#some of the prompts in the prompt table really have me work for them lol but i hope this one turned out alright

[runariya]

Part 2 of this | shout out to @sleepingzzzimp who made this happen lol part of the prompt game pairing: vampire!Jungkook x f!reader genre: vampire!AU, yandere, dark romance warnings: compulsion and being held captive, obsessive and possessive JK, OC’s rather…special in regards of what JK did to her, allusion to dubcon/noncon, blood drinking, foul language, explicit sexual content, smut, OC’s ovulating, oral (m. receiving), ‘good girl’, a lot of saliva, deep throating, size difference, a lil bit of fingering, doggy, unprotected seggs, a lil bit of aftercare, a lil bit of fluff, lmk if I forgot smth pls word count: 2.573

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Jungkook didn’t think much further than keeping you by his side, using you not only as his personal blood bag but also as a warm, perfectly suited pleasure-giver for his dead soul. It’s not like you have much of a choice, with the compulsion firmly in place to stop your fragile self from doing anything that might harm your mortal, precious life.

He knows, though, that even under compulsion, humans tend to remain aware of what’s going on. He’s seen that subtle flicker of consciousness more times than he can count. But with you, he never finds resentment, hatred, or sadness—none of the things he might expect, even when he himself would admit he’s gone too far.

It’s impressive, really, and makes it all the more fun and fulfilling to have you around. You’re like the perfect doll, tailor-made just for him. Amazing.

Weeks have passed—maybe months? Jungkook doesn’t know anymore, nor does he care to keep track of mortal time. What he does know is that a routine has formed. And part of that routine is watching you make breakfast in the old kitchen of his mansion. Because despite everything, you’re still human, and you need nutrition to keep being his personal supply.

Jungkook’s noticed for days now that something about you has changed, though he’s not entirely sure what it is. It’s like the compulsion has worn off, not working on you the way it used to. But that shouldn’t be possible. At least, not in his understanding of things.

Sometimes, as he watches you humming around the kitchen, occasionally singing along to the crackling radio on the top shelf, he daydreams of you being here by choice, not because of compulsion. It must be nice, he thinks, to have someone who loves him.

Could he even love? If it was with you, he might try. Or maybe this possessiveness is love, the only kind he’s capable of feeling.

Like every morning, Jungkook sits at the nearby table, watching you prepare a high-protein breakfast, as if you’re willingly keeping yourself strong for him. Then, it happens. Your eyes meet his, and for the first time, they’re crystal clear, fully conscious, without any trace of the haze he’s used to see in them.

His face would go pale if he weren’t already deadly white. Carefully, he stands up, every sense on high alert. The kitchen knives are just within your reach, which he’s absolutely not a fan of. 

“What’s wrong, Kook?” Your voice is soft, melodic, and he can’t tell if you’re playing games or if he’s dreaming.

“You tell me.”

“I’m fine. But you’re not. You’re scaring me, Kook.”

He knows why you’re scared. He’s never acted this wary with you before, never approached you like you might be his literal downfall. But he can’t help it. Even though he knows you can’t really harm him, he refuses to let his guard down.

“I know the compulsion’s worn off. Stop pretending.” His voice is dangerously cold, stepping closer, eyes flicking between you and every potential threat—the knives, the hot pan, even the salt that could burn his eyes.

“I’m not pretending, I know it’s worn off.” You smile up at him, brighter than ever, like you’re happy to be free—though not from him, specifically.

“And why aren’t you running? Or fighting?”

Jungkook doesn’t want to indulge in some fantasy where you’ve magically fallen in love with your captor. But despite his caution, your words make him feel something—a fuzziness he hasn’t felt in centuries.

“Why would I?” You sigh, turning off the stove and setting down the spatula. “Jungkook, you’ve treated me well. It’s not like I would—”

“Cut the bullshit. I know you’re lying.”

“But I’m not, Kook. There’s no one out there waiting for me. And if there is, they’re only out to hurt me.”

Your eyes are glassy now, almost pleading, and he’s not sure what to make of it.

“And now, you’ve suddenly fallen in love with the one person who’s used you in every evil way imaginable?”

“It was never evil, and you know it.”

Your confidence throws him off. He’s always seen himself as the monster he is. He’s used your body, fed off you—blood and arousal—without ever asking for consent. How could that not be evil?

“But it was.”

You purse your lips, shaking your head disapprovingly as you turn back to the stove, reigniting it to finish your breakfast.

“It wasn’t. Did I give you permission for all that? No. Would I have if you’d asked? Probably not. But—”

“See!”

“I’m talking now. Shut up.” You point the spatula at him, and it’s so cute that he genuinely smiles for the first time in what feels like forever. “All I’m saying is, even though your ways are… unorthodox, you were never harsh with me. It never hurt, and I could feel how much you cared for my wellbeing.”

A silence falls between you, and Jungkook isn’t sure what to say. You’re sort of right. He never wanted to truly break you. He wanted to keep you safe, keep you useful for as long as possible. You’re too precious to waste.

“All I’m saying is, now that I’m fully conscious and making my own choices, I’d rather stay with you than go back to the humans.”

“I don’t trust you.”

“Oh, I can tell.” You giggle, and despite himself, despite every reason not to, Jungkook chuckles too.

“Eat up. You’ll need it.”

Jungkook turns to leave, still processing, his mind racing. He needs time to figure out what to do next.

“Can’t wait,” you call after him, your tone teasing, and he’s pretty sure that if he could blush, he would.

🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸

There’s no way in hell he’s able to figure you out. No. Way. Why are you all smiles and happiness, sitting like always on his giant bed, offering your neck to him like you always did?

He’s standing a good distance away, arms crossed over his sturdy chest, head tilted to the side. It’s not like he isn’t hungry—he’s starving, actually—because he’s never had his full fill of your blood, always making sure you’re alright after, leaving his hunger partially satisfied but never completely.

Saliva is collecting relentlessly in his mouth, his fangs protruding without much effort. Yet, he can’t make a move. What if it’s a trap? What if there’s a hidden dagger in your clothes, something that’ll kill him?

Should he just make you leave and find someone new? But he doesn’t want to. You’re just too sweet, too perfect for him to resist.

“Strip bare,” he commands, and the words alone make your thighs rub together as you immediately comply. Odd. 

You waste no time, each piece of clothing falling soundlessly to the floor, your nipples hardening in the cold.

“Turn around.”

You do. And he finds no threat on you. Odd again.

“Sit.”

You comply again, and he’s kind of aroused by your eager obedience. It’s refreshing, and he’s not sure how much longer he’ll be able to resist you if this keeps up—willingly walking into whatever doom you might be for him.

But still, he’s unable to move, even though the pulse of your neck is tempting him beyond reason.

“Kook,” you mewl softly, and he’s gone. Jungkook’s gone in the sweetness of you. He lets his arms fall, strides towards you, and practically tackles you to the bed, licking and breathing against your neck.

“So good,” he murmurs, saliva dripping from his lips onto your skin as you grind your hips against him. He’s not sure why you’re this eager—he hasn’t bitten you yet, so his bite’s usual effect can’t be coursing through your blood making you horny.

“Why so eager?” he muses, grazing his fangs along your artery.

“Ovulating,” you moan, your hands threading through his hair.

“Hmmm… I can smell it on you.” The intoxicating scent of your body wraps around him like a vice, and he can’t resist any longer. “Gonna make you feel good, doll.”

You only moan his name as Jungkook finally sinks his fangs into your delicate skin, your blood flooding his mouth, his entire being. It makes him feel high, high in a way that tells him he’ll never want anything or anyone else. He’s addicted to you.

Jungkook feels your arousal intensify, your dopamine and oxytocin levels skyrocketing as your juices drip from your perfect little hole, soaking his clothed thigh with a dark wetness.

“Yes, Kook, need more, please.”

Jungkook pulls back in surprise, the confirmation so new he’s unsure if he heard you right. But you grab his head, pushing him back to your neck while your other hand fumbles with his chest, trailing down to his abs.

“Please, Kook. I’ve been a good girl. Please.”

Jungkook feels like he’s in heaven—a demon allowed into paradise. He’s fully sated, despite not drinking much of your blood. He reckons it’s the awareness in you that magnifies the effect.

He licks the wound on your neck to help it heal, then leans back on his knees, admiring your flustered, tiny frame. You’re looking up at him with sparkly eyes, lips parted, neck still smeared with your blood—you’re a vision he’ll never get sick off.

“You’ve been a good girl?” There’s nothing more satisfying than seeing you this keen, and he plans to savour it.

“Yes, a good girl for you. Always for you.”

As Jungkook stands to strip off his own clothes, you’re watching him for the first time, drinking him in rather than lying there passively.

“Sit up. Open up.”

Obedient as ever, you do as told, opening your pretty mouth and sticking out your tongue, waiting impatiently.

Jungkook pumps his cold, rock-hard cock a few times, marvelling at the sight of you. He runs his thumb over his glans for an extra kick. And though he knows you can somehow take him, he’s always impressed by the sheer size difference. But you’re a good girl, letting him in, suppressing the gag as he hits the back of your throat, muscles pulsing violently around him.

A primal moan escapes his lips as his head falls back, savouring every second of you sucking him off like your life depends on it. He can’t help but thrust into your throat, his pace increasing with every push as you grab his hips to take him deeper, moaning around his cock. Your saliva drips down your chin, your eyes, aware, locking onto his as if to reassure him to give you all he's got. 

He doesn’t hold back after that, pushing his hips flush against your face, your nose pressed into him until you can’t breathe anymore as he lets go, shooting his load down your throat. He stays there a moment longer, riding out his orgasm before pulling back.

It’s pleasing to see that, even though you haven’t climaxed yet, your skin glows ever so lovingly.

“You good?”

You’re still catching your breath, but the smile on your face disarms Jungkook completely. “Yes, of course.”

For some reason, his heart swells at your words and at the person you are, someone he hadn’t truly seen until now.

A trail of arousal drips down his sheets, ending in a pool on the floor, which he hadn’t noticed before. The sight reignites his hunger as he flips you over, pushing your face into the bed and kneeling between your legs.

“Should I reward you?” Jungkook runs his fingers over your cunt, circling your entrance before moving to your clit, giving it a few rough pets.

All you can do is moan into the sheets, your hips pushing back desperately.

Jungkook always thought you were perfect, made for him—the reason he captured you all that time ago—but seeing you now, more perfect and conscious than you ever were, is something else entirely. He loves it. He loves you. And he doesn’t care if it’s possible or not—he’s never felt like this before, and he’ll move heaven and earth to keep it that way.

“I think you’ve been such a good girl, you deserve the big reward, don’t you?” Jungkook drags his fangs down your ass, ending at your inner thigh before sinking them into your soft skin for a little sip, your arousal adding a tantalising spice.

“Yes, Kook, been so good for you,” you pant, and that’s all he needs to reward you properly as he gets to his feet after licking the bite closed, lining his still-hard cock up with your weeping cunt.

It’s a tight fit, so tight he feels like he might pass out, his vision doubling and tripling as your pulsing walls grip him mercilessly. “My beautiful doll, my beautiful, beautiful doll.”

Jungkook can’t stop praising you with every word he knows. You’re perfect, moaning, drooling, and pushing back against his hips just for him.

“You’re mine, doll.” He sets a brutal pace, needing the confirmation that no compulsion is required for you to want this as much as he does.

“Yours, Kook. Always,” you cry, fists clutching the sheets as you push back even more desperately.

“Fucking right, mine.”

Jungkook grabs your hair without slowing down, pulling you up against his chest while his other arm holds you steady not to collapse right back to the bed. 

“Never gonna let you leave.”

“Don’t want to,” you moan, your glassy, love-drunk eyes locking onto his red ones.

“Never gonna stop fucking you.”

Your swollen, parted lips scream to be kissed.

“Never gonna want anybody else,” Jungkook confesses between pants, knowing and accepting there’s no turning back for either of you.

For the first time since he captured you, you kiss him back, sucking his tongue like you’ve been starved. It’s as if all this time, you’ve wanted to reciprocate, to give, not just receive.

And despite still tasting his cum on your tongue, there’s a newfound sweetness, making him wish the compulsion had worn off sooner.

“Kook, I’m close.”

He doesn’t need your words—he can feel it in your pulsing heat, your quickening heartbeat.

“Come for me, doll. Show me how much you want this.”

You scream his name as he fucks you through your orgasm, your walls clamping down on his cold cock. He doesn’t mind, wanting to feel every contraction, hear every scream, taste every rush of blood in your body.

His own orgasm builds, and he lets himself go, chanting your name as his thrusts grow irregular until he paints your walls bright white.

You both remain like that, catching your breath, though only your heart beats violently, only you are drenched in sweat, only you truly spent.

Jungkook eventually pulls out, cleaning you up with tissues from the nightstand, all while you watch, glowing ever so ethereal in your afterglow.

As Jungkook reaches for your clothes to dress you as he always does, you stop him with a hand on his tattooed arm. The boyish look he gives you is oddly endearing, and he senses you’re gathering all your confidence for your next words.

“Please don’t send me away.”

Your honesty hits him hard, and he straightens, realising he’s truly hit the jackpot with you.

“I won’t,” Jungkook promises, and with that, you leap around his neck, legs wrapping around his tiny waist, thanking him over and over as if he's you're knight in shining armour.

[sisterdivinium]

“But you couldn’t have seen it coming. I was an idiot, the signs were all there. Defect once and how will you resist defecting again? Kristian was on my side only while it was convenient.”

“Vincent ran back with his tail between his legs when the tides began to turn against Adriel. The only side they have is their own.”

Jillian sighed and nodded. She opened her mouth to say something but didn’t.

“What?”

“Another complaint, but I don’t want to talk about boys anymore. It’s a waste of our time together.”

“Agreed. What do you propose?”

Jillian kissed her.

[ilys00ga]

𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝘂𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗲.

➞ pair: yoongi x female reader.

➞ word count: 1k

➞ synopsis: "yoongi and reader making a meal together for yoongi's parents" with a little bit of a domestic twist.

➞ genre: established relationship, husband!yoongi, dad!yoongi, just fluffy fluff fluff, they cook together, dad!yoongi, nothing goes wrong, dad!yoongi, just pure happiness, they also call it tooth-rotting fluff lol, did I mention: DAD!YOONGI ???, they have a babygirl uwu <33

➞ A/N: first off, thank u anon for sending me this super cute prompt, I loved it and had sm fun writing it!! second, EID MUBARAK TO MY FELLOW MUSLIMS OUT THEREEE <3 this is my lil gift for yall on this eid. it wasn't supposed to be this long tbh, and I haven't written anything for over a month, so, sorry if this is kind of messy and all over the place??? im trying to get my sht together again. but I really liked the prompt and!!! had to write it!!!! kkk enjoy bbys <3

ps. any form of feedback is reallyyyy appreciated. I live for compliments :) !

★ MASTERLIST.

ᵎᵎ 𖦹彡⋆｡˚・ ─ ・ ⋯ ・ ─ ⊹ ♡₊˚๑

It was one warm spring morning.

Yoongi was back from a long series of concerts just a couple of days ago. Grateful to be finally home with the two people that mean the absolute world to him. Your cat was purring on his chest as the two of you laid on the bed, enjoying the quiet of Saturday that had just begun, when his mother called to announce that, later that evening, she and his father would be coming over.

One thing led to another, and there you stood with your husband in the kitchen. One was chopping ingredients up by the stove, the other handling a mixer. Your two years old baby girl, Nara, was sitting in her high chair somewhere away from the oven and any other harmful thing. What used to be your favorite playlists playing ever so softly in the background as you fixed yourselves your favorite meals, together, was replaced with the mindless blabbering of your sweet baby girl instead, playing with the wooden spoon you had given her to play with some minutes before.

“Is this good?” Yoongi dipped the tip of his finger into the mixture he’s been working on, and carefully brought it up to your lips. You hummed in satisfaction as soon as the flavors hit your taste buds, a little bit taken aback at how he nailed your mother’s secret recipe only in the first try, “Great. You’re getting so good at this, Yoonie. I think you should take over kitchen duties very soon.”

He snorted, “If that means I’ll never have to do the laundry ever again, then sure.”

Feigning annoyance, you hissed at him, “You’re so lazy.”

“No one likes doing laundry, honey. Not even you.”

"You're so annoying."

Your daily bickering banters were disturbed by the sound of his phone ringing from the other room. He left to take the call, leaving you with your noisy little baby. The chef hat she had on her head–Yoongi's idea, by the way, along with the tiny apron she wore as well–was almost too big on her. It made her look a thousand times more adorable that you immediately started grinning and cooing when she looked up at you.

"And what about you chef? Are you having fun?"

She balled her fists up and raised them in the air, wiggling in her seat to let you know that she wanted to be picked up. Being the ever so whipped mom that you were, you scooped her up in your arms right away, and peppered kisses all over her chubby face. Her giggles seeped through your skin and locked into your bones, aching with a sickeningly utmost adoration.

“Mom said they’re almost here.” Said Yoongi upon entering the kitchen, putting his phone atop the table and smiling as soon as his eyes fell on the two of you—his girls.

“Are you being a good chef assistant, baby?” He cooed, kissing her cheek, then leaning in to leave a peck on your lips.

“She’s been blabbering her life off the whole time you were gone." you hummed.

“Mom is going to have a good time conversing with her this evening.”

“We’re almost done cooking now.” You reminded him, “Honey, check on the oven please.”

“Right.”

A wave of heat hit his face as soon as he opened the oven, but he smiled once he checked on the muffins, “they are done.”

When he took the tray out and swiftly put it on the counter, Nara erupted in a fit of loud blabber, flailing the arm that clutched on the wooden spoon in the air and almost smacking your face in the process.

It had your husband giggling, of course. He couldn’t help but join in and engage with her blather, how could he not when he got such an adorable chatterbox for a child? “Huh, Nini? The muffins are done! Yeah!”

He took her into his arms, allowing you to go check on the stewpot that was still boiling on the stove, before bringing her to have a look at the tray of the mouth watering muffins, and cheered, “look!”

Your heart, yet again, swooned, almost oozing out of your ribs with how tight your chest grew to be at the sound of your baby’s joyful squeals. She was all excited as her daddy showed her around the process of cooking the dinner for her grandparents.

Nara was having the time of her life. For some reason, she's always loved being in the kitchen. Yoongi once made a comment about her becoming a successful chef, which then turned into a long, heartwarming talk about your daughter and her future. The gentle smile Yoongi had on his face throughout that was one to die for, especially when he sulked about not wanting your babygirl to grow up. His pout was so intense, you ended up engulfing him in a bone crushing hug for almost half an hour.

It was moments like this one that you wished were pictures so you could cut them up and hide them. Somewhere deep inside your heart. Forever. That's how you often found yourself observing and admiring every single interaction your husband made with your baby, and that’s how you ended up listening attentively as he continued to talk so passionately and earnestly with her, while simultaneously attempting to work with his free arm to the best of his abilities.

She, at one point, got so ecstatic that she accidentally thrusted her arm forward and hit him in the face with that spoon. But he only turned to look at you with an affectionate smile.

Struggling through a fit of giggles, you slipped the wooden object from her grasp and gave her a big kiss; making sure to squish her doughy cheeks—a trait that she definitely got from her father, “No more hitting mama and papa for you!”

The little girl’s squeaks only got louder as she reached out with her arms towards you, addressing you with more words of her very own and special language.

“Family hug?” you asked, glancing at a grinning Yoongi.

“Family hug!” He wrapped his free arm around you, bringing your body closer so that Nara could get a hold of you as well, then added, “but let’s make it a short one or else my parents are going to come to a burnt dinner.”

[dinogoofymutated]

Hello, I love your writing!! And the Kurt taking care of an overworked lover really melted my heart 🫠💕 could I ask for a similar prompt with Logan? He's my #1 X Men man. If this ptompt is too specific no worries, feel free to make it work within your own parameters- but I live with chronic pain/illness, so maybe it could be someone with a condition that flairing up and they refuse to rest/ask for help, making things worse, and Logan finally steps in, maybe scoops them up in his big arms and lovingly forces them to take a break? Logan has such a big protective heart under all his gruffness, and I think we need to see more of it in the Fandom.

💖 Love and Bless You 💖

Wolverine/GN!Reader UGH I love this request!! I hope it's okay that i didn't write about a specific illness, but describe a general chronic pain/mobility difficulty due to it. I need to write soft logan like this more often UGH- also, I was picturing the flirty Logan from Wolverine and the X-men here. He's infected my brain and I need more versions of him like that lol. TWS: Chronic pain/illness. flareups.

If there's one thing anyone knows about Logan, it's that's he's crazy observant, especially with that sniffer of his.

Sure me might not be able to smell when you're in pain, but I 100% thing that he just -knows- when something is off. It's like a sixth sense. Like you move in a particular way or eat your "fuck I hurt" food and he's on you like a goddamn bloodhound.

It doesn't matter how much you protest, or how much you fight him on it, he's not willing to budge when it comes to letting you rest- and if he can sneak in a few extra cuddles, or more time in bed with you, it's just a perk.

    Today has been a rough day since you woke up, and you knew it would most likely get worse. 

    You were having a bit of a flare-up. Well, you say a bit, in all actuality, it was an uphill battle from here. There was just something off the moment you woke up. Your joints were stiff and painful, everyday actions became a chore, and you were hurting much more than normal. But, if there was one thing about you everyone knew, it was that you were certainly stubborn. 

    You’re in the kitchen currently, resting at the table after popping a batch of cookies in the oven. Jubilee had been begging you to make her some sweet treats, and with her coming home from a rather long mission tomorrow, you decided to surprise her. Your body’s timing was… unfortunate, but there was no stopping you now. You were exhausted after making the dough, and rolling it into balls. After you had popped them in the oven you had painstakingly walked to the fridge to put the rest of the dough inside, muscles protesting each and every step. You had collapsed into the nearest chair, leaning your head back with a sigh, which is where you are now. You let your eyes drift closed as you wait for the timer to go off, relaxing into the seat.

    “Hey~” You jump at the sound of the voice, opening your eyes to see a smirking Logan, his arms draped across the back of your chair. You let out a huff, smiling at him. 

    “Hi Logan.” You say sweetly. One of his hands reaches down to run through your hair, and you feel like a cat as you eagerly lean into the touch.

    “How are you feeling?” He asks. You hum, grimacing at the question.

    “Fine?” You respond, an unsure tilt in your voice. Logan raises an eyebrow at you.

    “Don't bullshit me, sweetheart. I know somethings off.” Logan rumbles. You make a face, sitting up from the chair as normally as you can as the timer for the cookies goes off.

    “It's just a minor flare-up. It's fine, I'm fine. I have to finish baking these cookies for tomorrow anyway, so I don't really have a choice.” You say. If he sees the way you stumble a little, he doesn’t comment on it. Logan watches as you take a moment before you open the oven, resting against the counter. You realize that you may have gotten up from the chair just a little too fast as stars spot your eyes. After a minute of rest, hyper-aware of Logan’s eyes on you, you go for it. You barely crack the oven door open before Logan grabs you by the waist.

    “Alright, that's enough.” He says. You yelp as Logan drags you away from the oven. He takes the cookies out quickly before he turns around and immediately throws you over his shoulder. Your yelp is more of a screech this time.

    “Logan! Let me go- what are you doing?!” 

    “I'm not gonna stand back and watch you do this to yourself. I'm taking you to bed.” Logan huffs. He’s already walking you out of the kitchen and into the other parts of the mansion as you hit your palms against his back, trying to convince him to put you down.

    “But- I- the cookies!” You cry out. Logan has already gotten to your door opening it as he carries you inside.

    “I got it. Now just- relax.” He says, plopping you down on the bed. The action has you a little dizzy, and Logan leans in to kiss you on the forehead before he tucks you under the covers. 

    “I'm going to go get you some water and vitamins. Stay. Here.” You don’t have time to protest before he’s gone, having shut the door behind him. You want to get up and chase after him, tell him that you don’t need any special treatment and that you were fine on your own, but you’re not sure you can really run right now- and the comfort and warmth of your bed and covers are calling you like a goddamn siren song. 

    You drift in and out of consciousness in bed until Logan is back, with a glass of water and vitamins as promised. He hands you a flintstone gummy as he sits on the bed, and you can’t help but snicker. Logan rolls his eyes, still having delivered vitamins as promised.

    “What did you do about the cookies?” You ask as Logan peels back the covers to lie in the bed with you. He pulls you close as he settles in, rubbing his hands soothingly across the parts of you he knows tend to ache the most. 

    “I put a new batch in the oven. I’ll smell them when they’re ready.” He says. You roll your eyes at him, resting your head against his chest. 

    “Thank you, you know. Not just for the cookies, but… for caring.” You whisper. He huffs a laugh, leaning down to kiss you on the lips this time.

    “You don’t have to thank me, sweetheart. Just rest.”

[fuxuannie]

This is honestly my first time requesting anything so I'm kinda nervous ngl lol.

May I request some HCs with Dan Heng, Jing Yuan and/or Blade with a GN Reader who dislikes physical touches? As in, if someone hugs them and grabs their arm they recoil as fast as they can because they're uncomfortable? And will only be okay with physical affection when it's needed or if it's their partner?

Thank you for possibly considering this request, and have a good day or night :)

* pairing(s) : various hsr men (4) x gender neutral reader

* prompt : request ♡

* authors note : this request is SO me-core, as someone who's horrible with physical touch, i think im the best candidate for this /j thank you for the req and i'm honored im your first! this is really messy, im sorry T.T

DAN HENG was one of the first people to notice your discomfort with physical touch when you joined the Astral Express. March 7th tried to cling onto you, but instinctively you moved out of her way. (and admittedly almost made her stumble and fall doing so.) Profusely apologizing for that little accident, but you never really let people hold onto you.

So when you two got together, Dan Heng was pleasantly surprised with how clingy you really were. Whenever he was working in the Archives, the arms wrapping his waist and leaning on his back couldn't have been anyone else, he didn't wanna ask or point it out, just incase you would've been embarrassed or awkward about it.

Not only giving, but receiving. You used to refuse any form of physical touch but now the way he holds you in his arms is a blessing. You fit so perfectly, like you were meant for him, and he's so glad that you are. He helped you learn to love touch, and you helped him realize he loved to touch.

"I'll be there after work, I promise." You remember JING YUAN saying, and you told yourself you could survive a few hours waiting for him. So there you waited patiently, sitting alone on one of the outdoor tables by the restaurant you planned the date on.

It was almost time for him to arrive, and you were just happy you'd be seeing him soon, but you hear a throat clear behind you. You put your left arm by the back of your seat and turn around. "Hello there!" The man asked, a friendly smile on his face but something felt odd about it. A sixth sense intuition that somehow he didn't have the best intentions.

"You seem to be alone," Oh no. "I can give you a much better time." You force a laugh, flicking your wrist while doing so. "It's quite alright, he'll be arriving any minute now." And that seems to annoy the man, his kindness running thin. "Listen, he's clearly not interested-"

His hand goes up to grab your arm on the chair, but in one swift movement, you stand up and pull away. "Please. Do not touch me so casually." You say sternly, sending a glare towards the stranger. But the familiar feeling of a hand around your waist calms you down, you look at your boyfriend, who looks back at you apologetically. The man had long left, realizing who he may or may not have pissed off.

"I'm sorry I couldn't have arrived sooner." He says with a tired sigh. "It's alright, I'm glad you're here."

BLADE doesn't exactly care nor mind, he wasn't much of a touchy person either. But he'll do the little things like locking arms or letting you hold onto him.

He will get annoyed and maybe even confront people when it comes to situations where he feels like he has to. His mere glare can send people off running, so you're greatful to have him around.

You did like it when he'd hug you or hold you. It was rare, but when he let himself rest for a few hours, you're his personal pillow for that time period.

Kafka would mess with him every once in a while, touching your arm and making you feel ever so slightly awkward and the glare Blade gives would scare any ordinary person. She loves the reaction she gets out of him, seeing you get pulled away and his hands on your waist posessively.

"CAELUS, wait-" March 7th and Dan Heng tried to stop him, but suddenly the trailblazer walks up to you and wraps his arms around your figure. The other two expected you two slap him in the face, or something to push him away, but the way you payed no notice to the way he holds onto you surprises them.

"Whaaat..??"

"Oh! Right, this is my partner. Hehe." He'd snicker, already seeing March 7th's absolutely baffled expression. "You have a PARTNER??? AND IT'S (name)?!"

You're known in the Station for being a researcher who despised being touched, most people knew how passive aggressive you'd get depending on how you were touched, and the intentions behind it. "I'm the one exception to that whole thingy they have, I'm just really special." Caelus sparkled in pride, before clearing your throat. "You're about to lose that privilege if you don't let me go and look at some papers."

Caelus apologizes, pulling away as you huff. "Thank you." And you return to your work.

"I still can't believe Caelus pulls.."

"What in the GALAXY is that supposed to mean?!"

[bandgie]

Agora Hills

Changbin x fem!reader

synopsis: You thought breaking up with Changbin was for the best, but he's here to remind you that's completely and utterly wrong.

warnings: MDNI 18+, suggestive themes, exes-to-lovers, rich!changbin, he's an asshole but means well, some angst mostly fluff, thats it lol

1.5k words

It's not as though you hated Changbin, quite the opposite actually.

He's caring, sweet, and would rip the shirt off his back if you asked. He would treat you well, spoil you like a baby. He's really the whole package...all for one thing.

As sweet as he is to you, he's too snobby with other people. You knew he had money, lots of it. Anyone with that amount to their name can let it get to their head, but Changbin loved showing off how much he had. You couldn't do it anymore.

The final straw was when you were out on a double date with your friends. The restaurant wasn't up to Changbin's taste, and he made it very clear he did not like it to everyone. You tried to awkwardly laugh it off, but it was hard not to when he said, "This is why I don't like hanging out with the middle class, no offense. You guys just have no taste."

You saw red. Here was your boyfriend belittling the class your family has had to work their way into. With clenched teeth you apologized to your friends, broke up with Changbin, and had your friends drive you home.

It's been two weeks, and he's been calling you nonstop. Text after text, call after call, voicemail after voicemail. When you weren't picking up, he started sending gifts to your door. Jewelry, bouquets of flowers, clothes you knew cost more than your rent. Changbin had a habit of showing his love through materialistic ways, but it was getting annoying having to return them back to his address.

"You should ask for a car," your roommate chirps. 

You only rolled your eyes and groaned in return. You slumped further into the couch before burying your face in your hands. 

"You're supposed to be helping me," you say frustratingly. 

"I am," she protests. "Your shit car is breaking down, again, and you and I both know damn well your little sugar daddy would love to buy you a better one."

Angrily, you place your hands on the sides of the couch and sit up. "He's not my sugar daddy! Don't call him that."

Your roommate tsks and shakes her head, "Whatever. Have you called him at least?" 

You shake your head back, "I haven't spoken to him since that night."

"Well, maybe you should," she reasons. "Some guys need to hear it more than once, especially if you just up and left him like that. Who knows, maybe you can work things out too."

"I have," you stress. "He's just so...ignorant sometimes. And plus, I can't take him back after what he said to you."

Rather than seeming upset, your roommate shrugs. "I've heard worse. Plus I don't think he meant it in a bad way, like you said, he's just a little ignorant."

Her aloofness makes you both on edge and at ease. It's good to hear that she wasn't as offended as you thought she'd be, but her being so nonchalant about your situation is irritating. 

In times like these, you wish someone could just tell you what to do. 

"I say you call him," she answers your prayers. "If he's an ass, it only proves that you were right to dump him. If he's not, then you either owe him a better breakup or another chance."

Finding resolution, you stand to your feet and grab your phone from the coffee table. "You say it like it's so easy."

"That's because it is."

-

Changbin picks up on the first ring. Not that it should surprise you, but the rehearsed words die in your throat when he answers with an overly excited hello?

When you don't answer he prompts you again, "Baby...are you there?"

You can feel the way your heart clenches at the pet name. It's only been a mere two weeks since you've heard his voice and you're already wanting to cry. 

"Don't call me that," your voice is small. 

"Why not?" He asks. You can hear how shaky his voice is, but you convince yourself it's the static. If he really cared about you, he wouldn't have said that in the first place. "Are you not my baby anymore?"

You have to chew on your bottom lip and look up to the ceiling of your room to keep yourself from crying. A few seconds pass before you speak, "I dunno...Changbin you really...you really messed up."

"I know, baby, and I'm so sorry. I'm stupid. I hurt you and embarrassed you in front of your friends. I would do it over again if I could, baby believe me. We can fix this, I can be better. I love you, you know that."

He's right, you do know that. There wasn't a moment in your relationship where you doubted his love for you. Changbin has been a little snobby before, but that doesn't compare to his overwhelming adoration for you.

"I love you too Binnie," you sniff. "I wanna fix this too."

You swear you can hear him smile behind the phone. "That's all I need to hear baby. You mean so much to me that I can't even explain it, you know that?"

Despite the tears on your waterline you laugh, "Yeah I do Binnie. You mean a lot to me too."

Changbin laughs with you. "I miss you baby...it's so lonely in my mansion."

Whatever tenderness you had filling your heart dissipates and is replaced with agitation. "Jesus this is exactly what I mean! It's those little stupid fucking remarks that-"

"No! Baby baby I didn't mean it like that! It's a Doja Cat song-"

"-and here I was really wanting to make things work and you just-"

The two of you begin to talk over one another, the previous confessions nearly forgotten. It takes Changbin profusely apologizing and begging for you to stop arguing. 

"Over the phone isn't gonna cut it. I'll send a limo and you can come over. Please baby, we can fix this."

You sigh heavily and collapse on your bed, pinching the bridge of your nose. "Okay."

-

No matter how many times you enter Changbin's house, if you can call it that, it always leaves you breathless. Polished floors, high ceilings, with chandeliers dangling up above you. It's clean, not a speck of dust in sight, most likely thanks to the many invisible housemaids. 

He had ushered you to his room, sitting you on his couch as he remained standing. 

It felt good to see him, even if you were pissed. He was as muscular as ever, a black tank top showing his pecs and arms deliciously. He must've worked out before you came, he tended to use the gym as a stress reliever. 

"There's really no excuse I have other than I'm stupid." Changbin starts. 

You let a small breath of air out that mimics laughter, "You don't have to tell me that.

Changbin smiles at you, but it doesn't reach his eyes. "Yeah." He pauses. "At the dinner, I really don't know why I even said that. I didn't mean to hurt you, or your friends. It's was inappropriate and fucked up of me. We can go and I can apologize to them. Anything you want me to do, just name it."

Timidly, he gets on his knees between your legs and takes your hands into his own. "I love you. I love everything about you even if I complain like an idiot. I'm just not used to...some things, but I don't want that to be the end of us. I can learn, and I can change. Just don't leave me. Please."

God, if there's one thing Changbin is good at, it's begging. His hot breath fans over your bare legs, sending chills up your body. You can feel the heat of his body rolling off onto yours. He looks beautiful. His dark, messy curls that sit at the top of his head, the broadness of his shoulders, the way his lips pout. 

As big as he is, he's still a baby.

Your baby.

Gently, you untangle your hands from his, and his face drops for a moment. You quickly place them on his face, pulling him forward until his lips meet your own. 

Changbin squeaks at the feel of your kiss, but his initial shock turns into passion. He grips the side of your face with one hand while the other steadies himself on your knee. It's gentle, the way he pulls back for a moment before diving back in.

There’s nothing but love in his featherlight lips enveloping yours. All you can feel is him, his passion, his devotion to you. All the things he wants to say- no, he needs to say is conveyed through the kiss.

His hands snakes to the back of your head, pushing you deeper into his mouth. It doesn't take long before his lips don't feel like enough, and you're both opening your mouths to taste each other. 

It makes your heart swoon to know that he tastes the same. Familiar. Safe. 

Changbin grows bold, the hand on your knee moving up to grip the plushness of your thighs. 

"So, you forgive me?" He asks between kisses.

You pull back and pretend to think, "I don't know. Why should I?"

This makes Changbin smile, fully. "I can show you. Would that be better?"

The hand on your thigh inches to the hem of your shorts. The way his warm fingers caress your skin makes you involuntarily open your legs a little wider. 

"I guess that'll do for now."

a/n: this is a little different from what I usually post, but I like it. hope you do too! thank you @then-make-me for editing/proofreading!

[morgana-larkin]

Hey girl, would you be able to do a request with Melissa? So yk how in that one episode where Melissa has to go to court for throwing a corn cob at Ben Simmons? Would you be able to just do some fluff on how when Melissa is in court she needs a lawyer, but since she’s a teacher, she doesn’t have any money, but knows a guy who gets a lawyer for her, which is our reader fresh outta law school. Melissa would find them cute and want to ask her out, but eventually after Melissa is declared ‘not guilty’ she decides to ask them out as a thank you.

Ok, this is crazy because when you sent the prompt, it was the day after I rewatched that episode. I honestly thought this line was crazy and I like how Jacob was not even fazed when she said it lol. Not edited in the slightest and I hope you like it!

On another note: I think I got 7 Melissa prompts and one Chessy prompt, so they’re coming!

Guilty Or Not Guilty

Warnings: sexual tension, fluff, reference to future smut

Words: 2k

“Ah, all dressed up for your big dip in the shark tank today?” Jacob asks Melissa.

“What? No. I gotta go to court later for throwing a corn cob at Ben Simmons.” Melissa says to Jacob.

“Wait so, you’re not gonna make a presentation?” Jacob says, completely ignoring the fact that she might have thrown a corn cob at someone.

*lunch time*

“Vinny, I need you to find me a lawyer for later today.” Melissa says to her cousin Vinny.

“What did you do this time?” He asks her.

“None your business. I just need a lawyer, can you get me one?” She asks him and he takes a second to reply.

“I know one, she recently graduated from law school and is looking for cases to do for a small price. I can pay this one for ya since you’re my favourite cousin.” He tells her.

“Alright, thanks Vinny. I’ll make your favourite dish as a thanks.” She says then hangs up.

Later that day…

You walk out of your car an hour before your client has to plead her case. You were told to meet her outside the courthouse, all you were told was that she’s a ginger and her name is Melissa Schemmenti.

You walk near the front entrance of the courthouse and you see a ginger woman standing around on her phone with her glasses perched on her nose. She looks stunning. ‘Not the time to check her out, gotta be professional, she’s your client after all.’ You think to yourself. You walk up to her and she doesn’t see you coming as she’s too focused on her phone.

“Hi, are you Melissa?” You say as you reach her and she flinches. “Oh sorry, didn’t mean to scare you. I’m your lawyer y/n y/l/n” You add.

She stares at you for a second before smiling and holding out her hand to shake and you shake her hand, it feels so soft.

“Hi, yes I’m Melissa.” She says. Melissa was surprised that her lawyer would look really cute, so much so that she forgot how to speak for a second, or that she was still holding your hand.

You look at her emerald green eyes, beautiful ginger locks and her bright smile. You then remember you’re still holding her hand so you let go and clear your throat.

“So I heard nothing about this case or why you’re here. Wanna tell me?” You ask her and you see a small blush on her cheeks.

“Well it’s for throwing a corn cob at Ben Simmons.” She says and you can’t help but giggle at that.

“For throwing a corn cob at someone?” You say, trying to hold back more laughter and she nods. “Well I must say, I did not expect that.” You tell her and she chuckles.

“Well I’m full of surprises.” She tells you with a shy smile.

You both then find a picnic table to sit at and you get to work. Melissa keeps checking you out as you work on her case. The way you’re so focused on writing down the information you need to prove her innocence, the way you bite your lip when you’re thinking. You look so adorable and she can’t help but think about asking you out.

“What?” You ask her as you notice her staring.

“Noth-nothing, just a bit nervous.” She says, covering up the fact that she was checking you out.

“Well you can be a bit nervous but I think you’re gonna win.” You tell her with a smile.

“You think so?” She asks and you nod, you then write something down and then speak up again.

“Ok, I think I have all I need to, it’s also time to go in.” You tell her and she nods.

You both walk into the courthouse and then the courtroom together and you take a seat in the audience until Melissa gets called.

“Melissa Schemmenti and Ben Simmons.” The judge calls, both you and Melissa stand up and walk where the two desks are. You and Melissa take a seat at the one on the left while Ben Simmons and his lawyer took the one on the right. “Melissa Schemmenti you are being charged with the throwing of… a corn cob at the head of Ben Simmons, guilty or not guilty?”

“Not guilty, your honour.” Melissa says confidently.

It took about 10 minutes and the fact there was no evidence that the judge ruled that Melissa was, in fact, not guilty. Melissa got excited that she won and without thinking, gave you a hug to which you were surprised by it but hugged her back after a second. The hug was nice, you won’t lie and you can feel her tits being pushed into yours and it made your mind go to places that you shouldn’t be thinking about right now. Melissa pulled away from you after a few seconds with a guilty expression on her face.

“Sorry, I um, I should have asked before I hugged you.” She tells you and you smile at her.

“It’s alright, you were excited, I get it. And to be honest, I liked the hug.” You tell her and you see a small blush on her cheeks.

You and Melissa walk out to the parking lot and it seems that she wants to walk with you to your car.

“I wanted to thank you, for taking my case on such short notice without any sort of information on what it’s about, and for winning too.” She tells you and you blush a bit.

“It’s not a problem Melissa, I enjoyed your case.” You tell her as you reach your car. You put your suitcase in your car and then you turn to look at her. “Well if anyone else says that you throw corn cobs at them then I might see you around.” You joke with her and she laughs.

“Or maybe I could see you around tonight, for dinner?” She asks and you tilt your head at her.

“Melissa, are you asking me on a date?” You ask her with a small smile.

“If I were, would that be a yes?” She cautiously asks and you nod. “Then yes, I’m asking you on a date.” She states proudly and you beam at her.

“Out of curiosity, what would you have said if I said no?” You ask her and she thinks for a second.

“That it would just be a thank you for winning the case.” She says and you chuckle. “Wanna give me your number so we can plan the date in better detail?” She adds on as she gets her phone out.

You exchange numbers and then you get in your car to go home to get ready for the date. She decided to have the date at her house as she claims she’s the best damn cook in all of south Philly, with the exception of a few family members. You get changed into a nice purple dress with black tights, do your makeup and then head off to the address she texted you.

“Wow, you look beautiful hon.” She tells you with a big smile as soon as she opens the door.

“So do you. Red and green seem to be made for you.” You tell her and she tilts her head at you. “You wore green today and it suited you, as well as this red dress.” You explain and she blushes.

“You were looking at my top today?” She questions and you nod. “Did you happen to notice that it was a low cut top too?” She questions further and you feel your cheeks heat up as you nervously nod again. “I didn’t know you had time to look at my top today when you were so busy looking at my tits.”She teases you and your cheeks are redder than her hair at this point. “You’re adorable when you blush like that.” She teases you further and you then clear your throat and look around her house, trying to avoid further embarrassment. She giggles at your attempt and then she spins you around to face her and kisses you. You kiss her back after the shock wears off and it was one of the best kisses of your life. She pulled away after a few seconds which was too short for you. She giggled when you tried to kiss her and she put her hand on your chest. “Believe me, I love kissing you too. But if we continue then I won’t want to stop and there’s food ready.” She tells you and you whine.

“You shouldn’t have kissed me then. That’s all I’ll be thinking about now.” You tell her with a pout. She leans in close to your ear.

“When you get a taste of my food then you’ll forget about it for a bit.” She leans back, winks at you and then walks to the kitchen with a smirk. You follow after her and she’s putting food on a plate for you.

“You know now that the case is over, I have one question.” You ask her and she looks at you confused.

“What’s the question?”

“Why did you throw a corn cob at him?” You ask her and she chuckles.

“I guess you saw through my lie then.” She states and you nod your head. “He was insulting Italians so of course I had to take action. I just threw at him whatever I was eating and it was a corn cob.” She explains and you start laughing.

“You’re really a wonder Melissa Schemmenti.” You tell her and she laughs as she hands a plate to you. You both walk over to the dining table and sit down to eat. You take a first bite and it’s like a flavour bomb exploded in your mouth and you let out a small moan. You look over to see Melissa smirking at you and you quirk an eyebrow at her. “What?”

“Just wondering of all the other ways I can make you moan.” She says like it’s an obvious thing. You blush at her comment but then you want to tease her back.

“Maybe you’ll find out.” You tell her with a smile and she blushes and goes to take a bite of her own food.

You rub your foot up her leg and she begins coughing as she was taking a bite. She takes a sip of her water and then when she stops, you continue to rub your foot up her leg. She looks at you and you’re smirking at her.

“You’re not the only one who knows how to tease.” You tell her as you take a bite of food. She smiles at you before she gets up, walks over to you, puts her hand at the back of your head, leans forward and kisses you. She doesn’t pull back this time, instead she deepens the kiss by sliding her tongue in your mouth. She tastes you for the first time and she’s already wanting more. You stand up, while not breaking away from the kiss, and you put your hands on her waist. You pull back after a few more seconds and she whines. “We should continue our dinner before we do anything else.” You tell her. She looks at the food then looks at you with your kiss swollen lips.

“Dinner can wait.” She says then surges forward to kiss you again. She kisses you with so much force that you walk backwards until you hit the wall and she pins you against it. “Do you want to continue?” She asks you as she pulls back. “If we continue then I’ll want to go all the way.” She tells you, asking for consent.

“I don’t want to stop kissing you.” You tell her and she smiles. She then takes your hand and brings you to her bedroom.

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Let me know if you want to be added!

[kwanisms]

Of Hellfire & Saints 02 — k.hongjoong, k.yeosang

«« previous | library of illusion masterlist | next »»

➮ incubus!Hongjoong × fem!Reader wc: 22.9k (in this part. 50.2k total) summary: After the death of the love of her life, Y/N runs away from the village only to be caught in a heavy storm but she manages to find refuge in Hongjoong's hut in the forest. While waiting out the storm, someone knocks on the door, prompting her to answer the door. genres/themes/au: angst, slight fluff, smut; fantasy, horror, supernatural, biblical & demonic; non idol au, historical setting, demon warnings: adult dialogue, female reader, historical period setting (think Puritan or like Salem witch trials but fantasy and with more creative liberty lol), mentions of: alcohol & food consumption, witches & witchcraft, religious text & ideology, harm against animals, pregnancy; attempted SA, major & minor character deaths (heed this warning, i’m not playing around. This shit is DARK), sexual content (18+ mdni), see smut warnings under the cut!

a/n:  the word count on this got away from me and so to make it all fit because i really don't want to edit it down, I've split it into two posts. I had really hoped to keep the word count down after what happened with part one but I really could not stop writing. as I said in the author notes of the first part, read with care and caution. Do NOT ignore the warnings. They are there for a reason, a lot of people die. It’s not fun. It’s gruesome. Also keep in mind that every action has a reason. Now that’s out of the way, please enjoy this sequel and keep an eye out for the next part which will be Seonghwa’s backstory. Thank you so much for reading and as always, this is a work of fiction and all characters are not reflective of their respective irl counterparts. for entertainment purposes only.

smut warnings: smut warnings: there are multiple scenes in this so I will list the warnings for each one here but all of them involved unprotected sex. You do not do this. Use protection, this is fantasy. MAIN SCENE: fingering (f receiving), use of pet names (love, sweetheart, darling, etc), love-making (again because they’re in love~), cum inside, and that’s also it on this one! SMALLER SCENES: mentions of oral (f receiving, m receiving) and other elements of foreplay as well as table sex but nothing mentioned in great detail.

═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════

The next morning you woke up before Yeosang and got up, grabbed your nightgown from your things, and pulled it on. Normally you would get dressed but as this was now your marital home, you didn’t feel the need to follow your parents rules. Instead, you made breakfast, collected a few eggs from the chicken coop and prepared a nice breakfast as well as some tea.

Once breakfast was ready, you carried the plates into the bedroom where Yeosang was still asleep and sat on the edge of the bed. You set the plates down and leaned over, pressing a kiss to his cheek and watched as he slowly came to.

He opened his eyes, blinking away the sleep and looked up at you sleepily, a smile crossing his face as you came into focus. “Morning,” he murmured and you smiled back, pressing a kiss to his lips. “Good morning, husband,” you said softly.

Yeosang’s eyes opened again as the realization sank in, his smile growing wider. “Oh, right,” he said as he reached up, caressing your cheek. “We got married,” he whispered to which you giggled and stole another kiss. “We got married,” you repeated.

Yeosang pulled you into a kiss, lips parting yours but you pulled back before he could escalate any further. “We can always spend the morning in bed,” you said softly as you sat up. “But you should eat breakfast first,” you added. You turned, grabbing one of the plates and holding it for him. Yeosang glanced at the plates and then back at you.

“Shouldn’t we get up and eat at the table?” he asked, to which you chuckled, kissing his confused face. “Who said we have to?” you asked as you handed him his plate and utensils. Yeosang sat up, leaning against the headboard as you grabbed the other plate and carefully climbed over him, taking the spot next to him with a giggle. He laughed as you settled in next to him and started eating.

“This is our home,” you said as you looked up at him. “And we make the rules here.”

You both ate breakfast, sipping the tea you had made and when you both finished, you took the plates and cups into the kitchen and set them aside to wash later before returning to the bed. Yeosang started to get up but you removed your chemise, letting it fall to the floor. Yeosang looked up at your naked form as you approached him.

“If this is what it’s like to be married,” he started, taking your hand and guiding you onto the bed as you pulled the covers back. “I’m glad I asked you to marry me.”

The next couple hours were spent in bed, Yeosang learning your body and you learning his, exploring each other more thoroughly. He took the lead, having picked up quickly what you liked and that you preferred him on top of you.

You introduced him to other aspects of the marital bed, learning very quickly what he liked and what made him weak in your hands. He wasted no time exploring your body and reciprocating the things you had learned from Hongjoong.

He learned that he really liked the way you tasted and how he could make you come undone with his tongue and fingers. He learned there was more to sex than just procreating and after multiple orgasms and coming inside you numerous times during your sessions, there was no doubt in your minds that one of them had to take.

You lay on the bed after hours of lovemaking, Yeosang on top of you, his head resting on your chest as you relaxed. Without warning, he raised his head and looked at you, pressing a kiss to your lips. “I know we’ve only been married for less than a day but I honestly think I —” his words were cut off by a sharp knocking at the door.

Yeosang glanced in the direction of the front door before turning to look at you. “Hold that thought,” he said as he got up, hastily grabbing his clothes and dressed quickly. You pulled the covers up as he walked over to the door, throwing you a grimace before closing it.

You sat up, holding the sheets to your chest as you listened to his footsteps approach the front door followed by the sound of it opening. “Oh, Jonas,” you heard your husband say and fought the urge to burst into laughter, knowing full well that Yeosang probably looked less than presentable.

“Is everything alright?” you heard Jonas ask. You stifled a laugh as Yeosang stammered out a yes. He admitted the two of you woke up late and it took everything inside you not to burst out laughing at Jonas’ next question.

“Did the missus keep you up all night?”

You could imagine the look on Yeosang’s face and that his cheeks were probably bright red but he did sound embarrassed as he cleared his throat and spoke.

“Is there a reason you’re visiting me?” You shifted on the bed, straining your ears to hear the next words.

“The priests have started to arrive. The ones you sent for from the neighboring villages.”

Your eyes widened. ‘Priests?’ you wondered as you listened in. “Oh! I’ll just get dressed and meet you at the church,” Yeosang replied, sounding slightly flustered. You couldn’t see Jonas but imagined he nodded as his response was delayed for a moment.

“I think that would be best. I’m sure your wife could use the time during your absence to attend to her household duties.” Your smile fell but you let the comment slide. You heard the sound of footsteps heading for the door and Yeosang bid Jonas farewell before shutting the door.

You heard his steps shuffle towards the bedroom door and it opened. You looked up, meeting his eyes and finally the laughter you’d been holding in sprang free and you erupted into a fit of giggles as he entered the bedroom, moving to the bed and climbing onto it.

“How much did you hear?” he asked and you managed to choke out you heard enough. A grin spread across his face and soon your laughter came out unabashed as he started to tickle your sides. “You find it funny?” he asked as he continued to tickle you, laughing at your attempts to stop him. “He knew! He knew what we were doing!” he added.

You threw your arms around his neck and pulled him down. “Of course he knew, Yeosang. We’re a young married couple. We just married yesterday. Of course we’re going to consummate our marriage.” Yeosang looked mortified but could help smile as you continued to giggle and pulled him into a kiss.

He leaned into you, deepening the kiss before he pulled back. “No,” he said as you kissed down the side of his neck. “I have to go. I can’t stay here in bed with you, as tempting as it is,” he added, thumb brushing over your bottom lip. “After I meet with this priest, I will return and then we can resume, all right?”

You pouted up at him which only made him chuckle and tap the tip of your nose gently. “I promise, sweetheart,” he added, the sound of the name on his tongue making a flutter erupt in your stomach. “I have to meet with these priests and explain the situation and afterwards, I’ll come back.”

He pressed a few short kisses to your lips and you sighed. “Oh all right,” you finally conceded. “How long will you be?” you asked, taking his hand and nuzzling into his palm. “A few hours maybe,” he replied, caressing your cheek with his thumb.

You nodded slowly before sighing again. “Then I shall have lunch ready when you get back.” Yeosang smiled, pulling you into another kiss. “I look forward to it,” he said before getting up and starting to dress and make himself presentable.

Once he left, you got up and dressed finally and went about your chores, cleaning the used dishes and starting a fire to make lunch. You worked diligently as you hummed to yourself. You cut up potatoes and other vegetables from the pantry and added them to a pot with some beef stock as well as a cut of beef.

As it simmered, you went to work cleaning and putting away your things. You also hung up your painting, the one you had made of the wildflower field. As you stared at it, your mind wandered, a bittersweet feeling filling your chest.

Things had changed so drastically in the last few weeks since Hongjoong’s death. Before, you had planned to run away with Hongjoong, marry elsewhere, and start a life near the sea. That seemed like a distant memory now as you stood in your new home where you would live with your husband.

You had never imagined you would marry Yeosang as he was not the man you had fallen for but as the events unfolded, you couldn’t see yourself with anyone else. Hongjoong was the love of your life but you knew with Yeosang, you could be happy. You would be.

As promised, Yeosang returned but later than lunchtime as while he was meeting with the first priest, another arrived making it two he needed to speak with. When he returned for dinner, you sat at the table this time, listening as he told you about the priests, one named Yunho and one named Jongho.

That night as you were cleaning up after dinner, Yeosang joined you and despite your insistence that he leave the work to you, he helped you anyway. Initially you thought it was odd but as soon as the dishes were done he pulled you into a kiss which led to him guiding you to the table where he made you lie back as his kisses traveled down your clothed body, pulling your skirt up and burying his head between your thighs.

He had you on the brink of orgasm in no time and instead of letting you fall over the edge, he pulled back, wiping his mouth as he undid his pants and pushed them down, freeing his cock which he then pushed into you. It was raw, carnal and passionate as he made love to you on the table.

You seemed to have awakened a sexual beast in him after the first night and the next few days consisted of the same schedule. Meeting the priests who arrived, giving a brief explanation of the situation and taking them around the village to introduce them to the villagers before returning home for dinner and spending a good portion of the night making love to you.

His stamina and strength surprised you, as well his ability to pin you down against the nearest flat surface and make you moan his name over and over again. It was almost more than you could bear but bear it you did, because you would be lying if you said you didn’t enjoy every moment of it. Yeosang all but worshiped your body and any chance he had to show you that, he took.

His sexual appetite did not diminish even when the misfortunes of the village continued with the odd goat or pig being slaughtered in the night. Yeosang continued to show you physical love every night and even some mornings before you could pull yourself out of the tangle of sheets that was your marital bed.

Whether or not your attempts had gotten you pregnant didn’t matter to you. You enjoyed the physically intimate relationship between you and your husband immensely and that was more important than some religious texts telling you to have children. If a child came as a result of your union, then you would cherish that but it was not the goal.

For Yeosang, he was conflicted with his sexual urges because of the teachings of the church but he also knew that you were not exactly a godly woman but that didn’t bother him in the slightest. He knew this when he agreed to marry you. He wanted to protect you from the villagers' wrath should things go south but he also felt that by marrying you, it would also offer another layer of protection against the demon.

Surely Hongjoong would become enraged if he learned of the relationship between the two of you but that was a risk Yeosang was willing to take. He’d grown to love you before your wedding and while he hadn’t had the chance to tell you just yet, he still wanted to show you.

The day the final priest showed up was a quiet morning. A flock of chickens had been slaughtered in their coop the night before and the aftermath had been a slew of wails, cries, and calls for action. The last priest to arrive, a man named Mingi, was from the next closest village on the other side of the mountains. He arrived in the middle of the night so Yeosang was already in for the night. 

Jonas had offered him shelter and promised to rouse Yeosang in the morning which Yeosang would come to be eternally grateful for as he was deep in the throes of passion with you, tangled in the sheets as he made love to you again and again.

The next morning, Yeosang finally met with him to explain the situation and introduce him to the other priests. Mingi was a soft-spoken but highly intelligent man with an interesting history with witches. Yeosang had asked you before leaving to prepare a dinner large enough for all the priests so you planned to go foraging, stopping by your parent’s house to meet with your mother who agreed to go with you.

As you walked into the forest not too far from the village, you found the small section where you usually collected mushrooms from.

“How is married life?” your mother asked as you knelt down to start unearthing the mushrooms. “It is good,” you replied as you worked, handing her the mushrooms to put in the sack. “And how is your husband treating you?”

You looked up at her to see that she had a knowing look on her face. “He’s wonderful,” you answered truthfully. You handed her a few more mushrooms before getting up to move to another section, searching for more.

“And will we be expecting any new additions to the village soon?”

You glanced up at her, taking note of her smile before a smile spread over your face and you turned away in an attempt to hide it from your mother. “Y/N! Don’t you try to hide it from me!” your mother whispered, gently hitting you with the linen sack.

“We’re not trying exactly,” you explained as you dug up mushrooms. “We’re just… enjoying the marital bed,” you continued. “If a child comes from our… activities, we will gladly welcome it. Right now, Yeosang’s focus is the demon,” you added. 

Your mother stepped forward and knelt beside you, taking your hand in hers. “Becoming a mother is the greatest honor God can bestow upon you, Y/N,” she said gently. “It is your duty to give your husband children.” You nodded and looked up. “I know,” you answered. “I will welcome one if it comes but if one doesn’t…” you trailed off as a high pitched whistle rang out.

You turned to look around, noticing how the forest seemed to grow darker around you. Your mother stood without a word, looking into the trees, a look of dread and horror etched on her face. “Mother?” you asked, getting to your feet.

“Run,” your mother whispered, not taking her eyes off a particular spot in the trees. “Mama?” you asked, gently placing a hand on her shoulder. “RUN!” she screamed, pushing you away. You fell back from the force and looked over in time to see a dark smoke billow out from the trees, heading for you and your mother.

You watched in horror as the smoke started to envelope your mother and she turned to look at you one final time. “It’s going to be okay, Y/N,” she said, her voice panicked as the smoke shrouded her. “Run and don’t look back!”

Before you could get to your feet, the smoke turned black, obscuring your mother from view and her anguished screams of pain filled the air, sending the birds in the trees into a flight, squawking as they did.

When the smoke dissipated, all that remained of your mother was a charred, skeletal corpse. You heard a twig snap and turned your head to see a black, shadowy figure with glowing red eyes watching you with a wide, crooked grin full of sharp teeth.

Your breathing came in heavy pants as you tried to scramble backwards, the figure floating towards you. As it drew closer, you could see the face come into view and let out a whimper of fear to see Hongjoong staring back at you, his skin blackened and cracked.

“Run little lamb,” he said in a deep, demonic voice. Before you could act, he lunged forward and you let out a scream, sitting upright. There was a shuffling from the other room and the door opened. You turned, cowering away as a figure entered the room and rushed over to the bed where you lay.

“Shh, shh,” a familiar voice said and you looked up as Yeosang sat down, taking your hand in his. “It’s alright, love,” he added. “I’m here.” He pulled you into a hug, stroking your back as you calmed down. “Wh-what happened?” you asked.

Yeosang pulled back and turned to look at the door where your mother stood, a wet cloth in her hand and worried look on her face. “You fainted,” she said without hesitation. You looked from her to Yeosang and back. “When?”

Your mother stepped forward. “When we went into the forest to get mushrooms. You were digging some up and took ill, fainting out on the ground.” You stared at her, trying to wrack your brain but all you could recall was the horrid dream you’d had.

‘It was a dream, right?’

You looked up at Yeosang who gently took your face in his hands, caressing the apple of your cheeks. “It’s all right, love,” he said softly. “Just take it slow,” he added as you pushed his hands away and attempted to sit up.

“Have you been feeling faint or taken ill in the mornings lately?” your mother asked, drawing your attention. You shook your head as you looked at her, watching her exchange looks with your husband. “What is going on?” you demanded.

“Your mother thinks — ” Yeosang started but your mother interrupted him, stepping forward to speak over your husband. “You might be with child,” she announced. You stared at her in stunned silence before turning your gaze to Yeosang who sighed and looked back at you.

“It’s highly possible,” he admitted, caressing your cheek with one hand and taking your hand with the other. ‘With child? Now?’ You fell silent as your mother and husband both talked at the same time until you finally snapped. “How can we know for sure?” you asked.

Both fell silent, looking at you. “How can we know for sure that I am with child?” Yeosang turned to your mother who hesitated before clearing her throat and speaking. “There are ways to check,” she admitted. “Specific… test we can perform.”

Yeosang glanced at you before speaking to your mother. “What sort of tests?” he asked. Your mother hesitated, wringing the cloth in her hand nervously. “Well, the barley and wheat test,” she said softly. “She would need to urinate on barley and wheat seeds over the course of several days. If the barley seeds sprout then it will be a boy. If the wheat seeds sprout, then you’ll be having a girl.”

“And if neither sprout?” you asked, breaking your silence. “Then you are not with child,” your mother answered. You saw Yeosang’s shoulders visibly relax and he turned to look at you, giving you a small smile. “It’s worth a try,” he said softly, giving your hand a gentle squeeze. You nodded in agreement.

“Just to be sure,” you stated to which both your mother and Yeosang nodded.

The next day, Yeosang managed to secure the seeds and buried them behind the house, marking their placement so you would be able to find them even at night. Each time you went out to do your business, your cheeks burned, although you knew no one was watching.

And each time, you returned to the house feeling more embarrassed than before and returned to the bedroom. Over the next few days, you continued to go outside to urinate over the spot where the seeds had been planted and your mother came by to help you with your daily chores. She insisted you rested and while she did your tasks before leaving to head home and prepare dinner for your father.

You ignored Yeosang’s insistence to stay in bed and got up to finish dinner. As you were checking the potatoes in the stew, there was a knock on the door. Yeosang answered it and you kept your head down as he let the visiting priests enter the house. It went from two to seven and soon your modest house was crowded.

Thankfully, there were extra chairs for the table in the second bedroom and Yeosang had the foresight to pull them out before and set the table up in the living room. He cleared his throat and crossed the living room to peer into the kitchen where you stood by the hearth.

“They’re here,” he said softly and beckoned you over. You shook your head. “Oh, no, it’s alright,” you said softly, waving your hand. “I’ll just serve them dinner and stay in here while you meet with them.” Yeosang glanced back before entering the kitchen and crossed the room to where you stood. He placed a hand on your waist, the other moving to tilt your head back to look at him. “I invited them here to meet you,” he explained.

“They want to meet you.”

Your eyes widened as you stared back at him. “They do?” Yeosang nodded, a smile spreading across his face. “Of course,” he said softly, leaning into nuzzle his nose against yours in a display of affection before he placed a chaste kiss to your lips.

“So come out here and meet them, love.”

You placed the wooden ladle down, wiping your hands and smoothing down your apron. Yeosang took your hand and led you towards the door and into the living room. There were five men sitting around the table, a couple of them chatting amongst themselves.

When you entered with Yeosang, they all looked up in mild surprise. Your cheeks grew warm under their gazes as they watched you with your husband. “These are the visiting priests from the nearby villages,” Yeosang explained, gesturing at the group.

He gestured at the closest one, a man with cat-like eyes and broad shoulders. Even sitting down, you could tell this man was tall. He had hair like fire, a yellow that faded into fiery orange at the ends. “This is Song Mingi, he knows a lot about witches and sorcerers.”

Mingi nodded his head, bowing in a sign of respect, a gesture you returned. Next to him was a man who despite the thick black robes he wore you could tell was muscular and strong. He had dark brown, almost black hair, and gave you a small smile when your eyes met. “Choi Jongho, the youngest of his order and has performed a record number of exorcisms.”

Beside Jongho was a much slimmer looking man with bright red hair that took you by surprise. “Jung Wooyoung,” Yeosang said, as your gaze passed over  him. “He travels the countryside with his partner,” he explained, gesturing to the man sitting on the other side of Wooyoung. You nodded and felt your cheeks burn as Wooyoung smiled and sent you a wink. The man beside him, his partner, elbowed him harshly. 

Either your husband didn’t notice or chose not to address the wink, for he moved on. “Choi San,” he said and the man who had elbowed Wooyoung gave you a warm smile, his black hair shorter than Mingi’s but cut the same as Wooyoung’s and pushed back off his forehead.

“San is a demon hunter,” Yeosang explained. Sitting beside San was the last priest. “This is Jeong Yunho,” Yeosang introduced. “He has experience performing exorcisms and banishing rituals. He was the first to arrive,” Yeosang said, reminding you of the morning after your wedding night.

You smiled politely, bowing your head. “It’s nice to meet you, Misses,” Yunho said politely with a sweet smile. “This is Y/N,” Yeosang said, gesturing towards you. “My wife.”

There was a low chorus of greetings passed around by your guests and you returned them with as much politeness and grace as you could muster. You looked up at Yeosang and leaned in to whisper in his ear. “I’ll go get the stew,” you explained.

“Let me help,” he said, turning to follow but you waved your hand, urging him to take his seat. The last thing you wanted was him to appear as anything other than the man of the house before your visitors and so you returned to the kitchen, grabbing a cloth to protect your hand as you grabbed the handle of the hot pot hanging over the hearth and the wooden ladle.

Your mother had already set the table, bowls, plates, and cups set for each person. Yeosang had filled the cups and pieces of bread were already set on the plates as you moved to place the pot on the table. It was much heavier than you initially thought, as you made more than you usually did.

Noticing your struggle, Mingi got up to help you and despite your protests, he took the heavy pot and set it on the table. You thanked him profusely and started to spoon a helping of stew into each bowl, serving your husband after each guest and before picking up the now much lighter pot.

“What about you?” you heard a voice ask and turned to find six pairs of eyes on you. With a smile you bowed your head. “I don’t want to get in the way,” you answered. “I will just eat in the kitchen and stay out of your way.” Yeosang’s expression fell but as he moved to get up, Wooyoung beat him to it, rounding the table and grabbing the pot from you.

You followed him, trying to take it back but he gently nudged you back and spooned a helping into the seventh bowl before setting the pot in the middle of the table, took your hand and placed a gentle hand on your back, guiding you to the spot between your husband and San.

“Sit,” he simply said and moved back to his own seat. You glanced around at the table before your eyes settled on your husband and he nodded towards the chair beside him. “The cook should not be confined to the kitchen,” San added, gesturing for you to sit and after a moment, you took your seat, thanking them as Yeosang tried to fill your cup but you declined.

The smell of the ale was enough to make your stomach churn and you didn’t want to get sick before you ate. You stared at the stew while those around you ate and enjoyed the meal. You grabbed the wooden spoon next to your bowl but as you stared at the meat and potatoes, you couldn’t fathom even taking a bite, your stomach churning as the mere thought of eating made you sick beyond belief.

“Yeosang tells us you’re familiar with the demon,” a voice drew you out of your stupor and you looked up, meeting the gaze of Yunho who sat across from you. You glanced to your left, where your husband sat. He looked up to meet your gaze and nodded encouragingly.

“It’s alright,” he said softly. “You can tell them. Whatever is said here will not leave this house.”

You set the spoon down and took a deep breath before starting.

“I am. In life, he was my…” you trailed off, glancing at Yeosang, uncertain of how to continue. “Go on, love,” he urged. “Just tell them.” You glanced back at Yunho, who was watching you curiously. “He was my previous lover,” you finally said.

A silence fell over the table. “Your lover?” San asked from your right. You turned him and nodded. “Yes,” you answered. “He lived in a cabin in the forest by himself. His great grandfather built the cabin for his pregnant wife and all generations of Hongjoong’s family have lived there. It’s where Hongjoong was born.”

“So he wasn’t a member of the community, then?” Mingi asked, to which you shook your head. “No,” you replied. “He lived outside our community, outside our… rules.” Mingi sat back, arms crossed over his chest and you noticed he’d already finished his bowl.

“If you’re still hungry, please,” you added, gesturing to the pot with a smile. A small smile spread over Mingi’s face before he thanked you and helped himself to more stew. “Please,” San said. “Continue.”

You went on, explaining how you met Hongjoong when you were around 12 years old and that the two of you never really interacted except when he came to the village with his family. You went on to tell them how you met again when he was 17 and his mother had just passed and then again when he was 18 and his father passed, leaving him alone.

You explained the story of your friendship that grew into romance and how you fell in love with Hongjoong. As you told the story, you could see various looks on the faces of your guests ranging from concentration to adoration. It occurred to you that this was the first time you were telling this story in front of Yeosang and he was listening with rapt attention.

As you concluded that part of the story, Jongho spoke up.

“How did he become a demon? Surely someone who lived as you have described doesn’t just turn into a demon overnight,” he said. He’d removed his robe at some point and under it he wore a black fitted jacket and black pants.

You shook your head. “I don’t pretend to know the details,” you said softly. “He explained to me what he could remember. He said he remembered suffocating and being surrounded by darkness. He also recalled an intense burning pain and this awful laughter. He said it felt like he was being tortured for thousands of years and then he came to.”

Wooyoung finally spoke up, his chin resting in his hand. “He woke up in the grave the villagers buried him in and freed himself?” he asked. You turned to him, peering around San, and nodded. “That’s what he said. He broke out of the coffin and clawed his way out of the grave.”

A few sets of eyes turned to look at your husband who confirmed your story. “When Y/N came to after taking ill, she told Jonas and I of this and I was immediately sent to check the grave and it was indeed disturbed. We then had it dug up and found the coffin empty, the top of it caved in,” he added. “We knew then that Hongjoong had risen from his grave.”

“What happened after he got out?” Mingi asked, leaning forward and resting his elbows on the table. “He must have come straight back to the cabin,” you replied. “I was already there. I ran away from my parents house after…” you hesitated, glancing at Yeosang who gave you a quizzical look. You looked away and continued.

“After my father hit me and told me what he and the other villagers had done. They’d killed Hongjoong.” You could see Yeosang visibly tense next to you but pressed on, deciding not to address it right then.

“So Hongjoong returned to the cabin and I helped him clean up and we… got intimate,” you said, cheeks burning under the gaze of six priests hanging onto your every word. “The next morning, I thought I had dreamt the whole thing but then Hongjoong appeared and I knew it wasn’t a dream. I thought that maybe the universe had sent him back because it wasn’t his time. I thought he’d been given a second chance but then he started to… change.”

“How did he change?” Yunho inquired. You looked up at him. “He started to get… ravenous? I’m not entirely sure how to explain it. But it was like… he couldn’t get enough. Like his appetite couldn’t be satiated.”

“By appetite you mean his sexual desire?” San asked, tilting his head. You refused to meet his gaze, instead staring intently at the table, studying the pattern of the wood grain and nodded. “Yes,” you replied. “He soon started to lose control of himself. Almost like he was slipping and the demon was starting to take over. He would physically change, too. His eyes, his voice, the burn marks on his body.”

You hesitated, taking a deep breath. “One morning, I woke up to find the cabin empty so I went looking for him and found him by the stream in the forest. When I approached, he told me to stay away and when I didn’t listen, he lashed out at me. He ran and I tried to follow but I lost him in the forest so I went back to the cabin and waited for him to return.”

“And did he?” Wooyoung asked. You nodded wordlessly. “But he lost control again and I think this is when the demon finally took hold. He tried to attack me and so I ran back to the village where I ran into Yeosang. Since then, Hongjoong has been terrorizing the village and killing not only the livestock but also the daughters of the men who killed him. I’m the only one left now.”

You concluded your story to silence. Yeosang took your hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. You glanced up, resisting the urge to burst into tears. He gave you a comforting smile as the rest of your guests processed your story. “Thank you for telling us your story,” Yunho finally said. 

“Can I ask you something?” San inquired, drawing yours and Yeosang’s attention. “Of course,” Yeosang answered. “If Hongjoong was your lover,” he started, addressing you before looking up at Yeosang. “How did she end up marrying you?”

“Before Hongjoong’s death,” Yeosang started to explain. “Her father had come to me, asking me if I would consider marrying Y/N. His fear with Hongjoong being blamed for the village’s misfortunes, his relationship with Y/N might paint her as a target,” he continued.

“So he wanted to distance his family from that and save their reputation.” You felt your stomach churn as Yeosang spoke. “If it had been anyone else, I would have said no,” Yeosang continued, making you look up at him.

“I said yes because while I wanted to protect Y/N, another part of me had already grown quite fond of her and I would be lying if I said that part of me didn’t already love her.”

Your breath caught in your throat, heart skipping a beat as you stared at your husband. His eyes met yours and you suddenly understood, words from your wedding night replaying in your head. ‘I’ve always been yours.’

You tore your gaze from his, staring down at your uneaten stew.

“I see,” San answered softly. “So after Hongjoong’s death and Y/N came back,” Wooyoung started only for Yeosang to finish. “When Hongjoong was taken from the church and dragged to the tree, Y/N learned what happened and she ran away. I suppose her father decided that the agreement between us was no longer necessary since she was no longer in the village. No one expected her to come back. When she did, her father tried to reinstate the agreement but Y/N was in no state to marry anyone. She was catatonic, unresponsive —”

“An empty shell,” you interrupted, your voice soft. You could feel six pairs of eyes turn towards you. “What?” you heard Wooyoung ask. “An empty shell,” you repeated, a little louder. “When I came back, I honestly don’t even remember much. I remember running through the woods and I barely remember running into Yeosang and then after that, everything was just a blur. I don’t even know how long I was like that.”

“Sixteen days,” Yeosang answered. He looked up as you turned to look at him. “You were catatonic for thirteen and got sick. You were at death’s door for three days. Sixteen days total.”

A silence fell over the table as you and your husband looked at one another, a moment of understanding passing over you. “And then?” San asked, breaking the silence. Yeosang reluctantly tore his gaze away from you.

“And then, she woke up. She came back from the brink of death. Her mother nursed her back to health and when she was able to stay awake, Jonas and I came to get her account of the events that happened before she came back. She told us everything. Jonas left no stone unturned and you told him everything,” he said, addressing you at the end.

“Truth be told, I don’t think I could have told him everything if you weren’t there,” you admitted. “Jonas terrifies me.”

A look of confusion crossed Yeosang’s face but before he could ask you why, Yunho spoke up. “Now that we know all of this, we need to devise a plan of attack,” he said, earning a few murmurs of agreement from around the table. Yeosang glanced at your bowl and gestured for you to eat before he turned to join the conversation.

“I have to agree with you,” Jongho answered from beside Yunho. “The longer we sit around and do nothing, the more danger the village is in. “The more danger Y/N is in,” San added, looking at you as you finally took a bite of the stew which had since grown cold.

“So what do you suggest?” Wooyoung asked, looking at Yunho. “We could always try to exorcize the demon from Hongjoong?” Yunho suggested, turning to look at Yeosang who contemplated. Jongo spoke up again. “If Hongjoong’s soul is still intact, that could work but in exorcizing the demon, he could just be killed.”

“He’s already dead,” Wooyoung reminded him. “We don’t even know if his soul is in his body.”

You set your spoon down, a little harder than you meant to, drawing the attention of everyone in the room as you turned to look at the red-haired man. “His soul is in his body,” you said simply. Wooyoung and San exchanged worried looks before San turned to you, placing a gentle hand on your shoulder.

“We know you want to believe that, Y/N, but the chances are —”

“His soul is in his body,” you snapped. “Y/N,” Wooyoung tried to intervene but Yeosang held his hand up. “Let her speak,” he interjected.

“When he died, Hongjoong told me how he fell into darkness and felt like he was tortured for thousands of years,” you said, looking around at each one of the priests. “He also spoke of fire, brimstone, and burning. I think that maybe, his soul was sent to hell and when it came back it wasn’t because of his own determination. It was because something came back with him,” you explained. 

“Something not human.”

Several of the priests exchanged worried looks. “You think a demon latched onto his soul and came back with him and is now inhabiting his body?” Yeosang asked, making sure to clarify what you just shared. You nodded slowly. “And I think, if you try to exorcize the demon, it will pull his own soul out as well.”

Yeosang let out a sigh. “That could be possible,” Yunho said softly, looking at Wooyoung who seemed to be deep in thought. “Then an exorcism is off the table,” he said, sitting back in his chair. “There’s no way around that. If a demon is bound to his soul, there’s no way to save him.”

San elbowed Wooyoung before glancing at you. Giving him a warm smile you spoke softly. “It’s alright,” you said. “I know what needs to be done and I know that it’s not the same Hongjoong. There is no going back. Not that I would want to, anyway.”

You glanced at Yeosang whose expressions softened and he took your hand gently. “So then we must banish the demon,” Jongho stated. It wasn’t a question. The rest of the table nodded in agreement before Yunho turned his head to look at Mingi.

“What can you tell us about witches and their connections to demons?”

Mingi looked surprised at being addressed directly and took a moment to gather his thoughts before speaking.

“Witches are thought to be in league with Satan,” he started, leaning forward and resting his arms on the table before him, his fingers interlaced as he stared at his hands. “But that’s only partially true. Just as there is light and dark in the world, this dichotomy exists in humans and by extension, witches.”

Mingi cleared his throat before continuing.

“There are light witches, those who use their magic and powers for the good of humanity. They tend to draw their powers from nature and the world around them. It is a good and pure form of magic. They use it for growing and healing. Dark witches, on the other hand, draw their power from a darker source, usually from making a deal with a demon or by blood sacrifices. The most common form of sacrifice is that of a child or infant,” he continued.

“But animal sacrifices can also be made in lieu of a human.”

Your eyes widened as he spoke, recalling all the livestock that had been killed prior to Hongjoong’s death and the killings that continued. Whether or not the new ones were the work of the true witch or Hongjoong, you couldn’t be sure.

“The witch will offer a blood sacrifice to a summoned demon in exchange for powers far beyond the natural world. These powers can cause a wide variety of misfortunes should the witch place a curse. Crops can go bad, people can become sick, and demons can be summoned,” Mingi added.

“So Hongjoong was not one of these?” San asked, turning to look at Yeosang who nodded. “He was not,” you answered. “He used his magic for healing and growing. He had gardens that he used his magic on. Or whenever he found a hurt animal, he would heal it. He never consorted with the devil or killed anything unless it was for food.”

San nodded, accepting your answer before returning his attention to Mingi. “So then why would Hongjoong come back as a demon?” he asked. Mingi inhaled slowly before answering. “There are a number of reasons. Perhaps the villagers turning on him was part of the dark witch’s plan. Perhaps a curse was placed to make the villagers do so. If Hongjoong had a curse on him, it would explain why he not only came back but why his soul went to hell and a demon latched onto him. Perhaps…” Mingi trailed off, his focus shifting to you.

The others turned to follow his gaze as your eyes widened in realization.

“It was Hongjoong…” you whispered. Yeosang placed a hand on your back, leaning in closer. “Love? What is it?”

You looked back at Mingi. “It was Hongjoong!” you repeated louder. “Hongjoong was the human sacrifice!”

A look of realization drew over the faces of all six priests. “The witch used the animal sacrifices to create disturbances, turning the villagers against the one they perceived to be a threat to their lives,” Mingi explained sitting up. “The witch used the villagers’ hatred for Hongjoong against him, making them kill him for them to complete some kind of sacrificial ritual.”

San and Wooyoung exchanged looks as Yunho’s lips parted in shock. “And the ritual is now complete,” Jongho said softly as he looked at the table. “But what was the goal?” Yeosang asked, looking around. “What could the witch possibly gain by doing this?”

The wheels in your head were turning and you stood up abruptly, slamming your hands on the table and making a few of the priests jump. “The demon!” you all but shouted. “What if the demon is one the dark witch made a pact with?” Mingi’s eyes narrowed, brows knitting together until it clicked for him.

“The demon needed a body,” Mingi said quickly. “They made a pact. The witch would get their powers if they provided a human sacrifice in the form of a human body for them to inhabit! A binding ritual, of course!” Mingi hissed, hitting the table with his fist.

“A binding ritual?” Yeosang asked. “Is there any way to undo that?”

Mingi shook his head. “Not to my knowledge.”

Yunho also shook his head. “No,” he answered. “The only thing that can be done is to banish the demon.” Yeosang nodded, taking your hand without giving you a glance. “And how do we do that?” he asked.

“With a demon who has inhabited the body of a dead person, there’s only one way,” Yunho explained. “Bind the body of the possessed with a ritual, perform a banishing ritual and —” he stopped, turning his gaze towards you. “And removing the head of the possessed.”

You didn’t need to look up to know that all eyes were on you. “But before we get to any of that,” Wooyoung interjected. “We must first draw him out.” San nodded as his partner spoke. “And exactly how do we do that?” Yeosang asked, looking from San to Wooyoung.

“By offering the demon the thing it wants most,” Yunho answered.

You looked up, noticing the eyes that fell on you once more. 

“No.”

You turned to look at Yeosang who was shaking his head. “Absolutely not. We’re not using my wife as bait.”

You turned your body to face him and reached out to place your hand on his cheek, turning his head to face you. “We don’t have a choice,” you told him. “If we’re going to save the people of this village, we have to do this.”

“No!” Yeosang shouted, pushing his chair back and getting up from the table. You threw an apologetic glance at the table and got up, following Yeosang to the kitchen, shutting the door behind you. He stood by the hearth, one hand covering his mouth as he stared at the fire.

You approached him slowly, taking note of the way he tried to hide his face from you. “Yeosang,” you said softly, placing a hand on his arm. He shook his head, turning away from you. “No,” he said, his voice breaking. You grabbed his arm and turned him to face you.

His eyes were shining with unshed tears. “I’m not putting you in danger,” he finally said, shaking his head. You took his face in your hands and held him still. “If we don’t do something, the village will be in danger. Hongjoong will not stop until he’s killed or has killed me.”

Yeosang pulled you closer. “I don’t want to lose you,” he whispered. You pulled him into a tight embrace. “I know it’s terrifying,” you said in a soft, soothing voice. “But with six priests protecting me, I think I’ll be alright.”

Yeosang tightened his hold, hiding his face in the crook of your neck. “I can’t lose you,” he whispered, his voice muffled. “You won’t,” you replied, stroking his hair gently. “We’re going to overcome this,” you continued. “Hongjoong must be stopped and if this is the only way to do so, I will gladly help.”

Yeosang pulled back, cheeks wet to look at you through watery eyes. “And what if you do die?” he asked. “What then?” You held his face carefully as you looked into his eyes. “Then it will have been to protect the people of this village and you. I can die knowing I tried my best.”

Yeosang’s hands moved, taking your wrists and pulling your hands away from his face. “I couldn’t live with myself if you died,” he said quietly. “I wouldn’t want to live without you.” You pulled a hand free and pressed your fingers to his lips, shushing him gently. “We don’t even know for certain if I’ll die. Let’s talk with the others and I’m sure we can come up with a plan that keeps me safe while also drawing Hongjoong out, okay?”

Yeosang fell silent, cupping the side of your face and rubbing his thumb over the apple of your cheek. “Okay,” he finally said hoarsely. You pulled him into a kiss, taking care to wipe away his tears. “I’m going to be fine, darling,” you said softly.

Yeosang opened his mouth to answer when a distant scream rang out. His expression shifted in an instant and he turned his head in the direction of the scream. “What was that?” you asked softly. Yeosang took your hand and led you back to the living room where the priests had gotten up from the table and walked over to the door.

Mingi opened it and stood in the doorway, peering out into the darkness. Another scream rang out followed by a chorus of yells. “A house is on fire!” he announced, taking off into the night. San, Wooyoung, and Jongho followed as Yunho got up from the table and walked over quickly. 

You followed your husband to the door and as you stared into the distance you realized the house the third from the forest was ablaze. Your heart sank as your stomach churned. “That’s my parents’ house!” you gasped, trying to run out into the night but Yeosang grabbed you and pulled you back into the house. “No!” he said as he shut the door.

You tried to fight against him but he held you still. “Hongjoong could be out there. Stay inside this house and do not come out for anything. I will go.” You tried to protest but he held your face, staring into your eyes. “Please, Y/N. Please just stay here.”

You stared at him for a moment and decided he was right, conceding. “Fine,” you answered. “But please hurry! Make sure my parents are alright!” Yeosang pressed a kiss to your lips before he rushed the door, throwing it open and running outside. You moved to the door, peering out before shutting it and stepping back towards the table.

Footsteps pounded against the ground as Yeosang followed the others towards your parents house. The rest of the village had gathered, some shouting for help while others helped hold people back at a safe distance. Yeosang’s eyes scanned the crowd and relief washed over him as he saw your parents in the crowd, staring up at the house that was now engulfed in flames.

Yeosang squeezed through the crowd as he made his way over. Your mother’s tear stained face turned as he approached and she could only cry softly while your father stared up at the blaze with a dumbfounded look. “Are you alright?” Yeosang asked softly.

Your mother nodded. “We made it out okay,” she admitted. “But…” she looked up at the inferno. “We’ve lost everything.” Yeosang felt his stomach churn. He had an extra room in his house, he could offer it to your parents but he would of course wish to speak to you before he made any decisions as it was as much your house as it was his.

Before he could say anything, one of the neighbors nearby moved, wrapping an arm around your mother’s shoulders. “You are more than welcome to stay with us for the time being. We have plenty of room.” Your mother thanked her profusely and Yeosang sent the woman a knowing look, thanking her silently.

Yeosang turned and walked back to where the priests were huddled, Yunho and Mingi breathing heavily while Wooyoung and San were whispering to one another and Jongho studied the burning house. Yeosang noticed the smears of soot on both Yunho and Mingi, asking what happened.

“The burst into the house,” Jongho answered without taking his eyes off the fire, the dancing flames reflecting in his eyes. “They were able to get your in-law’s out along with some of their important artifacts…” Yunho gave Jongho a peculiar look.

“Artifacts,” he muttered as he stood up straight, waving Mingi away as the latter attempted to brush soot off his clothes, and moved towards Yeosang. “The fire started upstairs,” Yunho said in a low voice. “When we went in, it was just the entire upstairs that was in flames.”

Yeosang looked up at him, eyes wide. “Upstairs?” he whispered. “Seems odd, does it not?” Yunho asked, looking from the fire to Yeosang. “For a fire to start upstairs and move down?” Yeosang nodded, turning to look at the house. “Very odd indeed.”

After the crowd dispersed with only a few remaining behind to make sure the fire didn’t spread, Yeosang walked with the priests back towards the church, bidding them goodnight before returning to his own home.

He turned the knob, exhaustion taking over his mind as he opened the door. He knew you were waiting for news and he would give it to you without hesitation. As he entered, he saw you sitting at the table. You looked up as he entered.

“Are my parents okay?” you asked as Yeosang closed the door behind Yunho and turned to you. “Yes,” he answered. “They’re staying with a neighbor. They’re fine, just in shock.” Yeosang walked over to the table and took a seat, sighing as you sat down next to him.

“What happened?” you inquired. Yeosang raised his head and met your gaze. “I think the demon set fire to your house in an attempt to lure you out,” he said. You stared at him, a look of confusion etched onto your face. “But I don’t live there anymore,” you replied.

Yeosang nodded and sighed again, running his fingers through his hair. “I don’t think he knows that,” he explained. “Hongjoong must have thought you were still at your parents’ house which means he doesn’t know you’ve left or that we’re married.” You fell silent, looking down at the table before back up at your husband.

“You could have easily been in that house,” he continued. “And the moment you left the house to escape the fire, he would have snatched you.” You swallowed thickly. “You cannot let your guard down until he has been dealt with.” You nodded, taking Yeosang’s hand.

“So we will deal with him. Let me join this plan. Yeosang pulled his hand from yours, getting up from his seat, and started to walk towards the kitchen. You got up, following him. “Y/N, no,” he said. “It’s too dangerous.”

You followed him as he entered the bedroom and sat down on the bed to remove his boots. “It will be dangerous for me until he’s gone,” you answered. “Until he is dead, I will always be in danger. What if he learns that I am here? How long until he tries to lure me out of the house and kill me?”

Yeosang looked up at you, exhaustion present on his face. You placed your hand on the back of his head and pulled him closer, resting his head against your stomach. His arms encircled you, holding your close. “What if I’m pregnant?” you whispered.

Yeosang opened his eyes, leaning back to look up at you.

“You think he would spare me? Never. We’re not just doing this for the village,” you continued. “We’re doing this for us. For our future.” You placed a hand on Yeosang’s chest, pushing him back against the mattress as you climbed onto the bed and over him.

“I want a future with you, Yeosang,” you continued, leaning down to press a kiss to his lips. He tried to follow as you pulled back. “I want to have your children,” you added, kissing him again. “But we have to safeguard our future and the only way to do that is to kill the demon.”

Yeosang placed a hand on the back of your neck and pulled you into a much more passionate kiss before rolling you onto your back and pinning you underneath him. “If we do this,” he said once he broke apart from you. “Then you have to promise me that no matter what, you will listen to and do as I say.” You reached up to stroke his cheek, thumb tracing over the red mark near his eye.

“Of course,” you replied. “Promise me, Y/N,” Yeosang said, his thumb brushing over your bottom lip, watching as you pressed a delicate kiss to the pad of his thumb. “I promise,” you whispered, looking up at him with expectant eyes. “Say all of it,” Yeosang ordered, his hand sliding down your neck to your chest, pausing before sliding down past your navel and pulling your skirt up slowly.

You stared up at him with wide eyes as his hand ducked under your skirt to find your already slick center. “Say that you will do everything I say.” You let out a small gasp as his fingers started to work your clit slowly.

“I—I will! I will listen to you and do whatever you say,” you replied, thighs spreading as Yeosang’s fingers dipped lower, finding your hole and gliding into you, slowly pumping in and out of you. “I promise!” you concluded, back arching as he curled his fingers.

Yeosang wasted no time, peeling your clothes off one layer at a time until he had you bare under him, removing his own shirt and pants before moving between your hips. He was in no mood for lengthy foreplay as he guided the head of his cock to your aching hole and pushed into you, slowly, until he bottomed out with a deep groan.

Instinctively, your legs wrapped around his waist as he began to rock into you, the tip of his cock hitting deep inside you, your nails scratching at his back as moans slipped past your lips, mixing with Yeosang’s name like a mantra.

“Yeosang, I—” you started but he pressed his fingers against your lips. “It’s okay,” he said breathily. “I know. Just let go for me, sweetheart. Give into it.” Your eyelids fluttered shut as you allowed the feeling of your physical connection take over, a warm sensation building inside you. You felt a prickling in the corners of your eyes as tears threatened to spill.

You opened your eyes, blinking away the tears to look up at your husband only to find him already looking at you, eyes searching your face. He slowed his motions, reaching up to cup your cheek, thumb brushing away a tear that had escaped.

“What is it?” he asked softly. “Have I hurt you?”

You shook your head, wrapping your arms around his neck and pulling him down, burying your face in his neck. “I’m fine,” you sobbed softly. “Please, don’t stop.” Yeosang hesitated, stilling inside you as you cried softly.

Instead of resuming, he held you, arms secure as he let you cry. “It’s all right, love,” he whispered. “Let it out.” Your cries grew harder, muffled by his shoulder as he rolled you both onto your sides and stroked up and down your spine soothingly.

“What’s wrong?” he whispered into your ear. “What’s bothering you?”

You shook your head, pulling back and trying to wipe your tears away but he beat you to it, taking your face in his hands. He carefully wiped your cheeks and under your eyes before leaning in to press a chaste kiss to your lips.

“I’m alright,” you said softly, sniffling. “I was just overwhelmed.”

“Overwhelmed?” Yeosang asked, letting out a soft chuckle when you nodded. “I wasn’t expecting to open my eyes and find you looking at me like that,” you replied. Yeosang stroked your cheek gently, a smile on his face. “Like what?” he asked.

“With so much… Love,” you answered. Yeosang let out another low chuckle before leaning in to kiss you again. “Well, why wouldn’t I look at you like that?” he asked, rolling the two of you over so you were on your back against the mattress.

You opened your mouth to respond but only a moan came out as you felt him push back into you, setting a slow pace that gradually picked up again until he was thrusting into you just as he was before your emotional outburst, leaving you breathless.

“M-more,” you mumbled. “More?” Yeosang asked, breathlessly as he stared down at you. You nodded quickly. “I can take it. H-harder.” Yeosang let out a sound that you could have mistaken for a laugh but all the same, he obliged you, thrusting into you hard but at the same pace as before.

Your walls contracted around him as your moans raised in pitch, bordering on cries of pleasure. Yeosang slid an arm under you, cradling your head as he rested his forehead against yours. “I don’t know how much longer I can keep going,” he admitted.

You moved quickly, pushing him as you rolled him over, settling on top of him without his cock slipping out of you. You took over, keeping the same pace as his hands moved to your thighs. You resisted the urge to giggle as Yeosang let out a string of curses as your hips rose and fell, his cock sinking into your cunt repeatedly.

“That’s not very becoming of a priest,” you joked, leaning over to press a kiss to his cheek. You felt one of his hands move up your back before grabbing the back of your neck. “I don’t fucking care,” he hissed, pulling you in for a passionate but sloppy kiss, his tongue slipping into your mouth and muffling his own moans of pleasure.

You broke the kiss after a moment, needing to breathe, and rested your forehead against his as he grabbed your hips, thrusting up to meet you, matching your pace. The sudden intense movement had you gasping, fingers curling into the sheets under your husband as your climax drew closer and closer, rapidly

You felt him tremble under you, signaling he was close to his own climax. Your walls fluttered around him as he let out another slew of curses, ranging from “oh fuck” and “shit.” Praises slipped out of his mouth between moans of your name. Your head rested against his shoulder, letting him take over and guide your hips down to meet his as he thrust into you passionately. 

“Oh fuck, I love you,” he gasped, his voice barely audible over the sound of his skin slapping against yours, the bed creaking under your bodies. His confession spurred you on, pushing you over the edge of passion and you came unexpectedly with a whine, fingers curling into his hair as his hips continued to move, driving his cock repeatedly into you as he chased his own high. “I love you, too,” you panted, pulling back to look down at him, meeting his gaze. “So, so much,” you added.

Yeosang’s eyes fluttered shut as his orgasm rolled over him, his hot cum filling you as his hips thrusted a few more times, making sure he emptied everything into you. “I love you so much, Yeosang,” you repeated, pulling him into a messy kiss, your tongues dancing together. He pulled back slightly, caressing your cheek. “I love you more than all the stars in the sky,” he whispered. You felt a small sob build in your chest but held it back.

“I have never loved anyone as much as I love you,” Yeosang continued. “I will never love anyone as much as I love you. You’re my entire world.” You leaned down into a hug, burying your face in his shoulder and let out a soft cry. 

Yeosang rolled onto his side, lowering you to the mattress. “Hey,” he said softly. “Don’t cry,” Yeosang whispered, gently lifting your head. “They’re not tears of sadness,” you admitted as he wiped said tears from your cheeks. “They’re tears of—”

“Joy?” Yeosang asked, his expression softening as he caressed your cheek. You nodded, leaning into his touch. “When you saved my life,” you started. “And stayed with me while I was on the brink of death, I realized something,” you said softly.

“What?” Yeosang asked, eyes studying your face. You looked up to meet his gaze. “That I’ve loved you for some time,” you replied. “I just didn’t realize it because I was so deeply connected to Hongjoong but there was always love in my heart for you.”

Yeosang couldn’t stop the smile that spread across his face. “It just took me almost dying to see it,” you added with a dry laugh. “I have a confession of my own to make,” Yeosang said softly, drawing your attention as he continued to stroke your cheek.

“I’ve loved you since before everything that has happened. Since…” he trailed off, hesitating under your curious gaze. He swallowed the lump in his throat before continuing. “Since before Hongjoong’s death.”

A silence fell over the two of you and Yeosang feared he might have crossed a line but when you reached up to run your fingers through his hair, a smile crept onto your face. “I guess that makes two of us, then,” you whispered.

The following morning, you woke up early, getting dressed in silence as Yeosang lay tangled in the sheets. You exited the bedroom, shutting the door behind you and started to get started, making breakfast. After last night, you didn’t feel like going out to gather eggs or cook anything that would take too much time. You would rather just make something simple and get started on the day.

Today, Yeosang and the visiting priests were going to inform the village of the truth about the demon and Hongjoong’s return. The entire village was already aware of the demon’s existence but none knew that it was Hongjoong.

You heard the door behind you open and soft footsteps make their way towards you until you felt arms enveloping you as Yeosang wrapped you in his warm embrace. “I thought we might sleep in,” he murmured in your ear before pressing a kiss to your cheek.

“I woke up and couldn’t fall back asleep,” you admitted as you stirred the contents of the pot. “So I thought I would just get up and start the day.” Yeosang hummed as he slowly started to sway, making you sway as well.

You placed a hand over your stomach as a nauseous feeling bubbled up. Yeosang noticed, placing his hand over yours. “Have you checked the seeds?” he asked softly to which you shook your head. “I’ve had more pressing matters,” you replied.

Yeosang pressed a kiss to your shoulder. “I’ll go check,” he whispered, pulling away and taking with him the warmth. You heard him move through the house, the front door opening and closing. In truth, you hadn’t wanted to check the seeds, for fear that one of them was growing which would mean you were pregnant and that was something you didn’t need at the moment.

You had enough going on.

Yeosang returned a couple moments later, shutting the door slowly and walked into the kitchen, stopping to lean against the doorframe, a look of shock on his face. You looked back at him, your expression morphing as you feared the worst. “What is it?” you asked.

Yeosang looked up to meet your gaze. The look in his eyes was all you needed to see for your heart to sink into your stomach. “No,” you whispered. Yeosang looked down and it was then you realized he had something in his hand. “What is that?” you whispered. He stood up straight and walked over, something clenched in his fist.

He looked up at you, a look somewhere between an apology and concern etched onto his face. “I know this is the last thing you need, but…” he said as he held out his closed fist. Your eyes traveled down to his hand as he opened it. Lying in his palm was a small seed with a tiny stalk sprouting from it.

Your mother’s voice popped into your head. ‘If the barley seeds sprout then it will be a boy. If the wheat seeds sprout, then you’ll be having a girl.’ You shook your head, tears pricking at the corners of your eyes as you looked up to meet Yeosang’s gaze.

“No. We… this can’t be happening…” you said, your breathing bordering on hyperventilating. Yeosang set the sprout onto the table and pulled you into a hug. “It’s going to be alright,” he said softly. “We’ll figure this out. I know the timing is wrong,” he continued. “But everything happens for a reason.”

You nodded slowly, letting out a sigh. “Look at me,” Yeosang said softly, tilting your head up. “We’ll face the things in front of us and once we’ve dealt with it, how about we leave? Go somewhere new and start over?” he asked. A small smile crept over your face.

“Really?” you asked quietly. Yeosang nodded, pressing a short kiss to your lips. “Of course,” he replied. “We can go anywhere you want. Another village, a larger town, the mountains, the sea,” he said, listing off different locations. “Wherever you want, my love, that’s where we’ll go. Start a new life for us and for them,” he added, moving a hand to your belly.

“For us.”

After finishing breakfast and getting dressed, you left the house with Yeosang, heading for the church to attend the meeting. Upon entering, you followed Yeosang to the front where the rest of the priests were already sitting, talking amongst themselves. As you approached, San and Wooyoung gave you warm smiles and greeted you.

Yeosang guided you to sit next to Yunho, leaving one seat for him. Instead of taking it right away, he excused himself to go find Jonas. “You look different this morning,” Yunho said softly. You turned to look at him and noticed the others looking at you.

“Do I?” you asked to which not only Yunho nodded, but so did Wooyoung, San, and Mingi. “Much different,” San noted as he exchanged a glance with Wooyoung. You hesitated to answer, wondering if they could tell the difference was due to you finding out about the child you were carrying.

Before you could answer, Yeosang returned with Jonas. Your husband gave you a smile as he followed the elder minister to the doors to open them and allow the villagers in. While Yeosang was preoccupied, Yunho glanced at the others before turning to you and lowering his voice. “It’s a good type of different,” he whispered before leaning up and giving you a smile before turning to speak to San next to him as the rows behind you filled with villagers.

Yeosang returned, taking his seat beside you and took your hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. You pulled your hand from his, locking your arm with his instead, giving you a sense of stability as you leaned into his side. Yeosang made no attempt to move for sake of propriety. He did not care what the others thought. All that mattered to him was your happiness and safety.

The villagers could think what they liked. You were his wife.

As the villagers took their seats, you looked around, noticing your parents a few rows back and sent them a smile, one they returned. Despite everything that had happened to them, you were glad they were still alive and safe.

The doors at the front of the church closed and Jonas walked down the middle aisle towards the stage, nodding at the members as he passed before he finally reached the pulpit and turned to face the congregation.

“I’ve called this meeting because Pastor Kang has requested to be able to speak with all of you on an urgent matter related to the demon plaguing our village,” he started. He turned his gaze to Yeosang and nodded, stepping down. Your husband stood up and you wrapped your arms around yourself as he walked up, stepping up to the pulpit.

“As you all already know, a demon has been terrorizing the village since the death of Hongjoong,” he started, ignoring the hisses at the mention of the name. “You might also be aware that I sent word to neighboring villages, asking for the help from their clergy and as a result, five priests have come to help conduct an investigation as well as potentially help banish the demon.” 

Yeosang stopped, looking towards the front row as whispers rang out behind you. “We have come to learn after carefully investigating that the demon who haunts our village is Hongjoong, returned from the grave.”

There were several gasps and a new rush of whispers before Yeosang called for attention. “To explain further, I invite Pastor Jeong up here. He has experience with banishing demons and investigating their origins,” Yeosang said, gesturing at Yunho seat beside you. Yunho got up as Yeosang stepped down and returned to his seat.

Yunho took his place and murmured a greeting before starting his explanation.

“When Hongjoong was killed, his soul was sent to Hell,” he started. “Because he was a witch!” someone said and Yunho narrowed his eyes at the person who spoke. “No,” Yunho replied. “Not because he was a witch,” he continued. “But because the real witch made a deal with a demon in exchange for power.”

The congregation fell silent as Yunho’s words hung in the air. “I do not presume to know everything there was to know about Hongjoong, only what I’ve been told by someone who knew him very, very well,” he added, eyes glancing at you and giving you a warm smile.

“Nor do I pretend to know anything about witches or witchcraft as that is not my area of expertise and I will let Pastor Song speak on that in due time,” he continued. “What I know is that the demon the witch made a deal with was offered Hongjoong as a sacrifice and it took that. When Hongjoong was killed, the pact forced his soul to Hell where the demon latched onto him and came back to inhabit his body. This was the demon’s goal. It wanted a human body to inhabit so it could walk this Earth.”

You felt a chill run up your spine and shivered. Yeosang immediately wrapped an arm around you, pulling you closer. “The only reason Hongjoong’s soul was allowed to even return in the first place is because of something known as a witch’s box. Again this is not my area of knowledge and I will let Mingi explain when it is his turn to speak, but what I do know is that by creating one of these boxes, it connects a witch’s soul to the earth so if they were to die by accident, they could come back. It is a means to cheat death, so to speak.”

“The demon took advantage of this, which was probably communicated by the real culprit who summoned the demon,” Yunho pressed on. “We believe that there is another witch, the one responsible for the misfortunes that have befallen your village. This witch made a deal with a demon in exchange for more power and offered Hongjoong’s soul and body in exchange of their own, since they likely knew Hongjoong was also a witch.” 

“Who is the other witch?” a voice called out. “We do not know,” Yunho answered. “We don’t have that information yet.” This answer caused an uproar of discourse from the congregation. “How can you not know?!” one person shouted. Yunho looked overwhelmed by the sudden chorus of questions being hurled at him.

Yeosang stood up and turned to the crowd. “Dealing with the demon is much more important than dealing with the witch,” he said earnestly. “In time, we will uncover the true identity of this witch and see that they are brought to justice for their actions,” Yeosang said calmly.

“Who’s the witch!?”

“It could be any one of us!”

“It’s Y/N!”

Your eyes widened and you looked up at Yeosang in a panic as a look of pure anger crossed over his face. Before he could say anything, Jongho stood up, crossing to the pulpit, and motioned for Yunho to step down before stepping up.

“Pointing blame without any evidence to back up your claim will not only not help, but it will paint you as suspicious,” he sat calmly and clearly in a voice you had not expected to come from him. “Y/N is being actively pursued by the demon as it wants to kill her. She cannot possibly be the other witch. One more outburst of the sort and I will start taking names for a list of suspects.”

He then stepped down and returned to his seat as Yunho stepped up once more. Yeosang turned his gaze to Jongho and the two shared a look of understanding before he sat back down beside you, taking your arm in his as Yunho continued.

“As I was saying,” he started. “And as Pastor Kang has stated, we must deal with the demon first. This concludes what I know and I will now pass the torch, so to speak, to Pastor Song.” Yunho stepped down and walked back to his seat between you and San as Mingi got up and walked to the pulpit.

You watched as he paused briefly, looking at Jonas sitting against the back wall. He tilted his head as if he was studying the elder minister for a moment before he finally turned and stepped up into the pulpit to speak.

“Witchcraft,” he started. “Is not at all what you think it is. There are many types of magic in this world. The witchcraft of this witch that has been plaguing your village is what is known as dark magic. It is used to harm nature and people. It relies on blood sacrifices to work. Most dark witches use these sacrifices to make deals with demons in exchange for more power.”

“Light witches on the other hand,” he continued. “Rely on the natural world to create magic. They use their powers to heal and grow things. Which means,” Mingi said, pausing to look around at the villagers. “You killed the wrong witch.”

There was a silence that fell over the congregations before Mingi continued to speak.

“Hongjoong was a light witch, using his magic for good and the dark witch took advantage of this to use him as a bargaining chip to gain powers from the demonic entity that now inhabits Hongjoong’s body,” he added, taking his spectacles off. 

“This dark witch used smaller animal sacrifices to create curses and disturbances within the village, turning you all against Hongjoong so you might eventually rise up and make him pay for the crimes you perceived as his. By killing Hongjoong, you completed the human sacrifice necessary for the dark witch’s deal to work. Giving the demon what it wanted and by extension, giving the witch what they wanted.”

He fell silent as he turned to look back at Jonas. You couldn’t understand the look between them but the way Jonas looked at Mingi made you feel uncomfortable, almost as if he was… mad at him for what he was saying. Jonas looked past Mingi, meeting your gaze and for the briefest moment, you could have sworn his eyes changed.

You let out the smallest of gasps, barely even audible but Yeosang heard you, as did Yunho. Your husband turned, leaning over to look at your face. “Love?” he whispered. “Are you alright?” You nodded slowly, eyes wide as you continued to hold Jonas’ gaze, afraid if you looked away, you would forget everything.

Jonas was the first to look away as Mingi stepped back, apparently having been done speaking. Next up was San and Wooyoung. Mingi returned to his seat beside Jongho and you kept your eyes on Jonas as the priest and demon hunter spoke, laying out their plans to lure the demon in, using you as bait.

Your attention waned as you stared at the elder minister, waiting to see if his eyes changed again but they did not and he did not look your direction again for the rest of the meeting. As San and Wooyoung wrapped up their part, several members of the congregation started asking questions. Yeosang stood up, joining San, Wooyoung, and Mingi on stage with Jongo with Yunho staying glued to your side. While they answered questions, Yunho leaned over.

“You saw something, didn’t you?” he asked softly so no one would hear. You nodded, keeping your eyes on Yeosang. “I think we saw the same thing,” Yunho continued. “We’ll talk about it after the meeting.”

As the questions wrapped up, the meeting ended and Jonas addressed the congregation one last time before dismissing them. The doors to outside opened as the priests returned to the bench you currently sat on, Yunho standing up. You stared at Jonas whose gaze swept over the crowd before finally meeting yours.

The moment your eyes locked, a wave of fear washed over you. Having been standing, waiting to exit the church, your knees went weak, legs giving out on you and you fell back onto your seat, letting out a gasp.

“Y/N?” Yeosang asked, worry laced in his voice. “What is it, love?” he asked. Your vision went unfocused as you tried to gain control of your breathing which had become rapid and unsteady. “Y/N?” Yunho asked, kneeling down before you. You felt one of his large hands take yours. “What is it?” he asked. “What do you see?”

“See?” Yeosang asked, his voice sounding far away. Within the blackness of your vision, you could see images of a hidden altar, line with animal bones and skulls. Blood stained the wood and a ceremonial knife sat nearby. Behind the altar, a hooded figure stood before a ring of candles on the floor, blood smeared in the middle into a crude sigil you’ve never seen before.

As the vision came, it went and your own vision returned, Yunho’s face coming back into view. “What did you see?” he asked softly. You looked up, searching for Jonas as he disappeared into the back hallway, the door shutting softly behind him. “I—” you hesitated. “I don’t…”

“Are you alright, love?” Yeosang asked, kneeling beside Yunho to look up at you, his face full of concern as he reached up to feel your cheek. “Air,” you gasped. “I need air.”

Yeosang stood up quickly, as did Yunho and they led you through the crowded church as more people spoke, trying to make sense of the information given to them. Outside only a few members had managed to make it down the steps. As Yeosang led the way to the door, the sky darkened. He looked up as he started down the steps. His eyes widened. Outside the church, littering the ground and amassed into a pile were what looked to be hundreds of corpses of crows.

Stand atop them was—

“It’s Hongjoong!” one person announced, turning tail and heading back into the church as others started to follow. Yeosang stood firm, blocking you from sight as the other priests also joined the line in front of the church. Hongjoong’s appearance had changed slightly. His hair was a little longer now and a slightly different color. Lighter now.

The horns protruding from his forehead had grown longer, starting to curve back over his head almost like a goats. His eyes were the same black with fiery, mismatched irises. He smiled a wicked smile, showing off his sharp canines as he hopped down from the pile of dead birds.

“Holding a village meeting without the guest of honor?” he asked as he approached Yeosang, a hint of amusement in his voice. He gestured at the other priests. “And I see you’ve already invited the entertainment,” he added with a chuckle.

“I take it this is the demon?” Yunho asked, turning his head to glance at Yeosang who nodded. Hongjoong looked up at Yunho. “Oh you’re a big one,” he said as he sauntered over. “Might be a little hard to digest,” he joked. As he turned, his eyes met yours and froze, the smile on his face widening. “Ah, there she is,” he said.

The priests closed in around you, shielding you from Hongjoong, making him look at them peculiarly. “Gentlemen, gentlemen,” he said, chuckling. “Relax,” I’m not about to try and kill her in front of an audience,” he added with a snicker as he started to walk in front of Yeosang and peered around at you from the other side. “As fun as it would be.”

“I tried to visit you,” he said, chuckling. “But you weren’t home. I even tried to… smoke you out,” he added with a chuckle. You felt your blood run cold but anger bubbled up inside you. You tried to step forward but Yunho grabbed your arm, keeping you still.

“You almost killed my parents!” you shouted angrily. Hongjoong made a mock look of sympathy. “Awww,” he cooed. “How unfortunate. I meant to kill them.” You tried again to lurch forward, all love you had felt for Hongjoong evaporating in an instant. “No, Y/N,” San whispered from beside you. “That’s what he wants.”

“Why weren’t you at your parents’ house, Y/N?” Hongjoong asked, drawing your attention away from the demon hunter. “Because I don’t live there anymore,” you answered simply. “I was with Yeosang.” Hongjoong’s eyes studied you as his smile fell, being replaced with a look of curiosity. His eyes shifted to look at Yeosang before he glanced down and noticed something, clicking his tongue before he looked up to look at you.

“I see. You married him.” It wasn’t a question. It was more of an accusation. “After everything you promised me?” Hongjoong asked. You resisted the urge to scoff, knowing it would probably just anger him. “Aren’t you trying to kill me?” you asked, changing the subject.

Hongjoong sighed. “Now why would I want to kill you?” he asked. “Why would I want to kill my guiding star? My little… Starlight?” A chill ran up your spine. “Don’t call me that,” you snapped. Hongjoong laughed loudly. “Why not? Strike a nerve?” he asked. “Does it remind you of our love?”

“Love?” you asked. “You died, remember? The rope snapped your neck. The Hongjoong I knew and loved died that day.” The demon chuckled again. “The rope didn’t snap my neck, Stella,” Hongjoong said, using another nickname. “I said don’t call me that,” you snapped.

He ignored your words and continued. “He suffocated,” the demon said, its voice masking Hongjoong’s. “He hung from that branch, struggling and kicking for minutes as he was strangled. Until the breath left his lungs and the life left his weak, defenseless body!” Yeosang moved to block you from sight.

“Stop it,” he said. Hongjoong glared at Yeosang before he spoke again. “You want to know what his dying thought was?” he asked, raising his voice slightly. Yeosang glared back at the demon. “Don’t,” he warned. “It was of you,” Hongjoong said. “Of the night you gave yourself to him for the first time.” San started forward but Jongho put a hand on his chest, pushing him back in line.

“That was a night he thought about often,” the demon continued. “He loved you so much. And this is how you repay his love?” it asked, looking at Yeosang. “By marrying this… priest?” he spat. Hongjoong peered around Yeosang to meet your gaze, noticing the tears in your eyes. “I’ve thought about it, Y/N,” he started. “Long and hard and I’ve decided something.”

He glanced at the sky before speaking. “I don’t want to kill you,” he explained. “I’ve changed my mind. Instead, I want you.” A shiver ran through your body at his words. “For what?” Yunho asked, drawing the demon’s attention briefly. “For myself of course. I’d like to keep such a succulent little morsel like her nearby. So I can ravage her whenever I want —”

“You will not touch her!” Yeosang interjected as you pressed into his back, hiding from view. Hongjoong let out a sigh. “Tell you what, Y/N,” he said, raising his voice. “I will give you three days. Three days to come to me on your own,” he continued. You felt Yeosang’s hand grab yours, giving you a reassuring squeeze.

You peeked over Yeosang’s shoulder to watch as Hongjoong walked back to the pile of birds, climbing up to the peak and turning around to face the church. “And if in three days, you still haven’t come to me, I will kill every single man, woman, and child in this village,” he added, ignoring the gasps of the villagers.

“Starting with your new husband.”

Your knees threatened to give out as Hongjoong vanished in a cloud of black mist. The sound returned to the area and immediately the villagers started to protest. “Get her home,” Yunho said in a low tone to Yeosang and the priests attempted to hold the crowd back as they demanded to hand you over to Hongjoong. Yeosang wrapped an arm around you, guiding you away from the church and back to the house with San and Wooyoung in tow for additional protection.

For a brief moment, you considered doing it but Yeosang reminded you of the plan already set in motion and that the demon would most likely kill you anyway.

“I’m not leaving the fate of my wife and unborn child up to fate,” Yeosang said as Yunho finally filed into the house behind Mingi and Jongho. “You’re pregnant?” San asked, turning quickly to look at you. You glanced at your husband briefly before nodding. “We just found out this morning before the meeting,” you admitted.

“I knew there was something different about you,” Yunho said as he moved to sit beside you. 

“So,” San asked, turning to look at Yeosang. “What’s the plan? Do we proceed?”

“Yes, of course we proceed,” Jongho interrupted. “We don’t know what else the witch promised the demon in exchange for power and they could demand more sacrifices for more power, we can’t be too careful. The demon must be stopped.”

There was a murmur of agreement and you let out a sigh, reaching up to pinch the bridge of your nose, your vision swimming again. “Y/N?” Yeosang asked, moving to kneel before you. “Are you alright, sweetheart?” he asked.

You felt the urge to vomit but managed to push it down. “I’m okay,” you whispered. “I’m just tired.” Yeosang cupped your cheek. “She should probably rest,” Yunho offered. “Lie down for a bit.” Yeosang nodded and stood up, holding out his hand. You took it, thanking him and saying a brief farewell to the others as Yeosang led you through the house to the bedroom.

He shut the door and walked you over to the bed, sitting you down and moving to untie your boots and remove them. “Here,” he said softly, pulling the covers back and helping you lie back before pulling the covers back over you.

“We’ll be right outside,” he said softly. “If you need anything, just call for me,” he added. “Don’t worry about dinner. I’ll make it tonight.”

Sleep came quickly for you the moment he left and shut the door behind him, leaving you to a restless slumber full of nightmares.

—————————————————————

The following morning you woke up, wrapped in Yeosang’s arms, the blankets pulled up around the both of you. Blinking sleepily, you started to settle back into a slumber, wondering when he had come to bed the night before when a sour feeling in your stomach started to bubble up. You knew the feeling all too well and were awake in an instant.

You scrambled to get up, waking Yeosang in the process as you hurried to get out of his hold and the blankets without falling. “What’s wrong?” Yeosang grumbled as you ran for the door, throwing it open and running to the front door. 

You managed to get it open, stepping out into the cool dawn, frost crunching under your bare feet as you ran to the outhouse, throwing open the door just in time to retch and violently throw up into the bowl.

Moments later, you heard footsteps and a sigh as you continued to spit up. After you felt you were finished, your stomach finally settling, you sat back, groaning as tears burned the corner of your eyes. You felt something warm drape around your shoulders.

“It’s alright,” you heard Yeosang whisper as he gently rubbed your arms. “Let’s get you back inside.” You allowed him to help you up and guide you back inside, ignoring the freezing cold ground under your feet. Once inside, Yeosang guided you back to the bedroom and sat you down, kneeling to wipe the bottom of your now wet feet before guiding you back to lay down.

Yeosang brought a cup to your mouth. “Here,” he said softly. “Rinse and spit. I know if you don’t you’ll wake up and complain about the taste,” he added as you obeyed, taking a sip of the water and swishing it around your mouth before spitting it back into the cup. “Well done,” he complimented as he stood up, grabbing the sheets.

“I’m fine,” you promised as he pulled the blankets up. “I know,” he replied. “It’s the baby,” he added as he leaned down to press a kiss to your forehead. “I’ll heat up something for you to eat,” he whispered before you heard his footsteps take him away and the bedroom door shut.

You must have fallen back asleep because soon, Yeosang was shaking you awake. “It’s time to get up, love,” he whispered. “You need to eat and get dressed. We have a long day ahead of us.” You whined in protest, making him chuckle as he leaned down and pressed another kiss to your forehead. “Let’s get this done. Then we can come back here and sleep all night and all day tomorrow,” he said. “Sound good?”

You opened your eyes slowly, meeting his gaze and hummed in approval. “I really won the prize by marrying you, didn’t I?” you asked, your voice sounding groggy. Yeosang let out a loud laugh, shaking his head before he cupped your cheek.

“I think it was I who won, my dear,” he replied. “Now come,” he said as he got up. “Get dressed and let’s eat.” You sat up slowly as he retreated, shutting the door behind him. Pulling back the covers, you shivered slightly as you pulled off your nightgown and started to dress.

Once your clothes were on, including your boots, you exited the bedroom to find Yeosang at the hearth, checking the contents of a pot. “We have company,” he said softly as you walked over. You peered through the doorway to find Jonas sitting at the table which had not been moved from the living room back to the kitchen yet.

You walked over to where your husband stood. “What’s he doing here?” you asked under your breath. “He’s come to congratulate you on your journey to motherhood,” Yeosang whispered. You glanced towards the doorway before turning to Yeosang, clearing your throat.

“Yeosang, I don’t want to speak to him,” you started as Yeosang set the spoon in his hands down and took your face in his hands. “I know,” he replied. “I spoke with Yunho and he told me what you both saw,” Yeosang whispered. “But let’s not talk about that now,” he continued. “We’ll go out there together.”

He took your hand and guided you towards the door, entering the room with you in tow. Jonas sat at the table, looking out the window but as soon as the two of you entered, he turned his head, offering a smile. It looked pleasant enough but after what you’d seen, you felt it was out of place and chilling. Yeosang sat you down one seat away from Jonas, taking the seat between you as a sort of shield.

“News has spread of your addition to the village,” Jonas started, looking past Yeosang and directly at you. You glanced at Yeosang who nodded, speaking for you. “Yes,” he said. “It comes as a shock to us,” Yeosang said in a polite voice. “A shock?” Jonas asked, taking his eyes off you momentarily to look at Yeosang. You felt relief for a moment.

“I’m sure as newlyweds, you’ve been very…” he trailed off, his eyes wandering back to you. “Vigorous in your new couple activities.” His words sent a chill up your spine, the sour feeling back in your stomach. You could feel the bile rising up.

“Oh, uh,” Yeosang’s words failed him as he tried to think of some sort of response. “Well, I suppose,” he tried again but faltered, glancing at you. “Pastor Kang, could I have a word with your lovely wife. I could use a glass of ale. I’m quite thirsty and in her delicate condition, I’m sure she should be resting right now. Especially when you have such a big night ahead of you.” Yeosang hesitated, glancing at you.

Words failed him again and reluctantly, he got up, walking into the kitchen. The moment he was gone, you tried to get up, the sour feeling rising in your stomach, but Jonas grabbed your wrist, holding you down as he leaned forward to speak.

“If you think you saw something in the church yesterday,” he started, his grip on your wrist starting to hurt. “Then you are gravely mistaken, indeed. It was a trick of the light. Something conjured by that fanciful imagination of yours. But what you saw was nothing, am I understood?” he asked in a low voice.

You tried to pull away from him, the contents of your stomach threatening to spill any moment. You heard a door opened quickly and you turned to see Yunho walk in from the spare bedroom, making a beeline for Jonas who quickly let go of you, clearly not expecting to be interrupted. Yunho towered over the man as he sat back in his chair.

“If you ever lay a hand on her again,” Yunho started, not bothering to keep his voice down, drawing Yeosang out of the kitchen in a hurry. “I will not hesitate to expose you for what you are, snake,” Yunho continued. Jonas stared up at Yunho with a murderous rage.

“Please make sure our guest leaves, Yunho,” Yeosang said as he moved to your side, grabbing your wrist to inspect the marks of irritation that had started to form. Yunho made to grab Jonas by the jacket but he slapped the larger man’s hand away.

“Don’t touch me, you fool,” Jonas hissed at Yunho who narrowed his eyes. Quick as a snake, Yunho’s hand closed around Jonas’ throat and he pulled him up. Jonas choked and struggled against Yunho’s grip. “You will leave this village or I will expose you and leave you to the villagers’ wrath,” he said as he turned the knob for the door before shoving Jonas out.

Yunho glared at the elder minister as Yeosang checked your face. “Are you feeling alright?” he asked. You shook your head. “I feel sick,” you moaned. You heard the door slam shut and turned your head to see Jonas marching back towards the church.

“What about the other priests?” you asked, looking up as Yunho moved to sit across from you. “They stayed with other families last night,” Yeosang explained, inspecting your face once more. “Turns out all the protective charms that Jonas made weren’t protecting anyone,” he explained. You turned your gaze to Yunho. “We discussed this yesterday while you were sleeping,” Yunho said, looking at Yeosang. “But we believe Jonas is the witch,” he continued.

“Or at the very least, aiding them,” Yeosang interjected. Yunho let out a dry laugh. “I know you want to believe in him, Yeosang,” he started. “But you didn��t see what I saw. Or what she saw,” he added, nodding towards you. “Ask her.”

Yeosang turned his head to look at you. “It’s true, his eyes—”

“No,” Yunho said, shaking his head. “Not his eyes. The vision.” You stared at him as it came back to you. “W-what vision?” you stammered. Yunho leaned forward, looking into your eyes. “I know you saw it,” he said, ignoring the way you shook your head in denial.

“Because I saw it, too. Last night. The witch, the altar, the summoning circle. All of it,” Yunho explained. “Everything makes sense now. It was all Jonas’ doing.” Looking at your husband, you could tell he was at a loss for words. He wanted to believe his mentor was incapable of such atrocities but you knew what you felt when you looked at Jonas yesterday and again today when he touched you.

Jonas was the witch. The one responsible for everything. 

“What are you doing? We need to warn people!” Yunho smiled, shaking his head as he looked down at the table. “We’ve already done that,” he answered. Yeosang turned to look at Yunho. “What?” he asked. Yunho looked up. “The church is being searched now by the villagers. I instructed Jongho, Mingi, San, and Wooyoung to mention something to the families they were staying with in passing. Of course, it might have taken some persuasion,” Yunho continued, shrugging his shoulder

“But at this time, I imagine the villagers are conducting a very thorough search of the church and Jonas’ room,” he concluded. He looked up to meet your gaze. “He will be forced to run and when we banish the demon tonight, he will lose his powers and won’t be able to hurt anyone else,” he added. A small smile spread across your face.

Yeosang sighed, bringing a hand up to cover his mouth before he finally relented. “Alright,” he said. “So we’re still going through with the plan?” Yeosang asked and Yunho nodded. “Of course,” Yunho answered, turning to look out the window. You followed his gaze in time to see a mob of villagers exit the church, dragging Jonas out with them. You turned away from the window, meeting Yunho’s eyes. “This village’s trouble ends,” he said softly.

“Tonight.”

As the sun began to sink lower in the sky, the plan was set into motion. You took a lantern, intent on leaving to head into the woods. Yeosang pulled you into a very tight embrace before kissing you. “Please be safe,” he said softly. “I’ll see you at the stream.”

You leaned forward, resting your forehead against his, taking one of his hands and placing it over your stomach. “Us. You will see us at the stream,” you replied, correcting him. Yeosang let out a small huff that sounded like a mix between a laugh and a cry. He cupped your cheek and nodded. “I love you,” he whispered.

“I love you, too,” you replied as you pulled back. “Alright, Y/N,” Wooyoung said as you raised your hood. “It’s important that you guide him to stand in exactly the right spot,” he explained. “I know, Wooyoung,” you said softly, giving him a smile. “I know the mark.”

San gave you a smile as you turned to him. “If he tries to grab you, tie this to his wrist. It’ll hurt him enough to let go of you and you should be able to run away. We won’t be far,” he said, handing you a small garland. You tucked it away, thanking him.

“I’ll be fine,” you said as you looked around at them. The village was empty save for the priests and yourself. You were ready to play your part in the trap and the villagers had agreed to stay out of the way, keeping inside their homes with new protective charms over the doors and windows of their homes.

After another round of farewells, you headed for the woods, walking over the yellowed grass and dirt. You hadn’t been into the forest since Hongjoong chased you out and so going back felt intimidating. You’d never been afraid of the forest before but now you had a very real reason to fear it which had once been the reason you loved it.

Yeosang watched as you stepped into the forest, disappearing into the trees quickly and let out a soft sob. He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to find Yunho standing beside him, looking to the forest where you had just disappeared. “It’s going to be alright,” Yunho said reassuringly. “She’s going to be alright.”

“Come,” Mingi said, turning to look at the others. “We have work to do.”

The sun was low enough it was filtering through the trees, elongating the shadows and bathing everything in a golden glow.

‘Golden hour,’ you thought as you walked through the woods, making your way to the cabin. Hongjoong rarely showed himself when the sun was out and so it felt like this was the best time to go into the forest and find his witch box.

Instead of following the path, you tread over the broken branches and fallen logs that littered the forest floor knowing it would get you to the cabin much faster. As you trudged further into the forest, you felt less and less safe. A stark contrast to how you used to feel.

You reached the cabin in no time and saw before you a scene you hadn’t been prepared for. The goats that once greeted you were lying in a pile in their shed, blood and feathers bathed the garden as you stepped over the mess and carefully pushed open the cabin door.

Inside the cabin was a mess. Furniture had been thrown around, destroyed and splintered wood littered the floor. There was blood all over the door and walls and feathers all over the floor. You walked further into the cabin and found the hidden panel. Pushing it open, you knelt down and peered in, finding it empty. 

You crawled into the small space, setting your lantern down and producing a small trowel. Looking around for any sort of marked spot, you found a small symbol carved in the wood of the cabin. Taking the trowel, you started digging under the spot for a few minutes until the tip of your trowel hit something. You unearthed a small wooden box and grabbed the lantern.

Carefully, you dusted the top off and found the carving in the top matched the amulet Hongjoong used to wear. You carefully opened it and found what looked to be a lot of small trinkets. You closed it, knowing you couldn’t waste any more time. You grabbed the lantern and scrambled out of the crawlspace. 

Once back in the cabin you made for the exit and froze in the doorway. Hongjoong was standing outside the garden gate, watching you. You took a deep breath and exited the cabin, walking towards the gate. He didn’t move, instead, watched you curiously.

As you started to walk past, he stepped in front of you, blocking the path. “What are you doing here?” he asked, in a soft voice. You looked up, not expecting that. His eyes were no longer demonic but back to the warm brown you had grown accustomed to and fell in love with.

“I’m doing what you asked me to do,” you replied. “You told me if anything happened to you that I should take this box from its hiding place and bury it deep in the forest.” You gestured at the box cradled in your arm. Hongjoong glanced at it before his eyes met yours.

“Why didn’t you do it before?” You stared at him. “Well it was storming that night and so I planned to do it the next morning but then you came back that night and things just got… confusing,” you said softly. You glanced towards the setting sun. Hongjoong seemed to take notice. “Are you in a hurry?” he asked, sounding genuine.

You nodded. “Yeah, the woods aren’t safe at night,” you said softly. An idea crossed your mind. “I’m going to bury this now. Do… Do you want to come with me? See where I put it just in case?” Hongjoong’s eyes lit up, a smile crossing over his face as he nodded.

You swallowed the lump in your throat before holding your hand out for him to take. He hesitantly took your hand and you walked, pulling him along as you headed for the stream. As you walked, hand in hand, you noticed how his hand was warm and it almost was as if he was himself again but you knew it was dangerous to think like that.

“You don’t have to do this, you know,” he said softly as you walked. “I do, though,” you said, nodding, seeing bits of the stream through the trees. “Why?” he asked. “Why do you have to do it?” You glanced up at him as you walked.

“Because I promised you I would and I keep my promises.”

Hongjoong studied your face before he looked down, noticing the ring on your finger. “Like you kept your promise to love only me?” he asked, sounding heartbroken. “You died,” you reminded him. “You died and became something else. I had to think of myself,” you explained. “I needed to get away from my parents. I just wanted to feel happy again,” you said softly. 

Hongjoong stopped, keeping a firm grip on your hand. 

“We could be happy,” he said as you turned to look at him. “Hongjoong,” you said, shaking your head as he let go of your hand and moved forward, closing the distance and taking your face gently in his hands.

“We could leave this all behind. Run away like we planned and live a life by the sea,” he continued. You pulled back, feeling your conflicting emotions swirling inside you. “No, we can’t,” you replied. “You’re dead, Hongjoong.” 

He looked at you in both pain and confusion. “You said you would always love me,” he whispered, voice cracking. “And I will,” you replied. “I will always love Hongjoong,” you repeated. He looked up at you. “But you are not Hongjoong.”

He stared at you until his form shifted, the fiery eyes coming back, horns reappearing. “You’re a very smart woman,” he said, Hongjoong’s soft cadence gone, replaced with this more confident and arrogant sound one. “We could be happy,” he repeated, his hand moving to your cheek. “I could be him,” he added.

His hand slid down to your throat, fingers brushing your skin. “I could be Hongjoong for you,” he whispered. The thought of a demon masquerading as Hongjoong made your skin crawl. It was bad enough he had latched onto his soul and possessed his body. “I could build you those cabins. What was it? A hundred of them? I could do that.”

You backed away from him, shaking your head. “No,” you answered. “You are a demon, pretending to be the man I loved. You’ve killed people. You wanted to kill me,” you continued. The demon took a step forward. “I wanted to,” he said, emphasizing the past tense.

“I don’t want that anymore,” he pressed on. “All I want is you now. I wish I could kill you but he would fight. He might force me out and I can’t have that. I worked too hard to get this body.” You stared at him in disgust. “He’s powerful. His thoughts. He wants you more than anything. More than life itself. I have never experienced such intense longing like this.”

“I have to have you or else the thoughts won’t stop.” You took a step back.

“You’ll never have me,” you replied. “You’re not Hongjoong. You’re a disgusting, vile demon who has killed good, innocent people. Hongjoong would be disgusted by what you’ve done with his body. You will never be Hongjoong!”

The demon lunged for you but you dodged his attempt and turned, heading for the stream, jumping over the sigil on the forest floor. The demon gave chase, running through it and just like that he was caught.

“Got him!” Wooyoung yelled. At once, the priests appeared from the brush and attached ropes to Hongjoong’s wrists and neck, holding him as Yunho prepared the banishing ritual.

“Y/N,” Yeosang said as he turned to look at you. “Head back to the village!” You looked at the ropes binding Hongjoong as he fought to free himself and shook your head. “No,” you whispered. “It’ll take too long,” you said back. “I’m going further!”

Before Yeosang could stop you, you had turned and ran across the stream, following the path you’d look at, wondering where it led. 

Tonight would be the night you would find out.

As you ran through the trees, you followed the twists and turns of the dirt path as the sun sank lower and lower towards the horizon. As you rounded the bend, an old stone building came into view. You ran towards it, stepping over the threshold and looked around. It was a round room with three open doorways and a smaller room opposite where you entered. It seemed to be structurally sound.

You approached a small round platform and stepped onto it, looking up at the stone ceiling before kneeling down and setting the box down. You drew a circle with a sigil inside, following Mingi’s instructions and carefully set the box in the middle, grabbing the firestarter Yeosang had given you and quickly lit a fire before lighting a small piece of loose fibers and dropping them into the box.

You quickly surrounded the entire circle with a protection circle, like Mingi has shown you and took a step back, looking at the small inferno before you. “Now no one can stop it,” you whispered as you sat back and watched it burn.

“We can’t hold him much longer,” Yeosang said as he watched Hongjoong struggle against the ropes. “It’s just so Y/N can burn the contents of the box,” he said, turning to look in the direction you had run. Hongjoong let out a roar, pulling at the ropes. Yeosang looked as the individual threads started to snap.

“Perhaps we better start,” he said, turning to look at Yunho who nodded. “Yes,” he answered. “Jongho,” he added, turning to look at the monk. “You’re up.”

Mingi and Wooyoung tightened their grip on the ropes as did Yeosang. Yunho took Jongho’s place, allowing the youngest to approach Hongjoong from the front, reaching into the bag slung over his shoulder and pulling out a small leatherbound book.

He looked up at the demon as it snarled and attempted to lash out. Jongho glanced around at the others as he opened the book. “Let’s begin.”

Jongho cleared his throat before speaking in a clear, unwavering tone.

“In nómine Pátris, et Fílii, + et Spirítus Sancti. Amen.” A chorus of affirmations rang out from the others before he continued.

“Exsúrgat Deus et dissipéntur inimíci ejus: et fúgiant qui odérunt eum a fácie ejus. Sicut déficit fumus defíciant; sicut fluit cera a fácie ígnis, sic péreant peccatóres a fácie Dei. Júdica Dómine nocéntes me; expúgna impugnántes me,” he continued. Yunho glanced at the setting sun before turning to look at the demon. The ropes were becoming more and more frayed as the strength of the demon grew.

“I think we might have to skip formalities, Jongho,” Yunho said as he looked at the young priest. Jongho looked up, eyes examining the ropes before he lowered his eyes and started flipping through the pages of his book.

“Exorcizámos te, ómnis immúnde spíritus, ómnis satánic potéstas, ómnis infernális adversárii, ómnis légio, ómnis congregátio et sécta diabólica, in nómine et virtúte Dómini nóstri Jésu et Chrísti,” he continued, reading from the new page. “Eradicáre et effugáre a Dei Ecclésia, ab animábus ad imáginem Dei cónditis ac pretióso divíni Ágni sánguine redémptis. Non últra áudeas, sérpens callidíssime, decípere humánum génus, Dei Ecclésiam pérsequi, ac Dei eléctos excútere et cribráre sicut tríticum. Ímperat tíbi Deus altíssimus, + cui in mágna tua supérbia te símile habéri ádhuc praesúmis; qui ómnes hóminess vult sálvos fíeri, et ad agnitiónem veritátis veníre.”

San looked at Wooyoung with a quizzical look. “Does it always take you this long?” he asked, to which Wooyoung glared at him. “You can’t just recite a few words and then lop his head off,” Wooyoung answered. “It’s much more complex than that.”

At his words, the demon let out a roar, pulling at the ropes even more. “We don’t have time for this!” Yunho yelled at the two. “Jongho, I apologize, I know you have a penchant for doing this properly but we really cannot waste any time. We have to speed this up before we lose control of the demon!”

Jongho’s brows furrowed in annoyance as he flipped a few pages further and reached into his bag, pulling out a small vial of what looked to be blood. “What is that?” San asked, wrinkling his nose in disgust. “Blood,” Jongho said simply. “The order Jongho comes from uses blood instead of water for rituals. They bless it the same way you do water,” Yunho explained.

Jongho flicked the vial towards the demon and immediately, a reaction occurred. The blood hit the demon’s face and started to sizzle, the demon letting out a demonic screech. “Váde sátana, invéntor et magíster ómnis falláciae, hóstis humánae salútis,” Jongho said in a loud, clear voice. “Da lócum Chrísto, in quo níhil invenísti de opéribus tuis; da lócum Ecclésia Uni, Sanctae, Cathólicae, et Apostólicae, quam Chrístus ípse acquisívit sánguine suo!”

He turned to look at San. “Ready yourself,” he instructed. San nodded, reaching over his shoulder to grab the handle of the sword that rested against his back, keeping his eyes on Hongjoong. “When I tell you, swing and swing hard.”

“Humiliáre sub poténti mánu Dei; contremísce et éffuge, invocáto a nóbis sáncto et terríbili nominé Jésu, quem ínferi trémunt, cui Virtútes caelórum et Potestátes et Dominatiónes subjéctae sunt, quem Chérubim et Séraphim indeféssis vócibus láudant, dicéntes: Sánctus, Sanctus, Sanctus Dóminus Déus Sábaoth,” Jongho recited the passage from his book.

“You know this next part. Recite your parts,” Jongho instructed, directing his words to San.

“Ab insídiis diáboli,”  Jongho said, not looking up from his book as a strong wind started to swirl around them.

San’s grip tightened on his sword. “Líbera nos, Dómine,” San said, keeping his voice steady as fiery eyes turned their gaze upon him.

Jongho pressed on. “Ut Ecclésiam tuam secúra tíbi fácias libertáte servíre.”

San’s look of determination did not waver as he spoke. “Te rogámus, áudi nos.”

Jongho looked up from his book as he recited his last part. “Ut inimícos sánctae Ecclésiae humiliáre dignéris.” He snapped the book shut as San pulled the sword from its sheath on his back, taking the handle with both hands.

“Te rogámus, áudi nos,” San repeated, bringing the sword up.

Jongho hit the demon with one more shake of the vial of blood but before San could bring the sword down, the ropes broke, sending Mingi, Wooyoung, Yeosang, and Yunho flying backwards. Jongho stumbled backwards from the force as the demon lunged at San. A choke scream of pain rang out as the demon grabbed San’s weapon, ripping it from his hands and plunging it into the hunter’s chest.

Mingi got up, grabbing the snapped end of the rope in an attempt to gain control of the situation but the demon was quicker, grabbing his arm. Mingi tried to pull his arm away but the demon was too strong.

Yeosang looked up as Mingi started to let out a scream of pain and before his eyes, Mingi’s arm caught fire, spreading quickly throughout his body. Mingi fell to the ground, screams piercing the air as he rolled around. Yeosang attempted to get up, Yunho helping him up as the demon turned its attention on Jongho, leaping onto him and knocking them both to the ground. 

In a matter of seconds, the demon was able to take out three of them but Yunho was determined. He grabbed one of the ropes, fashioning a noose quickly before throwing it over the demon’s head and pulling as Yeosang grabbed another rope. Wooyoung, instead of helping, pulled out a dagger. “Wooyoung, no!” Yeosang yelled as the younger man went for the demon, driving the dagger into his side, managing to hit between two of his ribs.

Hongjoong turned, grabbing Wooyoung by the throat and squeezing. Yeosang watched as the demon lifted Wooyoung with ease, lifting him off the ground so his feet were dangling. Without wincing, he pulled the knife out of his side and stabbed it into Wooyoung’s abdomen, twisting the knife with a malevolent grin. He harshly pulled the blade out at an angle, slicing sideways into Wooyoung’s stomach before dropping him to the ground.

Yeosang’s eyes widened as Hongjoong stalked forward, Wooyoung’s dagger in hand. Yunho dropped the rope, getting to his feet, and rushed the demon. Everything that followed seemed to happen in slow motion as Hongjoong reached Yeosang. 

There was a sting in his stomach, just to the left of his navel followed by a burning sensation. Yeosang’s eyes traveled down as all sound seemed to be muffled, noticing the blade of the knife had been driven into his skin, through his shirt. He looked back up to meet Hongjoong’s gaze, the two staring at one another before Yunho tackled the demon to the ground.

Yeosang let out a cry of pain as the knife was ripped from his stomach, sending a fresh wave of pain throughout his body as he covered his stomach, blood beginning to soak his shirt. Yeosang fell to his knees, looking past Hongjoong and Yunho wrestling on the forest floor to the still bodies of San and Jongho. Wooyoung was still gasping for breath as he lay, bleeding out. 

Mingi’s charred body lay several paces away still smoldering. Yeosang heard a sickening snap and Yunho went limp, falling to the ground as Hongjoong stood over him. The demon turned to Yeosang, panting with effort. He grabbed the knife and walked over slowly, grabbing Yeosang by the hair and forcing him to look up at him.

“I could finish you right now,” Hongjoong said, pointing the bloodied tip of the blade at Yeosang. “But I have unfinished business with your wife. If you’re still alive when I come back,” he added, pushing Yeosang to the ground. “I’ll kill you then.”

Yeosang was unable to see which way Hongjoong went, but knew without a doubt it was the same direction you had gone. Despite the agonizing pain, Yeosang pushed himself up, keeping his hand over the wound in his stomach as he stumbled after, following the path just beyond the stream. He needed to get to you before something happened.

You sat motionless, watching the box burn, each item either turning to ash or charring. The small fire popped and crackled, providing a surprising amount of warmth as you rested a hand over your stomach. You looked down, feeling a small amount of triumph at what you had accomplished and could only hope the priests had been able to do the rest.

There was a small whoosh behind you and a gentle breeze. Your eyes widened as a chill went up your spine and slowly, you turned to look at the doorway behind you, finding Hongjoong standing in the only means of escape, hands covered in blood and a bloodied knife clenched in one hand.

Your eyes traveled up to his face, noticing the specks of blood all over his shirt, neck, and face. You scrambled up, backing away until your back hit the wall. “No,” you whispered as he looked up from the burning box. He started forward and you screamed at him to stay back.

He looked down at the knife in his hand and back up at you before tossing the blade aside, ignoring the clatter of the steel hitting the stone floor as he crossed the room to where you stood, caging you in as he grabbed your throat. “You’ve been a very bad, bad girl, Y/N,” he said as he pinned you against the wall.

You struggled against his hold, fingers slipping over the blood that coated his wrist. “Let me go,” you squeaked out, making him laugh wryly. “Let you go?” he asked in an almost hysterical tone. “Did you not hear me earlier, Starlight?” he asked, leaning in until his face was inches from yours, lips close to yours. “I. Want. You.”

You tried in vain to pry his hand off you, kicking as he slid your body up the wall, lifting your feet off the ground. “Whether you give in to me willingly or fighting doesn’t matter. I will get what I want in the end Starlight.”

You slid the garland San had given you from your pocket and quickly wrapped it around Hongjoong’s wrist. The effect was instant and he threw you to the side as he screamed in pain, the materials burning his skin.

You landed on the stone, hitting your head with a crack but tried to scrambled up and make for the archway. Hongjoong recovered quickly, crossing the distance and grabbing your ankle, making you trip and fall before he started dragging you back towards him.

“Please, please, please!” you screamed, trying desperately to grab onto the stone blocks of the floor. Hongjoong pulled you under him, rolling you onto your back as he pinned you against the stone floor. “Now you want to beg for your life?” he asked, laughing mockingly.

“After every stunt you’ve pulled. Luring me into that trap, burning that box, and then using that little trick with the garland? You think after all this, I’m going to show you mercy? You’ve been helping them all along, you slippery, little minx.”

You tried to kick him off but your efforts were in vain. “Please,” you said tearfully as his eyes traveled down to your throat. “I’m pregnant,” you whimpered, tears falling freely. Hongjoong looked up to meet your gaze. “Another trick?” he asked, his voice barely above a whisper. You shook your head. “No,” you said breathlessly. “I’m with child. Please,” you continued. 

“Don’t kill me.”

Yeosang stumbled along the path, one hand covered in blood that continued to seep out of the wound on his stomach. He leaned against a tree, the tips of his fingers growing cold as he pressed on. His breath was growing shorter, he knew he didn’t have long and he needed to get to you before Hongjoong did.

As he rounded the bend in the path, he noticed an abandoned stone building with a flickering light inside. ‘That must be where Y/N is.’ He continued forward, hobbling towards the building. As he reached the open doorway, he stumbled, falling to his knees, letting out a pained groan as more blood painted his hand. He let out a couple deep breaths before forcing himself up and through the doorway.

Across from him, perched atop a small platform, stood Hongjoong. At his feet, a ruined, burned box surrounded by a circle of protection. Yeosang looked back up and noticed you pinned against the wall behind Hongjoong, vines holding you up. You let out a gasp at the sight of your husband as he lost his balance and fell to his knees.

“Let me go, please!” you begged. Hongjoong glanced over his shoulder before he sighed, waving his hand. The vines retreated, slithering away like snakes and releasing you from their hold. You rushed past him to Yeosang, dropping to your knees to look him over, only noticing his bloodied hand as you looked down.

Hongjoong stepped around the box, stepping down from the platform as he watched as you fretted over Yeosang. You turned to look at him, tears in your eyes. “Please,” you begged. “Save him. If Hongjoong is still in there, please save Yeosang!”

The demon let out an exasperated sigh. “He can’t hear you,” he said, shaking his head. “Hongjoong is buried deep inside. And besides,” he said, starting to pace the room behind you. “I doubt he would willingly help the man who stole you from him.”

You turned to look at him. “He didn’t steal me!” you argued. “Hongjoong died, you tried to kill me, and Yeosang saved me. I owe him everything. I love him.” You felt Yeosang grab your arm, looking up at you wearily. “Run,” he panted. “Leave me and save yourself.”

You shook your head, taking his face in your hands. “No,” you replied. “I’m not leaving you behind!” You heard Hongjoong stop pacing behind you and turned to look at him. “He’s right, you know. You should run. I’ll even cut you a deal,” he said with a smile as he crossed his arms over his chest.

“You run now, I’ll focus all my attention Yeosang. Draw out his suffering before I kill him and when I’m done, I will hunt you down and do the same to you. Think of it as a head start,” he said with a wicked grin, a malicious glint in his eye.

You stared back in horror. “You said you didn’t want to kill me,” you reminded him. Hongjoong smiled, laughing to himself before it subsided. “Yeah,” he said with a sigh. “I lied.”

Yeosang started coughing and you turned as he coughed blood into his hand. “Oh,” said Hongjoong in mock concern. “That doesn’t look too good.” You turned to glare at him, tears streaming down your face. “Now is your perfect chance to run, cause if he dies before you get very far, it won’t take me that long to hunt you down.”

You shook your head. “You’re a monster,” you spat. “How charming,” Hongjoong said in a monotonous voice as he stared back. “I’m offering you a chance to live just a little bit longer and you’re calling me names for it.”

“I’m not leaving!” you shouted. “I’m not a fucking coward, like you!” You turned to look at Yeosang who was shaking his head. “I’m not running.” You pressed a kiss to his lips. “Do what you have to,” you whispered. “I’ll buy you some time.”

Hongjoong’s smile widened. “I was hoping you’d say that,” he said before crossing the distance and grabbing you by the back of the neck and pulling you from Yeosang’s grasp. “No! Don’t. She’s pregnant!” he yelled as Hongjoong dragged you back, making you face Yeosang as he forced you to your knees. “She already tried that,” Hongjoong scoffed.

He produced the knife taken from Wooyoung and brought the edge of the blade to your throat. “No, no, no!” Yeosang shouted. “It’s not mine!” he yelled, drawing Hongjoong’s attention. “What?” the demon asked. “It’s not mine,” Yeosang whispered. “She was pregnant before we were ever intimate. She got… so sick before we got married. She was sick for days. Throwing up blood and I thought maybe she’d been poisoned,” Yeosang explained quickly.

“But I think she was pregnant.”

Hongjoong’s eyes narrowed as he looked at the priest before looking down at you and back up to Yeosang slowly. “And there’s only one other man she’s been with,” Yeosang added. You sobbed silently as Hongjoong lowered the knife, pointing it at Yeosang. “Do you take me for a fool?” he asked. 

Yeosang shook his head. “No,” he answered. “But you must have known when Hongjoong came back, they were intimate. You were already inside his body. Did you not take control sometimes? During the act?” The demon stared at him. “And what if I did?” he asked. “What would that change?”

“That could be your child,” Yeosang answered. “It wouldn’t be mine,” the demon answered. “It would be Hongjoong’s.” Yeosang shook his head, holding a hand out as he rushed to buy some time. “No, not if you were in control when you climaxed. It would be your child.”

The demon looked back up. “You think I’m stupid, don’t you?” he asked, letting out a humorless laugh. “This changes nothing. You’re both going to die.”

You let out a sob as Hongjoong grabbed the back of your head. “Look at him!” he ordered. “I want his dying face to be the last thing you see,” he added as he brought the blade back to your throat. “Y/N, look at me,” Yeosang said suddenly as you gasped between sobs. “Look at me, sweetheart.” You blinked the tears away, meeting his gaze.

You swallowed the lump in your throat. “Do what you have to,” you added. “I love you, Yeosang. So much.” His eyes widened as you glanced down at the box before you turned, lunging at  Hongjoong and knocking the both of you backwards, the knife falling from his hand with a metallic clang. Yeosang dropped his hand to the stone, quickly drawing a small sigil as you and Hongjoong wrestled on the floor, both of you grunting in effort.

“Fortress of stone, hear my words and hold this creature of evil at bay. Let him not travel from this place for eternity as long as the stone endures. Hide him away from the world and keep him imprisoned,” Yeosang whispered as he finished the symbol.

With a loud snap, Yeosang looked up as Hongjoong sat up, staring down at your lifeless body. A sob left Yeosang’s lips as the demon got up, stumbling backwards as he stared, wide eyed at your corpse. The fiery eyes had returned to Hongjoong’s warm brown ones and in a cruel joke, the demon forced Hongjoong to look on in horror at what he’d done. “I’m…” Hongjoong whispered as Yeosang dragged himself over to where you lay.

Hongjoong looked up as Yeosang reached you, pulling you up to cradle your shoulders. “I didn’t mean to—” Hongjoong said as Yeosang looked up at him. “I know,” Yeosang answered. “It wasn’t you. It was the demon.” He looked back down, caressing your still warm cheek. “It was one last cruel act of the demon to break your spirit and I daresay it worked.”

When Yeosang looked back up, the warm brown eyes of Hongjoong were gone, the demon’s eyes were back and he looked down at him. “Very observant indeed,” the demon said with a sneer. “I was going to kill you,” he continued as he started to walk past. “But I think I’ll just let you bleed out. It’s more fun that way.”

Yeosang let out a humorless chuckle. “You’ll have to stay and watch,” he said, looking up. Hongjoong turned at the doorway to look at him. “I’ve bound your demonic soul to this building and now you’ll never be able to leave,” Yeosang explained, pointing at the sigil which was now etched into the stone and no longer written in his blood.

“As long as any part of this building stands, you will be stuck here for eternity,” Yeosang gasped, as his grip on you lessened, the strength leaving his body. He was able to give the demon a smirk of his own as those fiery eyes turned to look at him in a murderous rage. “My parting gift to you.”

Yeosang slowly succumbed to his wound, slumping over your body as he finally passed out. Hongjoong turned to the doorway and attempted to reach past it, finding an invisible barrier keeping him from leaving. He tried again only to be forced back. He let out a scream of frustration, kicking the stone wall as he tried in vain to break the stone and free himself.

He threw himself against one of the walls and screamed in anger towards the stone ceiling, the sound reverberating off the stone. He sat in silence, breathing heavily as he stared at yours and Yeosang’s lifeless bodies and then the burnt box. He looked away, anger still coursing through him until he saw the three open doorways, staring at them for what felt like hours.

Finally, he got up and walked over, peering into each one before he started to inspect the walls more closely. He turned about the room a few times before he walked over to the small platform and stepped up onto it, looking around before raising his gaze to the ceiling, noticing the small open circle in the middle.

He looked down and took a seat at the edge of the platform, looking at you and Yeosang once more before scoffing. “Well,” he said, admitting defeat. “You certainly got the last laugh in,” he continued. “And since I’ll be stuck here for the foreseeable future,” he added.

“Let’s have some fun, shall we?”

©️ kwanisms 2024 | all works on this blog are protected under copyright. Do not repost, continue, or translate my works. All graphics made by me unless stated otherwise.

[dumpywrites]

Fish in Disguise - Jin / Kim Seokjin

Prompt: Sworn enemies by day, restaurant mascot by night.

Prompt request: HERE

Genre/tags: Fluff, enemies to lovers(?), university au, they are both dumb lol

Pairing: Jin x she/her reader

a/n: Welcome home Jin!!! 💜 I was saving the only one Jin request I got to post it on his coming back date, but I didn’t finish it on time 😔

Your life was simple. You attend your classes by day and help your family’s restaurant by night. 

How you wished it was that easy though. You were on the verge of failing your classes, trying to balance your studies, social life, and work. All that while trying to make sure you get a good rest, which honestly, you had not been having in quite some time. 

The days were not exactly the smoothest ride. Being someone who was new to the town, you needed some time of getting used to. It was a big decision your parents made to move to a new city, but as their only daughter, you supported them fully. 

One thing that somehow helped you get through the day was this tuna mascot of a seafood restaurant next to yours. Yes, a mysterious man who refused to show you his face, in a full tuna fish costume, who you got to meet every weekend. 

The first meeting the tuna intern was actually kind of wholesome. You were helping your family setting up the store and he just appeared to be there, standing with a sign that had something about the freshness of their seafood written on it. The fact that he dropped the sign and helped you carry two boxes while still being in his full attire, still amused you until this day. 

And that was how your friendship bloomed. You would occasionally visit him and or just to say hi when he worked his shift. In return, he cheered you up with just simply being there. Sometimes meeting him and talking about random nothings just made you forget all your worries. 

**

“I heard you got paired with Seokjin for the group project.” 

“Ugh, don’t remind me.” You said to your friend as you yawned. 

“Why? He’s hot.”

“And a narcissist.”

“And still hot.” Your friend argued and laughed. “Stop being so sulky, I bet everyone’s jealous of you right now.”

“Minji, he’s dumb. Have you seen his test results?! I don’t want to fail history class just because of him!” 

“You’ll be fine! Plus, since he’s really easy on the eyes, just make him do the whole presentation and that’ll get you good grades.” Minji laughed again. 

“Ugh.” You rolled your eyes, as you kept your focus on your phone instead, scrolling through Instagram. 

“Why do you hate him so much anyway?” Your friend asked as she mimicked you slumping on the cafe table. 

“I don’t… it’s just.” You sighed. “I don’t know, he’s cute but he really didn’t have to rub it in my face like that.”

“You’re still not over that?”

Once upon a time you were at your campus festival. Enjoying your freshmen days, simply admiring people doing all the festivities from afar while you sip on your lemonade. The crowd felt a little bit overwhelming, intimidating even, since it had been only a week since you enrolled. 

That day was also the first time you met your friend Minji, the girl who was also a freshmen like you. You both were lost trying to find the main hall and somehow bumped into each other. 

Both of you were just passing through the food stalls and club fair when you came across a juice bar. You noticed how there were two attractive men in the booth. Clearly whatever their team or club was trying to do, was working because you and your friend stopped to sneak a look. 

One guy was extremely well built and had tattoos all over his right hand. The inks and piercings definitely did not match his doe-looking eyes though. On the other hand, the second guy looked like a prince. He had the most luscious lips and his skin was so clear that he looked like he might modeled for a skin care brand. The light brown hair was permed and styled. You also thought his smile looked very pretty. 

“Hello! We’re selling fruit juice to support our music club!” The one with tattoos kindly waved at you and Minji. 

“Oh my, they’re cute…” Minji whispered to you and practically dragged you closer to the stall. 

“We have strawberry, orange, mango, and peach.” The taller one mentioned with a grin. 

“You guys are really cute, you sure they didn’t tell you to watch the booth just because of that?” Minji chuckled. 

“I’m aware, not sure why they picked Jungkook right here when he could barely talk to women, but yeah.” The guy said proudly. 

“That’s not nice.” You said bluntly. 

“Oh, that’s just how he jo—“ Jungkook spoke, but was soon interrupted. 

“Why, you don’t think I’m good looking?” The man eyed you, judging.

“I think you’re full of yourself.” 

You heard Minji called your name in a low voice, trying to calm you down, but you refused to listen. 

“So you’re not denying that I’m good looking.” The man smirked at you as he scoffed. 

That comeback gave you the biggest ick and you proceeded to link your friend’s arm in yours. “Let’s go, we’re not buying shit from them.”

You dragged your friend away as you listened to the man who turned out to be Seokjin himself, whined from a distance. 

Ever since that scene, you swore you wanted nothing to do with the music club. It sounded pretty unfair considering you only despised Jin and the rest of the members did not wrong you in any way, but you had already made up your mind. That was until he failed art history class and now had to retake the subject, hence how you ended up being misfortune enough to get grouped up with him.

**

“Look, do you wanna do this project or not?” You folded your arms and crossed your legs. 

In the library, you sat down eye to eye with your worst nightmare himself, the self proclaimed “World Wide Handsome”, Kim Seokjin. You both had agreed to meet up for the project but you didn’t realize it would be this irritating. Hell, as much as he was easy on the eyes as your friend claimed, all you wanted to do was to leave and stay far far away from him.

“I just don’t get why I have to do all the verbal work here.” He complained. 

“You barely did the slides and research, of course you have to.”

“That’s because you just decided it by yourself??? I never told you to do all the work!” The guy said, now crossing his hands back at you. 

“You see why? Because this.” You pointed back and forth between the two of you. “How can we get any work done when all we do is argue when we are together?!”

“Why do you hate me so much?” 

The seriousness in Jin’s eyes scared you. He was staring straight into your soul and you did not like how it made you feel. Not even one bit. 

“Because you’re conceited.” 

“And the problem?” 

“See?!” 

“We’ve never been in normal conversation before, you can’t just decide that.” 

Once again your eyes met his and you felt stuffy, nervous, but mostly anger. The thing was, you began to question yourself. Was the excessive anger really necessary or were you biased because of the bad start? Not like any of that mattered anyway.

“Screw you.”

You stormed out the library, making sure you stomped extra hard, childishly so he could see how pissed off you were. 

**

“Someone’s in a bad mood…”

“Oh, hi.” You waved at the moving Tuna mascot, trying to form a smile. “I’m just really tired today, that’s all.”

“Aww, come tell papa tuna about it.” 

He moved closer to you as you kept wiping the tables. It was already at closing hour and he should be off his shift right now. It was sweet how he sometimes would stay longer just to accompany you cleaning. 

“Eww, since when do I call you papa?” You cringed, but laughed. “Don’t tell me you’re like super old or something?”

“Oh, I’m older than you alright.” He chuckled. 

“How do you know?”

“I just know.” He patted his chest through the costume. “So? What’s wrong?”

“I kinda have this group project.” You said, hands still spraying cleaning products onto the table. “And I got paired with someone I don’t particularly like.”

“Oh…” He muttered. There was a hint of disappointment in his voice and you wondered why. 

“It’s fine, the project’s almost done anyways.” You smiled at him and moved to the next table. “You’re not going home?”

“I might stay for a couple of minutes.” He took the empty seat not too far from you. “I don’t have morning class tomorrow.”

“You’re also in uni?” 

“That’s for you to find out.” He snickered. “Anyways, tell me more. What’s bothering you?”

“Okay, you tell me. Am I wrong if I dislike someone because they’re like, I don’t know, so full of themselves?”

“Hmm.” The tuna guy put his hand under his chin comically, making him look funny and adorable. “Have you maybe try talking with them about it?”

“Why would I? He clearly doesn’t want anything to with me.” You sighed. 

“Has he ever said that to you?” 

“Well no, but that’s not really necessary when his action is already telling me that…”

He went quiet for a second, humming to himself before responding. “You’re right. Maybe he made a bad impression. But maybe, just maybe, if you give him a chance he could be a decent person?”

“I don’t know, he’s very popular and there’s really no reason to talk with him anyways.” You shrugged. 

“Right…” 

“But I kinda feel bad for walking away from him today.” You said with a sad expression. 

“How so…?”

“Dunno, maybe I shouldn’t just decided on my own and did all the paperwork myself…” 

“Maybe you should apologize?” The guy said in an unsure tone. 

“I don’t know how.” You sighed. “What if he just laugh at me or something?”

“He wouldn’t. Trust me.”

You didn’t know why, but his words sounded weirdly assuring. “I’ll think about it.”

“I’m sure it’ll be fine.” The guy gave you two thumbs up. 

“It’s getting late, you should head back. Being a tuna for hours must be tiring.” You smiled at him. “Oh, wait.”

“What is it?”

You quickly ran back inside, leaving the man in the costume alone sitting on one of your restaurant tables. When you came back, you had one plastic container with a few pieces of fried chicken inside. 

“Here.” You extended your arm to him with a big grin. “You must be hungry after standing up all night.”

“You don’t have to!” He suddenly stood up. 

“I insist.” You grabbed his fluffy arm and put the container in his hands. “As a thanks, for being my friend.”

“Come here I need to hug you for this.” 

You laughed and gave him a big hug. “You’re so fluffy!” 

He patted your head playfully. “Don’t rub your face on me, they never wash this costume.”

“Eww.” You scrunched your nose and quickly let him go. “I’ll see you next week?” 

“Yeah.” 

** 

Today, you had decided to finally swallow your ego and actually try to have a normal and functional conversation with Jin. It was almost surreal to think that you practically swore to have nothing to do with the music club, but now here you were, standing right in front of their club room. 

It took you almost ten minutes of pacing back and forth before you finally knocked on their door. The response was not immediate, as their room was loud, filled with music instruments playing. Once the door opened, someone with a very warm smile greeted you. The colorful outfit and his tinted glasses made him look so hip, you thought. He held the door slightly ajar, just enough to fit his body to peek at you. 

“Hello, what can I do for you?” 

“Hi, uh… I’m Y/N and I’m looking for Seokjin? Is he here?”

The guy widened his eyes and looked back inside the loud room. “Yeah, he’s here.”

“Cool. Can I maybe borrow him for a few minutes? He’s my history project partner…” You said and smiled awkwardly. 

“Do you wanna come inside?”

“H-huh?” You pointed at yourself. “Me?”

“Who else.” The guy chuckled. “We’re almost done but you might need to wait for him to wrap up.” 

You replied with a skeptical “okay” and quietly followed the man from behind. The sound of drums and laughter filled the room and the bright decorations matched the vibe and atmosphere the place was giving. There were a few people inside and one was the boy with tattoos that you recognized from before. 

“Usually we have more people around, but there wasn’t any official activity today so it’s just us.” The guy who opened the door for you explained. “I’m Hoseok by the way, you can call me Hobi. Want me to introduce you to them?”

“Why is Y/N here?” One blond guy suddenly spoke as soon as he saw you. 

“You know me?”

The guy playfully shrugged and grinned. “Jin sometimes talks about you.”

“Really?” You asked, genuinely shocked by the news. 

“Uh… Jin? Jin?? Someone’s here for you.” Hoseok intervened. 

“What? Who—” You heard the man shouted back, but he was unable to finish his sentence as soon as your eyes met. 

“Hey, uh… can we talk for a sec? I won’t be long.” You said. 

“Like right now?” He looked at you questioningly. 

“Yeah.”

“Okay, give me one sec.” 

“So, you’re Y/N huh?” The same blond guy came up to you from behind. “I’m Taehyung, but they call me V.” 

“Stop trying to make your stage name happen, Tae.” Hoseok said. “The one with the bucket hat there, is Yoongi. The tall one is Namjoon, and Mr. Tattoos and piercings right there is Jungkook.” 

“Usually our main group has one more person but Jimin’s sick at home.” Taehyung mentioned. 

You nodded politely. In your head, you were still processing the information that Jin was apparently talking about you to his club friends. You wondered what made him do so. You wondered if he bad-mouthed you, if he told all the ugly things about you, telling his friends how much you annoy him. 

But why do his friends just seem so… friendly? None of them acted hostile towards you. The first two that spoke to you were really nice and bubbly, and even Jungkook who was with Jin the first time you met him, smiled when he saw you. Surely they would had acted differently if Jin hated you that much. 

“Alright, let’s go?” Jin approached you. 

“Uh, yeah.” The newfound information got you feeling nervous. 

“It was nice meeting you!” Hoseok waved at you cheerfully and the rest smiled and nodded at you as you waved back awkwardly. 

“They didn’t say weird things to you right?” Jin said as soon as both of you closed the door behind. You were now walking aimlessly across the campus hallway. 

“No, I guess…” 

“Awesome.” He clasped his hands together. “What do you want to talk about?” 

“Oh yeah that…”

Right, what was you wanted to talk about again? How could you talk when his soft fluffy hair was just there, distracting you. And now that you were standing up facing each other this close, you had never realize how well built and tall he was. Screw the universe for making him so attractive. 

“Yeah?” 

��I want to apologize… for last time.” You looked away, rocking your body back and forth again out of nervousness. “I’m wrong for deciding to work on the project myself. I should’ve at least try to work things out to find the middle ground with you.”

“Pfft…”

You looked at him in disbelief. How could he laugh when you were trying your best to apologize to him properly??? 

“Excuse me?!”

“Sorry, your expression… it’s so cute.”

“Cute?!” You were offended by this point. “Forget what I said. You’re beyond saving.” 

“Wait! No, that’s not what I meant…” He tried to stop you but it was too late. 

You did not want to hear more from him. Was it really that hard to just take you seriously? You felt ashamed to even think that you could at least have a normal conversation with him. You were right all along.

And so you chose to ignore him. A few days passed and it was only two days left until your final presentation. Quite frankly, you could not care less. You had given him all the material and all you needed for him to do was to just blatantly accept his role. 

“Mr. Tuna?” 

You were now back with your night cleaning duties again, accompanied by your fish friend. You had told him everything about what happened between you and Jin, needing reassurance and validations for being angry at him. 

“He really did you know… He laughed at me.” You bit your lips, maintaining your emotions. “Do you think I’m in the wrong? I’m not, right? Like what did I do? Am I ugly? Does he not want to talk to ugly people is that it???”

“You’re not ugly.” 

“Well I don’t think so either… but what if I am in his eyes??? Maybe he just doesn’t want to associate himself with—“

“I don’t think you’re ugly!!!” The guy suddenly spoke up, a little louder than he intended. 

You were taken aback for a second, and smiled. “Thanks, but I was talking about that person.” 

“I cannot defend him anymore, I think it’s valid for you to hate him.”

“Why do you sound so sad?”

“Would you hate me if I turned out to be someone you know?” He asked without answering your question. 

“Huh? Why suddenly?”

“Just answer it.” 

“I don’t know, but I guess I enjoyed talking with you and I consider you as my friend if not best friend at this point already. I don’t think it would change anything.” You assured.

“Promise?”

“Why?” You looked at him suspiciously. “You’re scaring me, am I going to get a face reveal soon?”

“Who knows.” 

**

The presentation day finally has arrived upon you. Everyone was seated with their corresponding partners and you were still sitting alone, as Seokjin was nowhere to be seen. The class session had already begun and you were minutes away from your turn. It was unbelievable the amount of disrespect that this man chose to show to you, by not showing up at all. 

Your team was next in line. At this point you had given up all hope. Maybe it was for the best that you present it yourself since you did all the research anyway. 

In the midst of the presentation in front of you, you saw how everyone’s eyes shifted to the back of the class in a flash. They stopped for a brief seconds, fake coughing to regain their composure, before continuing. They occasionally stole glances up and down, eyes looking dubiously. 

Your curiosity was not left hanging for too long because just seconds later, someone in a big tuna fish costume just took the seat next to you. As a matter of fact, you were very familiar with the costume itself, but the reason behind him being in your class was truly bizarre to you. 

Everyone was looking at your direction at this point and you were scared to ask any question. In your head you were starting to connect some dots, but too afraid to actually confront them. Some parts of you refused to believe it.

It was too implausible for them to be the same person. One was selfish and conceited, while the other was funny and caring. There was simply just no other explanation for the situation. You began to question your own sanity. Perhaps the lack of sleep had started to catch up on you.

“I’ve read all the emails you sent me. Don’t worry, we’ll ace this.” The guy suddenly spoke. 

Hearing his voice from inside the mascot suit just sealed the deal. You had been friends with the guy you despised so badly this whole time without knowing. Not only that, you basically told him stories about himself and mentioned how bad of a person you thought he was. 

He stood along with you when both of your name was called, fully confirming that the name belonged to him. Everyone started whispering and some started laughing immediately upon seeing the hilarious looking costume. 

“Hello everyone, we’re from team seven and we’re now about to present to you about the history of mixed media.” He waved playfully while you were standing stiff right next to him. “As you can see, I’m in this costume that I had to convince the restaurant that I work at to let me borrow.” 

Everyone laughed again in unison. 

“You may wonder why, and the answer is because my partner right here,” He pointed to you. “She did all the research herself because I was being a dumb jerk.” He moved his body, looking at the direction of the professor. “I know that’s not great for my name but I promise I’ve learned all the materials she had sent me well. So the least I could do to her was to give you all an entertaining presentation…”

The presentation then went on fully with him still with the suit on until the very end. All you did was simply pressing the next button as he deciphered the slides, entertaining and engaging the audiences, even the professor himself. He truly was a charming guy and no mask could hide that. You should have had realized that sooner. 

It just did not make any sense to you. How could he hated you while at the same time acted like your best friend in another form?

“I’ll go change and we’ll talk?” 

You just looked at him, no words at hand. Everything still felt so unreal. You watched as he strugglingly entered the washroom. He went out minutes later with sweat clinging to his t-shirt, hair damp from the heat of wearing the costume. With the set hugged in his hands, he mentioned something about sitting down somewhere, and you just followed from behind. 

“Do I smell?” 

You shook your head quietly. 

“Oh cool.” He chuckled awkwardly. “Is my—“ He huffed before even finishing the sentence. “I’m sorry, I’m stalling.” 

For some reason his smile seemed differently now that you were seeing him in a new light. 

“Here I am, I guess…” He laughed nervously. “I understand if you don’t wanna be friends again after this. I just wanna say that I’m truly sorry for what I did.”

Why was he speaking like that? Why was he speaking in the way your friend spoke? All with that damn annoyingly attractive face?

“The first time we met, I was being sarcastic.” He stated. “If you actually let Jungkook finish, he was about to tell you. I love that boy a lot, he’s a really nice guy, you know.” 

“You were?”

His smile brightened when you finally opened your mouth and said something. It was the first time he heard your voice today and it felt like a huge weight just lifted off his shoulders. 

“And uh, about when you apologized… I honestly didn't mean to laugh. I know that's what you feared but honestly I just got nervous.”

You raised one of your eyebrows at him. “You? Nervous? I’ve seen neither Mr. Tuna or the Seokjin I know being nervous.” 

“You were really cute that day.” He smiled giddily, a rosy tint covering his cheeks. 

That was new.

“Oh my god, I need some getting used to seeing you say that with your real face.” You looked away, the corners of your lips curled up helplessly. “So, when I met you as Mr. Tuna you’ve already known me?”

“Yeah.” He sighed with a smile. “I’m sorry, I was a coward. I should’ve told you sooner but you keep avoiding me at campus and you don’t exactly like the real me either so…”

“But this is the real you, right? The one that helps me out and listens to me rambling every weekend?” 

He nodded, making you smile. “Can we be friends?”

“We already are, dummy.”

He exhaled loudly, grinning like an idiot. “Truce?” He offered his fist.

“Truce.” You shook your head and gave him a fist bump.

“Alright, we usually finish with a hug…” He looked at you with side-eyes. “It might feel slightly different without the costume and all—“

You cut his sentence short by jumping him with a big hug, surprising the guy.

And you know what, the hug did not actually feel that much different. It was still fluffy, fuzzy, and soft like how the used costume material would rub against your skin when you hugged him. Because when he hugged you back, you were sure you felt all of that even when he was without the mascot fish attire.

You felt that inside your heart.

Prompt request: HERE

[misc-obeyme]

I came across a "Reverse Trope Writing Prompt" list and had a merry time giggling at some of them. "Too many beds," and "Really nice guy who hates only you," got me in particular, but there are other ones that, I think, got good dramatic legs ("True hate's kiss," and "Soulmates fated to kill each other," are my faves).

Could I ask a snippet for "Instead of fake dating, everyone is convinced that you aren't actually dating," with the Barbs (or any of the prompts of your choice, they're all winners).

-🪿honk

Ah I saw that post too! I think I reblogged it? If I did, it was to my main. But I'm pretty sure I saw it at some point!

Too many beds lol that just sounds like a slumber party waiting to happen. Or maybe it's a room full of beds and MC ends up on one side and their love interest is on the other side and there are twenty beds in between them.

Anyway, here's MC & Barbatos with everyone being convinced they aren't actually dating! I had a little fun with it~

You were planning an upcoming dance with the student council for RAD. The seven demon brothers, Diavolo, and Barbatos were all present. You had discussed most of the details, ironing out things like who was in charge of decorations and who would provide the food.

Now the conversation had inevitably turned to who would be in attendance and if anyone planned to bring a date.

Asmo sighed. "I suppose you're not an option now, are you, MC?"

You blinked and looked at him. "Oh? Did you want to go with me? I don't see why not."

Asmo gasped excitedly, but Satan frowned. "Hang on, MC," Satan said. "Didn't you tell us you were dating Barbatos?"

You shrugged. "Barb doesn't mind. Right?"

You looked over at Barbatos who was sitting a ways down the table from you. "Of course not," he said mildly. "You're free to attend with whomever you choose. I suspect I will be busy with the food anyway."

You noted the raised eyebrows that some of the brothers exchanged.

"Are you sure you guys are dating?" Satan asked.

"Pretty sure, yeah," you said. "Anyway, you wanna go to the dance with me, Asmo?"

Asmo was delighted to take you, of course.

-

You found yourself in class with Beel and Belphie when Barbatos came in from the home economics class next door carrying a tray full of cookies.

He placed the tray down in front of Beel. "I'm afraid I made far too many of these," he said. "I thought perhaps you would enjoy them, Beelzebub."

Beel was already halfway through the large pile of cookies. "Mmnks," he said with his mouth full. Beel handed you and Belphie each a cookie.

"I'm surprised you didn't just bring all these to MC," Belphie said.

Barbatos looked around. "Ah, MC," he said. "I'm afraid I didn't see you there."

"Hey, Barbatos," you said. You gestured at him with the cookie. "Your cookies are delightful as always."

Barbatos bowed formally to you. "You flatter me," he said.

As he left the room, Belphie looked at you askance. "Aren't you guys dating?"

You finished the cookie. "Yeah, why?"

"Oh, nothing," Belphie said, though he clearly didn't believe you.

-

You were alone in your room at the House of Lamentation, laying on your bed and scrolling through your D.D.D.

You heard something and looked up to see Barbatos using a portal to enter your room.

You sat up a little. "Done working already?" you asked.

Barbatos made straight for you and you quickly found yourself being kissed silly. You laughed against his mouth.

He pulled away for a moment to look down at you, a slight frown on his face. "Are you quite finished with your little scheme?" he asked.

You wiped tears of laughter away from your eyes. "Aw, come on!" you said. "It's so funny to see their reactions. It's not my fault you're able to keep the perfect straight face no matter what I say."

Barbatos sighed. "MC, you really try my patience."

You smirked and wrapped your arms around his neck. "Isn't it all worth it when we're alone and you can let yourself go?"

Barbatos looked aggrieved. "You deserve a lecture, but I'm afraid I have other things on my mind."

Needless to say, Barbatos did not leave your room for some time.

masterlist | Thank you for reading!

[carcarcraziiv2]

hi!!!i wanted to do a request (im shaking as i write this bc this is my second time ever doing a request-) about Kayn having a crush on a reader that's part of Pentakill.Reader looks super mysterious and scary but in reality they're just shy and also have a crush on Kayn and both of them confess at the same time.Take your time and have a good day!!!

I am so glad you requested it! It's okay to be nervous! I AM SO SORRY IT TOOK ME SO LONG I LOVE YOU AND I APOLOGIZE <//3

I LOVE THIS PROMPT- especially for someone who is in Pentakillllll like that is so exciting. I am so hyped for this! I hope you enjoy <3

Content / Warnings: Mature language (the 'b' word lol), Alcohol consumption. Not much else really....

Word Count: 1883

Kayn was never one to show his fanboy nature, even though everyone in Heartsteel already knew Kayn had a secret obsession- Pentakill. Specifically, the bands mysterious, cold and ominous bassist; you.

You on the other hand, although already being the bassist in a rock band, had somehow gained a reputation for being the "dark" or "moody" bandmember in comparison to Sona or Kayle. In reality though, you just liked keeping to yourself, rarely being the first one to speak, often sitting alone on the stage speakers or out back of the concert houses having a smoke before or after a show.

Regardless of the publics opinion of you, you loved your bandmates. You were just shy, so when Kayle approached you notifying you about a possible collab with your personal favorite band Heartsteel, you couldn't help but be incredibly anxious.

"What do you mean we are 'meeting' with them tomorrow," you inquired, glancing up from your book to see Kayle lean against the kitchen counter and take a drink from her cup.

"Oh, come on Y/N. Don't you like... oh which one was it?" She pauses and you take in a deep breath before letting out a sigh. "Kayn, right?"

You sit up from your spot and set your book down. Arching your brow and rolling your eyes at the winged woman, you chose to ignore her inquiry.

She scoffed before saying a little quieter, "Well Yone said Kayn likes our bassist. Guess it's not that big of a deal. I'll tell him we will pass on the meeting."

She began reaching towards her phone on the counter, causing you to pause mid-stretch and jump up to stop her.

"Wait!" you shrieked, cringing at yourself immediately thereafter.

"I knew it," Kayle smirked. "Our meeting is at noon by the way." As she walked away, you slumped back onto to the couch and let out another dramatic sigh.

~~

Kayn was going to kill Yone. Rhaast on the other hand was threatening to constantly break through at any moment with sheer excitement.

They were meeting Pentakill today. They- more specifically- were meeting you today. He was terrified. What if you hated him? What if you thought he was weird, or worse- what if Rhaast made an appearance and said something outrageous or out of pocket?

Kayn shook his head and rolled his eyes before splashing his face with water. He stared at himself in the mirror for a moment, silent dialogue only heard by him plaguing his mind.

Do not do anything brash, Rhaast.

Oh, I would never, Kayn.

~~

The meeting wasn't long. There was clearly some sort of friendship history between Yone and Kayle. Beyond that, everyone chatted like long lost friends aside from you - always silent and observant, and Kayn who sat at the large meeting table across from you.

You didn't fail to notice how he consistently stared at you. You were lowkey jealous because you wished you had started first. You weren't about to have a staring contest with him now.

You hadn't realized you were dissociating into the wall next to the large bay window until you were snapped out of it by Kayle's voice.

"Y/N, did you hear me? We are going to partner up for our song collab." Her lips rose in an evil knowing little smirk. "You and Kayn will be working together." Damn her for playing teacher right now.

A blush immediately erupted on your skin as you glanced at Kayn and gave him a shy smile. He let out a dramatic sigh and you were ashamed to think you were actually excited to have a real excuse to talk to him for an extended period of time.

"Alright everyone, let's start today and you can all figure out arrangements for your individual meetings. We will have our group meeting biweekly. Once we have a song, we will figure out our practice schedule and all the other details!" Yone smiled politely and everyone began standing and walking to their partners. As you observed, you saw both sett and K'Sante give looks to Kayn as they passed by him, almost teasing.

You couldn't help but be mortified by their social ques. Had Kayle spilled the beans about your silly little crush on Kayn? Oh Gods, what if Kayn knew and was staring at you because he was wondering how the hell he got stuck with the quiet freak from Pentakill as not only his partner, but his crush.

You sighed inwardly as you walked slowly towards him, looking anywhere but his direction. He was more confident than you thought, looking straight at you as you could see through your peripheral and starting the conversation.

"Hello, Y/N, right? I guess I should introduce myself- I'm Kayn," he reaches out a hesitant hand. You smile politely, shyly, in response.

"I'm Y/N- well you already know that anyway, heh..." you stutter, flustered due to the close proximity between the two of you. You give another awkward smile, and then let out an exasperated breath before continuing. "So, when and where would you like to meet up for these brainstorming sessions?"

Kayn seems to pause for a moment, putting his hand under his chiseled chin in a thinking pose. His gaze leaves you for a moment, before returning to your own.

"Dinner, you pick where you want to go. I will schedule if you send me the name of the restaurant. Here, put your phone number in my phone," he pulls his phone out of his pocket, unlocking it and handing it to you. You raise your eyebrows in surprise, not even second guessing the dinner suggestion. There's no way he could be asking you on a date, right? No, you're not delusional.

You input your number and quickly bid your farewell as Kayle waves at you from the door. You hadn't realized everyone was gawking at the two of you as they waited to leave for the evening.

~~

"You know you don't have to do this at dinner Kayn? May as well have asked her out at that point," Sett smirks at him from his seat on the couch.

I told you, Rhaast hissed in Kayn's mind. It's too obvious now.

"Nah, don't worry. It is just a lunch between colleagues to brainstorm for a song. Nothing more, nothing less." Kayn glares at Sett, before walking into the bathroom to spray on some cologne for the first time in a very long time.

~~

You were so nervous. Even more nervous than you had been previously. And when you get nervous, you babble.

So before leaving for dinner with Kayn that evening, you gave yourself a pep talk in the mirror.

"Do not say anything stupid." Yeah, right.

"Do not be a clumsy mess as per usual." Will probably stumble trying to sit in the chair.

"Do not be ominous and awkward." Can't change your nature, baby.

Gods, your inner dialogue was a bitch.

You had chosen to wear casual yet flattering attire to your dinner, sticking to your usual all dark fabric and accessories. After getting ready and checking yourself out in the mirror once more, you went outside and got on your motorcycle with your backpack slung over your shoulders.

Letting out a shuddering breath, you began the not so long journey towards the restaurant. You had suggested one close by that you did enjoy, although the nerves in your stomach suggested you probably wouldn't be doing to much eating.

Upon arrival, you hung your helmet on the handle of your bike and stepped off. Before heading inside, you spared a glance at one of the windows only to see Kayn openly gawking at you stepping off of your ride.

Unbeknownst to you, he was thrilled to see you on a motorcycle. It was a thing with him, something about being rebellious or dangerous compared to the norm always caught his eye.

Quickly averting your gaze you let out a deep sigh to ready yourself and walked into the restaurant- ignoring the hostess and walking the corner to seat yourself in the booth across from Kayn.

Placing your backpack on the bench next to you, you let out a breath.

"Hi, Kayn," You smiled politely, your voice quieter than you had intended.

"Hi, Y/N," He smiled back. This evening his expression was eager, his eyes alight with dare you say- mischief. And you couldn't help but notice the slight blush that caressed his cheeks under the yellow lighting of the lamp above.

"So, do we want to order first or get right to business?" The question tumbled out of your mouth casually, and it took you a moment to realize that you actually felt quite comfortable sitting across from him in this moment.

"Well, I already ordered us both a drink. I hope you like Gin and soda," A gulp audibly escaped his throat and your lips twitched up in an almost smile.

"Actually, one of my favorite cocktails. Thanks, Kayn."

Gods, he liked the sound of his name on your lips.

The evening went on without a hitch, the two of you talking casually. By the time a few hours had passed, your food long since finished on the table in front of you, you realized you hadn't actually gotten to any brainstorming.

The drinks had started getting to you, loosening up your nerves. Before you knew it you were blabbering on and grabbing your backpack to pull out your notebook.

As you were looking down, Kayn was staring at you.

Just tell her, you coward. Rhaast was yapping again, but the booze had Kayn tuning him out. He was planning on it anyway.

"Sorry, I knew if I spent this much time with you I'd end up talking too much. Must be because of how much I like yo-," you paused. Were you saying this out loud?

You heard Kayn pull in a sharp breath, before softly saying,

"That's interesting. I was just trying to hype myself up to say that I have had a crush on the cute bassist from Pentakill for awhile now. Please tell me I didn't hear you wrong..." Kayn's eyes were wide, one eyebrow raised as he bit his lip.

Your jaw fell open, before you promptly closed it and blinked a few times.

"Wait, really?" You smiled. You couldn't help it. And as Kayn looked at you, he knew all of the assumptions the public made about you being dark or ominous or mysterious were bullshit. You were like starlight shining in a dark sky with that smile.

"Really. I swear it. Yone and Kayle I think did this specifically to set us up, actually. Everyone else on my side has known I've liked you for awhile. Lucky for us Kayle and Yone have... a friendship." He grinned sheepishly, running a ringed hand through his pink hair.

You laughed out loud then, having had made the same assumption yourself. "I thought the same thing!"

And as the night waned on, the restaurant eventually closed and the waitress was forced to kick the two of you out. The drinks had worn off over the time you had been there, opting for water instead.

As the two of you walked down the steps back to your motorcycle, Kayn looked at you and pulled you in for a hug. You melted into him momentarily before he released you.

"So, I have a request," he stated. You nodded for him to continue, your brows scrunched in question.

"Can I have a ride on your motorcycle?"

~~

The End! I hope you LOVED IT AND AGAIN IM SO SORRY FOR THE LONG WAIT! I have basically been AFK irl lately lol. Thank you for the lovely request!

[cloveroctobers]

END OF BEGINNING — LUCA : [Spring Prompts]

A/N: Not me writing this with a cold! I promise I’m not on any medicine although it may seem like it at some points lol! Gained a bit of inspo while on spring break down south which also gave me this cold! for this little thing and I also didn’t want my prompts to end on an odd number—this time!!! along with the fact that people voted for Luca to be written about (the original post maybe revisited once I get my summer prompts going so stay tuned for that!) so let’s get into it 🙂‍↔️

WARNINGS: long distance established relationship! I have a black! x oc! in mind for this one + some language.

Threw some prompts into the mix from HERE: 1. building a new piece of furniture from a flat pack together + 10. Doing laundry + 11. Making them tea/coffee (exactly how they like it)

<- read my previous anthology prompt here.

❀𖤣𖥧𖡼⊱✿⊰𖡼𖥧𖤣❀ ❀𖤣𖥧𖡼⊱✿⊰𖡼𖥧𖤣❀ ❀𖤣𖥧𖡼⊱✿⊰𖡼𖥧𖤣❀

the house smells like apple cider mixed with a hint of pine and it’s reminiscent to Luca’s favorite holiday. He’s standing in the mini entry way of the once Ukrainian church turned home, eyes fixated on how high the ceilings were and he almost forgets that this is partly his home too. He thinks partly because of the technicalities, him living in Copenhagen for however many years one would like to count; renting his own flat and with her living back in the states with her name only on the deed.

He was beginning to sound like his estranged lawyer of a father, who commonly looked at the details and wondered how that will affect things in the long run but it’s not like that mattered much to Luca. He didn’t think he was anything like that man who may or may not be a tosser and wouldn’t think once to treat her like his father treated his family. Assets were always a huge factor to Luca’s father, more than building an emotional connection to his wife or kids. Overall this is the way it’s always been between the two, Luca as the head pastry chef in Copenhagen and her as a cruise chef. The pair were hardly at either buildings to really focus on the technicalities—although both families equally had something to say about their living conditions.

It wasn’t traditional by any means but with the careers and mindsets the couple had, it simply worked and it didn’t have to make sense to anyone else but them. The couple enjoyed their space—which they both greatly provided and it made the longing just much more special once they were face to face. This marriage includes two beings in the end and not the added inputs.

Luca’s heading up the multi-level home, the dining table glass underneath the floral runner is shining and a can of glass spray is sitting on the edge of the table letting Luca know that it’s just been cleaned. Up ahead at the kitchen, there’s a candle flickering on one of the counters and that’s what’s holding a pine aroma along with a new citrus smell from a plug-in lingering nearby. The house is shockingly quiet and he expected if she were on some cleaning kick that there had to be either some instrumental or synth-pop playlist going on but that was not the case.

He peeks into the living room, eyeing her usual style of antique furniture and the wide ajar arched bathroom door tucked in the corner. He also spots a few reusable bags tossed on the cognac leather loveseat he helped pick out years ago, reminding him that he needed to check the fridge out later. Right now? He just wanted to find her. She was not in this part of the house and not sitting up on the nook crocheting with strong incense potentially burning her eyes or anything like that, which sat across from the dining area so Luca decides to head downstairs.

The first hallway he turns down, leaving his things back by the bottom of the stairs. He always felt like the downstairs was closed off from upstairs despite the white walls and hears the light beeping from the washing machine. He opens the dryer first, feeling the clean scented and warm sheets against his skin before tossing them into a rolling bin on the right then dividing the damp clothes into the dryer and hanging them up. Leaving the laundry room and around the corner to the movie room, he spots her stretched out in front of the white and wooden couch, sleeping against a balled up arm on the cool tile floor surrounded by screws and a large box that had a hole big enough to fit a foot in the center of it.

Small laughter bubbles past his lips as he squats down to get a good look at what she has going on. He loves to watch her sleep and absolutely not in a creepy way! Yet there’s no other way to make that sound less creepy besides the fact that she’s his wife! but he enjoys seeing this view in person because she appears to be at the most peace. It’s the little things like this: watching her shut the curtain to the outside world out for a while to get the rest she needed made her look even prettier to Luca. Her sharp features are still prominent in her slumber, square jaw, brown high glowy cheekbones still showcasing in the dim of the white room, and his eyes then drift to her moisturized full plump lips that are luring him in to be kissed—which erupts that thought with a snarl of a snore.

His glimmering eyes hold amusement at the interruption of admiring his wife’s features yet his brows curve in disturbance at the sound. A flat palm goes to her sweater covered shoulder, squeezing a bit before going to rub the length of her arm. They were both pretty light sleepers but with the info given to him hours prior, it takes a bit more touches to get her to wake.

She blinks harshly after flinging her body upwards, “ugh, Luca! Glad it’s you and not my sleep paralysis demon deciding to come collect me.”

He hasn’t heard her speak of paralysis in some time although he knows this is a joke—somewhat—there’s a flick of worry in his blues that he’s sure she doesn’t miss.

Luca tilts his head at this, “I’m just happy to hear that you haven’t fallen asleep with your contacts in again. And that I can confirm that I am not something from the depths of hell at least not right now, the day is still bright for you. But…your voice box is a bit questionable, babe.”

That’s exactly the kind of thing a woman wants to wake up and hear from a loved one! For as long as she’s known Luca and made him her husband, this doesn’t surprise her that he always says what’s exactly on his mind—whether she wants to hear it or not.

“I know, I know,” she replies groggily with a rub to one of her eyes, “I sound like fucking E.T. phone home right now but what am I gonna do?”

Luca shrugs his shoulders nonchalantly although his reply is sarcastic, “dunno. Maybe make an appointment to see a doctor and actually relax on your break, yeah? Just a thought.”

She’s running a hand over her once sleek bun and squints, “I wasn’t expecting you till May…”

“Great deflection wife,” Luca sits down beside her and crosses his ankles over each other while folding his arms, “Lox told me you were under the weather and I took some of my personal days a bit early instead to get here.”

She’s breathing heavily as she reaches over to playfully slap the blond’s thigh, “aw, husband! But your sister and I are definitely going to have words next time we speak. I told her, it’s fine to tell everyone’s else’s business but mine.”

It’s humorous looking back on the blossoming relationship between his wife and little sister Loxley. Loxley was currently in her early twenties and always been a force for as long as Luca could remember. She’s always been a huge pain in his arse and had a habit of making his girlfriend’s hate her. She’s also always been the drama queen and had dreams of being in theatre until she fell in love with journalism instead. Yes she did a few broadway shows but it was the writing that really stole her attention and gossiping (which led to a few bar brawls) if we’re being quite honest. It took some time but once Lox realized that she was truly the one for her brother, Lox learned to love her too.

Mostly it was a battle of, “did you talk to your wife today? No?! Can’t believe I’ve beat you to it, again! even with the shitty WiFi at sea. Careful Ca-Lu she might fall in love with me instead.”

Luca snorts, “‘course you did. So what’s wrong besides the unusual disturbing voice?”

Straight-faced she says, “just a cold.”

“That’s been going on for about two weeks?”

“So now you’re in my business too?” The woman sasses with an accusing finger.

Luca rolls his eyes with a scoff, “I don’t know if you know this but…that’s part of the task of being your husband and I don’t really care if you like it or not. Your problem is that you don’t know how to just sit down when you have the chance. You’ve been on go since New Years—

He starts and he doesn’t realize that maybe a bit of a trigger for the woman. The way her head snaps to him at the mention of the holiday should have been enough of a giveaway. Long story short: Luca planned to fly to Chicago a few months ago to spend New Years with his wife along with his mum and sister who were also spending it with his wife and wife’s immediate family. She spent Christmas in Copenhagen, He spent Thanksgiving with his wife’s family in North Carolina and the year prior in London. New Year’s Eve was his wife’s favorite holiday and although it wasn’t a big deal to Luca…it became one when The former Queen of Denmark and her royal family requested a private meal at Brimstone’s Gate.

Surely this was a massive deal and his wife knew that, she had to accept it because she knew it would be huge for the restaurant Luca put his everything into. However she had her moments where she felt like she had the right to be selfish. After all they were a couple that didn’t live in the same household or even the same country! These were the choices they made. Yes she just saw him days ago before New Years but it’s not like they didn’t plan this out months in advance knowing that her break from her contract was up that same month in December.

“Well excuse me if I like to keep busy when I have an entire house to myself that you could have helped occupy for at least a little while.” Flies out of her mouth as she turns her body to the side, reaching for the instruction paper once more.

Luca scans the profile of his wife and can feel the defense wall coming up, “Right…which is why coming a few days earlier is my way to make up for that time lost. It’s unfortunate that you’ve fallen ill though but I’ll get you back in shape.”

It was the effort that counted.

She dares a side glance at him and deeply exhaled through her congested nostrils that it almost sounds like little whistles, “help me build this table.”

Luca shakes his head and pulls one arm out to pull at her wrist, “after you nap first. I know you’re still cross with me and that cold is surely kicking your butt although you won’t admit it. I just want you to take care of yourself and if you don’t? I will.”

‘And us.’ He thinks to himself.

The woman is slowly budging as she fights back a yawn but keeps her mouth closed. Luca sends her a knowing glance as he pulls her to rest in his lap, using his bicep as a pillow, which he uses to his advantage to curl her upwards to peck her cheek and then her jaw. He wanted her lips but he also didn’t want to catch what she has so this will do for now.

“Wait a minute,” she says after his lips leaves her skin, “did you just call me ugly?”

Luca lets out a long groan which makes her cackle at how easily she annoyed him, although he claims that he has so much patience!

“I’d never and you know that, Tania.” Luca informs as he uses her name.

And she almost forgets how good it sounds coming from his lips in person. Since she was the considerate type, she didn’t plant one on him just then and snuggled back into his arm with her back to him.

Tania hums as she closes her heavy eyes, “Don’t let me sleep more than thirty.”

Luca didn’t need to take that request but to save her some peace of mind he agreed. He lasted forty five of those minutes before his ass started to ache thanks to the tiled floor. Swiftly he managed to lift Tania and himself to his feet, placing her onto the couch and wrapping a cow-printed blanket over her while she still snored away. The blond laughs to himself some more, glancing at the unmade table and the time on his phone before leaving the woman briefly.

Luca takes the time to grab his things by the stairs and heads down the other hallway to the main bedroom, placing his things back on the floor in front of the bed. He doesn’t spend much time looking around in there since Tania wasn’t in it but the space feels comfy just standing in it again. Luca’s sure once the night falls, he may feel more at ease since he gets to share this space with his wife for awhile.

So he leaves that at the back of his mind to scope out the kitchen. No shock there to find it fully stocked, which is a contrast to his own space. He was sure to have everything he needed to make biscuits or some type of pastry but never anything to make a full meal. That wasn’t his speciality—plus there were plenty of restaurants that saved him time—and he also wasn’t sure if you ate but with a cold your appetite is usually trash anyway.

He settles for making Tania’s tea.

Her iron kettle has quite the weight to it and he chuckles to himself remembering her modeling it off as she sent him pictures one fall season. She was too excited to get this purchase to have tea while discussing podcasts with her girls and cousins once out of the month whenever she was off contract.

Now here he was filling it up and finds a green tea box in one of the cabinets. He’s always known that Moroccan Mint tea was usually more Tania’s speed but it appeared that the only tea she had was Ethiopian. As he waits for the water to squeal, he clasps his hands behind his back getting lost in the thought of it all.

And before long, he’s quickly pulled back to the kettle. Picking up the iron, ignoring the scorch against his skin as he rests it on another eye on the stove before grabbing a ceramic mug that’s printed with a green chicken on the face of it. He picks it up again to peek at the contents underneath it, which reads scripted words in Italian. He can only picture Tania going through the little shops or markets in Italy to purchase this grandma inspired dish.

The steamed water brushes past his face as he pours, the tea bag plunks into the water and he’s searching for a teaspoon to fully submerge it. It doesn’t take him long to find the utensils, guessing that it’s in the drawer that’s underneath the espresso machine she barely uses, he leaves the spoon in the mug before going back into the fridge on the left for an orange, then to the right to the overhead cabinet for sweetener.

No honey?

“Brown rice syrup?” Luca quirks up his brows at that not expecting her to like the taste of this toasty butterscotch sweetener and lifts his shoulders, “it’s your tea.”

A teaspoon of syrup, rid of the teabag since she hated for the teabag to sit too long—Luca was the complete opposite and a slice of Orange to top it off was the answer to Tania’s tea.

When he’s getting closer to the movie room, he’s hearing Tania blowing her nose away, sounding like an elephant before he makes his presence known.

“For you, Milady.” He greets holding the mug down to her, “or should I say my own personal trumpet.”

She rolls her eyes as she carefully reaches for the tea, “shut up before I throw my snot rag at you.”

“Ew, You’re much nicer when you’re not looking like SpongeBob with the suds.”

“Aha! So you do think I’m ugly.” She sips at the tea and is visibly relaxed.

Luca throws his hands up into the air then plops beside the woman once more, shoulders touching as he awaits for some commentary while weighing the bolts in his hands.

“Not to sound shallow but…if I’m the sexy pastry chef and you’re the goddess at sea chef then what does that equal?” Luca playfully tapped at his chin.

Tania lets the tea burn her throat as she wheezes out, “two chefs that ate.”

“There’s my girl,” Luca winks, “I know that cold cloud didn’t completely wreck your brain and think I would ever belittle your looks…especially when I’m always after your heart anyways.”

Tania blows out a horn that replicates the sound of a foghorn which makes Luca burst out laughing, “you were doing so well until you decided to be corny.”

“That was actually impressive,” Luca continues laughing, “and you only have yourself to blame since you wont quit with this talk of the ugly.”

Tania pops her tongue, “I like bothering you face to face and I can’t kiss you yet so this is my best bet. Deal with it Hodgson.”

Luca rolls his head to stare at the beaming woman underneath his eyelashes with a sigh, “as you wish—only this time—Mrs. Hodgson.”

And she’s cradling the mug in the space of her crossed legs, which isn’t the best idea but she’s not getting up to place it on the laptop corner desk that was in the back of the room. That was too much work but she was determined to get this movie room table up with the help of her husband.

With a smile like that? Luca couldn’t say no.

He has the instructions in his hands while Tania already had the tools separated by category.

“Ah this doesn’t seem too hard.” Luca blew out a raspberry while Tania looked to the side to sip her tea, “what was that?”

“Huh?”

“You heard me, Tanny.” Luca keeps his gaze on the furniture piece, “you’re doing that thing where you’re peering off into the distance to some imaginary audience.”

Tania shakes her head, “I did no such thing! I root for my man and always gonna stick beside ‘em.”

Luca snorts as he brushes his mixture of dark and honey blond hair from falling into his view, “until I fuck this up and you send pics to your dad who will point and laugh and probably call me a failure for not knowing how to build this table.”

“Noooo!” Tania fights back a laugh at how well Luca had it figured out, “…that’s more your dad.”

The two share a glance before snickering.

“That makes more sense, yeah?”

Tania nods as she raises the steaming mug, “with the power of this tea and your delicious hands…nothing can stop us!”

Which ends with Tania almost coughing up a lung.

“Jesus! Keep sipping that tea, babe.” Luca reaches out to rub her thigh now as he’s squatting again.

Tania fans her hand about but does so while Luca gets to his feet to slide the top of the table towards their work space.

“How’d you get this up and down all these stairs?” Luca suddenly asked after feeling the weight of the table top, there were a set of stairs to get into the home, three stairs to the right of the entry way, and two sets of stairs to get to the lower level of the home.

Tania pushes up her bicep, “I’m secretly an Amazon warrior.”

“Who pulled a hamstring from chasing after a fortune cookie on the ground.” Luca mutters.

Tania scrunches up her lips, “but did I eat it though? Exactly. Still a warrior in my own right.”

The man sighs, “fine keep that secret to yourself then.”

“I will.” She wiggles in her seat in satisfaction.

Luca quietly gets to work then as Tania sips at her tea before stretching for the remote to turn the tv on to search for a random playlist. Before Tania can select her daylist, she feels Luca place some tools into her lap before he grabs the main part that’s going to hold the table top up.

“Can I run something by you?” He gently asks as he works on screwing the bolts into place.

Tania folds one arm against her torso while resting the elbow of the other on top as she cradles her tea, “sure you can, bub. What’s on your mind?”

“…you don’t know this but I’ve been feeling a lot ever since I missed out on New Years. Although we talked it through then and it still holds weight now which I understand…Queen Margrethe II told me something that gave a better perspective.” Luca starts while Tania nods along to show that she’s listening.

Sometimes Luca goes quiet to build suspense, which irritates Tania but taking in the expression on his face she can tell that what he’s thinking is serious business. She feels like she should hold her breath waiting on his next words but her chest urges her not to do that so she chooses to wait it out.

She could get to building like she originally set out to do today but she was sure she would mess it up now, just hearing the tick of seconds that go by on the clock on the main floor upstairs. Shout out to nerves!

“I left Brimstone’s gate.” He lets the bomb drop.

Tania exhales, “but you love BSG. Did something happen?”

“Things are meant to end to begin…which is part of what the queen told me.” Luca winks at you, “I want to be wherever you are and it seems like that’s Chicago…well for six months anyway.”

Tania is blinking rapidly, “I—Lu. I have to say I was not expecting this. You leaving Copenhagen for Chicago?”

“For us.” Luca rephrases, “which is why I wanted to run it by you just to see if that’s potentially something we can both try? Full-time. It’s not our routine but I’ve got some interviews lined up next week.”

It seems like he’s already thought this through. Never has Tania ever pressured Luca to be where she’s at or vice versa, being on different sides of the world worked—although at times it was certainly a challenge but now this was a big change. Tania got her culinary experience out in Mexico City at just nineteen (her family was reluctant to let her go considering she was the baby of the family but it turned out to be the best thing for her) before she took on the internship at Noma where she met a focused but blunt Luca and a socially awkward yet observant Carmy.

Sure it was all fun and games at the start but all that mattered because they were still standing after all these years. It was scary to think Luca gave up something he was geuniely passionate about. He was the main one out of the trio that found something in Copenhagen…it was what Chicago was for Tania. Yes she was born here but raised in the south yet she’s been in Chicago for quite some time that in a sense she wanted to build something here and was on her own.

She just had pieces of Luca when he visited and now something’s shifted.

“I don’t want you to regret doing this.”

Luca rolls his eyes, “I’m not worried. Life’s about trial and error, yeah? I’m not big on plan B’s as you know…And it’s not about being ready either, I’ve been ready since I said ‘I do,’ we were always on temporary different paths but that still led us to each other.”

“Like always,” Tania grins with a shake of her head at how many times they scraped money to catch flights back to each other—when they were speaking to each other and fighting for this relationship.

Oh you should have seen Tania and Luca in their early twenties! They were the definition of a perfect mess.

Carmy was the first to leave to New York to live with his cousin for some time, gaining the opportunity to work at a three Michelin star restaurant. Luca was offered a position at Noma which he ended up enjoying for a few years before he eventually moved on to BSG whereas Tania spent time back in her first love of culinary out in Mexico City, which led to Dubai, and Brazil and Copenhagen before ultimately deciding on being a travel chef might be her best bet. To do that on a big ass boat was even more of a mind-blowing opportunity! She didn’t like being confined to one space yet she had news of her own.

“Which brings me to this move. I don’t plan on getting rid of you at all.” Luca continues.

Tania dramatically sighs, “oh husband, you always say the right words.”

Luca snickers, “what I mean is: I took a vow, you’re my wife who I’m madly in love with and what may have worked for us then let’s me know that we can truly start what were meant to be now and maybe that’s me being here in Chicago permanently. You’ll have to show me what all the hype is since it’s apparently the best city in the world.”

Tania can’t wipe the smile off her face. Part of her wanted to think the worse, that someone got into her husband’s head to make him feel a way about them being apart for so long. However there shouldn’t be any doubts because they knew what they put into this relationship and what they wanted out of this marriage.

Each other.

Always.

Tania speaks, “I didn’t re-sign the contract.”

Luca flicks his attention to the dark haired woman in front of him and she holds his stare, “you’re supposed to be heading back in June?”

Which was the usual.

“I know and I’m supposed to have everything finalized by late March.”

Luca rubs at his jaw in thought, “did mum and Lox know about this?”

Tania laughs, “Now you know if they knew then you would have also known.”

This was true. His mum was bad at keeping secrets and Lox, as you all already know was the biggest gossip. Now Luca was thinking some things himself.

“What drove your decision?”

Tania sighs, “the boat life is tired now…maybe we can revisit when we’re our parents ages or retired.”

Luca thinks out loud, “I think I’d be a golfer and want to get a vacation home in Key west.”

Tania cringes, “yuck.”

“What are you on about?” Luca huffs.

“You don’t even like Pickleball Lu and Florida of all places? Why not Costa Rica? Or the Bahamas?”

He wasn’t sure how pickleball correlated with golf but he wanted to keep in shape even when he aged so he let it slide.

“That’s only because that fucking—excuse my French—geezer made me scrape my knees that one time in front of everyone!” Luca was clearly still frustrated over this, “Don’t you know I almost lost a shoe because of that granda?!”

Tania hides her giggle, “he meant no harm!”

“Bullocks! If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he was trying to impress you.”

Tania tilts her head to the side not recalling any of that, granted she was a little tipsy off the spritz so that was her excuse. “Well…he was very handsome for a sixty-five year old who clocked you talking shit.”

“I wasn’t talking shit!”

“Didn’t you say you’re gonna take it easy on the geezer, didn’t want him to break a hip before you kissed me?” Tania frowns as she tells Luca this, “He definitely heard you with his gorgeous self. He looked like a mix of alexander skarsgård and Payman Maadi, I remember that! And I’d let him give me lessons any time.”

Luca glares at the woman, “oh yeah? Maybe you should call him and see if he’ll put this table together for you then.”

Tania’s cooing now as she reaches to pinch Luca’s cheeks together, “easy bub, I know who I married.”

“Damn straight.” Luca dipped his head to peck the sides of Tania’s fingers, “I just wanted to make sure you knew.”

The room is tense as the pair meet each other’s eyes until Tania pulls a face. Luca scrunches his brows until she jerks her body away to let out a loud sneeze. “Sorry, moment’s ruined.”

“There’ll be plenty more now.” Luca grins before turning his attention back to the furniture, “so…the married couple is back in Chicago.”

Thankfully Tania could afford to take a longer break for some time before looking for employment elsewhere and Luca was already getting adjusted to what this city can bring. He briefly brings his attention back to the woman who suddenly decides to chug the rest of the tea, before standing over Luca to climb into his lap.

Her limbs are wrapped around him like a sloth and Luca loves how she feels against him, so soft, warm, and his. He doesn’t hesitate to embrace her back, rubbing and scratching at her back as she rocks them slowly back and forth. He can hear her smiling as she squeezes herself tighter to him as if he’s a dream that’ll pass her by and Luca feels like the piece Chicago’s been missing.

“Don’t breathe after this,” Tania says as she pulls back to grip Luca’s face, “this life i’ll give to be lived and loved by you?”

Luca smiles at the mention of their motto, hands resting on Tania’s hips and teases, “eh, i guess I’ll accept. Been around long enough, so why not?”

And he follows through this time with instruction as Tania quickly pecks his lips before sinking into a hug once more, resting her chin into his broad shoulder.

It was safe to say that this new adventure was the start of a new era for the two. Without love, choices, without purpose, and growth you’ll never know what each chapter holds.

Tania and Luca Hodgson were willing to find out as long as they knew they could look over and see the reassurance in each other’s eyes.

❀𖤣𖥧𖡼⊱✿⊰𖡼𖥧𖤣❀ ❀𖤣𖥧𖡼⊱✿⊰𖡼𖥧𖤣❀ ❀𖤣𖥧𖡼⊱✿⊰𖡼𖥧𖤣❀

[familyvideostevie]

what abouttttt eddie being a regular at your place of work (coffee shop? bookstore? some place he had to go one time and it’s not His Scene but he saw you & can’t get enough?)

omg hi bestie you got it! this made me lol also totally stealing your idea here and this is you working at a flower shop when eddie starts to become a regular for some reason | fluff, pre-relationship, 1.3k

--

It's a quiet day in the shop. Your favorite kind, since it means you get to spend more time on your arrangements and less time explaining to frustrated moms why you cannot bring their orchids back to life.

Is it weird that you like the company of flowers better than people? Yeah, maybe. But it's good money and you like to make people happy, however indirectly. Which is why you try to be nothing but kind to everyone who walks through the door.

But when the bell chimes and you turn to find this guy stumbling into the shop, you can't help but wonder what the hell he's doing here. You've never seen him before -- you'd remember. Long, frizzy curls and ripped jeans, a flannel on under a leather jacket and boots that make his footsteps heavy. He looks a bit scary, to be honest, but the way he almost knocks over a few pots of mums makes him less intimidating and more annoying than anything.

"Can I help you?" you call. He startles like he didn't expect anyone to be here. And then he does a double take.

"I need...flowers," he says. You try to keep a neutral expression on your face. Sometimes you play a game with yourself and try to predict what someone is going to ask for. Maybe he missed a birthday? Needs something to apologize to his mom? Maybe he's picking something up for a party.

"I think I can help you with that."

He coughs and his cheeks darken. "Right, yeah, obviously." He looks around and shoves his hands in his pockets.

"Do you need something specific?" you prompt. His eyes snap back to yours.

"Yeah," he says. "Yes. What says 'sorry I broke your couch?'"

Ah, you think. Apologizing to a girlfriend, probably. You're a little disappointed to realize it.

"I'm not going to ask questions," you tease. His mouth tugs up at the corner and he looks less embarrassed and more like a man on a mission.

"Good idea," he says. You leave the arranging table behind and wander around the shop, pulling stems from buckets as you go. The guy follows you around.

"Do they all mean something?" he asks. You glance over your shoulder at him. He's got his hands tucked in his pockets and his eyes are...really big and brown. And he's got lovely eyelashes. Wow.

"More or less," you say. Your bouquets are a mix, normally. Some flowers for meaning and some just for looks, unless a customer asks for something specific. You bring the bundle back to the table and wrap it in cellophane and then paper, tying it with a ribbon.

"She likes purple," he chimes in. You snip a length of that ribbon and tie the flowers together. Yes, for sure a girlfriend.

"Do you want a card?"

He blinks a few times. Was he staring at you? "What?"

"For the flowers?" You hold up a small folded piece of paper.

"Oh," he says. "Yeah, sure. Do you write it?" You nod. "Okay, uh. Can it say: Robin, We both know I can't afford to buy you a new couch, but hopefully this makes your place smell good. Eddie."

Eddie. Well, now you have a name for this guy you'll never see again.

"You've got nice handwriting," he says. You tie the card at the end of the ribbon and gently place the bouquet on the counter.

"Thank you." The cash register rings as you type in the price. "Twenty dollars, please." Eddie digs in his pockets and produces the bill. Your hands do not brush when he pays. "I hope she likes them," you say.

He looks confused for a second. Jeez, this guy isn't really focused on his girlfriend. "Oh," he says. "Yeah, thanks."

He waves and manages not to knock anything over on his way out. The door chimes and you sigh. Man, he was cute. You do hope this Robin girl likes her flowers.

Eddie comes back two days later and you find yourself worrying that he's broken something else.

"Did she not like them?" you ask without thinking. Eddie raps his knuckles on the table when he reaches you.

"Who?" His eyes travel up and down your form very quickly. Not like he can see much behind your apron, anyway, but still. Dude!

"Your girlfriend?"

Eddie blinks owlishly and then laughs very loudly. Like, with his whole body, leaning over with his hands on his knees. Oh, he's got rings on. Your stomach does something funny.

"She is not my girlfriend," he says. "Christ, that's funny."

You cross you arms, a bit peeved. "Well, I don't know how I was supposed to know that."

"Sweetheart, if I had a girlfriend and I broke her couch I sure as hell would buy her a new one."

Sweetheart. Is he flirting with you?

"Well, what do you need today, then? Break something else?" This close you can see that he's got some freckles on his nose. You rub your hands on your apron.

"I...do," he says. "Uh, I need something that says 'please don't tell anyone I stole your grill'."

He grins at you. You scoff. "Not asking."

It goes like this for two weeks. Two weeks! Eddie comes in to the shop almost every day and asks for something from you. The requests get more and more absurd.

Sorry you lost your sword crossing the parapet and died. Sorry I smoked too much and ate all of your pickles. Sorry you're not as good at skateboarding as me and fell.

You wonder if he's actually giving these to people.

You ask him so one day.

"Cant a guy just get flowers? Maybe they're all for me, sweetheart." He looks entirely too pleased with himself as he says it.

Or...maybe he's coming in to see you.

No, that would be ridiculous, right? Even if he's been asking you questions about yourself. What you like about flowers, what's the weirdest bouquet you've ever made, what you make most often. They manage to be personal and impersonal questions at the same time.

After two weeks, Eddie comes in and plants his forearms -- very nice forearms, you've noticed -- on the counter and says your name. As if you weren't aware the second he walked into the shop.

"Hi, Eddie," you say. "What is it today?"

"I need to ask a girl on a date," he says. Your stomach sinks.

"Okay," you say softly. Well, it was nice while it lasted. "What does she like?"

"That's the problem," he replies. "I don't know."

"Have you asked?" He might be cute and funny and charming but he certainly is still just a boy.

"Not yet." You wader onto the floor and he follows you as always. "What's your favorite?"

Your heart picks up. He's just asking to be nice, you think. He's just asking because it's a natural part of the conversation. You don't answer, instead lead him to a barrel of dark purple roundish flowers. "These," you say, stroking one of the petals. "Dahlias."

"Beauty, commitment, kindness," Eddie recites. You whip around to face him. He shrugs, a soft smile on his face. "I've been reading up."

"Why?" you ask, breathless.

He reaches past you and plucks one stem from the bunch and holds it out. "Will you go on a date with me?"

Oh. You're going to say yes, obviously. "Have you been coming in here to buy flowers?" you ask. It's not a clear question, but Eddie understands.

He takes a step forward. The flower brushes your chest. "I've spent about a million dollars on flowers just to see you as much as possible."

A laugh bubbles up from your throat. "You're silly, Eddie," you say. He grins.

"So is that a yes?"

You take the flower from him and smell it. "Yes."

thank you for reading <3 reblog, send feedback, masterlist here!

[chloe-skywalker]

Your To Important To Me - Billy Hargrove

Billy x fem!reader

Warnings: mentions of demo dog attack

Word count: 1,829 (+ I added after it posted more lol)

Summary: prompt “What did you do to yourself? Let me see your arm, please?” /  You get attacked by a Demo dog and Billy notices the bloody bandage. Some things need to be talked about and solutions need to be made.

Masterlist

Stranger Things Masterlist

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

“Thank you, Joyce.” Y/n thanked the older woman as she wrapped her arm with goz. Y/n's wrist to elbow had been bleeding and torn up by a Demo Dog that had latched onto her arm. But as far as Y/n was concerned, it could’ve been a lot worse.

“You don’t have to thank me, Honey.” Joyce shook her head giving the teen girl a soft smile. She was trying to comfort her, knowing that Y/n had to be in a ton of pain. Joyce thought of her as a daughter, so seeing her but like this. It really pained her to see Y/n in pain. With the situation they were in it happened often, one of them getting hurt but they couldn't change that.

“Still” Y/n tilted her head as she pulled on her jean jacket, trying to be as cautious as she could be of her arm. She could feel throbbing pain in all the punctures as she moved her arm around.

“You're welcome.” Joyce nodded in return. She knew Y/n would keep saying thank you if she didn’t accept it. 

“Hey” Steve walked over to the table that the two women were sitting at. “I can take you home if you want?”

“Yeah, that’d be great. Thanks Steve.” Y/n nodded standing up to follow him out of the Byers house.

“Yeah, no problem.” Steve nodded, giving her a small tight smile. Steve and Y/n became friends back when the whole upside down stuff started. The two became fairly close friends. Sure they still had some awkward moments and with everything that happens in Hawkins sometimes the awkward moments were the ones they loved the most. Because they were normal. A grimace of normal in their very confusing and stressful lives.

Steve drove her home. The car ride was pretty silent on the way to Y/n’s house, but once he pulled up he asked. “Is your arm gonna be okay? Are you going to be okay tonight? Alone."

“If it’s not you can call me anytime.” Steve offered as she stepped out of the car. He wanted her to know she had a friend that would drop anything and be there if she needed.

Y/n nodded softly before letting out a sigh. “Yeah I should be.”

Y/n didn't necessarily want to be alone or know for certain that she would be okay but she was a big girl and knew she could take care of herself.

“I’ll call you if it get bad. Promise.” She smiled, telling him before shutting the car door and heading inside. She appreciated the sentiment.

As Y/n entered her home it was silent, her mom being at work and all. It was only her and her mom and Y/n liked it that way. Plus being home alone after something like this was better. No one around to worry so much. Y/n was sure that Joyce would call her mom and tell her what happened. It was easier at times that Y/n's mom knew about the upside down. So Y/n went to the kitchen to grab a drink before she headed upstairs to her room.

“Holy Shit!” Y/n practically screamed as she jumped when entering her room to see Billy there on her bed watching t.v. Clenching her chest with her hand she asked. “How long have you been in my room?”

Billy shrugged, muting the television and resposting himself to be facing her in a sitting position instead of laying down. “A while. Where’ve you been?”

Y/n shrugged, using only one shoulder due to the painful throbbing in her other arm. “The Byers. Helping the kids.”

“For 6 hours?” he asked with raised brows. What could she have been doing over there for that long? Billy felt like she wasn’t telling him something. And that feeling happened often to him when she disappeared and was gone for so long. Especially if she was with those little brats his step sister hanged out with.

While Billy was thinking that Y/n was thanking her mom for the t.v. in her room, because Billy was distracted and didn't notice Steve was the one that dropped her off. That didn't need to be brought up at all right now.

“Uh, yeah. It was an emergency.” Y/n answered not really knowing how to answer. So she distracted herself by stripping off her jacket and then her shoes.

Suddenly Billy reached forward and grabbed her hand, gently pulling her closer. “What’s on your arm?”

‘Fuck’ Y/n thought. Moving her arm so much must have added pressure and pushed more blood out. Y/n thought she felt a tareing sensation. It was her blood wetting the goz. “Uh- bandages?”

Billy gave her a ‘I’m not stupid’ look, like ‘no shit’. “Why are there bandages on your arm?”

Normally it was Y/n who patched up Billy. Billy had never seen her with an injury like this before, let alone one that was bleeding fresh blood.

“We had to go out into the woods, and I got hurt.” It was the best she could explain it without also lying to him. Y/n hates lying to Billy, especially since he’s been so truthful with her.

“What did you do to yourself?” Billy asked, trying to get a better look but Y/n pulled her arm away. This just made Billy’s concern grow bigger. So Billy asked again, this time pleading with her. “Let me see your arm? Please?”

Y/n whipped her head to face him. “Hey! I got attached, I did not do this to myself.”

Billy smirked a little at how he got the truth out of her so simply.

“Oh damn you, Hargrove.” Y/n rolled her eyes at seeing his reaction. Damn him and knowing her so easily. But she also loved that about him. Y/n bit her lip trying to hold back her smile at what he could get out of her.

“Can I see your arm now?” he asked again, hoping she’ll let him see and examine it.

Y/n let out a sigh moving to sit next to him on her bed. Sitting at an angle so he could look at her arm.

“Damn it.” She let out a frustrated groan at seeing exactly how much blood had stained the goz. Now it is definitely gonna have to be changed before she went to bed. Y/n was hoping she wouldn't have to change it till the morning. Suddenly after looking at her arm Billy abruptly got up off the bed. Y/n followed him with her eyes confused. “Where are you going?”

Watching him leave the room filled her with worry. Was this to much for him? But after about 5 minutes he came back, entering her bedroom with ibuprofen, a coke, and had apparently dug through her bathroom for supplies to clean and change the bandages on her arm.

Y/n felt so heart warmed that he wanted to do this for her. But what if he changed his mind after actually seeing the wounds? Y/n knew it was just insecurities talking, Billy’s seen, done, and possibly had close to worse. “Billy, I can do this later-”

“You help me all the time, especially with this kind of thing. Will you just let me help you, for a change?” Billy said, cutting her off, looking her in the eyes. He wanted to take care of her, in all ways. And not just as a ‘returning the favor’ kind of thing. Billy turly cares for Y/n, hell he’d go as far as to say he loves her. Having only ever loved one other person in his life (his mom), this was special to him in ways he had a hard time expressing.

“Thank you.” Y/n smiled gratefully, dropping the whole ‘don’t need help’ facade.

“You're welcome.”  Billy nodded, accepting her thanks.

“You know. I wish you’d let me in more so I could help you with other things.” he hinted to how he’d like to know what caused her disappearances for hours and the injuries she gets.

Y/n would love to tell him about everything, the upside down and Hawkins lab. But she also didn’t want to tell him. He had enough to worry about with his dad and she didn’t want him to get hurt. But it also wasn’t just her deasion. “If it was just my deascion you would be. An I’m trying. I really am but you haven’t made the best impression on the kids, Steve, Nacy, and Johnathan. Or Hopper. And they all have says in who knows as well.”

“What about Joyce?” Billy asked noticing that Y/n left out the older woman. Once he got the old goz off and started cleaning the blood off. Billy could see all the little puntucers, almost like teeth. But There were hundreds if not thousands. Billy couldn’t think of anything that could cause this.

“She saw us on a date a few months ago and doesn’t think you are how you seem. Which she is right.” Y/n explained telling him with a shy smile. That had been an awkward conversation with the woman, but she was supportive of the relationship. Which was appreciated.

“I hate that you got hurt. Y/n, those looked like teeth punctures, but not from something normal.” he sighed, trying not to show how worried it had indeed made him.

“I hate when you get hurt to.” she stated before letting out a deep breath. Y/n knew that this conversation was going to happen at some point. She shook her head, biting her lip. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you what bit me.”

Billy had to nod in agreement that he probably wouldn’t believe it if he didn’t see it with his own eyes. “Then let me see it.”

Y/n’s head shot up right and her eyes filled with shock and panic. “What? So you can get hurt or possibly killed to?! No!”

“Why won’t you let me protect you?!” Billy questioned moving his focus to look her in the eyes, having finished wrapping her arm in new goz.

“You protect me plenty as it is.” Y/n agured back.

“I want to protect you from this to! Obviously no one else is.” Billy stressed, lifting his hand gesturing to her arm.

“You have no idea how much worse this.” Y/n raised her injured arm looking him in the eyes. “Could have been if any of them weren’t there. They do protect me.”

Billy shook his head. “Not enough for me, they don’t.”

“Billy-”

“I can’t lose you. You're too important to me.” he stated passionately, no longer yelling. Billy didn’t have much, he never has. But he has Y/n, and he didn’t plan on losing her, she means too much to him to let that happen.

Y/n took a shallow breath before scooting closer to Billy as the two sat on her bed, making it dip further. Y/n knew what Billy meant and she appreciated it. He means a lot to her too. She didn’t want to lose him either. “You're important to me too.”

“Let me be there next time. Then I have to be brought into the loop.” Billy shrugged, picking up Y/n’s none injured arms hand, intertwining their fingers. There had to be a way to let him into what was going on in the crappy town in Indiana.

“I don’t want to lose you either, and that chance increases if you are brought into this!” Y/n stressed as much as she could using her eyes and tone of voice. They’d lost enough people due to the Upside down, its creatures and Hawkins lab.

“I don’t plan on ever losing you or losing me.” He stated leaning in, resting his forehead against Y/n’s. “Besides, wouldn't it be safer for me to know so I can protect myself?”

Y/n sighed, he had a point. “I’ll talk to them tomorrow. Okay? But I can’t promise anything.”

Billy nodded in understanding. “I’ll find a way to protect you whether they say yes or not.”

“I know you will.” Y/n smiled, closing the gap with a kiss.

Yeah she’d talk with the others, but she knew it was gonna be a no. But she also knew that Billy wouldn’t give up. Not on this, not when it comes to her being there with him forever. It was endearing, even if she was afraid he’d get hurt.

Taglist: @gruffle1 @padawancat97 @starkleila

[bibuckkinard]

Another prompt for @desert--moonchild. I decided to use the little snippet I posted a couple of weeks ago about Buck and Tommy being girl dads because I couldn't make it fit into the other ideas I have going right now. I guess you could say I repurposed it lol. I kind of twisted the prompt a little, but I really hope you like it, Moon.

49: Caring for them when they are ill

The picture comes in at 11:45 PM and Tommy thanks God that they're not on a call right now. He leans back on the couch at the station and opens the text. When he sees it, he is really glad Lucy isn't around to give him a hard time because he melts at the sight of his husband and their one-year-old daughter.

Evan has squished his face in next to Alex's, cheek to cheek. Evan's smile is bright and only Tommy would be able to see the tiredness in his husband's eyes. They're both exhausted these days, but loving every second of it. Alex has a finger in her mouth, a gummy smile on her little face, her few teeth visible and Tommy wishes he were home with them, his little family. He and Evan have worked out a complicated, convoluted schedule for being home with her in between their shifts. With the help of their friends and family, it's worked out so far, but it's times like these that he misses them so much that his heart hurts, especially now, when Alex has been fighting a cold for the last couple of days.

Uh oh. He types. Cold keeping her up?

It only takes a second for Evan to text back Sure is. We're both so tired but apparently, sleep is for the weak, Dad.

Dad. He's a dad. He has a husband and he's a dad. He still can't believe it sometimes. But right now he mostly feels guilty, because Evan's home alone with their sick baby and Tommy is stuck at work for at least a couple more hours. Looking around to make sure no one is nearby again, he clicks the 'video' button and waits for Evan to accept the call.

When he does, Tommy's breath actually catches. Even exhausted and sick, his husband and daughter are the most beautiful beings he's ever seen.

"Hi, baby," Evan says with a soft smile. "Miss us?"

"Always," Tommy answers sincerely. "Are you guys okay? Maybe I can beg off for these last couple of hours."

"We're okay," Evan assures him. "I promise. Eddie actually just left. I haven't been by myself these last 10 hours. You know our friends would never dare to do such a thing."

Tommy laughs. "If you're sure."

"I am." Evan lifts Alex's little hand and waves it. "Hi, Dad! We love you!"

Tommy shakes his head and wills his eyes not to tear up. "I love you guys too. Get some rest okay? Do you need anything? I can stop at the 24-hour place by the house?"

"Just you," Evan says, smile sweet and sincere. "Be safe."

"I will."

***

Tommy manages to get home on time, luckily. When he walks in the door, the glow of the TV illuminates the dark house. He toes off his shoes and hangs his bag up before making his way to the living room to see Evan sitting on the couch, legs propped on the coffee table, Alex asleep on his chest.

"Hey, handsome," Evan whispers. "Welcome home."

Tommy leans down to press a kiss to Evan's mouth before kissing the top of Alex's head. She doesn't feel warm anymore, thank goodness.

"Fever finally broke about an hour ago," Evan confirms. "She is still a little congested, but it's a lot better than it was this morning."

"Good," Tommy says, sitting next to them. "Have you slept?"

"No," he admits. "Eddie watched her for me and demanded I nap, but...I just couldn't. I didn't want to leave her."

"I know, sweetheart," Tommy says. He reaches for the baby and Evan gives her up with a soft kiss to her forehead. Alex barely stirs, as though she recognizes her other dad has her, so she's safe, as she rests her face in the crook of Tommy's neck.

"Go take a shower," he insists. "Get ready for bed. You need sleep."

"You just want some cuddles for yourself," Evan says fondly.

"Of course I do." He does, desperately. First: baby, then: husband.

Evan laughs. "Yes, boss." But he doesn't get off the couch right away. Instead, he whispers, "Tommy?"

"Yeah?"

He runs a finger down Alex's back. "I love our life."

Tommy smiles at him. "Me too, Evan. Me too."

[mikalei]

————————— Murder in My Mind +18

Killer!Husband!Scaramouche x Fem!reader

Modern AU

Synopsis: your work as a detective was never easy; you have been assigned to another murder case and was tasked to find and apprehend this killer, but what if it was someone you never expected—what if it was someone closer to you than you think…

tw: ya’ll thought it was fluff at first but it’s not lol, eventual smut, mentions of death, killings, knife, blood, violence, psychotic behavior, weird obsessive behavior,; contains: sexual activity, vaginal sex, oral sex, creampie, vaginal fingering, shower sex, rough sex, marking, biting, tit sucking, cunnilingus, and many more!..

cw: no use of Y/n, implied female reader, Scara calls reader “darling, my love,gorgeous, and my wife”, Scara is secretly a psycho but we still love him, not proofread.

part ii: prev ; masterlist ; ??

A/n: based on a c.ai bot made by Haniyyah (click hyperlink to visit their tt page, don’t forget to follow them!). If you’re reading this, I love how you write your bots. The prompt and idea was all from their Killer Scaramouche bot, this fic is based solely on what I encounter while using it. (Also I didn’t add the twins part in this story, I don’t want traumatised childrens on my fic just yet). Also sorry if there are any grammatical mistakes, I haven’t written anything for 2 years, I’m still getting the hang of it.

I woke up at the the smell of freshly brewed coffee coming from outside of the bedroom, it took me a second until I come to my senses and realize the event that happened when I got back from work, blood rushed to my cheeks as I now notice a red hand print on my waist and thighs.

“jesus christ, does he really need to be so rough to me during sex?“ I thought to myself. As I examine myself more, I just realized that I’m still naked. I look for something to cover my body, I’m not really in the mood to put some clothes on but I can’t just walk around butt naked in my house.

Soon, I successfully grabbed one of my husband’s black hoodie after limping towards his drawer—due to how sore my legs are after what happened, and put it on after looking for a fresh pair of panties.

I looked at the clock in our room as it states that it is already an hour past twelve. “Good thing that today’s my day off.”. I then head to the kitchen, still limping to which I assume where my husband is and I was right. There he was shirtless, wearing only his gray sweatpants and and apron as he puts some bacon into the pan.

His toned back is facing towards me he seem to be focused on the food that he is cooking. I just stand there, leaning on the table for support since I have a hard time walking let alone standing up. As I admire his body, I start to notice the red scratch marks he has on his back.

“Did I do that? Holy hell, that must sting so bad…” I thought to myself once again when I got interrupted by Scara speaking.

“My love, if you keep staring at me I might just melt” he chuckles as he turn off the stove and put the bacon and coffee on the table. He took off the apron he is wearing and hang it to the rack, before walking to me, pulling me in for a hug.

“Good afternoon, darling. I just woke up a few hours ago” he said as he kissed my forehead. I buried my head on to his neck as I lean in more to the hug. Being with him really gives me a sense of comfort. “You smell like bacon” I mumble to him to which makes him chuckle.

He picked up the chair that’s tucked in the table and let me sit there before pushing it closer back to the table ,then sitting on the chair across mine. We start to eat the breakfast he served.

While eating, he decided to spoke up once again. “Oh by the way, Hun, your boss was calling you earlier, but you’re still asleep and won’t wake up even with how irritating your phone’s ringtone is” he said the last part jokingly, to which I act like I was offended but then laughed it off. “My boss? You mean my manager?” I asked. “Not sure, I think the caller’s id was Gunnhildr?” He said as he take a sip of his coffee.

“Huh? That’s weird she won’t usually call me directly, most of the time she’ll just contact our manager if ever she wants to relay a message to me” I said as I look for my phone. I opened the contacts and listen to the voicemail her assistant left.

“Hello, this is President Gunnhildr’s office, I’m sorry to inform you that the head of your department has unfortunately passed away, his body was seen in an alley way near a bar and another detective is handling the case right now. The president wanted to offer her condolences to his family, friends and co-workers. She understand that you may also be grieving at his death so she’ll let you take some time off to properly grieve at his loss, as we look for someone who will take his place. We’ll keep you updated if we found a new replacement for him.”

The voicemail then ends, as I feel my blood run cold from the news I received. Scara looks at me concerned about what happened. He reached out his hands to hold mine to grab my attention. “Baby? What’s wrong? You’ve gone pale. Is everything alright at work?” Scara looks so concerned, he stood up from his seat and hugged me from behind.

“Remember the manager I was talking about last night? He was found dead in an alleyway earlier this morning…” I whispered, almost like there was something blocking my throat that stops me from speaking in a normal voice.

“Oh my… I’m sorry to hear that my love, it must be so devastating.” Scara turned me around so I can hug him too. But while I was nestling my face at the crook of his neck, a satisfied smirk in planted on husband’s face. Hearing about his work makes him so happy, and he knows deep down, you also feel some sort of relief knowing that there’s no one going to harass you on your work any longer.

Scara cleared his throat before breaking the hug. “So…uhm, what else did the voicemail said? Do you have to go to work today? Did they assign you to more work?” Scaramouche switches back to an empathetic look as he cups my cheeks on his large hands.

“No, my boss said that I can take a few days break because of what happened.” And with that my husband’s face almost lit up. He was again wearing that same dorky grin he has when he wants to do something he has in mind.

“What’s with that face?” I looked at him as he continues to wear a wide grin. “You know… I remembered we haven’t got the time to celebrate our wedding anniversary a few weeks ago because you’re always busy…” He implies, “…and I have been saving up for this really fancy date on a fancy private beach house that I rented on a fancy island…”

My eyes went wide when I heard what he had done. “You what?! Are you serious?!” The thought of my manager’s death instantly left my mind. “How long have you’ve been planning this?” I was still shocked at how he managed to those things, not that it’s the first time that we went on a fancy date but what he just said is way more fancier than the dates we used to have.

“I’ve been making all the arrangements for more than a month ago and coincidentally, the beach house is available right now and I’ve already bought the plane tickets for the both of us.” By this time I was speechless, how could he do all of this in such a short notice? I was just staring at him, mouth slightly open and still shocked with all of this.

“Why aren’t you saying anything? Did you not like it?” He asked, I can sense him pouting already. “No no no, I was just…surprised… wow, I mean, you really did all of that?” He just gave me a nod and I just swooned over him. I pressed a ton of kisses around his face while muttering “i love you so much” and “you’re amazing”

Scara just chuckled at my reaction “glad you like it, now the trip last for 5 days, and we can get on a flight tomorrow evening, why don’t we prepare today, maybe buy something for the trip?” He suggested, to which I agree. I almost ran to our bedroom to get change when I remembered that my body is still aching from last time.

My husband just looks at me with a smirk, “oh what’s the problem darling? Can’t walk properly” he teased as he now take in the sight in front of him: red marks are plastered all over my neck down to the cleavage of my breast. He looks so proud at his work before a playfully hit him. “You did this” I said to which he only reply with a chuckle, “and I will do it again” he smirked as he picked me up in a bridal style as he walk to our bedroom.

A few moments later, after we finally got dressed, we head on to the mall to buy the stuff we need. As we are walking, browsing from store to store, one had caught my attention. The lingerie shop. I grinned as a fun thought came to mind.

“Oh shoot, babe I think I left my phone at the car, can you go and get it for me? My shopping list is on my notes” It was a lame excuse but knowing my husband for more than eight years and being married to him for three, he will definitely do what I’ll ask even if it doesn’t make sense. Of course I would do the same for him.

“Ok, wait for here, I’ll be back shortly” he left after leaving a kiss on my cheeks. Once he has fade in the crowd, I immediately walked in to the shop.

I look in between the aisles, searching for something that will definitely surprise my husband, and indeed I saw the perfect one, this is way different than the ones I buy but since my dear husband made so much effort for this vacation, I ought to repay his kindness right? I giggle to myself as I pay for the lingerie. I hid it in my purse so he wont see it. It’ll be my gift for him once we arrived at the vacation.

After a few moments, I called Scara over the phone, I have it with me all these time, though I feel guilty for making him run to the car and look for my phone but again I’ll repay his efforts later.

After explaining to him that the phone was actually in my bag, and apologizing to him, he came back to the mall and we went on and buying the stuff we need.

Once we got back home, we started packing our things and soon get ready for bed. I was brushing my teeth at the bathroom’s sink when I felt a pair of arms wrapped around my waist, I looked at the reflection in the mirror to see my husband is clinging onto me.

“Yes? May I help you” I asked but all I can hear was mumbling as he hid his face in the crook of my neck. I finished brushing my teeth and that’s when my husband decided to start trailing kisses on my neck. Soon he found the spot that makes my legs quiver and starts to abuse it.

“Hun…you’re gonna leave a mark again-ah!” I squeal, his hands is now groping my breast—I wasn’t wearing any bra now since we were about to sleep. He is playing with my now hardened nipples through my shirt as he continues to suck on my skin.

“What has gotten-nggh hah- into you?” I tried to speak but he just continue his ministrations getting harsher and harsher each second. I’m starting not too like this. “Scara…scara…stop!” And just then he finally listened to me. I looked at him confusedly. “ ‘m sorry darling, I-I just…” he kept silent, he looks down at his feet before leaving the bathroom after giving me a kiss on the cheeks.

Now I felt bad, he looks so sad after I stopped him. I don’t usually mind it when he suddenly does something like that but somehow tonight was different. I finished preparing for bed, I saw a newly placed red mark over the hickeys that he also gave me from our last intimate moment. I went to our shared bedroom. There I saw him, sitting at the edge of the bed, his head still hung low.

I slowly approach him and sat next to him, I put a hand on his back and when I saw him flinch from my touch, I felt like my heart drops to my stomach. “Oh, darling… look I’m sorry about earlier… I was just stressed, my boss told me I need to go to work tomorrow even if I already told them we’re going to a vacation. You know how busy I’ll get when I’m at work and I might go home very late and I don’t want to miss our flight tomorrow night.” He kept rambling to me as I listen to him.

After he stops, I just pulled him into a hug “hey, it’s okay. You can go to work tomorrow, I don’t really mind.” He tightens the hugs as he puts his head again on my shoulder. “But our vacation, I planned the whole thing and you rarely have time for vacation, this is a once in a lifetime chance!” He rambles, “hey hey it’s okay, I’m okay with it my love. If it’s an urgent matter then you should go.” I said as I pulled away from the hug.

He still looks so stressed over his work so I decided to distract him. I pulled him once again for a kiss, a long passionate one. He was surprised at first but soon he returned the kiss, although he is still quite tense as I climbed on his lap.

“B-but… I thought… you don’t want to-mmph” he said as he tried to pull away from the kiss. “Shh, just relax. Do you want to do this?” I asked him, he stopped for a moment before giving me a small nod. “Words my dear, use your words” I lift his chin to make him look directly into my eyes, he looks so desperate. I can already feel his cock going hard under me-almost feels like he’s not wearing anything under his shorts.

“Yes, please~” he whines, I immediately crash my lips back to his as I slowly grind on his hardened dick while his hands are placed on my waist. I move my kisses to trace his jawlines down to his throat, as I start to suck on his neck, he kept whimpering. My mind was set on pleasuring him tonight, making sure he is free from any stress.

“D-darling nggh~” He released a loud moan as I start to palm his cock through his damp shorts, now I’m 100% sure he doesn’t wear anything under his shorts as his shorts is now wet with his pre-cum. “Yes yes, just relax baby~ I’ll take care of you tonight. Let me take away all your stress.” I stepped down from his lap and kneel in between his legs. He looks at me with desperation and lust on his eyes.

I trail kisses on his clothed bulge, before pulling down his shorts and freeing his cock that hits his belly. He takes a sharp breathe when I start to pump his dick. I start giving the tip a few licks before taking half of his dick in my mouth. His head was immediately thrown back when I started sucking him, his hand is tangled on my hair, pulling it up like a ponytail before trying to push my head down to take all of him.

I looked up at him as he breathe heavily while moaning my name, I can see his eyes roll back every time I bobbed my head down. “Darling-hah oh yes! God you’re mouth feels so great mhmp” he whines more, I feel his dick start twitching in my mouth indicating that he’s close. He is now thrusting his hips to gain more friction, fucking his dick in to the back of my throat, he is already lost in the pleasure as I feel the wetness dripping from my cunt.

“Shit shit shit-aah fuck! ‘m coming! Can I come in your-hah mouth d-darling?” He said to which I just bobbed my head faster, chasing his high. Soon, he cums down my throat with a loud moan while pushing my head deeper, his dick is hitting the back of my throat as he releases more of his load.

After finally calming down from his high, he pulls out his dick from my mouth. He looks at me while he holds my cheek with one hand, I swallowed his cum and pulls out my tongue to show him. He just smiled at me and help me stand up.

Just as he thought I was finished, I pulled down my panties, before sitting down back on his lap and grinds on his cock once again. “Shit…” I muttered as the tip of his dick grind on my clit. I adjusted myself before inserting his dick inside me, which made him moan once again.

“Oh fuck! So good~” I moaned as I felt his cock hit the spot that makes me see stars. I started to ride him slowly, bouncing on him as his hands are on my hips, guiding me. “Mmhm i love you-hah, i love you so much… my darling wife hnngh” he kept whimpering as he now controls the pace, thrusting his hips harder as he makes me ride him.

I pulled him once again to a kiss, my hand is on his shoulder for support while the other one is tugging on his hair, which makes him whimper in to the kiss. “I love you so much… baby~ aahh nghh” I couldn’t help but feel the ecstasy overflowing me as he kept pounding on that same spot. Sooner or later, we both ended up cumming on the same time, before laying down on the bed. He still hasn’t pulled out yet as some of his come drips down my thighs.

We are both breathing heavily, we pulled each other for one last kiss before sleep engulf us.

Extra notes!:

Another part done! First, I’d like to apologize for not uploading earlier, our vacation started last week but there are still a lot of things we had to do, especially the preparation for our recognition that happens today (I was one of the honor students so yay!). Secondly, this part might seem rushed especially the smut scene, don’t worry, I will get back at the next part. Lastly, I still don’t know how I will end this story, I don’t really have a story board for this, I just wrote it after I enjoyed the c.ai bot version of this. So I’m not sure how much part this will have.

Oh and also I’m accepting request, I still don’t have any rules regarding it, but you can still send in your requests already, I’m fine with writing whatever you want as long as it doesn’t mention incest, underage sex, or any particular trauma like SA.