#so they have a chance of getting home before sunrise.

[valtsv]

neither of them are 6'5 or would know what 100 gecs or msi is even in a modern au but somehow this is fitzier to me

[pedrospatch]

call it what it is

Jackson! Joel Miller x Female Reader

summary: A disagreement over patrol duty leads to declarations that have been long overdue.

warnings/tags: 18+ ONLY, MINORS DNI. established relationship. HEFTY AGE GAP (reader is in her 20’s and joel is 56). ellie and joel are fine bc i said so and they deserve nothing less. reader handles a rifle, joel’s a little too overprotective and almost seems controlling, but i promise he is not. well, maybe just a smidge. arguing, admission of feelings, joel miller says i love you (yes this is ooc, no i do not care bc i need this old man to tell me he loves me). angst, fluff. quite a bit of side character interaction before we get to joel and reader in the second half. the only physical description of reader is that she is shorter than joel. fair warning, i am quite rusty.

word count: 4.2k

a/n: hi hello. i have not shared a wip in over 2 months. i was going back and forth on whether or not i wanted to share a fic with so much going on but decided i wanted to get back to doing what i enjoy. that and ofc that new footage was a boost of inspo. i am sending so, so much love to anyone who happens to see this author note, whether you read this fic or just happen to see this note in passing whilst scrolling. i know things have been tough, but i am here with you. <3

Joel wakes with a gentle start. Yawning, he rolls over from his side onto his back, blinking the sleep out of his eyes as warm, golden sunlight filters into the bedroom through the sheer, white linen curtains drawn over the window. He stares up at the ceiling, his breathing slow, steady, and even. He’s still getting used to it, it seems. Waking this calmly, with a tranquil peace he had been so certain he would never in his life feel again. He knew it couldn’t be a mere coincidence the nightmares had all but stopped tormenting him in his sleep when the two of you stopped doing that awkward little tap dance around one another and began sharing a bed, a home, a life.

No more bolting upright in sheer panic in the middle of the night, heart pounding and drenched head to toe in a cold sweat. No more believing he’s failing in his sleep. No more waking up feeling like he’s lost something.

Even his dreams about Sarah had become so, so much more pleasant. Images of her in that field on that night were replaced by different memories, like watching her teammates dogpile her after she’d scored the winning goal in their soccer tournament, or the big, triumphant grin she’d flashed him over her chocolate milkshake as the pair sat in their usual corner booth at their favorite fifties-themed diner in Austin—much to Joel’s surprise, Sarah had politely declined her teammates’ invitation for pizza once the match ended, choosing to celebrate her victory with him. Just the two of them.

“Y’sure you don’t wanna go with your friends, kiddo?” he’d asked, raising an eyebrow. He had been certain she was approaching the age where she would start spending less and less time with her old man. “I wouldn’t mind, y’know.”

“Positive,” she had reassured him with a smile, looping her arm through his and leading him off the pitch. “I’d much rather be with you, dad.”

Rather than smelling metallic in his slumber, he smells the grass that stained her white and blue striped jersey. Her cheeks are smeared with dirt, not with crimson.

Stifling another loud yawn, Joel stretches his arm out over towards your side of the bed, his calloused fingers seeking the warmth and softness of your naked body—instead, all they find are empty sheets, cold and long abandoned. He turns his head, and as suspected, you are not laying there beside him. That’s hardly out of the ordinary. Out of the two of you, you were the early riser, up before the neighbors’ rooster even had the chance to sound the alarm. Joel knows how much you treasure your quiet mornings lounging on the porch swing he’d built for you as you watched the sunrise with a hot cup of coffee in hand. He often made a genuine effort to get up and join you, but lately, his patrol rotations had been all over the place thanks to a shortage of patrolmen. He found himself sleeping in whenever he had the chance, seeing as he never knew when he might have to work a damn double. Or maybe it was just his age catching up with him.

He checks the time and then rolls out of bed, groaning when his sore knees and his aching lower back protest his movement.

After taking a quick shower using whatever hot water the kid had left for him after her own shower—much to his annoyance, it was not very much—Joel brushes his teeth and gets dressed for the day before pulling on his boots and heading downstairs into the kitchen where he finds the culprit responsible for the cold downpour he’d been forced to wash himself under. Ellie’s sitting at the table, absentmindedly stirring her oatmeal around her bowl with her spoon as she flips through one of her comic books. Just as he’s about to greet her, he spots the clean, empty coffee pot on the kitchen counter and frowns. You hadn’t even made coffee yet?

Now, that—that is out of the ordinary.

“Where is she?” he asks.

“Well, good morning to you too, old man. Oh, I slept great, thanks for asking,” Ellie quips without looking up at him as she flips the page. She mumbles something under her breath he doesn’t quite catch, something like, and you get on my ass about my manners?

Rolling his eyes, Joel snorts in response and pads over to the coffee maker on the counter. He spoons in some of the grounds he’d traded for earlier that week into the reusable filter, pours in water from the tap, and turns it on to brew. He grabs two ceramic mugs from the wire dish rack beside the sink and sets them down on the counter. “She out back?” he questions, yanking the refrigerator door open—he tries to remember the little things, like how you enjoyed your coffee with a bit of milk as well as a dash of cinnamon, if you had the rations, or something to trade for the precious spice. He always made sure that you did.

“Nope.” Ellie shovels a spoonful of oatmeal into her mouth and adds thickly, “She went to get some eggs.”

Joel shoots her a look of disgust over his shoulder. “Jesus, Ellie! How many times do I gotta tell you? Don’t talk with your mouth full. It’s bad manners,” he scolds her, shaking his head. He turns his attention back to the refrigerator. As he reaches for the glass bottle of milk, he pauses and his eyebrows pull together in confusion when he sees the wicker basket on the top shelf. “Wait a minute.” He feels her stiffen in her chair. “Why the hell would she go get eggs when we’ve got a full basket of ‘em right here in the fridge?”

She clears her throat. “Oh, uh, my bad. I got confused. Think she said she was gonna go get more honey? Uh, I used the last of it to make my breakfast this morning and she, uh—she wanted some for her toast. You know, ‘cause she really likes putting honey on her toast,” she rambles before piling more oatmeal into her mouth.

Closing the refrigerator door, he turns to her, his eyes narrowing with suspicion as uneasiness settles deep in the pit of his stomach. “Ellie?”

There’s a momentary pause. “...yeah?”

This time, Joel doesn’t bother to chastise the teenager for talking with her mouth full. “Where is she?”

Ellie nervously swallows her food and holds up both of her hands. “Hey, I already fucking told you, man.”

“Look, I know you like the back of my own hand, kiddo. And I know damn good and well when you’re lying to me.” Joel crosses his arms over his chest. “Now tell me the truth. What do you know that I don’t?”

Groaning, Ellie sits back in her chair. “Ugh. She made me swear not to tell you! She’ll fucking strangle me if I do—”

“Yeah, well, not if I fuckin’ strangle you first myself,” he threatens her. “M’Serious, Ellie. Tell me what’s going on. Right now.”

“Alright, alright! Jesus,” she huffs. “She’s with Tommy. He’s been taking her out of town to do target practice in the mornings, just the two of them. She usually gets back to the house before you get up,” she admits.

Joel’s arms fall back to his sides, his shoulders tense. “And how long has this been goin’ on?” he asks, rigidly. There’s a sudden tightness inside his chest, a feeling he hasn’t felt it in a while, but is still all too familiar to him.

After Tommy spread the word around town that more people were needed for patrol duties, you’d expressed an interest in the role, but Joel had been all too quick to shut you down, telling you he didn’t want you stepping foot outside the community’s gates.

“No,” he’d said. “Not happenin’. S’too dangerous.”

“But Joel—”

“I said,” he lowered his voice. “No.”

He hadn’t offered you an explanation as to why he was against it, refused to give you one good, solid reason as to why it was acceptable for him to risk his own life to protect Jackson, but it wasn’t acceptable for you to do the same.

Joel hadn’t known how to tell you the truth. How he needed you far, far more than you needed him, how the mere thought of losing you, the best fucking thing that could have possibly happened to him since the world ended, made him feel like his heart was going to stop.

A few weeks had passed since then, and thankfully, you never brought it up to him again. You had lost interest in patrol duty. Or so he’d thought.

“How long has this been going on?” he repeats after a minute.

“C’mon, man! Haven’t I already snitched enough?”

“Ellie,” Joel bites out her name. “Tell me. How long?”

She sighs in defeat. “Two weeks? Maybe three?” When she notices the muscle in his jaw tick, she grimaces. “You do realize why she didn’t fucking tell you, right?”

“Don’t,” he warns her, sharply.

“I’m just saying,” Ellie mutters, peering down into her bowl.

Without another word, Joel angrily storms past her and straight out the front door, snatching up his rifle on the way. He heads straight for the stables, trying to ignore the anxiety flaring inside of his chest.

Focus.

Now, breathe in. And breathe out.

Breathe in. Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Breathe...

You exhale as you slowly squeeze the trigger.

Y’squeeze it like you love it, you had been told by your reluctant instructor.

The round fires off into the distance and you swiftly grab the bolt handle, bringing it up, back, forward, and then down again. You pull the trigger once more, then repeat and continue firing one shot after the other for a total of five rounds.

The rifle’s recoil nearly sends you flying backwards, but a strong hand on your back keeps you nice and steady. That same hand then moves to your shoulder and gives you three firm taps.

“Alright, alright! Christ,” Tommy laughs. He withdraws his arm from around you and shakes his head. “Fuckin’ calm down, Annie Oakley.”

Picking up his binoculars, he rises to his feet and looks through the lens at the makeshift targets that he’d set up for you, three empty soup cans lined up in a row on top of a wooden fence about twenty-five yards away—your longest shooting distance to date.

“Well?” You don’t even bother masking your impatience as you lower the rifle, carefully propping the weapon up against the tree stump you’re perched behind. Rubbing your sore shoulder, you hope the kickback won’t leave a bruise. You wouldn’t know how to explain that to Joel. “How did I do?”

His response comes in the form of a long, low whistle.

There is no telling if that had been good whistle, or if it had been a bad one. You groan. Now was not the time for him to dick around. “Please tell me I got at least one of them?”

“You got ‘em all, actually.” Tommy replies, lowering the binoculars and peering down at you. There’s a glimmer of pride in his eyes. “Good job, kid.”

Kid? Not exactly a nickname one wants to be called by the brother of the much, much older man that they are romantically involved with. It’d taken Tommy months to accept your relationship with Joel, especially when you moved your things out of your unit and into his over the summer. Part of you wonders if him referring to you as a kid is simply his own subtle way of telling you—no, of reminding you, that he’s still not comfortable with it.

And perhaps he never would be.

After all, you had still been a teenager when you first arrived to Jackson a few years ago, stumbling upon the town just a few months shy of the twentieth birthday you weren’t sure you would survive long enough to see.

You were indeed a kid when you’d met Tommy Miller.

Were.

Scowling up at him, you snap, “I told you to stop calling me that. I’m not nineteen anymore, Tommy.”

Having read your mind, he gives you a small smile and acknowledges, “Yeah, you’re right. You definitely ain’t a kid anymore.” He offers you his hand and hoists you up to your feet. Before dropping your hand, he gives it an apologetic squeeze.

You relax a little and smile back at him. “Did I really get all three?”

Tommy nods. “You sure did. You’re a damn good shot. I gotta be honest with you—I didn’t expect you to be this fuckin’ good,” he admits sheepishly.

Chuckling, you scoff, “Thanks. I think.”

“It’s a compliment, sugar.” He winks and flashes you a lopsided grin. “In fact, I’d say my work here is done.”

“Great! So when are you putting me on the roster?”

His grin instantly vanishes. “Uh, listen. About that....”

He trails off, and your heart sinks a little.

Tommy wouldn’t back out of this now—would he?

“Oh, no. Don’t you dare go back on your word, Miller,” you say, lightly poking him in the chest. “We had a deal. You said if I did well enough, you’d think about it.”

He nods in agreement. “Exactly. Said I’d think about it. And I think that puttin’ you on the roster for patrol ain’t a good idea.”

Your mouth falls open. If he never had any intention of holding up his end of the bargain, then what had been the point of teaching you how to shoot?

You didn’t understand.

“You just said it yourself, I’m a great shot! I’m a good on horseback, too. I’m stealthy. I’m diligent. What more do you fucking need from me, Tommy?”

Tommy’s chest heaves with a heavy sigh. “Joel would fuckin’ murder me with his bare hands if I even thought about puttin’ you on patrol duty. Hell, he’d murder me just knowin’ we’re out here and I’m teachin’ you how to shoot. It’s a damn fuckin’ miracle he still hasn’t caught onto this, y’know.”

Shocked, your eyebrows shoot to your hairline. “This is about Joel? Are you serious?”

“‘Course it is.” He pauses. “Listen, now I know the three of us had our—differences—when he first told me ‘bout you two. Still takin’ me a bit of gettin’ used to, but I can see he’s real serious about you. I know my brother, and I know he won’t risk losin’ what’s most important to him. Ain’t no way in hell. He doesn’t want you out here and you know that as well as I do.” Tommy shoves his hands into the pockets of his jeans, shrugging as he shuffles his weight from one cowboy boot to the other. “Unless he’s alright with it, I ain’t gonna put you on the roster.”

For a moment, you’re at a complete loss for words.

Upon seeing the crestfallen expression on your face, he makes a suggestion. “You can try talkin’ to him ‘bout it again if it means that much to you. Ask him—”

“Ask?” You want to laugh. You almost do. “I’m an adult, Tommy. I don’t need his permission to do this. Or to do anything for that matter. Joel doesn’t tell me what I can and can’t do.”

Tommy smiles wryly. “Well then, if that’s the case, why are we sneakin’ around and doin’ this behind his back?”

Your shoulders slump in defeat.

Because the ramifications could be disastrous.

Joel had made his stance on the matter abundantly clear, and yet here you were, deliberately disobeying him.

“Stumped you real good, didn’t I?”

Before you can even start to think about how you can possibly respond to that, you hear the sound of hooves in the dirt behind you, followed by whinny of a horse.

Tommy’s face pales as he glances over your shoulder.

“Shit.”

There’s no need for you to ask. His grimace says it all.

Somehow, you will yourself to turn around just as Joel’s steed comes to a halt beside the mare you and Tommy had ridden out on together. He jumps out of the saddle, grunting at the forceful impact on his knees when his feet hit the ground. His rifle hangs from a worn, brown leather strap slung across his back.

He approaches the two of you looking absolutely livid, and your throat goes dry.

“The hell is goin’ on here?” He breezes right past you, roughly shoving his brother with both hands. “Why the fuck would you bring her out here, Tommy? What the fuck is the matter with you?”

“Joel, c’mon. Take it easy—”

“Don’t fuckin’ tell me to take it easy!”

“Joel!” You reach for his arm. “Wait, it’s not his fault!”

Joel shoves him again, then takes him by the collar of his shirt and pins him against the ponderosa pine tree behind him. “You’ve been bringin’ her outside the gates behind my fuckin’ back for weeks, asshole?”

The panic begins to set in—he’s taking his anger out on the wrong person, and deep down, he knows this too.

“Joel! Stop! Let him go!” Grabbing fistfuls of his jacket, you try pulling him off of the younger man. “Stop it! It’s not his fault! I asked Tommy to bring me out here!”

He whirls around, his nostrils flared, jaw clenched.

You’ve seen this side of him a handful of times before.

But his anger has never been directed at you.

“What?”

Immediately, you let go of him and take a step back. “I asked Tommy to bring me out here and teach me how to shoot so that I can start working patrol,” you explain, hoping, praying, he doesn’t catch the slight tremble in your voice. “This was all my idea, okay? If you’re going to be mad at someone, then be mad at me. Not at him.”

“So you did this after I fuckin’ told you I didn’t want you out here?” Joel seethes. His neck becomes flushed, his tan skin now a deep shade of red.

“Joel—”

He cuts you off. “I had to find out from Ellie? You tried to get her to fuckin’ lie to me? After all the work it took for me and her to—” Stopping mid sentence, he places his hands on his hips and shakes his head.

“Joel. Please.” Behind the anger in his dark brown eyes, you detect something else. A mingle of hurt, concern—fear?

Tommy awkwardly clears his throat. “Well I’m, uh—I’m gonna head back to town,” he says, touching a hand to the back of his neck. “I’ll let the two of you work things out in private.” As he passes Joel, he lightly claps him on the shoulder. “Girl’s a sharp shooter, big brother. I’d reckon she’s almost better than you.”

His effort to lighten the mood fails. Miserably.

Offering you a subtle nod of encouragement, Tommy hops into the saddle of his mare and takes off towards the commune.

Silence falls over the both of you. It feels suffocating.

Unfamiliar.

Finally, you speak. “Joel, please just hear me out—”

“What the hell were you thinkin’? Or were you just not thinkin’ at all?”

“I was thinking I want to pull my weight in Jackson.”

“You already have a fuckin’ job,” Joel reminds you.

“Making sandwiches and serving whiskey at The Tipsy Bison?” You scoff, crossing your arms over your chest. “I am capable of more than that, Joel. So much more. Don’t you believe I’m capable of doing more?”

“I don’t want you out here,” he grits through his teeth. “Capable or not, I don’t want you outside Jackson’s walls. I don’t want you on patrol and that’s fuckin’ final. You understand me?” Now it’s him who falters, and you wonder if you’re imagining things, or if that’s really a tear you see sliding down the side of his face, disappearing into the salt and pepper scruff of his beard.

“That’s not your decision to make, Joel. It’s mine.”

“M’responsible for you. It’s my job to look after you—to protect you.”

Something about the way he is looking at you, it feels like a punch to the gut, and it’s at that precise moment when you begin to realize that he’s not angry. He’s afraid.

“Joel, I know that all you want to do is protect me,” you sigh, letting your arms fall down to your sides. “I know you do. But you’re doing me no favors by trying to keep me sheltered. By treating me like I’m defenseless. Don’t forget, I’m a survivor too.”

“You already know how fuckin’ dangerous it is out here. Clickers, raiders—”

“I can handle it,” you insist, stubbornly.

“You’d be puttin’ yourself right in harm’s way!”

You shoot back, “You mean, the way you and so many other people put yourselves in harm’s way every single day for the sake of keeping Jackson safe?”

A frustrated growl rumbles through his chest. “Christ, why are you bein’ so fuckin’ foolish? You’re just askin’ to get yourself killed!”

“I can take care of myself!” You realize your hands are shaking and curl them into tight fists at your sides in an effort to hide it. “Just accept it, Joel! Accept that I can take care of myself, alright?”

That is all it takes to tip Joel over the edge he’s been teetering on. “Then what do you fuckin’ need me for?” he shouts, his voice thundering over the quiet plains of Wyoming. “If you can take care of yourself, what’s the point in us bein’ together? Why are you with me?”

“Because I love you!”

As soon as the confession comes tumbling out of your mouth, you take a step back, your wide eyes meeting his own. Until now, neither of you have ever called this what it is, been bold enough to say it’s love.

Loving after so much grief, so much loss, is daunting. It’s something you thought you would never be capable of doing again, not in this lifetime. Not in this world. It’s happened, though.

You love Joel Miller.

And he loves you.

He’s never told you he does, but he’s shown you.

From the way remembers how you take your coffee in the mornings, to the way he laces his fingers with your own, holding your hand when he’s buried inside of you, whispering sweet nothings into your collarbone every single night.

“You—you what?” Joel’s whisper is hardly audible.

You inch your way closer to him, your voice soft. “I love you,” you declare once more. “I’m not with you because of what you can do for me. I’m not with you because you can take care of me.” Closer. “I’m with you because I love you—because I’m in love with you, Joel.” Closer, until your chest brushes against his, and he can smell the subtle scent of your homemade, rosewater soap. “The only thing I need, and have ever needed from you, is your love in return.”

His throat bobs. Before you can utter another word, he lifts his hands and gently takes your face, cradling it in between his large palms, gently. His eyes search yours, immediately finding the sincerity behind your words. Leaning down, he brushes the tip of nose against your own as one of his hands travels down, his long fingers curling around the nape of your neck. His thumb lightly strokes the column of your throat.

“I love you,” Joel says hoarsely. Three words he hadn’t said to anyone in over two decades—it feels foreign to him, they ring strange in his own ears. He tries it again, clearer this time, and with a little more confidence. After all, he’s only saying what he has known from the very start. “I love you.” His other hand moves to your hip, pulling you even closer to him. “M’gonna love you for the rest of my life, baby.”

He leans in further and presses his lips to yours lightly, at first, but he wastes no time in sweeping his tongue across your bottom lip, silently asking for more.

Your mouth parts for him, and he backs you against the ponderosa, kissing you deeply, greedily, like he’s a man starved.

You whimper into him, your hands sliding up his broad chest and past his shoulders until they’re tangled in his soft, graying curls. He breathes you in, like you are the oxygen he needs to stay alive.

It isn’t until you both hear the sound of rustling behind a nearby shrub that you’re forced to pull apart. “Don’t move,” Joel instructs in a hushed voice. He keeps you pinned against the tree, his hand abandoning your hip. He glances around, slowly reaching behind his back for his rifle. His tense shoulders relax when the both of you see a pair of rabbits dart out from one dried bush and straight into another. Exhaling an amused huff, Joel shifts his attention back to you and rests his forehead against yours.

Smiling, you reach up and softly graze his beard with your fingertips. “Guess it’s about time we called this what it is, huh?”

“Guess you’re right, darlin’.” He lifts his chin, brushing a kiss onto your forehead. “M’sorry for raisin’ my voice to you. For talkin’ to you the way I did. S’just, the thought of somethin’ happenin’ to you out here scares shit out of me.” Taking a step back, he pulls the strap of his rifle from around his shoulder. He chews the inside of his cheek and silently stares at the gun in his hands. After a minute, he meets your curious gaze. “Do you really wanna do this, sweet girl?”

You nod. “Yeah. I really do.”

Joel sighs. “Can I put a condition it?”

“Depends on what that condition is.”

“I’m your patrol partner. Every shift. Every rotation.”

You roll your eyes. “Joel.”

“At least for the first few weeks,” he bargains. “Last thing I need is for you to be paired up with some fuckin’ idiot who doesn’t know what the hell they’re doin’.”

Knowing that would be the only way he’d have some peace of mind, you decide to agree. “Fine. We’re patrol partners.”

“Alright then.” Joel nods and hands you the rifle. He flashes you a small grin. “Show me what you got, baby.”

divider credit to @/saradika 💛

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[bbangtans]

daybreak | jjk | oneshot

Summary: One of your favorite things to do when you were in your early 20s was stay up late where reflective conversations eventually blurred into nonsense as the sun rose alongside someone you thought you would spend the rest of your days with… Now you’re stuck in New York City for one night due to a delayed flight with that very person standing there in his leather jacket and guitar case in hand across from you at the airport gate. See, fate is a funny thing and Jeon Jungkook could always find the humor in anything.

pairing: rockstar!ex!jk x f!reader genre/tropes: angst, fluff, exes to ???, right person wrong time/second chances, jungkook is so romance film lead coded – charismatic and well-spoken and genuine and ughhhhh i be fawning frrrr, this takes place where both jk and reader are 28ish, jk is a lead singer in a band with tae-jimin-yoongi, and y/n is a working professional rating/warnings: M | alcohol consumption, lots of swearing, semi-public sex, unprotected sex (don’t be all willy nilly with this tho!!!), dig bick jk lmfao, oral (f receiving), heavy petting, multiple orgasms. a/n: inspired by my faaaaaave movie before sunrise bc if there’s anything namjoon and i have in common, it’s that we are yearners 🤝 and SURPRISE! she's here a lil earlier than promised <3 word count: ~10.1k

The longest string of curses you ever muttered in your life escaped your lips as your tense eyes focused on the words CANCELED obnoxiously displayed on the monitor indicating the status of your flight, which was supposed to take you back to the comfort of your home in Seoul. This is ignoring the fact that you also had a big presentation to prepare for a client but you got pulled into this conference last minute by your boss – lucky you. 

“Ma’am, I’m so sorry. Unfortunately, all flights have been temporarily suspended due to emergency maintenance as a result of the aircraft recall. The most I can offer is to book you on the next available flight scheduled…” The poor airline employee offered with an apologetic smile. You stepped back as you realized this very employee had to face the brunt of the crowd who also suffered the same fate as you. 

You swallowed your anger, empathetic to this person who was merely a messenger. “Okay, when is the next flight?”

“It will be tomorrow at 10:15AM. That’s the earliest we can do, unfortunately. I can have you booked on that flight and you’ll have the details emailed to you shortly.” 

Sighing, you nodded your head. “Cool, thank you… but will the airline be able to provide a place to stay since –”

You were cut off by an angry – and entitled – middle-aged woman. “Excuse me but what is the airline going to do about this? I’m supposed to be in Seoul by 10PM on the 24th. How is this airline going to ensure that? Do you know how much I paid for this?”

You were at your wits end as you watched other passengers try to come down on the woman as you walked away. At least you were in “The City that Never Sleeps” so finding something to do won’t be that difficult. You jerked your carry-on bag along as you tried to exit from the commotion of your gate however you did not get far as you were stopped by someone who stood before you amongst another fleet of passengers dealing with the same issue as your flight. You recognized that signature, worn leather jacket and stickered guitar case from miles away.

“Jungkook?”

The call of his name pulled him back into reality as it appeared as though he himself was checking if this was actually happening. Your mind started racing as you couldn’t help the shock that washed over you. So many questions flashed by as his surprised gaze met yours.

“Hey…” He cleared his throat and ran a hand through his already tousled hair. “...Having flight issues too?”

Sitting at a coffee shop in the terminal across from each other, it was… awkward, you both could not deny. 

Jungkook cradled his iced americano while your now empty vanilla latte cup rested there. A funny representation of both of your approaches to life. It was also a point of teasing that Jungkook previously used to his advantage during the days of shared kisses and intimate dates. Times when you and Jungkook would lie shoulder to shoulder on a bed of grass in open fields and wish upon shooting stars.

“This sucks, doesn’t it?” You tried to break the ice, seeing Jungkook’s uncharacteristic silence. Perhaps these years have changed you both.

“The flight thing or us sitting across from each other like this?” Jungkook cracked and you let out a breath of laugh. 

Toying with your empty cup, you nodded at nothing in particular. “Definitely the flight thing, and regarding right now… not sure. But I can’t lie that it’s nice to see a familiar face amid this chaos.”

His shoulders slacked as if tension melted away and Jungkook sat up more confidently in his seat. “Yeah, I bet. And wait…” He paused before leaning towards you in surprise. “Are you here in NYC alone? What brings you here?”

You waved off his worry, knowing exactly what he was referring to. “I came here for a 2-day work conference so I was strictly here on business.” Funny to think that reaction was almost impulse despite the passage of time between you both.

“Have you been to New York before? Did you at least get a chance to explore the city after your conference?”

“No, and no, honestly. It took a lot out of me and the company is pinching pennies by only giving me a short window here outside of the conference. What about you, what brings you here? Is this your first time stuck here?” You rested your head on your hand that was propped up on the table.

Jungkook’s unforgettable grin made its appearance as he noticed your growing ease at the situation. “The band’s here on tour. We’re about to start our Europe leg but of course… shit had to hit the fan with the airplane scandals. And nope, this is our third time in New York. We were first here on tour a couple of years ago.” 

You smiled at this. “That’s right. I’m sure you’re a seasoned professional being on the road and all with the SNAFUs that come up… Congrats though, I hear the band has really taken off. You guys deserve all the success.”

“You don’t know how much that means to me,” Jungkook started, grinning wide as ever. “No seriously, it means a lot coming from you.”

“You’re messing with me.” You frowned in jest.

“No, not at all. You were that push to get my head on straight, y’know? Even before we … ended things… you were one of the few people who genuinely believed in us. And I can’t thank you enough for that.”

Feeling your face get warm, you shook your head in a humble gesture. “I only saw and believed in the obvious. I mean look at you guys now, touring the US and now even Europe? This success was all in the making.”

“But enough about the band! How’re you? Being all professional going abroad on conferences and stuff. What are you up to?” Jungkook took a sip from his Americano where the ice had become significantly smaller.

“I’m a product manager, and so that keeps me busy 9-5 on the weekdays.” You joked. “But other than that, just floating along. Hanging out with friends, taking life a day at a time, y’know? I’m nowhere as interesting as you, Mr. Rock Star… Living in LA and all.”

Jungkook laughed as he slipped off his leather jacket and revealed an entire sleeve of tattoos on his right arm. You eyed them curiously as he had always talked about wanting tattoos in your younger days. It was good to see that he was able to have that aspiration come to fruition. Another reminder of the passage of time between you both.

“Don’t say that, I think you’re one of the coolest people ever. No one approaches life the way you do, Taehyung-hyung might be a close second… but he doesn’t have the flare that you do.” He started then his smile turned slightly void as he followed up. “Would it be awkward to ask how things are with…”

“...Who? Oh, Seokjin?” You casually asked, truthfully you had not said that name since your eventual breakup almost a year ago. TL;DR you both weren’t compatible because you weren’t ready to settle down for whatever reason despite him being ready to take you both to city hall at the drop of a hat. “Uh… we ended things a while ago actually.”

“Right, yeah,” Jungkook responded vaguely. “Sorry if that was weird, it’s just that he and Yoongi-hyung are friends and you haven’t come up in a while whenever Hyung mentions him but sorry if I’m prying and sorry if I am especially making this awkward but –” He was rambling. Cute.

“Jungkook,” You rested a hand on his forearm, ignoring the surge of electricity that unknowingly jolted you both. “I get it, no worries.”

You both couldn’t help the smile that broke out on your faces.

“So what about you? Seeing anyone?”

He looked almost offended by the question but brushed it off. “Me? Nope, life’s been too hectic with the band these past two years to be seriously involved with someone.”

“Uh huh,” you mused before Jungkook cocked his brow in confusion at your response.

“What?”

“‘Seriously involved’? So you have been dabbling in some rockstar tendencies.” You wiggled your eyebrows teasingly. The 21-year-old in you aches, but today you are 28 and not exactly that same old person as before. 

Jungkook rolled his eyes. “Shut up. I don’t want to discuss that with you of all people. And besides, we haven’t made it to the big leagues yet. We’re just tadpoles in a lake, we still gotta work our way to bigger waters.”

You only laughed, and Jungkook let you with his arms folded over his chest – basking in this moment he never thought would happen.

However, it was interrupted as an aproned barista approached you both, being the only patrons left as the coffee shop was getting ready to close for the day. The freckled teen awkwardly cleared his throat with a broom in hand. You then observed the fact that the chairs were already perched upon tables – a clear sign that the establishment was closed for business. You both hadn’t realized how much time had passed in chatting. “Hello, I’m sorry but we’re closing for the day. You are welcome to take your drinks with you to the gates though.”

“Sorry about that.”

“No worries, my bad.”

You and Jungkook apologized at the same time while hurriedly gathering your belongings. 

Walking out, Jungkook sighed as he held the handle of his guitar case in his tattooed hand. “I can’t believe a place in the airport closes at fucking 5PM.”

“Jungkook, it’s a coffee shop. Closing at 5PM is considered late for that industry already and besides, this isn’t Seoul.” You laughed.

“True… but…” Jungkook cast you a sideways glance. “What are you going to do until your flight tomorrow morning?”

You could only shrug. “Not sure, I was just going to camp out here at JFK.”

A moment of silence passed as you both walked on in no particular direction, only the sound of the wheels of your carry-on suitcase and the heavy footsteps from Jungkook’s combat boots. Despite the 7 years that passed, you could still tell Jungkook was mulling over something. This fact honestly surprised you.

“Penny for your thoughts?” You offered gingerly.

“Now, this is going to sound crazy,” he spoke, his mind clearly running miles a minute and barely able to keep his once stable walking pace. “Hear me out all the way through, okay?”

“Sure.” You shrugged.

“So, my manager got each of us a hotel room not too far from the airport –”

“Jungkook.” You interrupted him incredulously, on the verge of seeing red. Offense, disrespect, anger… it all pulsed through you at once. By this point, you both had stopped in the middle of the wide airport corridor between gates. “Are you fucking serious –”

He held his hands up in defense. “You said you would hear me out!”

“...fine.” Arms crossed over your chest defensively, and you took a step back.

“Like I said, I have this hotel room so what if we kept our stuff there and we explore NYC tonight? Then when morning comes, you could grab your things and head back to Seoul and get back to your routine.” Jungkook now positioned himself where he stood directly before you, eyes connected to yours. “You said it yourself you didn’t get to see NYC. And I’ve been here before, so it all works out.”

You obviously still looked unconvinced with arms crossed over your chest defensively. 

“Okay, how about this: there’s a Smart Carte baggage drop-off in Terminal 4 of JFK. Forget stopping by my hotel room, you can drop off your things here so by morning we can both be here for our flights. I’ll be on my way to Vienna and you’ll be headed back to Seoul. How does that sound?” Jungkook negotiated. “Listen, Y/N. It’s just been so nice to hang out with you and I don’t know but there’s something in me that can’t pass up this opportunity to at least help you see the magic of NYC… and to spend a few more hours with you.”

“I…”

Jungkook stepped forward with a pleading stare. “Please, I promise it’ll be worth your while. I feel like you would regret this not happening as much as I would. And if it convinces you, I promise that we can forget that this night ever happened after the fact. I swear…”

A smirk broke out on your face after a tense beat of silence and mulling over his words. “Okay.”

“Okay.” Jungkook could not fight the smile that reached his eyes as he breathed a sigh of relief and then turned, gesturing for you to start off what would be your journey of the evening together.

By the time you both made it into Manhattan proper, it was prime dinner time. You felt the grumble of your stomach as you and Jungkook sat in the back seat of an iconic yellow taxi. Embarrassedly, you put your hand over your stomach in a feeble attempt to keep it quiet. 

“So, y’all are headed to Katz’s?” The taxi driver asked as he glanced at the two of you through the rearview mirror. He was an elderly man wearing a newsboy cap and the taxi itself smelled of the endless cups of coffee he consumed during his day on the clock. 

“Yup, we’re hoping the dinner rush isn’t as bad,” Jungkook responded in a friendly manner. “It may be a Tuesday but it’s Katz’s after all.”

The driver chuckled as the traffic was beginning to chip away and the taxi started to speed up on the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge. You couldn’t help the gasp that escaped you as you watched the city sky begin its transition into an orangey-pink sunset. “I’m assuming this fella over here has been to the City before, but is this your first time, Miss?”

You nodded your head. “Yes, actually I came for a conference but have limited time here.”

“Oh? When do you head back to…” he trailed off, not sure how to continue the sentence.

Jungkook took the chance to chime in. “Seoul… in Korea. She heads back tomorrow actually.”

The driver let out a low whistle. “That’s a crazy turnaround time. But listen, New York is a magical place – despite whatever those bozos not even from the city have to say. It has character, and so much can happen in the City that Never Sleeps. It is a land of possibility. And here, thirty years ago, is actually where I met the woman who became my wife. It’s a special place, for sure.”

“I bet.” Jungkook grinned as he looked out the drawn window, taking in the newly warm springtime breeze. 

Jungkook let you take the ride in silence, unsure of what was going through your head about this whole situation and in all honestly cursing himself for possibly pressuring you into doing something you weren't comfortable with in the first place. He kept casting cautious glances your way when you weren’t looking. 

Eventually, the taxi came to a halt. 

“Alrighty, here we are!” The driver pulled up on the busy intersection and you were in awe by the throngs of people despite it being one of the earlier weekdays and the very end of rush hour. Jungkook paid for the ride and ushered you both out of the taxi respectfully.

“Thank you for the ride!” You called out as you exited the vehicle.

“Enjoy New York and all she has to offer!” the driver bid you two before driving off to find his next patron of the evening. 

Jungkook almost choked mid-bite of the huge signature pastrami sandwich you both decided to split as you continued to share about that one time your mutual friend back in Seoul, Hoseok, had accidentally cussed out an innocent employee at a haunted house. 

“No way.” He barely managed to get out between his mix of coughs and laughs, grabbing the attention of worried customers inside the establishment. He grabbed his cup of water to ease his throat.

“Yes, way! Afterward, he kept bowing in apology. I felt so bad but Namjoon and I were too busy laughing to step in to help.” You put your spoon down, making a good decision to not have a bite of the shared chicken noodle soup as you giggled at the memory. 

Once Jungkook calmed down and took a sip of his water, he looked at you in amusement. “Classic Hobi.”

“I know right? But regardless, he’ll always be an angel. Despite that, he doesn’t have a single bad bone in his body.” 

Jungkook nodded in agreement. “I miss that guy a lot, man.”

You smiled up at him. “He misses you, too – I’m sure.”

He rested his sandwich on the plate. “Let me know if I’m being weird… but I missed this.”

Your smile faltered as it grew slightly wary. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t know.” He shrugged, genuine. “I just feel like you’ve always been someone I easily get along with and y’know… considering our past and how things aren’t super awkward now. In all honestly, I thought you were just going to ignore me and keep walking away at the airport due to the possibility that you might’ve hated me… I wouldn’t have blamed you, though. I was a bit of an asshole when we ended things. And I am sorry about that. Genuinely.”

You could easily recall that night.

You looked at him, confused. “What?”

“I said I don’t think we should continue seeing each other.” Jungkook stood his ground despite the internal turmoil. “I… just feel like I’m holding you back.”

“You can’t be the only one to decide that, Jungkook.” His words finally started to settle in your bones and it felt like a thousand cuts.

“Listen, you deserve a lot more… and we both know that.” 

“Jungkook, you aren’t listening. You can’t just pre-emptively end things like this over something like that – not without discussing it with me too.” 

You tried to reason with him by resting a hand on his arm. He finally looked at you with tears in his eyes. You knew at that point, there was no talking him out of it. He firmly believed this was the right choice for you, no matter how inherently selfish he didn’t realize he was being. Being kind to a fault in true Jeon Jungkook fashion.

He was breaking up with you.

You smiled bittersweetly at the memory. “Yeah… that is a fair thought. But you know, we were young. Barely 21 years old. And while that was only 7 years ago, we were different people. I can’t imagine making the same decisions we did back then now.”

“I guess we were.” Jungkook offered, understanding that this was your way of accepting his apology. 

“And!” You picked up your spoon again to scoop yourself a spoonful of some chicken noodle soup. “That was before we had developed prefrontal cortexes. And besides, I could never hate you now… I finished with that when I turned 23.” You joked but he froze slightly at your words.

Jungkook made sure to make direct eye contact with you filled with something that could move mountains. “I never intended to hurt you, I really didn’t.”

Your tone also went serious yet understanding. “I know, I know now. And I appreciate you for telling me.”

Despite the bustle of that tiny deli in the middle of the dinner rush, all you could see was Jungkook and all he could see was you. The understanding weighing upon you both now.

“Thank you for also trusting me with taking you out tonight, that means a lot to me.”

“Me too.” You nodded up at him. “I doubt there’s anyone else who would be able to get me out here like this either. I can’t even remember the last time I pulled an all-nighter… it was probably when we were still in undergrad.” The two of you shared a laugh that was abruptly interrupted. 

“FINAL CALL! Final call for order number 72!” The person working the counter exclaimed with the order bill in his hands. No one went up to the counter so the employee shook his head to himself in disapproval before proceeding to keep it pushing. 

The scene had finally calmed so you turned to Jungkook expectantly. “Alright, we had dinner. So where are we headed now?”

Jungkook wiped the crumbs off his mouth with a napkin as he said, “One of my favorite bars in the city! The vibes are so nice and they often have open mic nights so you get to see some local talent”

“Sounds amazing.”

“Oh, it will be,” Jungkook promised.

“I have to go to the bathroom real quick before we head out, though.” You said as you got up. 

He nodded his head as he motioned for you to go. “Do what you gotta do.”

Inside, you looked at yourself in the mirror in the bathroom, unable to grasp how this whole thing could have happened. One second you are about to cry from how cruel the universe was to sitting at a historic deli with Jeon-freaking-Jungkook. 

Once you returned, you saw him writing on a napkin which he then folded up and placed in the pocket of his jeans at the sight of you approaching. 

“What’s that?”

“Just some thoughts for a possible song that came to me.” Jungkook got up and left some cash for the tip on the table. “C’mon. Let’s head to our next destination!”

Sitting on the subway, thigh to thigh with Jungkook taking the aisle seat and you on the window seat, he told you that he doesn’t remember the name of this favorite bar but just how to get there. He said that, apparently, was all that mattered as you sat on the A Line train. Trying your best to ignore the close proximity due to the seat and Jungkook’s broad frame, you both took turns taking shy stolen glances at each other – hoping each other would notice just as much as you both wish you wouldn’t. The warm and slightly stagnant air made you both run a little hot, your cardigan resting in your lap and Jungkook’s leather jacket in his.

However, the car of the train started to get packed to the point where people had to step into the aisle right next to Jungkook. The sudden stops causing people to bump into the shaggy-haired singer. You scooted to be more flush against the wall of the car, motioning for Jungkook to get closer to avoid more hits from the rough ride and sudden backpack attack. He looked at you sheepishly as he accepted the invitation, where his arm went around the top of your seat and shoulders to make room for his wide build. 

“I hope this is okay.” He gave as he rested against you.

“Yeah, no worries.” You had a smile of reassurance that he mirrored.

It was hard to avoid each other eyes at this point. 

You wondered how long it had been since you were last nested against him and why you didn’t feel as uncomfortable as you thought you’d be despite all those years. However, this was no surprise as Jungkook always had that weird effect on you.

“Pardon me, is it cool if I stand here next to you?” A tall, handsome figure appeared from your left side. You peered over your shoulder at the sudden question. It was about an hour before Epik High was supposed to be on stage but you entered the venue early since you wanted a good place to stand on the floor. There were pockets of people but surely not enough where someone had to approach you and ask like that. 

Promptly, you had to bring yourself back to reality as you cleared your throat. “Yeah, sure… no worries.”

A bunny-toothed dazzling smile appeared and you watched as his eyes curiously traveled down to the long-sleeved tour shirt you held. A purchase to remember this concert. “Thanks. And oh! I was tempted to get that shirt too. It’s pretty sick.”

Feeling a little self-conscious you avoided his fixed gaze, “Yeah. Their designer for this tour’s merch did an awesome job…”

Jungkook nodded mostly to himself, believing that he was making you uncomfortable. “Listen, sorry if I’m making this awkward but my name’s Jungkook, and I think you seem really cool. But if I’m bothering you, totally let me know and I can give you your space! No hard feelings or anything.”

You smiled at his frankness and shook your head at this. “No, no. Sorry, I think you seem cool too, and I don’t mind at all.” You said before giving your name as well.

“That’s a pretty name,” he responded. “It suits you.” 

You politely laughed off the subtle compliment. “Thank you, and I hope so.”

Steadily, you and Jungkook became deeply immersed in conversation – talking about how long you both had been fans of the artist, why you both ended up attending this concert alone, and getting to know each other generally. Most significantly, you found out that you both attended the same university and were the same age among the many things discussed. The conversation flowed comfortably after that initial interaction. That hour before showtime had passed so quickly that you hadn’t noticed how much the venue had filled up and gradually forced you and Jungkook to be shoulder to shoulder from how packed it had become. By the time the venue fell dark and signaling that Epik High was about to set foot on stage, the crowd had slightly pushed forward, forcing you to be closer than ever to Jungkook.

“Sorry, I hope this is okay.” He spoke sheepishly at the proximity.

“No worries.” You smiled at him and at that moment the pyrotechnics of the stage went off, as the concert began – strangely calm despite having only met the man not too long before and cheers erupting from the crowd that surrounded you. There was just something about him.

There was always something so human (as cliche as it was) about open mic nights. People stand on stage and recite poems where they bare their souls or sing original songs written about the throes of life. A little appreciation for the small things that you and Jungkook shared. You both enjoyed the local buskers back in Seoul during undergrad, especially around springtime when things overall seemed brighter and full of life. 

You sat with your pineapple tequila as Jungkook went for his whiskey on the rocks, occasionally shaking the ice cubes around in the glass between sips. You both sat at a booth off to the side of the stage where you could get a decent view of the performers. 

“So…” Jungkook started.

You tore your gaze away from the current performer, a girl singing a cover of a Laufey song, to find Jungkook staring at you with a glint in his eye. “...So?”

“I’m honestly surprised you took my offer to spend time with me tonight – with some negotiating, of course but surprised nevertheless.” Jungkook chuckled as he took another sip of his drink. “What was it that convinced you?”

You toyed with a loose strand of hair in contemplation of his words. 

What did convince you? Was it the frustration from the flight fiasco? The fact that you were in New York for the first time? This was a question you only recently started to ponder because saying yes felt so right but you couldn’t explain why.

“I just trust you. And it’s been so long since we’ve been in the same place at the same time.” You began, noting how his eyes have softened at your words. “I honestly didn’t know what to think when you first stood there in front of me, y’know? I kind of thought I was hallucinating. I thought that maybe the stress from all the flight mess was getting to me. 

“I honestly never thought I would cross paths with you ever again, considering how the trajectory of our lives headed. You live in LA, working full-time on your music and touring. I live back in Seoul, where there’s always a deadline looming over me and I have to set off to meet some client. And besides…” You held his stare where there was a gentle smile on his face. “I knew I wanted to spend more time to catch up with you the second we sat back in that coffee shop at the airport.”

Relief and something else that you couldn’t place washed over his face. Was it regret? Was it longing? You didn’t know exactly but you felt his free hand reach for yours from across the booth. The calloused fingers of his hand from hours of playing guitar caressed yours as he stared at the way they connected. Still a perfect fit. Your first real bit of physical connection since that fateful day when you were both 21 and young and dumb and lost. 

“Yeah, me too.” Jungkook started. “But for me, it was the moment before you even saw me. When my eyes found you at the gate, I seriously couldn’t believe it.”

You laughed at this. “Well, I hope that time has done me well since you last saw me.”

Jungkook chuckled as well as he cocked his head to the side. “Are you kidding? You look phenomenal. I’m convinced you always will.”

“Oh, shut up. You’re trying to butter me up.” You joked but deep down, the intensity of the intimacy scared you. It was like a fireplace left dormant for so long had finally lit up. It surged through your whole body and you weren’t sure how to deal with it. You withdrew your hand back slowly and instantly regretted the coldness from the loss of contact. However, it frightened you with all things considered. “You’ve always been such a charmer.”

Jungkook’s expression faltered when you fully pulled back your hand but he tried his best to hide it. Holding your hand just felt so right, like it was the divine providence of the universe – written in the stars and made to fit. No other body could bring the warmth he felt from when he was around you. He was convinced that with your every step, flowers bloomed and skies cleared. He was always a goner for you, and that still stands true to this day. 

How funny the universe was, Jungkook thought to himself, that it could create someone so wonderful but have them exist on a different path from his. 

“Alright, alright! That was a fantastic cover from Gina. Let’s give her a round of applause, everyone!” The MC and presumed owner of the bar stepped on stage and spoke into the mic, grabbing everyone’s attention. “Now, we have a guest singer that I saw sign up, his name is JK Jeon. Let’s give him a warm welcome!”

You whipped your head to face a sheepish Jungkook finishing the last bits of his whiskey before he patted you on the head and headed towards the stage. “When did he…”

The leather-jacketed, confident lead singer Jeon Jungkook of Bring the Soul appeared before you as he adjusted the mic stand and introduced himself in perfect, unaccented English. “Hi everyone, my name is JK. I signed up because this is one of my favorite places in New York so I thought I’d sing something for you, especially because there’s also someone important here with me today.” 

His eyes locked with yours in that moment and you forgot to breathe for a second. He looked so otherworldly in that bar, he had the aura to make the dingiest stage look like some elaborate arena. He was born to perform.

Your second pineapple tequila arrived and it was a much heavier pour from the bartender. However, you were grateful as the surge of emotions overcame you. Everything was feeling surreal again and you definitely needed this drink despite being a little bit of a lightweight.

“So, this song is titled ‘seasons’ by a band called wave to earth. Hope you enjoy it.” 

With that, he signaled for the song to start and the first keys of a piano filled the dim bar. Not once did Jungkook’s eyes leave yours as he sang. You were absolutely bewitched as the song progressed, and so was the rest of the bar. A couple across the room embraced each other, two friends shared a toast of their drinks with a lively clank, and the bartender even paused to take in Jungkook’s singing… all these people were brought together by his undeniable talent. Your heart was so full and you were so proud, and distracted until you really started to listen to the lyrics of the song.

But I'll pray for you all the time

If I could be by your side

I'll give you all my life, my seasons

By your side, I'll be your seasons

My love

A thunderous applause surged through the bar as Jungkook thanked the audience and stepped off the stage fluidly before heading straight for the booth where you still sat. However, instead of sitting across from you, he slid into the bench where you were and settled right next to you.

“How was that?” Jungkook’s arm naturally went around your shoulders and you swore you were soaring. 

You rested your head on his bicep as you gazed up at him, and Jungkook was swooning at how adorable you looked then. The dim, soft lights make you look ethereal to him. “It was amazing, as always.”

“Yeah?” 

“Yeah.”

“Cool.” Jungkook stroked your hair as you continued to rest your head on his arm. He could tell you were beginning to feel your drinks in your system since you had long finished your two pineapple tequilas and were now babysitting a pint of beer. 

“Hey, Jungkook.” He barely caught it as you basically whispered it out. “Y’know, I’m going to be really sad about everything once morning comes.”

His eyes widened as he shared the same sentiments. “Yeah… me, too.”

“But!” You suddenly shot upright in posture and surprised him as you grabbed your drink by its handle. “None of that dramatic ‘goodbye’ shit in the morning!” You tipsily pointed at Jungkook with your beer who only laughed at your theatrics as some foam spilled.

Between chuckles, Jungkook was barely able to let out at the sudden shift in mood. “Okay, then what do we say at the end? When it’s morning time?”

“What people always say at that time – ‘good morning’ and not goodbye. Let’s make it a nice ending for us, I feel like that would do us both justice.” Your gaze was too hazy to see the seriousness that lined his face but he shook it off and plastered his signature smile despite the storm in his heart. “I know it’s a little cheesy, but I don’t want to be sad in those last minutes with you.”

“Okay, we’ll bid each other ‘good morning’ when dawn comes then we go on with the rest of our lives. No sad stuff.” You missed how tight-lipped his grin was. 

“Promise?”

“Yeah, I promise.”

“Alright, follow me!” Jungkook called from over his shoulder as he jogged to catch the door to the rooftop of some swanky highrise apartment complex that you two managed to sneak into. 

He held the door open for you, with his free hand exaggeratedly ushering you to go first like a medieval knight. “After you, m’lady.”

By this time, the alcohol had flushed out of your system on the twenty-minute walk Jungkook had brought you on after hearing about how much you wanted to see the skyline but didn’t want to pay a ridiculous amount for a view. And this is where it led you: on the lounge rooftop of a luxury apartment building. The twinkling lights of the city sparked beneath you. The haphazard spacing of the lights from nearby buildings were windows into the lives of the people who occupied the space. Then, you had the great Empire State Building literally blocks away, its spire brightly illuminating the night. To your right, there was a patch of darkness that was Central Park. 

You were breathless at the sight before you. Suddenly, you felt connected with every fiber of your being. The light midnight breeze that swam between your loose strands of hair felt like a glass of fresh water as it revitalized you. There you were, in New York City – looking at it from a bird’s eye point of view. Nothing could have ever prepared you for this. 

You then felt Jungkook stand close next to you as he bumped his shoulder with yours playfully. “How is it?”

“It’s so beautiful.” It took everything in you to tear your gaze away from the view to look at Jungkook. “How did you know about this place?”

He snickered mischievously. “One of the label’s former execs used to live in this building. He used to talk about it all the time and I couldn’t help but remember it. Glad it lived up to all the talk though, it is gorgeous up here.”

And with that, he began to walk over to the outdoor couch hidden behind the privacy of a cabana in front of a fire pit. He turned it on effortlessly before plopping down on the couch right beside the glass-protected edge of the building for what you assumed to be a maximum viewing experience. You followed and sat down, his arm naturally finding its way wrapped behind your shoulders. 

“I never thought I would be able to experience something like this,” you marveled at the night skyline with an at-ease smile on your face, letting your body fit into a nook created by Jungkook’s. “Never would I think feeling so small like this would be so comforting. I don’t regret this at all.���

Absentmindedly, Jungkook’s hand began to play with one of the strands of your hair. “Yeah, same. I regret a lot of things, but this definitely wouldn’t be one – not by a long shot.”

“Oh? Like what kind of regrets?” You asked him, scared to look into his eyes at that moment. 

“Letting my insecurities and tendencies for perfectionism get the best of me. There were so many times when it got in the way of being present. Whether it be with the band, my life… and you.” His hand froze as he cleared his throat. “I regret letting you go. And I feel like the biggest idiot on the face of the earth, y’know? I thought that I had to be successful to be worthy of your love. To be worthy of someone so utterly beautiful inside and out. You were truly my morning light. And I hurt you. I hurt you because I was insecure and so lost in my head.” He blew out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. “And Y/N, I can’t even begin to explain how much it kills me to sit here with you knowing I did that. And I think that’s because my heart will always be yours, y’know. And I know I’m rambling but I’ve been meditating on this for the past few years because it always bothered me to hear how great and peachy things were for you with that Seokjin guy from Yoongi-hyung, I… don’t know…”

You sat up and finally made eye contact with Jungkook at his confession, resting a comforting hand on his chest. “Jungkook, can I tell you something?”

“Of course.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about…” You whispered as Seokjin stood before you under a streetlight at the park not too far from his apartment. 

“My love, I just can’t do this anymore. I love you so much but it’s time we both be honest.” Seokjin reached for your gloved hand. It was the tail end of autumn and the first signs of winter were beginning to make its appearance. “I don’t think we should meet anymore.”

Tears lined your eyes but the rush of the emotion present was so foreign to you. You knew you should have been sadder and while you were sad... However, at that point, you realized that you were more sorrowful about losing Seokjin as a person in your life than your actual romantic relationship ending. That’s when it hit you, the tears falling. “How did you…”

“My love, you're one of the most intelligent people I know but I don’t think you even realized it yourself. But your heart isn’t in it with me. And that’s okay, I’ll always have a soft spot for you and I’m sure you know that.” Seokjin sighed as he respectfully let go of your hand and took a definitive step back, still handsome and composed. “I’m afraid I just can’t keep fighting like this for a love that was never meant to be mine in the first place.”

“I think that it will always be you.” You whispered, at this point your lips just mere centimeters from Jungkook’s. 

“It’ll always be you, too,” Jungkook responded, too drunk in your perfume and the feeling of your being so close to his. “Y/N, can I tell you something now?”

“Of course.”

“Would it be okay if I kissed you right now?”

Wordlessly, you closed the gap between you two. The second your lips connected, it felt a lot like a warm summer day. Electricity turned static force kept you connected like that. Soon, lips moved in sync like rolling ocean waves during low tide. Hands lost in hair and tracing all the valleys of each other’s bodies, leaving goosebumps at they traversed every familiar inch. Jungkook’s plush lips felt so homey and so right. Your hand went right back to resting on his chest, feeling the intense beating of his heart. A pace set for you only. 

It hurt so much to have to disconnect so you both could catch your breath. 

“Wow…” Jungkook licked the last taste of you off his lips, savoring the moment with his eyes closed and forehead rested upon yours. “I missed this so fucking much. I missed you so much.” 

“Please kiss me again...” Your eyes gazed into his and he obliged happily. 

And your lips found each other again just like that.

Hands grew more adventurous as the kiss grew more heated. Jungkook’s calloused and cold hands made their way under your shirt, cupping your tender breasts through your bra. At this, you gently pushed him to sit back further on the couch so you could climb on top. The second you straddled his hips, you began to grind down onto his clothed dick, earning you a grunt of satisfaction. His hands grew impatient as he then pushed your shirt and bra up to reveal perky nipples, the chill of the night making them more erect. 

“You look a little cold, baby. But don’t worry, I’ll take care of you.” He said before taking one nipple into his mouth and his free hand making sure the other wasn’t left unattended. You couldn’t help the moan that escaped you as he was living up to his words. 

You reached down between your bodies and slipped them into his denim jeans, feeling his hot and heavy dick in the palm of your hands. This got you another grunt from Jungkook, suddenly you were on your back lying down on the couch and Jungkook flashed you his charismatic smile. “Getting a little handsy, I see.” He leaned down and began kissing your neck, remembering your sweet spot despite your time apart. It was his turn for his hand to slip into your pants, gathering your slick between his fingers to play with your clit.  “Baby, let me eat you out, okay?”

You could have easily come right then and there. 

You barely managed a nod as you felt him pull down your jeans and panties in tow after kicking off your sneakers. Once off, Jungkook sat back as he in the sight of your sprawled like that before him. Snapping out of his daze, he crouched down and just lost all sense of shame the second his mouth tasted you. Sucking rhythmically on your clit, rubbing circles on your inner thigh, it was all too much. The sloppy sounds of his saliva mixing in with your wetness were all you could focus on as you felt your walls tighten on nothing. 

“Jungkook, baby, your fingers…”

He didn’t need to be told twice as he continued his string of slurps on your pussy and inserted one finger, beginning to stretch you out. The loudest moan escaped you embarrassingly considering you both were in a public place. However Jungkook didn’t care, he was making up for lost time after all. And then another long digit went inside you, pumping wildly and that was it.

The threads of the rope in your stomach were wound so tight that the fine fibers were beginning to give. Jungkook knew your undoing was near so he continued his onslaught of your pussy with his mouth and fingers. Soon enough, the rope snapped, your eyes sealed shut as you saw white and your jaw went slack while you continued to leak out. Your body felt utterly buoyant, among the clouds, and your mind far ahead of your physical being. How long had it been since you came like that?

Jungkook happily lapped up your cum like a man who had gone without water. “You look so fucking beautiful, so beautiful.”

“Need you… inside…” You finally said as you came to and began to remove Jungkook’s leather jacket and his white tee. “More, I want more of you…”

His smile shined as the bottom half of his face was proudly covered in your slick. That dazed smile stayed plastered as he undid the bucket of his belt, the jingle of his pants and boxers hitting his ankles had you in anticipation. 

“Your wish is my command, baby. All yours… I’m all yours” He continued to toy with your already sensitive clit as he began to gently push himself inside your tight core. Both your eyes went wide with how good the tight fit was. It took everything in Jungkook to not come at that moment. His eyes only got a glimpse of the delectable scene of where he entered you before he had to screw them shut in concentration. “You feel so good as always, could die like this.”

You began to move around him, wanting friction and he took that as his sign to start moving as well. What started as slow and steady, became desperate and erratic. He hovered over you, his lips on the valley of your neck and hand gripping onto your breast as you felt every single velvet inch of him fuck you. Your arms wrapped around his neck, trying to pull him closer if that was even possible. It was all-consuming, it was otherworldly. He hit you in all the right places and it was so good that you didn’t know what to do with yourself. 

“Jungkook, just like that, baby. Let’s come together, okay?” You spoke into his ears which kicked him into overdrive. You were so full of him. His hand fondling your painfully erect nipple, his mouth right on the spot he knew would have you, and Jungkook groaned as you clenched him so tight, having him reach his own undoing. A sheen of sweat lined Jungkook’s forehead as he cocked a focused brow. He drank in the fucked out image of you, encouraging him to thrust into you even more sporadically despite how sensitive you both were.

It felt so right to be filled up with his cum, with his dick, with him. 

The two of you sat there in that fucked out state for a couple more minutes to catch your breath again. 

Eventually, Jungkook got up with that dopey smile still on his face as he began to dress you despite still lying on the couch and straighten your clothes. He punctuated each movement with a peck on your swollen lips. His movements were more delicate and tender compared to the heated desperation from moments ago. Once he was dressed as well, he collapsed with you on the couch with his arm slung around you.

“You’re so beautiful.” He made eye contact again, however his airy smile faltered at seeing your bittersweet expression make another appearance. “Hey, baby… what’s wrong?”

“Where do we go from here, Jungkook?” You asked as you reached for his face, caressing a cheek with your thumb. “Because now I’m going to be even more sad when morning comes…”

Fuck. Jungkook had been so caught up in that moment that he didn’t realize what the consequences would be after the fact. While he sure as hell didn’t regret what happened, he didn’t want to hurt you any more than he already has. 

“It doesn’t have to be like that… we can work something out. I can figure something out. I just – I just don’t want you to regret this, regret us… Just give me some time to think and I can –”

You quietly stopped him with a shake of your head, letting him know that it was okay. “It’s okay, you belong in LA, where your life is now. And I belong in Seoul, where my life is now – I know that much. I can’t ask you to uproot your life and give up the band, nor could I leave Seoul given everything happening at home. Just know that I don’t regret this, not at all. However, it’ll be quite sad when morning comes.”

Jungkook could only nod at the heaviness of your words. While they were a hard pill to swallow, they were correct. Both those things rang true in his head. He ached for you so much now he had another taste of life with you, but you both knew there was nowhere to go from here. By late noon, you’ll already be on a flight back to Seoul and he’ll be headed to Vienna to start the European leg of Bring the Soul’s tour. 

“I’ll be sad when morning comes, too. Irrevocably sad.” Jungkook knew that would be the extent of all he could say then. 

Silently, he sat upright where he led you to rest your head in his lap. He looked down at you fondly, a matching bittersweet expression on his face as he began to stroke your hair. A quiet promise was exchanged between you both to enjoy these last moments of intimacy before the sun rose. 

You both had fallen asleep on that rooftop lounge. Then you woke up around 6AM to Jungkook trying to get you up, talking about taking you to one more place before the night was officially over. Eventually, you both were jogging out of the luxury apartment building, hand in hand, as the two of you entered the subway station to head southwest to the piers to catch the sunrise. 

It was a solemn train ride, to say the least. Both of you avoided each other’s eyes on the ride, like anxious teenage lovers who experienced their first quarrel. It was hell, and the time when you both got off at your correct stop couldn’t have come sooner. His hands still intertwined with yours as you walked off into the morning world, the sun beginning to make its appearance known. The morning’s dew still coated the patches of grass as you both traveled to the edge of the pier which overlooked the water. 

At this point, the blue hour had long passed as the bright star that is our sun began to peek through the horizon. The sky turned from midnight blue to a vibrant yellow with hints of orange. That’s it. This is it…

The morning had officially come. 

You cursed every cliched metaphor referencing the elusiveness of time… the grains of sand slipping through fingertips, the ticking of clock hands that echo in the back of your head, the passage of breezes, and the eventual rising of the morning sun. 

Jungkook smiled gently, wiping away a tear with his thumb which you didn’t even feel form as it fell down your cheek. “Don’t worry.”

“I just want you to know that I loved being in this moment. Sharing this night with you, that tonight it felt like New York was all ours. I could have never seen its beauty and experienced its magic the way I did with you.” Barely managing through your cries, you gasped for a breath as you tried to make out the next words. “But why did things have to turn out this way?”

The loud caws of the seagulls as they flew over the pier and the cold morning air fell onto forgotten senses as the only thing you could feel was the intensity of Jungkook’s stare on you. From your forehead that he placed a tender kiss upon, to your eyes that mirrored that silent longing his contained, the nose that he nuzzled against his, and chin that he held softly in his rough hand… It was like he was taking a picture of you at that moment. A moment where he was not rockstar Jeon Jungkook, but the Jungkook who always found a way to make you laugh and the Jungkook you dreamed of sharing matching rings with. And you were not the person living too fast for anyone to keep up with, but a person who could find the beauty in anything and the person that Jungkook could write a million and one songs about.

“Shh,” he comforted you as his arms wrapped around your shoulders, pulling you into his chest. “I really can’t thank you enough for tonight… I’ve never hated to see morning as much as I do now.” He chuckled dryly at the irony of all. 

You pulled back, surprising the man who towered over you. You held his confused face in your hands and smiled. “Me, too. I hope you know that.”

“I do now…” He whispered as though louder words could break the moment before placing a chaste kiss on one of the hands that cupped his face.

“Now what?” Your hands fell from his face and rested on his chest. 

Jungkook sighed in contemplation as he peered past you into the blossoming orange horizon before recentering his eyes on you and grin losing its warmth, being replaced with sadness. “Good morning, I guess.”

The gravity of the situation settled upon you both silently.

“None of that dramatic ‘goodbye’ shit in the morning!” You tipsily pointed at Jungkook with your beer who only laughed at your theatrics as some foam spilled.

Between chuckles, Jungkook was barely able to let out. “Okay, then what do we say at the end? When it’s morning?”

“What people always say at that time – ‘good morning’ and not goodbye. Let’s make it a nice ending for us, I feel like that would do us both justice.” Your gaze was too hazy to see the seriousness that lined his face but he shook it off and plastered his signature smile despite the storm in his heart. “I know it’s a little cheesy, but I don’t want to be sad in those last minutes with you.”

“Okay, we’ll bid each other ‘good morning’ when dawn comes then we go on with the rest of our lives. No sad stuff.”

“Promise?”

“Yeah, I promise.”

“Good morning, Jungkook.” No matter how dazzling your smile was, Jungkook could never be distracted from the tears that lined your gorgeous eyes. 

No physical closeness could ever combat the weight of what daybreak meant for you both.

“For JK?” The driver of the Uber called out of the window as he pulled up. 

You and Jungkook stood before each other again, hand in hand for the final time. You squeezed his rough hand, a wordless command of it’s time to let go. And just like that, his hand – despite its hesitation – followed and released its grip on yours. No matter how disheveled you both may have looked from the sleepless night of journeying, it all felt surreal.

“Good morning, Y/N.”

“Good morning, Jungkook.”

Then one more quick kiss before you had gotten into the car he ordered for you and began the journey back to your life. A life without Jeon Jungkook. You rode with the window down, taking the sight of New York in a new day’s light. It felt so foreign and so different from the New York you experienced in the last fifteen hours with Jungkook. That taxi driver was right, you were convinced, that New York was a magical place and had so much more to offer. 

You abruptly felt something wrinkle in the pocket of your jeans as you adjusted yourself in the backseat of the car. Reaching in, you fished out a Katz’s Deli napkin and remembered how Jungkook was writing on it when you had excused yourself to go to the bathroom. You carefully unfolded the napkin and read what was written on it: I’m sure by the time you’ll see this, you would’ve given me the most memorable night I could never forget even if someone were to beat it out of me. I’m dreading sunrise as I write this right now. Though, I’ll hold close what tonight has in store for us. I don’t know if our paths will ever cross again, but I’m sure that this was the most beautiful sunrise I could ever experience because it was with you.

You pondered the possibilities as the heartache fully set in from reading his note. What if you told this Uber to turn around right now? What if you stayed longer? What if you took Jungkook’s offer to figure something out? What if you didn’t have to say goodbye on that forsakenly beautiful pier? What if?

However, it no longer mattered. 

This was the reality you both lived in. 

You had the connection, felt it again, and let it take its course. 

That was what mattered. No what ifs, maybes, or perhapses. What matters is only what happened and that it, in fact, did happen. 

Jungkook watched your car disappear into the morning traffic commute, gone was the warmth that you both shared on that chilly spring morning. He began to laugh at himself, at how cruel the universe was. It could have been perfect. It could have been the ultimate love story. It all could’ve. 

Jungkook kicked a random pebble in his path as he finally looked at his phone log after putting his phone on Do Not Disturb for the whole duration with you.

Min Yoongi | 2 Missed Calls

FROM: Min Yoongi | Where the fuck did you run off to?

Park Jimin | 6 Missed Calls

FROM: Park Jimin | Yah, where’d you go??

FROM: Park Jimin | Please tell me you didn’t do anything stupid I swear to god Jeon Jungkook 

Kim Taehyung | 5 Missed Calls

FROM: Kim Taehyung | You bastard, don’t tell me you went off to explore New York on your own

FROM: Kim Taehyung | Broooo, you didn’t even check in to your hotel room? You should’ve told meeeeeee

FROM: Kim Taehyung | You’re so foul for leaving me just to be bored while you went on a night adventure of the city that never sleeps smfh

Manager Sejin | 13 Missed calls

FROM: Manager Sejin | Kid, where the HELL did you go? Call me back asap

FROM: Manager Sejin | Jungkook this isn’t funny

Jungkook laughed at the missed notifications from the group and his manager before giving Yoongi a call back, reasoning that he would be the most level-headed given all the missed notifications after sending a quick message. 

TO GROUP: Bring the Soul | Hey, I’m ok lol. I’m at the pier

The caller's ring sounded twice before Yoongi picked up groggily, but still picked up nonetheless. “Where the hell did you go last night?”

“Just hanging around. New York is a magical place, hyung.” Jungkook responded vaguely but Yoongi caught the hint of bittersweetness in the younger’s tone. 

“Alright… We’re about to get breakfast at a restaurant close to you. I’ll text you the address. Meet us there by 9AM.”

“Sounds good, hyung.”

“Okay. And uh… are you alright?” 

Damn Yoongi’s intuition, Jungkook thought to himself and sighed into the receiver of his cell phone. 

“Yeah… it’s a damn good morning after all.” 

© bbangtans | please do not re-distribute in any way without permission.

[sorchathered]

Let’s do IT for our country

Pairing- President!Robert “Bob” Floyd x reader

Warnings- smut smut and more smut, breeding kink, language, mentions of pregnancy, us politics, I think that’s it?

Summary- Robert Floyd had never wanted to be the president, but here in the Oval Office on inauguration night with his First Lady? He could get used to nights like this.

A/N- It’s that time again! Another IBFFM, but this time with an older version of our sexy WSO. Mr. President is about 45 here, his First Lady is in her mid 30’s.

Also it’s @bobgasm ‘s birthday present!! Happy birthday to my precious Steph, love you so much baby!!

For as long as he could remember, Robert Floyd had been told he would be great.

His family name was synonymous with the likes of Kennedy and Roosevelt, the Floyd’s were some of the most influential in political history, and with that came high expectations. You must go to a prestigious college, you must serve your country (whether that be as a civil servant or military member), and you must marry the right kind of person. They talked about it as if they were breeding horses, and it never made any sense to him, so long as he found someone kind and supportive all of the bullshit that his family expected mattered very little to him. He would tick off whatever boxes they wanted, but it would be on his own terms.

He went to the US Naval Academy after high school, refusing to hop onto the Ivy League lifestyle his grandfather so desperately cherished. Moving on to aviation as a WSO and then becoming one of the top 1% in the country in his field. It was a distinguished career to be sure, but he’d been adamant that he had no interest in pursuing a political career, and certainly not the presidency.

He still wasn’t sure what had brought him to this point, or how he’d somehow managed to bag his dream girl in the process. A feisty junior senator from Delaware, good family, strong morals and drop dead gorgeous to boot, you’d been his match in every way. Sure you had hated his guts, he was the golden boy and you had dealt with his kind your whole life. But after a particularly long day in the senate he’d asked you to dinner, and while you’d had half a mind to tell him no the prospect of a free meal wasn’t worth passing up. So in a dingy dive bar with greasy burgers and cheap beer, you took a chance on him and fell ridiculously in love.

Four years had passed since you’d both sat in the creeky wooden booths of that shitty bar, and it felt simultaneously like yesterday and a lifetime ago. His family had pushed him into politics and while he had been adamant in the beginning that he would never pursue the presidency, the world had changed dramatically since he first refused the mantle. He may have hated the pageantry of it all, but at his core he truly did want to help people, and they certainly took notice. He’d run a clean and honest campaign with his best girl by his side, and won in a landslide. Everything moved very quickly from Election Day to Inauguration Day, it almost felt like he had blinked and he was here, wandering the halls of the west wing after skipping out on the last two of 10 gaudy inaugural balls he’d been forced to attend. He’d been going since sunrise and still couldn’t seem to get the jitters under control so he could rest; he suspected it would be quite a while before that feeling went away. Shaky hands moved to open the door to the Oval Office, completely renovated and designed by his beautiful wife to fit his style and personality, you’d made sure he would want for nothing, he’d be spending so much time in this room and it seemed only logical to make it a calm and safe space for him and his thoughts. It felt so much like his office at home, even down to the worn leather chair and the soft scent of sandalwood and tobacco from the candles you bought because it reminded you of him. You had told him you’d be heading to change and wouldn’t be gone long, he had plans to unwind with a bottle of bourbon and maybe a game or three of checkers, but as you slipped into the spacious and hallowed room belonging to the commander in chief, he nearly jolted out of his skin. There you were, his First Lady, in a skimpy little silk robe, intricate updo long gone in favor of soft curls, and the adorable little fuzzy cat slippers that he’d bought you for Christmas.

“Good evening Mr. President” you said with a smirk as you locked the door and padded over to his desk. You’d chosen well, the beautiful mahogany writing table had belonged to Theodore Roosevelt, and while it hadn’t been used in many a president’s term, you had made sure it was painstakingly restored and ready for his first day. Now that you were here, all he could seem to think of is how much fun it might be to test the sturdiness of the surface, perhaps he did need to blow off a little steam after such a stressful day…

“Sweet girl, you do realize there’s cameras everywhere right?” He said as you pushed his chair back just enough to fit between his thighs, very gently sitting on the edge of the antique escritoire. This desk had seen many a scandal, so many historical events, and you were quite sure she should handle the weight of what you had planned next.

“Already got that covered, Phoenix is on surveillance right now, you can go ahead and go dark Nat!” You said in the general direction of where they’d mentioned cameras were placed, a notification on your phone let you know she’d confirmed that the two of you had thirty minutes all to yourselves and you broke out in a blinding grin as you leaned forward to press a kiss to Bob’s jawline. The sharp intake of breath and his hands immediately going to your hips let you know he’d need this just as much as you, it had been embarrassingly long since the two of you had been together, and you filed away the notion that you would need to make sure you had the right security in play to make quickies like this a regular occurrence, policy be damned.

You’d drawn his lips to yours as you untied his tie and began unbuttoning the front of his dress shirt, his hands had drifted to palming your ass as he licked the seam of your mouth, a gasp from you was all he needed to slide his tongue against yours, squeezing you a little more roughly and all but pulling you into the plush office chair.

“Fuck I missed you,” he breathed into your mouth, you’d nearly gotten his dress shirt removed when he slotted his knee between your legs, large hands gripping the back of your thighs as he placed you back on the desk, this time swiping whatever loose papers off the top and sending them cascading across the plush carpet that held the presidential seal. You squealed and giggled, watching with rapt attention as he removed his dress shirt and exposed the defined freckled skin of his arms, pulling his undershirt off with less finesse as it joined the pile of papers on the floor. “I’ve never found a president to be sexy until just this moment, I have to admit, you look damn good in this office, sir” you said as you leaned back on your palms and ogled him, heat crept up his cheeks and chest at your praise, but his eyes had darkened at the honorific, you knew exactly what you were doing to him, and he could feel his dress slacks getting uncomfortably tight as you ran your bare feet up and down the back of his legs.

“You wanna be a good girl for me Madame First Lady? Let me lay you out and devour you where anyone could walk in?” His voice grew impossibly deeper and you let out a whimper in response, shifting to try and get some relief. You did want that, you wanted it so badly you could scream, it was the very thought of being dirty and unladylike for the man you loved that had you so hot and bothered, and he trailed one long finger down your sternum to remove your robe, fire in his eyes as he opened the sash and found you completely bare for him.

“Goddamn it, should have known you’d do this, you know exactly how to wind me up don’t ya? Whole world wants to know how to bring me to my knees and all they’d have to do is weaponize you and this perfect pussy.” He was completely fixated on your arousal glistening between your legs, and while normally you’d let him take his time, you knew it wouldn’t be long before some aid or agent came by to make sure he had everything he needed for the evening. If they only knew.

“Bobby, please? Don’t have a lot of time baby” you said as you squirmed on the polished wood and searched for some kind of relief. He seemed to snap out of his haze as lust clouded eyes fixed on yours, letting his index finger trail down your stomach and through your folds, watching your head fall back and chest heave at his teasing.

“Need to hear you say it sweet girl, you know what I want.” You blushed in earnest, he loved how dirty you could get, but that had always been behind closed doors in the comfort of your own home, you’d be mortified if anyone heard some of the things you’d said in the throes of pleasure; but it was his big day after all. If he wanted it, you’d give him the moon.

“Need your mouth on me Daddy, want you to make me cum and then fuck me with your big dick. Please? Please give it to me, ‘s been too long, fuck - I-“ you babbled at him as he continued to rub that one long finger up and down, it was maddening and had you choking on your words, thankfully he didn’t make you wait, spreading you open and pressing two fingers into you as he leaned forward and wrapped his lips around your clit. The relief was immediate, you moaned out into the empty room as he went to work on your aching pussy, drawing tight circles with this tongue as he scissored his fingers inside you. It had been weeks and he knew he’d need to get you ready, but he couldn’t help but feel like he was going insane over the little noises you made and the iron grip you had on his hair, tugging at his scalp as you bucked up into his pretty face to search for your release.

It was startling how fast he got you there, you were certain you were dripping down onto the desk now, wet smacks and moans coming from between your thighs as you peeked down to look at his deep cerulean eyes. He was too damn good at this and he knew it, had the audacity to wink at you as he nibbled on your clit and with a gasp you came all over his face, watching as he wiped his mouth with his arm and smirking like the cocky bastard he was. He controlled the entire free world now, but he would still consider it his greatest accomplishment that he could render his pretty wife to a babbling needy mess with his tongue. Disheveled looked good on you, blush spread across your cheeks and chest, hair a mess, and your release all over your thighs from what he intended to be one of at least three mind blowing orgasms.

You looped your heavy arms around his neck and kissed him languidly, you didn’t seem to be as worried about the time anymore and for that he was thankful. He wanted to take his time, and if somebody walked in they would find out very quickly to knock, he couldn’t give a shit about anything other than getting his cock inside you.

You knew the rule all too well; no visible marks. It had been that way from the very beginning, which was unfortunate because you wanted so badly to mark his pretty neck up and make sure everyone knew he was yours, but the compromise was that you could leave them anywhere below the collarbone, so as he fished for the condom he’d stashed in his pocket (hoping to end the night just like this), you licked down his neck and began nibbling on the flesh of his pecks, sucking a nipple into your mouth and looking up at him as his jaw went slack. “Oh Christ, you gotta stop that baby or we’ll be finished before we even get started” he panted out and tried not to buck up into you, the hand gripping your thigh was sure to leave a mark but you couldn’t give a shit, there was something so powerful in being able to bring the most powerful man on earth to his knees, and even better knowing that he was insatiable for you.

“Then fuck me Mr. President, and you don’t need that condom either. I think you should put a baby in me, fill me up so good that I’m dripping with you all day tomorrow.” You grinned at him but he looked completely debauched, he ran a hand through his graying sandy locks and blinked down at you, almost at a loss for words.

“You little minx, you’ve been just waiting all day to drop that on me haven’t you? Need me to cum in that pretty pussy and get you good and knocked up? Fuck you’d think it was my birthday or something, I don’t know how I got it so good.” He said as he spread you out and ran his hands all over you, you were whimpering and grinding into him and he was sure he’d pass out if he was any harder, slipping himself out of his briefs and sliding his length through your slick. You were trying hard to be quiet, sure it was late but there was bound to be someone on watch, Bob gripped your chin as he slid into you and kissed you sloppily, all teeth and tongue and moans, shallow thrusts to get you ready turned rough when you sucked his bottom lip and pushed your hips up to take him to the hilt. You gripped the front of the desk behind your head and let him pound you into it, the need for quiet long forgotten as you alternated between crying out and calling him daddy.

It didn’t take him long before he was close, the aftershocks of your second orgasm seemed to keep him gripped so tight that he could barely think straight, he was furiously rubbing your clit to get you there again as he watched tears drip down your flushed cheeks, he’d never forget tonight for the rest of his life. Not all the fanfare, not even the immense weight of the mantle he was about to take, but this moment right here, wrapped up in his gorgeous wife as he fucked her silly in the Oval Office. You wailed out “I’m cumming” as you gripped him tight with your pulsing heat and he tumbled over the edge right along with you, warming you from the inside out as he filled you up.

You cradled his sweaty form in your arms as you both came down from your high, giggles erupting from him as it really set in what you two had done.

“Ah shit, well everyone’s gonna know that we can’t keep our hands to ourselves after this, I imagine the press will have a field day.” He kissed your nose as you grinned at him, both of you still joined together but neither of you ready to separate.

A loud ring came from his phone and it sent a jolt through both of you, wide eyes trained on his as he leaned forward and grabbed it off the hook. His eyes were full of mirth as he nodded his head once, twice and bid them goodnight, pinching your cheek with his free hand before hanging up.

“What was that all about?” You said, trying to push him up so you could get decent and off his desk.

“That was Nat, she said we need to hurry the hell up before me going MIA causes a national emergency.” He was joking of course, but the secret service agents at the door couldn’t look either of you in the eye as you shuffled down the hallway with Bob’s hand in yours, and it was no surprise to anyone when you turned up pregnant by the state of the union.

Tagging- @bobgasm @attapullman @bobfloydsbabe @floydsglasses @sebsxphia @roosterforme @sunsetsimpsblog @seitmai @auroralightsthesky @withahappyrefrain @hangmanapologist

[ranpoesgirl]

HOME IS WHEREVER I’M WITH YOU— CHUUYA N.

— synopsis; 15!Chuuya who invites you over because he isn’t ‘comfortable’ in his large apartment…

— a/n; not the best but I tried— the idea was way better than the final results.. ((could be considered as a second part of this

Chuuya had never been used to the term ‘home’. It was always ‘base’ or ‘hideout’ but never a place he could enter without expecting the worst. It was always a temporary place for him and the sheep to rest before the sunrises.

The first time he held the keys of his apartment, he felt lightheaded, disgusted and took heavy breaths remembering a silent promise made by him and the sheep to stay together once they were finally free from their trapped lives.

Stepping foot into the large furnished apartment felt wrong, each step felt heavy and unwanted.

He had many life skills, yet couldn’t being himself to use his home for even the most basic necessities as to cook himself when he’s starving, when he tries, he can’t bare swallowing it…

“Chuuya!”

He heard his name being called out tenderly, as though his body recognized the voice before his thoughts could, he turned his heel and walked towards you.

“You look awful,” you tilt your head curiously looking at his slightly disheveled hair that didn’t match his eye bags as he grumbled at your words.

“Good morning to you too,” your name spat out his mouth with venom making you cringe at his forced greeting.

You try to fix his hair by brushing it out of his face but he immediately stepped back glaring at you, “I mean it, you look restless… and that’s a big deal coming from you,”

You were right, it was a big deal.

His body was used to staying up for days and weeks, maybe even months. After all, he always used to stay alert while the sheep rested in peace.

“Were you getting enough sleep, Chuuya?”

And once again, you called him back to his attention with genuine care in your voice, one that you shouldn’t need to show him.

“I’ve been having trouble sleeping, not used to living alone in a unnecessary large apartment.” He gave you a simple firm answer.

And this was your chance to tell him to sleep early, or taking sleeping pills, or maybe even recommend him with some weird asmr—

“Would you like company?”

…

“Do you hear yourself?”, you huffed at his response, “I was just offering a solution,”

He groaned in exhaustion pushing his hair back, he didn’t have neither the energy or the time to put into your shenanigans…

Maybe it was because of how exhausted he was, maybe it was his body’s desperate plea for rest, but you were now twirling the keys to his house as he held onto a tote bag with your ‘essentials’ as you put it.

He could feel his eyes twitch in irritation when you struggle to put the key in the hole and turn it, he began regretting his choices, he truly did.

Finally opening it, you entered the place taking a look around the empty walls decorated with unpleasant abstract artwork that probably costs thousands, the halls so bare and empty, a splash of water would make it interesting.

“There is an extra room opposite to the living room, you can use that as a guest bedroom, but there is only one bathroom, you could borrow my shampoo and—

“I’ve bought my own.” You pull your tote bag out of his grasp as you hastily removed your shoes at the shoe stand and walk over to the bathroom.

“Of course, you have…” he grumbled.

You placed your necessities on the sink and shower before walking over to the room and opening the door to only toss your bag on the bed before closing it behind you.

“Tired? Or do you want to waste some energy?” You ask him from a distance as I crashed onto his couch. He thought for a bit before shrugging his shoulders, “I’m going to bed, stay up all you want.”

And with that, he left to his room while you binge watched whatever was on the large tv screen…

Chuuya didn’t want to admit it… he really didn’t.

But he managed to fall asleep.

Sure, it took awhile and it wasn’t a lot but it was nonetheless, the rest he needed to function.

He walked out of his room with a pair of fresh clothes to freshen up in the bathroom when he caught sight of the tv still on and displaying ‘are you still watching?’.

He walked over annoyed by the fact you didn’t bother turning it off but when he went to reach the remote, he heard soft breaths from… you.

You fell asleep on the couch…

He didn’t bother waking you up, he instead wrote a sticky note informing you about his absence in the house.

He contemplated leaving a few yen notes for you to go have breakfast but ultimately decided to write down a restaurant name and telling you to go to and put the meal under his tab.

Everything felt lighter on his shoulders, his neck was no longer tight, eyes didn’t look like he had 10 packs of Red Bull in one go.

But as he unlocked the door to his apartment, he was scared on what to say to you. Should he inform you that your presence helped? Should he ask you to continue to stay? What if you decide your job is done and leave?

“Chuuya, welcome home!”

His breath hitched at the soft call of his name welcoming him to his own home, he felt sick… he was not happy with how his heart fluttered at those words…

“…what’s that?”, he drew his attention to the bouquet of flowers in a glass vase in the middle of the table.

“The flowers? Do you not like them?”, your tone held a sad grimace which gave him a jolt.

“I never said that…” he whispered in a hushed sense of guilt as he felt the soft petals in contrast to his rough hands.

Lilies and Gladiolus…

He quickly snapped out of his thoughts and looked up at kitchen, a cabinet open displaying flour and other items in jars and packaging.

Walking over to open the fridge, he found a new gallon of milk, and other dairy items, a few condiments even.

His eyes softened as the corner of his lips turned as much as he tried not to, “hey, would you mind staying for a while..?”

You woke up in your room and laid there for a while before finally getting up to head to the bathroom.

In there you found chuuya wiping his face with a white towel, you tried greeting him but you were too groggy to the point you sounded like a turtle out of sea.

You heard him laugh in a low tone from his throat, waking you up in surprise that he sounded like that. He seemed to notice your attention on it as well.

“morning voice..” he mumbled in that exact tone, you felt blood rush to your face when he spoke once again.

You noticed his startled face so you went back to brushing your teeth. He stared at you from the mirror for a bit before leaving, he put a palm on his face as he felt it face heat up.

This felt way too domestic…

It became a routine, the both of you would wake up, get ready for the morning, he’d cook breakfast, go to work, eat lunch at the restaurant, come home together, he’d cook dinner as you cleaned the house, and repeat cycle.

All for Chuuya to be able to get comfortable in his home and have a good night sleep…

The truth is, he managed to do so with a week of your presence, but he couldn’t let go of the feeling of coming home to you, or coming home with you…

And tonight when you didn’t come home he bombarded you with calls and messages, yet no response. He was worried, so he decided to call your colleague, and he got a response.

“Could you not sleep alone for the night?”

He hung up.

He sat on his bed in silence before realizing what happened, he quickly sent a text telling you it was alright and he was just checking so that he doesn’t have to stay up all night so that he could unlock the front door for you.

Knowing he’d gladly stay up all night once again if it were for you…

He slumped onto the bed trying to fall asleep, and to his disappointment that he actually fell asleep without you, he woke up and continued his routine, this time without you.

He hated how addicted he became to you…

The following days, seeing you in the halls of the port mafia felt awful, seeing how the both of you did completely fine without the need for each other’s presence— sure, he didn’t need it but he knew he was the only one who wanted it.

As much as he didn’t like the thought, he sucked it up and continued to be beside you like how you were before all of this, he doesn’t want to blame you for his unnecessary childish wants.

So like any other day, he finally poured the rice into the rice cooker before going to clean up the mess on the counter tops until his door bell rang.

Chuuya sighed irritated at the thought of seeing his landlord at 11:45 in the night but still went to open the door to only see you.

He did not like how much his chest lightened and heart fluttered.

“What are you doing here.” He did not mean for his voice to sound as stern and agitated as it did but the way you flinched was enough to make him retract.

“No, no, I meant, what do you want— no, that’s— what is— fuck…! Just… just come in…”

You blinked before letting out a laugh, as you entered, “sorry, I just came back from a mission and I simply missed you…”

His heart squeezed at the thought of him on your mind alone, band in a desperate attempt to forget it, “sit, I’ll put you some rice,”

And once again, he was back with you, eating at the dinner table with a vase of lilies and gladioluses in the middle.

After dinner, you went to your room, he thought that was the end of it but the sound of shuffling made him turn around to see you dragging your blanket and pillows to the couch.

“…what’re you doing?”, he asked you curiously as you turned on the tv before waving your hand at him to come over.

He does as you want and takes a seat beside you, he was caught off guard when you began wrapping the blanket around the both of you.

As you rest your head onto his side while whatever you chose played in the background but it was all muffled, the only thing he could hear was the light breaths from you.

He took in your scent as he let you rest on him before whispering into nothing.

“You make my house a home…”

[echantedtoon]

Caught Once Again

For those who were wondering what would happen IF Y/n got caught again. Sequel to my Yandere Demons And Brides posts and my Escaping Yandere Demons post. Some will be shorter than others.

Warnings for yandere themes, scars and illness mentioned, Douma/Enmu/Karaku ARE their own warnings, possibly some innuendos, kidnapping and entrapment mentions, death mentioned, etc.

Daki n Zohakutan are included with Hantengu's and Gyutaro's part but they're PLATONIC Yanderes.

KOKUSHIBO:

-The demon who had taken you hostage for weeks claiming you to be his wife's reincarnation had never left your mind after you escaped. It wasn't easy either. Kokushibo had heightened senses that were beyond human.

-You took the chance to escape one day after he left just before sunrise, making you hug him and greet him goodbye like a good wife should, before he left locking up the door behind him as he went. You took the chance to poke around trying to find any source of outage. A secret basement, the chimney, ANYTHING! Eventually you managed to find a weakened point on a boarded window. Clawing wildly you managed to tear away the wood, and smashing out the glass to freedom.

-You didn't look back. The small cuts you got were nothing as you ran and ran from that cursed house as far as you could until you collapsed from exhaustion. You made it. You were out but you weren't safe yet. You still moved away far away as you could before the sun sets. Kokushibo didn't come back every night so hopefully you'd have a few days to run. You couldn't go back home, that'd be the first place he looks for you so you decided to run along the river. Eventually coming along to and settling into a small fishing town.

-You decided to just lay low here. Getting a job as one of the net weavers and keeping to yourself in fear of being found out. Weeks passes. Months passed. And you were slowly letting your guard down, believing that perhaps you had hidden well enough to never be seen again. But you still didn't go out at night.

-One night though you allowed yourself to stay out, after all the small town was hosting a festival and you deserved to have fun after so long. You were playing a small game. Tossing a ball into a pit to win a prize when you saw it. Six eyes piercing through the darkness and staring at you. You didn't even have time to turn and flee when you smacked into the purple and black clothed chest and two strong hands pulled you against him in a possessive hold as you gaze up into half lidded eyes.

"You made a valiant effort to get away however I believe that it's time you come back home, Wife."

HANTENGU(+CLONES):

-You thanked the gods for how easily trickable the demon was, making it so easy for you to run far away. Right past town and towards the nearest safe point you knew which happened to be a grove of wild Wysteria trees. There's no way any of them would suspect that you'd be there and even if they did, what were they going to do? Demons couldn't survive Wysteria poisoning and avoided it like the plague.

-It wasn't bad really. It was a beautiful place. There was always beautiful trees surrounding you, a nice floral scent in the air, and you even found an old abandoned shack that you spruced up to make it livable. Overall it's not a bad life, but you wish it was more open like before. Your ease falters when fall comes and the leaves on the trees wither away and the flowers die. However they're still Wysteria trees so you don't think they'd dare come around your little grove and with each passing day that you never see then again, your mind believes that.

-Until winter comes to cover everything in snow. You're out one night with only the moonlight to see trying to shovel out snow from your front door, shivering in the cold and hair whipping in the wind. Perhaps that's why you couldn't hear the approaching wingbeats until it was too late. Two giant eagle like hands wrapped around your shoulders and in an instant you were sailing through the air. Shrieking as the ground disappeared beneath you and shrieking more as you looked up into the yellow eyes of an overjoyed harpy demon pulling him tightly against his chest with a loud happy chirping sound. "OH GOOD FUCK!! I'D THOUGHT WE'D NEVER FIND YOU, FEATHER! This game wasn't fun when you didn't come home you know!"

-No matter how hard you struggle, Urogi was too strong for you to break free from as he flies you all back to the others. All seven have varying reactions when Urogi just lands down with you struggling to get away and clawing at his arms. He was supposed to grab them someone for dinner but instead he brings back their missing wife. The first ones to react are Aizetsu and Sekido. The sorrow clone balling into your shoulder with a crushing hug making your shoulder wet. "I'M SO HAPPY YOU'RE OK!! WE'RE NEVER GONNA LET YOU GET LOST AGAIN!!" Meanwhile Sekido is scowling relieved but still raged. "WHERE THE FUCK HAVE YOU BEEN?! DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU MADE US FEEL?!"

-Urami and Karaku have similar reactions to Sekido and Aizetsu. Urami joins Sekido in scolding you. "DO YOU KNOW HOW WORRIED WE WERE!? WHY DIDN'T YOU COME HOME ALREADY?! DID SOMEONE PUT YOU UP TO THIS?! YOU'VE NEVER DONE THIS BEFORE!" Meanwhile Karaku is surprisingly calm actually apologizing if it's his actions made you so mad that you left but he was planning on making it all up to you now. "Don't worry, Baby. We got all the time in the world to make up for lost time."

-In the meantime Hantengu is sniveling alongside Aizetsu as both are crying into your terrified form making your dress soaked. "It's not my fault! It's not my fault!" Is all he can say in defense. Zohakutan is the most annoyed at all. It'll take hours for him to be able to have a moment to talk to you because of how much everyone else is crowding you for their turn but once he does be prepared for the longest lecture of your life. "Sit down! We are going to have a V E R Y long talk!"

DOUMA:

-If Douma's irratic emotional state wasn't enough to scare you away then his cannibalistic demon nature was. From his sudden mood swings to the unstable bout of love declarations he'd give you out of no where, dropping to his knees to shout out it all or just kissing you unprompted. It was all too much but with so many people surrounding you and a powerful demon how did you get away?

-Simple. You hid inside one of the supply crates. Once and a while some of the cult members would leave to try and recruit more members, on these trips they'd take a crate or two of supplies like pamphlets and food. Well Douma had been busy attending to whatever Muzan wanted and there wasn't anyone guarding the crates, so you emptied one out and snuck yourself inside. No one suspected you were inside when they moved the crates outside and down the mountainside for the long trip to one of the nearby towns. And no one saw it coming when you busted out of the crate once you were placed down and RAN. Disappearing into the crowd of people and using the cover of people to get far away from the demon and crazy cult!

-Thankfully the town they happened to stop by had a train station. It was easy to trade one of the many stupid, overpriced pieces of Jewelry Douma always made you wear for a ticket and easier for you to hop on the train and get outta dodge. Relief flooding your systems as the mountain side got farther and farther away from you. And compared to your other Y/n counterparts, it was easier for you to start over. Cutting your hair and dying it, going by a sub version of your name, and selling off what was left of the jewelry on you to gain enough money to buy you a nice warm apartment somewhere random in Asakusa city. Hiding in plain sight sounded like the best idea. And eventually getting a job as a seamtress in a random shop.

-A whole year passed on since the day you escaped and it was almost like it never happened. Never once did you hear about the stupid cult or have people worshipping you weirdly or worst of all having the threat of a demon over your shoulders. All you did was keep your head down and minded your own business. It was good. Life was good. It wasn't until your boss mentioned getting a brand new extremely handsome and rich customer coming in that day did things change. You knew what to do so you already prepared yourself to take measurements and the silk fabric he requested for. Not even paying attention to who it was as you prepared your scissors and measuring tape as your boss guided him into the room with just the two of you with a- "Just let me know if you need anything else!"

-You still don't look up at the frozen figure staring down at you as you just instruct him to stand on the stool and hold his arms up so you can measure his waistline instead you're met with a thud as whoever it was drops to his knees and two strong arms ensnare you in a tight hug. You shout whirling around at the inappropriate behavior but freeze as two rainbow eyes filled with anger, sadness, mad love, and tears spear you straight into the soul.

"Lotus Blossom, I thought I lost you forever there! Good thing we're fated to never be separated. A R E N T W E?"

NAKIME:

-(Apologies if her part is short.) Whelp. You made it out. Running and running and running through the woods to get away from the terrible castle and the woman who self proclaimed to be your 'wife'. You almost made it out of there...Almost. Just before your feet hit the dirt road, a door opens up under you and you fall in. Landing face first with a thud in front of the frowning woman.

"Are you quite done with your childish games?"

ENMU:

-You didn't go back anywhere near trains or stations now that you were free. Screw that mess! You were done with stupid trains and their dumb cars and crazy perverted demons who think that's it's flirting when he let's you punch and kick him out of frustration.

-Nope! You stayed FAR AWAY from tracks in general and just kept yourself at home from now on. So how did he find you again? Turns out HE COULD leave the train body. Not very far away just just far enough to get to your house and wake you up during one of the few times you could actually sleep and then squeal in delight again as you curse him out in his grip and kick him to no avail.

"Oh dear.~ You have no idea how lonely it was to not have you in my arms again.~"

AKAZA:

-With your bad leg limping as you ran for your freedom hearing Akaza's concerned voice shriek out before PLEADING with you to come back. "YOU COULD GET KILLED OUT THERE?! PLEASE COME BACK!! YOU'RE NOT WELL ENOUGH TO BE ON YOUR OWN!!" You don't care. You didn't ask him to 'help you'! You never even wanted him to be near you in the first place.

-Instead of turning back you continue to leg it down the hill you were on cursing the demons that put you in this permanent hurt state. You managed to limp half way back to your family's home before your exhaustion and pain makes you collapse against a nearby tree to rest. It was almost nighttime and yet you were still no closer to home. Panting and heaving, you break off a study stick nearby and use it as a crutch to hop along on your good leg trying to get as far as you can before Akaza can come back for you. If you can make it to the town's temple then you'd be safe at least until the next morning then you can get farther away from him and everything else that could lead him to you.

-You make it to the top of another hill overlooking the town just as it darkens and you can see the first few lights of the houses. Relief floods your being as you hobble towards the town until your stick ends up slipping and you fall over. The wind being knocked out of your body by the first hit before your body starts turning, rolling down the hill painfully as you fall. Hitting rocks and sticks and everything in between until two strong hands grabbed you by the sides. Stopping you just in time before your head could crack against a rock with jagged points. Dizzy you glance up with your spinning vision and feel your stomach drop as worried yellow orbs stare back to you.

"It's too dangerous for you to be without me! Don't you see that?!

GYUTARO(+PLATONIC UME/DAKI):

-You made it out of that gods forsaken hole in the ground. Coughing and in bad shape but alive and well however escaping was another much harder thing to do with your bad sight. Everything looked the same. Blurs, and colors smashed together. Everyone walking bad blobs of color. No one seeming to care about what happened to you as you stumbled around all dirted from climbing out of the hole and begging anyone around you for help only being met with dirty looks and shouted insults at you.

-if no one was going to help you, then you had to make your way out of the E District. You wondered aimlessly. Bumping into everything and anyone. Flinching as people just plain pushed you out of the way knocking you over or leaving you stumbling for balance. Night fell sooner than your terrified mind thought it would. The crowd's became worse, more crowded and so blurry it made your head spin. It made you cry in fear and frustration the longer you stood there in the middle of the street. Eventually turning to leave until you're pulled into an alleyway by a harsh hand. Screaming out before a hand silences you already fearing the worst until a loud familiar yell pierces your ears.

"Helpless without me aren't you?! I hoped you learnt your lesson because this isn't going to happen again. Do you hear me?"

"DO YOU HEAR HIM?! THAT WAS THE STUPIDEST THING ANYONE'S EVER DONE! YOU'RE LUCKY YOU'RE MY FRIEND AND BROTHER LIKES YOU SO MUCH!!"

HAIROU:

-You had one shot and you blew it. It was a long shot anyways. You knew you couldn't get away from him unless you fled in the middle of one of the episodes he had caused by his PTSD hoping that the hours head start you had would be enough to escape him and his hellish hounds. No such luck. You flinch hearing the sounds of gunshots behind you(Hairou shooting himself to clear his panicked mind) but you still don't stop. Just continuing to run and run and not look back.

-As you run through the darkness, you hear them. Howls and the sounds of dogs running behind you catching up to your terrified form to run on either side of you until you're forced to stop as at least five shadow hounds emerge from nowhere in front of your panting form. Growling and barking at your forms getting closer and closer. Backing you up more and more making you scream with every jolt they gave you until your back ran into a chest and an arm suddenly wrapped around yourself.

"That was a cheap trick. Too bad you won't be able to do it again."

GYOKKO:

-You made it out. It was almost impossible for you to escape but you managed to do it. Delayed only by the fact that his vase was turned upside down and it was daylight outside when you ran away. You knew you couldn't return home, that'd be the first place he looked for you. So without any idea of where to go or what to do,you decided to start traveling. Walking down along the road and picking up scraps here and there, stealing a random few dresses off someone's laundry line, and a burlap sack filled with some veggies from a farmer's barn. Now equiped with the items you needed in one bag, you began moving from place to place. Never staying in one place for too long, only traveling during the day and hiding away during the night. This worked out quite well for avoiding him... temporarily.

-You were miserable. Missing the comforts of your home. Missing being able to use your skills and making things. You want to go home, but you can't in fear of the demon still lurking about. Eventually your travels eventually leads you to the dreaded E District. With nothing else to do, you beg the first house master you see for a job any job at wits end. Eventually he does. As a servant. It's not the worst job. You don't have to entertain any guests, only clean floors, bring the ladies food, and help the girls with their clothes and make up if they need it. In exchange you're paid with a small room to sleep in and and one free meal a day. Definitely not the worst outcome. Beats being a demon's 'muse'.

-One day an oirans favorite kimono is ruined. Right before she was to see a special customer too. Well you use your former skills as a kimono maker and offer to fix said oirans dress for free. She's skeptical about it but agrees to let you fix it and is surprised that not only did you fix it but it looked like it wasn't even torn. She's so impressed with it that it starts up a conversation between you two about your skill. You mention used to having a store and making kimonos before misfortune made you lose your job(leaving out the demon art of course). Well she decides that she wants one and so orders you and the house master to get her one that matches her demands specifically.

-You happily agree missing your old job and happily make her one in a few weeks time. She's in love with the beautiful blue kimono with waves stitched on so beautifully that it looks almost real. You're so happy that you don't even realize that the oirans is actually a demon in dequise and she wears her new kimono to a demon meeting. Or that another demon instantly recognizes the work she's wearing. Gyokko compliments and flatters Daki into telling him where exactly she got the kimono and she has no problems bragging about how her new girl made it just for her and no one else. You really shouldn't have been horrified when you retire to your room later that night and is met with a beautiful vade in the middle of the room.

"Really I thought you would've known how tasteless it was to think that you could outsmart me."

KAIGAKU:

-Your first instinct after getting out was to make for the first demon slayer you could find but the problem with that was that you had no idea where you were or where the Haishiras were training. You just dove through the first door you saw leading to the outside and ran. Ran until light peeked into the skies and still you kept going until you came to the first town. Taking shelter in the nearest public room which happened to be a library.

-Naively you thought you were safe there. You were just a healer after all, you didn't know that demons could track by scent. So when you fall asleep amongst the books as night falls, and you wake up two angry hands yanking you up to him bridal style. You can't help but scream.

"Do I look like a dam idiot to you?! You're going to regret being so dumb!"

KYOGAI:

-You had one shot at it. When Kyogai's distracted by an intruder in his house, you make for the nearest room with a window you can find. Opening doors in a panic, eyes looking around wildly for any way you can leave until you see it. A window that's right in front of you and it's open! Without hesitation you run towards it and jumped out. However what you didn't know was that you were on the second floor so when you jumped out, you had a painful landing.

-You didn't break your leg but it was either severely sprained or fractured from the pain you felt. Your pained scream alerting Kyogai to the nearest window to where he looked on in horror as you struggled to get up. It burnt him badly, but he immediately ran out in the sunlight to get you and drag you back inside. He can regenerate in a few minutes, your leg would take much longer.

"That was incredibly stupid of you,Water Beetle."

[elysianightsss]

BFOB Price Thots

Okay but going to your best friends house after a girls night out only for him to be there. Him. John. Your best friend’s older, very attractive brother. Growing up around him was so difficult, he was your sexual awakening that’s for sure. How could he not be with his thick Liverpudlian accent, and the way he was a total dickhead to everyone but you.

He’s there when you’re pouring yourself a drink at two am in the dark kitchen, long after everyone’s asleep. The only light coming from the open fridge. You smile to yourself when he comments about how late you were out, maybe you imagine it but you hope you haven’t when you hear a hint of worry in his voice. He can’t tear his eyes away watching you lift the juice to your mouth and take a gulp, your eyes staying on him as he moves further into the kitchen. His big dark figure setting your nerves on end.

You had the biggest crush on him that you had dealt with and moved on from when he left for university. Or so you thought, when he came back home from Uni all beefy he was so gruff and mature it stirred up old feelings and definitely some new ones. Then he got a girlfriend right before you went off to university, imagining what they were doing in your spare time between college essays was torture. But coming back home to find out he was single and not ready to mingle was the best news you’d ever heard.

Though you knew you’d never stand a chance with him, it was as good as you were going to get. John staying single for a while so you could get over him. The plan was a good one, except it really wasn’t. It just made you pine for him more knowing you couldn’t have what you wanted.

You had no idea he felt the same way for you, god he remembers the first time he saw you after you’d come back from university, the moment he saw your pretty face his dick wouldn’t stop throbbing. You were so sexy and sure of yourself. Then overhearing that you wanted to break your dry spell, not having had sex for six months he thought this was his chance.

So standing in the dark kitchen at two am, he was ready to try.

You blush deep red when he mentions listening to you say you haven’t took dick in so long you’re sure you have cobwebs in your vagina, raising his large hand to his beard giving it a scratch as he tried to remember what else you said. “Oh yeah. All you want is to get pounded like you owe him money? Isn’t that what you said darlin?”

He chuckles deep from within his chest when you stutter out a small yes, “I didn’t know you were into rough sex, you’re just so bossy. Such a little spitfire, all confident and in control in your day to day but in bed, what was that other thing you said? You wanna be pinned down and fucked stupid.”

His brazenness makes you laugh because you wanna say yes, scream yes but you steel yourself and argue that, “you couldn’t handle me.” Suddenly it’s a mistake when a sadistic grin pulls at his lips, he intends to spend the next few hours proving you wrong. John cant wait to watch the sunrise as he pounds into your cunt.

[yrbladie]

♡ ﾟ˖ ॱ ▎THE WAY THEY HOLD YOU IN THEIR HEART PT2ㅤ𝅄 🌿 ꒱

˖ ࣪ ayato, xiao, baizhu, wriothesley, al haitham

warnings ：maybe ooc in some parts (mostly al haitham), gn!reader, slight pining, reader is called endearments multiple times, tooth rotting fluff, implied marriage, established relationships, very slight angst in some parts, indirect mentions of death (xiao, baizhu), reader is called beautiful (wriothesley), non fluent writer

ㅤThere you were, standing in the sunlight in all of your glory and your beauty. And he wondered, was life always so bright and cheerful or was it just because now he had you?

ㅤAyato fell in love with you for the first time during spring. The flowers bloomed so beautifully as they flew onto your hair, and he wished for nothing more than to be the one to pluck each of the petals gently from you, with every petal a kiss.

ㅤThe second time he fell for you was during a warm rainy day in summer. As he watched you hiding from the rain in a store, your hair was already soaked. There, he spoke with you for the first time ever.

ㅤHis first words to you were, "You'll catch a cold like that, dear.", and the endearment slipped past his lips so easily like it was already your name.

ㅤHe even started to wonder if your name had always been written right besides his in the sky. Always destined to meet somehow someday. Like the gods had taken pity on him and sent you to ease his burdens.

ㅤThe third, and last, time he fell for you was the most impacting for him. It was on a lonely night during winter, when you still looked like spring itself while quietly sitting on a bench, warming a freezing dog with your jacket.

ㅤHe could see from where he was standing that you yourself were trembling. Still, you sat on the bench with snow covering your hair while hugging the dog to your chest, pouring all of your wishes for it to be well.

ㅤOn that starlit night, it was like something pushed him to approach you again. Offering his two hands to carry the poor dog to his house. It was everything he could do for now, but as you settled down on the floor of his house, a warm blanket enveloping you and the dog wagging his tail now by your side, he thought of how well you looked right there.

ㅤIt was like his home was always supposed to be your home, ever since the start.

ㅤNow, he could barely remember the days he hadn't met you yet, shouldering the rain and the thunder in his life by himself. Could barely remember the days where all he did was work so that his family could have a better future. He focused on paperwork so much he forgot to learn about anything else. Even the most basic things like love.

ㅤAyato had always thought to himself that love had to come with a price. That love had to hurt even if a little, that it would be troublesome and destructive. That it would eat away at his everything and destroy his being starting from his heart. That love would burn and make him bleed, leaving only the scars when it left.

ㅤSo at first he didn't want to fall for you, except spring came again and at every sunrise your name was still upon his lips.

ㅤAnd contrary to his first conception of what loving meant, your love was peacefully kind. Like the gentle warm winds of summer that brought the smell of the ocean with it. It was calming, and instead of burning him, it was more like water, nurturing his being and planting flowers in his soul by the day.

ㅤAnd Ayato could slowly feel it, the inevitable sense of belonging to each other.

ㅤYour love for each other was much like that. Sometimes loud with laughter and bright smiles, other times it was quiet with the held hands and shared glances.

ㅤHe always told you "I'll give you one last chance to run away from here before you get stuck with me forever, my love." and you knew that if you truly asked him that, if you really didn't want to stay by his side anymore, Ayato would always let you go, because he loved you that much, that your happiness and freedom mattered more than anything else in the world to him.

ㅤInstead you would tell him, "Then you should get used to me, because I'm not going anywhere, darling." and he would grin so widely like he knew you were going to say that.

ㅤBefore, he was drowning in the things he had to do. Always having to be one step ahead of everyone, always keeping to himself. And he's glad he was able to meet you before it was too late, because he realized you were everything he ever needed.

ㅤJust you being part of his small, little family.

ㅤEvery time your birthday came up, Ayato tried something new. Last year it was a bouquet of flowers he cultivated himself, instead, all the flowers he tried to plant wilted before they could even bloom. This year it was supposed to be a homemade dinner, but all he managed to do was get kicked out of the kitchen by Thoma without a single plate of edible food.

ㅤ"I'm so sorry, my beloved. You have such an incompetent husband." He laughed quietly while sighing to himself.

ㅤ"Oh, don't say that. You just don't have the aptitude for... certain things, is all." You held your tongue before you ended up saying that he didn't have the aptitude for most things, instead.

ㅤAyato caught on to what you meant but instead of replying he simply grinned at your attempt to comfort him somehow. Even though you knew he was perfectly okay.

ㅤ"Then why don't you teach me, my love? I'm sure I would learn lots with such an incredible teacher such as yourself." And you knew he was teasing you, perhaps it was just an excuse to spend more time by your side and less time doing his job.

ㅤBut you also could read the subtleties behind his light hearted words and joking tone.

ㅤHe missed you a lot.

ㅤBeing always busy with his work, he often expressed his sorrow at not being able to always be there for you when needed. The last drop to the storm was when you had gotten sick last time and it only got to his knowledge by a letter sent from Thoma that already had been taking care of you for the past week.

ㅤHe rushed home at that only to find out that you were already almost completely healed. And he wondered how could he have let you slip past his priorities so easily.

ㅤYou knew Ayato felt guilty, by the way he caressed your skin, a touch lighter than a feather while he thought you were already sleeping, and the longing kiss that he would leave at your nape before snuggling closer to your body, his arms enveloping you as if he wanted to shield you from the world.

ㅤYou never really blamed him for anything. You knew what you were compromising for when you accepted his marriage proposal with the happiest of hearts. The proposal that Ayato until this day joked you only accepted out of pity for his sopping wet cat look outside of your doorstep on a rainy night. So many things had went wrong that day that led up to it, but he still called it the most joyful day of his life.

ㅤAnd you would tell him that you accepted him wholeheartedly because you loved him. It didn't matter to you whether he was a pitiful cat in a storm or the Yashiro Commissioner. And you knew you would never regret your decision as you stared at him now trying to conceal the hopeful glee in his eyes. Those beautiful eyes that carried so much emotion sometimes were the exact reason you fell for him at first.

ㅤSo, you just gently tap him in the nose while smiling, "Really now? I'll teach you if you promise you'll be a good student."

ㅤ"Of course. Don't worry, I'll be the best." he replied back, taking the hand you used to touch his nose to kiss your open palm before pressing his cheek onto it. He did it so lovingly it made your heart leap out of your chest.

ㅤHis eyes were filled with tenderness and you knew you were the only thing in his mind now.

ㅤThe flowers faint fragrance lightly pick at your nose as you see Ayato gently closing his eyes to lean onto you, his blue hair softly swaying in the breeze prompting you to raise your other free hand to stroke it affectionately. As you felt him leaning more and more into your body, until you were both intertwined in a tender and gentle embrace, you couldn't help but love him even more.

ㅤHe was a little insufferable sometimes, yes, and sure, he didn't know how to cook or how to take care of flowers, but he was still your little mess of a husband at the end of the day. For as long as you could hold him in your embrace.

ㅤAnd for as long as your love for each other still persevered, and just like in your vows, until the moon fell, forever.

ㅤXiao was the type of lover that one had to take time to understand his hidden intentions with certain actions. He wasn't exactly open to every single experience nor did he feel comfortable at first with many things, so you took your time to unravel his feelings and to nurture his love for you.

ㅤIn the way you would always catch his eyes watching you from afar in a mountain while you went about your way with your shopping, and even when he said he wouldn't accompany you this time he was always there by your side to carry the groceries in an instant.

ㅤIn the gifts left by your bedside table, and the protective talismans you would find inside your bag. It was subtle, in the slow and hesitant way Xiao started to open up to you.

ㅤAnd you could know the extent of his love for you when after a long night, when you laid by yourself on the bed, before you could even fully close your eyes Xiao was already there.

ㅤ"Sleep. I'll watch over your safety", he would say. Even for a minute you wished for his tranquility, that he would lay beside you, but you also knew Xiao was not one you should hurry on these issues. He had been lonely for a long time and all you wanted was for him to take how much time he needed to accept reality.

ㅤYou were fluent in silence and in his quiet presence, after all.

ㅤStill, one night, you stayed up a little bit later, your eyes still closed and your breathing calm despite being awake. You could feel and hear as the adeptus approached your supposedly slumbering figure to tenderly touch your cheek, his touch timid and unsure, like he was scared that even something like that could hurt you.

ㅤ"I'm sorry.", you thought you heard him say at that moment although his whisper was almost inaudible. Your heart hurt and instead of waiting, you hugged him on that night, no words being exchanged between you.

ㅤAll you heard was his mumbled gasp before he finally relaxed on your touch, awkwardly patting your back while leaning his head slightly on your neck, his hair tickling your cheek.

ㅤYou don't exactly know what he was apologizing for, but you decided not to press further and just let him embrace you. Although you had a faint idea of what was on his mind.

ㅤXiao was someone prone to blame himself for things that were outside of his responsibility. He blamed himself when you tripped on the street and he wasn't quick enough to catch you before your knee hit the ground. He blamed himself for falling in love with you and for allowing you to fall in love with him. In his mind, he probably still thought that everything around him was destined to perish one day, and that he was cursed to forever wander alone, his immortality like a tight chain holding him against himself.

ㅤSo on that night, you didn't let him go as usual, and he also didn't try to leave either. That was how he thanked you for your love that night, with his touch that, although ticklish and clumsy, made you feel so loved by this adeptus that had such a big heart but that was often misunderstood.

ㅤFor you, he wasn't the scary guardian of the mountains, nor the Conqueror of Demons, or the noble adeptus. He was simply Xiao, with his wounded heart and fallen shoulders bearing the responsibility of eons of loneliness and pain.

ㅤThe one that would shyly accept your hand as you guided him through streets filled with lanterns and the smell of food. The one who would go above and beyond if only to ensure your safety and happiness.

ㅤHis every little smile was stored in your heart and mind as your fondest memories, and his love for you was as gentle as a feather's touch.

ㅤXiao remembers the first time he met you, it was during the Lantern Festival, and while everyone was enjoying themselves you were by yourself, folding paper with a lonely plate of food by your side. He watched for a while, curiously. Although alone, you didn't seem sad. In fact, you were smiling and happily humming to yourself.

ㅤHe didn't know why, but he felt entranced and approached you slowly, not making contact with you since he didn't want to scare that peaceful moment away. Yet, you turned to him and your smile somehow got even brighter, as if you had been waiting for him for a long time.

ㅤAfter that, you never once left his life.

ㅤFor him, you were his weakness, but also all the source of his strength. You were a mere mortal, your fragile body could barely stand the force of wind itself. And that was one of the reasons that for a long while made him want to keep his distance, but with every smile, every laugh, wave from afar, and plates of Almond Tofu left on the railing from you, just made him want to get closer.

ㅤAnd you fit him so perfectly. In the way you weren't scared of his demons and instead trusted him with all your heart, never failing to still surprise him. In the way you never stood for defeat, always kept trying and also gave him many chances.

ㅤXiao learnt to enjoy life a bit more, to smile a tad bit more often beside you, and he was still amazed at how much he could still learn new things every day with how long he already has lived.

ㅤYou smiled each time he got angry while fretting over your safety, he hated it but he could never take it too seriously for so long. All he could do was protect you as long as he lived, while not wanting to know about how fleeting your life would be.

ㅤXiao knew your time together would flow past him in a second, but allow him to be selfish, even if for just a while, and keep you by his side for a while longer. Just a minute more, just one more eternity.

ㅤIf he could choose, he would choose you in all lives, in all the universes you always spoke about that you believed existed. If they really do, allow him to follow you into all of them. Even if it takes everything out of him.

ㅤHe just doesn't want to lose you too. So, just love him until the stars call your name back to them, and even then, don't forget him. Call his name again, once more.

ㅤAnd he promises you, he'll find you, no matter where you are.

ㅤAt first, Baizhu thought that he definitely shouldn't fall for you, no matter what. There was many more things far more important than a simple chemical reaction of the brain. It would eventually go away if he just focused on something else.

ㅤInstead, the feeling only grew, like roses wrapping itself around his heart, it's thorns picking at his body each time he saw you, standing by yourself from afar.

ㅤIt was to the point even Changsheng started to complain, the doctor's brain seeming to fog up at every moment, his every thought showed him you. Every word that came out of his mouth when alone were words about you.

ㅤEvery time you two interacted was like a new rose bloomed in his chest, a newfound hope of a better tomorrow. With each of your smiles he felt like he could live for a minute more. Your presence was healing and like a breath of fresh air in his tight schedule.

ㅤEvery encounter became longer and longer, until you decided to stay and never really left. Until his things became yours, and now there was a space for your clothes in his closet. Until he could kiss at your hair anytime he wished to and none of you flinched at the contact anymore, for it was never accidental now.

ㅤBaizhu found himself starting to look at another path to follow besides the one that laid before him all his life. Baizhu biggest desire was to search immortality, but now, he sometimes had the foolish thought of what would immortality mean if he lost you in the end?

ㅤIt was a short path, but it had you. Holding his hand for as long he had left. And he wondered, was it worth it? But how could he hope to be this selfish?

ㅤSo he found himself at an impasse, stuck at a crossroads, where none of the paths ended in happiness.

ㅤChoosing immortality, he eventually would see you pass before him, your life going away at a minute's time for him. While choosing you, he would forfeit all chances to save so many more people. And also possibly cursing you to be without him in the end.

ㅤIt was an impossible choice that hung heavily over his heart. But all you did was smile while remaking the braid in his hair, your fingers still as gentle as ever even with the pass of years.

ㅤAnd you would tell him, your voice only but a whisper, "Dear, no matter what, I'll love you to the end."

ㅤAnd he believed you. For you was one of the last things he had that he truly loved in this life.

ㅤTime was oh so cruel, withering away things before they could even breathe properly. Taking things without permission and always leaving with no apologies.

ㅤBut time was also the one who brought you to him, and also the one that seemed to stop, even if for a little while every time he saw you smile.

ㅤAnd Baizhu realized, it didn't matter if it was only in an ephemeral life, or the flow of a thousand lifetimes. He would still love you in the end. To the end, and even after that.

ㅤThe doctor would eventually have to choose between you and the undeniable fate. But for now, allow him to be oblivious. To dream of something he never dared to, a tomorrow that had you in this little life together. Of a family.

ㅤAllow him to hold you closer, until you're engraved in his entire being. So that no matter what happens in this future, he'll always know how your love tasted. And how it was to love your thoughts, and the way you softly spoke his name, to ache for your presence and wish to be by your side.

ㅤSo that he never forget how your hands felt while caressing his face and his back when he got tired and sick. How it felt to finally be taken care of, after years of lonesomeness. That he never forgets how you looked like when you smiled whenever he woke you up with breakfast in bed, or how your hair smelled after the shower.

ㅤBaizhu knew either way his time was running out, and that even forever doesn't last long. But he figured it would be fine, because getting to meet and love you was worth it all. So allow him to offer you his last breath of life before the end.

ㅤThus was eternity, an everlasting feeling.

ㅤWriothesley had met you so long ago, even before he knew what the Fortress of Meropide was. Before, when his life was more full of life and starry skies. And he still remembers how you looked, your smile with a few teeth missing, and the way your knees were always bruised.

ㅤAnd he also remembers when everything fell apart. The day you slowly changed, when you felt like growing up faster, and time took away your innocence far too quickly.

ㅤWhen your smile disappeared and all there was left were apologetic looks from afar and your presence vanishing from his life.

ㅤIt started there, and thus his life was over in a blink. And he was stuck in the Fortress, no more than a teenager.

ㅤWriothesley also grew up after that, your face slightly fading out between memories and responsibilities.

ㅤUntil, he was met with sunshine one day again. When his body was weary and fallen. The first time the Duke ever fell sick, it was then he saw you again. A dreamlike presence between his fever thoughts.

ㅤYou looked older now, but you were still as beautiful as the day he saw you last.

ㅤThe last thing he heard before passing out was your voice, telling him to sleep a bit. And he thought, "What an idyllic dream."

ㅤBut you were still there when he awoke again and it took his breath away in an instant, still thinking that maybe now he was hallucinating. And it took you the longest time to explain that you were working in the Fortress now.

ㅤSometimes, Wriothesley would still suddenly ask you, "Why here?" and to that you would say, "Just because.", but you knew and he also knew that deep down, it was for him.

ㅤHe couldn't help the way his heart still fluttered like that of a teen experiencing his first love, just at the thought of you. He couldn't help but think the Fortress looked a tiny bit more bright with your presence there. That his life was replenished with so much tranquility.

ㅤAnd he would forever cherish every word you said to him.

ㅤHe was so stupidly in love with you, he knew. And probably had been for the longest time now.

ㅤAnd it didn't take long for the love between you both to flourish, and everyone would be a fool to say now that in the murky and damp Fortress of Meropide no flowers could bloom.

ㅤHis infatuation for you was like the gentlestest of lullabies, and the way he cherished you filled your heart to the brim until it overflowed. And no matter how much it spilled, you never minded it too much.

ㅤYou both had lost so much to the ebb and flow of time, and had sacrificed so much to arrive where you are now. So, for today, and the days that'll still come, you allow each other to this serendipity.

ㅤDancing under the faint lights and the seawater smell, while staring into a vast ocean through the giant window. To Wriothesley it was like watching an endless sunset by your side, even though there was no sun to be seen. None of you was especially skilled in dancing, your arms intertwined in all the wrong ways and your legs kept getting tangled up. But still, you remained joined in this messy dance.

ㅤWriothesley felt at peace whilst listening to the calm beating of your heart, and you eased up while hearing his relaxed breathing.

ㅤThe sound of your loud giggles filled the hall with happiness, and the faint music coming from the speakers was all that could be heard for now. And all the guards knew to keep to themselves and not approach that place, not to break the dome that seemed to envelop you both, like your love for each other was an entirely different reality.

ㅤStill, they smiled between themselves. Their boss, the ever so collected Duke, finally the happiest he could be. And they had no one to thank but you for it.

ㅤAnd if Wriothesley knew what they all thought and whispered among themselves, he would agree. For you had brought back his soul from the pit not even he knew it had fallen to. He entrusted his heart wholeheartedly to you, and he would do it a thousand times again.

ㅤSo break his heart a million times, and he would still look at you with a smile on his face and tell you, "Thank you, sunshine."

ㅤAnd if you choose to love him back with all you have, oh be prepared, for he will definitely, without a doubt, never let go of your hand again.

ㅤAnd to you, he wishes to be forever bound. For forever is contained in even a minute and your souls were akin.

ㅤLove was something that made people irrational and out of their minds. That's what Al Haitham thought. So why, why was he constantly thinking about you and felt like he was finally out of the darkness, like a blind man trying to follow the sound of a beating heart. And your heart out of all.

ㅤAl Haitham hated fate more than anything, for if it existed, it meant the choices humans made were all already prescribed somewhere like a finished book with no room for change. Although he didn't really mind living a life like that, he also couldn't help but sometimes feel a bit rebellious.

ㅤBecause there was simply no way to explain the way you were always within the vicinity, no matter where he went to escape from this wretched play and relax, besides fate itself acting. You, and your dense smiles and thoughtless words.

ㅤHe held no hostility towards you, he told Kaveh one day, to which the blonde man could only but sigh in despair and exasperation.

ㅤ“Yes, yes, sure. Whatever you say! Not like you're just feeling this way because you can't understand them like you wished.”

ㅤThat made Al Haitham stop and think for a while. Was that really the real reason that seeing you and talking to you ignited such a flame in his heart? That he simply wished to understand why you had such innocent ways to see the world?

ㅤThe Scribe was known to be a blunt man, someone no one ever wished to cross paths on a normal happy day. But why, he just couldn't seem to want to break your worldview, and he could never say any harsh words to you. The shine in your eyes always stopped him before he could even open his mouth.

ㅤAnd before he even realized, he would get himself staring at you one too many times in silence, while you waited for his opinion on some book you had read. He would do things he never would before merely because you mentioned you liked them.

ㅤ“I like this brand of tea from Fontaine very much! It is very sweet.” Al Haitham remembered what you said one day while sitting by his side in the library, while he was pretending to read again.

ㅤ“It's bitter…” What was even wrong with your taste buds after all?

ㅤHe now could only stare at the romance books piling up on his desk, and the way you seemed to be scribbled on all of the sentences there. Your heart was ascribed to him in all his favorite pages and you were written with all his favorite words.

ㅤWhat was special about you and what made you different from others? He wasn't so sure, but at the same time he dared to say he didn't care.

ㅤHe even sometimes would write his name along yours before catching himself and wondering if he was going insane. And now, he could just smile helplessly.

ㅤIt was a wonder to everyone how sudden Al Haitham seemed to change, not knowing how much he had mulled over it before. The fact he loved you was something he eventually had to come to terms with, and once done, it was quite easy to go on.

ㅤIf someone told him before that one day he would fall this hard for someone, to the point that their presence would be like an apricity in his life and the panacea to all his woes, he would've scoffed at them.

ㅤHow foolish. He thought, but he still allowed you to intertwine your arm with his while strolling around the city. He still stroked your face with gentleness whenever he was close to you, still twirled your hair in his fingers when he got bored from his paperwork, while you sat by his side, involved in your own work.

ㅤEven so, Al Haitham didn't mind it at all. In fact, if fate gave him a chance to go back, he would do everything the same way again for it led to you. He didn't mind the looks people gave him after seeing his love for you, for even before he was already a lunatic. So may he be even more of a lunatic for you.

ㅤIndeed, fate didn't seem all that bad after a while. If it allowed you both to stay together for as long as he could, then Al Haitham, and you, didn't mind being entangled on such unexplainable and pointless things.

small extra:

“You're so troublesome, you know?”

He had once again been dragged into one of your shenanigans around the Akademiya, and obviously you had gotten caught. If it wasn't for his position as the Scribe, he could only fathom what would have happened instead.

It definitely wouldn't include you cheerfully walking besides him like this was the happiest day of your life.

“But you still gave me a very long speech about why you love me anyway on that day during my break from studies, remember?” No matter what, your words never failed to make him shut his mouth immediately.

If there was anyone in the world that could win an argument against the Scribe, that would be you.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ《☆》

˖ ࣪ Guys, thank you so so much for the 100 followers and the 1k notes on "when they lose you" post hehe, I never imagined myself getting this far into writing as I have always been quite insecure with the way I write the things that come into my mind but still, THANK YOU!!

also, thank you for reading this too 💗

[highhhfiveee]

please i need some dubcon mike schmidt ..,,, like he picks up drunk reader from a party n takes her home n fucks her throat ..,,, ‘you’re so easy to control when you’re all stupid like this’ ..,,, she’s got tears streaming down her face n she’s clawing at his thighs but he just holds her head in place n strokes her hair n tells her how good she’s making him feel ,,

okay okay okay. shiver me fuckin timbers lmaoooo. this is so brothersbestfriend!mike. switched it up a little but i hope you still enjoy! [had this set to post at 12 but tumblr failed me lmao]

sangria

pairing: brothersbestfriend!mike schmidt x blackfem!reader wc: 4k tags: brothersbestfriend!mike, fem!reader, intimate touching, choking, wild dick sucking, deep throating, spitplay, degradation, dubcon (reader is plastered, and while she does consent to be taken advantage of, she is still under the influence); mike is such a protector and i'm starting to think that this is megasub!reader x protector!mike in addition to bbf! [let me know if i missed anything + this has been proofread but there’s always still a chance for mistakes lmao]

link to the original fic, mimosa, here 🍹, and the first part of the finale here, tequila sunrise, here 🍸

okay, so maybeeeeeee you two didn't actually get caught that day.

you’re panting in each other’s faces as you come, clean yourselves off, and exit the shed like your brother's best friend hadn't made you squirt all over the garden tools and pool supplies.

the feeling of mike's come pooling in your bikini bottoms makes you tingly all over again, and you're squirming while you both ease your way back into the fold of cookout attendees, diverting into separate paths so no one can catch onto your attachment; clandestine and kept between the eyes, lips, and bodies of you two only.

you'd wished mike nothing but hell while you were away at school, doing anything you could to get the thought of him out of your head. even though you'd been the one to catch feelings, you never wanted him to have any part of you ever again, restricting him from you.

you'd wanted him erased from the entire galaxy then, but from the cookout forward, nothing excited you more than the thought of being mike’s plaything. you snuck around with him more than you should've; giving him handjobs in the backseat of his car, letting him eat you out in your bedroom with the door open---risky things that made your heart pound with adrenaline and need, a rush to the very end.

you could only get that feeling with mike. it made you sick to your stomach with taboo butterflies, fantasizing about all the ways he could have you thrashing, eyes rolling back, toes curled until your feet cramped.

he'd hooked you on him once again, and this time, he'd decided to go with the flow. he wasn't pursuing anything with anyone else, and feelings had begun to bloom in him. nothing like love, he'd told himself (even though your flirty smile made his heart palpitate before making his dick hard), but like...safeguarding.

you were young, unversed with life, vulnerable; mike could see people taking advantage of you, mistaking your soft, impish act for total naivete. even though he'd hurt you himself, he'd never allow anyone else to treat you that way, or put you in a situation to harm you. there was this urge in him to keep you safe, keep you protected from the mean world that ate girls like you for breakfast.

mukrrrrrrrrrrrr

molwwwwwwwwww

gahdmn i cant tYpe LoL

exhibit a.

y/n are you drunk

….

………..

…………………………….

y/n

4 F R E E dwinks

downnnnnnnnn thw hATCH

pArTyz rool xp

mike's about to ask about your location when your picture floods his screen, phone vibrating in his hand with a call. he answers it with a displeased, "where are you?

"she’s at 8203 harrington circle," someone yells over loud, bass-riddled music and scattered conversations. mike hopes it's a friend of yours, and not a complete stranger. “she was fine, but i think that fourth drink tipped her over!"

mike's been putting on clothes and grabbing for his keys and wallet since your first text message, already sulking to his car as your friend finishes her statement. "stay with her and keep her upright, i'll be there in fifteen."

he can't get rid of the deep scowl etched on his face while he drives, both hands clasped tensely on his wheel at ten and two. he wants you to have fun, of course. he isn't going to tell you not to go to parties, or not to drink---you’re your own person, and he has no right to tell you what you could and couldn't do, but something about you utterly hammered around so many people you probably don't know makes his heart pound against his ribcage with agitation.

harrington circle was a street on a state school campus, one that you'd opted not to go to all that time ago. maybe you'd known some people there, but mike was sure you didn't know your way around, where to go if something went wrong...

he pulls up to a tall, red brick house smack dab in the middle of a cul-de-sac, immediately throwing his car in park and exiting when he sees two girls walking alongside a guy carrying you out the front doorway. he has his hands hooked under your armpits, pushing your boobs together and "covertly" staring at your amplified cleavage as he leads you down the short stone path.

your head lulls back a little, and you're smiling up at the sky with your eyes closed and your cheeks flushed to death. your legs drag under you, and mike's quick to grab for your waist, removing you from that perv's grasp with haste and a grimace.

you droop into him, body leaden with alcohol, and he slides one arm under the back of your knees, bending his own to lift you into a bridal style hold.

you squeal as he turns away from the house, throwing your arms around his neck and dreamily sighing at the way his hands feel carrying you, strong and vigilant and possessive. "mikeeeeeee," you mewl, pulling yourself into him so you can nudge at the column of his throat. your words are slurred almost beyond comprehension, and he commands one of the girls to open the passenger door so he can ease you inside.

he sets you down in the seat, or at least tries to, whispering, "let me go" when you keep your arms wrapped around him. the position has him hunched over, and it hurts his back so badly, but you whimper, "nooooo, want you close" while nearly making him trip and fall across you, splaying his entire body over yours. he smells so good, all warm and musky and mike, and you don’t want to separate from him.

"y/n, please. i wanna get you home," he reaches back to wrench your arms off of him, placing them in your lap and closing the door before you can complain. he walks around the front to the driver's side, monotonously thanking the girl who'd helped you as he grumpily enters the car.

he grabs for your seat belt, stretching it across your torso as he does his own and drives away from the annoyingly illuminated house and party commotion in silence.

you're so gone, but even drunk, it's unsettling to you how quiet mike is, keeping his eyes focused on the road without a hint of a glance or a word to you. his jaw is clenched deeply, and he's stiff as a board against his seat, so opposite from his usual sullen, suave nonchalance. you frown at him, fingering with your strappy, well-tied sandals. "hey, grumpy,"

"not grumpy," you huff at his tone, sour and unwavering, and wiggle your toes as you finally free them from the entrapment of footwear. "i'm fine."

"you've gotten very, very bad at lying," you demur. your head slacks again, but this time against your headrest. you ogle mike through the film in your eyes, digging your teeth into your bottom lip. "mad at me?"

mike writhes in his seat, his jaw muscles flexing at your coy lilt. you know how to manipulate him with your words, sweetening them in just a way that would have mike bending to your will. the way you're gazing at him with your big, unfocused eyes makes him makes him press down on the gas a bit harder.

"i'm not mad," he mutters, all pseudo-nonconfrontational and collected, but you know that he's not telling the truth. something about the circumstances bothers him, and you want to know why. the car comes to a stop at a red light, mike shaking his head as he scrunches his face and rubs his eye with a knuckle. "forget about it."

"i won't. don't like me having fun without you?" he doesn't answer, staring ahead at the empty streets around the two of you. it was so late, nearly 2 am, and it only fuels the exasperation he feels burning in his stomach. he doesn’t like you out here like this, without him to keep you out of harm’s way.

"is it the drinking?" you pout, frustrated with the way he's ignoring you. "i admit, maybe four drinks was overkill, but i feel sooooo good. my body feels like..." you make a subtle buzzing noise, similar to tv static, and cut it off with a giggle, reaching over for one of mike's hands while the light turns green.

you inch it towards your lap, dragging it across the skin of your thigh that skims the end of your skirt, mini and gold and matching with the white corset top you wore. "you should feel."

"y/n..."

"c'mon mike," you pout again, dipping his hand between your opened legs. you let out an astounded moan when his cold fingertips connect with your bare clit, and now he's scowling at the fact that you’re not wearing any panties. he thinks about how many people would keep note of that, combined with your docile, inebriated state, and see it as a way in. it’s clear, with how those drinks have you begging him to ease his fingers into you, caressing your tight, warm walls so he can add another check to "car" on the list of places he's made you squirt. “don't want you to be mad at me anymore."

"i'm not mad at you, y/n," he finally says, fingers still against your skin. you're soaking his seats, the excess of your slick dripping down to the cloth, and he has to pull himself out of thinking about someone else feeling you in this way. his eyes stay low on the road as he continues, "did you know anyone at that party?"

"mhm, like one person." mike sighs, a low grumble in his throat. he pulls his hand away from you, putting all of his attention on driving so he can get home. he just wants you inside, away from the world and in his charge. he doesn't say anything for a long while, eventually taking a deep breath and mumbling, "just want you safe, y/n. i'm glad you called me to come get you. there are bad people out there, and i don’t trust them in situations like this.”

"yeah," you purr, leaning against the center console and resting your head on the side of his seat. "you're my knight in shining armor, hmm? keeping me away from all the bad bad people looking to destroy messed up princesses like me?"

mike side eyes your tone, nearly scolding you for treating it like a joke and not something that could actually happen.

"...that's one way to put it, but seriously—-“

"wanna be destroyed though," you interrupt, unbuckling your seatbelt once he cuts the car off in the driveway. he’s turning to you, dark eyes gazing towards your pouted lips. you're reaching your hand across his lap, massaging it over the press of him in his sweatpants. “especially by you. wanna be your little fucktoy. let you use my messy holes however you want because they're yours."

your filthy mouth and shameless confession have mike turned on and hard and thinking about how you've called your holes his. he's seeing you bent over the couch, stuffed to the hilt with his fingers pressed against your tongue while he smirks down on you, veins coursing with lust. he squeezes at your hand, and says,

"let's get you inside, okay? then we can talk more about my messy fucking holes."

you're dizzy, giving him a big, woozy smile and letting all the craving you feel inside pour out through your glazed over eyes when he swoops you up again, carrying you and your shoes to his front door. your arms are back around his neck, and you're placing soft kisses on his lips, jaw, and chin as he drops your shoes by the entrance and carries you all the way to the couch, settling his body into one of the corners.

you're adjusting yourself on him so your bare mound drips over his thighs, and he's got his hands around your hips again, digging his fingers into your flesh as you mindlessly grind against him. you're still kissing against his lips, so uncoordinated and sloppy, and he pulls on the wispy strands at the nape of your neck, disconnecting you from him so he can leer at you with a look that tells you he will be destroying you tonight, guaranteed. "no panties was really bold of you, baby."

"can’t have panty lines in this skirt," you frown, placing your hands on mike's shoulders for leverage to move on him a bit harsher, eventually grazing them over his back and arms as you do. "not cute."

"but it's really not cute for you to have my holes on display for anyone to have, especially not when you're like this."

"mikey, please,” you coo, hunching down to press wet, suctioned kisses on mike's bare neck and rolling your hips into the weight of him. he feels so good against you, and you're aching, the alcohol sending shocks to your clit with every second of friction. "want you in me or something. no more talking, just use—-.”

"aht, don't rush me. trying to get you to understa---" one of your hands goes from roaming his shoulderblades to placing pressure around his throat, shocking him stiff against the back of the couch.

he doesn't think anyone has ever choked him before, and while his eyes burn at you with frenzied astonishment, you're causing him to have a revelation. his dick pulses against the material of his sweatpants at the feeling of your dainty hand squeezing his throat, and he's reaching to grab your wrist and bring your hand down before he comes all quick like he’s 18 again. you stop him with your other hand, coming in close to his face.

there's such a ferocity in your stare, and he knows that you're not going to let him lecture you all night. you need him to fuck you, need him to do something with you and your drunken arousal.

"are you really gonna keep talking, or would you rather just fuck my throat?" you slide your arms down his back, lips placed by his ear as you whisper, "show me how depraved people really can be when i'm like this."

he knows it's sick, but it doesn't take much past that for mike to have you on all fours beside him on the couch, back arched into a 45 degree angle as you drool all over his lap. you're begging for it, whining about how good he feels in your mouth, and he doesn't want to miss an opportunity to give you something you want, even though you're in this state. he's glad that it's him using you in this scenario, and not someone genuinely looking to hurt you. it's his rationale for giving in to your immoral desires.

you pull away from your mess with a sharp inhale, your jaw trembling as you sit up and give mike an eager, spit-slick smile. your eyes are even more distant than before, and it's almost like you’ve checked out. mike can see all the brashness and attitude you give him on the regular is gone, currently replaced with servitude and the intent to please, nothing less.

"wanna feel you ruin my throat, mike," you rasp, grabbing his dick in your hand and stroking at the soft skin, suckling on his tip as you flash him the hunger you feel inside through a grin. "please."

he's silent, having a quarrel with himself as he takes in your blank, mindless expression. it’s so wrong of him, but you look so pretty like this, and he reaches out to hold your cheek as you pout at him again.

"pleaseeeeee," you whine, tears nearly welling in your eyes. "want you to wreck me, use me however you wanttttt. gonna be your obedient, drunk little whore, do whatever you ask."

mike loses all resolve then, and demands you to drop to your knees in between his own. you're quick to assume the position, letting him put one hand on the back of your head and feed his dick into your throat.

"shouldn't like this," mike mutters, wrapping your hair up into a ponytail with both of his hands, watching you rub his dick over your face after slipping it from your mouth to spit on it. he almost can't take you like this, spacey and pliant and all his to destroy. so drunk and willing and--- "shouldn't let me take advantage of you like this."

your face is stained with tears and spit, streaks of dried liquid overlaying your burning cheeks and swollen lips. the neckline of your top is soaked too, saliva glistening on your chest.

"maybe i wanted it," you muse, winking leisurely as you wrap both of your slim hands around his base, smirking up at him. "maybeeeeeee i went and got plastered cause i knew you’d come get me if i called," you're feeding him into your mouth again, and without warning, mike is holding your head stationary, shoving his hips up into your warm mouth while you gulp every time he hits the opening to your throat. of course you'd do something like this. your admittance makes mike feel a plethora of things, good, bad, ugly, but right now, all he's focused on is making you feel like the toy you wanted to be.

"you're a fucking slut, y/n," he hisses with gritted teeth, throwing his head back as he feels you open up for him, allowing him to raise his hips and sink further into you.

the muscles of your throat flutter around his length, and it makes his toes curl, tangling together in his socks. "only sluts go to a party to get drunk so they can be turned into pretty little fuckdolls later...like being fucking mindless for me, huh?"

"love it, mike," you whimper, laying your tongue flat so his dick can slip in and out of your mouth with less resistance. it's covered in thick spit, a droplet resting on the tip, and mike leans down to collect all of it in his own mouth with a sloppy, obscene kiss, before releasing it all over his pelvis with a groan.

it was a fucking mess, and he loved it. he knew you loved it like this too, and your enjoyment of the raunchiness is reflected in the way you patiently wait for him to plunge his dick in you, eyes twinkling with everything and nothing at the same time.

your hand is moving under your dress, fingers stroking along your sodden walls, but he doesn't care; not when your eyes are rolling back into your skull as his dick infiltrates your throat again, filling the room with a persistent gluckgluckgluck as he rhythmically slams your face into his base.

you're sure you'll have no voice after this, but fuck, will it be worth it. you're basking in every second of this, so happy you decided to go out tonight. you were unexperienced in some ways, but you knew how to get to people, or at least to mike. you could get him to do whatever you wanted under the guise of him being in control, and all it took was a bit of sweetening with your voice, a flutter of your eyelashes and a crooked, "innocent" smile for mike to be wound your finger, abusing your face in a way you shouldn’t have dreamt of. you're running out of breath, and your fingers dig into his thighs with the message, but he ignores you, gripping your hair so that your mouth gently snaps up around him every time he pulls his hips back. the sensation is godly, and mike's not sure if he deserves this really. you'd fallen so hard for him at one point, and he'd crushed your hope to be with him under his thumb, but now you're here, letting him have you like this despite those memories. he's lucky, for whatever force is keeping you in his orbit.

"letting me do this to you while you're fucked up...letting some older guy take your throat like you're just free use...you're not getting into heaven," you laugh around him, forming your mouth into a makeshift smile as he slowly slides you off of him, overstimulated by the ridges of your throat muscles clinging to him. he doesn't want to come on your face, not this time. he wants you to beg for him to come in you, for him to fill you until you're overflowing, leaking down your thighs while he gives you more and more and more and more...

"i know," you mewl, pretty face smeared with saliva and pre-come. "i'll be in hell with you. wouldn't have it any other way." mike sits up, thumbing at your bottom lip and hissing as you unhinge your jaw and suck the tip of it inside. your eyes are getting dimmer by the second, but you're still wanting everything mike can give you.

he won't stop until you say so, and he strangely finds himself buzzing with lust at the thought of you bossing him around for his pleasure and yours. how had you gotten in his head like this?

"go in my room and strip, baby. sit in the middle of the bed and don't move." you're on your feet in a flash, clumsily dashing down the short hall without a look back.

it gives him time to get some towels, a washcloth to clean your face up, some lube, and grab waters for the both of you, thinking about all the ways he's gonna contort you. he might even make you watch in the mirror, make you take in your glassy eyes and lack of autonomy, the way you're letting him, your brother's best friend, have you in such an obscene way.

he cracks the door open with all the items in hand, and scoffs when he sees you naked, but stretched out on the bed, mouth hanging open with soft snores.

he walks over to the edge, dropping the things he's holding onto the comforter and shaking your shoulder softly. "baby," you lurch awake, murmuring "huh?".

you blink the bleariness out of your eyes as he uses one of the towels he brought to wipe off his drenched groin, and he smirks at you. you two are done for the night, and that's fine with him. something about your small figure, safely sprawled against his sheets has him seeing hearts and stars and rainbows and everything else he's tried so hard to push away.

when he's dry, ditching his shirt and boxers, he leans against his headboard, cradling you in his arms and lap as he begins using the washcloth to wipe at the dried spittle on your face. "here," he announces, cracking open a water bottle and bringing it to your lips, tilting it so you're able to get some water between them without much effort.

you swallow the sips he gives softly, wrapping your arms around his neck again. you loved being skin to skin with him, and right now, you felt tranquility.

this is but a fraction of that 100% he wanted to give, you think. something has changed in him, and now he wants to show you care. he still wants you to need him, need him to keep you protected from the world outside while he corrupts you in his own. you want that, too.

"mmmmmmm, you're so boyfriend," you muse, placing pecks on his collarbones as he continues cleaning you up. he's able to maintain a pokerface towards you, wiping at your cheeks with passive strokes, but inside, he feels nothing but chaos. why does he like hearing you call him boyfriend, like having you in his arms like this? why did it all seem to fill a hole in his heart, one he always thought would stay a cavity?

"really do love you, mike," you add, staring at him full on now. you might as well be sober, with your attentive, doe-like eyes. "tried hard not to, but i do."

you've broken him down, so easily, and somehow, he's giving into you with a deep, irrevocable sigh. he has nothing else to do but finally accept the truth.

"me too, y/n. me too."

this was rough for me to write because my brain just couldn't work properly, so i hope it's not the dogshit i think it is lmao hope this satisfies you anon!

faire's seedlings ✿

@leahdhopkins4321-@pyr0-kai-@angstywhore-@sunazroo-@nyxthoughtss-@mirophobic-@fayethor-@marixsimps-@regretfulme-@ithinkitszeph-@707xn-@cattt777-@violetta-ximena-@amnesia33-@topnerd03-@fastnights-@laprvphette-@savage-aespa-@mfdxz-@0-tatiana-0-@dusstory-@delwrites-@mikeschmidtgf-@jun1p3rlol-@xyzstar-@aquamarine001-@atrociouslybear

[vminizzle]

Hotel room

pairing : husband!jungkook x f.reader

genre : SMUT, fluff

warnings : slight dry humping, penetration, unprotected sex, LOVE MAKING, pet names, marking, they’re cute asf

words count : 1.5k

A/N : hello lovely people, here again I’m posting. I’m sorry if it’s annoying? 💀 well, another husband!jk fic. Please, take care of yourselves everyone. I hope you’ll like this fic. REMINDER: POOR ENGLISH. - sunny

FEEDBACKS ARE VERY VERY WELCOMED

M RATED

“wow! It’s so … fancy!” you gasped excited as you entered the luxurious hotel suite Jungkook booked for the both of you.

You took some days off to spend some time together since you’re always working and seeing each other not so often.

Often meant only when he comes home earlier than usual and eat diner with you. You couldn’t even finish a movie without one of you passing out on the couch from how exhausted you were.

So here you were in this splendid hotel room.

The floor to ceiling windows of this luxury room were one the many things you loved the most.

The idea of admiring the sunrise and sunset made you smiled, such a beautiful sight. Or watch the dark, calm and empty roads of the city at night from your hotel suite situated at the upper floors of the hotel.

The bed was huge, the walls were a pretty shade of dark beige, it made the place kind of warm and especially… romantic by how the deep red roses petals were withered on the bed and the little candles randomly disposed in the room.

Your cheeks heated up as you turned around to look at your husband “Jungkook.” you started softly playing with your fingers.

“that’s so .. beautiful. thank you”.

Your husband scratched the back of his head timidly, his ears turning red as he looked at the bed behind you.

“it’s nothing.” he said shyly.

You smiled looking down.

He cleared his voice as he approached the window.

“it’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

You walked to him looking at the sun ready to disappear behind the tall buildings.

“yes it is.” you replied happily.

“But not as beautiful as you.” he said cheekily.

“oh my god shut up.” you gasped hiding your flustered face behind your hands.

He chuckled taking your hands in his gently “i love you.” he whispered.

“I love you too.” you smiled.

Jungkook bent down slowly, his lips enveloping yours into a soft kiss. His hands found your hips pulling you closer to him.

You cupped his face gently as you smiled into the kiss.

He broke the kiss, caressing your sides.

“I’m happy we can spend time together for more than 5 hours.” he said laughing making you laugh too.

"yea, this week I’ll have the chance to wake up with my husband next to me.” you smiled softly.

He chuckled before pecking your lips. You pulled him back, wanting to kiss him more. You missed him. And so did he.

You threw your arms around his neck as he cupped your cheeks pinning you on the big window gently.

The cold glass made goosebumps raise on your skin.

“Jungkook” you moaned softly.

He hummed pushing his body on yours “baby.. I need you.” he breathed out grinding his crotch on you.

You could feel his growing erection pressed against your lower stomach.

“I need you too.” you admitted as your husband picked you up, his hands under your thighs as you wrapped your legs around his thin waist.

The sun was already saying his goodbye when Jungkook walked to the bed as you kept on kissing each other passionately.

He sat on the edge of the bed, you straddling his lap. Your hands wandered down his neck, fingers playing with the buttons of his shirt.

His hands were resting on your thighs, caressing your soft skin.

You started unbuttoning his shirt impatiently as you broke the kiss breathlessly. Jungkook’s hands were getting higher to the hem of your dress. 

He rose the delicate fabric off your body, throwing it away on the floor, where his shirt was already lying.

“you’re so pretty darling.” Jungkook said biting his bottom lip, his fingertips dancing on your lacy bra.

His lips found your neck, leaving soft kisses on the sensitive skin before sucking on it, his tongue warm against your throat.

“Jungkook” you threw your head back as you started grinding down on him feeling his boner.

You pressed yourself down harder on him trying to feel the little friction you’re looking for. Your husband groaned at the pressure. “you’re driving me crazy baby.”

He switched position, laying you on your back as as he hovered you. The rose petals around you making you look like a goddess to him, so ethereal.

He admired the little marks he left on your neck for a moment before feeling your hands on his belt trying to unbuckle it.

“impatient?” he chuckled as he helped you unbuckle the belt.

He got rid of the rest of his clothes, freeing his painful erection from his confinement. You gulped, feeling these familiar little sparkles in your lower stomach.

Jungkook spread your legs making room for him to lay in-between them.

His fingers caressed their ways up to the hem of your panties pulling of them slightly, a silent request to give him the permission to take it off.

You nodded raising your hips up a bit to help him slide the underwear down your legs. He then bent down, biting lightly on the flesh of your thigh earning a loud moan from you. 

“you sound so good baby.” he whispered as his lips reached your tummy.

“so beautiful for me.“ he hummed as he kept on leaving open mouth kisses up to your collarbones.

You grabbed his face between your hands pulling him in a sweet kiss as he aligned himself at your entrance.

He rubbed the tip of his cock teasingly on your clit making you shiver.

“babe stop teasing.“ you whined.

”may I? “ he asked playfully making you roll your eyes.

“please?” you pursed your lips making him smile.

“don’t have to ask me twice.”

Jungkook entered you slowly, making sure not to hurt you.

You groaned at the painful yet delicious stretch. He checked on you asking if you were ok as he noticed the way you furrowed your eyebrows in an uncomfortable way.

“I’m fine. Please keep going.” you looked up at him smiling at how caring he was.

Jungkook started moving in and out of you slowly, picking up the pace when he saw the way you bit your bottom lip in a way to not make a noise.

“baby let me hear you.” he said, hand cupping your cheek gently as he bent down to put his forehead on yours.

You gripped on his shoulder tightly when he snapped his hips into yours suddenly making you cry out his name. “Fuck! Jungkook!”.

He couldn’t take his eyes off your face. You looked so pretty under him, forehead covered with little beads of sweat, eyes half-open, moaning his name loudly.

He gripped one of your thigh, placing it on his hip as he thrusted into you slowly making sure to feel your warm walls contracting around him everytime he hit your g-spot.

“fuck!! don’t stop! Just right there!”

Your husband bit his bottom lip hard, the flesh turning white. Your fingernails were buried deep into the flesh of his scratched back.

“You feel so good!” He moaned loudly as he felt you tighten around him.

“so warm and f-fuck!”

You threw your head back deep into the pillow as you felt your high coming.

“I’m so near.” you moaned grabbing on his bicep tightly.

“I got you baby.” he kissed your lips, his hand travelling down between your bodies until it reached your bud of nerves.

He drew little circles on your clit with his thumb lazily making you arch your back off the mattress.

You closed your eyes shut as his name left your throat loudly.

The way your walls keep convulsing around him made your husband feel lightheaded as he dropped his head on your chest, his breathing unsteady.

You pulled on his hair as he rode your orgasm.

Jungkook didn’t take much time to come inside you, his warm cum filling you up to the brim.

He collapsed on your sweaty body, his head buried into the crook of his neck.

“wow.” he said breathless after a moment.

“that was .. awesome.” you laughed before sighing pleasantly.

Jungkook looked up at you smiling, caressing your hair gently before picking up the delicate petal tangled in your hair.

He put it on your nose still smiling“what are you doing Kook?” you laughed making the petal fall back on the bed.

“you’re so pretty.” he pecked your lips before nudging his nose with yours.

“I love you.”

”I love you too my love“.

Jungkook laid next to you, your head on his chest, his arms holding you close to him. 

The moonlight lighting up the room was enough to see his features. He was so beautiful.

The sky was adorned with stars, the full moon hidden behind a little cloud.

”this is so beautiful." you said pointing toward the large window.

Your husband hummed. “but not as-”

“ah ah shut up.” you interrupted him before he could finish his flirtatious words. 

Jungkook laughed before agreeing. “yes it’s really beautiful”.

“thank you again babe.” you whispered.

You left a soft kiss on his neck before laying back on his chest. He hugged you tightly, keeping you close to him not wanting to let you go. 

The last thing you heard were his slow heartbeats and his sweet voice telling you how much he loved you.

—

A/N : gosh I love writing soft smut 😩 I’m so sorry I’m kinda romantic sometimes 😭 anyways, husband!jungkook is the best. Have a nice weekend luvs :) - sunny

[strangeninjahideout]

In a world that lost its humanity and left more than 2.3 million people who were killed in Gaza, death is not as cruel as the life we prefer to live in the midst of the so-called metaphorical life.. I ask you to help me and my family to go out of Gaza and reach a safe city. We need our simple right to live in peace.

Hello world, I am Muhammad, a nurse in progress, living in North Gaza. This is my story in a few words.

Before October 7th, I was a student at the College of Nursing. I loved life and had many friends, but I lost a lot of them due to the occupation. I lost my college, my room, my home, and my sense of normalcy. October 7th was a turning point for me and my family. The war came without any previous warnings. The Israeli occupation is killing us in Gaza day by day. Circumstances are getting worse, and the suffering has reached its highest levels since the first day of this war.

November 19th was the worst day for us. We survived and came out of the mouth of death when the Israeli occupation bombed our house. Now we are homeless. We will never forget the feelings of fear and panic we experienced. We waited for sunrise to move from the place. We left everything behind—home, friends, university, childhood dreams, and my father. We were trying to survive without food, clothes, or even hope to continue this life. The family dispersed and fled to the south of Gaza, which was supposed to be a classified safe place. The explosions were happening all around us. We saw martyrs and wounded people lying on the ground, and no one could save them. The snipers were everywhere.

We will never forget what we have seen: bodies scattered on the ground, armed soldiers, and huge tanks surrounding us. The fear was evident on everyone's face. We traveled a long distance, each of us carrying a backpack with any clothes we could collect. Finally, we reached Deir al-Balah, thinking we would find safety as the Israeli occupation told us. We are currently temporarily staying with a nice family who hosted us. We are now without any shelter. We don't know what we will do next, we lost everything we had. We went to a small apartment where more than 30 people live. We had no beds or blankets. We struggled to get water and bread. Unfortunately, we are homeless.

My family members include my dad, Hassan, 47 years old, my mom, 45 years old.

And my sister, Lana, who is a mother of a newborn baby girl born at the beginning of the war. Lana lost her new home, her husband's job, and all her dreams.

Ritta, 7 years old, has been shining since her first day at school, coming to her first grades with love, vitality, and brilliance, but the occupation prevented her from playing like other children and deprived her of her friends and school.

My sister, Sama, is studying at middle school, which is supposed to be the stage of launching into the world, forming friendships, and strengthening her personality, but the occupation prevented her from continuing her education and seeing her friends. She lost many friends because the occupation killed them!

This war is still killing us slowly, and we can't go on anymore. The conditions in Gaza Strip are getting worse. There is no pure drinking water, we can't find the food we used to buy, and the prices here are so expensive that they compete with the most expensive countries in the world. There is no shelter and no safe place in Gaza.

Amidst the despair, there is a chance for survival with your generous support. We can escape the horrors of war and cross the borders from Gaza to Egypt. Your donation could mean the difference between life and death for my beloved family. One person who doesn't currently hold a passport costs between $5,000-$10,000 to reach Egypt alone and leave outside the walls of this war. If you can't send money, you can help by sharing my link.

If you got this far, I am grateful that you gave us part of your time. Please, help my family and me write a new happy chapter—one of survival, safety, and hope. Your kindness will not be forgotten, and we will be forever grateful for your support in our darkest hours.

[pandorxxx]

Damsel (Chapter 1)

??? x Ash Na’vi fem reader (All aged up)

Warnings: light cursing, heat cycles, injuries (blood), fingering, self pleasure, voyeurism, heavy mentions of sex, intense orgasm.

🔞mdni🔞

Synopsis: a hunting trip gone terribly wrong. Ending in you on the wrong side of the forest, hurt, scared, and in heat. What happens when the son of Toruk Makto finds you?

Agony. Pain. Fear. Need you say more?

Your Aegean skin was cold and damp from your sweat. Yet you were hot, everywhere. Your womb ached and burned from your current state. Your heat was near.

Your weekly hunting trip was cut short because of it. You were on the wrong side of the forest in the middle of the night. Scared? No. Scared wasn’t even the word. You were frightened, paranoid even.

It was a written rule that the ash clan and Omatikayan people didn’t get along. Never have, never will. And there you were, weak, hurt, and vulnerable in their forest.

You laid against the hard bark of a tree. Writhing in your own pain. You were a delirious mess, panting, trying to fill your burning lungs with air. You occasionally would flutter in and out of consciousness in exhaustion. But would quickly gasp for air when you found yourself doing so.

Your plan was to stay still and quiet until sunrise, praying that you wouldn’t come across a native Navi, or any of their angry creatures.

Not to mention the crippling pain you were in. There was no way you could stand with out assistance. Your whole body was trembling, hot to the touch.

Your loincloth was soaked with your slick, smearing against your trembling thighs. But your delirium deemed it quite impossible to even attempt to satisfy yourself.

You knew you were hurt, and the pain was coming from your leg. However, your vision was blurred with the constant flow of tears.

Oh, how you wished to be home.

You contemplated with yourself:

If you were to stay out here, it was a very slim chance at your survival. But maybe if you just tried hard enough to stand, you could get out of the forest.

You choose the latter, using what strength you had in your arms to attempt at shimmying up the tree. It was a slow and steady stride, your back becoming scraped from the pressure on the bark.

You used your un-injured leg to push your body up. Whimpering and whining the entire way. And just when you thought you had it, your knees buckled under you, sending you tumbling back down the tree with a loud thud. “Fuck.” You strained, leaning your head back against the tree in frustration.

If no one knew of your presence, they sure did now. “Who’s there?” A deep voice uttered in the shadows. You audibly gasped, immediately palming your mouth in an attempt to keep yourself quiet.

His strong, muscular arm made an appearance before he did. He held his bow, ready to shoot if necessary. The darker shade of blue and his stripe pattern told you everything you needed to know.

Next was his broad back. Muscles flexing with every turn he made. His strong legs, legs of a true warrior. His steps were slow and quiet, scanning his area. His hair shaking dramatically with every turn of his head. He was…beautiful. But dangerous to you. So you kept quiet, stopped your breathing, hoping that he would soon walk away.

Unlucky for you, a wave of pain washed over your leg. Throbbing uncontrollably and unbearably. To the point that you had no other choice but to let out a soft whimper. His ears perked, and his entire body turned to you in an instance, drawing his bow back simultaneously.

“PLEASE. IM HURT.” You whimpered, trembling hands going up in surrender. His amber eyes widened at you, slowly turning the bow away from your small frame.

He scanned you from a distance, ruling out your potential to be a threat to him. His eyebrows were ruffled in confusion while your eyes were riddled with fear.

“I-I can’t move. Please, don’t hurt me.” You strained, shaking your head in fear as your eyes welled with more tears than before.

“I won’t hurt you.” He reassured, bending down to place his bow on the mossy ground. He looked into your eyes, his demeanor becoming softer. He threw his hands up in surrender to show you that he meant no harm to you.

“See? It’s fine.” He nodded, standing to his full height slowly, hands still up to keep you comfortable with his presence.

You eyed him frantically, still unsure about his intentions. Yet and still you nodded slowly, letting him know that you understood.

He smiled nervously, scanning your entire frame for a moment. He started at your wet, curly hair that flowed down your shoulders. Your damp, muted blue skin told him that you weren’t omatikayan. And so did your black, crystal embroidered cloths. Then his eye contact trailed down to your bloody leg, and his breathing hitched.

“Eywa, You’re bleeding, miss.” He spoke with concern, darting over to you. His quick strides made you scoot back against the tree in fear, and he noticed.

“Shit! I-I’m sorry. I don’t mean to scare you.” He shook his head, squatting down in-front of you. The night breeze provided you with a wiff of his musky scent, so addictive to you in this state. Your eyes fluttered between amber and chartreuse with each blink as you tried to snap out of it.

His eyes squinted slightly in confusion. “Are you ok?” He asked, scanning your entire body again.

“I’m…in heat.” You spoke with a shaky voice, jaw clenching in restraint as your eyes trailed his broad chest.

His eyes widened, realizing that you might actually be a threat to him in your state. There was so much going on that he didn’t even realize your strong pheromones that lingered until you confessed. As addictive as they became, he used all the possible restraint he could muster to tend to you. “Yes. I-I know now. You’re at the height of it.” He nodded, sending you a smile riddled with pity.

“Can I?” He asked, pointing at your injured leg. You sighed, closing your eyes in exhaustion before opening them again. You gave him a hesitant nod as consent. He reached for your leg slowly, gently grazing your skin before grabbing it gently.

You jumped at the contact. His touch was firm and satisfying. Like ice on a burn. He halted his movements, shooting his head up at you.

“Sorry. Did I hurt you?” He asked in concern. You shook your head slowly. Eyeing his chiseled frame. “Your hands are…strong.” You strained, admiring how his entire hand wrapped around your calf with no problem. He looked down as well, a light chuckle rumbling in his chest.

“Yeah, they are, aren’t they?” He nodded, shooting you a lighthearted smile. You blushed through the pain, nodding your head in response. He began to pull out an elastic bandage from his woven pouch, unrolling it to the size he needed.

“So, what’s your name? I-if you’re comfortable with sharing.” He asked, taking a seat in-front of you, placing your ankle on his thigh. You watched intently. “Y/n.” You whispered, watching him cut the bandage with his dagger.

“Y/n, Huh? That’s very pretty.” He smiled, laser focused on stretching the bandage. You watched his abs and arms flex with each pull of the bandage. Putting you in a trance.

“Hey, you alright?” He asked, watching your eyes flash between amber and chartreuse again. You shook your head, eyes becoming normal again. You sighed in frustration, snapping your attention to his concerned face.

“It’s close. Really close.” You nodded, watching him tie the bandage gently around your womb. He sighed as well, feeling so much pity for you in this moment.

“Im so sorry, y/n. Trust me, I know how much pain you’re in right now. Just stay calm, ok?” He sent you a soft glance. You nodded, still watching him bandage your leg up. Silence fell for a few seconds before you broke the ice.

“I-I never asked your name.” You stuttered, trailing your eyes back to his face. “Neteyam. My name is Neteyam. It’s nice to meet you. I wish it was under better circumstances of course.” He chuckled, still focused on your leg.

“Neteyam?” You whimpered, voice shaky and full of fear. His eyes shot up at you in concern. “What’s the matter?” He asked, hurrying to secure the bandage.

“I’m scared.” You whispered, teeth chattering together as tears fell from your puffy eyes. His gaze became soft, gently letting your leg down on the ground to wipe your tears.“I know, I know. Is this your first heat?” He asked, caressing your cheek with his thumb.

“Yes. I-I feel…hot.” You whined, nuzzling your head into his hand with a soft purr rumbling in your chest. Your tail began to tap the mossy ground beneath you, and that’s all he needed to know. He soon realized that his presence was speeding your heat up, making it more intense for you. An although you were tempting, he had no intentions on helping you through this.

“Where? Where is it hot. Show me.” He asked hesitantly. You grabbed his hand, trailing it down to your stomach. He sighed, watching intently.

You then proceeded to slide his hand down lower, until it reached your slimy loincloth, soaked with your slick. You slid his strong hand in between your legs, closing them around his arm. Your head flew back against the tree, letting out a soft moan at the friction.

His eyes widened, watching you slightly roll your hips to hump his hand, using it for any type of relief you could get. Even if it wasn’t much.

“Y/n. I-I know you’re not well right now. But I can take you to my grandmother, she can help you.” He reassured, his gaze still set on the sight in-front of him.

You shook your head in disagreement. Eyes falling shut as you whimpered loudly at his firm hand against your clothed cunt. “Your people will hurt me.” You moaned, holding onto his strong arm, using it as leverage to speed up the pace.

“Listen, I-I know our people don’t get along. But I promise…they won’t hurt you. My father is olo’eyktan, I can talk to him.” He explained, his voice straining in restraint at your scent. Your addictive scent.

“No. Just help me, now. I-It hurts.” You whimpered, hooking your fingers under your loincloth, shimmying it down to your ankles.

“I can’t help you. You could get pregnant, y/n. And my father would skin me.” He explained, his words going in one ear and out the other as you spread your legs wide. Your thighs connected together with numerous strings of slick as they pulled apart. Your juices flowed out of you like a slow leak, trickling to the mossy ground beneath you.

“Fuck.” Neteyam whispered, running his hand through his hair. His jaw clenched in restraint, eyeing your glistening cunt. “Just touch me then. Please, neteyam. I-I can’t take it anymore.” You cried, using the pad of your fingers to rub circles into your sensitive clit. Your moans became progressively louder as you rolled your hips against your hand.

You spread your folds opened with two fingers. Using the other hand to lightly tap on your clit, sending you into overdrive. Neteyam was stuck, his cock throbbing against the tight fabric that held it. He was completely tranced by your scent and your erotic behavior. All he could do was watch you.

Your eyes rolled back at the sensation, finally sliding all 3 of your fingers inside of yourself, coaxing the nastiest squelching sounds with each thrust of your hand. Your eyes came back from there trip behind your sockets as a glowing bright green, pupils replaced with slits. Your heat had taken over.

His eyes widened, mouth slightly agape as he watched you aggressively fuck your hand, looking for some sort of relief. And finally, it was coming. Your stomach visibly tensed, and your whimpers became so loud to the point where Neteyam had to cover your mouth as you pleasured yourself.

“Gonna cum?” He asked, staring at you in awe. You nodded lazily, tears flowing down your face as you whimpered into his hand.

“Ok, go ahead. But you have to keep it down.” He whispered. His deep voice being all the motivation you needed. Your eyes rolled back again, legs trembling uncontrollably.

And just like that, you had came undone. Squirting all over Neteyam’s lower abdomen, tapping your clit to make the orgasm more intense.

“Oh my fucking God.” He muttered breathily, muffling your screams with his hand. His eyes scanned his soaking wet stomach before trailing back up to your face. Eyebrows scrunched together as you came down form your intense high.

“Feeling…better?” He asked, already knowing what your answer would be. With his hand still over your mouth, you shook your head with a small whimper. He sighed, taking his hand from your mouth.

“I-I need you. I need this.” You whined, grabbing his bulge, massaging it in your dainty hands. He grunted, watching you slide your hand into his loincloth to feel him. He let out a series of low curses, squeezing his eyes shut. Although Neteyam was a man of great restraint, it was slipping away from him quickly.

And this was the moment that he realized, he had gotten himself into a very tricky situation.

Taglist: @number1gal @loak-bae @tiredmamaissy @neytirishottie @viajaeger @terrorthewolf @lethargicluv @reyzzsostellar @m0nst3rfk3r @agelsully @jakescumdump @wekiamo @st-cass @cleardonutangelwagon @tsireqas @satanlovedays @afro-hispwriter @urfavgirlmakenna @fanboyluvr @iameatingmyhair @secretflowerobservation @violet-19999 @neteyamsprincess @xreadersstuff @sweetllamaparadise @lia-nath @sullymenrhot @dotheyevenknowmars @xdbluesky @slay-nt @domino-x3-blog @ladylovegood-69 @itssomeonereading @sweetirilly @skxawngmia @j-jinxee @im-in-a-pansexual-panik @cumikering @pxndorasdream @itsaleidasworld @atxxokirina @yeletta @blueslxt-primary @jackchampismybbg @eywascall @valeriearriana37484 @avatarsslut @bee782916 @atxxokirina @taylormarieee

[hallietblr]

same time, next week? | c.fisher x reader

a/n: inspired by the tiktok trend! might MIGHT turn this into a mini trilogy but not too sure yet so let me know what you think!

warnings: fluffy but kinda sad:(

—

summer was quickly coming to an end, saying goodbye to a few of our new friends we made this summer as they return back to their home. cousins was always a place associated with fun and the carefree life. from waking up at dawn to catch the sunrise, being at the beach all day, family barbecues, parties every night, and to do it all with my best friends.

my mother, elisa, used to come to cousins every summer with her family and she immediately became friends with the girl next door, susannah, and her best friend, laurel. the three of them would always spend every moment of the three summer months together in cousins before leaving back to their normal lives.

cousins was almost like an alternate reality, where everyone is happy. where summer love is born and new friendships are made.

once my mom inherited her parents’ summer home, we started coming to cousins every june until the end of august. just like how she used to do it when she was younger, it was to continue the family tradition and i hope i can show my children too.

luckily, susannah had also inherited her family’s summer home and was still in very close contact with her two best friends.

i basically grew up with conrad and his younger brother, jeremiah. conrad and i were born in the same year, only a month apart. we were destined to be best friends since we were in diapers.

i’m also very close to laurel’s kids, steven and belly. moreso with belly than i am with steven since her and i are the only girls out of the five of us. she was a few years younger than me and honestly, she’s like the little sister i never had.

currently, i was lounging on the beach chairs by the poolside of the fisher’s home. conrad had his head on my lap, quietly napping and enjoying the summer warmth. i had one hand playing with his golden hair while the other flipping the pages of my book.

jeremiah, steven, and belly were all playing in the pool, the occasion yelling and screaming coming from them. they all had smiles painted upon their faces,

“y/n! get in!” jeremiah yells at me, splashing water in my direction. i use my book to cover conrad’s face in hopes that he won’t wake up,

“maybe later!” i say back to him, “i can’t really get up right now anyways.”

steven shrugs, “just push him off.”

belly gasps and hits her brother, “that’s so mean! but seriously, y/n, i’m leaving the day after tomorrow and you leave on tuesday next week.”

“i know” i sigh, part of me knows that there’s a chance i won’t be back in cousins with my favourite people for a long time. with college coming up and moving across the country to go to stanford, i knew that i couldn’t visit them as often after this.

nobody except for my mother knew, and i made her swear to not tell a soul that i had accepted my offer to stanford. especially the fact that i won’t see them all for possibly years.

“kids!” laurel calls out from the window, “dinners ready!”

the three from the pool scream as they all shove each other, trying to get out of the pool quickly. i gently shake my best friend awake, “connie, dinner”

his eyes flutter open, he rubs the sleep away, “okay.”

he offers me his hand when i stand up, which i gladly take. i feel butterflies in my stomach from the physical touch from him.

conrad has a soft hand on the small of my back as he guides me into the familiar home. we all sit around the large dinner table, all passing the delicious looking food around. i have conrad on my right and jeremiah on my left.

“y/n,” my mom says, i look up to match her gaze. the second i do, i see what she’s silently hinting at.

tell them.

i shake my head, swallowing the spoonful of mashed potato in my mouth, “no, mom”

jeremiah lifts an eyebrow at me, “she didn’t even say anything”

steven nods in agreement, his mouth full of food. laurel and susannah both look at my mother, trying to read her face,

“come on, honey.” she pleads, “you owe it to them”

this caught everyone’s attention, all eyes on me.

“what’s going on?” belly asks, placing her fork down, “mom?”

laurel shrugs, “i’m not too sure, bels”

i sigh, putting my hands onto my napkin covered lap. i didn’t want to tell them, but i also knew that i should,

“i’m going to stanford.” i tell them, after moments of confusion and silence.

susannah jumps up from her seat and runs over to my chair to squeeze me, “oh my goodness, y/n! that’s incredible news! congratulations, sweet girl!”

laurel was right behind her, “awh, my second baby! i knew you could do it.”

“wait, so why were you so hesitant on telling us?” jeremiah says as he hugs me, “this is good news!”

i frown slightly, “it’s easier for me to stay there for all four years, rather than flying back and forth for the summer…”

it took them a moment to digest what i said before steven pushes his chair back from the table,

“no, you aren’t saying…” he pauses, “you’re not coming back next summer? or the summers after that?!” steven exclaims, “what about christmas?!”

i shake my head, “flights are too expensive, i can’t”

i look over to conrad, who’s eyes haven’t left me since i broke the news. his expression was unreadable.

belly had a tear running down her cheek, “so, tomorrow is goodbye then?” she whispers, “we won’t be able to see each other until you’re done…”

“yeah, tomorrow is goodbye” i slowly nod, “my mom is planning on coming to visit so maybe you guys can too?”

jeremiah grins, “of course we will! i cant stay away from n/n for that long, i can barely handle a school year without seeing you!” he laughs, even though there’s evident sadness in his words.

“i’ll be sure to bring connie and jere to visit, honey” susannah promises me, “congratulations again”

i smile at her before everyone resumes to eating their food and making small conversation. i look back at conrad who’s playing with the food on his plate, i grab his hand under the table and squeeze it.

he looks at me and i ask, “beach after?”

dinner wrapped up quickly, steven and jeremiah getting ready for one last party of the summer — conrad and i agreed to go a bit after them.

conrad has his hand wraps around mine as we walk down towards the water, our arms are swinging while he laughs at some joke i made. we sit on the sand and watch the sun slowly lower into the horizon. we don’t say much but it’s never needed when it’s us two. we enjoy the comfortable silence and each other’s company.

i rest my head on his hoodie covered shoulder, him resting his head on mine soon after. he kisses my hair softly, “so stanford?”

i sigh, “yeah, stanford”

i can feel him smile, “congrats pretty girl”

my cheeks blush at the nickname, but i say nothing. all i want is to stay here with him on this beach we grew up on, forever.

“i always love the sunsets here,” i say, finally breaking the silence, “i swear they’re so much better here than they are in maine.”

he laughs, “i think i like them better here, because then at least i can watch them with you. back in boston, all the sunsets remind me of you.”

“you’re so cheesy” i giggle, gently shoving him with my shoulder.

he rests his cheek on his crossed over arms that are on his bent knees. he looks at me with sadness in his eyes, “same time, next week?”

i feel my eyes starting to water from his question, fully knowing that we don’t know the next time we’ll be able to do this, “im not here next week” i whisper out, tears crawling down my cheeks.

conrad has never been much of a crier, i think i’ve only seen him cry three times in my life. but right now will add to that count as a few tears fall from his eyes,

“im going to miss you so much, pretty” he tells me with his lips quivering, i reach over to wipe the tears off his face with the sleeve on my sweater.

“we can call anytime, okay?” i reply, giving a sad smile, “we always text each other too, but whenever i want to hear your voice, i’m going to call you.”

he chuckles, “so i guess i’ll be calling you 24/7”

i move closer to him and he wraps his arms around me into a tight hug.

“i’m not sure what summers are going to be like without you, y/n.”

“i don’t even want to think about it”

as the sun disappears beyond the horizon, we slowly get up to head back to our rooms to get ready for this party. my phone was blown up with snaps and text messages from jeremiah and steven, begging us to come and join them. one last summer party with them, one last chance to watch steven get black out drunk, one last opportunity to say goodbye to my summer friends, and only a few more sunsets to watch with conrad.

[starlight-eclipsed]

Rockets Pointed Up at the Stars (Pt 1/2)

Inspired by this braindead rejected soulmates au post by @im-totally-not-an-alien-2. More art at the end!

Part II

Tim slumped down on the edge of an apartment building, leaning his weight against the rooftop’s fence. The alleyways below were deserted, criminals retreating to get a couple hours of sleep before sunrise. A perfect setting to catch a breather before ending his patrol for the night.

The Red Robin suit still felt wrong on him. He thought waiting a week to get accustomed to it would help, but he might have made a mistake when he tried to adjust it to be as close to his Robin uniform as possible without it being obvious. He’d have to remember to alter it further the next time he got the chance, to see if wearing something entirely different would finally make him stop checking the shadows for Bruce. Patrolling Gotham alone felt too much like admitting he was really gone.

Just as he was about to move on, the rooftop access door slammed open.

Tim nearly jumped out of his skin as he whirled around, ready to either apologize, attack, or flee, when he met familiar glowing green eyes.

Subconsciously, he let himself breathe easy as he took in the other’s appearance.

Phantom was an anomaly at the best of times. A phantom thief by definition, the criminal had simply appeared one day to cause chaos—lingering only to taunt his pursuers as he made a daring escape with whatever priceless treasure of the month. His motives were unknown, as was virtually anything about him besides his calling card (a green sticky note with nothing but ‘BOO’ written in permanent black marker), appearance, and a meta ability to phase through objects.

Of course, one couldn’t be a phantom thief without a detective rival (or so the thief in question claimed). For some reason, Phantom had outright declared not Batman, but Robin for the role. Tim couldn’t count how many sleepless nights were spent chasing after him, face red from a mixture of exertion and embarrassment. Because it wasn’t enough for the admittedly good-looking criminal roughly his age to run circles around him. No, the jerk had to go out of his way to flirt with him the whole time.

He hadn’t even thought about how Phantom would react to there being a new Robin. But looking at him now, a small part of Tim couldn’t help but feel selfishly glad. From what he could see of the furious expression on his shadowed face and glowing eyes, it wasn’t hard to see that Phantom was taking the change about as well as Tim was.

“I leave for two weeks, and suddenly there’s a new Batman and Robin?! What the fuck, Detective—you’d think to at least have the decency to tell a guy, but nooo, I had to find out through goddamn Victor Fries!”

Tim blinked, “Didn’t Mr. Freeze retire after someone brought his wife back?”

Phantom paused his fury, shrugging a bit. “Nora keeps track of everything happening in Gotham in case something her husband did to save her comes back to bite them.”

“Huh.”

“Anyway! It took me going after Victor to ask why there was a new Robin for me to hear that the actual Batman was dead, Gotham went berserk for a while as every other guy tried to take up the position, and somewhere along the lines you got the grand idea to add ‘red’ to your name! Which makes no sense, since you practically lived for that mantle and I would’ve bet that you’d take it past the grave if given the chance.”

Tim winced. As per usual, Phantom’s words hit home in more ways than intended.

The thief stopped short, the glowing of his eyes intensifying as he looked over Tim’s new identity. Tim didn’t move as soundless footsteps strode forward, not even pausing as Phantom phased through the chain link fence to sit a couple feet away from him.

He could count on one hand the number of times Phantom had done this. One second they’d be exchanging insults, and then suddenly the criminal would stop and stare, feeling like he was gazing into the depths of Tim’s very soul. Each time, he called off their chase, insisting that Tim take a break and talk to someone about whatever was troubling him. It was uncanny how he could somehow tell when Tim’s negative feelings were overwhelming his rational thought—Batman himself would use Phantom encounters to measure Tim’s wellbeing at times.

Looking back, it was odd how Phantom would insert himself into every aspect of Robin’s life, but back off the second he sensed something was wrong. He’d call attention to whenever Tim was particularly anxious, once even physically dragging Bruce over to ‘talk to your son when he’s sad’, but never offer any comfort himself. But here they were, Phantom obviously seeing something Tim could never hope to conceal, with no Bruce nearby to summon and make things better.

Tim’s throat clogged at the reminder of yet another little thing Bruce might never get to do again. He couldn’t be dead, not with how many times Tim checked the body and struggled to recognize the man who’d become like a father to him. 

“...I…I know we’re not exactly friends, Detective. But if you need to get something off your chest, I swear to never use it against you.” Phantom fidgeted with his cloak. From this close a distance, Tim could see the faint glimmer of sparkling purple constellations embroidered on the inside. For some reason, the sight of the soft fabric never failed to calm his nerves.

(It reminded him of a time long ago, when he held a gel ink pen and asked a mystery person to quit whatever they were doing that left his arms covered in star charts that didn’t match anything in the Earth’s night sky.)

He didn’t dare force himself to speak, for fear he might break this tentative peace. Thankfully, Phantom seemed to be taking initiative that night.

“...did you know that I used to be a teen hero?”

Tim’s head jerked upright, meeting Phantom’s eyes. It was impossible to tell exactly what expression he was making behind the mask, but he got a sense of bitter nostalgia. “You never talk about your past.”

A scoff, “Yeah, ‘cause it’s depressing as fuck. Not exactly the sort of thing you can talk about causally.”

He chewed his lip, thinking. “Your suit…minus the cloak, it looks reminiscent of a uniform.”

Phantom fiddled with a cylinder hooked on his belt. It was the only piece of tech visible on his person, a modified soup thermos that somehow served as a near infinite item storage. Impressive, if not odd.

“Yeah, the cloak is more of a blanket than anything else. I added it on when I got tired of looking at the same clothes I used to save my hometown in. It…I didn’t become a hero for fame. It was more trouble than it was worth, honestly. You guys nowadays have so much better support systems than when I was in the business. Makes me wonder if…” he trailed off.

“...why’d you stop?” Tim asked gently, more than willing to throw himself into this new mystery now that he knew it was there.

“It was too much. Everyone wanted me gone, even the people I was protecting. I was hated for my powers, for not always being on the scene when I was needed, for not ending fights faster and for the property damage my villains caused. I didn’t live in a place with metahuman protection laws. The few people that knew my secret identity got tired of superhero life and ditched the first chance they got.” He sighed, “I was hurting, and was desperate for a way out.”

Tim frowned, “So you moved to Gotham and started stealing?”

Phantom snorted. “Nah, I was fucked up for a while after I ran away. It’s funny, one of my rogues was the first to track me down and drag me to a hospital to get my injuries checked. Like a dozen of them got together for an intervention, I thought I was finally losing my grip on reality. I spent a couple months recovering, then took one of them up on a suggestion to try causing trouble for a change. Not anything super bad, but…”

“...enough to feel more in control?” Tim suggested. It wasn’t uncommon for people in bad situations to commit minor crimes, both for the adrenaline and the power rush. Tim himself had once poured his whole soul into tracking and photographing Gotham’s nighttime birds. A hobby that was more than a bit cringe-worthy in hindsight, and definitely creepy considering how much effort he put into stalking his idols. Honestly his young age was the only reason he didn’t get put on a watchlist when he revealed himself to Bruce. That, and the whole I-know-your-secret-identity thing.

“Oof. Yeah, that’s a way to put it. Being hated hurt less when that’s what I was aiming for, y’know?”

Tim tilted his head. “I never hated you.”

A derisive laugh, “Uh-huh. And you loved being led on goose chases when there were more important ways to spend your time.”

“I’m serious.” Tim shifted so that he was better facing Phantom. He didn’t know why, but couldn’t stand the thought of Phantom leaving tonight convinced he was universally hated. “You only make a scene on quiet nights, and you always slowed down for me whenever I had to stop and intervene on some other crime. And you only target the private collections of rich people. Not anyone whose life would be ruined by something getting stolen. You even go out of your way to make sure the guards on duty don’t get in trouble, even when it puts you in a strategically worse position. And…”

He hesitated. Bruce wouldn’t approve…but then again, there was that weird relationship he had with Selina.

“And it was fun. To chase you. It was challenging and frustrating, but your appearance meant that there was nothing else to worry about that night. We could just run regular patrols.”

Oracle was the one to make the connection. Tim didn’t know where along the lines it became an accepted fact, only that Bruce was more comfortable about Robin patrolling alone when Phantom was making a move. A miracle considering what happened to the last one.

Phantom blinked, frowning a bit before his eyes went wide, a shaky smile forming on his lips. “Thanks…it was fun for me too. Kinda the whole reason I kept setting up scenes for Robin to find.”

Tim laughed. The sound startled both of them—he didn’t remember the last time he genuinely smiled like this. It had to be sometime before Bruce was gone, at least.

“So…” Phantom hopped down on the railing of a balcony below, balancing precariously in the way that only he could. He looked up at Tim with an easygoing smile that did little to hide the concern underneath. “As your self-proclaimed favorite rogue, wanna tell me what’s up with the sudden change?”

He shifted a bit, grin fading. “Well…Batman died. He was facing Darkseid and got hit. After the chaos died down, Nightwing took up the mantle and made Batman’s son the new Robin, to help him grieve or something.”

“I don’t know where to start with that.” Phantom adjusted his hood, briefly revealing tan skin underneath. “You sound like you didn’t have a say in it. Wasn’t Robin yours?”

Something bitter worked its way up through Tim’s chest. “It was a borrowed title anyway. I only took it up to help Batman, so it makes sense that I was dismissed—”

“No.”

“—after huh?”

Phantom strode up to him, poking a finger at his knee. “You love being Robin. You don’t have to justify losing your identity. It could’ve been taken in the name of world peace for all I care, that doesn’t make it any less shitty. You just lost someone super important to you, and your connection to them was taken because someone thought your grief was less important. I don’t care who the current one is, you are just as much Batman’s son.”

Tim couldn’t help the small sob that escaped. Or when it doubled, and tears started burning at his eyes. He rubbed at them in an attempt to stop them before they could make his mask go hot and sticky, but was startled out of it by a soft weight being thrown over him. He looked up to see Phantom leaning over him, securing the hood of his cloak over Tim’s own head.

“You looked like you needed some comfort. It’s weighted.” Phantom shrugged.

“...thanks.” Tim pulled it closer, more than happy to latch onto yet another new focus. “How do you move so easily in this? It feels like I’m being hugged by gravity.”

Phantom chuckled, and it was at that moment Tim suddenly realized the other was floating in the air over him. Since when has he been able to fly?

“I use intangibility a lot, but it’s not my only power. It felt like overkill to use more than that in my heists. So I didn’t.”

Tim groaned, “You were going easy on me this whole time?”

“Oh, definitely not. I’m sure you’ve noticed, but intangibility is arguably the most pain in the ass thing to counter. I’m being annoying on purpose.”

Phantom grinned, and Tim couldn’t help but analyze the full sight of him. Everything from his teeth to his ears was pointed, a sharp contrast to the wispy white hair that flowed smoothly in a nonexistent breeze. The most attention grabbing was a glowing green mark resembling a gash across his chest, roughly in the place where a hero would wear their logo. The sight of it made Tim’s own chest ache.

“I don’t think Batman is dead.” He said suddenly.

“What makes you say that?” Phantom asked, reclining on empty air. 

It wasn’t denial, not calling him insane or lost in grief. For the first time since his fight with Dick, Tim felt as though he could breathe again. “I know it sounds crazy, there’s no proof—”

“Woah woah woah,” Phantom reached forward, gently pulling Tim’s hands away from where he had started pulling at his hair. “Slow down. Walk me through your thought process.”

“It just…it doesn’t feel right. Not that I can’t believe it if he died, but this specifically doesn’t feel right. I’d feel it if Br-Batman was dead…there was a whole cloning facility where Batman’s body was found.”

That seemed to spark interest in Phantom’s eyes. “You think the body was a clone?”

“Why would someone as powerful and precise as Darkseid drop everything and kill someone he was in the process of cloning? Why was he even trying to clone Batman specifically? We’re missing something, and I think Darkseid is using everyone’s grief to cover his plan.”

Phantom propped his chin on his hand, deep in thought. “Darkseid…I’ve heard that name before. Does he have something to do with time or space?”

Tim practically sagged in relief. “He can travel freely through both, and has a host of other abilities that give Superman a run for his money.”

He snapped his fingers, “Ah, that Darkseid! Yeah, if he wanted Bats dead there wouldn’t be a body left. I’d bet my collection he’s lost in time somewhere.”

“Thank you!” Tim gestured wildly, “You’re officially the first person to hear me out. Like, is it really so hard to believe?”

“No probs, Detect-o. It’s not the weirdest thing I’ve heard, by far.”

“Exactly,” Tim huffed, leaning back and sighing. “Now I just have to convince the Justice League so they can go back in time and grab him.”

“Why not just get him yourself?”

Tim glanced over to where Phantom hung in the sky. “Unless you’re also hiding time powers in there, we kinda need the League to get to him. Plus I don’t even know when in time he is.”

“Lucky for you, I know a guy,” Phantom grinned. “The Master of Time messaged me this mornin’, something about stopping Batman from breaking the time space continuum. It’s why I’m back in Gotham so soon.”

“You…know the Master of Time.”

“Yep!” He popped the p.

“And they messaged you.”

Phantom hummed, “You can imagine how it went when I tried to confront Batman a couple hours ago. The new Robin’s a menace, if I was any slower you’d have to deal with a Phantom shish kebab.”

Tim winced. It was never fun to be on the wrong end of Damian’s katana. Still, he focused back on the insanity at hand. “So you’re saying you can just go back and rescue Batman right now?”

“Now that I know what’s happening, yeah. Clocky probably already has a portal ready for me. Batman will be back before you can say ‘Gotham’!”

It was inconceivable. To think, the living nightmare of the past weeks would be over, just like that. His brain was screaming at him that this was some sort of cruel setup, that there was no way Phantom was telling the truth. There had to be a catch somewhere, some kind of punchline in the sick comedy that was the life of Tim Drake.

But his heart, the part of him that just wanted his dad back won out.

“What’s stopping you? You’re not usually one to wait for a window of opportunity.”

Phantom rubbed the back of his neck. “No, but I distinctly remember waiting for a certain vigilante. I was wondering if…you’d like to come with?”

Tim’s jaw dropped. “You’re inviting me, a vigilante who has attempted to arrest you dozens of times…to travel back in time to save Batman, another vigilante who has tried to put you under arrest.”

“Emphasis on tried,” Phantom joked, before turning serious. “I mean it—it’s your family. Besides, it could be fun. You come with me on a time heist, instead of sitting back here worrying your pretty head off with all the ways things could go wrong. And you get to tell everyone else ‘I told ya so’ when you save Batman on your own.”

He tried to work his mind through what Phantom was offering. To be able to fix things, maybe not go back to the way they used to be (Damian might actually kill him if he ever wore Robin again) but to have Bruce back. It wasn’t even a question.

No matter how smart Tim was, how he tried to plan things in advance the way Bruce did, he never stopped being the lonely kid who would sneak out at night to shadow his heroes. When Phantom reached out to offer a hand, Tim didn’t hesitate.

“You’re wrong, though.”

Phantom blinked, firmly gripping Tim’s hand without hurting him. “About what?”

“I wouldn’t be saving Batman on my own. We’d be doing it together.”

A fanged grin matched his own, blinding him to the swirling green portal that formed around them. Before Tim could so much as wonder if he maybe should’ve messaged someone about what he was setting off to do, they were already gone.

— - —

This was supposed to be a oneshot, but it got a bit long so I decided to split it up.

I really love this au, but I noticed that everyone has a tendency to hone in on the angst so much that the characters behind it get a bit lost in the process. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but I wanted to try my hand at writing the misunderstandings without making either of them at fault.

(Insert rant about how the whole point of soulmates is that this person is a match for you, so even if you fundamentally are not good for each other you still get where the other person is coming from. There's so much more angst potential in not being able to hate someone no matter what they do to hurt you, but I digress.)

But yeah, let the boys heal and be happy! Also this is the closest I've gotten to actually writing romance and that's not saying much XD

Here's the design I drew for Phantom Thief!Danny. Feel free to drop an ask, I'd love to ramble more about this :D

[01zfan]

stress relief | o. sh

boyfriend!shotaro x fem. reader | 6k words

this fic was fueled by a request and a compilation i saw of him using his hands…shotaro we freaking love you. listened to too sweet by hozier while writing this. not proofread.

contains: using toys

shotaro woke up before the sun did. he dreaded hearing his alarm so much that he often found himself waking up before it had the chance to go off. every week thursday’s loomed over him like a dark cloud. 

each thursday was shotaro’s dedicated day of the week that he would be in the office from sunrise to sunset. he never considered himself to be an early bird, the exact opposite actually. most days it wouldn’t be until ten in the morning before he could speak, but every thursday he was forced to arrive before everyone else got there. 

shotaro would drink his black coffee while walking around the office, assigning roles for next projects. he would be desperately trying to get himself awake while getting clerical things in order before the teams arrived. during the day, shotaro was in charge of checking that the projects he managed were on track to be completed by the deadline. after everyone left, he would spend an hour or so taking notes on current problems in the projects and how to fix them. 

shotaro always thought that as he moved up the corporate ladder he’d have less responsibilities, or atleast more people to pawn them off to. but when he became lead project manager he suddenly had more things he was in charge of and his allotment of errors in his work greatly depreciated. sometimes he couldn’t believe he went from being the assistant that was on his phone all day to the leader of multiple teams, and how important it was for him to always be right. shotaro shook his head and rubbed his eyes to refocus on the computer screen. he believed that if he thought about his obligations too much, that nasty habit he had of biting his bottom lip would return.

the sun had gone down when shotaro was able to finally leave. he was the last one out, turning the lights off behind him locking the doors. he sighed heavily, letting his shoulders sag in relief as he made his way down the sterile office hallways. at first he was scared to be in the office by himself at such late hours, but now he couldn’t care less. on thursday nights the only thing on shotaro’s mind was getting home.

on his way home he turned the music up a little higher than usual, drumming along to the beat on the steering wheel and singing loudly. at each stoplight he got impatient, waiting for the light to turn green. shotaro looked to his phone in the empty passenger seat, waiting for his lockscreen to light up from a notification. it wasn’t fair that after the long day he had at work red lights were stopping him from coming home. he drove safe, resisting the urge to floor the pedal to get home faster.

shotaro’s patience was already dwindling when he exited the office. by the time he made it to the apartment building he was almost a completely different person. when the elevators were taking shotaro up to your shared apartment, he impatiently checked his watch each time it stopped on a floor that wasn’t his. something was eating away at him. the something started in his mind when he thought of you. once shotaro got started he couldn’t stop. he spent all day letting the thoughts of you marinate. he thought about you working from home, taking naps, and meandering around the apartment in between breaks. you probably haven’t left the apartment once. you probably hadn’t eaten either. shotaro thought about your routine all day, if you were still sleeping when you had set so many alarms the night before. 

shotaro knew you had spent the day sleeping and the night working when he walked through the front door. the apartment was the exact same as when he left it in the morning. the day passed by in the apartment without a single thing changing. everything was still off, the low glow of a computer screen coming from the bedroom being the only light. shotaro shook his head and smiled while setting down his things. all those alarms were useless—shotaro knew you had hit the snooze a thousand times before finally getting up. 

he broke your concentration when he opened the bedroom door. your eyes that was focused on the computer screen snapped up, almost embarrassed that shotaro caught you so stressed over work. 

when shotaro got promoted in his job, you became the carefree one in the relationship. the one that had the luxury of going to bed at a reasonable time and the one that would wake up for the sunrise. the role you had was easy, funded by your boyfriend who worked a corporate job and bought you whatever you wanted. you still had your own job, one that was remote and you could choose your own hours. 

your role in the relationship was something you were very dedicated to. you made the point to give shotaro health tips, to help him destress after a long day. you had been so relaxed you forgot what it was like to be stressed. to have your jaw clenched so hard it felt sore, or to have that feeling of failure loom over you like a dark cloud. 

when shotaro came through the door you had forgotten what time it was. you looked back quickly to your phone, where a reply to your boyfriend was unsent in your messages. both of you knew it was locked away to limit distractions. shotaro knew it was necessary but he hated it so much. without your get home safe text he had to be extra safe on the road, and without seeing your face shotaro almost forgot why he was working so hard at his job.

“you don’t have to be so quiet when you come in, ya know.” you said.

shotaro smiled, a hand going underneath your chin to squeeze gently. he knew he was dramatic, but he had almost forgotten what it felt like to touch you. feeling you underneath his fingertips eased the stressed of the day and seeing you smile only made him smile harder. he was always so quiet when coming home late, careful to not wake you. each time he did it you had to remind him it was unnecessary, and each time he shrugged his shoulders before saying it’s a habit. 

“it’s late.” shotaro made his way past you to sit on the bed. he plugged in his phone as he sat on the edge, setting it on the bedside table. “i thought you would be asleep by now.” he said.

you didn’t look up from your screen, resting your head on your propped up knee while you continued to type. shotaro watched the back of your head move while you reread lines, trying to make sure you weren’t rambling due to exhaustion.

“got a late start today.” you said.

shotaro hummed, knowing he was right that you got up late. you probably haven’t even eaten, only getting up for a quick snack that burned right through you. shotaro continues to look at your back as he gets himself undressed. he starts with his socks, a checkered colorful pair you got him for his birthday. he went with his dress shirt next, undoing each button slowly and take it off. shotaro got his pants last, making a point to be a little louder taking off his belt and letting the pants fall to the floor. 

he was only a little embarrassed to admit how badly he needed your attention. usually it was shotaro coming home to you already in bed, all he had to do was get undressed before sliding into the sheets next to you. it was almost primitive how shotaro instantly felt happy, how the stress from the day melted off of him just by being on the receiving end of your affection. he would slide into the sheets and you would pull him in close, before murmuring that you missed him.

shotaro working at an office and you working from home caused a chasm in your perception of workplaces. when shotaro was in the office, he was professional. he was the leader his company needed, and was serious about his work. in the bedroom, he was needy. he needed to always be touching you, or talking to you. so seeing you treat the bedroom like an office space still through shotaro for a loop. if you had turned around, or stopped typing for a moment just to look back he could’ve been sated. but you stayed focused on the screen, only taking a break to stiffly straighten your back.

when you went back to your hunched position, shotaro felt his fingers start to move. he got up from his side of the bed, walking over to you. he put his hands on your shoulders before pressing gently. you stiffened for a moment before relaxing slightly. shotaro tried not to think about the possibility of you forgetting he was even in the room still when he started gently prodding your back. when shotaro felt the knots beneath your skin, he wasted no time driving his fingers deep until you tried to move out of his hold.

“shotaro that hurts.” you complained.

you didn’t even throw a glance over your back before going back to your terrible posture. shotaro looked at the digital clock. it was too late in the night for both of you to be awake—or atleast too late for both of you to not be in bed.

”you are going to destroy your back doing that.” shotaro said.

he went back to the knots on your back, gently until you eased underneath his touch. shotaro almost wanted to laugh, now it was him giving you tips on your health and him trying to help you ease your stress. 

he almost thought you would laugh at it too, but you only continued to focus on the screen in front of you. 

“i have to finish this.” you said.

shotaro tried to focus his bleary eyes on whatever work you were doing. nothing could be comprehended by his tired mind. he leaned forward acting like he understood what was on your computer until his face was beside yours.

“you know it’s scientifically proven that your mind won’t retain information past a certain time?” shotaro said.

you scoffed, moving your face closer to shotaro’s until your cheeks touched. you relaxed further as shotaro found a stubborn knot. you stayed in place, letting your head hang forward as shotaro pressed deeper into the knot.

“i need to get this done.” you said still with your head hanging low.

“you have all weekend.” shotaro said quietly.

he continued to work on massaging your back, actively feeling your inhibitions crumble as his fingers continued to do their work. he reached up further, wondering if you could feel the thin bands of his rings press into the bare skin of your neck.

“so tense.” shotaro chided. you sighed, taking your hands away from your keyboard to let them fall at your side. “let me give you a massage.”

shotaro knew he was being too presumptuous when you snapped your head to look at him. he tried to give you the most innocent smile he could muster. shotaro tried his best, but it was hard to feign innocence after hearing your tiny sighs of relief. shotaro felt himself wanting to help you relax the same way you always helped him.

“aren’t you tired?” your eyes were low and bleary as you looked at him. “i’ll be in bed soon.” you said.

shotaro shook his head slowly while he continued to massage your back.

“just for a little bit,” shotaro drove his fingers into your skin a little more, smiling to himself when your sighs of relief got a little louder. “i’ll set an alarm and everything so you can get back to work.” he reasoned.

you looked at the words on your screen, how they stopped making sense a long time ago. you still feel shotaro’s fingers continue their ministrations on your back. the bed behind you looks inviting, and so is the smile on shotaro’s face. 

you get up from your seat to look at shotaro. his smile is big, reaching up to his eyes before he goes in for a kiss. 

he’s gentle at first, thumb stroking your hand gently. when shotaro tries to deepen the kiss, you pull away.

“only thirty minutes,” you walk over to the bed and shotaro follows behind you closely. when you sit down on the edge shotaro stands in front of you. the smile on his face didn’t falter when you pointed your finger at him menacingly. “and no funny business.” you say.

“what do you mean?” he asks.

shotaro plays dumb, tilting his head while you tilt your head sideways and give him a hard stare. shotaro folds, putting his hands up in defeat as you lay down on the bed. 

you lay facedown on the bed, trying to urge your body to relax. you haven’t been this stressed in so long you forgot how to manage it. it wasn’t until shotaro’s hands moved your limbs to the perfect place you felt your body begin to loosen. when you felt him straddled your lower back you had to repeat the motion to get yourself to relax again.

shotaro started high, a little below the space he had been working at since he got home. every part of you felt rigid, brought on by the mental strain of work. shotaro sympathized with you silently—he knew what it was like to have an unbelievable workload that seemed unbearable at times. he also had the luxury to leave everything at work. you had no choice but to be reminded of your unfinished projects each time you looked up from the bed to stare at your computer. when shotaro saw your eyes stay on the screen of your computer he started to become brash. his hands that were over your shirt was suddenly underneath the fabric, running his hands so far down your sides his hand was wedged between your stomach and the mattress. you didn’t stop his hand, or remind him about no funny business. you only let out a content sigh and turned your head back to face the pillow.

“don’t think about work right now.” shotaro said.

his voice was gentle but stern. you gave in quickly, saying an ”okay” muffled by the pillow. you tried to sound even with your voice, but the end of your words had an airy lift. the near whimper in your voice went straight to shotaro’s pants. usually he was better at controlling himself, but the view of you under him going slack and the feeling of his crotch pressing against your ass made him lightheaded. it didn’t help that you had been on shotaro’s mind all day, or that he was able to bring you relief from your stress.

he tried to remain professional, he tried so hard. he tried to not partake in the funny business, but when he pushed your shirt all the way up to your neck you didn’t stop him. when shotaro got up from the bed to grab lotion you let out a pretty whine from loss of contact. when shotaro returned and let the cold lotion spurt on your back you only shivered and made the feeble attempt to reach back and undo your bra strap knowing shotaro would do it for you. 

excitement creeped over shotaro’s body, and he wondered if you could tell. he tried his best to not let the tent in his underwear poke you, but shotaro knew that you knew what drove him insane. 

he kept part of his promise though, working his way up your back rubbing out the tension until your skin was damp from the lotion.

“so tense.” shotaro says above you.

you only groan in response, letting one of your arms go limp over the side of the bed. it is so relaxing, you think that if shotaro keeps going you’ll fall asleep. 

if he listened to what you said, he would’ve just given you a massage until your alarm went off to let you go back to work. but your sighs of relief were so blissful to his ears and the skin of your back was so soft. your moisturized skin had started to glow from the light of your computer skin. shotaro couldn’t stop his mind from thinking about your body glistening in sweat and the toys you two kept in the bedside table called out to him like a devil on his shoulder.

“babe?” shotaro said, still looking at the drawer of his bedside table.

you were nearly asleep, only being able to hum lightly to let shotaro know you heard him. shotaro was silent for a moment, letting his hand drift all the way down your until he rested above your ass.

“can i go lower?” he asked.

you only hesitated a second before mumbling a yes. 

shotaro didn’t hesitate moving his legs further down your body, until he could comfortably lean his crotch against your ass. shotaro felt you perk up and preen your ass slightly backwards to really feel all of him. his hands kept you down, kneading your ass over your pajama pants. he wished you were wearing those thin shorts to bed, the ones that were too short to cover all of you. but he would settle for the thin material of your pants. 

he kept kneading the skin, until your body started working against his force to put your ass further in the air. both you and shotaro got quiet, driven by the feeling of your bodies touching. shotaro fully delved into the funny business he promised not to do and you were no better. 

your ass was grinding against his dick when the alarm on your phone went off. it was blaring and it was loud, overtaking the sounds of quiet pants and breaking through the fog in your brain. your monitor screen had timed out, leaving you and shotaro only in the light of your screensaver. 

shotaro quickly grabbed his phone from the bedside table, turning it off while cursing it in his mind. he purposely pressed his dick into you as he moved, dragging it back and forth slowly as he went back to his previous position behind you. if you wanted to get back to work he would not stop you. deadlines were deadlines, and shotaro would always be here. but that did not stop him from leaning forward, so close to you that his breath fanned against the shell of your ear.

“thirty more minutes?” he asked with a smile.

you laughed into the pillow. shotaro felt the bed shift as you pressed your ass flush against his hips. shotaro’s hand gripped your hips and travelled to your stomach, pressing against your skin to perfect your form.

“when has sex with you ever been thirty minutes?” you asked.

shotaro pulled back from your ear, using his other hand to open the drawer of the bedside table. he could see you snap your head to the drawer, laser-focused on his hand as shotaro shuffled his hand around. he knew exactly what he was looking for, but he wanted to see you squirm as he obnoxiously rummaged through, making the metal cuffs clang around. 

when shotaro finally pulled out the matching set of pink toys, he could feel you draw in your breath. he was having trouble breathing on his own, the anticipation that was building stacking exponentially. your body stiffened and shotaro could feel the energy in the room change as he purposely took his time dragging the tip of the dildo down your smooth back. you shivered again and shotaro gave you the space to perk your ass up in the air as you took off your shirt and bra the rest of the way. your face was still down and shotaro grabbed a handful of your clothed ass, reveling in your whine.

“this isn’t sex.” shotaro said.

he rested on his haunches and leaned down, so close until he could press his face into your bottom half. when you rubbed your ass against his cheek shotaro put both hands on your ass spreading them. he breathed in the scent of you, something he spent all day thinking about.

“just stress relief,” he reached behind him, putting the tip of the vibrating dildo over your clothed clit. “so you can get back to work, yeah?”

“yeah.” you said meekly.

shotaro laughed and cooed, pressing a gentle kiss to your ass before straightening his back. from his space above you he could see how you turned your head, one side pressing against the pillow. shotaro wished he could see your whole face, but he got what he needed seeing your eyebrows stitch together as he turned on the dildo. 

the initial vibration made you jolt. shotaro anticipated it, holding your body in place by a hand on your hip. your hands instantly fisted the sheets, letting out a weak whimper.

“so jumpy.” shotaro tsked. 

he pressed the button on the dildo before putting it to the side. he knew the instructions to the dildo better than you. when shotaro initially bought the toys, you were too embarrassed to even look at them. you brought the covers up to your eyes while shotaro diligently read the instructions, pressing the buttons over and over to figure out how to use it. you made him keep the toys on his side of the bed at first too, and almost always looked nervous when you had to reach in his drawer for something. 

but now you loved the toys almost as much as shotaro did. he would come home from work on occasion and find them missing, hidden on your side of the bed. those were always the best days. shotaro got to show you how to properly use your own toys, and he got to tease you relentlessly when your eyes would go wide after finding out a new function. he would tease you until you wer a crying mess, talking about how you don’t even know how to get yourself off properly with your own toys.

his favorite function on the vibrating pink dildo was it’s ability to warm up. it took a second, but when it was ready it would emulate the warmth of his own dick. shotaro was a modern man and he loved innovation. so while he waited for the pink dildo to warm up he brought the reliable vibrator. it had one setting, and barely worked but it always got the job done. 

shotaro slotted himself between your legs, forcing them further apart with his own. you let yourself become malleable underneath his touch, moving to the exact position he placed you in.

“just relax for me.” shotaro said.

he peered over your body to look at your face. when your hand quickly reached back he held it tightly, pressing it against your back. he only needed one hand now to turn on the vibrator, causing you to instantly fidget. you pushed your ass in whatever direction shotaro would pull the vibrator to. shotaro was fascinated seeing you chase stimulation so desperately. when he pulled it away you wiggled your ass, and when shotaro dragged it down your slit you pushed your hips backwards so desperately it made the vibrator prod your entrance. you were whimpering chasing the feeling, only pulling away when shotaro would place it on your clit.

“need you.” you whimpered pathetically into your pillow. 

shotaro hummed sympathetically, still dragging the vibrator along your bottom half. he felt himself straining in his underwear, so hard that the precum started seeping through the fabric. 

shotaro had the habit of taking out his stress on you in the bedroom. something about seeing you come undone at his hands eased the weight on his shoulders. for some twisted reason, seeing you cum from anything else but his dick helped ease his stress even more. deductive reasoning told shotaro it was probably about control, maybe projection, or maybe taking care of you first made shotaro feel like he was taking care of himself. there were multiple times that shotaro had finished without touching himself, only touching you. he had heard the horror stories from his friends about cumming too early, but once again shotaro was a modern man. he was ready to go again quickly, and was resourceful enough to keep you going long after he was done.

“i’m right here, baby.” shotaro cooed. 

he let go of your hand briefly to reach and touch your cheeks. it made your eyes open, and shotaro saw you try to look for him behind you. he moved his body to enter your lined of sight, still playfully prodding his vibrator at your entrance. when your features softened shotaro went back to pressing it into your clit. your high pitched whine went right to shotaro’s dick, bringing him forward to grind it on your ass. the precum that seeped through his underwear got on your pajama pants. shotaro looked up at the ceiling, going back to pressing your hand against your ass. he pressed the vibrator further into your clit, until you turned your head forward and your hand pressed against the headboard. 

shotaro watched your body rock against nothing, and he saw your thighs shake. he started gripping your ass again, pulling you back to press against his dick against your ass. shotaro got distracted, feeling you wiggle against his ass. he almost missed your whine talking about how close you were, and how your hand started pushing at the waistband of your pajama pants. shotaro used the last of his self control to bring your waistband down calmly. he couldn’t stop himself from sucking on the swell of your ass, biting with a force that caused you to jolt. 

with your pants halfway down your legs you became more sensitive. there was one less layer separating your body from the vibrations of the toy. you couldn’t hide behind the extra layer, turning your head to whine in the pillow when shotaro pressed into your clit. he could see the splotch over your underwear, and when he pressed his finger into your panties the fabric stuck to your folds. 

“i’m going to cum.” you whimpered.

shotaro went back to kissing your ass, alternating between sucks and love bites. he used his free hand to bunch your underwear, until the fabric pulled between your ass. he lifted slightly, applying just enough friction to your cunt. you were moaning now, failing to muffle your sounds in the pillow.

“let it out.” shotaro encouraged.

with your bunched panties in his hand he brought it back to your ass, only freeing his thumb from his fist. when shotaro lightly pressed his finger against your asshole your body tensed for a split second before melting underneath his touch. your first orgasm was never loud, only high-pitched whimpers and repeating his name over and over. you almost always relaxed after the first one, losing all force to keep yourself up causing you to slide on the soft sheets.

shotaro could’ve taken you from the back like this for the rest of the night. he resisted the urge to hold your body in this position with his strength while he spent the night relaxing every tense muscle in your body. part of him wanted to fuck you with the dildo then give you his dick until the back of your thighs were glossy from slick and you had to press your legs together pathetically to save yourself from overstimulation—but the way you kept puckering your lips and clutching at the bottom of his shirt made his tunnel vision disperse. so when shotaro guided your wobbly legs out of your pants he let you lay on your back. 

you pulled him down to you quickly, wrapping your legs around his waist and peppering kisses all along his face. shotaro smiled from the quick kisses, thinking about how you must’ve stored all your affection up the whole day. 

shotaro reached behind him in the middle of your kisses, bringing the dildo to rest beside your head. when your kisses ceased, shotaro brought you in for a big kiss, one that still connected your lips with a string of spit. shotaro broke the string with the dildo, letting it rest on your bottom lip while you looked up to him with blown out eyes. shotaro gave you a simple head nod and you poked your tongue out, laving the tip until it was glossy with your spit. shotaro licked a line down it himself, making you widen your eyes. 

he barely gave you time to register the lewd act before he brought the dildo down between your two bodies. he pressed the tip to your clit before dragging it down to collect your slick. you brought shotaro down closer to put your head in the crook of his neck as the wet sounds filled the room. shotaro liked playing with you this way, making you hear how wet you always get. he was almost able to imagine it being his own dick spreading your arousal around and teasing your entrance. your legs that were wrapped around his waist spread apart and you let your hips thrust upwards, desperate to have something inside of you.

shotaro pulled his body away from you until you were forced to look at him. he could see the bleary look in your eyes were wet now with tears threatening to break your water line. shotaro used his free hand to stroke the skin underneath your eye. he watched your big eyes stare at him desperately, flickering down quickly to his consoling smile.

“just relaxxxxx.” shotaro prolonged his words as he slid the warm dildo into your heat.

your mouth was agape taking it all. you almost immediately began squeezing around the toy, your walls still sensitive from your first orgasm. it slid in and out of your with ease, both you and shotaro’s foreheads pressed against eachother to watch the scene unfold together. you swallowed it up each time, and if you looked further past you could see shotaro’s dick twitching in his underwear. there was a wet patch, one that you would have to teasingly bring up later. 

you were pulled from your thoughts when you felt shotaro’s eyes look at you. with your foreheads still pressed together you maintained eye contact, biting on your bottom lip when shotaro turned the vibrator on to it’s lowest setting.

you started whimpering immediately and found yourself in the same position of desperately looking for things to hold onto. shotaro found your hand first, squeezing it tight and pressing it into the sheets next to your head.

“so wet and tight,” shotaro increased the speed of pumping the toy inside of you. “i can feel you sucking it back in.” he cooed.

you didn’t know how to respond. any words you could’ve formed turned into quick motions of your heads and whimpers. when shotaro increased the speed of the vibration your whimpers turned into moans and cries of his name.

“you pretending it’s me?” shotaro teased.

you looked down again while shotaro lifted one of your legs to rest on his shoulder. you shook your head, muttering something about how it’s not as good as the real thing. 

shotaro felt a pulse in his pants again as he pulled his body up, getting a full view of your entire body. he settled back on his legs to get a better angle and view. from here he could see your chest shudder as your breaths became more broken, and how your leg tensed from the pleasure. you were going through a full body experience, and shotaro got to witness it all. how could he be stressed about anything after seeing this? how could you be stressed after going through it? he was unrelenting and could stop himself from sighing in content. shotaro was coming towards his own climax, just from watching your squirms become more intense.

he wrapped a hand around your leg and pulled you closer. shotaro licked his hand and brought it to your chest. he rolled your sensitive nipples between his wet fingers, pinching harder until you brought your own hands to your chest. you placed your hand over his, guiding how you needed him to hold you. shotaro felt his mouth go agape slightly watching you touch yourself. he knew he told himself that he would be doing all the work, but something about both of you coming together to bring yourself pleasure drove him insane. shotaro had to let out a deep breath, he had to save whatever he had left for you. he turned up the speed and went faster, until your hand clutched onto his bicep. 

your eyes were fixed on shotaro as his expression got serious. he kept going, letting a glob of spit land on your cunt to add more lubrication. your nails dug into shotaro’s arm and he bit his lip.

“you close?” shotaro said, already knowing the answer.

“yeah.” you moaned.

shotaro smiled and continued the same speed.

“give it to me.” he said.

for a moment you were silent. it was only the sound of your computer fans whirring, the low sound of the vibrator, and the squelching that filled the room. it was you arching your back of the bed and shotaro egging you on, coaxing you to the edge. when you felt the tension snap again your whimpers came out in pants before a cry came from your throat. it got louder as shotaro didn’t stop, still thrusting the vibrator in and out of your heat. your nails didn’t let up in his bicep, gripping him so hard your body shook. your legs closed around shotaro’s hand, causing the leg on shotaro’s shoulder to pull him in. didn’t separate them, instead watching your body react with enchantment fueled by lust. 

shotaro didn’t stop until after your frantic head shakes turned weak, and your grip on his bicep went limp. shotaro pulled out the dildo quickly, letting it vibrate on your stomach before turning it off. your full body twitched from the situation, and continued to twitch as shotaro ran soothing hands across your body. he let you lay there limp as you caught your breath and gathered your composure.

“you okay?” he asked innocently.

shotaro asked the question like your twitching body wasn’t his fault. the smile on his face was small, pressing heart shaped kissing on your hot cheeks. your world was still spinning when your snoozed alarm went off again. thirty minutes slipped through your fingers, you weren’t sure if you could even get up anymore to make your way to the computer. your full body went slack, so loose you were almost limp. if it wasn’t for shotaro, you don’t think you could’ve turned the alarm off.

he set his phone back down on the bedside table, hovering over you as he continued to touch you gently. this time it was shotaro giving you a flurry of slow kisses, each one wetter than the last. shotaro helped you come back to earth quicker, silently letting your body gain it’s strength again. 

when you were ready, you propped yourself up on your elbows to look at him. you saw his full body, still in his undershirt and briefs. before you could reach for his waistband he spoke.

“i came.” shotaro said.

his confidence in the statement almost made you bashful. you only nodded, swallowing whatever spit you had in your mouth to try and wet your throat. 

you words inevitably came out hoarse and quiet, asking shotaro to cuddle with you. he got up from the bed quickly, taking the toys into the bathroom to be cleaned and coming back with a cold bottle of water. you downed it quickly, but not as fast as shotaro was coming back to bed. he didn’t bother to get changed and you didn’t bother to get dressed as you cuddled together above the sheets. 

you both knew it was useless getting dressed, you were going to go for another round when the snooze alarm sounded off again.

[adore-laur]

WINDS OF CHANGE

— here’s an update on dad harry & the fam <3 please reblog/comment, or i will haunt you

——

You've been dreading this day since March began.

Every time you passed the calendar on the refrigerator, you averted your eyes so you didn't see the specific date circled with the words "Lovebug's First Day" written inside it.

Time ticked by in an unyielding manner. Like an apex predator lying in wait, it crept up on you and pounced, leaving you disoriented, helpless, and wounded. You couldn't mentally process the breakneck speed of reality sprinting straight at you. When you merely blinked in a daze, another month unfurled, leaving no chance to recover.

The day arrives with a strong western wind and a brilliantly bright sunrise that mocks your low spirits. You're awake before anyone else, which is rare. Sleep evaded you last night, your eyes rejecting the heaviness that always comes with sleeping in Harry's warm embrace. The restlessness was paired with a fierce ache clutching your heart and holding on tight until the early morning.

At almost four years old, your eldest daughter is attending preschool today. After being a stay-at-home mom since she was born, you're finally setting her free to grow somewhere new. It was always in the cards, considering you would like to get back to working part-time to help provide for the family. You love bonding with and nurturing both your girls, but you're eager to put your brain to use in a different environment. It's time to return to other identities besides being a mother and a wife.

You begin brewing coffee, then open the kitchen curtains to allow the sun to pour in. For some odd reason, the atmosphere feels different. It feels like your first day of school all over again, where there's that nostalgic zest in the air fused with an underlying fear of the unknown. It's impossible to describe lucidly, but its presence is strongly felt nonetheless.

Today will forever change your family's routine, and it will make you want to rip your hair out and also burst with pride. There's a tug-of-war match taking place in your heart right now. Your nerves feel frayed; anxiety's merciless hands are harshly plucking at the threads. It's like fighting a biological battle with no shield—your brain is futile against all the attacks.

The sound of the wooden stairs creaking dissolves your whirlwind thoughts. Harry appears, wearing a snug black sweater and athletic shorts. He yawns, the sparkling sunlight accentuating his face gorgeously—the neatly trimmed scruff on his jaw he kept throughout winter; the tired shape of his eyes; the wispy way his hair curls after his morning shower. It's a blessing to be able to see the serene side of him that just woke up and isn't burdened by stress.

"Hi, sweetheart," he says, taking the mug of black coffee you prepared for him and sipping with an appreciative hum. "Both kids are still asleep."

You simply nod, afraid that if you speak, your poise will crumble instantaneously. Your hands distract themselves by lighting the wick of a sandalwood-scented candle. A part of you falsely hopes the comforting aroma will calm you down, but you know nothing will break through the full-body anxiety you're currently experiencing.

"No cuddles in bed this morning?" Harry asks curiously, coming up behind you and wrapping his arms around your waist. He smells like his sage and citrus body wash. "I missed you. Thought we'd have a little cry session before leaving."

Did he really have to mention the elephant in the room? You force your tears to save their arrival for later and say, "Sorry. I'm just trying to avoid crying as much as possible today."

His sigh is weighted with emotion as he sets his mug down and massages your shoulders. "I'm losing my composure already," he admits, laughing weakly.

At least he's in the same boat as you. Being a father has cracked him open in the best way possible—he's more softened than ever, and these parenting milestones always make him tenderhearted.

You rest your head against his chest and say, "This is harder than I thought it'd be." Every outcome you predicted involved an aching heart. Now, in the thick of it, you're defenseless.

"Remember our first night at home with her?" Harry asks, applying pressure with his thumbs to get rid of the muscle knots in your shoulder blades.

"Yeah. You woke me up because she had the hiccups."

He groans into your neck, almost like he's reliving the panicked moment. "I was so scared something was wrong."

You recall opening your eyes in the dead of night, the mellow lamplight illuminating Harry's troubled expression. Your baby, so small and precious in his arms, had harmless hiccups leaving her mouth. While you were half asleep, you reassured him by saying it was probably because she fed for too long. He agreed, yet still brought her to bed and gently rubbed her tummy until they were gone. You two were learning and tag-teaming through pure exhaustion. It was tough, but the rewards came in refreshing waves.

"Then she threw up on me," Harry adds, shaking his head fondly.

You turn around and slide your palms under his sweater, feeling the gloriously warm skin of his sculpted stomach. "Remember when she said her first word?"

He smiles reminiscently. "Mama."

"You started crying, if I'm not mistaken."

"Because she recognized you. It was special."

"Are you surprised she didn't say Dada first?"

"No, considering I talked about Mama all the time around her." His knuckle strokes under your chin. "Still do."

You hum thoughtfully, welcoming the pleasant memories that replay behind your closed eyelids. "Our girl is all grown up now. What are we going to do?"

Harry tilts your head to kiss the sensitive spot behind your ear. "You and I will be okay. It'll take time, but we'll eventually sink into this new normal."

"You think so?"

"I know so. Our love is steadfast, and nothing will ever change that." He hugs you in an all-consuming way—it's intimate and infuses you with safety, warmth, and a hopeful spark that everything will patch together the way it's supposed to.

——

When the preschool comes into view, you get slammed with immediate sadness.

You toured it with Harry months ago, ensuring it was where you wanted your daughter to be during the weekdays. The curriculum focuses on outdoor learning and is nestled in a safe neighborhood only ten minutes from the beach house. The teachers, classrooms, and overall energy of the place made you less anxious, but now it's back with a vengeance, eating away at your calm facade.

Kids linger outside the building, the sun shining on the blacktop that's scribbled with chalk drawings. A few participate in supervised hopscotch, while others twist their bodies nervously. A gated playground area is off to the left, with colorful swings, slides, and seesaws. To the right is a woodsy area with a large sandbox and flower beds. The stone pathway is decorated with little handprints that must have been dipped in paint. It's darling.

In the rearview mirror, you watch your daughter kick her legs in excitement and hug her tiny ladybug backpack, all ready to go. She woke up happy as a clam and impatiently scarfed down the big breakfast Harry had made her. After that, Harry braided her hair while sitting on the front porch, the March winds and briny air bringing the spring season with them. Pictures were taken, hearts were broken a bit more, and then you all were off to part ways.

Harry to the restaurant; you to your part-time job. No babies to look after, just an empty house waiting to be filled with love again.

Your youngest daughter, who's ten months old now, sleeps peacefully in the car seat. She's getting bigger every day, and it's a double whammy to see both of your children become more cognizant. You want to curse time for being such a thief.

She'll be dropped off at the nearby daycare center next, which will further twist the knife. It's possible for separation anxiety to occur, and while you can handle it, your baby girl's reaction will be a mystery. You sincerely hope the transition from home to somewhere unfamiliar will be smooth sailing.

Harry parks the car and looks over at you unwaveringly. "It's now or never," he whispers.

You draw in a deep breath, then exhale slowly. "Let's go."

Stepping out of the car, you open the back door and let your daughter hop out. You'd walk her to the door, but you want to stay near your youngest.

As she bounces with anticipation, you open her backpack and double-check that she has everything—her lunch box, a change of clothes, sunscreen, and the comfort blanket she's had since she was born. You zip it back up and then unhurriedly help her arms into the straps, trying to stall what happens next.

Harry, never the one to procrastinate, kicks things into gear by crouching and cradling her head. "You have the best day, all right? Be kind, make friends, and have fun. I'll be picking you up later."

"Can we eat ice cream after?" she asks, clasping her hands and standing on her tiptoes. "And play on the beach?"

He kisses her forehead. "We can do whatever you want, lovebug."

You can envision it now. Harry will bring the girls home, exhausted from work. He'll make dinner and wait for you, then you'll all sit at the kitchen table and attentively listen to her talk about her day in great detail. Then, as the sun sets, he'll entertain her by the shore until he insists on bedtime. Come tomorrow, he'll do it again with the same steadfast devotion because that's what good fathers do.

"We love you so much," you say, petting her braided hair.

"Love you," she replies distractedly, eagerly glancing at the front door. "I gotta go now, Mommy. Bye, Daddy."

She turns, ready to break free, but Harry stops her and says, "Not so fast, little lady. Give us some love to get through the day."

She shyly hugs him. She's growing out of her clingy tendencies and becoming more independent, and you can tell by Harry's sad smile that he recognizes it too. She briefly hugs your leg before running to the front door, where teachers are waiting with enthusiastic expressions and name tag stickers.

Harry slowly stands, never taking his eyes off her. He's more adjusted to not seeing her as much during the week than you, but you know the sentiment of her starting school still weighs heavy on his heart. After watching her disappear, he slings his arm around your shoulders and guides you to the car.

Inside is where you fall apart. The first cry that escapes has Harry blowing out an unsteady breath and embracing you. Against your neck, he sniffles, letting his piled-up emotions finally fall to pieces. He's not much of a crier, but when he does, it's a raw sight to see.

"Reservation for a cry session? Table for two?" he says humorously, rubbing your back and lightly scratching it.

"We're so lame," you whisper, gripping his sweater like a vice.

"God, I know. I even packed tissues." Harry takes an on-the-go pack out of his pocket, plucks two tissues out, and wipes both his and your tears with them.

"Eventually, we're going to have to do this again," you say. From the passenger seat, you peek at your baby girl and shoo away the thought—you still have more than enough time with her before she starts school.

Harry kisses your cheek. "One day at a time, honey."

Undoubtedly, this routine will get easier. It will become second nature, and you'll discover the exquisite simplicity of watching your children grow before leaving the nest and soaring through the sky.

They came into this world like a soft spring breeze, carrying seeds and dispersing them into your life. The roots emerged from under your home and flourished into a bountiful garden. Each day, there are new blossoms to admire and appreciate. And each day, you aim to help them thrive with support from Harry's sunshine.

Try as they might, the winds of change won't cause harm. Your family's roots are firm in the ground.

——