrapping my arms around his back. “I’m glad we feel the same.” 
We began to lead towards each other for another kiss but were interrupted by my phone going off. Reluctantly, I pulled away from Jolly to grab my phone from my purse, only to stare down at it with puzzled eyes. 
“Everything alright?” Jolly asked while brushing a finger over my cheek. 
I smiled into his touch and nodded. “Yeah. It seems like the cafe’s alarm is going off.” 
With quick fingers, I disarmed the alarm from the app on my phone and then gazed up at him. His cheeks were flushed still from our kiss and his eyes were pure black now, pupils blown wide from his own desires. 
Fuck, I wanted nothing more than to jump into the backseat of my car with him. Ride out the now fading high against his thigh. 
Shaking my head at the thought, I motioned towards the cafe. “I should go check it out. Just in case.” 
“Do you want me to come with you?” 
I quickly shook my head. “No, it’s alright. I probably didn’t pull the door shut all the way so the sensor tripped. But I will see you tomorrow night?” 
Jolly’s eyes lit up. “Of course. I’ll be busy helping the guys set up for the party so I might not make it in for my coffee.” 
I made a show of rolling my eyes. “How will I ever survive without you?” 
The corner of his mouth lifted with a smirk. “I’ll send you the address. Can you let me know everything is fine with the alarm then once you're home?” 
My heart jumped into my throat at his request. “Of course. Do you need me to bring anything tomorrow?” 
Jolly brought my hand to his lips and kissed each knuckle. “Just you, käraste.”
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CONTINUE TO PART TWO HERE
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