#sorry it was late i had no idea about the anniversary until a few days ago lmao

[cextra]

A little something for my beloved Twilight Princess, happy 16th Anniversary!!

[sleepysnk]

a/n: i really wanted to write something for hanma because i missed him a lot </3 so i hope you guys enjoy this!! i felt like something fluffy would work with him this time, so <3.

pairings: hanma shuji x fem!reader

warnings: some brief angst, fluff leading to smut, mentions of violence (not towards reader), established relationship, mentions of food, brief jealousy mentions, nsfw, vanilla sex, use of pet names (baby, babydoll, doll), light choking if you squint, breeding kink, creampie, after care, fluffy hanma.

synopsis: you and hanma had been together for two years. he never thought in a million years that you would both last this long, so he wanted to do something special for you on your special day. you deserved the world, and he was going to be the one to give you it. he had many ideas in mind, but the main one was showing you how much he loved you.

his always and forever ft. hanma shuji

Hanma Shuji was truly blessed to have someone like you in his life. Let alone having you as his girlfriend.

Today was your two year anniversary. It was a date that was imprinted on his brain from the moment you said yes to being his. He was so thrilled to have such a great woman in his life. You were like an angel sent from heaven itself to bless him with your love. You made him such a happier man, and your presence as a whole came at such a difficult moment in his life. In a way, he could say that you saved him from doing the worst to himself or even others.

Hanma had done plenty of bad things in his life. He had fought men who had a debt to the gang he was in, he often drank until his vision was completely blurred, and he even severed ties with family that tried their best to do good for him. He was truly lost before you came. He spent his days wandering his large apartment without a single person to occupy it with him. It was lonely and he despised that feeling more than he would like to admit. He desired someone to share his place with and have someone to come home to every night. Sure, he had hooked up with plenty of women beforehand. Some of them were great and even potential candidates for that lifestyle, but the others were only into him for a cash grab and that was it. He didn’t want that. He didn’t want to be with a woman who only saw him as a piggy bank for whatever shopping spree they wanted to go on. Hanma wanted peace and one person he could rely on, but at the time, he knew that wouldn’t happen. He was a thug, a criminal, no one would want a man like him.

But then, everything changed the day he came across you.

Hanma had a very long day. He was exhausted with all he had to do, so he decided to make a stop at a cafe he had visited many times before. It was sort of busy for a late afternoon day, but that never really provoked the man that much. He paid for his coffee and waited patiently behind a few people. He became distracted by his cell phone because Kisaki had been in his messages for some reason asking about a recent incident that took place. Hanma was about to respond, but when piping hot coffee began to scald his chest that message was discarded.

He looked up, feeling furious about what had just gone down. However, those feelings had disappeared when he made eye contact with you. You were standing there with a very apologetic facial expression. The coffee you once held in your right hand was now splattered onto the floor, and some of it had gotten into Hanma’s plain white shirt. Your cheeks were burning with embarrassment and you wanted to melt into the floor with how shitty you felt. He was a complete stranger, an intimidating one at that. He was taller than you by a few inches, and he honestly had a scary look in his eye that would send any man or woman running for their lives.

“I’m sorry! I didn’t see you there! Oh, god.. let me help clean you up..”

Hanma was stunned at your beauty. He wasn’t even angry about his suit anymore. All his brain was fixated on was you and how your fingertips felt rubbing the thin napkins against his chest and his abdomen. You looked like you were about to burst into tears from how afraid you looked. He began to feel guilty for shooting you such a glare, because you genuinely seemed very sorry for such actions. 

“No worries.. thank you for your help, doll.”

When the pet name slipped from his lips you froze on the spot. Someone as attractive as him was calling you that? It felt almost hard to believe at the time, but you were instantly relieved to hear that he wasn’t angry with you over the accident you created. Hanma honestly began to feel bad for you, though. Your coffee was spilled all over the tiled floor, and many people were still staring at the two of you with these wide eyes that bored into both of your heads. He often hated attention like that. Some people just didn’t know how to mind their own business nowadays. It was a small mistake. It wasn’t like you had a breakdown in the middle of the cafe and threw your coffee at him.

“Let me buy you a new coffee..”

“What? N-No! That was my fault-“

“Doll, it’s fine. I have nowhere else to be and all I need is your order.”

To be honest, you hesitated at such a gesture from the mysterious man. Neither of you knew each other, but he was being so kind to you yet you almost burned his skin with the beverage you swore you were holding onto with all your strength. However, you agreed and gave him your coffee order. He simply went to the barista and paid for it, but you were a bit confused why he was taking so long to come back. You wondered about his motives, but when he grabbed his own coffee and waved as he passed you, you felt disappointed. You thought that maybe you would spark a conversation with him, but alas, that didn’t seem very likely.

Once your coffee was done, you walked past several customers and grabbed it off of the counter. Though, the cup wasn’t blank, and there was something written on the side of it.

“Call me sometime <3 let me buy you an actual drink- Hanma Shuji.”

That’s how your romance had blossomed to what it was today. Hanma wasn’t expecting you to call him that night after the whole incident at the cafe, but he was relieved to hear your voice. The two of you chatted all night about anything that came about in the conversation. Although you didn’t reach very personal levels, Hanma was very interested in knowing things about you. He asked about what you did for a living, if you had any siblings, what kind of food you liked, etc. Talking to you made him so happy and he was so excited to hear that you wanted to go on a date with him at some point. Hearing those words made sunlight shine into his heart, clearing the storm clouds that had surrounded it for such a long time. He knew moving at such a pace could result in some negative reactions, but you seemed different. He was well aware that it sounded cliché of him to say such a thing, but it was how he felt about you. He couldn’t deny that one bit.

Weeks turned to months and eventually two years later you were both still together.

You had zero regrets about saying yes to Hanma all those years ago. He treated you like a princess and spoiled you rotten with whatever you wanted. He was a bit reluctant to let you in at first, considering he had been abandoned many times before by different women, but you assured him that you were sticking around for the long run no matter what. You got to see the real Hanma Shuji, and it was honestly beautiful. He may have had some flaws, but you did too. You were both able to work through those things and be patient with one another. There may have been a few rough days and some fights, but even through that you both fell in love with each other. 

You were able to change Hanma for the better. He was so happy to have found you, and being by your side benefited him in so many ways. He couldn’t ever imagine himself being with another woman besides you. He was fully convinced that he had found his soulmate.

He couldn’t believe that two years had passed. He had so many things planned for the two of you that day, and he couldn’t wait to get started with you by his side. 

The morning began with Hanma making you some delicious breakfast in bed. He was not the greatest cook, but living on his own for almost ten years taught him a lot about cooking and having to rely on home meals rather than ordering take out from the nearest restaurant. He made you some eggs and some really fluffy pancakes with your favorite fruit on top. It was adorable and waking up to the aroma of food made you so happy. The breakfast was delicious and Hanma’s heart warmed when he saw your pretty smile flash when you began to eat your pancakes. He knew they were a favorite of yours. Sometimes you’d only eat his, nobody else’s. It made him feel proud as your boyfriend that he was able to make you happy with his food. 

“Happy Anniversary, babydoll. I love you..”

In the afternoon, he took you out for lunch. He even took you out shopping afterwards to splurge on whatever you wanted. It was adorable to see you walking around the many stores with different items in your hands. You often told Hanma that you didn’t need his money to make you happy, but he insisted that you use it. He made more than enough for all the bills to be paid, so it was no problem at all if he wanted to spoil you for a bit. Despite that, you rarely ever spent more than you needed. You did live a rather comfortable lifestyle, but there was that side of you that wanted to consider Hanma’s feelings as well. 

Once you both arrived home, Hanma was excited to make dinner for you both. There was a toss up between going out and eating at another restaurant somewhere downtown, but you told him you were fine with whatever he wanted to do. He took it upon himself to learn a new recipe for you. He worried he would totally light the kitchen on fire if he wasn’t careful with what he was doing, but it had all gone completely smoothly and he was proud of himself. You were also quite surprised to see that he had been successful in making your supper. Hanma hadn’t always been a fan of working in the kitchen, so seeing him do such a great job made you so happy. The food also smelled divine. Your mouth was watering the second you sat down at the table to eat it. Hanma was a bit worried that you may not like it or you would have a negative reaction to his cooking, but much to his surprise, your face lit up with happiness when the flavors reached your tongue. It was so great. Pride swelled inside his chest when you started smiling at him and looking at him with love in your eyes.

“This is so good, baby! You really outdid yourself with this!”

God, it was like he was falling in love with you all over again.

The feelings Hanma had for you were so overwhelming he could almost break down and cry from how intense it was. He never imagined he would be cooking a meal for a woman he had been dating for two years. He didn’t think the day would ever come that you would move in with him and sleep beside him in the same bed every single night. He felt so lucky to have found someone as great as you even though he had been surrounded with darkness for so long. You helped him escape and surrounded him with such light that the abyss he was once in seemed to be a forgotten memory. 

After dinner was finished, you both retired to your bedroom where Hanma found himself wanting to give you one more anniversary present. 

Himself.

Hanma was hovering above your naked body. His cock was splitting your cunt apart with every rut of his hips. You two had been at it for quite a bit. He had kept up with quite a slow and tender pace. Hanma told himself he wasn’t going to rush such an intimate moment with you on a day like that. He had plenty of time with you to make it nasty and rough, but right now, all he was focusing on was you. Your pretty voice called for him and made his cock twitch. He had sex with you many times prior to this moment, but you never failed to amaze him with your angelic beauty. Your delicate skin, gorgeous face, there was so much to love about you. He just couldn’t keep his eyes off of your form that was taking him so well. He could make love to you like that all day if he really wanted to. There was nothing to get bored of.

Your nails clawed into the skin of his shoulders. Marks covered his flesh, but he didn’t bat a single eye at that. You were in utter bliss underneath your boyfriend. He never failed to make you feel good. Hanma knew your body better than anybody else and he made you feel so much ecstasy. “Ah..! Hanma! So good..” you made eye contact with the man above you. Your eyes were somewhat blurry from the pleasure that he allowed to ripple through your body.

Hanma was sweating. A few strands of his dual colored hair clung to his forehead from the moisture that had collected itself on his skin. He loved whenever his name slipped off your tongue like he was a prayer. Hanma couldn’t hide the smirk that appeared on his features when he heard your whines for him. You were so beautiful and good for him. You deserved all the pleasure that was coming to you tonight. “Yeah, keep sayin’ my name, baby. Fuck.. I love you so much..” he placed his hand around the base of your throat, holding you in place so he could stare at your pretty face while he thrusted up into you. 

You let your jaw fall slack as the euphoria you felt increased with every movement. He reached spots inside of your pussy that made you see stars within your vision. Hanma couldn’t believe that a whole stupid coffee incident allowed him to meet someone like you. He always imagined that he would reach the end of his life alone without a single person to share himself with, but having you completely changed that outlook for him. Your presence alone lit up his life and allowed him to see things through a different perspective. You truly blessed him more than you realized, and he couldn’t believe that you didn’t leave him in those two years you’ve been together. Hanma sometimes thought he didn’t deserve you. He imagined at some point you would find someone better than him and you’d leave him, but you didn’t and he was so happy that you gave him a chance.

Sure, you had your ugly days, but even through that you both worked on those issues and continued loving one another without having a second thought about it.

Hanma’s free hand went to intertwine with your own. He leaned down to press his forehead against you and allowed eye contact to be connected between you both. His honey eyes were blown with lust and staring at you with such admiration you could melt from just one glance from him. You smiled when your eyes flickered around his handsome face. There was no one cuter than Hanma Shuji. He was perfect in every little aspect. 

He then kissed you, which took you by surprise. It was soft and gentle. His lips felt like you were kissing two soft pillows that you couldn’t pull away from. He was such a good kisser. It was one of the many things you loved about Hanma. His kisses could sweep you right off of your feet and you would grow weak in the knees whenever his lips brushed against yours. It was slow, but his tongue would occasionally brush against your bottom lip to try and gain access to your mouth. You obliged and allowed him in, deepening the kiss between you both. The pleasure was just too good. 

You gasped when he finally reached your g-spot, sending bolts of electricity along your belly. Hanma smirked in the kiss when that pretty noise escaped your lips. He had no problem discovering that delicious spot inside of you. He squeezed your throat slightly, but not hard enough to restrict your breathing. “Heh.. look at you, babydoll. You’re takin’ my cock so well..” he whispered, sending shivers down your spine from how hot his voice sounded in your ears. “Wanna cum, baby? You’re really fucking tight right now..”

Your orgasm was creeping upon you faster than you had expected, but nonetheless you craved it more than anything else. Your hands gripped Hanma’s shoulders tightly, fearing he might disappear from his spot between your legs. With every thrust, the pit in your belly grew larger and you became even more needy than before. “Y-Yes! Hanma, please..! ‘Need you!” you whined, sharply. 

Hanma fucking loved hearing how desperate you were for that release inside your gut. He then began to fuck you just a bit faster this time. It was nothing too aggressive or quick for your liking, but it was just enough to really wind you up. The noises slipping from your throat made him smirk and watch you with seduction. He loved you so much when you were like this. He realized that you were a goddess and nobody else would ever compare to you in any department. It didn’t matter if you left him at some point. Hanma Shuji would always be devoted to you at the end of the day. He was so deeply in love with you that it almost hurt him to not be by your side. 

You’d be the one he would come home to, always and forever.

Your eyes rolled behind your skull as your orgasm grew closer. You couldn’t help but arch upwards whenever he kissed at your g-spot with the tip of his cock. The moans that came from your mouth were neverendless and Hanma was living for how pretty you sounded under him. He grunted when he felt your walls tightening around him. He was close himself, but all he desired was seeing you reach your high. After several thrusts, your cunt clamped around his cock. Hanma couldn’t help but hiss at the sensation of your pussy squeezing the life out of his cock. Your moans were much higher as he fucked you through your orgasm. He loved hearing your voice like that. He could play it like his favorite song and never get tired of you. “Fuckkk, yeah.. where do you want my – shit! – my cum, babydoll? Talk to me.. fuck..” he nodded his head, gritting his teeth as the last curse slipped through his mouth. 

“I-Inside! Hanma, inside!” you then locked your ankles around his waist, keeping him nice and snug inside of your dripping cunt.

He couldn’t help but grin at that statement. He wasn’t against it whatsoever, but he was very excited to hear that. He then looked down at you and began to pick up his pace a little. His high was so fucking close he could practically taste the sensation. “Shit.. ‘gonna fill you good, baby. Give you a baby, yeah..? Pregnant with my baby..” he let his head fall backwards as the euphoria took over him.

Within seconds, Hanma reached his climax. Thick white ropes of his cum filled your pussy and reached your womb. Goosebumps littered your skin from the feeling of his cum filling you to the brim. He let out a groan at the affects of his high. It hit him pretty hard, which caused him to tremble a bit. 

After a few minutes, Hanma lied down beside you and pulled you towards him. Both of you were sweating and panting fairly heavily, but that soon calmed when the activities between you two had come to an end. Your ear pressed against his chest to hear his heart beating. It was quite rapid, but once he had you within his arms his beats began to slow down and calm themselves. There was nothing better than holding you after having sex with you. Your skin was so warm underneath his fingertips that you could melt. He didn’t care if you were both dripping with sweat and the smell of sex was lingering around the room. All that mattered was that you were here with him and you were safe in his arms.

He planted a kiss on the top of your head and rested his chin atop it. He couldn’t help but smile at the results of today. It was quite successful and you two had an amazing anniversary with one another. “I love you, doll..” he whispered, squeezing the flesh of your hips softly. “I love you so much.. don’t forget that.”

You grinned, letting your eyes fall shut. “I love you more, Hanma.”

[foreverisntenough]

‘OURS’

Summary: You were his and he was yours but what would it be like adding one more? Thrust into a whirlwind romance you never could’ve imagined that became your forever love. You continue building a new life across the pond with a very beautiful Scouser. A sequel to the ‘You’re Mine’ fic.

Index:

Chapter 1 - Size of A Plum

Chapter 2 - With a ‘U’ or an ‘O’

Chapter 3 - Auntie Laur and A Very Drunk Boy

Chapter 4 - Baby Dior

Chapter 5 - His Treble

Warnings: This series will contain fluff, suggestion, smut (unprotected sex,) pregnancy, mention of the word ‘daddy,’ kind of angsty, alcohol consumption - not sure what else really… if i miss anything please lmk!

Note: Thank you for reading! Please be sure to like, comment, or message me what you think of the series! Try not to nitpick with any real pregnant logistics it’s better if you just read along happily :)

Chapter 6 - Teddy Bear | ‘Ours’

Your due date was fast approaching. It was getting scarily real, in fact. The past couple days had been… difficult. Since the scare at the hospital Trent had been tiptoeing around treating you like a piece of glass. He was being so helpful preparing for your baby girl but you were stressed because he had two away matches back to back and he couldn’t really do anything about that. Your three year anniversary was this week too. You felt a lot of pressure to be ready for that date and for your baby. Trent told you not to worry about the anniversary but you didn’t like that idea because you knew he would most definitely do something for it. It was just so overwhelming to manage anything outside of just looking after your body lately. You actually hadn’t been to a home game of Trent’s yet this season because it was just so taxing. It was hard for you to sit up and down, you hated all the attention on you, the stress of the games was not helping you any. Maybe you were being a little over dramatic but it was a lot to go to Anfield let alone an away match. It was all too much so he told you it was better for you to watch from the comfort of home. You were roughly due in about a week or so at this point. Your parents and Winnie were coming in a few days so they’d be at your house soon as well. Trent had left yesterday to travel to Leicester for a match. So once again, you had opted to stay home for his match and watch the clash at your place with Marcel. Between your anniversary, your family coming, Trent’s game, and your baby you felt like you were going to explode both mentally and physically.

“Sorry to be a pain, Marce, can you help me get up?” You giggled and looked at him for some assistance. Your once very comfortable couch had really become a pain in the ass for you. The cushions were so deeply set it was hard to get yourself up on your own.

“Yeah, course.” He stood up and held both your hands to pull you up. Marcel was a saving grace when Trent wasn’t around. You felt a little bad that his friend, i.e. you; had become a pregnant woman he had to stay home with and help get off the couch as opposed to your previously very fun nights at Anfield drinking. You walked about halfway to the kitchen before the worst pain you ever felt ran through you. You were terrified it was another episode of what happened the other week when you were rushed to hospital. That was until you felt a pop sensation and water hit the wooden floor.

“Marce…. “ you yelped. He just hummed barely acknowledging you, keeping his attention on the match. “No, seriously… Marce.” You whined. The sudden pain had you bending over. He turned his head towards you and saw you wincing in pain.

“Fuck” he jumped up from the couch. He ran over to you. “Wait… wait what the fuck do I do?” His eyes widened in panic as he rushed over. Your water had broken.

“Marce… I can’t exactly wait can I? I need you to take me to hospital.” You were trying to slow your breathing. You were attempting to remain calm but seeing the younger boy in front of you absolutely shell shocked was not helping.

“Well, what do we do about Trent… I’ll call him right?” Marcel babbled asking you questions you didn’t have the mental capacity to answer right now, placing his hand on your back, waking you towards the door. All your preparations for this moment had gone out the window.

“Marce… I don’t know, I've never done this before!! We need to go to hospital now!” He nodded, panicking. He let go of you and ran to grab his keys. You heard him pick them up and then drop them nervously running back over to you muttering to himself. He helped you into the front seat of his car. He was in a full blown panic attack and it definitely was not settling your nerves.

“I don’t know the directions to hospital… hold on” he mumbled out tapping at the dashboard in his car into the maps app.

“Marce… I said it inside I can’t exactly ‘hold on’ right now. Can you just take a deep breath for me because your fucking stressing me out.” You quipped at him. He nodded at you, still focused on getting the GPS to work. He figured it out eventually and got on the motorway. Of course, this happened when you were with him. You had called Trent about 10 times to no avail. He hadn’t answered and he hadn’t responded to any texts either. You took a break calling him to ring Dianne, insisting Marcel try Trent while you spoke with her. You needed to tell someone other than Marcel you were having this baby.

“Di… hi, yeah. Erm…well I’m pretty sure I’m going into labor so…” she gasped you could hear her bobble her phone almost dropping it. “In the panic I forgot the baby bag we packed though. Could you go to our house before… I wasn’t thinking.” You started to get upset at how poorly you felt you managed this unfolding. Tears forming in your eyes. Your breath getting lost somewhere in the car. It didn’t help that your contractions were getting rapidly more intense. “No…no, I haven’t heard from him. He hasn’t picked up.” You explained to her that you hadn’t been able to get in contact with Trent yet. Saying it out loud only heightened the emotions.

“He’ll be there hun. I’ll grab the bag and see you soon. Try to take a breath, it’s all going to be just fine. Tell Marce to relax as well.” She gave you a sympathetic laugh knowing Marcel was probably freaking out, which he was. You appreciated her calm demeanor. You arrived at the hospital still unable to reach Trent. You were sobbing. You couldn’t calm down until the nurses literally made you calm down with a sedative. Trent was out on the pitch whilst all this was happening unknowingly thinking you were happy at home watching him. He came in from warming up and sat down in the dressing room. He began to start preparing his match ready kit when he saw all the missed calls on his phone.

“Oh shit! Fuck!” He yelled, standing up from his locker room stall. He read the 100 messages you sent him all reminding him that you were going to have his baby and you’d like him to be there.

“Where you going mate?!” Andy yelled out as Trent ran out of the dressing room abruptly. He notified someone on the coaching staff and they cleared him to go. Trent was going to leave regardless of the consequences frankly.

“I'm having a baby.” He shouted frantically to Andy while messily throwing his things together and grabbing his bag sprinting faster than he ever had on any pitch before. Thank god the game was only about 2 hours away.

“He’s not here… I can’t believe hes not here. He’s going to miss this” you said, attempting to stifle more cries, squeezing Dianne’s hand in the hospital room for support. “Can you call him again?” You whimpered looking up at her distraught. All you could think of was Trent. You really appreciated Dianne being with you but you wished it was his hand who you were holding. Your contractions were starting to become stronger and closer together when Dianne heard the slaps of slides running down the hallway. A nurse guided Trent, still dressed in his full Liverpool warm ups, into the room towards you. You felt so nauseous but seeing Trent provided momentary comfort.

“Sorry, sorry. I’m here. I got you. You're gonna do great, baby. Hmm?” He cooed, pressing a kiss into your hair, wiping some off your face as the doctor explained what was going to happen to Trent.

“T… I’m so glad you’re here.” You whined as people in the room rushed around. It all felt like a foggy haze and a painfully slow one at that.

“I would never miss this.” He smiled at you, pressing his lips to you again. “I’m so proud of you, Y/N. I love you, baby. I’ll be here the whole time. You’re gonna do so well. You’re so strong, okay? I love you so so much.” he murmured interspersed with more kisses. Well… it was fucking horrible but your were as strong as you could be for your new little family, for your baby girl, for her daddy. When she arrived the world blurred. The only thing that existed in your life was the most beautiful baby girl you’d ever seen. You were almost oblivious to the rest of the process. One hour ago your lives changed forever when Teddy Marie Alexander-Arnold entered the world.

The pain from earlier slipped away leaving you in love with the brand new tiny human laying on your chest. It felt like a dream. She was far too perfect to be real. A little while later Trent watched as the nurses laid her tiny head on him. He whispered to her and started to cry a little looking at how small she was on his chest. Watching it his emotions unfold made you start crying. He laughed with a sniffle seeing you get worked up over it all so he leaned over and pressed his perfect pout your daughter had inherited to your lips with your little girl in between you two. It felt like your very first kiss. Only now, you were parents.

“I can’t believe how perfect she is.” You mumbled quietly watching Teddy have a big yawn back in your arms. You giggled at just how remarkably pretty she was.

“I can, she’s your daughter. Makes sense.” Trent cooed rubbing his nose against your cheek. He said that and you obviously knew she was, hell, you could definitely still feel that she was but she was a carbon copy of Trent. God, just the exact spitting image and you loved every bit of it. During your whole pregnancy you’d have conversations about who’s features you’d want her to have but secretly you wanted just this. She looked identical to him. She only existed for a little over an hour but you could see Trent clearly in her big brown eyes and perfect pout. Tiredly, your little girl looked up at you two, now awake, catching her every movement. It was then when you watched in real time Teddy wrap Trent around her tiny little chubby finger.

“Hell of an anniversary present, huh?” You teased Trent as his eyes filled with love hearts looking at his precious baby girl hold onto his one finger with her whole hand.

“She is the most perfect gift. You could ever give me, one that we created. Thank you so much for carrying our baby girl. Allowing me to do this with you. You’re amazing, baby. You’d think those words would’ve lost there meaning over the last couple hours from the amount of times I said them. I swear they’ve never lost an ounce of their weight, seriously. They have never been more true. I knew you were amazing from the moment I met you on 78th Street. God, you were like super glue on my brain. The second I looked into your eyes that beautiful stare never fucking left. Your strength and resilience never cease to amaze me, Y/N. I know you’re rolling your eyes but you really do inspire me. You inspire me to be a better man, a better person. Some days I'm just amazed you even manage to put up with me. You've amazed me throughout our entire relationship.” Trent ended his monologue with a kiss to your lips. He was going to keep talking until you cut him off.

“T… I can’t cry anymore, please.” You whine with a giggle. He needed to stop talking like that or you’d start bawling. “I love you, baby. We are so lucky we have you.” You looked down at your baby girl with a feeling you’d rarely experienced before. Confidence. You were confident. So sure in the fact that Trent would always take care of you two. “Thank you, T. Really, thank you for being the best source of strength for both of us. You’ve been perfect the whole time. I’ve always said this but your dedication is so incredible and you’ve been incredibly dedicated to building an amazing life for me and her. Thank you for being you. I couldn’t have done this without you. As much as you are my boyfriend, my life partner, my baby’s daddy, it made this all the more special that you’re also my best friend, T.” Trent’s lash line filled with tears. He rested his forehead on yours.

“She’s ours, baby. All mine and yours.” He cooed as you tilted your head up for kiss.

Tyler, Marcel, and Dianne sat in the waiting room ironically impatiently. A TV in the room of the hospital was on SkySports quietly buzzing on about the latest reports happening in the Premier League.

‘Trent Alexander-Arnold has been removed from Liverpool’s line up tonight.’

The TV muffled out the news. All three of them picked their heads up to see the report deducing what possibly could have caused the unforeseen change. They just laughed knowing what Trent was doing was beyond worth missing a match. A nurse came before the segment about Trent ended advising his family they could come and see you. Shortly after, you heard a timid knock on the door. Dianne appeared with Marcel peeking in. They were quiet as you sat beaming on the bed with Trent sitting on its edge both still admiring Teddy.

“Congratulations, my baby boy” Dianne came over and gave Trent a tight hug. “So proud of you. Congratulations, sweetie.” She leaned over and kissed your forehead and you smiled up at her. “Oh my goodness isn’t she just perfection. I feel like I’m having Deja vu. You look just like your daddy, don’t you?” She cooed in a soft voice as Teddy opened and closed her mouth and leaned her tiny head onto your chest more adjusting to the world. Marcel snuck up behind his mum and looked over her shoulder down at the little baby in your arms. He hummed like he was inspecting her and was satisfied.

“Congrats bro.” He turned to dap Trent up and gave him a hug. “She looks so much like you and yet somehow she’s perfect and pretty…” he joked, eliciting a slap on the arm from Trent. Tyler waited towards the door not wanting to crowd you, ever thoughtful. When a little space cleared as everyone settled in he came a little closer with a big bouquet.

“For TAA the 2nd’s mummy.” He tipped the flowers towards you to see them and you smiled as he placed the arrangement on a table beside you. He turned back to you with a more serious, sincere look on his face. “Y/N, I know we give you a hard time usually but jokes aside we’re so happy you’re a part of our family. We all knew Trent was punching” Tyler spoke softly until he was cut off.

“You said jokes aside?” Trent looked at Tyler confused at why he was catching strays. Tyler rolled his eyes and turned back to you.

“Anyways… we’re so glad you’re here. This little girl is so lucky to have you, really. I speak for all of us, we love you so much.” He squeezed your hand. It was hard that your immediate family wasn’t there for this but when it really came down to it, the Alexander-Arnolds were your family, wholeheartedly. Teddy was so lucky she was born into such a loving family. They always looked after you and you knew they would look after her probably even a little bit more.

“Marce, do you want to hold her?” You looked up at him and at first he looked terrified but then he mustered some courage and nodded. You patted the bed with one free hand telling him to sit next to you and so he did. He turned his head and looked at you closely. Tired but glowing.

“I’m really happy for you, Y/N. You mean a lot to me. If this little girl is even a fraction like you, she’ll be an amazing person.” He cooed and your eyes began to water. “Don’t…” he tried to stop you. You carefully handed him Teddy. “You’re never dating anyone, okay?” Marcel teased stroking her cheek with the back of his finger. Tyler and Trent conquered immediately without a second thought. You almost felt bad for anyone that was going to try to date your daughter in the very far away future. As he held her, Marcel fell in love with Teddy and in someway you felt like you could tell she was with him as well. She seemed to be a quiet baby which was fitting for you and Trent but you were only a few hours into her life, that could change.

You FaceTimed your parents and they cried on the phone. They had a flight to see you in a days time. They wanted to come sooner but your birth was unexpectedly expected. They tried their best to get to you and their granddaughter as fast as they could. You told them not to worry because you certainly weren’t letting go of her any time soon. For the foreseeable future she'd be right there in your arms.

You were definitely nervous to leave hospital. To bring your baby girl home and be alone was a pretty scary thing but one thing you were particularly excited for or at least to document was the ‘hot dad walk.’ You were tempted to share it on social media because you knew the girlies would have a field day seeing Trent carry Teddy out but you decided not to because these were just moments for you to share with him and cherish. Although, you definitely were appreciative of how good he looked walking out of the hospital carrying her.

When you walked into the house and opened the front door you saw the most adorable balloons and big teddy bear reading ‘welcome home Teddy girl’ you wanted to cry but you think you may had run out of tears by this point. The amount of flowers in your home was absurd as well. Every person you can imagine sent massive bouquets. Teammates, friends, family from all over. You felt so loved and you were so happy your daughter was coming into the world that way. Trent carried her inside adorably nestled in her seat asleep. She looked so cute in a little white onesie from Dior with pink patterned detailing and a matching hat. You hugged Trent in the foyer, resting your head on his shoulder.

“Welcome home, baby bear.” Trent cooed looking down at her. You smiled watching him admire her. You got settled in the living room needing to sit down asap. Trent’s family was coming over in a little to help out and see more of her but for now it was just the three of you. It had been a long almost 48 hours at this point so they needed to get home as well. Trent gently picked up your sleepy girl and carried her over to sit next to you. The little girl in his arms looked just like her dad, she didn’t even bother to try with your genes. She had his complexion, his eyes, everything and you loved it. Teddy snuggled into Trent finding comfort and warmth in her daddy’s arms the same way you did. Her little breaths hit against him and he’d pout every time she’d make a little noise, kissing her head.

“So… What do we do now?” You giggled, tipping your head back onto the back of the couch, rolling it to look at Trent. The house was quiet except for tiny hiccups from Teddy. Your life had completely changed in a matter of hours.

“I have no fucking idea.” Trent laughed back at you. “Mum and Dad now innit?” He looked down at his mini me still chuckling.

“T! You can’t swear anymore!” You pinched at him. He gave a ‘come on’ face. Teddy was not even a day old; it wasn't exactly like she was picking up or learning the words as you said them today.

“Should we show her her room?” You giggled overly excited you were finally home with your new little family. You were eager to have Teddy see the nursery you worked so hard on. It’s not like she could say thank you or anything, break down if she liked it or not but it was still cute. You wanted to show her everything you could, introduce her to the whole world. You carried her upstairs and opened the door to the nursery you had carefully put together for her. It was so calm and serene there. Cream walls and warm soft furniture. She had a whole wardrobe, books, toys, you just wanted to sit in there all day with her. Just admire her and watch her get acquainted with her new home. The embroidered Avalon blanket Trent had given you laid over a small couch. You couldn’t believe that Baby Alexander-Arnold sewn into the blanket was now here and had her own name. What you weren’t expecting though was the surprise left on her changing table; a big bouquet of Venus et Fleur flowers, two neatly wrapped gifts with white furry teddy bear holding a card in its lap.

“T…” you pouted at him. Obviously it was from him. He always managed to get things organized when you weren't paying attention, with help of course. He shrugged and took Teddy from you. You sat down on a chair in the room and began by opening the card.

‘To my most beautiful girls, You have my whole heart. Can’t wait to see what’s in store for our family. Love you both forever - Your T’

You started to cry. You thought you’d run out of tears but clearly not. He brushed his thumb under your eye catching the tears, pressing a kiss to your hair. You sniffled back more tears and held up the bear towards Teddy. She looked but didn’t exactly have the best attention span yet. She just stayed tucked to Trent happy in his arms, her little hand sprawled on him. It caused you to let out a small giggle before you mouthed a thank you to Trent. He just rocked back and forth with Teddy and gave you a sweet smile and a wink as you grabbed for the first box. Both were small but you went for the smallest first. Your jaw slacked a little opening it. It was an unbelievable diamond signet ring with the initial ‘T’. It was way too nice, extravagant almost. You’d have it forever but what you really loved was that it was the first thing you had that you imagined you could pass down for Teddy could to have one day.

You opened the remaining box to see a necklace with a gold and pale pink pendant. You held the charm with embedded letters in your palm. You looked at the word ‘mama’ inscribed on it. You couldn’t believe that that’s who you were now. Mama to Teddy Alexander-Arnold. You blinked your eyes to pull back some tears and took a deep breath. You flicked your eyes up to Trent and Teddy, the two most important people in your life, for the rest of your life before standing up.

“So what do you think of your room, baby girl, huh?” You cooed coming to stroke her back. Trent turned her to show her all the things in her room. You smiled at them as he picked up items and explained them to her. She just looked on while he held up little items going through one by one asking what she thought. In a bittersweet way you felt as if you had been replaced. His eyes only on her. Teddy just babbled along with a squeal and a squeak.

“Didn’t mummy do a good job for you?” He said hushed in the same tone as you, kissing her cheek. Then Trent sat back down on the couch in her room. He patted the seat next to him. “My girls. Hmm?” He looked up at you with the most loving smile. Okay, maybe you hadn’t been replaced maybe he had just made room to love both of you.

“So did they win yesterday?” You cooed, coming to sit next to him. You kissed Teddy and cuddled up to them both.

“You mean we” Trent quipped and you rolled your eyes at him. “Yeah, baby, we did.” He laughed a little “but I honestly have no idea what happened. I know Dom got a goal but I will find out more when I go into AXA.” He didn’t pick his head up to look at you when he spoke, his gaze was completely fixed on Teddy. You wiped a little bubble of drool from the corner of her mouth that you thought was adorable. Everything she did was adorable.

Unfortunately, Trent had to get back to regularly scheduled programming; to work. It was torture for Trent to have to leave you and her to go into training but he managed demanding you sent him updates hourly. Teddy didn’t really do all that much though so the updates wouldn’t be that interesting to anyone else. That said, to you and Trent though every little thing was equally exciting as it was endearing. Dianne was coming over soon to be with you for support while he was out. Trent definitely hadn’t really felt great about you being home alone since the hospital despite your reassurance. Before she came, you sat in the living room of your beautiful home with your daughter and it all just felt surreal for the moment. When did all this happen? You thought to yourself. Sometimes you couldn’t believe a silly conversation you had on a street corner spiraled into all this, into a baby. A complete whirlwind. You had Teddy in a little Moses basket while you leaned around you to pluck out all the notes from the flowers and gifts you had received to write out thank you cards. The stack was thick It was going to be a long process but it had to be done. You genuinely appreciated all of them. After your hand got tired from writing and you took some time to feed Teddy you looked at her little face and decided you wanted someone else to see just how cute she was so you called Lauren. You had FaceTimed her in the hospital after she was first born but Lauren wanted to see as much of Teddy as possible until she could meet in person.

“Hellooo” you whispered fairly quietly, still burping your baby girl on your shoulder. When Lauren answered she had her phone laying on the sink counter of her bathroom facing the ceiling while she did her makeup. You smiled when her face finally came on the screen as she picked up her phone.

“Hiii mummmy. Who is that gorgeous girll!?” She managed to keep her squeal almost as quiet as your voice.

“Say Hi Ted.” You moved the phone for Lauren to see her face that was leaned on your shoulder. Teddy opened her mouth with the idea moving towards the phone with a tiny grunt. “No, no, no, baby girl.” You giggled pulling it away from her. You and Lauren caught up on her life. Even though it had only been a little over a full day of life with Teddy it was important to you not to make everything about your baby. You wanted to listen to Lauren. Things happening in her life were just as significant. So you yapped away often interspersed with Teddy adding in some gurgles.

“Oh! You know who wanted to congratulate you?” She started to laugh. It peaked your interest. Most people you really knew or cared about had already reached out directly. “I saw Chase at a bar. Well I was out and it came up. You had her and he said congratulations.” She laughed rolling her eyes, understanding how insane it was for the man to even talk to her about you.

“Ew! Lauren… Don’t ever say that name in front of my baby again. I decline that congratulations. Absolutely not.” You laughed but it definitely put a bad taste in your mouth. “Oh Di’s here I have to go…” you told Lauren and ended your call knowing you’d likely call her again tomorrow. Like changing of the guards, a few hours later Dianne was gone and Trent was coming home. When he came back from training you walked towards the front door with Teddy to greet him. She didn’t know it yet but she would be excited to see him.

“My baby bear!” Trent cooed. A massive childish grin pulled across his face. His eyes glimmered the second he saw her and her eyes lit up just the same. “You’re so beautiful, aren’t you? Did you have a good 2nd day in the world with mummy and nana?” He carefully pulled her out from your arms and into his. He kissed her all over, swaying back and forth continuously rattling away to her about his own day like she understood everything he was saying.

“Just take a nap baby” Trent cooed, pulling you further back into him. You had retreated to your bedroom exhausted. You laid back on your bed tucked in Trent’s arms with Teddy on your chest, all three of you completely spent from the last 72 hours.

“T, I don’t want to be away from her.” You turned your head back to Trent, resting your chin on your shoulder. You were serious. You really didn’t want to spend a second apart from Teddy but you were totally drained.

“Just close your eyes for a little, baby, okay? I’ll sit right here with her next to you. We’re right here.” He stroked his hand up your arm. You sat up and handed Teddy to him gently before rolling over to his side settling into the bedding that had never felt more comfortable. “I’ll keep my hand on you. You’ll know she’s here with me.” You nodded and eventually dozed off taking a much needed nap. An hour or so later your eyes began to flutter open in the warm dwindling evening light. You peeked one eye open to see trent holding Teddy in his arms with his phone camera facing them

“Whose that? Is that Teddy and daddy? What do you think, Ted? Think you look like daddy?” He cooed, nuzzling his nose against her cheek. Her eyes lit up looking at him through the phone. “I’m gonna take care of you and mummy forever. Yeah?” He squeezed her gently. She cooed making vowel sounds. You reached out and placed your hand onto Trent’s warm skin.

“Think she looks like you, hmm?” You giggled squeezing his thigh then moving over in the bed to lean your head into the nook of the inside of Trent’s elbow. You looked at your little girl gazing back at you making an identical face to his.

“Well… yeah. Don’t you?” He looked at you and gently turned Teddy’s head towards you and squished his cheek to hers for a comparison. “C’mon, baby. She’s my little twin.” Trent was very proud of his creation. You laughed at him, obviously you were kidding. Their similarities were very very evident. You grabbed Trent’s phone from him to take a photo of them.

“Can you smile for me, my little Teddy bear?” You pinched her chubby cheek and she did what would be considered the best attempt at a smile for a newborn baby.

“Yeah, like be so real right now… she’s perfect.” Trent took his phone back and inspected the photos with a big grin. “Gotta send this one to Jude. I’ve been trying to explain how much she looks like me.” Trent had been sending pictures of your little girl to all his friends who hadn’t met her in person yet. Jude in particular was having a field day getting updates. He was claiming he was the favorite uncle already despite it being a day, despite him not actually being related, despite him being in another country, he was still sure he was the favorite uncle.

You tucked into bed for an attempt at actual sleep. You had coaxed Teddy into her own sleep but you weren’t really she even understood the concept of night time yet. You were mentally preparing to be living by her schedule for the foreseeable future. Teddy was really mellow and slept a lot of the day, would wake to feed and then doze off again. It was definitely adorable but it was definitely equally as difficult. You had made a plan for her to be in the nursery. That was the plan but she got up frequently through the night; hungry. She was very hungry and you were very tired everytime it was your turn to walk over to her room. In the moment of rare down time you cuddled into bed with Trent laying on your side. He wrapped you in his arms whispering behind your ear how much he loved you. How much he cared about you. How proud he was of you. The way his warm minty breath hit the back of your ear had you feeling a way you had almost forgotten you could in the last 48 hours. You pushed your ass back into hin. His breath hitched and moved his lips down to nibble on your neck, sucking sweetly on your sensitive skin. You almost let out a pathetic moan just from being in his embrace and the feeling of his lips. It felt so good to be back alone with him under his touch. It was all so familiar and yet entirely different now that there was a third person in the house. You could feel Trent starting to get hard behind you. His semi hard cock tucked in his boxers brushing up against you.

“Thissss.” He laughed a little, the air from his breaths hitting your skin. “Yeah, this right here is going to be difficult. I didn’t plan on the time I’d have to be away from mummy.” He joked before he rolled over onto his back dramatically with a laugh. You rolled over onto yours and turned your head to look at him.

“Oh poor T…” you teased him. He was complaining about not getting to have sex meanwhile you were enduring all the joyous symptomatic effects post birth. He rubbed his hands over his face and puffed out some air. “You did this to yourself, you were the one ‘oh let me cum inside yada yada… now look.” You gestured to the less than sexy pajamas you were in.

“Hey… you’re still very very hot baby by the way so don’t gimme that. Also, I enjoyed each and every time I did that. I’m not complaining. I’ll do it again.” He gave you a pompous smile. He was proud of himself having sex with you, getting you pregnant, having a baby, becoming a dad. As he should be but right now your body could care less about his pride.

“Again!??? T! You need to stay at least a yard away from me for a bit.” You laughed at him, shimmying over in bed to distance yourselves.

“You’ll come crawling back to me… I know you, baby. You have never been very good at ignoring me.” He teased squeezing at your arm, leaning over and pressing a wet kiss onto your cheek with a ‘mwah’ sound, “You love me, can’t get enough” he laughed as you dramatically wiped your hand over your cheek pretending to be grossed out but the film of saliva it left. You always secretly like it when he did that. “Oh T! Mmm that feels so good. Let me make you a daddy.” He mocked your voice and accent. “Jokes on you, baby, innit. I took you up on the offer.” He teased you back. You rolled your eyes at his bad impersonation before you kissed his bare shoulder. You leaned away from his theatrics to check the baby monitor. You and Trent made a little game-plan for who would be ‘on duty’ during certain hours of the night. Just knowing he’d be with you was doing wonders for your nerves. You survived your first night with Teddy outside hospital at home. Barely, maybe… at least the best you could. After that your days and nights just blended together into one big chunk of feeding, snuggling, napping and changing. And even as difficult as it was every time she looked up at you, clinging to you, it made it all worth it.

It was hard to get ready with a baby. Thankfully, Trent was home that morning, he had the whole day off so he rocked Teddy, standing in your wardrobe watching on while you haphazardly pulled on Hill House Nap dress. It would have to do for now. You weren’t exactly fit to turn out a look at the minute. You came to grab Teddy to feed her before both your families arrived and sent Trent down to talk to the chef about the meal.

You hadn’t really had a moment to think so thankfully you were able to give blanket ideas of what you wanted for a lunch you were having for everyone to get together to your party planner. The plan was to have close family and friends over to meet Teddy. Frankly, you’d usually manage something like this on your own but you couldn’t be asked. To be fair, your planner went above and beyond for this. It was elaborate. You walked into your back garden with Teddy clinging to your chest to scope it all out. It was so beautiful and whimsical, lots of browns and tan colors. Pampas grass arrangements on the table paired with little bears and lots of balloons. You thanked her and she and her team got out of the way before the first person arrived. No one else but good old George. Trent answered the front door and gave him a big hug.

���Mateeeee, congratulations! Where is she?” George asked, walking through the entryway eager to meet what he said was going to be ‘an upgrade for a new best friend.’

“Thanks, bro. They’re both outside.” Trent gripped his shoulder bringing him in the house. George handed him a present. “You didn’t have to bring anything, honestly George.” Trent laughed.

“My mum told me I had to. She’s coming a little later with dad:” George shrugged. Trent grew up going to primary school with George before he moved schools for football. His whole family stayed close with George’s, their respective brother’s ages aligning closely. The relationship was probably one of the reasons he was able to stay so grounded. It was normal as if at 17 he was just in school not gunning for a spot in the first eleven. The boys walked into the kitchen where you had gone after checking out outside. “Wow… Trentski 2.0 hmm?” George lowered his voice a little walking towards you. You hummed. He gave you a hug and asked if you were doing okay before focusing on your new baby. The three of you caught up chatting while Teddy contributed very valuable ‘puh’ and ‘bah’ noises smacking her lips together trying to nom on Trent’s face as he held her before more people started to arrive. It was mostly just Trent’s family, until finally, your own. Your dad knocked on the door and judging from who was already inside you knew it had to be them. So you cheerily walked to the door holding your baby.

“Want to meet my mummy and daddy? Meet auntie Winnie? What do you think, my little teddy bear?” You cooed, smushing a kiss on her soft skin. You opened the door with one hand. Your parents' faces dropped into silent gasps.

“Oh my goodness, look at her.” Your mum sang coming to hug you. You wrapped your free arm around her and picked your head up to see your dad. His face had transitioned into a proud beaming smile seeing you hold your baby.

“We are so excited to meet you.” Your dad cooed, stroking his hand over her, kissing you on the forehead. “Teddy girl, you are already very very loved.” He was right. It was so special to have all your family and friends here that could make it to meet her.

“She’s absolutely perfect.” Winnie pouted looking at you holding her.

“Well come in! I think you know everyone here… if you don’t I’ll introduce you.” You babbled walking further into your house towards the back garden signaling your family to follow. Your parents and Winnie brought an unnecessary amount of gifts for you. So you asked your sister to just put them upstairs for now, thanking them preemptively. Trent got up from his conversation with his brothers and welcomed your family with big hugs. Everyone mingled. George talked with you and Winnie as he watched Trent hold your daughter.

“She is literally Trent… it’s mad.” He spoke looking at you for confirmation. You nodded with a smile.

“The funny thing is, I really thought I was there too.” You joked and George rolled his eyes at you. As much as you loved that they looked so similar there was a part of you that was a tinge jealous of Trent that when you looked at Teddy, you knew she was his daughter. You had to think about it a little harder to find your features in her. You sat and ate a lovely lunch. You had an avocado toastie with burrata and tomatoes. You got about half way through it before you were full. You weren’t really that hungry though so for the remainder you just held Teddy as people tried to grab her attention, taking a million photos. It was all perfect, the weather, the people, the memories you were making. When everyone had finished lunch a lot of them left and got on their way but Tyler and George decided to hang around for a bit. You stayed outside with your mum, Winnie, and Dianne. Your dad taking a nap jet lagged. Dianne and your mum ranted on and on about new born babies; things to do and not to do, how perfect they are, how difficult they can be, what your body is like after birth. Winnie shivered at the latter.

“I think I need a drink. That was a lot to hear.” She laughed, shaking her head trying to get the images that were just explained and unfortunately burned into her memory to disappear. The boys were all inside Tyler holding Teddy as they all watched a footie match in the cinema.

“So the plan’s back in motion now, yeah? You had her.” Tyler spoke, turning his body to Trent and then gesturing to Teddy. “All good to go? What do you think, Ted?” He asked Trent and the little baby in his arms. Teddy just spittled a little. “Erm… not the answer I was looking for but I’ll take it as a yes.” Tyler laughed before Trent came to pick Teddy up with an unnecessary grunt from how ‘heavy’ she was from Tyler’s arms and brought her to sit with him. Cleaning up around her pouty lips.

“You’ve had it for about a year now, mate. Maybe she should hold onto it. You know, on her finger… it serves no purpose in a safe.” George quipped at Trent with a smug face and a raised eyebrow. Trent nodded and shrugged coyly. You had given Trent a beautiful baby girl. If that wasn’t love, Trent wasn’t sure what was… but that wasn’t all he wanted, all he needed. He needed to give you everything in return and that included his last name. He wanted to be a family. One unit. Trent, Teddy and Y/N Alexander- Arnold.

•

Thank you for reading! Please like, comment, or message what you think of the chapter … 🤍

Next part - Chapter 7 xx

[writingforstraykids]

Addicted to you - Chp. 7

Pairing: Minchan (mention of changlix | ot8)

Word Count: 7348

Summary: Another two months later, things seem to stabilize again, and Minho is happier than ever with Chan despite his injury slowing him down. Everything seems to be perfect until their friends confront Chan about a possible relationship, and Chan's fear of being out in the open gets the better of him. He notices too late that Minho's right there, hearing everything...

Warnings/Tags: fluff, cuddles, smut , dom!chan, sub!minho, angst, verbal fight (also minho slaps chan)

A/N: Uhm...I'm sorry, it gets sad/heavy in the end @mal-lunar-28😅😂 ~ Moon🌙

Chp. 6 | Chp. 8

Just about the time I get it right Everything's in line, I get anxious If it feels too good to be true Then it probably is, I love it but I hate it Self Sabotage ~ Ruelle

Chan hadn't been lying about needing to let off some steam. Minho was slyly teasing him in front of the others, hands wandering over his body when no one was looking. In turn, Minho found himself getting fucked stupid in the most inappropriate settings, and he was secretly starting to love it. Backstage between performances in some desolate room or Chan's studio when Jisung and Changbin were away to get snacks. One night, they found themselves alone in the house and Minho was being a tease to no end. Chan, who had enough of his antics, bent him over the kitchen counter, ravishing Minho and interrupting him making dinner. On another early morning occasion, Chan sucked him off in their shared showers, and Minho could do nothing but contain his moans and hope no one would hear them, or worse, come inside. 

Just like that, another two months passed, and Minho started getting excited about their first year together. Chan’s mood was slowly stabilizing and things were improving between the two. They still hadn't defined what they were exactly, but it felt a lot like he had a boyfriend, which was alright with him. 

Minho was in his room scrolling through his social media platforms for cute ideas on how to make their "anniversary" special and perfect. He gently rubbed his knee and contorted his face at the stinging pain. About a week ago during practice, he messed up the landing after a jump and hurt his knee. The doctors advised him to take it easy and go on walks to keep up with movement but to refrain from dancing for a couple days. It pissed him off, but he knew he'd make it worse by not listening to them. So Chan had accompanied him on his walks and ensured he wasn't overdoing it. Someone knocked at his door, and only a moment later, his favorite curly-haired boy glanced inside. "Hi there," he smiled brightly, quickly turning off his phone to give his full, undivided attention. 

Chan smiled and came over, leaning down for a quick kiss. "You think you can show me those steps again before the children join us?" 

"Sure thing, love," he told him and took his hand, walking downstairs with him. "You look really cute today," he said softly. Chan was wearing a light blue sweater and black sweatpants combined with a beanie of his, a few curls sticking out from beneath it. 

"Thank you, baby," he smiled shyly and squeezed his hand thankfully. 

Minho looked at him fondly, checked their surroundings, and gave him a quick kiss. He looked over him once more and let a passing smirk grace his lips. “Am I right to think you are looking for cuddles?” He squinted his eyes playfully at the man.

“What gave it away?” Chan asked, giggling softly.

“My sweater,” Minho chuckled knowingly and brushed his hand over Chan’s shoulder. “You usually wear my clothes when you do.”

Chan laughed softly, heart melting at how well Minho knew him. It was true; he usually wore something that belonged to Minho when he felt lonely and in need of comfort. This way, he had him wherever he went. “Stop being so sweet to me,” he said softly. 

“Stop having such a beautiful smile,” Minho said, winking at him as Chan blushed deeply, hiding his face slightly to cover a small smile. “See, you can’t change that either. Deal with it, Channie love.” He teased the man with a chuckle.

Once they got to the practice room, Minho turned on the music quietly and stepped next to Chan, taking his hand once more. He talked him through the steps again before demonstrating to him. Chan followed his directions and danced along, still holding hands. As soon as they were done, Chan pulled him into a warm embrace, making Minho giggle happily as their noses brushed together. “Can I take you out for dinner tomorrow?”

Minho’s smile widened. “Just you and me?”

“Just us,” he nodded, and his heart warmed seeing how excited Minho looked at the confirmation.

“Is this a date, Channie love?” he asked softly.

“You could call it that,” he nodded with a sweet smile. “I have something to give you,” he said, thinking of the small silver ring safely stored away in his room. He was ready to take things a step further and finally put a label on their relationship.

“Oh, really?” he asked curiously and searched his eyes. God, his lips were begging Minho to kiss him right then and here.

"Look at our hyungs flirting again!" Jeongin shouted out, and Minho flinched away from Chan, surprised. From the corner of his eye, he sees the others begin to pile into the room.

"You're just jealous," Chan grinned at him, still holding his hand. 

Minho looked down at their hands and bit back a smile. "Alright let's get ready, everyone." 

"You better take it easy," Chan warned him. 

"I know," he sighed softly and mostly supervised his friends for the rest of the afternoon. Boring. 

-

Minho later found himself sitting at his desk in his room, listening to a few new songs and humming along softly. He wrote down a few ideas for the dances and scribbled down some formations and group placements. 

"Minho hyung?" He heard a voice softly call out his name.

"Yes?" he asked, looking up at Jisung, who was glancing inside his room from the doorway. 

"Can I have the keys to the practice room? Hyunjin locked us out again," he chuckled. 

Minho opened the drawer on his left and took out the keys. "Unlock the door and bring them right back before the same thing happens again," he said, tossing him the keys. Jisung nodded and left, leaving the door cracked open. Minho went back to focusing on the songs. 

"Min?" Felix called out to him not even five minutes later. 

"Yes, Lixie?" he asked, putting down his pen and looking up at the man. 

"I just wanted to ask if you're still up for working on new stuff tomorrow?" 

"Yeah, sure thing," he nodded and flashed him a smile as he gave him a thumbs up. 

"Nice," he beamed.

“I mean, we could just work on it later today if you’d like,” Minho suggested. But his expression dropped a little as Felix contorted his face from his words. “Or not?”

“Changbinnie’s coming back from his trip today. I wanted to try and spend some time with him before the others come for him,” he apologized gently. 

“Ohh, right,” Minho chuckled and waved him off. “That’s fine. Make sure you get some cuddles for me too,” he winked at him, and Felix giggled before leaving again, still leaving the door cracked open. "I should've closed the door," he groaned to himself and glanced over, deciding he was too lazy to do so and leaving it open. Hopefully, he can continue working in pea- 

"Hyung?" Jeongin's voice interrupted his thoughts once more. Or maybe not…

Minho closed his eyes in defeat, forcing a bright smile on his lips for their maknae before looking up at him. "Yes, dear?" 

"I feel like I didn't get all the steps today and I'm nervous I'll mess them up," he confessed, genuine worry in his tone as he spoke. 

"Innie, I promise you'll be fine. I think you did a great job today and it's only going to get better," he told him patiently. "We can go through them again together tomorrow, okay?" 

"Okay," he beamed at him, relieved. He gave Minho a smile and left, with the door still open.

He continued working, and three minutes later, someone knocked gently. "Oh, for fucks sake, can't I work in peace for like ten minutes?" he groaned. Once he looked up, he met Chan's amused chocolate eyes. "Ah, it's you." 

"Wow, not the exact greeting I was hoping for," he giggled and strolled over to his lover. "What are you doing?" 

"Trying to work," he told him. "Obviously," he pointed at his desk. 

"Want to take a break?" Chan asked. 

"Not really, no," Minho shook his head. "My brain's producing good stuff right now." 

"Mhm," he hummed and glanced around his room. "Can I stay?" 

"Sure, just be quiet," he nodded and vaguely waved towards his bed. Chan hummed, agreeing, but sat down at the edge of his desk instead. That alone meant trouble, and Minho wanted to stay focused. "Channie," he tried patiently. 

"What?" he asked innocently. 

"I'm working," he said, glancing up at him. 

"I know, you just told me so," Chan nodded in agreement and blinked at him innocently. "Am I distracting you?" 

"Only a little," he said and squinted his eyes at him. Chan’s gaze didn’t waver one bit, instead locking in on Minho’s harder. And he knew exactly what that meant. "You're horny right now, aren’t you?," he asked suddenly, but he could tell the shift in his lover’s eyes once he looked in them. 

"What? No…Well, maybe a little," he shrugged sheepishly. "You know it's not fair that you're so effortlessly handsome," he complained. 

"It's not fair you're ready to have sex all the time either. Deal with it," he spoke as a warning. "Go look behind my sweaters. There's some stuff you could use to pass the time." 

Chan rolled his eyes and leaned forward, bracing himself on the armrests of his chair. "Baby." 

"Love?" he asked, slightly irritated. 

"I won't settle for anything other than you, you hear me?" he asked, and Minho's ears quickly burned blush pink. 

"But I'm working on our songs, love," he whined softly, a bit frustrated. But he couldn’t stop himself from shifting in his seat as Chan’s words went straight to his core, making him feel fuzzy and hot.

"Min-." 

"What the fuck are you doing?" Jisung asked, suddenly standing in the doorway again and interrupting the two. 

"He's trying to bully me into cuddling with him when I'm supposed to be working," Minho smoothly answered and shoved Chan back to create a little distance. "What the fuck are you doing? Again?" he said back. 

"Keys," he said, holding them up proudly. 

"Oh, right," he nodded and took them. He placed them back in the drawer. "Close the door on the way out." 

"Why, need some privacy for cuddles?" he asked teasingly, wiggling his eyebrows at the two. 

"Get out right now," Minho jokingly threatened him. Jisung left giggling and closed the door. 

Minho turned his attention back to the man sitting on his desk. "Chan, what's up with you?" 

"Nothing." 

"Don't lie, you suck at it," he giggled. 

Chan sighed softly and hid his face in his hands. “Don’t make me say it, it's so embarrassing." 

"What is?" he asked, frowning softly. Was there a need to be concerned?

Chan whined and spoke in a single breath. "Ireallylikewhenyougointofullleadermodeduringdancepractice," he mumbled out. 

"You what?" Minho asked, blinking softly. 

"I really like when you go into full leader mode during dance practice," he confessed and chewed on his lower lip. “Its really hot seeing you take charge,”

"Oh, you do?" he asked with a hint of fake curiosity, remembering Felix had mentioned this before. Chan nodded and covered his cheeks, blushing in slight embarrassment. "How much, Mr. I'm always in control?" he asked, intrigued to know the answer. He kept his eyes locked onto his to see his next move

“Way too much,” he confessed shyly and dropped to his knees in front of his chair. Minho raised his eyebrows at him as Chan rested his chin on his knees, gazing up at him with soft, pleading eyes. 

“Stop looking at me like that, love. You’re gonna make me hard,” he told him with a chuckle, brushing Chan’s curls back. Gosh, this man looked good with his natural curly hair and bare face. He loved the sight of Chan on his knees, practically begging for attention. The fact that he was wearing his sweater didn’t help either.

“Why don’t you continue working, and I’ll take care of it?” Chan proposed, a grin stretching his lips once Minho gave in, knowing he’d lose out on any chance of working later if he wouldn’t let him have his way now.

Minho really tried to focus on his work, he did. But with Chan beneath the table, pulling down his sweatpants enough to pull his dick out, it was a little challenging. Chan didn’t waste any time, licking up his shaft and twirling his tongue around the tip. His eyes fluttered close as Chan started taking him into his mouth, giving himself time to adjust to him and take him in deeper. Minho’s lips parted with a gasp as Chan took him in deeper, tongue massaging his dick perfectly. “Feels so good, Channie,” he let him know, panting as he felt the warm, wetness of his mouth close around him. Once Chan had gotten comfortable enough, he started bobbing his head in a steady rhythm, and Minho’s hand shot down to bury itself in his hair. “Fuck,” he sighed and dropped his pen on the desk, giving up on his work. This was so much better. He adjusted in his seat a bit more comfortably.

Chan suddenly pulled back and looked up at him with dilated pupils. He massaged his thighs, smiling up at him lovingly. “Fuck, you sound beautiful,” he told him, and Minho blushed. “You think you can keep quiet while I touch you some more, kitten?” he asked, and Minho nodded quickly, immediately melting at the pet name. Chan’s thumb brushed Minho’s lips before pushing two fingers into his mouth. Minho moaned softly and sucked at them eagerly, covering them in his spit as Chan kept on rubbing his thigh teasingly. Chan proceeded to pull Minho’s sweatpants down further and, grabbing his thighs, pulled him forward in his chair. 

Minho cursed softly as Chan took him back into his mouth and started pushing one finger into him at the same time. He gripped his curls tightly and shivered at the groan that left Chan’s throat at his action. Minho melted into his chair and relaxed fully into the feeling of Chan opening him up. Not too much time passed before Chan was buried four fingers deep into his lover. He had his legs resting on his shoulders, one hand gripping the armrest and the other one guiding Chan’s head up and down his length. Minho’s head fell back with a whiny moan as he hit the back of his throat, and he couldn’t help but moan Chan’s name loudly. 

Chan gently squeezed his thigh, signaling him to be quiet, and moaned around his dick deliciously. He was enjoying the pull on his hair and the strangled sounds he pulled from him. Chan tried to pull back, but Minho held him in place and shook his head. “Don’t stop, Channie,” he told him breathlessly. “Please don’t stop.”

Chan still pulled back and got up, lifting Minho up from the chair. He sat down in the chair with him on his lap and kissed him hungrily. “I tried my best,” he told him, and Minho giggled sweetly. “But you’re driving me crazy.”

“As usual,” Minho chuckled and kissed him hard as he reached down between them, pulling Chan’s dick from his pants. “Lube,” he told him, and Chan reached into his drawer to take the small bottle out. 

“You keep that right next to the keys to the dance room?” he laughed. 

“I have no secrets,” he shrugged with a chuckle, and took the bottle from him, flicking the cap open. Minho shifted a little, adjusting his weight on his lower body, but contorted his face at the sharp pain shooting through his knee. Chan noticed from the corner of his eye and lifted him up again, standing up with him in his arms. He pushed Minho’s notes aside and sat him down at the edge of the table. Minho looked at him and lovingly caressed his cheek as he captured his lips in a kiss. He had never felt as safe and cared for as when he’s with Chan. It was perfect. Minho grabbed a condom from the drawer and rolled it over Chan’s dick.

“Just try to relax, okay?” he mumbled into the kiss after spreading some lube over his dick. Minho hummed softly and took a couple deep breaths. Chan started pushing into him slowly. 

Once he was fully buried inside him, Minho wrapped his legs loosely around Chan’s waist. Chan grabbed his thigh, making sure to steady his injured leg, and braced himself on the table behind Minho. Minho wrapped one arm around his neck, burying his hand in his curls, and braced himself right next to him, fingertips touching. Minho moaned sweetly as soon as he started moving and kissed him passionately, trying to stifle his moans. 

It didn’t help much since Chan also started moaning at the feeling of being inside him. They moved in sync, moaning into each other’s mouths, chasing the other’s lips. Minho arched into him and moved his hand up to grip his sweater right between his shoulders. Minho pulled up the fabric between his fingers, his head falling back as Chan kissed down his neck. He pulled at his curls, making him moan against his skin, and smiled blissfully at the feeling. 

“Fuck, kitten,” Chan whispered against his skin and thrust into him deep. 

Minho stopped caring about his volume; he was already too far gone. He held Chan close as their bodies melted together in pure bliss. The two men pressed their foreheads together. Their breaths mingled as their noses brushed against each other, hair sticking to their flesh. “Channie,” he whispered sweetly in his ear.

“Min, baby,” Chan whispered back softly. He still couldn’t believe he gets to see Minho so vulnerable and open for him. He was a different kind of pretty in moments like these. It was addicting. The two were so focused on each other that they didn’t hear the small tapping on the door, followed by it opening slowly.

“Minho, do you have a moment?” Felix asked while walking in, but his eyes widened at the sight in front of him. 

“Bad moment, Lixie,” Minho breathed out, not even giving a fuck about him catching them in the act. Chan felt too damn good inside of him right now, and Felix had seen him naked before. His head fell back with a loud moan as Chan’s dick finally tapped his prostate with a particular thrust, and he gripped the sweater tightly.

“Oh fuck, sorry! “ he rambled and quickly covered his ears, closing his eyes and stumbling back outside. Felix blushed heavily as he closed the door and covered his face in his hands. 

“I should really learn how to knock,” he groaned at himself and stood still in the hallway for a moment, trying to push away the vivid images. He didn’t fully succeed, almost feeling a little jealous at how in sync and in love those two had just seemed in that moment. The way they solely focused on each other’s pleasure. Just like earlier at the practice room before the rest had joined them…and even during practice. These two just fit together perfectly. Sometimes, he longed for Binnie to look at him like that and hold him close like that without him initiating it. He shook his head at himself, pushing those thoughts away. He was happy, after all. He sighed once more and went to his room.

“Will you ever learn to -ohh fuck- lock the door?” Minho breathed out between moans.

“Has he ever heard of knocking?” Chan asked breathlessly.

“He never does,” Minho giggled, and his eyes fluttered close with a soft whimper. “Channie, I’m so close.”

Chan was about to answer before his hips suddenly stilled, and he came with a groan of his name. He bit down on Minho’s shoulder to stifle his sounds, and Minho came on the spot, spilling all over his sweater. They spent a little bit in each other’s arms, catching their breath. Once ready, Chan pulled out of him gently, took the condom off, and threw it into the bin beneath the desk. He tucked himself back into his pants before taking the sweater off and using it to clean Minho up. “Sorry,” he laughed and kissed him gently.

Minho giggled against his lips and let Chan help him out of his own sweater. Chan got some fresh clothes from his drawers and helped him get dressed. Minho’s hands gently roamed Chan’s bare chest as he kissed him afterwards. He pulled Chan with him to his closet and looked through his things. While they find time to meet for sex, Minho always takes Chan’s dirty clothes and washes them, keeping them safe in his room for times such as these. His fingertips brushed over the small box hidden behind his shirts, and he smiled, thinking of the bracelet he had bought for Chan as a surprise resting there for now. “There you go,” he smiled and handed him a shirt.

“This is mine?” he giggled, raising his eyebrow at his lover.

“I know,” he grinned.

“You’ve been stealing my clothes?” he asked, amused, and pulled the shirt over his head. 

“Maybe,” he said innocently and closed the closet again. “They smell like you, you know. It’s comforting.”

Chan’s face softened, and he took his hands. “You’re so adorable, kitten.” Minho hummed, satisfied, and Chan kissed his nose. “Kissing you all those months ago has been the best decision I’ve made in a while.”

Minho blushed a little and pulled him close. “Allowing you to do so has definitely been one of my brightest moments,” he nodded giggling. “I don’t regret it at all”.

Chan smiled sweetly, but then suddenly started laughing. The memory of Felix walking into the room still very fresh. "How could you be so unbothered by Felix walking in on us?" 

"You're pretty amazing at what you do. I wasn't really thinking about it," he shrugged his shoulders, making Chan laugh even more. "But still, Felix has seen all of me. It isn’t really a shock anymore." 

"Mhm, fair point. It's not like he hasn't caught me before as well. It's always Felix, isn't it?" he groaned softly. 

"Felix knows and has seen too much," he nodded. "I’d better go look for him and ask what he wants." 

"Leaving me already?" he pouted, not wanting to let Minho go just yet. 

"Come on, you big baby," he giggled, pulling him with him. Minho went down the hallway, knocking on Felix's door. "Sorry, Lix, toddler alert," he joked as they stepped into his space. But his face fell seeing him sitting against his headboard, hugging a pillow as tears ran down his cheeks. "Yongbokie, what's wrong?" he asked worriedly, climbing onto his bed. "We didn't traumatize you, did we?" he joked. 

Felix laughed through tears and rolled his eyes. "Of course not," he groaned. "Sorry for interrupting. I should've knocked." 

"Forget about that," Chan said, sitting down on Felix's other side. "What's wrong, mate?" 

"Nothing, I'm just being stupid," he told them, sniffing softly. 

"That happens sometimes," Minho winked at him and gently squeezed Felix's hand. "But this isn’t one of those times. Come on, sunshine, what's going on?" 

"I just really missed Changbinnie these past two weeks," he told them and sniffled softly. Changbin had been back at home before being abroad for a few promotional things and advertisements. "I really hoped we could cuddle or spend time together when he comes back, but he told me he just wants to unpack and take a nap afterward. And I…I don't know. I'm feeling lonely and touch starved, but Jisung and Hyunjin are busy practicing, and Seungmin and Jeongin are already off cuddling each other somewhere." 

Chan hummed gently and wrapped his arm around him, rubbing his shoulder. "And that upset you?" 

Felix nodded, and Minho searched his eyes. "I'm sure Changbin didn't mean to upset you. We all know how tired and grumpy he gets after a flight," he calmed him. 

"I know. As I said, I'm being stupid," he sighed and messily wiped his cheeks with his sleeve. 

Minho handed him a tissue and shook his head. "You're not being stupid, Lixie." 

Chan gently ruffled through his hair. "You know you can come to us for a cuddle whenever you need it." 

"He probably wanted to," Minho pointed out, and they all started laughing. "Are you still feeling lonely and touch-starved?" 

Felix nodded timidly at him. Minho felt the tug at his heartstrings, looking at his big, teary eyes. 

"You know what? I'll share Channie with you today," he offered, making his hyung snort. "Cuddles only, of course." 

"Min," Felix protested weakly and hit his arm, giggling. 

Chan rolled his eyes softly before moving between them, lying down, and letting Minho cuddle to his side comfortably. "Come on, Felix." 

Minho gently patted Chan's chest, and Felix took the hint, making himself comfortable on top of Chan. Minho lazily wrapped his arm around him as Chan covered them all with Felix's blanket. Chan soothingly rubbed Felix's back before moving his hand up to play with his hair. His other arm was draped around Minho's waist, hands intertwined on his hip. Minho lovingly fondled Felix's cheek for a moment. "Is this better, sunshine?" 

"Yeah," Felix nodded, smiling softly. 

Chan relaxed as they soon fell asleep in his arms, and he smiled. He didn't take long to drift off as well, and his head sank against Minho's, searching for him even in his sleep. 

-

Felix woke up later, somehow cuddled between them as Chan had turned onto his side in his sleep. Minho and Chan were hugging him from both sides, their legs all intertwined. Minho had his face buried in his shirt between his shoulders whilst Chan's face was buried in his hair. Felix hadn't felt that warm and comfortable in a long while and closed his eyes again, deciding to enjoy the much-needed feeling a little longer. 

-

Minho woke up a little later, carefully letting go of him and stretching his body tiredly. Felix turned to face him and flashed him a tired smile. Minho reached for Felix's phone to check the time and saw a few messages from Changbin. "I think your boyfriend's waiting for you," he told him quietly, and Felix's eyes lit up. "I'll wake him up. You go get your cuddles." Minho whispers as he goes to wake up Chan.

"Let him sleep," he waved him off. "He needs it." Felix slowly got out of bed and made his way towards the door, opening it carefully to slip out of the room.

Minho smirked and watched him leave before slipping into Chan's arms. He buried his face in his chest, inhaling his scent, and relaxed. "I love you, Channie," he whispered into his shirt and smiled as Chan scooted closer to him in his sleep. Gosh, this man was cuddly. Minho beamed softly. He would've never thought that someone would love and appreciate him as Chan did. 

-

Chan woke up later with a yawn and chuckled softly as he looked down, seeing Minho curled up in his arms. He leaned down, brushing back his hair and kissing his head. Minho cuddled even closer in response, signaling he was somewhat awake. "Feeling comfy, kitten?" 

"Very," he answered sleepily. "You slept alright?" Chan hummed in response. "Felix went to see Changbin. We thought we'd let you get some sleep." 

"My insomnia says thank you," he snorted, and Minho giggled sweetly. 

The door opened, and Felix stepped inside, looking a lot happier than before. "Glad to see you two finally awake. Are you coming down to help with dinner?" 

"Sure thing," Chan nodded and got up with him, stretching out his limbs. 

Minho gave him a soft kiss and hugged him close for another moment. "Cuddle session this evening?" 

"Sounds perfect," Chan nodded happily and kissed his forehead.

-

Jeongin looked at Chan curiously as they were preparing dinner a bit later. "What exactly have you two been doing behind closed doors recently? It’s like you’re always disappearing." 

"Wh-What? Who?" Chan asked in shock, his eyes widening. 

"You and Minho hyung," he answered with an eyebrow raise. 

Hyunjin giggled. "Maybe they're secretly in love," he smirked. Minho had to bite back a grin at that assumption. 

Minho quickly lowered his head and continued drying the dishes. A huge kitchen like that had its perks. And sometimes, his group members completely forgot he was there too, standing in front of the stove far away from him. This way, no one realized they could be bothering him with questions too. 

"Secret lovers?" Felix laughed, and the thought made his eyes shine bright. If they only knew how close they were to the truth. He met Minho's eyes across the room for a moment and held back a laugh. Jisung desperately tried not to laugh as well and disappeared into a cabinet with his head, pretending to search for a pan and holding in his giggles.

"Can you imagine our hyungs hooking up? Would that officially make them our parents?" Seungmin threw in, and Changbin shouted in protest. 

"Married with six kids," Jeongin added and glanced over at their dinner in preparation. 

"How do you all even come up with this stuff?" Chan asked playfully, laughing and rolling his eyes. 

But Minho  couldn’t help but frown softly. It wasn't like they had been hiding it that well. Of course, their group members would notice them spending way more time together than before, and oftentimes in their rooms. Minho let Chan hug him more openly than before, and just last night, they cuddled during the movie night. Also, he doubted he and Chan had been that quiet all those times they took a little risk and had sex. Like today. Things have been going on for almost a year, after all.

"You two just seem to have gotten closer recently," Jisung explained. 

"Well, you know he's been trying to cheer me up lately," he answered. 

One way to put it, Minho thought to himself and gathered some plates. He needed more space to continue cleaning. 

"Yeah, but-." 

"Nothing happened. Have you seen Minho? I call myself lucky when I get a hug from him, or when he doesn't pull his hand away from mine," Chan said, and Minho froze in place. His ears couldn’t help but to tune into the conversation. "He's not exactly the warm boyfriend material I'd need. And no, we didn't kiss either," he tried to play it cool, forgetting for a moment that Minho was right there hearing everything. 

His heart shattered at his comment, and he began to grow pale. Was he being serious? Felix and Jisung looked over at him with concern and exchanged a short look. Minho put down the plates a little too loud, making everyone flinch and turn toward him. "Is that what you think about me when you think I'm not listening? That I'm cold? Unloving? Unaffectionate?" 

Chan's face fell, as all the color drained from his skin while simultaneously allowing a deep red to settle on his neck and cheeks. "Minho," he breathed out in shock and got a raised eyebrow in return. Fuck. 

The others looked back and forth between them anxiously, unsure of what was happening. "I can tell you what happened," Minho said, and Chan opened his mouth in protest, but the look in Minho's eyes made him stop. "We kissed quite a lot actually. At least when he wasn't busy shoving his dick in my ass." 

"Minho!" Chan burst out as the rest looked at him in amusement and pure disbelief. "We had an agreement," he whispered. 

"Listen up Chan, it's one thing to pretend that nothing is going on between the two of us and staying away from you in public. That's what I agreed to," he said, his eyes never tearing away from Chan’s. "But I won't lie to the people I call my family anymore. Especially not after what you just said." 

"I-I freaked out, okay, I didn't mean it," he tried to save himself, stomach turning painfully. Changbin stared at them in shock, slowly connecting the dots before looking at Felix, who just shook his head firmly. Not now. 

"It sure sounded like you did," Minho said sadly, and a wave of fear washed over him. Had Chan felt like this about him all this time? Had it just been the sex and the thrill of affection that kept him around? Whatever it was, he didn’t want to hear it right now. "I'm done with this.”

“Baby,” Chan spoke up and calmingly held up his hands. “Come on, let’s talk this out.”

“Save it, Chan. I won't let you toy around with me like that," he said firmly and opened the cabinet above his head, putting the plates inside.

"Toy around? Is that what you think I was doing?" he asked, growing defensive. "Maybe it was you who used me. You practically threw yourself onto me when I gave you the chance. And you've been hovering since that damn night a few months ago," Chan said, trying to get himself out of the line of fire. 

Minho's face fell, and Jisung was in shock at how hurt he looked. "Threw myself - Are you fucking kidding me?" he shouted suddenly, and everyone flinched, slowly backing away from Chan to continue watching from the sidelines. 

“Oh shit,” Seungmin breathed out, and Jeongin exchanged a worried glance with him. Minho sure lost his temper a lot lately with Chan, but not like this. Especially not in front of them. 

"I risked my life to get to you that night because of your stupid message. I held you when you felt like you were falling apart. And I was the one showing you how much you're worth since you can't see that for yourself. You kissed me first, dumbass! I didn't plan on kissing you two nights after, only to have sex the next morning. And I sure as hell didn't plan on doing it again and again over the next eleven months, sneaking around behind everyone's back!" Minho aggressively slammed the cabinet closed, making Chan flinch a little.

"You didn't risk your life," Chan gave back weakly, completely overwhelmed by Minho’s sudden outburst. He fucked up big time, and he was stuck on how to fix it. 

Minho glared at him. "You, out of everyone here, should know how much I have a fear of heights. And still, I climbed over to your balcony." 

"I didn't ask you to!" Chan burst out, feeling like he was being pushed into a corner. 

"I didn't ask you to leave us all behind either, but that's what you wanted to do! You didn't just give up on yourself, you gave up on those you swore to protect. And you gave up on me! You gave up on us, Chan, and still, I stayed by your fucking side because I was too scared to lose you," he gave back just as loudly. But seeing Chan's face, he knew he said too much. Oh, shit. 

"Wait a minute, Chan did what?" Changbin spoke up, confused. Minho stared at Chan, who slowly shook his head. 

"Min, baby, please-," he begged quietly. 

"Stop calling me that," Minho said firmly. 

"Minho, don't," Chan pressed out, anxiously glancing at the others. They can’t know he had been feeling like shit lately. They can’t know he had been ready to give up and quit that night. 

"Hey! What the fuck happened?" Changbin cut them off, deciding to step in and get some answers.

"He accidentally sent his goodbye message to me. That's why I climbed out there; my fear of losing him was bigger than that stupid balcony. Turns out he was thinking about quitting on us and leaving the team behind, saying I’d do just fine as your new leader," Minho said, and his voice trembled, seeing betrayal flash in Chan's eyes. "I'm sorry, Chan, but they should know. I’ve been telling you for weeks now to be honest-."

"Fuck you," Chan said barely above a whisper. "You promised me you wouldn’t tell them," he said, clearly hurt. Now it was all out in the open. Him almost giving up. His feelings for Minho and everything that had followed those past few months. Minho let it all out, taking away his chance to tell the truth at his own pace. 

"Well, you promised you'd fight for us. So I guess we both lied," he said tiredly, hoping the conversation would finally end and he could disappear. He just wanted to hide in his room and avoid everyone. But the way Chan's eyes suddenly darkened, he knew it wasn’t over. If there was one thing he had learned about his hyung, it was that you shouldn't piss him off. Being pushed into a corner could make him snap within seconds. 

"You know what, maybe I did mean it. Maybe I meant every word I said. You are cold, Minho. You obviously don’t give a shit about my feelings and the promise you made to me. I should've known from the beginning you'd fuck me over and tell everyone about what happened because you can’t keep a secret. Stop acting like you didn't want me to fuck you so you could finally not be so fucking alone anymore and feel like you're worth something. You enjoy having someone tell you you’re not what everyone else says you are, huh? Makes you feel like a better person for once, you sassy asshole?" Chan spat out, panting heavily once the last word fell from his lips. But the moment he said it, he regretted it. He covered his mouth with his hand, unable to follow his thought process of producing such hateful words. What the fuck had he done? 

“Excuse me?” he whispered and took a step back, bringing some distance between them. Minho's eyes filled with tears, lips trembling as he tried to regain his composure. Minho could feel his heart breaking, feeling sick and disoriented. 

Chan had never seen him that hurt before and losing his composure in front of the rest. Minho never did, not wanting the younger ones to worry about him. 

"Chan, what the fuck?" Felix spoke up in pure shock and gently took Jisung's hand, which was trembling, as he stepped behind him. Jeongin and Seungmin practically hid behind Changbin and Hyunjin, who stared at their hyungs, unable to comprehend what just happened. 

“Chan, dude,” Changbin contorted his face and took a step toward Minho. “Minho hyung, he clearly didn’t mean it. There's no way any of us would think that about yo-.” he stopped as Minho held his hand up.

"So you're finally being honest with me," he chuckled and closed his eyes for a moment, putting down the towel he had been drying the dishes with. "Oh, Channie love, I'll show you just how much of an asshole I can be," he said, words dripping with disgust. Minho suddenly took a step forward and slapped Chan forcefully, making his head turn to the side. 

Chan placed his hand on his cheek in pure shock as the others gasped, surprised. "What the fuck?" Chan breathed out. 

"You're the only asshole here. I hope you had fun pretending you liked me or seen anything beyond a way to let off steam," he said shakily as tears ran down his cheeks. There was no use in hiding how hurt he was. Chan had torn his walls down and sent an arrow straight into his heart.

"Did you just hit me?" he asked in pure disbelief. 

"Yes, I fucking did!" Minho yelled at him. "You just broke my fucking heart! You'll get over it." 

Chan blinked and slowly pulled his hand off his cheek. The full weight of Minho's words slowly sunk in and he grew incredibly pale, his hands starting to shake. "Minho," he whispered timidly. "I'm so sorry." 

"Fuck you, Chan, seriously," he sobbed out and smacked his chest forcefully. Chan let him, not defending himself, as Minho lost his composure and broke down. It broke him seeing Minho like this, and the fact that he caused it feels even worse.

"Minho stop," Hyunjin said, stepping forward and pulling Chan away from him. "Come on, you're better than this." 

"Come here," Felix spoke up softly as he carefully wrapped his arms around him from behind and pulled him away from Chan, looking at his friend in shock.

Minho covered his mouth with his hand and let Felix pull him back. He didn't know if he was more hurt or angry right now. He felt betrayed on so many levels, becoming too hard to differentiate these emotions. "I believed you," he pressed out. 

"You shouldn't have," Chan whispered, tears burning in his eyes. 

He hiccuped as tears kept flowing. “You told me not to believe in all the things they said about me and bullshit rumors that were going to spread about us.”

"I'm sorry, Min," Chan pressed out weakly. "I'm an asshole, and you deserve better." 

"Stop it, just fucking stop it! Please…" Minho shook his head and felt his heart breaking apart. He should’ve never believed in a happy ending for them. He shouldn't have believed him saying he'd fight for them. He shouldn't have believed him when he said haters were lying and Minho wasn't anything like what they said. 

"Minho hyung, let's take a break and-," Seungmin started but stopped as Minho gently shook Felix off, grabbed his phone from the table, and turned around. He didn't look at his friends as he passed them. Hyunjin tried to hold him back, but he just shook him off, holding back a sob. 

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Felix snapped at Chan. "How could you say something like that?"

"Felix, easy now," Changbin tried to calm his boyfriend. It wasn't like Minho walked away innocently from this. 

"No, why would you defend that? We all saw it happen!" Felix asked him, highly irritated. 

"Felix," Minho cut him off sharply. "That's my mess, not yours. Leave it be."

"Minho, can we talk? Alone?" Chan asked with tears in his eyes. His breathing was uneven and shaky, trying to hold back a sob. There was an imprint of Minho's hand on his cheek, his lips quivered and for a second Minho hesitated, seeing the damage he caused him. 

He couldn't leave him there crying, could he? Not when he was the only one taking care of him whenever he did. But then again…he couldn't comfort him. Not now, not after all he’s done. "Fuck you, I won't be listening to any more of your lies," Minho said firmly before walking upstairs. 

Chan didn't dare to raise his head until Minho's door slammed closed. He could barely meet his group members' eyes as he swallowed hard. "I'm sorry," he whispered and blinked back tears. "I'm so sorry, fuck," he buried his face in his hands as a sob shook his entire body. The moment Jeongin wrapped his arms around him, heavily shaking himself, Chan's stomach turned. He didn't deserve any comfort right now. Not after what he did to Minho, his love. A few moments later, they all were by his side, too shocked about what Minho had revealed to think of anything else. 

"You're so fucking stupid sometimes, Chan," Changbin said and shook his head at him. “What the fuck was that about?”

"I promise I can explain everything," Chan said shakily and swallowed hard. 

Felix cleared his throat and met Chan's eyes. "I love you, Channie, I really do…but what you just said to him was fucked up on so many levels. You need to fix this. And fast. I can't leave him alone like that," Chan nodded in agreement and let the others pull him to the sofa to sit down. 

"I'll join you," Jisung said, very disturbed about Chan's outburst. 

Chp. 6 | Chp. 8

MASTERLISTS | PROMPT LIST | GUIDELINES

Taglist: (Please let me know if you want to be added to/ removed from the taglist)

@soullostinspaceandtime @brownieloved @rebecca-johnson-28 @euphoric-univers @hyunniebunni @mal-lunar-28 @malfoygalaxies

[yeosatinyngz]

hii, can you do number: 20. “This means war, my dear.” with kaiser saying that? something like enemies to lovers type with sum nice tension? Fem reader please! Also congrats for your 1yr anniversary!!

Consider it done! I tried my best, hope it was alright. Thank you so much!!

#20: “This means war, my dear.”

Join Event ➺ Masterlist

Your eyes were glaring at Kaiser’s figure, plotting a petty revenge to get back at him for the shit he pulled on you a few days ago. Your mind flashes back to that day. You were having a terrible day, you pulled an all nighter and got no sleep and you ran out of ingredients to make breakfast with. You couldn’t even go out to buy something because you would be late for your class.

When you arrived to class you were welcomed with a pop quiz which you knew you failed. Next came the class you pulled an all nighter for to finish up a presentation. The professor surprised the class saying she moved the presentation date to tomorrow which meant that you stayed up all night finishing it for no reason. You groaned in defeat as you were absolutely furious at how shitty your luck was throughout the day. 

Deciding to treat yourself you went to the convenience store to buy your favorite drink. However there was only one of your favorite drink left and it was too far down on the top shelf so you weren’t able to reach it. Suddenly a hand from behind you reached for it and you were about to thank the person until he just took the drink and left. Oh you were fuming at that asshole who you soon recognized was Kaiser. You barely knew him but that day you declared him your enemy. 

Which brings us back to the present where you were still plotting ways to get back at him. You thought of an idea as you went back to the same convenience store that you first met him in. You knew he was a frequent customer so you secretly followed behind him when he entered. Seeing that he was reaching over for a pack of ramen you quickly grabbed it away from him. He was about to reach for the other pack of the same ramen next to it but you grabbed them all and threw it into the shopping basket you grabbed before. 

You hurried off to pay for them and then you were out of the store. Before you left you heard Kaiser calling out to you. “Hey you! I wanted that Ramen too, couldn’t you have at least left one for me?” You turned around to face him, “Well I grabbed it first so it sucks to be you.” “This means war, my dear.” “Bring it on asshole.” You both glared at each other after the declaration of war. 

The next few days were just you both pranking each other, weirdly enough they all had to do with food. Leaving toothpaste oreos for him, him getting back at you with salty cookies, you leaving him a bottle of coke (mixed with soy sauce), him getting you back with brussel sprouts disguised as chocolates. You couldn’t take it anymore and confronted him, “How about a truce? I don’t think my stomach can handle any more of your weird food combos.” “Sounds good because my taste buds have been through hell because of you.” You both shaked on the truce and ended the war.

“I wanted to ask you this for a while but how come you started this whole thing in the first place?” “Oh it’s actually kind of dumb but you stole the last drink from me when I had a really bad day so I had it out for you. Sorry for being so childish.” “Oh I see, I apologize for my actions. I hope I can get on your good side.” “Same here, I’m kind of embarrassed that you saw me acting so childish.” “Don’t worry I was also childish as well but it was kind of fun pranking each other not going to lie.” “It was.” You both laughed remembering all the petty pranks you pulled on each other.

“Here’s to a new start. I’m Y/N, nice to meet you!” You stretched your hand out in front of him, he shook your hand and introduced himself. “The pleasure is mine, I’m Michael Kaiser.” “Woo, I’m so glad that’s over now. I’ll see you around?” You said towards Kaiser before you were about to turn to leave. “I’ll do more than just see you around, what do you say to a date?” Your mouth dropped open, was this guy crazy? But you did find him to be very charming so you accepted. “That’s more than ok with me, Um.” You pointed at your phone, too shy to ask for his number. He grabbed your phone and entered his number before teasing you. “Was someone too shy to ask for my number?” 

“Oh shut it, don’t make me declare another war on you.” He raised both of his hands up in the air in defeat. “Okok I’ll stop.” A smile couldn’t help but appear on your face. You both said your goodbyes and you left. Not long after you got a notification. You opened up your phone to a message from “Future bf” saying, “Tomorrow at 5, I’ll pick you up, just send me your address.” You rolled your eyes at the contact name Kaiser put for himself before texting a response and skipping happily the way home.

[super-unpredictable98]

Midnight Strikes (Robert Sheehan RPF)

Word Count: 1,1 k

Warning: strong language

a/n: Just letting everyone who left me a request know, I'm working on them and thank you so much for all the lovely ideas <3

(Masterlist)

I can't wait to get out of here, it's so fuckin hot!

Your boyfriend texted around seven. It was your one year anniversary, but he had to work. Of course you understood, his job was demanding, but he loved it and so did you. Robert was meant to be home by eight, so you had everything ready for the celebration. 

There was a lasagna ready to go in the oven, homemade garlic bread, and cake for dessert. You prepared the bathroom with candles and a bath bomb so he could relax after dinner, the whole flat was spotless and you picked his favorite dress to wear. 

Twenty minutes passed, you put your romantic dish in the oven and set a timer before heading to the bedroom to get ready. The dress was blue and looked like something Donna would wear in Mamma Mia, very light and flowy. The makeup you chose was very simple and discreet, and the hair was also not too extravagant. You even got a new set of lingerie matching the dress for the occasion. 

Rob's gift was waiting for him on the sofa, a few books he'd been talking about in the last few months.

You waited until the lasagna was done and turned the oven off, leaving it in there so it would be nice and warm. You checked if the champagne you got for the celebration was chilled and set the table. 

When it was all prepared, you looked at the time on your phone, it was 8:05. You grinned in anticipation, deciding where you wanted to sit to wait for your boyfriend who should be coming through the door very soon.

Unfortunately, that's not how it went... 8:05 turned into 8:45, turned into 9:20, turned into 10:00. By then the lasagna was for sure cold and it wasn't even time for dinner anymore. 

You sent texts during this time, but there was no response, which elicited a mix of worry and anger stirring in your chest, adding to the hunger that was pretty bad already. 

Finally, at 10:25 the door opened and Rob walked in looking like hell. He was sweaty (more than usual), his hair was messy, there was eyeliner smeared around his eyes and he grunted as he usually did when his back was in pain. 

"So nice of you to join..." you said, looking up from your book 

"Shit, I knew I was late but I didn't know it was that bad," he checked his phone. "I didn't even see it, I just ran as fast as I could when they said I could go home, the tube was packed."

"There's bath stuff in the bathroom, but the candles are probably all melted by now," you folded your arms, absolutely furious even if you knew it wasn't his fault. 

Robert left his shoes by the door, walked up to the couch, and sat on the floor in front of you. He had that puppy look on his face, but didn't talk at first, knowing you probably had more to say.

"I worked on this shit all day for us to have a nice time and celebrate, by the time you're done with your shower and everything else we'll have an hour left in our anniversary at best!" Your voice cracked as you spilled the words. "That isn't fair, I know it was work and you didn't have a choice, I'm just frustrated! I already have to share you with the world, I can't even get a proper anniversary dinner."

He listened quietly as you let out your anger and on your own arrived to the conclusion that there was nothing he could've done to make things different if he wanted to keep his job. He then made sure you were done before taking your hands in his and kissing each knuckle. 

"I understand how frustrating that is, I'm sorry things didn't work out."

"I know... I am too," you sighed, seeing him so calm kinda forced you to calm down as well, it was quite nice actually.

"If you wanna celebrate another day with something different, I get it. But if you'd like to try, I can shower really quickly and we can have our dinner. Tomorrow I have the day off and I'm not leaving your side. I'll even hold your hand as you go to the toilet."

You laughed, he just knew how to de-escalate the situation. He wasn't always like that, but the talent to make you no longer mad was definitely there. 

Robert took a shower and changed into something nice, not a suit, but nice by his hippie standards. He even put on a scarf and fixed his hair to look just the way you like it. 

"You look so handsome," you smiled, holding out the gift box for him. "I hope you like it."

He opened it and his eyes lit up. "Thank you, y/n! So comforting to know you're listening when I'm rambling about books and movies and shit," he chuckled. "Now it's my turn."

Rob opened his bag by the door and pulled out a plastic bag, not a very promising wrapping job, but when you opened it, you forgot all about that. Inside there was the white and blue coat Klaus wears for season two of Umbrella Academy. Every detail was perfect, even the embroidery work. 

"Robbie! This is so beautiful, I can't believe you did this."

"You always mention how much you love these outfits so I had a replica made in your size," he grinned proudly. "I was between this and the black furry one from season one, but I'll get that one for your birthday."

You pulled him into a fierce hug, he really put so much care into it, he certainly looked forward to this night as much as you did. Suddenly, the time didn't matter anymore, all that mattered was that he was there.

"Thanks for being understanding today," Rob murmured, taking your hand as he happily ate his dinner. He was clearly starved from waiting so long.

"It wasn't your fault, don't worry about it."

"Hey, can I tell you a secret?" He asked with a little smirk.

"What?" You chuckled, half expecting some joke or gag, but he just took your hand and brought it to his lips again. 

"It was past midnight when I asked you to be my girlfriend." 

"What? No it wasn't!" You gasped.

He nodded as he chewed, completely sure of what he was saying. "I'm serious, my bedside clock was wrong, I remember cause I had to change it after I was late for work the next day. So technically, it's still our anniversary."

"Oh... happy anniversary then." 

"Happy anniversary, love."

Tag List: @salvador-daley @seanfalco @elliethesuperfruitlover @firstpersonnarrator @badsext

[ikleesfiction]

Tacones Rojos

Fandom : Chicago PD TV Word count : 4,242 words Pairing : Jay Halstead x reader Author's note : This is the sixth one shot of "Will you follow through if I fall for you" fic continuation. It would be better if you read it first. But if you don't, here's the quick summary. Warning : There is an implied/referenced suicide here. I won't be offended if you back away from the fic because of this. The reference is tiny, non explicit. But it's better to be overcautious than underestimating a possible trigger. I love you, please take care of yourself!

Disclaimer

◢◤

Jay opens the door and lets himself into the house. It has been a good day at work. For once, Chicago's finest criminals are not making too much fuss. The Intelligence Team could get off of work before sundown. They decide to go out for dinner to celebrate Voight’s birthday, which should have been last month, but they were just too busy before.

"Babe?" Jay calls you out.

"Bathroom!" You holler back to let him know where you are. "Thank god you are here early. I thought I had to pick you up at the precinct."

"You haven’t had dinner yet, have you?" Jay walks further into the house. "The team is..." He pauses at the bathroom door, whistling at the vision in the mirror.

There you are in a black dress, sporting a low neckline. The dress has tiered skirts that fall above your knees. It looks lavish yet still modest. Jay fails to figure out how you do it. All he knows is that you look stunning.

Standing behind you, Jay wraps his arms around your waist. "Hi, gorgeous," He kisses your neck. "God, you smell wonderful." Jay moves to kiss the other side. "Not that I mind this lovely welcome, but what's the occasion?"

"You don't remember?" You look to your side without moving away from his embrace.

Jay frowns, "What? I didn't forget your birthday, did I?" He jokes.

You turn around, resting your hip on the bathroom counter. One of your eyebrows raises, full of judgment.

"I'm pretty sure it is not our anniversary?" Jay asks meekly.

Now both of your eyebrows turn into an arch.

"Well, I'm sorry I don't remember," In an attempt at his apology, Jay brings your hands to his lips. "Please..."

"I have this invite from The Tribune, a dinner party for their contributors," You let go of his hands. Turning back to face the mirror, you put on the last touch of your makeup. "I told you about this, right? They invited me since I am writing for their music column now."

"Ah, yes," Jay grimaces. "That is tonight?"

"Yeah. I thought you were here early because you remembered."

"Sorry," Jay shrugs his shoulders. "I was going to take you to the Chop House. The team is celebrating Voight’s birthday tonight."

"Wasn’t it like a few weeks ago? I remembered sending him a bottle of malt for a gift." You glance at Jay's reflection in the mirror as you put on a pair of earrings.

"It was, but we haven’t had the chance to celebrate it until tonight."

"Well, I guess we have to skip his party then." You usher Jay and walk with him to step out of the bathroom.

"Let’s go to Chop House first, just to say hi. Then we will go to your party." Jay proposes his plan.

You scoff at his idea. "It is not my party. It is the Chicago Tribune Contributors Dinner." You sit carefully on the couch before putting on a pair of red strappy heels. "It is a formal dinner, Jay. Suit and tie and invites and all." You gesture to your whole look from top to toe. "You cannot be as late as you want."

You stand up and continue your ranting. "Seriously, I don’t know why I expect any difference this time. It is such a classic thing Jay Halstead would do. You always think about your team first. Everything else comes second."

"Hey, that’s not true!" Jay snaps back. "Look, I’m sorry I forgot about your dinner invites, but it doesn’t mean I care more about my job than about you." Jay is perplexed to find out how dinner invitations could turn into spats. Is it so unforgivable to forget something?

"I tried, Jay. I tried as much as I could to understand that your job comes first. I accepted that your team is your family. I get it, Jay! I wish you could give me even a tiny part of that same devotion you have for them."

"Well, it seems you understand nothing, huh, Y/N?" Jay gets provoked by the high tension. "Because all I heard here is that you complained about all the time spent at my job. Do you want to talk about my work? Then I should have brought about your job in the first place." Jay points his finger in your direction. "I never say anything when you have gone abroad for weeks to make some music and million dollars. So maybe, it is you who is not devoted to this relationship."

You feel enraged by his accusation. You wanted to fight back, but fighting with words is not your best forte. You would only end up choking and crying, which you have no time for now.

"You know what? I cannot do this with you right now." You check your purse. "I’m almost late. Please send my apologies to your team." You grab a coat on your way out. "Don't forget to lock up when you go."

With that, you leave the house and your angry boyfriend in it.

◢◤

“What are you doing here? I thought you had an important dinner date with your Dancing Queen?” Hailey asks Jay when he comes to the steak house by himself.

"Stop calling her that." Jay scolds his partner.

"Well, she danced, and she acted like a diva. I'm just calling what I'm seeing." Hailey shrugs.

"You never saw her dance, you liar!" Jay laughs. "For a DJ, she is an awful dancer."

"But you agree that she is a diva wannabe," Hailey points out what Jay left out.

"No, she is not. Just because she is the only famous musician you met doesn't mean she is a diva." Jay rolls his eyes. "You should give her a chance, Hailey. You keep offending her like this without getting to know her personally. It is not fair, you know?" Jay defends his girlfriend.

"Well, if she were here now, I would." Hailey takes a sip of her beer.

“No, you would not,” Jay calls out her bullshit.

“No, I probably wouldn’t,” Hailey admits with a cunning grin. “So you bailed on the dinner date, huh?”

“It was more like I forgot. But apparently, that is a punishable crime.” Jay frowns in disgust.

“Ah, lovers’ quarrel. I will not touch that with a ten-foot pole." Hailey raises her hands. “You guys are fun to watch, like a teenage drama. Sickeningly sweet in one episode, then broke up in the next one.”

Jay rolls his eyes, “We are not breaking up. We are just having a spat.”

“The fact that you pointed it out makes you sound like a teenage boy,” Hailey teases him. “Relax. The thing about a diva is that they are fickle. By tomorrow, you will be madly in love again."

“Ergh, I don’t know why I bother to talk to you about this.” Jay waves his hand, terminating their conversation. "You are not helping,"

◢◤

Two hours into the event, you are getting bored already. The party is fun, and the food is alright, but your heart's not in it. Mostly, it was because you left home with a bitter taste of fighting with your boyfriend. Deep down, you understand that you are not being fair to Jay. His job is hard on your relationship, but your frequent trips abroad for your job are also not easy to handle. Neither of you nor Jay is entitled to feel singled out. This evening spat was just you losing grip of your insecurity, and you lashed it out at Jay.

However, you are too upset to admit that you are in the wrong as much as Jay. Right now, your fight response still runs high. It is almost 9.30 PM. It would be too late to visit your usual jiu-jitsu dojo. The one near Grant Park might still be open, though, you remind yourself. Sparring for an hour and a half would be good before you face Jay. That way, you hope to get rid of any negative energy. Then, you can talk to Jay more openly.

You leave the party around 10 PM. Instead of calling a cab, you walk to the bus stop. There is a gas station and a minimarket across the street. You decide to drop by for a bar of chocolate. It is far from the artisan dark chocolate you have at home, but you always have this craving for chocolate at an upsetting moment. Chocolates, and physical fights, are now becoming your antidepressant.

You smile at the middle-aged guy at the cash register who hands you your purchase. The bell above the door clinks as three guys step into the store. They go straight to the alcohol section.

The guy at the register sighs loudly. He looks about the same age as Jay’s brother, Will, but the suffering on his face might add a few years more. “Delinquents,”

You nod your understanding and offer him another smile in farewell. “Have a good night,”

The street is pretty deserted as you walk to the bus stop. Not a lot of people walk around. There are only a couple of cars passing by. You open and take a bite of the chocolate bar, waiting for your bus to come. You notice the guys are leaving the store with beer bottles in their hands. They cross the street and hang around the bus stop.

Before long, the catcalls begin.

“Where are you going, long legs?” One of them asks you. “Those heels, woohoo. I could climb those legs forever,”

Ignoring them should be the right way to go, you think. As the wind picks up, you tighten your coat to warm yourself.

“I wonder, what's under the coat? What do you think, dude?” The punks talk to each other.

“Tight dress,”

“Lace,”

“Nothing, maybe?”

"Eeeey!" They trade high fives and cackles, supporting the others' wild imaginations. All while they are stepping closer to where you stand.

From across the street, you hear the cash register guy shout, “Hey, leave her alone, you scoundrel!”

You understand how this looks. Some crooks are harassing a woman. People with high morals will try to help, of course. It is normal to assume a young woman will be helpless. But this time, they have the wrong assumption. Because as far as you can see, there are no vulnerable women around here.

Honestly, you feel giddy. You might not have to go to the dojo for a fight after all.

“What are you gonna do, old man?” One of the punks challenges him. He dares to grab your ass, taunting the cash register guy.

Yes, you got your fight! You are fist-pumping internally.

In a blink of an eye, the guy who touches you drops down on the pavement, holding his hand in pain. His friends look shocked for a moment. But being beaten down by a girl would be embarrassing.

“You, bitch!”

Naturally, they quickly strike back.

The fight is pretty one-sided. Three street thugs are no match for one jiu-jitsu purple belt. A throw down this way. Another sweep that way. One chokehold here. Lock that arm there. If they resist, then broken bones are unavoidable. It is not your fault that they decide to disturb a woman who just happened to be a jiu-jitsu student.

Until the punk that first went down gets back up to point a gun at you.

You let out a groan, “Seriously?” You hate guns. It is not because you are afraid of them or have any doubt about your bare hand fighting skill. You know it would only take you five seconds to unarm that guy. But firearms are loud and they tend to get messy. The ringing in your ears, the smell of powder residues, not to mention the blood stains. Ughh.

You make a side step forward as the man pulls the trigger. A slight miscalculation on your side allows the bullet to graze your arm. But in 20 seconds, the gun finds its way to your hand. The previous holder of the gun is down on the pavement with his palm under your pointy heels. The guy yells in pain, calling all deities and dirty words in the same sentence.

“Drop the gun!” You look up to find a cop car on the side of the road, and two police officers point their guns at you. “Drop the gun and show your hands!” The officer repeats.

You release the magazine from the gun before tossing it to the ground. That skill you learn not from the dojo but instead from your boyfriend. One of the officers then moves to secure your hands behind your back with cuffs.

“Oww,” You moan once you feel the wound on your arm.

◢◤

Trudy Platt is doing a crossword puzzle at her station when she sees a couple of her patrol officers bring a familiar face into the station. She stops the officers on their way, “Hey, Reyez, what happened here?”

“Dispatch called for a possible assault at South Western Avenue. Found this lady beating down three guys. All of them were at The Med now. One was unconscious. Another one ended up with a broken arm. The other’s leg was…” The officer shivers as he remembers the abnormal angle the guy’s leg was.

“Have you asked her to explain what happened?”

“She refused to talk outside this specific precinct, Sarge,” Officer Harris answers the sergeant.

Platt throws a disbelieving look at her officers and you.

“Hi, Sergeant Platt,” You grin at Trudy. “I’d wave, but…” You wiggle as much as you can, being restrained by Officer Harris.

“Why, you little diva,” Platt sighs out loud. She returns to her desk to make a phone call.

“Should I continue to process her, Sarge?” Officer Reyez asks.

Sgt. Platt waves her hand dismissively, “Just put her in the holding cell for now,”

◢◤

The ringing of Voight's cell phone interrupts the laughter at their table. Their meals have been polished by now. They are still around for glasses of wine, fingers of bourbon, and lots and lots of beer. They might've as well moved to a bar, but they're too full to get up from their chairs.

"Voight," The leader answers his phone. The team watches him, hoping they don't get called for a case.

Voight listens in silence for a few moments until he lets out an "Excuse me?" in an indignant tone. "What was that again?"

It seems the person on the phone repeats the same message because Voight shakes his head as if to disagree. "Okay, just stay put. We'll be right there,"

"Please don't tell me we got a case, Sarge. My ribeye has not fully digested yet," whines Adam as he pats his stomach.

"No, no. We're still on stand down. It's just Platt needed me back at the station," Voight pushes himself out of the chair. He opens his wallet and hands his credit card to Kim. "One more round, then wrap this up. Can't let you alcoholics break my wallet," The team laughs at him. Voight nods his head in Jay's direction. "Halstead, you need to come with me,"

"Sarge?" Jay stands up from his chair, confused.

"Good night, guys. See you tomorrow," Voight waves goodbye and leaves the table. He doesn't wait to see if Jay follows him. Voight expects him to.

Jay looks around questioningly at the table. However, the rest of the team is as perplexed as him.

"Go." Hailey ushers him to follow their leader. "Give us a call if you need help,"

"Hopefully you won't, but yeah, man, let us know if you need anything," Adam echoes the sentiment.

Jay quickly catches Voight on his way out of the restaurant.

"You good to drive, Halstead?" Voight asks him.

"Legally? Probably, no. But, I'm good, Sarge," Jay admits to his leader. He might be a little tipsy, but he drove in a worse state before, and it was fine.*)

"Okay then, meet me back at the station," Voight orders him. "Safely, Jay," He emphasizes his point.

"Yes, sir. Can I ask what this is about, Sarge?" Jay cannot hold his curiosity.

"I'll tell you when we get to the precinct," Voight leaves Jay with that.

◢◤

"Ah, good, you're here," Trudy greets them from her desk as soon as she sees Voight and Halstead. She hands a piece of paper for them to read.

Jay widens his eyes as he reads the report, "What the fuck is this?"

"You sort it out. It's not like I have no other papers to file anyway," Platt waves them to the holding cell direction.

"Sarge, this cannot be true, right?" Jay questions his boss.

"Let's ask Y/N," Voight leads them to the temporary cell.

They walk inside the precinct and stop in front of the iron bars. There is only one person there, and it's you.

"Y/N!" Jay calls your name. "You okay?"

"Hi, Jay! Fancy seeing you here. I'm great! Bullet wound and all," You grin from the bench inside the holding cell. "Oh, good evening, Sergeant Voight," You wave to the elder man.

"If you don't want to come to my birthday dinner, you should've said so, Y/N. No need to make some fuss with this arrest." Voight quips.

You snort a laugh, "Sorry, sir."

"Can we not joke about this? I thought you were at the Tribune party, Y/N. Why are you on the street getting shot and beating people up?" Jay sounds agitated.

"Well, they were bothering me with the catcalls. It was creepy as hell. Then one of them got physical. So I got physical too, you know what I mean?" You shrug your shoulders.

"Yeah, I know. I read the report," Jay huffs in exasperation.

"In an actual, official report? Oh, wow. I didn't expect that." You sound impressed with yourself.

"Of course, there is a report. You almost killed three men!! Do you understand that??" Jay is getting more hysterical.

"Almost is the operative word," You calmly point out.

Jay pinches his nasal bones in distress. "Can I get her out of here, Sarge?" He finally asks Voight.

Voight watches their banter with his hands in his pockets. He takes a moment to ponder.

"Hey, Y/N. What brought up this urge to kill?" Voight questions you.

"Sir?" You don't catch what he meant.

"I know you hold a purple belt. You practice jiu-jitsu a lot. Usually, you are more patient and tolerant than this," Voight elaborates. "So, I asked again, what happened tonight?"

You know what happened tonight. Pent up frustration at Jay and at yourself that has been left unsolved. If you didn't leave the house angry at your partner, you probably would not have to spend the night in a police station.

You keep your mouth shut, not interested in letting Voight know the truth. You look down at your feet, breaking eye contact with the sergeant. Your feet are bare since the officers asked you to take your heels off. Assault weapons, they said. You stepped your weight on someone's palm and broke their fingers along the way. Killer heels indeed.

Jay also decides to look away from you and Voight. The sergeant notices this. So both of them understand the reason, which clued him in on why this happened.

"I see how it is," Voight exhales. "Alright, I give you an out this one time, Y/N. Next time you beat thugs on the street, try harder not to kill them, okay? Refrain yourself to bump and bruises only,"

Jay gapes at his leader, "Sarge!" He cannot believe Voight is validating your violent action.

You throw a half smile at Voight, "Thank you, sir,"

"And make sure you come to the next team hangout, whenever that happens." Voight continues his order.

"I'll try, Sarge,"

"No, no. Don't just try. You have to be there," Voight corrects you. "First third rounds shall be on you. That's the least you can do after crashing my party," Voight then leaves the couple to sort that damn paper Platt has on her desk.

Jay goes with him to find the officer who holds the cell key. When he gets the door open, he notices your feet are bare. "Where're your shoes?"

"Don't know," You shake your head. "Evidence, maybe?"

"What the fuck are your shoes doing in Evidence?" Jay mutters as he steers you to Sgt. Platt's desk.

"You need to sign this," Trudy pushes some papers towards you. "And these are the rest of your belongings,"

First, Trudy puts a plastic bag that holds your purse and its content. You only bring your phone, your ID and a few notes. They are all there.

Then she follows with your shoes. You groan in regret at the sight of your poor shoes. One of the heels broke. The intricate strappings are all snapped and tangled. You have no idea if they are salvageable.

"They are my favorite stilettos," You pout.

"Should have thought twice before aiming that blade into someone's hand," Trudy tells you straight, sans empathy.

She finally puts the last item on her desk, which is your coat.

The coat has a new decoration now. There is one bullet hole in the left upper arm. You remember being grazed by a bullet earlier this night. A paramedic tended your wound at the crime scene. You can still feel the twinge at the bandaged arm even now.

Your eyes begin to tear up upon seeing the state of the outerwear. It was a gift from your dear friend who took his own life a few years ago. It saddened you to find his last gift was ripped by common thugs on the street. It felt like you tainted his memories for something mundane and avoidable. If only you agreed with Jay this evening, none of these would happen. You quickly wipe the corner of your eyes before the tears fall.

Jay doesn't miss that. Without saying anything, he brings you into a hug. Jay never met that friend, but he knows how important he was to you. His sudden departure shook you hard. It made you stop working for months. Until Jay forced you to speak, telling him how you feel, what your thoughts about it. They discussed how to move forward. How wilting away in sorrow was disrespectful to that friend’s life and legacy. Only then you were willing to enter your studio to make music again.

"Shh, it's okay, Love. You're okay," Jay whispers sweet nothings in your ears. He peppers your head with comforting kisses. "We can fix it," Jay promises. You know that he is not just talking about the torn coat.

Not knowing the story behind the coat, Trudy asks rudely, “What? Was it a $30k coat? Yeah, I would cry over that too,"

Above your head, Jay glares at Trudy’s insensitivity. Instead of being sad, her comment makes you laugh. You let go of Jay’s embrace and put on the holey coat. “Nah. If the coat were that expensive, those guys would be dead already,” You retort.

“New house rule! No more violence from you except at the dojo!” Jay points a finger in your direction, enforcing his words. “No assaults, no slaughters, especially over a piece of clothes!”

“We’ll see about that, babe. We’ll see…” You pat him on the shoulders, unconvinced by his rule.

“I don’t need to know your household issue. Get out of here, you rascals!” Trudy shoos them out of the precinct.

◢◤

At home, you and Jay are back in the bathroom. Still wearing your party dress, you sit on the closed toilet. Jay crouches next to you as he repatches your bullet wound.

“Sorry, sorry,” Jay whispers when he sees you wincing.

“I think that is my line,” You tell him.

“Huh?” Jay asks, distracted as he tightens the bandage. “All done,” His face is still hovering around your shoulder, checking his handiwork.

You look to your left. Without prompts, you catch Jay's lips in a kiss.

“I’m sorry,” You murmur. “for tonight. I should not be angry at you for such trivial things,”

Jay shakes his head, “No, I’m sorry I forgot. I should have paid better attention to you and our relationship,”

“I didn’t mean it when I said those things. I was just upset. Not a great excuse, but I’m still sorry. I know you are in this 100%.” You tell him, still in a quiet tone. As if increasing your voice would break the mood. “And so am I. Please, believe me,” You grab his hands to convince him.

Jay shushes you, “I know. I should not accuse you like that. I know it was wrong, I’m sorry. You should know that I have never doubted you, your love, or your commitment,” He presses his lips to yours in assurance. “Ever.”

You twitch your lips, smiling, “I guess both of us have apologized and forgiven, then?”

Jay nods, “Uh huh. You know what to follow, right?” He replies with an indecent grin.

“I’m not sure,” You play along. “You better show me what it is,” You wrap your hands above Jay’s shoulders, placing your palms behind his neck.

Jay pulls you up to your feet. His hands wander from your back to your hips. “I will. As soon as I find the damned zipper on this dress.”

+x Taglist +x

@lorenakaspersen @life-treatments @itsdesiree86

PSA: Please don't drive under influence no matter what the circumstance is!!!

[kattestrophe]

I am sorry to bother you, but I have obscure knowledge about the 1730 Katte Portrait that is RUINING MY LIFE and I have to share. I have no idea how much of this is already common knowledge, so I apologize for anything you already knew:

It was commissioned by Frederick the Great; he said that he had Katte painted “with great care”, and he said it was to depict “The soul of the man.” Basically, he was saying that the portrait is how HE sees Katte

It depicts Hans with the “Order of St. John” Medal, which had been taken from Katte by Friedrich Wilhelm I. But Fritz made sure it was included.

Katte’s uniform DOES NOT depict Friedrich Wilhelm’s initials; Fritz had deliberately made sure of this.

Fritz gifted the painting to Katte’s father as soon as he was King; at the in-person ceremony to make him a Count and Field Marshal. (On the anniversary of Hans Hermann’s arrest)

Hi there anon! :DD I'm so happy you came to me with this!

I'm unsure where you found the info, but I'll have to crush your dreams a little bit. You got a few things wrong/mixed up, which is completely okay!

Just to have a visual, the painting we're talking about is this one:

Painted by Georg Lisiewski in 1730. Now, Lisiewski did work for the Prussian court, but this painting was decidedly not commissioned by them (Fritz certainly didn't have the means to in 1730). The back of the original says:

"Dises Originalbild hat der seelige Freyherr von Katt mit grossen Fleis vertigen lassen von mich, George Liszewsky, Mahler in Berlin, anno 1730"

Now the first thing that shows is that Katte commissioned the image himself sometime before his arrest. It was then finished post-mortem for his family (they also had it enlarged, Katte originally commissioned a smaller painting). That's the reason for the "seelig" part: It does sound soul related at first glance, but selig is actually used to express something like "at peace" i.e. late or dead in this context. The phrasing "mit grossen Fleis"/"with great care" is standard painterspeak for "I do quality work" from what I can tell, you find it in Dürer's correspondence too.

As you've correctly stated and as we can see, the St John's cross was painted and the ususal monogram for the regent on the cuirass was not. Now the reason for that is somewhat unclear, actually. However, the anecdote about FW ripping the cross from Katte's neck appears to be untrue. The source is Pöllnitz, who claims to have heard it from Grumbkow. It seems unlikely due to Pöllnitz being Pöllnitz and also because Katte appears to have had the cross in his possession until his death. It then ended up with Lepel, the commander of Küstrin, via Major von Schack.

We can only speculate why Lisiewski did not include the monogram, but Fritz in all likelihood did not have anything to do with that. Kloosterhuis writes that perhaps he no longer saw the need to show Katte as the King's man after his passing and more as a man of God, signified by the cross. It is also possible that the monogram was overpainted later on, when the painting was enlarged. As a painter myself, it is also possible that Lisiewski just messed up tbh. There's a lot going on in that specific area of the chest (this is just as if not more speculative than Kloosterhuis's ideas, obvi).

Now, you were also right about Fritz gifting the Kattes a portrait and making them counts! It was not on the anniversary of Katte's arrest but ten days prior, closer to the 10th anniversary of his own arrest. The portrait (which, according to a later source, was "sent" to Hans Heinrich rather than given, without a note "as not to reopen an old wound") was not one of their son but one of himself, this one:

Painted by Knobelsdorff, around 1737.

The portraits were then possibly displayed together (possible reason for enlarging the portrait of Hans Hermann), which is a nice thought.

Also since the last time I've spoken about the yellow portrait, there has been a development! The painting is now on display and can be seen in Schloss Wolfshagen. The Fritz portrait is also owned by the Gans zu Putlitz, so he may be there too? I'll be able to tell you more about it in May.

[blackbirdsaltzman]

In care you’re interested in writing more little!JJ, I just wanted to send a few prompts I put in my comment on the other post as a proper ask. But please feel free to ignore if you’re not interested, thanks!

If you’re looking for more ideas, maybe you could consider writing about what happens after the events of 200 or The Forever People or The Tall Man or Sick Day or maybe what happens after JJ has a bad visit from her mom or after she gets seriously hurt in the field or what happens on the anniversary of Roslyn’s suicide.

Hey, I'm so sorry this is so late. I’ve been having writers block with little!JJ kinda but I think I’m getting better. I decided to write a little one shot of the events after 200.

After 200 ~ Little Jennifer Jareau x Caregivers Hotchniss

(CW: Nightmares, bottle feeding)

Aaron sighs as he exits the room. He’s praying the young girl will actually sleep but he’s not counting on it.

“Is she down?” Emily asks as he enters the living room.

“For now. I think the hospital truly exhausted her after everything. I’m shocked she didn’t regress sooner.” He states sitting down. The girl had fallen into a deep regression as soon as they left the hospital. The two sit around for a few until they hear soft cries from the nursery. They make it into the room as the young girl whimpers while thrashing around in her sheets.

“Baby girl, it’s okay love, you need to wake up,” Emily whispers as the young girl cries. She softly pets the girl’s hair thankful when the blonde’s eyes shoot open.

“Hey baby girl, you’re okay.” She whispers as the girl flings herself into her mama.

“Baby, do you want to come out to the couch and we can watch some Mickey Mouse to relax? I’m sure dada will make you a baba.” Emily whispers as the blonde nudges her head into the older woman’s neck nodding.

“Alright pumpkin,” Emily whispers picking up the young girl. She quickly gets herself and the girl settled on the couch with a blanket over them as Aaron prepares a bottle in the kitchen. JJ messes with the older woman’s fingers as Emily works to turn on Mickey Mouse. Aaron comes in handing the bottle before sliding in next to the pair.

“Alright baby, here’s your baba.” Emily coos as the cartoon start to play. JJ easily takes the bottle leaning against her mama.

“Scary.” JJ whimpers shocking the two adults by speaking.

“We know baby girl but you are so brave and strong. You survived it and you won’t ever have to face that again.” Aaron whispers petting the girl’s hair. JJ leans into his hand as her eyes flutter shut.

“Just go to sleep baby girl. Dada and mama are right here.”

[philcoulsonismyhero]

❄️ ?🌈?

❄️Share a snippet from a WIP of your choosing.

From 'Don't Carry It All, Don't Carry It All', the current main WIP, and the context is that the previous night Nightingale, who's barely been sleeping because it's only a few days until the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Ettersberg and he's struggling with nightmares, fell asleep in the car and Peter and Molly conspired to get him upstairs without waking him.

We drank our coffee and ate breakfast in tired silence, and it wasn’t until Molly appeared to take the plates away that Nightingale said anything more. He stopped Molly with her name, and then looked from one of us to the other.

“Thank you,” he said, “for last night.” He looked a little bit awkward, but managed a small smile. “And I’m sorry for putting you to the trouble.” Molly dipped a little in something that might have been a curtsy, and then shook her head as if to say it hadn’t been any trouble at all. Nightingale smiled at her again, and she picked up his plate and disappeared, forgetting to grab mine as well.

“Don’t worry about it, boss,” I said. “Molly literally did all the heavy lifting.” He nodded.

“I did wonder how I made it upstairs. That was my first theory, followed by a few slightly more outlandish ones involving you and another of your Impello experiments.” I snorted at the mental image that conjured up. “But the fact that my shoes were left by the bed freshly polished did rather suggest Molly’s involvement.”

🌈 Share something soft/fluffy from your WIP.

This is a slightly emotionally intense sort of soft but I still love it, from later in the same WIP. I'm being deliberately cryptic with Peter's plans at this point, but all will eventually be revealed.

We made it back to the Folly at a decent time that evening, and I told Nightingale the edited highlights of what Seawoll had said about taking a day off over a late dinner. He grimaced when I pointed out that Monday was the anniversary proper, and seemed a little apprehensive at the idea that I had something planned.

“Do I get to know what it is that you’ve come up with?” he asked. I took a deep breath. Moment of truth. Either it was a good idea, or a terrible one, and now was when I’d find out. So I told him.

It took me a little while to lay out my plans, and Nightingale listened to it all without interrupting, and then was silent for a long minute after I finished. His face was pale and pinched and exhausted but otherwise blankly unreadable.

“Well?” I eventually prompted, unable to take the wait any longer. “What do you think?”

“I think…” he said, but his voice caught so he started again. “I think it all sounds like a very good idea.” There was a slight wobble in his voice, and his eyes were shiny. “Thank you, Peter.” He actually reached across the table and awkwardly patted my hand.

“Don’t mention it, boss,” I said, managing a smile. There was a lump in my own throat. 

Then Nightingale pulled his hand back, cleared his throat, and swiped a hand across his eyes. I looked away, giving him a moment to compose himself, and if I’m being honest taking one myself. 

“But that’s Monday,” said Nightingale, his voice steady again, or near enough. I turned back to face him. “We still have another day’s work tomorrow, and I believe I should make some attempt to be functional for it.” He stood up, and had to steady himself for a moment using the back of his chair. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to retire, and see if the sleeping pills that Abdul provided have any effect.”

“Good plan,” I said. “‘Night, boss.”

“Goodnight, Peter.” He disappeared out of the room and I heard his slightly rapid footsteps across the hall and up the stairs. I stared after him, and I didn’t hear Molly come up behind me. I jumped.

“You need to stop doing that!” I said, as has become the traditional response, but she just smiled with her too many teeth. Then she bustled off with Nightingale’s plates, but not before leaving me an extra one with a slice of the really excellent chocolate cake from earlier in the week on it. I looked down at it and smiled. Coppers aren’t the only ones with a bad habit of listening at doorways, and it looked like Molly approved of my idea. 

So, even though I’d just caused my boss to leave the room so that I wouldn’t see him cry and that was causing a little bit of guilt, I ate my cake while feeling pleased with myself, and started making plans in earnest.

[suchalonelysunflower]

Caught-up in the Rain - Part 2 

Where The Storm Gathers - Chapter 10.2

Pairing: Stable Lad! Calum x Princess! Reader Summary: The storm is here. The Princess is not where she should be and Calum has to find her before is too late. Armed forces are waiting for the right moment to attack. The opposing army, led by Ashton, Luke and Michael know that something isn't right. There's no time left, everything ends here. Warnings: Angst. Violence. Blood. Mentions of abuse, torture, child abuse. Language. Fighting. Death. Character deaths. Wounds. Some grammar mistakes (English is not my first language, im sorry) Word count: 17.1 k Author's Note: This is the second to last chapter! it took me a while to get here but I hope I made justice to these characters. Thank you to everyone who read this series so far, I love you so so so much. Remember that Reblogs, comments, likes and feedback are incredibly important 💕 hope you like it and happy reading 🦋✨🌻 My master list // tag list on bio!

“My name is Y/N Irwin, Princess of RoseWood and the Kingdom’s youngest Rose. I came here to provide… to provide… Wait, how was it?” 

Calum jumped from a stack of hay, letting his boots crash and splatter on a small puddle of mud. Y/N frowned as a few droplets hit her dress, not because it got dirty, but because she wanted to jump into a puddle as well but according to Wingsburg it was “Unladylike” 

Well, she was never really “ladylike” if she’s being honest. She doesn’t like this whole performance of being a princess. She would much rather be running around the woods, getting sticks stuck to her hair, rolling in the mud with her best friend… She wanted to be a child. Not someone with such a huge responsibility on her nine-year-old shoulders. 

“To provide comfort and support for my Kingdom,” Calum read from a piece of parchment, scratching the back of his head “Until my dying days, I’m yours as long as you are mine…. Okay, that sounds like you’re getting married to RoseWood” 

“Eew,” The little princess cringed as she sat down on the grass, not caring anymore about how the maid will react “I give up,” 

“Rose-”

“I will never learn it!” She threw her arms up, falling dramatically on her back “I’m a princess failure!” 

She covered her eyes with her small hands, groaning into them as her mind ran through a hundred plans to escape from the dreading party. 

Calum sighed as he laid down next to her “You’re not a failure” 

“Tell that to my father,” She said with a sad tone. 

It was her father’s idea to make her and Ashton swear loyalty to RoseWood on the upcoming anniversary of the Kingdom. Technically, neither of them could do it until they were of age, and there was a whole ceremony about it. But King Richard is inviting people from all over the continent and - as he told them one night - “Would not tolerate embarrassments” Though he was looking at her when he said it. 

“I don’t even know why I have to do it, you know?” She complained, looking at Calum “Ashton is going to be King, and when he’s of age he’s going to have yet a thousand parties where he could swear to the wine in father’s goblet if he wants. I’m just me, I don’t matter as they do” 

“Don’t say that,” Calum pleaded quietly, but she didn’t hear.

“I just want to be free!” She exclaimed, raising her arms to the sky “Or at least free enough that I don’t have to go through any more of “I’m the Princess bla bla bla” It’s not like the Kingdom knows who I am or what I can do…” She sighed “If I had the chance many things would change around here… But I’m just the girl in the family” 

Calum sighed with her, looking sadly at the girl whose broken heart was guarded from the outside. But he knew her too well. He knew that even though she was resting importance on her role, she still wants to make it right; to seek the approval of her father and make him proud. 

When Calum first met Y/N, the Queen was already on her deathbed. Y/N talked about her as if she were the most beautiful and kind woman on the planet - Calum could argue that his mom, sister, and even Y/N herself could be up for that title as well but he didn’t say it out loud - and when she died just a couple of weeks later, the world of the little Princess of Rosewood came crashing down in front of his eyes. 

He saw the confusion in the Princess’ eyes when her father stopped hugging her or even talking to her in a kindly manner. He saw how the tears clouded her eyes when they talked about the good fathers in the stories they read together, and how most of them were corrupted by the presence of an evil stepmother. 

“Maybe my story is different,” She said to him one day as they played pretend. She must’ve been seven years old, but her heart was already broken “Maybe I got the bad dad and I might get a good stepmother who would love me” She sighed “But father made it clear that he won’t ever marry again, he got pretty mad when I asked if he ever would” 

Calum couldn’t understand why a father would treat their children like that. He would look back on his own life and consider himself lucky, even if that thought sat heavily on his heart. Yes, his family was poor, but he never once saw his father with a bad temper, nor did his mother frown or curse or even get mad for longer than an hour. So he couldn’t understand why a father could be so… cruel. 

“It’s not fair,” He said in a whisper, looking into her eyes.

Y/N sighed “I never said it was. In fact, I think I might never say it out loud to anyone but you, Cal. You’re the only one I can trust” 

Calum looked as if he was about to say something else, but the Princess just shook her head and sat up straight.

“Still, I need to get this speech right. Even if it won’t change anything, I still have to try” 

The stable lad gave her a sad smile. The conflicting feelings of sadness and pride held in his eyes as he, too, sat up and clapped his hands. 

“Alright, let’s think,” He said as he put on a thinking face that made Y/N giggle “You’re an amazing storyteller, and a decent actress-”

“Decent?!” 

“- An amazing actress, sorry” Calum laughed as he avoided the small fist that was going to crash - painlessly - on his arm “So think of this speech as one of the speeches in our stories! You can pretend you’re a warrior princess and this is the ‘confronting the villain’ speech” 

Y/N smiled widely “Calum that’s an incredible idea! Only we need to find a villain,” 

“I can be-”

“You wouldn't hurt a fly, Cal. You nearly cried when you saw a chipmunk fall from the tree”

“I’m willing to fight!” Calum protested. 

“Yeah? When?” 

“If someone hurts you,” He said almost immediately, blushing when the words finally hit his brain. Yet, a rush of bravery came through him as he saw the Princess blush as well “I would fight off anyone that tries to hurt you, Rose. You know that, right?” 

She pressed her lips on a thin line and nodded. Of course, he would defend her, that’s what best friends do, right? 

“Still, you’re not a villain, Calum. We need to find someone who-... I know!”

Next thing he knew, Calum was holding Y/N’s hand - and not overthinking about it, of course - as she ran through the castle pulling him with her, passing through doors and halls Calum has never visited before but that with the speed of Y/N’s steeps, also didn’t have time to admire. And, in a matter of seconds, they are crossing a huge wooden door and into the library, where they find the Young Prince sitting with a book. 

“Y/N/N? What are you-?” Ashton starts, but it’s immediately cut off by his little sister. 

“We need you to play the villain” She pants, still holding Calum’s hand. 

Ashton raised a brow, looking between the two of them “And why…?” 

“For me to practice the speech!”

“You haven’t learned that yet?” 

Y/N glared at her brother “Don’t be condescending, Ash” 

“I still don’t get why I should be the villain” He sighed as he closed his book “Aren’t you too old to play these games?” 

“Not if you play with us,” Calum casually said, making Ash chuckle as he smiled at them “She will learn it faster and better if we help her think it’s an act. You know? If she’s a warrior princess that wants to defend her kingdom”

“And why aren’t you the villain, then?” Ashton asked with a knowing smirk. Calum rolled his eyes.

“Because your sister thinks I can’t hurt a fly” 

“Because you can’t”

“She’s right, you can’t” Ashton added “Unless that fly were to hurt her” And once again, he smiled as the two of them blushed red “Fine, I’ll be the villain, what do you want me to do?” 

So they spent the entire evening playing outside. Ashton brought a dark cape and a mock sword, and he also lent Calum one and taught him a few moves as Y/N prepared to give her speech. Soon enough, that dress was covered in mud as she tackled Ashton and rolled down the grass, with Calum laughing so hard he had to sit down, only for the siblings to later jump on him in an unexpected truce. 

It is one of Y/N’s fondest memories. And the only one giving her courage now.

*

There was one last cell to visit. One last cell to convince. One last hope that maybe she has done one thing right by her people.

She didn’t know how long it had been since she breathed anything but humidity and blood. All she knew is that she had to hurry so the soldiers and civilians trapped in the cells until it was time to fight could have a chance to go back to Ashton’s army or their homes. A chance of survival or a chance of freedom, it all seemed the same. And it’s the last thing she could do, or at least that’s what she tells herself. 

By now, she has liberated six cells in total, none of them refused her offer for none of them were willing to fight for their crooked King anyway. She didn’t know how many had reached Ashton already, or if some of them had been caught or betrayed her. But it was a risk that they had to take, all of them. And as time keeps passing by, she can only hope it’ll be alright. 

The clinking of the keys distracted her from her own mind, but her hands still shook as she advanced through the dark, cold hallway. She could hear hushed voices becoming a bit louder as she walked, knowing she was on the right track. 

Yet all the voices got quiet the moment she stepped into view.

“Good morning,” Y/N breathed, nodding slightly as she stood in front of the cell. 

The men didn’t respond. But she would barely call them men as they seemed no older than thirteen. Was her father really going to send children into war? 

“Miss?” Said one brave soldier whose face still resembled the one from infancy “What are you-?”

“I’m going to get you out,” Y/N said, putting her hands to work as she tried to open the lock. 

“Out? Is it time to fight?” Said another boy. 

“No, no fighting,” She said, trying to keep herself from crying at the sound of their broken voices “Not for you,” 

But her words did nothing to soothe the kids who shared scared glances as some of them started to cry. 

“No, my lady!” The first boy cried “Don’t send us back to him!” 

“Back to whom?” 

“To the King!” 

“He’ll kill us! He promised he will!” 

“Let us fight!” Cried the second boy, “We will fight! Just don’t hurt our families, please!” 

Finally, the lock broke. And one of the boys launched himself at her feet, begging.

“Please, please, my lady!” He sobbed “We will do anything he asks for, but please. don’t send us back with him! We know that the ones who do never come back” 

Y/N’s heart shattered as she looked down at the boy. His big, watery, brown eyes reminded her of Calum’s when he was just a kid. When she looked at the other children, she could see the desperation in their eyes and the determination of choosing to die on a battlefield than at the merciless hands of her father, of their King. And, for just a moment, she could see herself reflected on those boys. She could see the same fear she felt at their age, the same uncertainty and resignation of a fate that was both cruel and unfair. Only that back then she had Calum and Ashton for support, and now Luke and Michael. But these kids… who was on their corner? 

With a shake of her head, she leaned down to help the boy stand back on his feet and took a step forward.

“You will not die today,” She said firmly, looking at every single one of them “You have my word, you shall not face danger any longer. Where are your families?” 

“We don’t know,” answered one of the kids, “We haven’t seen them since-“ 

But the silence was the answer. None of them knew how long it had been since they were separated from their homes to fight a war they had no part. 

“You shall go to the woods then,” Y/N said, calmly “You will find an old tree in the middle of it, surrounded by bushes and roses. You will wait there until it is over” 

“But the King-“

“I’ll handle him,” She said, surprised by the steadiness of her voice ���He will not hurt any of you, I won’t allow it” 

“And if he hurts you, my lady?”

“He won’t,” She said, she hoped.

“How do you know?” 

Y/N took a breath of courage “My name is Y/N Irwin, Princess of RoseWood and the Kingdom’s youngest Rose. I came here to provide comfort and support for my Kingdom, until my dying days, I’m yours as long as you are mine. And I promise you, here and now, my father won’t hurt my people anymore. Not as long as I’m alive”

*

If Ashton had the choice to do whatever he wanted for the next fifteen minutes, it would’ve been safe to say he would just sit on the grass and allow himself to cry and panic about everything that’s been happening even before his father imprisoned him. 

But he can’t. He doesn’t get the chance to. He might never if he’s being honest. 

A prince does not cry. A prince does not show emotion. A prince should learn to be a king, not a princess. A prince has to lead, always show face, and make decisions that would benefit him. A prince learns to shut up and let the grown-ups speak. A prince knows his place. A prince does not talk back to his father, no matter how wrong he thinks he is. A prince is not a pussy. A prince is not weak. A prince does not get scared. A prince should learn, by the gods, he should learn a thing or two to be worth it of such name and title. And Ashton? That’s all he knows, all he learned. 

Yet things are not that simple. Even with his father’s words resonating inside his head, knowing just how wrong he was, he cannot shake them. He can’t shake what he’s learned or what he’s become because of those words tainted in his brain. 

All those years of silent torture, hiding behind the mask his father created for him at such a young age since that first slap when he cried over his mother’s grave. He’s a product of the intentions of a cruel man; a man who knew nothing about what really means to be a leader or even a father. A man that made him more like him than Ashton would ever admit. 

But a prince does not cry. A prince leads. And, right now, he would wear that mask one more time. Anything to make him pretend he’s as brave as his people think he is. For his kingdom and the crown that’s been promised, and for his family’s sake; he will fight, goddammit, and he will win. By the gods, he will win. 

As he looked at his troops, fighting the tightening in his chest as the early winds caressed his face, he prayed one last time. And if there was at least a god somewhere, they better be listening. 

“Ashton,” Luke called next to him, placing a hand on his shoulder “They are almost here” 

The young king’s voice was steady and hard, a true leader’s command. But Ashton recognized that look in his eyes, asking the question he desperately wanted an answer to as well but wasn’t able to provide it. 

“We won’t get to the palace in time,” Ashton said, “There’s nothing we can do for them but to win here and hope for the best” 

“We are ready when you are. Michael is already giving out the last orders with this change of plans” 

“I swear those two deserve each other,” The prince commented with a humorless chuckle “One more reckless than the other”

“Isn’t that what love is?” Asked Luke “Pure recklessness to save the one you love?” 

That last memory of the forest flashed through Ashton’s mind, maybe if he could be braver… more reckless…

Luke must’ve noticed the change in the prince’s eyes, the hurt and doubt that resided in them. 

“I don’t blame them,” He said “One is willing to do even the craziest thing out of love” 

“Maybe,” said Ashton “I just hope they won’t get into any trouble till we get there” 

“Afraid you’ll miss all the fun?” 

“I’m afraid the fun finds them before we do” He scoffed, settling on his horse “We’ll have to stay and fight until we know the others can hold them off. Then we’ll ride into the palace. If Richard is as cowardly as he proved himself to be, once we get there he would have no other chance but to surrender” 

“And if he doesn’t?” 

But Ashton didn’t answer. He couldn’t. Yet, he knew the answer. They all did. 

Only two options were at hand: Either RoseWood would have a new king, or it’ll be the end of all things as they knew it. Whatever happens, is up to fate to decide which side they are on. But one thing is for certain; tonight the thrones around Ashton’s heart will finally bleed and all that pain and suffering might be worth something in the end. It will all be over one way or another. 

Ashton was about to say something to Luke when the sound of hooves coming from the East alerted them as the dark shadows of the enemy started to come out of the woods and into the field. Ashton’s gaze turned hard as he gave one last nod at Luke who soon got into position next to his army. 

Armies of iron and steel lined up parallel to them, almost surpassing them in size. He almost smiled at that, thinking of his sister who liberated the imprisoned soldiers that now fought by his side. Without them, they would be at a disadvantage in terms of people. 

Both sides just stood there, waiting in silence for their leader’s command. General Chaviet of King Richard’s army was in front of all of them, sitting on his horse with a smirk, looking straight at the prince he once held captive. Ashton paid no mind to him as he scanned the enemy’s lines, looking for the familiar pair of eyes that mimicked his own, and finding nothing but strangely familiar faces looking back at him. The soldiers were right, King Richard was not going to fight the battle, thinking he already won the war. 

But Ashton was more than ready to prove him wrong. All he had to do was wait for them to give the first step and he’ll show them just how not to mess with the monster they’d created. 

He almost smiled as Chaviet raised his sword, falling straight for their trap, and crying out a yell of war, guiding his army into battle. 

Ashton waited till they got close before he yelled “Archers!” 

A thousand arrows fell down the sky like rain, straight into the enemy’s lines before they’d even reached the meadow. They came crashing down into the bodies of the soldiers and the horses, making them fall as the unaware stampede crushed them to the ground before they even realized what they had done. And, once they did, another batch of that unforgiving aim came to flood them once again. 

With a part of their troops already lost and confused by the mayhem, Ashton looked to his left and signaled King Alex’s commander, who led his army with a battle cry as they surprised the enemy by crashing them at the sides instead of the front. Then, he watched as Luke’s calvary took the first position; the army of the Vail making all the legends true of their bravery and savagery in battle as their swords shined crimson in a matter of seconds. 

But Ashton knew this was far from over, this was just the beginning. This was his war and it was time to fight it. 

With one last deep breath, he took his sword from its scabbard and pointed it to the battlefield, lurching himself forward in his horse as the wind cut his face with a silent scream. All his soldiers followed him, ready to fight and die for the rightful King of RoseWood.

And, as Ashton reached the heart of the battle, the point of no return was already crossed.

*

Time ran out a while ago. The palace’s walls never seemed so suffocating before, or at least they never seemed it for Y/N as she ran down the hallways. 

The last group of soldiers was liberated just before they came looking for them. Y/N guided the children out of the dungeons by showing them the way toward the secret staircase and door that led them toward the woods, but it was too late for her to go with them as the guards that came looking for them seemed to be getting closer. 

It was foolish to think that no one would notice how the dungeons that were once filled with innocent people were now empty, especially being so close for them to leave for battle. So when a group of guards yelled out curses at yet another empty cell, she knew she had to stall them long enough for the kids to escape safely. 

She went back into the dungeons, far enough so that the guards won’t be able to see her, but they’ll be able to hear her with the echo of the humid, rotting walls. She grabbed a forgotten manacle that lay on the floor, still covered in someone’s dried blood, and pressed it along the iron bars of the cells. When she heard the guards coming closer to where the children were, she started to run, making the iron clash against one another and creating a sound so horrible and loud it’ll be impossible for the guards to ignore. 

She ran as fast as she could, grabbing random things from the floor and throwing them against the walls and the iron doors. She jumped from hallways to pathways to hallways again, never running down the same path again and avoiding the ones that had no way out. The echo confused the guards who were never sure of where the sound was coming from, running in circles after the ghost the princess created. 

“There she is!” Someone yelled behind her. 

She heard footsteps approaching, but she didn’t dare to look back as she kept on sprinting down the halls and out of the dungeons. The guards were gaining speed behind her. Y/N started to throw things their way; old vases, decorative armor, and busts of family members that she’d never met nor will ever. Anything to slow them down.

But she still had the advantage; this was her home. They didn’t know the castle as she did. They didn’t know how many hidden roses were on the walls nor how many steps to the next door. The Princess used to walk these halls every day, hiding from her tutors and playing with Ashton and Calum to hide and seek. She would sneak around every other night to see her lover in the woods, falling for him harder each night. It was then that Y/N realized that she knew this place by heart. She just had to keep running. But they were coming closer and closer, and-

A scream of surprise escaped her when suddenly something - or rather someone - grabbed her by the arm and pulled her into a dark room, closing the door and quickly silencing her by putting their hand on top of her mouth. 

Y/N could only open her eyes in panic as she reached behind her, trying to scratch this person’s face. Her back was against the person’s chest and their other arm was holding her by rounding her waist, making it impossible for her to fight back properly. She would bite and kick but it was all futile; her muffled screams did nothing to even freak out her captor, immovable as they were. Only a particular kick in the shin made them react. 

“Fucking-!” They hissed but kept their hold. “Honey, I love you and I wouldn’t be telling you this in another situation but could you please shut up!?” 

Her whole body stilled as her eyes, wide and alert, began to fill with unshed tears at the sound of that voice. The voice she thought she might never hear again because of her recklessness and impulsivity. A warm feeling of love ran through her body, but at the same time the same feeling of dread she felt back in the camp. What was he doing there? He shouldn’t be here at all! He should be safe back in the camp, the beverage should’ve lasted more! What-?

Yet, Y/N could barely think straight after a moment because the footsteps suddenly became louder and clearer outside the door. It seemed they'd waited an eternity as the shadows passed running, not a single glance in their direction as they theorized out loud where the intruder could be. 

They waited a second, two, three… until only silence surrounded them. 

A sigh escaped Calum’s lips. Y/N felt how he relaxed, his chest firm against her back but breathing steadily as he softened his grip on her. She stayed there a while longer, just living in the feeling of his beating heart matching with hers as they came down from the adrenaline shot. It seemed to like hers couldn’t calm down, not only from all the running and wondering if she would even escape, but also from the reaction Calum might have when seeing her again.

She pulled away after a while, walking with her back turned toward him as she tried to collect her thoughts. What would she even say? Was it even worth it saying anything at all knowing he might never forgive her? In a way, she hoped he wouldn't forgive her at all. A clear path for him to get away from all this madness and from her, who only brought him trouble since the day she said “I love you” How many people suffered because of it? How much did Calum lose just because she was selfish enough to let him love her? 

Still, there was nowhere to run, nothing more to hide. They were the only ones in that dark room; they and fate who was waiting as the grim reaper to collect yet another broken heart. 

Taking a deep breath filled with courage, Y/N turned around, and it was like facing reality after a big hit of denial. 

Calum was standing there, shoulders slumped and defeated the moment he saw her. His eyes were sad but even in the dark, she could see they held more than just that. The clothes he wore barely had any sort of protection, she’d assumed he barely got time to put anything on before he went looking for her. And for what? she wanted to ask him. Hasn’t she hurt him enough? 

“Cal- I…” She began, but there were no words left in her throat that would give him a sufficient answer, or at least enough to justify the unjustifiable “I-”

“Stop,” He said, shaking his head and closing the distance between them “Just, stop”

His hands were cupping her face before she knew it. Senseless mumbles were quickly silenced by his lips on hers, kissing her as if it were the first time. 

It was almost magical in a sense. How she could melt into his embrace with just a simple touch. They just fit, as if their souls were made out of the same burning fire and cut with the same sword. It was magical how their senses could shut down and expand at the same time, feeling everything yet nothing from the outside world could touch them. It was them, just them. 

The touch of his lips against her own, how he kissed her with all that he had, and how she gave it back, all of her for him. She was fully aware of him; of how his tongue pressed against her bottom lip, going as far as she would let him when she parted them; how his hands were at either side of her waist, holding her close as his fingers found their permanent marks against her skin; how the hairs at the back of his neck would rise with every graze of skin she would give, feeling alive, finally alive after so long. 

Calum pressed his forehead against hers, both of them catching their breath as his hand found hers and brought her up to his chest, over his heart. 

“Do you feel this?” He asked, eyes closed and a shaky voice as he leaned down for another brief kiss “My heart beats for you, every hour of every day, you’re very purpose to keep going. It won’t stop, and it’ll never stop, Y/N. My rose. My wife. It’s yours for as long as you want it and even more than that” 

“Calum-” 

“Kill me, if you must. But do it with your bare hands, your voice, and your touch” His eyes pleaded with her “Don’t keep me away from you, don’t go without me. And if fate ever decides to break up apart all I ask is for me to go first. Let me go first, as selfish as that sounds because I won’t be able to tolerate a life if it doesn’t have you in it” 

Y/N’s eyes filled with tears “How can you say those things? How could you still want me after everything?” 

Calum cupped her cheek, making her look him in the eyes. 

“Because I love you. More than life itself, more than anything. And I don’t know how many times I’ll have to say it for you to believe it, but I’m not going anywhere, my rose. Not now, not ever. So don’t say you’re sorry, because I know your reasons and I forgive them, knowing I would’ve done the same. Don’t say I’ll be better off somewhere else with a new life because it’s not true nor will it ever be. I belong with you, by your side”

“And I with you,” She said, a tear falling from her eye that he quickly caught “I don’t deserve you”

“How many times till you understand that you do?” 

“I’ve hurt you” 

“I can take it,” He said with a smile. She shook her head. 

“I love you-”

“How could that not be enough?” 

“It is. It’s always been” 

“Then let me,” He whispered against her lips “Let me love you,” 

A simple nod said more than a thousand words as Y/N closed the gap between them, bringing Calum closer and kissing him with a taste of salt due to the tears. Calum, on his part, placed his hands on her waist again, walking them back to the wall as the world fades away for a moment. 

“O-Ouch” Y/N complained as her back hit something, not necessarily a wall. Calum pulled away almost immediately.

“Are you okay? Did I-?”

“No, you didn’t” She sighed, rubbing her middle back “I think I hit a doorknob? Something pointy for sure” 

They took a step back, the princess next to the stable lad as they tried to see something in the darkness of the room. They could make the shape of a frame, but the shadows of its content were hidden from sight. 

“Where even are we?” Asked Calum.

“I wish I knew. I’d never entered this part of the castle before. And not because I hadn’t tried, but it was always locked for some reason” 

She looked around the room, trying to find something that could bring some light into the room. A candlestick, for example. But there was no such luck. 

“I thought I saw some light over here,” Calum said, walking with her toward a fine line of light “A window” 

With just one look, they nodded and got to work trying to open the wooden lids that seemed to have been stuck for nearly a decade or more. In the end, after a few minutes of pulling and trying to avoid splinters, the wood finally broke. 

“Is that-?” Y/N asked when she turned around, eyes widening at the sight.

“You?”

They didn’t know what they were expecting, but for sure it wasn’t that. A portrait that was as tall as the room itself, a lady in the middle of it. She was beautiful; smiling kindly at them; her clothes were of the uttermost white, contrasting with the red roses she held in her lap. Her eyes seemed filled with joy and hope, looking at someone behind the artist who was trying to make her laugh. She looked so much like Y/N, that for a second she thought she was looking at herself in the painting.

“No…that’s” She said, choking up as recognition crossed her face “That’s my mum”

Y/N walked over to the portrait, her fingers grazing the fabric as a teary smile drew her features.

“I- I haven’t seen her in so long, I- I was forgetting what she looked like. First, it was her voice, then her touch but- I never meant to forget her completely” 

“You haven’t” Calum chimed in, walking to her and hugging her from behind “You always carried her with you. Remember how you used to tell me all the stories she used to tell you? How you always did a little toast in secret when it was her birthday? You even used her dress… You didn’t forget her. Not in the ways that mattered”

“I wish you could’ve met her” 

“I did. In a way I did. Knowing you and Ashton, I knew the best of her already” He kissed her cheek “She was beautiful” 

“The most beautiful rose in the kingdom, my father used to say” She sighed, looking into her mother’s eyes “Why in the world is she here?” 

“Your father must’ve hid her here, maybe if we look closer we’ll find more of her” 

Y/N sighed sadly, “She doesn’t deserve this. To be locked out as a bad memory” 

“Then we’ll bring her back, my rose. I promise” 

She nodded, but it seemed like she didn’t hear him at all “Could I have a moment, please?” She asked. 

And even though there wasn’t a lot of room there, Calum listened and moved to the window, far enough so that he wouldn’t hear the private words whispered by a daughter to her mother.

“Hi, mummy” Y/N whispered with a little laugh “I- I spent my life missing the memory of you, I didn’t think I’ll be able to miss you this much, we barely even had time to share our love. Ashton did a good job, he taught me everything you taught him. I know he misses you the most and he wouldn’t have done all that he did if he didn’t think it’ll make you proud. 

I tried to as well, to make you proud. But truth is, I don’t know if you would. Would you love me the same? Or would you push me aside as he did? If I’m honest I’d rather not know. But I think I did pretty good for myself, didn’t I mum? I married for love, just like you did. I made friends… I just hope I can keep it all. Does that make me selfish? 

I know dad is hurt, he’s been hurt for a long time. And I wish I could forgive him, but-” She sighed “He needed you. We all did. But we’ll make it right. Ashton will be a great king, we all know he will. And when he wins, we’ll bring you back to where you deserve, next to the roses hidden in the walls you loved so much. I promise you, no one will ever forget Queen Arianna again. Please, mother, give me strength” 

She smiled to herself as she turned back to Calum who was looking through the window, a worried expression on his face. Y/N frowned.

“What’s wrong?” 

“There’s smoke coming from the horizon after the woods” He turned to her “The battle has begun. We need to get out of here” 

*

His uncle always told him that the battlefield smelled like blood, dead, and shit. And as he brings yet another crow down, Michael wishes he never had to know this firsthand. 

The men of the Vail were always ready to fight, always ready for war as if Ares himself had birthed the kingdom and raised it as his own. But peace reigned for so long that all the training seemed useless till now. Oh, how he wished he’d never had to use these skills in battle. Yet, he knew better than anyone that the time might come anyways. He was the King’s first guard, after all, he would lay his life on the line for Luke to have even a slim chance of survival. 

But Luke is nowhere to be found. Luke is in the middle of a battle, angry at Michael and he can’t find him. He’s been looking for more than an hour. Swinging his sword, attacking the enemy back and forth and winning each time, but no sign of his King.

He would be lying if he said that bringing down crows didn’t bring him any type of satisfaction. But every time he’d advance on his search for Luke, another crown would come trying to prove their bravery by fighting the commander of the Vail. Michael would just roll his eyes, and in a matter of a few hits, he’d bring the crow back to their maker. Besides, he noticed his body slowly starting to shut off. 

Michael didn’t take the potion today. Convinced he was going to die today one way or another, he figured that the false strength of Samson in a bottle would do nothing but tire him sooner as it has been doing lately. Still, he can feel the absence of the elixir take a toll; he was limping on his right leg, and it hurt to breathe. And he needed Luke.

Ever since they were children they fought side by side. They’ve trained side by side; they’ve caused trouble side by side; they have been there for each other, through the good and the bad. And if Michael was going to die tonight, he’d do it by Luke’s side, defending his King till his last breath. 

“Motherfucker, where are you?!” He mumbled angrily as he made his way through the battlefield. Avoiding the bodies on the muddy ground and the calls of the crows that were still alive. Nothing else mattered to him, but to find Luke and make sure he was safe in the mass mutiny. 

He didn’t mind what happened earlier that morning when he couldn’t find the leaves. He didn’t mind the shame nor the tears that adorned his face, that was his problem, the one he created for himself and that still believes he shouldn’t apologize for. What he cared about was the man who saw through him with such pain and anger, something he couldn’t shake away no matter how hard he tried. He knows, he hurt him and he wanted nothing more than to make it right before it was too late. 

The look on Luke’s face was haunting him, and the silence that followed throughout the day was nothing but damaging to his already lost soul. He knew he’d be better off, sparing him from the view of his living corpse. But the selfish want in his heart only begged him to find his lover, just one last time to make sure he’d be fine. 

“Luke!” He’d call carelessly, not minding at all the enemies that his voice might attract. There was one thing on his mind and he would get through everything to see him again “Luke!” 

Yet no one answered. 

So he wandered. He wandered for what felt like forever, looking over his shoulder and passing the trees. He saw Ashton’s mighty sword striking down the enemy, a gaze filled with rage as he crossed the hearts of the ones that were against him in battle. He saw good men die as a crow with much more force won them over and claimed their lives. He counted one, two, three… more bodies coming down. And, as horrible as it might sound, a breath of relief escaped him when the faces of the fallen looked nothing like his King. 

It was when his hopes were at his lowest and the thunder above at the loudest when he found him, much later. 

The King of the Vail, as valiant as always, stood at the top of one of the lowest hills the terrain had to offer. The armor at his chest shone against the first drops of drizzle that came from the sky, showing proudly the sigil of his kingdom. He held the sword with both hands, bloody, dirty, and bruised, clenching his teeth as he swung at the man with dark armor, making him lose his knife and fall to his knees. Luke wasted no time, for he learned the bad way, that's something one barely has, and sunk his blade to the man’s side, pushing the body away with his foot and letting it roll down the hill. 

Only then could Michael get a good look at him. 

Luke’s blond curls were sticking to his forehead due to a mix of sweat and the drizzle. He had a cut on his cheek, one that was not deep but still let out a lot of blood. he was breathing heavily, taking a moment to catch his breath again, and closed his eyes, when he opened them, his baby blues were tired, yet alert, seemingly looking for something or someone until they laid on Michael’s green eyes. 

A ghost of his lover’s name seemed to have passed his lips before he turned around, just in time to block another’s sword that was about to strike him from the back. Michael wasted no time running up that hill. Running through the pain and through the hard breaths, anything to get to his King faster. 

He saw through his tear and rain-tinted lashes as the fight ensued, Luke, launching strike after strike. Strained groans were being pulled out of his throat as the enemy relentlessly tried to make him fall, failing each time. For one might strike a King, Michael thought, but they will never see him fall. 

Michael reached the top in the nick of time, immediately sliding next to Luke, putting himself in the middle, and striking the crow across the stomach. Splatters of blood painted his face with droplets of crimson as he tried to catch his breath, pushing the crow to the ground and watching as their chest stopped moving. 

A hand appeared next to him, open and offering as he took it. The touch was as familiar as the face looking back at him. Baby blue eyes staring with love and pain, relief and worry. The war around them seemed to fade away for a moment, just a moment enough for them to say what hasn’t been said.

“Luke…” Whispered Michael. 

The young king tilted his head to the side, pressing his lips on a thin line as he shook his head. He pulled Michael in, crashing their lips in a forceful, passionate kiss in the middle of the battlefield, standing on top of a hill as chaos reigned under them. Luke cupped Michael’s cheek, swallowing the gasps of surprise the older man let escape before melting into the kiss. Nothing else mattered, not to them and not now. 

For a second Michael thought his knees might give out. And it wasn’t until he felt the hard ground under him that he realized they did. 

“Michael!” Luke cried in surprise, trying to pull him back up but he was too heavy. “Love, what happened?” 

“I- I,” Gasped Michael, trying to find enough strength to stand on his own. 

An excruciating pain ran through his body, making him groan out what should’ve been a full-on cry. 

“Have you taken the medicine today?” 

Michael didn’t answer. Luke became frantic. 

“I’m sorry, my King” 

“Fuck, Michael! Don’t you see?!” Luke cried “You can break, throw yourself away, leave it all behind. But you are breaking us both! If what I’m asking is too selfish by asking you to be selfless, then so be it. But don’t leave me!” 

“Luke-” 

“Please! Let us go to the castle, find the cure!” 

“I don’t think I’ll make it” Michael gasped, looking with teary green eyes at the man trying to hold it all together, even when the world around him was falling apart “Luke, I’m sorry. I- I love-”

“We’ll find a way,” Luke said “We’ll find a way where you would tell me that again, standing in front of the stars and promising the future and more, a life together. Because I swear to every god, Michael, if you die I swear I’ll follow you” 

Immediately, Luke pulled Michael’s uncursed arm over his shoulder and dragged him with difficulty across the hill. 

“Fight, one last time” Pleaded Luke through gritted teeth “That’s all I ask. Let us go to the palace, reach fate there” 

Michael tried helping him, giving lazy steps filled with pain “If my King commands it,” He tried to joke, pulling a sneaky laugh out of his king. 

“You fucking better believe your king commands it,” He said, looking at him “Because he won’t survive if you don’t” 

Fondness filled the knight’s eyes “Take me home, Luke” 

“I will.” He promised “I’ll always take you home” 

*

After seeing a lot of blood - mostly from his body pooling on some dirty floor in the dungeons - Ashton is not even faced with it as he slashes the throat of one of the crows that kept him prisoner. He remembered all of them.

“This is for the cut between each finger,” He thought as we fought them one by one “This is for the slaps. The punches. The lashes with the whip. One, two, three.”

It was never ending; the fighting, the pain… It never went away. He still carried them with him wherever he went, at all times. Flesh reminders of what death felt like. And a painful reminder of what death was. 

His body was still weak, but by god did he fight. More out of vengeance or by sheer determination to get the throne, he didn’t know anymore. His list of enemies grew infinite, even when most of them were falling like flies on the battlefield. He had Y/N to thank for that, he knew that if it weren’t for his sister, they would’ve been outnumbered. 

Ashton couldn’t help but smile as his sword hit another, blocking the attack and quickly getting over with them, thinking about how much greater he is than his father. Wishing he would be there to see it for himself. Even with all the pain he inflicted, he still wished he could make his father proud, and then kill him with his bare hands.

“Look, father” He would say to him “Look how they all came to me, to help me. Not you. I am their King. Your son. Your worthless, weak, pitiful son has achieved something you would never do” 

He would be such a better king than his father ever was. He was sure of that. The people, his people believed in him, even going to war for him and what they believed in. Ashton won’t fail them. Ashton won’t fail him. 

But with every coin comes two sides, and he knows that his father’s madness might come to play, sneaking its way and mixing with his emotions and judgment, willing to destroy anything that comes his way. But now, he welcomes it. He needs it. He won’t be a mad king like his father, oh no, but he will be worse to protect the ones he loves. 

He has to be worse.

His chest rose and fell as he watched yet another body hit the ground. But he wasn’t tired, not at all. Excitement ran through his veins, adrenaline enlarging his pupils as the ghost of a smile crossed his lips, wondering: Who’s next? 

“IRWIN!” Someone was shouting across the battlefield. 

Ashton turned, squinting his eyes to see clearly despite the rain that started to pick up. Across, at about a hundred-meter distance, Captain Hugo Chaviet stood. Dirty, tired, angry… He had his eyes set on the prince, ready to kill. 

Everything went away as Ashton stared at the man responsible for many of his disgraces. His father’s right-hand man. The one that helped take everything from him. And now, he was challenging him, personally. 

The sword spun in his hands, eyes set on his target as Ashton trodden toward the Captain. Memories of countless tortures passed through his mind; the nights when he would end up chained to the walls as his body kept being abused by all the men who had just wanted a little bit of fun; the sound of the whip followed by the dry, raspy laughter; the fear the crow's captain gave to everyone who dared go against him, not scared to torture innocent and making them work until their literal deaths. He wondered if he was the last face Rian saw before the attack. He wondered if he was there if he did it. 

But thoughts don’t matter for the already decided fates. Thoughts and prayers do nothing for the already dead. 

What matters is one thing: Ashton would make sure he would be the last face Chaviet would ever see, even if that vengeance takes them both.

Their swords met before they did. Clashing in the middle, sending a vibration through their arms that only served to spike up the hatred among them as they danced. A beautiful performance from two skilled fighters who have nothing left to lose for they lost everything to one another. Ashton lost his mind, and his heart; and Chaviet is losing the war, the only thing that made him redeemable in the King’s eyes.

Ashton took a step back while Chaviet took one forward, going straight for the heart. Yet Ashton managed to turn, spin and defend himself against the attack. Swinging his sword with the talent of a thousand swordsmen; aiming for the leg, the arms, the chest, the neck, and the leg again. Confusing his opponent, tiring him as the rain fell like knives upon them. 

“Is this all you got, old man?” Asked Ashton with a sly smile. 

Chaviet’s eyes opened wide, almost in recognition, or remembrance. The smile was quickly replaced with a grunt. Ashton pushed the crow, making him tumble backward, but he still held on.

“I said, is this all you got?!” Ashton yelled, going back at it again “Is this what you wanted to see?! Is this the King you hoped for?!” 

Chaviet couldn’t respond, trying to defend himself from the prince’s sword that seemed possessed with a strong spell. Blocking each move and hoping he’d be fast enough to block the next one.

He didn’t notice when his sword was kicked out of his hands.

“You served a mad king and you’ll die at the hands of another” Ashton said with sufficiency as he looked down at the broken sword laying beside them.

“Please,” Chaviet begged, falling to his knees “Mercy…” 

Ashton grabbed him by the collar and pulled him closer.

“Is that what Rian said when you killed him?” 

The point of his sword was already pressing against the crow’s chest, it was just a matter of a little push to end it all.

“Long live the fucking King” Ashton sunk the sword into the heart of the captain. 

If seeing how dull the eyes of Hugo Chaviet became, or the thin line of blood dripping from his lips, would bring any satisfaction to Ashton, then that failed. When he pulled the sword out of the dead man’s body and let it fall with a thundering thud, Ashton realized he felt nothing. 

He didn’t regret it, not one bit. But deep down he knew that this wasn’t over. Killing him won’t change what’s done; it can’t bring back the dead or heal the scars that the past left. Ashton knew it meant something, he only wished it could mean more to him. Bring back that piece of him that died long ago, the one that made him a person he barely remembered. 

A deep breath escaped his lips as he tilted his head toward the sky, letting the rain wash him of all the blood, of all his sins. The droplets caressed his face, but he found no comfort in the break that the rain allowed. The war was not over, not yet. 

“Ashton!” Another voice called for him, but there was no threat to it, no. It was desperation.

The prince turned around toward the sound, his unamused face soon turned to worry as he saw the King of the Vail riding toward him with a seemingly injured Michael laying horizontally in front of him in the saddle. Next to them, King Alex also appeared on his horse, panting heavily.

“What happened?” Ashton yelled as he ran toward them, meeting them in the middle “Michael…” 

The knight tried to smile to reassure the worried prince, but it was more a mock of pain that crossed his face. 

“We need your help,” Luke begged, “We need to get to the castle, to the infirmary! Ash… He doesn’t have much time”

Ashton nodded, feeling conflicted as to what to do, looking around on the battlefield where weirdly no one seemed to be noticing them. 

King Alex seemed to have read his mind “We’re doing fine,” He said “We can hold them off and defeat them easily. Seems like they underestimated their prince and princess” 

“They haven’t arrived yet?” 

“No one has seen them,” 

“We can look for them in the palace,” Luke added, looking seriously at Ashton “It’s time, Ash” 

King Alex stepped off his horse and gave the reins to Ashton, “We got this, your Majesty” 

Ashton nodded and hopped on the horse, giving one last look at the fight before he followed the men of the Vail toward his home. Toward the end. 

*

“Where to?!” Asked Calum as they walked, going faster with every step and stopping at every corner, making sure the coast was clear. 

With some of the guards looking for them, Calum and Y/N ought to be very cautious while trying to find a way out of the palace, knowing that the known entrances would be impossible to go through. 

“I don’t know!” Answered the Princess next to him.

“You don’t know?!” 

“Well, I don’t know Calum! I’m not going to stop and ask for directions, am I now?” 

“You live here!” 

“And all the ways I had to sneak out of the palace are completely- Wait!” Y/N said, stopping completely and making Calum stumble at the sudden reaction.

She turned around with a wide smile, “The library!” She said. 

“What about it?” 

“There are maps of the castle,” She continued “My tutors never let me see them, too afraid of me running away someday if I ever knew about the secret entrances and pathways. But they must still be there! Father couldn’t be bothered to throw them out, I don’t think- No, Calum, we have to at least try and look for them!” 

Calum stood there, an unreadable look on his face. 

“What?” 

“Darling, I love you,” He said, “But wouldn’t you think, I don’t know, convenient for you to have mentioned that earlier?” 

She rolled her eyes “Well, my dear, in between all the running for our lives and hiding, the literal war that has broken out just a few miles over, and the crazy monarch that happens to be my father, I must’ve forgotten” 

Calum pressed his lips in a thin line and nodded “Message received. Now, where was the library?” 

In a matter of minutes and going up two sets of stairs, they entered the deserted library. Piles of books covered in dust welcomed them as they opened the windows with care, trying not to make a sound in case the guards decided to look on that floor. 

They separated to cover more ground, Y/N started at the left while Calum went to the right, skimming through the shelves hoping to find some type of leather folder that contained the maps that would lead them to the woods again. 

“I haven’t been here in years” Calum commented, opening and closing a book after reading the title “And it seems like no one has in at least a decade” 

“I hated this place,” Y/N said, a smile clear in her voice “Well, I used to love it when I was a child. But then my father decided I should be locked up here for hours learning about “how to be a lady” and all fun was sucked out of this place. I’m not surprised he forgot about it once we were gone” 

“Remember when you would sneak me in here?” He walked over to her, standing behind her as he checked the top shelves “You would recruit me to find inspiration for your stories” 

“Our stories” Y/N laughed, looking up at him “I needed a second opinion. And since Ash started to get busier, I figured you would do just fine” 

Calum pinched her side, making her laugh and squirm out of his touch. He placed a kiss on her cheek. 

“Funny how we wanted to be here and now we are looking to escape” She sighed.

“But we’ll be back,” Calum reassured her, comfortingly rubbing his hands on her arm. “I promised you we will when we are free. We’ll travel the world and come back whenever you’re ready, my rose.”

“I know, but I-” She stopped suddenly when her eyes read the title of a book. Without a word she walked over to one of the tables, carefully placing the book and skimming through the pages “Calum, come look at this!” 

“Did you find the map?” 

“No, but look!” A smile plastered itself on her lips “It’s the book of Maesters! Throughout the years, all maesters were required to write in this book each time they made a discovery, poison, cure… It contains years of information about medicine and surgery we barely know!”

Calum smiled “And if there are years of wisdom in poisons…”

“The antidotes should be there! Oh, Cal! Michael’s cure is surely here somewhere, we have to take it” 

“You look for the antidote, I’ll keep looking for the map” 

*

The horses stopped at the entrance of the castle. The men didn’t command them to, it was as if they knew something terrible might happen. 

Ashton looked over at Luke who was looking at the fortress with hatred and determination. Michael, who found enough strength to sit up, let out a breath of resignation.

“We’re here,” He said, attempting to break the tension. 

They imagined they would storm into the castle with their horses, demand the cure and the crown, and get over with it as quickly as possible. But it was as if the moment became bigger than them, and a sudden fear struck their bones. 

Ashton was the first one off the horse, a hand already on the handle of his sword“C’mon,” 

Luke followed suit, helping Michael off and wincing when the night insisted he could walk.

“I’m alright, Luke,” He said with a smile, “It was a moment’s weakness that’s all” 

“A moment’s weakness can cost you your life,”

“Or save it if we don’t hurry” He nudged Luke’s shoulder, following Ashton.

“You know,” Luke sighed, catching up to him “You used to be the serious one in this relationship” 

Michael laughed “I got one foot in hell, my King, the least I can do is make the trip enjoyable” 

Luke was about to make a rebuttal but quickly got quiet when he noticed Ashton standing still in the middle of the hall.  

The air around them was eerily silent. Something was wrong, they could all feel it. In an instant, the three of them drew their swords as they stood in position.

“Ash?” Asked Michael “What happened? What’s going on?” 

“Can’t you hear it?” The prince asked back, looking over the staircase that welcomed them “Listen,” 

It was faint, almost inaudible, but it was there. The sound of iron footsteps coming their way. Then, from the east and the west, soldiers all dressed in armor stood in front of them, swords drawn and helmets facing them. 

No one said a word as the three men got surrounded. They were outnumbered, that’s for sure. But they never quiver. In fact, one could almost see the ghost of a smile hidden somewhere. 

Michael scoffed “How many do you reckon?” He asked Ashton. The prince shrugged.

“Forty, maybe fifty men” 

“A playdate, then,” Said Luke, holding onto his sword with a better grip and cracking the bones of his neck. 

“This is the fun I was talking about,” Ashton smirked before trodding toward the soldiers with Michael and Luke following close behind.

*

Calum stopped abruptly, making Y/N bump against his shoulder, almost dropping the book she was holding. “What’s going on?” she asked, putting all her senses on high alert in case something or someone was coming. 

They left the library not too long ago, being successful in finding the right map and the book they needed to save Michael’s life. For the first time in a long while, things were starting to look up for them. Well, until Calum had that dark look in his eyes. 

“I don’t know,” Calum answered, somberly “It seems- Can’t you hear it? Sounds like fighting,” 

It could be a possibility, of course, the castle was big enough so that a battle couldn’t be heard from the inside of its thick walls, not if they were to happen at the other side of the castle at least. 

“You don’t think they’ve stormed the castle, do you?” Y/N asked, wondering if her brother could ever be as reckless. But then again, blood is thicker than water, and look where that recklessness took her. 

“They don’t have any reason to,” Calum assured her “The fight is way beyond the woods, there’s nothing to gain here except reclaiming the crown once this is all over” 

Still, the princess noticed the doubtful eyes of her husband and the way his lips twitched in what seemed to be an unsaid request. 

“What’s the matter, then?” She asked, carefully.

Calum turned to her, clouded eyes of indecision searching through her soul. 

“What if we go out there and everything is lost?” 

“Cal,”

“What if it’s a trap? Y/N I nearly lost you too many times already, I’m not about to let that happen again” 

The princess opened her mouth to answer, to say anything to change his mind or to remind him that she was the one that made the choice to come here in the first place. But the look in the stable lad’s eyes was more than enough to make her question her thoughts. 

She has seen the pain in those brown eyes way too many times in such a short amount of time, she never wanted to see that kind of pain hidden there again. She knew he had a good reason to worry, he had every right. No amount of words could ever convince him otherwise, not now at least, not until it is all over. 

“We can’t stay here forever, Calum,” She said, cuddling his face. 

“I know,” Calum sighed “But, at least indulge me in staying somewhere safe while I go make sure there’s a clear path for us to go through the castle. I need to know you’re safe, Y/N. I need you” 

“Can’t I go with you?” 

“If there’s any danger I would rather you stay safe in a place you know rather than come with me to face the unknown without any type of weapon,” He said, kissing her forehead “Go into that room, you know which one it is? Good. I’ll be back soon, my rose, I promise.”

“You better make good on that promise,” She told him, holding onto the book tightly “I need you, too, Cal. More than you know” 

He smiled at her, bringing their lips closer for a small, lingering kiss. With one last breath, Calum pressed his forehead against hers, saying a small prayer for her before he went down the hall. Y/N watched him disappear around the corner, a small sigh denoting her worry as she turned to the wood and gold doors. 

The last time she stepped foot into the throne room she had done so by a hidden door behind the curtains. She remembers the room feeling claustrophobic as she watched how hundreds of people stood in front of her father, watching him sentencing the love of her life to the gallows after nearly beating him to death for trying to save her. 

The anxious beating of her heart back then could mirror the one she was feeling right now as she glanced nervously at the dark ambiance of the room. Feeling nothing but a bad kind of excitement running through her veins. 

At the other side of the room stood the solitary throne her father, King Richard, used to sit with such entitlement and pride. The old, empty chair brought nothing but bad memories to the princess. The image of her father, smirking cruelly at her, was still fresh in her mind. All those years of abuse were not easy to forget nor will ever be completely erased from her skin and her heart. The remainder of a father that was never someone she could love, but someone she should fear. 

With a deep breath, she walked over to the throne that she knew would soon belong to her brother, the rightful heir. How many people have died to keep the peace? Could any amount of blood be enough to wash the sins of the king who’s gone mad with power after losing the love of his life? When will it be enough? 

Up close to the throne does not seem that intimidating. At a closer glance, she could notice for the first time the emblem of the kingdom engraved on the headset, always covered by the crown of someone undignified. It was weird… Underwhelming, even, to be so close to the main point of power and not be able to feel it. What was it all about then? 

The velvet cushion on the armrest did not tingle her fingertips nor did it spark anything in her. Could it be that the throne of her kingdom was rejecting her as a princess? Or was the fact that she learned not to fear it had something to do with it? Without her father there, the throne was just a chair. A chair that did not belong to anyone but to RoseWood itself. And to whoever was willing to serve it. 

The simple thought of it almost made her laugh. She believed it would’ve made Calum laugh, too, if he had been there with her. Yet, as soon as that thought crossed her mind, the sound of the wooden doors opening graced her ears, making her smile for her husband had returned for her. 

However, it was not Calum’s voice the one that spoke into the room.

“What have I told you about touching what doesn’t belong to you?” 

Familiar shivers ran down her spine as she turned around, frozen in place as she came face to face with the man she once thought could call father instead of the monster he was. He was just standing there, dressed as if he were to attend the kingdom’s next gala, not even trying to hide the winning smirk on his face as he looked down at her with sufficiency. 

“What are you doing here?” She asked, surprised to see her voice did not crack under fear. 

“Now, that’s no way to say hello to your father, is it?” 

“Father?” Y/N asked in a whisper, holding on to the head of the chair, looking for comfort or strength, she didn’t know yet “A coward is all I see. If you were so much of a King, you should be fighting alongside your people, not hiding in your palace like some sort of-” 

“A king protects what’s his!” Richard shouted over her voice, silencing her completely. Y/N hated the way she instinctively retracted, looking down like a scared child.

But she wasn’t a scared child anymore. He kept screaming. Yelling at her about how it was his right to be there. Yet she couldn’t listen to any of it. She didn’t have to. 

For the first time in years, Y/N managed to look back at her father in the middle of his outburst. She felt the velvet underneath her fingerprints and the book pressed against her chest; looked at the walls that surrounded them, how big they seemed and how they echoed his every word but not their meaning; she breathed the scent of iron and smoke that came from the window, reminding her of what was at stake, of the lives that were at risk whilst he kept yelling at someone who stopped listening to a long time ago. 

And then, she looked back at him. Her father. And she realized that she did not have any memories of the man that he once was, the man that she made herself believe one day loved her enough to call her his daughter. And he looked so small from where she was standing. 

His face was red; eyes completely unfocused as his rage kept on growing; the veins on his neck popped with every word. It was a sad view. And Y/N understood she had nothing to fear, not anymore. A sad man had no power over a princess. A sad man had no power at all. 

“This is my kingdom. MY REALM!” 

“You don’t deserve it!” She yelled back, taking a moment to relish the stunt face of her father, and her moment of bravery before continuing “You don’t deserve any of it! If it’s your kingdom, what have you done for it? The streets are destroyed, houses burned to the ground, and schools became graveyards! People are dying at your door, fleeing when they think RoseWood can offer them nothing but death and desolation. Families are being torn apart and pitted against one another and or what? Just for some of them to have the bare chance to survive a world that’s already doomed under your rule? Is that what you offer? Is that your realm?” 

She spoke calmly, taking a step closer to him and looking into her father’s eyes without any shame, looking for any kind of guilt. But all she could find was rage. 

“You are no King. And you are most certainly not a father either” She said, without a hint of grudge in her voice, only truth “If you could not care for your children, for your own blood. How could you expect to care for an entire kingdom?” The King’s semblance turned somber “You sent Ashton to plant your corrupt crows all over the map since he was sixteen. Crows that killed people, father. Kings and queens among them. You sent him to the dungeons and tortured him beyond measure, not caring if he would even survive it!”

“A traitor!”

“YOUR SON!” 

They were closer now, not enough so that they would touch but close enough for her to notice the beads of sweat that ran from his hairline to his forehead. She had not dared to come this far ever, not at her own will. But all those years of silence were begging her to finally be heard.

Y/N let out a chuckle “I cannot even bring myself to ask about me. To think that I find Ashton’s punishment more shocking than my own says a lot about what you’ve put me through. I always thought you hated me, but you spared Ashton because he was your heir. And I always found that fair, thinking that, somehow, one day you would spare me when you realize I was your daughter as well. But that was never the case, was it?” She asked, “It was never me or him. It was never us. It was only you and what was convenient for you at the time. Ashton as your pawn and I as your punching bag” 

King Richard had the decency to look down as Y/N finished her monologue. The Princess felt as if a weight had been lifted from her chest, finally confronting her father, her abuser with the words she felt she would never be brave enough to even mutter. 

But the feeling of satisfaction didn’t last long as a low, cruel laugh started forming from her father's chest, erupting in what Y/N feared to be the most terrifying sound she’s heard. Richard shook his head slightly as he looked up at her, a malicious glint in his eyes. 

“You got something wrong there, my dear,” He said, smiling. 

“What?” 

“I did not ever hate you” He took a step closer to her, extending his arm so that his gloved hand could caress the side of her face, even when she flinched from his touch “To hate,” He said, slowly “Would imply to have ever felt anything toward you at all” 

Everything that happened next seemed to happen in a blur. 

In less than a second, the sound of a bang exploded through the princess’ ears as the doors opened wide. At the same time, a hand came to her neck, clinging to the back of it before grabbing her arm and twisting it behind her back, immobilizing her completely. But before she could scream, the hand behind her neck disappeared. However, the freedom didn’t last long as a sharp pain soon came to the side of her throat. 

“Not a step closer!” She heard her father yell, close to her ear.

When she opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was the panicked look in Calum’s eyes looking back at her as he stopped in his tracks. He was sweating profusely, bleeding from a cut on his arm, and there was a bruise forming on his forehead. His sword was drawn, pointed right at her, or more accurately, at the person behind her. His body was shaking, out of fear or out of exhaustion, she didn’t know.

“Let her go!” Y/N heard, but it wasn’t Calum that spoke. And it wasn’t until her father forcefully pulled her back did she see them all standing there. 

Ashton was standing next to Calum, with a sword drawn and pointed as well, ready to attack at any given moment. A deep cut bleeding from his brow. His armor was torn apart at the top, only the arms were still covered and the chest only had his black shirt to protect it. His eyes were red, tired, but determined looking at Y/N with unsaid apologies that she did not need to take. 

Luke was standing next to them, looking completely defeated as he tried to catch his breath. He had cut the leg in which he was trying to hold his weight together, and the hand in which he was holding the sword was trembling. His blue eyes shined with tears as his lips trembled to try to hide hisses of pain. 

And beside him, hanging seemingly lifelessly from his shoulder. 

“Michael?” 

There was no response, no reaction. His long, blond hair was messy, and bloody, covering his face as he looked at the floor. There was no way of telling if he was even conscious. He had an arm wrapped around Luke’s shoulders, but it was Luke’s arm that was holding him upright, almost dragging him. 

Y/N’s eyes filled with tears as she looked desperately at the King of the Vail, “Luke?”

The young king avoided her gaze as he shook his head and held his sword tightly. Swallowing the lump in his throat. 

Y/N felt her father grumble up a laugh as he tightened the grip on her arm, the knife against her throat was still cold upon her skin. But she had to tell them. She knew the book had escaped her grip at some point during the madness, but if they could grab it…

“Luke-” She said, choking when the knife pressed a little harder “The book. Take it” 

Calum’s eyes widened, looking from his wife to the discarded book on the floor, mere feet away from the young king’s reach. 

“Luke,” He said, carefully taking a step closer between Y/N and the book, in case Richard tried anything “The book has the antidote for Michael. Take it and get him out of here” 

“But-” Luke’s shaky voice tried to object.

“We got this,” Ashton said, never taking his eyes away from his father. “Go take care of your family, we’ll take care of ours” 

Calum got close enough to the book and kicked it in Luke’s direction. The young King dropped his sword in an instant and grabbed the book. He gave one last longing look to the princess, but there was no more time to lose. It was in the gods’ hands now. 

*

The walls in the castle seemed to suffocate him as he ran as fast as he could, even with a limp and the weight of Michael on top of him, Luke could’ve been flying for all he knew. 

He knew he shouldn’t have let him fight, but being stubborn was part of Michael’s charm, and may the gods forbid anyone from preventing him from participating in a battle, especially one where his king was fighting alongside him. Still, an army against three - that soon became four when somehow Calum appeared to help - even when they were the most skilled warriors, was still an unfair play. 

“We’re almost there,” He groaned in a whisper, in prayer, almost. To the gods, to his lover, to anyone that could listen. Anyone that could help them. 

Luke shouldn’t have let him out of his sight, not in his state. He knew Michael could barely walk when they reached the palace. But a false sense of hope filled his soul at seeing him draw his sword, almighty and powerful, like one of those tragic heroes before their epic battle. Michael looked like a god, and for a second, Luke forgot to remember how fragile his beauty could be. 

The image of his lover still on the ground haunts him. How the world seemed to stop as his eyes searched for him through the battle. Ashton and Calum were fighting against two, maybe even three times their weight in soldiers, but they were striking them down like it was nothing. Luke had just defeated the last archer, breathing for just a second when he realized Michael was no longer by his side. 

He looked around frantically, his heart beating at the pace of a thousand horses as his ears rang from a hit he took on the head not too long ago. He could not find his Michael anywhere. 

“Luke!” He heard someone call behind him, maybe Ashton or Calum. He couldn’t remember, nor did he care. 

Because when he turned around, he felt as if his heart would break into a million pieces. For there, there was Michael, leaning against a pillar, bleeding. He lifted his head long enough for Luke to recognize the agony in those green eyes before they shut down in pain, letting his legs give in to the exhaustion and fall to the ground. 

Luke shouted his name, but no sound came to his ears. He started to move, to run, but everything seemed to go in slow motion, never quite reaching him. Was he hurt? Was it the poison? He didn’t know! He couldn’t! All he knew was that he had to get to him before someone else did. But nothing could be that easy.

The fight kept on going and there were many soldiers to cut through before any of them could get to Michael. By then, the general of the Vail was bleeding from the head and had various bruises from stomps given by other soldiers, whether they were intentional or not if they thought he was already dead, no one knew. But there wasn’t time for tears as Luke picked him up and followed the others through the halls. And he hasn’t stopped running since then.

Opening every door with a kick, cursing to the old gods and the new, Luke would not stop until he could find the infirmary or at least someone who could help. He knew Michael was not dead, not yet. He couldn’t be. And if the book Y/N gave them contained the cure, by the gods they would find it. 

He’s not going to lose the love of his life today. He won’t. 

And if it’s too late, he will make sure he’ll follows him as well. 

“For fuck’s sake!” He yelled after kicking open the tenth door and found it empty except for just a bed.

His hope was fleeting. The tears were already falling freely down his cheeks, hot and mixed with sweat and blood. He let out a scream, shattering his heart and throat. His legs started to give, he couldn’t- 

“Luke,” Michael murmured against his ear, sending shivers down the young king’s spine “You’re tired,” 

The blond tried to speak, but only a broken gasp could escape his lips as his legs trembled in exhaustion. He shut his eyes tightly, swallowing the lump in his throat that threatened to tear it apart. He shook his head. 

“‘M not,” He answered, kidding himself and hoping he could fool Michael as well “I-I’m trying to find the infirmary. Last time we were here, it was- it was somewhere around-”

But as he looked to the empty hallway, to all the doors that were still left unopened and all the doors that were no answer before. Did he know where he was going? Was there a way out?

“My King…” Michael said, followed by a series of coughs that shook his entire body, worrying Luke.

“Shh, shh” He tried to calm the soldier, or himself, it didn’t matter at this point. 

He put the book under his arm and with his free hand managed to gently caress the underside of Michael’s cheek, trying to bring some sort of comfort as the coughing stopped. But as he retreated the hand and found droplets of blood, he knew that there wasn’t any time left. 

Feeling as if his heart might’ve grown ten times heavier, Luke was thankful Michael could not see the tears that started to fall from his eyes as he looked down in defeat.

“Come,” He said, quietly. Softly moving them into the room and helping Michael lay down on the single bed that adorned the room. 

Michael did so without complaint, sighing softly as his head hit the pillow. His white complexion contrasted against the red of the blood; his lips once so plump were now drained of color, chapped and dry, parted in silent prayer. His hair was matted to his forehead; his arms folded upon his chest, almost as if he was cold and he was shielding himself from a winter that caught him unprepared. His eyes did not change, though, they were still as green as the ocean shore back in The Vail; the best memory of home Luke had so many miles away. 

Michael managed to smile as he blinked up at his king, “You’re staring,” He said, breathlessly. Luke couldn’t help but chuckle, quickly kneeling up beside the bed.

“You’re beautiful,” He confessed, blue eyes filled with tears staring intensely into his green ones. His calloused hands found Michael’s and he held them close to his face, kissing them closely “I’m so, so lucky”

Michael frowned, lifting a shaky hand and passing his fingers through Luke’s curls. Luke leaned into the touch.

“Are you hurt?” He asked hoarsely. 

Luke shook his head. 

“Don’t lie,” Michael pleaded, “Not now, not to me” 

“It won’t matter soon enough. Nothing will” 

“Luke,” The young king shook his head, Michael smiled, “Luke, it’s alright”

“No,” He simply said, lips trembling and forming a pout Michael desperately wanted to kiss. Luke refused to look at him as he shook his head “No!” 

“Look at me. Luke, please.” There was nothing but calmness in his tone, something that ought Luke to obey him, trying his hardest not to break once he did and Michael smiled at him “It’s alright. We did what we could. You did all you could” 

“I- I could've done more!” Luke cried, hiding his face in Michael’s shoulders, holding onto his hand as if life depended on it “I could’ve come sooner! I- I could’ve sent someone had I’ve known- had- I would’ve- Michael, we could’ve had more time!” 

Michael shook his head “All the years, all the months, all the days, minutes, and seconds I spent with you were the best ones of my life and I loved you in every single one of them. I wouldn’t change them for the world nor make them start over. And even if life would allow me, I’d still feel blessed to die like this, with you by my side” 

Luke broke down, crying “I’m sorry” over and over again as his tears soaked the clothes of his lover. Finally allowing himself to feel what he was so afraid of.

“There’s nothing to forgive as long as you continue to live, my king” 

“I don’t know how- Without you… Michael, I love you,” 

“And I you, that’s why I beg of you, Luke. Don’t let me be the end of you. Don’t let someone you love destroy you like this, don’t make me that memory” 

“How is it fair that I’ll get to love you for the rest of my life when you’re not here with me?” 

“As fair as the moon and the sun could never meet, my love,” Michael said, tightening his grip on Luke’s hand “But they had a beautiful eclipse” 

Luke leaned forward, capturing his lips with Michael’s. The salt of the tears reminded them of the salty air of the Vail, of those breezy nights where they would spend hours looking at the stars, locked in each other's arms as the hours passed by. Nothing mattered at that moment, and nothing else mattered now, just them, saying goodbye one last time. 

“Oh my!” 

The two men separated, Luke immediately went for Michael’s dagger which was still tied up to his buckle, and stood ready to defend Michael from any attacker. But he found no one standing at the door, instead, he found a figure crouching on the floor, trembling. 

“STAND!” He demanded. 

The stranger did, shaking with fear. Luke’s shoulders relaxed a little. That was not a man, that was a boy. 

“Mercy! Mercy, please, my lord!” The boy said with a crack in his voice, Luke figured he could not be older than fifteen. 

“Who are you?” He asked, taking a step closer to Michael, checking up on him with a glance “What are you doing here?” 

“M-my name is Lance, my Lord! I’m an apprentice, just a student of maester-”

“Maester?!”

Luke took one last glance at Michael, who nodded slightly. One last chance, one last opportunity. 

In a second, Luke put down the dagger and grabbed the book, taking a step closer to the young lad.

“Lance, my name is Luke. The one on the bed is my friend Michael, he’s sick, and we need your help” He opened the book and noticed that the page of the antidote was already marked, he smiled and reminded himself to thank the princess later “Do you think you can help us?” 

*

Y/N watched with a small smile as Luke took Michael out of the room, feeling relief that, at least, if anything were to happen, they would be safe. 

Calum and Ashton were standing opposite her and her father. Richard had her pressed against his chest, arm twisted just like he did in the woods a year ago, and a dagger pressed against her neck, preventing her from any movement. And, of course, keeping Calum and Ashton from getting any closer. 

The two men had not taken their eyes off the princess or her father. Their swords were drawn and ready for battle, even when they just fought one and the effects of it were starting to show in the small trembles of their bodies and beads of sweat and blood that marked their skin. 

“I said,” Ashton broke the silence with a grave, threatening voice. His eyes set on his father, filled with hate “let her go” 

His father gave him a scoffed laugh “Or what, boy? You’re going to hurt your old man, is that it?” 

Ashton’s face turned red and Y/N could see how his knuckles were almost gone from holding his sword too tight.

“Ash…” She warned, choked up as her father tightened the grip he had on her.

“And what about this lad?” He said, looking at Calum for the first time, mocking him “Thinking he’s got what it takes? The two of you think what? That you can beat me? Take my kingdom? YOU COULDN’T EVEN PROTECT HER LAST TIME!” 

To make his point across, Richard twisted Y/N’s arm to make her yelp, making both Calum and Ashton react by taking one step closer, but the dagger by her neck reminded them that they were at a disadvantage. 

“See?!” Richard laughed, taking a step back and taking Y/N with him “You are weak! Fragile!” He turned to the princess, letting his breath fall over her face “You called me a coward before, so what are they?! COWARDS!” 

“That’s not true!” Ashton shouted, eyes filled with rage. 

“Ash, don’t listen to him!” The princess begged. 

“QUIET!” Richard twisted her arm again, pressing the dagger further “One more fucking word from you and I swear I’ll fucking end you like I should’ve done years ago, you little bitch!” 

“Touch her one more time and I’ll fucking kill you,” Calum threatened.

Richard spat “I’ll be doing you a fucking favor, she’s as wicked as they come! You both fell for her games like the stupid little boys you are”

“Shut up!” Ashton yelled.

“How fucking disappointed, Ashton. You more than anyone should know. You should be standing next to me! Taking on the world together!”

The prince swallowed harshly, voice trembling as he gritted “I’m not like you,” 

The king laughed “You are. You are more like me than you know. It’s in your blood” He grimaced “But now it’s all gone to waste! Because of her!” 

He pulled Y/N back, bending her back so that only her head was resting on his chest while the rest of her body was bent forward, causing her to cry in pain. Calum called out her name, but she couldn’t answer, feeling like all the air inside her lungs was suddenly pulled out of her body. 

“She made you weak! Distracted you from what really mattered! I almost fell for the same spell, but I wasn’t as naive, oh no” He pulled Y/N back, this time letting go of her arm as he grabbed her by the hair instead, something he always enjoyed doing to cause her pain “I could’ve had it all years earlier, have a whole EMPIRE! But she somehow knew all my plans. She tried to talk me out of them, oh yes, and I listened. For years I stood back from my own glory because of what she asked. 

When I realized what I have lost. What I resigned because of her… All that power I gave up. I understood that if I ever wanted to feel some type of power again I had to get rid of her. That way no one would ever stop me” 

Realization hit Y/N as her father spoke, the shock of his confession sitting heavy on her heart as she looked to the side and found Ashton in a similar situation. Her brother’s eyes were red, tears falling freely from them as his chest tried to contain the heavy breaths that filled his heart with years of unshared pain and loss. 

If mercy was ever an option in Ashton’s heart, it has now flown away. In his eyes, she saw the image of a boy who had grown up too fast. A boy who would read her to sleep and sneak them up to their mother’s chambers to say goodbye for the night, hoping and praying it won’t be the last time. A boy who had to put his nightmares behind to tend to hers, feeling as if he had no one left to care for him. No, there was no mercy left in that boy’s heart. For one cannot take away a boy’s mother and live in peace with it. 

“And now,” Their father continued, “This could all be gone away the same way” 

“NO!” Calum yelled, dropping his sword and running toward them, hoping he’ll be fast enough. 

But Y/N was faster. 

In an instant, the princess managed to stomp her feet hard against her father’s, making him scream in pain as she dug her heel into his bone. Richard lost his balance for a second, long enough for the princess to elbow him in the stomach, causing the blade to cut through her shoulder and arm rather than her neck. 

She hissed in pain but managed to recover in time to grab the dagger from her father’s hand and swing it blindly toward him, making a deep cut on his cheek before she fell to the ground, landing on her back and hitting her head. The impact pulled the air out of her lungs as she gasped from the shock of what she had done. 

Richard screamed obscenities at her as his hand went to cover the fresh wound on his face, fairly distracted as Calum tackled him to the ground and started to beat him with his bare hands. 

“Don’t. Fucking. Touch. My. Wife!” He yelled with every punch, not measuring the strength of them. 

Y/N, still laying on the floor tried to call his name, but the fall made it all seem blurry as a pool of her blood gathered to her side. 

“Y/N!” She heard Ashton call before he appeared over her body. His hazel eyes filled with worry as he picked her up and leaned her against one of the pillars of the room, one hand behind her head while the other tried to cover up her wound that, guessing from his panicked expression, was more than just a simple cut “Y/N, are you-”

The princess nodded as her eyes were becoming clearer “C-Calum,” She said, breathing heavily “I’m fine, Ash. Go help him” 

Ashton’s teary eyes denoted doubt as he looked at her, knowing that she was not telling the truth. But as he looked back at his best friend fighting his father, he knew she was right. This needed to end and there was no other way. With one last look at his sister, he leaned his forehead against hers, placing a kiss on her hair.

“You are the best thing in my life, Y/N/N” 

“Go, big brother.” She smiled at him, “Be a king” 

Ashton gave her a small smile as he got up, sword in hand, and ran to help Calum, who was now blocking the attacking punches of Richard, making Calum back up almost to a corner. Ashton came and hit his father with the back of his sword, making him stumble backward as he helped Calum stand up.

“Are you alright?” He asked.

Calum, all bruised and with a bloody nose, nodded as he spat a little blood on the floor and smiled at his best friend “I wanted to do that for a long time” 

Ashton chuckled and patted him on the back as he leaned down and handed Cal his sword, “You and me both, my friend. Now, shall we?”

Calum wiped the blood from his face with the back of his hand. He made the sword spin on his hand and got in position next to Ashton, both men looking directly at the King who got himself with Luke’s sword and stared at them, ready to fight. 

“Let’s fucking dance” 

Ashton was the first one to hit. Walking toward his father, he swung the sword with one hand, knowing his father would block him in one move. However, this gave Calum the chance to hit him on the legs, crashing against his armor and debilitating his stance just enough so that when Richard would try to hit Calum, Ashton could manage to hit his side. 

It was all choreographed beautifully from where Y/N could see. How Ashton and Calum would move so in sync, knowing how the other one would attack without saying a word to each other, just seemingly reading each other’s minds. 

Her father… The stories they told of him being a great warrior were not shy of the truth. She was no stranger to him using his strength, but seeing him in battle showed a perfect set of moves and training. Years have gone and age has come to claim his youth, but the way he fought could fool anyone. It was a battle of two against one, yet both Ashton and Calum were having trouble keeping up. 

Y/N looked to her side and noticed the disregarded blade that was pressed against her neck not even an hour ago. An idea came to mind. 

A sharpening pain shot through her body as she pulled herself up with the help of the pillar, leaning her body weight on it as her legs quivered. She breathed through it, closing her eyes tightly as she prayed silently for anyone who would listen. The blood dripped down her arm while she leaned down to grab the dagger, covering it crimson as she limped her way across the room. 

The three men were unaware of her presence approaching them as they kept on with their dance. Calum, blocking a swing from the King that was meant for Ashton, was the first to see her, barely walking over to them covered in blood and with a knife in hand. His eyes widened, shaking his head in horror. 

He pushed the king out of the way, making Richard stumble back. He hit his jaw with the back of his sword, hearing the breaking of bones as he ran past him. 

“Y/N!” Calum yelled, just in time to grab her as she fell. 

Her wounded arm bent as she tried to break the fall against Calum’s chest, making her cry out in pain. But she stood back up, leaning against her husband. 

“Cal, wait!” She said, handing him the dagger. Calum nodded.

“ASH!” 

The stable lad slide the dagger on the floor toward the prince who caught it under his foot. Ashton leaned down and grabbed the blade with his free hand, stabbing it directly over his father’s dominant hand. 

Richard screamed as he let go of his sword, trying and failing to take out the blade from his wound. Ashton took his chance to strike him down, clear swings that made his father retreat, cutting through his armor till there was nothing left. 

Ashton kicked his father down, making him fall on his back. He placed a foot on his stomach, and the King became a man. 

The king’s face was nothing but a bloated, butchered, bloody mess. His arms were filled with cuts and bruises, and so were his legs. There was a wound in his stomach, courtesy of Calum, that while it was not as big as it would seem, was deep and could cause some damage if not treated. He was completely unrecognizable, but for Ashton, he would always be the monster that he knew as a father. 

With a stone-cold expression, Ashton drew his sword and placed it over Richard’s throat. Not once taking his eyes from him. 

Richard started to laugh, blood pouring down his mouth “Do it.” He demanded “Do it, boy. DO IT!” 

Ashton looked down at him, and pressed his weight on his foot, making his father wheeze and gasp for air. 

“I’m not like you.” 

Instead, he used the back of his sword to hit his father in the head, leaving him unconscious, but still alive to pay for his crimes. 

After all, he had too many sins to be let go of that easily. 

“Ashton!” 

The prince lifted his gaze just in time to see his sister faint into her husband’s arms, completely unconscious. He threw his sword to the side and ran up to them, falling to his knees next to Calum who in futile attempts was trying to wake her up.

“ROSE!” He’d shouted in a cry, tapping her face completely drained of color “Y/N, wake up! PLEASE!” 

“She’s lost a lot of blood!”

“Y/N! PLEASE! WAKE UP, WAKE UP, WAKE UP!” 

But all the castle could hear was the cries of a broken man.

*

* 

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[lgcalec]

@lgcyura​

     ( backdated to june 7th, some time before midnight )

things were busy as of late and while yura has never once minded it (to her, being busy was better than not), she did feel sad that she didn’t really have the time–or energy–to do something more for alec’s birthday. but to be honest, she also wasn’t sure what she could do especially after he had gifted her the couple rings for their anniversary. as someone who was always competitive, she couldn’t help but want to do something better for her boyfriend (although–and she would not admit this out loud–it’s mostly due to her wanting to because he deserves it) so it was killing her inside that she was not only stumped on ideas but time.

in the end, she settled on sending him her ‘gift’ through kakaotalk for now and she would think more carefully about a physical present so once she had the time and the dorm was quiet, she hurries to the bathroom and double checks she locked the door after ensuring no one was around outside. she’s glad no one seemed to see her along the way–hopefully–or they might question why she was bringing a cupcake into the bathroom.

then she opens her phone camera and fixes any stray strands of hair, making sure everything was in place before taking a deep breath. she can’t believe she was going to do something like this but for alec, she could be a little embarrassing. it’s not like anyone would see this but him, anyways, so after another moment to gather herself, she sets up her phone on the counter then pulls the cupcake out of its packaging, sticks a candle in and lights it up, then immediately hits record on her phone once she was done.

“happy birthday to you~” she quietly sings while holding the cupcake in front of the phone, the food taking up half the screen and her smiling face filling up the other half. “happy birthday dear alec! happy birthday to you,” she finishes with a small cheer. “now make a wish and blow out the candle!” obviously, he can’t, because it’s a video so she does it for him–after giving him a few moments to make a wish if he wanted to, of course–and laughs. “i’m sorry we can’t celebrate in person on the day of but i hope this will do for now! i’ll make it up to you when we’re both more free, i promise,” she adds on before giving a wave to the camera. “i’ll see you soon, okay?”

she hits the record button again, ending the video, then moves on to the second part of her gift: a series of photos she’d send in a row after she had sent the video. the first is a photo of just her hand (the same one she wears their ring on) making a finger heart, the second is a slightly bigger heart she makes with both her hands, and the final is one of her making a heart over her head with her arms.

it’s then that she notices the time approaching midnight and since she wanted to be the first to greet him, she waits until the very last minute before she starts sending her messages.

💌 sent to ↝ sunshine ☀️          ↪ 3…          ↪ 2…          ↪ 1…          ↪ [ video ]          ↪ HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!          ↪ [ picture 1 ]          ↪ [ picture 2 ]          ↪ [ picture 3 ]          ↪ i really wish i could do more for you 🥺          ↪ but this is all i can do for now…

then, she records a voice clip–the real embarrassing part of the entire gift–and sends it before she has second thoughts, not even stopping to check if alec has said anything during the time she was recording it.

💌 sent to ↝ sunshine ☀️         ↪ [ voice note ]

“i know i don’t say it often, and i’d rather say this to your face, but…” yura’s voice is uncharacteristically nervous and hesitant, something she’d never show to anyone but alec (or if she was in seriously dire circumstances), and she pauses for a few moments before taking another deep breath. “i love you!” she almost shouts the words out in a rush but remembers where she is and dials it down. “i’m so glad you were born. i hope this is a good start to your day and that you enjoy the rest of it– but i also hope this will be the best present you get!” her voice sounds more like normal now, her usual teasing tone flowing back into her words. “you deserve so much and more, and i’m so happy i get to be with you to celebrate your birth even if we aren’t, you know, actually together right now,” she laughs. “but i’ll make it up to you as soon as i can, i swear! happy birthday, alec!”

     the messages that pour in at midnight are honestly somewhat surprising. it’s not that he hadn’t expected them, but it’s also that exactly—he hadn’t really expected them. he had been on twitter just before and had been following along in one of the hashtag trends that his fans had made for him and had just sort of been grinning to himself as he read it. some fans were a bit over the top, and of course there were trolls who used the hashtag to say mean things but he was pretty good at just skipping over them. 

     after talking to his parents, he scrolled through the notifications carefully and smiles to himself when he saw the one contact name he had been looking for in particular. not that he would’ve held it against her if she had been late, but he’s pleasantly surprised that she’s at the very bottom of all the notifications, indicating the timing that she had been first. 

     it warms his heart to know she was putting this much effort in, despite being insanely busy with crystallis things. 

     he clicks into her chat, reading the messages and raising his eyebrows when a video loads instead of anything else. pressing play once it’s loaded in kakaotalk, he has to bite back a smile as he watches it on low volume, trying his best not to let out any noises because of how cute yura was being in the video. this is a rare image that he doesn’t see on her very often, and when the video ends he quickly clicks on the down arrow to save it to his phone. he knows she wouldn’t mind, since they both know he would never share it with anyone, and it’s for him anyway. 

     he wants to keep it forever. 

     the pictures load next, and his grin only widens slightly when he sees the ring on her hand and the photos that follow it. he unashamedly saves those too, making a mental note to favourite them in his photo album so he could look at them when he was feeling down or anything. god, could he love her any more than this? his chest was feeling warm, his heart full and that’s when he sees the audio message pop up. 

     he had been about to type a message, but he keeps his words to himself for now, deciding to reply at the very end when he had listened to the audio too. 

     her opening words have him anticipating, and it’s not for nothing when she says the words he had been hoping to hear. he’s pretty sure they’ve only ever said it to each other in person a few times, probably only enough to count on one hand—though that was because of how busy their schedules were and not because they hadn’t wanted to say it. but he makes sure to end most days with those words, and starts some mornings with them if he can because he just wants her to know that he does love her and hopes that her days start and end well. 

     he doesn’t think he’ll ever get sick of hearing them and he hopes she doesn’t either. 

     the rest of the message is just as sweet as the beginning and alec finds himself grinning from ear to ear as the voice note ends, and he stares at his phone for a moment before he starts typing quickly. he’ll have to figure out a way to save the voice note later, but right now he’s just giddy that she had sent it to him to begin with. 

( 12 ) new messages:  🖤🖤🖤

> hey to you too 😊 > the video is so cute > i’m going to save it and watch it all day when no one is around > thank you so much!!! > i’m also saving these pictures and you can’t stop me 😜 > anyways > i love you too > thank you for being here with me and staying by my side 💛 > also by the way > did you know? > i love you > see you asap!!🌹

[letterstomymothershewontread]

happy mothers day

Happy Mothers Day. This year instead of dinner, flowers, or even an appreciation post on Facebook, you're getting a card. You're getting a blank card in the mail with the link to this blog. In this blog you'll be reading my diary essentially. This letter, like many on this blog, are addressed to you so make sure you read them all.

Recently I've got to enjoy the fun parts of life and not have to worry if you'd be mad at me and gods has it been wonderful. I went to Atlanta at the end of April to celebrate my five year anniversary with the person you and dad seem to think made me cut y'all off. I'd like to say it's funny you think that or that I'm shocked but I'd be lying. We all know I'm many things but a liar aint one. I saw you try to call me and instantly hang up on April 29th, I wonder if it was an accident or not. Regardless I didn't answer, not like I had a chance even if I wanted to, you hung up instantly. I've thought about it on and off and I just wonder if you wanted to apologize or just fake apologize. I say fake apologize because it's that apology you've always done, 'I'm sorry for whatever I did to upset you'. I so wish you did know, that would make this less painful.

I've gone through so much change in the last 5 months alone and everyday has felt uncomfortable, like somethings missing. It's because there is, my mom. I've realized I've had you on a pedestal for so long it's still hard for me to look beyond the nostalgia fog and see my childhood for what it really was, abusive. Almost everyday I want to pick up my phone and call you to tell you about my day, tell you about my plans, or just hear your voice. I don't though, I wont risk my progress in my healing, not on a phone call.

I think that the reason you were so mean was because you havent healed from or even acknowledged your own childhood trauma. It's okay to admit that your mom or dad even wasn't the best. They love(d) you there is no doubt there and they did their best but, that doesn't make them perfect or without flaw. That cycle like the one before it and before are bound to repeat, just like this one. That is until you make the conscious effort to stop it.

When I think about my childhood a few core memories come to mind, allow me to paint them for you. The first is when dad strangled me for calling him a son of a bitch and you stood there and let me struggle until I started to black out. The second is when dad would want to play a board game and we played scatagories. I thought that was fun. The third is one night when it was supper time and you made spaghetti and I was so exhausted because I was so depressed and suicidal I fell asleep and fell into my plate. It's funny how that was during the peak of my anorexia and then later my bulimia. You had no idea. The reason why you had no idea is because you do the same thing but you think it's something to be proud about.

"Oh my god you look so good! How did you lose all the weight?" they would say to you and you always reply bragging about how all you eat is a park of crackers and some peanut butter. I started copying you except all I would eat was a few spoonful's of peanut butter a day. That was in the midst of the time I would just come home and go straight to my room and be alone. I was alone so I could listen to music you hated that you think made my depression worse, starve myself, and to hurt myself. When I wasn't doing any of that I'd just sleep and hope I'd die in my sleep.

The fourth was when we would play Wizard101 together as a family. I wish I had more fond memories of happy things but I don't at least not enough that out weigh the negative. One memory that's been weighing on me lately is that of your infidelity. How you used to have me ride the bus to your work and I'd have to sit in a closet for hours cause your higher up boss was coming, or cause you were busy doing inappropriate things at a place you were supposed to be working. Dad later found out and I don't know how nor does it matter. What matters is that it led to you two separating and I was so happy you were. Yall ended up getting back together and I to this day wish you wouldn't have.

You left a lot of scars on my life as did dad and sissy but unlike theirs, I'm having to uncover yours day after day with different events I learn that trigger me. It's hard. Being in contact and without contact and maybe one day we could have an actual conversation about everything. I doubt it however, you never listen to me and actually hear me when I talk to you. You never have and I know you'll deny it cause sometimes you did but never when I needed you to. I wouldn't have tried to kill myself so many times.

All this to be said, I know you love me, I do.

[gatorbites-imagines]

Hello first I want to say that i’m so happy that I found a male reader blog!!!! :) and your work is awesome!!! and if it’s not too much trouble can I request a male reader x avengers where they stood the reader (who is their boyfriend) up on their anniversary and the reader was sitting at a table along for an hour and a half, and the next day he ignores them and they don't know why he's mad at them and once they realize why their boyfriend is mad they try their best to make it up to them?

Avengers x Male reader

Headcanons

I didn’t write all the avengers since there’s so many, so I picked a few of my favorites but tried to keep them all Avengers, hope that’s alright ^^

Steve Rogers

-          Steve forgot about your anniversary because of Avengers business, a mission or planning and it completely left his mind.

-          Steve realizes immediately that you’re ignoring him, and tries his hardest to figure out what he could have done, he tries to ask but that just makes you more annoyed so he ends up kinda lost.

-          He finally stumbles across the date, and it all clicks, and he feels crushed knowing he ended up ghosting you.

-          He ends up googling ideas on how to make it up for you, so when you get home from work or alike, he’s set up a very pinterest-ish apology dinner.

-          It ends up making you laugh at how embarrassed and apologetic he is, so it makes you feel better and you get to have your anniversary dinner a day late.

Tony Stark

-          Tony forgot about the dinner because he had just started a new project and was completely swallowed up by it, so he didn’t notice when you tried to text or call.

-          Tony doesn’t immediately realize that you’re ignoring him, still completely focused on whatever project it is he was distracted with the day before.

-          Its first a few days later, when he’s finished with it that he realizes you’re giving him the cold shoulder when you swerve out of the way when he tries to kiss you.

-          He tries to figure out what he did, and ends up asking Friday when you wont answer when he asks.

-          He cringes internally when he figures out that you were left alone at the restaurant for so long, so Tony gets Fridays help you buy your favorite treats and a gift, and he goes to apologize.

-          You’re still slightly annoyed, but you know how tony is and how hard it can be for him to say sorry, so you accept his apology and the two of you go out that evening for a late apology/anniversary dinner.

Thor Odinson

-          Thor doesn’t mean to forget, but he ends up having to go to Asgard/New Asgard (depending if this is before or after Asgard is destroyed) and it just leaves his mind.

-          Thor notices you’re avoiding him but doesn’t know why for some time, and he starts to worry he must have really messed up or done something horrible when you won’t let him hold you.

-          Its first when another member of the Avengers ask how the dinner went that it clicks, and he rushes back to your home.

-          He throws himself on you whilst you’re lying in bed and wraps his arms around you, and because of his strength you can’t get out.

-          Thor apologizes many times, hugging you close and not letting you go until you forgive him. He promises to take you on an even better date to Asgard/New Asgard if that’s what you want to be happy

-          At some point you can’t be angry anymore and sigh and hug him back, kissing him softly on the lips and agreeing on the visit to his home, which he beams at.

Clint Barton

-          Clint, like Steve, forgot because of Avengers business. Maybe he was knocked around a little too much during their last mission, or had to write reports and go to meetings.

-          Clint is very banged up the next day because of the mission, and picks up the icy temperature when you don’t ask if he’s alright or check on him like you normally do.

-          Seeing as Clint has many years of spy training, he figured out quite quickly what he did, and sighing to himself at his mistake because he could at least have texted you.

-          Clint ends up going out to get a bouquet of your favorite flowers and your favorite snack and apologizes to you.

-          He looks such a mess still bruised and banged up from his mission, that you accept the apology. You tell him to text you next time though since you’re still annoyed about that.

-          He laughs and agrees, hugging and kissing you to make up for it.

James “Rhodey” Rhodes

-          Rhodey had written down the meeting in his calendar days in advance, but was called away by the military and had to leave his phone, leading to him forgetting.

-          Rhodey realizes the moment he wakes up the next morning, since when he checks his phone, he can see the missed notifications.

-          He cringes internally and gets to work to apologize, at first, he just goes to apologize to you and accepts that you have a valid reason to be angry.

-          He then goes out to buy breakfast from a nice place and brings it back, so you can eat together.

-          You and Rhodey spend the day together, and he even goes as far as to make dinner and alike to make up for accidentally ghosting you.

-          You had forgiven him the moment he apologized right after waking up, but him bending over backwards to make up for it makes it even more clear hes truly sorry.

-          The two of you plan a date on your next mutual day off and he makes sure to write it down this time too, but promises to text or call if anything comes up.

[sinner-as-saint]

Somebody Else

(Mob AU) Cherry!Seb x Reader

Run-through: You decide that it’s high time to tell your boyfriend about the other man in your life, because you couldn’t lie nor keep it a secret anymore. And needless to say, he doesn’t take it very well.

Themes: angst, smut, jealous!seb, fluff

a/n: for those confused, ‘cherry!seb’ is mob!seb, we just gave him a name because well, click here

You were so anxious that it was hard to breathe for a little while. 

The moment you heard his car entering the gates, you shot up from the couch and rushed down the stairs. You had been thinking about this for a while now, but tonight was the right time. You couldn’t lie anymore. And it hurt you each time you had to refrain yourself from bringing it up on the phone. 

Just as you reached the foyer, you watched Seb walk in - the notorious mob boss who was mean, and ruthless and cruel to anyone else but you. To you, he was everything you could ask for. 

He smiled the moment his eyes met yours. “Hi babygirl.” He opened his arms and engulfed you in a warm, tight bear hug. He had been away for work for days, and right now all he wanted was to be home with you. 

“Hi baby. Welcome home.” You nuzzled his neck and inhaled his absolutely delicious cologne. You pulled away to look up at him but he was busy scanning your outfit. 

He frowned for a brief moment, “Are we going somewhere?” He couldn’t help but ask because although you always looked beautiful, the little sundress you were wearing was absolutely stunning. 

You linked your arm with his as you two walked further into your home. “Nope.” You answered, and bit down on your lip as you looked up at him. 

He stopped and grabbed you by the waist to pull you closer to give you a sweet kiss on the lips. He pulled away gently, “So you got all dressed up just for me?” You nodded at his question and he chuckled, leaning in to kiss the side of your mouth again. “You know, as much as I appreciate you looking extra pretty for me, all I wanna do it get you out of this dress and-,”

“No,” You whined playfully, pulling away. “Not happening. Go freshen up, I made dinner.” You watched how his brows furrowed a little at you. 

“Okay…” His reply sounded more like a question. “Did I forget something, baby? Our anniversary is in December, your birthday is next month and we-,” 

You cut him off again, he was stressed out you could tell. “You didn’t forget anything. You’ve been working a lot lately, you’ve been away from home a lot. I just wanted to do something nice for when you get back.” You whispered, grabbing him by his face and pulling him in for a kiss. 

He moaned into the kiss and tightened his arms around you, feeling your warm body beneath the dress. “You didn’t have to do anything. You make me feel so much better just by being here with me.” He whispered, his voice deeper, as he kissed his way down your neck. His touch was very persuasive and you almost gave in but then you remembered… 

“Okay,” You giggled as you pulled away. “Don’t ruin my plans, now go shower. I’ll be waiting,” You pulled away from his embrace and he groaned as you walked away from him. You turned to face him one last time before you walked into the open kitchen, “And you better be back before I finish my first glass of wine.” You winked at him. 

He bolted. Ran upstairs as fast as he could, smiling to himself and wondering how he got so lucky. 

Seb showed up sometime later, showered and relaxed; smelling even better. You watched him enter the kitchen, his body moving slowly but confidently - dressed in nothing but just dark grey sweatpants. You bit your lip again as he walked over to you and tried to get all cozy again but you pushed him away playfully. 

Midway through dinner, he looked up at you and took your hand in his. “This is torture.” He murmured, taking a sip of wine while rubbing slow circles on the back of your hand. 

You smirked. “What, I made your favorite dinner, opened your favorite wine. How is that torture?” You knew you had to get him in the right mood before telling him all that you had to say. 

He studied your face for a while, narrowing his eyes at you. “Is there something you want? Babygirl, you know all you have to do is ask. Whatever it is, I’ll get you.” He spoke, then lifted your hand up to his lips, pressing a soft kiss to your knuckles. 

You tilted your head to the side. “What do you mean? I make us dinner all the time, why does this seem suspicious to you?” 

He playfully nipped at your finger. “Because I know you too well. And I know you’re up to something.” 

You pulled your hand away to pick up your fork again. “Well I’m not, now eat up.” 

Dinner was just as perfect as you wanted it to. And another glass of wine later, you and Seb found yourselves on the couch in the living room, watching a movie - barely, because Seb was having trouble keeping his hands to himself. 

Each time he slid his hand under your dress, you pushed his hand away. You purposely dodged each one of his kisses, and you knew it wouldn’t be long before he snaps. But you needed to get him desperate enough to where you’d have his whole attention. 

“Babygirl,” he whined, pulling you on his lap again, “Give me a kiss, come on.” He grabbed your face and pressed his lips to yours. You kissed him back, wondering if you should just tell him now. 

You pulled away from his kiss and straddled him, he looked up at you with the same curious look he’s had all evening. “Okay,” you took a deep breath. “There’s something I need to tell you.” 

Seb raised an eyebrow at you. “See? I knew it. I knew you were up to something.” He almost purred as he ran his hands up and down your thighs. 

You inched closer to him, and cupped his face in your hands so you had his undivided attention. “I love you, you know that, right? I will always love you, no matter what.” 

He blinked at you, nodding. 

You kept going. “And whatever happened, it was… it was so unexpected. I wouldn’t call it a mistake but I- I didn’t think it through at the moment. But that doesn’t mean I love you any less.” 

He sat up a little straighter, grabbing your hips so you don’t fall off his lap. He blinked once again. “Baby, what are you talking about?” His heart raced just a little. He had no idea where this was going. 

You sighed, and looked down at his bare chest. You brought your hand down and traced along his freckles and indents of his muscles. “Um, recently you’ve been gone a lot. And I’m fine with it really, I mean I know you work so much and how important work is for you. But I… I was so lonely and vulnerable at the time and he just-,”

Seb cut you off with a look of horror on his face. “He? Who’s ‘he’?” He looked like he was confused, angry and surprised all at once. 

“Baby, just listen, okay? It didn’t mean anything, it’s not… I wasn’t supposed to get attached but then you know, I-,”

Seb cut you off by sitting up straighter and he grabbed both your wrists and held them away from his face. “Attached? To who? You… you found somebody else?” 

You sighed, “Baby… I didn’t mean for it to happen.” 

His eyes widened. “What the hell are you talking about? Did you- do you… did you cheat on me?” His voice cracked a little by the end. 

You lowered your head in shame. “I… I met him through a friend, they know each other and he was staying with her until he found a new place. And he came along with her when I invited them for dinner the other night. You were away at that time, and I… it wasn’t supposed to but it just happened.” 

Seb repeated your words in his mind. It just happened… it just happened? 

He grabbed your thigh and pushed you to the side, gently. His movements were so slow as he got up from the couch with a frown on his face. “What… what do you mean ‘it just happened’?” He walked a few steps away, stopping by the fireplace and then turned to look at you. You sat criss-cross on the couch, lowering your face still. “Look at me!” You could hear the disbelief in his voice. 

You lifted your head up to look at him. His body flushed with the anger he was having trouble containing. He ran his fingers through his short hair, his muscles flexing as he did. 

“I’m sorry.” You murmured. 

He looked at you like the apology only drove another dagger through his heart. “You’re sorry?” He sounded defeated. “You cheat on me, and that’s all you have to say? That you’re sorry?” 

“Babe, I-,” 

He snapped. “Don’t call me that!” He took a deep breath, running his fingers through his hair again as he paced in front of the fireplace. “Why.. how did- when did you…” he stopped rambling. Too many thoughts ran through his mind all at once. He was having trouble breathing, and his head was pounding - he felt like he was going to be sick. 

“When they came over for dinner that night, uh, we all had a little too much to drink and I couldn’t let them drive back home so I offered that they spend the night and leave in the morning. And that’s when I… I got to know him a little more and…” You looked at Seb and found him staring at you, his heart breaking, “and that’s when-,”

“Enough.” He looked away, hands on his waist. “So you just- why are you even telling me this right now? Why tell me at all? Because you couldn’t live with yourself, or is it… is it because you’re in love with him or something?” 

Your silence gave him the answer he needed. 

“What the fuck? You’re just gonna throw away all we had for this dude? Who the hell is he anyways? You know I’m gonna find out who he is and I’m gonna make sure it hurts when I-,”

You got up from the couch and walked over to him, placing your hands on either side of his waist. His skin was warmer than usual. “Seb please, I care about him.” 

Seb looked at you like you spoke some other language. “What bullshit is this?” His heart was beating like crazy, an unpleasant chill dancing down his spine as he felt the tips of his fingers getting numb. “You… you what? Are you-,” He stopped talking abruptly, panic showing all over his face briefly before it was replaced by burning anger. He pushed your hands away from his body. “Is he… is he here right now?” He gestured upstairs. “Are you keeping him here? Has he been here this whole time?” 

“Baby, just listen okay? He needed a place to-,”

Seb cut you off by rushing past you and rushing to the drawer where he kept a spare gun, always. You ran after him. 

“Seb, wait.” You caught up with him at the stairs. “Just wait, okay, I-,” 

He cut you off by grabbing your wrist and tugging you along as he rushed up the stairs. “So not only do you cheat on me, but you let him stay in our own home?” He sounded like he was trying so hard not to unleash the beast inside at you. “What did you think, you were gonna convince me and all three of us would live happily ever after?” 

You remained quiet, you hadn’t expected this to turn so violent so soon. 

When you reached the landing upstairs, Seb pushed you against the wall, almost growling in anger as he caged you in. “I’ll deal with you later, babygirl. But first I’m gonna deal with your little boy toy and I’m gonna make you watch as I hurt him.” He meant it, every single word. “Where is he?” he asked, his voice dropping so low that you visibly shivered. 

You opened your mouth, then closed it, then opened it again. “Don’t hurt him.” You murmured and his hands were shaking with all the emotions that he was having trouble dealing with all at once. 

He chuckled, darkly. You looked into his eyes and they had darkened too. “Don’t tell me what to do, babygirl. Do you really think you can protect him?” He leaned in closer, his lips just inches away from yours, “Where is he?” He asked slowly. 

There was no way for you to get out of this one. “The… guest room.” 

Seb didn’t move for a few seconds, his brain still processing all of what just happened in the span of a few minutes. His heart was breaking more and more with each passing moment. “I’m gonna burn this whole house down,” he grabbed your wrist again, tugging you further down the hallway and towards the guest room, “With him in it.” He growled the last bit. 

He gave you a piercing look as you reached the guest room. He let go of your hand and cocked his gun. He didn’t even think twice as he burst through the door, “You piece of-,” 

You heard how his voice died down into a groan. You pushed open the door even wider and took a step further in, you crossed your arms over your chest as you leaned against the doorframe. You giggled at the sight in front of you. 

Seb clutched his chest as he fell onto his knees on the floor, exhaling loudly and lowering his head to the floor. And in front of him was the little ball of black and white fur - your new pup, a baby Border Collie. 

Your friend was fostering him, and she brought the pup along when she came over for dinner the other night and told you about how he needed a forever home. You hadn’t thought about having a dog just yet, but when you saw this little baby that night, you knew you had to keep him. So you did, and you hadn’t told Seb about it right away. 

And well, he just found out. 

“Isn’t he handsome?” You asked, and upon hearing your voice, the little one yelped and ran over to you on its little legs. You giggled as you picked him up and walked further into the room, which was filled with everything a dog could need. You went over and knelt right in front of Seb, holding up the pup, making them both face each other. 

“Don’t burn the house down. I’m sorry I cheated on you with this handsome boy.” You teased. 

Seb finally lifted his head to look at you both. He hissed, “I think I’m having a heart attack. Or my blood pressure is really really high.” He locked his gun and tossed it to the side. “Woman, you’re killing me.” 

You rolled your eyes at Seb. “Oh stop your theatrics.” You looked down at your new dog, stroking his soft fur. “Did you really think I would cheat on you?” When you looked back up at your boyfriend, he was looking down at the dog. 

“You scared me for a moment. I didn’t know what to think. I didn’t think, I just...” He groaned. “You really know how to mess with me, don’t you?” 

You giggled, and he threw you a dirty look before picking up the pup from your arms to inspect it better. “So this little guy kept you company while I was gone?” The little one yelped and started licking Seb’s chin eagerly. “I think I’ll forgive him, good thing he’s cute.” 

You watched them both, smiling like crazy. “I named him Kenny.” 

-

You then spent the next hour explaining how you got the dog and hung out with your new pet, until Kenny fell asleep. And while you stepped out of the room, Seb grabbed you and pushed you against the wall again, just outside the guest room. 

“I hope you know that had there been a guy in there, I would shoot him first and ask questions later.” He whispered before pressing his lips to yours. 

You smiled into the kiss, giggling when he bit down on your lip. “You crazy man,” You pulled away to look into his eyes. “I love you, I wouldn’t do that to you, to us.” 

“Hmm,” he leaned in to kiss your neck. “Don’t you dare leave me.” He mumbled against your skin. “I mean it.” 

“Else you’re gonna burn this house down?” You teased him for his dramatic threat earlier. 

He groaned, pinching your butt and making you squeal. “Or I’m gonna burn this whole city to the ground,” he corrected you, “And everyone in it.” He added, making you chuckle as you pulled him in for another kiss. 

Seb had gotten rid of your dress before you even made it to your bedroom. 

You laughed as you made him chase you around the room, and he groaned each time he missed you. “Come here, you little-,” He finally caught you and pinned you down on the bed, straddling you and gripping your wrists in his hands as he leaned down to kiss you. “You better make up for almost giving me a stroke, babygirl.” He murmured. 

You gasped as he bit down on your neck, kissing and licking along your throat. “And you better make up for being away so much.” You sassed. 

He chuckled. “Well then, we both have a lot to make up for it seems.” 

Seb placed his mouth on top of yours to swallow your whimpers and moans as he pushed his cock into you. He groaned as he pushed himself fully into you. He lifted his head and watched you grimace in pleasure and pain as his cock stretched you out. He watched you in awe as your lips parted and you moaned his name once he filled you up nicely. 

You whined as he slowly slipped out of you completely, before slamming back into you with a slightly bigger force. 

He groaned at the feeling of your walls wrapped around him, squeezing and clenching around him. You heard him swear and felt him bite down on your lip as he sped up into you. He tugged on your lips and he started moving his hips; rocking into you slowly, then gradually increasing his speed. Your back arched off the surface of the bed again and your chest pressed to his.  

He moaned into your ear. “You’re mine.” 

“Baby…” You were a moaning mess under him in no time. There was something about the way he kissed you, deeply and passionately; as though he was scared you might just get away from him.

He worshipped your body. He mumbled how good you felt in your ear, groaning as you bucked your hips to meet each one of his thrusts as well. He kissed you roughly as he pounded into you; fingers wrapped around your throat. He fucked you raw and relentlessly, watching how your face morphed into frowns of pleasure. 

He pressed his forehead on yours; looking down to where your bodies connected so intimately. Then he pulled away to look into your eyes with that animalistic, primal and fiery look in his eyes. His lips parted as he panted while he fucked you like he owned you.

“You missed me, didn’t you, babygirl?” 

You nodded, whining in pleasure. He smirked. His hand left your neck and slid in between your connected bodies and furiously rubbed your clit, earning a loud moan out of you.

“Say it, baby. Tell me how much you missed my cock buried deep inside you…” 

You couldn’t talk as the pressure in between your legs became too much to handle, and you craved for release. 

He cooed, “Missed me so much it had you acting up. Scheming for ways to torture me for being away from you for so long…” a dark chuckle followed his words, “For not being here to fuck this greedy little cunt, huh?”

He noticed that you were too much in a haze to respond. So he just slipped his tongue back into your mouth and took your bottom lip between his teeth again.

“Come on, cum for me babygirl…,” he swore as he felt you clench around him perfectly. You came hard around him, moaning and whimpering under him as he finished right after you; kissing your swollen lips deeply as he came.

He pushed his face into the crook of your neck as he caught his breath. And you cradled his head; panting as well. Your fingers gently massaged his scalp as he calmed his racing heart. “I’ve missed you so much.” You mumbled. 

A few moments later, he shifted all his weight right on top of you making you laugh as you tried to scoot out from under him. 

He groaned and pulled you closer. “Come here.” He pressed you against his body and wrapped his arms around. “I love you. So much. Don’t you ever leave me.” 

You buried your face into his chest, inhaling his scent. “Never happening. You’re my one and only.”

[strawberrynamjoon]

farmer boy, i love you

– Pairing: Taehyung x Reader

– Genre: farming!au, lowkey e2l, smut, humor & tons of nagging

– Word count: 35k

– Summary: Needing change in your life you decided it would be a brilliant idea to move to your uncle’s small farm, helping him and your cousin Jimin with the daily work. What you didn’t plan was to fall in love with your beautiful yet very annoying neighbour Taehyung, who seemed to make it his personal mission to tease you every chance he got. And what you expected even less was that he seemed to like you too.

– Warnings: includes smut, alcohol and mentions death of a father

– A/N: this is a rewritten edition of a fic i already posted before when i was still writing for got7 but i loved it too much to let it go <3

– Disclaimer: This is not proofread because I was too lazy, so you might find a few mistakes!

Walking the long but yet very pretty way towards the small village that, from today on, was supposed to be your new home you felt a bit indifferent. While you were convinced that it was time for you to start a new chapter of your life you still couldn’t help but feel anxious about taking such a big step.

Moving to the farm that belonged to your uncle seemed like such a great idea when he first offered the plan he had to you – the place held such special memories and as a child you always wanted nothing more than to live there, working on the farm, supporting your uncle and his son, your super annoying yet lovely cousin Jimin.

Now that the idea wasn’t an idea anymore but your reality you were scared and not so sure anymore that this was the right step, yet your second thoughts didn’t matter anymore, it was already too late for you.

The big city you grew up had nothing to offer you anymore – so now, you wanted, or better said needed a cut in your life.

There was nothing you used to love more than sneaking out with your cousin at night, secretly meeting up with your friends, going for a swim in the small lake right next to your house. You wouldn't trade those memories for nothing, cherishing each and every one of them. So, you concluded that this town was the best option you had.

It had been such a long time since you visited, you actually felt a bit nostalgic when you arrived in the center of the town. The residents liked to call the marketplace at the beginning of the town „the heart“ of the city.

Ever since your last visit many years ago nothing seemed different. Basically, it was a round and rather big circle, surrounded by a small café that has been there all your life, right next to it the library that was owned by the Jeon family, the parents of Jimin's closest friend, Jungkook. You couldn't help but smile as you remembered how you used to hide in the library, reading the same few books over and over again.

Opposite of the library was the old restaurant – every single rather important event was celebrated in that specific restaurant, no matter if it were birthdays, anniversaries, New Year's Eve or whatever other occasion there was.

It was so popular not only because of the delicious food they offered but also because it was literally the only restaurant around. Your uncle and your neighbors, the Kims, were providing them with the food they needed, so you usually always got food for free which lead to you and Jimin spending a lot of time at the restaurant, no matter how often your uncle insisted he could cook dinner for you – in hindsight you felt kind of bad for him because the two of you constantly turned down his meals.

And last, but certainly not least, there was the little pub that you never actually were allowed to spend time in since you used to be too young. The Mins, the owners of the place, were very strict about that. None of you and your friends were ever allowed to be inside the pub as long as you were minors – even their son Yoongi rarely ever saw it from the inside, probably because the adults didn’t want the children around after work was done.

As you stood in the middle of the marketplace you couldn't help but smile as the last sunrays of this warm late summer day were falling right onto the pub, making it look a bit more beautiful than it actually was. The paint on the outside was splintered and the sign that simply said ‘The Mins’ Pub’ was slowly falling apart – somehow all of this gave it a certain charm though.

The vibe of the village always made you feel comfortable. There were about 150 people living here if you had to guess and the next supermarket was a twenty-five minute drive away but the people seemed so happy, not worrying about a lot of things.

You decided that a short stop in the pub before you’d go home to your uncle’s house wouldn’t hurt anyone. After all, you were way too curious to finally see the magical place from inside.

As you carefully entered the door you felt cheerful – it looked exactly like you always imagined it to be. Most of the furniture was made out of old wood, the bar was long and it was the first thing one would notice as they came in since it was on the opposite wall of the entrance.

Your smile was wide when you spotted the one man you hoped to find standing behind the bar. Of course, Yoongi was the bartender by now, it was always his plan to work here, to him it seemed to be the coolest thing ever to be a bartender, especially in his own bar – and turns out, he was right, he looked extremely cool behind the bar, washing glasses while chatting with villagers.

For a second you studied him, he looked dangerously handsome. Certainly a lot taller than the last time you had interacted with him and his face seemed more mature, a defined jawline but the same round cheeks, his hair long and falling in his face, making him look almost evil for a seocnd. If it wasn’t for gummy smile you would have had to look twice to be sure it was the same Min Yoongi you spent so much time with as a child.

The expression on his face as he recognized you, the young lady from out of town, was priceless – his whole relaxed and cool facade vanished immediately as he stared at you with his eyes wide open, a questioning glance as he saw you. He was caught off guard, his slightly opened mouth giving him away.

“Just the man I hoped to find. Yoongi, you look good,” you playfully flirted as you walked towards the bar, “I’d like to have one beer please.”

Within seconds he was walking away from his place behind the bar to come and embrace you in a tight hug before mustering you, shortly studying your face to make sure you were really the person he thought you were.

“(Y/N), live and in color? I thought you forgot about us,” he joked, the surprise of you in his bar very pleasant to him.

A joyful laugh came out of your mouth as he walked back behind the bar, opening both, you and himself, a beer.

“You could’ve called, you know? No need to surprise me like this. My old heart can’t take those kinds of surprises anymore,” he sounded lighthearted, just like you remembered him.

Immediately you felt ten times lighter, clicking with people you haven’t seen in a long time was one of the purest and most magical feelings in existence and you were more than relieved to see that you and Yoongi were equally as excited to be reunited after such a long time. Not getting along with your old friends, especially him, was one of the many fears you had about moving here.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t assume Jimin actually kept quiet about me coming back,” you admitted.

“How long has it been since we saw each other?” he asked as he was leaning against the bar, his whole attention on his former best friend, still having an obviously hard time to believe that you were actually sitting in front of him right then and there.

Before you could give him an answer someone else started to answer for you from behind you and you immediately recognized his orotund voice, “Six long years,” your cousin said while he and another familiar face walked up to you.

Jimin pulled you into an even deeper hug than Yoongi did and you felt home within seconds. Jungkook was right beside him, of course, where else would he be than next to Jimin? The two of them still were inseparable and it was almost heartwarming to see how little has changed.

“How did you manage to not say anything?” Jungkook scoffed in shock before looking at you, “It’s good to see you again, (y/n). I can’t believe Jimin didn’t tell us.”

You were almost amazed to see how much he grew, his chin could easily rest on your head by now, something that you would’ve never thought could happen. Jungkook has always been the youngest and smallest kid back then and now he was the tallest in the room.

“I wasn’t sure if she’d actually come. Didn’t want to get your hopes up, Jungkook,” he teased his friend, still nagging about the crush he had on you when you were literally five years old.

Jungkook rolled his eyes at his comment before bringing his attention back to you and Yoongi, sitting down on the stool beside yours.

“So, how long are you going to stay?” Yoongi asked.

For the first time, you actually had to say the truth out loud, making it feel much more real.

“I’m not planning to leave again,” you sounded more confident than you expected, the nice encounter with your old friends almost making you feel like all of your previous worries were groundless.

There was a moment of silence, both of them not knowing what to say – it almost seemed like you broke them.

“You know, I never saw you speechless until now,” Jimin chuckled amused.

“You mean –”, Jungkook started to form a sentence but dropped it, not knowing how to continue.

“You’re moving here?” Yoongi asked, wrinkles on his forehead as his brows narrowed in confusion.

As you slowly nodded his concentrated expression vanished and changed into a grin. “You’re actually moving here,” he repeated breathlessly, more to himself than to you, slowly nodding to himself as if he had to progress the new information.

“Welcome home then, (y/n). I think this is a reason to celebrate,” he smiled while pouring shots into a few glasses in front of him.

Time went by fast and you had fun learning about what happened in the last six years. It didn’t sound like a lot has changed though, they were still as close and as fun to be around as you rememberd.

Every time you looked at them it hit you how fast time flew by, it felt like a just few months ago all of you were playing hide and seek in the middle of the night while your parents had no idea you sneaked out.

A few hours and way too many shots later, you and Jimin walked home, the night sky was breathtakingly clear and full of stars – a sight you simply would never see in your hometown, all the city lights drowing them out. You forgot how special it felt to walk under millions of stars.

No matter how much fun you had in the bar, walking home with Jimin was your favorite part of today, you definitely missed him the most.

He told you a bit about how Hoseok and Namjoon were thinking about taking over the old restaurant because the owners are getting too old to manage everything and about Jungkook and Seokjin being into the same girl, without knowing that Namjoon was already dating her in secret – it was nice that he filled you in with everything you missed, so you could start right where you left.

As you arrived at home your uncle was sitting in the rocking chair on the porch in front of the old farmhouse.

“Uncle Minwoo,“ you almost shouted out as you saw him, jogging over to where he was sitting. Minwoo always was your favorite uncle and you were his favorite niece, much to the dislike of your siblings.

“(Y/n),” he laughed as you hugged him, “you smell like you had a good time in the pub.”

“We actually have a small surprise for you,” Jimin seemed excited as he told you to follow him.

He lead you to the old little cottage that has been on the farm for as long as you were able to think – back in the days it was mainly used for storing tools and electronics that shouldn’t be exposed to the rain. Confusion coming over you, your uncle handed you a key and you opened the small cottage. Stepping inside, you couldn’t believe your eyes.

“Welcome home,“ your uncle chuckled as you observed the room in front of you. A small kitchen, a couch and a TV in the living room, a bed on the other side of the room. They painted the walls white and decorated a bit – it might have been something small but enough to touch you deeply.

You were sure you could stay here forever, it was cute and welcoming, like a real home. Not a thousand words could describe how much you appreciated them for putting in so much effort, just to make you feel comfortable.

As you thanked both, Jimin and your uncle, the three of you talked for a bit longer, the excitement taking over before your uncle advised you that it would be better to catch some sleep – work wouldn’t wait for you and you had to be thankful for any second of sleep you could get.

Waking up the next morning, you immediately regretted the alcohol you had the night before. Your phone said it was currently six in the morning and while being woken up by the sound of chicken and cows was way more relaxing than your usual alarm clock you still would have preferred to just sleep in.

Walking outside a few minutes later you inspected the farm – it was a giant property with two big houses on it. Half of the farm belonged to your uncle, he took care of the animals and artisan goods, the other half belonged to the Kims, in charge of the crop harvest

Starting the day with feeding the chickens and collecting eggs was one of the easier tasks you had to face today since it almost didn’t require any kind of skill. While you were picking up another egg you flinced as you heard someone scream at you from behind.

“Hey! Put the eggs back! Who in the world steals eggs these days?” the deep voice belonged to a man but before you could turn around to find out who was screaming at you, he held your wrists behind your back, not giving you any space to move.

Your attempt to free yourself was almost embarrassing, it was clear that you had no chance against whoever decided to disturb you.

Turning your head around to scream at the stranger you muted as soon you met his eyes – the words you wanted to scream wouldn’t come out as you looked into the familiar face of his, your brain working hard as you realized who he was.

His thick eyebrows were furrowed, his dark eyes were piercing you, filled with a mixture of anger and annoyance – he was still staring at you and waiting for an explanation.

“Kim–“ your voice died and you fastly cleared your throat, “Kim Taehyung?”

His annoyed expression changed into a confused one as you called him by his name. You couldn’t believe he was accusing you of stealing eggs.

“Let go of me!” you demanded but Taehyung wasn’t planning to listen to you, not trusting you.

“Who are you?”, he asked harshly, “You’re not from here. How do you know my name?”

The grip on your wrists became tighter and actually started to hurt a bit.

“I’m (Y/N). Minwoo’s niece,” you replied just as harsh as he asked you, “Didn’t Mrs. Kim teach you any manners?”

He let you go and you immediately grabbed your own wrist just so he couldn’t grab them again. A small pout formed on your lip as you looked at them, trying not to let him see that it actually hurt.

“What are you doing here?” he asked you, voice cold.

Now you were facing him and you had to stop for a second to take in his beauty. As he was holding you, you didn’t really manage to study his face since you were too busy trying to free yourself but now you started realizing how handsome he became.

It's not like he was ugly before, you and him just never clicked and that’s why you never gave his face any kind of attention.

Taehyung wasn’t a bad guy, you knew that because Yoongi repeatedly assured you that he was actually a very loving person once you get to know him.

Personally, you just never really got the chance to, since he definitely wasn’t interested in anything that had to do with you. Not in a mean way though, he just didn’t seem to care about the girls in town, especially not the one who always came over the summer break and then left again.

Glowering at you, he was waiting for an answer. You, on the other hand, didn’t dare to look him into his eyes, instead your eyes were studying the rest of his face. His features were sharper and manlier now, his brows thick but he still had the same wrinkles around his eyes.

For a second you wanted to look at his lips but you stopped yourself, not wanting him to get wrong ideas.

“What are you doing here?” you asked in retund instead of giving an answer, “Didn’t you always say you wanted to leave this place?”

He rolled his eyes as you avoided his question.

“I asked first,“ he insisted, making it hard for you not to chuckle at the very immature conversation you were having.

“I am working here. Don’t you have some vegetables to take care of?” you asked coldly asked before turning your back to him.

“You better get used to my face, if you scare me like this one more time I might have a heart attack,” you added as your attention was back to feeding the chickens.

But instead of leaving Taehyun was walking to stand right beside you, “You’re working here? Why would you do that?” he asked. It never was a secret that he wanted to leave this town, he used to talk about it a lot back then already and, even though he still was here, apparently, he still wanted to leave.

“I’m supporting my family,” you shrugged, not looking at him. You really didn’t want to be cold to him but you were tired and you knew how Taehyung was, he didn’t mean to be rude, he had a soft nature, everyone could see that once they got to see his warm smile but sometimes he was a bit rough.

You could see him shake his head in confusion as you were continuing with your work, “Okay, you go milk those cows and churn that butter if this is what fulfills you, (y/n). I’ll go back to work,“ he pointed at the field of tomatoes on the other side of the farm your families shared and left you alone again.

Walking over to the cows, you couldn't help but wonder why he still was here. He was a very clever guy, he could easily go and leave this town to study and open a business or whatever it was he wanted to do. Glancing over to him one more time, you tried to divert your attention to milking the cows.

The field of tomatoes he was currently working on was not too far away but luckily still far enough to give you a bit of privacy. He seemed to be very invested in picking the best tomatoes he could find, a concentrated glance on his face. And you really should try to concentrate too, since you haven’t milked a cow in years.

And you failed miserably. To your desperation, no one was around when you went looking for Jimin or your uncle to help you. Trotting back to the cows you sat down on a small stool in front of one them, giving it another try.

You groaned at the cow, laying your head back and closing your eyes in frustration. It was only your first day and you knew practice makes perfect but you wanted to cry.

“Just give me your stupid milk, please,” you mumbled while taking a deep breath, your eyes still closed.

“Are you sure this is the right job for you? If you can’t even milk Bertha maybe you should reconsider,“ Taehyung’s voice startled you, making you jump a bit. The grin on his face clearly was teasing, full of satisfaction because you were struggling, “Do you need help?”

“Please,“ you didn’t care about the triumphing grin on his face, you were more than willing to take his offer. Any kind of help was good. And in the end, you didn’t dislike Kim Taehyung, you just weren’t close to him.

He nodded before telling you to wait for a second as he walked towards the little shed. Coming out again he held a strange looking machine in his hand while attaching it to the cow’s udder.

“We haven't milked them by hand for years,” he explained to you as he took your wrist once again, this time more careful though, and slightly pulled you towards the cow’s udder, right next to him.

“Watch closely, I’ll show you once and if you can’t follow, you’re on your own,” his words sounded harsh but you didn’t take them that way. The fact that Yoongi was his best friend was something you two had in common and if he wanted you to give Taehyung a chance you would do that. For Yoongi, but also for yourself.

After all, Taehyung was your neighbor and, in addition, he was a handsome man, you wouldn’t mind being able to look at his face whenever you wanted at all.

You saw the way he acts around the guys and you saw that he indeed had a very soft heart, maybe he just had a hard time showing it.

“Hey! Are you even watching?” he asked annoyed while glancing at you, “I know how to do this, I am not the one that has to learn. I’m being nice here, don’t waste my time.”

You chuckled a bit at him losing his temper so easily. “Yes, Taehyung, I’m watching," you said grinning, “Wasting your time was not a task on my list today.”

After he rolled his eyes at you you could swear you saw a small smile on his face while he started to milk the cow, explaining to you what he was doing step by step.

You tried to concentrate on how exactly he does it, what movements his hands made and so on but you kept on finding yourself thinking about how good his hands looked – what in the world was wrong with you? It's not like you've never seen an attractive man before so you had no clue why your hormones were playing a game with you.

After you started to try milking the cows yourself you felt more than relieved that you actually managed to do it right. Letting out a small ‘thank god’ under your breath you realized that Taehyung still stood right beside you, watching your every move.

“You know, you can go back to the toma–” you started to say before he interrupted you in the same moment.

“Just a tip for you,“ he said, not sounding cold for the first time, “Don’t dress up for farm work. You’ll ruin your clothes. You can still wear cute outfits after you’re finished here. But while working just wear something old,“ he said as he was just about to turn around before you had to take the chance to annoy him one last time for now.

“You think my outfit is cute?” the grin on your face was wide and you were way too amused.

As a response his eyes squinted together in regret, knowing that you’ll probably never stop teasing him about it.

“Please don't,“ was all he could whisper frustrated under his breath.

“What a softie you are,“ you playfully poked his upper arm, “Didn’t know you had that in you.”

He let out yet another sigh, sounding almost whiny but the smile on the corner of his mouth came out nonetheless, “Are you always this awful?“

“Dear diary,“ you said in a nagging tone, “Today Kim Taehyung complimented my–”

Before you could end your sentence he was covering your mouth, shaking his head in disbelief slowly, “I’ll go back to work, (y/n). Don’t forget to churn the butter. The wooden pitcher we use for it is in the shed,“ and with that, he walked back to his side of the farm again.

Just a second before he arrived he glanced over to you again, screaming so that you would hear him, “I didn’t compliment you okay? Don't let it get to your head.“

Waving at him from the shed, you nodded your head. “Sure. Talk to you later! Your outfit looks cute too by the way”, you screamed back.

Maybe working next to Taehyung wasn’t so bad after all, if he was always such an easy target to provocate you'd at least have your fun.

When Jimin came into the shed with the tools to take over a few hours later, you were busy churning the butter, cursing under your breath.

Sweat was dripping all over your forehead and it was seriously tiring, every single muscle of your arm hurt, including some muscles you didn’t even know you had. You weren’t sure if you could manage to do that on a daily base. At least you wouldn’t have to worry about a gym membership anymore.

Your cousin stared at you confused, a sly grin in the corner of his mouth, “What exactly are you doing?“

“I’m churning the goddamn butter. Why is it so hard?” you complained while looking up to him. He was holding two beers in his hands, handing one over to you before starting to laugh at your action.

“Why would you use that old thing for that? We have a machine that churns it for us,“ he laughed, “I don’t know why we even still have that old thing.”

“Fucking Kim Taehyung,“ you cursed under your breath, leaving Jimin even more confused.

“You met him?” he asked while sitting down in the hay beside you.

“I did," you hissed, “He was the one who told me to do it this way.”

Jimin’s smile grew wide as he tried to contain his laughter, “I didn’t know he could be so evil.”

He almost sounded satisfied that you were getting fooled by him, “He likes you if he teases you.”

“Well, that’s not a very nice way of showing it,“ you took a big sip of the beer, knowing that you probably deserved it for all the teasing earlier, before continuing, “You didn’t tell me he became so handsome though.”

Jimin’s eyes widened immediately as you confessed and you could tell he was trying not to spit out his drink out of shock. He fastly swallowed, “You have a crush on our Tae?”

You shook your head scoffing, lightly kicking his leg, “A crush? How old are we? I just think he’s very attractive. But he was pretty rude though.”

Jimin pressed his lips together in a thin line, looking into the sky, „His father died two years ago. He had a hard time. But he opens up sooner or later, just be patient with him – I promise, he is one of the most kind and caring people in this town.“

You gulped at the news, “What a sad loss, Mr. Kim was such a ray of sunshine, always ready to help if help was needed.”

Jimin nodded, “He was. Olli was only six years old when his father died. But dad took a lot of care of them since then.”

There was a short silence. You still remembered little Olli, Taehyung’s younger brother. The last time you saw him he was barely two years old.

“I can’t believe he’s your type though. I thought I really wanted to set you up with Jungkook,“ Jimin broke the silence before you could think about it any longer, almost offended.

You laughed at him. He was close to Taehyung, you knew that, but he always wanted you to date Jungkook, only for the purpose of having him as an official family member.

“That won’t happen,”, you broke it to him, much to his disappointment.

A deep sigh came from him, “Well if you want Taehyung so bad, come to the pub with us. I bet he’ll be there too tonight. We are meeting at eight. What do you say?”

“I don’t want him, I simply said that he is good looking,”  you desperately hoped he wouldn’t tease you all the time about this from now on, already starting to slowly regret that you even brought it up in the first place. And as much as you would like to go out to the pub with the others you had a date with your bathtub that you wouldn’t want to miss for anything else tonight.

“I’ll pass though. I’ll come next time,“ you promised, standing up and walking towards your door.

“I can’t wait to tell Yoongi that you and Taehyung are going to become a couple. How exciting!” he yelled after you in his typical teasing voice, making you laugh out in frustration. Sharing your opinion on Taehyung’s look with your cousin probably wasn't the best idea.

It fastly got dark outside and you were lighting the candles in your bathroom, the bathtub slowly filling up with hot water.

Exactly what your muscles needed after churning the butter all afternoon. Putting a bit of milk in the bathtub, you wondered if you had some honey in the farmhouse by any chance. As you wrapped the first towel you could find around your body, you wanted to hush over to your uncle’s house to check. But what stopped you from your plans was a shadow you saw walking past your window, making you freeze until someone rang your door.

Opening it, no one else than Taehyung was standing in front of it, his work clothes traded into sweatpants and an oversized hoodie, a basket in his hand and his eyes fixed on your exposed legs.

The towel you were wearing luckily covered all of your breast and bottom but that was about it. And, as if it couldn't get worse, it also had a lot of fairies on it – it used to be your favorite towel when you were about five years old. Still, you didn’t need Taehyung to see you wearing it.

“Taehyung?“ you asked him, unsure why he was visiting but he was still looking at the exposed parts of your body, not doing a good job at hiding the fact that he got distracted by your legs. You barely noticed though because your thoughts wandered to this morning. “How dare you not telling me that we have a machine for the butter? Are you crazy?”

“My arms hurt so much,“ you added in a complaining tone, too tired to fight him so you decided to whine instead.

Coming back to reality, he laughed at you, his eyes now looking at your face, “You seriously did it all by yourself?” – he was lucky the wrinkles around his eyes were so cute whenever he laughed, otherwise you would have killed him right there, “You must be pretty strong then.”

“What do you want?” you asked him annoyed before you saw his eyes wandering down to your legs once again.

Not missing out on the opportunity to nag him, you chuckled, “Do you like my outfit?” as you struck a small pose, you had to be careful not to expose any parts he shouldn’t see.

Rolling his eyes he handed over the basket, “Seriously, you’re so annoying.”

You grinned, thinking it’s quite funny how easy it was to annoy him, “But you still think I’m cute, so it doesn’t matter.”

There definitely was a smile hidden on his lips that he tried to hide at all cost, but you could see it reaching his eyes, “This is for you. My mum put your favorites in it. Tomatoes, cherries, peaches, blueberries. She asked me to bring it to you,“ the man said, trying to sound as uninterested and unbothered as possible.

“That–“ you started to gather your words, feeling very touched about the little gift but a bit confused as to why Taehyung brought it to you, “That’s so nice of her. I’ll come over tomorrow and thank her.”

He immediately focused on you again, “No, it's fine. I’ll tell her. She’s kind of sick at the moment, she needs to rest, Olli is not even letting me go near her because he doesn’t want anyone else to get sick, so I doubt he would let you come over.”

You mustered him suspiciously but decided to leave him be, you surely teased him enough for today and didn’t want him to actually dislike you.

“Alright, Tae. Thank you,“ you gave him a soft smile as you were about to close the door.

“Wait,” he stopped you before you closed the door and you waited for him to say something, “Are you planning to go to the pub later?“ – if you didn’t expect him to ask one thing than it was this one. Why did he care suddenly?

“I don’t think so. Churning that butter has really worn me out, you know?” you said, laughing lightly, “And my bathtub is already waiting for me.”

“Oh alright. That’s cool. See you soon, I guess,“ he said before awkwardly giving you a small smile and leaving again. What a strange yet interesting guy he was.

Something about him made you look forward to your future on the farm. But before you could let it get to your head, you were interrupted by a text from no one else than Yoongi.

[Yoongi, 22:29]

Glad to hear you're getting yourself a man! Taehyung and (y/n), how sweet.

You let out a small laugh before finally meeting your only date for tonight: Your bathtub. Though you had to admit that the handsome face from next door was coming to your mind every now and then.

After a week you slowly got used to the daily work on the farm, your body was finally starting to react differently, your arms weren’t getting as sore anymore and waking up early was bothering you less and less.

It was a sunny Saturday which meant you had to gather all of the goods your uncle wanted to sell on the market the next morning. Picking out the best eggs, milk, wool and cheese was pretty boring, especially since Jimin left early because he was going on a date tonight with some random girl you never heard about before. But since you wanted him to be happy, and also because his teasing about Taehyung was slowly but surely making you go insane, you told him it would be okay if he let you work alone today.

It took you about an hour until you were finally done with carrying all of the boxes into your uncle’s car as you saw Mrs. Kim, Taehyung’s mother, and decided to help her quickly carrying her own boxes filled with pretty fruits and vegetables.

His mother was a beautiful and lovely lady, always has been. Her black hair was long and even though there were a few grey strands in it by now she still looked as young as ever.

“Mrs. Kim, let me help you,“ you shouted while jogging over to her, “Where’s Taehyung? Letting his mother carry all the heavy boxes of fruits and vegetables alone is not a nice thing to do,” you disapproved, one box already in your hands.

She let out a laugh and you were reminded of how warm her laughter was, it sounded like the giggle of a small child.

“It’s fine, I told him to rest for today. He always works so much,” she let out a worried sigh, “I’m very thankful, I know helping me on the farm was not what he wanted to do with his life but he does it for me.”

You never really thought about it that way before – that might explain why he was still here despite always hating the small village he was born and grew up in, it was probably hard for him to leave his family behind after losing his father.

While carrying a box full of blueberries you ate a handful, not able to hold back. The Kim’s blueberries have always been your favorites, none of the ones back at home could compare to the juicy fruits you'd get here.

“You still love blueberries, I see,” She hummed joyfully as she was carrying the last box to the car.

“I am obsessed with them,” you answered, “Oh how rude of me – I still wanted to thank you for the little basket full of fruits you send to me. I was in heaven, your peaches were even better than I remembered.”

Mrs. Kim looked at you in confusion for a second before getting a grip of the situation, the confusion vanishing while a different kind of expression came to her face, unable for you to read at first.

“So he can actually be charming,“ she mumbled to herself with an almost mischievous smirk and within seconds you knew exactly what she was talking about. That little shit.

Scoffing, you wondered why Taehyung wouldn't just admit that the little basket was a present from him, not from his mother – who would do something so sweet without wanting to let the other person know? But then, on the other hand, you didn’t understand Taehyung at all.

“Mum,” you heard his voice yell out while he walking out of the door to their house.

When he saw you he froze for a second, “Oh, hey, (y/n),“ he said with a slight and not really convincing smile, it almost seemed forced.

You nodded towards him, ready to go back to work and leave them alone, as his little brother came running outside, chasing after Taehyung.

“Tete,” he let out a scream as he tried to jump on his back. He was surprisingly tall for an eight-year-old, almost managing to get to Taehyung’s shoulders if he jumped high enough, “Can I come with you? Please?”

Before he could answer, Olli’s attention shifted somewhere else. Or better said, onto someone else. To be precise, you caught his attention, the girl standing in front of his mother and brother, a stranger he’s never seen before.

“Who are you?” he asked curiously, studying you exactly, “Are you Minwoo’s niece?”

You kneeled down to be at an eye to eye level with him, shaking his hand, “Yes, that’s me. I’m (y/n). It's nice to meet you.”

He had a big grin on his face, “Hi, I’m Olli,“ after introducing himself to you he turned around to his big brother, “Did you make the basket for her?”

Taehyung shushed him within a second, giving him a warning glance before trying to cover up his story, “Yes, I did it because mum asked me to.”

She let out a sarcastic laugh, making fun of her son, “Sure. It was totally me asking you to do that.”

A heavy sigh fell from Taehyung’s mouth before shaking his head in disbelief, “Where is your cousin? He promised he’d help me picking up our new couch.”

“Oh, I am afraid he forgot. He’s on a date right now,“ you informed him.

Taehyung let out a heavy sigh, rubbing his temple, not believing that Jimin completely forgot about him. Now even more frustrated, he started mumbling, “It’s always the same with this guy.”

“I’ll help you,“ you volunteered determined, not even bothering to ask him first, knowing he’d say no anyway, “I’m done with work for today and I don’t mind coming along.”

“No, it’s fine. I’ll go alone,“ he insisted, clearly mad at your cousin before walking over to his car. Not caring you decided to follow him, hoping that he’d be nice to Jimin if you helped him instead, even though you had little hope.

“Stop being so stubborn,“ you said to him as you opened the door and sat down inside the car, “Just accept my help.”

And much to your surprise, he did accept it, not bothering to start another discussion with you. Maybe he was just too tired of the constant bickering going on between the two of you.

As the two of you drove out of town the sky looked like it was painted in golden colors, the sun slowly setting but the air was still warm, brushing the arm you held out of the open window.

“Where are we even going?” you asked the obviously bothered boy beside you.

“It’s not far away, the dude I’m buying the couch from lives like twenty minutes away,“ he answered, his eyes glued to the street, „You really didn’t have to come. I could’ve easily done it alone.”

Slowly but surely, you were starting to get mad at Taehyung. You couldn’t tell why his constant attitude was getting to you but it did. Of course, he didn't have to like you and honestly, maybe you did go a bit too far with the teasing but after all, you were neighbors, co-workers and also shared the same group of friends. Being nice to each other was the least you could do – especially when you knew that he wasn’t like that at all towards other people. You’ve seen him interact with his little brother and his mother and his friends, he was a warm and loving person, laughing and joking whenever he could. He just wouldn’t open up towards you.

„Dude, you’re the worst. Can you keep quiet for once and accept help? Stop being so rude all the time, being nice every now and then won’t hurt you, you know? You can take your bad mood out on Jimin later.” you snapped at him, not even intended to sound so mean but it just happened – you just wanted him to at least accept you.

He peaked at you, his eyes grew wide in shock at your rant. Even though your voice was still low he clearly heard the frustration in it, “What do you mean? I am being nice all the time. I told you that you shouldn’t wear your good clothes to work in. That was a piece of nice advice I gave you for example.”

You scoffed at him not knowing if he was being serious, “You also attacked me because you thought I was stealing chicken and made me churn butter.”

He chuckled amused as you brought the churning up, “I still can’t believe you did that.”

“My arms still hurt. You’re an asshole,“ you rolled your eyes, not in the mood to put up with Taehyung being, well, himself, when you were just being nice, “If that is your interpretation of being nice I’m beyond sorry for your future girlfriend.”

“Hey, now you’re the one being mean,“ he acted offended and honestly, a bit confused, not knowing why the two of you were fighting. You weren't even mad at him, you just felt fed up, craving at least peace between the two of you.

“Well, maybe you just need a taste of your own medicine,“ you shrugged, calming down a bit as the discussion started to shift to a more playful mood than a serious one.

But before you or Taehyung could fuel the fire and add anything into the it, you let out a small scream as he was turning right with full speed, making you feel like you were about to crash, holding onto the seatbelt for dear life.

“For fucks sake, where did you learn how to drive? Do you not know that you’re supposed to slow down before turning?” you asked him, gasping for air.

“If this is already scaring you, I’ll give you the nice advice to not drive with Yoongi,” he laughed out loud as he parked his car in front of a big house, “Ready to use the strength in your arms built up from churning butter?”

It took you about twenty minutes to carry all the parts of the couch from the third floor to the trailer attached on Taehyung’s car. When you were done it was beginning to get dark outside and the weather was cooling down, making you shiver a bit.

All done, you sat back inside Taehyung’s car as he was securing the trailer so you could drive back home safely – or at least as safe as a ride with him could be.

“If you’re cold there’s a blanket on the backseat, I'll get it for you,“ he yelled from outside before coming getting inside the car, a blanket in his hand, “See how nice I am? So caring, not wanting you to freeze to death.”

You shook your head amused, „What a gentleman you are.”

The drive home was more peaceful, no discussions this time. You looked outside, seeing a big and bright star in the sky, pointing to it excited.

“I can’t get over how beautiful the starry night sky is here. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to it,“ you mumbled, almost sounding dreamy, eyes glued to the sky. It wasn’t even completely dark outside yet, but the first stars were already sparkling brightly.

“Isn’t it the same in your hometown?” he asked a bit perplexed as he looked over to you, wondering how you could be so excited about some stupid stars.

“Not at all. The big city lights drown them. You can barely see some, and if you can, they are not as bright as here.”

“I suppose living here isn’t all bad.”, he shrugged after thinking about it for a few seconds, his glance wavering to the sky every few seconds.

You hummed in agreement, “Except for this terrible guy living next to me I quite enjoy my time here.”

He chuckled, enjoying the little game you two were playing, „Must be really hard to live right next to such an attractive young man. I bet you have a hard time.”

Laughing, you were impressed at his wittiness, “Don’t think too highly of yourself.”

Before you could let him answer your favorite song suddenly started playing in the radio, making you turn up the volume instantly, “You need to shut up now. This is my all-time favorite song.”

But of course, Taehyung didn't shut up. Much more like him, he did the opposite, trying to sing along as loud as he could just to ruin the song for you – and he had way too much fun doing it.

“I didn’t know you could sing,“ you said, giving him an approving look.

A smirk formed on his lips, “I'm a man full of surprises.”

The rest of the drive the two of you were singing along to the radio loudly, having genuine fun together for the first time since you arrived. It was nice to see him loosen up a bit, even though it was only a small step.

Driving up to the farm, you already saw Jimin sitting on the porch. He immediately stood up, walking over to the car, already apologizing without you really arriving yet, “I’m so so sorry mate. I completely forgot. I owe you a beer next time we go out.”

Taehyung chuckled as he turned the engine off, “Doesn’t seem like his date had a happy ending, considering he’s home already.”

“Good for me,“ you shrugged, “I’m way too tired to carry the whole couch inside anyway.”

You were the first to get out of the car, making Jimin narrow his eyebrows in confusion.

“What are you doing in Taehyung’s car?” he asked suspiciously.

“I’m doing your fucking job,“ you shot him a mean glance.

As you were walking towards your home you were stopped by Taehyung holding your arm, making you turn around.

“Thank you, I suppose,“ he said, pressing his lips together, obviously feeling awkward, “Just trying to be nice.”

You gave him a genuine smile, “No problem. Sleep well.”

“You too, (y/n).”

Waking up you were almost shocked to see the weather. Yesterday the sun was still shining while today it was pouring like you never saw before. The sky was dark and grey and your whole farm seemed quite sad, making you wish you could just stay in bed all day, just being lazy, reading, eating and maybe fantasizing about a certain someone.

Checking your phone you saw a text from Jimin: it’s going to storm today, you have to make sure all the animals are in the barn and safe, please. i’m getting food for tonight. see you later, favorite cousin.

You immediately threw on a thick cardigan and brushed your teeth, hurrying to get things done before the weather got even worse. Looking in the mirror you scoffed for a second at your sad reflection – your hair was in a very messy bun and your under-eye circles were almost black. But there was no time to pity yourself right now, you could do that after work.

After you fed and, of course, petted the chickens and made sure that all the windows were closed tightly you ran over to the barn where the cows and goats were in. Your clothes were completely drenched even though the way between the barns was very short, the heavy rain was so strong that there was no way you could’ve stayed dry.

Entering the barn your eyebrows narrowed as you saw that the light was on and the food for the cows was already laid out.

“Uncle Minwoo?” you screamed loudly, the rain was so loud that otherwise, no one would hear you.

“Oh thank god, there you are,“ the owner of the voice was coming out of the little shed you kept your tools in, throwing one of the milking machines over to you. You barely had time to catch it because Taehyung was throwing it without caring if you’d catch it or not.

“What are you doing here?” you asked him skeptically as you sat down to the cow next to the one he was currently milking.

He glanced at you with an annoyed expression on his face - but only until he saw how wet you were from the rain. Right then, he bursted out into laughter, “Why are you not wearing a raincoat for fucks sake?” he asked you, enjoying the sight in front of him a little too much.

“I don’t even own one,“ you admitted a bit hesitant while shrugging, knowing he’d make even more fun of you.

And of course, he did.

“How can you not own a raincoat? Seriously, (y/n), you’re something else. Who on earth doesn’t own a raincoat?” he shook his head in disbelief, still laughing.

You simply pressed your lips together, coming back to your actual question, “But why are you here? Certainly not because you wanted to help me.”

“Hey, maybe I’m not as bad as you think and just wanted to be friendly for once?” he said, acting offended, “Since you’re always complaining.”

“Yeah, I doubt that,“ you answered.

Suddenly you heard a loud thunder outside, making you jump - you usually were not afraid of thunder but the sudden loud noise startled you for a second. What really scared you though was the reaction of two of your cows, immediately after they heard the thunder they let out the deepest and loudest sounds you’ve ever heard of them. They sounded terrified.

Taehyung immediately jumped up from his stool and walked over to Bertha, the small brown cow, petting her face.

“Shhhh, it's okay,“ he tried calming her down before looking over to you, “I’m always here when it storms. Bertha and Marnie are deadly afraid of the thunder, so I accompany them. It calms them down.”

For a second you thought he was fooling you but before you could say something another loud thunder was heard followed by loud sounds of the cows once again. God, you weren't sure if you ever could get used to the sounds they made.

“Wait,“ you interrupted confused as you saw Taehyung pet Bertha once again, giving her a small kiss on the side of her face, “You’re serious?”

He looked at you with a grin, “Of course I am. Go, pet Marnie a bit. She loves getting pets right under his chin, she’s such a lovely cow.”

You did as he said but not really trusting him yet.

“I didn’t know he had feelings, Marnie, did you?” you asked the cow sarcastically.

Taehyung chuckled, shaking his head, “I only have feelings Marnie and Bertha.”

Bertha was walking away from him to the hay he just put down for them to lie down for a bit, something you barely ever saw them doing,

“When I first looked into Bertha’s big brown eyes I fell in love,” he stated lovingly, petting some of the other cows while Bertha was still lying down, „Her eyes are just too pure.“

“That’s adorable,” you had to admit, “Didn’t expect that from you.”

“Are you aware that just because I’m telling you you’re stupid because you don’t own a raincoat or work on a farm with a goddamn Gucci shirt doesn't mean I'm an asshole? That’s my way of helping,” he said confidently, “You just seem to not know exactly what to do, so I’m trying to help.”

„You're still being mean while doing it,“ you insisted, not giving in.

“Whatever,“ he walked over to Bertha, who was resting on the ground, lying down next to her, “Just go inside and relax, I’ll take care of the cows.”

“No way,“ you sat down next to him, “I’ll not leave you alone with my cows. I don’t trust you.”

Of course, that was only an excuse to spend some time with the pretty boy from next door but he didn't need to know – his ego was big enough already. Both of you were now starting to relax slowly, leaning against Bertha, petting her every now and then.

“So, farmer girl, how do you like it here?” he asked you after a few seconds of silence, seeming to be actually interested in you for once.

“It’s nice,“ you shrugged as he was peaking over at you, “I like the fact that I finally am allowed to go into the pub the most.”

“I remember when we first were allowed to go in, it was like Harry Potter seeing Hogwarts for the first time,“ he remembered laughing, “and now we’re the ones that get drunk in there while the younger kids are jealous they can’t.”

“Some things never change, right?“ your eyes darted to Taehyung, who had his eyes closed and seemed to be truly relaxed in your presence for the first time since you arrived. He was using his arm as a pillow, a smile on his lips - for once a genuine smile, not the usual teasing one he gave you. The rain was pouring so hard onto the roof of the barn it sounded like applause. You couldn’t help but smile to yourself, exhaling a breathy scoff through your nose, not believing that he actually had a soft side.

“What's so funny?“ he asked curiously, still with closed eyes.

“I just love the sound of heavy rain,”  you lied, also getting into a comfortable position and closing your eyes.

Your neighbour let out a hum, agreeing with you before yawning, “Me too. It’s cozy.”

Your eyelids started to feel heavy, you didn’t have much sleep last night and your body was shivering a bit because of your wet clothes. Taehyung was snoring lightly beside you within a few minutes and before you knew it you were asleep too. You wouldn’t have expected the barn to be such a comfortable place to sleep in.

The sound of someone calling your name, you couldn't quite identify who it belonged to yet, woke you up. As you were slowly starting to realize where you were, you were just as perplexed as Taehyung, who was still beside you, seeming to just have woken up too, according to his dreamy gaze.

“Did we fall asleep?” he asked you, yawning and stretching his arms from his body.

As you looked up, Jimin was standing in front of both of you, confusion was written all over his face, “What the hell are you two doing in here? How do I keep finding you two together?”

Taehyung shrugged, sitting up as you were doing the same, “What does it look like? We obviously fell asleep.”

“Okay but why were you here together in the first place?” he asked, a smirk on his lips, “Did you make out in front of the cows? They are too young to be exposed to such wild and unholy behavior.”

Chuckling at his remark, you rubbed your eyes a bit, “Don't be noisy, please. I’m having a headache.”

“You two are just too cute,“ he teased a bit before telling you the reason he was looking for you in the first place, “Dinner’s ready. We’re having some meat with different salads and corn. Feel free to join us Tae, your mum and Olli are there too.”

“I don’t know,“ he replied, a little unsure, “I still wanted to meet up with Namjoon and Hoseok later.”

Jimin narrowed his eyebrows, “Why didn’t you ask me to join, you jerk?”

Taehyung laughed at Jimin, standing up, surprisingly offering you a hand to help you get up from the ground, “I’ll eat dinner with you and then you can come with me, alright?“ he proposed to Jimin.

Your cousin agreed happily and the three of you walked over to the big house Minwoo and Jimin lived in.

“Did you find her?” your uncle screamed from the kitchen as he heard the door open.

“Yes, I’m here,“ you shouted back as you took off your shoes.

Walking over to them, Mrs. Kim was surprised to see her son, “Oh, Tae. How lovely that you’re here,“ she smiled as cute as always, “Where have you been?”

Both, Taehyung and you felt a bit awkward telling them where exactly Jimin found them, not wanting anyone to get a wrong idea. But, of course, your annoying cousin was faster.

“They were sleeping in the barn together,“ he smirked as he told your family, enjoying every minute of it, “You two seem to get along better by now.”

Taehyung rolled his eyes, “We were literally just taking care of the cows.”

You nodded, “It’s not like we met to take a nap in the barn.”

Uncle Minwoo and Mrs. Kim both giggled a bit at the bickering between their families, “Stop teasing them. They are already flustered,“ she said lightheartedly.

Everyone sat down on the table as your uncle brought the food to the table. It smelled like you were sitting in a restaurant and you could feel your mouth watering as you saw the food.

“Thank you for letting us eat with you,“ Taehyung said in a polite manner.

“Oh, Tae!” Minwoo exclaimed joyfully, “You’re always welcome. We’re like family.”

He nodded thankful as all of you started eating. The food was truly delicious and the conversation was nice, all of you participating in it, talking about current events and life on the farm.

You weren't sure if it was because your families were there but Taehyung was unusually nice to you, not even nagging you once. He passed you the salt when you asked him to and he even asked you about your job back at home.

It was a nice evening and you cherished it, knowing that it probably was a once in a lifetime experience to have a normal, peaceful conversation with Taehyung in the same room as you.

About an hour later you started walking from the big house to the small hut and even if it only took a minute or two Taehyung walked right beside you, not leaving your side.

Maybe he truly wasn't as bad as you made him out to be – the two of you might have had some difficulties but thinking about it now he seemed to open up to you more and more. As both of you stood in front of your door, you fiddled with your hands, not knowing how to react to being all alone with him.

“Don’t let Jimin drink too much tonight. I need him to be fit tomorrow. It’s my day off,“ you joked.

“I promise to stop him if he drinks too much,“ he smiled brightly, the wrinkles around his eyes showing slightly, “I’ll see you around?”

A scoff escaped your lips before you could hold it back, “Considering the fact that you can look inside my living room from your window I think so yes.”

And with that, he started walking towards his house but even after he was gone you still couldn't stop smiling.

The few next weeks were pretty unspectacular, working on the farm was part of your everyday life by now and your work was a routine, knowing every small step of it.

But still, today you woke up with a smile plastered on your face – it’s not like anyone besides Jimin and Minwoo, maybe Yoongi, would know it’s your birthday today but you still loved your special day.

It didn't matter that no one would know, you were quite happy that to everyone else this day would be just another day. You, on the other hand, had tons of self-care plans for tonight.

The first thing you did that morning was checking your phone, happy to see that your friends from home – or more like what used to be home to you – thought of you and send you very nice birthday greetings full of love, telling you that they missed you. In no time you got up and dressed to go over to the main house.

“So, what do you want to do today?” Jimin asked you as you had breakfast with him and your uncle. Despite you telling them that they shouldn't worry about you, they still made you some scrambled eggs and cut a lot of the vegetables from the Kim’s farm, Jimin even managed to go to the heart of the city to buy some buns for all of you.

Stretching yourself, tiredness still washing over you, you thought about his question. “I actually don’t know, I thought I'd just do some sheet masks later and watch Netflix,” you said shrugging before eating a piece of cucumber, “Why? Any ideas?”

“Why don’t you invite your friends over, (y/n)?” your uncle suggested but you’d rather not. The problem with inviting people over is you can’t leave early since they are literally at your own place and you'd never kick them out, not wanting to be unfriendly.

“No way, I don’t even think most people know about my birthday. I’ll stay lowkey about it,“  you denied your uncle's request, just wanting to have a nice night on the couch after you took a long bath – an ideal night for you.

“Why don't we have a movie night?” you suggested to your two family members but they didn’t seem to show much support to your idea.

Uncle Minwoo immediately stopped you, “I’m not letting you stay at home with your old uncle and cousin on your birthday.”

“I’d love that though. We hadn’t had a movie night in a long time,“ you pouted, hoping to convince your uncle despite knowing you had no chance against him.

“Jimin, take her to the pub, alright?” he instructed his son who was currently not listening to the conversation and instead was texting someone.

“Sure,“ he agreed with his father before looking up from his phone, “I’ll take you to the pub later, (y/n). No discussion.”

So a few hours later you found yourself in your small bathroom, putting on a real full face make-up for the first time ever since you moved here, you almost forgot how pretty you could be.

Jimin said to make sure that you looked your best since a lot of other people would be there, including the girl he ‘sometimes takes out’, as he liked to call it.

Even though you were still not fully in the mood, you started to warm up to the idea of going out as you got ready. In the end, you knew it wouldn't hurt to doll yourself up and go out every now and then – and maybe, just maybe, Taehyung would be there too.

Jimin picked you up from your place at around eight in the evening, the sky already pitch-black.

“Hey birthday kid,“ he said lovingly, “I didn't know you could look this lovely. Trying to impress a certain boy?”

Throwing him a glare that was about to end his life you were ready to hit your cousin if he wouldn’t stop mentioning your attraction towards your neighbor. You prayed he didn’t tell Tae about it, his ego was big enough and you didn’t know if you could survive if he’d become even cockier. Taehyung knew how handsome he was and that he could probably get just any girl if he wanted already so you didn't want to give him the satisfaction.

“I’ll kill you if you don’t shut your mouth,“ you threatened him even though you knew that nothing could stop Jimin's teasing ever.

Arriving at the Pub, you couldn’t help but grin like an idiot – all of your friends were waiting inside, a whole booth decorated just for you. Yoongi was the first to welcome you, hugging you tightly. “Happy Birthday, princess,“ he almost whispered into your ear before the other people were waiting for their turn to congratulate you.

Hoseok and Namjoon were there, including Namjoon’s girlfriend, that you hadn’t met before. Jungkook, of course, was there too and even gifted you some sunflower. “Those are my favorite!” you told him excited, to which he replied that he still remembered.

Jimin introduced you to his almost-girlfriend and she seemed to be a nice girl, a bit smaller than him, with cute glasses, short hair and a nose ring that she pulled off like no one else could.

And last but not least Kim Taehyung was standing in front of you, trying to look cold and unbothered like always, but his eyes were sparkling a bit, giving away that he wasn't as cool as he wanted to be.

“You’re here!” you gasped, genuinely excited to see him, “I feel honored.”

He shook his head joyful. “Don’t let it get to your head. Happy birthday, farmer girl,“ for the first time ever Taehyung hugged you, and you hated to admit that it felt quite comforting – the hug didn’t feel awkward or forced at all, he even had his hand on your head, right in your hair.

Yoongi and Jimin, who were standing behind Taehyung, were inspecting the hug you shared, drawing hearts with their fingers in the air for only you to see as you turned red.

“(Y/n), we got a present for you! Come on, sit down,” Hoseok happily singsang from the table and Taehyung let you go, way too early for your liking, but you weren’t complaining – you appreciated what you got this far.

As you sat down beside Yoongi, Taehyung sat right next to you, pretty close since you were sitting on a small bank with five people.

The booth was decorated with a paper chain that spelled “Happy Birthday”, a few presents were waiting for you on the table, right next to many glasses and several bottles of alcohol.

“This one is from me, Hoseok and Seokjin,“ Namjoon said excited, handing you a present.

Opening it you couldn’t help but pout at their heartwarming idea: They gifted you a framed picture the four of you when you were little, you were maybe around three to four years old.

„God, we were so small,“ you chuckled, studying the picture.

Hoseok smiled wholeheartedly, “There’s a little wheel on the side that you have to move,“ he explained and so you did – as you turned the little wheel more pictures of your friends and you appeared, all of them from different years.

“I love it,“ you smiled at them, “I'll find a special place to display it, I promise.”

“Open our’s next,“ Yoongi said, an untrustworthy smirk on his face. “It’s from me and Jimin.”

Just because you knew the two of you too well, you didn’t trust them at all.

“I bet it’ll get also a very, very special place at your home,“ Jimin assured you and you just knew at that point they probably got you something very stupid.

And they did – you let out a deep breath, shaking your head in disbelief.

“Thanks, I really needed that,“ you said sarcastically as you hold the box of the vibrator they gifted you in your hand.

Both of the boys bursted out into laughter, making you sigh.

„You think you're so funny, don't you? How old are you? Fourteen?“ you snipped both of their foreheads but still, a chuckle managed to slip out. Not really because you thought the present was funny but more because the boys were so amused by their own idea.

“We know the nights get lonely here,“ Jimin said, still laughing like a teenager, “Much fun with it. Just call Taehyung if you need any help with it.”

“Yeah, no, thanks, I think I can handle that on my own,“ you quickly responded before anyone else could join their nagging, “I really need a shot now. Otherwise, I won't be able to deal with you.”

Yoongi immediately poured a round of shots for everyone, “To our little (y/n).”

All of your friends clinked glasses and downed the shot. Within a few hours, one shot became quite a few, too many to count them. Jimin and his girl were making out heavily in the corner of the pub – much to your disgust. While you were happy for your cousin you still could imagine better things than seeing your family member's tongue in someone's mouth.

Yoongi, you, Seokjin, Namjoon and Taehyung were currently playing a card drinking game that you not only never heard of before but was also killing you at a fast pace.

“(Y/n), your turn,“ Taehyung glanced at you, raising his eyebrow – his cheeks were red and the sloppy smile on his face gave away that he also was at least a bit intoxicated by now, “Red or black?”

That was the whole point of the game, basically the only rule. You had to say a color and if the card didn’t have the color you had to take a shot. Seokjin said it was the best game to get really drunk really fast, and boy, he was right.

“Red”, you answered or to be exact, mumbled since you had a hard time pronouncing your words clearly by now.

And, of course, luck wasn’t on your side - as Taehyung turned around the card it showed black. “Tae~“ you let out a whine as he laughed, “I literally cannot drink this shot or else I’ll throw up.”

Your head was turning and your stomach felt warm and tingly, a part of you suddenly felt playful and giggly, which was pretty unusual for you. Looking at Taehyung you felt something deep down in your stomach – the way his rather long and curly hair fell into his face and his tanned skin was glowing was a beautiful sight. God, you really wanted to blame it on the booze but deep down you were aware that you were just fooling yourself.

“You’re no fun,“ he almost whined before taking the shot, “I’ll take it for you since it’s your birthday.”

“Oh, what a gentleman you are,“ you nudged him.

“Just trying to get drunk,“ he shrugged laughing before downing the shot as if it was nothing.

Your glance waved over to Jungkook, who was e the drunkest, his eyes slowly closing. “Jungkook!” you poked his upper arm, not sure if you should laugh or be concerned, “Are you passing out?”

“Hmm?” he responded, trying to open his eyes but failing, “Oh no. I’m just taking a nap.”

You peeked to Taehyung beside you, questioning him what to do, “Are you going to babysit him?”

He scoffed, “That isn’t my problem to deal with.”

About two hours later you decided that it was time to go home, having to admit that you did have fun despite wanting to stay home at first. You thanked everyone and grabbed your bag.

“What about you?” you asked Taehyung who was sitting on his phone, texting someone with his eyebrows furrowed, “You’re staying?”

His eyes met yours as he looked up from his phone, “No, I’m walking you home. Give me a second.”

You decided to wait outside, in need of some fresh air to sober you up.

Slowly, you started to walk towards your home, knowing Taehyung would be able to catch up in no time. And he did, of course.

“Oh!” he looked at you with wide eyes as he arrived by your side, before opening his bag, looking for something, “It’s your birthday!”

“No shit, Sherlock,“ you responded unimpressed at his sudden realization, walking through the little city at night, still not used to how beautiful the stars were here, „You just got that now?“

“No, wait. I actually got you something,“ the boy mumbled and you thought you heard wrong for a second. At least until Taehyung handed you a box, a rather big one.

“Are you serious?” you asked surprised, suddenly feeling shy. This morning you were convinced he didn’t even know it was your birthday but now he was standing in front of you, with a present that was neatly wrapped in yellow wrapping paper.

“Don’t make a big deal out of it, please,“ he chuckled as you two walked through the dark night, only a few lanterns on your way home, “Just open it. It felt wrong not to get you anything. I mean, we’re neighbors now, and also co-workers.”

Your arm nudged him, playfully asking, “Maybe even friends?”

His laugh seemed to be even louder and happier when he’s drunk, “Says who? You wish!” before immediately adding, “I’m kidding, I’m kidding. Maybe even that. Now open it. Let’s sit down.“

Your neighbor gestured at the bank on the side of the way, a few steps away.

He took out his phone to turn on the flashlight so you could see, sitting dangerously close to you. “Why didn’t you give it to me earlier?” you asked him curiously.

“You know, I gotta keep my cool reputation in front of them,“ he joked.

“Ah, can’t let them know that you have a crush on me?” you blurted out, trying to flirt, knowing you would never say those things if it wasn’t for all the shots you drank earlier.

“You’re a pain in the ass,“ he mocked you a bit, “Will you please just open it now? There are a few smaller things.”

As you ripped open the wrapping paper you let out a laugh, impressed by his first present, “A raincoat? I could’ve seen that one coming.”

“I still can’t believe you don’t own one. Look underneath, there’s also a shirt you can use for work so you won’t ruin your good clothes,“ he said, almost proud of his idea and it was adorable.

The shirt was grey and oversized - and also, there was a picture printed onto it. Taehyung let out another laugh, covering his mouth with his hand to stop him from laughing harder, before you could see what was on it.

As he shined his flashlight on the picture you were not only extremely amused but also very amazed that he did that for you, even though he obviously was trying to be funny, you genuinely liked it – the picture was a selfie of Taehyung, giving a thumbs up, right next to his favorite being on this earth, Bertha. Underneath the picture the sentence ‘(Y/n), you can do it. I hope.’ was written in big letters.

“You’re seriously the worst,“ you joined his laughter, wondering how in the hell he got this idea. The atmosphere was almost friendly – a new step for the two of you. Not that you didn’t like him before, you just thought that he didn’t like you back.

“I think you’ll look quite good in it, (y/n),“ he smiled proudly, definitely satisfied with himself.

“You’re such a flirt,“ you said sarcastically.

The last gift in the box really got to you though - it immediately brought back a lot of memories, cherished ones, of your childhood. An overwhelming rush of sentiment came over you as you couldn't believe your eyes.

“Tae, I–” you were looking for the right words to say but none came to your head, “Is it what I think it is?”

“If you think it’s your old music box that played Somewhere Over The Rainbow over and over again, then it is, yes,“ he replied, playing it cool as if it wasn't a big thing.

You totally forgot about it until now, back in the day you always used to play it before going to bed, falling asleep immediately to the soothing sound of it – back then it didn't matter where you were: you wouldn't fall asleep without the petite woodbox playing your favorite song.

“Where did you even get this?“ you asked him, gulping.

“Oh, Minwoo gave it to me to calm the cows on thunder days,“ he said amused.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,“ you chuckled, still inspecting the music box. It seemed to be even prettier than you remembered it.

“Do you like it?” he asked, turning towards you, “I know how obsessed you were with it as a child so I thought you’d like to have it back. The cows didn’t like it anyway.”

Your eyes met his, not knowing what to say. He was so cool about it when to you, this might be one of the most meaningful presents you've gotten in a long time. The fact that he even remembered how in love you were with this music box and how thoughtful of him it was to give it back to you. Slowly you put the box down, still feeling a bit overwhelmed. It was probably stupid, for him it was just a simple present and you were overreacting, right? But still, it was so much more than you would’ve expected. Especially from him

“I love it,“ you assured him, the wrinkles around his eyes deeper than you’ve ever seen them before. “Thank you so much.”

Before he could say something to ruin the moment you wrapped your arms around his neck and buried your face in his collar. It took him a few moments to realize what was happening, a hug was something he didn’t expect at all, but it did feel nice. His arms carefully found your waist and hugged you back.

You could see how red his cheeks were as your hug ended but for once you decided to not tease him, not wanting to ruin a genuinely nice moment. The two of you didn’t have those very often.

“Shall we go home?” Taehyung asked softly as he stood up, waiting for you to join him.

The two of you were walking for a while, way slower than usual. It might be the alcohol in your veins or simply the secret desire to spend some more time together, alone and outside of the farm.

“Be honest,“ you started carelessly, it almost sounded like you were singing it, “You do think I’m cute.”

Looking up to Taehyung you saw that he was smiling and didn’t seem to care about your teasing anymore.

“I do think you’re cute. That doesn’t make you less any annoying though,“ he replied, his tone almost playful. As you were walking your shoulders were lightly brushing every now and then, a rush of excitement going through your body every single time.

“Now you be honest. You were totally checking me out when you saw me on the day you moved here,“ he countered, the conversation light.

You let out a small scoff, “I maybe would have if I hadn’t been to busy trying to free myself from your grip since you thought I was stealing your chicken,“ you snapped at him and Taehyung let out a laugh at that memory. Even though it wasn’t long ago it felt like years, considering how much your relationship developed since then.

“Your turn. You would’ve gone home sooner but you were waiting to walk me home,“ the vibe Taehyung gave you told you it was okay to dig a bit deeper.

“Now you’re just being overconfident, (y/n),“ he laughed and you thought about how his laugh is so different than his mum’s. His mother's laugh was light and charming while his laugh was deep and full of joy, almost bold and loud.

“If you say I’m wrong you’re lying,“ you insisted while looking up to the beautiful night sky, not letting loose. Even though you were a bit cold you didn’t really care, you could walk and talk for a few more hours without complaining.

“I never said you’re wrong,“ he answered quietly, now more soft and serious, “But don’t let it get to your head, I know my mum would kill me if she heard that you had to walk home alone.”

“You’re so in love with me dude, how gross,“ you joked, not able to stop your usual nagging.

By now it seemed like that was Taehyung’s and your’s thing somehow. It was an open secret that there was something between the two of you, whatever that was. Maybe, you and Taehyung were still denying it but your friends weren't completely wrong when they talked about your relationship to each other.

“I really don’t know if I wanna shove you off this bridge or kiss your annoying ass,“ he stated shamelessly, trying to sound annoyed but his mood was just as good as yours and the cheeky flirting was something he missed over the last years.

It’s been too long since he met someone he liked so much that he didn’t have to care about what he said. Spending time with you made him feel careless. The night air and the sky that was full of stars just loosened up the mood even more.

Even though your heart was beating faster at his comment you tried to remain cool – he said it so casually as if the topic of kissing you was something completely normal to him, making you realize that maybe Taehyungand you were indeed becoming something more than friends.

“Oh, can I pick?”, you grinned at him.

“No,“ he answered easily while pushing you towards the edge of the bridge you were currently walking on, making you gasp a bit, while trying to balance yourself so you wouldn’t fall over the low wooden railing.

What exactly was he doing? Just in the right moment, he held you, his arm around your waist, being a bit too close to you which was making your heart beat insanely fast. As you looked at him your eyes were opened wide, the shock written all over your face.

Taehyung still was holding you close, giving you the brightest smile ever, his expression full of joy, “Did you really think that I’d let you fall?”

“Yes!“ you almost shouted out of shock, a hundred percent sure that he’d actually do something like that, “If anyone in this town would then it would be you.”

He acted a bit offended, as he pulled your body a bit closer to his again, your intestines feeling all over the place. Half of your body was still bent over the bridge as Taehyungs hold was the only support that stopped you from falling right into the water. His face came near yours and at this moment you wanted nothing more than to feel his lips on yours.

“Well, if you think that lowly of me,“ he started, before pausing his sentence, you could swear that you could feel his breath tingling on your lips and see his eyes wandering down to look at your them – but before anything else could happen you started losing balance as Taehyung let go of your body, making you fall right into the lake behind you.

Of course, he’d do something like that. You should've guessed that.

As you came up again you were drenched. The water was at least still warm enough to not make you shiver while climbing up to the bridge again. Taehyung was laughing wholeheartedly, his one hand once again covering his mouth, while holding his other hand out for you so he could help you.

You immediately took his offer, taking a tight grip on his hand before getting your revenge – within seconds Taehyung forcefully joined you in the water, his eyes popping out when you completely caught him off guard.

“I should’ve seen that coming,“ he admitted, now also completely wet but still amused, “I deserved that.”

The two of you were chuckling, no one of you seemed to want to get out of the water for now.

“Remember the one time we were having a contest here about who can stay underwater the longest when we were children?” you asked him thinking back to older days, one of the few memories you had with him.

He nodded while walking towards you, leaning his back against the bridge. His body was close to yours, his face facing yours, “I remember you and Jimin being afraid because you thought I fainted because I let my body swim on the surface with my head under the water still.”

Hitting his chest, you squinted your eyes, “You were the worst, seriously! Why would you do this to me? I was so afraid.”

His arm found your hip, resting lazily on it - you wondered if he’d also do that if he was completely sober, “To make good memories.”

“Well, that’s also about our only memory because you always avoided me when we were younger,“ you stated, a bit salty.

His laughter sounded different this time, if you didn’t know better you’d almost say there was some kind of admiration in it. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,“ he apologized, putting his hands up in the air, still laughing before looking at you once again – it’s like you completely forgot about being in the water now in the middle of the night.

“Wanna know a secret?” he asked you, whispering as if you had to be careful to not get caught.

“Always,“ you answered eager as your eyes widened in excitement.

“I avoided you because I had the biggest crush on you and Yoongi always said girls suck and if anyone of us ever kissed a girl they’d be kicked out of the gang,“ he admitted, smiling back at the memory.

“Okay, but Yoongi was literally my first kiss,“ you confessed to him, “I think he knew exactly why he told you that.”

Now it was Taehyung who was in shock, not you. “You’re kidding me,“ he sounded offended, “I can’t believe he’d play me like this because of some chick.”

“Hello? I’m right here,“ you scoffed, shaking your head amused.

“Oh, I bet you’d rather be where Yoongi is, huh?” he stared you down for a second before breaking character and starting to laugh, “But seriously, he never even told me. He knew I’d fight him about it.”

“It must be hard to always be as dramatic as you are,“ you scoffed, as you got out of the water again, starting to shiver a bit, “Let’s go home, I’m cold.”

He got out of the water too and you tried hard not to stare at his chest that was completely showing through his white shirt.

“You should have put on a jacket,“ he shrugged, acting as if it's your fault that you were completely drenched and cold.

“You little shit,“ you countered as the two of you were walking towards your home, “I’m only cold because you pushed me into the lake.”

“I had fun tonight,“ you admitted to him as you were standing in front of your door once again, “You’re not awful.”

“Thank you?”, he laughed unsure before he continued, “You’re also not awful, (y/n).”

“I mean, you were not the nicest in the beginning, I thought you hated me. But now, I think you tolerate me,“ you said, a winning smile on your face.

“Believe it or not, I think you’re pretty cool,” he mirrored your smile, nodding.

“I’ll let my diary know about that,” you assured him.

He just stood there for a second, looking at you. Both of you didn’t want to part, enjoying time with each other but you didn’t want things to get awkward.

“I’m sorry I pushed you into the water,“ he mentioned, laughing while apologizing.

You rolled your eyes at his half-assed apology, “Yeah sure. You better make up for that.”

He nodded, “I will. I promise. Good night, (y/n).“

Suddenly you felt him hugging you, not expecting it once again. Three hugs in one day were something you didn’t expect at all when you woke up this morning.

“Sleep well,“ you told him as you closed the door behind you, removing your make up, changing into comfortable clothes and letting yourself fall into your bed, falling asleep with a smile on your lips. You were definitely making progress.

A few days after your birthday and the situation with Taehyung, it was about time to talk to someone about your confusing feelings. Yoongi was the first person that came to your mind, definitely not wanting to talk to Jimin about it.

As the two of you were sitting outside on your porch, drinking a beer and enjoying the sunset slowly going down, you decided to tell him about what happened after you and Taehyung left on your birthday.

“He gifted you your old music box?” he asked confused, almost shocked, “That’s so much better than the vibrator we gifted you, dammit.”

You let out a laugh, “Anything is better than that.”

“Well, apparently you won’t be needing it any time soon if you and Taehyung continue to fall in love at that pace,“ your best friend gave you a small wink.

“Yoongi,“ you let out a pout, “I really don’t know what I should do. He was about to kiss me by the lake but instead, he let me fall into the water.”

He was trying his hardest to contain his laughter as you told the story but he couldn’t help it, “You really think he’s the one you want? I bet not even Jungkook would behave that awkward.”

Chuckling, you shrugged, “I guess I just like a challenge.”

Yoongi nodded, “He definitely is one. Bare with him, it’s been some time. His last girlfriend and him broke up quite some time ago.”

When Yoongi mentioned the word gilfriend you felt curiosity awakening inside of you, “What was she like?”

Taking a sip of his beer, he glanced at you, a bit pitiful, “Are you sure you wanna do this to yourself?”

“I’m just curious,“ you assured him, „No hard feelings.“

Before Yoongi could start telling you about her you were disturbed by your cousin, who just finished his work, a beer in his hand as he sat down on the free chair on your table, „What are you talking about?”

“My hopeless crush,“ you said, laughing.

“What else,“ he shrugged, unimpressed, “You could still date Jungkook, you know.”

You shook your head before turning back to Yoongi, “So, tell me about her, I can’t imagine him with a girl at all.”

“Are we talking about Elly?” Jimin asked confused, trying to catch up with your conversation.

“Yes,” Yoongi said, trying to start once again before getting interrupted by Jimin, also once again.

“She wasn’t shit, (y/n). Don’t worry about her. I never liked her. They weren’t even really a couple.”

Yoongi rolled his eyes, “She wasn’t all bad, Jimin. She was actually quite nice at the beginning. She’s from the town next to ours, the granddaughter of the owner of the library – we were friends with her back then when she still visited every weekend. I guess she was into Tae from the first second and he was, well, frustrated. So they became friends with benefits. Nothing too serious at first.”

“(Y/n), I really don’t get why you’d wanna know. You’ll just hurt yourself,“ your cousin seemed to worry, clearly disagreeing with your curiosity.

“They broke up so I won’t be hurt, I just can’t imagine him in a relationship at all. I need some information for research,“ you argued.

“He was a good boyfriend, I guess,“ Jimin thought about it, taking a big gulp of his beer, “Like he visited her often and made sure to bring her to every event or birthday. But one of them would always start a fight and it got so annoying over time. Every time he brought her I was afraid to say anything to him because if I only said one wrong word she’d start to discuss with him.”

Yoongi now interrupted him, “Well, it wasn’t only her who started fights, to be fair. Taehyung often enough started one too, whenever he was in a bad mood he’d always find a reason to fight.”

A scoff came out of your mouth, “I already thought he’d be one to pick fights, to be honest.”

“Speaking of the devil,“ Yoongi nodded towards the house of the Kim’s and as you turned around you saw Taehyung jogging over to you. He seemed to be in a good mood, a smile on his lips, something rather unusual.

“Why are you having a nice evening and no one cared to call me?” he asked as he arrived in front of you, holding up a big plate with many different pieces of cakes on it, “I brought cake.”

Jimin immediately took the plate and set it down in front of him as Taehyung sat down on the free seat on the bench beside you.

“We were just talking shit about you,“ Jimin started, getting up to get some forks from inside.

“Why? What did I do?” he asked, already sounding offended, ready to defend himself without knowing what even seemed to be the problem.

“I just told them about how you let me fall into the lake,“ you huffed, salty, not letting it go easily.

“Why would you do that?” he asked in a whiny tone, “Aren’t they teasing us enough already?”

“I don’t care about that. I still can’t believe you’ve done that. I could’ve caught a cold.”

He now crossed his arms in front of his chest, “You didn’t though, right? I brought you cake as an apology, just to find you hanging out with our friends, without me?”

Yoongi let out a laugh at your constant bickering, “Young love must be so nice.”

“Be quiet,“ you gave him a warning glance before you turned back to the real enemy here, “You think cake can just fix the trust I lost in you?”

He let out a laugh, “You’re being overdramatic.”

Actually, you couldn’t care less that he let you fall into the lake. It was just fun to pick fights with him, “You’re being an asshole.”

He scoffed before continuing your discussion in a mocking voice, “Wanted me to kiss you so bad that you can’t get over the fact that I didn’t?”

You let out a small gasp, not expecting his comeback. Yoongi and Jimin were both trying no to laugh watching the two of you fight.

“If you think that, you’re truly delusional,“ you stated, even though everyone here knew he was right, “The only reason I didn’t kill you right then was because I was so relieved you didn’t kiss me.”

He snorted, not ready to give up yet, “Sure, just keep on telling it to yourself until you start to believe it.”

And this is how you spent the rest of the evening. Three of your closest friends, cake, one or two or maybe even more beers, a beautiful pink sunset and most important - in the place you loved to call your home.

“(Y/n), give me a hand, please,“ your neighbor screamed from the other side of the farm, struggling to put up the pavilion that was supposed to cover the tables from the weather.

It was a warm autumn day but you knew that it could basically start to pour any second. Quickly you jogged over to Taehyung, leaving Jimin alone with the other preparations for the big harvest festival that was held once a year on the farm. It was a tradition you used to love as a child and you were more than happy to participate again this year.

As you walked over you couldn’t help but notice how mesmerizing he looked once again. There was sweat dripping down his face while he gave you a light and exhausted chuckle, holding up one side of the pavilion with his rather strong arms. The white shirt and grey sweatpants he was wearing might as well be the death of you. Oh god, you definitely hated being attracted to him.

“What’s up, Kim?” you asked, desperately trying to sound as unbothered as possible.

He, on the other hand, continued to smile, shaking his head, “Can you please hold up the other side over there?” he asked, pointing to it, “I’ll do the rest.”

You went over and held up the other side, having to stand on your tiptoes. “Are you excited for tonight?” you asked him, desperate to make conversation with him. Even though by now Taehyung was being very nice to you, you were still always trying to make him like you. Even though Jimin and Yoongi assured you he likes you quite a lot by now you still wanted him to admit to it. His attention was your favorite thing at the moment, you couldn’t get enough of it.

He shrugged while concentrating on a screw he was currently trying to get in, “Not really. It’s not gonna be different than any other year.”

“I’m here now so it is gonna be different than before,” you said, making him look up from his work for a second, his eyes finding yours.

“So, you’re going to make the harvest festival interesting again?” you saw the smirk on his face before continuing, “Don’t get up my hopes.”

“Share a bottle of liquor with me and I bet we’ll have a lot of fun,” you stated boldly, immediately embarrassed at your way too obvious flirting. At this point, you were sure that he was very aware of your obvious crush on him. He was many things. Rude, annoying, sometimes even a bit mean but delusional wasn’t one of them.

“Are you flirting with me, (y/n)?” he asked almost a bit teasingly.

“I am,” you said, trying to sound confident but you were pretty sure your now deep red cheeks were giving you away.

He seemed to be amused and he shook his head in what seemed to be joy.

“Not bad,” was all he said, shrugging before his full attention was back on building the pavilion.

You looked around the big farm as Taehyung was working. It looked beautiful, there were a lot of tables with benches, all of them had some flowers and candles on top of them, you could only imagine how cute it would look as soon as the sky was dark and all the candles were lit.

Jimin was currently preparing some baskets filled with eggs, milk, some wool, all different kinds of fruits and vegetables and even some feathers you picked up from the pond where the ducks stayed as a lucky charm – your uncle and Taehyung’s mother would sell them later on, the people always loved those little baskets.

Taehyung’s mother was inside, preparing food for the night. She was overdoing herself, cooking four different kinds of soups, baking too many loaves of bread for the visitors to eat, she even has been baking all kind of cakes since yesterday night.

“Your mum is an angel,” you mumbled more to yourself than to him but Taehyung still heard you, laughing a bit.

“She just really loves the harvest festival. But yes, I agree, she really is,” he answered without looking at you, “There’s gonna be plenty of leftovers tomorrow, I’ll bring you some if you want.”

You nodded even though he didn’t see, “I’d love that.”

“Hey, (y/n)!” Gus, the owner of the restaurant, came up to you. He drove up here in his truck, the whole back of it filled with different meals that he contributed for tonight, “Where should I put the fish and meat?”

Taehyung told you that you could leave and help Gus for now so you showed him where the food was being served. There was a long in the middle of the farm, where Gus’ and Mrs. Kim’s food was going to be sold later on. It was opposite to the little dancefloor your uncle built earlier, he even got a pretty good sound system for the night. You already anticipated seeing all of the older people dance later, it was always very cute to see them be happy. All the tables to sit on were placed in between the dancefloor and the food.

As you were helping Gus’ to carry the food you saw Yoongi and his parents coming up to you.

“Hey cutie,” your best friend greeted you as he put down the three beer crates he was casually caring like they didn’t weigh anything, “How are things going?”

“I’m really excited for tonight,” you cheered with a wide smile on your lips, “My last harvest festival was years ago, I still had to go to bed at eight o’clock at that time.”

He let out a laugh, “Oh, that’s when the fun is just starting.”

You only managed to finish all the work an hour before the first people came to the festival. Within no time the whole farm was filled with people as the sun was slowly going down.

You didn’t expect so many people to actually show up. Not only the whole village was attending tonight’s fest but a lot of them also brought their family from out of town, a lot of faces you’ve never seen before.

It luckily didn’t rain yet and you were hoping it would stay that way for the rest of the night. The sky was dark now and all the candles were lit, making the atmosphere cozy. People were eating, drinking and enjoying themselves, some even danced to the 80′s music that was playing already.

You were sitting on the side of a table, just looking around and appreciating everything as a few of your friends came up to you.

“Don’t you wanna eat something?” Jungkook asked you, nodding towards the table with the food, “We were just about to grab something, join us.”

“Let’s also grab a drink or two,” your cousin, who clearly already had more than just a drink or two, his bright pink cheeks exposing him, shouted as he came up behind Jungkook, Yoongi and Yoongi’s girlfriend.

Your mouth watered as you saw, and especially smelled, the food that was offered. Now you were very thankful that you didn’t have the time to eat all day. All the food looked amazing and you didn’t even know where to start. Hoseok and Namjoon both went for the meat but you wanted to start with something more light for now, looking at all the soups Mrs. Kim made.

“Try mum’s Italian wedding soup, it’s the best,” you flinched lightly as Taehyung came up behind you out of nowhere, his arm casually resting on your shoulder.

You tried to play it cool in front of your friends but inside you were all tense, just because of Tae being so close to you.

“I’ll have that then,” you agreed, telling his mother who was handing out food tonight. Both you and Taehyung offered her to help out earlier but she insisted that you should just enjoy the evening.

“Of course, my darling,” she poured some of the soup into a big cup, giving you and her son a wide smile, “You two look just adorable together.”

You felt yourself blushing but you were pretty sure that no one would notice in the dark.

“Right? We’ve been telling them the whole time,” Hoseok joined, excitement in his eyes, agreeing with his friends’ mother. You heard a deep, frustrated groan from Taehyung.

“Guys,” he squinted his eyes at both of them with a warning glance but he still was resting his arm on you, not even thinking about removing it, “Can you mind your own business? Just for once?”

Yoongi chuckled at the two of you, knowing exactly that you were trying your hardest to keep your cool, “You know they won’t leave you alone until something happens.”

He was right. But you weren’t sure if and when things would happen. And what those things even would be. When it came to Taehyung you felt more clueless than ever before. Not even your math class in senior year seemed that confusing.

“Yeah, because no one in this town knows how to respect the boundaries of other people,” Taehyung bitterly said through gritted teeth, slightly annoyed but everyone just let out a laugh, not taking him seriously, thinking it’s funny that he gets so worked up over some simple teasing.

“I’m sorry (y/n),” Mrs. Kim turned towards you, apologizing, but you could still see a little amused smile on her lips, “I hope I didn’t make you feel uncomfortable.”

“Oh, don’t worry. I don’t mind at all,” you assured her, “Don’t apologize.”

“I’ll go and get us something to drink,” Yoongi offered after he got some food, his lips already pressed against his girlfriend’s neck again before turning to you, “Save us a seat.”

You waited for the rest to get something to eat and wondered what was suddenly going on with Taehyung, he wasn’t leaving your side at all which was pretty unusual for him. Last week he was still too afraid to give you a birthday present in front of the boys and now he was suddenly even touching you in front of everyone?

“I’m sorry,” he whispered for only you to hear as all of you were looking for a table to sit on. On the way, he let go of you but still was walking right next to you. Not that you minded, you enjoyed the sudden attention he was giving you, you just had to get used to it.

“What for?” you asked him, shrugging lightly, “I don’t care if the guys tease us. They think we’re into each other, they won’t stop anyway.”

“Well, they aren’t so dumb after all, huh?” he still whispered to you, chuckling a bit as he turned around to the others, pointing to a free table, “Let’s sit down over there.”

This little shit was flirting with you.

The soup was amazing. The alcohol was pouring. The atmosphere was loud and filled with banter and laughter. Yoongi and his girl were making out in front of everyone in no time, literally being all over each other. Hoseok, Jungkook and Jimin were screaming along to ‘Come on Eileen’ playing in the background, doing those stupid fortnite dances to the old music, constantly motivating each other to do stupid moves and having the time of their lives. Namjoon was talking to his girlfriend, the majority of your friends still had no idea that they were actually dating and you wondered how they managed to keep it a secret in such a small town like this.

You were just laughing every now and then, enjoying everyone’s presence - an evening like this was exactly what you needed, full of friends and possibilities to make amazing memories.

Looking back at the fact that in the beginning, you were so afraid to start a new life here was ridiculous by now – this was your home, you were doing the thing you love with people you wouldn’t trade for anything. Not in a hundred years would you have thought that you’d find your happiness in this small town.

You carefully dared to look over to Taehyung, hoping he wouldn’t catch you staring – you felt tingly, it might be the wine or the butterflies in your stomach but you felt so much comfort and happiness that you wanted to explode.

The way he was laughing was making you go insane – you got lost in the wrinkles around his eyes and his side profile that seemed to be the most perfect thing you’ve ever seen. It was so nice and rare to see him letting go, being completely relaxed and warm. The longer you looked at him the more you craved something deep down in your stomach.

It felt like you were in a movie, the world around you blurred and slowing down while all you could concentrate on was the guy next to you: The guy, that used to be so cold to you and opened up step by step, going from thinking you were stealing chickens to flirting with you in front of everyone.

You secretly hoped that the two of you were figuring out the future of your relationship rather sooner than later, slowly growing impatient. It was obvious to anyone who’d spent only five minutes around you: There was an undeniable tension, a chemistry that both of you felt.

Still staring at him while everyone was laughing and talking he stole a glance from you, seeing that your attention was already completely on him. His features softened as soon as his eyes met yours and the big laughter on his face turned into a small but impactful smile - immediately you felt a rush of confidence running through your veins, your heart beating faster. You hated how you were literally melting for him but you knew exactly that you couldn’t fight it so you might as well let him in.

His eyes were still locked with yours, no one daring to break eye contact. You wondered how this moment could feel so intimate when there were literally 200 people gathered around you – it felt like you were all alone, everyone else was busy cracking jokes while the two of you were busy falling in love. Or at least that was what it felt like.

He gave you a small nod before sitting a bit closer to you, your thighs now touching. “Stop flirting with me. I might just break my cool character and blush,” he joked, making you chuckle before the two of you brought your attention back to your friends who were currently cheering for Jungkook and Jimin, both trying to down their beer faster than the other one.

You shook your head, letting out a laugh at them being messy. Taehyung’s hand sneakily rested on your lower back and you hoped it would stay there for a while.

Jimin finished first and laughed at Jungkook, who was still drinking, “Oh, I can’t believe you thought you could win against me. I’m the king when it comes to drinking,” he bragged.

Yoongi, who was for once breaking free from his girlfriend, shook his head at Jimin, “You’re overconfident. Taehyung, finish him.”

Taehyung let out a groan, “Don’t make me do this.”

“Let’s go Taehyungie, I bet I can beat you easily,” Jimin challenged him, knowing exactly how to provoke his friend.

“Dude, don’t do this to yourself, you’ll lose,” Hoseok yelled, “No one can beat Taehyung, you should know better than that.”

“I trained. And Taehyung didn’t show off his skills in a long time, I think you’re underestimating me,” he insisted, opening another bottle of beer and putting it down in front of Tae.

“Jimin, take it easy. It’s your fourth beer in what? Twenty minutes?” you interrupted, “I don’t wanna clean up all alone tomorrow because you are dying.”

“It’s harvest festival (y/n),” he whined while opening another bottle of wine for you, pouring something into your glass, “You gotta start learning how we do it here.”

Taehyung shook his head, letting out another deep sigh, “You have no chance against me,” he held up his beer and waited for Jimin to do the same.

Jimin had a satisfied smile on his lips, ready to give it his all, “I’m going to fight for your title.”

Taehyung let out a laugh, “That’s cute. Much luck trying.”

All of you were counting down from three and the guys started chugging down the beer like it was a life or death situation. It was stupid and childish but all of you were enjoying it, rooting for Tehyung. If all of your friends could agree on one thing then it would be that Jimin needs to be taken down back to earth every now and then.

You looked at him, your mouth slightly open. One thing you definitely didn’t know about Taehyung was how fast he could drink. He always seemed like the most reasonable and mature guy so you were kind of taken by surprise to see how he downed the bottle in the matter of a few seconds.

“Ha!” he let out, laughing as he put his bottle down, “You’re a fool, dude.”

Jimin let out a laugh, shrugging, “Never thought I had a chance, just wanted you to drink a bit. Who’s the fool now?”

“I didn’t know you could drink like that,” you turned to Taehyung.

“This guy used to get so wasted every weekend, he just acts all pure in front of you,” Namjoon exposed his friend, laughing.

You raised your eyebrow at Taehyung, “Oh, let’s see who can handle more then, shall we?”

Taehyung’s eyes widened surprised, not expecting you to challenge him when it comes to drinking, “You might regret that.”

“I don’t mind regretting a thing or two,” you poured the two of you some shots.

“That’s the spirit,” Jimin cheered, opening another bottle of beer.

Taehyung and you were clinking glasses, “To Bertha!” he mentioned his favorite before both of you downed the shots, making a grimace as the bitter liquor went down your throat.

“That shit tastes horrible,” you stated, making him laugh.

“No one said getting drunk is easy,” he countered before immediately pouring you another shot, “But you wanted this. We can stop if you can’t take it, you know.”

“Definitely not,” you scoffed raising your eyebrow at him and holding up the shot glass, “It’s going to be a long, long night.”

“Oh, don’t promise what you can’t keep,” he flirted amused, laughing at you before getting ready to down the next shot, “To you and me.”

Nodding, you gave him a smile, “Whatever that might mean.”

You didn’t know what was faster: The time flying by or your alcohol level rising. It was around midnight now and the night just started. All of you were still drinking eagerly, sharing stupid stories and daring each other to do even more stupid things. The music was loud and the older people were dancing like there’s no tomorrow while you were still sitting at the table, playing cards and taking videos and photos of each other.

Some other girls around your age joined your group, you didn’t know them but the rest did. It was a nice group of people overall.

You still were watching the elders dance, smiling to yourself as your uncle and Taehyung’s mum were dancing with each other, seemingly having the best time.

“Aren’t they cute?” Tae turned to you with a grin, his hand resting right above your knee, slightly squeezing it. You could tell the alcohol had its impact on him because he was getting more touchy by minute, his eyes sparkling.

You nodded, feeling a bit nostalgic seeing them together. They always have been close, both of them lost their significant others early and were left with their children and a whole farm to manage. “It’s nice that they’re having fun. I wish they’d take a break more often.”

Taehyung hummed in agreement, his thumb caressing your leg, “I’m happy Mum has Minwoo. They are always there for each other and talk shit about me and Jimin,” he joked, his eyes still glued to his mother.

He was clearly adoring their little dance while you were adoring him.

“He’s really grateful you’re here.”, you didn’t expect Taehyung to be so serious, a new side of him showing.

“I like being here. Wouldn’t go back,” you told him as you put your hand on top of his, appreciating the moment.

His eyes met yours, not thinking you’d hold his hand in front of everyone, even though no one could see, “You do? I didn’t think you’d fit in or like it here at first if I am honest.”

You let out a laugh, “Yeah, I know. You were very vocal about that if you don’t remember our first encounter as I came back.”

He joined your laughter, giving you an apologetic pout, “I’m sorry. I was being a bit rough, wasn’t I?”

You nodded, “Didn’t expect anything else though. You never opened up towards me when we were younger,” you explained to him in a soft voice, you didn’t want to hurt him with your words.

“I just wondered why you’d move here. I thought it was stupid. What does this little town offer you?” he asked curiously, his eyes glued back to your family.

“This, for example,” you gestured to them, “It’s very heartwarming here. You might not realize because you’ve always been here but this town is full of love.”

Taehyung narrowed his eyebrows a bit, “I bet the actual reason you like it so much here is this cute neighbor of yours.”

You scoffed at his confidence, “Oh, you mean that Taehyung guy? No, he’s just too busy loving himself, I doubt he could ever make time to let someone else in.”

He opened his mouth a bit, acting shocked, “Didn’t you hear?”, he asked you, turning his body to you now to completely face you, “Everyone says he’s a total sucker for you.”

Playing along, you slightly brushed your knees against his, “I don’t think so,” you let out a sigh, “Last week he had the perfect chance to kiss me but instead he threw me into the lake.”

He grinned, not expecting you being so witty. “I’m sure he was just nervous and regrets it very much.”

“I wonder what your sources are. They don’t seem very trustworthy. You know that guy, he has a heart made of stone.”

“Don’t let him fool you,” he came closer to whisper in your ear, “He’s actually a soft man inside.”

“(Y/n)!” your cousin screamed over to you, clearly drunk, ruining your little moment with Taehyung, “Let's go, dance with your favorite cousin.”

You sighed heavily, knowing that refusing won’t work even though you didn’t want the playful banter with Taehyung to end. So a few seconds later you found yourself on the dance floor, jamming to the old classics with your favorite human in town. Taehyung and Yoongi might be close, but no one would beat your family.

The two of you danced around like crazy, exaggerating every move, having fun without any worries for a few songs.

That was until you saw Jimin looking over to the rest of your group, his eyebrows narrowing, a mixture of confusion and anger in his eyes - his jaw clenched as he was glaring somewhere. You followed his gaze to see Taehyung talking to a girl you didn’t know. You didn’t think anything of it at first, he didn’t seem very close to her, maybe even a bit uncomfortable.

“That little shit,” your cousin raised his voice, looking at you, “He better doesn’t do anything stupid.”

You threw him a questioning look, no idea what was going on, “What do you mean? They’re just talking.”

He shook his head, “That’s Elly. Elly and Taehyung are never just talking.“

His ex. What did this mean to you? You didn’t feel jealous somehow. The evening was fine, Taehyung was clearly giving all of his attention to you, the two of you weren’t dating, you didn’t even kiss yet. Of course, you hoped that this would change sooner or later, your feelings for him were undeniable at this point and part of you thought that they weren’t one-sided.

Before you said anything, Jimin was losing his temper, “He can’t treat you like this, (y/n). I’m going to talk to him.”

You laughed at his clearly drunken state, shaking your head, “No no, I can manage my relationships alone, don’t worry.”

He tried to look you in the eyes, failing slightly. You were pretty sure that if you’d ask him to touch his nose right now, he’d miss it by miles.

“Why, of all people, Taehyung? He’s too cold for you. I love this dude but I don’t want you to go through a hard time because of him,” he pouted, suddenly wanting to discuss your love life with you.

You knew you shouldn’t laugh, Jimin was being sincere and caring about you right now but his state was so fucked up that you couldn’t help it, “Let’s get you some water.”

Letting out a heavy sigh because you ignored him, he followed you to the Mins’ table where they were selling drinks.

They immediately let out a laugh, “Oh, Jimin,” Yoongi’s mother said amused at his clearly fucked-up state.

“Can we have a water, please?” you asked her as you held Jimin, wishing he’d stay still.

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” he tried to convince you, “I could do a cartwheel without a problem.”

“Please don’t,” you laughed at his confidence, giving him the cup of water and thanking Yoongi’s mother, “Should we go back to the table?”

He nodded and you walked over to your group of friends, handing Jimin over to Jungkook. Looking around you saw that Taehyung was missing. Just as his ex-girlfriend.

Of course, you couldn’t know if they left together. Maybe Taehyung just went home without saying goodbye. Checking your phone to see if he maybe texted you just disappointed you even more. You hated that you suddenly felt so vulnerable. The evening was so much fun up to this point, the fact that such a tiny thing could ruin your mood completely made you feel foolish.

Not daring to ask Yoongi if he knew where he went or if they left together, knowing he’d try to comfort you, making you feel even worse, you said your goodbyes to your friends, claiming you were tired and needed some sleep.

Walking over to your home luckily was only taking you a minute, considering that the harvest festival was held on your farm. The worst thing about all this was that you didn’t know how to feel. Technically, you had no reason to be mad or jealous, Taehyung and you never did anything more than flirting.

On the other hand though, you liked him, so of course, it hurt you that he was probably enjoying himself with his ex-girlfriend right now. Your head hurt from all the alcohol and overthinking. You wished he would at least have said goodbye to you. Maybe, after all, he wasn’t into you as much as you thought. Today would’ve been his chance to make a move otherwise.

Opening your door you almost got scared to death. Your heartbeat was going crazy fast and you were even more confused than before. Just as you accepted the fact that Taehyung left the party with his ex-girlfriend, he was sitting on your sofa, playing games on his phones, waiting for no one else than you.

“What are you doing here? How did you even get in?” you almost screamed, still shocked by the thought that someone broke into your house at first.

He laughed, simply stating, “I know where your spare key is.”

You shook your head in disbelief, “But what are you doing here? Why are you just sitting on my sofa?”

“I wanted to leave the party. But I still wanted to spend time with you.”

“What about Elly?” you blurted out, your eyes immediately widening after you asked, realizing that he and you never talked about her.

He looked at you in shock, “W-What?” you never head him stutter before, “What about her? How do you know?”, the confusion on his face vanished a bit, sighing heavy, “Yoongi told you about her, right?”

You nodded, “It just came up once in a conversation we were having. And when I saw you with her I just assumed you left with her.”

He laughed, looking at you like you were crazy, “Why would I do that?”

You shrugged, not having an answer to his question. “What do I know? Maybe you missed her.”

“You’re crazy if you think I’d waste your time like that. And my time also,” he said softly, “Forget about her. She came up to me as soon as you left, trying to talk so I left.”

You nodded, understanding what was going on now, “So, you decided to break into my house?”

“Oh, I can leave if you want me to.“

“That’s not what I said,” you rolled your eyes. Suddenly, there was a pause. Neither of you were saying anything and you felt unsure of how to continue.

“Shouldn’t we clean outside a bit already?” you asked Taehyung, trying to break the silence so you’d get out of this overwhelming situation.

Taehyung, on the other hand, seemed to be very relaxed, he almost felt at home on your sofa. He stood up, coming closer and closer to you, “It can wait until tomorrow.”

When he stopped, he was right in front of you, your feet were almost touching and if someone would push you at this moment, you surely would land on top of him, which actually sounded pretty nice to you. You nodded, trying to sneakily take a deep breath to calm down, you had no idea why you were so nervous. He’s by far not the first guy you kissed but he might be the one kiss you anticipated the most.

His hand slowly ran up your arm, then down again, giving you goosebumps all over your skin, his gentleness making you fall for him even more. His hand found yours and you looked into his eyes, wanting to drown in them as your stomach felt like it was tied in knots.

A small smile formed on Taehyung’s lips as you locked eyes, not able to have a single clear thought. By now you were sure that tonight would be the night you’d finally have him where you wanted him. All for yourself.

Coming nearer, you felt his upper body almost touching yours, his head was leaning in and you saw him slowly closing his eyes as his free hand found your hip, bringing you even closer to him.

The moment before the actual kiss was already breathtaking enough. The mixed smell of his cologne and the alcohol the two of you drank earlier was making you feel dense. The touch of his hand was already burning but as his nose brushed yours slightly, a rush of adrenaline was sent through your whole body, making your stomach turn and you suddenly felt hot in places you didn’t know he had an impact on until now. It was rather quiet, the only sound you could hear was the muffled music from outside, but you couldn’t figure out what song was playing, only feeling the bass of it. Your heart was beating so fast, you hoped he couldn’t hear it.

But all those little and unimportant things around you vanished as soon as you felt his soft lips, pressed onto yours with the perfect amount pressure. The kiss developed from something shy and soft into the projection of what both of you had been craving secretly for so long in no time. No one dared to break the kiss, not wanting it to be over.

His hand wandered all over your body, from your hip to your waist, to your arms, to your neck, right back down to your lower back until he held onto your thighs.

“Jump,” he mumbled hectic, his voice deeper than usual, between your kisses, not wanting to stop.

“Are you sure?” you asked him carefully.

He chuckled into your kiss, “Never been more sure.”

So you did as he told you and jumped up, your legs now crossed around his hips as he held you up like it was nothing, deepening the kiss once again, your tongue playing with his. Being with him like this was more exciting than you ever could’ve imagined.

Your hand found the nape of his neck, burying itself in his soft hair, as he was carrying you to the sofa he was sitting on just a few minutes ago.

So there you were, on top of Kim Taehyung, straddling his muscular thighs, feeling a heat in your core that you haven’t felt in such a long time but missed so much. The way his hands were exploring your body while his lips were busy kissing every single spot on your jaw and your neck was making you feel like you were going insane, leaving you wanting every single part of him.

A small, rather quiet groan came out of your mouth as he pulled you closer to him, not able to suppress what you were feeling any second longer. He chuckled once more, clearly satisfied with the feelings he was giving you, before giving his attention to your lips again.

His one hand was now on your neck, supporting every movement between the two of you, as his other hand was resting on your hip, slowly making you rock back and forth on him, the tension in both of your pants growing.

Slowly, his hand started to wander under your shirt, to a place where you needed him desperately. He was caressing the skin under your shirt carefully, teasing while taking his time. You wanted nothing more than for him to move them upwards towards your breasts, giving you more and more.

His lips were doing its magic on your neck again, kissing and nibbling on a soft spot under your ear as his hand slowly wandered up until his thumb finally found your nipple under your lace bra, the contact making you flinch a bit because of the intense feeling.

He let out a deep groan, sending shivers down your body and an undeniable friction in your underwear grew, making you rock your hips into him once more.

You started to wonder if you were prepared for what was about to happen, the two of you were just starting and you already felt like a mess, wanting him so much more. But he took his time, enjoying every single second of you on top of him.

His hand was now kneading your breast, the pressure just exactly right as he brushed your nipple every now and then, already knowing its effect on you. Every time he touched your bud lightly you couldn’t help but moan.

You let out a small whine as your breast lost contact with his hand, not wanting him to stop. But as you realized that he was only stopping to pull up your shirt you were more than willing to give him what he wanted. Within seconds you were not only shirtless but also braless, as Taehyung was throwing your bra away to the floor.

He studied what you looked like, wanting to never forget this moment. Leaning back on the couch you saw a satisfied smirk on his lips as his hand found your nipple again. He now was looking right into your eyes and you held eye contact with him, trying not to break it as you got wetter every time his thumb was caressing your nipple.

He enjoyed watching you trying to contain yourself for sure. The smirk on his lip was growing now and his glance was filled with a mixture of lust, adoration and mostly, anticipation of what was going to happen next.

You put your hand on his shoulder to support yourself as you started to dry-hump him, letting out a moan, a louder one this time, as you felt his erection under you.

“Shit,” he moaned, breaking eye contact and throwing his head back, his eyes closed as he bit his lip.

All of a sudden he stopped you from your actions, holding your hips down with both of his hand as he looked at you, frustration all over his face, “(Y/n), are you sure about this? I don’t think I’ll be able to stop once we started.”

Your heart skipped a beat, appreciating his question but you immediately gave him another kiss, this time a bit softer, kissing him deeply, before whispering into his ears. “Don’t you dare to stop now, Taehyung.”

You could hear his chuckle, his breath on your neck giving you goosebumps. “Thank god,” he said before lifting you up without warning you, making you scream a bit, afraid he’d let you fall.

“Be careful, you scared me to death,” you laughed as you were being carried towards your bedroom.

“You think I’d let you fall?” he said amused, shaking his head in disbelief.

“Wouldn’t be the first time,” you countered, making him laugh as he arrived in your bedroom, letting you down on top of your bed - now you were under him, lying down as he was still sitting on his knees, taking in the view of your naked upper body right in front of him, for him only.

You did the same - and what a beautiful view it was. He was hovering over you, your legs between his as he was pulling his top over his head, throwing it away before unbuckling his belt as you were running your hand over his toned chest.

Not long until both of you were only left in your underwear. Taehyung slowly removed your pants, before coming back up to you, supporting himself on his elbows as he gave you a deep kiss, adding tongue and caressing your cheek before looking at you. You couldn’t help but smile.

Taehyung gave you a small smile back, his eyes soft, “I love that smile.”

Before you could think about his compliment, one that he never gave you before, before you could get flustered or say anything back he suddenly changed the game completely, fastly pulling your underwear to the side and sliding one finger inside of you while his thumb was rubbing circles against your clit.

Taken aback by his sudden actions, you let out a loud moan, almost a scream, making Taehyungg smirk a bit before his lips wandered down to your neck once again, taking his time with you as he pumped his finger in and out in just the right rhythm. You moved your hip into his movements as his lips kissed down to your chest, his free hand holding your breast while his mouth teasingly played with your nipple, licking it and twirling his tongue around it, making you a moaning mess already.

Your hand was lightly stroking his dick through his boxers, leaving you wanting more. God, the things you wanted him to do with you were unholy.

The way he glanced at you as he was kissing his way down to your core looked like living art. Your whole body wanted him so bad, just the thought of where his mouth would travel to next or how it would feel when you’d finally feel him inside of you was making you go insane. Never before have you wanted something as much and at the same time hoped he’d take his time before.

Arriving at his destination he let out a moan, definitely being into all of this a bit too much too. He started to slowly kiss your inner thighs, holding your legs up a bit, teasing every part around where you wanted him the most.

“Stop teasing,” you whined, wanting him so much more than you currently had.

He chuckled against your core, the warm air making you flinch, “I thought that’s our thing,” before licking along your wet folds and then adding another finger, his tongue giving all its attention to your clit.

The pace in that he was going down on you was making your knees feel weak. He looked so handsome, his forehead in wrinkles as he was concentrating on pleasing you completely, moans vibrating against you.

It didn’t take long for the two of you until you were having sex, the two of you completely concentrating on the sensational feeling for the next moments.

After you finished you laid down on your stomach, not able to really move, as Taehyung let himself fall right next to you, giving your nose a small peck. He was not only out of breath but also still in trance of what had just happened, “I didn’t expect this,” he breathed, calming down from his orgasm.

You giggled a bit, “What? Us having sex?”

The smile he gave you made your heart race like crazy, his messy hair falling into his eyes, “I’m not complaining though.”

For a second you were lying there, letting Taehyung catch his breath and calming down. You felt your legs shaking from the intercourse you just had.

“Feel my legs,” you ordered chuckling, his hand on your thigh in a second as he felt how much you were shaking.

“Glad you liked it,” he laughed before getting up, “I’ll get you a towel, be right back.”

As you were waiting for him to come back you realized what had just happened. After all the flirting and teasing Taehyung and you actually ended up in your bed. The thought made you dizzy, but it could also be from the alcohol you drank. It seemed too good to be true.

Cleaning you up, you suddenly heard a laugh as he grabbed your ass, “I may or may not have left some marks. I’m sorry.”

You turned you head back, squinting your eyes at him, “You’re lucky no one else sees that part of me. The others would tease me to death about that.”

Slowly, he climbed back up to lay next to you, both of you on your stomach, his hand caressing your side, “Apparently they have a bet going on about when we’re going to end up together.”

“I’m not even surprised. Sounds like them,” you closed your eyes, enjoying Taehyung’s affection, “This feels nice.”

He hummed in agreement before giving you a small kiss, his forehead resting next to yours, “I could stay like this forever.”

“Then stay,” you offered, still not opening your eyes. Taehyung was getting a blanket, throwing it over both of you so you wouldn’t freeze, “Don’t leave. Stay here.”

“You want me to?” he asked, his hand now playing with your hair, “Alright, I’ll stay then. Sleep a bit, it’s late and you’re drunk.”

“I will, just give me one more kiss, okay?” you asked him, feeling yourself getting more tired by any passing second.

He chuckled as he came closer to your face once again, holding your face in his hands as he softly pressed his lips onto yours one more time, your naked bodies touching. “Good night, (y/n).”

Falling asleep, everything seemed too good to be true. Taehyung beside you, his scent in your nose as you slowly drifted to sleep in his arms.

As you woke up he was gone. First, you thought you had dreamed about yesterday's events but after a few seconds, you realized that it wasn’t a dream. You got drunk, you had sex, you fell asleep next to him. And now, he was gone.

Standing up, you wrapped your blanket around your naked body, looking for the man that you spend the night with but he was nowhere to be seen.

Well, maybe it was too good to be true.

It’s been five days. Five days since you shared your bed with Taehyung. Five days and your goddamn sheets still smelled like him – or maybe you were hallucinating at this point, wanting just something that reminds you of him around you.

The two of you talked to each other casually when you met on the farm. You said hello and talked about the weather. Shared awkward smiles. And that was about it. It’s not like he was cold to you or anything, he seemed to feel just as helpless and awkward about your drunk night together as you. As much as you loved the night and what happened, you definitely hated the aftermath.

Talking to Yoongi about it didn’t help, sadly. While you appreciate that he always listens to you and is ready to give you advice at any given time, you still had hoped that he’d suggest something else than to give him a bit of time.

The current tension between you was even worse than the sexual tension between you before. You didn’t care if you and Taehyung wouldn’t end up as a couple, of course, you’d like that very much and still hoped that things were going into that direction, but the two of you developed too much to just destroy the nice friendship you built because of feelings getting in the way.

So you decided to visit him that afternoon, feeling anxious as you were walking up the front porch of your neighbors. You barely remember how their house looked like from the inside since it’s been so long since you been inside. The front door stood open and you knocked against it, not wanting to be rude.

“Mrs. Kim?” you called for her as you slowly stepped inside, looking if you could find her but there was no sign of her being home.

Walking up the stairs, you tried to remember which room belonged to Taehyung until you were distracted by something odd and unexpected – suddenly your ears were filled with a beautiful but rather sad piano melody coming from the room on the back of the corridor.

Curious, your feet walked towards the source of the sound, your heart suddenly felt heavy, the sad melody immediately managed to impact your mood, making you feel blue. A part of you wanted to turn around and leave Taehyung alone, just like he probably wanted you to – if you figured out one thing about him over the last few months than it was the fact that this man was a complicated person, hard to read and even harder to talk to, but you decided to accept that. There were only two options: Either you’d work it out with him or you wouldn’t.

You stood in the open door, looking at the back of the man your heart wanted so bad, sitting in front of a big, wooden piano – for a second you couldn’t even believe that he was able to play such a heart touching piece of art, sitting in his room all alone. What a waste it was for him to play all alone, with no one around to hear. It made your heart sting for a second, at this point you liked him too much to go back. Just looking at him being at peace was making you crave to be the woman beside him. After all, he was Kim Taehyung, the one man that managed to surprise you over and over again.

As quiet as possible you walked into the tidy and light room, not wanting to give him a heart attack by creeping up on him but also not wanting him to stop playing. It was a beautiful sight, the way his hands were gliding on the big instrument so smooth and without thinking. You couldn’t see his face yet but you were already swooning over how beautiful he looked.

He looked over his shoulders as you cleared your throat, continuing to play even without paying attention to the keys, giving you an unreadable smile. You sat down on his bed that was placed right beside the piano as he stopped playing.

“Didn’t expect you to come visit me if I am honest,“ Taehyung admitted, almost sounding shy. He seemed to be a bit uncomfortable, knowing exactly that he finally had to face the night you shared a few days ago.

“Well, I didn’t expect you to be able to play the piano so skillfully but yet, here you are, doing exactly that,“ you countered in a soft tone, not wanting him to feel like you were mad at him, “That sounded beautiful.”

He chuckled and you were happy to see him relax a bit, “You think so? It was rather depressing, wasn't it?”

“Matching your mood?” you dared to ask him carefully, trying to address the whole situation somehow.

He stood up from his chair and walked over to you, sitting down next to you on his bed, “It’s my dad’s birthday today. He taught me the song I just played.”

His voice was full of love while talking about his father but you could hear the hidden sadness behind it. You didn’t know about that and suddenly, you felt guilt rushing over you. While you were wondering why he didn't try to solve the obvious problem between you and him he had something way harder to deal with. Looking up at you, he forced a small smile, “Mum and Olli are visiting his grave but I didn’t feel like going.”

Trying to give him any kind of comfort you nodded, pressing your lips into a thin line. You were surprised that he was opening up to you but as sad as the situation was, it was relieving you that he finally talked to someone about it. According to Jimin and Yoongi he tried to avoid this topic as much as he could.

“Why did you stay here?” you asked him, trying to keep the conversation going and show him your support. What you didn’t want was overwhelm him with questions, so you slowly started to see how comfortable he was around you.

He shrugged, looking up at the ceiling, “It’s such a sad place. I feel like we shouldn’t be sad on his birthday, if that makes sense. We should eat his favorite food and drink a beer and stay up too long, playing guitar on the porch. Mum and Dad always sneaked out at night on his birthday, taking drunk walks. They thought I didn’t notice but they were always coming back, laughing loudly. I miss celebrating his birthdays. But it’s hard to be happy on his birthday without him here.”

He laid down on his bed, his head right next to where you were currently sitting. You studied his face, his eyes still glued to the ceiling, not daring to look at you, the woman he hurt by leaving her after having sex with her. The sun outside was setting, leaving Taehyung’s whole room in a golden light, his tan skin was glowing and his light-brown hair shimmering.

While he seemed to be sad on the outside you could see that talking about the memories he made with his father was making him feel lighter. It was nice seeing him talking about his dad - they always have been very close, you still could recall that.

“I still remember him so vividly. He always gifted me self-made jam before I left the city and no other jam, literally not a single one at home was comparable to his,“ you shared your memory with Taehyung, looking out of the big window in his room, admiring the sun, “He has a beautiful soul.”  

When you came over you wouldn't have expected to talk to Taehyung about his father but you knew that everything else, every problem and unsolved question, between the two of you could wait for now.

“I wish I was more like him,“ his voice was nothing more than a mumble, almost inaudible. The sudden craving to hold him came over you, to comfort him in your arms, to kiss him until he felt better. But you held back, as long as you didn’t talk about the obvious.

“What do you mean?” you asked him, daring to lay down beside him – luckily, he didn’t seem to mind. The two of you didn’t touch or cuddled, you just were lying there, on his bed, having a serious and meaningful conversation.

“He was so kind and positive. He told my mother different reasons why he loved her every night. Even after a long day of work he still took his time and practiced the piano with me every night and then brought Olli to bed, reading him a good night story or playing him songs on the guitar until he fell asleep. He taught me so much but still, I could never be so full of love like he used to be.”

“You think too low of yourself, Tae,“ you said determined, meaning it, “I don’t think you see how much your mother appreciates everything you do for her. She knows that you didn’t plan out your life like this but you’re staying here for her. And Olli looks up to you so much, you could do nothing to let him down.”

He shrugged, looking at you for a second, “I don’t feel like that’s enough.”

Feeling heartbroken about hearing him talk so bad about himself, your hand found his in between the two of you, linking it with yours, now it was you who didn't dare to look into his eyes, “Look at us then.”

“What do you mean?” he asked you, confused.

“Since I moved here you gave me so much joy and helped me everywhere you could. You have no idea how much I appreciate all the things you’ve done for me since I came here, complicated tensions between us or not,“ you meant every word.

He scoffed lightly, “I attacked you on your first day, made you churn butter and let you fall into the lake in the middle of the night on your birthday.”

You couldn’t help but laugh a bit at his words, “Well, yes. And I could still kill you for all of those things. But,“ you started, turning your body towards him to look into his eyes, “You also helped me calm the cows during the storm. You gave me the most meaningful birthday present I could’ve thought of. You brought me a basket full of my favorite fruits even though you still deny that you did-”

He let out a soft chuckle before interrupting you, “That wasn’t me,“ he insisted once again with a grin on his face.

“Sure, Kim,“ you rolled your eyes at him picking up this discussion again, “You might think you’re being cold but you’re not at all.”

Now he turned to face you too, both of you lying on the side, looking in each other’s eyes. His brows narrowed as he tried to say something to you, the expression in his eyes seemed to be hurt, maybe even guilty.

A heavy sigh came from his lips before he closed his eyes, “I just left you. That morning. I just got up and left.”

Those words made you freeze. After all, you came here to talk about exactly that but it seemed so wrong right now, “We don’t have to talk abou-”

“I just left,“ he repeated, seeming disappointed with himself, “I never just left someone after having sex with them. There were people that meant way less to me and I still stayed the morning after. I am being a complete asshole to you all the time and still, you don’t hate me. You’re here, trying to make sure I’m okay.”

Keeping quiet was the only thing you could do at that moment. Taehyungs words seemed harsh but the tone in his voice sounded guilty. Even if you wanted to, you couldn’t say anything – you had no idea what Taehyung was trying to say.

“Tae,“ you finally started after a few seconds, his full attention on you, “This day is hard enough for you already. We don’t have to talk about that right now. I’m not mad at you.”

“You should be though. I know, I am pretty amazing but not even such a godlike man like me shouldn’t treat you like this,“ he joked but both of you knew it was his way of comprehending because he didn’t know how to handle the conversation you were about to have since he always struggled to talk about his feelings, especially sober.

“Why did you leave then?” you asked him the one question you asked yourself over and over again. There could have been millions of options in your mind. Maybe, he regretted it and it was just a drunk mistake. Maybe, the feelings you thought he had for you were just sexually. Maybe, he simply had to go and do something early in the morning. So many maybes that have gone through your head without any idea if any of those maybe’s were right.

“I don’t know. I wish I didn’t,“ he bit his lip nervously, not looking into your eyes anymore, afraid to see your reaction, “Maybe I’m afraid.”

“Afraid of what?” you asked, not sure if you actually wanted to know the answer. You felt many emotions when it came to him. You felt happiness, joy, hope, possibly love. On other days you felt powerless, insecure and confused. What you never felt was being afraid. Pretty sure, you actually felt safe around him.

“I’m not as flawless and strong as I constantly try to convince you I am,“ he sighed, pressing his lips into a straight line, “I couldn’t stand to hurt you because of my own problems. But I still did.”

Slowly you nodded as your heart was sinking deeper and deeper in your stomach, “You’ve got to talk to me. What are you thinking about?”

Taehyung hated this probably even more than you did. He was good in so many things – he was a good friend, a better brother and the best son. He was an amazing cook and apparently, an amazing piano player. He could flirt like no tomorrow and crack jokes around his friends that would make everyone laugh. He could drink a lot and he could make your heart beat faster.

There were countless things he was able to be and to do without any problem. But when it came to talking about his feelings and showing his vulnerable side he failed. You knew that just as good as everyone else but if he wouldn’t talk, you couldn’t continue to work on your relationship.

“I–“ he started but stopped, looking at you sternly while clenching his jaw a bit. His eyebrows furrowed and his expression looked almost pained, trying to find the right words, “I think that I loved the night with you. I did, really. But maybe, it was a bit thoughtless of us.”

“So, what you’re trying to say is that you regret it,“ you stated, trying to just get this conversation over with, hoping he couldn’t see or hear that you felt like he just put a knife in your stomach.

„God, no,“ his answer bursted out of him like a bullet before he started mumbling to himself, „I am truly terrible at this.“

You gave him a few seconds to gather his thoughts even though the silence was deafening. This wasn't how you expected to spend your first time in Taehyung's bed at all.

„I like you, (y/n),“ he then spoke, determined, „Obviously I do. And I think you like me too, or at least I hope you do. But we were drunk and desperate when we had sex and I wanted it to be special.“

You couldn't help but pout at his helpless confession, adoring him even more than before. Within seconds all of your doubts vanished – as long as Taehyung liked you too you would find a way to work everything out. Trying not to let your overflowing happiness show, you gave him a small smirk, „You thought about us having sex?“

Luckily, his body relaxed too, an annoyed smile appearing on his handsome face, „All the time,“ he scrunched his nose, his arm wrapping itself around your waist.

„So, what you're saying is that you ignored me for days because you didn't like the way it happened?“ you asked him, coming back to the actual topic.

Frowning, he sighed, „When you put it like this it sounds stupid.“

„Because it is,“ you insisted, squinting your eyes at him, „I thought you avoided me because you hated me or something like that.“

„I'm so sorry,“ he apologized again, his face coming closer to yours, „Apparently, I'm very bad at this.“

„So, what are we doing now?“ you asked him, feeling a bit anxious even though Taehyung just told you that he liked you too, so you had nothing to worry about.

„First, I want to kiss you if you're fine with that,“ his fingers were drawing little patterns on your waist, „and then I'd like us to become something serious.“

Nodding, you did as he asked and gave him a kiss, his soft lips feeling just as good, if not better, as you remembered them. You felt something like butterflies in your stomach and you thought that Taehyung would probably make fun of you if he knew how jolly he made you feel.

Breaking from the kiss, the most handsome man you've ever seen stared you down for a second, not saying anything.

„We should celebrate,“ he suddenly suggested.

„What do you have in mind?“ you asked him curiously, not once escaping his gaze.

„Let me take you out to dinner,“ his voice was sweet as honey and you were sure you never heard him talk in such a soft tone – it might be the rest of guilt he still felt towards you or the fact that now you officially knew about each other's feelings but you could get used to it. You wanted to get used to it.

„Right now?“ you asked him, wondering if it would be okay considering it was his father's birthday.

„I don't wanna wait a second longer,“ he smirked at his own cheesiness, getting out of his bed to get ready to go.

You joined him, „Stop being so loving. God, where did my cynical Taehyung go?“

Rolling his eyes, he chuckled as he wrapped his arm around your waist, walking down the hallway with you. „This changes nothing,“ he gestured between the two of you, „You're still terribly annoying even if we're together now.“

„I could get used to the sound of that,“ you scrunched your nose as your eyes met before you repeated his words, „We're together now.“

Even though he tried to hide it, he was just as excited about the label as you were. You could feel it in the way he touched you and the sparkle in his eyes gave him away.

A few minutes later you were sitting outside of the restaurant in the heart of your city, the marketplace was pretty quiet as it slowly got dark outside, a candle lit on your table.

The owner of the restaurant greeted you, raising his eyebrow and smirking as he saw the two of you together. „Oh, what a nice sight to see the two of you here together. Is this a date by any chance?“

You let Taehyung answer, not knowing if he was okay with telling people yet.

„It's still a secret so you have to keep quiet, please,“ he answered with a proud smile on his lips and you could swear his chest was sticking out a bit.

„What a pretty couple,“ he sang as he went back inside, giving you a bit of time to read the menu and decide on what to eat.

Even though it was almost autumn it was still warm outside – you loved those kind of late summer evenings. Without even having a single sip of alcohol you felt almost tipsy, the man opposite of you making you feel all light and smitten.

„This is the downside of living in such a small town,“ Taehyung started, his skin glowing in the candlelight, „We have zero privacy.“

„I don't mind,“ you shrugged, „They're going to find out sooner or later. It's the charm of towns like ours.“

„I just would like to take you out on a date every now and then without one of the guys crashing it because they see us,“ he explained, „But you're right, it's not as bad here as I make it out to be.“

He took your hand that was resting on the table, caressing it with his thumb. Every touch you two shared make you shiver in anticipation for more. Even though you already knew you were head over heels for him you felt yourself falling deeper every time you touched.

Time went by way too fast for your liking and before you knew it you two had your dinner, your dessert and even some drinks afterwards. The atmosphere was light, both of you enjoying each other's company after not talking for some days.

„I don't want this night to end just yet,“ you pouted. Before you dared to take his hands you glanced around to see if Jimin was anywhere to be seen, not wanting him to disturb your peace.

Your new boyfriend, still a weird thought to call him that, nodded, „I can stay if you want to.“

Before you could say anything he fastly added, „I don't have to though. It's your decision. I can leave too.“

You gave him a weird glance, „You're acting like this would be a first for us.“

Not saying anything he almost froze in front of you, fidgeting with his hands, staring at your door. For a few seconds you mustered him, waiting if he'd say something but nothing came out of his mouth, which was pretty unusual for him.

„Oh god, you're nervous!“ your grin was a mile wide and you clapped your hands amused, „Kim Taehyung is nervous because of me. I can't wait to tell my diary about this.“

Frustration was written all over his face as he closed his eyes as if he couldn't believe himself. „Your diary must be full of my name,“ he mumbled under his breath before looking at you again, the satisfied smile on your face provoking him, „Stop making fun of me.“

As you were searching for your keys in your back he hugged you from behind, pressing a kiss against your hair, “Let’s drink some beer and watch a movie.”

Nodding, you stole a quick kiss from his lips and opened the door, letting the both of you in.

“I’m going to get a blanket,” you informed him, “Get some beers, I’ll meet you in the couch in a minute.

„What do you wanna watch?“ he asked you a few moments later, one leg bent while the other one was spread out on your sofa, his arm spread on the back of it, just waiting for you to join him.

The sight of him comfortably sitting on your sofa gave you the most domestic feeling you've felt in a long time – he seemed to look even better than before somehow.

„Let's watch an animal documentation,“ you responded, sitting down next to him. The blanket you brought from your bedroom spread over the two of you, you dared to cuddle yourself up to him and he seemed to enjoy it as much as you, giving your head a quick kiss, your face resting on his chest.

„You're weird,“ he muttered, „Let's watch a horror movie instead.“

Giving him an unimpressed glance, you sighed, „How cliche.“

You could feel his chuckle going through his chest, „At least it would give me a reason to stay for the night.“

Rolling your eyes, you looked up at him, his glance already on you, „Why? Because you're too afraid of horror movies? Because I am certainly not.“

„I have such a brave girlfriend,“ he acknowledged in a sarcastic tone while opening two beers, handing you one, „Here's to us, babe.“

Clinking your bottles, you took a sip of your beer, „So, you're a babe kind of guy? Wouldn't have thought that.“

„I can call you asshole if you prefer that,“ he said seriously before starting to laugh at his own joke once again.

And with that, the rest of the evening was just as perfect as the first part. It was just you, Taehyung, some beers and Netflix. Every now and then you shared kisses, sometimes those kisses were a bit more passionate and longer, turning into full make-out sessions before Taehyung started to whine because he missed the plot of the movie you were watching.

“God, I’m so happy,” he told you softly as you were slowly falling asleep in his arms, relaxing completely under his touch, “I wanted this for so long.”

You and Taehyung managed to keep your relationship a secret for about two weeks. It took you only two short weeks to decide that it didn’t make any sense to keep it from them. Not only were both of you pretty sure that the relationship between you was serious but also, like always, none of your friends stopped their teasing, making it difficult to stay hidden because their eyes were always on you.

“We have to tell them,” your boyfriend looked at you, “It’s a miracle they didn’t find out yet.”

You chuckled, wrapping your legs around his, “I guess you’re right. But they are going to be so nosey about it. I hate it already.”

It was a late summer Saturday evening, probably one of the lasts warm days for this year and Yoongi decided to gather your friends and your family together for one last barbecue.

Walking outside, you linked your arm with Taehyung’s, something you’ve never done before in front of other people. A part of you almost felt nervous to let the rest know.

“You’re ready?” he asked you, giving you a small wink as you walked towards the big table next to the barbecue grill. Your families were already sitting down on the big table while Yoongi and Hoseok were struggling to get the barbecue grill to work. It was a beautiful evening, the sun was still high but was about to sink, the warm summer breeze felt refreshing and the big table in the garden was full of drinks and food, from meat to salads to bread to vegetables. Yoongi’s parents were there too, currently mixing some cocktails.

Jimin was the first to spot the two of you walking out of your cottage, giving you a confused glance, his eyebrows narrowed. He stopped telling the other a story he was in the middle of, wondering about the sudden skinship. Immediately, everyone turned their heads to where he was looking, wondering what made Jimin speechless.

As you arrived you said nothing, waiting for anyone to say something.

Yoongi looked at you with a big grin on his face. “What is that supposed to mean?” he asked, pointing onto your linked arms.

“You are fucking with us, aren’t you?”, your cousin asked suspiciously, “Ha Ha. Very funny.”

“No, for once I’m serious,” you replied, amused because he didn’t believe you, “Are you really surprised?”

Mrs. Kim and your uncle looked at each other, a smile on their faces.

“Taehyung, are you serious? You can’t trick your old mother like this, don’t make me excited for something that isn’t true.”

Taehyung chuckled at his mother, nodding, “Don’t worry, mum. I’d never lie to you.”

Jimin still didn’t seem to believe you, “If you’re not kidding you gotta kiss,” he insisted with a sly smirk, thinking that he exposed you now.

You looked at Tae, giving him a questioning glance, not knowing if he’d be comfortable kissing you in front of everyone. But he didn’t seem to care and just shook his head amused before he came closer to give you a short, but still very adorable, kiss on your lips, his arm now around your waist, before turning to Jimin, who looked like he was about to faint.

“Who do you think you are just dating my cousin without asking me for permission?” he yelled angrily, getting ready to fight Taehyung.

You, Yoongi and Hoseok started to laugh out loud as Jimin started to chase after Taehyung.

Sitting down on the table right next to Yoongi’s seat he pinched your cheeks lightly, “Congratulations, finally trapped him, huh?”

You nodded, “Was about time. I was slowly going insane.”

“In a more peaceful minute, you need to tell me all about how it happened, alright?” your best friend said with a satisfied smile on his lips, “And don’t forget me now that you’re in love.”

“How could I ever?” you promised, laughing as Taehyung came back to the table, out of breath from running away from Jimin.

“Your cousin is crazy, (y/n),” he breathed heavily, shaking his head, “Maybe I have to reconsider becoming part of your family.”

“Well, too late now,“ you shrugged as Jimin  joined the table again too, a goofy smile on his face as he turned to you.

“So, I assume I can’t try to set you up with Jungkook anymore, right?” he joked, sitting back down on his chair and opening two cans of beer, one for himself and the other one for you.

„You better watch your mouth,“ your boyfriend warned Jimin, giving him a warning glance.

A few hours later, the sky was pitch-black by now and the stars sparkling, you noticed that Taehyung was gone for quite some time now and decided to go check up on him - you saw him going to the barn earlier.

As you walked over to Taehyung he already noticed you but didn’t look at you yet. Instead, you only saw his back as he was busy giving Bertha some kisses.

“Oh no, don’t worry, Bertha,“ he talked to her, “You’re still my favorite cow, just don’t tell (y/n).”

You rolled your eyes, scoffing, “You’re trying to make me jealous?”

He turned around, acting as if he didn’t realize you coming on, “Oh no, (y/n),“ his voice was mocking, “You shouldn’t have seen this, I can explain, I promise.”

Laughing at his own joke, he came over to you and put his arm around your shoulder, pulling you closer to him. Trying to give you a kiss, you freed yourself from his grip, giving him the cold shoulder.

“No, go and kiss Bertha, if you love her so much,“ you huffed and held your chin up high, trying to stay serious but Taehyung wasn’t having it. Within seconds his arms were wrapped around you once again, now tighter than before so you couldn’t escape if you wanted.

Pulling you into a hug, he locked his eyes with you, a joyful smile on his still so beautiful lips, “You’re so annoying.”

Scoffing, you avoided his eyes, still playing hard to get, „I thought we're over the whole 'you're annoying me' phase.“

„Actually, each time I told you that you're annoying I fell in love with you a bit more,“ your boyfriend confessed, still hugging you tightly before smirking, „But you still were a pain in the ass.“  

You gave him a quick and small kiss before resting your forehead against his, “I want to spend the rest of my life annoying you.”

He let out a small laugh, his eyes closed. “Oh, that’s good,“ suddenly he picked you up, giving you no other chance as to hold onto him, your legs around his waist as he was holding you up, his arms tightly around your waist, “Because I want to spend the rest of my annoying life with you.”