#rule of thumb is to never believe companies until they actually do something

[bandzboy]

okay yes sm has released a statement about what has been going with riize and say they are gonna take action against people that have been invading their privacy (idk how much of this is true but anyways) my question is… why didn’t they do this with seunghan? they just put him on hiatus and then made him apologize they did nothing to protect him making it seem like he did something wrong i genuinely go crazy bc of this fucking company

[happyselves]

Law of Attraction { Lando Norris x reader }

Disclamer : Swearing !!!

It was a busy weekend for the Mclaren team, they were about to get associated with a new partner. It was a huge contract and it was your first big deal. Mclaren just hired you, you were on probation before your contract will be real. You couldn’t mess up, you needed this job, needed to make your proof. You just got your law degree and it was your first job as a lawyer and you got lucky that you found yourself working as a Mclaren F1 Team new attorney.

This contract was important for both parties and it would go to the press as well. You were set to make your client sign during the next grand prix weekend and it was this weekend.

You spend hours and hours in your office reading the partner offer but something was bugging you and you couldn’t put your finger on it . You had to fly this afternoon to join all the team in Austria and you were starting to feel stress because you knew you had to put that deal on your boss table for him to sign, but that it wasn’t a good one and that we would basically get screw over by some clause or something, you knew it in your guts, you just need to find which pieces of puzzle you were missing. If the partner attorney thought he could easily screw you over like this because you were in your first year of work, he was wrong. You might be a newbie but one thing your mentor had taught you was to never show your weakness. That’s why you spend all night writing a new contract, word by word like the original, to find that little detail and you end up finding it. You were ehausted and tomorrow was the signing day, but now you were ready to show that we can’t fuck you over easily and that nobody should ever underestimated you. That was probably why mister Brown had give you the job, hearing things from is old attorney and your mentor was one thing, but proving how worth of the job you were is another and it will be soon be your moment of glory, but you couldn’t celebrate victory to soon, another thing you mentor had teach you.

Today was the day of the signing, you were stressed, you didn’t know how this would turn out. You were scared to have made a mistake and the lack of sleep was starting to rub on you. You had your plan in your mind, letting the other party think they had the upper hand and not tell them you had found the hair in the soup that will make your client profit and not lose all his money. It was important for you to not show your whole game to the adversary, but let him build his ego before you put that last card that will make you win the whole game in hand.

To make it official, Mclaren had to make the deal in their motorhome, Mister Brown wanted his two drivers to be there with him while signing as well because it was an important partnership for the whole team. It will be your first time seeing them since you entered the company, you were based in the factory back in Woking, but never had met any of them. You were quite intimidated, but the job was coming before anything else, no matter how many hours you spend in your free time to search about these two drivers, focusing on one in particular because he was around your age and something was telling you that the two of you were somewhat alike in certain ways of your life. You would lie to yourself if you didn’t find him attractive as well, but your personal preference when it comes to man can’t interfere with your work, it was your first and most important rule in your code of conduct you had set yourself on when you started studying law.

You arrive early in the paddock, hoping to visit around and discover this whole new world that you knew nothing about. You gotta visit the garage of your team, mechanics were happy to explain to you one thing or two, having a silent competition between them for the one that will have the testosterone level at his highness and find a way to make you fall for them. You already know their little trick going to law school with men, nothing could surprise you anymore. You knew you were pretty or had a little something more perhaps, but seeing gentlemans thinking the same was actually really flattering. After this pleasant little escapade, you find yourself walking the stairs of the Mclaren motorhome reading to meet everyone in the meeting room. You were the last one to enter the room, but you could give yourself the right to make an entrance after the thing you discovered during your sleepless night of searching dirt on the company represented by the douchebag sitting on the opposite side of the table. By his face you knew this man was an asshole and that it wasn’t his first rodeo and you were ready to put a stop into his little illegal business.

However when your eyes meet the drivers, especially the youngest one, your heart skips a bit, before you turn yourself and find your boss judging your rather late presence. You quickly apologize with a nod of the head before inviting them all to sit around the table and start the meeting.

Everything was going smoothly, everyone was happy, except you. You already hated what you were about to do,but you had to act fast otherwise it will be too late and the papers would be signed in front of your eyes.

“ Excuse me, I have one more question before we head toward the signature. “ You interrupted the conversation, looking at your boss, waiting for his approval to continue. After all you were only doing your job to assure everything is well covered, he couldn’t argue on that. The opposite camp didn’t have any objection for you to give a go to your wonder, thinking it would be innocent coming from a young lawyer that is still learning about the job. He made a gesture toward you, avoiding getting over this.

“ Well, mister Backfield, without due respect I was wondering why you were so eager to help our company, I did some research, you know. Usually you are investing in smaller businesses, which will lower profit. Why show the Mclaren F1 Team when it's new territory for you ? “

And action, you knew that every word that was about to leave this man’s mouth would only be total lies, but he didn’t know that. You had the upper hand by far and you won’t give him the satisfaction to put down this team and family.

And he tried hard to explain, save his case, defend himself and if you were naive you would have believed the guy but you weren't and could give a shit about his speech.

" Well I'm afraid I can't let this go on further. "

Everyone around the table was stunted, not knowing what to say. Mister Brown was reading to make you go before you heard him a piece of paper and that's when his face changed and he let you continue.

" You see Mister Backfield, you thought you could screw us over and try to go fish at a bigger price. Unfortunately for you I find out who you truly are. A piece of garbage buying company when they must need it, making them believe you will help them develop until somehow by some miracle they are forced to declare bankruptcy a couple years ago and then you buy them twice the price they truly worth before miraculously going back on the high to sell them three times the price. I don't know you but I call that stealing and corruption and I'm not ready to let my company get fucked over by an asshole like you so you can take you goddamn deal, walk away from here and never show your face around us again or I can talk to the press and trust me they are going to love it. One thing for sure is that if it happens I might win big and no negotiation put on the table will make me give you your money back. " You threw him middle fingers as you stood up and showed him the door.

Everyone was so shocked they couldn't speak, not because of the revelation in itself but how you had handled the whole situation like a true boss, with confidence and pride.

Someone in the room was even more impressed and couldn't even close his mouth, clearly admiring you. If you knew better you would say that right there Lando Norris was falling in love with you and if that wasn't boasting your ego then you didn't know what will.

Mr Brown was the first one to come to you as you all watched the security guys escorting Mr Backfield out of the paddock. He was about to say something but the rush of adrenaline was making you bold and you beat him to it.

" I am so sorry mister Brown I know I should have informed you before the meeting, but honestly I wasn't even sure before entering in that room that my information was right and I only received the confirmation a minute before being here, explaining why I was late. Truly I'm sorry if I put your entire team in a difficult position, I will try to find the best replacement for you I promise you. " You were almost out of breath as you finish you log apologize but realize soon enough that it didn't really matter here.

" I am impressed with you, first month on the job and you are already making yourself irreplaceable, you shouldn't have to apologize and I certainly should be thanking you and giving you a raise. Your mentor was right to gush about you. You are someone else." Proud could be seen in his eyes and his smile couldn't leave his face as he hugged you awkwardly saying thank you one more time before leaving and going back to the garage with Daniel who made sure to wink at you and make a big thumbs up at you before heading out.

However, someone hadn't left his seat, Lando. You thought he was just going to stay there and ignore you but as you were opening the door he smashed it back close behind you.

" I observed you all weekend, wondering why such a little fragile person was headlining such a big deal like this but it turns out I was wrong, never judge a book by it's cover. I'm learning it the hard way. "

You turn to face him ready to get back at him but his lips on you made you shut up. He pushes you against that door again, putting his hands on your lower back. At first you were confused as to why he was kissing but eventually you just stopped resisting and let yourself enjoy the moment. You had a thing for him and you were now sure that these weird eye contacts weren't that innocent. He had a thing for you too.

His kiss could make you reach the roof, you never felt something like that before, not that you had much experience, he knew exactly what would make you moan into his lips and lose balance so he could tighten the grip around you. You needed air but you would not allow it to yourself, you wanted more, you wanted him.

The adrenaline in your system was still pumping through your veins and you couldn't really think straight, your hands found the back of his head, playing with his loose locks of hair. You were holding on for dear life on this ride despite the fact you barely knew the guy.

Lando ends up breaking it up and you realise you were hooked around him as he put you down on your feet again.

" Just for the record, what you did before was so fucking hot that I would gladly be a criminal if that means you would be the one to put me in jail. "

He made you laugh, you were gasping for air, messy hair, swallow lips and redness on the cheeks, no speaking of your clothes being runned and unfolding and your shoes not even on your feet anymore. Everyone knows what they say about aan that can make a woman laugh and you wouldn't argue on that, not with him anyway.

Now that you had a taste of Lando, you wanted more, so much more and by the look on his eyes he was willing to explore the " more " area with you too.

" Okay that was unexpected, but the good kind, so here's what we're going to do. You will knock twice on my door at 23pm tonight, room 344, not a minute before and not a minute after, hope you know what punctuality is because you won't get a second chance. " You gathered all your things, trying to clean yourself to make it look like nothing had happened before you caught Lando's chin in your palm.

" Hope you will have a good defense, because tonight is going to be the trial of your life " You blow him a kiss before leaving his sight, a pride face drawing on you.

MASTERLIST

[peachsayshi]

Chapter 7 - Games

Gojo Satoru x Female Reader

Tags: Friends with Benefits, Teasing and a little bit of Fluff.

Summary: Trying to make sure the two of you stay out of the bedroom, you suggest playing a game of Twister and Gojo's mind starts to wander.

A/N: Sorry if there are mistakes! I don't have a beta and get tired rereading the chapters over and over again. This is a little short but we have some fluff and feels and we get a little insight on how Gojo has been feeling. I'm building up to something, I promise!

- - -

“Okay, left foot on green…”

With his right foot remaining on the red circle, Gojo spread his legs wide to place his left foot on the green circle towards the end of the mat. Things were easing up on his end when it came to work and he decided to take advantage of that by spending his free time with you tonight. What he didn’t expect was for the two of you to be in the middle of your living room playing board games instead of the usual physical activity that you both have grown accustomed to partaking in.

“Is this really how you want to spend our evening together?” he asked, taking the spinner from your hand as he proceeded to flick the arrow with his thumb and index finger.

You nodded your head, “We need to keep ourselves out of the bedroom. Otherwise, we will never leave...”

Gojo rotated his neck from side to side before replying, stretching to prepare himself for the awkward positions he was about to hold, “you’re making it sound like that’s a bad thing.”

“Listen, game night is going to make up for movie night which never happened because we wound up doing it on your couch instead...”

A smug grin spread across Gojo’s face, thinking of your failed plan to have a scary movie marathon with him. You were hoping to catch the sorcerer squirm but what you didn’t expect was him teasing you thirty minutes into the film that inevitably resulted in you being fucked senseless on his couch.

“You’re really going to put the blame on me for that? If you were paying attention you wouldn’t have succumbed to my advances so easily,” he retorted defensively.

“You had your hand up my skirt!”

“Now, I told you what that skirt does to me,” he jokingly snapped, pointing his finger at you sternly before shrugging his shoulders. “I couldn’t help myself…”

“Okay, well how about the night we were supposed to go out for dinner but missed our reservation because you decided to rip up my dress on the car ride over…”

“Let’s not get too dramatic, I merely broke the zipper and I did buy you another dress.”

“Okay, how about last night?”

Gojo parted his lips, pausing to think how the two of you wound up naked in the shower instead of going to the karaoke bar with Rina and her friends.

“Last night... wasn't my fault,” he pointed out, arching his brow at you as he recalled the way you teased him into submission.

“Oh, yeah. That’s right…” you shyly replied, biting your bottom lip as you scratched the back of your head. “So, uh, what’s my next move?”

“Quick to change the subject, I see?” Gojo answered with an easy smile, “Put your left hand on the blue circle…”

With your feet on the green and yellow circles, you leaned your body forward to put your left hand on the blue sphere. Meanwhile, Gojo dropped the spinner on the ground beside you, suppressing a laugh as he watched you struggle to spin the arrow and call out his next round.

“The point here is...” you grumbled as you tried to adjust yourself back into a comfortable position, “...the two of us are getting carried away. I just think this little break might do us some good.”

“I don’t think working up a sweat is a bad thing,” Gojo insisted.

“Well, we can burn calories after I kick your butt,” you added on, waiting for the arrow to land. “Right hand on green...”

“For someone trying to make sure we keep our distance, you sure picked an interesting game tonight,” Gojo teased, finding his new posture which brought his face close to yours.

“I know for a fact that you can’t cheat playing Twister,” you reminded, before glancing up at him from under your lashes and inching forward to peck him on the tip of his nose. “Besides, I never said I wanted space, I just thought I’d change things up for the evening.”

Gojo’s smiled into your lips as he gave you a soft kiss in return, “if you think you can distract me by being cute, you are absolutely wrong .”

“We both know how much of a sore loser you can be,” you answered back, “I just hope you’re ready to throw yourself a pity party by the end of this because I am definitely winning.”

“Mhmm, whatever you say. Right hand, blue…” he continued, trying to pay attention to the game and observing you reach your arm slightly underneath him to place your hand on the circle.

He couldn’t explain when things became this comfortable with you. If he had known that hooking up with you would bring you both closer together as friends, he wouldn’t have rejected your offer that easily.

You’ve both already broken one of your rules. However, Gojo didn’t mind forgoing the “drinking” rule to decide whether or not the two of you wanted to hook up. You both no longer needed the excuse anyway, after a while it became painfully clear that regardless of what the plans were, things always resulted in the two of you tangled up in someone’s bed sheets.

The sorcerer spent a majority of his spare time alone, unaware of how much it bothered him until you came along. He thought about the way you described yourself when you were in a relationship with your ex-boyfriend, and wondered if this felt similar in any way. Not that he considered you as anything other than a friend...but he was curious .

You both were different in many ways but often clashed when it came to your perspectives on love. You believed that there was a person out there for everbody, that there was nothing like falling in love with somebody who looked at you as if you were their whole world.

Granted, those were your opinions when you were in a happy and loving relationship but Gojo always disagreed with you because he was convinced that relationships were messy and only brought unnecessary drama to the table. That’s why he had his own personal rule that was standard practice when it came to his “love” life.

He never hooked up with somebody more than once.

Rumors about his womanising ways only stemmed from the fact that he did actually have plenty of lovers. However, he could barely recall their faces and didn’t even remember their names. Sometimes they recognized him on the street, and foolishly attempted to strike up a conversation with the handsome, rich stranger who paid for their company.

Gojo would politely brush them off every time. His stone cold reaction broke the hearts of those who were lucky enough to even be in his presence. He surely didn’t need to pay for the escorts or call girls but the act itself was easier and he had the money to spend anyway. These acquaintances never asked him any questions about his personal life, which benefited him greatly because it left very little room for anything other than small talk. Once both parties were satisfied, Gojo would leave every encounter without ever looking back. Sex was a routine way for him to blow off steam or merely take care of his natural urges. However, you didn’t know that you were the first person who he consistently kept as company in the bedroom.  

Up until this moment, he had been suppressing his desire for you. Now that he has you, the sorcerer could tell he was getting greedy. He respected your wishes when you asked him not to see anyone else on the side but surprised himself when he realised that he had no interest in seeking out the strangers that used to keep him company at night.

Even though you both insisted that this new partnership had no influence on friendship, Gojo was observant enough to see that it was not the case. Little things were starting to change here and there, and he was carefully making note of it every time it happened.

For example, whenever he was off fighting curses, you started habitually checking up on him to make sure he was okay. One night when he was unable to answer his phone, he received a string of unusual text messages from you to find out what happened. He remembered calling you right after, teasing you to ask if you were worried about him. You surprised him with your fear, how you easily believed that something was powerful enough to harm him despite him repeatedly telling you that nothing could touch him. When you responded to his question with a sincere yes, an unexpected sensation spread across his chest. If he wasn’t paying attention to how much you cared about him before, he was more aware of it now.

To ease your worries, he made it a point to shoot you a text whenever he could just to let you know that he was alright. Although, he did sometimes forget which resulted in you panicking on the phone with him. Only this time, Gojo never made fun of your concerns.

In turn, he realised how fiercely protective he became of you and it killed him whenever he had to deflect your questions when you asked about his life. There was so much you wanted to know and so much that he wished he could tell you. However, he had every intention of maintaining this invisible boundary. The last thing he wants is for you to get caught up in something that you couldn’t understand. If he were to invite you into his whole world, that would only lead to you facing dangerous threats that loved to lurk in the shadows.

He would never forgive himself if something were to happen to you.

A few more rounds passed, and the two of you were intertwined in the most precarious situation. You were in a reverse tabletop position, looking like a crab with two hands and feet on the blue and yellow circles. Meanwhile, Gojo was in a plank position above you, his palms pressed on the red and green circle by your side, with one foot next to yours on a blue circle and another on a yellow circle.

You were shaking underneath him, desperately trying to maintain your awkward stance while Gojo appeared bored holding his own position with ease.

“Okay, I didn’t take your strength or height into consideration…” you groaned with a pout.

A chuckle escaped his lips, “give up, yet?”

“No…” you groaned, eyeing the spinner by your side as you reached for it with your right hand. You lifted your head slightly, your neck straining as you tried to call out the next move. “Left foot, green…”

Gojo picked up his leg but as he stretched himself out he realised that he couldn’t bend himself properly in that particular way.

Your eyes widened, watching him shake as he tried to rotate his body without lifting himself completely up off the mat.

“Or maybe your height is actually a disadvantage?” you questioned, ignoring the way your arms burned from holding yourself up as your heart raced with anticipation.

“Shhh, I’m concentrating...”

Gojo kicked his leg out one way and then the other, the comical image of his tall body in motion only made you laugh at his reaction. He tried his best to ignore the sound of your voice but knew that he could barely maintain his balance as he tried to find the green circle. However, he miscalculated the gravity of his own weight when he shifted to the left side of his body, his elbow buckling underneath and causing him to collapse.

“Yes!” you exclaimed, raising your arms up in victory, paying no attention to his body pressed on top of yours.

His face was buried in the crook of your neck, breathing in deep to inhale the scent of your soap. He felt your hand pat the back of his head lightly, indicating that you wanted him to get off from on top of you. He slowly unraveled himself, irritated by his own misfortune as he rolled onto his back to lay down beside you. He tilted his head to look at you, noticing you turn so you both were making direct eye contact with each other.

Gojo always knew you were beautiful. Nothing in this world could convince him otherwise but he never paid attention to the details of how pretty you actually were. Little things about you that made the gears in his head turn, from the gorgeous mane that sprouted on the top of your head, to the way your eyes sparkled whenever you were excited or how the curve of your lips was your secret tell to let him know exactly what you were feeling when you couldn’t find the words to explain yourself.

Why me? He thought to himself, if you wanted to fuck around with somebody then why did you ask me?  

A kiss on his lips snapped him out of his drawn out thoughts, he felt the pads of your fingers along his cheek, slipping lightly underneath his blindfold to reveal just one of those blue eyes.

“Ready for another round?” you questioned.

Gojo softly smiled, thankful that you haven’t grown bored of him just yet. He lifted himself up, bringing one of his hands to cup your face as he pulled you in for another kiss. His tongue parted your lips and he allowed himself this one indulgence as he trailed his hand to the back of your neck.

Whatever thoughts that were running through his mind, he chose to ignore. There was no reason for him to consider such trivial things anyway. You were spoiling him with your body, playing out the fantasies that plagued his mind. He was aware that his greed fueled his lust for you and honestly did not know what he would do if you were to ask him to stop.

He deepened the kiss, allowing the frustrating thought to play out in passion instead. You shifted your position, your hand falling to his chest as you gripped onto the collar of his tee. Still holding onto the kiss, Gojo lifted himself upright so he was seated and as much as he would love to take advantage of this current situation, he chose to pull himself away instead.

“Best of three?”

“That sounds good to me!” you replied as you circled your arm around his neck, before returning to kiss him again.

Gojo gave in for only a second, before cheekily breaking away and tapping you gently on the forehead with his index finger.

“Oh no, you aren’t doing this to me again...” he said, his hands moving to your waistline as he gently pushed you away from him. “You wanted to have a game night and we are going to see it through.”

He leaned across from you to pick up the spinner, before settling back down and holding it in between the tiny space that separated you both.

“Winner goes first.”

- CHAPTER 8: HEAT - 

[comfortwriting]

Best Friends Brother Part 3 - G.W

Masterlist, Requesting Rules, Writing Prompt Masterlist

This is part 3 of ‘Best Friends Brother’ please read part 1 and part 2, want to be tagged? let me know! 

George Weasley x Fem Reader slow burn

Warnings: mention of food and eating, swearing, 

The moment your lips touched, fireworks went off around you, George wrapped his arms around you and pulled you close to him - all of your worries withering away, all you could feel was happiness and pure bliss.

George pulled away from the kiss and slowly opened his eyes, you were in shocked and couldn’t believe who’s lips had collided with yours moments before.

Opening your eyes slowly, you stared into George’s brown ones, his gentle hands holding yours and squeezing them softly.

“T-Thank you for tonight” you blushed, letting go of one of his hands, tucking a stray hair behind your ear nervously “It’s been wonderful.”

George smiled softly and nodded “it has” he paused for a moment, his thumb tracing circles into your palm “same time next week?” he asked, sounding quite nervous.

You squeezed his hand back in excitement and nodded “I would love to” you beamed.

Your three month anniversary was hanging around the corner, you had planned a whole day out on Saturday once George finished Quidditch practice, your heart fluttering in excitement and skipping beats, causing you to squirm in your seat - giggling out and squealing, confusing those around you, especially Ron who thought you were going barmy.

Despite seeing each other every day, the two of you were keeping things secret, you weren't ready for anyone to know - George knew his little brother all too well and so did you, Ron would be far from happy.

“George didn’t say anything to you after he, you know?” Ron asked, acting quite shifty in his chair.

“No he didn’t” you replied, “he’s not interested in me Ron, he just hates creeps.”

“Where were you last night?” Ron asked over breakfast, staring at you questioningly.

Shit! Think of something! I totally wasn’t kissing your brother, no, not at all.

“I went for a walk” you lied “I just had so much energy and needed to get out, I found an injured little owlet and was up all night nursing it, he’s helping me get over Penny.”

Ron believed you and nodded slowly “are you sure you’re ready for another owl?” he asked, trying to sound as caring as he could.

You sighed “I think it’s about time, yeah” you replied “It’s been almost over a year so I figured why not.”

So instead, you wrote to each other a few times a week, you had to admit, you quite liked the schedule; Wednesdays and Sundays nights were for the love letters, Saturdays were for dates unless he couldn’t skip Quidditch and the rest of the week you barely spoke and only engaged in eye contact if you were in the company of others - if not, you would hold hands and kiss in empty broom closets or even in the astronomy tower, but it was rare as Fred was never far behind from his twin.

Dearest Y/N,

Although we see each other every day and go on dates most weekends (when Ron isn’t on your back, or when I’m in detention like now) writing to you feels just as good as the real thing - but still bloody ridiculous.

Fred keeps asking what I’ve spent my Galleons on, told him it was for an experiment to do with our products we’re testing - he’s suspicious but believes me after I made myself sick to get out of Quidditch, oh the things I do for you, Y/N.

I think Gideon is the perfect name for the Owlet, mum will be so heart warmed and honoured when she finds out - but don’t bring the galleons into it of course, not until the joke shop is up and running with great success!

Seeing you last night up in the Astronomy tower was nothing short of the highlight of my day, I wish we could do it more often, but not to worry - one day we won’t need to meet up in private at all.

Anyway, I better get back to some homework before the greaseball comes over and reads this - detention with him always drags.

The next one will be longer, I promise, love.

Lots of love,

Georgie.

Dear George,

You should be focusing, get your head down and do your homework if you can bear it, I swear George, the day I receive a letter from you that wasn’t written in detention will be the day I wink at Snape - it’s silly I’m even asking you knowing that it’s never going to happen.

Your letters always cheer me up, Georgie, I can hear your voice as I read, feels like you’re sitting next to me and it’s good enough for me at the time being, I’m so thankful that we aren’t hundreds of miles away from each other.

Hey! You can’t be skipping Quidditch for me, you plonker! Gryffindor team need you and you’re a bloody good Beater - unbeatable in fact but stop skipping! we can make up for a lost date another time, I’ll try not to miss you too much I swear.

Thank you for gifting me Gideon, he is the sweetest little owlet and I cannot wait to watch him grow and to teach him like I did Penny - if his mother will let me that is. I won’t say a word to anyone, no one will know that you did such a thing although I want nothing more than to tell everyone, your kind-heartedness should never go unnoticed.

The joke shop will sweep you up off your feet and I can’t wait to see Weasley wizard Wheezes everywhere I go.

Thank you so much for last night, please don’t forget to send me your Christmas list - please don’t get me anything - Gideon is enough.

Focus on your bloody homework!

Speak soon and lots of love,

Y/N.

Looking over and your Owl, now named Gideon who had grown so much he was no longer a tiny owlet, you stroked his head and giggled at him as he nibbled on your finger.

“Alright, alright, but don’t be out too long” you whispered, opening your bedroom window, Gideon flapping his wings, leaping out and soaring into the night sky.

You beamed at your treasure, flying away to get some food for the evening, climbing into your bed as quietly as you could, hoping you wouldn’t wake up Hermione or your other roommates. Sliding your hand under your pillow, you patted around for the love letters from George you were hiding from everyone.

Your fingers grazed the corners of the crinkled parchment, lifting up your pillow you retrieved his most recent letter, taking it with you as you dive under your covers, shielding you from your roommates and giving you some privacy.

“Lumos!” You whispered, a beam of light stretching out from the tip of your wand, your cheeks flushing again upon seeing George’s handwriting.

Dearest Y/N,

Thank you for the heads-up, saved me and Freddie a lot of trouble, I swear one day Mr Filch and that bloody cat won’t know what’s hit them - if it wasn’t for you, we would’ve lost all of our plans and The Marauders Map, so thank you again for saving us all that trouble.

These three months have flown by so fast, I can’t believe it, I know this seems rather daft - a tall prankster being all lovey-dovey like this, but you really make me happy and I can’t wait to spend more time with you.

If you ever want to test any puking pastilles or fainting fancies, let me know and I’ll be able to look after you, love.

Looking forward to seeing you on Saturday so we can actually speak face to face - if Ron asks, you already know what to say.

Wrap up warm, it’ll be quite cold in Hogsmeade.

Looking forward to seeing you,

lots of love,

Georgie.

“Where are you off to so early? We never see you anymore over the weekend!” Ron complained, a mouthful of bacon.

“Oh get some manners, Ronald!” Hermione hissed, knitting her eyebrows together and grimacing.

You stood on the spot and stared at Ron, trying to plaster the most obvious expression on your face to make him feel stupid. “I’m off to spend some quality time with Gideon, he’s only a few months old and I want to make sure he’s as stable as Penny was at her age - I won’t be able to trust him to send letters long distances otherwise.” you lied.

But in all honesty, you weren’t really lying completely, next weekend was the end of term and the start of the Christmas Holidays - you wanted to make sure Gideon could deliver George’s letters to the burrow, you wouldn’t be able to hide them around for him to stumble across and pick up any more, and the two of you already discussed the problems of trying to use a device which muggles called a telephone.

“I’ll write you letters every week” George whispered, standing next to you in the corridors swarming with busy students, Fred chasing after Angelina outside “look in the middle of your textbooks, I’ll slide them in the middle of the pages.”

Opening up your book, a piece of folded parchment slid down and fell into your lap, you quickly stuffed it into your pocket, looking around to see if Ron noticed - luckily for you who he was copying Hermione’s classwork.

Ron looked lost for words, swallowing his bacon and thinking about your owl and how much you truly loved them “Alright then, well, see you later.” he replied,

You raised your eyebrows and smiled, waving goodbye to him, Harry and Hermione, walking out of the Great Hall and getting ready to meet George in Hogsmeade.

“She spends too much time with that bloody owl if you ask me” Ron muttered, stabbing some peas with his fork.

Hermione sighed “I think it’s quite sweet actually, she’s quite similar to Hagrid.”

Harry grinned and started to laugh, Ron rolled his eyes.

“Except the fact that she’s not a giant and she only flocks to birds of prey, not dragons or creatures that could kill us!”

“Well, at least you know where she’s going” Fred called out, walking past his brother “George never tells me where he’s off to and what he’s up to on a Saturday, he’s skiving Quidditch practice again and I get in bothered for it - I can’t check either because he’s got that sodding map with him!”

George wasn’t wrong, this time of year, Hogsmeade was freezing - your fingers changed colour and you could feel the ache and tingle against the freezing air that nibbled on your exposed skin.

You embraced yourself in one of the jumpers he had given you, one you were wearing under your fluffy winter coat which matched the colour of the snow. Looking around the small Village, you noticed George waiting outside The Three Broomsticks, looking slightly nervous as he scratched the back of his head.

You walked up to him, as you got closer you couldn’t help but blush at his red nose that had been attacked from the harsh winter air “Hello, George” you smiled softly, pulling him into a hug after clearing the coast of possible students.

George held you in his arms for a moment, taking in your scent and the feeling of your face against his chest, your hair under his chin as it rested on your head. “shall we get a drink, love?” he asked softly.

Following him inside and getting sat down in a quieter area of the pub, George ordered you and him a butterbeer and held your hand over the table, casually checking the map every now and then, checking on his brothers.

“It’s so good to see your face” he smiled, his starry eyes getting lost in yours.

You blushed and smiled widely, your drinks being placed down on your table, “It’s so good to see you too, can’t believe it’s been three months already!”

George took a sip of his butterbeer, the butterscotch warming up his tummy, you mirrored him, leaving behind a white foamy moustache. George smirked and leaned over the table, carefully avoiding spilling his drink as he wiped away the foam sitting on your top lip with his thumb, his index finger lifting up your chin.

The two of you exchanged a quick, risky kiss, remembering you needed to tone things down despite how hard the temptation was to snog him. George leaned back in his chair, sucking the foam off his thumb.

“I’ve been training Gideon” you beamed, the butterbeer warming you up “he’s finally got the hang of flying long distances and coming back in one piece.”

Meeting George in the small and squashed broom closet, he examined your tired features, looking slightly concerned, his hand resting against your face.

“Are you alright love?” he asked, “you look exhausted.”

You nodded and replied “I’m fine” suppressing a yawn “been up all night with Gideon, he’s growing so fast and he won’t allow me to baby him forever - he’ll be big enough to deliver letters soon.”

George felt a part of him fall in love with you all over again, the picture of you and Gideon in his mind made his insides got all warm and fuzzy - more so than his drink.

“So now he’ll be delivering you letters over Christmas!”

George went quiet and scratched behind his head like he did when he stood outside the pub, he paused for a moment and pursed his lips, licking them. “About that..” he trailed off, staring at his now half-full glass of butterbeer.

Your insides started to sink suddenly but your hopes were lifting, trying to figure out what he was going to say.

Is he staying at Hogwarts for Christmas with me whilst everyone else goes home? Am I unable to send him letters over Christmas if he goes back home?

“What is it?” you asked, both curiously and nervously.

George broke out into a smile, quickly glancing at the map again, then looking back into his favourite pair of eyes.

“Well, I was wondering...” he paused again “if you would like to stay at the burrow over Christmas, with me, everyone else of course but-”

“Yes!” you squealed, getting excited “oh George I would love to!”

George broke out into a grin, so relieved you were willing to come and spend some more time with him, a chance for the two of you to try and get some private time together, in the comfort of his own home.

“I had to ask mum ‘on behalf of Ron’ so if she says anything, just go through with it” George said quietly “Ron wouldn’t remember asking me to do such a thing anyway - his head is that clouded with Hermione.”

You swallowed down the rest of your drink, remembering to wipe away your foamy moustache this time “This is going to be wonderful, George” you smiled, squeezing his hand over to the table “Two whole weeks that we can just.. just be ourselves together!”

George smiled but remembered to remind you “We still need to keep everything on the down-low, it will be a full house and if we disappear it will be obvious we’re together - we’ll just need to wait for everyone to go to bed or go for a walk when they’re too busy to notice.”

You nodded your head, remembering that you would now be under not just Ron’s watch, but every Weasley who wouldn’t approve of your budding relationship.

George kissed your hand and looked down at the map once more, his smile dropping.

“Shit!” he panicked, getting up out of his seat.

“What is it?” you panicked, following him to the back doors in the pub.

He stared down at the map, his eyes following the group of feet storming into Hogsmeade “Fred, Ron, Harry - everyone’s heading this way - to this bloody pub!”

You swallowed hard, the butterbeer churning in your stomach, George’s drink rising up into his throat.

“When we can get away I’ll head to the owlery!” you put your coat back on, pulling the zip up quickly “you go hurry to Honey Dukes or Zonko’s when you get the chance, you’ll find your letter folded in your Quidditch jersey!”

George nodded, looking up from the map and quickly kissing you on the lips, the look in his eyes expressing the most sympathy you had ever seen.

Keeping things a secret would only get harder, harder than you and George were expecting.

Tag list: @amourtentiaa @reeophidian @inglourious-imagines @alwaysnforeverfangirl @horrorxweasley @sebby-staan @xmalfoyweasleyx​

[persephone-plasmids]

The Third Rail

Deacon X Sole fanfic

[AO3]

(Part 1 can be found here)

Deacon was sitting on a padded bar stool in The Third Rail, his fingers gingerly wrapped around a cold drink. He’d never really been a fan of tuxedos. He normally called them penguin suits, but he had to admit, he looked good in his current disguise.

His dark hair was slicked back and his trademark sunglasses protected him from any intimate interaction with the other bar patrons.

Even though Deacon kept his eyes trained on his drink, his ears were working overtime. Dez seemed positive that information about a kidnapped Synth would be discussed at the bar that night and she’d sent Deacon undercover to get as much intel as possible.

The tux had been his idea. He told Dez that his character was a wealthy trader who came to the Third Rail to unwind after a long day trading in chems and fancy hats. When Dez had pointed out that she just needed him to sit at a bar and listen for a few hours, he’d shushed her, insisting that his character was a vital part of the mission.

Sole had been sitting nearby in the Railroad HQ, her legs draped over the arms of a chair as she read an old tattered copy of Time Regained that Deacon had loaned her. She’d laughed at his insistence and when Dez had rolled her eyes and stomped away, Sole winked at Deacon.

The memory of this short interaction was enough to make his heart rate pick up a few paces. Not because it had been particularly special, but because it only reminded him that he and Sole shared something now. A special closeness. She’d kissed him, however briefly, one night after she single handedly killed a Deathclaw. Of course they hadn’t acknowledged it since then, which was just fine with Deacon. His feelings for Sole were already complicated enough. His best course of action would be to bury those feelings deep down and never examine them again.

He could do that… right?

Deacon tapped his thumb lightly against his glass, sighing deeply.

He didn’t want to bury the feelings down. He wanted to crush his lips against Sole’s and tell her how much he loved the way she laughed at his dumb jokes. He wanted her to know how much he loved the little dimples she got in her cheeks when she smiled. And he wanted her to know that he loved the way she believed almost any lie he told her and then got mad when she found out the truth.

He loved all of it.

But he couldn’t say that. So he took another drink and continued to bury those feelings deep down.

When Deacon felt two hands rest on his shoulders before sliding down the front of his chest, he jumped.

It wasn’t until a pair of lips brushed his ear lobe and a familiar voice said, “Fancy meeting you here,” that an involuntary smile broke across his face.

“What are you doing here, Charmer?” Deacon asked, tilting his head to face Sole with the ridiculous smile still in place.

He couldn’t help it. This was just the way his face looked around her.

“I’ve been looking for you all night, Darlin,” Sole said loudly with an exaggerated fake southern accent. “I trust your long hard day of selling chems and fancy hats hasn’t made you too tired for our date?”

Deacon couldn’t stop the smile from spreading even further across his cheeks. “I’m never too tired for you… Peaches.” Deacon had tried to think of the most ridiculous pet name he could think of. The fact that Sole almost broke character when she heard the name he’d come up with, told him he’d done a good job.

Swivelling around in his bar stool, Deacon finally got a proper look at Sole and had to work hard to keep his jaw from dropping. She wore a form-fitting red sequin dress that seemed to hug every curve of her body in a way that made his mouth go dry. She also wore a pair of sunglasses identical to Deacon’s, her crimson lips quirked up into a smile.

The last thing Deacon wanted to do was let Sole know just how incredible he thought she looked. He needed to maintain some semblance of dignity. Instead, he patted the bar stool beside him, and when Sole sat down, leaned over and said in an exaggerated whisper, “You’re wearing the same dress as Magnolia. That’s just embarrassing. One of you will have to change.”

“It’ll have to be her, Sugar. I’m having a drink with my man.” Sole kept the awful southern accent going and Deacon broke down in a fit of laughter that he stifled with his hand.

Sole was notoriously bad at accents. When she’d tried to do the Silver Shroud voice for him a few weeks back, he’d almost passed out from laughing so hard. She knew her bad accents were his weakness. She was doing this on purpose.

Another thing for him to add to the checklist of things he loved about her.

The checklist was quickly becoming its own novel.

“And remind me where you’ve been all day?” Deacon asked. He wanted to see just how much thought Sole had really put into this little ruse of hers.

“Why I’ve been off at the old Cabot place, basking in the refinement, of course,” Sole said.

Deacon shook his head before lowering his voice so that the other bar patrons wouldn’t over hear him. “Seriously though, what are you doing here?”

Sole leaned in conspiratorially, her grin full of mischief. “Dez didn’t trust that you were taking the job seriously after you came up with your whole… character.”

“So she sent you to babysit?” Deacon guessed. It wouldn’t be the first time.

At his question Sole looked down at Deacon’s drink and blushed. “I volunteered. Told her you might need some looking after.”

Sole had asked to come keep Deacon company? They hadn’t really been alone since she’d kissed him and he liked it that way. He didn’t need any more reasons to be head-over-heels for this girl. He was supposed to be past those kinds of attachments.

“And Dez didn’t think your character idea was childish?”

At this, Sole’s grin returned. “She didn’t know I was coming in costume.”

Deacon let a sly smile that matched Sole’s cross his lips. “So that’s the trick, is it? Be childish, but only when Dez isn’t looking?”

“It’s been working pretty well for me so far.”

“You just out-Deaconed me,” Deacon said. “I’m impressed, Charmer. You’ve even got the shades.”

At his words, Sole removed the sunglasses and sat them down on the bar in front of her. She rubbed the bridge of her nose gingerly.

“I know you swear by those things, but I just can’t get the hang of them. I don’t like that they add a barrier between me and the person I’m talking to,” Sole said. “It’s weird.”

“That’s exactly why I like them,” Deacon admitted, his sideways smile back.

Sole watched him with her lips pressed together in a hard line. Her eyes roamed across his face in a way that made him feel oddly vulnerable; even with the sunglasses on.

“You trying to use your x-ray vision over there?” Deacon joked. It was his default and the only way he knew to deal with an uncomfortable situation.

“Just trying to remember if I’ve ever actually seen you without the sunglasses on.”

“That’s a privilege you have to earn,” Deacon said.

At this, Sole perked up, her eyes alight with the challenge. “And how do I go about doing that?”

Deacon thought about this for a moment. What could ever make him feel comfortable taking his sunglasses off in front of Sole? Nothing came to mind. Because if she did see him, really see him, she might not like what she saw. That thought alone nearly killed Deacon. He wasn’t even sure he liked what he saw on the rare moments he allowed himself some brief introspection. But he was stuck with himself. Sole wasn’t. She could leave. And that was something he didn’t think he could bear.

It seemed better to keep her at arms length so he could continue to enjoy her company. He didn’t want to risk disappointing her. He didn’t think he could live with that.

“Don’t blow this mission for me and I’ll start to consider possibly thinking about maybe letting you see what’s behind the sunglasses,” Deacon said with a vague wave of his hand.

“Oh my! You’ll actually start to consider possibly maybe hypothetically letting me see you?” Sole repeated in an exaggerated tone. “How could I ever turn down a rock solid offer like that?”

“I don’t make the rules, sister. I just enforce them,” Deacon laughed, taking a long drink. “But if you could help me get some intel on this possible Synth kidnapping, Dez might actually respect me.”

“She respects you as an agent already. You know that,” Sole said, before grinning. “She just thinks you’re a hopeless man-child.”

“That’s Professor Hopeless Man-Child, thank you very much. I didn’t go to years of Peter Pan school to not be addressed by my full title.”

“Noted,” Sole said with a little salute in Deacon’s direction. “So, do we know who might have this possible intel?”

Deacon turned slightly in his chair and let his eyes roam over the patrons of The Third Rail. There were the regulars on the couch, holding their drinks while listening to Magnolia’s sultry voice with rapt attention. He gave a sidelong glance to the VIP room where he knew MacCready would be making deals with shady characters for caps. And then there were a few strangers he didn’t recognize sitting at the bar a few stools away from him and Sole. Those were the most likely sources of intel.

“I’d say we keep an eye on old no-nose and Danse over there,” Deacon said, nodding subtly in the direction of a ghoul and an uptight looking perfectly-groomed man.

Sole let a little giggle escape her lips as she turned away from the pair. “He totally does look like Danse,” she said, her eyes crinkling in the corners as she laughed.

Deacon tried not to notice.

He failed.

“Ad Victorium,” Sole mocked in her best Paladin Danse impression. It was just as awful as her southern accent.

“That old tin can is such a boy scout,” Deacon said, wanting nothing more than to make Sole laugh again. The sound made him happy. “But he’s good in a fire fight.”

“He’s actually really sweet,” Sole said. “And super helpful out in the field.”

Hearing Sole say nice things about Danse should have warmed Deacon’s heart. But instead he felt something ugly and unfamiliar spring up inside of him. Was it jealousy?

“Yeah, he’s great. If you get over the fact that he’s a raging bigot who hates synths,” Deacon said. His words sounded harsher than he’d meant for them to. He actually liked Danse a lot. But for some reason, he didn’t want Sole liking him too much.

“Hey, he’s still coming to terms with a lot right now,” Sole said. “Give him time. He’s a good person.”

Deacon nodded but didn’t answer. He didn’t like how much this conversation was bugging him. He wanted to pretend it was because of Danse’s less-than-stellar opinion of synths. But he knew the truth. Bigotry aside, Danse was a good guy. A wholesome guy. The kind of guy that probably reminded Sole of her late husband.

What was Deacon?

A liar. A man-child. Someone who couldn’t get close to people without devolving into a stand-up comedian for fear he might expose too much of himself.

Why would Sole want that when she could have the muscled boy scout with the badass scar over his eyebrow?

“Hey, are you okay?” Sole asked, placing her hand on Deacon’s arm and looking at him with a furrowed brow. “You kind of disappeared for a second.”

Deacon cleared his throat and adopted the fake smile that served as his everyday mask. “I’m good, boss. I was just listening for any intel we might hear.”

It wasn’t a great lie, but he hoped it was good enough to get Sole’s hand off of his arm. He couldn’t handle it when she touched him. Even like this. It gave him hope. And hope was dangerous.

The two sat in silence for a long time and when Sole did eventually move her hand away from Deacon’s arm, he hated its absence.

They watched the ghoul and the pretty boy drink their drinks in silence and Deacon began to wonder if they weren’t actually the people they’d been looking for. But when Deacon saw MacCready leave the red VIP room and walk up their stairs towards Goodneighbor, the ghoul and the pretty boy instantly stood up in unison and headed over to the now empty room.

“Bingo,” Deacon whispered. “They were waiting for somewhere more private.”

“This is so exciting,” Sole said, bouncing in her seat a little.

It was quite possibly the most adorable thing Deacon had ever seen in his entire life.

And that was including the time he’d seen a mutated bunny with four soft fuzzy ears hopping around the Wasteland.

“We need to get in that room,” Deacon whispered, standing from the bar stool and heading over to the VIP room.

He and Sole entered, but made sure to stand around the corner where the two conspirators wouldn’t be able to see them.

The ghoul and the pretty boy spoke in hushed tones, but Deacon was still able to make out the key points.

“Nuka World,” Sole whispered, looking up at Deacon who nodded.

That was it. That was where the Synth was being held. Dez would be over-the-moon with this intel.

Deacon only had a moment to revel in their victory, because without warning, he could hear the footsteps of the ghoul and the pretty boy heading towards them. They would have maybe two seconds before they saw Deacon and Sole standing there. And then what? They’d probably try to kill them without a second thought.

Deacon opened his mouth to try to tell Sole to run, but before he could, she pushed him up against the wall and crushed her lips against his.

The forcefulness of the kiss caught Deacon off guard, but it only took him a moment to understand her strategy. Just be a couple of Third Rail occupants looking for some privacy for a good time and no one would suspect they’d been spying on the conspirators.

Sole pressed her body against Deacon’s, her hands sliding inside of his tux jacket and around to his back. Her lips were soft, even as they moved forcefully against his. And even though he was tempted to close his eyes and give into the kiss, he kept one eye open to make sure they hadn’t drawn any suspicion from the pair they’d just been spying on.

Deacon watched as the two men eyeballed them for a moment before shaking their heads and leaving the VIP room without another thought.

They’d done it. They’d fooled them. And now they could stop kissing. But Sole didn’t seem keen on slowing down. That meant it would be Deacon’s responsibility to stop the kiss.

But did he really want to? Now that he had a good reason to kiss Sole that wouldn’t make him have an existential crisis?

Instead, Deacon placed his hands on Sole’s waist, squeezing her sides and pulling her against him. He could feel her smile under his lips and the expression only encouraged him. He ran one hand up her back, keeping the other low on her waist as he kissed her back passionately.

He never wanted this to stop.

The heat from Sole’s body mixed deliciously with his own and with every kiss, he felt himself fall for her even more.

After a moment, Sole finally slowed down their moment of passion and broke the kiss. Her lips were swollen and her cheeks were flushed, but her eyes were bright and full of life.

“Our targets left,” Deacon finally said after a moment, because he wasn’t sure what else to say. “I don’t think they suspected us… good thinking, boss.”

He knew he sounded breathless and frazzled and he hated himself for it.

Sole didn’t step back away from him. Instead she stayed leaned up against him with her hands resting on his back.

“Mission accomplished,” she whispered. He could feel her breath against his lips and it made him shiver. Being this close to Sole was like drinking clean cold water after wandering the Wasteland for days with no rest.

Deacon and Sole stared at each other for another moment, neither one willing to break contact. Deacon still had his hand low on Sole’s waist, and he moved his thumb over the bumpy sequins there.

“We should probably report back to Dez,” Deacon said after a minute. Something that looked like disappointment passed behind Sole’s eyes and he wondered briefly if she had wanted him to say something else. Something unrelated to the mission.

Had he wanted to say something else too?

“Good teamwork,” Sole said, standing up on her tiptoes and placing one last long, slow, soft kiss against Deacon’s lips.

The motion gave Deacon chills all over his body.

When she pulled away, she gave him a meaningful look. “I guess we should be getting back.”

Deacon nodded dumbly, unable to speak for a moment.

When Sole pulled away from Deacon, he felt her absence like a punch to the gut.

“Right behind you, boss,” Deacon said, watching as Sole headed towards the stairs that would lead to Goodneighbor.

He let her climb a few before he started to follow her. The truth was, he wasn’t sure he trusted himself to be too close to her right now. Not after the kiss they’d just shared. Because he knew he wanted more. And he knew he’d always want more.

But the worst part of it was, he almost thought that maybe Sole wanted more too. The look she’d given him had held some kind of meaning. But there was no way he was going to pursue that. If he was wrong, and Sole wasn’t sending him signals, he’d be devastated.

No. It was better to live a life wondering, than to throw away a good thing on a small possibility that his feelings were reciprocated. Sole was too good for him and he knew it. She probably knew it too.

But maybe she didn’t care. And maybe he shouldn’t either.

[Part 3]

-------------------------------------------------------

Based on this pic of my OC and Deacon being dorks together.

[caramelcal]

Fool for you

a/n: eye- y’all wanting a part 2? cause i have it planned lol x

it gets much more interesting i promise oml...the enemies arc really do be one of my faves tho

word count: 3.15k

warning: swearing

She couldn’t believe how much shit that stupid kiss had landed her in. Her head was clouded, arms crossed over her chest as she stared down at her lap, trying not to grumble. Not only her own manager was sat in the room, but 5 seconds of summer’s too, along with their bassist, one of the people she hated most, Calum Hood.

“We have seen how everyone reacted to the speculation,” The woman in front of her started, legs pressed together with a large binder sitting on her lap, hands folded gently on top. Normally Y/N got on quite well with her manager, Caroline, but right now she wanted to scream due to the words coming out of the woman’s mouth, “You’ve been gaining popularity from it, Y/N. This could be a great way for you to gain more of a following.”

Y/N had dreamed of the day she started to trend on Twitter, but this was not what she wanted to be trending for. She wasn’t trending for her music, not even her newest single. No, she was trending because everyone thought she was Calum Hood’s girlfriend.

Speaking of the boy, he sat beside her, keeping quietly to himself. This had to have been the first time that he had ever been in her presence where he hadn’t been annoying the shit out of her. Must be because his manager is in here. He had already been approached about it and seemed sold on the idea.

An idea of them being in a fake relationship.

Her, with Calum Hood. She wanted to scoff at the thought. He was unbearable at best, constantly annoying her to the point where she wanted to rip her hair out. When she had first been asked to be the opening act for 5 Seconds of Summer’s tour she had been ecstatic. The boys were nice, welcoming her onto their tour with open arms. Honestly, Y/N got on with all of them, apart from Calum. From the moment he set eyes on her he seemed determined to do anything and everything in his power to piss her off, slowly waiting until she finally lost her cool and lashed out. It was frustrating, especially considering Y/N knew she couldn’t do much about it.

Now, not only did she have to put up with Calum normally, but they wanted her to get close with him. To be in a fake relationship, which, obviously, meant spending more time with him.

“So, of course, you guys will have to be seen out in public with one another every so often so we were thinking you guys get ‘caught’ kissing my paps again, then we’re thinking dropping hints,” Ink began to get scribbled across a piece of paper, writing out a messy and brief plan which Y/N didn’t even want to look at, “Possibly y/n being caught wearing Calum’s shirt...We aren’t entirely sure yet but we will make sure to keep you updated. Do either of you have any questions?”

Despite the question seeming like it was for both of them, it was directed at Y/N, and she knew that. PR stunts and fake dating amongst celebrities were never unheard of, but she never thought she would be getting into one herself, not now and definitely not with Calum, “I do, actually. What’s in it for him exactly?”

The question was asked towards the two managers, y/n honestly didn’t want to even look at Calum right now. He probably wanted to do this simply to annoy her because he knew that he was the bane of her existence, but y/n just hoped that he wouldn’t get even more annoying, despite knowing he definitely would take advantage of the situation.

“Publicity,” His manager stated simply, nodding his head slightly in her direction. Y/n didn’t know what else to say, and they all were enveloped in a very uncomfortable silence before Caroline let out a sigh, snapping her folder shut.

“Well if that’s all,” She stood up, making y/n’s eyes travel up to her as she began to walk away, “We will leave you two be.”

With that, the two managers left without another word, shutting the door behind them. Y/n and Calum sat in awkward silence for a few moments, y/n’s eyes set firmly in the door before she stood up, going towards the door before Calum caught onto her hand.

“Where are you going?”

“Away,” Y/n huffed, tugging her hand away from the boy’s grip as she glared down at his hand. He awkwardly pulled his hand back, putting his hands down in his lap, “Going to get my last few hours of peace before we have to start this PR stunt.”

“Aw y/n/n, not wanna spend time with me, huh?” Calum teased, making her roll her eyes. He was already annoying her and he had barely spoken three sentences to her; something he had a special gift for.

“No, not really,” He gave her a fake pout before a smirk rose to his lips, making her roll her eyes.

Calum was acting as if she would actually enjoy his company. The same Calum Hood that woke her up by pouring a bucket of water on her that morning. Freezing cold water. Dickhead.

“Why are you doing this? Like why are you actually doing this?” She asked suddenly, making Calum meet her gaze with those brown eyes of his.

He shrugged, averting his gaze for a moment before speaking, “Publicity. It might not get us any more listeners but it’ll get people talkin’.”

They fell into an uncomfortable silence before y/n nodded her head, “Fair enough. I’m gonna get going. Bye.”

And with that, y/n left the room.

  Both y/n and Calum were walking together, hand in hand after a lovely ‘date’ together. It, honestly, was nothing short of awkward. Honestly, they didn’t know what to talk about with one another when they weren’t fighting; something that they became painfully aware of on their trip out that evening.

Calum, despite normally being reserved and quiet in public, actually took the lead in the conversation. Mostly because y/n didn’t know what to say and they knew that they couldn’t sit in silence, especially if someone noticed them and noticed that they didn’t even talk to one another.

It was the first PR date that had been set up, only three days after their meeting discussing the start of their fake relationship. Y/n couldn’t lie, she was incredibly nervous and uncomfortable, her white dress doing nothing to protect her from the cold air nipping at her skin.

As instructed, she was holding onto Calum’s arm, one wrapped around and intertwined with his bicep and the other one clasping their hands together. It’s a strange and awkward movement to uphold, especially when walking but they do it nonetheless.

“Calum, stop going so fast, I can’t keep up properly,” Y/n muttered to him quietly, almost tripping over her own feet when she felt herself getting tugged yet again due to her hold on Calum.

His eyes briefly flicked back to her, “I can’t really help it, y/n. I’m already going as slow as I can.”

“Well sorry I don’t have legs like the BFG like you, I’m trying not to fall ‘cause you keep tugging at me. This dress was not a good move for this,” She grumbled quietly again and Calum doesn’t even reply. Instead, he started walking even faster, “Calum! Slow down!”

She was pulled into a lane by Calum by the time she had finished that sentence, his hands on either side of her arms holding her in place. His broad shoulders are obstructing her from being able to see out of the small alleyway but before she could ask why he did that, he’s shushing her quietly and whispering, “Saw the paps. They saw me, too. It’s time.”

God, he made it sound so dramatic. It wasn’t like they were fighting off any evil spirit or villain, all they had to do was get caught kissing by the paps. It didn’t seem like it was going to be a particularly difficult job, just one they had to execute properly, and right now everything was going pretty smoothly. They just had to make sure that it looked authentic and like they actually wanted to do it.  

He let out a breath he was holding as he looked down at her, asking her silently for permission to start as his fingers went around the back of her neck, thumb resting on her cheek. She nodded her head and he began to lean in, y/n standing on her tip-toes with her arms splayed over Calum’s shoulders woth him bending down and pressing his lips on hers.

They kissed for several moments, taking little breaks in between. No tongue was a rule they had decided on so instead they stuck to closed mouth. On the last peck shared between the two of them, Calum gently pulled away, y/n’s bottom lip trapped between his lips before her feet hit the ground, their lips now completely disconnected.

She, discretely, tried to peek around Calum to see the paps, but couldn’t, so instead, they stayed in that position for a little while longer. Her eyes glanced up at Calum, seeing him still staring down at her, she whispered, “What?”

“Nothing,” He dismissed, shaking his head hesitantly before he took a small step back before putting his hand out for y/n to grab onto. She shot him a smile as she laced their fingers together, tugging him along and out of the alley.

The games had begun.

  It’s only about a week later when y/n was doing her washing as normal in some hotel’s launderette. She had been off of social media for the past few days, paying no mind to the several thousand people talking about her and Calum's 'relationship’. It surely had blown up, and some might say more than they had expected it to. Y/n had accumulated thousands of more followers after the whole fiasco and although she wouldn’t admit it, she enjoyed seeing the fan theories.

Calum had actually been a lot nicer to her recently, something she hadn’t expected, but enjoyed very much. A smile is on her face as she thought about the lack of pranks that he had been playing on her, and sure, he was still irritating her but it was simply with his words. He walked her down to the launderette, before turning to get his own load of dark clothes.

Surprisingly, despite having rather heavy music, y/n owned quite a lot of white clothes. Sure, she mostly wore black, but right now she was washing her white clothes. Well, what were her white clothes...

Now? They’re pink.

She took the wet fabric out of the washer, noticing one of her favorite white dresses is now dyed an ugly pink, one that she knows she won’t pull off. Her eyebrows are furrowed, a frown settling on her face as she tried to pull the clothes out, trying to find the root cause of the problem.

That’s when she found it. A red sock; Calum’s red sock.

Suddenly everything seemed to make sense as to why he was being so nice to her; so he could pull another prank on her when she least expected it. That’s why he had waited behind once she left the launderette, that’s why he seemed so interested in her white, now pink, clothes that she apparently ‘hadn’t washed in a while and should definitely wash’. 

“Calum!” She screamed out in anger, glad for the lack of other people in the small room, clenching her fists around the wet, pink clothes in her hand. They’re all ruined, inconsistent blotches of different shades of pinks coating the fabrics.

It was only seconds later when Calum popped his head up in confusion, “Yeah?”

Except, Y/n didn’t reply, and instead trained her e/c eyes onto his brown ones with a firm glare, one filled with frustration and anger. He, however, hadn’t seen her glare just yet as he surveyed the room before he catches onto her crouched-down figure. She watched as they trailed down to the pink clothes in her hand and he struggles to fight a grin off of his face.

“Thought you were doin’ a white load, y/n/n?” His voice had snide amusement in it and it only made y/n even madder.

However, before she replied, she grabbed onto the red sock of his and threw it at his head, letting out a complaint that sounds more like a whine, “You’ve ruined my favorite dress, asshole!”

“Woah calm down sweetheart, don’t be rude to your boyfriend,” Calum teased, walking around to where y/n was sat, reaching down to ruffle her hair. She quickly swatted his hand away with a grumble.

“Fake. Fake boyfriend, Hood.”

Calum simply rolled his eyes in reply, waving her off, “Yeah, yeah whatever. Enjoy your pink clothes.”

     It was only a week later when management is rushing them to take nice pictures together and becoming Instagram official. Theories are still burning in the air, especially after they were ‘caught’ by paps, kissing, for a second time. Everyone knew something was going on, that much was obvious, but they wanted to hear it from them.

They snapped pictures off stage, the last one being of Calum’s arm over y/n’s shoulder, holding her close to his body with her lips placed on his cheek. Her eyes are closed upon instruction, and he has a bright smile on his face, looking straight at the camera. The photos they snapped were quickly looked over before they’re approved to post on Instagram.

Y/n doesn’t know what to say, and in fact, she’s finding it hard to breathe. It was only fifteen minutes before she had to go on stage for their next concert, and this was the most nervous she had felt in ages. What if she gets hate? What if the whole fandom hated her? She knew that most likely some fangirls would be jealous, that was perfectly understandable, she just hoped no one went far enough to send her tons of hate; especially considering it was fake.

Y/n didn’t like this situation any more than they did but there was nothing she could do about it. Watching over Calum’s shoulder, she saw him press post, and she felt like she couldn’t even breathe. She felt like the air was being restricted from her lungs, and she can’t even bring herself to opening her phone to see people freaking out over the announcement of their ‘relationship’.

“Well, that’s that.” Calum looked at her over his shoulder, letting out a soft sigh as his brown eyes wrack over her face. She’s pale, and she didn’t even seem to hear his as he talked, making his eyebrows furrow in confusion, “Y/n? You good there?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine,” She dismissed quickly, taking a step away from him, wringing her hands awkwardly. She’s nodding her head, but her eyes are firmly set on the ground now and Calum knows that she’s nervous. Sure, the two weren’t close and Calum took enjoyment in annoying her, but he was surprisingly good at telling how she was feeling simply from her body movements.

He hesitated, lips parting as he thought of what to say as he stared at the smaller girl who looked like she wanted the ground to swallow her whole, but after a few moments, his lips snapped shut. He wasn’t good at consoling, especially not her. And even if he did want to try, what could he possibly say?

This situation wasn’t ideal for her. Sure, it got her publicity, but he knew it wasn’t the type that she wanted. She hadn’t been fully introduced to the famous lifestyle yet, articles written about her, fan accounts, everything so he knew this was going to be hard for her. It took him a while to adjust to the lifestyle, and sure things like paps were still uncomfortable but they weren’t scary anymore.

As he stared at her, a frown prominent on his lips, he studied her. He noticed how awkward and uncomfortable she had become from the moment that he had posted the photo, almost as if she was awaiting an attack. He knew it was scary, the paps, the fangirls, and he also knew that this abrupt change in lifestyle from this moment on was going to be difficult for her; so he would make it easier.

He would answer the questions, take the heat about the relationship. He would protect her from all of the nasty comments as best as he could because no one deserved to be flung into the lifestyle like she was being right now, despite wanting publicity. This was a whole new life starting for her from the moment he posted the picture and as he nodded his head discretely, it was like a deal had been sealed with himself.

He was going to help her through this, even if she still hated him.

      It was three hours after the show had taken place and she still hadn’t turned her phone back on yet. She felt sick to her stomach, staring at her phone almost as if it was taunting her; itching for her to open Instagram but at the same time, wanting her to stay far, far away from the app.

Yet, soon enough she found herself booting up her phone and going onto Instagram, almost immediately finding Calum’s photo. She clicked on the comments and was pleasantly surprised. People were actually being supportive.

“omg look at them!!!”

“THEY LOOK SO GOOD TOGETHER WTF”

“I want someone to look at me the way Cal looks at Y/n”

That last one made her smile. She knew exactly what picture they were referencing. The one where y/n has her back to the camera in Calum’s embrace, and he’s staring down at her with a smile, arms wrapped around her, pulling her flush against his chest. She remembered her face buried deep into Calum’s shirt, surprised that the makeup she was wearing didn’t rub off on the material.

She was subconsciously shaking her head as she pulled her knees to her chest, resting her chin on top of them. She flicked back up to the pictures, almost analyzing the way Calum stared down at her. The fan was right, Calum looked at her with so much “love” in his eyes, a look that y/n had never seen on Calum before.

It was crazy. If y/n didn’t know any better she would think that Calum actually was in love with her but the only thing he loved about her, was how annoyed he could get her. Calum was certainly a good actor, looking at her like she was the sun and he was the revolving planets; like the only girl in the entire universe. Well, at least if Calum got bored of music he could go into acting.

They already had everyone fooled, and they were just getting started...

[peppusae]

How to say 'I love you' without saying 'I love you' | Chae Hyungwon pt 3

part: 3 of 3

other parts: pt 1 || pt 2 || pt 3

pairing: chae hyungwon x reader

genre: fluff, and LOTS OF SMUT

word count: 7.6k words

note: so. the smut is here. can you believe i had a dream about hyungwon doing this SAME thing here, in my dream? i will RIOT

How to say 'I love you' without saying 'I love you’.

It’s an hour after you arrived, that there is a knock on your dorm room.

When you open the door, Hyungwon stands in front of your door, and you honestly have already missed him so much that you want to hug him.

“I just arrived.”

“Didn’t you want to change and get some rest first?”

“I… I didn’t want to wait a single moment after I came here, so I washed up before we headed out.” He mumbles, a sheepish smile on his face as he motions for you to step outside.

Awww!!!

“Where are we going, Hyungwonnie?” You ask, taking your wallet and bag before you follow him out to the hallway.

“This will be our first date, so we have to go somewhere nice, right?”

You can’t hide the big goofy smile on your face, and it looks like Hyungwon is really proud of himself.

“I didn’t know you were so romantic.”

“Like I said, there are a lot of things you don’t know about me.” He has to say, reaching for the back pocket of his jeans and handing you a single white rose.

A grin forms on your face while you accept the flower look at him, dumbfounded. “Where on Earth did you get the time to plan this?!”

“[Name]-ah, the flower shop near the restaurant next door doesn’t close until 10, did you think I would come to our first date empty handed?”

“I swear, I’m at a loss for words.” You have to say, watching him give a thumbs up and hurry to grab your hand. You hadn’t had a chance to imagine what Hyungwon would be like when he was dating someone, so every little thing he was doing came out as a pleasant surprise for you.

It’s nice to walk freely in the Seoul streets at this time of the night when there are only a few people around and you can wear masks. Hyungwon seems to be at ease as well, and you’re not surprised when he takes you to your favorite cafe a few blocks from the building.

“I think I found another reason to love this cafe even more,” he has to say, as you two enter one of the private booths. “I always loved this place because I can eat in peace here, but now I can come here often on dates with you.”

“You’re so cheesy, Are you really the Chae Hyungwon that hugged me just a few hours ago?”

This makes Hyungwon’s cheeks flush a little - you’re so glad he lowered his mask! - and you have an idea of why, even before he speaks next.

“Well, are you really the [First Name] [Last Name] that... kissed me a few hours ago?”

It’s adorable, the way he said it in a pouty way but hesitated a little in embarrassment. It makes you wonder if things between you and Hyungwon will continue to be like this.

You take a few minutes to decide what to order, and the food arrives in a little while.

Because Hyungwon had already eaten so well at the barbeque during the shooting, he simply had a drink. This meant that his focus was on you and just you. And for the first time, you become a little self-conscious because you’ve caught Hyungwon staring at you multiple times before, but this is the first time he watches you after you knew he had feelings for you.

“Why do you keep looking at me like I’m some kind of seafood pancake?”

Hyungwon chuckles, stirring the ice in his Iced Americano. “I have something I’m curious about.”

“Yes?”

“When did you start to like me?”

The sudden question makes you almost choke on your strawberry drink. Well, you had expected this question - And you were going to ask this from him as well, but jeez, Hyungwon really wastes no time. 

“I’m asking because you started crying when you found out I liked you.”

You suddenly want to dig a hole and crawl inside and never come out again, and for some reason, this feels so much more like old times when you two had wholesome conversations till Hyungwon’s manager calls him.

There were a few occasions when he stayed past the scheduled time, even though he had to pay a lot of his money for the late fine rule Monsta X has.

The sudden thought makes you giggle.

“What, what?”

“Nothing, nothing! And you’re right! I did like you before too, but I didn’t realize it until you were going to confess to me, and that scared me so much because of Dawon, and also because… I’m just a writer for the company, that’s all..” You look up from your plate of food and you see that Hyungwon is looking at you, eyebrows a little furrowed.

“But when I went back home to Incheon, my mom said this was all happening because I was being a whiny baby and I should just let you forget me if I was going to keep on crying and not doing anything about it.”

Hyungwon bursts out laughing, and he actually chokes on his drink. You have to get up from your seat and pat his back multiple times before he is able to drink some water.

“That wasn’t something I wanted to show you during our first date…” He mumbles, shaking his head. “So, I have your mom to thank for this, huh? Was she the one who also asked you to ki-”

“Nope, that was Minhyuk’s idea.”

Hyungwon’s eyes go wide again, ears going red once again.

“What?! How does Minhyuk know?”

“Because,” you start, “He knew we liked each other and he was trying to get us together, not get in between us like you thought and blamed me for!”

This makes Hyungwon put his face on the table, like he was really regretting his actions. You hear a whiny ‘Uggggggh I’m so stupid!’ before he lifts his head up and sighs.

“About what you said earlier,” he starts instead, “When have I ever treated you like you’re just some staff member? You should have known that I wasn’t treating you with simple polite smiles and greets like I do with the other staff. You’re the only person I go for meals with, and the only person I buy strawberries for when you do a good job with work. So don’t ever say something like you being ‘just a staff member’. I’ll get mad.”

His words sound so sincere, like he is genuinely baffled that you would remain oblivious to his feelings.

“Fine, I won’t. I promise. Now tell me when you started liking me?” You smile, eating some food while Hyungwon seems to ponder about your query for a moment.

“Do you remember that time we shared the same schedule in Inkigayo with Shinee-sunbaenim?”

This makes you gape, looking at him in utter disbelief.

“What-”

“When Minhyuk gave you the signed copy of 1 of 1, you looked so pretty when you smiled.” Hyungwon grins, hand rubbing on the nape of his neck. “You smiled so brightly, and I wished I was the one that earned such a pretty smile from you. I knew I liked you since then.”

“But Hyungwon-ah, that was… That wasn’t even long since I started working for you guys!”

This earns a big grin from Hyungwon, nodding as he speaks. “I’m good at keeping secrets.”

“Why didn’t you tell me? It’s been four years…”

“I liked you since then, and I can’t keep my eyes off from you… But because I’m a celebrity…”

This makes you mumble a little ‘Ah..’ giving a nod. You’re not sure what he is implying by saying that, but the fact that he’s here with you right now, looking at you with so much love in his eyes… It really doesn’t matter.

“I really wanted to be sure what kind of feelings I had for you. I just know that whenever you play with Jooheon or Minhyuk I get mad jealous. I guess you never noticed that I always take you for breakfast the next day after you do that, so that I can get you to look at me.”

You never noticed that that happened as a pattern, so your mouth is hung agape while Hyungwon bursts out laughing.

“That’s why I know you like me. You’ve been giving me happier smiles after I started to sing for you.”

“Because you sound so dumb!” You two burst out laughing together in unison.

“That really made me think you liked me too, so I got the confidence to ask you out.”

“But I’m just surprised you like me, out of everyone…”

“You’re not going to start saying something like you not being pretty enough for me, like the girls in dramas do, right?”

He completely read your mind!

“It’s true, though, you have to admit I look mediocre compared to you.”

“Shut up. I just told you I fell in love with you because you looked so pretty when you smiled.” He says, which in turn makes you clench your hands at the butterflies forming in your stomach; It’s the first time he said he loves you, not just that he likes you!!!

“I don’t believe in liking someone just by looks, even if I just said that. My heart just grew to like you more and more everyday after I got the chance to easily hang out with you often. It’s not just the looks, you should know this well, [Name]-ah. You’ve seen my face for years but you didn’t feel a thing for me until recently, right?”

“Heheee,” you find yourself nodding, which makes Hyungwon smile back at you.

You can’t help but to look at Hyungwon so fondly. You two barely made it, if anything, and you can’t stop smiling at how happy and how normal it feels, to look at Hyungwon and have your heart racing.

“Yah. Stop staring, you don’t even look at me that much when I’m shooting something.”

“True, I’m always looking at Joo because he’s so cute!”

“Hey!!!”

 ---

 Hyungwon is an absolute gentleman.

The first time you learned this was when he dropped you at your door after your first date, a gentle hand at the small of your back until you reached the company; after which he maintained a little distance.

Because he has different schedules every day, you don’t get to go out to eat with Hyungwon as often as you would like. You still find him hanging by the lounge having lunch with random members occasionally.

The lunch thing becomes a little too frequent as the days pass by, and Hyungwon lets you know that he told the rest of the members beside Minhyuk, and they had decided to help him out, getting out with him with lunch as the excuse.

Today it’s Kihyun and Minhyuk seated in front of you while Hyungwon seats by your side.

“Until how long do you two plan to hide from the company that you’re dating?” Kihyun wants to know, out of nowhere, dipping some fish into the soy sauce.

Both you and Hyungwon hiss, eyes widening that the topic of you two dating is even brought up.

“Heh, you think no one will notice where Hyungwonnie always disappears as soon as his schedule is over every night?” Minhyuk adds more fuel to the fire. “Or not even notice Hyungwonnie entering [Name]-ah’s room every ni-”

“Shut up, you’re gonna give everyone the wrong idea if you say stuff like that!” You hiss, shaking your head. Hyungwon doesn’t say anything, looking very embarrassed and avoiding eye contact with you. His action makes you feel flustered, recalling all the nights he stopped by your room before he went to sleep, just to laze on your bed and kiss you till he’s too sleepy to continue - or gets a call from a manager.

Both of your reactions make the matter only worse, making Kihyun’s eyes go really wide, turning to Minhyuk who has a knowing smirk on his face. That little idiot. He knows nothing and always acts like a snake.

But then again, he adds that spice to variety shows that you, as a writer, always get pleasantly surprised at. So you can’t say you hate it.

“You two are adults and all, but-”

“Ah, please stop!” Hyungwon begs, tapping his chopsticks on the table and creating a little ruckus to interrupt whatever Kihyun was trying to say.

“Kihyunie may be stupid but he has a point this time, kids.” Minhyuk says.

“Who are you calling stupid?!”

“Who are you calling kid?!”

 ---

 It’s a couple nights since then, and Hyungwon finished his practice ‘early’, so he pops into your room at 01:39 am.

It’s actually quite an ungodly hour of the night; you would have been sleeping at this hour if you hadn’t started dating Hyungwon. But even if he pops by for only five minutes, it is worth every second and the amount of coffee you’d have to drink the next morning while you doze off.

“Finished everything?” You ask, smiling up at Hyungwon who is wearing a sky blue sweater, and gray sweats. His hair is still a little damp in some places, like he had used his hair-dryer in a crazed frenzy.

The male nods, closing the door behind him and tightly locking the door. You hurry towards him, and you’re able to see the way he breaks into a smile right before he embraces you.

“I was drained out last night, that’s why I couldn’t drop by to see you.” Hyungwon lets you know, his nimble fingers carding through the locks of your hair softly.

“You must be so tired.” You give a little pout, patting his hair. The male glances at you, smiling at the cute action and giving a little nod.

“I have a really early schedule tomorrow morning, but I’ll have the rest of the day off. Can I come to you then?”

You nod, standing on your tippy-toes, and then pulling on the collar of Hyungwon’s shirt - he’s that tall, yes - and pressing your lips to his.

It’s so gentle; from the way he kisses you, the way his lips graze on your bottom lip, the way he softly licks your bottom lip and has both his arms around your waist. You can feel the heat from his body and every warm breath of his, and you end up sighing into the kiss which makes Hyungwon move a little for air and look at you.

It’s a little embarrassing so your cheeks are flushed but Hyungwon breaks into a grin, pulling you for a hug this time.

“I’ll meet you for lunch tomorrow.”

You give him a wave, watching him pull down his hoodie as best as he can and running across the hallway to his room.

The next day, there is a downpour. You get a text from Kihyun that the boys are in the recording studio for their schedule and you’re thankful that he didn’t have to go somewhere far away and would be unable to come back in time for lunch.

Since you and Shownu share a similar diet plan, you’re having lunch with the male when Hyungwon finishes up his schedule and finally sits down beside you. He looks like he had a long day, as he does not talk much while he eats black bean noodles in a jiffy.

“Good luck!” Shownu gives you a suspicious thumbs up, which makes you very confused while Hyungwon hurries to lead you back to your room. You still had some pages of work left to write up, so you find yourself sitting by the headboard of your bed while the male reads some manhwa from his phone.

This is actually quite a common occurrence recently; doing your own thing but with each other’s company. You like the way you would snuggle beside Hyungwon and kiss his cheek while he’s reading some documents, and he would give in and pull you to his lap so he can kiss you better.

And the other days are like today, where Hyungwon is the one who comes up to you, peeking at your laptop, playing with your hair, and trying to distract you with soft kisses.

If anything, it is working, and you can’t ignore the way he mumbles your name and looks at you like a little child waiting for playtime.

“You’re a grown-up, yet, you act like a kid.” You comment, putting away your laptop for the day and opening your arms. Hyungwon smiles, watching you lie on the bed, facing him.

“I have some good news, [Name]-ah.”

“What is it?”

“One of the songs I wrote is going to be on the upcoming album!” He says, hugging you tightly. Your eyes go wide in surprise, and thinking about all the times he had been complaining about how much revisions he had to do feels worthwhile. You grin, giving him a kiss on his forehead.

“I can’t wait for it, Hyungwon-ah.”

“I just recorded it earlier today.” He lets you know, “I can’t wait for you to hear it.”

“I’m so proud of you.” You let him know, genuinely. You smile at him fondly, and it looks like he could see your sincerity in your eyes, before he pulls you to him and pecks your lips.

Minutes change to hours, and it’s already evening when you two wake up from a nap you didn’t even realize you two had drifted off to. Hyungwon stirs in his sleep, one eye opening when you pull his arm off from you and get up to drink some water. When he realizes he was still in your room, he sits up, pointing at the water bottle now in your hand. You bring the bottle to him, watching him take a couple of sips.

It is while he hands you the bottle that the rough fabric of your sweater rubs against your nipple, and you drop the bottle to the floor at the sensitive feeling.

“What? What’s wrong?” Hyungwon looks at you, alarmed, when he sees you bending down to pick the bottle up in a hurry. “Are you okay?”

You give a nod, taking a step back.

“Why are you acting weird out of nowhere?”

How do I tell him that this is a totally normal thing for girls when we don’t wear a bra? You look at him panickedly, taking a step back when he gets off from the bed and comes towards you. The action makes you flinch again, and you can’t help letting out a little ‘ow’.

“Yah. What’s going on? Are you hurt?” He asks, grabbing your wrists before you can flee with the excuse of getting snacks or something. By now, your face is all sweaty and completely red from embarrassment, and you can’t help but pray that Hyungwon does not notice.

“I’m fine!” You say, and your words and actions are probably not matching because Hyungwon furrows his eyebrows at you, while you feel your eyes getting a little teary from the embarrassment.

“You… Why are you crying?”

God damn it, Hyungwon sure is persistent.

“I told you, nothing is wrong-”

“Yah. You obviously do not look fine. We already had such a big misunderstanding because we couldn’t say what we wanted to, so I don’t want something like that to happen again. We barely made it to this point now, so if you don’t tell me why you’re crying right now, I’m going to get very angry.”

You appreciate that he is thinking about your benefit, but you can tell there is no way he would let go of your wrist unless you tell him the truth.

And that is why you smack your face to his chest, and just take a deep sigh while Hyungwon wraps his free hand around your waist, almost out of habit.

“It’s just a random girl thing and this does not mean I’m horny or anything, okay?! But my… nipples… are hard so it’s ...sensitive.”

There is no response, and you wonder if Hyungwon even heard what you said. Your face feels like it’s on fire as you continue to talk, if only to break the silence.

“It’s just something that happens to girls when we’re not wearing a bra, that’s all… That’s why I kept saying I’m fine…”

Still, silence.

You’re very embarrassed, especially because Hyungwon had instinctively pulled you closer to him, so your chest was already pressed against his. When you move a step away and look up at Hyungwon, you’re absolutely startled to see that his face is completely flushed red, eyes unblinking and just looking at you while you take another step away - and yet, he does not let go of your wrist.

“Yah, what are you saying!” He finally reacts, letting go of your wrist and looking away from you. “Y-You didn’t have to tell me all that!”

“You made me say it though????”

Hyungwon moves another step away, eyes on the floor, mumbling something inaudible under his breath.

“Yah, just ignore what I said, let me just go and change, then it’ll be f-” Your sentence is interrupted when Hyungwon grabs your wrist once again, shaking his head.

“What-”

“I-I’ve wanted you for ages, and now that I finally have you, you… you should stop saying things that make it impossible for me to h-hold in what I feel for you,” he mumbles so quietly that you barely hear him, “Because it’s really, really hard for me.”

Despite how startled you are at his confession, the look in his eyes is so vulnerable, his ears and cheeks still so bright red while he lets go of your wrist, this time in favor of intertwining your fingers with his.

“If you…” His voice trails down, taking a step back and pulling you along, up till he is seated on the bed. He does not look away from you for a single second, then pats his lap, looking at your every action. You feel flustered but do as he instructed, seating yourself on top of his lap and watching as he leans against the headboard before he wraps his long slender arms around your back.

Hyungwon’s lips meet with yours, and this is the first time since the very first kiss, where all the gentleness is gone and he is kissing you like he might go crazy if he didn’t. You gasp when he lightly bites on your bottom lip, using the opportunity to slide his tongue in your mouth.

Your heart is racing like crazy, and it does not help that he has his hands under the fabric of your sweater, warm fingers gripping your hips and back as he kisses you deeper. Your lips are trembling when he pecks your lips softly once before he moves away and looks at you, wordlessly. You wonder if you should say something, but as soon as he glances at you, he pulls one hand up to clutch your cheek, face moving towards your neck and pressing his warm lips on your collarbone.

The new action makes your eyes wide, pressing your lips tight together as he kisses your neck, peppering soft pecks on both sides of your neck, his tongue and lips working together and softly sucking at the skin enough to leave a bruise.

This earns a gasp on your side, and Hyungwon looks back up at you, and you’re even more startled when you see that his eyes have darkened a little, watching you with hooded eyes that feel almost too sinful to look at.

“Hyungwon-ah…”

“I won’t stop unless you ask me to.” He says, and you don’t have time to respond - to even say you don’t want him to stop - before his lips meet with your neck once again, another peck on your collarbone until Hyungwon runs out of your exposed skin.

“Take it off.” He orders, pulling at the hem of your sweater. Your thoughts are traveling a mile a minute up till then, going blank when he says that and looks at you, light tugs of your sweater continuously reminding you of his request. You look at Hyungwon with wide eyes, the embarrassment from before replaced by the one due to his order. You lower your hands from around his neck, hesitating a little in embarrassment.

“Do you want to stop here?” He asks when you pause, a little smile forming on his face when you shake your head in response. “Then, are you embarrassed?”

When you nod your head, Hyungwon pulls his hands away from the bare skin of your back, before he begins unbuttoning his own shirt.

With every button that comes undone you become more impatient, watching him discard the shirt, looking at you with longing in his eyes while you slowly run a hand over his bare skin. You feel a little relieved that his skin is just as warm as your felt, and you lean in a little to kiss his lips.

Hyungwon holds your arms while you have your clutches on his cheeks, kisses becoming more and more desperate until he moves you away and takes a deep breath.

You reach for the hem of your sweater again, this time pulling it over your head and throwing it away. You can’t get yourself to meet eyes with him just yet, still feeling embarrassed about showing your bare body to Hyungwon for the very first time. When there is no reaction from his side, you finally glance back up at his face, and find him looking at your newly exposed skin with lustful eyes. He reaches a hand out to grab one of your breasts, giving it a squeeze that makes you gasp. Hyungwon tilts his head up to kiss you once more, both hands grabbing your mounds and thumb rubbing against your nipples. You bite your bottom lip as he presses a soft kiss on one of your breasts, and when he licks your nipple, you let out the first moan.

This makes Hyungwon jolt up his head in surprise, watching your face as your chest heaves up and down. You think there’s a smirk on his face when he kisses the other nipple, softly sucking in such sinfulness that makes you tilt your head back, clutching a chunk of his hair in failed attempts to hide your moans. You can feel your core getting wetter with every little action of his lips over your sensitive buds.

“Hyungwon-ah, please…” Your voice trails off and he finally lifts his head up, looking at you with hazy eyes, and when he leans in to kiss your lips again do you notice Hyungwon’s hard on pressing from where you are seated on his lap. You mumble his name again impatiently, watching as he softly wraps both arms around your back once again, kissing your lips as he leans forward, making you slowly fall back down onto the bed with a little ‘oh!’.

It’s a different kind of feeling when Hyungwon gets on top of you, hands pulling down your sweatpants to expose your bare legs and panties that are getting wetter with every one of his ministrations. You’ve started to get used to Hyungwon staring at you in general, but this is the first time he looks at you with his lips parted slightly, eyes dark from lust as he kisses your thigh, another hand raking his nails on your skin and not even letting you catch your breath.

“Hyungwon-ah.” You mumble, watching him lift his figure from over you in favor of unbuttoning his trousers, and god damn. You thought you might end right then and there; watching the way his eyes never leave yours while he throws the clothing and presses the visible bulge in his boxers against you.

It’s so, so close, and your moan comes out as a whine as he bucks his hips against you once again. A faint smile forms on his face, affectionately kissing your cheek while he presses his chest against yours.

“[Name]-ah.”

You hum, eyes still closed at how painfully agonizing it feels as he grinds against you. You can barely hold yourself, and it seems like Hyungwon felt the same way, lifting the side of your panties and sliding a finger inside your wet cunt.

Your eyes fly wide open at that, a loud gasp leaving from your mouth. Hyungwon’s face is so close to you, his warm hot breath on your face as he watches your every action. While one hand holds his weight over you, the other pulls your panties down enough so he can easily rub his long, nimble fingers over your clit.

When you let out a moan and close your eyes, Hyungwon softly calls your name once again. You open your eyes, chest rising up and down like crazy now that he has inserted another finger and is rubbing on your clit so maddeningly slowly.

“Hyungwon-ah, please.”

“[Name]-ah.” He presses a kiss on your neck, two fingers knuckle-deep inside you while his thumb roughly rubs on your nub. Your legs have started shaking a bit, especially now that he bends his fingers inside your cunt, as if trying to find something - and he does, such a sweet spot that has your moans increasing in frequency and has Hyungwon watching eyes full of lust and confidence that he is the only one who can see you melt under his touches.

You actually have tears in your eyes when he removes his fingers, coated heavily with your warm fluids. Hyungwon uses his thumb to part your lips, putting his fingers in your mouth and watching you suck all of the juices clean. The bulge in his boxers become more prominent, and you can tell he is holding himself as best as he can before he settles between your legs.

You don’t have a moment to even sigh, before he wraps his arms around your thighs, opening up your pussy up for him to stick his wet tongue inside.

“Oh, Hyungwon-ah.” You moan out his name, once again making him lift his head up and look at you in utter bafflement and thirst. 

“You will drive me crazy before I can.” He lets you know, sighing before he licks your clit, tongue rolling circles around the sensitive little spot and making you moan nastily once again. Hyungwon moves his tongue inside your warmth, licking off all your juices and holding your thighs tight apart when you make the slightest hint of closing your legs.

As if his tongue isn’t sinful enough, he lets go of one of your thighs to scissor his fingers inside your heat. You feel a foreign ache in your abdomen, one that knots harder and harder each time Hyungwon sucks on your clit, rubbing his tongue over and over until you’re moaning his name so loud that he has to warn you to be quiet or he would stop.

So you try your best to do as he said, grabbing two handfuls of Hyungwon’s hair and mumbling his name, arching your back in pleasure at how warm his tongue is.

It’s when Hyungwon starts to curl his fingers deep inside you with a simultaneous harsh suck on your clit that you come undone, all over his face, electricity surging through your veins like crazy. Despite your embarrassment, he licks you off clean, sitting up and using the back of his palm to wipe off your juices that had dribbled down his chin.

The entire scene is so scandalous and so seductive that you sigh, sitting up to meet eyes with Hyungwon before pulling him close to kiss him.

“Hyungwon-ah.”

“Okay.” He nods, and you’re not sure how he exactly read your mind, but you’re relieved when he gets off from the bed, pulling down his boxer pants. His erection is hard, and pulsing, and when he makes his way to the bed, you stop him, getting off from the bed yourself and dropping on your knees in front of his length.

Your sudden action, paired with the way you wrap your fingers around his length makes Hyungwon gasp, eyes widened when you look up at him. The tip of his length is already oozing from desire, and you lick off the juices, the sweet sound of his first moan of the night almost driving you insane. You need to hear that again.

And again.

And again, you run your tongue on his length, and you can already tell that he is impatient, in the way he has grabbed a chunk of your hair and guides your mouth to his tip.

You grab the end of his length, palming it gently as you take him inside your mouth, the sound of your saliva rubbing over his length earning a guttural groan from Hyungwon. You take him in as much as you can,  bobbing your head back and forth and sighing at the way the base of his cock reaches your throat. This earns yet another groan from Hyungwon, his grip on your hair tighter as he bucks his hips in motion with your sinful mouth taking his length in. 

“[Name]-ah.” He mumbles in a moan when you rub your tongue on his tip, much like the way he had been ravishing your clit just minutes ago. The thought makes you moan while you take his length in again, eyes going up to see Hyungwon’s face redder than you had ever seen it before, his entire body trembling as he clutches your hair tight and fucks your mouth like he was going insane.

And that’s exactly the way he felt, and you could tell in the way you can feel his cock throb in your hands, each time his length goes deep inside you while you rub the base.

“[Name]-ah, you’re so-” His words halt when you take his entire length inside slowly, and it takes all of his willpower to not tremble and buck inside you, a loud moan escaping through his beautiful lips and you can’t help keep your eyes locked with his. And he tries his best to watch you, but with every time your tongue rubs at the bottom of his cock each time you take him in, his eyes shut tight, a mixture of groans and moans filling the entire room until he lets go; coming undone all over your mouth.

“[Name]-ah.” He sighs, catching his breath as he watches the way you open your mouth to take in the liquid the oozes out of his tip, licking everything off his tip and rubbing your tongue over your lips to lick off the remains. Hyungwon watches you in what feels like a daze, eyes filled with lust while he gives you a hand and pulls you up.

You think he was about to say something before you press your lips to his, bodies in contact and tasting each other’s fluid in each other’s mouth. The thought itself is enough to drive you crazy, and the way his hands slowly grabs your ass and you feel his length rubbing dangerously close to your wetness makes you moan into his neck.

It felt like Hyungwon thought the same, his kisses so desperate as he leads you towards the bed, making you sit down and lean back as he kisses you till you’re laying on the bed again,

“You’re still not asking me to stop.”

“I don’t want you to stop, Hyungwon-ah.” You say, spreading your legs enough just to feel his tip rubbing on you once again.

Hyungwon looks at you, lips parted a little before he sinks a finger inside you, as if to check just how wet you were. Satisfied with the warm wetness pooled in your core, he gets off from you and reaches for his earlier discarded trouser pocket. You are absolutely baffled when he pulls out a wallet and takes a square-shaped packet before he makes his way on top of you again.

“You had planned this long ago, didn’t you?” You can’t help but ask, and Hyungwon shakes his head, chuckling and kissing your cheek.

“No, I really didn’t expect this to happen today, but since we’re guys, we get a big stock of these and we’re always asked to carry one wherever we go.” He laughs, pecking your lips. “I only did this starting from when we were going out, because I wanted you so bad and I didn’t know for how long I could keep my cool.”

You smile, hands on his cheeks and pulling him into a kiss. “You don’t need to anymore. I want you too, Hyungwon-ah.”

Hyungwon sighs into the kiss, and when you rub your tongue on his lips, he pulls himself up from you and you whine at the loss of contact. You watch as he grins at your action, trying his best to take the condom out and sheath his hard, throbbing cock before he looks at you once again.

You open up your arms, and watch as the male comes to you, pressing a kiss onto your lips before he rubs his tip on you once again. You let out another impatient whine, looking at Hyungwon who has his eyes on you as he very slowly inserts his member into your wetness.

You both gasp at the foreign feeling, and Hyungwon intertwines your fingers, resting your hands on the bed as he presses his entire body on yours and leans in to kiss you again.

“Are you okay?” He asks, and his voice is so gentle that the little tears forming in your eyes from his length - god is he big, you didn’t realize until he got inside you - streams down from the corners of your eyes.

“I love you.”

The worry in Hyungwon’s eyes goes away when you tell him that. It’s the first time you had told him that, in response to what he said on your first date and told you he was in love with you.

Such a beautiful smile forms on his face, eyes so full of affection that he loosens one hand free to press it on your cheek, pecking your lips again.

“Hyungwon-ah.” You call softly, and he nods, making him prop one arm on the bed while the other pins your wrist down. Lifting his weight up, he removes his length from inside you, only to buck into your hips and have his tip reaching all the way to the hilt so fast that it has you moaning instantly.

“I love you too. So much.” He says, eyes never leaving you, even for a second as he plunges his length in and out of you. He groans in content at the way your warmth feels, even through the sheath of the condom he has on.

You wrap your free hand around his neck, pulling him even closer. Hyungwon sighs at the contact, a hand reaching to clutch on your breast, and you let out a little cry at the way his squeezes match each of his thrusts. You unconsciously find yourself clenching your walls, the new tightness making a throaty groan escape from Hyungwon’s lips. When you open your eyes, you see Hyungwon biting his bottom lip as bucks his hips and pushes his length inside you, head tilted a little to the back in pleasure while you continue to clench around his member.

You two’s moans fill the room, the sound of sweaty skin slapping together making you wetter and Hyungwon to push inside you with hooded eyes, so you sink your nails into his back; earning another groan from Hyungwon.

“On all fours.” Comes his second order of the night, and you’re whining a little when he pulls his length out of you. You sit up, turning around, hands and knees on the bed. The excitement you feel at not seeing what Hyungwon is up to is insane, and when he presses on your back and pushes his length inside you again, you can’t help but mewl a little.

“Hyungwon-ah!” You cry out, feeling embarrassed when he holds your hips with one hand and uses the other to rub at your clit. The pleasure you feel at being so, so filled up like this makes you unable to control your moans, and you can feel Hyungwon lean in a little, pressing his body closer to you as he thrusts his cock in and out of you. The way he flicks roughly against your sensitive nub has your moans increasing in frequency, his length mercilessly pushing through your folds so much that you press your face to the bed to tone down your voice.

“[Name]-ah.”

You can barely hum in response, legs feeling like it might give out any second. When you don’t respond properly, Hyungwon takes out the fingers inside you, and you lift your head up, whining a little.

“I want to see you.” He whispers into your ear, removing himself from you again, one hand resting on your ass. “Come on top of me.”

The tone of his voice is a little impatient but also stern, and it makes more heat pool at your wetness. You didn’t even realize you liked this kind of thing until today, and you nod, hurrying to get on top of the male who is breathing heavily and waiting for you. His erection is hard and you wrap your arms around it, guiding it inside you while Hyungwon has his eyes shut tight. You take a moment to sigh at how good it feels, and Hyungwon begins to thrust in and out of you again.

Your eyes shut tight, leaning on the bed for support. When you open your eyes, Hyungwon is watching the way your breasts go up and down with every thrust of his. Suddenly, you feel embarrassed, so you lean in to kiss his lips, closing your eyes and sighing when he wraps his arms around your body. He feels so warm, and he tightens his grip on you, his thrusts increasing in pressure and frequency.

You sigh out loud on his neck, kissing and sucking on his warm skin, and Hyungwon lets out a little groan when you clench on his length once again.

“I won’t last long if you keep doing that.” He mumbles into your ear. You give a deaf eat to what he said, because you liked feeling so filled up while he continues to fuck you and hold you so tightly. Despite what he said, you’re the one that doesn’t last long, the knots in your abdomen coming undone as you come while Hyungwon continues to pump his length inside you desperately. His thrusts become slower and sloppier, and from the loud groan he lets out while he sinks his nails into your ass, you can tell that he has reached his high as well. You lift your ass up and down to help him ride out his orgasm, until he wraps his arms around your waist and pulls you to the side, still connected.

There is silence save for the two of you gasping and catching your breath. His grip on your body is still tight and you can feel his warm breath on your head as he rubs one hand over your bare back. The electricity you felt a little while ago dies down, and you finally lift your head up to face Hyungwon, who is watching you and smiles when you meet eyes.

“Wait a bit.” He says, kissing your cheek and then getting up. You feel a little hollow when he gets off from you, tying up and discarding the used condom into the wastebasket. When he climbs onto the bed, Hyungwon notices the way your juices have oozed out of your wetness, and you put your hands over your face in embarrassment as he continues to just stare at your womanhood without a word.

“Yah, stop staring!”

Hyungwon doesn’t say anything, but instead leans down, tongue licking off all of your wetness and making you gasp in surprise. You blink at him in surprise when he finishes off, then comes back to hold you in his arms. The way he holds you tightly and runs his fingers through your hair softly makes you think back to everything that just happened out of nowhere, something you had barely even thought of even though you two have been dating a while.

"I'm gonna have a hard time covering this up tomorrow, huh?" He says, rubbing a hand on the spot on his neck you sucked earlier, which has now turned into a little bruise. He then leans in and notices the hickeys he left on your neck and chest, and gives a content grin.

The way he’s smiling at you with nothing but love and affection makes you wrap your arms around his neck, pressing your face to his warm, bare chest.

“This is the first time I’ll ask, so please. Stay with me for tonight.”

You wonder if he will get upset at you for saying this, but Hyungwon only chuckles, grip on your body getting a little tighter and pressing a kiss to your forehead.

“Mmhmm. I won’t leave you.”

“If you say things like that I’m not gonna be able to let you go even tomorrow.” You say, the two of you laughing together.

Even when words are not being exchanged, the warmth you two shared as you cuddled together under the duvet of your bed makes your heart feel safe and cozy. You almost drift off into sleep once again, but you can hear Hyungwon mumbling a little as he begins to doze off.

“I love you, [Name]-ah. I’ve always loved you.” He mumbles, and you smile, thinking back to how much you two cried in mutual pining.

Really, there really is no way to express that you love someone without saying it first.

And as Hyungwon continues to mumble as he falls asleep, he looks so beautiful and you fondly smile, feeling so glad you finally got the courage to tell him how you felt.

“I love you too, Hyungwon-ah.”

 - end

[theladyofdeath]

Swipe Right {Rowaelin Fluff Modern AU}

Part TWO to Swipe Left {Rowaelin Fluff}

Written alongside the beautiful and talented @throne-of-ashes-and-beauty

Aelin looked in the mirror one final time. She had to look absolutely perfect, of course, even though she was just visiting Rowan at work. It had been a little over a year since she had met the love of her life in the airport, and life was pretty perfect. 

She had no complaints.

And from what she could tell, the perfection would only continue to grow.

After brushing through her long, golden hair, Aelin slipped on a pair of brown sandals to go with her turquoise t-shirt dress and called it good.

It had been an eventful morning, to say the least, starting with a quick workout and brunch with Lysandra. After that, she’d showered and gotten ready, checking her email for an offer letter from one of the many companies she’d applied to. The paid internship she’d taken had ended a couple weeks back and while Rowan had been more than generous, not asking her to pay rent when she’d moved in, she needed to start pulling her weight.

Rowan said she could pay him in other ways and she snorted and shoved him.

Aelin liked to contribute. She liked to help out.

Nonetheless, she was hurrying down the steps, as quickly as she could, and to her car. Once inside, she was starting the engine and pulling out of the parking space before the radio could even catch up and begin playing music.

She was giddy, could hardly control herself.

She couldn’t wait to show Rowan.

In her defense, though, she was also bringing him lunch just before his lunch period, so it wasn’t all about her surprise. It was about the kind, loving gesture that could only be shown through bringing your significant other food.

She had to make one stop before she stopped at the school, though, and that was the most important of the day.

__

Rowan turned around and crossed his arms as he looked at his class. “Can anybody tell me who Abigail Williams is?”

He was met with silence.

“You learned about her last year, with Ms. Lochan.”

Not even a blink of recognition.

He sighed and rubbed between his brows with his thumb and forefinger. “First person who can tell me anything about her gets to leave for lunch ten minutes early.”

A male voice spoke up. “She was accused of being a witch, right?”

“Good, Quinton, she was.” He pointed at the student, who was a basketball player. He’d never put any effort into his studies until recently, when he realized colleges care about your grades, too, not just how many three pointers you can hit. “Where?”

Quinton hesitated.

“Starts with a S,” Rowan slowly.

“Salem,” Quinton said, without any hesitation.

Rowan leaned back against the whiteboard, arms crossed. “Very goo-.”

His words dropped off as he noticed a flutter of movement in the doorway out of the corner of his eye. His class had noticed, too, because he instantly lost their attention as Aelin gave him an amused look.

Rowan couldn’t be mad. His eyes softened as he said, “You all remember my-.”

She was met with a series of loud hellos and hollers, which only made her grin widen - and her ego grow to an uncontrollable level, no doubt. 

She held up a bag. “I brought lunch. I didn’t mean to be early. I’ll just…” She pointed to Rowan’s desk in the back corner of the room, indicating her destination.

He chuckled and nodded. He turned his attention back to his class, trying to reclaim their attention. “Alright, next week, we’re going to start on the Salem Witch Trials.” There was a flutter of excitement, which was atypical for sixteen- and seventeen-year-olds in school. “I don’t want to get your hopes up, because yes, it’s extremely interesting, but there’s also a lot of dates or boring stuff.” There was a collective groan, knowing Rowan would give one of his date only quizzes for extra credit. “But...we’re also going to be watching a movie next week. Which leads me to our homework…” Cue the groans again.

“Witches are a commonly adapted piece of folklore in modern media. Monday, I want you to bring in an example of your favorite adaptation of witches from movies, tv shows, music videos, whatever it may be. Wednesday, I want an example of other times there were witch hunts in history, aside from Salem. Not too hard, but we’re going to be taking a lot of notes. Be ready.” He glanced at his watch and saw it was ten til. He nodded his head at Quinton. “Q, you ready for lunch?”

He nodded yes and started packing up his backpack.

Rowan shrugged and said, “I’m feeling generous today. Pick a buddy to go with you.”

Quinton smirked and turned around, pointing to Aelin. “You hungry, Miss G?”

The class erupted into good natured heckling.

Aelin laughed, quietly. “I’m afraid I’ve already eaten.”

“Too bad,” Quinton murmured, earning another round of laughter. “Evangeline, then.”

Evangeline rolled her eyes but began packing up, anyway.

Rowan gestured for them both to go then told the others to get started on their homework, which meant they’d be talking quietly among themselves or on their phones, until the bell rang.

Rowan made his round around the room and ended by his desk, sitting on the edge. His smile had faded, and he wore a concerned frown. “Why’d you come in such a hurry? Don’t get me wrong, I love that you’re here, but...I mean, is everything okay? Did something happen?”

He hated that he had to miss the appointment, but he was saving his vacation days for the months when Aelin would need him home.

“No, nothing, just…” She shrugged her shoulders trying to appear cool and casual, but inside she was about to explode. “Wanted to see you.”

She couldn’t tell if he believed her, he smiled softly, but the wariness was still in his eyes. “Well?” He asked.

She laughed, quietly. “You don’t think I should maybe wait until you don’t have a class of eavesdropping teenagers around?”

She gave a pointed glance behind him and he caught two of his students quickly turning around.

“Maybe you’re right,” he said, scratching the back of his neck. He glanced over at the clock, they still had a few minutes. “What did you bring me for lunch?”

Aelin chuckled before she said, “Ham and cheese sandwich, a bag of chips, and cut up apples with some caramel to dip them in.”

Rowan’s smile was genuine when he said, “You spoil me.”

He reached for the bag, but she snatched it back. “It’s not fair of you to eat in front of your students,” she replied, smirking.

He rolled his eyes, but got back up, making another quick circle around the room.

“Mr. Whitethorn?” A girl’s hand raised. “We have a question about what we can use for our media. Movies are okay, right?”

He figured the question would be coming and he was glad someone asked it, rather than half the class having to scramble like the grade before them did last year. “Movies are permitted, but PG-13 or lower. Can’t be rated R.” There was a chorus of groans. “I don’t make the rules, sorry, but if I did, you still wouldn’t be allowed to.”

The bell rang and as everyone rushed for the door, he called, “Alright, don't forget your homework and have a great weekend!”

They were out the door before he’d finished his sentence. Aelin was chuckling from where she sat on his desk.

In a flash, Rowan was at the door, locking it, pulling the privacy blind and then at his desk. He pressed his lips to Aelin’s and said, “Okay, well?”

She laughed and handed him the brown sack that his lunch was in. Rowan looked at the bag and said, “I appreciate you bringing me lunch, baby, but that’s not what I’m asking.”

The urge to roll her eyes was almost too strong to resist, but she said, “Open the bag, you frantic buzzard.”

With narrowed eyes in her direction, he did as he was asked, and froze. His eyes widened as his hand reached in and pulled out the little black and white ultrasound pictures.

He said absolutely nothing as he shuffled through them, his green eyes growing bright and misty.

Aelin watched him with complete adoration.

“Shit,” he breathed, shaking his head as he met Aelin’s loving gaze. “This is our kid.”

She nodded, a smile breaking on her lips. She didn’t try to stop the tears that slid down her cheek.

Aelin and Rowan had gotten married on the beach, almost six months to the day after they’d met. Neither of them had any immediate family and they both knew the wanted no one but the other for the rest of their days.

They’d suspected Aelin was pregnant a few weeks earlier. Her cycle hadn’t come and Rowan was actually the one who noticed it was late.

Now, their baby was growing and would be there in a matter of months. These were the first ultrasound pictures where the baby actually looked like a baby, not just a blob. They could see the head, the hands, the feet, everything.

“Yeah,” she smiled, and he took her face into his hands and kissed her, softly. “It’s our baby.”

“I’m so sad I missed it,” he whispered. “Instead, I was here talking about shit that none of these kids will remember tomorrow.”

“There will be others,” she promised. “Much more important appointments that you’ll be able to come to.”

His eyes lit up. “When do we find out if it’s a boy or girl?”

She rolled her eyes, kissing him once more. It had been a constant debate for them both the past month. Rowan was adamant it was a girl, but Aelin said she could feel that it was a boy. “She wants to schedule that for eighteen weeks, but says we may not be able to tell until twenty.”

Rowan waited and he asked, “And how pregnant are you right now?”

“Ro!” She laughed but shoved him. “This morning was eleven weeks.” She placed her hand over her stomach, the bump just barely starting to show.

He laid his hand over hers. “Six weeks until I get to see my beautiful baby girl.”

“Or your perfect, handsome son,” she laughed.

Rowan just said, “We’ll see.”

Aelin rolled her eyes and took a bite of his sandwich, which earned her a scowl from him. When she claimed it was because she was eating for two, Rowan couldn’t argue with that.

He sat in his desk chair, pulling her onto his lap as he started to eat. He only had thirty minutes before his next class came in, and he hated to say he was dreading it. As much as he loved his job, he was ready to be at home with his wife, rubbing her belly on the couch in his sweatpants.

Life was never as good to him as it was now before he met Aelin. Things weren’t bad, not at all, but he was never this happy.

Before, he used to love teaching. It was his passion and he was always one of the first into the school in the mornings and one of the very last to leave in the evening. He poured over his lesson plans at home, spent all of his spare time grading papers or homework. But now, he wanted that spare time to go to Aelin. Rather than get up at five-fifteen, and make it to school by six-thirty, he stayed in bed with Aelin as long as he could, sometimes not making it until right before the bell. Those were usually the mornings that Aelin awoke with his first alarm and scooted back into his warm embrace. And then continued to scoot until he had to get up.

She had completely consumed him, but he definitely wasn’t complaining about it. 

And soon, there would be another little person to captivate him, too.

__

It was a Saturday, and the second Rowan opened his eyes, he realized Aelin was gone. He sat up, slowly, and blinked a few times to clear his surroundings.

She was nowhere.

“Ace?” He called.

“Kitchen!” She called back.

He picked up his phone to catch the time. 9:06. Just when he was about to ask why she was already out of bed on a lazy Saturday morning, the thought hit him.

Their gender reveal party was at noon.

He was up and rushing around the corner, grabbing it for traction as he rushed into the kitchen. His wife had an eyebrow raised, her hair piled into a messy bun on her head. She wore an old shirt from his college baseball days and a pair of his sweat pants she’d claimed as her own once her belly began to get too big for her own comfy clothes to fit. She held a cup of tea in her hands, carefully blowing on it. “Good morning,” she said with a smirk.

He stood upright and leaned on the wall. “Morning, babies.”

Aelin laughed as she rubbed a loving hand over her belly. He’d begun to refer to them as one, and she thought was the cutest thing she’d ever experienced.

“Is that breakfast?” He asked, with a yawn, throwing open the fridge for the entire carton of orange juice.

“No,” she said, with a pointed finger in his direction. “This is for the party, and if you touch any of it, I will kick you in the balls.”

Rowan froze as he turned, the carton halfway to his mouth. He was just now realizing how much there was on the counter. Multiple crockpots, bags and bags of junk, and something in the oven, seeing as how it was turned on and cooking. 

“Exactly how many people are coming?” He asked, surprised.

Aelin shrugged. “Enough.”

At least they had just bought a new house and could fit a herd of people. Either way, Rowan was not a fan of large groups of people. His socially awkward nature prevented it.

Standing up in front of a class of kids? Sure. Easy.

Entertaining guests? Nope. Not his thing.

“I see that look on your face, calm down,” she said, chuckling as she meandered toward him and grabbed him by the hips. “I’ll entertain, you just make sure all the bowls I set out are constantly filled to the brim.”

Rowan grinned, leaning down to press a soft kiss against her mouth. “Alright, I can do that.”

She turned back to the counter, picking her tea back up. Rowan began pulling things out to make himself a protein shake. After blending it up, he hopped up on the counter and looked at Aelin. “What can I do to help?”

“I need you to go pick up the cake,” Aelin said, washing her mug and placing it back in the cabinet.

Rowan blinked at her. “Like the cake? Like the cake our baby is in?”

She rolled her eyes. “First of all, you’re an idiot, you know that the baby isn’t in the cake. And secondly, we’re not doing a cake reveal, remember? But we are having a cake for the party.”

Rowan frowned. “Since when are we not doing a cake reveal?”

Aelin came up between his legs and looked up at him. “Since everyone else in the world did one.”

“Then why do we need a cake?” Rowan asked.

Aelin blinked. “Are you serious?”

Rowan just cleared his throat. “Okay, I’ll get the cake. What else?”

“Hang the decorations I got because I’m short.”

Rowan chuckled as he hopped off the counter. “Fair enough.”

A loud knock came to the front door but before anyone could walk toward it, it flew open and Lysandra came flying in, plastic bags full of decor in each hand.

“Hello, mommy and daddy-to-be!” She sang, setting the bags on the counter and immediately getting to work.

“Or I guess Lysandra is going to take care of that,” Aelin chuckled.

Rowan pressed a kiss to her forehead and went to go get ready for the day while Aelin sat and talked to Lysandra. Just like Rowan, her best friend hadn’t allowed her to lift a finger throughout her pregnancy. He was just entering the bathroom when he heard Aedion enter the house and say, “Good morning, Aelin. You’re looking plump this morning.”

Thirty minutes later, Aedion was riding to the bakery with a freshly showered and shaved Rowan, having been kicked out of the house by Lysandra.

“How was I supposed to know she was going to cry?” He asked, shrugging his shoulders.

“She’s five months pregnant, man,” Rowan laughed. “Her emotions are all over the place, pretty much assume everything might make her cry right now.”

“Huh,” Aedion said, staring out the window. “The pregnant mind is one I don’t wish to understand.” 

“Me either,” Rowan muttered. “Just wait until you knock up Lysandra.”

Aedion groaned. “Yeah, that can wait.”

Rowan laughed as he drove into the parking lot of the bakery and hopped out. He ran in to pick up the biggest, most elaborate gender reveal cake. It was for a small gathering, of course, but for a handful of people, the five tier cake was a bit much.

Which was why Rowan walked ridiculously slowly, cautiously, to the back of the car. He opened the trunk and slowly slid it in.

Aedion was just staring. “No wonder Aelin didn’t want to come pick it up. I wouldn’t want to be responsible for ruining that.”

“Thanks, man,” Rowan mumbled, climbing back in the front seat.

Aedion picked up the receipt and looked at it. “Gods, that’s way too many zeros at the end for a cake.”

Rowan sighed and said, “If it makes her happy, I do whatever she asks.” Aedion smirked. He asked, “What?”

The smirk softened. “Nothing, just… I always hoped Aelin could find someone who loved her the way I love Lysandra. I just didn’t think it would be on Tinder.”

Rowan groaned. The fact that they’d met on a glorified fuck-buddy app brought Aedion a lot more joy than it should have.

“Technically,” Rowan began, “We met in the airport.”

“Yeah, you just keep telling yourself that,” Aedion said, as Rowan slowly pulled onto the road. The drive back to the house was ten minutes longer than it should have been, due to the ridiculously slow speed Rowan was driving at to keep the cake safe.

When they arrived, it was just after eleven and Lysandra was already wrapping up her intense decorating agenda. The house was draped in pink and blue streamers, banners, and little frilly things that Rowan thought were ridiculous and pointless, but he kept that thought to himself.

“Where’s Aelin?” He asked, once he and Aedion set the cake, successfully, on the island.

“Bedroom, dressing,” Lysandra said, still scowling at an exasperated Aedion.

“I’ll be back,” Rowan sighed.

He walked down the hall to their bedroom, knocking softly on the door. “Ace?” There was a quiet answer and slipped in.

She was in her closet, and when he entered the bathroom, she said, “Baby, can you help me put on my shoes? I can’t reach my feet anymore.”

He found her sitting on a small chair, her foot halfway in a sandal.

He laughed and knelt down, latching the shoe around her - honestly, very swollen - ankle and then did the same with the other. He kissed her knee then her pronounced bump, and looked up her face. “Aelin, I love you…but that cake is fucking excessive.”

She smiled. “Yes, it is.”

He rolled his eyes and stood, helping her to her feet as he went.

She was wearing a white dress, that hugged her body, highlighting the pronounced bump that grew more and more every day, and a loose, comfy cardigan. Her hair was piled on the top of her head.

He softly kissed her. “You look so beautiful.”

She smiled and wrapped her arms around him. It was becoming difficult. She sighed and said, “Are you sure I’m not looking plump?”

“Baby, he was just joking,” he chuckled, rubbing her back.

She sniffled.

“Aelin, baby, don’t cry,” he cooed.

“I don’t know why I’m crying,” she said, throwing her hands in the air, “and I don’t know why it makes me so mad that Aedion called me plump, which I am, and why I hate that my house is covered in pink and blue. I mean, pink and blue? That’s so normal, Ro, and I hate normal. Why didn’t we do purple and red? Or, shit, green and gold? I love green and gold. Pink and blue sucks, Ro.”

Rowan just stared at her as she babbled on before taking a long, deep breath. “How about this? Next week, when we start decorating the nursery, we’ll do it in green and gold. Okay? After today, you never have to look at blue or pink again.”

She wiped angrily at her nose. “Fine.”

“Fine,” he repeated, trying his hardest not to laugh. “I love you.”

She leaned up on her toes and he met halfway, pressing his lips to hers. “I love you, too.” She stepped out into the bathroom and made sure that her makeup was still intact and then said, “Let’s go see my fucking excessive cake.”

One by one, their friends showed up. Lysandra made everyone give their official guess as they came in and after everyone had arrived, it seemed the majority agreed that Aelin was correct and there would be a little heartbreaker running around soon.

Even with the pink and blue decorations, Aelin had to admit that everything was beautiful. Lysandra had done an amazing job, which she told her time and time again.

When the time came, everyone filed out into the backyard, Lysandra carrying a bat and a white box. She handed Rowan the bat and Aelin took the box, explaining that the ball inside would explode into a colorful cloud when hit. All she had to do was get it to Rowan. All he had to do was hit it.

“No pressure,” he mumbled, setting the bat down. He rolled up his sleeves, to which his friends whistled and howled, and got a few practice swings in. When he felt he could confidently hit a moving target, he got into position and nodded to Aelin.

Her grin was glorious as she threw the ball.

It was a terrible throw, but Rowan swung at it, nonetheless, and pink dust filled the air.

Everyone erupted into cheers as Aelin yelled WHAT THE FUCK, but when the cloud cleared, and Rowan caught her gaze, she was smiling at him with tears in her eyes. 

__

Rowan whistled, looking around at their living room, which was full of opened gifts. Their baby shower had been that morning - Rowan had spent it playing basketball in the park with Lorcan - and they had been spoiled.

Earlier that week, Rowan had painted the nursery gold, and it seemed that everyone who went to the shower got the hint that gold and green was the theme.

Aelin sat in the chair, her feet up on the table in front of her. She nodded. Her voice wavered as she said, “I love our people.”

He smiled softly and pressed a kiss to her forehead. He knew this wasn’t a crazy pregnancy crying. No, this was the love she felt for their friends, how blessed and overwhelmed by their own love and generosity she was.

He took her hands and helped her to her feet. “Let’s go get comfy and put together our sweet girl’s nursery.”

She groaned as she moved towards their bedroom. “I’m eight months pregnant. I don’t even remember what comfortable is anymore.”

“Just take off your pants,” he suggested, as they entered their room. “No pants equals comfort.”

She snorted. “You just like me pants-less.”

He shrugged. “It’s a perk.”

As much as she thought he was joking, she did just that, putting on a gigantic t-shirt and some fuzzy socks. In his sweatpants, Rowan followed her down to the end of the hall, to where the nursery was.

She sat in the plush rocking chair they’d bought, knowing they’d be spending quite a bit of time in nursery. Aelin quietly watched Rowan as he worked, humming a lullaby and slowly rocking in the chair. One by one, Rowan built, put together or set up everything they received from the day.

He dragged a big box towards him, puzzled. “What is this thing?”

Aelin smiled. “A cooler with a built into bluetooth speaker and charging station.”

He blinked. “And why does the baby need that?”

“The baby doesn’t, but you do.” She laughed at his shocked expression. “It’s from Aedion and Lysandra. He said it was your bro shower gift.”

Rowan opened the box and peeked inside. “Have I mentioned how much I love your cousin?”

She snorted. “He’s aware of your bromance, yes.”

Rowan grinned as he put the box in the hallway and looked around. “Anything left that has to be put together?”

Aelin shook her head, slowly. “Just stuff that has to be put away.

Rowan opened up a little gift bag and pulled out a little red, polka dotted sundress. “Are you fucking kidding me? This is tiny.”

Aelin’s grin widened. “That’s from Elide. Along with a hundred other little outfits.”

But Rowan was staring at the newborn sundress. “Aelin, this is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen in my life.”

She laughed. “Come with me, I’m about to blow your mind.” He raised an eyebrow and she rolled her eyes. “Not like that.”

With Rowan’s assistance getting out of the chair, she led him back down to their room. “I can’t bend over so… There’s a storage box under the bed. Put it up here.” She patted the mattress.

He did as he was told, grabbing a hold of a long, thin plastic tub, it’s lid was snapped securely in place, but it was full to bursting.

Rowan murmured, “She has more clothes than me. How does she already have more clothes than me?”

Aelin chuckled but skimmed through the small outfits, pulling a few of her favorites out. “Because Lysandra is her auntie.”

Rowan took the small blue onesie from Aelin. He held it in his hands, gazing down at it.

Aelin noticed his silence then and her smile faltered. “Baby?”

Aelin was floored when he looked up and there were tears shimmering on his face.

She hesitated, and when she spoke it was a whisper, “Gods, Are you crying?”

“No,” he said, but a tear had, in fact, fallen down his cheek. “It’s just so...small.”

She watched him, smiling softly, as he took in the little outfit. 

“The baby is going to be tiny,” he breathed. “What if I break her?”

He chuckled, brushing it off, but she could see the genuine fear in his eyes.

“You won’t, Ro, you couldn’t.” She reached up and brushed the tear from his cheek, cupping his face in her hands. “She isn’t even here yet and you’re so in love with her. You wouldn’t ever do anything to hurt her.”

He nodded, but Aelin could see the trepidation still on his face. The whole pregnancy, he’d been her rock, the one constant motivator. She knew he was so ready for this baby, that she was already so loved, but it was normal to be scared.

“I love you,” she breathed, rising up on her tiptoes to kiss him. Her belly got in the way and she groaned as she was just barely too short of his lips.

He laughed and leaned down, letting her stand back on her feet and wrapping his arms around her. “I love you, too.”

They went back to the nursery, Rowan carrying the massive tub so Aelin could begin folding them and putting them in her dresser. As he was unwrapping diapers and putting them in their designated drawer, Rowan said, “So I had an idea for a name.’

Aelin paused and turned. “Okay?’

She was having this baby in less thirty days and they had yet to find a name they agreed on. The closest they’d come was with Nora, which Aelin had decided after a day of overthinking, was that Nora was an old person's name. Rowan had said that it was classy and timeless. Nonetheless, it went into the no pile, and they continued looking.

He leaned his back on the gold wall, crossing his arms over his chest, almost like he was bracing himself for her response. “Sloan.”

Aelin tilted her head to the left slightly. “Sloan?”

He nodded. “Sloan.”

“Hmm.” She closed her eyes and repeated the name a few more times, slowly, then with their last name, just to see. At last, she opened her eyes back up to meet her husband’s gaze and said, “I like Sloan.”

Rowan hesitated. “Wait, seriously?”

She laughed, leaning back on her hands from where she sat on the floor. “Yeah, seriously. I love it.”

Rowan still was in shock that she was in favor of a name suggested by him. He was still frozen in his place along the golden wall. “You’re worrying me. Are you feeling okay? I’m calling your doctor.”

“Shut up, you prick,” she said, smiling. They’d finally decided on a name, a name they both loved, a name they both agreed upon.

He chuckled and laid down in front of where she sat, his face inches from her round stomach. “Did you hear that, Sloan? Mama just told daddy to shut up. You should kick her in the ribs for that.” Their daughter did no such thing and Aelin quietly laughed, running a hand through Rowan’s newly cropped silver hair, as he scowled at her. He pressed a kiss just above her belly button. “What about this? Can you tell her how much I love her?” Aelin took a sharp breath in through her teeth as she felt a sharp pain in her side. Rowan’s deep rumble of a laugh traveled across her skin. “That’s my girl.” He pressed another kiss to her stomach, and gazed up at Aelin through his lashes, smirking. “Won’t take orders from a man. Just like her mama.”

Aelin sighed and shook her head. “Already turning her against me.”

“She’s a daddy’s girl,” Rowan muttered, yawning as he closed his eyes. It had been a long day, and he wasn’t even the one growing a human being inside of him. When he looked up at his wife, he could see her exhaustion. “I think we’ve done enough today, mama. Let’s go to bed.”

“Mama,” she repeated, quietly, eyes shining. 

Rowan nodded, slowly, and took her hand. “One more month.”

Aelin brought Rowan’s hand to her lips as she smiled. “Yeah, one more month.”

___

“Ro.”

Rowan was having a beautiful dream, sleeping soundly, when his wife suddenly began shaking his shoulder with the wrath of a cranky, nearly full-term pregnant woman.

He groaned, opening his eyes, just barely, to look up at the alarm clock that sat on his side table. It was just after two.

“Go to bed, babe,” he mumbled. 

“No, Ro,” she said, jabbing him in the back with her knee.

“Ow, Damn,” he hissed, pushing himself up on his elbows with a sigh. “What? Are you okay?”

“No,” she breathed.

His body tensed as he reached over to turn on the lamp, and when he did, he saw Aelin sitting up, eyes wide, a dark circle spotted on their light gray bed sheet.

Rowan blinked. “What? You woke me up cause you pissed your-“

“My water broke, you asshole,” Aelin snapped.

“Oh, shit,” he muttered, eyes wide. He jumped out of bed, grabbing for the jeans he’d discarded on top of the hamper the night before. “Oh, shit!”

Aelin was breathing heavily, and clutching at her stomach. “She’s coming,” she whispered, “she’s coming, she’s coming, she’s coming.”

Rowan was there immediately, sitting on the bed in front of her, taking her hand in his and letting her squeeze as hard as she could. “What do you need me to do, baby?

“Are the bags packed?” She asked, voice tight.

He nodded. “Yes, ours are in the dining room on the way out the door and Sloan’s in the truck, with her carseat, already buckled in and ready for her.”

“You’re such a good daddy,” she breathed, face showing relief  as the pain in her abdomen subsided.

Rowan pressed a kiss to her forehead and said, “Come on, let’s get you changed and go meet our precious girl.”

A slight look of panic crossed her face, but it quickly turned to excitement and adoration. “Okay.”

“Okay,” Rowan breathed, and helped her to her feet. She kept on the oversized tee she had and Rowan helped her slip on some cozy pants and her flip flops before they were hurrying out the door.

The car ride was miserable. They got stuck at every red light along the way and the contractions quickly became stronger and closer together.

When they got to the hospital, Rowan parked as close as he could to the entrance. It helped that it was the middle of the night. After helping her to the door and into a wheelchair, Aelin was met with a nurse and then she was being wheeled away. Rowan, and their bags, just behind. 

“I feel like we forgot something,” Aelin said, as Rowan tied the back of her hospital gown and helped her into the bed.

“We talked about this,” Rowan began, pulling a chair up close to the side, “Fleetfoot isn’t allowed in the hospital, Ace.”

She chuckled, but the gesture was quickly replaced with a contorted look of pain.

“Breathe,” the nurse whispered, calmly, as she finished hooking Aelin up to a series of machines. One took blood pressure, one kept track of the contractions, one monitored her heartbeat, another monitored the baby’s.

Looking at all of the machines gave Rowan a headache.

“How far apart are your contractions, dear?” The nurse asked, taking notes on her chart.

“About eleven minutes apart, but my water broke,” Aelin said, resting back in the bed, trying to get comfortable while she still could.

She smiled and said, “Not uncommon for a first time mom. We’ll keep an eye on it, but for now, why don’t you try and get some more sleep.”

“Sleep?” Aelin asked, her eyebrows raising. “I can’t sleep right now, I’m having a baby. I want my epidural and to push her out.”

The nurse, a sweet-looking older woman named Alis, laughed softly. “Sorry, hon. You can’t get an epidural until your contractions are about five minutes apart. Just relax and we’ll come check on you in a little bit.”

Alis left and Aelin stared after her. “I can’t sleep,” she mumbled, looking at Rowan. “How does she expect me to sleep? I’m about to shove our daughter out of my vag.”

“Great visual, babe,” he sighed, sitting next to her and taking her hand with his free one. His phone was in his other. “Here it is,” he began reading. “In the early stages of labor, mothers-to-be are encouraged to rest and relax. If labor begins at night, it's best to try and go back to sleep until contractions have increased to require all of your focus.”

“Fabulous,” Aelin mumbled. “Can I have my phone?”

“Sure, baby, where is it?” He asked, reaching for her purse.

She looked at him. “I thought you had it.”

Rowan’s brows furrowed. “Why would I have had your phone?”

Aelin’s eyes narrowed. “Because I asked you to grab it on the way out the door when you went back for your tablet.”

Rowan didn’t say anything, but he didn’t have to. His eyes said enough: Ohhh shit.

She let her head fall back against the pillows and closed her eyes, settling back and trying to get comfy. “I knew we forgot something.”

“I’ll ask Aedion and Lysandra to get it on the way.” He yawned and leaned back in the chair, pulling the ball cap covering his messy, silver hair lower over his eyes.

It was quiet for a minute and then Rowan said, already dozing off, “If you don’t have your phone, I assume that means you haven’t told anyone she’s on the way?”

Aelin replied, “Nope.”

He re-situated his hat and pulled out his phone. Since things didn’t seem to be progressing too quickly, he sent a quick text to their friends, not wanting to call and wake everyone. Save for one person: Lysandra.

Thirty seconds later, Rowan’s phone was ringing. With a sigh, he answered. “Hell-.”

“You didn’t call me on the way to the hospital?!” Lysandra’s loud voice came through to his ear.

“Sorry, I was a little busy trying to get my wife to the hospital,” Rowan said, yawning. “Nothing’s happened yet, don’t worry, I’ll call when things pick up. Her water broke and now she’s being told to go back to sleep.”

“Which I can’t do and my husband forgot my phone!” Aelin said, loudly, obviously frustrated.

There was a second of silence on the other end before Lysandra said, “Seriously? You didn’t grab her phone?”

“Don’t worry, she’s giving me a look that is equivalent to being stabbed, I’m being punished,” Rowan muttered.

“Let me talk to her.”

Rowan held out his phone without any hesitation. He heard Lysandra rattle off a series of questions and Aelin silently nodded along to each, softly biting the side of her finger. It was a nervous ‘twitch’ she’d picked up in the past few months and couldn’t seem to break it when she was thinking. “Okay, I got it. You know where the spare key is and I’ll send you the rest.” He heard Lysandra saying something else and Aelin’s eyes flicked over to him. “I haven't decided yet. I’ll let you know. Love you.” Lysandra replied and then Aelin ended the call, handing the phone back to Rowan.

He had an eyebrow raised, and though every instinct in his body instinct told him not to, he asked, “Decided what?”

She pouted her lips slightly and was about to reply when another contraction began. “Oh fuck, fuck, fuck, holy shit.”

He was up, his phone forgotten on the side table, and he took her hand. “Breathe, baby. Just breathe through it.”

“I’m deciding,” she said, through her teeth, “if I’m having Lysandra pick something up from Starbucks for you on the way here, or just me.”

He raised his eyebrows, rubbing soothing circles in her back with his free hand, but he said, “That’s cold, baby.”

“Well you forgot your pregnant wife’s phone on the way to give birth to your daughter,” she said, finally remembering to do the breathing exercises they’d learned.

Rowan sighed and said, “That’s fair.”

Aelin ended up having Lys get Rowan his coffee, too. They were even able to get a couple more hours sleep between the contractions, but when Lysandra blew threw the door at five-thirty, a bleary-eyed Aedion behind her, they were both up and Rowan was eating a sad, cold, hospital cafeteria breakfast.

“Oh, bless your hearts, thank the gods I brought real food.” She held up a bag from Aelin’s favorite bakery.

“Chocolate croissants?” Aelin asked, her eyes going wide.

“And they’re still warm, haven’t even been out of the oven for ten minutes,” Lysandra said, handing her the bag. With the other hand she extended her phone.

Aelin snatched both. Rowan knew better than to ask for a croissant. Lysandra held up a cup of coffee to him, her emerald eyes narrowed. “In your defense, she had left it in under the blankets in the bed.”

Aelin was sniffing the croissant as the door swung open, once again, and Alis came in, cheerily asking, “Good morning!” 

“Good morning,” Aelin groaned. “When can we get this thing out of me?”

It had quickly turned from my daughter to this thing as the morning went on.

“I’m going to check where you’re at, and we’ll see,” she smiled. 

Alis eyed the coffee and bag of goodies as she approached, but before she could say anything, Aelin said, “Don’t worry, they’re just for smell. I’m waiting to eat them after baby gets here...which will be soon, right?”

Aedion had made himself scarce the moment Alis ordered Aelin to put her feet up, but Lysandra was sitting on the edge of the bed. Rowan was still eating his shitty cafeteria waffle as Alis checked where Aelin was at. Five minutes later, the nurse was tossing her gloves into the trash and washing her hands.

“I believe your baby girl will be here sometime this afternoon,” she smiled, hands on her hips. “I’ll be in to give you the epidural in a few hours. Until then, continue to relax as much as possible. I’ll bring in more ice chips for you to munch on while you sniff your baked goods.”

She left and Aelin groaned as she let her head fall back into the pillows. “After noon,” she said, making sure the words were separated. “As in after twelve pm, which is still seven hours away.”

Lys patted her hand. “It could be sooner. She might decide she’s ready to be here now.”

Aelin turned and looked at her best friend, a look in her eyes that she hadn’t seen since they were in middle school and beating the shit out of each other in the girl’s locker room. They’d been inseparable ever since. “That would be horrible, too. Because then I wouldn’t get my epidural and I’d be in even more pain.”

Aedion said from the couch, mouth full, “She’ll get here in the perfect amount of time that you get your drugs and you aren’t in labor for two days.”

Aelin looked at him. “What are you eating.”

Aedion crumpled up the wax paper bag it had been in, trying to obscure the chocolate within. “Nothing.”

Aelin’s voice was like ice. “If I wasn’t due for a contraction any minute now, I’d punch you right in the dick.”

The room got silent and then Rowan’s phone rang. He glanced at it. “It’s Lorcan, babe, I need to get it.”

“Go,” she said, smiling wickedly. “Aedion can help me.” She held out her hand, waiting for his to squeeze.

Rowan patted his back as he walked by. “Hope that croissant was worth it.”

He answered as he stepped out into the hall. “Hey, man.”

Lorcan asked, “Your wife push out your demon spawn yet?”

Rowan rolled his eyes. “No, she’s still a few hours away from her epidural and a while from pushing.”

Lorcan’s response was simple. “Gross. Hey, is your substitute giving your finals?”

He sighed, “I would assume, Lor, since they start on Wednesday, and my wife is giving birth to our daughter right now.”

“Fair enough,” Lorcan said. “Elide will be coming by at some point to see Aelin, and I’ll come by after classes end.”

“That’s probably about when she’ll be here, so make sure you call Lysandra first. I might be a little busy,” Rowan laughed.

Lorcan snorted, “Why? It’s not like you’ll be doing any of the hard work. You did your part nine months ago, when you nutted inside of-.”

Probably louder than he should have, in a hospital wing just after sunrise, Rowan said, “Goodbye, Lorcan,” and hung up the phone.

Considering how his best friend usually spoke, Rowan had to admit that the conversation had actually been pretty tame. I’m fact, he was pretty sure that was Lorcan being sweet and caring. Which is why, once he opened the door to Aelin’s room, Rowan said, “Lorcan said good luck.”

Aelin, next to Aedion who was rubbing his now-sore hand, blinked. “Are you sure? That’s uncharacteristic of him.”

“He also says that Elide will come by soon.”

“That sounds more accurate,” Aelin said, then yawned. “Can you at least go get me some magazines or something? I’m bored as hell and hurting like shit.”

His stomach grumbled and he said, “I’m absolutely starving, so what if I go grab some food that doesn’t look like it could come to life and eat me instead, and I’ll pick up that new book you’ve been wanting?”

“You mean you’re going to leave?” Her eyes went wide, filling with tears.

He was instantly by her side, her face in his hands. “I won’t, I don’t have to. I can eat the radioactive cafeteria food and run down to the gift shop for the magazines. I was just going to run to the Walmart that has a McDonalds in it down the road. Two birds, one stone.”

Her eyes were still panicked and Lysandra, hearing Rowan’s stomach growl ferociously again, said, “Ro, why don’t you run down to grab some magazines, and Aedion will go get you food and the book for Aelin?”

It was less of a question and more of a “Get your asses in gear, this is what we’re doing” statement, and with Aelin’s sniffling nod of confirmation. The men were off, Rowan coming back with a few magazines and the sweetest stuffed animal that Aelin had ever seen.

“What is that?” she laughed, eating another bite of ice chips.

Rowan sheepishly held the white ball of fluff in his hands. “I realized that when we were packing her bag, we didn’t bring her anything but clothes and diapers and the essential stuff. And I know she has tons at home, but... I wanted to give her her first stuffed animal, as her daddy, so…”

Aelin’s eyes were rimmed with tears as she said, “Can I see?”

His cheeks burned. “I didn’t have many great options, they’re doing a remodel down there, so… The White-Tailed Hawk was the highlighted animal of the month.” He held the soft bird out to her.

Aelin huffed a laugh as she took the bird into her hands and ran her fingers over the soft fur. “It’s perfect.”

She clung to that stuffed animal for the next few hours as Rowan ate his McDonalds. The book, however, had to wait, because by the time Aedion got back with everything, the contractions were brutal. 

At least Rowan had finished his egg McMuffin before they pulled out the longest needle he had ever seen, making him lightheaded.

He nearly fainted when they stuck that needle into Aelin’s back.

It wasn’t much longer that she grew numb from the waist down, and not too much longer after that she felt the slightest bit of pressure, letting Alis know that the baby was wanting to make her grand appearance into the world. 

Lysandra, much to her disappointment, was told she had to leave while Rowan remained, holding her hand as she began to push. 

“You’re doing so good,” Rowan whispered, five minutes in. “I’m so fucking proud of you.”

Aelin closed her eyes and pressed her sweaty forehead against his, just as she started to push again.

They had both heard horror stories of women who had to push for hours and hours and hours. Thankfully, Aelin was not one of them, because half an hour after the first push, a soft cry filled the silent room.

“She’s here, baby, she’s here.” There were tears streaming down Rowan Whitethorn’s face as the doctors placed the small, wailing infant on Aelin’s chest. The cries quieted almost immediately and he kissed her head. “I love you so much. You did so amazing, Ace.”

Aelin was crying, looking down into the perfect face of her daughter. “Hello, beautiful girl. We’ve been waiting for you.”

Rowan laughed quietly, though even Aelin admitted that it sounded closer to a sob.

————

About an hour later, a quiet knock came from the door. Rowan opened the door to find Lysandra and Aedion waiting.

All it took was one smile from Rowan and Lysandra began to cry, throwing her arms around him. “Congratulations.”

He hugged her back, trying his best not to tear up again himself. “Thank you. Come meet her.”

After a quick hug from Aedion, Rowan led them into the room, where Aelin, fresh faced and hair in a messy bun on the top of her head, sat in the bed, gazing adoringly at the small bundle in her arms.

“Do you want to meet Auntie Lys and Uncle Aedion?” She cooed down at her daughter.

Sloan was sleeping, but it didn’t stop Lysandra from pressing her lips against the newborn's head, where a striped knit hat was pulled over her tufts of golden hair. 

“Meet Sloan Elia Whitethorn,” Aelin said, quietly, brushing her finger over Sloan's soft cheek.

“She’s beautiful,” Lysandra whispered, and the moment Aelin asked if she wanted to hold her, Lysandra was crying again.

Rowan watched the entire scene play out from just inside of the door, leaning up against the wall. His wife, holding his baby girl. His friends, family, admiring their little creation. There was nothing like it. He had never imagined life could be so perfect, so joyful. He had never imagined he could love someone, two someones, so much.

And to think, he owed it all to a fucking dating app and an absurdly long layover at the airport.

He was so damn happy he swiped right.

[snootsnoot-fiction]

It's A Date

Pairing: Mark Renton x fem!reader

Word count: 2.3k

Warnings: Mentions of drug abuse and sex, a tiny smidge of angst, but otherwise just fluff all the way x3

A/n: I got way more into this than I thought I would, I spent most the day on it, I hope is good. Feedback is appreciated. This is a lil gift for @rentskenobi, I hope you enjoy

Summary: You go to Scotland for work, and on the first night you meet none other than Mark Renton...

It was hard to believe he was in his late 20s now. Mark Renton had spent most of his time getting high off heroin for some time now. Him and his best mates; Spud and Sick Boy. They weren't his only best mates of course, but they all got high together under the valued guide that was 'Mother Superior'. Their dealer. 

To Mark, it was a way of life. He always said a hit was better than sex. That was a fact he lived by since his first ever hit. Not to say he didn't enjoy both - he very much did - but he just wasn't as bothered about the physical intimacy. Heroin ruled his life, and in the midst of his addiction, he wouldn't have it any other way.

One day, Renton decided to go clean. To try stop wasting his life. To actually do something. 

It was a bit of a difficult start at first. Mostly thanks to that very unpleasant journey to the toilet, but he did it. The man still wasn't quite sure what he was going to do with his life, but this was the start. To what, though, was a mystery. 

Something was missing. Mark didn't know what was missing, but something just didn't feel… right. It came to him while out with his mates. Renton was just standing there, having a smoke, when he suddenly realised they all had women companions. With his mind completely clear from drugs, his desire for that physical intimacy seemed to increase tenfold. That's what he was missing. Or so he thought. It was something beyond that. 

Walking through the crowd of dancing people, trying to make eye contact with women yet failing to really attract anyone, Mark stopped to take another breath of his cigarette when he noticed her. Standing alone at the bar looking miserable was the most stunning woman he had ever laid eyes on. 

You had come to Edinburgh for work. You were a freelance writer based in London. The freedom that came with your job was one of your favourite things about it. Sure, there was the occasional client that seemed almost too stressful to work for, but you were your own boss in the end. No-one to tie you down and order you about, while simultaneously being able to travel to places you've never been, and revisit the ones you loved.

Naturally, it had taken a little time, but you were able to build a reputation that helped keep a steady flow of income and enabled you to live comfortably enough. There was something missing from your life too though, but you had no idea just what it could be. You figured you were happy as is with your dream job. 

A magazine company had requested your help. They were intending to feature a special in a future issue talking about life in Scotland from an outside perspective. Of course, you were more than happy to take the job on. You had always wanted to see Scotland. To see what it had to offer. To see the difference between their night and day life, to life in a city like London. 

You hadn't been on it for too long. In fact, you had only been here since late morning/early afternoon. The company had offered to pay for hotels while you were working on this for them, so you went and got settled in your room first, freeing yourself of everything you carried all the way from London. Your intention was to just go out and experience as many facilities this place had to offer. Maybe even get to know some people who lived here to get a more personal insight. 

You had heard about a club in the area that the locals seemed to enjoy, so your first idea was to check that out. It wasn't your usual environment, but you were still excited to get started at least. Not dressing in anything fancy, more casual, you made your way there after a small meal. You felt tense the moment you entered. Unsure why exactly, you simply stuck by the bar. The bartender was nice. You occasionally asked him questions, and sometimes he would give you a drink saying 'from the gentleman over there' whilst pointing his thumb behind him at a guy that offered you an odd smile. 

The drinks were turned down, and finding yourself frowning slightly as you looked out at the crowd, you decided maybe it was time to retire for the night. So you made your way to the exit, stopped only by the same guy that had smiled at you, offering you a couple drinks himself. No matter what, you were certainly going back to your hotel for the night by yourself, so with a sigh you took the drinks and downed them both before you simply walked away.

"Excuse me!" You sighed at a voice, but ignored the man thinking it was the same one as before. That was, until he was suddenly jogging backwards in front of you. You had only glanced at this man the odd few times in the last couple hours, yet you never approached him. Now here he was. Seeing him up close, you couldn't help but think to yourself 'man you look really nice…' absent-mindedly smiling slightly as he smiled too. 

"I couldn't help but be impressed with how you handled the situation back there. What's your name?" He seemed charming and sweet. You got the impression he didn't do this too often, yet he also seemed genuine. 

"Y/N.." Something about this man instantly had you hooked. 

"Mark. Mark Renton. So I noticed you're not from around here." Referring more to your accent than anything. You merely smiled in response, making his smile widen. "Can I ask where you're from?" Mark was walking next to you now.

"London."

"You here for business or pleasure?" 

"Business."

"Where you off to now?"

"My hotel room."

"Where's that?" You simply raised a brow in answer. "I just mean to say I can walk you back if you want, I know this place, but I'm not promising anything." He chuckled at the joke suggestion. Yet you stopped and studied him in silence for a moment. You weren't about to trust a complete stranger in the middle of the night, but Renton seemed genuinely okay. Not to mention how this could potentially benefit your work. He simply stood there patiently with a small smile.

"Alright," you finally said after a moment, "but we're getting a taxi." At that moment, a taxi came driving down the street.

You invited him to your hotel room, and the two of you spent the whole night talking. Part of you suspected Mark initially approached you for other reasons, but the two of you hit it off and were enjoying yourselves more than either of you had in a long time. He admitted to you about his addiction, highlighting the fact he was clean now. You were happy for him. You couldn't deny that was one of the best nights of your life. Neither of you were quite aware at the time, but that was the night you fell in love.

During your stay in his city, Mark took you out to all the places he thought would be great to hang out together at, insisting each time 'for the sake of your work'. Of course, you took time to actually do work and type up impressions thus far. You even met a couple of his mates. Spud and Sick Boy. Sick Boy attempted to flirt with you when he first saw you, but you swiftly turned him down, noting that Mark's muscles seemed to tense when his friend flirted with you. You learned their other mate Tommy had recently been dumped so wasn't getting out as often, and Begbie… well you got the impression he wasn't too nice a guy. Mark confirmed your suspicions when he told you about the guy's violent nature.

You were enjoying yourself so much, when the day came for you to leave Edinburgh over a week later, you were sadly disappointed. You were going to visit other cities such as Glasgow, but you had come to really like this man. It was clear Mark wasn't all that excited about you leaving too. Despite knowing you were only here for work, he asked you to stay longer.

The two of you had only known each other for just over a week, but it made you sad to leave him. More than you let on. You both tried to keep your goodbye civil as you waited outside the hotel. Renton's heart was beating faster, as though he was about to miss the biggest opportunity. You had to force yourself to wave for a taxi, and put your luggage in the back before looking at the man you spent your last week with.

"Well… if you're ever in London…" you trail off. You look at each other for a few seconds before you turn to the taxi and open the door.

"Y/N!" Mark's hands were suddenly on your shoulders as he turned you around. He gave you no chance to respond before his lips were suddenly on yours as he held your face in both hands. Your arms went limp, but you reciprocated as the most wonderful feeling spread through you. A sort of happy warmth. Suddenly you were on cloud nine, and the world around you fell away like magic. You thought you could stay like this forever. Then he pulled away. 

"I love you.." the words came out before he could even think about it. You froze, unsure how to react. The happy buzz was still there, but your brain had no idea what to do in a situation where someone you had only known a week suddenly says they love you. 

Mark's face fell as what he said dawned on him while you merely stared at him. His mouth opened and closed, unable to say anything else in the moment. 

"Oi! You getting in or what?" The taxi driver brought you back to reality and you had to force yourself to look away from the man in front of you. "I'm sorry.." was all you muttered before you closed the door and suddenly he was far behind you. Standing there for what felt like forever, Renton eventually walked home, cursing himself for putting the both of you in that situation. Suddenly his home city felt just as bad and depressing as it always had. Soon enough, he and his friends turned back to their old habit.

Meanwhile, you were working, working, working. Mark entered your thoughts often. Even more so when you finished writing up your final piece on Scotland back at home. You were still clueless as to what you should do. You had each other's numbers, but neither of you had been the first to message. He thought about calling you when him and Spud got arrested, about telling you everything, but that seemed almost cruel to suddenly throw that on you out of nowhere. 

When your next project came along, you vowed to focus on that, and only that. You were more than happy to stay in London for this one, and you actually managed to focus. So much so that you forgot about Mark Renton until you suddenly bumped into him on your way home from your office one day. 

You had your head down, reading certain notes you had written down when you physically walked into the chest of another person, dropping your notepad. 

"I'm sorry, I-" you froze when the stranger stood up - having picked up your notepad for you.

"It's no bother, really." Mark Renton smiled down at you in his suit, holding out your pad. You hesitantly took it. Seeing you in front of him for the first time since his confession, he couldn't help but feel awkward, but he forced himself on. "Say, I don't suppose you've seen the most beautiful woman around, goes by Y/N? You'd know her if you see her. I'm new to town, and was hoping she could show me around. In fact, you actually look a lot like her." You couldn't help but smile as you blushed.

"Mark.."

"No wait." His face was serious, but there was still a soft smile. "I'm sorry about… you know. Too much has happened since you left, I've come down here for a fresh start - I even have a job!" He smiled proudly at that. "If it's okay with you, I was hoping we could start over?" You studied him again like you did the night you met. 

"Alright… but for what it's worth, I've missed you too…" your words pulled the biggest smile from Mark as a relief and happiness took over him. He had missed you tremendously, especially when his parents forced him to go cold turkey. Your presence made him happy.

"First things first, may I take you to the only pub I know in this city? Treat you to a drink or two? Maybe even have a little spontaneous date as it were?" His words made you blush again and your heart fluttered.

"It's a date." You accepted happily. It was like when you first met, except it was still light out. Which made an idea spring to mind as you remembered some of his earlier words. "I'll have to show you all the best spots after today when we're both free again." At that, Mark smirked.

"It's a date." His words made you chuckle as you gave him a light slap on the arm. He laughed in response before turning around, "Come on then." He went to wrap an arm around your shoulder, but stopped and held his arm out for you to hold as he led the way. 

"Yes Rents." He smiled warmly at your use of his nickname before your hand gripped his arm, sending little bits of pleasant electricity through him. Oh how he missed you. How he loved you.

Needless to say, you were both back where you needed to be. Feeling complete in each other's presence. You knew you loved Mark Renton, but you weren't about to tell him that just yet.

[hekatepoetryxxwriting]

How is the transgression of boundaries explored in ‘The Bloody Chambers & Other Stories’ by Angela Carter and ‘Carmilla’ by J. Sheridan Le Fanu?

In ‘Carmilla’ by J. Sheridan Le Fanu and ‘The Bloody Chambers & Other Stories’ by Angela Carter, the idea of female oppression being thwarted by the women’s self-awareness of their sexuality and their ability to use it as a form of power is explored through various boundary transgressions in both novels. ‘Carmilla’ be Le Fanu was influenced by real life Countess Elizabeth Bathory and was the predecessor to Bram Stoker’s ‘Dracula’. ‘Carmilla’ is also referenced in Angela Carter’s short story ‘The Bloody Chambers’ (it is the name given to one of the Marquis’ previous wives), thus linking the two novels together.

In another one of Carter’s stories, ‘The Company of Wolves’, there is a transgression of gender roles regarding the girl in the story. In the Gothic genre, women usually fall into three types: The Trembling Victim, The Femme Fatale, and The Crone. However, the child in this story is none of these, and displays strength that defies the stereotypes in her confrontation with the werewolf as seen when she ‘burst out laughing; she knew she was nobody’s meat’[1], which is itself is sexual symbolism that makes the ‘meat’ a metaphor for the sexual objectification of women’s bodies, which she rejects by laughing. Her laughter is also a mockery of the patriarchal expectation of submissiveness that men believe all women possess. It suggests that the girl is aware of the power her sexuality carries, much like a femme fatale. The same could also be said for ‘Carmilla’, where Laura’s father ‘won’t consent to you leaving us’[2]even though he has no familial ties to Carmilla. In both stories, the fathers seem to be in a superior position within the family, and evidence of this can be found not only in that quote from ‘Carmilla’, but also from the line ‘Her father might forbid her’[3]in ‘The Company of Wolves’. The verb ‘forbid’suggests that he hold powers over his daughter and is able to control her actions. This is a reflection of the patriarchal family systems which were in place up until the late 1970s, when men were considered the breadwinners. Angela Carter, a feminist, was part of the movement that broke down those family systems; Carroll Davids referred to this in her review of Angela Carter; “Angela Carter’s portrayal of husbands and fathers not only reflects the ideals of her time, but also contradicts them on occasion with the femininity of the men.”[4]

There is also a transgression of gender through the empowerment of female characters in ‘Carmilla’ and ‘The Werewolf’. In both of these texts, the female character succeeds through her own means, rather than relying on a man to support her. In ‘Carmilla’, it is through death that Carmilla is able to gain power. This idea is strengthened through Laura’s speech to Carmilla in Chapter 4, where she asserts that ‘Girls are caterpillars while they live in the world, to be finally butterflies when the summer comes’[5]. The use of this metaphor suggests that girls are only free of the constraints that surround women when they have died, a suggestion that is supported by Colleen Damman’s analysis of the novel “as a woman, Carmilla can only claim her sexuality after death. Thus, vampirism is the only way she can express her own carnal desires. Besides marriage, becoming a vampire is one of the only ways that female sexuality is licensed in the Victorian era”[6]. Meanwhile, in ‘The Werewolf’, the child represents the New Woman and is pitted against her grandmother, who represents the generation of women who have fallen under the thumb of a patriarchal society. The final line states ‘Now the child lived in her grandmother’s house; she prospered.’[7]which implies that the child benefits from the downfall of the previous generation and is able to live happily without a husband or children. This conclusion suggests that women can live complete and fulfilled lives without needing to be married. Angela Carter’s feminist views on empowerment were controversial during her lifetime, including negative reviews for her book ‘The Sadeian Woman’ due to its defence of the Marquis de Sade, who wrote violent erotic novels that many consider sexist and inspired the word ‘sadism’. In regards to the empowerment in ‘Carmilla’, Elizabeth Signorotti states that “Le Fanu allows Laura and Carmilla to usurp male authority and to bestow themselves on whom they please, completely excluding male participation in the exchange of women”[8].

The inclusion of the female ‘Monster’ in ‘The Lady of the House of Love’ and ‘Carmilla’ also transgresses the boundaries placed around gender and the roles women play in society. The Countess is a vampire, much like Carmilla, and bears similarities to Elizabeth Bathory, the acclaimed ‘Blood Countess' who was rumoured to be a relation of Vlad the Impaler. The Countess in Carter’s tale embodies the idea of a Gothic Femme Fatale through the description ‘Everything about this beautiful and ghastly lady is as it should be, queen of night, queen of terror’[9]- the repetition of ‘queen’ places emphasis upon her position within the story. She is the highest authority within the text, being the queen, and is not subject to male dominance. In ‘Carmilla’, the monster is humanised at its death by Laura ‘a sharp stake was driven through the heart of the vampire, who uttered a piercing shriek at the moment, in all respects such as might escape from a living person in the last agony.’[10]and a simile is used to liken the monster’s pain to that of a human’s, implying that Carmilla is not actually that different from human beings. It seems that Le Fanu, like Carter, is suggesting that women who are free from male dominated societies are not monsters but are in fact just as human as everyone else. Le Fanu’s decision to focus on a female vampire may have been influenced by the legends he would have known growing up, namely the stories of the Leanan Sidhe and the Dearg-Due. These myths revolved around female vampiric creatures that preyed upon Irish youths and left a lasting effect on the victims even after the creature’s death (Laura never fully recovers from the effect of Carmilla, and often imagines she will return.). A connection between Le Fanu and the myths of the Leanan Sidhe and the Dearg-Due can be made as his mother read Irish folk tales to him when he was a child.

The continued transgression of gender moves onto the reversal of gender roles in ‘The Erl King’ and ‘Carmilla’. In ‘The Erl King’, the titular character defies the stereotypical role of men in literature as it states that ‘He is an excellent housewife.’ -[11]Carter ironically using the feminine spousal term for him. Aside from this, he has long hair he frequently combs and he takes part in activities that were frequently considered feminine, such as cooking, basket weaving and collecting flowers. Carter may have taken elements from the traditional Pagan god ‘The Green Man’ and his myth; he completed a loop in which he would conceive a child with ‘The Goddess’, die, and then be reborn as the child he created. Certainly, the Erl King is similar in appearance, as well as the narrator of the story stating ‘I would lodge inside your body and you would bear me’[12]. This is a metaphorical reference to birth, something only females are capable of, which juxtaposes the idea of the Erl King birthing the narrator. ‘Carmilla’ does the opposite, as Le Fanu gives Carmilla masculine qualities, the most obvious being her inhuman strength ‘and unscathed, caught him in her tiny grasp by the wrist.’[13]The use of the adjective ‘tiny’juxtaposes the power Carmilla is able to demonstrate. Moreover, a less obvious trait of masculinity is Carmilla’s lesbianism which was , in Le Fanu’s time, sinful in Ireland, and sexual desire for women would have only been acceptable from men. The inclusion of homoerotic features in ‘Carmilla’ points towards Le Fanu’s possibly relaxed view of homosexuality, as pointed out by Christy Byks, who states “Le Fanu, one of the godfathers of Gothic, appears to draw upon features that women would not have been given during his era, and his writing of Carmilla and her inability to fit in with most female Gothic characters would likely have been a topic of controversy within Ireland, a country ruled by religion.”[14]. This idea is supported by the introduction of Bram Stoker’s ‘Dracula’, which takes many ideas from ‘Carmilla’. Many literary theorists suggest that Bram Stoker wrote ‘Dracula’ as an answer to the female centric ‘Carmilla’, choosing to re-focus the story upon men, with women being forced back into smaller, weaker roles.

Further transgressions of boundaries, including the transgression of religious boundaries, can be viewed in ‘The Company of Wolves’. This story mocks religion through an intrusive narrator who informs you ‘you can hurl your Bible at him and your apron after, granny… and all the angels in heaven to protect you but it won’t do you any good.’[15]This is the intruding narrator mocking the two key aspects that Carter believed held women back, that being the ‘Bible’and the ‘apron’, which is a not just a symbol of stereotypical femininity; a feminist literary study showed that almost every female character in a fairy-tale wears an apron, referencing their roles as the housewife. seems to be Carter herself, who openly stated that she thinks “Mother Goddesses are just as silly a notion as father gods. If a revival of the myths of these cults gives women emotional satisfaction, it does so at the price of obscuring the real conditions of life. This is why they were invented in the first place.”[16]Rather similarly, in ‘Carmilla’, Le Fanu presents Carmilla’s aversion to religion, and portrays a fight between Carmilla and Laura’s father, which could represent an argument about nature versus God. Carmilla speaks against Christianity ‘”Creator! _Nature! _” said the young lady in answer to my gentle father. “And this disease that invades the country… and under the earth, act and live as Nature ordains? I think so”’[17]. The caesura used between the words ‘creator’and ‘nature’ not only symbolises her anger, but in placing a caesura here, Le Fanu separates God from Nature, and therefore denies religion the claim of creating everything. This scene contrasts with Le Fanu’s own background, whose father brought up the entire household with strong Catholic beliefs.

This questioning of religion perhaps suggests why there is also a transgression of moral boundaries in both texts. The ‘Trembling Victims’ within ‘Carmilla’ and ‘The Lady of the House of Love’ are Laura and the Soldier. Both texts include a similar juxtaposition of feelings towards the ‘monster’. In ‘Carmilla’, Laura portrays the Gothic feature of ‘The Uncanny, in people’s reaction to her; “but there was also something of repulsion. In this ambiguous feeling, however, the sense of attraction immensely prevailed.’[18]This shows that Laura subconsciously knows that something is wrong with Carmilla, because like most Victorians of the time, she reflects the belief that the appearance of a person was an indicator of their moral standing. Carter’s ‘The Lady of the House of Love’ has a similar scene in which ‘Her huge dark eyes almost broke his heart with their waiflike, lost look; yet he was disturbed, almost repelled, by her extraordinarily fleshy mouth’[19]The descriptive imagery and modified noun phrases work to emphasise the Countess’ appearance and how the soldier is affected by this, and it also represents the notion of the ‘Male Gaze’, the theory presented by Laura Mulvey, that women are either sexual objects there to satisfy men, or the housewife. The two notions are represented in the Gothic genre as the Femme Fatale and the Trembling Victim, and the Countess in ‘The Lady of the House of Love’ has facial features that are stereotypical of both women. Her ‘huge dark eyes’ and ‘waiflike, lost look’ are used often in the description of innocence, whilst her ‘extraordinarily fleshy mouth’ is a sign of sexualisation. Freud’s theory of ‘The Madonna and the Whore’ also comes into play here, as the Countess and Carmilla both bear qualities (both physically and metaphorically) of innocence and sexuality. The presentation of the soldier as a Trembling Victim links with Angela Carter’s view that not only should women become more masculine, but that men should also embrace femininity.

Laura in ‘Carmilla’ transgresses the sexual boundaries placed around her by choosing to refuse medical treatment from her father and the doctor. In doing so, she rejects the idea of curing her illness, which is a metaphor for lesbianism, and becomes free to make her own decisions in regards to her body. She takes on the dominant role in saying ‘I would not admit that I was ill, I would not consent to tell my papa, or to have the doctor sent for’[20]by making her own decisions regarding her wellbeing. The first-person pronoun ‘I’ is used so that the readers understand that Laura is the sole maker of these decisions. Through this illness, she has been able to gain freedom from her father. According to Christy Byks, Laura’s illness is a visualisation of what Victorian’s believed homosexuality was: a disease that needed to be cured. Byks says “Two ideas are at work in this passage. First is Laura’s father’s attempt to control the women who are becoming “ill” and dying; the men want to “cure” her (Laura) by making her well and keeping her among the living, for it is in death that the women break free… By making these interactions with Carmilla a medical problem, the situation can be contained and defined, thus still under the control of men”[21]. Angela Carter also provides transgressions of sexuality when placing women in the dominant position. In ‘The Company of Wolves’, it is the girl who makes the first move towards sexual intercourse, as suggested by the removal of her clothes in the extract ‘The thin muslin went flaring up the chimney like a magic bird and now came off her skirt, her woollen stockings, her shoes, and on to the fire they went, too, and were gone for good[22]’. A simile is used to present the girl’s clothes as a ‘magic bird’, and this personification of her clothing suggests that by removing her clothing, the girl, like a bird, is free to go wherever she wants to. The use of listing used within this quote also suggests that layers are being removed, eventually revealing the girl’s real desires beneath. Angela Carter herself believed that women were not given an equal role in sex, as stated in her book ‘The Sadeian Woman: The Ideology of Pornography’. In her comparison of Justine and Juliette, she states “Women do not normally fuck in the active sense. They are fucked in the passive tense and hence automatically fucked-up, done over, undone.”[23]and it is clear that this idea of a preference of submissive women over dominant ones had a large influence on how Angela Carter shaped her female protagonists and their attitudes to sexual desire, especially in regards to ‘Wolf-Alice’, who’s title character, like the Marquis De Sade’s Justine and Juliette, was originally housed in a convent after being found with the wolves.

The portrayal of the convent in ‘Wolf-Alice’ itself does not conform to the traditional view of religion, and instead transgresses religious boundaries by presenting the nuns not as kind, helpful religious figures, but instead as oppressive matriarchs; the nuns’ only purpose in the story is to attempt to integrate Wolf-Alice into the human society they live in, evidenced when ‘The nuns poured water over her, poked her with sticks to rouse her’[24]and ‘Therefore, without a qualm, this nine days’ wonder and continuing embarrassment of a child was delivered over to the bereft and unsanctified household of the Duke’[25]. When they find they are unable to manipulate her into becoming like everyone else, their choice is to pass her off to a male figure instead, whose house is described as ‘bereft and unsanctified[26]’, which is ironic, as it means the nuns, extremely religious beings, abandon their ward in a house that is considered unholy. This irony serves the purpose of being a metaphor for how society treats outcasts as whole, by isolating them from those considered normal. Angela Carter herself believed religion to be mythical, and stated “I’m interested in myths because they are extraordinary lies designed to make people unfree”.[27]The second transgression of religious boundaries in ‘Carmilla’ is during the funeral scene where Carmilla states ‘Besides, how can you tell your religion and mine are the same… everyone_must die; and all are happier when they do.’[28]and uses a caesura, perhaps to indicate the way she views life. The use of ‘Why you must die--_everyone_must die’[29]indicates how short life is, and the suddenness of death is reflected in the caesuras. Furthermore, the use of ‘your religion and mine’ seperates the two, and conflicts with Victorian ideas of religion. Christianity was considered the one true religion, and therefore Carmilla suggesting she followed another religion would have been heresy. As well as this, her pain at hearing religious hymns in the line ‘”There! That comes of strangling people with hymns!”’[30]presents the idea of a supernatural aversion to religion and foreshadows the reveal of Carmilla’s vampiric nature.

In conclusion, the varied transgressions presented within the two novels provide solid evidence of both authors’ awareness of the problems that are faced by females within traditional literary roles, and both Carter and Le Fanu are able to present their arguments using a variation of language features and characters whilst managing to keep a strong theme of female sexuality at the forefront of their stories.

[1]‘The Bloody Chambers & Other Stories’ by Angela Carter [2]‘Carmilla’ by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu [3]‘The Bloody Chambers & Other Stories’ by Angela Carter [4]Carroll Davids on: How Does Angela Carter Deconstruct Conventional And Repressive Gender Identities In The Bloody Chamber [5]‘Carmilla’ by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu [6]Colleen Damman on: Women's sexual liberation from Victorian patriarchy in Sheridan Le Fanu's Carmilla [7]‘The Bloody Chambers & Other Stories’ by Angela Carter [8]Elizabeth Signorotti on: Repossessing the Body: Transgressive Desire in Carmilla and Dracula [9]‘The Bloody Chambers & Other Stories’ by Angela Carter [10]‘Carmilla’ by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu [11]‘The Bloody Chambers & Other Stories’ by Angela Carter [12]‘The Bloody Chambers & Other Stories’ by Angela Carter [13]‘Carmilla’ by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu [14]Christy Byks on: Women's sexual liberation from Victorian patriarchy in Sheridan Le Fanu's Carmilla [15]‘The Bloody Chambers & Other Stories’ by Angela Carter [16]‘The Sadeian Woman: The Ideology of Pornography’ by Angela Carter [17]‘Carmilla’ by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu [18]‘Carmilla’ by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu [19]‘The Bloody Chambers & Other Stories’ by Angela Carter [20]‘Carmilla’ by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu [21]Christy Byks on: Women's sexual liberation from Victorian patriarchy in Sheridan Le Fanu's Carmilla [22]‘The Bloody Chambers & Other Stories’ by Angela Carter [23] ‘The Sadeian Woman: The Ideology of Pornography’ by Angela Carter [24]‘The Bloody Chambers & Other Stories’ by Angela Carter [25]‘The Bloody Chambers & Other Stories’ by Angela Carter [26]‘The Bloody Chambers & Other Stories’ by Angela Carter [27]Angela Carter on: Religion by SlideShare [28]‘Carmilla’ by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu [29]‘Carmilla’ by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu [30]‘Carmilla’ by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu

[the-peak-of-despair]

Fuyuhiko Kuzuryuu x Blackend!Reader

I NO LONGER HAVE ACCESS TO THE ORIGINAL ASK!

anon asked:  Hello! I really like your guys page! I was wondering if I could get some HC’s for a Fuyuhiko x reader? Say they are in a trial and they find out his S/O is the culprit? Angst angst angst? If not that’s fine but it’d make my day if you guys did it thank you

Boy howdy I do sure love me some angst, I loved this request ALOT so I wrote a full oneshot! Have fun crying! -Mod Akane

There wasn’t any denying it. 

You had killed Hiyoko Saionji.

Of course, you’d never planned to kill Hiyoko! Sure, she was kinda mean.. but you never wanted to kill anyone. But after Peko’s trial, she was saying all these mean things about Peko, and Fuyuhiko, and it just kept building up…

and you killed her. 

You were just listening to her ramble to herself about how horrible Fuyuhiko was and that Peko was useless, and you couldn’t stop yourself from just… picking up a nearby pipe and bashing her head in. 

You panicked, obviously, when you realized what you had done. You automatically threw the pipe into the ocean and picked up her body, deciding to set her back down in her cottage under the veil of night, using the key she stashed in her kimono.

It was another two days before anyone realized.. And then the trial had begun. 

-----------

Fuyuhiko couldn’t entirely wrap his head around this case. It was borderline insane, Hiyoko had been dead for three whole days before anyone found her. He didn’t like the girl too much, but still, that was awful. He looked up at (Y/N), who had been twiddling her thumbs silently basically the entire trial.

That struck Fuyuhiko as odd. Usually she did her best to contribute whenever she could during the trial. She didn’t wanna die as much as everyone else. Yet still… silent as ever. 

“Hiyoko had her key on her, right? Could the killer have just taken the key out of her pocket to set her in her cottage?” Kazuichi suggests. Hajime hums in response as (Y/N)’s eyes dart over to Kazuichi. 

“That’s most certainly a possibility..” Hajime mutters. “But why do all that?”

“Maybe it was so we wouldn’t look where they actually committed the crime.” Fuyuhiko suggests casually. There wasn’t really much else to guess…

“Actually..” Kazuichi starts, scratching the back of his neck and looking away from the rest of the group, “I might know where it took place…”

“Please tell us immediately!” Sonia pipes in, leaning against her podium with her hands, as if she was leaning herself towards Kazuichi.  

“Y-Yes, Miss Sonia!” Kazuichi seems startled as he begins blushing. “Well, a day or two ago I was in Electric Avenue, on the third island.. And I saw a bloodstain, just in the middle of the ground. Nothing else was around, so I just assumed someone got hurt or something and moved on.. But it was a lot of blood.” 

“Well, why’d you wait so long to tell us?” Akane asks.

“I-I just forgot!” 

“Regardless, if you found it only a day or two ago, by that time the killer must’ve already cleaned up any other evidence.” Nagito sighs. “What a shame, I-”

“Don’t even start.” Fuyuhiko glares at Nagito. For just one trial, it’d be nice if he shut the fuck up. 

“Ah, okay.” Nagito says, and that’s the end of that.

“But if they cleaned up the crime scene, why would they leave the bloodstain..?” Hajime asks. 

Fuyuhiko honestly didn’t have any better answer than anyone else could come up with. He was suspicious of Kazuichi, since he was generally the only person who went to Electric Ave, but that wouldn’t help much to just accuse him out of nowhere. Lives were on the line, it didn’t offer any help to jump the gun and accuse people out of the blue.

“How about we go over the case from the start and see if we find any more clues?” Chiaki suggests. 

“What good is it if we still don’t know the murder weapon?”  Akane suggests.

“M-Maybe.. The killer threw the pipe away or hid it, or something?” (Y/N) adds. “Y’know, to like, throw off the trial..” 

“A pipe..?” Sonia questions.

Her eyes widened, realizing her mistake. “W-Well, I mean, the Monokuma file says her head was bashed in, a-and if she was killed in Electric Ave. like Kazuichi s-suggested, t-then it’d probably be a p-pipe lying around there!” 

“I-It w-would match t-then w-wound on her h-head..” Mikan mutters quietly.  

“Okay, so, say the killer whacks Hiyoko in the head at Electric Ave, right?” Chiaki starts. “And when they killed her they disposed of the pipe somewhere and dragged Hiyoko home, leaving her in her cottage until we found her three days later. What motive would they have…?” 

“Maybe they didn’t mean to kill her…” (Y/N) mutters. 

“What makes you say that?” Hajime asks.

“W-Well, none of us had any grudges or anything against her, right? Maybe it was a spur of the moment thing, like last time..” She trails off and Fuyuhiko winces at the mention of the incident of the last trial.

“That could be basically anyone on the third island three days ago..” Sonia mutters.

“Wait, wouldn’t that be breaking the rules? I mean if they disposed of it somewhere on the island, it could be a violation of the rules, and..” Akane trails off.

“Nope! The blackened threw the pipe into the ocean, technically not part of the land environment on these islands!” Monokuma interrupts.

“Pipe?” Hajime asks, glancing between (Y/N) and Monokuma. There’s no way…

“Whoops, did I say that out loud?” Monokuma nervously laughs before sinking out of the conversation. Fuyuhiko locked eyes with you..

There’s no way those are the eyes of a murderer. He knew you. He loved you, he knew.. You wouldn’t do something as reckless as killing Hiyoko..

..right? 

“So it seems this trial is about to come to a close..!” Nagito mutters. Oh dear god. He turns towards (Y/N). “Well, it seems you’ve dug your own grave, (Y/N)..” 

“Hey, leave her the fuck alone!” Fuyuhiko stops him as (Y/N)’s eyes widen in fear. “There’s no way she’s the killer!”  

“Then how would she know about the pipe, Fuyuhiko?” Hajime adds. “The evidence is starting to pile against her.” 

“You don't know shit! There’s no way (Y/N) would’ve done it!” Fuyuhiko argues, slamming his hands against his podium. 

“Why don’t we ask the girl in question?” Nagito suggests, and the eyes of the surviving students all fell on (Y/N), petrified with fear.

Her podium was directly across from Fuyuhiko’s. It was almost default for him to be looking dead at her. But the fear in her eyes.. Fuyuhiko almost couldn’t look. He hated seeing her like this. If he had any less self restraint, he’d probably run to her side and hold her close. But knowing his luck, he’d bust his stomach open or something stupid in the process.

“I-I didn’t kill her..” (Y/N) stutters, the emotion and fear of being framed building up and pouring out in the form of tears and sobs that made Fuyuhiko- and most of their classmates- wince. “It wasn’t me! Y-You’ve gotta believe me! Hajime, please..! Tell them they’re wrong!” 

Hajime looks away from her. “I’m sorry, but…” 

“You’re really just gonna stand there and look away?!” Fuyuhiko yells. “For fuck’s sake, she’s crying! All your evidence is circumstantial and probability!”

“Then if she can present an alibi for the day Hiyoko was killed-” Hajime calmly argues. 

“She was with me, damnit!” Fuyuhiko lies. He lies, almost on reflex, to find anything that would get them off her trail. There was no way she was the killer.

“I mean, you could’ve worked as accomplices.. Or if you did it..” Kazuichi starts to trail off, scratching the back of his neck once again. “I-I’m just suggesting!” 

“Why in the fuck would I kill her?! I didn’t even know she was dead until we found her today, just like the rest of you assholes!” Fuyuhiko argues. “I would’ve had no reason to kill her, and I’ve never even been in Electric Ave!” 

“One of you two did it, you’re the only suspects!” Akane argues. Fuyuhiko growls under his breath, pissed off to all belief. This trial was spinning in every way it shouldn’t. He can’t help but focus on (Y/N), eyes darting to every filled podium in the room as the room dissolves into argumentative yelling. Underneath it all you can almost hear Monomi muttering about how things shouldn’t turn out like this, but it’d be hard to hear under everyone arguing. 

“There’s 12 people in this fucking court room, and you’re choosing to single out two people who have barely even been on that island!” Fuyuhiko starts yelling once more.

“You don’t have alibis, (Y/N)’s been acting strange this whole trial, and you’re the only two people with any motives!” Kazuichi shouts, making drastic gestures with his hands the whole time. 

“N-No one else has given alibis.. This is simply unfair..” (Y/N) mutters.

“She has a point. We should wait to hear all alibis first before we point fingers. Where was everyone roughly around the time Hiyoko was killed?” Hajime questions.

“I was with (Y/N)!” Fuyuhiko insists.

“I was in the company of Sonia.” Gundham states, arms crossed. 

“Nekomaru and I were in the hotel. I saw Nagito there as well as Chiaki!” Akane adds. 

“Mikan and I were at the beach!” Ibuki exclaims. 

“I was in my cottage..” Hajime states.

“Well, I was on the second island, but…” Kazuichi starts. “I saw you, Fuyuhiko.” 

“What?” Fuyuhiko freezes. He can’t let this go now, if it gets (Y/N) in deep shit.. “No the fuck you didn’t!”

“You were in the diner! And (Y/N) wasn’t with you!” Kazuichi begins to argue dramatically, waving his hands around once more. 

“You don’t have anyone to back you up! You could be lying to pin it on me, cause you’re the only one who fucking goes to Electric Ave!” Fuyuhiko yells.

“Why are you getting so defensive..?” Hajime asks.

“Because it’s fucking obvious Kazuichi did it! He’s the only here who goes there, he’s lying about his claim, and he’s twice Hiyoko’s fucking size! He wouldn’t have a damn issue bashing in her head!” 

“Mikan and I were on the second island a swell.” Ibuki throws in. “We passed Kazuichi on the way to the beach, which means..” 

“You’re covering for someone, aren’t you Fuyuhiko..?” Hajime questions. 

“No, I’m not! Kazuichi is the fucking killer, let’s just vote already and get this over with!”  Fuyuhiko yells. He’s set and believes only Kazuichi could’ve done it. It doesn’t matter if Kazuichi can call his bluff. It doesn’t matter how much contrasting evidence they have against it.

Because if he doesn’t blame Kazuichi, that only leaves (Y/N). She wasn’t a killer. She was kind, and always loving towards Fuyuhiko, and… and that type of person doesn’t just take someone else’s life. No matter who it is, no matter who deserves it.. 

A part of Fuyuhiko knew he was being irrational. Somewhere deep down, he knew she killed Hiyoko. He didn’t know why, and he didn’t care. He would die fighting for (Y/N) instead of watching her be taken away… he didn’t want a repeat of what happened with Peko. He couldn’t lose both of them. 

He wasn’t going to let (Y/N) die. 

“Come on, let’s just start the fucking voting already!” Fuyuhiko suggests with authority. He didn’t care, for just a fleeting moment, he didn’t care about his friends, as long as she would be okay. 

The courtroom spirals into loud arguments and fights again. People arguing over alibis, over who was guilty, people siding with Fuyuhiko and people against his batshit logic. 

“GUYS, STOP FIGHTING!”.  A loud voice screams over the entirety of the arguments. It falls deadly silent as everyone turns to (Y/N). “It was me, okay!? I did it! I killed Hiyoko…” You exclaim, sniffling and crying from fear.

“(Y-Y/N)-” Fuyuhiko stutters, and the events of the last trial all come flooding back. All so different.. Yet still the same outcome.

 “Why did you..?” Hajime asks, before recollecting himself. “Why didn’t you confess earlier..?” 

“I-I don’t wanna d-die..!” She starts crying, tearing Fuyuhiko apart at the seams, the last of whatever stability left being ripped away. “B-But you guys started arguing a-and.. I d-don’t want my friends t-to get hurt cause I did something s-stupid..!” (Y/N) starts wiping away her tears. Whether she minded crying or not, whether she cared about appearing weak or strong.. She couldn’t stop crying. 

“...w-why?” Fuyuhiko mutters, looking up and locking eyes with her. “W-Why!? WHY THE FUCK DID YOU KILL HER!?” 

“I DIDN’T REALIZE WHAT I WAS DOING!” (Y/N) shouts, before a loud sob leaves her as she leans against her podium. “S-She..I ran into h-her at Electric Ave a-and she was m-muttering a-all these mean things..!” A large heavy breath through a snotty nose. “A-About how P-Peko deserved t-to die after w-what she did..! And th-that you should’ve died too..! A-And I got so mad, I just p-picked up whatever was n-next to me and I hit her- a-and by the time I was done I realized and..” 

“Breathe for a second..” Nagito mutters. “You can’t explain all of this when you can barely take in air.” 

“I know that, Nagito!” She snaps up her head to look at him, before staring at the floor again. “W-When I realized what I did, I threw the pipe into the ocean right o-off the bridge.. And I-I felt bad leaving her there s-so I took her back to her cottage a-and laid her down.. So she could r-rest easy…A-and I guess I l-locked the door on my way o-out of habit…” 

All self control left Fuyuhiko as he walked away from his podium and rushed over and basically grabbed (Y/N) by the collar, holding her head up and at his own height, regardless of how tall she was. “Why..? Wh-Why..?”

“S-She was so mean to you and P-Peko and I just- I didn’t mean to k-kill her- S-She was my f-friend-”

“Yet you killed her all the same. Jeez..” Nagito sighs. “W-” “S-Stay the fuck out of this Nagito!” Fuyuhiko snaps at him, eyes watering as he came to the realization that he was losing yet another person who he loved. This wasn’t what was planned. They were going to get out, and survive, and rule the Kuzuryuu clan, and.. 

“W-What’s wrong with you..? Y-You did this a-all to just defend me! And n-now you’re gonna die because y-you-” Fuyuhiko was trying to knock sense into you, trying to get you to justify yourself. 

“I didn’t want y-you to die b-because I- because I messed up!”  (Y/N) cries, Fuyuhiko’s grasp loose enough that (Y/N) breaks through and buries herself in his chest, crying loudly. Fuyuhiko can’t even pull himself to react. He knows he should hug her, or rub circles in her back, or anything, but he can’t bring himself to. 

The unyielding despair of losing both Peko and (Y/N).. Fuyuhiko knew damn well it was only what the mastermind wanted. Yet still... despair took him in a chokehold grip and suffocated him, nearly blinding the world he knew with black spots in his vision. Everything hurt.. He didn’t know if he was capable of crying anymore than he already was. 

“Gosh, all this sappy nonsense, every trial!” Monokuma complains. “Come on, everyone, it’s voting time!” 

Fuyuhiko can’t help but stare at his classmates as they pull their levers, all putting his precious (Y/N) on the chopping block.. They all looked like monsters in his eyes. If he were a sensible man who weren’t overtaken by emotion, he would’ve understood that this is what was meant to be done. Even before he was transported to this hellish island, that was how his life worked. When you’re the Ultimate Yakuza, you can’t get attached to people.

Peko and (Y/N) always felt like an exception, but…

clearly, he was wrong.

“Corrrect!” Monokuma’s everlasting, devilish grin seems to grow even wider, rubbing salt in the wounds. “Our dear (Y/N) has murdered Hiyoko! And she almost got away with it too, phuhuhu!” 

“YOU’RE A BASTARD!” Fuyuhiko screams, as (Y/N) pulls him back by the sleeve. 

“P-Please, Fuyuhiko..” 

He snaps back around. “W-Why..? P-Please, I-I- I can’t lose you too..”

“I’m s-sorry, Fuyuhiko..” 

“I’ve prepared a very special punishment for the Ultimate (talent)!”

“P-Please! I n-need you! Y-You can’t l-leave me too-!” Fuyuhiko is crying his eyes out, harder than he’d ever imagined he’s capable of. 

“Let’s give it everything we’ve got...!” 

“I-I’m sorry, Fuyuhiko.” (Y/N) bows her head. 

“Iiiiits PUNISHMENT TIME!” Monokuma shouts between the bits of conversations between the two torn apart lovers.

(Y/N) pulls Fuyuhiko close for a final kiss, and just as Fuyuhiko kisses back.. That stupid metal chain clamped around her neck. She takes in a heavy breath in shock, and then she’s dragged  away, just as Teruteru was….

No one spoke a word as they watched (Y/N)’s execution. Her mouth was moving, as if she wanted to say something, but of course they couldn’t hear.. Was she calling out for Fuyuhiko.? 

Even as her execution ended, no one spoke as they turned and caught Fuyuhiko, crying with his face in his hands as he was on his knees on the floor. Maybe the most emotion he’d ever shown...the trauma of watching both his childhood friend and lover dragged away weighed down and cracked the man’s very soul. It would take him a much longer time to recover from this...

[eugene-not-flynn]

rooftop

word count: 1993

Summary: The night before he marries Rapunzel, Eugene sits on the palace roof and finds himself with unexpected company. Eugene-centric. 

Warnings: brief mention/gesture to Rapunzel’s abuse, some discussion of Eugene’s upbringing as an orphan, self-doubt and tangential themes, Eugene is not as confident as he seems in himself but he gets some reassurance, dialogue-heavy,  introspective for Eugene and his relationship to Rapunzel, overall v soft, Eugene almost cries but doesn’t. 

A/N: Basically, I decided there were elements of Eugene and his relationship to this character that the canon content doesn’t really address much, and I really wanted to explore potential for their dynamic. 

...

Eugene liked the palace roof, especially at night.

He couldn’t explain why, exactly. He supposes the habit had started when he and Rapunzel had first arrived at the palace. Eugene hadn’t slept particularly well those first several weeks; nightmares that didn’t involve a knife in his gut usually were filled with Rapunzel’s muffled scream. Add that to the fact that Eugene’s body hadn’t yet caught on to the whole ‘it’s okay to sleep near royal guards’ idea, and Eugene didn’t get much sleep at first. The roof had been one of the few places in the palace that he’d known how to get to already, thanks to his escapade with the Stabbington Brothers. It’d also had the added appeal of the promise of fresh air and quiet.

Even when the nightmares eventually eased and his fight-or-flight stopped kicking in every time so much as saw a guard, Eugene found himself drawn to the roof. He liked the near bird’s-eye view of the kingdom, and even in the dark of night, the stars just seemed brighter to him up here. The late summer air breezes through loose strands of his brown hair and Eugene takes a deep breath as tension eases from his shoulders.

“Wedding jitters?”

Eugene jumps at the unexpected voice, glancing over his shoulder. It’s well past midnight. He hadn’t expected anyone to be up here. And even if he had, the last person he expected to interrupt his evening was the queen.

“Your Majesty,” Eugene says quickly, moving to push himself to his feet before Queen Arianna stops him by lifting her hand. She’s in the purple gown she’d been wearing earlier in the day, but her hair is loose from its usual half-pulled-back regal style. It is almost startling to see her so… normal.

“Please,” she says, shaking her head. “I didn’t mean to startle you.” She nods to the space beside him. “Can I join you?”

“Of course.”

Eugene sits up a bit more as the queen settles herself beside him. For a long moment, neither of them says anything. Eugene listens to the quiet hoot of an owl and the very distant chirp of crickets. The thumb of his left hand skims his ring finger almost absent-mindedly.

“Did you ever learn to find constellations?” the queen asks after a moment.

Eugene glances at her, then follows her gaze to the sky above them. “A few,” he answers, realizing very suddenly that he can’t remember the last time he had a one-on-one conversation with her Majesty the Queen. It makes him suddenly nervous. “Some of the older kids at the orphanage used to use them to tell stories.”

The queen hums. When Eugene glances over quickly, she’s smiling faintly. “When my sister and I were children, we’d make up stories for the stars. It wasn’t until I was older that I learned some of the actual mythology.”

Eugene glances down at his hands. “The first time I’d read anything formal on the stars was—” he falters, “was when Rapunzel and I were first in Corona.”

“It is strange to think that Rapunzel was within our city walls for an entire day before we’d even realized.”

A part of Eugene wonders quietly if perhaps Rapunzel might’ve been sooner reunited with her parents if they hadn’t been ducking and dodging guards left and right that day. Even though none of them—not even Rapunzel—knew at the time that she was the Lost Princess, Eugene remembers how the Queen had taken one look at her daughter and seemed to just… know.

“We didn’t know,” Eugene says, “who Rapunzel was.”

“I know,” she replies easily. “In a strange way, I think it was best that Rapunzel experienced our kingdom as a member of it, as part of the city’s community, before she knew she was to rule it.”

Eugene’s mouth quirks fondly at the memory. He remembers the way her tongue poked out between her lips when she’d painted the crest of Corona in the street. He remembers her gasp of wonder when he’d showed her Corona’s library. And then, of course, how she’d managed to get an entire city square full of people to join her in a dance. Even Eugene himself, who hadn’t danced in many years.

“She really fell in love with the people of Corona that day,” Eugene tells her softly.

Eugene senses more than sees the way the queen glances at him. “From what she’s told me, it wasn’t just the people of Corona she fell in love with that day.”

Eugene feels his cheeks warm, and he’s suddenly grateful for the cover of night. His thumb skims his left ring finger again, his heart giving a small squeeze at the words.

He clears his throat. “She, ah—she wasn’t the only one.”

The queen hums again, but when Eugene looks over at her, her smile is soft and her gaze is trained out over her kingdom. “Are you nervous for tomorrow, Eugene?”

He pauses before he answers. He looks back out over the kingdom. If the queen had asked him at any other point during the day, he’s pretty sure he would have answered immediately. Of course not! But the night makes him want to be more fully honest. Eugene wonders if the tiredness lowers his defenses. Or if the dark offers an illusion of safety. Or if the quiet of the world in nightfall forces a gravity to the words spoken in it. Eugene doesn’t know.

But he’d be lying if he said that there wasn’t a part of him that was nervous. Though now, it was more about remembering his vows and the toast the groom was expected to deliver. The details. The only detail Eugene wasn’t nervous about was the rings, as he’d put Max and Pascal in charge of those. But the idea of getting married? To Rapunzel? That… made a warm, fluttery feeling expand in Eugene’s chest that he knew to be excitement, not nerves.

“Not for the reasons I’d thought I’d be,” he answers eventually. “If you’d asked me five years ago if I’d be nervous the night before my wedding, I would probably laugh at you first.”

“Marriage wasn’t something you wanted?”

“Well, it…” He sighs. It wasn’t that he didn’t want it. It was more… “I wouldn’t have considered it as something meant for me.”

Marriage meant several things needed to be true. He’d have to want to settle down. He’d have to fall in love. And he’d have to have that person fall in love with him in return. Five years ago, none of those things had seemed attainable for him. He hadn’t even dared to dream that perhaps they could be some day. Instead, he’d convinced himself that security could be found in the accumulation of wealth. After all, it seemed to have worked for Flynnigan Rider.

But then he’d met Rapunzel. And everything he’d convinced himself of had been turned upside down.

“Something must have changed your mind.”

“Rapunzel,” Eugene answers without hesitation. “Rapunzel changed everything.”

Queen Arianna chuckles softly. “Yes, I seem to remember you had been a wanted thief prior to your return with my daughter.”

Eugene ducks his head sheepishly, turning his gaze to distant, silhouette figures of citizens moving through the streets of Corona below them. He can feel the careful gaze of the queen on him and it makes him feel, not for the first time, uncharacteristically self-conscious. He knew how the king felt about him, but Eugene had always had a harder time reading the queen.

“Well, what can I say?” Eugene rubs the back of his neck. “Rapunzel brought out the best in me. She continues to do so, every day.”

There’s a brief, thoughtful pause. “You know, I’ve never truly known my daughter without you there too. But I can see how you bring out the best in her, too.”

That brings Eugene up short. It certainly hadn’t been what he expected. “That’s… kind of you, Your Highness,” he decides. It’s a nice thought, Eugene thinks, and one that he desperately wants to believe. But Eugene can’t help the haze of self-doubt that lingers in the back of his mind, formed from years of experience and countless voices insisting he wasn’t enough for his parents, wasn’t enough to be adopted, wasn’t enough—

“You may not always believe it,” the queen interrupts as if she can read his mind. Eugene startles, then stares at her as she continues. “But it’s true. Rapunzel doesn’t talk much about her childhood, and when she does, we both know she tends to gloss over a lot of the… unpleasant details. But from the little that she has shared, it’s become clear that for a long time, Rapunzel didn’t have someone who truly believed in her. Who looked out for her in a way that encouraged her strength and independence, rather than hiding her away.”

“I—”

“You believed in her when others doubted,” she presses on, “You believed in her when doubt in herself was all she’d been taught. You looked at my daughter and… saw there was more in her.”

Eugene looks at the queen, wide-eyed. He opens his mouth to reply (because of course, of course he believed in Rapunzel, he always had and always would) but words get lost somewhere on the way up his throat, which is growing unexpectedly tight.

The queen meets his eyes, her green eyes sparkling in the dark. “You two bring out the best in each other, Eugene.”

Eugene is certain now that his face must be bright red. He wonders if she can tell in the dark. “I, um… I…” he pauses, then swallows thickly. “Thank you, Your Majesty.”

The corner of the queen’s lips curl up in a soft smile. “I only speak the truth. Frederic and I fought against all odds to keep hope alive that our daughter would one day come back. It was shock enough when she did. I never, in a million years, would have expected that on the same day I get my daughter back, I’d also be gaining a son.”

Eugene freezes, his heart giving an unexpectedly warm squeeze.

“I know you are in your twenties,” she adds, oblivious to the way Eugene’s eyes are beginning to sting the faintest bit, “and I know you spent your childhood believing yourself to be an orphan. I know you’ve recently been reunited with your birth father. I know all of that, and I apologize if I am crossing any lines, but… should you find yourself wanting a mom, Eugene… just know that I already consider you my son.”

The edges of Eugene’s vision begin to blur and he blinks quickly to clear it. He had spent his entire life either wishing for a mom or berating himself as weak for wanting one in the first place. He is 26 but he feels very suddenly like he is a small child again, wondering—for the millionth time—what it might feel like to be hugged by his mom.

He should say something, he realizes, but his throat is still too tight for all the things he thinks he should say.

When he does eventually speak, his voice sounds a bit thick even to his own ears. “Well, I… That is, when Rapunzel and I were looking at Corona wedding customs, we saw that the bride and her father usually share in a dance, followed by, um, the groom and his mother. We, ah… we were going to forgo that last part, but… and I know it’s short notice, but… that is, Your Highness—”

“Eugene,” she interrupts, but gently, “I would love to share in the mother-son dance with you.”

Eugene releases a breath and smiles. “Great.” He swallows again, then pushes himself to his feet. “Well, big day tomorrow. I should probably get some rest.”

She nods. “Goodnight, Eugene.”

Eugene’s smile grows a bit more. “Goodnight, mom.”

[echo-three-one]

Whatever It Takes : RELOADED

Abducted in a decent hotel room. That's the summary.

Table of Contents

Previous Chapter : Lurking in the Shadows

Chapter 19 to another story made by Ray (echo-three-one) Comments and Reviews appreciated! I hope you enjoy! Love you all ❤️

forgive the piccrew ;-;

Vlad the Janitor

Samantha Coleman

Happy Traveler Inn - Room 240

Moscow, Russia

"Room Service!" Someone knocked at the door and something in Russian followed. Samantha assumed it's the same thing but in Russian. She carefully eyed the three men whom she knew were secretly armed. They were members of Shepherd's secret force, the one he calls "Shadow Company".

She's tired of being held hostage, she just wanted to live a normal life. And if Alex was correct, she can't believe that she chose to forget him just to get another shot at a normal life. She felt stupid. And she actually missed him. Even with all the jumbled and altered memories, her heart reacted to his presence.

The three abductors looked at her threateningly as the janitors entered. She knew she wasn't supposed to act suspicious or she's dead.

"We don't need cleaning!" One exclaimed as he shoved the janitor to the door, out of surprise the two janitors immediately grabbed mops and brooms and began fighting the abductors.

Samantha described it as a scene straight out of the movies, the trio worked together, hitting enemies until they were knocked down by severe hits in the head. They quickly disarmed and bound the abductors.

The tall janitor approached her, his eyes felt familiar but Samantha was reluctant to accept help. She eyed his name tag which said "Hello I'm VLAD"

"Thanks, Vlad?" She guessed, Vlad quickly removed his hat and face mask.

"Aw come on, Samantha. It's me!" Alex smiled, behind him, Roach and Soap stood and looked happy to see her.

Samantha's heart skipped a beat. She was right. He did go to the ends of the world for her multiple times. That meant that whatever they shared back on her memory lapses were far too significant for him. She hugged him tight and he reciprocated it quickly. She wanted to kiss him already but in their situation, it was better to keep it for later.

"Here you go, Alex." Soap tossed him the abductor's uniform as they quickly changed from janitors to bodyguards as they escorted her back to safety.

"Ghost this is Alex. The package is secure. Prepare for exfil."

"Roger that, pal." He replied as they effortlessly exited the hotel, leaving a message to Shepherd that he should not mess with them.

The elevator ride was the most awkward place for Samantha. The tension between her and Alex were reaching new heights. Their eye contacts felt more intense and small grazes from their hands felt like small jolts of electricity. Her heart raced so fast that she bit her lip.

"Thanks for saving me guys. For a second I thought you were never going to find me." She breathed as Alex slowly locked his hand on hers. She felt her cheeks warm up as his touch sent her on an ecstatic feeling. Was he really like this to her?

"You're still our priority, Samantha. Disbanded or not." Roach grinned as the elevator dinged upon reaching the Parking lot. In front of them was Price, driving the van and Ghost slowly sliding the door open.

"Welcome back, Samantha." The masked man greeted them as they entered the vehicle.

~

Safe House 110197

Brazil

Alex somewhat expected familiarity or nostalgia from Samantha, but all she remembered was the name of the safehouse. The number combination was somewhat familiar. She felt guilty and frustrated once she stepped foot on the house, as none of the items rang something from her memory while Alex took effort in recalling everything they did during their stay there, things that Samantha didn't expect she'd do but wanted to feel all over again.

Amidst the stress of the things happening around them, Maxine and Francine were getting along as they prepared a little feast once they heard that Samantha's on the way here. Maxine cried as she hugged her best friend and Samantha couldn't help but also shed tears.

"I missed you. Are you okay? Did they hurt you?" She asked, those same words also came out of Alex's mouth earlier, guess she was that important to the two of them?

"I'm fine, Max. They didn't hurt me or anything. Shepherd was actually out to use me as a bargaining chip so that my Dad would help him." The room fell silent. This was what they needed to hear. Intel.

Before lunch was even served, they already gathered around the dinner table. Alex finally sat beside Samantha, and that meant Ghost was the only one without a partner.

Samantha discussed the case at hand. How Shepherd would give Nero an IP Address in exchange for blueprints of an EMP Nuke. He'll then use such machinery to combat Nero's assault as well as avenge 30,000 of his defeated troops in Afghanistan. He also has his own elite troop called Shadow Company, which were trained the same way as the 141, but they had strength in numbers.

The rest of the evening was devastating. Now that they had information on Shepherd, Price and Jack started to call in some favors and prepared for the best window to fight back. Ghost got a text from Agent Ryder of interpol that she was too late to stop the trade of funds and now Shepherd has put the remaining 141 as most wanted people. Laswell also called Price that the initial plan of creating a task force was not going to work considering they're already fugitives and they should be more careful outdoors. Everyone else looked like they saw this one coming, they already knew the risks of the things they've done and proceeded to live their lives.

Samantha caught a glimpse of Max and Roach sprinkling each other water while washing the dishes, Soap and France arguing about how the word 'whimsy' was supposed to be used in a sentence and Ghost was always on his command center. She felt that she was never gone.

"How are you holding up, Love?" Alex plopped beside her, giving her a glass of water. Samantha smiled and raised her eyebrows.

"I don't remember you calling me that." She questioned, as she noticed the faint smell of Alex that she began to admire.

"Of course you don't. That's why I'm helping you." he grinned, tucking her hair behind her ear. She giggled and inhaled once more.

"You smell good today… Are you still trying to win my heart? I thought you already did." She mused, blushing as she ran a hand across his strong inked arms. She was always scared of heavily tattooed men, but this guy was an exception to the rule.

"Well, I wore clothes from two different people today… so… but nevermind that reason. Is it working? To you…? Are you… smitten?" He wiggled his eyebrows in an attempt to be seductive and Samantha just laughed. Was it possible to fall in love with a guy whom you already love? If so, then she's all for it.

"I can't say for sure, Vlad." She teased as he quickly fished his wallet, revealing a letter inside a small ziploc container. He gave it to Samantha as she uncrumpled it and started to read the contents.

"What's this?" she asked, looking at her own writing, she started to feel scared and nervous about the letter.

"You left that note to me before you forgot me… I tried to keep it for as long as I could, to the point that I almost wanted to throw it away." he held her hand while she held the letter.

"My Dearest Alex…" She spoke softly. Her hands began to tremble as he gently tightened his grip on her, making her feel more at ease.

"...In a span of three weeks, you managed to make me feel love once again. You allowed me to realize that even after a horrible loss, I could still open my heart and feel the joy of falling in love." This was clearly her creation, she slowly turned to Alex as he smiled and nodded his head to continue.

"...I always told myself that no matter how painful it is, I'll never forget your face, your smile, your eyes and all those memories we shared together. I actually convinced myself that we were a happily married couple back in that safehouse, an illusion I made because my heart felt like it. It was a good feeling, and I want to thank you for it." She leaned on his shoulders, looked at him once more and mouthed "Sorry".

"It looked like I forgot…" tears started to well on her eyes and Alex smiled. He wasn't the crying type but his eyes were already starting to get wet.

"I can't help but think about a lot of things, one being that if we were destined to meet and not end up together, it would be better if I don't meet you at all. I'm sorry to say this but I do love you so much and I know I promised, but I think my heart couldn't carry the idea of you existing and not within my grasp. It's utterly heartbreaking." she sobbed, hot tears fell from her cheek and Alex immediately wiped them off with his thumbs as she continued reading, her voice was shaky.

"So, your office offered me a chance to alter my memories of meeting you, along with the memory that made Nero look for me. You were on a briefing and I wanted to talk to you personally, maybe feel your warmth one last time. I'd want to kiss you too, but I guess the world didn't want that to happen." She looked at Alex one more time, then their lips met, it was a small peck, their lips immediately parted upon contact. She looked back at her letter"

"So I took the offer, and by the time you read this, I'm already on my way home to resume the life I've lost. I'm sure Maxine misses me right now...

I know you'll agree to this because I feel you always want what's best for me. If our paths would cross again, I hope you'll remember me the way I remembered you before I take this operation, A good memory that's supposed to last forever.

Apologizing in advance if I don't remember you anymore.

Don't you dare forget about me,

- Samantha" Teardrops splattered across the paper as she folded it and reached for Alex's mouth, this time they went all out. Like teenagers who shared their first french kiss, sloppy, needy yet satisfying. They didn't care about their surroundings. All they both cares about was that they were within each other's grasp after a very long time.

"I guess you kept my word. You never forgot me…" She exhaled as they broke the kiss.

"It's because I can't… and I told myself that I won't." Alex replied as they kissed once again. This time, they could hear Maxine and Roach cheering in the background.

"Geez! Get a room you two!" A loud Scottish yell was heard from the distance. But despite all the noise, the two of them didn't mind.

~

Samantha was brushing her teeth when Alex snuck up from behind, wrapping his arms around her. She remembered how she admitted to the letter that they acted like a married couple, maybe this was always their thing for weeks. She was happy as they both swayed harmoniously, looking at the most handsome man in the world, hugging her.

"Do hmm haa hoo heemmmi hoo?" She mumbled while her hands brushed her teeth.

"We don't. But if we had one what would you think it'd be?" Alex mused, turning to her. He already knew what she meant despite it being inaudible. She spat the contents of her mouth and finished brushing her teeth before turning to him, all while still under his warm embrace.

"Have you heard of Way Back into Love?" she asked, Alex's reaction was a very wholesome smile.

"Like from that movie? Yeah." he chuckled, minty breath traveled to her nostrils.

"All I want to do is find a way back into love…" she sang softly, her singing voice made Alex smile.

"I can't make it through without a way back into love…" Alex sang or more specifically, said the words near the tune. Samantha giggled as they swayed to their little song.

"And if I open my heart again

I guess I'm hoping you'll be there for me in the end" They sang together, Samantha doing it in tune while Alex sounded like he's narrating the song. They both were spinning around on the small area in front of the sink, enjoying the moments that they were together once again. Samantha wishing that she'll never get separated from Alex ever again.

Next Chapter : Undying Admiration

Notification Squad my Beloved

@enderio @whimsywispsblog @beemybee @samatedeansbroccoli @smokeywhalee @ricinbach

[cannebady]

An obligatory Good Omens New Year’s Eve ficlet. Enjoy!

Here on AO3!

I realized that I need you, and I wondered if I could come home 

It ended up bring a surprise visit. With the lockdowns continuing through most of the year, Aziraphale had been stubbornly dedicated to leading by example and had refused Crowley on several occasions when he’d offered to keep him company. It was the right decision, Crowley supposed. While neither angel nor demon could get sick or transmit it to others, humans were always looking for a loophole to skirt the rules and, although Crowley would usually go out of his way to encourage them, this was starting to remind him all too much of his least favorite centuries so he didn’t push too hard.

The other benefit, was that the distance pushed Aziraphale to actually use the mobile Crowley had bought him months before all hell (side eye heavily implied) broke loose, which allowed them to communicate almost constantly. As it turns out, alcohol and texting really can be revealing and they’d continued to move, albeit at a glacial pace, towards something more.

This is all, however, a moot point because Crowley woke up on the 31st of December and immediately thought, “Ah, fuck it.” He donned his mask (not that he needs it, but it sets a good example and is a solid Look™) and drove on over to Soho to surprise an angel.

When he knocked at the bookshop door, he could already feel the air of displeasure coming from inside. He smirked, only visible by the crinkling at the corner of one eye. Lockdowns had allowed Aziraphale’s already shoddy business hours to become almost nonexistent, something the angel had nearly unbridled joy for.

When the door opened, he had to rein in actual tears of relief. He knew he missed Aziraphale something fierce, but actually seeing him made the wreck of Crowley’s heart swell and squeeze in a way he wasn’t used to.

Donning a pearlescent white mask that was very likely not of this world in origin, storm blue eyes connected with his and Crowley was warmed through to see the same, lovely, overwhelmed feeling mirrored back to him.

“My dear,” Aziraphale had whispered, looking Crowley over, “what are you doing here? It isn’t safe!”

Crowley, tired of waiting on the step while they goggled at each other, pushed inside while Aziraphale closed the door, locking it for good measure. “Well hello to you too, angel. Long time, no see.”

He snapped his fingers to place his mask in a pocket universe (he’s a bit embarrassed to admit that his earthly pockets wouldn’t exactly hold much more than his fingertips) and took care of Aziraphale’s as well.

“Crowley, we discussed this! I miss you terribly, of course I do, but we can’t just go breaking the rules willy-nilly!”

A year ago Crowley would’ve rolled his eyes at “willy-nilly”, but right now? Well, right now he’s so entranced he can’t breathe, never mind scoff.

“Angel-” He breaks off because there’s so much he wants to say, but Aziraphale is beautiful. He’s known it since Eden, but this is the longest they’ve gone without seeing each other in quite some time and he’s obsessing over the few extra inches of white blonde curls, not to mention the couple of extra inches on well-fed hips (courtesy of quarantine baking and fewer walks in parks, and for that Crowley would just like to say thank you), that are both likely to send Crowley into hysterics if he thinks about them too long.

“M’sorry angel, I just-” he sighs, “I know it’s wrong I just couldn’t wait longer. I can go, if you’d like.” He looks down, he’s not as sure that Aziraphale will kick him out as he once had been, but that doesn’t mean that he wants to watch it happen.

What he misses, is the very obvious once-over Aziraphale gives to his messy, much longer, curls and the longing look that speaks to ages of desire to cross those last few feet between them.

“Nonsense, my dear. You’re right, we cannot make this worse and you took precautions.” Crowley lifts his eyes to meet Aziraphale’s and is met with a brilliant smile. “And, of course, I am so happy to see you dearest.”

Dearest. Aziraphale called him that sometimes via text but this is the first time he’d heard it out loud. He was more attached to it than he’d like to examine.

“Well, in that case, I believe the humans have a tradition on this day that involves both day drinking and regular drinking.” He miracles a few choice vintages and a lovely bottle of Whispering Angel, because he’s still an arsehole sometimes, onto the table in the back room.

“If it’s tradition I suppose we must.” Aziraphale says with a smirk that’s not angelic at all.

Perhaps, Crowley thinks as Aziraphale leads him back to the squashy, infernally comfortable couch in the back room, this year may just end better than it started.

It’s been hours. They made it through Crowley’s initial bottles and have moved on decidedly to Aziraphale’s own, not inconsiderable, reserves. They’re encroaching on drunken territory they haven’t traversed since Armageddon first fell on their radar but this time, it’s so much better.

They’re laughing wildly while Aziraphale recounts, with requisite demonstrations, how he learned the gavotte and Crowley’s laughing so hard that his stomach hurts. He’s warm, and they’re safe together, and Aziraphale has a lovely blush high on his cheeks and Crowley’s sure he has the same, and he can’t remember being this happy for a long, long time.

“And, and-,” the angel trails off for a moment, “I couldn’t quite remember which way to turn,” he pantomimes turning in a graceless circle, “so I just, well, I rather tumbled directly into a bookshelf and realized I’d imbibed a bit too much.”

He looks at Crowley pointedly while he tries to smother a cackle. “You know, it’s not entirely dissimilar to now. I fear I’m quite completely rat-arsed.”

Crowley’s control breaks and he laughs loud and long while Aziraphale blushes more and then joins him, because they’re both completely arseholed and they have been during every century since the Beginning.

A glance at the clock shows it’s only a short time until the clock ticks over into the next year and a pit forms in Crowley’s stomach. He doesn’t want to lose this easy camaraderie and the soft love he’s feeling (it is love, he’s known it for a long time, and has accepted it for long enough) and he isn’t sure if he’ll be permitted to stay. There’s also a part of him that, for several decades now, has dreamed about employing another human tradition surrounding New Year’s Eve, but he’s even less sure of its welcome.

Aziraphale catches his eyeline and looks towards the old grandfather clock, obviously seeing the change is Crowley’s bright disposition.

“Not long now, it would seem.” He says quietly.

“Not long at all and we’ll be singing Auld Lang Syne and bidd-”, Crowley stops, his throat choking up.

“And what, dear?” Aziraphale thinks he knows where this was headed. Thinks he knows that the complicated string of emotions is on Crowley’s beloved face. He thinks he might just see everything he wants in arms reach of taking.

Crowley’s eyes are fully yellow, goldenrod and gorgeous, dark with drink or something more when he looks up to meet Aziraphale’s own. “I-, angel. Would I, ngk, what would you say if I stayed for a bit? Kept you company?”

He drops his head down again. Aziraphale hates that he looks like he’s bracing for bad news. Perhaps he has not done as well as he thought in letting Crowley know that the door was wide open now. Frankly off its hinges. Perhaps it’s time for extraordinary measures.He closes the distance between them, sitting next to the demon on the couch.

“Dearest, I think I’d like nothing more.” He reaches out and cups Crowley’s sharp jaw, tilting his head so that he can look into those stunning eyes again. He runs his thumb along his cheekbone and hears the sharp inhale.

This is the most skin-to-skin contact they’ve had since the Roman baths (there was an awkward side hug at one point that Crowley thought may actually discorporate him). But now, the simple contact of those soft, plump fingers on his jaw and his cheek are about to send him to his maker.

“Angel,” he reaches up and lays his hand over Aziraphale’s. Little to their knowledge, they’ve begun a countdown all their own. “are you sure?”

“I’m positive darling. Let me show you.” Aziraphale responds, allowing his thump to dip and run along Crowley’s luscious bottom lip. “Can I show you?”

“Please, angel”, Crowley nearly sobs and kind, giving, gracious Aziraphale takes a brief inhale of his own before laying his lips against the demon’s.

Crowley’s never really done this before. Sure there were humans here and there that thought to lay one on him, but he’s never taken the time to think about it. Why are lips so bloody sensitive? He thinks before he stops possessing higher order functioning and has only a mind to get Aziraphale closer, right the fuck now.

He reaches out and drags his hands down Aziraphale’s arms (both angelic hands now buried in his hair), delighting at the honest to God whimper he gets in response, and lets one hand tangle in ice blonde curls longer than he’s ever seen them, and lets the other drift from shoulder to waist, and finally to land on an ample hip that fits so perfectly into his hand that he thinks he might cry.

Their lips refuse to part and before long it’s gone from gently exploratory, to open and hot, tongues running along lips, tangling together, allowing them to taste each other for the first time.

They break apart briefly, speaking so close that each word is a sweet caress on the other’s lips; a placeholder while they work out their thoughts.

Aziraphale takes it upon himself to take the plunge here too, “I love you. I have loved you for so long that I don’t know what it is not to love you. I fear I was quiet for too long, but I will no longer abide. I will tell you I love you each time I think about how much I love you, until you’re sick to death of hearing it.”

While breathing is an option for both, Crowley is nearly hyperventilating. He thought, perhaps, Aziraphale may think of trying something with him. May even want to try out some more, erm, intimate, acts with him as the angel is always in such a rage for pleasure. But he never guessed that the haunting, creation-long devotion he felt would be reciprocated in the same way.

“Oh angel, I love you. I met you on the wall of Eden and thought ‘Oh, what’s that in my chest?’ and realized they didn’t take my heart when I Fell. I’m yours, if you’ll have me, if you’ll be mine as well.”

“Dearest, I’ve been yours for some time now.” And then words really aren’t important any more as Crowley lunges, pushing Aziraphale back into the squashy couch and running his hands over his coveted softness while angelic hands map his neck and his back and, Christ, his arse.

While the world nervously looks to a new year for peace and solice, two celestial beings have found it, at long last, right at home.

[softjeon]

Falling for you | Pt. 1

• Pairing: Jimin x Namjoon • Genre: fluff, nsfw-content  | Rating: Mature | Christmas!AU / Curse!AU • Words: 4,1k | AO3 • Disclaimer: mentioning of blood, accidents, alcohol

written with @cassiavioletblue​

↳  Everyone told him that love was the highest aim, that it was what completes you and made you happy…but he was never lucky like that. It just took a piece of him and left scars on his heart every time. He was done with that. He had given up on love a long time ago so he should stick to it or else not only he would be affected.

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He glanced up at the luxury property as he crossed the street walking towards it. A massive twenty-something story modern building of tinted glass and stone. In front of it, there was a doorman wearing white gloves and dressed in a long red coat hailing for a taxi for an old man, before opening the door for him with a big smile. A shy thank you came from his lips, as he slipped into the building where he felt even more out of place than before. Maybe he should have decided to wear something else? He had never been to this part of the town and had never planned to do so. Usually, he had no business being here. But he really needed the money. 

He frowned, trying to ignore the fact that the chandelier hanging in the lobby probably cost more than he had ever spent in his entire life, walking up to the elevators to push the button, Jimin took a deep breath.

… 

"Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, jingle all the way!" His voice was echoing through the hallway, as Jungkook wiggled happily, dancing around, while holding a bunch of folders in his hands. "Oh, what fun it is to ride…" His singing stopped abruptly, when someone's chest hit his nose, making him stumble back. Jungkooks gaze wandered up the dark blue tie until he met his boss's eyes. "I know, I know. You're more the Halloween type of guy but the spooky season is over, Mr. Kim. Only four more weeks until Christmas!" A big grin appeared on his face as he pushed the folders into Namjoons hold. "No more warlocks, demons or witches. Just cinnamon, cookies, presents ...and love. It's my personal mission to get you into the mood, sir." 

“Then I’m afraid I have to tell you your personal mission is bound to fail spectacularly.” He wipes a bit of glitter from the folders that he has no idea where it came from as Jungkook isn’t carrying actual Christmas decoration but he wouldn’t be surprised if Jungkook love for Christmas would manifest in glitter that magically appears on people who hate Christmas whenever he is near. 

He wonders how someone can be so happy about a season where you have to hear the same songs you had to listen to all the years before, where everyone is stressed but points out that it's about ‘peace and family’ while everyone is getting crazy about how many presents they still have to buy and how much money it’s going to cost. He hates it with a passion, honestly, but keeps it to himself. Maybe it’s also because it’s supposed to be the ‘season of love’ and he closed that chapter a long, long time ago.

Jungkook frowned a little, but it was soon replaced with a smile again. “Are you always this self-fulfilling prophecy type? With this mood, how are you supposed to even enjoy the most wonderful time of the year? He sang the last part of it, posing as he stretched out his arms with jazz hands as if he’d just finished a massive dance piece waiting for his applause. But there was none. “Can’t believe I took the spot,” He sighed dramatically, “If I had known I’d be working for the grinch himself…” Jungkook grinned teasingly, knowing that Namjoon could take a joke - or else he really wouldn’t have been working for him as his personal assistant. It was his dream job actually. 

When he first arrived at the interview, Jungkook didn’t think he’d stand a chance against all the other people with far more expertise than he had. Kim Designs was a very well-known Company, that Jungkook always had admired and in a ‘go big or go home’ moment, he had filled out the application in the middle of the night, a little frustrated and drunk on wine after being dismissed for the nth time by various of companies because of his lack of experience. And to his own surprise, the former assistant had called him in for an interview. The elegance, the simplicity and yet, the intricate little details that were Kim Namjoon’s trademark were always a personal favorite of Jungkook and although he still wasn’t so sure why he had picked him, he was happily working for him now. 

“But you’re coming to the office party, right?” Jungkook asked with a raised eyebrow, before another sigh came from him. “The Christmas party? In your office? That is every year and you never attend?” The ring of the doorbell made Jungkook walk a little more backwards towards the elevator that was about to arrive on their level, without leaving his boss out of view. “I told everyone you were coming this year. Said you were really happy about it!”

Namjoon just pulled a face, “You’re lucky I need you or I would send you straight out to door so you can bring your Christmas-nonsense somewhere else!” The truth was Jungkook was the best that could have happened to this company and he was really fond of him so he would keep him no matter how crazy he would get during those last two months of the year. 

The party would probably be like every year: He paid for it, for delicious food and colorful drinks, for decorations and little surprises - all made by a party company of course so he didn’t have to even step foot in the room. No one expected him to be there anyways, except for Jungkook maybe, who somehow never ran out of hope and determination.

“You can say it, Joon! You love me!” Jungkook winked at him, before turning around swiftly just right at the moment the elevator stopped. He pushed the button and the two metal doors slid open. Knowing about Namjoon’s appointment, Jungkook was keeping a smile on his face, awaiting the substitute maid that Hayoung wanted to send in, while she was on vacation. 

Inside the elevator, he was realizing that he was facing the wrong way, Jimin turned around with blushed cheeks. “I’m here to see Kim Namjoon. I’m supposed to be taking over for Hayoung.” He spoke as calm as he could, trying to cover up the fact how nervous he was. He knew who Kim Namjoon was. Everyone did. 

“That would be me.” Namjoon tried to hide the fact that the person in front of him was nothing like he had expected. Hayoung was a sweet old woman, the motherly type and somehow when she had said she would get someone to cover for her during her holiday Namjoon had thought she would ask a friend, someone her age. However, the boy in front of him couldn’t be older than himself! And he was pretty enough to be a model with full lips and a soft smile that turned a little shy when Namjoon looked too long at him. He cleared his throat, getting himself together before walking ahead. “Let’s go to my office, there we can do the formalities and we can decide when exactly you will start. I suppose Hayoung already explained all your duties to you before she sent you here?”

Jimin gave him a nod, passing Jungkook with a smile, who turned back around to let his eyes wander up and down the maid’s back. His eyes widened as he raised his eyebrows at Namjoon, pursing his lips into an appreciative nod. Pointing at the young man, he gave his boss a thumbs up, his mouth shaping all kinds of ‘wow’ and ‘omg’ words as he walked into the elevator. To top it all off Jungkook began to form hearts with his hands before he started to hum ‘all I want for Christmas’ again.  

Namjoon furrowed his brows, shaking his head at Jungkook to tell him to stop. He received a very confused look from Jimin and realized that the younger’s relaxed and confident facade was slowly but surely starting to crumble. Was he scared of him? It didn’t surprise him when people from outside believed the media that painted him as an ice cold, scary, power hungry man because of his sudden success but he would have thought that Hayoung had told Jimin that he wasn’t like that. He opened the door for Jimin and the younger almost stumbled when he stepped on the carpet. 

What a great start for someone who was supposed to clean his precious apartment… 

Jimin sat down on one of the chairs in front of Namjoon’s desk, folding his hands together to keep them from nervously shaking. Was his expression already a ‘no’? Had he found someone else?

“Hayoung told me everything I need to know.” He began answering Namjoon’s question from before. “What your preferences are, where I can find everything, and she gave me a list of duties that need to be done daily or weekly. Oh, and of course the list of things I shouldn’t touch. She made sure I studied it well, before coming here, so I hope I can replace her for her vacation accordingly.” Jimin took out a thin folder, holding it out for Namjoon to take. “My personal information as requested.”

Namjoon put it aside right away, never taking his gaze from Jimin. He could read that later. What was way more important to him was if he could trust Jimin to stick to the rules, to not sniff around or steal or…worse. “Why did you take this job, Jimin? I’m sure you have better options than cleaning, don’t you?” He cut straight to the point. 

Jimin froze on the spot like a deer in headlights.

“I mainly work as a florist but as you might know, it’s a job you have to do with all of your heart and yet, it doesn’t pay much. That’s how I know Hayoung. She always comes to buy fresh flowers for years. I assume some of them were even for your apartment.” He explained without hesitation. “I’m not really the type to work in a bar or be a waiter. I don’t mind cleaning, though and Hayoung has been speaking so kindly about you.” He smiled at Namjoon, feeling a lot more at ease the more he was talking. “And it’s Christmas, Mr. Kim. I hope you don’t mind me saying this, but I could use a little extra money.”

“Money won’t be the problem, I pay well - if you do your job right. If you have a problem or need more cleaning supplies or anything comes up you can talk to me. And I mean talk to me first. My apartment is very personal and private and exclusively visited by me. As you might have guessed there are things that are of utmost importance to me. I am very peculiar about order and privacy and that you keep everything you see and hear to yourself. Do you think you can handle the weight of this responsibility?” He downright stared at Jimin by now who didn’t seem to know where to look.

“Absolutely,” Jimin’s smile reached his ears, looking up at him with a smile, before averting his gaze shyly again. In front of him sat a man with way more influence than he could ever dream of. He could destroy him and his reputation with a snap of his fingers. Jimin had absolutely no interest in angering him. Hayoung had explained it to him perfectly, the need for order and privacy, when it came down to the newest collection. Just one word to the wrong person could mean a great damage for Kim Designs.  

“Then I’m glad to have you here.” He pushed the paperwork over to Jimin. “Please fill those in before you start. The money will be transferred to you at the end of your job. Two weeks, is it? Unless you need it sooner, then I can talk to Jungkook and he will figure something out as I trust you wouldn’t get Hayoung or yourself into trouble by just taking the money and vanishing.”

“That’s fine,” Jimin took a pen and began to fill out the form quickly but thoroughly. “When do you want me to start?” He asked, lifting his head to look at Namjoon again. “Oh, Hayoung hadn’t told me about it, but I happened to notice there was no decoration. Do you want me to set up some Christmas lights? I bet they would look great in your entrance.” 

“No!” He blurted out, startling Jimin so much the pen slipped over the paper. He felt immediately sorry for him. “Ah, sorry for that, it’s just... I don’t really like the whole Christmas ordeal. It’s Jungkook who makes a fuss about it. Jungkook my personal assistant, you’ve seen him pass you at the elevator but I’m sure you’ll get to know him properly some other time, he basically handles my schedule on his own for me.” The alarm on his watch reminded him that he had to be in a zoom meeting in ten minutes, so he got up and Jimin mirrored him right away. “As for when you start, the sooner the better.” He got out his set of spare keys from the drawer and gave them over to Jimin. “These are my keys, don’t lose them or you’ll have to pay for the locksmith. You can let yourself in whenever you want, I often work late so you can clean whenever your other job allows it. Take your time in the beginning, I’d rather pay for an extra hour than coming home to a half-cleaned apartment.”

Still confused about his behavior but with a smile, Jimin took the keys from him. “I will do my best.” Was all he could say, before Namjoon had closed the office door right in his face, leaving Jimin startled once more. 

Taking his bag, Jimin placed it on the kitchen counter and looked around the apartment. He could hear faint noises of a conference call behind the office door and because he didn’t want to be noisy and listen, Jimin took out his notepad, where he had scribbled down everything important that Hayoung had told him. 

The apartment was far bigger than he had imagined, so Jimin was glad for the order of tasks he was given or else he’d have probably felt a little overwhelmed. After dusting off the shelves and cleaning up each and every counter, Jimin was sweeping the floor, making sure he didn’t miss a spot, and everything was back at its place just like before. Not an inch too far to the left or right. Just like Namjoon wanted it. 

Hayoung would have been proud of him, Jimin thought to himself, when he pushed the button of the elevator again, waiting with a content smile. 

…

“So, when was the moment you wanted to tell me Hayoung would send such a bombshell, huh? Is he single? Maybe I could slip my number in...or drop my card here somewhere...He probably is married, right?” Jungkook let out a small whine, as he looked up from his notepad, where he had scribbled down everything Namjoon had said in the last twenty minutes. “You know what you should have done, make him wear a maid’s costume.” He grinned, leaning back a little, “I’m just joking!” Raising his hands in defense, he added quietly, “You can’t deny he’d look good in it, or well, he probably looks good in anything. What was his name again?”

“I didn’t know who Hayoung would send and I also don’t care how he looks.” The last part was a blatant lie, but he knew if he confessed that he thought Jimin was very attractive Jungkook would never let him live it down. Also, he refused imagining Jimin in a maid costume (maybe at home in his bedroom when he was alone...) 

“I don’t know if Jimin is married…” Jimin didn’t wear a ring on his finger but maybe he was wearing it on a necklace under his clothes “...but you better be quick if you want to ask him out because he will only be here for a couple of weeks.”

He placed his pen aside and looked directly at Jungkook. “Is there anything else on my schedule today? If not I’ll leave you to your swooning over Jimin to make some private calls.”

Jungkook shook his head, as he got up and took his bag with him. On his way out, the elevator already opened up before he could even push the button and Jimin smiled right back at him. Jungkook greeted him with a light bow, slipping into the elevator while the other passed him.

Jimin was holding onto something wrapped in paper and only the green ends sticking out told Namjoon what it was: flowers. 

“I thought you might like them on your dinner table?” The younger man walked up to Namjoon, showing him the bouquet of flowers. “Do you like them? I arranged them just how I’d normally do it for Hayoung, just added a little more...now that I know what your lovely home looks like.” His eyes fell onto the phone in the other’s hand and the papers in front of him that indicated the other was still working and quickly added. “Maybe they make working a little easier if you can look at something pretty. I’ll put them in a vase for you and then you can decide.” 

“That’s nice.. thank you.” Namjoon was a little overwhelmed. Normally he asked Hayoung to get flowers for birthdays or celebrations; he rarely got them for himself for no reason. However, Jimin had a well-trained eye and the light, soft colors brightened the room very nicely. The call that he was about to make was forgotten as he put the phone aside, following Jimin into the kitchen where the younger was busy filling the vase. “Did the cleaning go well?” He asked after a moment of silence, because he didn't know how else to start a conversation with Jimin.

“Yeah,“ Jimin cocked his head aside, looking at Namjoon with a smile. “Did I miss anything last night? I’m sorry if I missed a spot, I tried working off the list Hayoung gave me. Maybe you want to look it over and see if everything is included?” He arranged the flowers a little more, so they looked perfect, before turning it around to Namjoon to make him see. “I didn’t vacuum your office though, as you were still working when I was finishing everything. Are you always working this late, Mr. Kim?”

“No, no, it was perfect.” Had he sounded like he was questioning Jimin or wanted to reprimand him? Namjoon pressed his lips together. He really didn’t have a talent for small talk. He could handle a room full of people easily - if it was a meeting. But as soon as he tried to talk casually with someone it backfired.

“You made the right decision, please don’t try to vacuum my office while I’m still in it.” He tried a small smile. “I’m in contact with people from various time zones that's why I’ll have to be in my office during strange hours.” He explained, keeping it to himself that yesterday he had simply lost track of time.

“Just making sure you’re not overworking yourself. Even a busy man like you need to rest. I don’t think you come up with all your ideas on sleep deprivation…” Jimin pushed the vase over to Namjoon carefully. “Do you mind placing it onto the table for me?” He turned around to open the cabinet with the cleaning supplies to get out all the things he needed today. There was no need to do all the rooms daily, so he was switching routines, taking out the piece of paper again to check Hayoung's notes. 

Namjoon didn’t move, holding the vase to his chest but keeping his eyes on Jimin, fixated by the way the younger licked his lips in thoughts while studying his list or how he pushed the hair away from his face. He wondered if it was as soft as it looked…

He was about to head to the stairs that lead to Namjoon’s bedroom, when Jimin noticed the vase still being in his hands. Jimin chuckled, looking up the taller man. “The dinner table, Mr. Kim. Or do you want it to be somewhere else? Should I take them up to your bedroom maybe?” Namjoon’s stare made him nervous, the long gaze he was holding made him avert his own. “Is…is there something on my face?” Jimin wiped over his cheeks nervously. He had quickly eaten some sandwich on his way over here, after he had closed his shop, so he wondered if there was sauce on his face. That would be more than embarrassing!

“Ah, dinner table of course!” He rather had Jimin thinking that he hadn’t been sure where to put the flowers then confess that he had been caught by how beautiful Jimin was. He was also pretty sure that Jimin was doing all those lovely little things that made him so charming without even realizing it. “Your face is fine.” He answered Jimin’s question a little stupidly, leaving it at that without giving another explanation, simply because he didn’t have any that wouldn’t include how he could stare at Jimin for hours without any reason.

Jimin couldn’t help but giggle at Namjoon’s cuteness. It was strange to see a man, who he only thought of a well-known designer, someone wealthy and smart so flustered out of a sudden. It was kind of cute.

Walking up the staircase, Jimin smiled at the other over his shoulder when out of a sudden he stumbled forward and over the rug that was laid out at the top. Falling hard on his knees, Jimin yelped in pain, just for it to turn into laughter, quickly giving Namjoon a sign that he was doing okay. 

Namjoon hurried over to him, nonetheless. “Are you okay? Did you slip?” Jimin fell so quickly that he hadn’t seen anything at all. Hopefully the other wasn’t hurt because - and he felt a little guilty thinking this - if he couldn't come clean then Namjoon would have no possibility to see him again. And he really wanted to see him…

 “I’m fine,” Jimin was about to get up, when Namjoon’s strong grip pulled him up easily. “Oh, please don’t worry.” He quickly waved the other off, I just stumbled over your rug, that’s all. I’m usually not very clumsy, but I think looking one way and going the other is never a good idea.” His eyes fell down to where Namjoon was still holding onto him and his heart skipped a beat, quickly trying to cover the blush appearing on his cheeks while he brushed off his knees. “It’s best I fall up the stairs, not down, right?”

Namjoon chuckled. “If you put it that way then yes, please only fall up the stairs.” They were standing a little too close together from how he had pulled Jimin up but neither of them stepped away. Up close like this he could see Jimin’s eyelashes that fanned out beautifully, hiding Jimin’s eyes with the way the younger was looking down right now. There was a rosy blush high on Jimin’s cheekbones and Namjoon almost brushed over it out of instinct, before he quickly stepped away, shocked by his own desires. What the hell was he doing here?

Jimin flinched from the sudden step back when moments before he had gotten lost in Namjoon’s eyes. “I ehm…I need to be in your bedroom.” He stuttered the words nervously, realizing too late how they sounded. “I mean…clean your bedroom. I wanted to change the sheets and…that’s where I need to be. Not in the sheets, I eh…” Jimin was about to slap himself, feeling his cheeks flush red as he grabbed the cleaning utensils again and taking another step away from Namjoon. 

With that Jimin vanished so quickly Namjoon couldn’t even utter another word. Which was probably better because else he might have told that he would very much like it to have Jimin in his bedroom and in his sheets. 

Namjoon shook his head hoping to get rid of those strange ideas. What was he doing? One night stands where fine but this? This was dangerous. He had given up on love a long time ago so he should stick to it or else not only he would be affected but also Jimin. 

The poor boy had no idea what he had gotten himself into, he was just sweet and charming and Namjoon should make sure to keep his distance from now on if he didn’t want to destroy that.

A/N: Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells... Let’s get into the christmas mood with a little love story shall we ;) Once more we couldn’t keep ourselves from writing our favorite pairings. Thats how it is now lmao. Anyways...why is Namjoon afraid of affecting someone with falling in love? What’s happening there huh???

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[sluttyten]

sweet like honey

summary: the day you meet johnny suh and park seonghwa is the day your dreams become reality. fucking two super hot idols? who would say no to that. but the catch is that neither of them know about the other until the secret comes out, and the following competition is one that you never want to miss out on.

words: 13,338

tags: fuckbuddies, kinda dom/sub, possession kink, choking, spanking, kitty/daddy kink, oral (female and male receiving), threesome, jealousy, lots of smut, maybe a tiny bit of angst?, idk there’s some aftercare in there if you squint

pairing: johnny x reader, seonghwa x reader, johnny x reader x seonghwa

When you got the opportunity to work closely with idols, this dream had clung insistently to you: meeting and falling in love with one of the dozens of gorgeous idols you were given contact with. At first, it hadn’t seemed likely. Not that the idols you worked with weren’t attractive or anything like that, but they were always busy, distracted, and focused. They didn’t have time to fall in love with you.

And then you met Johnny. 

NCT was massive and you were the lucky (or possibly unlucky depending on how things swung) staff member who would be taking care of the needs of not only NCT but several other groups who had their dressing rooms in that cluster. You had NCT, Ateez, Stray Kids. 

They had their own staffs, their managers and stuff, but you worked for the broadcast company and it was your responsibility to make sure that they were actually supposed to be where they were supposed to be at the right time in a good mood ready to go, all mic-ed up and everything.

And Johnny was something else. From the moment you walked through the door he caught your eye. He smiled and laughed, a larger than life personality, and as you were talking with them, going over some basic things, he was staring at you with such an intensity that you were almost uncomfortable, but also fairly turned on as well. 

The look in his eyes was something like hunger, like he could devour you whole, ravish you, ruin you.

You fled the room as soon as possible, feeling very warm, possibly a little sweaty. Your head spun and you pushed into the dressing room next door to give the same talk on basic things as you’d just done.

Immediately you collide with Ateez’s Seonghwa.

“Oh, are you okay?” He asks, catching you by the elbows as you bounce back off his chest. 

“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!” You straighten the headset you’re wearing just as someone begins speaking in a low buzzing voice for all of the staff to hear. “I’m fine, thank you.”

Seonghwa looks down at you, his eyes gentle on you, taking note of your flushed cheeks. His thumb almost absentmindedly strokes your elbow and your knees feel a little weak from that minimal touch.

He looks at you as if you’re the first girl he’s seen in a while. His gaze drops to your lips, and you have to snap yourself out of it before you let him draw you into doing something you’ll regret, his magnetism too strong for you to deny when he’s touching your arm and looking at you like that.

You look away and see that a few of the group’s staff members are looking at you and Seonghwa, so you pull away and move over to make your announcement.

Luckily, dealing with the other few groups you’ve got isn’t as difficult. There are no attractive members muddling your mind with their eyes or touch.

Things run smoothly that day and you think that’s that. You survived the day and now you’ve even got a little bit of something to feed your fantasies. You think you’ll be clear of dealing with them again, of having your mind fucked like that.

Just as you’re about to leave for the day, hanging up your headset and grabbing your bag, another member of the staff walks in.

“You heading home?” He asks, dropping off his headset as well. Then he looks toward the door, glances around, and looks back at you, and quickly whispers, “Earlier one of the idols gave me his info.”

“Oh, really? That’ll be fun!” You smile, thinking it’ll be nice for him to find a guy. He’s told you before that he’s rather picky about guys plus he’s not comfortable going out to places that are specifically gay. If he’s met a gay idol who’s interested in him, you’re excited for him.

He frowns for a moment, and then says, “No, not for me. No, he said he wanted you to have it. I told him it’s against the rules, but he just gave it to me in case you’d want it.”

He passes a little slip of paper over to you, folded up small. You look down at it, then back up at him. The doorway is still empty, everywhere around you still quiet, so you risk asking, “Whose is it?”

“NCT’s Johnny.” He bites his lip around a smile. “If he wants you, then you’d better go for it. Have you seen him? If I were you I wouldn’t miss out on that opportunity when it comes knocking.”

You know he’s right. Johnny had you feeling like a hot mess earlier when he was looking at you like that, and honestly you would love to have a fun fling with an idol as hot as Johnny. So you pocket the little slip of paper, tug on your coat and grab your bag, thank your coworker and tell him goodbye.

You’re so lost in your thoughts as you walk down the hallway toward the stairs, that you don’t pay attention as one of the dressing room doors opens and a figure starts to step out.

For the second time that day, you collide with someone.

For the second time that day, you collide with Seonghwa.

His arms fully wrap around you now, keeping you from crashing onto the floor.

“We meet again.” He smiles. “Sorry, I should’ve been paying more attention, but I was trying to hurry.”

“Shouldn’t you be gone by now?” You ask him, possibly a bit unkindly. 

He blinks. “Yeah, I forgot my phone though, so I came back. My manager is waiting in the van downstairs, so I was trying to hurry.” He helps you back firmly to your feet. “Sorry about running into you again. We need to stop meeting like this. Maybe next time we should plan to meet instead of just literally running into each other?”

He takes your hand and produces a pen from somewhere. The tip of it tickles against your skin as he writes on your hand, inking his info onto your skin, his breath a gentle warmth on your fingers. 

You look at the side of his face and wonder if maybe you’d somehow fallen into an alternate universe. Months and months of doing this job and you’d never had an idol look twice at you, but today you’ve had not only one idol give you some of his private information, but two idols have given you the means to contact them.

“Message me sometime,” Seonghwa says with a wink. 

And then he’s gone, jogging down the hallway to rejoin his manager in the van.

Later that night, once you’ve gotten home and showered and tucked yourself into bed, you stare at your palm and the piece of paper, your phone unlocked in your lap.

Maybe it’s wrong to do this, but you enter in both of their information, message them both. It’s not like anything that happens with either of them will be really serious, right? They’re both busy idols, they don’t have time for real romantic lives, just for the occasional hookups, and that’s something you can do. 

Sex. No strings attached. Totally non-exclusive to each other.

You meet up with Johnny first. It’s only fair. He made his move first, messaged you back first, made it obvious that he wants you.

“Can you meet me now?” He messages you one day. 

It’s mid-morning. Normally you would be at work. You would think he’d be busy working or sleeping right now too. But you’re off work today, and you’ve got no plans because it’s a chilly autumn morning that made you not even hardly want to leave bed.

“Where?”

He sends you a location, and you only wait long enough to shower quickly and put on something nicer before you’re on your way.

Over the past few weeks since you first met him, you’ve been messaging almost every day. He made it obvious quickly that he was just looking for sex, and you accepted that just as quickly. Since then, you’d been talking about history, experience, likes and dislikes, kinks. There’d been plenty of dirty talk from him, featuring a sexy pic or two from you (he was hesitant to send nudes for obvious reasons, but had sent you a couple of selfies and even audio clips). 

So going to meet him, you were ready for it. 

You find it hard to believe that he actually invited you over to his dorm to fuck, but the building you arrive at definitely looks like an apartment building, and when you text him that you’ve arrived at the building, he sends you a floor and apartment number.

It’s then that you start to feel shy, to feel a bit nervous. 

But when you arrive at the door, rap your knuckles against it, it is Johnny who stands there when the door swings open.

“Hi,” He grins slowly, leaning against the door as he holds it open. “Come in.”

You can tell as soon as you step inside that this is definitely the dorm he shares with the other members. It just seems clean but still slightly messy. Definitely has the feel of young men inhabiting it. 

Johnny closes the door and explains, “Everyone’s gone today, and I figured if you weren’t busy, now would be the ideal time for us to make those messages come true.” He touches your waist and you turn to look up at him. Johnny still looks at you with such a hungry intensity. “I’ve been dying to touch you since I saw you blushing in that waiting room.”

Heat zips up your spine when he pulls you closer. Johnny leans in.

You let your bag slide from your shoulder, your coat slipping off in the same move, and you raise your hands to his shoulders just as Johnny’s hands move down to your thighs. He lifts you up, your arms circle his neck and your legs tighten around his hips, his hands firmly under your ass.

“Can I kiss you?” Johnny asks, his breath already on your lips. His eyelashes draw such fine, long lines down his cheeks, and you’re close enough to count every last one. 

You nod.

Johnny kisses sweet and softly, warmly and welcoming. 

He moves, sits you on the edge of the sofa’s back. His fingers fall to your clothes, unzipping or unbuttoning whatever needs to be undone. Your shirt falls apart, leaving you in only a bra. Johnny groans and wraps his arm around your waist, pulls you tighter as he kisses you deeper.

You can feel him growing hard against your thigh, and when you drop a hand down to run over his stomach, he jerks. You nip at his bottom lip, drag your fingers against the edge of his pants, pop undone the button and then dip your hand inside.

He’s just as big as you wanted to believe, hard and thick. 

Johnny had told you a few days before that it had been a while since he was able to do this. Months if not nearly a year since the last time he was able to have sex with someone.

Still, you don’t expect him to moan and buck into your touch. His hand on your back slips and you slide back a bit, almost falling away from him until his arm tightens again. 

“Johnny,” you murmur, “I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to just fuck. I’ve been wet since the moment you messaged me.”

You take his free hand and pull it down between your thighs, guide him to touch you through your panties, to feel how wet and needy you already are for him. 

“Okay, fuck.” Johnny backs off, pulling you with him until your feet are firm on the ground again. “Get on the sofa. I’m gonna grab a condom, don’t go anywhere.”

“As if I would.” You call as he moves quickly out of the room, disappearing down a hallway.

You move around onto the sofa, strip your pants off and fling your shirt to the side as well, so you’re just lying there in the cute lingerie you’d chosen. Just as you’re about to call his name and tell him to hurry, you hear your phone chime from the pocket of your pants, so you dig it out and look at the notification.

From Seonghwa: are you free tomorrow night? I don’t have any schedules, I was hoping we could run into each other?

To Seonghwa: Tell me where and when. I’ll be there ;)

You tuck your phone back into your pocket and lie back on the sofa, the cool air of the dorm pricking against your skin, your nipples peaking up the thin fabric of your bra.

You stare up at the ceiling, at the light dancing there, and you wonder about how you’re about to fuck Johnny, how you’re going to see Seonghwa tomorrow night hopefully to do the same. You wonder how it would be if Seonghwa was here now instead of just messaging you, would he touch you while you wait for Johnny, or would he sit there and watch you now and watch what’s about to happen?

Just imagining Seonghwa seeing you with Johnny, his handsome features set in focus at Johnny’s hands on your body, noticing the fine curves and the cling of your lingerie to your breasts before Johnny comes to peel it off you.

You feel flushed with heat, your hands drift to your chest and you can’t help touching, pinching and rolling a nipple between your fingers.

That’s when Johnny reenters the room, stripped down to his boxers, an unopened condom in his one hand, the other hand on his cock. 

“Don’t keep me waiting,” You beg him. You part your legs, Johnny quickly fills the space between them, falling over you until his lips can drag along the line of your throat, down between your breasts, to your navel and then the edge of your panties.

You want so badly for him to take them between his teeth and drag them off of you that way, to cover your pussy with his mouth and bring you to an orgasm on his tongue. But you feel his fingers fumble against your ass and then they’re wrapped around the waistband, tearing them down your legs and off.

You arch up into his touch, wanting him, and Johnny hushes you when you whine, and you watch as he pushes his boxers down and rolls the condom down his length. 

He teases. Presses close enough to let you feel him, he moves his tip against your clit, down over your opening, and back up. You whine and buck up, and Johnny just grins and places a hand on your hip, holding you down.

“Fuck me,” You beg him. “Don’t you want to feel how warm and wet and tight I am for you, Johnny? All for you, please.” You reach up, scratch your nails lightly down his chest. “I need you inside me. You’re so big, you’ll make me feel so full, you’ll fuck me so good, Johnny.”

“You sound like a whore.” He groans and at long last he pushes inside you. 

The feel is incredible. The stretch, a slight burn as it’s been a little while since you had someone who was quite as big as him. You let out a squeal, squeeze your legs up against his hips, reach for his shoulders.

“My little whore, right?” He pulls back just a bit so he can thrust in harder, deeper. “All mine?”

You bite your lip and whine.

Johnny puts a hand to your chin as your eyes start to slide away from his, he squeezes and makes you look up at him, and the dominance in something as simple as that touch sends a hot burst of heat through your gut. You clench around him. 

His gaze burns with that intensity, the hunger. The possessiveness. You want to be consumed by him, enveloped in the pleasure you know he can give you. 

“Johnny,” You moan, dig your fingernails into the back of his neck, attempt to bring his mouth down to yours. He resists, his eyes sweeping from yours to your lips, down to your chest, and then even lower to glimpse where he disappears inside you, as deep as he can go. You let out a low moan, “Fuck, you feel so good.” 

“This pussy belongs to me.” Johnny says, snapping his hips forward. “You’re all mine. Just mine.”

You squeeze your eyes shut, bite your lip. You don’t let the truth show through, can’t let him see just in case he’ll stop fucking you if he learns this isn’t an exclusive thing.

Again, the thought of Seonghwa comes back. You picture him sitting across the room in a chair, his ankle crossed over his thigh, arms folded as he watches Johnny lay his claim to you, watches you taking Johnny’s cock while you moan like his whore.

When Johnny’s lips crush against yours, you groan and your eyes open. You move your fingers into his hair, knotting there as he rocks into you, moaning into the kiss. His cock hits deep inside you, filling you every place. 

Johnny pulls away for a second, his breath panting against your lips, and for another moment his eyes lock on yours. He holds himself up on one elbow, the other hand he snakes down between your bodies, and he watches you closely when his fingers finally give your clit some attention.

He savors the way you whimper and hiss, squirm for him as he rolls his hips and stimulates that little sweet bundle of nerves. 

“You’re so cute, so pretty, baby.” Johnny kisses you once gently. “I want you to cum for me, and I want to hear you moan my name when you do.”

“Johnny,” You moan, grabbing for his wrist between your bodies. That doesn’t make him slow down, and you feel yourself racing toward your orgasms though you want to hold off. “Johnny,” you whine.

That knot in your belly grows tighter, his fingers on your clit, his cock filling you so well inside. 

You roll your head back, arching against him as shivers begin to wrack your body, and you can’t help the sweet, low moan of his name that pours from your lips. Your orgasm spills through you, squeezing and squirting around his cock, sending him into his own orgasm. Johnny pushes in deep, his hips jolting as he groans and fills the condom.

He sinks over you, holding himself up from crushing you with one arm, and when you nudge your chin forward, Johnny kisses you again, long and slow and sweet once again. 

He pulls out after a moment, leaving you feeling empty and needy, so you wrap your arms around his waist and tug, whine at him, “Don’t leave yet.” 

Johnny leaves only long enough to tie off the condom and bury it in the garbage bin in the kitchen, then he’s back, wrapping himself around you for a cuddle.

“Was that good?” He asks. You only have the energy to nod. “For me too. Sorry about the whole possessive bit, I know we’ve not talked about that or anything, but I’m definitely into that. Monogamy, I guess.”

You twist slightly and hide your face from him. He doesn’t have to know, you tell yourself.

Seonghwa told you to meet him at his company building. “Wait outside for me. Around back.” His voice sounded tired, but when you suggested that, he denied it. 

So there you stood, waiting for him around the back, your arms wrapped around you in the chilly air. You wish you could wait inside or at least in the front of the building where the wind wasn’t hitting so bad, but once you’d arrived you understood why he told you to wait in the back. There was plenty of foot traffic, fans waiting out front. 

“The meeting is almost over and then I’ll be right out.” He texted. 

You leaned back against the wall, wondering where this was going. You knew that he wasn’t likely to take you back to his dorm. His members were all going to be present unlike Johnny’s. You wondered if he was going to suggest going back to yours (a possibility) or maybe a hotel or something. 

When the back door of the building opens, Seonghwa steps out. When he spots you, he grins and holds his hand out, glances back over his shoulder once, then tells you, “Come here.”

You do. 

“What are you doing?” You ask as he takes your hand and guides you inside. “Aren’t we going somewhere?”

“Just come with me, sweetheart. I’m trying to get you home with me without anyone paying too much attention.” His fingers lace through yours as he brings you deeper inside the building.

You look around, a bit nervous and even more confused. “What are you going to do? Stuff me in your bag? No offense, but I don’t think I’ll fit and we’ll definitely be caught.” You tug on his hand and Seonghwa turns around. “I thought when you asked me to meet you here, we’d be going somewhere.”

“Like on a date?” Seonghwa asks, lowering his voice as a woman walks out of a room nearby. “Sweetheart, I thought you didn’t want this to be more than sex. You made it sound like that.”

“Yeah, I know.” You look down at your feet. “But I’m hungry and thought we could at least grab a bite or something before we do whatever we’re going to do.” 

Seonghwa’s fingers slip under your chin, tilting your face up toward him, and his thumb glides over your bottom lip. “Kitten, if you’re hungry I’ve got something that can fill you right up.”

Your mouth falls open slightly, and Seonghwa takes that moment to dip the tip of his thumb inside. Your legs feel weak, your insides liquefy, and you would happily jump on his dick right there in that open hallway, but he pulls away, shoves his hands into his pockets, and smiles the sweetest smile as another woman comes out of that room nearby.

As soon as she vanishes, he takes your hand again. 

“You’re coming with me. To the dorm. Half of the guys are going straight from here to the studio.” He reaches for your cheek, brushes his fingers sweetly over the heat of your blush. “San’s going to fuck his girl too, lucky for him she lives in the same building. Mingi and Yunho are going out somewhere. It’ll just be you and me for a while.”

Seonghwa guides you through the halls of the building until you’re just out of sight of the lobby. He reaches into the bag on his shoulder, pulls out a black hoodie, and hands it to you. “Put it on. Tug the hood up. When we leave, get in the front seat with my manager.”

You do as he says, though you’re sure you’re going to look a bit suspicious walking along with the group, with a hood pulled up as if you’re trying to hide your face. 

When the other members as well as a few staff members join the pair of you a moment later, you understand. A few of the guys, and some of the staff as well, are wearing matching hoodies to the one Seonghwa had just handed you, a few of them with their hoods up as well. You’ll blend in perfectly.

The few fans gathered outside start snapping pics the moment that the boys become visible and you hide yourself among the cluster of members and staff moving toward the exit, moving toward the van waiting outside. 

You don’t understand why there are fans waiting outside even here, but you assume that they’re the stalker fans you’ve heard about. The ones that follow idols everywhere, know everything about them, to a severely creepy extent.

You listen to Seonghwa’s instructions, following him to the van that he and three of the other members are getting in, and as you reach it, you open the front passenger door and slide inside. Their manager in the driver’s seat glances over at you in alarm, but Seonghwa pops his head between the front seats.

“She’s with me, hyung. Don’t mind her.”

The manager scowls, and looks as if he’s about to berate Seonghwa, but then he thinks better of it and settles for shaking his head and staring forward.

The ride from there to the dorm is quiet. You watch the city lights pass by outside the car windows, and you stay quiet when the guys start a livestream in the back, putting on their best faces for their Atinys, keeping them updated and entertained, though they bring the live to an end when they near the dorm.

Just as Seonghwa had told you, Mingi and Yunho disappear almost as soon as the manager’s put the van in park. They’re out and gone. San vanishes a moment later, walking away on his phone. The manager shakes his head and pulls out a cigarette, leans against the side of the van, and tells Seonghwa, “Use protection, I’m begging you.”

You feel very hot after that, but Seonghwa takes your hand and leads you away.

He kisses you the moment you’re inside the dorm, his hands moving to unzip the hoodie, peeling it from your shoulders, he tosses it aside, his hands on your waist as he backs with you across the room, navigating you without having to look, and you follow where he leads.

“Get on the bed,” He groans after a moment, gently pushing you away, but reaching for your chin to touch your lips again. “I want your pretty mouth so bad, kitten.”

You like when he calls you that, a curl of pleasure in your belly each time he says that little pet name to you. “Yes, sir.” You step away from him, moving toward the nearest bed, laying back on it, and Seonghwa stands before you, his thumbs tucked under the waistband of his pants.

You can see his bulge and your mouth waters for him. You shift onto your hands and knees at the edge of the bed, facing Seonghwa, and he steps forward, pushing his pants down. Reaching for him, you pause, look up for approval, and when he nods, you shift a bit closer and drag down the elastic band of his underwear. 

His cock is just as beautiful as the rest of him, though not as thick as Johnny, he’s probably just as long, and again you find yourself wondering how you got so lucky as to have two amazingly hot idols wanting you.

Seonghwa puts a hand on the back of your head, lacing his fingers into your hair, and he urges your mouth forward, wanting to feel you on his cock. And you don’t want to let him down.

You start out with a kitten lick to the tip, holding the rest of him with your fingertips. When he rolls his head back and hums in satisfaction, stroking the back of your head, you do it again and then push forward taking his tip in your mouth. 

You push yourself further each time you go down on him, and the first time he finally loses his restraint and thrusts down your throat, gagging you around him, you jerk backwards, pulling off of him with a thick string of saliva connecting your lips to his dick.

“So pretty,” he moans, “I want to ruin your lips, kitten. Bet you’d look so pretty with your face covered in my cum.” 

You’re sure you would, but you don’t want him to waste his cum all over your face. With your fingers still around his length, slowly massaging him, you lean forward again to mouth at his tip, not going much deeper, not because you mean to tease, but because you’re not a fan of being choked on cock by surprise.

Still, he rolls his hips forward, trying to get more from you. His tip leaks blurts of precum onto your tongue, and the taste of him has you hornier than you’ve been all day. You’re dripping in your panties, and you wish he would touch you.

Again, you find yourself fantasizing about your other lover when you’re with your current one. 

Would Johnny sit and watch or join in? As the elder of the two, would he take responsibility, dominating you, telling Seonghwa what to do, how to touch you, telling you how to please him? Or would Johnny passively sit by and admire the way that the younger has you sucking his cock, would he watch as you squirm in desperate need of being touched?

What if he touched you while you blew Seonghwa? If you had Seonghwa in front of you, Johnny behind you with his fingers so deep in your pussy that you could feel him in your belly?

You moan at the thought, wiggle your hips in an attempt to get any kind of friction for your needy core.

“Poor, kitty,” Seonghwa coos. “You’re getting nothing right now.” His hand goes to your shoulder, easing you back off of him. You sit back on your heels and look up at him. “Do you want Daddy to touch you?”

“Fuck, please.” You slip backwards, spread your knees apart. “Yeah, I want you to touch me.”

Seonghwa smirks so rude, his hand falls to your knee. “Oh, kitten. If you want something from me, you need to address me properly.” He sinks to his knees, hands on both of yours. “Call me Daddy, kitten, and I’ll give you a treat.”

You squirm on the bed, run your hands down your body to meet his hands. “Daddy, please, touch me.”

Seonghwa bites his lip and reaches up, hooks his fingers into the waistband of your pants and gently draws them down your legs. “Sweetheart, I wanna taste you so bad. When you ran into me that first day, when I felt you against me so soft and warm, smelling so sweet like honey, all I wanted was to kiss you. It’s been ages since I got to hold a girl in my arms, to taste her kitty so sweetly.”

His hands squeeze your thighs and he jerks, pulling you to the edge of the bed. He lifts your legs onto his shoulders, and when he lowers his head to your belly, his lips brushing over your skin, his teeth catch the band of your panties and he drags them down with his teeth.

You shiver as the cool air of the dorm and the heat of Seonghwa’s breath touch your newly bared skin, your wet pussy. 

“Seonghwa-- Daddy,” You moan, lifting your hips with need.

He dives in, his hot tongue and lips lavishing between your legs, his tongue swirling around your clit, dipping inside you. He moans against you, his hands tight on your thighs and hips. You grip at the bedsheets, wrinkling them between your fingers, and it’s no time at all before Seonghwa brings you to an orgasm on his tongue.

The moment he pulls back, lips wet with saliva and your cum, he fills you with his fingers instead, his thumb against your clit.

You writhe and whine at the oversensitivity you’re feeling, but Seonghwa doesn’t let up, even as you roll onto your belly, his fingers curl inside you. 

“You’re so sweet, kitten. I could taste you again and not get tired.” You feel his breath on your ass, the brush of his lips, and then his teeth dig in, and you moan at the pain tinged with pleasure. His free hand comes up and spanks your bottom. “Do you want Daddy to fuck you? Your cunt is probably desperate to be filled. Do you want me?”

Of course you want him. 

You nod desperately, bury your face in the sheets when his fingers find that spot inside you that makes you see stars.

“Good girl.” He pulls back, leaving you empty and cold. “Ass up, sweetheart.” His hands jerk your hips up into the air, pussy bare and exposed for him. You can feel yourself dripping down your thigh you’re so wet for him.

You look back over your shoulder and you see him ripping open a condom, you watch him put it on, rolling it down his cock. He’s probably just as long as Johnny, though not as thick around, and either way, you know he’s going to fuck you good.

Seonghwa pushes into you hard and fast, not at all gently, but exactly what you wanted. He grinds in deep, rolls his hips forward, a hand pressed flat to your tailbone. “Shit, kitten, you’re so tight for me.”

“Yes, Daddy.” You grind back against him, trying to get him somehow even deeper. You love the wet, slippery feel of him fucking you, thrusting in deep, his hips rolling, snapping against your ass. “Just for you.” You moan as his hand pushes you into a slightly different position, his dick hitting just right inside you.

Seonghwa moans, and you glance back over your shoulder to see him staring down at his hips jiggling your ass, his cock disappearing inside you, and he bites his lip, his sharp eyes focused.

His eyes lift to yours, and his next thrust slows, torturously slow as he rolls forward. And then he stops just short of filling you completely. He holds there, his eyes on yours. 

You can’t help clenching around him, grinding back, needing him deeper.

You want to feel so full, fuller than even Johnny had you feeling just the day before. “More,” You groan, pushing back and circling your hips on his cock. Seonghwa smirks and brings the flat of his palm down against your ass, and you quickly add, “Daddy, more.”

“That’s what I like to hear.” Seonghwa digs the fingers of one hand into your hip, hard enough to bruise, and the other hand goes to your hair, twisting it around his fist and pulling so your back arches and the angle he’s hitting inside you has you squeezing around him with every thrust, sweeping bursts of hot tingling sensations through you.

You imagine again a scenario that brings Johnny into all of this, him standing on the bed before you, presenting his fat cock for you to take into your mouth while Seonghwa fucks you like this. As if Seonghwa has some inkling of what you imagine, his hand loosens his hold on your hair, moving his way around until his fingers touch your lips.

“Open up, kitten.” 

“Yes, Daddy.” You obediently open your mouth and Seonghwa’s fingers fill your mouth, giving you something to suck on as you imagine choking on Johnny’s cock, him being forced deeper in your throat with every one of Seonghwa’s thrusts. How great it would be to be caught between the two beautiful men, both of them inspiring a lust in you like you’ve never felt.

His fingers drag out of your mouth, over your lips, and you whine his name, taking the brutal force of his thrusts as his hand falls down your body, his wet fingers finding your clit, and your back rest against his chest. 

Your moans shiver through the room. Seonghwa’s hot breath is on your cheek, your ear as he says, “Are you gonna cum for me, kitten? I want to see you lose control. You’ve always been so reserved, professional at work, almost innocent in your messages.” His teeth graze your earlobe, his fingers pinch your clit, and he thrusts right against your G spot. “Cum, sweetheart.”

And you do.

Seonghwa doesn’t let up. He keeps fucking you, keeps rubbing your clit until you’re jolting in his arms, whining and crying, begging him to stop.

He lets you fall forward onto the bed, burying your face in the sheets as he keeps fucking you, and you do love the overstimulation, the slight pain of it that feels so good, all of your nerve endings burning. Seonghwa has both of his hands bruisingly gripping your hips, and his pace of thrusting into you is so intense, but still there’s a small part of you that doesn’t feel quite full.

If Johnny was here too you could have them both, have them filling you all the way. Both of them inside you cunt, fucking you with their big cocks.

Seonghwa swears behind you, his cock twitching deep in your belly. He does several of those rolling grinds of his hips forward, and you can only think of how well Johnny’s thrusts would compliment these moves. 

To have them both in you would be a magical miraculous thing. Separately they’re great. Together they would have you never able to leave their beds again.

A deep thrust has you moaning, breaking loose any filter you have, and the words spill out without a thought.

“Oh, Johnny,” You moan. 

The instant the name leaves your mouth you regret it. You bite your bottom lip, eyes going wide, and every movement goes still. 

Seonghwa’s hand slides up your back, and you prepare yourself for his fingers to twist in your hair, tug you back by your hair.

His hand curls around your throat. “What did you just say, kitten?”

“I’m sorry.” You moan again as his fingers flex on your throat. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to.”

“Didn’t mean to moan another man’s name while I’m inside you?” Seonghwa slaps his other hand against your bottom. “You’re really a little slut, aren’t you? Are you fucking Johnny? Johnny who? From NCT?” You don’t say a thing, but your pulse betrays you, beating faster beneath his fingertips. “He always has seemed like a man whore. Every time I’ve seen him he’s flirting with everyone in sight. Does he fuck you good, kitten? Is he rough with you, man enough for you? He must not be if you’re here now in my bed.”

You moan.

“Bet he’s not got the big cock everyone thinks he does. If he can’t fuck you well, you’re always welcome to my cock, kitten. Do I make you feel better than he does?”

His fingers on your throat draw you back up against his chest. He grinds his cock into you even as you swivel your hips down on him. 

“Answer me, kitten.” His lips drag your cheek, his tongue too dangerous to have you feeling anything less than severely turned on. “Does Johnny fuck you as well as me?”

“No,” You moan, gasping as he releases his hold on your throat. “I’ve only fucked him once, Daddy. You’re both so good, big cocks that fill me so well. He wants me to be his, but I kept thinking about you when I was with him.”

Seonghwa swears, a quick and quiet barrage of fucks as he pulls out of you, his hands on your shoulders spinning you around, and you slide down so your face is level with his cock as he tears off the condom and jerks his hand over his length.

He cums over your face, hot strings of semen shooting over your cheeks, your open lips, your tongue. Seonghwa moans and swears and tells you that you look so pretty with your face covered in Daddy’s cum.

You lick your lips and slump down onto his bed, somehow finding a pillow in your arms, held against your chest as Seonghwa leaves the bed.

He returns an instant or two later, a cool damp cloth in his hand as he wipes at your face before he moves down between your legs. It feels so nice on your hot skin, and he leaves little kisses on your thighs, your bottom, and then he’s at your head again, his hands so gentle, his touch so light you barely feel his fingertips on your cheeks as he draws you in for another kiss.

“How do you feel, sweetheart? Good? Sore? Do you want to shower?” He asks, his voice soft. You shake your head and move a little closer to him, as close as you can be with this pillow in your arms. “Do you want to sleep?” You nod.

“Okay, sleep.” He kisses your forehead, barely more than a brush of his lips. “I’ll wake you when you need to leave.”

For now, you’re not even worried about that. You’re just floating in the feeling of sexual satisfaction.

A few days later as you were curled up in bed, texting Johnny while you talked to Seonghwa on speaker, he brought it up.

“So how long have you been fucking around with Johnny?“ Seonghwa asks. 

You sigh, “Literally the day we started talking was the first day he and I started talking. I’ve only had sex with him once, same as you. I didn’t think I needed to tell either of you about it. I didn’t think either of you would want more than just sex.” 

Your phone buzzes with a message from Johnny. A pouty selfie that you can tell he’s sending you from a late practice. You send back your own of you in bed, just a thin strap of a camisole visible above the line of your blankets. 

“Does he want more from you?” Seonghwa’s voice drops, “Than just sex?”

“I don’t know. We haven’t really discussed it, honestly.” You roll over onto your stomach. “Why? Are you jealous? Do you hate the idea of sharing me?”

Seonghwa makes a noise. “You’re not mine, Y/N. I don’t own you or anything, you’re perfectly at liberty to fuck whoever you want. I was just wondering.” There’s silence for a moment in which Johnny texts back just one word: fuck. Then Seonghwa says, “Does he know about me?”

“No.” You answer, possibly too quickly. 

“Oh?”

Johnny sends you a follow up video of him dancing, his phone aimed at the long stretch of mirror in front of him so you can see him rolling his hips and biting his lip, playing up a fuckboy kind of vibe. 

“He’s not like you.” You say, replaying the video again, unable to help locking your eyes onto the bulge at the front of Johnny’s sweatpants. “He is jealous. He seems pretty possessive anyway, which is kinda hot in the moment, but I don’t know. I’m pretty sure if I told him I was seeing anyone else on the side he wouldn’t be too into that.”

“And you’d be upset to end things?” Seonghwa sighs.

“I don’t know,” You softly admit. “I think I’ve only fucked each of you once and both of you blew my mind. I don’t want to call it quits on either one of you right now because it’s too much fun.”

Seonghwa hums. “I think you’re underestimating--- overestimating? I don’t know-- I think you’ve got him wrong. I think he’s like me in more ways than you think, and if he learned you were fucking another guy he wouldn’t be as ready to let you go. You’re captivating, and Johnny has to know that. He won’t want to lose something like you.”

And you definitely don’t want to lose him. Watching the way his cock looks in his sweatpants in that video, all you can think about is him fucking you into your mattress, but it’s Seonghwa’s voice you’ve got in your ear.

You squeeze your eyes shut and suck in a deep breath. 

The day that they’re both back at your studio, their schedules overlapping once again, you feel absolutely on edge. It’s been a few weeks since this all started. You’ve been talking to both of them almost every day. Johnny’s invited you to random places for quick fucks, and you’ve accepted a few times, and each time he leaves you more satisfied than the time before.

You always end up telling Seonghwa about these encounters, especially when you meet him in the back of a building or between parked cars to make out and maybe have him finger you against a car. You think he gets off on it, because he’ll have your lip between his teeth, his fingers inside you, and he’ll growl something about Johnny, telling you to recount your latest rendezvous with the older idol.

And after all these weeks, you still haven’t told Johnny that he’s not the only man in your bed. Things are still non-exclusive, so you certainly don’t feel obligated to tell him about it. 

But now they’re so near each other again, and you know they’re bound to see each other, so you try your best to steer clear of not only their dressing rooms but that area of the building all together.

Of course, fate would have it another way.

You’re in the cafeteria, grabbing something to eat when there’s a slight commotion and Johnny comes striding into the room, looking like a model. A few of his members are with him, but he doesn’t shy away from smiling and sending a wink your way. 

And then Seonghwa walks into the room right behind them. Yeosang is with him, talking about something, but Seonghwa’s focus is on you.

You flush with heat and try to hurry to finish eating, to get out of there before their paths cross, converging on you.

A few other idols are scattered around the room, so it’s not unusual to have the visiting idols in the cafeteria, but god you’re just itching to get out of there. 

Yuta slips away from Johnny’s side and sits down at a table where Pentagon’s Yuto sits. And then Seonghwa and Yeosang approach Johnny and Taeyong. 

Your heart stills in your chest as you see them greeting each other. Yeosang and Taeyong begin talking, and you watch closely the way that Seonghwa seems to be sizing up Johnny, looking him up and down, searching his face. Johnny’s smile falters ever-so-slightly, and his gaze flicks towards you for just a second.

You sink into your seat a bit, ignoring your coworker beside you who is in the midst of trying to say something to you. 

Seonghwa hasn’t even said a word to Johnny beyond “hello” but still you feel this odd energy that connects the three of you, a burning string that passes through the room binding you and Johnny and Seonghwa together. 

Seonghwa tugs up the hood of his white sweatshirt, tucks his hands into his pockets, and suddenly you can no longer see his face, can’t see if his lips move. You can only read Johnny’s face and his body language, see the simplest shifts of his body in the tight black t-shirt he wears.

Then suddenly, Johnny throws his head back and lets out that lovely laugh. Seonghwa is laughing too, and he turns slightly and catches your eye while he laughs with your other lover. You feel a burn in your gut, and you’ve never been less certain of the cause--arousal? jealousy? heart burn? nausea? You’re really not sure.

Taeyong and Yeosang have moved on, but Johnny and Seonghwa stand there talking to each other, looking too damn beautiful together for your sanity. Johnny is just a bit taller than Seonghwa, and you shiver in your seat imagining how it would feel to be pressed between them. You bite your lip absentmindedly.

Johnny’s in the middle of saying something to Seonghwa when he looks over at you again, catching you staring at him with such obvious lust. His words falter, and then Seonghwa’s looking as well. Both objects of your pure, unadulterated lust are looking at you.

You quickly look away, stand up, grab your food and move toward the exit, unable to handle being in the same room as the two of them any longer. And perhaps it really is best that you didn’t stick around to witness what happened in the moments that followed. You only learned of it later.

You’d invited Johnny over once before, late at night when his practice ended and you were incredibly horny and Seonghwa was busy. Johnny had told you that there was nowhere you could meet, so you sent him your address and told him that either he would show up or you would have to take care of it yourself.

So he’d come over.

And now he had once again come over, this time uninvited though not unwelcome.

It was already relatively late when he knocked on your door. You were huddled up under a blanket on your sofa wearing an old threadbare tshirt and a pair of short shorts that you were planning to sleep in. You certainly weren’t dressed for guests, but as soon as you saw it was Johnny standing your door, you’d opened it wide.

Johnny came inside, immediately sweeping you into a kiss, his arms fast and strong around you, the press of his lips hot. You moaned and ran your hands over him, wanting more and more and more. Johnny was happy to give it to you.

He kicked the door shut, backing you into your apartment, swallowing your moans and pouring some of his own back into your mouth.

When he accidentally runs you into a piece of furniture, you yelp and break the kiss, but Johnny trails fiery kisses over your jaw, your neck. He licks and sucks at a spot just above your collarbone that makes your knees nearly give out and you feel a gush of arousal.

“Say you want me.” Johnny growls. His hands sweep down to your ass, gripping tight, massaging. “Tell me how much you want me.”

“God, I want you,” you moan. You let him lift you in his arms, your legs wrapping around his waist. He always makes you feel so little, and you love it. “I want you so much.” You crush your mouth to his again, and this kiss feels like fire, burning through your veins.

Johnny doesn’t move farther than there, just holding you and kissing you, but then he pulls back slightly, presses just a slight kiss to your lips and then another as he sucks on your bottom lip to hear you whine for him.

“You want me?” He asks again once he’s released your lip. His voice is little more than a low rumble. You nod, your fingers at the back of his neck. You do want him so badly, your pussy is already throbbing in need of him. Johnny grins and hovers his mouth right above yours. “Are you sure you don’t want someone else instead? Park Seonghwa?”

You freeze. The fire burning inside you turns to ice. Johnny’s body suddenly feels stiff against yours, but he doesn’t let you down and you don’t try to move either.

“So he wasn’t fucking lying.” Johnny growls. “You’ve been fucking him too? Oh, baby, I thought your pretty pussy was all mine, but you’ve been sharing it with him? Even while you’ve been telling me that it belongs to me?”

You feel his jealousy, possessiveness. A feeling that’s not quite anger radiates off of him, and you can’t put your finger on what that feeling is.

“Johnny, I’m sorry.” You don’t mean it. You’re not sorry about a thing, but you know those are the best words you can offer him in the moment. 

Johnny shakes his head. “No, baby. see, Seonghwa had a lot of interesting things to tell me earlier after we saw you looking at us like a little bitch in heat right there in front of everyone. Which one of us were you thinking about then? Me?” Johnny’s fingers brush against the seam of your pants, right over your damp core. “Or him?”

You can’t help squirming against his touch, and your answer comes out as more of a squeak than anything else. “Both!”

“What?” Johnny dips his head and his lips brush your throat. “What was that?”

“Both of you,” You moan. “In the cafeteria I was thinking of both of you. Both of you inside me, around me, touching me. I want you both.”

Johnny hums, the vibrations move beautifully under your skin. “Right answer.” 

Suddenly you’re on your feet again and Johnny’s stepping back, leaning against the wall with his arms folded over his chest. He nods toward your front door. “Now open the door. I’ve brought a present for you.”

Your hands shake slightly as you lift them to open the door. 

Seonghwa stands outside, huddled in his white hoodie, his hands buried in the pockets, his shoulders drawn up toward his ears. And even though he’s clearly cold, he still tries his best to give you one of those smiles that makes your heart skip a beat, and he says, “Hey, sweetheart.”

“Come inside.” You reach out, grabbing onto one of his sleeves and tugging. He stumbles through the doorway, and you immediately close and lock the door and then glom onto him. He’s freezing.

“Are you really gonna fuck us both?” He asks. His teeth only chatter a little bit, and you hate that he was standing out there in the cold while Johnny stoked your internal fire hotter and hotter in here. 

You frown a bit over at Johnny and look back at Seonghwa. “I didn’t say I was going to fuck either of you tonight, actually. You’ve both shown up here unannounced, uninvited.”

“But definitely wanted.” Johnny butts in. When you throw another frown his way, he lifts his hands in surrender. “Seonghwa suggested the idea of us together with you. He said you might be into it. After he coerced me into telling him that I thought you were hot and then that we’ve been together, then he admitted he’s been having sex with you too. I probably would have been a bit angrier, made more of a scene, if it wasn’t for my suspicions.”

You wait for him to explain.

“I knew I didn’t leave that many hickeys. I barely touched your ass, yet you had light bruises sometimes. Just small things that I brushed off, thinking maybe I just didn’t remember exactly right where I’d kissed you, how rough I’d been with you.” Johnny shakes his head. “But as soon as he said that, then it all made sense.”

“She likes a little bit of pain,” Seonghwa says then. His cold fingers slip under the edge of your sleeve, circling like a band of ice around your wrist. “Don’t you, kitten?”

You turn to him and bite your lip, struggle not to simper at the cool look in his eyes. 

“He told me that you’ve told him about us, about some of the things we’ve done. “ Johnny tutted and shook his head, taking a step closer to you and Seonghwa. “And he told me more, like the fantasies you’ve mentioned to him. And how hot he was sure you would find it if we fucked you together. Is he right about that?”

You nod. 

“Do you want us to take you to bed?” Seonghwa asks you. You don’t even care if they wait for the answer, but they do, so you nod. It’s Johnny who sweeps you into his arms, planting a firm kiss on your lips, and he leads you away, navigating through your home to the bedroom, as if he’s done this dozens of times before instead of just the once.

“How’s this going to work?” You ask as you step into your bedroom, Johnny kissing at your neck from behind, and Seonghwa steps around you to take a look at your room. “Like is one of you going to watch? Is one of you going to fuck me while the other gets a blowjob or something?”

“How do you want it, baby?” Johnny asks.

You whine, a bit unsure about how you want it. You’ve fantasized about it so many different ways, now that you’re presented with it in reality, you don’t know how to choose.

Seonghwa sits down on your bed, making himself quite comfortable. He spreads his legs and pats his thigh. “Come sit, kitten. Let Daddy help you.”

Johnny snorts, but says nothing as he releases you.

You come over to Seonghwa and he looks so comfortable on your bed, that you just want to have him hold you, to bury yourselves in your sheets. He looks so soft though you know he’s not usually so soft with you. But you just want to touch him.

It feel strange to settle down over him, to straddle his lap while Johnny stands behind you, his gaze so intent on the pair of you that you can feel it burning against your back where Seonghwa’s hands move to rest on your hips.

You twist your hands in the bottom of his hoodie, and whisper the plea, “Kiss me.”

“Anything for you,” He murmurs, and his lips are soft when they meet yours. The kiss doesn’t stay so soft and innocent for long, very quickly Seonghwa pushes forward, turning things steamy as his tongue meets yours and your hands dip beneath the edge of his hoodie. Your cool fingertips on his warm stomach, and he moans.

Seonghwa allows you to pull his hoodie up, exposing more and more of his stomach and chest. He chuckles when he pulls back to let you drag it over his head, and he shakes it loose of his shoulders, down his arms, and he throws it into a pile on your floor. 

You hungrily kiss him, your hands on his chest, his shoulders, delving into his hair, touching him everywhere while he kisses you senseless. Seonghwa’s hands fall to your thighs, and he squeezes, urging you to move on him. 

You moan and shift, rolling your hips forward, finding his cock bulging the front of his pants for you to grind against.

“Yeah, like that, kitten.” Seonghwa’s lips drift to your cheek, his hands keeping you moving against him in a steady rhythm and you’re not sure when the room got so hot, but suddenly you can feel the heat flickering like flames on the bareness of your arms and legs

“That’s enough,” Johnny growls, suddenly right behind you, and you open your eyes as he wraps his hands around Seonghwa’s wrists, forcing his hands away from your body. “I’m the oldest, I had her first. I call the shots, kid.”

Seonghwa glowers up at Johnny and shakes his hands away only to lean back, still staring up at the older man. “Make your move then, Suh. Show me how much better than me you are.”

You don’t know what expression Johnny sends back, but Seonghwa averts his gaze at last, dropping his attention down to your chest still hidden by your shirt, your nipples obvious through the thin material. An instant later, Johnny’s hands are on your tits, touching them through the material, and you lean your head back and let out a barely contained moan. 

Seonghwa watches, his gaze hot and judgmental, his bottom lip caught between his teeth as he sees the way Johnny’s fingers have you pressing your chest into his touch, but still you roll your hips down against Seonghwa’s bulge. 

Johnny leans over you, his fingers under your chin to tilt your mouth up against his, and he kisses you slowly, opening your mouth gently and tasting you, teasing his tongue against yours until you’re begging him for more. His fingers curl in the fabric over your chest, and he murmurs a soft and quick sorry, then you hear a sound, feel a tug and a burst of cold. 

“Fuck, kitten, you’re so beautiful.” Seonghwa moans, his hands fly to your chest, now exposed as Johnny drops the shreds of your shirt.  Seonghwa twists your nipples sharply between his thumbs and forefingers, and the sound you make has both men latching onto you.

Johnny kisses you deeper, Seonghwa buries his face against your chest, kissing your breasts, your collarbones, the base of your throat and over your shoulders. He traces his tongue down between your breasts as Johnny rubs circles against your jaw with his thumb and works magic with his kiss.

You whine and buck your hips, begging into the kiss, “Please, please.” 

“Please what, baby?” Johnny asks. 

“Can I cum? Please make me cum?” You swivel your hips down on Seonghwa’s clothed cock. 

Johnny says, “Of course, baby” at the same time that Seonghwa says, “Absolutely fucking not, kitten.”

You want it so bad, and it’s hard to know what to do when you have both of them giving you contrasting answers. So you just sit still in Seonghwa’s lap and whine like a hopeless kitten for your Daddy. You reach for him, dragging your fingertips down his chest, his abs, down to the waistband of his pants, and when you start to dip your hand inside, Seonghwa jerks back.

“No.”

You shiver at the tone of his voice, so dominant and in control.

“What? You don’t want her to touch you?” Johnny asks. “What’s wrong with you? She gives great head. Don’t you, baby?” 

All you can do is nod for him.

“I know how good she is at giving head,” Seonghwa snarks back at Johnny. “She’s blown me plenty of times. I also know that she prefers when I give her head over you. She’s told me so. Says you eat pussy like a messy dog cleaning off a plate.”

Your eyes go wide. You can’t believe he just said that. Yeah, you had said something similar to that once, but only because Johnny had been really lazy about eating you out, clearly not into it then, and you’d ended up faking your orgasm just to get him to fuck you instead. But it was only once.

You twist in Seonghwa’s lap, reaching for Johnny’s waist. “Johnny, no. No, I didn’t say that. You’re great at eating me out.”

Seonghwa’s eye roll was nearly audible. The surprise slap of his hand against your ass was definitely audible; it rang through the room so loudly that you almost heard it before you felt it.

“She’s a liar, this little slut of ours.” Seonghwa tells Johnny. Then to you he says, “You know what happens to naughty, lying sluts, kitty?”

His hand is still warm on your bottom. Yes, you know what happens.

Johnny watches as you slide back off Seonghwa’s lap, standing beside the bed as Seonghwa repositions himself so he can bend you over his knee to spank you. The elder of the two watches in absolute silence as you bend over, your ass in the air.

“She’s good for me. Is she this good for you?” Seonghwa asks as he tugs your shorts down to your knees. He tuts when it’s revealed that you weren’t wearing any panties beneath. “Such a slut. It’s like she knew we were coming, dressed like this and without any panties, all clean and pretty for us.” He trails his fingers ever so lightly over your wet, bare pussy lips. “Johnny hyung, wouldn’t you agree?”

Johnny groans, and Seonghwa strokes between your legs again.

You wiggle and whine until his hand comes down on your ass again. 

“Stay still. Count for me, kitten. You know Daddy’s rules.” Seonghwa tenderly touches the warmth of your ass. He’s done this with you a few times now, slowly growing rougher and rougher with you after that first night, testing the limits he can take you to. So far, he has yet to find your limit.

You hear the faint whistle of his hand moving through the air. Feel the sharp burn as it shoots through your body. 

“One,” You sigh.

The sweeping burn of pleasure through your veins again, the origin his handprint on your bottom.

“Two.” You twist your head to the side, glancing back over your shoulder to see Johnny, his eyes slightly unfocused as he watches Seonghwa bring his hand down again. “Three!” You moan this time. Johnny licks his lips, shifts a bit, and when Seonghwa’s hand comes down a fourth time, when you feel yourself beginning to drip with wetness, Johnny’s hand falls to his cock.

By the time Seonghwa reaches ten, you feel breathless, so turned on that you struggle to not grind your clit forward against his thigh. Johnny’s openly touching himself, his dick the first to make an appearance this evening as he runs his hand over his length, making slow work of it.

You’re absolutely dripping when Seonghwa dips his fingers between your thighs, tracing the pads of his fingers ever so lightly, yet they come away soaked, glistening wet.

“I think she’s ready.” He says, looking up at Johnny. His gaze flicks briefly down to Johnny’s hand jerking himself off, then he looks to his face again. “Do you want me to show you how to truly eat her out?”

You bury your face, whining with need. You just want to be touched, to be allowed to cum, to be completely and totally taken apart by one or both of these two men that you’ve found yourself in bed with on multiple occasions.

Seonghwa lets you up, and you stand on shaky legs, your ass burning as he lightly pushes you toward Johnny. “Make your choice, sweetheart. His cock or my tongue?”

“Can’t I have both?” You reach out both hands, one coming up against Johnny’s wrist, the other brushing Seonghwa’s cheek. “I want both of you. I thought that was the purpose of this evening? I want your tongue, daddy. You’re so good with it, it drives me wild. But Johnny, fuck, your cock feels so good inside me. You’re so big and thick, it’s like absolutely nothing else I’ve ever had. You both make me cum so good, so hard. I want you to be rough, fuck me, use me, ruin me. Are there any options for that?”

Seonghwa licks his lips, his tongue dancing lewdly for a moment, and then he grins, “I think there could be an option for that.” He looks past you to Johnny. “I want to have her sit on my face. You can fuck her pretty mouth like you were so eager to do.”

Johnny bares his teeth and says, “You might dominate her, boss her around when it’s just the two of you, but I’m not your submissive or even your equal, kid.” He slips San arm around your waist, drawing your body back against his, and you feel his hard erection against your back, the wet tip leaking against your skin. “Baby, you want your pussy filled, don’t you. And no one fills you better than me, right?”

You moan, twist your head to the side as you squeeze your eyes shut. You won’t admit to anything, and you can’t look them in the eyes even if it is true, even if you were saying it just moments ago.

“Her wet, dripping cunt is mine.” Johnny slides a hand down your belly, over your mound, slips two fingers between your lips down there to tease at your clit then dip back further and inserts them right inside you.

You moan, your knees almost buckle, but his arm around your waist keeps you from falling.

Johnny pumps his fingers slowly, his head bent low to press his lips to your ear. “Look at him. I want you to look at him watching me touch you. I should fuck you raw, baby. Leave you dripping my cum, ruined, laid out for him but still all mine. Would you like that?” Johnny’s teeth scrape lightly over your shoulder.

You shiver, tracing your hands down and over your body. One hand you move down to hold at his wrist, to feel his forearm flexing as he fucks you slowly on his fingers. The other hand comes up to your chest and you touch your breasts.

Seonghwa rises a moment later, unable to stand it any longer. But he doesn’t remain on his feet for long, dropping to his knees before you, he drags Johnny’s hand away, leaving your pussy hungry for his fingers, but Seonghwa just stares up at you as he sinks in, flicking his tongue against your clit. 

It takes you another moment to realize it’s not actually you he’s staring at but Johnny, his challenge evident in his eyes.

Johnny’s cock twitches against you, and he groans. “I said she’s mine.”

Seonghwa hums against your lips down there, making your insides twist into a knot, and your grasp at his hands situated on your hips. He smirks and leans back just a bit. “I don’t know about that. She’s pretty weak for me. Maybe she’s actually been mine all along.”

You feel hot, both of them put their hands on you as they argue, both laying a claim to you, and you love the possessiveness. You want to feel their teeth on your skin, their cocks both pushing into you, jealousy leaving you a ruined mess of cum and sweat and so much pleasure when it’s over.

Johnny drags a finger up your spine, causing you to shiver intensely, but then Seonghwa’s warm mouth is back on you, his lips sucking around your clit. You feel your eyes rolling back, and you lean back against Johnny with Seonghwa’s hands still holding tight to your hips. 

“Daddy!” You roll your hips down against Seonghwa’s face.

“Pretty baby girl,” Johnny hums, kissing your temple. “Do you want me to fuck you now?”

His voice is so low that Seonghwa probably can’t hear it. You can barely hear him over the pounding of your heartbeat in your ears, but you bite back another moan and nod. 

When one of his fingers presses down between your cheeks, venturing toward your pussy, you roll your hips again, and a moan breaks through your lips. “Johnny, please.” You close your eyes, almost whining.

There’s a sharp pinch on your thigh and then a hand moves up your body, easily reaching your throat. Seonghwa.

“Gonna moan his fucking name when it’s my tongue making you feel so good?” He asks, his fingers tightening so sweetly around your throat. You try to swallow but under the pressure of his palm it’s tight. His thumb presses in and you feel the waning. “Moan for me, kitten. Come on.”

“Daddy!” Your voice is barely more than a croak, but it satisfies Seonghwa. Until you moan Johnny’s name half a second later as he stuffs you with his cock, filling your pussy up in one deep thrust while Seonghwa was distracted.

It feels so good to have him use you so roughly, fucking you from behind while Seonghwa chokes you.

A fucked-out smile starts to work its way onto your lips.

Johnny moves fast, hard, and deep, guiding your hips back to meet his thrusts. Seonghwa licks at your clit again, his hot lips kissing over your hips and inner thighs, but when his mouth is back on you, when each of Johnny’s thrusts pushes you forward against Seonghwa’s hot tongue, your body feels overheated, tingles swirling in your belly until one good thrust, one sweet suck from Seonghwa unleash it all.

“Oh god, yeah, Daddy! Johnny!” You cry out, one hand flying to Seonghwa’s hair, the other curling around the back of Johnny’s neck as they both carry you through your orgasm.

They both slow, but neither of them stop.

Seonghwa lets his fingers take over from his tongue as he stands. He catches your chin between his fingers and holds your gaze as he licks his lips in the most over-the-top sexy way. His gaze slides from yours to Johnny, and you gasp in surprise when Seonghwa jerks you away from Johnny, spinning you around and pressing your back down against your bed.

He covers you with his body, and you pull him closer, just wanting to feel full, not caring which one of them it is. Seonghwa slides in quickly to feel how wet you are, and you’re instantly clenching around him, nearing a second orgasm from this constant stimulation you’ve been experiencing. He slides his hands up your thighs, pushes them up toward your chest, letting him reach even deeper inside you.

The mattress shifts, and there’s Johnny’s kneeling beside your face. His big dick is right there, still glistening with your wetness. It takes no prompting from him to have you leaning up on your elbows to take him in your mouth.

You sink into the feeling of being stuffed on both ends, the rhythm of sex, rocking motions. The pleasure swells inside you, taking over completely, swallowing you down into the depths of it until you’re drowning in the headspace.

Tears prick at the corners of your eyes when Johnny hits the back of your throat, when Seonghwa fills you so deeply you can feel him in your gut. Johnny rocks his hips against your face and you just take it all, gagging and choking, dripping saliva and tears and sweat and your wetness. 

“This--” Johnny groans, pulling out for a second to tease the head of his dick against your tongue before you swallow him down again, too hungry for it to let him go for long. He clears his throat and tries again, “This is so good. Better even.”

Seonghwa moans and he reaches for one of your breasts. “You normally feel absolutely heavenly, kitten. But, shit, Suh, you’re right. She’s so wet, so horny for the two of us. Taking us so well, sweetheart.” 

You moan in response, loving the praise. 

“What if we let a third guy fuck you too, someone else who we know would fuck you just as well as us.” Johnny groans, thrusting down your throat, his fingers tight in your hair. “He’d fill your pretty ass while Seonghwa fucks your pussy and you choke on my cock. She’d be so pretty with all her holes filled. Probably feel even better too, be more of a little slut for us. All ours.” 

“Fuck, yeah, she would be.” Seonghwa holds your thighs, his hips slapping against your skin. He groans, “You’d be so fucking tight, kitten. Filled with two cocks, so tight and warm. And imagine how full you’d feel, you always talk about wanting to feel full.”

You do. You so want to feel full. If you were at a point in life where you felt you could risk getting pregnant, if you felt you meant enough to either Johnny or Seonghwa that you would risk it, you would love to have them truly fill you.

Seonghwa’s hand comes down sharp against your thigh, making you moan around Johnny’s cock deep in your throat. His thrusts are growing slower, more intent less about prolonging the pleasure now and more about just getting there.

You squeeze your thighs at Seonghwa’s hips, suck along Johnny’s cock as you pull back only to have him fucking in deeper with his hand twisted in your locks. You roll your hips up trying to get Seonghwa there. You choke around Johnny’s cock.

When you close your eyes and all you’re left with is the pleasure, the sound of your heartbeat muffled in your ears, your pulse vibrating in every last cell of your being, the moans of your two lovers sounding like the sweetest song. 

Seonghwa moans deeply, pushing in as deep as he can, his fingers pinch your clit, pinch and roll one of your nipples, and another orgasm explodes inside you so intense that you don’t know how your body holds itself together. 

Rolling and drowning, caught in the ocean of them. Crashing waves against your body, and you just let them carry you, sweep you away, drown you and ruin you all at once.

You don’t know when Johnny leaves your mouth, only that suddenly you can suck in lungfuls of breath again.

“I’m gonna cum.” Seonghwa grunts, still rolling his hips, his cock in his hand now, and you struggle to sit up a bit. You reach for your tits, push them together, and give him a place to aim as he bites his lip and rolls his head back and bucks forward as he cums.

It’s so beautiful to see his pretty cock shooting cum on your chest. The way it leaks down his length has you wanting to lean forward and clean him up, but before you can, Johnny’s there, licking at your breasts, his hands gentle on your waist as he eases you back onto your back.

You curl your fingers against his neck, lifting your chest to his lips, moans spilling from your lips as easily as breathing. It’s second nature to part your thighs to make room for him, and Johnny takes his place. You’re so tired by now, your legs ache from the way that Seonghwa had you, but Johnny’s hands now move gently from your waist to your thighs, back up and down. 

He sucks hickeys on your chest, taking level slow thrusts, his breath hot where it touches the wet marks he’s left behind. You dig your nails into his shoulders, keen his name until Seonghwa’s lips cover yours, silencing you. 

Johnny goes entirely silent when he cums, pulling back just enough that you feel his cum bubbling hot against your clit, dripping down over your pussy but not inside you. 

You wrap your arms around his shoulders, your legs around his hips. Johnny rests his head on your chest while Seonghwa kisses you breathless, slowing it down after a moment until the kiss is little more than just your lips resting against each others. 

The three of you stay like this for a while until Seonghwa’s breathing goes quite sleepy. Johnny pulls away from you, but he doesn’t stray far. He picks up the scraps of your shirt and wipes his cock and stomach, your thighs and in between your legs. 

Seonghwa groans and flops over onto his back, and Johnny kneels between his legs, still holding the shirt. He’s tender, maintaining eye contact with Seonghwa as he carefully runs the remains of your shirt over Seonghwa’s stomach and his cock. The younger of the two sucks in a breath, looking up at him, but he doesn’t say anything.

You sniffle and turn onto your side, reaching for a pillow to hold to your chest. 

Johnny looks at you.

“Baby, how do you feel?” He tosses aside the rag, sliding over to wrap you in his arms. “Was that good for you?”

“Yeah.” Your voice is a croak from the abuse your throat has suffered. “Very good.” 

Seonghwa touches your throat lightly with his fingers. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. It was so good. I loved all of it.” You release the pillow in favor of curling up against him instead. “Trust me, Daddy. I can handle whatever the two of you want to do with me. Just be sweet with me afterwards and I’m all yours.”

Johnny snorts, fitting himself right behind you. His fingers ghost over your cheek, down your arm until he slots his fingers between yours. “You’re ours. Our sweet.” His lips press against the back of your shoulder. “Competing for your affection is futile, isn’t it? You’d rather have us both in turns?”

You nod. “Want you both. The day you both came into my life was the best day ever. Just wish I didn’t have to keep it a secret so I won’t lose my job.”

“Oh, sweetheart. You have us, why would you ever need a job?” Seonghwa says. “You be our sweet as honey girl, and we’ll be your sugar daddies.”

Well, now that would be a hard offer to turn down, you think as they both scatter more kisses on your cheeks and shoulders, showering you with affection as moonlight shines through the sheer curtains over your window, casting everything in a wonderful, perfect, and dreamy light.

a/n: park seonghwa is an absolute menace, too sexy for his own good and is singlehandedly ruining my life and turning me into an atiny. I was talking with the fantastic and amazing @vernon-van-chwe​ about him and also about johnny because seonghwa currently has that whole cherry bomb era johnny look and it inspired this whole long mess of a piece of smut. it was definitely not supposed to be this long (which i say like every time i post something) but seriously, I was hoping to get it done that day and now it’s been like a week..... so yeah

anyway, i hope you enjoyed it. if there are any atinys reading this who are new to my blog! hi, nice to meet you I’m Bea an nctzen who really usually only writes for nct/wayv but I was truly inspired by the god park seonghwa. likes, reblogs, comments (through messages or tags or whatever way) are always and forever appreciated 😘😘😘