#slow burn romance

[tatumis-awesome]

“I..I didn’t know—how to tell you..” Is one of the last things Gwen Stacy said to Miles Morales. “Goodbye, Gwen.” Is one of the last things Miles Morales said to Gwen Stacy.

These are the last expressions Gwen saw of Miles Morales.

These are the last expressions Miles saw of Gwen Stacy.

These are some of the expressions Gwen saw of Miles Morales for the first time in a year.

These are some of the expressions Miles saw of Gwen Stacy for the first time in a year.

This is Miles looking at his sketchbook that has drawings of Gwen Stacy. The thing that reminds him so much of her.

This is Gwen looking at the polaroid of her and Miles Morales. The thing that reminds her so much of him.

I took too long on this, hopefully you see where I’m gettin’ at. I might’ve been able to add more stuff, but my storage is...yikes!!

and also, my brain is doing that thing where you walk into a room, and immediately forget what you were going to do in that room.

Except its on my phone, and I just can’t remember what I was going to add.

[dashofmonsters]

Dreamers & Delusions- Pt. 2

Merman x Female Reader

"I'll have to go into hibernation if it gets too cold or if I can't find something to do. The acclimation program already knows about my kind and our issues with the cold so they have accommodations for winter," he explains.

"Well I hope it doesn't get too cold then, would be a bummer if I couldn't come see you," you smile at him.

Tao's eyes go wide for a second before he clears his throat, "Yes well it would indeed be a bummer... Especially since we have just decided to be friends."

"Right?" you beam.

You and Tao talk and talk almost to the point where it's just about silly things or what he's struggling with during his acclimation. You find out he's a very literal person who has issues the most with slang, metaphors, and emotes. He lives in a rental that's about a couple miles away from the beach and he usually walks to work or the local grocery store since he can't fit into normal vehicles.

After a little bit of work though you find out an even more endearing side to him, he likes to try his hand at cooking ever so often. Though he prefers his meat raw, he likes the idea of charring the outside and adding bits of flavor. He was a little embarrassed to admit it but you found out it's because his father was supposed to show him how to create a feast to impress a mate per tradition.

You didn't press as to why his father didn't teach him seeing he was already uncomfortable enough to admit it. So you decided to share a bit of something uncomfortable about yourself.

"My mom never taught me how to do a lot of basics that most parents are supposed to teach their kids. I had to watch a lot of how to videos and make myself look like an idiot if I messed up or didn't know something. A lot of people assumed I was stupid or had no common sense. I just didn't have a point of reference and I hated being ignorant but I was judged for my short comings and no one ever helped," you admit.

Tao nods and gives you his first, though very small, smile.

"Is that why you are forgetting things constantly?" he asks with the slightest smirk.

"Yeah...sure," you feel a bit embarrassed by his question, but you'll never confess that you 'forgot' those things just as an excuse to talk to him.

"I see, I will take that into account that due to your upbringing that you just don't think about these things and I will stop being annoyed by it," he nods.

"You were annoyed," now you feel a little hurt.

"Of course I was, but no more than I usually am," he shrugs.

"That doesn't sound fun," you grimace. "You can't just be annoyed all the time."

"I'm not annoyed when I'm at home," he says.

"Lucky," you laugh.

"Why? Are you unable to be at peace at home too?" he gives you a look of genuine concern then.

His number one thing seems to be peace. He's a no nonsense guy who just wants to go about his day with no hiccups. His life honestly seems perfect compared to your at times.

"Only when I'm sleeping or about to leave for work. Peace... that doesn't come easy to someone like me," you frown.

Tao studies you then as he drops to your eye level. You should feel super uncomfortable but for some reason you don't mind. He stares hard at your face and scans it until he nods.

"You do look very tired," he says.

You can't help but to laugh at his observation, "Tao, I'm going to let you in on a secret: I'm always tired."

"That is unhealthy," he scowls.

"Yup and there's nothing I can do about it," you shrug.

"Yes there is, you could go home and sleep," he says, almost ordering you to do so.

That's when you can't help but to crack up. It's horrible that this is how you cope, but it is.

"If I went home to sleep right now, my grandmother would give me an earful about being lazy," you laugh.

Tao doesn't laugh, he doesn't smile, doesn't do anything except stand up slowly and prowl over to you.

You shut up real quick thinking something is wrong until he picks you up. You yelp, being carried in one arm at his hip like a sack of rice.

"What are you doing?!" you squawk as you sway when he shifts to carry you princess style.

He doesn't say anything until he sets you down onto your tie dye towel.

"Rest, I'll make sure no one bothers you while you're here," he says.

You can't help but feel a mix of emotions then. Your eyes water a little but you swipe away any moisture before a tear falls.

"Thank you, that's probably the sweetest thing anyone has said to me in a long while," you smile at him.

And Tao in all his Taoness, just nods.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Tao really meant it when he said no one would bother you while you were on the beach.

The day after he said that, you had what was possibly the best beach nap you've ever had thanks to Tao brining you a beach chair with your name on it. Literally.

At first it felt weird that he'd go that far just for you to get a beach nap but you guessed it might be some cultural thing and as far as Tao said, you're his only friend. You thanked him and didn't think much of it until the day after that.

A group of teenagers were playing volleyball a little too roughly and one of the guys fumbled and the ball got you right on the head even though you did your best to dodge it. The boys tried to apologize but Tao gave them an earful about respect and being more spatially aware.

That too was normal for Tao though he was a bit harsher than usual. Unfortunately it got worse.

Yesterday was a blessed off day. No work, your grandmother was out thrifting to her heart's content, and all your bills had been paid. You were excited to head to the beach but that excitement was short lived.

The first thing you noticed was that your chair was pulled a little closer to the guard tower. Next was that Tao wasn't in the tower but leaning against the ladder like he was expecting some shit to hit the fan any second. And finally, the group of muscle hunks posing as they flexed for the cameras.

Apparently some magazine decided this spot was the perfect location for some weird gym rat protein powder ad photo shoot and to make matters worse, they tried to rope Tao into it.

Before you sat down though, Tao made a bit of a scene by scooting your chair even closer to the tower while making eye contact with one of the big buff dudes.

You told him he was being a bit extra to which he said he was only being cautious as they had been eyeing you since you started walking down the beach. You rolled your eyes, ready to tell him that there's no way they'd be interested in you until he thrusted a binder in your direction.

It was a detailed list of ingredients, dishes, and recipes commonly enjoyed by all saltwater merfolk with a few dishes his kind liked the most. You had almost forgot that he said he'd make this list for you so when he gave it to you, you almost cried.

You thanked him and started fanning through the pages and noticed his hand writing was especially nice on dishes that his people particularly enjoyed. You gave him a quick side eye and smiled.

These are probably his personal favorites, you think.

As you started to skim through the recipes with the neatest hand writing a shadow fell over you.

It was one of the buff guys.

He gave you the most generic social media fake ass grins ever and you couldn't help the eye roll. He started to introduce himself but was hardcore interrupted when Tao drove him into the ground like a fucking bull.

Tao and the buff guy started hashing it out until his bros came and peeled him away from the fight. It was the first time you really really saw Tao's teeth. Sharp and pointy like a shark's and then there was the spike like fins on his lower arms and legs. He looked like a mad dog ready to rip someone in half.

You heard one of the photographers comment on how territorial some of the fair folk can be with places or people they claim as their own.

If that was the case, then you guessed it might have to do with your friendship with Tao. If it wasn't, then he's about the get a stern talking to.

~~~~~~

"He was bothering you, I don't see why you're upset with me," Tao says after you lectured him about yesterday.

"I'm upset you dingbat because shit like that can get you sent back to your home realm! Do you think I want my friend to get deported over shit like that," you poke his arm, but it ends up being a jab.

Tao opens his mouth then closes it. He looks around a bit then let's out a long sigh "I'm sorry. I really don't know what's come over me. After I moved here, I didn't have my shoal. My sponsor checks on me maybe once every three months since he's been busy working with another merman who's been trying to get his pass here. I guess the loneliness drove me a bit crazy."

Now you feel bad for making him feel bad but you hope your gift will more than make up for it. You worked all morning long on it, double checking to make sure the meat was ready and perfect right before you left the house and that the sea greens were cooked and seasoned just right.

"Well moving past that, I brought you something," you take out the lunch box and show it to Tao.

He looks down right shocked as he goes to reach for it. He carefully removes the lid and his eyes stare hard at the contents.

"You made this... for me," his voice is soft and quiet and you can hear the pain behind it. He hesitates for a moment then takes a slice of the thin cut beef and pops it in his mouth. He closes his eyes and tilts his head back and swallows. He's quiet for a minute and you're afraid you messed up and he's too nice to tell you other wise.

"Tao if it's bad you can just tell me, I can take the criticism," you tell him, ready for the critical blow.

Instead he tilts his head back down and opens his eyes. The whites are now all black which makes his yellow irises pop even more so.

"My friend, if this was bad I would have spat it out," he grabs two more slices and then a few more practically stuffing his face like a kid who was caught with a bag of candy.

You watch as he eats everything, savoring every bite like he hasn't had a decent meal in ages. His harsh features soften as he takes the last bite and licks his fingers clean. For some reason you focus on him as he rolls the sauce off of his fingers and onto his tongue.

Bad lonely thoughts, Tao is our friend. Nothing more, nothing less.

"So was it good?" you ask, though you can probably guess the answer by the clean plate.

"If I was mermaid being offered a feast, I'd allow you the honor to continue courting me," he jokes.

"Oh what an honor," you laugh.

For the first time since you've met him he laughs back. You can't help but stare at him and feel a smile build up that hurts your cheeks.

"Thank you, really. I have tried and tried to create something that tastes like home but it was never quite right. It was either too salty or I over cooked the meat or the greens were under cooked somehow. This is pretty close to the flavors of my shoal. I didn't realize how much I missed this," he looks down at the empty lunch box with a mix of emotions.

Something in you feels for him. You haven't had a taste of home in forever but your problem is that you're pretty sure that it would make you physically sick instead of homesick. Home never felt like home, here didn't feel like home until you met Jessica and Tao.

Jessica made you her to die for pie for you birthday which you almost threw up from over drinking when she took you bar hopping for your birthday. Tao gave you an amazingly detailed binder of saltwater mer foods and recipes.

You can't think of anything better than food that brings all sorts of peoples together, human or the fair folk.

"Well, I can't do it all the time but I can at least make you a boxed lunch once a week, how does that sound," you smile at him.

"If it weren't for the fact that you're human and my friend I'd think you were trying to court me," he laughs. "But yes, that sounds good."

You play slap him and he laughs again.

~~~~~~~~~

"For the last time Jes, there's nothing romantic going on between Tao and I," you roll your eyes as Jessica gives you her biggest grin.

"Uh huh, sure girl. Maybe you don't see it that way, but guys don't risk getting deported for just friends and not just once. This is what, the second offence? He's lucky that he's, oh what did you say? A combination of a bookish mafia boss, the inspiration for the statues of deities and all around hotty mchot hot hot," she wriggles her brows at you before popping another slice of gum in her mouth.

You snort laugh, "I did not say that last one Jes."

"No, but you were thinking it," she raises a brow and twirls around till she's behind the counter.

"Listen, I can find him physically attractive and still not want more than a friendship. Plus he hasn't come onto me so I'm pretty sure he's not into me like that," you sigh and continue cleaning the table you just cleared.

Jessica hums something and clicks her tongue, "Girl you do know he's not human right? That he might have been coming onto you from the get go without you realizing it? Shoot for that matter he might not even realize it himself."

That has you curious now.

"What do you mean by that," you look over you shoulder to see Jes twirling a red curl.

"Oh you know, that the fair folk believe in fated mates and things like that," she gives you a cheesy grin and blushes a little.

You do know about the fated mates thing, it's one of the reasons a lot of fair folk, especially the guys, flocked to this realm in droves once the rift border opened up. With the fae it was pretty easy to tell once the bond clicked which wasn't always immediately. Their calm and calculated appearance would become wild and untamed. They would get quickly territorial and easily violent towards anyone who came close to their mate. A mark would usually show above the heart and a matching one would appear on their mate once their bond was consummated.

As for merman, no one had any idea what to look for since they just started coming this side as of a few years ago.

"Yes, I'm well aware about that. So what does that have to do with him not know if he's coming onto me," you ask.

"They know it deep down and act on it sometimes. They don't even realize they're courting you half the time or that they have this desire to want to be with you. It's hardcore ingrained into their DNA or something, I don't know. But it sounds to me that he is indeed into you. You're both just too oblivious to see it. Unlike Artek," Jes grins at the mention of her wild fae lover's name and sighs.

And suddenly her weird school girl crush behavior makes sense.

"Jes, did you and Artek.... Wait a sec, are you and-"

Jessica folds down her top just enough for you to see part of a swirling mark above her heart. She shakes in place with the goofiest smile you've ever seen on her.

"Just found out last night. Oh and he did not want to let me go," she places a hand on her forehead and feigns being scandalized. "But I have to go to work. He threatened to come in and tear Mikey a new one if he so much as thinks he can schedule me during my bond week," she give a vicious grin then.

The fae took about a week to celebrate their mate bond here, which was a much shorter version of their actual month long festivity of it. Mates were so rare on their side for some reason but here it was becoming as normal as two humans getting married. It just happened, but it was equally special if not more so.

Regardless, you were happy for Jes. Mikey tried to take everything from her in their divorce but got next to nothing after a detective brought in proof of his multiple affairs. That's why he's such an ass to her here.

"So, when's your bride feast huh? Gonna go all out," you turn to her and cross your arms.

Jessica goes into great detail about what she wants to do for the rest of the shift. That Artek has invited his large ass family this side to celebrate and that he's already started sourcing materials for their marriage bed. It was more than obvious that she's over the moon and can't get over the fact that she's found the one after years of dealing with a heartache.

Mikey tried to shut her down but several of the fair folk patrons snapped at him saying that it's a blessing that her and Artek found one another and he shouldn't discourage her happiness. His flustered face was priceless.

~~~~~

"Hey grandmama, I'm home," you shout as you slide your shoes off at the door.

Your grandmother's house is unusually quiet for this time of day when she's usually scrolling through her phone while listening to her soap operas. You look around and the livingroom is empty and so is the kitchen. You're about to call her when you see a note on the fridge saying Gayle has whisked her away for margaritas with the girls.

"Fuck me sideways and call me bob," you rake your fingers over your face in frustration. As much as you can't stand her normal antics you loath her when she's drunk. If you're lucky, Gayle will have her spend the night at her house until their hangovers wear off. If you weren't, there's a nice beach with your name on it.

Typically you'd go there after work but you're tired and you have the house to yourself right now. So you stretch and crack open the fridge and start preparing for a blissful night of snacking and binge watching some of your favorite shows.

~~~~

Hours pass and you get a text from Gayle that she's taking your grandmother home with her since she's had one too many and sends you a pic of your grandmother trying to put a dollar bill in a male strippers strap.

"Thanks for the mental scarring Gayle, just what I needed," you text back to her knowing she'll get the joke.

Gayle was a close family friend and was more like a grandmother to you than your biological one was at times. She was sweet and caring with a crazy sense of humor and infectious laughter. You sometimes wish you lived with her but she travels too much and she likes her alone time just as much as she like partying.

You squirm in your grandmother's recliner and grab a bag of chips getting ready for the next show until you hear a frantic knock at your door.

The bag flies out of your hand due to your shock reflex and you place a hand over your heart.

The knocking continues as you rush to the door to check through the peephole. You can't see nothing.

"Who is it?" you ask.

"It's me, are you ok," you hear Tao's voice.

You pause, not remembering if you ever told him where you live aside from the general direction. You slowly open the door and look up at him. He looks worried out of his mind.

"Tao, are you ok? You look like you've seen a ghost buddy," you ask him.

His hair is all messed up and he's breathing fast and hard, trying to catch his breath and his tan skin looks like he worried himself sick.

"You didn't come to the beach today. You've been coming everyday except when it rains. I thought something happened," he frowns.

"Oh uh well, no I'm fine. My grandmother is out tonight so I thought I'd enjoy a night in since this rarely happens," you explain.

"I see, ok... That's good then. As long as you're alright," he nods and sighs as he leans against the top of the door frame.

A crack of thunder peels off in the distance causing Tao to flinch. He looks even more worried then.

"Sounds like rain," you comment.

"Yes, I... I should get going then, I don't want to accidentally transform back to my other form while walking home. It'd be very inconv-"

Before he finishes that thought lightning bursts through the sky and the little misting sprinkle turns into a torrential downpour.

Tao groans and looks resigned as he's about to turn to leave but you quickly stop him.

"Hey you can stay here for tonight if you want to wait out the rain," you tell him.

He looks to you like that's possibly the dumbest thing you could say.

"That sounds inappropriate," he glares at you. "Inviting an unmated male into your house is never wise."

"Tao we're friends and adults. I'm pretty sure I can trust you to keep your hands to yourself unless you've had ulterior motives from the get go," you cross your arms and stare up at him.

"It is still unwise," he nods, being firm.

"Oh so then you do have ulterior motives," you raise a brow.

"I never said that," he grimaces.

"Then there's no problem if you don't. Come on, get your ass in here," you open the door all the way and beckon him inside.

You hear him groan as he accepts his defeat while walking in. He struggles with the low ceiling, well low for him as he shuts the door.

"Is this your first time in a human house," you ask, leading him to the livingroom.

"Yes, it's very uh small and compact," he notes.

You get the compact part as your grandmother is a bit of a tidy hoarder, the small thing, that's probably due to his height.

"Well mi casa su casa. Well more like mi abuela's casa su casa, but still, make yourself at home," you say then try to offer him something warm to eat and drink.

Tao tries to deny any offers but you snap back saying it's rude to deny your hostess the honor of taking care of her guest. Tao eventually resigns and you bring him a warm cup of tea. As you go to the kitchen to make him something to eat he asks if he can watch you. You agree and start pulling ingredients left and right.

You get fully into the zone as you start preparing the food. You glance over at Tao ever so often just to see that he's fixated on your process. As you start cooking you notice the whites of his eyes turn black again. He sniffs the air and his pupils dilate.

"Want to try a bite," you offer him a piece and he takes it with no hesitation and scarfs it down. His nails which are sharp and pointed seem a bit longer and more pointier now. His expression looks more predatory than normal and some of his spikey fins have started protruding.

Guess that means he's really hungry.

"Give me just a few more minutes and dinner will be ready ok," you tell him as you continue on with his meal.

Tao just nods and stares daggers at pan. You feel like if you let him he'd lunge at it with reckless abandon and eat everything in record timing.

After a little bit you scoop the meat into a bowl and hand it to him. He looks at it and takes in a deep whiff before carefully grabbing a bite. He looks like he's holding back going ham on the food and you're wondering if he's trying not to scare you by going into some weird merman feeding frenzy.

"Hey if you need to eat however you want to eat, go ahead. I can just uh go into another room if you want some privacy or someth-"

Tao grabs a handful of the meat and stuffs his face with it. His pupils nearly engulf his irises making his eyes look pitch black. He tears into the strips of meat like a crazed hungry animal. The juices and sauce start dripping down his arms and you roll your eyes at the mess.

"I'm going to get you a towel, that stuff'll get sticky after a while," you say as you walk towards to laundry room.

Tao grunts and consumes some more meat.

As you get to the laundry room you smack yourself over the head for having another bout of terrible lonely girl thoughts.

Tao, smack.

Is, smack.

Just, smack.

A, smack.

Friend, smack.

You should not be even more attracted to him after that feeding frenzy trance thing he just went in and yet you can't stop thinking about it.

"God, does that mean I'm depraved," you question yourself. "Or does this just mean I'm weird and anything goes right now in my lonely haven't had sex in ages mind?"

Probably a bad mix of both...

You sigh and grab a towel and turn only to be met with a brick wall.

"Oh hey, are you done," you ask, praying that he didn't hear you questioning your sexual sanity.

He nods and cocks his head and points to the towel.

"Yeah, um here," you hand it to him and he slowly but carefully cleans himself off.

"So there's a guest bedroom in the back. Bed is probably a bit small for you even though it's a king size. It gets cold at night since my grandmother has the a/c on a schedule so I'll bring you some extra blankets," you tell him as you turn to go show him the room.

He quietly follows you and steps slowly into the room, smelling and inspecting it. You leave him be while you go grab a large comforter and a few throw blanket for him. When you come back he's already curled under the covers with his feet barely sticking out. As you go to lay another layer over him he snatches you and pulls you into the covers with him.

You flail about for a bit until you hear what you're pretty sure in a purr. You kick up the covers to see Tao asleep now and honest to gods purring. He pulls you in closer and just cuddles you. He's mentioned a few times that when someone gets cold that his shoal will form basically cuddle piles to stay warm. Maybe that's it and maybe he's also really homesick. He said he can never go back though...

"Just this once, jeeze. Not letting you go into a feeding frenzy next time I give you food," you snort laugh and try to relax against Mr. Brick wall.

Tao shifts a bit till he's holding you close enough that you can hear his heartbeat. He moves the covers and extra blankets back up and slowly drifts back to sleep.

You're a little jealous of how fast he can nod off but eventually you start dozing in and out.

He's probably going to flip the fuck out about this in the morning. Well, we'll deal with it then...

[to-the-stars8]

The Waynes' Nanny

Batfamily and Reader/ Bruce Wayne x Reader Chapters Ao3

The Pilot Pt. 2

Walking into the dining room, your bunny slippers pink and prominent, you stretched and yawned out a ‘hello’. It was wonderful falling asleep in a mansion, and even more so when you spent some time in the lavish bathtub attached to your room. It almost made you not want to leave to go downstairs. Yet, you knew there was a job to be done. The children commented on your colorful robe and slippers, astounded that you showed up to breakfast in such attire. Mr. Wayne seemed amused and commented as such, playfully saying that he wished he owned the same bunny slippers you did. You offered to lend them to him, and he rejected the idea. 

Sitting at the table, you playfully scolded Alfred, “You should tell me these things. A simple dress for breakfast would have been fine.”

“Forgive me, Miss, I assumed you knew,” He said, slightly smiling, as he set a breakfast plate in front of you. 

You shook your head, smiling at the plate of food. “I’m from downtown Gotham, Alfred. You have to assume I know nothing.” You looked around the table, watching as they looked at you with surprise. “What? I got something on my face?”

“You’re sitting at the table,” Duke said shyly. 

You looked to Bruce, expecting him to say something, but he didn’t as he continued to eat his food. “Where else am I supposed to sit?”

“The kitchen,” Dick replied bluntly. 

You blew him off. “That’s so old-fashioned, and I’m too social for that. Now, what’re we doing today?” 

The kids told you they would need to leave the house since Mr. Wayne would be holding a charity dinner party that the children were not invited to. Not that you said it aloud, you were less than impressed by Bruce’s lack of involvement with the kids in things. So, you offered to take them to buy clothes and other things, and Mr. Wayne was happy enough to lend you his credit card. You marveled at the black American Express card, never thinking you’d see one in person—Let alone hold one. 

Suddenly, Alfred re-entered the dining room to tell Mr. Wayne that Lucius Fox was on the phone for him. You got up soon after, taking your plate full of food, and told the kids that you were leaving to get dressed, happy as a clam with your new position.

—

Dick was reserved, openly hostile toward you, and didn’t like the idea that now there was even more of a reason for Bruce not to be involved. You automatically made a note to force Bruce to be more active in his kids' lives and shake the eldest's rough exterior. 

So, when you arrived at the clothes shop, one your friend owned, of course, you spent more time picking out his clothes. Dick seemed like, well, a dick. He was as clever as he was spiteful and attempted to attack you at every angle. You persisted, though, while managing the other kids' wardrobes. 

Dick huffed and went to sit in one of the waiting chairs on the other end of the small boutique, seething in silence. You left him there for a bit, doting on the other children who were pretty well-behaved, albeit a bit odd. Tim had been looking under the mannequins’ skirts to see if they were anatomically correct—and, you knew instantly that would be a conversation with his father. 

As Duke and Jason were trying on ties, you finally looked over to the teenager brooding in the corner. You went over to him, holding up a red tie to his neck before taking the blue one from Damian’s small hands, who was on your hip, and doing the same. Dick was less than impressed. 

“Blue, it compliments your eyes,” You said. 

Dick huffed. “Why’re you doing this?” 

“Because I think you guys should go to that dinner tonight.” 

Before Dick could say that wouldn’t happen Cassandra stumbled over holding out a dress that she wanted to wear, but he wasn’t too dissuaded by that. He insisted that they wouldn’t be going to the dinner party.

Cassandra, even more clever than her older brother, nicely said, “I think the blue tie would suit you, Dickie. It brings out your eyes. It makes you super, super handsome.” 

He stared at her for a moment before saying, “You’re a bitch, you know that?”

Cass smiled, turning on her heel to walk off, leaving you to scold Dick as Damian slowly became more and more irritated with your arm. 

Dick only snapped at you again.

Usually, you could keep your cool, when it didn’t involve your boyfriend, but this was the last straw. “Listen here, I do not care how you feel about Bruce or anything of the sort, but I do know this; you are under my care, and you will be polite, respectful, and cut that language out when I am around.”

“Or what?”

You smiled smugly, stepping closer to Dick as you told him exactly what would happen if he did not behave.  

—

The children had come home happy, Dick noticeably more so than when he left that morning, and they all boasted about the fun they had with you. Bruce found himself excited at just how well they got on with you, and surprised when the seven of you seemed to be in cahoots. This suspicion rose when he asked you about what the kids bought, but you only brushed him off—heading upstairs in a hurry as you giggled along with the little ones. Fortunately for you, Bruce didn’t dwell much on the thought as his attentions were pulled toward making the evening perfect. 

And so had the party gone. It was starting perfectly. The guests were happy, dinner was being served on time, and, most importantly, the money was rolling in for the charities. Bruce stood in the doorway of the foyer and salon, where the guests were because Alfred had informed him that you needed something. Harvey, who had been in the middle of telling him something, followed him. 

To his surprise, you were standing on the last landing of the staircase in a classy red dress, and he would be lying to himself as well as you if he didn’t admit that you looked stunning. Proudly looking down at him, you grinned before turning to see the kids, all dressed up, behind you. 

“Who is that,” Harvey mumbled to Bruce, grinning from ear to ear. 

Bruce answered, “My nanny.” When you approached, he said in a hushed tone, “I told you the children couldn’t attend.”

You acted shocked, hand going to your cheek, and said sarcastically, “Oh, my! I must be blushing.”

“You’re a dirty player,” He commented before going to his children. Bruce admired how well they all cleaned up, doting on them like he always did, before telling them to be on their most perfect behavior. 

Harvey took this chance to introduce himself, and you seemed charmed. “Pleasure to meet you, Mr. DA. Say, I’ve got some parking tickets that I think are pretty bogus, you think you fix those for…”

You trailed off when Bruce came back up to you, motioning all of you toward the salon, and whispering in your ear, “We’re discussing this later.”

You rolled your eyes, you would rather have fun than stress what your boss would say. The children were a hit amongst the party-goers, all of them cooing and awing at the children. You, too, were an intrigue to the guests since you were the mysterious latercomer who also happened to be beautiful. Bruce was surprised by just how well, with your downtown Gotham charms, you ran in the circles of the rich. You enthralled them with little tales of the children, some he was sure you made up, as well as wise outlooks on life (according to yourself, but the people listening took it up like catnip). 

Bruce also found himself having the time of his life with his kids, joking with them, and sharing the bits of business to the best of his ability. Dick was happy that he was paying more attention to them rather than the party, even going as far as to call him ‘Dad’ rather than Bruce. And, when you had left to put Damian to bed, Dickie had told him to keep you around along with something about wanting to keep his social life intact another day. 

That certainly would be something else he would need to speak to you about. 

—

“Goodbye, Harvey! I’ll call you about those parking tickets,” You called out the front door as you put the small piece of paper with his number into your bra. When you turned around there was Bruce, standing there with his hands on his hips, and you thought for sure you were going to get sacked. 

Before you could explain, Bruce said, “Don’t pull a stunt like that again.”

You were shocked, but not undeterred from your original task. “All I want to do is show those kids that you care about them.”

“I do care about them, and don’t need you to show that.”

You stepped forward, snickering. “I seriously doubt that. I mean, look how happy they were tonight. Why would you want to exclude them like that, Mr. Wayne?”

Bruce thinned his lips, thinking for a moment before relenting. He wasn’t sure if it was the fact that you were right or that he found the courageous glint in your eyes fairly pretty that he gave up so easily. Reluctantly, he agreed that maybe you were right and mentioned how much the kids liked you, even going as far as to offhandedly mention what Dick said. 

“You can stay,” He said. 

You grinned, “Good. I think you’d have a hard time getting rid of me now. I think the masses in this house might revolt.”

Bruce looked at you again before smiling. No matter how he felt, Bruce couldn’t deny one thing; That you were the perfect addition to the household.

[hiveworks]

Maybe they bee-long together, or maybe love stings, but these Hiveworks lovers do blush and smooch! Check out these slow burn romances webcomics this Valentines Day!

❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

Kiss it Goodbye (Read Online / Book) @ticcytx Nigh Heaven & Hell (Read Online / Book) @scottycomics Ghost Junk Sickness (Read Online / Books) @studiocartridge Barbarous (Read Online / Books) @aidosaur & @ananthhirsh Come Hell or High Water (Read Online) @chohwcomic Tigress Queen (Read Online / Book) @allidrawscomics Never Satisfied (Read Online / Book) @ohcorny Kochab (Read Online) @erysium Novae (Read Online) @kaixju Trying Human (Read Online / Books) @tryinghuman Go Get a Roomie (Read Online / Books) @cloverscomics Paint the Town Red (Read Online / Books) @windywallflower Tripping Over You (Read Online) @akasuzana Fairmeadow (Read Online) @hagofbolding

❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

[daceydeath]

Cigarettes and Cliches (Part 7)

Pairing: Lee Felix x Reader

Word Count: 4.9k

Genre: Collage AU, Slow Burn Romance

Warnings: 18+, Minors DNI, swearing

He was the most impractical guy for you to be interested in the incredibly handsome cliché bad boy who collected girls like trophies. As hard as you wanted to stay away you couldn't even if it might cost you everything and leave you heartbroken you couldn't ignore him

There was no way you could ask for Innie's input on what to wear on your date, since you weren't even sure where you were going or what you would be doing and especially since he was not going to approve of you going on said date with Felix. Now would have been a good time to ask Nali's opinion or advice if she hadn't turned out to be the worst friend you could have ever made. So your next logical idea was to go through your socials to see what other girls wore on their dates with their boyfriends to give you an idea of what you should look like or how much effort you needed to put in without overdoing it.

You went to sit in the lounge so that you didn't look like you were hiding yourself away as Jeongin eventually surfaced from his room looking sheepish and he and Seungmin started planning their night out.

"Did you want to come with us again tonight? We will make sure one of us will be with you all the time" Jeongin asked, still looking dusty from the night before.

"No I think one party everyday is a little too much for me" you sighed looking at him "Maybe one next week".

"Ok we can live with a maybe for now" he grinned as Seungmin rolled his eyes as you phone beeped.

Ok how does a movie and a walk down by the river sound baby? You read the message twice before you slowly typed a reply so you didn't look too excited in front of Seungmin and Jeongin so you thought for a moment before sending it.

That sounds great Felix what time and where should I meet you?. Movies and walks were mostly casual so you didn't need to dress up and have too many questions asked about where you were going.

I'm going to pick you up baby, If the others have a problem with it they can just deal with it.

They can just deal with it, you read the words again and again before you realized that you should probably answer him so you quickly agreed and went back to thinking about what you would wear and what you would tell the boys when Felix showed up to take you out on a date out of the blue. Seungmin and Jeongin were still talking about the party when your brain tuned you back into the conversation.

"Next party we will need to dress you in less attractive clothing too to keep you a little more hidden from drunk idiots" Jeongin nodded seriously

"Or I could come and find one of you or the others to help me get a ride home, surely no one is going to bother me with one of you with me" you smiled unsure if that was the right response to keep them happy.

"Actually that would be better" Seungmin grinned "find either me or Innie or any of the others even if it's Felix or Hyunjin they will always try to keep you safe and will wait for you to get in a taxi or something before they go back to partying".

"So are we cooking before you go or ordering in?" you asked cheekily hoping you wouldn't need to cook before you go out.

"We were going to meet Han and Changbin for dinner before we hit the party so you can have whatever you like" Jeongin winked as though you would get up to all sorts of mischief being left alone to make your own dinner. You chuckled thinking that he had no idea what you were going to get up to once they left even though to be honest you were slightly nervous about that yourself if you were being honest.

You had picked out an outfit while you pretended you were cleaning up and Seungmin and Jeongin were getting ready so that they had no clue you were up to something. It made you feel like you were in a TV drama sneaking out of the house to meet the star crossed lover who would whisk you away to his castle as opposed to just meeting Felix but it made your heart race the same way his smile did. You were still lost in your head when you heard Seungmin calling your name loudly, shaking the romantic fantasizing from your mind, you opened your door confused as to why he was yelling.

"Sorry Seung, what's wrong?" you smiled tilting your head.

"You ok? you didn't answer when I called out to you" he furrowed his brow slightly scrutinizing you.

"I was in the bathroom" you lied instantly hoping he would drop it.

"Sorry" he scratched his head as he backed away from your bedroom door "we're going now just wanted to let you know"

"Well I will try to survive without you both" you teased smiling as he walked towards to door "don't bring any psychos home with you".

"Oh, fuck off" Seungmin grinned as Jeongin laughed from the hall before you heard them both putting on their shoes and the door opening and closing. You smiled to yourself suddenly feeling a weight fall away from your shoulders about how exactly you would have explained dating Felix to the pair of them so suddenly.

Getting yourself ready you sat fiddling with your jeans as you tried to distract yourself from your nerves but flicking TV channels and eventually settling on an episode of a drama that you couldn't pay attention to. After what felt like a lifetime the door buzzer rang sending a spike of nervous excitement straight through your heart as Felix appeared on the small screen looking as dangerously handsome as always. Pressing the buzzer to let him in you told yourself to not wait at the door for him to know instead bouncing on the balls of your feet at the opposite end of the hall staring at the door instead. When Felix did knock on the door your heart skipped a beat, his eyes soft as he stepped into the apartment cupping your jaw and kissing you softly.

"You look gorgeous baby" he smiled reaching for your hand to intertwine your fingers "are you ready to go?".

"Yes Lix" you smiled back feeling your cheeks heating up as he looked you up and down.

"Do you need to say goodbye or anything?" he whispered cheekily looking past you up the hallway.

"No the boy left early to meet the others" you grinned letting him lead you from the apartment and towards the elevator. You traveled down to the ground floor with Felix's arm wrapped around your waist holding you to his side gently which continued until you got down the several blocks it took to get to the movie complex only letting you go to buy your tickets and popcorn which he insisted on carrying until you were both seated in the back of the cinema.

"You know you didn't even tell me what we were seeing, Lix" you teased softly taking a few pieces of popcorn and popping one into your mouth.

"Well I remembered that you liked actions and thrillers but there aren't any good thrillers so it is going to be John Wick" he admitted the corners of his lips quirking up hen your mouth formed a silent o.

"You remembered that?" you whispered as the lights dimmed around you for the previews to begin.

"I try to remember everything you say" he admitted sultrily leaning in to whisper in your ear, the feeling of his breath on you skin making your skin erupt on a wave of goosebumps as he moved the armrest that sat between you and wrapped his arm around your shoulders.

You sat in silence for the film enjoying as much as you could of both what was happening on the screen and the warmth and feeling of Felix breathing beside you for the almost three hours it took for the movie to end. But even then you only managed to focus on half of the plot as you spent the other half having to focus on how to remain acting natural. Once the lights came back on and the credits rolled Felix his you with another one of his dazzling smiles.

"Do you still want to go for that walk by the river or would you like me to take you back home?" He asked genuinely, seeming happy to do either option depending on how comfortable you were.

"I think I would like to go for that walk Lix" you bit your lip slightly hoping that this was the answer he was wanting to hear.

"If my baby wants to go for a walk then we will go for a walk" he teased holding out his hand for you to take as he began leading you from the cinema. You noticed a few girls stare at Felix as you walked past them and back out onto the street their faces turning into a frown when they saw him holding your hand. He seemed oblivious but it dimmed your smile slightly. You knew they were wondering how someone like him could have any interest in someone like you and that hurt you a little but when Felix squeezed your hand gently as you began to walk towards the river you couldn't help the little flutter that erupted in your chest.

Walking hand in hand for the next few blocks that would take you to the riverfront you decided that making conversation would prevent you being too awkward about this being a first date with anyone let alone Felix.

"So what exactly did you plan on telling Seung and Innie when you picked me up tonight?" you asked bashfully looking up at him.

"Well" he paused for a moment still smiling "I was thinking that I was just going to say that I wanted to make sure you were alright after the party, but honestly I hadn't really thought about it" he admitted meeting your eyes briefly before looking ahead once more.

"Well at least you're honest" you sighed thankful that the boys had been out when you left the apartment.

"In truth I figured they would be in too much shock to actually say anything and that we would have escaped before they snapped out of it" he chuckled making you smile in relief.

"I mean they probably would have been shocked for ages that you wanted to take me on a date" you shrugged smirking at the thought of them standing in the hallway with their mouths agape

"And why wouldn't I want to take my smart and beautiful girlfriend on a date?" he teased nudging your shoulder playfully as you entered the park walking between the large gates that separated the gardened area from the street

"I didn't mean it like that Lix I meant they would have been shocked that I had a date" you back peddled quickly looking up at him with wide eyes "I didn't mean they would be shocked at you going on a date"

"I know baby I was teasing" he soothed pulling you closer to wrap his arm around your shoulders and you let the movement lull the conversation for a while

You had made sure you wore a light sweater so that you wouldn't be too cold on the waterfront and you were glad you had as the wind picked up to a chilly breeze as you walked together under the fairy lights that were strung through the trees on the riverwalk. You hadn't really checked the weather but you knew at this time of year the breeze was always cool at night obviously Felix hadn't either as you realized the clouds were gathering overhead much quicker than normal. Looking up at the sky frowning Felix muttered something under his breath before turning to you

"Looks like we're running out of time baby" he sighed wrinkling his nose slightly as you nodded feeling disappointed as the clouds had finally blocked out all of the stars.

"I guess we will save this for the next date?" you smiled softly which made his eyes light up.

"Yes we will absolutely save this for the next date or maybe the third date?" he smirked as you tried to hide your excited smile. Walking back towards the park gate you thought you felt the first spot of rain but you weren't sure, however, this changed when the skies suddenly opened up above you and rain began pouring down on you both.

"Fuck" Felix swore loudly tucking you into his side and wrapping his jacket around you as he guided you under a large tree "We can go back to my place its only a block from here and when it stops I'll get you a cab home". You looked at him blankly for a moment unsure of what to say to not sound like a fool or ungrateful.

"This isn't some kind of ploy I promise" he reassured you quickly noticing how your expression had changed "I just don't want either of us to catch a cold and it's quite a walk to your place from here and if we try to get a cab we will get even more drenched than walking to my place" he reasoned.

"It's ok Lix I know you won't do anything I don't want you to" you smiled gently your brain catching up with what he was saying.

"We can dry off there and wait out the rain and most of the way there is covered so we won't get too wet" he gestured to his already soaking wet hair.

"Lets go Lix, lead the way" you urged, letting him continue to hold you as close to you as he could to try to keep you dry and warm as the pair of you darted your way from cover to cover for the 5 minutes it took to get to his place. Quickly making your way through the lobby and into the elevator you were surprised when a doorman appeared as the door to the lift opened on the 15th floor who Felix waved at before leading you to his front door and letting you in helping you to slip off your shoes before going to find you some towels for your hair and clothes.

You had known that Felix, Hyunjin and Minho shared an apartment, Seungmin had mentioned it to you ages ago, but you didn't realize how nice of an apartment it would be. They lived in the river district that was considered one of the highest valued areas in the city and their apartment overlooked not only the river but parks that you had just been walking in. Standing on the tiles of the kitchen floor to avoid dripping water on the carpet you could see the lights of the city through the massive lounge room windows as you waited for Felix to return carrying towels and something that looked like clothing.

"I'll show you to the bathroom and you can change into these before we get your clothes in the dryer" Felix suggested handing you the pile of fabric and leading you into the bathroom while he cleaned up the drips on the tiled floor.

Closing the door behind you, you took in your surroundings. It was a much nicer bathroom than yours. The tile looked like actual marble and it was large enough to have an actual tub and a double sink. Slowly you put the towel down on the cabinet before you realized that Felix had given you a pile of his clothes, sweatpants, t shirt and the hoodie you had seen him in the morning you spoke to him in the gardens. Shaking the memory from your mind you peeled your wet sweater over your head grateful that you hadn't gotten soaked to the bone so at least your bra was still mostly dry, you wrapped your hair in the towel and squeezed as much water as you could from it before changing into the pants and t shirt before opening the door and finding Felix waiting for you his eyes glazing over slightly when he saw you.

"I'll just need you to put these in the machine hopefully they won't take too long to dry out" you smiled shyly holding up the towel and your sweater and jeans but Felix didn't react " Lix?" you asked, tilting your head to watch him and shaking your clothes in front of him.

"Sorry, just got a bit lost in how good you look in my shirt" he replied, clearing his throat slightly and reaching out to grab the wet items as your cheeks burned. "Did you want to hang in the lounge and watch another movie or get some food?" he continued his signature smile returning.

"Yeah sounds good" you nodded trying to play it cool and walking yourself into the lounge to wait for him to return. You sat on the large plush couch and began fiddling with the bottom of the shirt, the soft dark fabric making you feel incredibly comforted despite your awkwardness.

"Did you want me to order us any particular food?" Felix questioned as he walked back into the room as you realized for the first time that he too was in sweatpants and a white t shirt and looking like he should be in a magazine pictorial.

"Whatever you want Lix" you smiled as he sat down beside you "I'm not fussy". He chuckled softly in response and ordered you something quickly before throwing his arm around your shoulders and pulling you into him and causing you to yelp in surprise. The action seemed slightly less practiced to his usual moves, making you pause.

"Sorry baby" he laughed musically "just wanted you close to me" he grinned turning the TV on and selecting one of the streaming services they had to find something to watch. He settled on a drama that you hadn't seen but you didn't care you knew you were not going to be paying much attention to it anyway just like the movie from earlier in the evening.

"Lix?" you asked tentatively tilting your head back to lean against his chest and look at him studying his facial expression.

"Hmm" he hummed in response, his eyes on the screen in front of you.

"You know I don't think this is a ploy to get me to sleep with you right?" you almost mumbled feeling a little embarrassed that he still might think that after your hesitation earlier "So you don't need to be extra careful with me".

"You sure baby?" he smiled sweetly finally looking at you his eyes searching your own to be sure you meant what you said "I don't want to make you uncomfortable and also I've um... how do I actually put this?..." he trailed off his brown creasing slightly and making your anxiety spike "I've never brought anyone here before".

"I'm sorry what?" you almost spluttered your anxious feeling turning to confusion as to how one of the members of the man whore trio hadn't brought any women to his apartment before.

"Well this is where we live I always said I would only bring girls I was really serious about here" he admitted a pretty pink dusting of blush appearing on his freckled cheeks. Your heart was pounding so hard you were sure he would be able to hear it, trying to process that he insinuated that you were special to him and that you were the only one to be special to him in all his time sleeping around. All you could manage was to open your mouth to say something but nothing came out which Felix took as his moment to gently place his lips on yours kissing you sweetly his plush lips feeling perfect against your own. The moment however, was short lived as the door buzzer chimed to let you know that the food order had arrived. Untangling himself from you he went to collect the food from the lobby of the building leaving you to contemplate what he had just told you.

Felix had ordered from your favorite bakery and you were very happy to tuck into one of their chocolate filled croissants as he watched you smiling enjoying the look of bliss on your face. After eating and drinking everything he had ordered you found yourself still held captive by the sound of the rain still pattering against the large windows and it was well past midnight by this point which made you a little uneasy again.

"What's wrong baby?" Felix asked you tucking a piece of hair behind your ear, while you sat with your legs across his lap

"It's still raining" you sighed before looking at him and giving him a shy smile "do you think my clothes will be dry by now? I should probably get home"

"I'll check for you" he nodded, moving your legs carefully before making his way to the laundry room while you packed up the food containers and took them into the kitchen to sort.

"Fuck" you heard him curse loudly before you walked back around to the lounge to find him walking back in his hand running though his hair.

"What's happened?" you blinked unsure of what the problem was.

"I'm sorry baby, really I put your clothes in the dryer with mine and I didn't start the machine, I'm so sorry" Felix apologized quickly looking annoyed with himself "But I can get you home in my clothes or you could stay for a little while longer they should only take like an hour to dry"

"Lix I can't go home in your clothes if Seung or Innie see me I'll never be able to explain it" you sighed, worrying your lower lip nervously.

"Then stay here, we can watch another movie in my room so that if either of the guys come back they won't drunkenly annoy us or become a pair of menaces" he smiled tentatively a ghost of his smile gracing his lips.

"One more movie can't hurt Seung and Innie are probably both too smashed to even know I'm not home yet" you nodded making a smile bloom on Felix's face.

"Come on then, I'll put another action movie on as long as you let me cuddle you" he waggled his eyebrows suggestively at you making you giggle. Felix was being incredibly patient with you and you knew it but you appreciated that he wasn't going to push you into anything you weren't ready for so it was an easy decision to follow him to his room you trusted him.

You stood in his bedroom looking from the desk that you could tell was used purely for gaming judging from the custom keyboard and multiple monitors, to the stupidly large TV attached to the far wall, the shelves that contained random figures and gaming consoles and finally his bed which he was now sitting on looking at you curiously.

"Is this the first time you have had someone like me in your room?" you asked, feeling suddenly shy at the idea of being the first girl in this room.

"You mean are you the first girlfriend I've had in my bedroom?" he chuckled teasingly, you couldn't help but preen at the term girlfriend even though he had called you that before. "Yeah you are, first one in this room and first one in my bed" he smiled softly making you swallow loudly.

"So what did you want to watch?" you asked changing the subject as smoothly as you could not failing to notice the slight smirk gracing his lips as you made your way to sit next to him on the bed.

"I don't know I figured we could get comfy then decide" he shrugged pulling you further onto the bed and making you laugh. After a few awkward moments of figuring out where each of you would fit you settled on his left side sitting against the headboard leaning against him as he scrolled through some movies and randomly pressed play. The opening scene was a bank robbery with the villains in ski masks brandishing shot guns and police cars racing to the bank but you were already distracted by Felix drawing patterns on the inside of the wrist he was holding in his lap. The trace of his fingers sending small electric shocks through your skin and straight to your heart after a few minutes he lifted your hand to his lips kissing your wrist lightly and making you gasp.

"I know I said watch a movie but I would prefer to kiss you" he whispered "if that's ok". Instead of answering him you turned your head to face him almost brushing his lips with yours silently giving him permission.

"You're so beautiful" he murmured, closing the gap between you and gently pressing his lips to yours, the softness against your own making you melt into him slightly. Felix quickly but gently maneuvered you so you were now straddling his lap, his hands cupped your jaw as he deepened the kiss, his tongue tracing the seam of your lips seeking entrance to your mouth which you gave him enthusiastically. Felix's kisses were less intense and more sensual than the last time he kissed you, making you moan softly into his mouth.

"God I love the noises you make, so pretty" he breathed against your lips as you parted for air.

"Lix" you panted, feeling like your head was spinning.

"I've got you baby" he mumbled, connecting his lips back to yours, your hands moving on their own, one threaded its way into his hair and the other grasping his shirt to anchor yourself to him, your hips pressing against his crotch as you desperately tried to get closer to him. You had no idea how much time passed from when he first kissed you to when he finally pulled back from you pushing a stray strand of hair behind your ear.

"We need to stop now baby" he panted quietly, his chest rising and falling rapidly against your own "I won't be able to behave myself if we keep going". You flushed with embarrassment quickly moving to get out of his lap and sit back on the bed beside him.

"I'm sorry" you groaned, covering your hands with your face making him laugh.

"So cute" he chuckled, pulling your hands slowly away from your face and leaning in to kiss the tip of your nose. "You did nothing wrong baby, I just need to make sure I don"t cross any lines".

"Thank you Lix" you smiled shyly, looking up at him through your lashes.

"The things you do to me baby" he shook his head taking a deep breath wrapping you back up in his arms but in a much less compromising position before he started the movie again.

You didn't remember falling asleep but you must have because when you opened your eyes you were still in Felix's bed but you were alone and the morning light was filtering into the room between the gaps in the curtains. Sitting up you realized that you were still dressed in his clothes but that your clothes sat on his computer desk folded neatly and waiting for you shifting yourself out of the bed you stretched and padded your way across the carpeted floor to his bathroom knocking but finding it empty you went inside to change and clean yourself up a little before you would have to make your way home and hopefully be able to play off your being absent as going for an early morning walk. Making your way towards the lounge you were made aware it was no longer just you and Felix in the apartment as several voices were talking all at once. Pausing you waited to see if you should show yourself or hide yourself back in the bedroom.

"You were the one that suggested the rule mate" Minho complained, his voice rough from the night before but still obviously annoyed.

"We agreed there were no random girls in the apartment so what makes this one different?" Hyunjin added blandly.

"This isn't like that" Felix defended his voice exasperated as he tried protecting you in your absence.

"Then what is it like? There is no way it's her in your room right now" Minho continued his voice getting louder as he teased.

"Thanks for the boost in confidence" Felix groaned, sounding particularly done with what must have been an ongoing joke.

"I swear if you don't get your shit together and get together I'm going to steal her" Hyunjin declared cackling as he sounded like he moved quickly from the room.

"You're both arsehole you know that" Felix called after them as he walked towards where you were standing. Moving yourself further down towards his bedroom door you decided to make it look like you had just stepped out of his room

"Morning baby" Felix beamed as he saw you in his doorway pulling you into a cuddle.

"I'm sorry I fell asleep Lix" you mumbled nuzzling into him softly.

"It's alright baby but let's get you home while the idiots here are showering" He raised his eyebrows to indicate behind him.

"Lets but can I borrow a hoodie weather app says it's going to be cold this morning?" you ask watching his eyes light up.

A/N: I'm Sorry this has taken so long but I lost my steam for a while but I'm back now :) Once again thank you for reading my work and your likes, reblogs and comments are amazing xx

Taglist (open): @christopher-bangnaldoskzz, @armystay89, @damnyouficc, @roamingpolar, @bakedlilgoonie, @shiy, @is2cb97, @beautifulixr, @skyhold-tara, @army-stay-noel, @skizzel-reblogs, @facelesswrittes, @animehideout, @mrsseals16, @honey-pop, @fawnpeaks, @leeknowinggg, @uno7, @seungminluv3, @obeythemasters, @tanzen-ist-gold, @choisoorin

[hazbinbossbrainrot]

Proof that Huskerdust have feelings for each other

• In 1x04 Throughout the entirety of the song Loser, Baby Husk becomes consensual , gentle, and chivalrous with Angel (who pretty much joined in after being accepted for who he is with a “Baby, that’s fine by me”

<> Husk protectively told Angel to “stay down” (very boyfriend-coded if you ask me 😏) and then seconds later became awestruck by the fact that he could defend himself (whilst showing his true colours)

<> However at the end of the episode the tension of sexual attraction between them is definitely there

• In 1x05 it’s a little bit harder to tell since the episode “Dad Beat Dad” was mainly focused on Lucifer’s father/daughter and Charlie’s relationship.

But we do see two snippets of Angel and Husk on the sidelines comically eating popcorn as Alastor defended the hotel later on (after Lucifer caused it) and another scene where Lucifer and Charlie are arguing.

<> Husk makes a pre-drink for Angel without being asked whilst he talks to Mimzy (which I thought was actually really cute ☺️)

• In 1x06 When at the club Consent first off Angel listened to Husk’s advice after Cherri suggested they get “fucked up” by doing drugs

<> After Niffty gets drunk Huskerdust literally become her parents 😂 (also Husk praised Angel for standing up to Valentino before placing his paw on back)

• In 1x07 Again, similar to “Dad Beat Dad” there’s a brief Huskerdust moment where two things happen; 1. Angel wraps his arm around Husk. 2. Husk frowns shortly at Vaggie before it changed to a smile and his eyes dilated (slightly) after Angel embraced him

• In 1x08 Before the war with the angels (Exorcists) Angel decided to spend his last night at the hotel with Husk who had flirtatiously acknowledged that he had really changed

Bonus:

You can also hear the instrumentals of Loser, Baby in the background!!! (Like… come on you cannot tell me THIS isn’t a romantic atmosphere. The Husk’s tone of “you really have changed” that’s held with so much sexual tension! Their song — literally — playing in the background?! Angel’s Anthony’s soft and hesitant “Hey…”)

<> During the amidst of the war Husk makes a social faux pas about “too many fucking angels coming” only be teased by Angel in response (which come on, let’s face it, they definitely were flirting 🤭)

<> The minute Angel got knocked down by one of the exorcist (after selflessly saving Frank one of the Egg Boiz) Husk looked feral at the person who had harmed the latter ~ like were talking “you just hit my boyfriend , how dare you.” level of protectiveness

References:

There are hundreds of meanings of the word “Likes” in this list down below (just to show evidence that it can mean “find attractive” etc as well)

Season 2: (late 2024 - early 2025)

[hollymacycomic]

Holly & Macy and Everyone Else

Chapter 4: Page 13

Start at the Beginning | About the comic | Tip-jar 

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[alesuggestprompts]

Slow burn romance prompts and tips

Slow burn romances are awesome but taking so much time for the people involved to realize they love each other can be exhausting for the people enjoying the piece of media.

To make things exiting you have to give the reader/audience reasons to enjoy the slowness of the romance and not strive to get to the point where it becomes canon.

In order to do this, your characters should be involved in the relationship (even if it's not romantic yet) and the audience should feel the reasons why this romance is going to happen.

Here are some tips and prompts on how to do it:

.

Make them bond

Show how they're unconsciously building their relationship by spending time together. Give them reasons to constantly seek companionship even if none of them is fully aware that they're in love.

Some prompts can be:

They have a common hobby they decided to explore together

They are involved in the same organization (volunteering, community service, defending human rights, local organizations about whatever, but if it's fantasy even thigs like a group of people with the same powers)

They have to work on a project (it can be about their work, education, hobbies, organizations they joined, bringing a dictator down, fighting aliens etc)

They have to take care of a mutual friend

They are in the same team of a competitive sport/field.

They bond over common past experiences

They are going to have the same experience (for example, they bond over the fact that they're going to move in the same town for external reasons)

Give them chemistry

Sexual chemistry is good, but it's not good in a slow burn romance. There are other types of chemistry, however, that can make your romance a lot more interesting:

Intellectual chemistry

Humor chemistry (they easily make the other-s laugh and be happier)

Habits/believes chemistry (they feel more connected by basing their lives on the same principles)

Love language chemistry

Theoretical sexual chemistry (they just view and live sexuality in the same way, more similar and linked to belief chemistry)

Make the audience understand the reasons they're in love

Love isn't merely based on logical reasons, but healthy relationships are based on them too. Chose some reasons for why they're going to be in love and develop them overtime.

They could be - but not limited to:

Great admiration for what other-s do

Cooperation and complicity

Trust and communication

Same life goals

Healthy emotional support

Same life philosophy

They feel good together

Sense of safety

Make it human

Even if relationships have to be based on principles that mustn't lack, like consent and other fundamental things, it's important to not write about perfect ™ relationships but make them good in a human way.

Give characters involved bad days for external reasons, give then some fear, misjudgment or just a moment when they miss their past.

Allow your characters to be good humans and not dreamy perfect partners.

Plus: make it clearly possible

Minorities are unrepresented in medias and often this can lead to a lack of diverse love stories. So when it comes to a slow burn romance, it can be easy to want to rush to it only to be assured that this is going to happen.

To avoid this, make it clear that this can potentially happen without hitting at their romance yet.

For example, if your audience can be scared that this slow burn romance won't become a thing because it's queer and often queer baiting is chosen over actually queer representation, give to the story other happy queer love stories. They can be fully developed or just mentioned, like a character's friend cleary involved in a queer relationship that's often hit at but not important.

Other examples can be mentioning a past where this kind of romance already happened (like a poly character that was in a poly relationship years before) or showing people similar to this character in a happy relationship.

[iamjacksragingboner]

Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy Pt. 2

Chapter 1

Word Count: 2K

Warnings: None

A/N: Chapter two is finally here! Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday, whatever you celebrate, and hope NYE is just as good! I’m not home from holiday yet but apparently that didn’t stop me from writing a little whenever I could on holiday. Hope you enjoy this chapter as they get a little more familiar with each other :3 Reblogs appreciated!! <3

Horrific first impressions aside, you were ready to embrace this Johnny ‘Soap’ MacTavish character as one of your own. Sure, you had been mere moments from cracking him over the head with a bottle and feeding him by hand to the vultures, but if Simon could put up with him then you could too. Perhaps you had just caught him on a bad day.

You shook his hand amicably, choosing to ignore the way he winked at you and held onto your hand just a little too long for your liking, having to practically wrench your hand out from his grip. You stood with an albeit strained smile on your face as Simon, in one of his rare moods for excited talking, regaled tales of him and Soap out on horses in towns further from here than you could ever imagine. You even politely offered to bring Soap’s dinner up to his room later for him, after he complained that his ass was aching from sitting on a horse for too long.

“Ah, maybe I can teach ye some of my trade secret massage techniques to use on me, aye lass?” He copped a swift smack on the head from Simon for that comment, and you took a smoke break.

With the sun setting before you, smoke from your cigarette tiredly billowing in front of you, the chatter from the bar dying out, you sighed. Sliding down with your back on the wall to sit in the dirt, you ran your hand through your hair.

You enjoyed keeping yourself busy; kept you from thinking too much. But in those quiet moments where you snuck off to smoke, you sometimes found comfort in the way your brain still seemed to careen with life, even in silence. At the moment, it seemed to be fixated on your parents, and the tavern they left to you and your brother in their passing.

You were so young then.

Don’t think about it.

The faint sound of a glass smashing was what dragged you back to earth, back into the bar, broom in hand and smoke still whispering its way from your lips. You swept mindlessly, still not all present. You had failed to recall the other times, where the silence was hostile, would bite and claw its way into your sides and sink its teeth in like a parasite.

The hairs on the back of your neck prickled as you felt someone walk just a little too close behind you, and you weren’t at all surprised to look up and see that it was Soap that had invaded your space. You slid uncomfortably back into reality.

“Here, lemme help ye with that one, lass.” Before you could even begin to say you didn’t need help with sweeping, Soap was already on his knees in front of you. Continuing the theme of doing things before you could tell him not to, he was scooping the glass into his bare hands, and then immediately hissing as blood began to weep from a cut on his finger.

You rolled your eyes and propped the broom up on the wall beside you, before kneeling down with Soap. “Stupid,” you muttered, before gently ridding his hands of the glass and clutching his injured one in your own. “What were you expecting, picking up broken glass with your bare hands like that.”

Soap shrugged, his eyes glued on your face instead of his bleeding hand, a detail which you avidly ignored. “Dunno,” he said simply, and you thought he was finished—any other cowboy would end the conversation there, stick with the fact that they don’t know jack and be on their merry way. Unfortunately, Soap wasn’t any other cowboy. “Could ye kiss it better for me, bonnie?”

You dropped his hand with a curt “you’re fine,” and averted your attention to the glass on the floor, sweeping it into a dish rag to take outside, Soap’s cackles accompanying you out the door.

Just as you finish dumping the glass where no one would step on it, you were greeted once a with Soap as you turned around.

“Was only jokin’, lass,” he says with a smirk that told you he probably wasn’t. “Don’t get yer panties in a knot, ‘sides, already got the whole talk from yer brother.” He placed a hand over his heart and spoke solemnly, “I’m not ta touch a hair on yer wee bonnie head, else Ghost’ll never ride with me again.” He began to saunter up to you, hands in his pockets and his head at an annoying tilt that feigned innocence.

Like a dog.

“I know ye were mighty excited at the prospect of gettin’ that massage from me, maybe even gettin’ a little somethin’ else.” He circled you, like he was sizing you up, seeing if you were fit to eat. “But alas, we’re out of luck.” A large, rough hand placed on your shoulder, not yet a threat, but enough of a presence that it could quickly become one if he wanted it to—they were hands that he knew how to use. “Although…”

More like a wolf, or a coyote. Big teeth.

You brushed off his hand with a little more haste than you intended. “Sorry,” you said, a bitter glare burning from your eyes but not quite seeming to register in his, “but I’m not interested. Your room is upstairs, two doors down, on the right.” You patted him on the shoulder in a not quite friendly, but not quite aggressive kind of way, and headed into the bar to start closing up.

-

Simon caught you just as you were bidding goodbye to the last few stragglers to leave, a plate of food in his hands. “Oh, I’ve already eaten, Si, but thank you,” you said, warmly.

“Oh, this ain’t for you,” Simon chuckled, and flicked his head to the ceiling. “‘s for Johnny—you said you’d bring it up to him. I would, but I’ve got my hands full with matters outside.”

Cowboy matters, you were sure. Riveting stuff. The speed at which the smile dropped from your face was surely record breaking. You took the plate from his hands and bid your brother goodnight, feeling at the very least glad that he was in a good mood. Regardless of whether that mood had anything to do with the cowboy upstairs, Simon being happy was a good thing.

Biting back any reservations you had towards interacting with that fiend again, you climbed trepidatiously up the stairs to Soap’s room. You stood in front of the door, searching inside yourself for any ounce of kindness. He had been nothing but unpleasant to be around any time you spoke, but surely, surely he had to be at least semi decent for Simon to think so highly of him.

You knocked and you waited.

And waited.

And waited.

For a moment you thought, with a little glee, that perhaps he had gone and died, but much to your chagrin, he opened the door.

“Sorry ta keep ye waitin’, lass. Was just putting’ my clothes back on—didn’t wanna startle ye.” Soap was stood in the doorway, looming over you like some sort of predator, with a smirk on his face that said he’d like to do much more than startle you. He was sweating too, the gross hound.

“Dinner,” you said, simply, offering up the plate to him with the most polite expression you could muster, under the current circumstances. Your eyelid twitched.

Soap’s attention seemed to flick immediately to the food before him, and he lit up, rubbing his hands in glee. “Och yer an angel, ‘m bloody starvin’, come in, come in.” He ushered you into the room as if he were some sort of welcoming host and you were his eager guest.

Each guest room in the tavern was laid out much the same. A double bed, a table with two chairs and a bucket with some water and a rag, in case whoever was in there wanted to wash. You pressed yourself flat against the closed door as Soap set the plate down on the table nearby, breath hitching in pain as he did so. Your brows furrowed in concern.

“Everything alright there?” You asked, trying to be civil. You wished you hadn’t.

Soap clutched his finger and let out a wailing mockery of pain, catching you completely off guard. “Woe is me! My poor finger, lass! Still it weeps in pain and anguish!”

“Will you keep it down!” you hissed, eyes wide and alert as you rushed to him. “There are people trying to sleep here! Besides, it’s just a tiny cut, you’re fine.”

“Ohh but it’s not fine! I need a little kiss on my wound from a lovely bonnie lass to heal my ails and raise my spirits! Please oh please will ye kiss it better?”

You startled, coming to the abrupt realisation that perhaps this was the reason Simon liked the guy—he was kinda funny (if you squinted real hard and stood at a distance). You chuckled, finding a smile on your lips for the first time since you began interacting with him, and shushed him like a child. “Okay, okay, but only if you promise to keep it down.”

The grin on Soap’s face could have melted glaciers. It wasn’t a bad look, and you were struck with the thought that if he never opened his mouth to speak again, maybe he could be attractive. He was practically glowing as he thrust his finger towards you, wrapping it in your hands. His hand was warm. “Of course, lass, I promise, cowboy’s honour and all that—just give it a wee smooch for me.”

You scoffed but obliged anyway. ‘What’s the harm in entertaining him anyway,’ you thought, raising his finger to your lips.

It was much more intimate of an act than you anticipated—the way he seemed to fall completely silent, not even breathing, in fact you weren’t even sure if you yourself were breathing. The way his finger felt, cushioned against your pouting lips, the way he could have stuck his finger in your mouth so easily if he had chosen to. The way he seemed to shudder, as you kissed his finger, as if this alone was pleasure enough for him.

You let go of his hand the minute if felt too intimate for you, laughing dismissively. “Stupid,” you murmured, averting your gaze.

Soap, on the other hand, was thrilled. He held his hand close to his heart, muttered “I’ll never wash my finger again,” and pressed it to his own lips, making sure to look directly at you.

“That was foul,” you said simply.

“Cannae believe we just had our first kiss!”

“That was not a kiss, that was me kissing your finger and then you kissing your finger after.”

“We’re practically married now, bonnie!”

“You’re insane.”

“D’ye think ol’ Ghost’ll officiate our wedding?”

“You’re delusional. Eat. Your food’s getting cold.”

Soap moved to the table and gestured to the chair opposite his. “Sit! We can have our first meal together as husband and wife,” he exclaimed, propping his chin on his hands like an eager child.

You shook your head, a faint smile still lingering on your lips despite your still remaining reservations about the man before you. “No, Soap, I’m okay. I really should be getting to bed now.”

Soap’s brow furrowed, and for once you saw an emotion on his face other than a smug, confident grin. It startled you, if only a little. “Come on, lass, just stay for a little, I’ll even feed ye some if ye want?”

“Goodnight, Soap.” You turned to leave, but a hand on your wrist stopped you. You did not turn to face him. You would not.

“Please, lass. Stay. I just…”

“Goodnight. Soap.” You brushed his hand off, leaving before he could think of a way to finish his sentence, before you could see the way his lips downturned. Your bed was cold that night, and you dreamt of Soap finishing his cold meal on his own, and lying down in his own cold bed. In another world, maybe you could have found it in yourself to regret it.

[sommarborne]

Hey ya'll! My name is Kennedy and I started my small business Bunny Slander back in October. I primarily make candles, room mists, body scrubs, and handmade bar soap. Everything I do is basically inspired by horror, folklore, books, writing, media, and general fandom culture.

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We are currently running a sitewide 25% off sale until 12/13/23. So check us out! And thanks ahead of time for your support. I want to use this space to show off my products and also connect with other small business owners and creators so feel free to shoot me a message or talk to me any time. So, hope to chat with you soon.

In the meantime, thanks for reading and check out these neat candles I have created that are based on some of the best tropes in books and fanfiction!

[novlr]

💌I am writing a semi-slow-burn romance, where characters A & B never met each other except briefly at one point where B fell for A, like love at first sight.

Up until now, they know about each other only through rumours.

Now they are going to meet officially but I don't know how to show their relationship starting/growing without it seeming too fast and unnatural.

What do you suggest?💌

Slow burn romance allows for a gradual, organic development of feelings. They often mirror real-life relationships, where emotions and attraction develop over time, create intense anticipation, and build emotional connections with readers.

Slow burns allow for in-depth exploration of characters’ emotions, insecurities, and personal growth. As readers invest in the characters’ journeys, the eventual romantic payoff becomes more rewarding. Let’s look at how to write characters in a slow burn romance novel.

How do they behave?

They may start off as friends or acquaintances before realizing their deeper feelings.

They might be hesitant to express their emotions openly, leading to moments of internal conflict.

Their actions towards each other should be filled with subtle hints and gestures.

They may experience jealousy or possessiveness towards one another.

They might engage in playful banter and teasing as a way to mask their true feelings.

How do they interact?

They may have frequent encounters that gradually increase in intensity.

They might have deep conversations that reveal their fears and vulnerabilities.

They could have intimate moments that create a strong emotional connection.

They might share secrets and confide in each other more than others.

Their interactions should be filled with anticipation and unresolved sexual tension.

Describe their body language

Lingering touches, or accidental brushing against skin.

Frequently locking eyes across a room.

Nervous gestures, like biting their lips or fidgeting.

Leaning in and unconsciously seeking proximity.

Become more relaxed and comfortable over time.

Mimicking each other’s gestures or body language

Blushing or flushed cheeks

Describe their attitude

They may have a love-hate relationship, alternating between attraction and frustration.

Their attitude might evolve from indifference to fascination and infatuation.

They might initially resist their feelings, denying the growing connection.

They can have moments of self-doubt and a fear of rejection.

Their attitude should gradually shift towards acceptance and vulnerability.

Common slow burn romance tropes

Friends-to-Lovers: The characters start as friends, and their relationship gradually develops into a romantic one.

Enemies-to-Lovers: The characters initially dislike or have conflicts with each other, but over time, their feelings transform into love.

Forbidden Love: The characters face obstacles or societal boundaries that prevent them from being together.

Second Chance Romance: The characters have a history together, and their paths cross again, giving them a chance to rekindle their feelings.

Opposites Attract: The characters have contrasting personalities or backgrounds, leading to initial friction but eventually finding common ground.

Workplace Romance: The characters work together and initially keep their feelings hidden due to professional boundaries.

Positive story outcomes

In positive story outcomes of a slow burn romance, the characters finally confess their love for each other, leading to a happily ever after. Their relationship deepens, nurturing a strong and lasting bond. Together, they overcome obstacles, demonstrating the true strength of their connection. The slow burn romance sparks personal growth and self-discovery for the characters, as they learn to navigate their emotions and overcome their fears. Through patience and perseverance, the story highlights the importance of cherishing and fighting for love.

Negative story outcomes

While slow burn romances often have positive outcomes, negative story outcomes aren’t unheard of. In these scenarios, the characters may realise their feelings too late, missing out on a chance for true love. Their relationship can become strained due to misunderstandings and lack of communication, leading to a sense of longing and regret. One of the characters may choose to move on, leaving the other heartbroken. The slow burn romance becomes a source of pain and unrequited love, exploring the bittersweet nature of their connection. These negative outcomes serve to evoke a deeper emotional impact and highlight the importance of timing, communication, and seizing opportunities in matters of the heart.

[dashofmonsters]

Dreamers & Delusions- Pt. 3

merman x female reader

You wake up feeling slightly smothered. You pry an eye open to be met with taut tan skin. You groan remembering what happened last night knowing damn well you'll have to really clean the kitchen since that sauce is probably stuck in that pot. That and you'll most likely have to calm Tao down.

You squirm just enough to dislodge yourself from Tao's arms only to see his face twist as his eyes flutter awake.

He stares at you blankly for a minute before he flies out of the bed like a scared cat, landing on his feet before falling on his ass with a hard thud. Tao stutters as he tries to apologize, his expression a mix of embarrassment, fear, and anger.

"Woah woah, hey! Everything's fine! You kind of blanked out last night while eating but nothing happened! You're good ok? Tao hey look at me, deep breaths man! Come on, it's fine," you try to calm him down while sitting next to him.

Tao scoots away and tries to catch his breath, "I, you asked me... You asked me to keep my hands to myself though. I-I-I still should be held accountable for-"

"Dude, that's just an expression for keeping your hands out of my pants. Like don't try to come onto me..." you wave your hand in a circle hoping he'd get it but nothing. "You know, sexually? Which you did not by the way. Cuddling can be platonic and that's all that happened right? So we're good!"

His brows furrow and he nods. He still doesn't seem convinced that he did nothing wrong as he balls up on himself.

"Really," you start, a bit more softer. "Nothing happened. I'm fine and to be honest, that was probably the best nights sleep I've had in forever. The purring was unexpected though."

You giggle but Tao buries his face in his hands looking like an embarrassed girl who just confessed to her crush.

"Oh come on man, I'm just trying to lighten the mood! I won't tell anyone that you can purr. I will take this bit of horrific terrible no good information to the grave ok? Just stop collapsing in on yourself like a black hole," you scootch to sit next to him and try to pry one of his arms away.

He loosens up and peers up over his arms at you, "Just for the love of the goddesses never mention the purring again. Ever, even between us. It's embarrassing even though it's normal, it's just not talked about."

Your heart flutters because he honest to god looks adorable being all embarrassed and you have to really really stop yourself from patting his head. Taking a deep breath you nod.

"Got it, cultural thing. Won't bring it up again, breakfast," you ask, quickly changing the subject.

Tao nods and awkwardly gets himself back into a standing position before helping you up. You look down the hall and across the way to the living room to make sure no one else is here. The likelihood that your grandmother would be back yet is slim but not entirely impossible.

When you see that the coast is clear you head to the kitchen with Tao in tow. He sticks close by, looking around concerned.

"You alright buddy?" you ask.

"I- I don't know, I don't really remember much from last night aside from running here and you inviting me inside and then things started to get blurry," he turns this way and that while sniffing the air trying to piece together what might have happened.

"Well you were practically drooling while I was on cooking, went into a feeding frenzy and then you were kind of like on auto pilot mode. What was that about," you walk him through what you remember and you hear a slap.

You look up at Tao who's large hand is covering his face.

"You saw me eat," he asks, sounding absolutely mortified.

"Yeah, no big deal though. You were hungry right? I was just happy that you were ok with my cooking. I would have tried it myself but medium rare chicken isn't quite safe for human consumption. Sauce was tasty though," you shrug.

Tao looks at you like you smacked him instead, "You weren't disgusted?"

"Should I have been? I mean the extra row of teeth was a surprise and all but I've seen worse. I work at a diner mind you and I've seen grown ass men eat mashed potatoes with their grubby unclean hands. Now that is gross," you cross your arms.

You've told Tao time and time again that you're pretty open minded when it comes to the cultural differences between you and he. It's taken quite a bit to convince him that he doesn't have to hide his arm and leg fins while working, no one cares. In fact, it gives him more edge and the kids take him more seriously.

Tao still looks distraught but he stands just a bit taller.

Right... the fair folk are about give and take. I guess that applies for some merfolk to.

"Fine, if you feel like you gotta do something to make up for last night, you can help me with the dishes. Is that fair," you point to the skillet and the variable dishes in different states of disgusting.

He straightens up real quick and gets to work. While he does that you work on breakfast. It's simple and nothing crazy like you made last night but it has Tao glancing over your shoulder ever so often. He asks what your making and what seasonings you're using.

Eventually the dishes are done and the both of you are comfortably eating breakfast while talking about food and cooking. He enjoys Mediterranean style cooking and isn't much into sweets except anything coffee flavored. He also loves sashimi but hates sushi. You did notice his favorite recipes don't include anything with nori.

"So are you planning on being a life guard full time or is it just while you're acclimating," you ask between bites of pancake.

Tao rolls his head back and groans, "I've tried to think of what I'd want to do but nothing translates well with the jobs I could have had in my shoal. Being a life guard was the closest option to what I could of been."

"I see, so limited job options for you people," you nod.

"More like limited to half breeds like myself," he sighs and looks down at his plate.

You don't press or ask what he means because you'd never pry, that was something he said he appreciated about you. You gave him the space and time to talk about things like he did with you now.

"My mother is from my birth shoal but my father well he was from a different and more smaller shoal. These," he points to the bands on his arms and to the black streaks in his hair. "These are proof that I'm not just of my mother's kind. I'm considered an outcast. I had one chance to stay in my shoal but I refused to take it and for that I was banished."

The pain in his voice is unbearable and heartbreaking. He must miss his family and to be banished from the only life you've ever know must hit hard.

"I couldn't do what they were asking," he continues, his voice choking. "My mother had lost both my father and my brother's father. Two mates!" He stops and looks up at you with wide eyes looking like he's in terrible horrible pain. "She lost them and I couldn't kill my own brother just to stay in that goddess forsaken shoal!"

Your heart stops for a moment and then you're on your feet walking towards him.

"I couldn't do it! And I-I don't even know why I'm telling you this just fo-"

You wrap your arms around him and give him the best hug that you can. You feel him stiffen for a second only for his body to go limp once you start patting his back.

"You're just feeling a lot, I get it. Let it all out man, I won't judge," you coo, still patting him.

Tao is still for a moment longer before pulling you in closer and quietly crying against you chest. You feel him shake as he lets what could be years and years of silent suffering go. His nails dig into your back and although it's a little uncomfortable you know that holding in that much hurt is more painful.

"I couldn't do it..." he mutters again and again, the feelings of loss overcoming him.

"I know, and you spared your mother such a horrible thing. She must know you're alright. Even though you're far apart she still loves you. You're brother will be her constant reminder of your bravery. You chose right. And I know sometimes the right things are the hard things believe me I know, but you did right and your mother knows it. She might not be here to say it so I will, I'm proud of you and lucky to have such a good friend," you say, comforting him as you now rub circles on his back.

Tao holds you tighter and you can hear the muffled cry he tries to hold back.

"Let it all out. I'm here for you," you continue to comfort him as he cries his heart out to you.

~~~~~

After a while Tao eventually calms down but passes out on the couch. You toss a blanket over him and check your phone.

"You grandmother is spending another night here. She raided my mini bar and got drunk off her ass. Enjoy your alone time, I know you need it," Gayle texted you thirty minutes ago.

You sigh in relief and tidy up the half eaten breakfast you and Tao had.

Deciding now is the perfect time to do nothing, you do just that and get back to being lazy. You stretch back out onto the recliner and scroll through your phone while Tao takes it power nap. It's a comfortable kind of quiet you've gotten used to.

A text pings and you check it real quick and frown.

"Jsut gettin out of teh rehanb an I thoubt I see how yor doin. Callme," your mother texts you.

You don't know how or why she has your new number but you never wanted to talk to her again. Or at the very least for a long long time. She was one of the few people who made living in your hometown a living hell. She was the town druggy and you were her daughter. You and your siblings were targeted for causing trouble even though you never caused any all for being her kids.

It got so bad that your brother went into inpatient therapy and your sister ran away. You haven't heard from her in six years. Your older brother tried his best but it was hard to take care of a group of kids when he was still in high school. He tried to take you and your younger brother away but got incarcerated for kidnapping.

After a few months in the county jail he was released but never came back until a couple years ago. He took your mom to court where you and your younger brother testified against your mom. She played the pitiful me and my hard life card and got away with a year in jail and one in rehab.

You consider calling her to cuss her out but decide it's not worth your time or effort. You roll your eyes and decide to let your silence speak for itself.

"You're upset, what's wrong," you hear Tao as he sits up with glorious bed hair and his eyes puffy and red.

"How can you tell," you set your phone down and glare.

Tao points to his nose, "I can smell emotions. Anger usually smells sharp and rotten like spoiled milk."

"Oh, well yeah. I am pissed but not at you. Just something... someone texted me and I don't want to talk to them. Ever," you cross your arms and look down.

Tao sits himself up right and folds the throw blanket. He doesn't press but waits to see if you'll continue or dismiss the subject.

"It was my mom," you start. "Her and I aren't on speaking terms. She ruined my life. My brothers, sister, and I suffered because she was always looking for that next high and we were know for being the druggy lady's kids. It sucked ass!"

He nods and walks over to you and sits back down and his eyes meet yours. Gently he takes your hand and starts rubbing circles on top of it with his thumb.

"And now she-she thinks she can just act like nothing happened! She's all like, 'I'm out of rehab, call me!'. Fuck. No," you tighten up but then feel yourself being tugged into Tao's arms as he gives you a great big bear hug.

He pats your back like you did for him and you feel yourself melting into a puddle of tears.

Tao doesn't speak but he doesn't need to. You know him doing this much is well, a lot. You eventually calm down though but he still holds you, tighter and tighter like he doesn't want to let go.

"My dad left when I was a like nine after he found out mom was getting some stuff from the other realm. She wasn't too into at first since it was hard to get ahold of but she got worse. The easier it was to get the more she got and she worse she was. For fucks sake I came home from school one day and she was hanging upside down midair with a nosebleed from hell! No one should have to grow up like that," you groan as you slump in Tao's arms.

He shakes and his hold on you tightens, "No, you shouldn't have had to have gone through that."

"All I wanted was a normal life! Is that too much to ask for," you pull back a little and look at Tao while tears continue to fall.

The whites of his eyes are black again and his expression is blank as he thumbs away a tear, "You are here now and far from the people who hurt you. Don't let them win by grieving over what they had done to you."

At that you nod, trying your hardest to stop crying because you know he's right. Things always got worse when you cried at what your bullies said or did.

"You're right," you sniffle and wipe your face with your sleeve.

Tao gives you a minute to collect yourself before helping you stand. You feel a little dizzy but relieved to have gotten that off your chest. You hadn't realized how much it had bothered you, how much it really had effected you until the past dug itself up out of the grave. It had been years since you last saw your mother. Her stay at rehab kept getting extended thanks to your brother, but now she's out and she has your number.

A shiver of fear runs up your spine but you try to keep yourself together. Tao pats your head and it's so odd and weird you can't help but to laugh.

"Thanks for hearing me out," you start. "I haven't gotten to vent about all that in years."

Tao looks down at you and nods, "You are my friend and you had done the same for me. I have not felt such relief myself in years. Thank you for that."

"So what do you want to do now? We had our feels fest and all," you laugh a little awkwardly, still not sure how to feel about what just happened.

Tao moves to the nearest window and peers outside and sighs, "It's still raining but not as bad. I should go home soon, I feel as if I might over stay my welcome."

"Nonsense, and besides my grandmother got stark drunk again so I get another free night! How about I teach you some more humany things," you grin at him.

He glares at you, "The last humany thing you taught me was human alcohol and it tasted like liquified rotten crab. I will politely pass."

You double over laughing as you remember his reaction to giving him his first sip of beer. You're not much of a beer drinker yourself but Jessica came with you that evening to check out Tao and well, you both got a little carried away. Tao took a sip and his face was priceless! It looked like he was eating sour candy while sipping rotten milk.

"I promise no human booze will be involved ok," you place your hand over your heart and give him your best puppy eyes.

His glaring continues, "None at all?"

"Not even a drop," you nod.

Tao looks outside again and groans, "Very well, I guess I could stand to learn more human concepts."

~~~~~

You decided to introduce Tao to some of your favorite cooking shows and the guy was practically glued to the TV. You hadn't expected it to go over as well as it did but he got enthralled.

Somewhere along the line you offered to cook again but this time he wanted to help. At first you thought it would be strange to work with him in the kitchen considered the height difference but it was the best time you've had cooking with anyone. Everything went fantastically smooth, from the prep work to the mixing and cooking. Neither of you said anything but knew what to do the second you said what you wanted to make. It was like a dance that ended in the most delicious rice dish you've ever made.

For the first time ever you saw Tao genuinely smile and it made you feel all sorts of things. His eyes, so strange compared to yours practically glowed. You admitted that he was attractive before but him smiling added a whole new level.

Tao notices you staring as he shovels a bite in his mouth, "Is something wrong?"

You blink and shake your head, "No, nothing. You just look happy."

His shoulders slump and he sighs, but he's still got a bit of that smile on his face. "I guess I feel a somewhat happy. I know I feel lighter, less weighed down by my past."

"Good food, good rest, and a good cry session tends to help. Followed by more rest and food," you smile.

"I do feel oddly better. I am lucky to have such a good friend then," Tao smiles at you and goes back to shoveling food into his mouth.

You feel like crying all over again from all these feelings.

~~~~~

After your late lunch, you end up passing out while Tao continues to watch cooking shows. You have no idea how long you're out for but you wake up in the guest room lovingly tucked into bed.

You smell something amazing and sit up and rub your eyes. You follow the sent of heaven to the kitchen and see Tao plating something that makes your mouth water.

"You were out for nearly seven hours," he comments.

You grumble an apology but notice he's not upset.

"You probably needed it like I did after I told you about my banishment. Here," he hands you a plate and fork.

Without hesitation you take a bite and do a happy food dance, "Oh my gods Tao! This is fucking amazing!"

You stab at the food and stuff your face, "Sho fricken good!"

And then for the first time ever you hear him laugh.

If his smile made you feel things his laugh sealed the deal. Yup, you have a certified grade A level one school girl crush on him. But that's it, he's still just your friend. Nothing more.

"Dude, whenever or whoever you decide to court is going to be one lucky lady! Fuck this is good!" you point at him with your fork before digging in again.

Tao's eye whites turn black again and you're starting to wonder if it's some weird thing to do with food. It's not an allergy because you learned the other day merfolk don't have those, they just get dry skin problems. You shrug it off since if it's not something he's mentioned or talked about then you probably shouldn't bring it up, like the purring.

"You think my cooking is good enough to win a mate," he asks you very seriously.

"Hell yeah, and if you get turned down it's not your fault. She obviously would lack any taste and thinks ramen noodles with mayo is better. Dude I would sell my soul to eat your cooking everyday," you tell him while laying waste to the last bits of food on your plate.

Tao blushes and nods as he gives you a strange look. You're probably imagining it you tell yourself because there's just no way a guy friend would look at you so intensely. You convince yourself it's just your silly little crush and get over it.

~~~~

After eating and watching more TV the both of you turn in for the night. Tao looked like he wanted to ask you to cuddle with him again but kept his mouth shut. It was for the best you tell yourself that he didn't ask since it would have only fed into your silly crush even more so.

When you both get up which was oddly at the same time you both eat a light breakfast. Tao notices the lack of rain and says a very fast but kind farewell. He said he's worried that the house he's renting might be in a bit of disrepair after that storm and zipped off.

You have to get ready for work anyway and would rather be gone before your grandmother comes back. You pack up your backpack you take to work and shimmy into your favorite light jacket and head out.

The diner your work at is a pleasant thirty minute walk away. It gives you time to get some fresh air and just not think about things. Unfortunately you can't stop fucking thinking about Tao.

The entire walk there you think about Tao and his stupid handsome smile. The entire morning shift you think about Tao and his stupid amazing laugh. The entire lunch break you think about Tao and his stupid awesome delicious food.

"It's not fucking fair," you grumble as you angrily clean off a booth in your section for the third time.

"I told you," Jessica gloats.

"It's just a stupid fucking crush dammit, it'll pass," you roll your eyes and slap the rag down.

"Yeah sure, you keep telling yourself that," Jes grins.

"Come on you're supposed to help me here," you beg as you slump your shoulders and pout.

Jes grabs you and gives you a hug, "Oh I know it's so hard baby girl, it's just a silly crush on a devastatingly handsome merman and you just can't control your feelings but it'll pass. He's just so nice and no guy has treated you so well and you're just so lonely."

Jessica pats your head and you slouch in her arms, "It's just a silly stupid crush right?"

"Of course it is," she shooshes you and pulls back. "Now chin up and kick ass today. We're getting off early and going drinking down at that horrible merman's beach so we can be his problems."

~~~~~

Jessica drove the both of you to Tao's beach where he was already hot on some sleezebags tail who was bothering some ladies.

"He seems busy, lets get fucked up and make matters worse," Jes grins.

"I just want a buzz and to forget that I have a crush on him," you swing your bag off your shoulder and glare at the beach chair you usually sit in.

"You're hanging with me today. I got an extra beach towel girl," she shows you her pack and starts laying everything out.

Tao is unusually busy today chasing after crazy kids and fishermen who keep getting a bit too drunk. You almost feel bad after you tip back your second wine cooler, almost.

The weird mushy crush feelings have been tampered down by the light buzz and all you want to do is go swimming now. You stand and stretch and head towards the water. You think you hear Tao call out to you but you're not really sure as you swim further out.

You suddenly see a large shark fin in front of you and kick towards it thinking it's Tao until your foot is met with rubbery skin. You quickly sober up and push away from the creature but you see the shark starting to surface as you try to swim away. You feel a hard tug on your arm thinking it's Tao only to be disappointed when you feel a hand grope your chest as they pull you closer.

You struggle out of their arms and turn to see the large shark before you. Your heart stops thinking that this is it until a large fist punches the shark in the face. The creep who had been holding you lets go and splashes as they swim away. You're too stunned to move and just float there as you watch Tao beat up a shark.

You hear him yell at you as he picks you up and swims back to the beach. You hear him tell people to get out of his way. You hear him threaten the man who copped a feel when you were trying to swim away from the shark. You hear him lecture Jes who apologizes to the both of you. You hear him lecture you as he sets you down on the beach chair and tells you not to move.

Jessica brings you some water that you drink and wraps you up her extra beach towel. You start to sob and she does the best to console you but it hurts. You did something stupid and now Tao is mad at you and you think he probably hates you.

She offers to bring you home but Tao tells her to leave you be and he'll escort you home once you're fully sober and his shift is over.

Jes doesn't argue and packs up her bag and leaves.

~~~~~~~~

Tao:

I don't understand why she ignored me when I told her there were sharks in the water. Is her hearing worsened when she drinks that human alcohol?

I should really push to getting those drinks banned from my beach. Humans act too strange when they drink it.

My strange human friend is asleep on the beach chair I bought her. Her eyes are puffy now and she's wrapped up in a towel her older friend Jessica brought her.

I might have been too hard on the both of them but I was angry. My friend put herself in grave danger and almost died because a human male tried to... I feel that rage again when I saw what he was doing. I wanted to rip him apart or let that shark eat him while I swam away with my friend.

Such violence does not pass in this world and would probably upset her.

I watch as the last family packs up their belongings and heads to their vehicle. I wait a few minutes and grab my shoulder bag and her backpack and sling the on.

My friend is in a deep sleep, probably still in shock about the shark... and the way I yelled at her.

She does not deal with being yelled at well and she even told me this but I couldn't help it. I almost lost her, my only friend. Without her, I have no shoal here.

I pause and realize that some part of me has accepted this human as one of my own. That must be why I am overly protective of her, she is all I have as family or friend.

With that resolve I carefully pick her up. She shifts in my arms and settles as I hold her close. She smells like the ocean and the flowers that decorate the small grocery store I frequent. It is a pleasant scent.

I walk her home and knock on the door. I am greeted by a small elderly woman with bouncy curls and large glasses. This must be her grandmother.

She sizes me up which makes me feel oddly small under her scrutinizing glare. I stand a bit taller and fix my posture as she nods and welcomes me inside. I feel like I should act like I haven't been here before as she escorts me to the room with the television. She asks me to lay down my friend on the couch that I napped on while here.

"So, how is it that you two know each other," her grandmother asks me, her eyes sizing me up once more.

"Are you her... boyfriend?" she raises her brows as she sits down on the reclining chair.

I am not quite sure what she is asking. I am a man not a boy but maybe that has to do with my gender. I am a male so that must qualify as the same thing right?

I nod, "Yes, I am."

The elderly woman smiles and places her hand on her heart, "Oh you have to tell me how you two met then."

And at her request I do.

~~~~~~~

You're in your bed when you wake up and still in your swim suit. You don't remember how you got home or anything but you do remember Tao and the beach and oh god!

You shoot up out of bed and run to shower off the beach and throw something on. You run past your grandmother who tried to ask you about something but you can't hear her.

Today is Tao's off day, you know that since he's always bringing you a print out of his schedule. You never go to the beach on his off days, you can't trust the other life guard like you can Tao.

So if not the beach...

Right, he said he's usually shopping for the week on his off day.

You make a beeline to the shopping center a mile away from your grandmother's house and book it.

You have to apologize to him today no matter what. As you come up to the stores you try the little grocery shop with flowers decorating the outside. The lady at the register welcomes you in and you give her a quick smile before someone tall catches you eyes.

You weave your way towards the back and catch him by the arm.

"Tao! Oh god, I am so so sorry about yesterday," you tell him as he turns to look at you.

He looks stunned for a moment and then of course he nods, "You were under the influence of that human beverage. Please be more cautious next time."

You feel a crazy amount of relief then and nearly cry, "So you're not mad at me? You don't hate me?"

Tao stiffens up and looks embarrassed for a moment, "No, of course not. I was mad but not at you. That poor excuse of a male who nearly got you killed is the one I was mad at. I could not hate you, I was just concerned for your well being and let my emotions get the better of me. And for that, I am sorry. You told me you shut down when you're yelled at and I... I will try to not do that again."

"Thank you for rescuing me too, I was being stupid because I was going through something and well yeah. I'm sorry for that too," you shrug.

"We both made mistakes," he says.

"Yeah, like that," you point down to what should be the most illegal thing in the whole wide world, socks and leather sandals. In fact as you look him over in his regular none life guard outfit he looks like someone's dad from the 90s. The fanny pack doesn't help.

And yet I'm still attracted to this hot mess express!

"What is wrong with my attire," he looks himself up and down.

"Nothing, just try not to ever wear socks and sandals again. It looks really silly ok," you crinkle your nose but smile.

"I see, thank you for the advice. So you are not upset with me for yelling at you," he asks with his own brand of puppy dog eyes.

"Nah, I'm over it. How about you, we good," you ask.

"The past is in the past, we both made errors and will learn from them," he nods.

"Yeah. Friends still?" you smile nervously.

"Of course," he agrees then raises a brow. "By the way, what is a boyfriend?"

"I guess you could say they're a male romantic partner that isn't quite serious but could be eventually. I guess you could say they're the only suitor allowed to court the female. Something like that I guess," you give him your best interpretation. "Why? Keep hearing it on the beach?"

"No... your grandmother asked me if that is what I was to you when I took you home last night," Tao looks away from your nervously.

There's some long awkward silence that hangs in there air between the both of you that just swing along with the garlic and peppers.

"Tao... What did you tell her," you ask, crossing your arms.

He inhales sharply.

"Tao," you ask again. "What did you tell my grandmother?"

"I uh... I said yes," he finally admits.

[amaramiyu]

[Analysis] Richette (Richter&Annette)

Sometimes a ship can sneak up on you unexpectedly and it ultimately ends up consuming you. That's exactly what happened to me with Richette (RichterxAnnette) from Castlevania: Nocturne. After pondering for a couple of weeks, I've decided to do an analysis of their relationship because not only do I enjoy them as characters individually, but there's so much nuance and complexity to their relationship and so much to discuss. So without further ado:

First of all, I need to talk about these two gorgeous character posters (pictured above) of Richter and Annette. Color theory time!

On Richter's poster, he's all serious, stern, and means business. The color blue is heavily utilized and in color theory blue is considered a cool color. The color blue typically has the following meanings: calmness, honesty, trust, stability, and responsibility. Furthermore, the color blue is also usually associated with the sea, trust, the sky, stability, tranquility, and depth.

Interestingly enough, Annette's poster is sort of the opposite of Richter's she's coquettish and looks slightly playful. The color yellow is greatly emphasized and in color theory yellow is considered a warm color. The color yellow typically has the following meanings: happiness, creativity, mental stimulation, impatience, and cowardice. Furthermore, the color yellow is also usually associated with energy, sunshine, brightness, cheerfulness, and joy.

Episode 1

Richter first meets Annette after she saves him from a Night Creature while he is suffering from his PTSD (childhood trauma witnessing his mother's horrific demise by Olrox). I love Annette's soft smile towards Richter.

Richter is impressed/amazed by Annette's magical abilities.

Annette not only demonstrates her magical abilities but she also showcases that she's knowledgeable about Night Creatures and the Vampire Messiah. Initially, Richter's hurling many questions at her and he's frustrated until she answers them. Richter becomes a little sheepish when it's revealed that Annette and Edouard are looking for "someone called Belmont" and he's the Belmont in question.

Episode 2

Richter's definitely intrigued by Annette as Edouard and Annette are discussing her lineage. Richter plays up his confidence and contentment with how he's perfectly fine with his knives and his family heirloom the Vampire Killer whip to kill vampires. But the mood changes once he brings up magic and his mother due to his childhood trauma.

Annette: Where's your mother?

Richter: She died. Some vampires do magic too.

As we will learn later, Richter's and Annette's respective mothers being killed by a vampire is something that they have in common. You can see the sympathy displayed in Annette's eyes.

When Edouard was being overtaken by the vampires and Night Creatures. Annette was distracted and frozen with despair, but she needed to regain her focus to finish creating the bridge for them to escape so that they could live to fight another day.

This is an all too familiar scene for Richter the grief, pain, and loss of a loved one. The heavy pouring rain adds to this somber moment.

Episode 3

The next day Richter comforts Annette stating that their only option was to retreat. They were surrounded and it wasn't her fault regarding what happened to Edouard. However, Annette feels like she abandoned him and that he wouldn't have abandoned her. Edouard was like family to her and all that she had left after her mother died.

Richter: I know what it's like to watch your mother die. I fled...but I guess you couldn't do that.

Here comes the nuance Richter acknowledges the similarities between Annette and him losing their mothers. However, he also realizes that he was able to flee get on a ship, and travel to a whole different country across the ocean putting distance between him and the vampire that haunted him. But Annette couldn't do that she was stuck on the island of Saint-Domingue having to pretty much almost every day confront her nightmare.

Annette as she's recounting the slave uprising in Saint-Domingue we get this commentary:

Richter: It sounds like an epic battle.

Annette: Freedom was sweeter than the sugar we harvested.

There's also this parallel last episode when Richter mentioned some vampires can do magic. This episode during the flashback:

Annette: Vaublanc changed into a bat. What other magic can they do?

Annette: He was so brave, so committed to our freedom.

Richter: We'll avenge him. I swear.

Their resolve to take down the vampires and the Vampire Messiah is even further strengthened.

During Annette's rousing speech in the town's square, Richter is mesmerized and captivated. He's actually listening and paying attention hanging on to her every word. He even cracks a smile.

This is a stark contrast to earlier in the season when during one of Maria's revolutionary gatherings he admitted he wasn't really listening and was basically nonchalant about the whole ordeal.

Episode 4

Annette's still shaken up from witnessing Edouard as a Night Creature in the last episode. I must say Richter's quite chivalrous towards Annette in this scene. He's checking up on her asking if she's all right. He also lays out the facts and reality of the situation as harsh and grim as it might be.

He stresses that they need a plan because he doesn't want a repeat of what happened at the chateau. However, Annette's impatience and impulsiveness are getting the best of her.

Annette: The Abbey's made of stone. I can bury them in their own church, bring it crashing down around their heads.

Richter: A proper plan, not walk in, make a few snap decisions about who deserves to live or die, and then turn everything to rubble.

The conversation takes a turn towards cowardice and being afraid.

Richter: I've only been afraid once in all my life, and I was 10.

Annette: You know what it's like to watch your mother die, you said. She was killed by a vampire, wasn't she?

Annette connects the dots and here's some more nuance. People are shaped by their upbringing and the type of environment that they grew up in. Annette states that Richter and Maria are not cowards it's more so that they are just children with no experience of the world, no experience of the hard choices that adults have to make.

There's great teamwork demonstrated here as Richter protects Annette while she's doing her incantation.

When Richter comes face to face with his nightmare (Olrox) years later he reverts into his scared 10-year-old self and flees. Annette's shocked, disappointed, and furious at how he just abandoned their plight.

Richter Belmont is the person that her mentor Cecile told her to seek out and that would be able to aid her in accomplishing her mission. Even though he couldn't use magic anymore, she said that they'd make do, but now he ghosts them this definitely does not go over well.

However, Annette will later come to understand his perspective and situation even though as of right now she comes across as insensitive towards him.

Episode 5

This episode showcases the aftermath of Richter's actions towards the end of the last episode. Annette can't sit still and wants to free Edouard from his chains instead of regrouping and waiting for Richter to return.

Tera tries to make Annette understand Richter's behavior and actions. Olrox is the vampire who killed his mother after all and the nightmare that still haunts him.

Annette: We all have nightmares. If I'd let my past terrify me, I'd never be free of it.

As I mentioned earlier, Annette, unlike Richter, has come face-to-face with her nightmare(which also includes slavery) just about every single day on the island. Richter hasn't physically confronted Olrox in almost a decade. Annette's able to face her nightmare(Vaublanc) head-on she isn't afraid of him anymore. We witness this later in the episode when she confronts him. She doesn't allow Vaublanc to get under her skin or break her. She conquers and defeats him.

Richter as of right now, doesn't have much fight left in him, but he'll eventually regain his resolve and turn things around.

Episode 6

Juste and Richter share many parallels they both experience a blockage to their magic after witnessing the traumatic loss of their loved one(s) due to a vampire before their eyes. They both blame themselves for it as well. Juste has such a defeatist attitude, and Richter could've ended up similar to Juste if he wasn't able to work through his blockage.

Annette calls upon her mentor Cecile for guidance. She expresses how Richter ran away but Cecile reminds her that everyone starts by running away. Annette ran away too at first but she eventually got to a point where she didn't cower in front of her tormentor, it's not something that's going to happen overnight it takes time. Cecile also advises Annette to learn to hear her ancestors. There's light in the darkness.

At his lowest point, before Richter regained his magical powers he thought of the people who he loved and wanted to protect. Annette was included alongside Tera and Maria. Now, not only has his magic returned but so has his resolve.

Episode 7

Richter has finally returned after being m.i.a for a few days and he has to clear the air between Annette and himself.

Immediately without wasting any time or putting it off, Richter goes to speak to Annette. He is nervous as hell and bracing for a storm, so he was surprised when Annette said that she knew he'd be back and that she was more concerned than she wanted to be.

Richter's like oh, really? And starts joking, "The muscles, huh?" The tension in the air diffuses between them and blushing ensues. Annette talking to her mentor really helped her ease up; she's not being driven by anger, and it's reflected in this moment between Richter and her. They've come to understand one another.

Richter reaffirms that they're going to get Edouard out of his cell. He shows Annette that his magic abilities have returned. Richter talks about remembering what makes him who he is and the type of person he wants to be...a Belmont. Living up to the legacy of his family's last name was also something that he was grappling with during the season as well.

When Richter mentioned the love in this house it stood out and resonated with Annette. Annette is overall dazzled by Richter during his speech it's adorable.

Richter: I won't let myself be afraid ever again.

Annette: But we are afraid. It's not always bad. It just means we have something to lose.

Being afraid and fear are natural human emotions but the reasons behind why we are afraid can differ. We can be afraid because we have something or someone that we want to protect and not lose.

The current atmosphere and mood are romantic during this moment. Richter and Annette are staring deeply at each other. Richter also sneaks glances at Annette when she breaks eye contact with him.

Can you feel the love?

Later on, they're calm, cool, and collected putting together a plan of action this time around. This is an improvement from Episode 4 where they also needed to formulate a plan of action.

Episode 8

Annette: Don't burn the place to the ground.

Richter: Good point. And try not to reduce it to rubble.

Would you look at that? Some fun light banter before a big battle. Their lines are also a callback to earlier episodes in the season. Remember in Episode 2 Annette talked about burning the chateau to the ground. Also in Episode 4, Richter said the turn everything into rubble line. The difference here is in the context, tone, and delivery.

You can really see the growth and development even further by this stage in their relationship.

Richter: We had no choice. Did we?

This scene is so heart-wrenching. Richter's tone and delivery of the line and his glance over to Annette for reassurance. Tera is now going to be a vampire. Our heroes just can't quite catch a break can they this season?

Congratulations! You've made it to the end. Even though this took many days to put together I had fun creating this. I may have missed a few things, but I feel like I touched on the main elements.

Thanks for taking the time to read my analysis.

[freesia-writes]

Chapter 35: Completion (THE END)

During the Clone Wars, the Bad Batch is tasked with a variety of missions across the galaxy. An unexpected addition to their team throws a wrench in the mix, particularly for Tech, who finds a particular connection with this disillusioned Padawan-turned-mechanic named Vel throughout the events in this action-adventure romance. COVER ART BY @zaana!!

Master List of Chapters

Author's Note: I JUST CAN'T STOP WITH THESE TWO! ;) But I feel content with where it has landed, and I suppose I could always add more down the road. But for now, we'll wrap it up with a sweet little bow and send you off feeling all warm and fuzzy. ;)

“Hi guys!” Wrecker yelled, stumbling as he kicked off his boots and barreled into the room. “Oooo, Vel, it smells delicious in here!” 

Hunter soon followed, wearing one of the locals’ hats that made him look even more rugged along with the beard he now sported. “I wrapped some fresh steaks and put them in the chest freezer out back,” he announced, pulling the hat off of his tousled head of hair and hanging it in the entryway. 

“I’m pretty sure he stole something out of it too,” came Echo’s surly voice, though his pale face was curved by a warm smile as he squeezed through the door. 

“Well hello everybody,” Vel laughed, glancing at the wall chrono. “We just finished dinner; thought no one was coming!”

“We’re not here for dinner!” announced Fives, piling into the cottage behind Echo. The living room had been arranged to accommodate as many people as possible, and once Crosshair had sidled in and shut the door behind him, it felt absolutely full in the best way. Other clones had come to Bendego as well, but their visits were more occasional and always planned.

“Alrighty then!” she responded cheerfully, still immediately beginning to rummage in the kitchen for a large serving platter, where she began to assemble every acceptable snack and finger food they had in the house. 

Wrecker clapped Tech across the back and pulled him into a giant hug, whispering none too quietly, “So, did you do it yet?” 

“No, Wrecker, and do keep your voice down,” Tech answered, flustered. “I told you – you all have to do your part first.”

“Ohhhh, oh right,” Wrecker said, beaming ear to ear. “I’m just so proud of you.” He ruffled Tech’s hair with his knuckles, earning a squawk of protest as well as an under-the-breath chuckle from Crosshair, who had nestled himself in his favorite corner chair immediately. 

Vel had been surprised by how much she enjoyed playing host. Perhaps as someone who had never felt welcomed or sufficient, it was a way for her to love and serve others generously, to ensure that they always had the impression that they were valued and a joy to have around. But whatever the cause, she always felt content with a full home. Granted, she was just as content to be cuddled up with Tech on the couch, watching the trees fade to black outside as evening gave way to night… They were both wonderful in their own way. So as she perched on the armrest next to Tech, gazing around at the faces of her beloved family, she couldn’t resist a misty-eyed smile as she considered how drastically different their lives all were now as compared to before. 

“Psst – get up, di’kut,” Echo whispered, elbowing Fives in the side. The two of them were taking up the other seats on the plush sofa beside Tech, and apparently Fives had just been volunteered to give Vel a proper place to sit.

“You get up!” Fives laughed, jabbing his brother right back. “Alright! Alright…” he caved in the face of Echo’s scomp arm, which was cocked and ready to deliver a much sharper poke at any continued protest. Fives hauled himself to his feet, muttering a fond insult under his breath as Echo scooted over to take his place, beckoning Tech to follow so that Vel could sit beside him. A steady stream of muttered threats and insults about the nerve of these disabled war veterans and their sense of entitlement followed him all the way to his new seat – a wooden chair pulled up from the dining table. 

“Aww, the battle-hardened ARC trooper’s backside is too delicate for the harshness of a wooden chair,” Crosshair needled, at which Echo laughed delightedly. 

“Yeah, Fives – not such a hard-ass now, are you?” he joined in, watching Fives’ determined effort to hide his smirk behind a squinting look of disdain. 

“Ahh, your mother’s a droid,” he said dismissively, making a hand gesture at Echo that effectively ended the conversation, as they were both snickering too hard to speak further.

“Alright…” Hunter spoke up, his sergeant voice making an appearance. “Everyone quiet down. You all ready?” 

Vel’s eyes snapped quickly from Hunter to Tech, a quizzical expression on her face. Tech shifted uncomfortably, and as he moved his hand to rest on his knee, she could have sworn she saw his fingers tremble. There was a palpable tension in the room, some kind of tightly-strung sensation that she couldn’t ignore. She slipped a hand over his, trying to entice him to look at her or give any hint as to what was going on. 

“Ready for what?” she asked aloud, unable to hold back her curiosity as she looked from face to face.

“You’ll see,” Crosshair said quietly, eyes flickering lazily to her before returning to Hunter, who cleared his throat, then rose to his feet and stood right in front of her and Tech. He held a small wooden box in his hands.

“I pledge my support and my protection, my encouragement and my help, however the two of you may find yourselves in future need. I wish upon you all the happiness in the world and the deepest fulfillment in every future endeavor,” Hunter said, clearly having rehearsed it a number of times judging by the theatrical voice in which he delivered it. He nodded curtly, then passed the wooden box to Crosshair and returned to his seat. 

Vel looked around the room, thoroughly confused, but everyone else had a knowing grin on their faces that was starting to make her mad. She turned to Tech, nudging him in the side with her elbow, and he finally turned to face her. It was a shock to see the undeniable nervousness on his face, but before she could ask about it, he softened into an affectionate smile, reaching a hand up to touch her cheek and then pressing a finger to his own lips, tilting his head back to the center of the room, where Crosshair had assumed Hunter’s position. 

“I too pledge my support and protection, encouragement and help… Depending on the–” 

“Crosshair,” Hunter growled.

“However the two of you may find yourselves in future need,” Crosshair continued, casting Hunter a snarky glance before returning his gaze to Tech and Vel. His snide expression faded a little, a seriousness taking its place as he looked back and forth between the two of them. “And I wish upon you a peaceful life, enjoying each other and the land you now call home.” Before he sat, he handed the wooden box to Wrecker, where it virtually disappeared in a single hand of his as he leapt eagerly to his feet. 

“And I pledge my support and protection and encouragement and help! Howsoever the two of you might need,” he said, booming voice shaking the delicate little plant pots scattered across shelves here and there. “And I wish that you both would have the most fun, er, I wish upon you the most fun, and lots of adventure, and all the nerdy stuff you both love… in huge amounts!” He beamed with pride at the two of them, as though he were somehow responsible for all that had transpired, and shoved the wooden box at Fives before lumbering back to his seat. 

“What are you all…” Vel began slowly, their uncharacteristically meaningful words and serious expressions whirling in her mind. 

“All will be clear in a moment, my love,” Tech murmured into her ear, lifting up an arm to wrap around her. She snuggled against his side, nervous and tingly, bewildered and intrigued, as Fives spoke in front of them now.

“I pledge to you my support and protection, my encouragement and help, and whatever else. And I wish upon you all the hot sex and–”

“Kriff, Fives,” Echo grumbled, palming his face with a hand, although Crosshair was thoroughly pleased. 

“Hey! I mean it, you old prude!” Fives said indignantly, “Besides, I have the box. So shut it.”

Vel laughed, completely perplexed but thoroughly enjoying the show. Tech let out a deep sigh, shaking his head minutely as though he were disappointed. 

“ANYWAY,” Fives continued, casting one last authoritative look at Echo, “All the hot sex AND deep friendship and the ability to laugh with each other even in the thick of it.” He nodded once, pleased with himself, then threw the box at Echo’s face, where he barely caught it before it smacked him in the cheek. Tech spluttered his disapproval at the act as Fives sat and Echo stood before them. 

“Alright. I wish you both. No, wait. I KNOW, Fives! I pledge my support and my protection, my encouragement and my help, however the two of you may find yourselves in future need. I wish upon you shared adventures that bring you closer together, appreciation for the simple things in life, and a commitment to and appreciation for one another that never fades.”

Echo handed Tech the box amid a few playful “aww” sounds from the peanut gallery, then plopped back into his seat. Tech gazed down at the wooden box – a small rectangle with a smooth, unfinished surface – and took a long, deep breath. Vel looked at him intently, heart pounding in her chest. He moved deliberately, sitting up straight and turning his body toward her, fidgeting with the piece in his hands for a moment before becoming still. He opened the box, fishing out a delicate, dark-colored chain that led to an elegantly-carved wooden pendant. It was a light, creamy color that, upon closer inspection, had tiny specks of red and dark brown scattered throughout, and it had been whittled into graceful curves that wound around and through each other with impossible intricacy. Tech held it up between them, lifting his amber eyes to Vel’s as he spoke. 

“May you please hold out your hand?”

She promptly complied.

“Vel, it is an established fact that I love you,” Tech began, cupping her hand in his and lowering the wooden pendant into it. She brushed a thumb across the cool, smooth surface before looking back to him as he continued, taking her other hand in his as well. “I had been wrestling with an unsettling inability to accurately express the depth of this sentiment, until a discussion in the village square introduced me to the Bendegoan bonding ceremony, which is a similar concept to what is practiced on many other planets, sometimes called marriage or lifelong commitment or irrevocable partnership. Regardless of the title, I was sufficiently pleased with the magnitude of such a ceremony, and desired to invite you – and our extended family – into it.”

Words were nowhere to be found as Vel swallowed hard, eyes glistening at all the implications of his words. 

“The ceremony consists of declarations of support and well-wishes from your closest companions. It is then followed by the presentation of a handcrafted token of commitment and significance.” His eyes dropped to her hand, where the gorgeous piece of wood lay. “I carved this from the specific tree that so captured your attention on Kashyyyk. The red spots may be familiar to the eye. That was the moment you first began to let your guard down, and the curiosity and wonder I observed has captivated me ever since.”

Wrecker made a fake snoring sound that was promptly turned into a grunt at the whack of Hunter’s hand on his head. Tech rolled his eyes, shaking his head and looking at Vel with a small smirk. 

“I suppose I can share more about the significance at a later time. At present, the only remaining component is your response to my proposition. In case my apparent long-windedness has caused you to forget,” he said, a sparkle in his eyes, “I am asking you to commit yourself to me, and I to you, as long as we both shall live, in a shared bond of love and affection.” 

“I would love that,” Vel managed to choke out, her voice squeaky and eyes misty with the overwhelming joy of all that was playing out before her. 

“I may be incorrect but I am under the impression that you need to say ‘yes’.”

“Oh come on, Tech!” It was Hunter now whose exasperated tone caused a wave of chuckles to echo throughout the group. 

“It is apparent that my humor needs additional refinement,” Tech murmured to Vel, as she whispered “yes” and pulled him in for a hug, burying her face in his neck. A chorus of approval soon followed, and when they pulled apart, Tech carefully fastened the pendant’s chain behind the graceful column of her neck, brushing his fingers lightly across it where it lay beneath the divot of her collarbone. 

“Now we party!!” Wrecker announced triumphantly, and cacophony ensued. Apparently there was an abundance of fancy treats they had gathered from the villages – all kinds of sweet specialties reserved for special occasions – and they bustled about to clear the table and fetch them from the outdoor freezer. After a passing wallop on the back and a thumbs-up from Fives, Tech looked back to Vel, caressing her cheek with the backs of his fingers. 

“You’re really stuck with me now,” she said with a quiet laugh.

“That is precisely and indefinitely where I desire to be,” he answered, tipping her chin with a gentle hand and kissing her with his whole heart.

artwork by @vimse!

One last note -- the necklace was just something I found on Etsy; I didn't create it in any way. :)

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[daceydeath]

Cigarettes and Cliches (Part 8)

Pairing: Felix x Reader Word Count: 4.7 Genre: Collage AU, Slow Burn Romance Warnings: 18+, Minors DNI, Swearing, Explicit Activities, Alcohol

He was the most impractical guy for you to be interested in, the incredibly handsome cliché bad boy who collected girls like trophies. As hard as you wanted to hate him his persistence and hidden softer side just could be your undoing.

Managing to sneak into your shared apartment unnoticed you saw that both Seungmin and Jeongin's shoes were just abandoned in the entryway making you think they must have been at least more than tipsy when they got home the night before and from the lack of noise as you crept down the hallway it looked like they had not yet surfaced which helped you to relax and return to your room to quickly shower and change your clothes. By the time you had reemerged from your room and settled on the couch with a cup of coffee you could hear the sounds of bumping furniture and groans coming from one of the bedrooms which from the cursing that followed you recognized as Jeongin.

"Morning sunshine" you teased as his fluffy haired frowning face came around the corner into the kitchen, eyes scrunched up to protect him from the light.

"M’ning" he groaned, barely able to focus on you and he bumped straight into the cupboard he was trying to open to get a glass.

"How hard did you guys go last night?" you laughed silently getting up to help him get water and painkillers in his rather useless state “looks like it was a big one”.

"Seung and Minho had a drinking contest so he was fuuucked and I was playing beer pong and lost.... a lot" he smiled weakly taking the water and pills from you.

"I'll take some water and painkillers into Seung then and check he is still alive" you nodded knowing that they would have been so messy last night that they probably just passed out once they got into bed not noticing that you weren't home.

Taking a bottle of water into Seungmin's room you noticed he was still totally dressed from the night before and just laying on his front so you left the packet of tablets and the water on the bed side table and put your hand on his back to make sure he was in fact still breathing.

"Not dead, just wanna be" Seung's very croaky voice came from somewhere under his hood and bed head hair.

"Just checking, there's something to help" you smiled, patting his head and walking back out to the lounge room. Your phone chimed so you fished it out of your pocket to see who was texting you, only to hear more loud swearing from the kitchen as Jeongin spilled his coffee all over the counter and began wiping it up begrudgingly making you giggle again. Stepping around him you helped him pour another cup.

When can I see you again baby? I already miss you. 

You read the message and grinned at the butterflies that were now filling your stomach, and were starting to make you feel a little giddy. Felix always knew how to make you feel like a silly little school girl without any effort at all.

"What are you smiling at?" Jeongin asked, screwing his eyes up as he walked into the brighter side of the room clutching the coffee in his hands tightly.

"Just funny memes" you lied easily knowing he was too hungover to challenge you anyway.

"Oh you free tonight?" He blurted suddenly louder than you expected as the thought popped into his head.

"Yes.... why?" you blinked recovering from the jump scare he had just unintentionally delivered to your system.

"Dinner, all of us, tonight" he looked up at the ceiling like he was trying to remember all the facts he needed to tell you. "So like us, Chan, Changbin and Han, maybe the whore club at 8 but I forget where".

"I can do dinner but maybe give me Chan's number so I can text him for the details" you chuckled slightly at how much Jeongin was struggling to function "Then go back to bed Innie I'll order us food for lunch that you can eat when you wake up again".

"Thank you, you are the fucking best you know that? Plus hot you're also hot" he mumbled giving you his unlocked phone and shuffling back to his bedroom. You opened his contacts scrolling through until you found Chan's number then added it to your phone, also copying out Changbin's and Han's contacts in case Chan was in the same position that Innie was in.

“When did the agreement between you and Seung to tell me I look hot or cute or whatever happen?” you asked in confusion, after his retreating figure but he totally ignored you disappearing into the darkness of his room.

Are you and the guys coming to dinner tonight? 

You quickly texted to Felix before composing a text that didn't seem too random or confusing to Chan, in case he too was as under the weather as your two roommates. His reply came back pretty quickly giving you the details and being amazed that you had actually even spoken to either of your severely hungover friends.

The thing at Chan’s? Yeah we're going. We will have to sneak off so I can kiss you again baby

The images that your mind created of the two of you sneaking off had a flush creeping across your cheeks and down your neck as you read Felix’s reply. You would have to make sure that if you could sneak away you would and then it hit you that if you snuck away with Felix it would essentially be lying to your friends and the guilt began to set in. Not telling either Seungmin or Jeongin was essentially lying by omission and that made you a terrible friend in your mind at least, friends don't willingly lie to their friends about things like this.

Going back into your room you started up on some homework that you knew you should have been getting done but had left for a few days. If you were going to use the too busy to come home because of schoolwork excuse you needed to get as far ahead as possible so it was believable. You knew the two small tests you had at the start of the semester were going to be easy you had been prepared for them before they were announced knowing that they were also only a mock partial exams helped too since you could, hopefully ace them, and make your parents think you were now back in the top position in each of your classes. You also knew you needed to finish the last draft of a major assignment so that you wouldn’t have to deal with the stress later. By the time lunch time rolled around and you were hungry the others still hadn’t ventured out of their rooms so you ordered as much fried chicken as you could knowing that they would be happy to eat it left over if they didn’t surface when they smelt it. 

You pulled out some clothes to wear for the dinner and put them on the end of your bed, you knew you didn’t need to dress up to go the Chan’s apartment so you just grabbed some jeans that were a little tight around your butt and a slightly cropped top to that it would look like you hadn’t made no effort but you weren’t hoping to impress anyone. The buzzer from the door camera let you know the chicken had arrived and you went down to get it hoping that you would feel less nervous about what would happen later that evening. As you had predicted Seungmin managed to surface as the smell of fresh hot fried chicken followed you up the hallway and Jeongin followed suit sitting down at the table while you got them a hangover cure each and yourself a juice.

“Fried chicken, top choice” Seungmin smiled, taking a drumstick and tearing into it like a starving caveman making you pinch the bridge of your nose.

“Again the best” Jeongin agreed, picking up his own piece but not shoving it in his mouth quite as enthusiastically as Seungmin.

“I texted Chan and it's 8 o’clock tonight and their apartment” you informed both of them “I said you were both in but you can text him if you don’t want to go”.

You showered and started getting ready, your preplanned outfit and basic makeup to make you like nice but not too out of the ordinary, finally throwing Felix’s hoodie over your outfit so that you would be warm on the way there and also so you smell his scent without actually being close to him. If Seungmin or Jeongin noticed that it was a different hoodie they didn’t say anything but you did often wear super comfortable clothes which did annoy Jeongin at least to no end, so another large hoodie was nothing to take note of. Jeongin drove, having been sure that he was not going to have any alcohol left in his system and you sat in the back watching the buildings go by until you got to Chan’s. Knocking on his door, you waited with the boys watching the last of the colored traces of the day fade into the inky darkness of dusk, you suddenly realized that this must be what it was like to be normal, have a normal social life and a normal set of friends. It caused a small ache in your chest suddenly like you had missed out on something very important but it also gave you a rush of fondness for the two boys standing either side of you leaning on either the stair railing or the wall beside the door.

“Oh you two aren’t dead! Well done” Han laughed as he let you all in, listening to Seungmin grumble something under his breath as you slipped off your shoes “I’m glad you could make it tonight” He grinned at you turning his attention away from the others.

“Hi Han” you smiled back following him up the hallway to the lounge.

“The princess and her two trolls are here” Han announced as you turned into the kitchen waving to everyone else that was there. Changbin chuckled as whatever Jeongin called from down the hallway was muffled by the sounds of the six guys already milling about talking. Felix's eyes were already on you when you looked towards them, his lips turning up at the corners making you subconsciously bite your lower lip in response. 

“Pleased you actually got the message about tonight” Chan shook his head at the teasing that was already ramping up.

“Thanks for inviting me Chan” you replied, making your way around the kitchen to the other side of the island bench trying not to stare at Felix as you went.

“Hello kitten” Minho smirked as you sat yourself on one of the bar stools making you roll your eyes at him.

“Minho, you seem to be in pretty good shape considering you tried to kill Seung last night” you raised your eyebrows at him finally noticing the identical looks of mischief on both he and Hyunjin’s faces.

“Aw, didn’t know you cared so much” he teased, easily making Feix’s jaw clench and you rub your temples in faux annoyance and Jeongin came and sat down next to you placing a drink in front of you.

“Ignore Captain fucks-a-lot” he sighed sticking his tongue out and Minho.

“Rude” Minho laughed playfully, punching Jeongin and going to grab a beer from the fridge.

“We're just getting pizza. Is that good for you?” Chan asked, drawing your attention away from the others.

“That’s perfect. As long as it doesn’t come with a side of anyone's psycho ex” you quipped making Han and Seungmin burst into laughter.

“Yeah I can assure you the place we get our pizzas from doesn’t have that” Chan beamed, seeming much happier that you were comfortable enough to be cracking jokes. 

“When are you coming out to party with us again?” Changbin asked loudly, his voice easily blocking out the others.

“Um, I don’t know” you shrugged “I don’t want anyone to feel like they have to babysit me” you pointedly looked and Seungmin then Jeongin.

“Hey! we have cause, Felix had to rescue you last time” Seungmin challenged playfully.

“Yeah then had to sit through accusations of having sexy eyes by Innie” you gestured with your thumb to the boy to your right.

“When did I say that?” Jeongin yelped, completely confused.

“While you were staring at the ceiling I think” you recounted “you slurred something about why the fuck was Felix in the apartment, something about me being off limits and no sexy eyes then Seung had to help you get to bed” 

“All of that is in fact true bro”Seungmin confirmed as more laughter filled the room.

“Well I don’t remember it so it didn’t happen” Jeongin sulked, pouting slightly. Chan ordered the pizzas on his phone and got everyone more drinks, turning on the TV to pass time until all the food arrived. You noticed how close Hyunjin and Minho were to Felix and how annoyed he seemed to be at them so you just kept your distance and subtly watched them trying to figure out what was up. Feeling a little warm with all the scrutiny you slipped Felix’s hoodie over your head laying it on your lap until you could put it somewhere safe, you didn’t notice the look that Felix gave you as your shirt rode up or the fact that all the others had seen slightly more of you than you had planned.

“So what are you doing this week? Want to come hang out with us?” Changbin asked, clearing his throat and breaking you away from another glance at Felix. 

“I’m back at work next week but you can always come by and hang out there if you come around my break” you looked from him to Han who were both sitting on the other lounge to you.

“Did those bitches get expelled too?” Felix interrupted, confusing just about everyone else.

“Yes, both of them did. You don’t have to worry Felix no one is throwing hot coffee on me” you sighed heavily frowning lightly.

“Hold the fuck up what?” Han spat his voice harsher than normal as he looked between you and Felix.

“Two of Nali’s friends had planned to throw coffee on me at work, they were reported to the police and they were part of the group expelled so it’s fine. It’s over now” You explained biting on the inside of your cheek.

“Well we will definitely drop by the cafe then so we can keep an eye out” Chagbin nodded, his tone turning serious and Han and Chan both looked concerned.

“That old guy at the convenience store was right. I do have far too many bodyguards” you groaned, a loud knocking on the front door indicating that the food had arrived and you were being saved from furthering the conversation about how Felix knew this and some of the others didn’t. Lining all the pizzas up in the kitchen you all grabbed plates and helped yourself going back into the lounge to eat Chan putting a movie on in the background to fill the silence of you all chewing.

“Forgot to mention princess” Hyunjin grinned slyly “You looked extra cute in that hoodie”.

“Um, thank you Hyunjin” you answered slowly, looking at him suspiciously, noting that Minho raised his eyebrows suggestively from where he sat next to him.

“I swear I’ve seen one like that before” Minho added Hyunjins smirk growing and Felix who was now sitting at the end of the lounge beside Han and Changbin narrowed his eyes deliberately making you catch on finally to where they were going with the compliments, your stomach dropping at the realization that they both knew, because of course they knew, they lived with Felix they would recognize his clothes and here you were wearing it in front of them like an idiot.

“I imagine because it isn’t the only one in existence” you shot back hoping to sound sarcastic not panicked.

“What are you two up to?” Seungmin snapped at them, making them dissolve into knowing chuckles.

“Fuckers” Felix muttered quietly gritting his teeth.

“Idiots” Han rolled his eyes “So what kind of hours do you actually work? Can we just come hang out?”

“Oh yeah you can come by and just stay for as long as you want” you grinned toothily happy for something to change the conversation “I’m on pretty much every afternoon for the next week so starting at 2 finishing at 7. So I guess we could grab dinner one night instead if that was easier for you guys too” you mused thinking as you pulled out your phone to check if anything else was on your schedule.

“Absolutely” Chan nodded “That sounds like a good idea for us all to hang out without too much organizing”.

“And Seung and I can keep an eye out for you” Jeongin added, looking at you seriously.

“I swear you are more protective than my dad” you grumbled playfully making both Seungmin and Jeongin flush with embarrassment.

You continued talking about stupid stuff all only partially concentrating on the movie that was still playing in the background and eating until you felt like you couldn’t eat anything else. It was just another standard superhero movie so the fight scenes and graphics were easy to get lost in. Excusing yourself to the bathroom you made your way up the stairs phone in your hand as it chimed with a text.

God you looked so good in my hoodie baby ;) Just want you all to myself

You couldn’t help the spark that shot through you at Felix’s words chewing your lip. You thought about how forward you wanted to be when you responded.

I like wearing your clothes Lix, I like feeling like I’m yours.

You took a huge breath before you pressed send hoping that he would respond to that in a good way and not think you were being too much of a tease, even though part of you knew he would never think that considering how much you had already made him wait to even touch you let alone kiss you.

Fuck baby are you trying to get me to kiss you? because that is exactly how you get that to happen saying things like that.

You swallowed hard, Felix probably looked totally indifferent as they all say around drinking beer and matching the movie while you were standing in the bathroom looking like a tomato had decided to replace your face. Holding your hands under the cold running water you pressed them to your cheeks to try to calm yourself down. A soft knock made you freeze on the spot.

“It's just me baby” Felix chuckled quietly, almost sensing your dilemma. Letting out the breath you were holding you opened the door for him to find him leaning against the door frame looking devilishly handsome. 

“Hi” you whispered as he stepped into the bathroom, instantly sliding his hands around your waist, his fingers brushing against your skin agonizingly slowly, before pulling you against his chest pausing to let you decide what happened next. Leaning into him you brushed your lips against his tentatively feeling him smile against your lips. 

“You are definitely going to be the death of me” he murmured, kissing you needily pulling a soft moan from you as his teeth tugged on your bottom lip. Pulling away from him gently you backed out of the bathroom hoping no one would be any the wiser leaving him to shut the door behind him.

“You know I will never understand why girls take so long in the bathroom” Hyunjin smirked as you finally returned to the lounge and slipped back into the seat you had been occupying.

“I’m pretty sure it’s because we have better hygiene” you quipped looking at Hyunjin expectantly only for the others to laugh and whatever comeback he had to die on his tongue. Felix returned a couple of minutes later going to the fridge to get another drink.

“So I heard through a couple of girls that you are claiming to have a girlfriend, Lix. What the fuck is with that?” Han asked mockingly, making the others all laugh.

“Really? Is that because they came to you after I turned them down” Felix smirked, one eyebrow raised challenging Han.

“Are you going through our sloppy seconds Hannie?” Minho jeered, laughing at Han’s shocked face.

“Hardly sloppy seconds if she got rejected, is it?” Seungmin asked, brow furrowed in faux confusion.

“Even worse she’s bad enough to get turned down by Lix and you can’t even get her” Hyunjin cackled, throwing his head back.

“Who said she turned me down? But that isn’t what I was asking” Han pushed leaning towards Felix as though he expected an answer.

“Wow I’m gone for 5 minutes and were being mysoginists and slut shaming nice one boys” you screwed your nose up in slight disgust.

“Slut shaming?” Changbin parroted looking at you for an answer.

“You know most women love being referred to as sloppy seconds. It really makes us feel loved and respected” you replied deadpaned crossing your arms across your chest.

“Oh shit yeah, sorry about that” Han sheepishly scratched the back of his neck apologetically.

“I don’t care where any of you stick your dicks, as long as they aren’t psychos, but can you not be so gross in front of me?” you asked with slight disgust in your voice.

“You are right, of course we will be respectful from now on,” Chan promised, genuinely making the others murmur apologies to you and dropping the subject all together for the moment. As the night continued on you yawned your head falling back against the back of the lounge with a soft thud.

“We should get you home” Jeongin interrupted, patting your shoulder lightly. Both he and Seungmin had decided not to drink, which you were thankful for because you didn’t really want to have to visit them in hospital with alcohol poisoning.

“I’m alright Innie, we can stay as long as you want” you smiled lolling your head towards him. “Besides it’s nice to be here and not be puking with stress that a random lunatic has caused" making him grin at you.

Seungmin pulled you to your feet, stopping you from collecting the last of the plates scattered around the room and walked you towards the kitchen with Jeongin behind you. You waved around Jeongin's shoulders before stepping into the hallway and getting your shoes to go home. It had been a really nice evening. You had fun hanging out with them and nothing bad had happened which you felt was a huge success considering your previous visit to Chan’s place. Watching the streetlights pass the car window, your drooping eyelids were interrupted by your phone chiming and Seungmin and Jeongin’s conversation from the front seats. 

Goodnight baby, I miss you already ;) 

You typed back knowing that Felix wouldn’t be able to avoid the questions the others had now that you were away from them but that he could talk his way out of just about anything you had seen him do just that before, throwing out something else that could be used to take the piss out of one of the others to avoid having to admit anything .

Goodnight Lix

“So do you reckon the girlfriend thing is a cover to try to keep himself out of trouble? Or do you think there is some poor girl he’s leading on because she’s not bright enough to know what he’s like?” Jeongin asked Seungim, turning his head to look at him, his face red from the brightness of the traffic light in front of you.

“I’d like to think it's the former to be honest. Hyunjin said he got chewed out by the university head after the stuff with Nali so using it as an excuse to keep other loons away is a good cover” Seungmin shrugged checking the traffic before turning. 

“There is a third option though but to be fair I don’t even want to entertain the idea” Jeongin sighed, checking the mirror on the back of his visor to look at you while you looked at your phone pretending to be oblivious to the conversation they were having.

“I thought of that too and I’ll be honest I don’t love the idea but we can do anything about it either way” Seungmin muttered still staring out at the traffic around you.

“I know but I worry” Jeongin sighed. “What if it turns out like last time?”. Silence filled the car and you figured the conversation must be over so you leaned against the car window shutting your eyes.

“It’s not the same situation, and Felix isn’t Hyunjin” Seungmin finally conceded, making you wonder what the hell they were talking about. You stayed in the position you were in until your phone chimed again making you frown as you opened the message.

Baby. I’m sorry Hyunjin recognized the hoodie and told Minho so they have figured it out. Well they think they have figured it out.

The feeling that bloomed in your stomach was not easy to identify, it wasn’t fear and it wasn’t worry it was something else, making you wonder did you actually care if people knew you were dating Felix? Was what was happening between you even dating?. You could tell from the way Seungmin and Jeongin spoke they were referring to you and Felix just now but they didn’t seem angry, they seemed concerned or even a little bit unwilling to accept that perhaps there was something between you. 

Your thoughts were jumbled, what if the revelation of you and Felix being together made people think that there had been some truth to what Nali has said about you? Or what if by some bizarre set of circumstances your parents found out and had you pulled from university? There was no way that you could imagine that they would realistically find out, no one from home knew what you were even studying let alone what your personal life was like and none of the guys would rat you out to parents they knew treated you badly. Remaining deep in thought you missed the following messages that he sent, not even realizing until you were in your room 20 minutes later.

They won’t tell the others if you’re scared of their reactions, baby. They wouldn’t hurt you like that.

I’m willing to tell everyone we’re together if that’s what you want.

I know this is new to you, I don’t want to push you baby.

Are you overthinking again? 

I’m guessing from the silence you are, I'll give you some time then.

Staring at the messages you weren't sure how to react. You had been on one date with Felix. You had kissed him a handful of times and you had shared a bed when you had gotten caught in the rain. But the futhest he had gotten with you was making out and he had even apologized about moving to fast when you had. But the fact that he had called you his girlfriend and told you repeatedly he was serious about you didn’t change thee fact that neither of you had actually discussed it, he had told you he had said it to make girls feel less hurt when he turned them down and when he said it to you it was always unserious.

Felix, am I your girlfriend? Is that what this is? Or are you still just saying that to let other girls down gently?

You washed up and changed into some pajamas so you were ready to go to bed while you waited for him to reply with anxiety gripping at your chest as you waited for the little dots to show he was typing.

Will you give me that chance? I only want you no one else matters to me just you.

Before you could answer Felix you needed to know why Seungmin and Jeongin were comparing you and Felix to their previous roommate and Hyunjin and why it was some kind of sticking point for them and since you weren’t sure if you would get the full story from them you knew you would need to ask some of the others or even Felix before you could make a decision.

A/N: Thank you for reading my lovelies as always your support means the world to me xx

Taglist (open): @christopher-bangnaldoskzz, @armystay89, @damnyouficc, @roamingpolar, @bakedlilgoonie, @shiy, @is2cb97, @beautifulixr, @skyhold-tara, @army-stay-noel, @skizzel-reblogs, @facelesswrittes, @animehideout, @mrsseals16, @honey-pop, @fawnpeaks, @leeknowinggg, @uno7, @seungminluv3, @obeythemasters, @tanzen-ist-gold, @thicccurls @juskz @3rachasninja @reiheis @partyparty-yah @leeknowyah @warren-thedarkangel

[absolutebl]

10 Great Slow Burn BLs

I was asked about great chemistry, slow burn, with lots of pining and yearning, and an HEA (of course). For slow burn there will be less high heat due to the style of narrative, so I am going with actor chemistry, as well as emotional and mental resonance, not necessarily physical chemistry. (Something like Bed Friends could be argued is high heat slow burn... which would be what? A rolling boil?)

Honestly, slow burn is pretty relative, so I'm going with romance pacing puts the kiss and togetherness at the back 1/3 (if not the very last episode). Rather than at the "normal" 2/3.

1. Light On Me (Korea 2021 Viki)

Korea does an elegant pastiche of traditional live action yaoi but all filming is cleverly deployed to bolster one of the most riveting love triangles ever put on screen… and I don’t like love triangles. The high school angst is strong with this one and it's certainly slow burn and there is some EPIC yearning drawn out over a longer than usual KBL. Full review.

2. My School President (Thai 2023 YouTube)

GMMTV gave us a classic high school set Thai BL with tropes like messy boys singing their feelings that made this one Love Sick for the modern age with all the gentle sweetness and pining ache, but none of the dated damaging tropes or issues. Yes, we’ve seen it all before, but I still ADORE this. And there is a lot to be said for the classics being executed perfectly. Who let my BL be this wholesome and funny? Possibly too slow burn for some, we wait many eps for that pay out, and Tin's pining is NOT quiet, but it defined dorky and earnest.

3. Old Fashion Cupcake (Japan 2022 Viki)

It's hard to call such a short show slow burn, but it is. There are many episodes spent watching Togawa just HUNGER for Nozue and try to court him by feeding. This is about a younger man with a long cherished crush on his boss (ten years older and going through a mid life crisis) who decides to save and seduce said boss with pancakes. It’s wholesome, comforting, sexy, and a very necessary narrative about still having hope, interests, and openness to affection at any age. It’s a stunningly filmed late-in-life coming of age/queerness story packaged in a subtle critique of expectations around masculinity, love, and loneliness… and it’s beautiful. Full review.

4. My Ride (Thai 2022 Gaga)

Thai BL grew up with this pulp (the first ever to make my end of year top 10). It’s a truly lovely and special little show featuring the extremely rare pairing of sunshine/sunshine (AKA a cinnamon roll couple) plus mature explorations of relationships using one of the softest, sweetest and most innocent friends to lovers vehicles. Kindly, overworked doctor meets broken-hearted motorcycle taxi driver in an “other side of the tracks” slow burn romance. Even though we see them meet, we also see one of them fall in love, step back, and PINE for olympic gold. With honest queer rep that adds to, but doesn’t impede, the story, and genuine conversation about the nature of class, wealth, and classism, not to mention communication, honesty, and respect for boundaries, you can’t go wrong with this show. Full review.

5. Cherry Magic (Japan 2020 fan sub)

AKA 30 Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard AKA 30-sai made Dotei Da to Mahotsukai ni Nareru rashii AKA Cheri Maho

The sweetest fluffiest magical realism BL, packaged as a pinning office romance, very low heat (practically chaste) but the cutest. It’s truly great. Don't expect kisses tho.

6. Wish You: Your Melody in My Heart (Korea 2020 Viki)

Set in the music industry featuring a talented singer and the pianist who falls in love with him (and his music), subtle and achingly adorable. High production, low heat, short run, very tame, and Korea, so all the pretty. Slow burn and lots of pining.

7. About Youth (Taiwan 2022 Gaga)

A truly lovely little coming of age high school BL with a classic YA low drama but high angst and an earnest depth. I didn’t even mind the singing, and that’s saying a lot. A weak seme/uke dynamic but tons of BL tropes (both rare in a high school setting but common for Taiwan) makes this one feel both sweet and colored by an almost real world authenticity and grit. Full review here.

8. The Tasty Florida (Korea 2021 Viki)

Another one where it's hard to describe as slow burn because it's so short, but there is certainly that feel and it's def got the pining. Not really a love triangle featuring the prettiest men ever to be grouped together outside of K-pop, honestly the visuals are ridiculous, there’s a story, it has to do with food, whatever, they so pretty.

9. See You After Quarantine? (Taiwan 2021 Viki)

This under appreciated gem is Taiwan’s answer to Gameboys and is just as charming and adorable yet still as quintessentially Taiwanese as one might hope. It features a Japanese love interest and the cutest most confused disaster gay. Slow burn because the two have almost no actual screen time together and yet manage some truly amazing chemistry. How does Taiwan do it?

10. Restart After Come Back Home (Japan 2020 Gaga)

AKA Risutato wa tadaima no ato de

Atmospheric study in rural Japan meets complex family dynamics built on a romance framework of city boy meets country boy, grumpy/sunshine. It’s beautiful and icy sweet. Slow moving in places but ultimately worth the patience, low heat, low angst, and stunning. Full review here.

Others?

A Tale of a Thousand Stars

Step By Step

Our Dining Table

Where Your Eyes Linger

Choco Milk Shake

Love Class

DNA Says Love You

My Only 12%

Dear Doctor I’m Coming for Soul

2nd part of the question:

Who does it best? Shows, actors, countries?

COUNTRIES

I have said it before and I will say it again, no one does thirst like Japan. I think however, Korea is also very good at pining and yearning. So for "countries" those would be my top picks. But most BL producers have some examples, it's just that Thailand, Taiwan, and the Philippines tend to pay out the yearning more quickly (see something like 2 Moons Ambassador for an example of this kind of pacing).

Japan and Korea will make you wait for it. For Thailand you usually have to rely on the high school stuff. 21 Days Theory and Love Sick are both also slow burn.

ACTORS (characters)

I do have a post about great piners, several in fact.

(from @crowie ask)

These top 10 picks are based on my personal definition of slow burn and pining, yours may differ.

Post updated June 2023 and only contains BL that has completed its run. Not responsible for epic pining or fab slow burn BL that comes after that date.

Please feel free to comment or repost with additions! Share the love... slow though it may be.

(source)