#since i hadn't touched theirs for a Long time; since back when they were not a super developed character yet al;ksdjf

[kerra-and-company]

OC Music prompt! All 6 for your newest kiddo (unless you've already done one for them in which case all 6 for Brook!) (@uselessidiotsquad)

Hmm. What if Both? :3 (And thus this post became Long asl;dkjfasdf) But thanks a bunch for the ask! Ever and Brook songs be upon ye!

Ever

1. backstory

The Newly Awakened (from the official LWS2 soundtrack)

This song isn't used in entirely its original context since Ever's not a Secondborn by a long shot--they awaken during LWS3--but the vibes of this track are very much early!Ever regardless, so they get this one.

2. personality

I'm just young enough to still believe, still believe But young enough not to know what to believe in Young enough not to know what to believe

If I can live through this If I can live through this If I can live through this I can do anything

(Champion by Fall Out Boy)

Ever is not that old but also not that young. It gets Fall Out Boy, which is appropriate because of both the lyrics and the vibes of this song--and, on a more personal level, it's close to the same (mental, at least, I was older than 6 lol) age I was when I found that group, so...yeah. There you go!

3. angst

I seem fine But I can't take the highs and the lows All I am is a weapon I shoot 'em down 'til I end up alone

I always say I hate the way you look at me now And I swear, I didn't mean to be a let down What I broke can't be fixed with all my sorry excuses, no

(weapon by Against The Current)

...presented without comment.

4. comfort

We are friends for life Hold that deep inside Let this be a drive To survive

And just stand, high and tall Make sure you give your all And if you ever fall Know that I'm right here

We'll always be together, don't you worry I'll always be by your side, don't you worry

(Always Be Together by Little Mix)

Ever desperately wants to believe this.

5. love life

Not applicable (yet!! that'll likely change :3)

6. fight scene

Countdown's on you best get moving I'm about to change the game Go ahead, try to outrun me It's all the same Ready or not

(Ready or Not by WAR*HALL)

Aaaand bonus Brook songs under the cut! :D

Brook

1. backstory

If you let me I could I'd show you how to build your fences Set restrictions, separate from the world The constant battle that you hate to fight Just blame the limelight Don't look up, just let them think There's no place else you'd rather be

(Fences by Paramore)

Growing up in the Ash fahrar with magic that even you don't understand is a Time, to say the least.

2. personality

So tired from the miles I'm traveling Getting lost somewhere that I haven't been When all the bad shit starts happening I ain't never throwing that towel in

There's a lion in the wardrobe And a wolf out the door I might never get to heaven But I've been there before

(Lion by Hearts & Colors)

I mentioned this on another post at some point, but Brook is very resilient in the specific kinda sense of "you cannot kill me in a way that matters". They will build some semblance of a life back from ashes and will slowly work towards being at least vaguely happy again, even if they can't ever fully get there.

3. angst

Nowhere to run Nowhere to hide You left me spinning around in my mind I got no signal You never replied And I can't get no sleep

I keep telling my, telling myself your ghost story You got me lying awake in my bed, you still haunt me And I can't break free

(Ghost Story by Cheat Codes and All Time Low)

This song isn't meant to be about exactly what I envision it to be about in Brook's case, but it's funny how a song about ghosting someone can also sound a little bit like a song about someone you think is dead. This is one I could dissect in depth for them, weirdly enough aklsjdf

4. comfort

You've seen some trouble Some dark and stormy nights Dry your eyes my son, you're not alone I know the brave, hard You carry your little light up the path in every way you go

Paint the skies Chase the highs Draw the colors of the night Follow the rhythm of your hungry heart Feel the sun catch the vibe for a limited time Be the hunger in your hungry heart Our hungry hearts

(Hungry Hearts by River)

A little bit of Brook's worship of Kormir coming in here, but also them finding a home with the Olmakhan for the years they're there.

5. love life

Nobody gets me like you do I'm not the same, not after you So many things that we've been through I'm not the same, not after All that's been said and done I don't even feel like I'm back at one Nobody gets me like you do I'm not the same, not after you

(After You by Gryffin)

For Brook and Casca - truly a combination of the lyrics, the music, and the vibes of the music video.

Bonus one:

And nothing left unspoken When you whisper, I heard you say

Go on then, love And show me your heart 'Cause you are enough As you are and I'm awestruck So go on then, love

(Go on Then, Love by Said The Sky)

6. fight scene

The Call (the League of Legends one)

Almost more for the vibes than the lyrics (so listen to it if you want a more accurate impression), but the lyrics don't not fit, either!

[maeby-cursed]

KISS ME, TRY TO FIX IT…

𓂃 COULD YOU JUST TRY TO LISTEN ?

a/n: starting a new series of songfics ! this one is very obviously inspired by sad, beautiful, tragic, so you can see where this might be going. enjoy the results of my brainrot ♡ (also, i’ve never written for gojo before, please have mercy)

✧ synopsis: you’ve been waiting for satoru gojo for ten years, but there’s no trace of the man you fell in love with when you were sixteen years old. it’s time to let go, but he might not want to.

✧ pairings: satoru gojo x fem!reader

✧ wc: 2k

✧ rating: angst. so much of it, angst to drown in. might get suggestive at some points.

✧ cw: mentions of drinking, of the great jjk tragedy of 2006 and its aftermath, implied cheating, gojo may be ooc, toxic relationship ??

An ice-cold wind blows through the window as you wait.

It’s not even December yet but it’s already snowing.

Soft snowflakes the size of stars, far away in their firmament, enter your living room. When they land on the sofa, they dissolve, leaving in their wake thousands of specks of water that look disturbingly like tears.

It doesn't matter. You don't think he's going to notice anyway.

It's been ten long years of waiting. Ten long years of fighting, of fixing what's broken and denying that it's ever been broken.

It's over. Let winter freeze everything in its path.

When Satoru walks in through the door, you hesitate for a moment. A moment of madness when you see his hair, as white as the snowfall that has invaded your home. Just a moment when you see him in his burgundy turtleneck sweater, his tight-fitting coat. One single moment when you recognize the cold in his pink cheeks.

But it's all over when you meet his crystalline eyes. The fault is theirs.

"Is the window broken again?" he asks, dropping his keys on the entryway’s table.

The window has been broken since September.

You nod and he grunts, running a hand over his face.

"I'll call someone tomorrow, although you could have said something," he says. This is your fault. Of course.

You keep your eyes fixed on the snow. From the living room you can see the sidewalk across the street, covered in a blanket of white that sparkles under the street lamps. It's so painfully beautiful it makes you nostalgic.

You and Satoru moved into this house three years ago, when he got his teaching position, and you can't quite get over the fact that it's time to say goodbye.

You've spent three years of solstices here. You've seen the sidewalks covered with dead leaves, with thousands of little flowers that broke the pavement in their wake. But it’s never snowed. 

It’s not fair, not one bit.

Satoru says no more. He goes to your room and undresses; he replaces his street clothes with a black outfit that seems very appropriate for the occasion. Since you’ve known him, he always takes off his glasses when he crosses the hall of your building, but for once, you wish he'd put them back on. 

When he returns, his hair is dripping over his forehead. You hadn't even noticed that he was taking a shower. 

But he hasn't noticed that your bedside table is empty, either; that your slippers are missing, that there's a seeping coldness in the hearth of your house, and it's not coming from the window.

"What's for dinner?" he asks, plopping down on the couch with his cell phone in his hand.

You get up.

9:26 p.m., November 8. This is where it ends.

"I don't know. I'm going out to dinner," you say.

He doesn’t even bother to look up.

"Hmm, where are you going? Are you bringing something back or should I order myself a pizza?"

It's painful to watch as nothing seems to touch him. He’s infinite — always infinite.

"I'm going to a work friend's house."

"The one with the lovely curly hair and those pretty hazel eyes?"

Christ.

"No. I'm moving in with Rhea. Dark-eyed, blonde, leggy."

"Hmm, how nice."

A moment passes where he just keeps staring at the screen, and you despair.

"Satoru."

"What's up, baby?"

"I'm moving."

At last – at last – he looks up. In his eyes you see nothing; two blue marbles that have sworn you two to an unjust fate.

"You're moving out? Why?"

Where to begin? Because you have been loving a man destined to save everything and everyone for a decade, because you have been trying to fill a void that is not your size for eight years, because the windows are broken and the bed is cold and Satoru arrives several nights smelling of anisette and the perfume of another, because you don't want to live looking at the Strongest, the possessor of the Six Eyes. Because you thought that in some hidden corner Satoru Gojo was still there, and he isn’t.

"Because it's killing me to live like this.” You settle for that as your explanation and try to keep your stare unwavering.

"Like this how?" he questions, suddenly irritated. "In a luxurious house?" He gestures around him with the cell phone in his hand. "Comfortably, with your dream job? Knowing you'll never have to worry about money?"

"No, Satoru. Like this, without you loving me."

That chills him to the bone.

"Of course I love you."

"Do you? Do you want me for anything other than to warm your bed and your cock? Do you want me here, as your partner? Do you need me for anything at all?"

You don’t gesticulate, you barely move from your spot in the middle of the room. Everything in this fucking place is white and uncannily clean; the sofas, the coffee table, the walls, even the snow; but you and Satoru. He’s in all black, you’re in all red. It’s almost dreamlike, and you struggle to stay grounded. 

The only thing you could remove from this house that would grab his attention would be you.

"Yesterday you weren't complaining about any of this, what the fuck is the matter with you today?"

And you can't stand it anymore. The winter current lifts your hair, soaks the back of your neck and disguises your tears.

"THE MATTER IS THAT I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR TEN YEARS. WAITING FOR YOU. WAITING FOR THE MAN I MET AT SIXTEEN TO COME BACK, SLEEPING WITH A MAN OF ABSENT GAZE WHO STAGGERS INTO MY BED WHEN HE'S TIRED OF BEING IN EVERYONE ELSE'S. I DON'T WANT TO BE YOUR DOG, SATORU. I DON'T WANT YOU TO COME HOME AND FEEL OBLIGATED TO GIVE ME A WALK, A PETTING."

The words come spilling out of you without remedy, every wound bursting open through the stitches. He just looks at you.

"You think I don't love you?"

It hurts to hear him say it, it fucking hurts. You were prepared for the yelling and the coldness, even for a quick vulnerable stare. But never for his trembling voice and soft frown.

You inhale deeply.

"I don't think your love is of any use to me any longer."

Satoru stands up at that.

He's tall, tall and beautiful like Michelangelo's David. All your life, you've been feeling like you had no right to touch him. His infinity assured you that was the case. 

He takes a step in your direction and whispers:

"Then what should I do now?"

Your eyes, fixed on the ground, rise to meet his. There's something in the void and you're not sure if it's just your reflection.

"What?" you mutter. 

"How do I fix it? What do you need that I can't give you? Do you want me to quit work, for us to leave, for me to come home and kiss your temple, to cook for you, to listen to you, to cherish you in bed?” A heartbeat. “I will."

There’s something about the desperation in his tone, you aren’t sure of what to say next.

Satoru knows how to lie, but you don't know how to tell the difference.

"I don't want anything, Satoru. I'm tired," you whisper back, eyes full of water. "I want it to end. I want you to let it end."

He shakes his head, frowning, and through the mist of your tears you recognize that he is crying too.

"There has to be something. Anything. Something I can do, I can do it all."

It's partly true. He's Satoru Gojo; all-powerful, all-knowing. Eternal and young and beautiful and tragic as a poem.

You are just another person. You cried when Suguru left, when Haibara died, when Kento gave up the Jujutsu world and when Ieri locked herself in her office. You clung to Satoru, who resembled an empty seashell more than a person. 

You remember those nights back in 2007. You remember blindfolding him so he wouldn't activate infinity by accident, by reflex, out of overstimulation. You remember cutting his hair when he couldn’t and looking for him in his old antics. You remember taking care of Megumi – always reluctant – and Tsumiki – who you felt was too mature for her age. You remember the burden of being eighteen and having lost a world.

And, above all else, you remember Satoru under the rain. Under the pressure of the world you had lost, the one that he was trying to put back together. There was a month where he seemed catatonic; no smiles, drinking anisette as if it were his one source of life. A thirty-day period followed by the rebirth of a person who looked like the one that stood before, but who seemed cold and alien to you.

"Don't you love me, my darling?" he seeks for you, reaching out a hand to brush against your cheek.

Of course you love him. You love him even like this, like you have loved each and every one of his versions.

"I adore you, Satoru. But I can't stay; you can't fix it."

"Of course I can," he reaches out to you, holding your face between his fingers, "Of course I can."

His lips connect with yours — one last attempt, you don't know by whom.

Snow fills the room and it's cold, but you drink from his mouth, from his everlasting warmth; everything in him lasts forever.

Between kisses, you show him everything you have been for years. Ten years of kisses, of hands looking for hands and flesh searching for flesh.

He moves backwards, keeping you between his hands and guiding you towards the hallway and from the hallway to your shared bed.

This is where it ends.

"Satoru..." you whisper.

"I'm here. I'm here, beautiful, my favorite girl. Talk to me."

A sob escapes you as he utters those words. My favorite girl. That’s what he used to call you. Talk to me, he used to plead, that year at sixteen, when everything was about to start.

Isn't it beautiful that it ends the exact same way?

"Satoru, I'm leaving," you press a farewell kiss to his jaw.

"No, you're not leaving," he murmurs, smiling against your mouth, searching for your lips.

You back away and look at him one more time. And you smile, because there's nothing left.

"I'm already gone. Just let go of me, please."

"But..." he starts, his smile hesitant, "But I'm going to fix it."

You take one of his hands between yours and kiss it as it presses against your cheek, before lowering it to your lap.

"Satoru..." You pronounce each syllable of his name carefully and he stifles a cry. "I'm not going to go any further. I've already made the move and Rhea's expecting me at her house in an hour. I love you, I’ll love you until I run out of kisses, but it does me no good to love you. It is of no use to me, this love. I wanted to tell you. I wanted you one last time. Wasn’t it my turn to be the selfish one for once?"

He watches you, and his mouth shuts close. You've never seen Satoru lose. 

No, that's not true. There was a time, one time, where you saw him lose everything.

His eyes fill up with you one second and empty the next.

This is his second time.

He lifts his chin with an arrogance that no longer means anything and lets go of your hands.

"Go then, if you want. I'm not going to do anything to stop you,” he drags the words with feign disinterest. “I can't do anything."

That's the last gift he can give you. An honesty unbecoming of him, a truth that will never belong to Satoru Gojo ever again. 

From god to human in three kisses and a goodbye.

"Thank you," you say to him. Then you get up, heading for the living room, where your coat and your escape door await you.

He stays in the bedroom – with himself as he always is – after you leave. 

And he hides you where he always hides the things he breaks, in the back of his eyes, where no one can reach to see anything.

© 2023, MAEBY-CURSED — do not copy/repost/edit.

(reblogs are appreciated !!)

[giddyfatherchris]

I'm in love with you!!

pairing. felix x gn!reader

type. best friends to lovers

warnings. none except pure undiluted fluff

a/n. fricking loved writing this, it made me miss summer so muuuch, but i had the greatest time while listening to these songs on replay😋 highly suggest to have them playing in the background while reading! or just give them a listen cuz they’re amazing hehe hope you enjoy!! xx

song recommendations. calm - cody simpson, im in love with you - the 1975, island in the sun - weezer, heavenly state of mind - lewis capaldi, the view - skz

"I like the view right now!" you chanted as the salty wind ruffled your hair and caressed your skin.

Your eight friends started hooting in agreement, all understanding the reference to one of your favorite songs of theirs.

As a celebration of their highly successful last tour, you had all decided to book a trip to a private island off the coast of Australia. It took a boat ride to reach the secluded piece of land filled with villas and populated with a few staff members. It was a paradisiac hideaway for you all, so accustomed to being surrounded all the time.

You turned back with a gigantic smile. Felix, who was standing behind you, mirrored the expression on your face, a certain twinkle illuminating his gaze.

You jumped in his arms, startling him as he caught you rapidly. "And I love going to the beach!"

He spun you around, feet digging in the sand while you both screamed. The rest of the group looked at you with amused expressions. By now, they had become quite accustomed to your antics. You ended your frivolous spinning by plopping down on the sand, slightly out of breath. You stretched your arms as far as you could, relishing in the stunning warmth of the Australian sun, and turned to cuddle against Felix, his nose already nuzzling in your hair. "I'm so happy to be back home, Lix." "So am I," he answered with a soft smile, his eyes half-closed.

After a day well spent outside, swimming and exploring, you had collectively decided to set up a cozy little camp on the beach to enjoy the warm night under a sky full of stars.

"Are you done, you two? We need help setting up!" shouted Changbin.

"I'm coming, you whiny child!"

You faked irritation with rolled eyes, but ever since you walked off the plane, you couldn't stop your lips from tilting upwards. Your soul seemed to be shouting and dancing to the rhythm of your home. Nothing could you get you down from your little cloud of happiness, even a whiny Changbin. You got up to lend him a hand before he started throwing a tantrum, not noticing Felix's hand still subtly reaching for you.

The young Australian looked at the stunning view. You were right. Being home felt amazing. It was wonderful to have some vacations after being on tour, especially here with you.

You had been friends for as long as he could remember.

From meeting in kindergarten to facing high school's adventures to growing into two young adults. You never had any big fights, your friendship having prevailed over any argument and hardship. Even the distance hadn't been enough to pull you apart.

Felix remembers too well the fear he felt before telling you he wanted to become an idol all those years ago. He was so scared you would disapprove and hate him for wanting to go so far away. But your anger only came from the fact that he had never said a thing about it. He remembers fondly how you jumped on him, hugging him tight with tears lining your eyes. From that moment on, you had been his fiercest supporter. You cried buckets when he left for Korea but made him promise to keep in touch every day. So you video chatted whenever he could. You stayed up with him for entire nights, braving the time difference to give him pointers on choreo stuff or to cheer him up when he had a rough day.

Until you no longer had to do any of that.

Looking at you now, getting along so well with his brothers, made his heart tighten with emotion. At 23 years old, he had everything he ever wanted. Well, almost everything

Felix knew since he was 14 years old that he loved you. Part of him had hoped that once he was in Korea, his heart would finally stop beating only for you, but it never happened. He had dated a little, but no one had compared to you. With time, he became accustomed to the idea of never falling in love with anyone else.

It was a thought he accepted without so much difficulty. He couldn't help how his heart started speeding up whenever you were close to him. The reassuring feeling of having you by his side. The way your smile made him see stars. The way you cuddled into his side or held his hand, how your gaze lit up whenever you saw the sea, and how he was the one you reached for when you were sad, angry, or just disgustingly happy. He wanted to experience everything with you, every high and every low. He couldn't and didn't want to imagine himself doing life with anyone else. It would be this or nothing else, and he was comfortable with that.

After all these years, he had never found the courage to tell you. The fear of losing you paralyzed him. But as he looked at the joyful sea, breathed the fresh Australian air, and looked at you laughing and fighting fiercely against an uncooperative beach chair, he thought maybe this vacation was the time. The time to face his fears, as he did almost seven years ago to chase his dream, and see where it would lead him.

"Felix!" called Changbin, interrupting his train of thought. "Come and walk with us! We want to see how far the beach goes in that direction."

He lifted his head with a smile, looking at his friends waiting for him, bare feet in the sand.

"Hurry!" you waved. "We don't want to miss the sunset!"

It had been months since he had seen you so excited, so eager. He knew you loved coming with them on tour. But he also knew Australia would always own your heart.

"Alright, alright. I'm coming!"

He swatted the sand away from his shorts before walking to your little group.

You started walking on the beach, Felix close to you. Seungmin, I.N, Hyunjin, and Changbin ahead, busy taking pictures in front of the rose-colored sunset. Bang Chan and Lee Know were trying to start your little fire while Han prepared the perfect playlist. Suddenly, you recognized the familiar air of their song, 'The View'. You looked back to Han with a huge smile. He simply winked and gave you a thumbs-up before focusing on his phone once more.

The notes of the music danced around you, making the ambiance even more special. There was something in the air, a prickling, exciting feeling.

You swayed gently to the music as Felix snapped a few pictures. The two oldest near the fire, Han next to the speaker, the boys walking ahead, the sunset. He seemed to be on a mission to commit everything to memory.

You felt his focus shift and noticed he subtly tried taking pictures of you. You walked up to him with a soft smile.

"Are you taking pictures of me, sir?" "I might be," he smiled back, his dimples on display. "Well, I'm afraid you need permission for that…" you continued, taking a step closer.

Without giving him a second to interpret your movement, you stole his phone with a squeal of victory.

"Come back here!" He protested, but you ran as fast as you could to Changbin, giving him the phone. As you expected, he sprinted in the opposite direction while laughing like a dolphin.

"You think you're funny or something?" asked a slightly out of breath Felix as he reached you.

"In fact, I do."

You splashed him and ran off while giggling like a maniac. As hoped, your antics started a generalized water war. Felix kept running after you, deciding he needed to get vengeance while the other boys splashed each other. You laughed wildly and ran in the shallow waters, not daring to look back and give him a chance to reach you.

You had water up to your knees by the time you heard him whine, "Wait! Y/n! You're gonna get all wet."

You turned around with a taunting look in your eyes. "Felix Lee, has the idol lifestyle gotten to you?" You gave him a pitying look. "Have you forgotten all about your Australian roots? Are you scared of a little water?"

A little taunting was usually all it took for you to rile up your best friend, and tonight would be no different. His eyes scrunched with determination, "Oh, you just wait till I get my hands on you." He tried threatening you, but you didn't give him a chance as you dove into the clear water.

Without a second thought, he jumped in after you, fully clothed. He barely broke the surface when you jumped on him from behind and tried to push him back underwater. He managed to take ahold of your wrists, careful not to clamp too hard. You took a deep breath, ready to be ducked under, but he softly made you twirl in the water. You gave him a surprised look as he winked and let you go benevolently.

Complete elation seized you as the beautiful young man looked at you with that smile of his, hair slicked back from the water, a light illuminating his soft eyes.

"I love Australia! I love the beach! I love being in the water! I love this night!!!" you screamed as you threw your arms in the air.

The other boys looked in your direction with giant smiles, drenched in water. The ever-present professional idol aura in their demeanor was nowhere in sight. They shone with pure happiness. For once, they could be only themselves, away from cameras and personas. Your heart sang with happiness for them.

"I love being home!" screamed Chan. "I love Australian BBQ!" added Changbin. "I love vacations!" said I.N "I love to splash Grandpa Chan!" joked Seungmin. "I love sunsets!" screamed Hyunjin. "I love water wars!" laughed Han. "I love cats!" finished Lee Know.

All eyes turned to Felix, the only one who hadn't said anything yet. His soft gaze set on you, the intensity taking the breath away from your lungs. He rallied his breath and screamed. "I LOVE YOU!"

The boys all went silent. You stared at him in disbelief.

"I love you. I love you so much. I always have, and I always will. Since we were kids, no one has ever meant the same to me. I love being here with you. I love being anywhere around the world with you. I love seeing you smile. I love the way you're so passionate. I- I don't want anyone else." It occurred to Felix that this was maybe not the right way to do this, as he noticed the silence surrounding him, but he kept going. "I know this is probably so out of pocket for you. You probably don't believe this is real, but I assure you it is. Since I was 14, I've been thinking of the right way to say this to you. I never thought it would happen like this but it feels right. So right, to finally tell you while you're at the place you love most and where I can see you shine brighter than ever."

You stared at him before a smile tugged at your lips, and you suddenly screamed. "I LOVE YOU!" He stood there with his arms limp at his side. Your words shocked him, and his mouth opened before he asked, "You love me?"

The light of disbelief shining in his eyes made your heart tighten. "Of course, I love you Lix. Honestly, I'm not sure how you didn't notice it," you added with a sheepish smile.

He took a step towards you, "You love me?" "Yes." Another. "You're sure?" you nodded with a bright smile. He was right in front of you, his arms a millimeter from wrapping around your body. "You love, love me?"

"OF COURSE I LOVE LOVE YOU. ALWAYS HAVE AND ALWAYS WILL." You leaped in his arms, water splashing around.

"SHE LOVES HIM!" Screamed the seven other boys in unison.

You smiled as you put your lips on his, barely registering the ruckus of your friends running for the two of you, throwing water around to celebrate the long-awaited moment you two idiots would realize you had been pinning for each other for years.

[stellar-skyy]

A SILENCE SO LOUD — Heizou x reader.

i. SUMMARY: After the accident, Heizou refuses to leave their hospital room. ii. CONTENT WARNINGS: Character death (reader), hospitals, probably medical inaccuracies, referenced car accident. iii. NOTES: Can be read as romantic or platonic, modern au, angst, hurt with no comfort, gn!reader, reader is referred to as heizou's partner (could be romantic or work partner) they/them pronouns used, 2.4k words. iv. A/N: Written for the amazing @dumbificat's inevitable evanescence event! I chose the prompt vanish. Please read the warnings before proceeding, please and thank you :)

The dull ring of a heart monitor echoed against the walls of the hospital room. 

One beep. Two. 

Heizou lounged in the chair beside the bed, tilted at just the right angle to observe the sleeping figure. It was a seat intended for guests to take up, but he'd been sitting in it almost as long as the person lying down had occupied their bed. His back twinged with pain every so often, however it was not enough to convince him to move.

He reached out and slipped a hand through the sheets to blindly locate theirs, pulling it out and giving it a squeeze. Maybe if they were awake, they would make a comment about how strange it was; holding hands with someone who was nowhere near conscious enough to feel his touch. He rubbed his thumb along their palm, tracing each line indenting their skin.

The few hours prior were agonizing. While they were stuck in surgery, the doctors managed to convince him to take a walk; get some fresh air that wasn't filled with the smell of disinfectant. Even following their advice, Heizou's thoughts drifted to their sleeping face. Every second since they were admitted, he was at their side watching them. His injuries were far less severe—a handful of cuts over his arms and an array of bruises. The staff felt enough pity to allow him to wait outside or in every room they were moved to, his eyes never leaving their closed ones.

Eventually they were settled here, attached to a variety of machines until their body was covered in tubes and wires. Every few seconds, the heart monitor would sound.

One beep. Two.

If they were awake, he would have been chastised for being so stubborn. They might roll their eyes, make a comment about him not taking care of himself. It was always them, who had to call him out on his borderline-unhealthy behaviours. Kujou Sara had tried, many times, admonishing him for skipping sleep in favour of working on whatever case his mind had fixated on. Hell, even Itto had managed to notice how he neglected eating some days to have more time to do things he decided were more important. However no one could get through to him like his partner could. A raised eyebrow, the slightest frown of disapproval, and he would already be moving from his chair to go take a nap.

But it wasn't like they could say anything. They hadn't managed to drag themselves into consciousness yet, not since the accident.

Heizou scoffed to himself. 'The accident' was still such a stupid way of describing it. That kind of melodramatic, cliched name would never have been his pick, but the concerned visitors that crowded the bed every few hours seemed dead-set on calling it such. It was always, 'I heard about the accident', always 'Are you okay after the accident, Heizou?'

That question was enough to make him fall into laughter, right there in the hospital room. A bewildered Kujou Sara had stared at him like he'd gone mad, while he doubled over in hysterics.

It was her fault for asking. Why should she bother to ask him if he is alright, when he was the one in the chair and they were the one hooked up to a heart monitor? He was alive, he would survive without half a dozen machines strapped to his body. He didn't have any right being asked if he was okay.

She had excused herself after that, while he swiped tears trickling down his cheeks (from such heavy laughter of course; there was no other cause.)

Shinobu was next to visit, which was a surprise to Heizou. A bigger surprise was how she seemed far more interested in speaking to him.

“I think you need to consider a plan, for just in case. Just... think about what you're going to do if–” She had said, being cut off immediately by Heizou's voice, three times louder than hers.

“If? If what? You do know they're going to survive, right? They've had surgery. They're stable. They're going to be fine.” Heizou leaned back in the chair as casually as he could, ignoring the pinpricks of pain the movement caused. “I don't concern myself with 'what ifs?'”

He was lying through his teeth.

What if was a constant thought in his mind, between the moments where he drifted through a dreamless sleep. What if I wasn't the one driving that day? What if I had gotten a few more hours of sleep that previous night? What if I looked to my left, and saw the headlights before they were too close to avoid?

“I know it's painful, Heizou.” Shinobu said softly. It was almost bewildering to hear. That girl was all sharp edges and blunt words, so the rare gentleness always caught him off guard. “But please, think practically about this. Okay?”

Riddles were a passion of his, but for once Heizou felt no desire to pick apart the meaning of her words; less out of not understanding, more out of a fear that he did.

“It wasn't your fault, Heizou.” Shinobu said. “Listen to me: it was not your fault.”

“Oh, yeah? How the hell would you know that?” Heizou scoffed, now moving his eyes from his partner's prone form. “You weren't in the car. Don't pretend you know what happened.”

“Heizou…” She began. “I know we aren't close, but I do consider us friends.” That caught him off guard slightly. When did that happen, he wondered. “And I don't want to see my friend destroy himself with guilt over an accident.”

The other reason why he ground his teeth together at the word accident, was the sheer amount of people assuring him it was just that. A tragedy, a freak crash, a terrible calamity that no one could have foreseen. It was a comfort, in their eyes.

In an accident, there is still at least two parties: the victim, and the perpetrator. His beloved partner fell into the former category. And Heizou–who wasn't paying attention to his surroundings, who had the radio blasting loud enough to drown out the sound of the motor rumbling closer and closer–knew for certain he was the latter.

It was almost funny, in a twisted, morbid way. Even in an accident, there was still someone at fault. It wasn't intentional, sure, but it was his hands gripping the steering wheel, and his foot on the brakes just a second too late.

They lapsed into silence. Shinobu stared at him in expectation.

“You should get going. Guest hours are finishing soon.” He managed to spit out.

That wasn't the right answer, if the crumpled up look behind her mask was any indication. He couldn't see her face, but he would bet his life there was a twitch of her lips, like she always did when she was displeased with the Arataki Gang. That sight was a privilege he had seen once, and once only, but it stuck with him more than any other memory they had shared.

“Goodbye, Heizou.” Shinobu said quietly. It was only after she left that he realized that she didn't look at [Name] once.

Heizou let go of their hand, watching it fall back on the bed limply, and folded his arms over his chest. A pang of hunger made itself known in his stomach, but he ignored it. Food could come later, but he was preoccupied at that moment.

When they woke up–and that was a when, not an if, he thought to himself–he would have to take them out for lunch. Treat them to a hot meal, on him. It was the least they deserved, after everything. In the meantime, all he could do was watch them get fed through a tube hooked on their face—a hideous, invasive-looking device. Heizou tore his eyes away from it, focusing back on the sound of the heart monitor.

One beep.

Heizou's breath caught sharply. His eyes darted over to see the machine, as the singular beep continued to sound. On the screen, the jagged pattern had smoothed out, into one clean, straight line.

An alarm began blasting sound outside of the room, a constant wailing that echoed throughout the ward.

“No…” He muttered under his breath. He slammed his fist against the screen, as if that would jolt it back into the steady pattern. His voice raised to almost a yell, fingers curling around the sides of the machine. “No! No, it’s not fair!”

Heizou stumbled backwards, hitting the wall with a thud. His vision had gone hazy, but he could see enough to awkwardly locate the emergency call button on the side of the wall. It let out a melodic chime, completely out of place among the blaring alarm ringing through the room.  

There was still no movement from the hallway, even with the alarm filling the ward. Almost tripping over his feet, Heizou closed the distance between him and the door to kick it open. His hands clung desperately to the doorway as he yelled down the corridor.

“Nurse! Nurse! Help, please–” Heizou made a strangled sound at the back of his throat, roughly swiping at his eyes to clear his eyesight. “Please, someone help! They’re–”

The siren was still wailing over the sound of his cries. It wasn't enough, there was no one there, and their heart still wasn't beating.

“Help!” He screamed, over and over until his voice was as raw as sandpaper. The world around him melted into a blurry haze, with the only distinct sensation being that torturous alarm and the sound of his own voice.

“—kanoin! Shikanoin! Please, calm down!”

The world snapped back into place like puzzle pieces fitting together. A nurse was in front of him: their primary nurse, if his memory was correct. She had one hand on his shoulder gripping tightly, as she continued to shout in his face.

“You have to leave. The doctors need to start the defibrillators, and we can’t have you getting in the way.” She said, loudly and firmly.

“Wha–No!” Heizou protested, ripping himself out of her hold, like her touch was fire.

“The doctors need space. Wait outside, we will speak to you soon.” The nurse insisted, making shooing motion with her hands. He was unceremoniously ushered into the hall, door slamming shut behind him.

There was a chair outside of the room; askew, like someone had knocked it into the pathway in their hurry. He dragged it over to the frosted windows, sitting on it backwards so he could press his face against them. The attempt was fruitless; the windows were impossible to see through, so he turned his back on the room and collapsed heavily in the chair.

No one had had bothered to turn the alarm off, so it continued: screeching, screeching...

A screech of tires; headlights flashing from his side. He looked over his partner and through their window in a panic, freezing at the lights like a deer in the middle of the road.

His foot twitched, but it was too late to hit the brakes now. All he registered was a blood-curling scream in his ear, tearing through his shock enough for him to realize what was about to happen.

Heizou flinched backwards, hitting his head on the window. Eyes blown wide, he gasped, clenching his fists until he felt his nails dig into his palms. The pinpricks of pain drew him back into the present.

Someone had the sense to finally turn off that alarm, so Heizou found himself in silence. That had to be a good sign, right? If something had gone wrong, they wouldn't have time to hit the stop button. They must have stabilized them while Heizou zoned out, and switched the alarm to off so the panicked atmosphere could quiet.

“Ah, Shikanoin.” A woman's voice; the nurse from earlier. Heizou forced a grin onto his face, hoping she didn't see the redness in his eyes.

“Nurse! How are they?”

“I'm sorry, Shikanoin.” She said gravely. Her voice faded to static after those words, while Heizou stared at her, mind completely blank.

Sorry could mean a lot of things. Sorry could be for the delay in attending to them, or for the distress that they caused him. Sorry could be referring to all of the trouble he was put through, or for how long they took to tell him they were alright and alive. Yes, it had to be that last one. He couldn't dream of any other possibility.

“Shikanoin? Are you listening to me?”

“Hm? Oh, sorry I zoned out for a sec. Silly me, huh?” Heizou chuckled hoarsely. The nurse's face softened, something dangerously similar to pity in her eyes.

“Ahem. I will repeat myself then. We attempted to resuscitate [Name] to the best of our abilities, however it seems their body has rejected the heart surgery. I'm afraid–”

“No!” He whispered under his breath. It was lost, among the discordant sounds of the hospital, drowned out by phantom wailing of alarms, footsteps pounding against tiles, and that damned beep singing in his head.

The quiet protest couldn't stop the next four words.

“They didn't make it.” The nurse bowed her head respectfully, but the gesture was hollow. She was already subtly gathering the papers in her clipboard, ready to move to the next patient. Perhaps some part of him felt kinship with it; that sort of dull desensitization was common amongst detectives too, particularly ones that dealt with death on a daily basis. He could almost see himself, quietly reassuring a victim's wife that he would do his best to solve the murder of her husband, before he methodically moved on to the next case that fell on top of his desk.

It was ironic then, that he found himself being the one comforted now.

“I'm sorry for your loss, Shikanoin.” Heizou couldn't bring himself to respond, still staring blankly at the nurse.

She exchanged some words with a doctor emerging from the room, before vanishing back through a door. Heizou's hands fell into his lap, fiddling with the hem of his shirt. He wasn't crying anymore, he noticed absently. Some part of him knew the news would settle in soon and he would crumble. He was a building on the verge of collapse, waiting for a single frail breeze to send him crumbling.

The rest of the hospital was gone. All that was left was a single sound.

One beep. Constant, and echoing in his ears.

reblogs and comments are appreciated! ♡

[xo-cod]

141 boys treating hyperfeminine!reader as goddess headcanons? 🩷

i got a little confused with what you mean lmfao, i hope this is what you wanted :') <3

ooc/rushed/can be read platonic or romantic 🤍

each of them are very territorial of you even if they don't mean it to be, it just happens especially because you're a precious thing they constantly want to shield away from the horrors of the job

even if you see it, they do try their hardest to limit the gory viewing of it

ghost grumbling about all your pretty items saying that it clogs the space but him secretly taking keeping a few to keep safe.

you know about it and he knows that you know but you never say anything about it

and he keeps them close to his heart on those days he's missing you a little harder <33

he's your handyman no matter what, has gone head to head with price on this

if anything is wrong in your apartment, he's there instantly fixing away with the tip of his tongue stuck between his lips if he's been at it for a while/lost in thought

he wants to do everything for you, has to hold himself back because he knows you're capable and very smart

but it's hard because you're a lil sunshine packed in a human that he can't help but want to squeeze

def gets cuteness aggression with you, cannot help it. will try his hardest to fight against it

gaz is so tender with you, he constantly appreciates every single little thing you do for him

could've bawled into tears at the time you cooked him breakfast complete with fresh hand squeezed juice and pancakes with syrup

and when you handed it to him with a sweet smile, he felt his heart crumbling into a billion pieces

bodyguard no matter where you're going, even if it's to the shop up the road he's coming along

soap has a small tendency to cling onto you whatever you're doing

it's not outright in a childish sense but moreso lingering touches and holding you subtly

it's just in his nature, he misses you so bad whenever you're gone on a mission and you're unavailable for however long that period is

fights price to come with you but gets shut down because he's needed somewhere else

could've cried about it, but he didn't ‼️

price didn't know how much he needed you until you came into his life

not only were you a competent intelligent technical analyst, the best he had on the team

but even off duty, how kind hearted and sweet you were with him

it opened a whole can of worms he thought hadn't even existed

they're all like little children when you're doing your own thing and they're just watching you

all of them being intrigued by your makeup, pointing at several things and asking what the purpose is

"why's is so pointy?" soap had found your eyeliner, looking in the mirror as he attempted his own liner but the poor thing ends up looking like a panda by the time he's done and awkwardly laughing as he hands you back an eyeliner pen that's a little broken now from how frustrated he got

"you waste money when you buy the same things. you just get one and stick with it" simon is loyal king to his own products, the same brand of shampoo he's been buying since the early 2000's is fighting for its life. will never understand why you buy so many blushes/eye shadows/lipsticks but likes watching you put it on

"i watched a video about this yesterday, here lemme help" gaz, always the perfect helper. because what do you means he's gonna let you struggle if your eyeliner is matching on both sides??? he's gonna help you with it ‼️

price, bless his heart just wants to be involved but he doesn't know how to. awkwardly smiling, nodding his head telling you, you did a great job and there's no flashback (learnt the word one time. doesn't know what it means but it sounds fitting)

them poking fun at the candles you used but buying the exact same ones to use at their own homes because it reminds them of you

soap and gaz love the scent in your home, always trying to recreate it in theirs but it never coming close to yours <33

if you're ever running low on anything, it's refilled the next day

yes they all have keys to your house

because why do you need to use your pretty hands when they're here to help you?

game over if you paint your nails in their favourite colour

soap is so proud, constantly showing your hand off and telling you that it should be a permanent colour

gaz being so smug about it, his favourite colour is the most superior therefore it needs to be permanently coloured on your nails

ghost doing a double take at your nails, his heart melting when he sees them, can't not resist touching them or trying to touch them lmaooo

price telling you outright that it suits you and him telling you subtly that it needs to be an every day colour

all of them fighting for their lives trying to pay for your nail appointment but the other trying to butt in

and when you have a bad day, working yourself to the bone all of them step up and intervene

"c'mon sweetheart, it's been a long day" price is very gentle with you, holding you up by your hips as he looks at you inspecting your fatigued state. it hurts his heart when you work yourself to death for this team

"there we go, bonnie. i made you a cuppa" johnny handing you his famous hot chocolates in your hands, helping you take a few sips as he holds you gently in his arms

"i'll run the bath for you, pretty" gaz kissing your temple before he plucks your towel and a bath bomb, determined to make the prettiest most relaxing bubble bath you've ever seen

"c'mere lovie, enough for today" simon holding you to his chest as he takes you put of your seat and helping you stand up. his thumb gently brushing over your cheek with a soft sigh, his affections practically radiating off from him in waves. he may not be a man of poetic words but his actions tell you what he says anyway

and if you have enemies, congrats they have four more

heaven forbid you ever meet kortac, especially könig. simon's got words to say ‼️

[anangelwhodidntfall]

I'm sorry for sending another request so soon but I love the way you write dad!jake

Request: y/n is having trouble adjusting after leaving home and she starts being really hard on herself because she feels like she's taking too long to adjust and she becomes more and more frustrated until her siblings finally bring it to Jake's attention after thinking y/n's frustration would pass so Jake tries to talk to her

A/N: No need to apologize, keep sending them in <3

Pull Your Weight: Dad!Jake Sully

"Okay kids, I need you on your best behavior. I mean it. Learn fast. pull your weight. Don't cause trouble. You got it?" Your dad said after you guys were granted Uturu to get away from war.

That had been over two months ago and all your siblings including your little sister Tuk had all done that, excelling at everything that was taught to you to survive on the island. But you on the other were taking what seemed like forever to grasp the concepts you could swim okay, but you still hadn't properly bonded with an ilu, or grasped the finger talk that they do, and it bothered you a lot because you felt you were letting your father down. 

"Make the bond. Gently." Neteyam said as he was trying to help you bond with an Ilu since he and your siblings had already bonded with theirs. 

You nodded your head following his instructions making the bond with the ilu, feeling hopeful for once and then you allowed it to guide you through the water until it threw you off. You sighed as you swam up, already feeling frustrated. 

"It's okay sis, we can try as many times as it takes." He said reassuring you but it didn't work.

You tried at least twenty more times and got thrown off each time, you didn't understand why the ilu's wouldn't bond with you, ikran bonding was easier than this! 

"Sis..let's try one time.." Your twin tried to say.

"No, forget it Nete, this is just a waste of everyone's time. If I was meant to bond with one, then I would've bonded with one by now." You said angrily. 

"Sis that's not it! Maybe you just have to find the right one." He said hating to see you beating yourself up. 

"There isn't some right one for me! Tuk for crying out loud bonded with one. It's me. I'm a failure." You said leaving your twin there with a frown on his face.

Neteyam was the first to notice you being hard on yourself, then Lo'ak and Kiri had noticed it as well when you three came back from your finger talk lesson with Rotxo and Tsiereya and they both tried to convince you that you were learning at your own pace but you wouldn't listen to them either. They went straight to Neteyam and told him and the three of them decided that if they witness it one time they would go straight to your dad. 

You had been out on the beach playing with Tuk just trying to enjoy a moment of peace and not worrying about how slow you were adjusting when Ao'nung and some of his friends came up to you. 

"What do you want Ao'nung?" You asked as you watched Tuk make her sandcastle. 

"Just came to see if you were slow at making sandcastles as you are with learning how to live here." He said with a smirk as your smile fell. 

"Leave me alone Ao'nung." You said. 

"He's right. All your siblings including the little one have adjusted so well here, while you are still learning like you just arrived here yesterday." One of his friends said. 

"Just face it, you are the useless sibling." He said laughing as the tears threatened to spill from your eyes because they were right. 

"Sissy you know they are wrong right? Your not useless." Tuk said as the tears slid down your face. 

 

"What is wrong?" Your mother asked watching as you angrily worked on your weaving. 

"Nothing is wrong. Why would anything be wrong?" You asked slamming the basket down and catching your father's attention who had been outside on the dock craving something. 

"My sweet y/n, tell me what is wrong." She said brushing some of your hair out of your face making move away from her touch. 

"It doesn't matter. So drop it." You said pushing yourself to your feet and storming out of the Mauri as your parents looked at each other confused.

Your siblings had returned a few minutes after you left and stopped talking upon seeing your parents talking. 

"Hey, do you guys know what is going on with y/n? She seems so angry lately." Your mother asked concerned about you. 

"Uh we were actually about to talk to you about that...for the past few weeks we've noticed that y/n has been being very hard on herself about how long it's taking her to adjust to life here." Neteyam said. 

"Why? She's taking a normal amount of time to adjust." Your dad said confused. 

"Well, I know she's been struggling with bonding with an Ilu amongst other things, and said something about disappointing you." He said as your father's heart broke hearing that. 

"Where is she?" Your dad asked wanting to go and talk to you.

Your siblings told him where you like to go and hide away from the world and he went to find you and talk to you because you were the last thing from a failure and hated that you thought you were one. 

He found you, right where your siblings said you were, and quietly walked over to where you sitting by a tree before squatting to be on your level. 

"Hi, baby girl." He said. 

"Hi Daddy, I didn't mean to snap at Mom earlier." You said quietly. 

"I know you didn't baby, you wanna tell me what's been going on with you?" He asked gently. 

"I've been taking so long to adapt to the way of living." You said. 

"No, you haven't. We all learn at different rates." He said to you.

"No, you don't understand! I should be adjusting like neteyam and everyone has! When we were back home I learned everything so quickly and now it's taking me ten times as long to learn something even Tuk is excelling better than me." You said.

"I feel like such a failure." You said quietly as the tears fell down your face.

Your dad without a second thought scoops you into his arms. He knew exactly how you were feeling because he had struggled too when he first joined the clan and even upon arriving on the island, he struggled with bonding with the skimwig, and he hated that his kids especially his baby girl felt that way because you weren't a failure to him or your mother.

"Look at me, you are not a failure." He said looking into your eyes. 

"But when we got here, you told us to learn fast and pull our weight and I've hardly been doing that. I don't wanna disappoint you." You said as your dad wiped your tears. 

"I know I did but that didn't mean you had to learn the way of life here in two hours, it meant learning and adjusting at your own pace. Plus I've seen you pulling your weight here in other area, so you got a few areas that you are struggling with  but that's okay, we all have those I mean it took me three months to bond with a skimwing." He said. 

"Really?" You asked shocked. 

"Really. It's gonna be okay sweetheart. Your not a disappointment and could never be one." He said hugging you. 

"I love you Dad." You said feeling like a weight lifted off of your shoulders. 

"I love you too baby girl. How about tomorrow I try to teach you how to bond with an Ilu?" He offered. 

"I would like that a lot. But I think I should go home and apologize to everyone, I haven't been the nicest person lately." You said. 

"I know they'll understand." He said as he lead you to where his skimwing was so you two could head home.

"Mom and siblings specifically Neteyam I wanted to apologize for my behavior lately, I know I haven't been the nicest person to you guys and I'm sorry." You said with your head down as your father squeezed your hand in reassurance. 

"It's okay, ma y/n. Can you tell me what was wrong?" Your mom asked concerned. 

"She thought she was a failure because it's taken her longer than the others to adapt to the lifestyle here." Your dad said as your mother walked over and wrapped her arms around you. 

"My sweet girl, you are not a failure. We learn at different rates and you excel at so many other things. Isn't that right guys?" She asked your siblings who agreed and started naming off the things you were good at making your heart warm. 

[writing-whump]

Can't say no

Seline takes Isaiah to visit her parents. Isaiah can't say no and overeats on the food.

Isaiah waited for months to be invited to meet Seline's parents.

He instinctively knew it would be a big deal, change, and milestone. Something special.

Seline loved her parents. It was the kind of idyllic, loving, intimate relationship that he didn't see that much around, like a fairy tale.

So when she casually invited him to spend a weekend at her parents' for her mother's Name's Day. Isaiah almost choked on his coffee.

"What? Mom wanted to meet you for a long time already. And everyone is going to be home for grandma, so my brother and dad should be up and about too." She didn't look at him, putting her plate into the dishwasher. Meaning she knew exactly how special that moment was.

Maybe it was good that she announced it a day beforehand; otherwise, he would have spent the week stressing about it.

"Any tips or something I should watch out for?" he asked tentatively.

When they got into his car the following day on Friday afternoon.

Seline gave him an excited smile. "My parents are going to love you, don't worry." She leaned back in the seat for the about hour-long car ride to Bratislava. "They better do, otherwise I can't date you."

"I'm sorry?"

"I'm just saying if my parents don't like you, we can't be together," she said with a cheerful smile. "I know it sounds old-fashioned, modern pairs like to rebel against everyone's approval...but my mom will see right through you and dad will be quick to judge and my brother got taller this year too, so." Her eyes were sparkling with mischief, but he could tell it wasn't just teasing. There was something anxious and serious about that statement too. She really wanted this to work out.

Isaiah swallowed heavily, starting the car.

"They are the smartest most amazing, selfless people I know. Great judges of character. And they have been together since they were 18, so longer than not by now." She gave him a quick smile. "But you don't have to worry. They will love to have you."

Until they don't, he thought bitterly. This was actually even more serious than he realized.

This was a test.

Seline already made up her mind about how she felt about him, so now she wanted to see if she hadn't missed anything.

She put the music from her playlist on. It was the playlist she kept for him instead of the collection of songs they both liked. Must have been feeling a little guilty about scaring him in advance.

Isaiah steeled himself for the ride and the meeting. He would not fail her expectations—or theirs. If anything, he was good at pulling his best act together in stressful situations, and this one asked for full power investment.

The place was technically a village but connected to the capital city by a highway. It was more of a district than a village since the city was expanding in record time. But it was surrounded by sunflower and wheat fields and had the distinct small-town feel of one family-owned cake shop, one playground, one kindergarten, and one primary school with exactly one church. There were also lots of pathways through the fields and around them for bicycles.

This wasn't a bad place for wolves. Open space is just the right combination of chaos and nature with steady big houses with long gardens and high walls for a fence. Great way to make a wolf feel at home.

The Silverstein house wasn't the most beautiful or renovated one on the street, with a dark violent roof and wild bushes at the entrance. Isaiah would soon find out the comfort and beauty were reserved for the inside of the house instead of the front, since they didn't need jealous neighbours to make their life complicated.

Entering the fenced garden felt like a different world. It had a touch of everyone in it. The fleck of ground with herbs for the mother, the freshly cut grass and holes for golfing of the father. And the volleyball net and boxing bag hanging from the old walnut tree that was almost ripping the garage out of the ground.

Seline's parents were human. Isaiah knew this, but it still surprised him to sense their complete fragile humanity as they came to greet him.

Another complication was that they didn't speak German and only broken English. This excluded Isaiah from most conversations, though Seline's father, a tall, broad-shouldered man with elegant long fingers and nose, made his best effort to keep Isaiah engaged in a conversation.

It seemed to put Seline's mother at ease, cause she chatted her daughter's ears off in Slovak as she assigned her a salad to prepare.

Isaiah definitely needed to learn that language.

He was left watching everything from the table, offering to help peel the potatoes and cut the cucumber. The giggling told him they were talking about him.

At lunch, Seline well into full translation mode, explaining him everything anyone said or translating direct questions and Isaiah’s answers. This allowed Isaiah to think through everything he said carefully and watch the pair's expressions.

Seline's mother looked a lot like her. She had the same lion mane of blond hair, though with a little hawkish nose. Her blue eyes were a greener shade than Seline's, and she had a sober alertness to them in contrast to Seline's dreamy softness.

Isaiah had not pulled his shadow up once. It was dormant and steady at his feet. Human shaped the entire time, as was polite. He was pleased with the question from her father about whether he was really a wolf.

The family created a whole feast for him to eat. First, ham and cheese rolls shaped like snails, then grilled stakes of two kinds, very tasty livers, and three kinds of salads.

He could tell these people did everything deliberately, confidently, and with consideration. They made a well-synched team, completely tuned to each other.

He just couldn't really tell whose idea it was to serve so much food.

It reminded him of the happier days, though, when his mother still lived. Watching her lean against his father in the kitchen, playful taking his hand, or him spinning her to a radio song playing in the background. It was all so very happy until it ended. But here, it seemed, good endings existed.

The mother or father got him a new portion whenever he finished his plate. The father selected best pieces of grilled meat, sensitive he tried all parts. The mother kept adding his salads, so he had all three kinds at all times.

Despite the two barriers, maybe third if Seline's brother Dylan joined the party, Isaiah felt welcome. He felt like he was passing in these people's eyes and the more he listed to their translations, their business background, their thoughts behind getting their kids into schools in a state they didn't even speak the language of, their goals and dreams for the near future, their pride at their daughter's accomplishments - the more he liked them.

He was starting to be a little nervous about the constant flood of food.

How did they still have so much to left? He cleared his third serving of the meat and salad, hoping that would be it. His stomach was straining against his pants and he was more than grateful for wearing a bottom-up that hid the growing bulge. He had not eaten this must in years.

And then when they came with dessert. Two kinds. One chocolate pie and one creamy cake.

The cake was one that Seline made and the pie was the mother's special generational recipe. No way Isaiah could get out of eating both.

The mother scrutinised him the whole time. He barely stopped himself from tugging at his collar. He was overheated, and his lips hurt from all the smiling.

Some relief came with the afternoon coffee and Seline showing him where they would be staying. In her father's bedroom upstairs.

"I can't believe you ate all that," she said to him as they got their bags up the stairs. "My brother eats a ton right now, so mom thought she needed to prepare a lot to satisfy a wolf. What do you think? How do you like them?"

She had such an eager, open expression Isaiah had to smile. He was starting to understand how this situation came to be. A growing pup with an unsteady shadow definitely ate a lot. Apparently, her parents thought a grown wolf would actually need more.

He should have stopped that sooner instead of eating food for a whole party of people. His stomach wasn't hurting yet, but it was heavy and swollen, digestion completely overloaded as his gut tried to make sense of all the food he shoved into it.

"That's very kind of them," he said, sort of touched and horrified at his own predicament. He could feel pressure over his chest as burps tried to make their way up. He pushed them down decisively.

"What is the plan now?"

"Dad will play some golf, and I'll help mom with the kitchen. Then we could watch a movie. There is one I really want to show you that my parents really love. It's a Czech classic about a grandmother rising against a corrupt major. It's hilarious and scarily accurate." She winked at him, excited at the prospect. You can come with me or take some rest, and I'll call you."

Isaiah nodded gratefully, relieved to have a minute alone.

Seline left him with a goodbye kiss, bouncing on her heels as she walked.

The day was a success then.

The burp he pushed down came back with a vengeance, his belly twisting with a cramp.

Isaiah leaned against the cupboard for support, bending down in the middle. He was sweaty and breathless, his stomach still heavier and heavier as it caught up with its state.

He let out a couple of quiet burps, wincing at how they echoed over the room. Her father's room. God, this was entirely inappropriate.

Going through his pack, he couldn't find any shirts or pants that would be more loose-fitting. He went all formal with suits and bottom-ups. He only got his PJs as anything close to comfort, and he couldn't exactly get into those in the middle of the day.

Isaiah went to the bathroom to wash his face with cold water. That felt a little better, but the perspiration still clung to his neck and back. Maybe he could risk a shower.

Bracing over the sink ushered in a few more loud burps, which had him pressing his hand to his lips. The bathroom was right opposite the stairs, much more likely to carry the sound down.

He wrapped an arm around his stomach gingerly. Please, be nice. Don't make this harder.

His belly gurgled unhappily and he felt the salad mixing with the cake. He heaved over the sink at the horrid taste, willing himself not to throw up. That would be entirely disrespectful to the food.

He groaned quietly as his stomach settled back, churning angrily. The heaviness and pressure made it hard to stand upright. A dull but deep ache joined in, crawling up the top of his belly.

Isaiah made his way back to the bedroom. The fresh scent of the sheets on the bed and the lingering presence of Seline's father made him feel entirely gross and unfit to be here. Like he was intruding.

He followed his nose and instinct out to the other room.

The walls were painted a soft pastel blue and covered in shelves straining under books. There was an old TV with a new Chromecast set, a writing table, a small couch, a bean bag and a double bed. A room of one person who liked to change positions while reading.

Seline's childhood bedroom. Not even that long ago, it was still her main room.

The scent of rain and grapefruit drew him to the bed that had way too many pillows, big and small and two covers, cause she liked to use one to lift her head up when reading.

He fell face first into the familiar, beloved scent. His stomach let out an angry growl at being disturbed, so he had to roll onto his back quickly.

There was swirling nausea trailing behind the dull aching, his stomach swollen and taunt. Unmoving and heavy as if filled with cement.

He muffled a groan against his arm, looking around to distract himself with the pictures. Family photographs mixed with paintings of stormy sea waves in various shades of blue. On the doorframe, there was a series of magnets from different destinations.

Isaiah cradled his belly with his hands carefully. How was he supposed to be presentable, when they called him for the movie? He didn't know how he would even get up.

...

"Isaiah? Where are you?"

Isaiah groaned quietly at Seline's voice, informing her of his presence in her room.

Seline opened the door with a puzzled frown. "Baby? Is something wrong?"

Isaiah considered lying. He really didn't want to ruin this visit or her day or her parents' impression of him. But his stomach was gurgling and pulsing with pain and he just wanted...wanted her.

He turned to his side, arms protectively around his midsection without touching.

Must have made a miserable expression, because she crouched down next to the bed, stroking his cheeks. "You don't have a fever...do you feel sick? If you felt sick before and didn't tell me, Isaiah, I swear-"

Yep, that was a worse option. "No- I just-uuuurp-ate too much." He squeezed his eyes shut, feeling greasy with sweat. "I wouldn't come visit your parents if I felt sick, come on," he said defensively, though it came out more as a whine.

This was so humiliating. A stomach flu he could survive, because he could do nothing against it. But this? This was entirely his fault and he felt amazingly stupid for it.

Her eyes widened. "Aww sweetie, I'm sorry. Your tummy is upset?"

He nodded, pressing the side of his face into the pillows. "I'm fine, just...think I could just sleep it off and be all good tomorrow- think you could find an excuse-"

"Yes, of course. That's no problem. Sweetie, mom has really good enzymes for indigestion and the herbal drops or I can make you fresh mint tea-"

He shook his head at the idea of putting anything into his stomach. It already felt like he was going to pop, skin strained at the top. "Please, don't tell your parents," he begged quietly.

"Oh baby, come on. They wouldn't be mad. There is nothing to it. Wouldn't it be worth it, if it helped with the pain? Just give me a minute and I'll-"

When she tried to stand up, he grabbed her by the wrist. "Please. Please?"

Seline frowned in disapproval, eyes blazing, but he must have looked pitiful enough. She sighed. "Okay. You are an idiot, though. Is there anything I can do?"

Isaiah let out a relieved sigh that almost morphed into a burp, curling more into himself. "I'm fine. Go watch the movie."

She shook her head. "You are such a dumbass sometimes."

He blinked at the words, mildly offended.

Seline walked behind him, shuffling in her wardrobe. "I have some oversized shirts here that could fit you. Let's get you out of that shirt, okay?"

He watched her in confusion as she got out a really oversized woolen shirt for him, then sat down on the edge of the bed, unceremoniously unzipping his pants.

"What are you- Ohhhh." The relief from the pressure almost made him dizzy, his stomach bubbling at having more space.

"Yep," she said with a half-smile, pulling his pants down completely so he was only left in his boxers. "Dumbass, as I said."

"M not," he groaned, not feeling like being teased, the embarrassment leaving a bitter taste in his mouth. He struggled with the bottoms before stripping the shirt off over his head and sliding into the offered one. Not bothering with the buttons at all, he lied back down.

Seline opened the balcony and promptly climbed under the covers with him, spooning him from behind. She kissed the back of his neck, her arm coming over his head on the pillow to pet the hair on his forehead.

Isaiah cringed at how sweaty and disgusted he must have been to her, but he couldn't help melting under her touch. Her gentle fingers on his face were the most enjoyable sensation of the day.

With her face pressed into his back as she curled his slightly wavy hair around her fingers, she asked: "Would a belly rub help?"

He considered the question, too far gone in how grumbly and achy his stomach was to give in to the other mortified part of his brain. He rolled to his back, his belly sloshing with the movement as it pressed against her.

She chuckled softly. One hand was still up in his hair, stroking a line from his temple to his cheek. The other came to rest gently on top of his packed stomach. Tentative. Gentle.

When he arched his back into her touch, she put more weight on it. She felt around his stomach with her fingers, then started to rub gentle circles under his ribs. Long strokes going clockwise from his right side of the abdomen to his left side and down.

Isaiah squirmed under her hands as his stomach grumbled loudly, a series of bubbles making their way up. He struggled against the air.

Seline gave him a look, thumping his chest. That ushered up a loud burp. He gasped for air, blood rushing into his face. "I'm sorry-"

"Stop apologizing. How else is it supposed to help? You got too much air trapped in your tummy. I can feel it."

Isaiah shifted in discomfort, cheeks on fire. He pressed his forehead against the crook of her neck.

Seline returned to the broad, gentle strokes over the bulge. Isaiah didn't fight the next burp that came up, hiding his face out of view as the hot air clashed against her collarbone. She chuckled softly, kneading into the flesh. "It's okay, sweetheart. This will help."

She truly didn't seem to mind, pressing against him like that, even giving a little kiss to the back of his head she could reach.

His stomach groaned unhappily, but his muscles relaxed. The tautness gave into softness under her touch, and he could feel the heaviness moving downward, with each new bubbly burp creating more space.

He turned back on his back as a truly big pressure worked its way up his throat, cupping his mouth. A long, rumbly belch came up, muffled by his hand.

"Feeling better?" she asked, rolling closer. Her chin came to rest on his shoulder and she wrapped one hand around his neck and the other on his stomach.

He nodded against her, not trusting himself to speak, but he didn't feel so packed and tense anymore. "I'm sorry, that was so gr-"

"Don't even say it," she cut him off resolutely. "I forbid such lies." She nuzzled her cheek against his.

Isaiah breathed out in relief, bringing her closer with his arm around her neck. His midsection was still swirling, but it was a much more peaceful, harmonic sound.

He kissed her forehead, closing his eyes. It was surprisingly tiring to eat so much, but this was actually...nice. Comforting.

Three words insistently pressed themselves to his mind: He loved the way this girl smelled, the way she could make him feel better, her touch, her eyes. Her voice. Her body against his.

I love this girl so much.

His heart sped up at the thought and he held her tighter, not saying anything. Not yet anyway.

[amaretigris]

Can I request a Jonah fic please?

Hi! Of course lovely. Thank you for this request 🤗💖 I just wrote what I came up with since there were no specifications. I hope you like it! 🫶❤️

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A New Adventure

2.3k words | Angst & fluff | Language warning

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Jonah had always been around. He was your brother's best friend. You'd seen him in settings ranging from family events to nights out at the bar. In every situation though, he'd always just been Jonah. You weren't nervous around Jonah; he was familiar. He'd been friends with your brother for half your life.

Sure, your friends would always gossip to you about how hot he was. You never had much input. You simply didn't see him that way. All of your friends had casually asked you to give Jonah their numbers at least once. You explained to them, over and over, that your relationship with Jonah wasn't like that. He was Sebastian's friend, not yours. You couldn't just walk up to him and start a normal conversation.

Jonah never made you uncomfortable; no, that wasn't it. It was the fact that he almost completely ignored your existence. Aside from passing each other in your house when you lived with your brother and parents, Jonah had literally never paid attention to you. You thought maybe he'd been around you so long that you'd become invisible to him. Or worse, that he thought of you as a little sister. An annoying little sister, perhaps.

So, you never bothered him. You never talked to him. You rarely even looked his direction or smiled at him. You just went about your daily life, knowing that nine times out of ten, Jonah would be there.

One Saturday night, you planned a night out at the bar with your friends. Not surprisingly, Sebastian, Jonah, and their mates arrived at the same bar shortly after you and your friends. Your groups stayed on opposite sides of the bar, per usual when you ran into each other. It had happened several times before.

"O.m.g. How does Jonah get hotter every time I see him?"

Your friend Veronica pretended to swoon.

You rolled your eyes. While all your friends were huddled in the corner, giggling and stealing glances at the guys across the room, you were taking shots. You were so bored of this topic. You just wanted to get drunk and dance. After throwing three shots back, you dramatically stood from your chair.

"I'm going to fucking dance," you mumbled.

The DJ at the bar was just starting to play your favorite dance music. Walking out onto the small dance floor by yourself, you began shaking your hips and moving to the beat, and others soon followed. Before you knew it, the small dance floor was packed. It was getting warm. It could be from all the bodies, or from those shots. Either way, you were finally starting to enjoy your night.

After about six songs, you felt a body come up behind you. The person tenderly grabbed your hips, bringing them back to theirs. Normally, you would turn and scold whoever dared touch you without your consent. But at the present moment, with the alcohol flowing through your system, you found that you didn't mind it. Their hips moved in time with yours, and it was nice to have someone to dance with. Feeling all your inhibition fly out the window, it wasn't long before you were grinding your hips into theirs. What did it matter anyway? You were just dancing.

You and your dance partner went through three or four songs this way, and you had even leaned your back to their chest, letting your fingers reach up to their soft hair. You still hadn't seen their face. The idea of turning to them had just crossed your mind when, all of a sudden, you felt an arm grip yours harshly. It yanked you away from the body behind you. Immediately snapping out of your buzz, you looked up to see who the hell grabbed you.

"What the fuck?"

You spat. Your lips clamped shut as soon as your eyes found the person responsible. It was your ex. Your very jealous, very angry ex. The two of you had a very nasty break up three months ago. It didn't upset you much; the two of you had only been together for a couple months anyway. He, however, took it very badly. You'd had to block his number and block him on all social media. He was saying crazy things about you being the love of his life. You felt nowhere near that intense love for him, so you thought it was best to just detach.

And now here he was, staring back angrily at you. Before you could say anything else, he yanked your arm again, pulling you outside. Your mind started to swirl from the adrenaline and the alcohol. Once you were out the back entrance, your ex pushed you up against a wall. Your back slightly ached from how roughly he handled you.

"What the hell, Flynn? What are you doing here?"

You croaked out. You crinkled your brow, and held a hand to your head. Everything was spinning.

"What the fuck were you doing dancing with him like that, huh (Y/n)? All those times you told me not to be jealous. I always knew there was something going on between the two of you," he replied angrily.

You blinked your eyes open and fixed them on Flynn.

"What are you talking about?!"

You were sobering up quickly, and growing impatient. Flynn shouldn't be here, and he had no right to put his hands on you and drag you outside. Had no one seen him drag you out? What about the guy you were dancing with?

Flynn scoffed.

"Don't play dumb. I saw you grinding on him. I fucking knew you were sleeping with him," he sneered.

You attempted to shove Flynn away from you, but he caught your arms. You struggled against him.

"Hey!"

You heard a voice in the distance, but didn't have time to look up. Suddenly, Flynn was being pulled away from you.

"The fuck are you doing, mate? You don't put your fucking hands on her like that," you heard the voice echo on the patio as you put your hands on your knees, simultaneously trying to breathe and not vomit.

A scuffle must have erupted while your head was down, because you definitely heard someone get hit. The sound of the gate followed, cuing that someone ran out of it. Before you could look up, gentle hands were at your elbows, lifting you up.

"Are you okay, (Y/N)?"

Whose voice was that? You'd heard it before. As the hands eased you up to stand, you connected eyes with Jonah. Your mouth almost fell open.

"Yes," you stuttered, licking your lips.

You didn't miss the way Jonah's eyes followed the action.

"Yes, I'm okay. Just a little stunned is all," you blurted.

Why were you nervous? You instantly noticed that Jonah's hands hadn't left your arms.

"Why are you out here?"

You were curious why he had come, of all people.

Jonah's face took on a puzzled expression.

"What do you mean, (Y/N)?"

You straightened your back at hearing your name tumble out of his lips again.

"I mean why are you here? None of my friends saw him grab me?"

Jonah shook his head.

"No. The crowd on the dance floor was packed pretty tightly. I was following the two of you out when he grabbed you, but I got stopped by some women," Jonah winced.

Ignoring the picture that popped in your head, you were still confused.

"How did you see him grab me and my friends didn't then?"

At your question, Jonah's mouth formed an o, and he dropped his hands from your arms. He scrubbed one across the back of his neck nervously.

"Oh, uh, I guess you might not have realized. I was the one dancing with you," Jonah admitted with a tinge of pink on his cheeks.

You swore time stood still.

"What?"

The question was more for yourself or the universe than it was for Jonah. Jonah chuckled, grimacing.

"Yeah, I apologize for coming up behind you like that. I'd been drinking, and I love watching you dance. I couldn't help myself tonight. I wanted to dance with you," he shrugged.

You swallowed the lump in your throat. What did this mean? You were grinding on Jonah that entire time. Had your friends or Sebastian witnessed it? Also, what the hell: he loves watching you dance? So many questions flooded your mind. You blinked at Jonah, and then moved to walk past him, back into the bar.

"Wait, (Y/N)!"

Jonah instinctively grabbed your arm, but let go when you stopped and looked down at his hand.

"Look, I'm sorry. I know I haven't been the nicest to you over the years-" Jonah started.

"You're right, you haven't," you snapped.

"I was pretty convinced that you hated me, and now you suddenly have the urge to dance with me? What the hell, Jonah?"

You threw your hands up in frustration.

"I know what it looks like, and I'm sorry. I truly am. I have never hated you," Jonah tried to placate.

You were having none of it.

"That's not how it looks, Jonah. That's how it is," you corrected.

Jonah huffed a breath.

"Please, (Y/N), let me explain. If you don't believe it, then you can leave, and we can go back to never speaking again," he suggested.

You let out a tired sigh, shaking your head.

"You have, like, a minute tops," you acquiesced, crossing your arms over your chest.

Jonah looked relieved, clearing his throat.

"Right. When Sebastian and I were graduating high school, I noticed you at the ceremony. You had always been there, always as Sebastian's little sister, but I began to see you in a different light. I saw how you blossomed into a kind, intelligent young woman over the years. I began to notice that your laugh can always bring life to any room. I began to see things you were doing to better the world around you. I started to see who you truly are," Jonah smiled down at you, dimples on full display.

Damn those adorable dimples.

"I realized that I actually liked being around you. So, naturally, I distanced myself. I always kept you at arm's length, and pretended not to notice you. I thought that falling for my best friend's sister would be too ironic," Jonah sucked in a nervous breath.

"The fact of the matter is that I'm drawn to you, (Y/N). I can't deny it anymore. My eyes follow you anytime we're in a room together. I feel a pang in my chest when I realize that your eyes don't search for mine. I don't know what to do with these feelings, so I've pushed them down. But tonight, when I saw you dancing, I felt pulled to you. Like I said, I couldn't help myself," Jonah shrugged, letting you digest his words.

You pursed your lips, deep in thought. Jonah's bright blue eyes looked sincere. Over the years, you'd heard people call Jonah many things, but a liar was never one of them.

You strummed your fingers on your arm, grunting.

"How do I know this isn't a trick?"

You eyed Jonah suspiciously. As much as you wanted to believe him, you just weren't sure you bought the whole story.

Jonah's mouth fell open at your question.

"What? (Y/N), I would never do that to you. Firstly, Sebastian would kill me. Secondly, this has been years in the making. I'm sure that if my feelings were insincere, they would have passed by now. Haven't you wondered why I never date?"

Your eyes bulged at the realization. Jonah never dated because of you? That was insane. Women literally threw themselves at him all the time.

"I know what you're thinking," Jonah put up his hands in surrender, slowly taking a step towards you.

"And yes, I never date because of you. I had resigned myself to years of only seeing you at Sebastian's place or at your family gatherings. I thought that it would be enough, but it's not. I want to be with you, (Y/N). I want you to know me like I know you," Jonah cautiously lifted his hand to cup your cheek.

You fiercely studied his eyes. When you still only found sincerity in them, you decided to cave, leaning into Jonah's touch. His lips parted with a small gasp when you leaned your cheek into his hand, and closed your eyes.

"Don't fuck this up, Jonah," you begged.

Jonah chuckled, bringing up his second hand to cup your other cheek.

"I wouldn't dream of it," he whispered, leaning into you.

You felt his warmth growing closer, but you kept your eyes closed, feeling Jonah's lips brush against yours. You reciprocated, and Jonah molded his mouth to yours. You were getting lost in the kiss when the two of you were startled by the door slamming open.

"Oi, there you are," Sebastian yelled.

Wincing, you waited to get an earful from your brother. The reaction you got instead surprised you.

"Ugh, you two are finally hooking up? Took ya long enough," he slurred.

You fixed him with a shocked look.

"What do you mean?"

Sebastian rolled his eyes and leaned against the doorframe, holding his beer in one hand.

"Psshh. Jonah's been making googly eyes at you for years. I know how to read my best friend. 'm not an idiot," he said like it was obvious.

"Come on back inside, everyone's dancing now," Sebastian motioned behind him before he turned to go back into the bar.

You looked at Jonah with a cheeky smile. His dimples made their appearance again before Jonah grabbed your hand in his.

"Come on, (Y/N). Let's go start a new adventure."

[1domegaverseficfest]

Omegaverse Fic Fest Weekly Recap

Hello beautiful people! This third week has already passed, with another batch of five beautiful fics revealed. Go check them out if you haven't yet, and please enjoy!

frightened by the bite, no harsher than the bark by @voulezloux

When you present as an alpha, there is an unspoken code you should adhere to. An alpha is a provider. They are the head of the family, they make sure there’s food on the table and things get done. An alpha is loyal to a fault for their mate. They are the ones who initiate a courtship, they are the ones who bite. An alpha is protective of what they feel is theirs. Whether it’s a baby doll given to them for a school project or, say, an international omega rockstar with very handsy fans, it is hardwired in them to protect, to shelter, to defend from harm. Harry, as the only alpha in his family of beta parents and omega sister, took this code a little too close to heart.

louis loves going to the barricade during his shows. if it’s because he’s got a bit (lot) of touch deprivation and is using it as an excuse to have his big alpha bodyguard, harry, touch him, well, that’s a secret he doesn’t need to tell.

You Are The Fever (What A Lovely Way To Burn!) by @yoursolosong

“You built this?” Louis whispered in a trembling voice. Harry's mind finally seemed to kick in and he rushed to explain, “I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, Lou. I know how weird this must look. I didn't mean to take advantage of your stuff behind your back, please, I am so sorry.” Harry was now a blubbering mess. He fucked up. He knew he fucked up. Real bad. It hadn't even been an hour since they made up and Harry fucked it all up. Again. Louis must think Harry’s a weirdo. God. “I will wash it all for you and give it back, I promise. We can both forget everything about-” He was cut by the sound of Louis growling. And oh shit. “You won't touch it,” Louis commanded. Or Harry is an alpha who realizes he’s also into alphas and wants to be submissive. He battles between his instincts and what he wants.

Lost But Won by @2tiedships2

“If you start out by talking about your weekend of golfing I swear to god I will stab you with a pen,” Louis said by way of greeting. There was a clunk on the floor and what sounded like shoes hitting the wall as Niall announced, “We have a guest. You might want to save stabbing me until you don’t have a witness.” “Well if they are obsessed with golf then…” Louis trailed off as he made his appearance in the living room. Harry’s mouth dried up. This was not the alpha that Niall had described. When Harry loses his passport after a weekend trip to see Niall, the inconvenience of being stranded in America becomes a little more bearable after meeting Louis. Or a lot more bearable.

The Capillaries In My Eyes Are Bursting by 5secoflarry

Two armoured palace guards stand there, speaking with the old, widowed beta. Harry watches curiously from the space in the back, ducking down a little in an attempt to hide. There have been whispers through the town of omegas being gathered and forced to the castle all week long - something about the King being ill - but Harry had thought they were only rumours….. OR Medieval times where King Louis is in a near death accident and enters a coma. The royal doctor says they have two weeks to find Louis’ true soulmate (omega) or he dies.

Scarred by @allwaswell16

As a male omega, Louis has learned to live with disappointment and rejection, but he dreams of the day he finds his soulmate. When Harry inadvertently rejects him as his soulmate, Harry has no idea he's doomed Louis to a slow, painful death. Pride doesn't keep Louis from telling Harry the truth. But love does.

Happy reading, kudosing, and commenting!

[sweetcarrotsandroses97]

Echoes of Two Worlds | KNJ

Pairing: idol! Namjoon x cat hybrid! fem! Reader

Summary: Trust is gained in drops but lost in buckets. Or in which you open up to Namjoon and he was left to dream that you'd want him forever. Singing a song only you two could hear, repeating the echoes of the two worlds that separated you yet united you at the same time.

Warnings: fluff, a bit of angst is you squint, implied trauma, trust issues, love, (let me know if I missed anything)

Word Count: 1.2k

~Prompt 6: Warming your hands by holding theirs

~Snowflakes divider by @samspenandsword

~Prompt list by @flightlessangelwings

A/N: A soft and cute one for my darling Namjoonie! Let me know your thoughts in the comments please!

☕Caffeinate me so I can keep on writing! ☕

It had been three months since you had gotten a proper home. Three months since you began living with Namjoon. Three months since you had been at peace.

Three months since you had had a home.

Namjoon had adopted you, taking you into his care after you became awfully attached to him after a photoshoot. The company had made the members take pictures with different kinds of hybrids to promote hybrid adoption and equality.

He disliked wondering about your past, knowing that it must have been traumatic given that you didn't talk much, your soft cat ears constantly moved with every single noise and you always made it to be close to him in a certain way yet you never touched him. Not even your hand found home in his much larger one.

You were currently walking next to Namjoon in a local park. It was cold outside yet snow hadn't fallen from the sky and you were -lowkey- kind of eager to see snow for the first time. Your time in previous shelters had prevented you from living such an experience, something you deeply hoped you'd be able to gaze at with Namjoon by your side.

Your hands were tangled in the front pocket of your oversized hoodie. He walked next to you at a slow pace, enjoying the moment, the silence, the peace he shared next to you.

"Are you cold? Do you want to get back to the flat?"

He looked down at you, noticing your ears flick towards him before your gaze found his own. You shook your head and he smiled at your cuteness, his hand itching for him to put his arm around you and pull you to him.

However, Namjoon knew how much you despised physical contact. He had never asked why, had never pestered you to give him a reason or an explanation, he simply respects your boundaries and allows only completely necessary contact with your consent first. Always explaining why it was important for him to touch you in any different way.

Like that one time you climbed on the counter trying to reach out for some snack and then couldn't get down on your own, he had to place his hands on your waist and gently set you down on your feet only for you to scurry away a second later.

Or that other time when your softail got tangled with one of your toys and he spent half an hour explaining why he had to gently touch your tail to free you from your toy and for you to not hurt yourself.

Any kind of physical touch between you and Namjoon had been limited to needed occasions but never had you ever initiated anything. And he was fine with that. As long as you felt safe and secure by his side, he didn't mind it. He'd love you just the same.

Your life had changed so much since Namjoon came into the picture, from teaching you how to live on your own terms to actually enjoying being in his company, you had changed a lot as well.

"You know, I saw a new coffee shop open down the street the other day, do you want to go now?"

With wide eyes, you looked up at him. He had to stop himself from kissing you right now. You looked so cute, so innocent, so beautiful. So you.

In all your simplicity and complexity. In all your glory and shadows. In all your fears and goals. You looked pure at that moment.

Genuine.

"Do you think it'll be too crowded?"

You asked. Your voice was soft like a summer cloud. Harmonious. Sweet.

"Perhaps, given that it is a new store. We can go another day if you'd like. No pressure at all, kitty."

You lowered your head in an attempt to hide the blush tainting your cheeks, your tail behind you moving softly with the butterflies swimming in your stomach at the nickname.

But then you looked up at him again, a soft smile over your lips as your tail moved from side to side.

"I want to go. I want to go with you, Joonie."

He smiled, dimples on full display as he went to grab your hand and lead you to the shop; however, he stopped himself just in time. His arm dangled by his side as he spoke once more, his voice ever so calm and delicate.

"Very well, let's go then."

Namjoon began walking in the direction of the coffee shop, his heart thumping wildly in his chest, you on the other hand were happily walking by his side. Feeling proud of yourself for wanting to spend time with him other than in his flat or the park at night.

This was definitely new for you and you'd be lying if you said you weren't nervous. A sudden breeze made your hair blow softly as your ears fell back in pure instinct. A shudder travelled up your spine as you inched closer to Namjoon.

He nearly halted in his steps when your hand clasped his own. With surprise, he looked down at you. His eyes met yours in a sweet dance of emotions.

"I trust you, Joonie."

Your words meant the world to him. After three months of proving to you that you were finally safe with him, of teaching you there was nothing to be scared about when he was with you, of giving you your space; you had finally opened up to him. You had finally allowed him to be close to you in more ways than any other person wouldn't understand.

"Don't break my trust, please."

He nodded at your request. Something simple yet complex. something easy yet hard. Like an echo of a voice he once heard. Like the melody of a song he couldn't forget. It made his insides burn for you, his heart soared to life with the gentle touch of your hands in his larger one.

"I promise, (y/n)."

You smiled. That smile that melted his heart. That smile he'd die for. That smile that meant the world to him.

Namjoon continued walking towards the coffee shop with your hand in his own hold. There was a smile on his face, a thumping in his heart and a desire in his mind.

But for now, he was just happy. Satisfied that his patience had been worth it. You had come to him, trusted him on your own time under your own terms. He could only hope that this was the beginning of something he would surely treasure with his whole soul and heart.

Because he loved you and you loved him.

Even when you both belonged in different worlds, there was a song only the two of you sang together. There was an echo only you heard and a future he dreamt to share with you and only you. His darling, his kitty.

His love. 

December/28/2023

☕Caffeinate me so I can keep on writing! ☕

[labyrinth-runner]

“Where are you going? It’s not safe out there!” with obidala or obianidala?

Lol I am so sorry it took me over a year to do this one. This takes place during the Clone Wars

Word count : ~1400

Pairing: Obidala

Warnings: None

The war was raging around them, and Padmé found herself once again being pushed into some hiding place. She was so sick and tired of having to prove that she was perfectly capable of handling herself. For kriff's sake she dealt with the the trade federation when she was 14 and had been handling a blaster ever since. But no, the clones felt obligated to protect her since she was a galactic senator. She appreciated the sentiment, really she did, but her life was not worth more than theirs.

Propping herself up against the rock the clones and pushed her behind, she aimed her blaster at the droids in the coming onslaught. She picked them off one by one, but they just kept coming. The only bonus to droid soldiers was that they didn't get weary in the same way that organic soldiers did. The clones were pushing themselves too hard to hold their position, the only reason they were holding it was because of Padmé. She needed to move. They all did.

"Cover me!" she yelled, waving the clones over as she scrambled out from behind her rock, diving from shelter to shelter as she made her way up the mountainside. If they made it up high enough, they may be able to be extracted. Plus, there was something beneficial about having the high ground. Kenobi had taught her that in a completely unrelated encounter involving bed sheets and dim lights and kriff, this was not the time to be remembering that. Her face burned as she climbed higher, aiming down at the droids.

Her instincts had been correct. The squadron, smaller unfortunately than it was when they started, made it to the top of the mountain and into the path of a troop transport. The troopers on the transport provided them with enough cover to get on and away they were, zooming over the battlefield.

Padmé had a sick feeling in her stomach. She'd been too late to stop this. She'd been sent on a diplomatic mission to turn the neutral world towards the Republic, but the Separatists were there. Count Dooku in all his fake chivalry and probably with some Jedi mind tricks as well. Padmé hadn't stood a chance, barely making it out of the Duke's palace before Dooku could have her captured.

The transport rumbled, taking a direct hit. Padmé lost her footing and her hold on the rope. She found herself falling once again out of a transport. Honestly she was hoping she'd have better luck than this now with the war raging into the second year. But no, the trees below were getting closer and closer with each moment that passed. She tried to roll herself into a ball, hoping it'd protect her better, but she knew no matter what she did, the fall was going to hurt. The ground was hurtling towards her and she closed her eyes tight, bracing for impact.

It never came.

"Padmé, what are you doing here?" Obi-Wan asked, using one hand to deflect the droids around him with his blaster, his other outstretched to ease her landing.

"I thought I'd just drop in," she replied, landing on her feet. She immediately sprang into action to help cover him. "Where's the rest of your squad?"

"Solo mission. I was sent to destroy a comms tower to the west."

"No Anakin this time?" she asked, taking out the last droid.

Obi-Wan shrugged. "It wasn't anything I couldn't handle."

Padmé holstered her blaster and reached up to swipe his hair out of his face. "Long time no see."

"The Outer rim's been a mess," he admitted, leaning into her touch. "What are you doing here, though, Darling?"

"Diplomatic mission gone wrong. Dooku was here first," her voice dripped with disgust.

"That explains the heavier droid activity. Come on, they're sure to send more droids when these don't return back. My ships still a day away and without a comms tower I can't have R4 bring it here," Obi-Wan told her, taking her hand and heading further into the forest. "There's a cave not too far from here that we can shelter in for the night."

Padmé held his hand tightly. She knew that all too soon he would be slipping through her grasp once more. It was always like that these days and it killed her.

The way to the cave was rough, which was fine for her since it would mean that the droids probably wouldn't find them. They couldn't start a fire, though, for fear of drawing attention to them. Instead, they huddled together under Obi-Wan's cloak, sharing body heat.

Padmé tugged the cloak tighter around them. "I'm surprised you managed to hold onto this."

"I'm not that bad."

"Obi-Wan, you left two cloaks in my apartments within the same week. I genuinely don't know how they keep giving you new ones." Padmé chuckled, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"Darling, you can be so cruel," he said, but he was smiling down at her. He inhaled the scent of spices in her hair. The scent of her shampoo was faint, but it always calmed him. She always calmed him. He kissed the top of her head. "I missed you."

She tilted her head to kiss his cheek. "The feeling is mutual. When do you come home?"

"Hopefully when this siege is over if a new one isn't started on my way home like last time," he said, shifting her so that she laid on top of him, his arms circled around her.

"I feel like I'm half a heart without you sometimes," Padmé murmured, her finger tracing his chest.

"Darling, you are my heart," he told her. He tipped her chin up, capturing her lips with his.

Padmé melted into him, her arms circling his neck to pull him closer.

And then they heard it.

The sound of tens if not a hundred droid feet marching outside the cave. Padmé was up in a moment, creeping towards the edge of the cave. Obi-Wan grabbed her arm to stop her.

"Where are you going? Darling, it’s not safe out there!” he said, trying to push her behind him. "I'll go."

"Obi-Wan, if one of us goes out there and gets caught then they'll just check the cave and find the other so we might as well go together," Padmé reasoned, holding his hand.

He sighed, giving in. "Fine, but I don't like it."

They crept silently along the wall of the cave until they could look down at the droids below. They were setting up a base. Obi-Wan grimaced. They wouldn't be able to escape once they had a full base set up. Hopefully they would be too distracted with setting up to notice them. He squeezed Padmé's hand and nodded to the other side. It was slow going, trying not to knock loose any stray rocks or attract any unwanted attention. They circled to the other side of the rocky hill before beginning their descent. Obi-Wan landed silently and gestured for Padmé to jump, catching her in his arms. They were still a ways off from his ship, and his comms weren't working. But they decided they didn't have time to stop for the night and just pushed through.

It wasn't until the early morning rays of sun were creeping higher in the sky that they saw Obi-Wan's ship. He was able to use his ship to call for a pick up for Padmé.

Padmé sighed, hearing the ship in the distance coming towards them. She gripped Obi-Wan by his cloak and pulled him in for a kiss. He kissed her back, putting into that kiss everything they couldn't say. It was longing, it was passion, it was love. It was a promise to return to each other safely.

Padmé pulled away first, her hands still in his. The ship came into view above them in the clearing. Padmé dropped his hands.

"Darling," Obi-Wan murmured.

"I know," she told him, taking a step back as the other ship landed.

"Senator! Glad to see that you're okay," Commander Cody told her. He nodded to Obi-Wan. "General."

"Commander, escort the Senator back to her ship and ensure she gets into hyperspace safely," Obi-Wan ordered.

"May the force be with you, Master Kenobi," Padmé told him, stepping onto the ship.

"And always with you, Senator Amidala."

He watched her ship for as long as he dared before getting in his own ship and returning to battle.

[wolfpuppygirl]

Dogsitting (part 3)

In all the excitement for this, you had gone over every detail you could think of with your partner. Nothing calmed your brain like a good plan. You'd covered more travel plans and boundary negotiations in the preceding week than most armies. You even had a rough menu down, having volunteered to help cook and do dishes some days since you'd be there so long.

None of that planning could have prepared you for how immediate everything was. You'd talked it out. How you wanted the first meeting to go. Both of you had little bits and pieces you were craving and a lot had been put on the first step through the door since you don't get to repeat the first time.

The immediacy threw you more than you expected. You hadn't considered that you had no time to get settled or comfortable. Yes you had wanted this, but you were starting to work yourself up in a bad way. Your partner was parroting lines from the plans you had both made with a practiced almost robotic rhythm. That when it hit you. You called out a red light and they breathed a sigh of relief,

"Sorry sorry. I just was getting overwhelmed and I just want to set my stuff down and also I really have to pee." Your last words broke the anxious look on their face an replaced it with a giggle.

They centered themselves and said with a bit more comfort in their voice, "You don't have to be sorry. You never have to be sorry for stopping. I was starting to consider it too. I felt like I was going to mess up our first time and I was so worried which made me worse at it which made me more worried and it was just a spiral."

Their breathing steadied out and when you were sure they were feeling better you reached out to hug them. The now increasingly familiar scent helped you relax further and your scent appeared to be doing the same for them.

You pulled back enough to touch your forehead to theirs. "Let's just take it easy tonight and if something happens it happens. Otherwise, our first night together is happy just because we get to be together." Your words push out the last of the anxiety from their body and they fall into you for a deeper hug. When they pull back they give you a kiss and it's with kinky embarrassment you both realize it's your first together. You had both been so busy planning all of the role play and trying to get everything perfect that you forgot to kiss each other.

The moment is like a pressure release valve, bleeding more tension off the moment. A couple of quick pecks later you ask, "Okay really, where's your restroom? I really have to pee and the station lines were so long."

They giggle and point down the hallway and you scurry away. They giggle, sigh, bat their eyes, and put on the biggest dreamiest smile. When they realize their partner had come back out from putting your stuff away, they blush a bit.

Their partner just laughs and says, "You're hopeless, and you are so painfully gay." The extra emphasis only adds to the following laughter and when you return you can't help but be overwhelmed by the joy of seeing someone you love be loved and love back.

[soldier-lodbrok]

"They lied to you. They knew it would break you if it looked like I died. It's me, Glenn. It's really me." — Ifalna

He had seen it. He had seen it in his nightmares.

He had seen her death. How she had run. Carrying a little one. Bouncing brown curls - no. No that was wrong. Blond short hair. Aerith was too big to be carried. She had run beside her. They had fled. Alongside the tracks of... trains? There were no trains in Cosmo Canyon.

Realities and hallucinations swam and mixed, like the Mako that had spilled over their home alongside chaos and flames.

Bullets. Fire spilling like waves.

"Take Aerith and run!"

"Take Roran- take... both..."

There had been so much happening at once.

He had not been there. he had been on a mission. Everything seemed normal. Cosmo had seemed like their safe and sound place, still. He had trusted everyone there. he had trusted that his famiyl was well there. But when they had come back... There had been ash. And smoke. And so many broken expressions. So many bodies beneath linen cloth. They had urged him not to. Not to look, to search. But how could he not...?

He had found their bodies in their garden. What was left of them.

Nothing recognizable. But who else could it be? Charred remains of a woman, a girl and a small boy. Huddled together. Battered golden necklace that had shone on her skin always. Bracelets that had made noise with every jumping step. Molten plastic of a once loved stuffed animal. Theirs. He had screamed till his voice had given in. He had held them till Lucia and Matt had dragged him away by force.

Life after that day had been a blur. Because there was no life left. The light and life had left him. Nothing mattered any more. Glenn hadn't cared for anyone. Not for Cosmo. Not for what was left of his family or friends. Not for the SRC or AVALANCHE. The whole world. So many had looked to him - and he had turned his back.

They could all go to hell and rot.

His heart had died with them. He had not been able to reach them. He had failed. He had failed to protect them.

They were dead. Nothing mattered.

That was the only thought he had held onto for the past days... weeks...? How long had it been?

Glenn didn't know. He had lived with the demons of nightmares every waking and every sleeping moment since then.

He had just continued breathing for one last goal. He would take Shinra down. He would destroy their HQ. He would take as many from Shinra and as much of them with him as he could.

And then he would finally be with Ifalna again. And their children.

It would be okay.

He had planned this alone. Away from everyone. No one knew of his journey here. His preparations in these old ruins of a church in the slums of Midgar. Not even Lucia or Matt. Or Kunsel or Leif.

Glenn had been ready to leave - when a voice had held him back. Her voice. A hallucination, for sure. He had heard her so often recently. But this time he had seen her, too.

How she stood there, in the open doors of that church.

Glenn's mind revolted. he was ready to go to HQ. Was this one last wave of his brain? A vision? Maybe she was calling out to him... knowing how soon they'd be with each other again.

But when she came running towards him... when her arms wrapped around his, when her fingers clasped around his collar, urged him to look at her. When he felt her warm hands on his face. Felt her breath ghosting his lips. Saw that spark in her green eyes. The desperate plea. The pain and confusion. He heard her voice. Her words... they made no sense. None that Glenn could simply accept.

He stared at her and through her at the same time. He didn't dare to move - to touch her, to reply to her, react to her words... she would vanish. He knew it.

His voice was so hoarse, not having been used in days, a slow shake of his head.

"You're dead... you're dead... I buried you... you can't be..."

@holyguardian

[naesarangyunho]

Beans on Toast(3)- Jung Wooyoung (Soulmate au, m! reader)

[i don't own these images credits to the original owners]

Previous Next

Synopsis: Wooyoung and his friends finally meet y/n and his friends. Wooyoung and San's close friendship sparks jealousy in y/n, magnified by the fact that he has no idea whether he and Wooyoung are platonic or not. We catch a glimpse of Mingi and Yunho's predicament and learn that Seonghwa and San don't have soulmates.

Note: Hongjoong's soulmate's name is Jisoo which is a unisex Korean name and has nothing to do with Joshua from Svt or Jisoo from bp etc.

[Word Count: 4.3k]

"So you found him, huh?" Hongjoong said with a smile from the head of the table.

Y/n hadn't managed to see his friends for a couple of days, with the exception of seeing Jongho straight after having met Wooyoung, and his friend group was finally hanging out and catching up. He had mentioned in the group chat when he found Wooyoung but he hadn’t had a chance to talk about everything in person and avoided talking about it too much. He was a) shy and b) worried that if he overcame his shyness and started talking about Wooyoung he wouldn’t stop. His parents and siblings were already tired of his verbosity despite being very happy for him. (As well as jealous, on his two older siblings’ part as they were yet to find their own soulmates.

"Yeah, I found him," Y/n responded with a blush. Why the hell was he always so flustered when it came to Wooyoung. He got butterflies and behaved like a schoolgirl. He wasn’t usually this way, he would have you know.

"Aww, ma guardati. You’re so flustered." Alessandro teased and Y/n glared at him but there wasn't any real anger in his glare. Like Y/n had said before, it was difficult to stay mad at the Italian boy with his big smile and puppy eyes. He had not only Yeosang but the rest of the group wrapped around his finger.

"No, don’t look at me in any way- I am not flustered."

Jongho snorted, "You totally are."

Y/n’s glare found a new target, landing on Jongho who was leaning back in his chair across from him at the lunch table.

"I am not."

Jongho ignored him and looked at the group at large, "You guys should've seen him when he finally met me in the library."

Jongho leaned forward, his face sparkling with mischief, "He was a mess. He wouldn't shut up about this boy. We couldn't get any work done because he was so restless and kept drifting off."

Yeosang barked out a laugh as he saw the way Y/n's cheeks were burning, "Awww, you’re adorable. Crushing already?"

"Shut up. You guys are ones to talk."

His eyes scanned the faces of his friends with a pointed look.

Jongho was seated next to Minji, his hand resting on her knee under the table and Hongjoong sat close next to Jisoo, his knees pressed against theirs. Jongho and Hongjoong weren't very big on public displays of affection but anyone could see they were in love with their partners if you looked at them long enough.

Yeosang and Alessandro were different. For a while, Yeosang was the same as Jongho and Hongjoong but as time passed Alessandro, whose love language was very much touch, brought him out of his shell and most days they couldn't keep their hands off each other, always finding an excuse to touch in any way whether it be kisses, wandering hands or fingers constantly twined together.

Yeosang and Alessandro currently sat in the two chairs on Y/n’s right and Alessandro had his arm around Yeosang’s shoulders and Yeosang had reached a hand up to hold the hand that hung from his shoulder. Sickeningly sweet.

So yeah, his friends were in no position to tease him for liking someone, especially his soulmate.

"Okay, okay, enough teasing," Hongjoong spoke up, naturally taking the leadership role to keep the group in line.

"When do we get to meet him?" Yeosang piped up and the rest of the group hummed in agreement and looked at him expectantly.

Honestly, a small, selfish part of him wanted to keep Wooyoung to himself for a bit longer. They hadn't seen each other since their Chi-Maek night but they'd been chatting constantly over text and even called twice. Wooyoung loved talking and Y/n loved listening. But at the same time, he also wanted them to meet Wooyoung and see just why he couldn't stop talking about him.

"He wants to meet you guys too but I'm not sure when we-"

"Y/n?" a loud voice called out as if on cue and Y/n's heart jumped- he'd recognise that voice anywhere.

He whipped his head around and he saw Wooyoung walking towards him, a pink-haired man at his side who Y/n could only assume to be Seonghwa.

Huge smiles formed on both Y/n and Wooyoung's faces and Wooyoung waved excitedly before rushing across the university cafeteria towards him, Seonghwa scrambling to keep up with the energetic younger boy.

The minute Wooyoung reached Y/n he bent down from behind Y/n’s chair and smothered him in a hug, burying his face in his neck. The rest of his friend circle’s eyes widened at the ball of affectionate energy that had suddenly appeared out of nowhere and had instantly clung to their friend. Y/n's cheeks were warm and he lifted his hands up to grip Wooyoung's arms that were wrapped around his shoulders.

Wooyoung pulled back and slid into the empty seat beside Y/n.

"Hey! I haven't seen you in forever." He whined with a pout and Y/n huffed out a laugh, "It's only been like a week, Wooyoung."

But to be honest, Y/n had missed him just as much.

"Yeah, but after having waited to meet you for how many years now, one week without you is torture."

"Drama queen," Y/n murmured affectionately.

Someone cleared their throats and Y/n looked up and across the table to Hongjoong who he guessed was probably looking for an explanation or introduction.

"Oh, guys, this is Wooyoung." Y/n gestured to the boy clinging to his arm.

Jongho snorted, "We'd figured."

Minji slapped his arm lightly and gave Wooyoung a friendly smile, "Hi, Wooyoung-ssi. We were just talking about you."

"Oh, good things only I hope."

"Oh, yes. We were talking about how Y/n-" Yeosang began but Y/n slapped a hand over his mouth, his face burning and his eyes giving his best friend a pointed don't you dare glower.

"Awww, are you shy? You're always so shy." Wooyoung teased and Y/n's glare moved to him. Wooyoung just laughed and so did the rest of the group.

"Oh, this is Seonghwa." Wooyoung gestured to the handsome man behind him.

"Hey, nice to finally meet you all." He gave them all a gorgeous smile, eyes crinkling up in the corners and Y/n had a feeling that if everyone wasn't already so smitten with their partners they'd have been swooning over him.

The group smiled and introduced themselves and Wooyoung was happy to finally have faces to match to the names and stories he'd heard.

"Oh, you guys are the ones that play soccer, right?" Wooyoung looked over at Jongho and Minji who raised their eyebrows.

"Yeah, why?" Jongho questioned and Wooyoung grinned.

"You guys up for a game?"

"What do you mean?" Minji inquired.

"Well, our friend group is hanging out on the lawn by that one big oak tree and some of us were wanting to kick a ball around this afternoon during lunch."

Seonghwa nodded, "Wooyoung and I just came to get some refreshments for the group before we head over. You guys are welcome to join."

Jongho considered it and so did the rest of the group.

"Sure, why not," Jongho responded and Alessandro nodded in agreement; he played soccer too.

"We were wanting to meet you guys anyways," Jisoo spoke up suddenly. They were always rather quiet so they must be serious if they were speaking up. Y/n watched Hongjoong smile at Jisoo when he caught the excited grin on their face. Jisoo really cared about their friends so it was natural that they wanted to meet the new people in Y/n's life.

"Well, that's settled then." Wooyoung let go of Y/n's arm and stood up.

The rest of the group started gathering their things and standing too. It was a lazy Saturday and no one really had much to do anyways.

"What's settled?" A deep voice suddenly said from behind them.

Y/n turned to find the source and saw a familiar blond man, a plastic spoon hanging from his lips and a small tub of ice cream in one of his large hands.

"Hi, Yunho." Y/n greeted and Yunho instantly smiled back.

"Hey, Y/n. Long time no see, how've you been? Wooyoung hasn't shut up about you."

Y/n turned to look at Wooyoung whose ears had gone red. Y/n reached a hand out and hooked his pinky with Wooyoung's with an amused grin.

"Don't you tease me too." Wooyoung gave him a side-eye.

Y/n laughed, "I wasn't."

Wooyoung narrowed his eyes at him before clearing his throat and turning to Yunho.

"Y/n's friends are joining us for lunch."

"Oh? Well, why are we all still standing around? Let's go. I haven't seen Mingi all day."

And then he turned around and promptly walked toward the exit, shoving another spoonful of ice cream in his mouth. Seonghwa rolled his eyes and followed him and Y/n wanted to ask who Mingi was again but Wooyoung was already moving, squeezing Y/n's fingers quickly before letting his hand go. Y/n instantly missed his touch and resisted the urge to grab his hand again. He still didn't know exactly where they stood and what he was allowed to do.

Soon enough they all reached the rest of Wooyoung's friend group, two boys sitting in the shade. Yunho immediately made his way over to the larger boy and tackled him in a hug.

"Hi, I've missed you."

Mingi laughed and wrapped an arm around Yunho, ruffling his hair with the other hand, "I saw you this morning at home, you idiot."

Yunho just ignored him and gave him a big smile and puppy eyes. Y/n gave them a questioning look and the other boy on the grass spoke up,

"Yes, soulmates."

Mingi and Yunho looked up, clearly having forgotten there was company.

"Platonic. Platonic soulmates." Mingi rushed out to clarify and Y/n saw the way Yunho's smile faltered and his eyes dimmed a little as he nodded in agreement. Y/n found it strange considering the what could only be described as heart eyes Yunho was giving Mingi but didn't say anything- it wasn't his place.

"You must be Y/n." The boy on the grass stood up, dusting his pants off, and walked over to him with a smile.

He gave him a charming smile and stuck a hand out, "I'm San."

Y/n recalled Wooyoung mentioning that San was his best friend.

He smiled politely and shook his hand, "Nice to meet you."

Wooyoung grinned, happy that his two favourite people were finally meeting.

He reached out and wrapped an arm around San and kissed his cheek, not thinking much of the action but Y/n noticed it and tried to hold back a frown as his heart jolted. Was Wooyoung just touchy with everyone, then?

Just as in the cafeteria, introductions were traded and soon enough conversations were being exchanged. Hongjoong and Jisoo sat down by Seonghwa and started discussing a course they discovered they shared like the boring elders they were. San, Wooyoung, and Y/n sat close together on the grass and Mingi, Yunho, Jongho, Minji, Alessandro and Yeosang (Alessandro had to all but drag him over to them) all began a mini soccer match as promised but Y/n noted that Yunho wasn't as excited about it as before.

"Don't worry, you're not the only one who sees it."

"Hm?" Y/n turned his head in San's direction.

"Yunho and Mingi."

"Oh. I didn't mean to stare or anything and it's not my place to comment either."

"It's okay. Everyone but Mingi seems to realise what's up but we've just learnt to keep our noses out of it."

"Yunho likes Mingi?"

Wooyoung nodded, "They've been best friends since they were little and were so ecstatic to find out they were soulmates. They've known each other for very long- longer than the rest of us have known each other- and it's pretty obvious that Yunho's been in love with him for years."

"Why hasn't he said anything?"

"Tricky situation. You don't want to end up creating a rift between you and your soulmate. He doesn't want to risk losing Mingi. It would hurt like hell." San said and Y/n felt so bad for Yunho. He seemed like the type to completely lose himself in his love for people and Y/n could only imagine how much this must hurt for him.

"This must probably hurt just as much," Y/n murmured.

"Probably, but as much as it has killed us to watch them be like that over the years, it's still not our place to interfere."

"Does everyone in your group have soulmates? If you don't mind me asking." Y/n asked out of curiosity.

San shook his head, "Seonghwa and I still haven't found ours. To be honest, we all thought Wooyoung and I were going to be soulmates."

Y/n felt a pang of unwarranted jealousy and hurt at his words and the way Wooyoung laughed and shoved San affectionately.

"We've known each other since we were around sixteen. We've been pretty inseparable since then so everyone naturally thought that would happen."

San nodded, "It would've made sense but it didn't happen and he has you now."

Y/n tried to smile. From the stories he'd heard about San and how comfortable and affectionate San and Wooyoung were with each other he would've believed you if you'd said they were soulmates. They looked good together too. Both were effortlessly attractive with beautiful smiles and bright eyes that sparkled with mischief. San was a little taller than Wooyoung and the slight size difference looked cute.

It was stupid, he knew it, but Yn couldn't help the feeling of uncertainty and doubt that sparked into existence within his heart.

The spark steadily grew into a flame in the two or so months that followed.

Y/n and Wooyoung's friend groups had effortlessly blended together and it was now common practice for them to all meet up when they could, whether it be lounging about on the lawn at school and kicking around a ball, studying or getting drinks.

Wooyoung and Y/n also hung out a lot outside of the group too, getting dinner together or simply staying in at one of their homes. But more often than not San was around. Wooyoung, San, Yunho and Mingi all shared a three-bedroom flat so it was expected that San would sometimes join in on their movie nights, cuddling against Wooyoung or sitting by his feet. Y/n knew they were best friends, he knew it. But just as Wooyoung and San had said, it was surprising that they weren't soulmates.

And, to make matters worse, as time passed Wooyoung started being just as affectionate and comfortable with Y/n. It sounds like it should be a good thing but it wasn't. Not really. Y/n loved the affection, he wasn't going to deny it, but Wooyoung seemed to be that way with pretty much everyone else so Y/n had no idea what to make of Wooyoung's cuddles and hand-holding. Nor did he know what to do with his cheek kisses or the way he'd nuzzle his face into Y/n's neck as he held him. To be frank, it wasn't good for his heart.

Wooyoung had never kissed him and he'd never dare kiss Wooyoung, already too nervous to properly return his affection and Wooyoung had also never said anything about dates or romance between them in general.

It hurt because it had been nearly three months and Y/n was stupidly in love. He didn't want to end up like Yunho with Mingi but as San said, it was a tricky situation. He didn't want to risk losing Wooyoung or making things awkward between them.

Y/n nearly reached his breaking point when Wooyoung and San announced they were forming a dance duo to compete in an upcoming competition.

Wooyoung was an amazing dancer and Y/n sat in on his dance practises whenever he had the chance and when he started sitting in on San and Wooyoung's practice with each other, the flame in his chest became a fire. San and Wooyoung had such great chemistry and their bodies moved so well together and sometimes Y/n felt like he was third wheeling with them or intruding. Y/n really didn't want to be that toxic guy. The guy that got jealous over their partner's friends but looking at San and Wooyoung he just couldn't help it and couldn't stop himself from wondering if the universe had truly made a mistake. How could he even begin to compare to San?

The music in the dance studio was lowered almost all the way down and Wooyoung came bounding over to Y/n, hair stuck to his sweaty forehead, cheeks flushed and a broad grin on his face.

He threw his arm around Y/n's shoulders, "Hey you~ What do you think? How did I do?"

Y/n smiled softly and petted Wooyoung's arm, "You did well, Woo."

And he wasn't just saying that- Wooyoung truly was an amazing performer.

Wooyoung took a step back and ran a hand through his hair, "You sure? I'm kinda nervous for the competition to be honest. I haven't competed in a hot minute."

Y/n held his hand and gave it a squeeze, "Don't be nervous. You'll be okay. You're-"

He was cut off by San who had made his way over and thrown an arm around Wooyoung, the sudden movement causing Wooyoung's hand to slip out of Y/n's.

"Don't stress, we're gonna kill it! You're an amazing performer."

Wooyoung smiled at his best friend, "Thanks, Sannie. You're just as amazing though."

San bumped his shoulder into Wooyoung's, "No you,"

Wooyoung laughed and shoved San, "No you,"

Y/n watched the exchange with a tight chest and clenched fists. He was being so stupid about this but watching them act like this without knowing how Wooyoung felt about him in the first place hurt and made him horribly jealous.

"Oh," Wooyoung turned to look at Y/n, "What were you going to say, Y/n- (y)ah?"

Y/n shook his head with a tight smile, "Nothing that San hasn't already said.”

"Oh, okay."

Wooyoung was a bit confused and concerned at the way Y/n's mood was declining.

He turned to his best friend, "San-ah, I'll catch up with you later, 'kay?"

San's eyes flicked between Y/n and Wooyoung, sensing some tension in the air and nodded, "Ok."

And then he was gone, grabbing his bag on the way out. Now it was just Y/n and Wooyoung.

Y/n looked at Wooyoung, "Is something up?"

Wooyoung took a step closer to Y/n and placed a warm hand on his arm, "I should be asking you that. You've been…off lately. Especially when San is around. Did something happen? Do you need me to talk to him?"

Y/n was quick to shake his head, "No, San didn't do anything wrong."

"Then what is it?" Wooyoung pressed on, his hand sliding up Y/n's arm to rest on his neck, concern painting his features.

"Nothing. It's stupid- don't worry about it. Just focus on your competition, okay?"

Wooyoung shook his head, "If it's upsetting you this much then it isn't stupid."

Y/n hated the way his throat tightened and tears pricked at his eyes. He felt ridiculous. If you'd told him three months ago that he'd find his soulmate let alone fall deeply in love with them he would have laughed. Yet, here he was, falling completely apart because of the chokehold the soulmate bond had on him, all his feelings for Wooyoung magnified and the thought of Wooyoung not returning those feelings was breaking his heart.

Wooyoung panicked when he saw the tears brimming in Y/n's eyes and he rushed to cup his face in his hands, "No no no, don't cry, jagi. What's wrong? Let me help you."

The sudden term of endearment had Y/n's tears threatening to fall.

"I'm being stupid, Woo. That's all."

"Just tell me, I don't care how stupid you think it is."

Y/n looked at Wooyoung's handsome face and the way his eyebrows were drawn together in concern.

He gulped, "I'm jealous."

"Of what?"

"San. I know he's your best friend and it's dumb of me to be jealous of him but I can't help it. You guys look good together. Even you admitted that you'd thought you would be soulmates."

Wooyoung tenderly stroked Y/n's cheeks with his thumbs, "But we're not soulmates because you were meant for me. You're mine and I'm yours."

I'm yours. Not in the way Y/n wanted him to be.

Tears finally slid past the confines of Y/n's lashes despite his determination not to cry.

Wooyoung looked properly concerned now, "Why are you crying?"

"Are we platonic?" Y/n blurted out.

Wooyoung frowned deeply, "What?"

"Are we platonic soulmates?"

"Why are you asking?"

"Because I love you, Wooyoung and the thought that you might only think of me as a platonic soulmate is killing me inside."

A sob escaped him and he cursed himself for getting this dramatically emotional. Wooyoung just stared at him in shocked silence. It seemed that Y/n wasn't going to get a response so he sniffed, pulled out of Wooyoung's hold and turned to leave. He didn't get very far because Wooyoung grabbed him, turned him back around and crushed their lips together in a kiss.

Y/n froze as his brain lagged for a second but the second it caught up, he held Wooyoung by the back of the neck and kissed him back. Wooyoung held him tight and kissed him tenderly and slowly. After a while, he pulled back to look at Y/n. Y/n's eyes fluttered open and he looked at Wooyoung with flushed cheeks and parted lips.

Wooyoung gave him another soft kiss, "No, we're not platonic soulmates."

Wooyoung hugged Y/n tight and buried his face in his neck. He pressed a small kiss to the skin there, "San and I have known each other for a long time. I love him and he's my best friend. But you're my soulmate, the person literally destined to be mine. How could I not return your feelings?"

He pulled his face to look at Y/n again, "Don't compare yourself to San. Or anyone else for that matter, okay? My love language is touch and I'm clingy, I know. But my love for you is different from my love for my friends and family."

He reached up and gently stroked Y/n's hair from his face, I might hug and hold onto everybody all the time but you're the only person I want to kiss and touch. There's only you."

Y/n finally reacted, blushing at his words and burying his face in Wooyoung's neck. Wooyoung chuckled and stroked his hair.

"My shy baby," He cooed.

Y/n tightened his hold on Wooyoung's waist, "I'm yours. Only yours."

Wooyoung smiled and kissed his hair, "Good to know since as you know I do bite."

That earned a chuckle from Y/n.

Wooyoung stroked his back in soothing circles and Y/n just basked in the comfort of his arms for a while.

Eventually, he pulled back to look at Wooyoung again, "Thank you for putting me out of my misery."

"You make it sound like I killed you."

Y/n just smiled and shyly pressed a kiss to Wooyoung's lips, "Am I allowed to do this now?"

"What, kiss me?"

Y/n nodded.

Wooyoung gave him a soft peck on the lips, "Of course you can. Anytime and anywhere you want. You don't need to ask, jagiya."

Y/n's cheeks flushed at the term of endearment that so casually rolled off Wooyoung's tongue and Wooyoung gave him a cheeky grin.

"Awww, why are you blushing now, cutie? Do you like it when I call you jagiya?"

Y/n just stared at him with flushed cheeks and Wooyoung kissed him again, "You're so adorable."

Wooyoung reached around Y/n to pick his bag up and slung it over his shoulder. He took Y/n's hand and slotted his fingers between his.

He kissed Y/n's cheek, "Come home with me, jagiya. We can order in and watch that new movie you were telling me about yesterday.”

Y/n finally smiled- he was so relieved. He squeezed Wooyoung's fingers, "Okay, but you need to shower first."

Wooyoung smirked, "Will you be joining me?"

Y/n's heart jolted and his blush returned. He slapped Wooyoung's arm, "In your dreams!"

Wooyoung threw his head back and laughed. Y/n rolled his eyes and tugged Wooyoung toward the exit.

Wooyoung wiggled his eyebrows at him, "You're eager, aren't you? Are you sure you're not planning on taking me up on my offer?"

Two could play at this game, "Maybe if you're a good boy tonight."

Wooyoung raised his eyebrows and smirked, "Promise?"

Y/n had no comeback so he just ignored Wooyoung who started laughing again. Y/n smiled to himself; it felt good to have things clarified and back to normal.

[lyon-amore]

Carla Hi Jake, how are you? I know it’s been a long time since we last talked, but I wanted to tell you I have decided to play in public for the first time and I wanted you to be It will be this Saturday at 7 p.m. If you can’t come because of your situation, I will understand … I hope my message has reached you well… ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Jake had read the young woman's message several times. He had not responded since he did not know if he could be there that day given his situation. But to come out of hiding just once and hear her sing, he knew it was worth it.

    He felt overwhelmed seeing so many people, so he stayed at a table in the back away from the others.     He touched his mask, hoping it hadn't come down a bit and exposed himself.     He scanned everyone present, wanting to know if anyone made a strange movement wanting to go after him. And from that scan of faces, he managed to see her. Carla was different from what I had seen in her photo, with blonde hair and leaning on Phil's shoulder, in a flirtatious way, since when were them together? If he knew perfectly well that she hated him, perhaps something had changed while he was gone?     They were talking animatedly with a boy with dark blonde hair whom he had never seen before. It seemed like his circle of friends had been growing.

    Someone came out on stage and announced Carla's name. The girl who looked like her cheered her name excitedly, as did the unknown boy.

   <<So she must be her twin sister.>> 

    He thought more relieved. It was too strange to see her with Phil.

    Carla came out on stage, guitar in hand. Her blue eyes shone with the lights. Jake smiled when he saw her, she looked just like her photo.     She sat on the stool and adjusted the guitar strings. She seemed a little nervous.

   "I'm sorry if I lose my voice, it's the first time I've performed for more people," she said through the microphone.

   "Don't worry, you can do it," someone from the audience encouraged her.

   "Thank you," she said in a soft voice, "I wrote this song thinking about a special boy for me... so I hope he likes it."

    The dark-haired young man let out a small laugh, covering himself better with his hood.

    The young woman with brown hair cleared her throat and began to play the guitar. It was a slow melody.

    She began to sing, at first, they could notice how her voice trembled a little, but as she progressed in the song, The more she lost her fear, feeling more comfortable with the music.

   “Meeting you was destiny,” her voice had increased in the chorus, giving passion to the song. They could even see a slight smile, “so baby, let it be forever.”

    Jake noticed that she seemed happy singing that song. He even noticed her self-confidence.

    He had found himself tapping on the table to the music and by the time she finished, he was the first to applaud.     People accompanied him and she couldn’t stop smiling. Everyone cheered her.     But there was another thing that made him surprised.     The boy he had seen sitting with his sister got up from his chair, going on stage. He placed his hands next to Carla's face and kissed her. 

   “Bravo Eric!” Carla's sister shouted.

   “Well done, man!” Phil also shouted.

    After the kiss, Carla hid her face with her hands, embarrassed. The one called Eric laughed and hugged her.

    Amid applause and more words of encouragement, Jake stood up from the table, wanting to leave. He already knew that theirs was never going to work. He didn't insist when he returned. But he also didn't decide to stay to continue putting her in danger, even though she wanted him to at least stay as a friend. But he needed time. Time to forget her. That's why he chose space.

    He stopped for a moment to look at her, she had already come off the stage and her sister and Phil were congratulating her. And Eric kissed her again, but this time on the forehead. She smiled shyly at him.     Jake smiled when he saw her. At least he was glad she was happy.

   "I guess I was never part of her dream," Jake whispered.

    He had already assumed that because of the life he had, he was not going to be able to make her happy.     Also, that he wouldn't be either, because how could a fugitive like him be able to make anyone happy? He returned to the mindset that it was better to be alone again.

    At the end of the day, he had to keep his feet on the ground and remind himself that there was no such thing as the destiny of being with a person, only the work of keeping a couple together.

[12romy]

I'm afraid things got out of hand. It was supposed a cute and fluffy SHORT snippet and somehow it ended up with a 1.7k fic with Britcedes being possessive as hell over Mick. Gotta admit, it's a nice turn of event XD

Enjoy!!

Lewis couldn't help but glare as he passed in front of the McLaren hospitality with his scooter. It was stronger than him, he couldn't help it.

Mick was staying with them this weekend since he was driving Piastri's car during FP1. Lewis was happy for him, really. If it were up to him, Mick would be in a car every single race. Sadly, it wasn't, and he wasn't ready to let go of his own seat. Not quite yet.

So, he was condemned to watch Mick wear the McLaren ugly papaya orange, and drive a lame car because let's face it, the only not-lame car was their dear W14. She was a forever unmatched beauty and Lewis would die on this hill.

He found George wearing the same expression of displeasure as he parked his scooter in a corner of the garage.

"I don't like it," announced the young man with an upset expression, a bit like a pout, and Lewis felt his own expression soften.

"I know, love," he sighed. "I don't like it either."

George groaned, and plopped his head against Lewis' shoulder, defeated. He always did this when he wanted a hug, and Lewis found it adorable because he had to lean down to do that. He wrapped his arms around his boyfriend, pulling him into the hug he had requested.

"He should be here with us," George muttered, the sound of his voice hushed against Lewis' neck.

"He'll be back soon," Lewis murmured in answer, trying to convince himself much as George.

As he drove into FP1, Lewis had mix feelings each time he passed Mick in the McLaren. Mick waved at him, more than once, and Lewis was happy to see him drive. But it pissed him off so much that he was with another team.

He belonged with Mercedes. Throughout the weekend, Lewis found quite a lot of pictures of Mick at Mclaren. The PR team had decided to use him as much as possible, because why wouldn't they? It was Mick. Bright smile, soft laugh, puppy eyes Mick. It would be stupid not to make everything about him.

"I want to skin them alive when they touch him like this," George said, glaring at the picture of Lewis' phone. It was a Mclaren mechanic who had an arm over Mick's shoulder as they were talking animatingly. George had just voiced out Lewis' thought, even if he was rather thinking something around strangling instead of skinning. They shouldn't be allowed to touch him. Mick was theirs. He was Mercedes'.

And Mick knew it as well. They caught his longing glances toward their garage, and even if he was supposed to stay with McLaren, he kept somehow ending up near their hospitality, chatting with the team or asking about Lewis and George.

They had, obviously, no claim as official as they wished. Lewis and George, that is. It wasn't like they were dating Mick, no matter how badly they wanted to. They hadn't found the guts to confess just yet and were still trying to find the best, most romantic way to do it. They were working on a Plan, with a capital if you please. They were practically sure Mick felt, if not the same, at least something for them.

They'd have to say something soon, or they would go crazy with possessiveness before that.

Mick fit in so well with the team. In just a few months, he had everyone wrapped around his little finger without even meaning to. 

Bono had all but adopted the kid. With anyone else, Lewis would've been jealous to see Bono so fond of them. But it was Mick, so it was okay. Lewis certainly couldn't hold it against Bono. Angela was fiercely protective of Mick, and even Toto looked softer around him. 

Lewis and George, well, they were head over heels for him, and half the garage had already given them a shovel-talk, even though they weren't dating yet. Everyone also said it was a matter of time when ether of them answered that, which reassured them every time that their feelings might not be unrequited.

The entire weekend was pure torture. The atmosphere in the garage was gloomy because of Mick's absence, and to add to everything, both cars had issues. George during the qualifying and Lewis during the race. He had to retire the car to his dismay, and George didn't even make it to the podium, barely getting in the points.

A bad, bad weekend for Mercedes.

The post-race debrief was positively depressing. Everyone was in a mood, pulling long faces, and exhaustion didn't help.

Bono was going over some data with a tired and monotone voice when someone knocked at the door.

"I brought you guys hot cocoa!" Mick announced in a cheerful voice, a tray of drinks precariously balanced on one arm as he opened the door.

It might as well have been a divine apparition, with the way everyone was struck with pure, unaltered joy at the sight of their reserve driver.

He was still wearing a bright orange McLaren shirt under his Mercedes jacket and had probably come straight to the garage as soon as he'd been released from his duty at McLaren.

He skipped around the table, giving out a mug to everyone.

"Yours got almond milk in it," he winked as he gave Lewis his mug. He was gone a second later, which was a good thing because Lewis would've kissed him right then and there. He and George exchanged a meaningful look. Nevermind for the Plan, they couldn't wait anymore.

"Alright, I'll leave you to it," Mick exclaimed, still smiling.

"No, no, you can stay," Toto interjected. "We're almost done anyway."

The rest of the debrief was much more animated. Questions and ideas flew around, and everyone's depressed mood was gone and forgotten.

"Well, I think we're gonna do great next race," Toto announced at the end. "That'll be all for today. Rest and relax, and I'll see you all tomorrow morning on the plane."

Lewis had found himself flying more often with the team when it meant both George and Mick would be there.

The three drivers drove back to the hotel together, and instead of parting ways in the lobby, George offered Mick to join them in their room for a movie night. He agreed immediately, and they made their way to the suite Lewis and George were sharing.

"Man, that shirt has to go," Lewis growled the second they closed the door, glaring at Mick's shirt as if it personally offended him. Mick blushed, looking down at the McLaren shirt, and Lewis realised his words could've been misinterpreted.

"What- What are you guys gonna do about it?" Mick stammered, face flustered but with an unexpected glint of confidence in his eyes.

"I-" Lewis hesitated. He looked at George helplessly, and his boyfriend sighed.

"This was not how we planned to do this," he lamented but took a step closer to Mick. "We had a whole plan, you know... But then, McLaren had to try and steal you from us."

"I think we should help you get out of that shirt," Lewis added, a seductive smile on his lips. "If you want to, of course."

Mick nodded shyly, and Lewis took another step forward. George gently took off the Mercedes jacket off Mick's shoulders, and Lewis pushed the tip of his fingers under the hem of his shirt, grazing at his stomach. Mick was breathing hard, and Lewis wanted to press his palm against his heart, just to feel how fast it was beating.

He started to lift off the shirt, searching Mick's face for any sign of discomfort that would've made him stop immediately. He pulled the shirt above his head and took a moment to admire Mick's naked torso.

"God, you're so beautiful," George breathed out, stealing the words out of Lewis' mouth. "Can I kiss you?"

"Please," Mick pleaded softly, and George wrapped his long fingers around his neck to pull him in a gentle kiss. Lewis took in the sight in front of him. It was one of the most overwhelmingly beautiful things he'd seen in his life. And he'd get to have this, to have them both. He was one lucky guy, for sure.

Mick expectantly turned toward him after they broke the kiss, extending his arms toward him. Lewis snatched him in his arms, chuckling a little at Mick's neediness, and kissed him.

He noted distractingly that his lips tasted like cocoa, and he licked along his lower lip as Mick opened his mouth to deepen the kiss.

"Let us take care of you," he whispered in his ear, enjoying the shiver that ran through Mick's body.

"Only- only if I get to take care of you, too," Mick negotiated, flustered and timid.

"Gosh, what did we do to deserve you?" George hummed l, kissing Mick again.

"If we do this, we need you to know, Mick..." Lewis started, hesitating. "That I- we- er..."

George came to his rescue, a hand on his forearm to appease him.

"We love you, Mick," he said with a confident smile. "Lewis isn't very comfortable to say it aloud, but it doesn't mean he doesn't feel the same."

It was Lewis' turn to turn red with embarrassment. He buried his face against Mick's neck, who giggled.

"We had planned to do better," Lewis grumbled. "We wanted to wine and dine you, do things properly..."

"You've been doing that, though," he pipped up. "You've spent the last four months or so taking me out to dinners, and surfing and movie nights and boat rides... In my head, that counts."

"Oh," George breathed out.

"Were we that obvious?" Lewis inquired.

"Kinda," Mick giggled again. "But I like it. It's cute."

He kissed them again, one after the other, taking his time. Lewis hummed against his lip, pulling him toward the bed.

"Ah, I haven't said it yet, did I?" Mick stopped right as they reached the bed. "I love you both."

George basically tackled him to the mattress under Lewis' amused expression. He didn't wait any longer to climb onto the bed, joining them.

Later, that night, they fell asleep curled up in bed, Mick between the two of them and wearing a Mercedes hoody. He was where he belonged, and everything was as it should be.