#spent all afternoon working on my new oc i forgot i wanted to post this today

[jhoudiey]

You like to play God, don't you?

Wrote this fic a while back, #ChickenChallenge starts trending on magicam again, and Yoru ends up trying to distract herself with her friends. Ends up watching Jade as he builds a terrarium, and ends with dumb and dumber fluff. 1825 words.

hey you’re that chicken girl from NRC right?

Yoru stared at her phone. Idia had finally updated it so that she was able to use it freely, her hands no longer an issue on the touch screen. She normally didn’t pay attention to notifications, but had texted him earlier that night hoping to hang out, instead her magicam had exploded, messages popping in so quickly she could hardly keep track

show me ur feet

where else do you have feathers?

check it out, I’ve got weird feet too!

Whoa! Is that from a magic accident!? Crazy!!

omg ur disgustingggggg!!!!

you fucking freak!

ahahahaha no way your real. You’re like a chicken!!!!

can you send me a pic of your chicken feet? They’re so freaky I wanna show my friend!

you ever jerked a guy off with those? Do you want to?

She stared at the picture of the penis in her inbox with disgust, is this how normal people communicated? Why were all these people she didn’t know suddenly messaging her anyway? It was already past midnight, didn’t they have anything better to do? She exited her messages and found there had been a series of throwback posts from NRC Halloween, #ChickenChallenge was trending again. She sighed and closed the application, having lived through that once had been enough, she had no desire to repeat the experience online.

Idia still hadn’t texted her back, but her mood was soured. Focusing on her alchemy work wasn’t enough to distract her from the constant buzzing coming from her phone.

“Fuck this” she grumbled, throwing her phone onto her bed before launching herself out the window. She didn’t need to wait for a text back from Idia, she’d just show up, the same as always.

As luck would have it, however, Idia was busy. He wasn’t gaming as was usual for him at this time of night, but was in the middle of a video chat with Vita, making it much more awkward to sit in the corner of his room quietly. She didn’t want to know what they talked about when it was just the two of them. She wandered back out of the dorm, hesitating in the Hall of Mirrors. It was late, she should just go home...but… he might still be awake too.

She knocked on the door tucked down the halls of Octavinelle dorm, silently cursing herself for going down there in the first place.

“Come in”

Jade welcomed her into his and Floyd’s shared room, a small smile painted on his lips. He was in his pajamas, though clearly invested in building a terrarium, plants and stones laid out carefully on his desk in front of him. She spied Floyd, his pajama shirt discarded on the floor beside his bed, fast asleep curled around one of his pillows facing away from them. He’d likely turned away from the lamp light Jade had kept on as he worked.

“Ahh, I guess it is too late, I’ll go” Yoru mumbled looking between them, she’d never gotten along comfortably with Jade.

“You can stay. I don’t mind, Yoru-san,” He held his hand out to offer Floyd's desk chair to her “Would you care to join me? Clearly something is the matter or you wouldn’t have come by so late. I do know how much you loathe to be here.”

She hesitated.

If she stayed, she’d have to deal with his casual cruelty and observant eye, if she left she may have to deal with another dozen messages about how she was a disgusting bird freak who really should be embarrassed to look like that, not that she needed the reminder. She sighed and crawled onto the chair, her legs tucked in against her body, arms clutched around them as she watched Jade work. He was meticulous.

Like everything he did, every movement was measured, everything planned well in advance to come together just as he imagined it.

“Is this what you normally spend your weekends doing?” She asked, her eyes following his graceful hands as he arranged some moss.

“Hmm, it is something I am quite fond of, yes.”

“Why? Wouldn’t it be better to keep a garden or something? What’s the point of this?”

He laughed quietly.

“This is what humans call ‘a hobby’ I believe. The point is to enjoy it, Yoru-san.”

She rested her chin on her knees, her eyes drifting across his desk to the discarded pieces of clothing on the floor near Floyd's bed. She felt Jade watching her and turned her gaze back to him.

“But why do you enjoy it? What’s so good about building a tiny garden in a jar?”

“You mean what’s so entertaining about creating and controlling an entire ecosystem one can hold in their hands? I wonder…”

She snorted.

“Ahhh, so it’s just something else you can manipulate. Makes sense.” She grinned at him, his hands expertly arranging rocks along the bottom of the jar.

“How cruel, Yoru-san, to suggest my innocent hobby is anything but… I can’t deny the implications though.”

“Hah, so you admit it then. No wonder you like it...” She chuckled, her eyes wandering once again to Floyds sleeping form, his back slowly rising and falling with his breaths.

“Admit it? No, I simply enjoy when certain things go as planned” He smirked at her. He’d caught her wandering eyes twice now, though she was trying to hide it. She hadn’t come here to see him, after all. She faced him again, not wanting to meet his eyes instead focusing on his hands.

“Do you ever add bones?”

“Oya? What is it you’re trying to imply, Yoru-san?”

“...They’d be good for the soil. I can bring you some, if you need.”

“I suppose that would raise fewer questions than gathering them myself...Thank you.”

“Mmmm” She nodded with her head still on her knees, content to watch him in silence. He was building a whole planet before her, a God playing with nature to whatever suited his whim. A rock here, moss there… no wait… over there instead. It was fascinating and tedious at the same time. His hands weaved patterns from nothing, a garden blossoming from his fingertips. She felt her attention slipping and closed her eyes, the soft tinkling of his tools being drowned out by the slow tide of Floyd's slumbering breath. She tilted her head towards him, her own breathing slowing to match his like the sea lazily lapping at the shore.

“Why don’t you lie down with him, Yoru-san? I don’t mind” Jades voice cut through her dreamy haze, jolting her upright.

“What? No. Huh?” She stuttered, horrified that Jade had somehow known the comfort she felt in that moment. “I’ve gotta go, I must have fallen asleep. Bye Jade” She hurried to leave, bumping into Floyd's desk in her haste. The precariously stacked books toppled over and fell to the floor, making an awful racket in the near silent bedroom.

“Oh shit, sorry!’ She whispered in a panic, hoping she hadn’t woken Floyd. She scooped to pick the books up, her wings threatening to topple the chair she had been sitting in just moments ago. Jade laughed as he watched her struggle.

“Fufufu, Yoru-san. You seem quite flustered, did something I say upset you? Perhaps my suggestion to sleep with Floyd-”

“No!” She yammered quickly. Too quickly. “No, I’m just tired. I have to go!” She pushed the books back onto the desk haphazardly and turned to leave, hoping that Jade hadn’t caught sight of her face, red as it was sure to be. How could he have known what she was thinking?

“Hmmpppfff” Floyd whined, wrapping his arms around her waist, his face buried in feathers. “You’re too loud, Fugu-chan, be more quiet”

Jade smirked at the pair of them as Yoru struggled to free herself from his grasp. Floyd whined into her back, dragging her into his bed so he could go back to sleep.

“Yoru-san, it’s better if you don’t fight him, he can be quite insistent when he wants something” She knew he was right. To get free she’d have to peel him off of her, and with how tightly he held her it would be hard, Floyd really was too damn strong. She sighed and stopped resisting, feeling her feet leave the floor as he flipped her over him to settle her between his body and the wall.

He murmured wordlessly as he shifted around her wings, careful not to pull out any feathers accidentally. He settled between them, his head resting slightly above hers, his face nestled in her hair, body pressed tightly against hers. She was glad Jade couldn’t see her anymore, she could feel him watching them still, but with their faces turned away from him he wouldn’t be able to read her expression. She felt like her heart was going to beat out of her chest, she was sure Floyd must have felt it too, though if he did he made no mention of it. This wasn’t what she’d had in mind when she had come over, all she had wanted was to chat a bit, to forget about the people on magicam trying to ruin her night. She had to admit though… This was nice too. Ever since spring break they’d been more comfortable with each other physically, Floyd often clinging to her whenever he slept over, but so far that hadn’t left the confines of her bedroom. No one ever saw how often she clung back, she’d made sure to disengage from his grasp before he woke whenever she found herself too near him. It was much too embarrassing to be found like this, her face burning again knowing that Jade was probably enjoying himself immensely, proven right yet again.

The lamp clicked off, Jade finally retiring, Yoru felt herself finally relaxing. Her body jolted as tension left her, and she laid her arms across Floyd's, drawing lazy circles on the backs of his hands with her fingers. He sighed into her hair and pressed himself against her a little tighter at her touch, fast asleep once more. Yoru closed her eyes knowing it wasn’t safe to fall asleep where she lay, she had to get up and go home or she’d never hear the end of it. 5 more minutes then you have to go home she told herself, but it really was very comfortable, laying with Floyd like this.

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP

“Euuuggggghhhh Jaaaaade, turn your alarm offffff” Floyd complained loudly. He was close...too close. Yoru’s eyes snapped open with a start, she’d fallen asleep in his arms.

“Ahhh, I must have forgotten to turn it off. My apologies, you two fufufu”

“Mmmmm~ good morning, Fugu-chan” Floyd murmured as he tightened himself around her once more. She felt him smile as he nuzzled his face into the nape of her neck, her face blazed red once more.

[monsteronfire]

Fishing for a Star

type;; One-shot (6.4K words)

pairing(s);; fratboy!JK x older!Reader/OC

genre;; Slice of Life, Smut, College AU

warnings;; Drinking, oral (male receiving), shy!Koo, sub!Koo, slightly dom!Reader/OC, Yoongi being a dumbass voyeur, both parties pining for each other like idiots

a/n;; I feel like it’s been a motherfuckin’ year since I’ve written and posted anything. I honestly started this thing probably a year ago. I just really love the chill college parties trope. Might add more to this, but unlikely. Enjoy my pain as I cry over JK in leather.

edit;; Totally forgot to put a read more tag on here, sorry y’all. I even told myself to fucking do it right as I started the post. Also the pic isn’t mine, got it off Google.

------

“Please tell me that’s not what you’re wearing.”

You step out of the way for your housemate, the hoodie you’d picked out momentarily blinding you while you pulled it over your head.

“If I wasn’t, I wouldn’t be putting it on.” You say, finally getting it over your head and shaking the hair out of your face. You blink at her half-way-to-getting-ready state, noting in the back of your head how good she looks even now. Her hair is done, wavy and a little disheveled. The shine of the dark strands makes you want to run your fingers through them, knowing they will be soft. Her makeup is half done and she’s dressed only in her underwear, but she’s beautiful all the same. You can tell she’s planning to doll herself up tonight and why shouldn’t she? It’s one of the biggest frat parties of the year and with it being her last year, she’s aiming to have a good time.

“This is a party, (Y/N). At least try and look a little slutty.”

You snort and grin a little, watching her pop her hip out while she eyes you.

“Why is that, baby?” You reply, reaching up to pull a couple of strands of her hair back into place fondly.

“I plan to get laid tonight. I expect you to too, babe.” She snaps, swatting your hand away.

“Sorry, sexy. I’m fishing for something special tonight and it doesn’t require the slutty look.”

“Oh god, not again.”

“What?” You question, turning back to the full length mirror and carding your fingers through your own hair to fix it.

“You’ve been after this boy for three years, (Y/N). He’s got you wrapped around his finger.” She states, walking away from you and back into the bathroom. You’re still smiling when you check one final time to make sure the jeans you’re wearing make your ass look great before leaning against the door frame.

“That was my plan from the beginning. Now I just need to wrap him around mine.”

She snorts, leaning over the sink and closer to the mirror.

“I said three years, didn’t I? If you haven’t bagged him yet, you won’t.”

You pout at her, but are undeterred. You know what kind of person he is and you’re well aware of how much work he had and will continue to take. You could tell he was not a one and done from the first moment you saw him. He would take time, a lot of it and you were willing to put it all in.

“You know how stubborn I can be.” You chuckle at her. She rolls her eyes, but smirks none the less. She knows she can’t say a word to change your mind.

“Whatever. If I catch you two together, I’m telling him to fuck you already.”

You laugh as you walk away, working on gathering what you’ll want to take to the party.

“You sure I’ll even be allowed at this thing?!”

“Are you kidding?! Everyone is invited to this party. The doors are left open so anyone can just fucking walk in off the street!”

You chuckle, grabbing your bag and stuffing your wallet in it. You’d graduated a couple years ago and while most of the seniors would know you, you sometimes felt weird hanging out at a party in the college you’d already graduated from. A girl has to do what she has to do when a baby boy is on the line, though.

And a baby boy he was.

-

“Jae!”

You smile as you and your friend enter the large, old house. The lighting is dim, the music is thumping and all you can smell is alcohol, sex and sweat. There’s noise all around you, but you and your friend weave through the crowd easily. Nearly everyone greets you as you two pass, guys high-fiving you and girls giggling and touching your arms. You bounce to the music as you follow her, the two of you making your way past the front stairs and down the hall. You make a pit stop in the kitchen- Jae grabbing the classic Solo cup and you pulling a bottle of beer from a cooler full of ice- before heading out onto the back deck.

The backyard is just as crowded as the house, people in the pool, people in the gazebo and people littering about the yard and deck. There’s a large bonfire near the back of the yard and a couple other smaller fire pits in random spots. One of them is up on the deck in a small metal  pit, the warm flames surrounded by the very reason you and Jae came tonight.

“There’s our girls!” Namjoon shouts, lifting his can and drawing the attention of the seven other guys around him to you two. Taehyung, Hoseok and Jin all shout in unison as they spot you, Tae standing and pressing a sloppy kiss to your friend’s cheek. Yoongi and Namjoon lift their hands as you get closer and you reach out to slap each one. Jimin stands to press little pecks to first your cheek and then Jae’s. You all greet each other quietly before Jae slides herself into her target’s lap. She’s been after Jin all year and you haven’t been the only person sitting back to watch their game of cat and mouse. Jin is practically an expert at flirting just enough to keep her hooked without giving her what she really wants.

To be young and in lust.

Your eyes finally find the last member of the group, his silence keeping him out of spotlight unless he’s being searched for. He’s already looking at you when you spot him and his eyes dart down to his shoes while he shuffles behind Yoongi and Jimin. He can only keep his eyes off you for a moment before they find yours and he’s trapped. You smile softly at him, taking delight in how his eyes widen a fraction and his pupils grow. He’s holding a Solo cup, the rings on his fingers glinting in the firelight as he deftly squeezes them a bit tighter. He looks good tonight, his dark hair pushed back away from his forehead to show his strong brow. He’s dressed in all black, black t-shirt tucked into black jeans, black boots and to top it all off a leather jacket. He definitely pulled all the stops on you tonight and you have to make a conscious effort not to drool when you stare at him. He looks like a badass and you know every other girl in this joint sees him the same way, but you know the truth.

“Uh-oh,” Jae mumbles into Jin’s ear.

“She’s spotted her target and is locked on.”

You don’t bother listening to her, instead creeping closer to the object of your desire.

“Hey, Jungkookie,” You murmur quietly to him, leaning in a bit closer, but not too close. You had to be very meticulous with him.

“Hey, noona,” he responds shyly and the whole circle of friends is a sniggering mess for a moment. Pink begin’s to dust his cheeks, but you spare him a little and turn to flick Jimin in the back of the head.

“You lot are pretty curious tonight. Weren’t you all having a conversation before we came up?”

They all snigger some more, but quickly go back to bullshitting around the fire, leaving you and Jungkook in peace. You take another step closer to him, half expecting him to maintain the distance between you, but he remains still and lets you get closer. Threes years it’s taken you to get even this close to him, his overtly shy and sweet demeanor keeping him just out of reach of your darker, more corrupted hands.

“You look good tonight,” you comment and his blush darkens in the firelight. He thanks you almost too quietly, quickly bringing the cup of beer he’s holding to his lips to distract himself somehow and it has you chuckling lowly at him. He looks away from you, avoiding your eyes and you can’t stop the fiendish grin on your lips. You finally give him some respite, turning away from him to join in on the random conversation that the group is sharing around the small fire pit.

Finally…

He get’s his chance and takes it without a second thought. He spent years hesitating in such small matters and found himself either missing out or always caught if he didn’t take the chance when it was presented to him. So he learned. Now when you have those few precious moments where your focus is not on him- where you are off guard for just a beat- he gets to watch you instead. Watch the way your eyes glow in the firelight, or the way your hair just barely shifts as a warm breeze lazes by. He takes in your simple outfit, jeans and a sweatshirt. Nothing like the rest of the girls at every party he’s ever been to. Your smile moves your whole face, your cheeks rising, you lips splitting and even your eyes squinting shut as you tease Taehyung. His lips quirk a little on their own when he notices that your ears shift a little when you smile as well.

Your lashes are long even without makeup, so much so that the first time he’d ever met you he could have sworn they were fake. But then he caught you tugging on them one afternoon while you told old stories with Namjoon. You did it regularly and had told him you could feel the dead ones coming out, you wanted to get them before they fell into your eyes. A quirk he’d logged away to keep safe for the rest of eternity. The beer in your one hand shifts to the other, the rings on your fingers clinking just loud enough for him to hear over Hoseok’s shouting. A hobby of sorts you shared with Jimin. You two wore the same ring size and often went shopping for new ones together, even swapping every now and again. The free hand moves about in the air as you speak and Jungkook thinks it almost weird now to see someone talk without gesturing with their hands so much. How did one truly immerse another in their words if they didn’t show them how it felt as well? When you were angry- fuming for either your own hardships or for those of a friend- you pointed a lot, your head shaking and your hands slicing through the air to signal how done you were. When you told stories of your adventures with the oldest members of his brothers your hands where always in the air; swiping, rolling, falling and twisting. You painted such a picture with only the movement of your hands when you spoke. They weren’t really dainty, your palms wide and your fingers not very long, but they fit perfectly with his hands. A fact that amazes him, but that he’s grown rather fond of. When you laugh, it’s loud. Not soft, not like the twinkling of bells, but like a song. Loud, but still beautiful and it can range from joyous mirth to deep and rich fondness, the type of feeling that fills your chest with warmth and adoration. That’s the laugh he enjoys the most, that deep chuckle. The one you give to him quietly so just the two of you can hear it.

He wants you. He was confused at first, for a long time. Scared of your mature age compared to him and your strength. He always sees you as strong, even if you don’t think so yourself. You always make him nervous, unsure if he is really worthy of the sweet attention you give him. The quiet whispers just between the two of you, the soft touches, the adoring look in your eyes. He fears all your attention, but he can’t deny now that he wants it- needs it. He can’t go a day without it.

-

The party winds down and you are delighted at the sight of mattresses being brought down and strewn haphazardly across the floor in their living room. When Jungkook finally picks his spot you waste no time in shuffling closer to his mattress. Normally you would keep your distance, allowing him his comfort of solitude to sleep, but you’ve already allowed him plenty of his liberties tonight. You will get something out of this evening if not a simple kiss in the dark. He shocks you by saying nothing as you lay down, your eyes just catching a glimpse of Jae and Jin heading upstairs. Probably to his room to finally earn what she’s worked so hard for. She quickly casts you a thumbs up, a large grin on her face as she tries to keep it unnoticed by anyone else in the room. You return the gesture and chuckle, groaning a bit when you body finally hits the not so comfortable springs. You take a moment to sigh before opening your eyes again and focusing them on the object of your desires.

He’s staring right back at you and your breath catches in your throat, lost in the sea of stars in his eyes. They’re wide and shining, staring so intently at you that you almost don’t take notice to the shine of his lips. Like he’s just licked them a few times. Even in the dim light of the moon that filters in through the windows and the very few lights in the house on you can see them glisten, and your eyes are torn between them and his shining eyes. He looks like a lost puppy staring at you, but there’s more in his eyes. He looks in awe, almost afraid and- dare you say it- a little eager. Like he wants something to happen, but it scares him and that thought alone drives straight to your core. A fire alights inside you and suddenly you’re staring back at him with equally wide eyes, your bottom lip trapped between your teeth. The action immediately draws his large eyes to your mouth and fuck if you don’t almost groan when his tongue pokes out to lick nervously over his lips again.

His mouth parts ever so slightly and you swear you can hear him panting a little over the din of people ambling to where they plan to sleep. Someone plops down directly behind you, their back hitting yours as they shift to get comfortable. You’re right on the edge of the mattress, so this person has to be hanging off the one they’re laying on to be this close to you. And by the feel of how broad their shoulders are it’s definitely a man. Your eyes narrow and you almost growl when Jungkook stiffens in front of you and the man knocks against you again. Your head turns just enough to spot the thin, white shirt he’s wearing stretch over one shoulder before you’re shoving back with your elbow. He grunts when you dig into his back, but says nothing else, only leaning away from the discomfort. He’s clearly wasted. Still, he’s too close to you and taking the great opportunity presented before you, you scoot closer to the apple of your eye. He doesn’t shy away and it takes all your effort not to reach out to him when you finally focus back on him.

“Sorry,” you whisper, scooting just a tiny bit closer than you really need to. He shakes his head quietly, mumbling out an ‘it’s okay’ while his body leans closer to yours. God you want to ravage this sweet boy. It’s practically making your heart explode with how cute he’s being right now. He’d looked away in his response, but when he looks back to you he’s dragging his lip through his teeth and you really can’t take it. Again you two are lost in your own little world as you stare at each other.

“Jungkookie… you’re not being very nice to me right now.”

His eyes widen even further- if that’s even possible- and he looks almost stricken at the comment.

“What?” He manages to almost whimper out and you just can’t stop yourself from scooting even closer to him.

“You’re looking at me so sweetly, baby. How am I supposed to play nice with you tonight if you keep staring at me like that?”

You don’t know where all this confidence is coming from. Granted you’ve always been a bit more confident than the young man in front of you, but even still, you never thought you’d get to a degree where you were saying such flirtatious things in such a dominant tone to him.

“Play… nice?”

The glint changes in your eyes and Jungkook visibly shutters at the sight. Your eyes had been so deep and full of adoration just a moment ago, now all he sees is greed and lust. It makes his already hard cock twitch in his pants. Gods he’s been hard from the moment you called him that nickname- Jungkookie. He generally doesn’t like anyone, but the guys saying it. But every time you say it…

He’s almost scared to feel how excited he’s getting every time you scoot a little bit closer. He doesn’t want you to stop. Not until your body is finally pressed to his and he can hold you so tight, and never let go. He’d hoped something would have happened between you two before tonight, but he was always so scared and you were always so cautious with him. He just wants you to ravage him already. He’s dreamed about it practically every night, it might as well happen already.

“Stop,” you suddenly say and he can feel your fingers on his chin, pulling his lip from between his teeth.

“If you lick or bite your lips one more time,” you have to take a moment to calm yourself before continuing, “… I don’t think I’ll be able to stop myself.”

He throbs in his jeans and when he locks eyes with you he’s lost. He doesn’t want you to stop, he realizes that now after feeling your fingers touch his skin. Fire ignites where they trace from his chin and along his jaw. He trembles beneath your touch and you can feel it. Oh you can feel it. You do the opposite of what you just told him, biting your lip to draw his eyes to them again as you two gravitate ever closer.

“Unless you don’t want me to.”

He doesn’t speak, he feels like he doesn’t know how to in that moment. He doesn’t trust himself to anyway, so he does the next best thing. He licks his lips again and is rewarded. Your fingers that had been running along his jaw suddenly snake into the hair at the nape of his neck and you pull him close. He is just as needy as you are, his hands which had been fiddling with his shirt the whole time are suddenly flying up to tug your bodies even closer. Your lips crash against his and he whimpers into your mouth when you both open them simultaneously, your tongue dragging along his. It takes all your conscious effort not to moan, your body melding itself against his. His arms wrap around you and squeeze you to him, his whimpers turning into a little moan when you gain dominance in the kiss.

You pull away, one of your hands coming back to his jaw to to place a thumb over his open lips. You turn to look back at the bodies laying around the room, most of the members of the fraternity still down here, all of them passed entirely the fuck out. The guy just behind you is snoring up a storm and you can’t help smirking a little when you turn back to face Jungkook. He looks so fucked out already, his eyes glazed and his pupils blown wide as he pants lightly against your thumb. Your smile is both devious and full of fondness as you stare at him.

“You look so good baby, but you have to be quiet for me,” you whisper to him and he does nothing more than open his mouth wider. His tongue snakes out and licks against your thumb, pulling it in and sealing his lips around the appendage. He suckles on it hungrily and gods be damned if your panties aren’t soaked at this point.

“Fuck,” you sigh, squeezing your thighs together. You want him so bad it almost hurts. He pulls away far enough that your thumb pops from his lips and he whimpers once again, pulling you as close as he can.

“Noona, please,” he says, his breath shuddering.

“Please what, baby?”

He grabs one your hands and pulls it down between your bodies, pressing your palm to the bulge in his jeans. Your breathing deepens when you palm the hardness through the thick fabric, wondering how you didn’t notice it before.

“Oh baby,” you coo quietly and rub your hand heavily over his bulge. He bites his lip to hold back the moan threatening to break free and you feel his hips start to rock into your hand. He’s so fucking hot, how have you been able to resist him for so long?

“How long have to been this hard?”

He takes a moment to respond, trying to take deep breaths. Your hand stalls to help him regain some semblance of sanity, but he seems against the idea. His hand returns to gripping yours, pressing your palm back against his hard-on.

“Long time,” he finally gets out in a clipped tone, probably unable to speak properly at this point.

“Poor thing.”

You pull closer to him, pressing your forehead to his and lowering your voice so that you’re barely audible.

“Take your cock out for me, baby. Please.”

He keeps you close and groans into your neck, only taking a moment to collect himself before he’s pushing away, and his hands are flying to undo his pants. He struggles with the button for a moment, but you don’t help him, only leaning back to watch with excitement. When he finally gets them undone he’s tugging them down just enough so he can freely pull is cock out and gods is it beautiful. Your mouth waters as soon as he has it out, its pink color and red head making you want to feel the weight of it on your tongue. It’s not particularly long, but it’s thicker than you thought it would be and the precum that glistens on his tip calls out to you. You let out a heavy breath when his hands hover just shy of his shaft, trembling and aching to give the poor weeping thing some relief. Still he hesitates to touch himself.

Such a good boy.

“You’re so gorgeous,” you practically wheeze out, finding it hard to breathe when your twitching hand finally reaches out for him. He’s whimpering before you even touch him and you have to remind him to be quiet when the tip of your finger goes to touch the head.

“Remember, baby, keep it down.”

He nods a little shakily and just as you press into the precum on his tip with your finger, his hands are flying up to cover his mouth. He’s so sensitive and you love it.

“Well, you’re certainly aching there aren’t you? Does it feel good to have me touch you?”

Again he nods and you pout, swirling your finger in the sticky fluid at his tip. His eyes clench shut at the sensation and he deftly thrusts his hips up to meet more of your hand.

“Use your words or I’ll have to stop.”

“Yes,” he whispers out harshly, his hands clenching into fists at his stomach, “… yes, yes, yes, yes!”

You smirk, the high you’re getting from all of this driving you to carry on.

“Good boy.”

You continue to swirl your finger over his tip a few more times, widening your circle until you’re sliding your finger down the top of his length, all the way to the base. He pants a little too heavily, his eyes glued to your hand and what you’re doing to him. You circle around his base to the bottom of his cock before dragging your finger back up and rubbing it deftly over the slit a few times.

“Fuck noona-“

“Language, Jungkookie.” You say with a smirk, your hand finally flattening over the underside of his length so you can palm him a few times. His hips rock against his will and meet you half way every time you press down on him. He looks so pretty like this, his eyes nearly black and so focused on how your palm drags over his length. He’s sweating a little, panting a lot and his gorgeous cock is ready to explode at any second. And you’ve barely even done anything to him yet.

“What made you so hard and needy like this?”

He stays silent for a long moment, only answering when the pressure of your hand lightens and you begin to pull away.

“You… you made me like this. You always… make me like this.”

Always?

“Fuck, Kookie, if you had told me sooner we might’ve actually got it in tonight.”

His eyes are glistening at this point as they shoot up to glance at you before scrunching shut when your fingers finally wrap around his shaft. You pump him slowly, but his hips make up for that and keep the sliding of his cock in and out of your hand at a steady pace.

“I wanted to. Fuck I wanted to, but…”

“But?”

He pants a few times, focused more on chasing his high. Your grip on his cock tightens to the point that he’s forced to stop thrusting, only allowing him to continue when he answers.

“I-I was scared. And you were being so cautious with me-“

“Of course I was! I didn’t want to scare you away. I worked too hard for you, I wasn’t going to mess that up by being too greedy.”

His hips stutter and then pause, his eyes opening to look at you. His face is flush, you can tell even in the dark, and his hair is starting to stick to his face. Still he looks like the sexiest, most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen.

“Why?”

“What?” You ask, not prepared to be questioned back like this.

“Why did you put so much effort into me. You could’ve easily slept with one of the other guys. Yoongi’s always had the hots for you. So has Tae. Why me?”

You take a long moment to mull over your answer, your other hand coming up to push some of his sweaty hair out of his face. When you get some clear, you lean in to kiss him a little more gently this time. Though it isn’t any less heated, it’s more of a deep sensual kiss than one of hunger and lust. When you pull away, you look him in the eyes when you answer.

“The same reason anyone chooses anyone else. You’re the one I wanted, Kookie. I would’ve put in a hundred years of work if I had to.”

His eyes are wide with adoration and awe, but the moment can’t last forever. His cock twitching in your hand reminds you of what is happening and you squeeze it gently before going back to pumping him. He gasps quietly at the sensation, his eyes falling closed and his body slowly starting to roll backwards. You move with him, pressing your body into his side when he’s finally laying flat on his back. His hands are clenching and unclenching against his stomach, desperate for some kind of anchor. A thought pings into your mind while you watch him grasp sporadically at his shirt, releasing his cock and pushing both his hands and the shirt up his abdomen. He whines at the loss of contact, lifting his head to see why you’d stopped stroking him only for his eyes to go wide. He looks a bit panicked, his gaze darting around to the half dead bodies around you two. You could so easily be caught, but most of the occupants of the house were completely wasted and would likely never remember this even if they did see it.

You slide down his body quietly, stealthily, like a cat taunting its prey into the shadows. Your eyes catch his and they hold him, their mischief so palpable that it makes Jungkook’s mouth go dry and his cock pulsate so fiercely it taps against his stomach. Your one hand trails down his side lightly, nails tickling his hip and thigh so that he’s shuddering beneath you. He reaches for you, one hand cupping your cheek- wants to tell you to stop, but his throat is so dry he can’t even whisper. Or perhaps he’s lying to himself and doesn’t want you to stop at all. When you quirk an eyebrow in question and you feel the object of your desire tap against your throat with another needy pulse, you know the answer is no, he doesn’t want you to stop.

A trembling whisper of your name leaves his lips and you can only smirk, tilting your head down to kiss just above his navel and then to one side of it. Down, down, further you trail, your kisses getting sloppier as you descend closer to your target. Your tongue and teeth leave wet, rosy patches as you go and you can feel his muscles quivering every time you touch him until finally the desperately red tip of his cock is right in front of you. He whimpers beneath you and you shush him gently, unable to tear your eyes away from the way it pulses and twitches up towards you.

“Please,” he finally lets out, sounding much like he’s on the verge of tears. You smirk again and glance up at him through your lashes.

“Please what, baby?”

He huffs cutely, his other hand cupping the other side of your face and his thumbs smoothing along your cheekbones like he’s so desperate to just pull you into his cock, but doesn’t want to be too demanding. You smile a bit more when his look gets more and more frantic, one of your arms reaching up to rub his chest under his shirt soothingly.

“Relax, my sweet star. Just tell me what you want and I’ll give it to you.”

“P-please…”

“Go on, baby. I know you want it, just tell me.”

“Please, I want your mouth,” he finally shutters out, but you can’t help yourself and push just a bit more.

“What do you want from my mouth?”

He huffs again and looks away, searching the room to make sure everyone there is truly oblivious.

“I-I want…”

“Want?”

“Please, noona, ravage me with your mouth.”

He looks you directly in the eyes as he finishes and the glee that soars through you practically makes you light headed. You grin broadly at him and bite your lip.

“I’ll give you anything you want, bunny. You just have to ask.”

Before he can really bask in your words you focus back on his cock, the hand that had been trying to soothe him shooting down to wrap gently round his base and lead his head to your waiting tongue. His breath shudders out and his mouth opens to let out a rush of air. The precum leaking from his tip covers your tongue in salt, but you don’t mind, all too desperate to feel the full weight of him at the back of your throat. Still you take your time, only licking at his slit to tease him, another droplet of precum oozing out every time to you do.

He’s panting while he watches you, his hands trembling on your face until one shakily weaves into your hair at the crown of your head. He doesn’t grip or pull, doesn’t try to shove more of his cock into your mouth which is what you’re used to. No, he’s too gentle and sweet to force anything. He only wants and lets you lead the way. When you finally wrap you lips around his tip he can’t hold back the noise, his head falling back, his teeth digging into his bottom lip and what he hopes is a quiet moan leaving him. And you can only smirk at the sound, the subtle shudder in his voice making you even more wet and your stomach clench with desire.

You take the time to generously wet the head of his cock, delighting in its twitches while you swirl your tongue around him. When you pop him from your lips the poor thing looks pathetic, practically weeping in your fingers and you feel all too obliged to take him back in. Only this time you take him all in, or at least as much as you can. You suck him all the way to the back of your throat, moaning quietly around his shaft so he can feel the vibrations. And oh does it make him make the most wonderful of sounds. A surprised cry and the slapping of a hand over his mouth (the one that was lightly stroking his fingers along your cheek) has you trying to smile around him.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck-…”

He lets the mantra trail off quietly, his body arched so you can’t see his face anymore. And as much as you adore the sight of him losing control, you’d much rather see the pleasure on said face. You suck harshly and pull off him, letting him once again pop from your lips. You take care to pump him slowly while you speak, you spit slicking his cock enough that there’s little friction.

“Look at me baby.”

It takes him a few moments, but you wait patiently until he realizes you gave him an order and he follows through. He looks a little lost when he finally locks eyes with you, his gaze a little wild like he can’t really see you at first.

“Noona?”

“Are you with me, sweetheart?”

He looks confused, but nods all the same, probably ready to agree to anything at this point.

“Listen carefully, baby. I want you to look at me the whole time. Don’t you dare look away or I’ll stop, okay? Eyes on me.”

He nods deftly, afraid he won’t be able to fulfill your request, but eagerly wanting to please you.

“Good boy.”

You don’t give him any time to prepare himself and suck him back in as far as he’ll go. He wheezes and squeezes his eyes shut for just a moment, quickly remembering your order and opening them back up to focus on you again. You smirk around his cock to let him know you approve and focus back on your task. When you can’t push him any further down your throat you opt to bob your head, one hand stroking what you can’t swallow and the other massaging his balls. You look up every few seconds to make sure he’s still watching and only have to stop once to make him look at your again. The sloppier his cock and your mouth gets the more he shakes and shudders beneath you, the hand in your hair trembling like a leaf in the wind. He keeps his other hand up by his face, ready to cover his mouth every time he can’t hold back a whimper or moan.

It doesn’t take long, only a few minutes and he’s desperately pleading to you, “I’m cumming, I’m cumming, I-“

You push him in as far as you can take and swallow around him just once before he’s shooting his load down your throat. Tears form in his eyes when he squeezes them shut and you can’t fault him when his head falls back onto the mattress. He did such a good job of watching you, you’ll let him have this one. When the last of his cum is swallowed down, you take care to gently clean what you can off his cock with your tongue. He shakes and gasps beneath you as you do, his head shaking back and forth as if to say he can’t take anymore. You pop off him one last time and kiss his tip softly, grinning when he finally cracks his eyes open to look at you.

He looks madly in love while he stares at you and it makes you somewhat nervous to see such intense emotion in his eyes. You lift yourself and crawl back up his body, pausing to help him pull his pants back up and his shirt back down. You hush him when he tries to button and zip everything back up, pushing his weak and tired hands away.

“No one will notice, just rest baby.”

“Well that was hot.”

You freeze over him, Jungkook’s body going rigid and his eyes widening with fear. You both look over your shoulder and spot Yoongi a small ways away from the foot of your mattress, laying on his side with his head propped up in one hand. He’s smirking at the two of you and while Jungkook looks mortified, you only feel proud. Now someone has witness that Jungkook is yours and no one else can have him.

“Hyung,” he whispers harshly, both his hands coming up to cover his face. You smile fondly at your boy before looking back to Yoongi.

“Well if you’re good and keep this to yourself, maybe next time you can join us.”

Yoongi quirks an eyebrow and grins excitedly, Jungkook letting out a panicked noise when you settle in beside him. He whispers to you quietly as if he doesn’t want Yoongi to hear and you only shush him gently to calm him.

“Lay down and rest, bunny. Don’t worry about him, he’ll keep quiet.”

“But-“

“Shh, sleep.”

You run your fingers through his hair until he finally settles down, turning so that he can wrap himself around you and tuck his head under your chin. You chuckle lovingly and continue to pet him, using your free hand to flip Yoongi off when he makes lewd gestures at you in the dark.

[libsterslobsters]

Whole Lotta Love

Synopsis: For some people, Valentine’s Day is another word for "stress", especially when you don't know what the other person is expecting. Several years into their relationship, Bucky’s pretty sure he has a good understanding of the Reader, until a word from Sam makes him question everything he thinks he knows. The race is on to make their first Valentine’s Day since saying their vows a special one, but as per usual, fate has it's own ideas about what will make the holiday truly memorable

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Fem! Enhanced! Super-soldier Reader

(Reader can see bits and pieces of the future in visions as well as speak every language)

Warnings: Smut, Fluff

Author's note: This fic contains references to earlier stories. For more information, click the series masterlist link. As always, the reader is unnamed so that this can be read as a self-insert, but at this point, I think of her as an OC.

The song referenced is Hearts Don't Break Around Here by Ed Sheeran

Series Masterlist

A The Song Remains The Same Fic

---------‐-----------------------------------

“So, Valentine’s Day.”

Bucky doesn’t look up from his laptop (or more specifically, the field report he’s typing) at Sam’s words. Despite his concentration, he can tell that his partner is staring at him, boring holes into his back with his gaze.

“Uh-huh.” He’s listening, but so far, he doesn’t care.

“What are you doing for it?” For Valentine’s day? Um…

“Not much.” It’s a Tuesday this year, right? Then probably working, like most other people, he’d imagine.

The room is silent as he types, so Bucky assumes that settles the matter. That is, until Sam mutters a quiet, “You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me.”

“About what?” How many paragraphs does he have to type before he can pass this off as a full report? When he joined the Avengers, he thought the hardest part of his job would be the bad guy of the week, not doing paperwork!

“You’re really not doing anything for Valentine’s Day? Seriously?” He nods absentmindedly and clicks the save icon. He’ll finish this tomorrow. It’s five o’clock. Time to head home. Home to-

“What’s your wife gonna think about that?” He shrugs and cuts the power to the laptop.

“She thinks that the whole holiday is a rip-off. See you Monday?” He turns around for confirmation, only to catch Sam staring at him, mouth hanging wide open. “What?”

“A rip-off?” Is he just going to be stuck repeating himself?

“Yep.” Told him that the first February 14th they spent together.

“And you actually believed her?”

He nods. “She’s not one to lie.”

Sam nods incredulously. “Uh-huh. And are you planning to ever have sex again?”

He’s not going to dignify that with an answer (because really, isn’t it obvious?).

“Fine.” Sam shrugs. “You do you, man. All I’m saying is, if I had a wife who looked like that-” he indicates the lock screen of Bucky’s phone (a picture of her laughing, telling him to put away the damn camera after wrestling the dog for the tie to her favorite robe). “-I’d have my V-day plans set up a month in advance.”

Normally Bucky would take what Sam says with a grain of salt, but he is after all a man out of time, so maybe it’s worth considering that his partner may be right.

“What would you suggest I do?”

“Outside of the bedroom?” He narrows his eyes at the Falcon. “Okay, bad joke.” Sam scratches at the back of his head, thinking. “I don’t know, man. That’s your girl. You know her best, but flowers are always a good place to start.” Good to know that hasn’t changed since the 1940s. Although, last time he brought her flowers, she spent the afternoon sneezing until he eventually convinced her that it was okay, he wouldn’t be offended, she should throw the damn things out. Then again, that was before she was a super soldier.

“Flowers.” He repeats, earning a nod from Sam.

“You can get creative. Do a little research. But I’m just saying, when a woman waits five years for you to reappear, the least she deserves is a few flowers.” On that, they can agree.

He must bid Sam some sort of goodbye and make his way through the Avengers compound, but he’s unaware of anything until he’s in the parking lot, sitting behind the wheel of his car, googling “What to do for your wife on Valentine’s Day.” There’s a web page that boasts twenty different selections. Might as well give it a look.

___________________________________________________________________________________

She’s nearly home when her phone dings with a text from Barnes. “Just got in. Forgot to get milk. Can you swing by on your way, or should I go to the gas station and pick up a gallon?” A frown forms on her face. It’s pretty rare that Bucky forgets things. Must’ve been a hell of a day at work, then. Either that, or his brain has completely turned to mush thanks to typing out field reports. Either way-

“I got it. See you in twenty.” She thinks about tacking on a “love you”, but the light turns green before she can.

The grocery store is packed thanks to so many people getting off work. There’s only three carts left, all with bad wheels. She chooses the least squeaky option and, grabbing an add on her way, heads into the grocery store. Milk, and if she remembers right from this morning, they’re running dangerously low on coffee and tea. Despite caffeine having absolutely no effect on their enhanced bodies, both of them are nightmares to be around in the mornings without their beverages of choice. Force of habit and all.

She’s halfway to the checkout when she sees it. A sign, decorated in garish shades of red, pink, and purple. “All Valentine’s Day chocolates 10% off.” Shit. Yeah, that is coming up. To tell the truth, she’d completely forgot all about that day halfway through February. For most of her life, it only meant giving homemade cards at school when most kids had store-bought. Then, once she reached adulthood, it was a reminder that she was destined to be alone. Who would want someone who’s on the run, and what’s more, sees the future? Once she and Barnes got together, it didn’t change much. That first Valentine’s Day, he mentioned the holiday, and she shut it down immediately. They were both broke (or at least, he had no legitimate way of making money while she was broke), and celebrating a mostly commercial holiday seemed like a waste. Plus, she didn’t want to put a strain on a new relationship. Over the years, the subject never came up again, and she’s content for it to stay a non-starter, thank you very much. In her opinion, you should show your partner you love them every day of the year, not shoe-horn it into one twenty-four hour period. Call her unromantic if you must.

She’s completely immune to the various displays of cheap chocolate in heart-shaped boxes and overly sentimental cards as she approaches the register and starts to unload her items. Milk. Tea. That one specific brand of coffee that he likes because, “It tastes like what we drank in basic training. Terrible, but I kinda got used to it, so now everything else tastes like it’s trying too hard.” whatever that means. He’s right; she’s tasted it, and it’s fucking awful. Still, every morning, he drinks at least three cups while she drains her pot of tea.

“You got a hot date for Valentine’s Day, hun?” The cashier asks her, never breaking her rhythm as she rings up the items.

She chuckles. “As a matter of fact, yes.” The cashier’s eye go wide, and she holds up her left hand. “And every other day.”

“Ooh, nice. How long have you been together?”

“Nine years.” Wait… “Or four years, depending on which of us you ask. He blipped, I stayed.”

The cashier nods. “So are you older than him now?”

Physically? They’re not completely sure, but if you calculate the times he was off the ice with HYDRA and add that to the age he was before the serum, then they’re not far off. But chronologically- “No, he’s still older.” And yes, it will always be funny that Sam responds with “Okay, boomer” whenever Bucky makes an outdated reference (even if he’s off by a good twenty years).

With a little more light chatter, she pays for her items and leaves. Now, for home.

As soon as she opens the front door, she’s greeted by their dog, Sarge, barking excitedly and hopping around like he’s on a trampoline despite missing a leg. Bucky’s not far behind, placing a quick peck on her forehead before taking the bags from her and unloading them in the kitchen. Tonight’s his night to cook, but unless her nose has suddenly decided to give out, he hasn’t started dinner yet. She doesn’t mind taking over tonight, and when he sheepishly apologizes while she begins her preparations, she brushes it off. Although, for the second time in an hour, she’s seen proof of his unusual absentmindedness. Oh well. She’ll ask him about it later.

Despite being relieved from tonight’s chef duties, Bucky stays in the kitchen, sitting at the breakfast bar scrolling through his phone as she cooks. His expression is neutral, which can mean one of two things; a) he’s just killing time and there aren’t any interesting posts or articles vying for his attention, or at the opposite end of the spectrum, b) he’s deep in thought, possibly angry, sad, or even frightened, but he’s gone into Winter Soldier mode and shut down so that she won’t pick up on his mood. Damn the man and his poker face.

Eventually dinner is served and she sends him off toward the fridge in search of two beers while she serves their plates. Just as she’s spooning a generous helping of salad into her bowl, it happens. A vision, but a limited one. All she’s seeing is a phone. Well, that and the hand holding it. She’s not sure whether to be proud or embarrassed that she immediately recognizes the hand as Bucky’s, but that goes by the wayside as she takes in the article he’s reading. “Should you do something for Valentine’s Day even is she says no?” It’s a thread on some anonymous discussion board. The reply that has his attention is in reference to a now divorced individual who “was dumb enough to believe that, on our first V-Day as a married couple, she didn’t want anything.” Oh boy. Not good. This will be their first Valentine’s Day since exchanging vows, and if the fact that he’s read this reply (if not already read, will read soon) means that it’s at least crossed his radar that she might be feeding him bullshit. That’s not the case, but after his research, she knows from experience that no matter how much she tries to convince him otherwise, a small part of his mind will be stuck on, “But what if this is a big deal?” Which means-

“Doll, are you just gonna stand there with the salad tongs in your hand?” That snaps her out of it.

“No. Just a vision.” He frowns as she passes him his plate.

“Anything important happen?” Should she say?

“No.” She’s not sure if the smile or not, so she takes a bite from her roll to cover it. “Random sneak peek.” It’s not a lie. What she saw really isn’t important. Still, if he’s in that mindset, she should probably go on and do something for him just in case. After all, why should it only be the ladies who reap this holiday’s benefits?

___________________________________________________________________________________

Not flowers. That’s the one thing that, after copious amounts of research Bucky is one hundred percent certain about. They may still be a common romantic gift, but since they were also a go-to back when he was courting girls in the 1940s, it’s safe to say they’ve been overdone. Plus, he doesn’t really want to remind her of that time she had such a severe allergic reaction to the flowers he picked her on a walk through the park in Bucharest that her eyes nearly swelled shut and she sneezed herself sick. That doesn’t exactly seem like prime romance.

Chocolates or other candies have the same issues as flowers. Contrived and predictable. A bottle of wine is nice, but neither of them can so much as get mildly tipsy thanks to the super serum. The fourteenth is his day to cook, so he guesses he could do some reading and try to create something a little more special than spaghetti (he thought about going to a nice restaurant for dinner, but there’s a few issues with that, not the least of which is they’re likely to be recognized without their disguises, and he’d rather not look at his wife through sunglasses on Valentine’s day), but that seems a little underwhelming.

As he loads the dishwasher (she fell asleep half-way through the third episode of whichever nonsensical comedy they’re watching this week, so he sneaked back downstairs to clean up the dinner dishes), he thinks back to the dozen separate articles he read on the subject of Valentine’s Day gifts. Jewelry was a common theme, but that’s out. She’ll say thank you to his face, but worry about the cost behind his back. Plus, he has absolutely no idea what she’d like, and there’s no sense in purchasing something only for her to hate it.

Another common one was lingerie. Bucky almost choked on his tongue when he saw some of the examples given with that option. None of it looked comfortable (in fact, he’s still scratching his head about how you even put on one of the pieces that popped up on the web page) and he doesn’t want to give her the impression that she has to dress up for him. Even putting all that aside, he has no idea what size she’d even wear. He likes to think that he knows his wife pretty well, but somehow, in all their years together, it never occurred to him to ask her for her clothing sizes. That, and have you even seen the bra sizing system? Does it make sense to anyone, because to Bucky, it’s all gibberish. 32 B? 36 DD? What the hell? Somehow, when HYDRA was training him to extract information, they failed to go over the translation of a woman’s bra size. He supposes he could ask, but he’s not sure there’s a non-suspicious way to work, “Hey, sweetheart. What size are your breasts?” into casual conversation.

Sam said to get creative, so he tried to think outside the box. What’s something she really needs? A new vacuum cleaner is the first thing to come to mind, but he’s not stupid enough to think that would make a good gift. He knows she’s had her eye on a set of throwing stars, but that doesn’t seem to correlate well with what this holiday is all about. That’ll keep until her birthday.

He’s still wracking his brain for anything at all that might work when he feels a wet nose poking at his hand. Sarge. “Hey, boy. Has your mom gone to bed?” The response is a quiet “woof” and lick to his palm. He scratches the mutt behind the ears, smiling to himself as Sarge’s back leg thumps at the treatment.

“What do you think we should get our girl? Huh?” There’s no reply (of course not, he’s talking to a dog), but he nods, pretending all the same that Sarge has offered up a suggestion. “A bone. Yeah, somehow I don’t think that’s her thing. Try again.” The dog blinks at him lazily. “No, you’re the one who wants new tennis balls. Not Mom. Although you’re right about her liking peanut butter.” At this rate, he might as well get her a bone and some tennis balls, because he’s sure not coming up with any ideas.

She likes music. The thought pops into his head while he’s brushing his teeth. All sorts of music. Over the years, he’s tried to make sense of the songs he’s heard her listen to, but has yet to find a discernible pattern in her listening habits. She doesn’t seem to stick to just one genre or era. More like she picks songs by how they relate to what she’s feeling at the moment. Wait a second-

“A mixtape.” His reflection mouths the words back at him. Despite technology having moved on from the days of burning CDs, she still has a thick stack of the disks stored in a cabinet and plays them on the regular. He’s even seen a few that she made herself, pasting together the songs she likes to make a “Cleaning mix”, “Workout Mix” and “Pissed off Mix”. Bucky’s sure he could figure out how to burn a CD, but it’s not like she’d be able to listen to that everywhere she went. That leaves a playlist. She uses one of those apps to listen to music on her phone, right? Surely he can put something together for her using that.

Quietly, he climbs into bed next to his sleeping wife and pulls her back against his chest, slinging one arm over her waist as usual. He closes his eyes, but his mind is alight with activity. A playlist. Of course. He’ll put some extra effort into whatever he cooks that night, stop by a bakery and pick up some sweet treats for dessert. Hell, maybe they’ll both dress up and act like they’re on a date. Then, once they’re sitting down to their meal, he’ll pull out his phone and hit play. It’s perfect. At least, he hopes it is.

___________________________________________________________________________________

Putting on a lacy bra and panties set underneath her regular work attire seemed like a brilliant idea this morning. Today’s a short day; she’s only got three classes to teach, and Rhodey called last night to tell Bucky that he’s suspending work hours at three pm “Since most people have holiday preparations to make.” Her plan was to be waiting on the sofa in the living room when he arrives home, professional button-down blouse open just enough for him to get a good look at what’s underneath, pencil skirt pushed up enough to reveal the stockings and garters she’s donned for the occasion. It’s fun, with just enough cheesiness to match this whole holiday. And, well, it’s a guarantee that by the end of the night they’ll be in bed together, both rumpled, sweaty, and satisfied. Perfect, right?

Wrong. On her drive to work, her skimpy underwear began to ride up, giving her a wedgie, and there was no way to adjust without running the risk of wrecking. She was so distracted by her discomfort that she missed her exit, and by the time she arrived at the college, she was running so behind that she didn’t get the chance to run to the bathroom and readjust. Her lecture on sentence diagrams was pure torture before the underwire from her bra decided to join in the fun and poke her directly in the ribs, but with that addition, she was especially impatient with her students’ tendency to joke around a little too much in class.

Luckily, she had just enough time to wrap the exposed metal bit in tissues before her next class, which eliminated the pain in her chest, but did nothing to alleviate the discomfort once her stockings began to slide down, having at some point disconnected themselves from the garters. She taught like that for the next two classes, but as soon as they were over, she pealed the whole ensemble off in the teacher’s restroom and changed into her gym clothes. Alright, screw the whole seduction routine. She needs to blow off some steam and fast, or else she’ll be in a bad mood all night.

That’s why, thirty minutes later, she finds herself in the training room of the Avengers compound, working over a punching bag. “Fuck-” Her fist connects, making the bag swing crazily from it’s hook. “-this- whole- day!” It goes sailing, and she feels a little better.

“Ouch!” The voice comes from behind her and she whirls around, gaze resting on-

“Sam.” The man in question holds up his hands in an “I surrender” gesture.

“Don’t shoot! I come in peace.” Rolling her eyes, she holds up her middle finger, receiving a snicker in acknowledgment.

“Just working off a little frustration before I head home.”

“Good.” Sam chuckles. “’cause otherwise, I’d be worried that when Barnes pulls out his dick tonight, you’ll bite it off.” She thinks about telling him that there’s no chance of that, but she might just cut off his if he crosses her. However, that jogs her memory.

“Has he left yet?” Sam nods.

“About an hour ago. Said he had to pick up groceries.” Shit. There goes her plan to shower, throw the damn lingerie back on and proceed as planned.

Bidding Sam a hasty reply, she makes tracks towards her car and, once inside, heads for home. Fine. New plan. She’ll shower once she arrives and then when the evening is drawing to a close, wait for him in bed. Nodding to herself, she puts the car in park and climbs out. Now, to psych herself up enough in the next few hours to put the damn lingerie back on.

___________________________________________________________________________________

Where did he go wrong? It takes all of Bucky’s self control not to spit out the spoonful of sauce he just tasted. This was supposed to be an easy recipe for Chicken Alfredo (or at least, that’s what the website boasted; he should’ve known better than to get his information from the internet and stuck to a good old-fashioned cookbook from the library). Not… whatever the hell this is. Maybe even if the sauce is nauseating, the chicken is okay?

He pulls open the oven door, and immediately smoke billows out, making his eyes water. Okay, chicken’s a little well-done. Who is he kidding? Black. The chicken is burned black. And the pasta… he lifts the pot lid and stirs, only to come to the realization that the pasta is completely stuck to the bottom of the pot. Wonderful.

It’s inevitable; over the years, he’s had his fair share of cooking disasters, but usually he does okay. Tonight though… who the hell up there did he piss off, because the only explanation for how badly this is going is his karma coming due.

Still holding the offending spoon, he looks over at Sarge, who’s staring at him, long pink tongue sticking out as he pants. “Trust me, boy. You don’t want any of this.” There has to be something else he can pull together on short notice. Normally he’d be worried that she’s running late without so much as a text, but today he’s relieved. At least if she’s running behind he’ll have time to… what? Maybe order takeout? Before she gets-

“I’m home.” Shit.

Sarge yips, shaking with excitement, and starts towards the kitchen door, then turns back, uncertain. “Go on. I know you’re dying to jump on her and lick her face.” Something they really should be training out of him because he’s getting too big for that sort of behaviour but, well… there’s a reason they call them “puppy dog eyes.”

Not needing to be coaxed, the dog takes off, tripping a little in the momentary lapse in his memory that he’s a tripod, but easily catches himself and goes on his merry way, leaving Bucky to clean up his mess. From the sound of things, a game of fetch is going on in the living room, so she should be distracted for a while.

He manages to pour the sauce down the drain and scrape most of the pasta into the trash while Sarge is acting as a decoy, but there’s absolutely no way he can dispose of the chicken without tipping her off (damn enhanced senses, it’s a wonder she hasn’t already smelled it). Finally, he decides to just go for it. She’s going to notice whether he throws it out now or two hours from now. Might as well get a head start on cleaning.

Sure enough, not ten seconds after he empties out the oven, he catches a movement in his peripheral vision, and the familiar sound of her breathing tips him off that he’s no longer alone.

“Hey, Doll.”

“Hey, Bucky. Did something burn in here, or-” He holds up the pan for her inspection before continuing his scraping.

“That’s one way to put it, yeah.” He slams the lid back on the trashcan and turns on the tap, intent on rinsing out the pan. “Another is whoever the god of culinary arts is has it in for me today.”

She chuckles. “You know, that would be funnier if we didn’t actually know a god.”

“Yeah, but he’s in control of thunder.” He meets her eyes, smirking slightly. “Although it did look like I electrocuted the bird.” Her lips quirk up into a smile, and he takes the opportunity to kiss her, cupping the back of her head gently to hold her in place when she tries to move away, muttering something about being sweaty.

He’s not entirely sure how it happened, but by the time they come up for air, her back his pressed against the wall and he’s got her pinned in place. Not that he’s complaining.

“Anyone ever tell you that the tip of your nose turns pink after you’ve been kissed?’ Her cheeks go rosey in response.

“I think so. One guy did. I told him it’s only when I’m kissed properly.”

He really would like to continue the playful banter, but there’s still the small matter of whatever it is they’re going to eat.

“What do you feel like for dinner tonight?”

“Apart from electrocuted chicken?” He responds with a swat to her ass, which earns him a snicker. “Let’s keep it simple. Pizza. Your choice of toppings.” Right, that’s easy enough. Plus, if they have to wait longer than thirty minutes, it’s free.

“Okay. I’ll order while you shower?”

“Sounds like a plan.”

He’s just pulled up the menu on his phone when the sound of her clearing her throat attracts his attention. She’s standing in the doorway, combing through her freshly let down hair with her fingers, a playful look in her eyes.

“Or you could join me. Just a mild suggestion.”

Dinner can wait for a while.

___________________________________________________________________________________

The Brooklyn townhouse they live in has many nice features. There’s a functional if small screened in back porch, big enough to hold a table for two and a grill. Two bedrooms, on the off chance someone from work needs to crash for a night or two. A kitchen with a dishwasher. A working fireplace. Good closet space. And an en suite bathroom.

Maybe it’s a little ridiculous to call a bathroom luxurious, especially when, in comparison to what’s featured in many brownstones, it’s more than modest, but she can’t help but think of it as such. There’s a double sink so that in the morning rush to get ready, Bucky’s able to shave and brush his teeth without having to wait for her to finish applying her makeup. Shelving above the toilet makes certain that even if the last person to shower took the towel with them, another one is on hand. Speaking of the shower, it’s not the largest one in the world, but both of them can fit in comfortably at the same time, which is what’s lead to their current situation.

She’s just finished allowing the water to course over her body, easing the sweat from her skin, and is about to begin the process of washing her hair, scrubbing her body, but she hesitates. She might as well ask. It’s only practical after all.

“Do you want to start now or get cleaned up and have dinner beforehand?” It’s obvious what she’s referring to, so she doesn’t bother to spell it out.

His brown knits, and if she didn’t know him as… intimately… as she does, she’d actually believe he’s confused.

“Oh, so you’re just assuming there’s gonna be sex involved at some point tonight?”

She shrugs, wringing out her hair.

“Seemed like a safe enough bet.” She glances pointedly between the two of them. “After all, we’re already undressed. “

His laugh is a quiet huff, barely discernible over the sound of the water. “Then I’d say start now, have dinner, then go for round two. Sound about right to you?”

She nods. “Solid plan.”

“Then get over here.”

Unlike the welcome home kiss they shared not half an hour ago, this one is less tender, more electric. Hands twist in hair, bodies press together. Tongues begging for entrance quickly give way to teeth nipping at bottom lips, an unspoken sparring match for who’ll be in control this time around. Ultimately he wins, grasping her hips and lifting as she wraps her legs securely around his back.

There’s no need for prep; the teasing of their earlier words is foreplay enough. Back pressed against the wall, her body easily welcomes him in as she braces one arm against the glass shower doors for balance. Any concerns about slipping and falling wash away as they move together like so many times before. She’s sure her nails will leave marks on his back, fingertips digging in for purchase and it’s a guarantee her hips will be littered with fingerprints from his grip, but she can’t find it in her to care, and if the desperate, bruising kiss assaulting her lips is anything to judge from, neither can he.

“So damn good, Doll.” It’s panted against her neck. “Always. So damn perfect for me.” All she can manage is a moan in response.

She feels him twitch inside of her and knows he’s close. So is she, but she can’t quite get there without-

As if he’s read her mind, he reaches between them to touch her where she needs it most, and on instinct, she readjusts, locking her arm around his neck to stay in place. “Let go, sweetheart. Can you do that for me?” She couldn’t disobey if she wanted to.

“Fuck.” As her walls contract around him, he pulls out just in time to paint her middle with his release.

“That’s one word for it.” She’s still fighting to catch her breath, but she shoots him a shaky smirk, which he returns.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, Mrs. Barnes.” Snickering, she releases him to stand on unsteady legs and pecks his legs.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, Mr. Barnes.” Maybe there’s something to this holiday after all.

___________________________________________________________________________________

“You want the last slice?” Bucky considers it for a moment before deciding-

“Nah. You can have it.” It may not be exactly what he planned, but it’s been a good night. Between the two of them, they’ve gone through two large pizzas while watching the new version of Beauty and the Beast (she rolled her eyes when he asked if this was her way of saying he reminds her of a certain hairy, horned character) in their pajamas.

“No, really. You take it. I don’t want it.” She nudges the mostly-empty pizza box towards him. The noise makes Sarge lift his head from where he was snoozing beside her on the sofa. That gives him an idea.

“I don’t want it either, but I can think of someone who does.” He cocks his head towards the now-drooling dog. “How ‘bout it, boy? Wanna help us out?”

Snickering, she picks the pepperonis and pieces of sausage and ham from the pizza, forming a pile. “Here, Sarge. Catch.” She tosses a coveted treat in the air, and Sarge’s jaw snaps, swallowing it whole. “Good boy.”

They sit in comfortable silence for a few minutes before she speaks again.

“You know, I actually did have something planned for you.”

“Oh, yeah?” She nods.

“Absolutely. Had a whole seduction plan laid out. Tiny underwear, lacy bra, and stockings with garters included.” Huh. Guess she wouldn’t have taken the “lingerie” option the wrong way. He’ll file that away for future use… along with a mental note to ask her bra size. “That is, until I tried wearing the damn things for longer than an hour. Turns out, hiding a dirty secret under your clothes is more itchy than sexy.”

He can’t help it. He laughs, producing a pout from her which quickly turns into her own quiet laughter.

“Well, that fits in perfectly with my fancy dinner going up in smoke.”

“We really do have shitty luck with the whole “romance” thing.” She’s joking, but he decides to respond anyway.

“I don’t know about that.” Entwining his fingers with hers, he lifts their hands, twin wedding bands catching the light. “You waited five years for me to reappear after the blip, and I convinced you to elope with me. Seems pretty romantic.” Although, that reminds him…

“Don’t move.” Releasing her hand, he stands and goes in search of his phone.

“Bucky, what-”

“Don’t move, Doll. Stay right where you are.” Ah. On the kitchen counter, just where he left it. Jogging back into the room, he resumes his place on the couch next to her. Ignoring her questioning gaze, he pulls up the app and, selecting the correct playlist, hits play.

Immediate recognition blooms on her face at the opening lyrics. “She is the sweetest thing that I know. Should see the way she holds me when the lights go low.” He’s not one for modern music, but when he was googling “songs for Valentine’s Day” and this one popped up, he couldn’t help but think that the lyrics were fitting.

“I didn’t know you’d heard this one.”

He chuckles. “Even old men have a few tricks up their sleeves. That, and a wifi connection.” She rolls her eyes but leans closer, which he takes advantage of to show her the playlist.

“This is the app you use, right?” Receiving a nod, he continues. “Feel free to scroll through and add whatever you want. I haven’t listened to all of them the whole way through, but they seemed to fit the mood.”

Her hand closes over his, covering the phone. “Thank you, Bucky. It’s perfect.”

As the singer goes on about how hearts don’t break around here, he presses his lips against hers.

“I love you, Doll.”

“Love you.”

Not bad for a disastrous Valentine’s Day. Not bad at all.

[13dead-ends]

Chapter Four - Worries

Henry Cavill x Named OC

Chapter Four of Blood Bound

Summary: Nina’s figuring out she cares a lot more about Henry than she first realized and maybe, just maybe, Henry likes her too.

Word Count: 6k

Warnings: mentions of blood, blood drinking, wrist biting/wounds, SMUT, female masturbation, swearing.

A/N: I got this chapter done so fast yay! don’t expect that to become normal though. And as always thank you to @hellcaster901​ for always reading my workt before I post it. Enjoy! :) 

I flung myself on to my bed, ready to go sleep. Staying out at the party so late last night and getting up early today to talk to Irene had caught up to me. Well, it caught up to me when I took a three-hour nap at noon, but now I was ready to sleep for the night. I got under my covers and plugged my phone in. I set it down in my bedside table only to pick up again as it began ringing. I almost rolled my eyes until I saw Henry’s name on the screen.

“Hello?”

“Nina, hi.” His voice was low and sweet in my ear. “Did I wake you up?”

“No, I’m awake.” I laid on my back and my head sunk in my pillow. “What’s up?”

“I just wanted to call you. You forgot to come see me before you left the party last night.

“Oh my god, I did! I’m sorry!” Kari had gotten me distracted with more dancing and shots. I spaced going to see Henry completely. I didn’t usually have someone to say goodbye to after things like that.

“It’s okay. As long as you got home okay.” He sighed. “Did you enjoy yourself? Your friends seemed to be dragging you everywhere.” I laughed.

“Yeah, I did. I only just met most of them that night, but they were very welcoming.”

“Good, I’m glad you’re making friends.” I smiled. “I’m just very thankful that you decided to move. It means the world to me.”

“I’m happy I moved. I really love it here.” I rolled over on my side. “Thanks for picking me.” I mumbled the last part, but he heard me. There was a pause and I wish I could see what his face was doing.

““What are you doing?” He finally asked.

“Laying in bed. What are you doing?”

“On the couch with Kal.” I smiled.

“Aw, I still want to meet him.” Henry chuckled.

“Yeah, you’ll have to come over sometime.” I bit my lip, I liked that idea.

“I’d love to. And if you ever need someone to dog sit, I’m here.” I laughed.

“Maybe you should get a pet. I don’t like the idea of you alone in the apartment all the time.”

“Oh I’m fine.” The idea of getting a pet sounded nice though. He huffed and I imagined him shaking his head. “When do you start filming?”

“Next week, I probably won’t be around as often.”

“Yeah I figured.” I tried to hide the disappointment in my voice. Not that I didn’t want him to go film, I just wish I could see him as much I was seeing him now.

“Good thing it’s in London now though. I won’t be too far away.” I grinned into the receiver.

“Good. I wouldn’t want you to go too long without blood.” I was somewhat used to the feeding. The feelings I got were still just as intense, even though I thought they’d get easier to handle. It was almost worse now, and I think it was because my fan girl crush on Henry was becoming genuine feelings for him. He still only took from my wrist, and I couldn’t start imagining it or else I’d have to hang up on Henry completely.

“Ah don’t worry about me.” He cleared his throat. “Do you want to come to a coffee shop with me tomorrow? I usually go to play computer games or read scripts, but you’re more than welcome to join me.”

“I would love to! I just started a new book actually. I could read with you.” My cheeks hurt from grinning.

“Alright sounds like a plan.” We started talking about books, then his new game, and whatever else we wanted. I woke up with my phone pressed into my cheek and the call ended. I must’ve fell asleep while listening to Henry.

 I flipped the page in my book as Henry got us coffee. This was the first time I had seen him since the party. While I loved the suit he wore then, I loved how he looked when he wasn’t trying too hard even more. He was wearing a hat today, covering a lot of his face when we were outside. I was excited to see him for the coffee date. Well not date, even if I pretended it was sometimes. I sighed looking up at him, he faced the counter and I traced the outline of his back with my eyes. Ever since the party I had been thinking of Henry a lot more. I stared back at the page. I wanted to dance with him again.

“Got it.” He was back, sitting in his chair across from me. He handed me some hot tea. It was finally starting to get cold out and I was probably going to go get Halloween decorations after this.

“Thank you.” He smiled, opening his laptop. “What are you gonna play?” I leaned forward against the table.

“That game I was telling you about.” He was a total dork when it came to PC gaming and I loved it. “I’m still stuck on the same level though.”

“I’m sure you’re doing better than I would.” We laughed as his laptop started up.

“How’s the book?” I looked down at the third page I had read since starting it.

“Good so far.” He nodded.

“Haven’t gotten very far I see.” He was looking at me over his laptop screen. I shrugged.

“That’s what today’s for right?” He nodded and looked back down at his laptop smiling and I went to my book. When his headset was on and his full focus was on the game, I looked back up at him. His brow was furrowed as he concentrated, a slight frown on his lips. I heard the clicking of keys as he squinted at the screen. I grinned back down at my book.

“Nina,” I looked up from the book. I was a few chapters in now. “You read fast.” He chuckled. His headset was around his neck.

“How long have we been here?” I laughed, stretching from my position.

“Only an hour or so. I got you some more tea.” I looked down and two fresh cups were on the table.

“Oh, thank you, I didn’t even notice.” I shook my head. “Have I been ignoring you this whole time?”

“No, I’ve been focused on my game.” He leaned on his elbows. “How’s the book?”

“Really good.” I leaned in on the table. “I told you last night it was about a witch, right?” He nodded. “Well, she pulls out this book that has been missing for centuries, and all the other witches and creatures around her notice, but only she can take it from the library. And it’s-“ I bit my tongue. I was rambling. “I don’t even know if I’m making sense.”            “No, keep going. It’s cute. You’re just excited, that’s all.” My cheeks warmed up. “I want to hear more.”

“The book it’s basically a book of life, but for witches and daemons…” Henry let me talk for a while. He always knew when to ask questions and the best questions to ask. It kept me going for at least an hour. I only stopped when his phone rang. He huffed and rolled his eyes.

“Hold that thought, dear.” He picked it up and I checked my phone for a bit. Ignoring the warmth in my cheeks from the nickname. “Hello? Uh, yeah sure I can. Sure.” I eavesdropped as he spoke. “Alright, thank you.” He hung up and sighed. “So the training for this afternoon can start early, and,” I laughed, he kept his features neutral, his eyes were bright and excited.

“Go! You don’t have to stay. You’re too excited for me to make you stay.” He relaxed, smiling at me.

“Thank you.” I shook my head. “I’m getting you home at least.” He started putting away his things. We got everything together and stood.

“If you wanna go straight there, don’t let me stop you.”

“Nope, I’m taking you home.” I just chuckled and he led me out the door to his car. I wanted to stay and talk with him for hours, but he was so excited to train. He was adorable and so passionate about his work. He opened the door for me, and I got in, buckling up. He got in the driver’s seat and started the engine.

“The wrong side of the road still weirds me out.” He laughed, pulling out of the parking lot. The ride was shorter than I wanted, before I knew it I was walking down my hallway with Henry. He insisted on walking me all the way to my door.

“You’re always such a gentleman.” I held my book in both my hands in front of me.

“I try to be. I’m glad you think so.” His arm brushed mine and my door was only one apartment away. “Thanks for coming with me, and I’m sorry for leaving so suddenly.”

“Don’t be sorry and thanks for inviting me to come.” We stopped at my door and I sighed as I got my keys out. “If, um,” I cleared my suddenly dry throat. “If you ever want company while you’re gaming or whatever. You can always ask me, or come over, if you want.” I jumbled my keys, somehow not finding the right one.

“I’ll have to take you up on that.” I finally found it and pushed it in the lock. I opened up the door but stood, Henry face to face with me. “I’m not sure when I’ll see you next, filming starts in a few days.” He scratched the back of his neck.

“Just call me when you can? And don’t go too long without taking any blood.” I smiled up at him and he smiled at me. Then he gave me a quick hug, I was so surprised, I barely had a chance to hug back. It didn’t last very long.

“Thank you so much, Nina.” He kissed my cheek as he let go and walked off. “See you soon!” He called.

“Bye, Henry.” I walked into my place, cheeks on fire. His big arms made for a really nice hug, even if it didn’t last. I felt myself grinning. I don’t remember doing that. I ran a hand over my face and plopped on the couch. I hadn’t felt this giddy since the last time I went on an actual date. I laid down on the couch completely. I lifted my arm and noticed what was left of the bite marks he had left after the last time I saw him. I sat back up. He didn’t feed today. Most times we spent time together, he fed. This was the first time he hadn’t since I moved. I texted him.

You didn’t feed today.

He didn’t text back for a few minutes. I set up Netflix as I waited, I had nothing better to do.

           It’s okay, I didn’t need to. I just wanted to see you.

My heart fluttered, and I held my phone to my chest. He’s making this easier to call that a date. I flopped back down on the couch and giggled like a kid. After getting over the giggles I replied and turned on a show. I needed to calm down before I got my hopes up too much.

  I put another handful of popcorn in my mouth as The Mandalorian walked along the screen with Baby Yoda in tow. I had finally gotten around to starting this and I hadn’t stopped. It was dark outside now and I was halfway through the show already. I moved to get my feet under the blanket, then nearly jumped out of my skin when two knocks came at my door. I picked up the remote to pause it, and threw my blanket off.

           “Nina? It’s me.” I sighed, relieved to hear Henry’s voice. I turned a lamp on and squinted in the light.

           “Coming.” I muttered, getting off the couch. I walked quickly to the door and opened it. I must’ve looked like a hobo in an old t-shirt and shorts. I chewed on my lip.

           “I don’t think you got my text.” He smirked, looking good in a tank and sweats.

           “No, I haven’t even looked at my phone in-“ I counted the episodes in my head. “Three or four hours?” I shrugged.

           “Well, I asked if I could come over, I wanted some company.” I smiled, then heard a jingle of metal. “Plus I brought someone for you to meet.” I opened the door a little wider and saw Kal sitting nicely beside Henry.

           “Oh my god.” I bent over and scratched his head. “Hi buddy. It’s so nice to meet you.” I pushed the door open, letting them in. “I’ve been binging all evening, that’s why I didn’t get your text.” I ran a hand through my tangled hair. I shut the door and Henry let Kal off his leash. He circled my legs, looking for more snuggles.

           “What are you watching?” He looked over at the screen. “The Mandalorian, what episode are you on?” As I stroked Kal’s back, I looked up at Henry.

           “Have you already seen it?” He nodded.

           “Yes! You haven’t?” I laughed. “Do you mind if I join you?” I shook my head grinning.

           “As long as Kal sits next to me on the couch.”

I don’t know how we got so close. Between sharing popcorn and Kal being a bit too big for all three of us to fit properly, my body had gotten pressed to Henry’s, he didn’t notice or mind. In fact he would put his hand on my thigh whenever he reached for the remote or more popcorn. He’d never leave his hand there for very long, but the touch was imprinted in my skin now. I was very aware of his hard bicep pressed into mine. Kal’s head was on my lap and he was a heater, or at least I think that’s why I felt so warm. I snuck a glance at him as credits rolled on the last episode. He was looking down at me.

           “What did you think?” He asked.

           “I loved it. I should’ve watched it sooner.” He chuckled.

           “Kal, get down,” Henry pointed to the floor and the dog moved. “You looked smushed in between us.” I relaxed, letting my body lean the other way, but not completely. Our thighs still touched. “I should let you get to bed, but if you don’t mind I’d like to feed before I go. If you don’t mind?” I shook my head, pulling my wrist out of the blanket. “Use your words, love.” I felt my legs quiver.

           “It’s fine. It’ll probably put me to sleep faster.” I smiled, trying to focus. It was still hot, even after Kal left my lap.

           “True,” He grabbed my wrist and my skin tingled. I had my other hand still under the blanket and it gripped the hem of my t-shirt when his lips met my wrist. I sucked in a breath and as I exhaled he pierced the skin. It didn’t sting so much anymore, it went straight to the tingles, the warmth. It washed over me and I felt my pussy throb with it. I gritted my teeth. God, what is wrong with me? I took a shaky breath, trying to suppress the moan in my throat. As he stopped I felt his tongue swipe over the marks. “Are you okay?” The tingles were fading fast, but my panties felt damp and I still felt hot.

           “Yeah, I’m alright.”

           “I’ll get you a bandaid.” I tried to calm down as he got up, but I couldn’t help but rub my thighs together for the feeling. He came back and placed the thing on me.

           “Thanks,” I smiled up at him.

           “No, thank you.” He kissed my cheek. “Kal and I will get out of your hair.” I scratched the pups head as Henry clicked his leash back on. I turned the TV off and followed him to the door.

           “I’ll see you next time?”

           “I’ll call you,” I nodded. “Good night.”

           “Goodnight.” I shut the door and locked it. I walked quickly to my bedroom, trying to not make to much noise since Henry’s got super hearing. I waited until I couldn’t hear footsteps in the hall and then threw my shirt off. I climbed into bed, the sheets cool on my flushed skin. “Fuck,” I mumbled. I couldn’t wait any longer and I slid my hand into my panties. I moaned as my fingers found my clit. I shut my eyes and my toes curled. I wanted it to be his fingers, not mine. I moaned again at the thought of his hands. I slid one down my slit and whined. I let it slid inside me and I arched my back. I started pumping it in and out, my breaths becoming shorter. I felt something inside begin to coil and my legs spread. I went deeper and I cried out. “Henry, please,” I gasped, his name pushed me off the edge and I came. I stilled and it pulsed through my body like electricity. I thought of Henry watching over me as I fall apart like this and I shivered.

           I woke up the next morning, way too early and very unsatisfied. While that was better than any porn I’ve tried in a while, this morning had me wishing it was really him. I pulled the covers up over my head and groaned. I didn’t want to do anything today. Suddenly my alarm rang and I groaned. Why the hell did I have an alarm set? I picked my phone up and shut the blaring thing off. I saw a text from Abbey.

We still on for lunch?

I ran a hand down my face. I forgot I told Abbey I’d come to lunch with her and James. Before Kari had left the party she had gotten our numbers exchanged. I sighed and got up, rubbing my tired eyes. At least I’ll be hanging out with someone other than Henry for once.

Yes we are! I’m getting ready now.

I replied to Abbey and got out of bed. I took a long hot shower and got dressed. I went out to the kitchen and got the kettle on for tea and noticed something on my counter. I walked over to it. It was Henry’s water bottle. He wasn’t usually one to forget things. I shrugged and picked it up. It was empty so I washed it in the sink with the rest of my dishes. After that the kettle whistled and I made my tea. When I finished it was about time to go so I got my things and left.

“Hi, Nina!” Abbey smiled at me as I sat down at the table. We were in a cute little café, James had picked it and he wasn’t here yet.

“Hi, Abbey, how are you?”

“I’m good, just the same old thing. How are you?”

“I’m alright.” Majorly frustrated about some things, but alright was a good word. “I stayed up too late last night.” I hope my dark circles had lightened up a little. I was too lazy to wear any makeup.

“Did you?” She leaned in closer to me. “Was Henry there?” My hand flattened against the table.

“Yeah, for little while. We watched a show all night.” I pursed my lips, calm down, she’s just asking you about your night.

“Did you watch it? Or did you just watch Henry?” James sat down next to me laughing.

“Shut up James she’s shy.” Abbey swatted at his shoulder.

“What? It’s fine. You and me both have slept with clients.” He patted my shoulder. “Don’t be shy, your stuck with us now.”

“We actually watched the show, just so everyone is aware.” I laughed with them.

“I don’t know how you hold back from that man.” Abbey shook her head grabbing her menu.

“Neither do I,” I mumbled, looking at my own menu. Before they could ask anymore questions the waitress came and we ordered. James started telling us about a party a donor took him too the other night and once again I was shocked to hear how much they’ve done and seen as donors. I wanted to write it down so I’d remember.

“Yes! He definitely was there.”

“No, Prince Harry was not at that party.” Abbey stared at James.

“It totally could’ve been him.” James held his hands up. “I won’t say I know for sure it was him, but it definitely looked like it.” I shook my head taking a sip of my drink. As I set it down I heard the click of heels coming toward us. I set my glass down and saw Lila, her hair up today, looking infuriately good in just jeans and a shirt. I wish I had put a little concealer under my eyes now. She smiled at us, but it looked like more of a smirk to me.

“Hi, guys. I saw you from the window and wanted to hello.” She said. I took a deep breath. Maybe she’s not that bad. I’ve only spoken to her once. “How is everyone?”

“We’re good, Lila.” James smiled. “Probably about to eat pretty soon.” Our food was due to come out. “How are you?” Her stupid brow cocked up.

“Well I’m great, I’m on my way to the company to make some requests.”

“Switching clients again?” Abbey had her arms crossed as she looked at Lila.

“Maybe,” Lila directed her gaze at me. “How’s your client, Nina?” I looked up at her, clearing my throat.

“He’s good. Filming for a little while.” I forced a fake smile. Why the fuck does she care?

“Not taking you along?” She pushed out her lips a little and faked a pout.

“He didn’t need to, be spent the night with her last night.” Abbey blurted; my eyes widened at her. I almost kicked her under the table, but the look on Lila’s face made slight embarrassment worth it. She stood up straight, a frown dragging the corners of her lips down.

“Yeah he did. It was a nice movie night.” My smile wasn’t fake anymore as I looked at her.

“Sounds fun.” Her face went back to a smirk. “Don’t get too comfortable with that though.”

“What do you mean?” I furrowed my brows.

“With filming and all.” She flicked her hair back. “Well, I should head off and let you eat.”

“Bye bye Lila.” James waves as she walked off. “God what the hell?”

“Nina,” Abbey leaned across the table towards me. “Do you remember if Henry’s profile said he liked multiple donors?” I leaned back.

“No, I don’t think so.” I tried thinking back to his profile. I hadn’t looked at it since I was back in LA. I had a copy of it at the Positive building.

“Well, I’m pretty sure Lila’s going to send out her profile again.” I rubbed my temple.

“What does that mean?”

“That Henry could get her file sent to him directly.” I swallowed. I didn’t like the idea of sharing Henry. I got jealous thinking about her and her stupidly gorgeous face and body. “He might want a second donor.” I took a deep breath.

“I mean it’s his choice.” I looked at the vase of flowers in the center of the table. “I can’t tell him not to.”

“Well you could, if you’re not comfortable with it.” And risk Henry dropping me altogether? No thank you.

“I don’t know. It’s seems wrong, if he wanted to. We still don’t know if he does or not. Maybe he won’t even look at her profile.” I was telling myself more than them.

“He seems like a loyal guy.” James patted my arm. “I’m sure you’re right.” He grinned at me and then the food got here. The conversation shifted from Henry, but I had him in the back of my mind. We finished lunch, and James and Abbey went off to go shopping. I just wanted to go home. Feeling more tired now that I had the idea of Henry taking another donor in my head. I went straight home and sat at the island. I rested my forehead on the cool counter. Trying to force myself to stop being so anxious. I took a deep breath and got back up. I had to do something today. I knew I wouldn’t get to see Henry anytime soon, and I wanted my mind to shut up about him.

The next time I did see him was the next week. I did errands, even got to hang out with Abbey again, but the entire time Henry kept nagging at my brain. It didn’t help that his texts and calls got less frequent as he filmed. At least now I was at his studio, being jostled around in a golf cart as Penny drove. He needed to feed today.

“His trailer’s over here. The scene he’s shooting now is running behind so he won’t be in there yet, but he should be on his way soon.” Penny looked ahead as she spoke.

“Thanks Penny.” Since Henry couldn’t leave, Penny came and picked me up from my place. When we made it through the studio gates, we had to switch to a golf cart to get around. “Thanks for picking me up.”

“Of course, hon.” She smiled and slowed down in front of a trailer. “Go on inside. I have some errands to run. Henry will be there soon.” I nodded and got out, walking up the steps to the trailer. “Call me if you need anything!” Penny does away in the cart, and I opened the door. I heard a big bark and I grinned.

“Kal!” I shut the door behind me so I wouldn’t get knocked out of the trailer. “Hi cutie.” I just sat down on the floor to have better access to him. He just flopped on the floor for belly rubs. “Aw, what a good boy.” I loved on him for a little bit and stood back up, setting my bag down. Henry’s trailer was basically a fancy camper. There was a small couch and tv, a little kitchen area, and a door to the bedroom. I poked around a little bit there wasn’t much in there. I gave up and sat on the couch, Kal jumping up beside me.

“I hope your dad lets you on the couch.” I scratched his ear.

“He’s fine.” I jumped as the door opened.  Henry stepped through it. “You’re always so jumpy.” He laughed, shutting the door. He was in sweats and a t-shirt, but his hair was still a little styled. It was extra curly and had been ruffled from whatever position it was supposed to be in. I smiled.

“Hi, Henry.” He smiled at me quickly then averted his eyes. I frowned but stood as he set a bag down on the kitchen table.

“Hey, Nina. How are you?” He started unloading the bag, back turned from me.

“I’m good, how are you? How’s filming?” I stood next to him, he had his laptop and a script out, but he moved it too quick for me to see.

“It’s good, thank you again for coming out here.” He finally turned to me, but his blue eyes couldn’t meet mine. He scratched the back of his neck, and I think I saw a blush on his neck. What is going on?

“Of course. I was kind of excited. To see where you’ve been for the past week.” I rocked on my feet.

“Well, I can’t bring you to set, but I’m here quite a bit.” Kal had trotted over to us, leaning on Henry’s leg.

“At least you got Kal with you.” I chewed on my lip. “How long until you go back?”

“A few hours. You don’t have to stay long if you don’t want to.” I shrugged. He turned around and went to the couch. I followed and as he sat, I remembered something. Lila was sending out her profile, she probably sent it to Henry. He could’ve seen it by now. Did he want her instead of me? I ran a hand through my hair and heard Henry take a breath.

“Oh yeah.” I went over to my bag. “You left this when you came over.” I found the bottle and handed it to him. He swallowed and took it.

“Thank you. I was wondering where I put that.” He cleared his throat. I felt my heart rate pick up a little, thinking that he could be thinking of switching right now. “Why are you so nervous?” He raised an eyebrow at me.

“Um,” I tuck my hair behind my ears. “Do you want more than one donor? Or have you thought about it?” I huffed at myself. This was probably ridiculous. Did I sound ridiculous?

“Where did this come from?” Henry’s demeanor changed, his shoulders relaxed a little and he looked up at me. I sighed, rolling my eyes at myself.

“It’s that girl, from the party.” His brows furrowed.

“Who?”

“Lila, the red head?” I was a little more than pleased at the fact that he didn’t immediately think of her.

“Yeah? What about her?” He grabbed my wrist pulling me over to sit next to him.

“Well she’s looking for a new client, and it’s pretty obvious she wants you.” He started rubbing my back.

“Was it? I didn’t notice.” I smiled a little. “Penny did tell me a profile was sent to me, but I didn’t even look.”

“But, if you wanted to, I wouldn’t stop you.” I looked down at my hands. Then after a moment of silence Henry chuckled. “Oh god, what?” I whined and looked at his smirking face.

“Are you jealous?” My mouth opened to respond, but I didn’t have one. Henry laughed again. “Oh, my dear,” He hugged my shoulders. “I’m not taking other donors. It’s just you and me.” Butterflies filled my stomach at the nickname. “Don’t be afraid to ask me about these things. Communication is important.” His grip loosened as he pulled us back against the couch, I was halfway on his chest and his arms were wrapped around my waist.

“She’s just so beautiful and she has this reputation. She’s damn intimidating too.” Henry sighed.

“Don’t worry about her. Anything donor/client related will always go through you first.” He smelled like evergreens and soap, and I was wrapped up in the scent.

“Thanks Henry.” I shut my eyes, relaxing finally.

“You won’t be taking any more clients, will you?” I laughed.

“Nope.” I could barely handle Henry. Especially when he squeezed me closer when I answered his question. I turned my head to him. “Do you need to feed, now?” He let me go, sliding me off his chest.

“Yeah, that’s a good idea.” I sat up, rolling up my sleeve. “Did you eat breakfast?” He set a hand on my knee and I tried not to stare at it.

“I did,” I held out my wrist.

“Maybe if I have enough time you could stay for lunch.” He grabbed my arm, and lifted it up to his lips, shutting his eyes. I sighed and his grip tightened on my wrist.

“I’d like that.” He drank and it made me fuzzy and tingly. I couldn’t help a little smile on my face. When he finished, I felt a little more tired than normal. I did stay up late last night. I took a deep breath.

“Are you okay?” He rubbed my thigh a little.

“Yeah, I’m a little tired.” I leaned back on the couch. He sighed.

“Did I take too much?” I shook my head.

“No! I think I just stayed up too late last night.” I rubbed my eyes. “Maybe I should go home and take a nap.”

“You can nap here. I still have a few hours to kill so I’ll stay with you.” I smiled.

“If that’s okay with you?”

“Of course, it is.” I let myself lay down and kicked my shoes off. I curled up so my legs wouldn’t lay all over him and it didn’t take long for me to fall asleep. I woke up with my head on the arm rest of the couch. I stretched out in my sleep. I opened one eye and saw that my legs were now in Henry’s lap as he read over his script. He leaned back on the couch, but had a hand holding one of my legs. I shut my eyes, not believing this was real. “How was the nap?” I opened my eyes again and Henry hadn’t even looked up. He stroked my leg with his thumb.

“Good. How long did I sleep?”

“About an hour.” I sat up and he didn’t move his hand, so I kept my legs in his lap. I turned my head and saw Kal sleeping on the floor next to me.  I put my arms on my knees and looked at Henry. He was clean shaven, his curly hair more messed up than before. He was focused on the page in front of him, brows slightly furrowed. “What are you staring at?” He finally turned to look at me. His blue eyes seeing right through me.

“Nothing.” I blushed. “Sorry.” He laughed.

“It’s okay.” He squeezed my leg. “Do you still want lunch?”

READ HERE

“Yeah, that would be great.” I smiled. He called Penny knowing she was out already; she could bring us something on her way back. Whole we waited Henry continued memorizing lines and I looked at my phone when I wasn’t watching him. When Penny got here with the food she had to leave just as fast.

“Do you make her do everything?” I chuckled as the door shut behind her.

“Of course not. Actually, for the most part she’s off when I’m off.” I took the bag of food from him and took it to the small kitchen table. “It’s always hectic the first week of filming, though.” I nodded, more focus on the food now. I pulled out my box and slid the other one to Henry as he sat across from me.

“So, you still eat food.”

“Yes, it’s not really necessary but sometimes human food just sounds good.” I smiled. “It does taste a bit different though.” I furrowed my brow, taking a bite of food. “It’s still good though.”

“That’s interesting.” I moved my feet and accidentally hit Henry’s leg. He looked up at me, eyebrow raised. I giggled. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be.” He let his foot slide up my leg a little. I hid my face behind the lid of my take out box, my cheeks feeling warm. I heard a small laugh from him, then I let my other leg slide up his. I met his eyes and broke out in laughter. “What are you laughing at?” He smirked, but was holding back laughs.

“You playing footsie with me!” His mouth opened.

“You started it.” I laughed again.

“It was an accident!” He was laughing with me. “You’re something else.” I shook my head, letting my foot back down. Henry’s relaxed but stayed close enough for our feet to brush every now and then.

“Eat your food,” He smiled at me and looked back down at his food. It didn’t take long for us to finish and soon Henry would have to go back. I sighed, picking up my bag. “I promise next time I won’t drag you here.” Henry texted Penny to come get me.

“I really don’t mind.” I grinned at him.

“Still, I don’t want to inconvenience you.”

“You don’t.” He looked down at me and smiled. He pulled me into a hug, this one longer than the last. I shut my eyes as I leaned into him. “Just call me when you need me?” I said as he pulled back.

“I will.” He squeezed my arms. “I can hear Penny now.” He opened the door for me just as Penny pulled up in her cart.

“Get in, Nina!” She smiled.

“Bye Henry.”

“See you soon, dear.” I got into the cart and Penny sped off.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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[ontheoddoccasioniwritestuff]

Goodnight, Aaron (Aaron Hotchner x OC) Chapter 5

Summary: After being grilled about his ex-girlfriend on what is meant to be a fun birthday outing, Sebastian gets some new information dropped on him by a worn-out Jack.

AN: Sorry I haven't posted in a while! Been a bit busy with job and family stuff. Hope you enjoy this chapter. This chapter is mostly unedited sorry!

Tagging: @sunlight-moonrise, @clean-bands-dirty-stories, @genevievedarcygranger, and @davidrossi-ismydad

Chapter 4 // Masterlist // AO3 Link

“They asked you to coach?”

Sebastian watched Jack run off to warm up with his team, then he turned back to Hotch who clicked the car keys to lock, “Do they know what you do for a living? And they’ve asked you to coach before? Mental.”

Hotch let out a chuckle at how utterly ridiculous Sebastian made it sound. And, truth be told, it was “mental” that Hotch was still coaching his son and their team when he still had to wrangle together his own team back at the BAU.

Sebastian adjusted his bag strap, “You need to learn to say ‘no’ to some people, Aaron.”

Hotch shook his head, playing into that teasing tone that had worked its way ito the conversation, “Well I don’t suppose you would be up for it?”

“I know nothing about football.”

“Soccer.”

“Soccer,” and Hotch laughed at the way Sebastian’s nose wrinkled as he mimicked the accent – albeit with heavy exaggeration on the vowels.

“Dave!”

Hotch’s hand raised into the air, catching the attention of his co-worker. Sebastian felt the pressure crank up to eleven as David Rossi sauntered over. He did not look like he was about to coach little league. He looked like he was about to go to one of his many villas in Europe and lounge around there for two weeks drinking wine.

 “David Rossi, this is Sebastian Porter.”

“Jack’s nanny, of course,” Rossi shook his hand heartily. Sebastian immediately wanted Rossi to be the cool uncle he never had.

He couldn’t think of anything wittier to say than this: “And you work with Aaron. On and off the pitch.”

“Couldn’t let him do it alone,”

“My ride’s here, so I’ll see you this evening. Nice meeting you, David.”

Though Sebastian was already behind schedule, he spared himself the embarrassment of his boss watching him lightly jogging over to his companions - and said companions clowning him for said light jogging.

“Aww, a lil peewee match?” Bellamy teased loudly, though not loud enough for the team to hear her.

Sebastian wanted to give her a playful shove, but he didn’t trust that she wouldn’t slide off her rollerblades deliberately, so instead he retorted, “Bullying kids, Bellamy? I thought you couldn’t stoop any lower.”

Klaus stopped rolling back and forth on his BMX, “Which one’s the boss then?”

“Wearing the white polo and shorts, not holding the clipboard.”

Klaus squinted behind his par of wholly unnecessary sunglasses, “Hmm, both are fit.”

“Come on, you’re staring,” and Sebastian twisted Klaus’ baseball cap around backwards before climbing onto the back of the bike.

As Klaus gave an indignant retort, he pushed off and began to cycle away. Sebastian’s hands gripped his shoulders tight and he opted to send a smile in his boss’ direction as opposed to a wave. Bellamy, the embarrassing mom type that she was, waved with both hands and skated backwards as she went.

Their afternoon sesh was off to a rocking start when Sebastian refused even one drink – sticking instead to a diet soda – while Bellamy and Klaus went for bottomless Bellini’s.

Bellamy discussed what children the new term had brought her. A short summary was that they were all little shits whom she adored and would protect with her life. That had been her track record for the part three years she had taught at this high school. The trio clinked glasses in celebration to her track record.

“Honestly, they’re so ready to get to using the Bunsen burners. It’s gonna be bonkers,” She beamed as a server brought her a refilled glass, “Can’t wait to bust out the copper.”

“As much as I love you talking science to me,” Klaus paused to put on a solemn mask that was cracked from the triumph he was wearing beneath, “We have to talk about Pippa while I’m still partially sober.”

When both his friends zeroed in on him whilst sipping their Bellini’s through straws, Sebastian all but exploded with excuses, “Oh my god, I get it! You told me so! It’s been a month! Can we drop it?”

“You went back to her!” Klaus ignored Sebastian’s “I know’s” with his head craning to reach over his friend’s voice, “After everything she did to you! You that desperate for attention?”

“Yeah!”

Both Bellamy and Klaus ceased their teasing, Klaus dropping back into his chair as he said, “Woah, ok, sorry dude.”

“It’s ok.”

Bellamy took Sebastian’s glass away, “Babe, that’s really depressing, you sure you haven’t been drinking?” She took a long sniff, her nose twirling around the rim before sliding it back to Sebastian, “No, he really is that deep.”

“Ha ha.”

Both Bellamy and Klaus sobered up considerably, the tone of their voices shifting into quiet support as Bellamy draped her arm around Sebastian’s shoulders, “I’m glad you got out of it, Bash.”

“Me too. And Rachael.”

“Ooo, how is Rachael?” Klaus pushed his sunglasses up his nose. How he looked like such a douchebag, shades on indoors, yet so happy with that status, Sebastian didn’t care to think about right now.

“She’s got a job in a firm now, big proper one.”

“Oooh! Can she get me out of my parking tickets?”

Suddenly the lights dimmed and Bellamy whipped out her phone, grinning behind it as Klaus looked up and around with a baby’s curiosity.

A troop of servers marched over with the birthday cake Bellamy had dropped off earlier that day. Its bright red buttercream icing Klaus went very quiet, a bashful smile glowing in the candlelight as the restaurant turned its attention to sing “Happy Birthday” to him.

“Happy Birthday, Klaus.” Bellamy and Sebastian kissed both his cheeks at the same time, a perfect photo op that one of the servers took for them.

The birthday boy was gracious enough to share his cake and give Sebastian a ride home after a few more drinks. Of water, Sebastian insisted that Klaus sober up a little so they weren’t going to crash the bike before his night out.

At the crossroads, Bellamy turned left when they went right, her arm stretching out to them like she was watching her loved one get shipped off to war. Sebastian was dropped off shortly after, just outside the block of flats, and Klaus was already off before Sebastian could tackle him with a hug. So he shouted after him. Nothing expletive, but it was enough for Klaus to look over his shoulder and smirk, swerving not a second later to avoid an incoming pedestrian.

When Sebastian entered the flat, Hotch and Rossi were in the sitting room, lounging in the settee over a bottle of whiskey artistically placed on the coffee table.

“Hey, how was the training?”

“Tough, but those kids are tougher.” Rossi raised his drink to his statement, and Sebastian thought about how he could subtly slide some adoption papers across the coffee table.

“Do you want a drink?” Hotch asked.

Already going to the kitchen, Sebastian checked in the stew he’d prepped that morning in the slow cooker, “I’m good, thanks.” He was a little peeved that he’d spent the afternoon sober, especially during the bashing of the ex-girlfriend, but he could always grab a nightcap later on. “Where’s Jack?”

“I SCORED A GOAL!”

Sebastian smile strained as he saw the state of Jack’s shorts once he rounded the corner to the kitchen. His shirt was off; clearly he was in the middle of getting changed.

“That’s brilliant, but if you come at me with them muddy keks, I’ll score a goal with you! Come back in your jammies and we’ll celebrate properly.” And he shooed Jack away to the bathroom. The star striker to be disappeared, his muddy rear skidding into his bedroom with the door closing quick behind him.

“‘Keks’?” Rossi repeated with an eyebrow raised.

So Sebastian clarified, “Trousers.”

“You mean pants.”

Sebastian narrowed his eyes at Hotch’s so-called correction before saying again, “No, keks.”

Thankfully they saw the funny side of it, allowing a hint of strain to drop from Sebastian’s shoulders just in time for Jack to come running back in. This time, he was wearing pyjamas.

Sebastian caught him neatly and plonked him on the countertop, “Tell me all about practice!”

As Sebastian prepared the rest of dinner, Jack babbled away about the training and his teammates. His energy by comparison to the other conversation between Hotch and Rossi caused theirs to stagnate in favour of joining in. Sebastian carried Jack across to the other counters without impeding his speech, keeping an eye on him and the food, while Hotch and Rossi joined in the storytelling.

At Jack’s description of Hotch and Rossi’s demonstration of a paired-up passing game, Sebastian’s abandoned phone began to buzz.

“Sorry Jack, I gotta get this. But why don’t you set the table?” Sebastian took him back down to Earth and shuffled him in the direction of the cutlery drawer before he picked up his mobile, “Hey, what are you doing up? Go to bed, young lady.”

Rachael replied with a heftier helping of snarkasm, “I’m in bed at the moment actually. Have you rung Mum and Dad yet?”

“I have, don’t worry,”

“Ok. Just checking.”

“Texting exists, you know? Not that I don’t delight at the sound of your grumpiness.”

“Yeah, well, you’re starting to sound more American.”

Casting an eye over to see Jack was nattering away to Hotch and Rossi, Sebastian whispered, “Shut your goddamn mouth.”

“I’ll call you after work. Love you, bye.”

“Bye.”

Sebastian hung up then slapped his free palm against his face.

Hotch caught his attention, leaning ever so slightly into his range of vision with concern, “Are you alright?”

“Forgot to say I love you, she’s gonna hold that against me for five years at least.”

As the person dishing up and the last to get to the table, Sebastian sat beside Rossi with Jack opposite him and Hotch diagonally across. There was a tautness in Sebastian’s back as he tried desperately not to gauge Rossi’s reaction to his food.

Instead Rossi reminded him of their meeting earlier, “Interesting choice in mode of transport today.”

Like a deer in the headlights, Sebastian tripped his way through his explanation, “Thanks, we’re desperately trying to reclaim our youth.” Then he popped a forkful of meat into his mouth to excuse him from further conversation.

Except Jack didn’t get the memo. “Who were you talking to on the phone?”

“My sister, Rachael, she’s got a big case on tomorrow.”

“She’s a lawyer,” Rossi pointed across the table with his fork, “Hotch was a defence attorney.”

The information was so shiny and new to Sebastian, that he forgot to implement his “you’re my boss” filter and he said, “You look for ‘intimidating’ in your job descriptions?”

No time for regret, Jack once against filled the space. “Intimidating?”

“Yeah, intimidating, big into justice, likes his suit,” and instead of back down, Sebastian leant over his plate as if to tell a secret, and Jack opposite him leant close too as Sebastian said, “Your dad’s basically Batman.”

Jack’s face lit up at the comparison, one he had made in the past, and he continued to grin as he ate his stew.

“Anyway, our kid’s following up on some advice about getting my deposit back from my bedsit. Landlord’s being an absolute bad word.”

“If you want, I can take a look at it,” Hotch offered.

Sebastian looked back at Jack with fond bemusement, “Told you, your dad’s Batman, just no billions minus the brutality.”

Hotch’s cutlery slipped and collided loudly with his plate as Sebastian said, “It’s all good, thank you. I just sent him some photos of what the mattress looked like when I first moved in, should get him to give up.”

The conversation stagnated from Sebastian, still worn out word-wise from his afternoon drinking non-drinking outing, so he was grateful for the fact he finished first and Jack finished second.

“We can leave the grown-ups now,” he said in a loud whisper, already walking off with Jack to his bedroom.

Over his shoulder, he heard Rossi say not so quietly an I-told-you-so about how “men can be nannies” and that Sebastian was a good choice. While Sebastian was relieved at he had made a good impression on Rossi, he was not so much feeling the inferred sexism his boss held. Still, he was hired now. Microaggressions could be tackled when he got to them.

Cross-legged on the carpet, Jack set about demolishing the rocket. Bricks flew across his little zone of construction. One stray red brick hit Sebastian right between his sock and his cuffed jeans.

“What are we on today, bud? Pirate ship?”

But Jack was quiet. His energy levels were definitely crashing after such a big day. Sebastian gave him space to answer if he wanted, taking charge of organising the bricks into sizes for Jack to pick from.

When there was no reply for a solid minute, Sebastian asked, “You ok?”

For a while, Jack continued his silence. He was busy looking for a very specific shape of brick. His fingers searched over the top of the pile then dove into it, fishing out the perfect piece. Then he spoke.

“Batman beats up the bad guys,” Jack said, his voice hushed, “But so does Daddy.”

Sebastian blinked then recovered just as quick, “Oh I’m not sure about that.”

But Jack shook his head with his eyes still on assembling his boat, “He beat up the man who killed Mommy. Don’t tell him, it’s a secret.”

“A secret from him?” Sebastian didn’t know he was whispering too until he had already spoken.

“He doesn’t know we know. Can you make the mast please?”

And Jack held out a square block. Sebastian blinked again and accepted the piece. Clearly Jack thought this was a very casual conversation, something that Sebastian should keep from Hotch very easily. And he was making a ship.

“Jack, have you told that to anyone else?”

“No.”

“How tall do you want the mast?”

Jack measured with the space between his hands. Taking note, Sebastian continued to stack bricks until the desired height was reached, and Jack took it off his hands, placing it in the middle of the boat.

“I’m gonna get a drink. Do you want anything?”

The little guy shook his head, now completely absorbed in his construction projects. With a pat on his head, Sebastian twisted his legs around to stand and went to stand in the hallway. The door closed behind him and he pressed his forehead against the wall. He took a deep breath, rolling his head to the left, and pushed back his shoulders. A crack from his neck introduced him to the kitchen, where he tossed a half smile at Hotch and Rossi. Then he busied himself with getting that drink. A few drops of water splashed against his wrist.

“Hey Sebastian?”

Said person looked around to see Rossi rocking on the back legs of his chair, “I don’t suppose Hotch ever told you that, when you were taking your trial day, he nearly called you every hour to see how you were doing?”

“Dave,” Hotch said with something that was clearly intended to be a warning tone. The smile he was fighting to keep off his face betrayed him.

“No, he didn’t.” He hid his smirk in his glass. It dropped fast though. The Batman comments were still heavy in his mind, and now with Jack’s context on the brutality aspect, he wasn’t really jazzed to crack another joke lest he stumble across some more unfortunate information.

Rossi didn’t seem to care about that so much, “I had to micromanage his micromanaging.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t’ve minded that.” Sebastian’s foot idly dragged across the tile in front of him, “I’m sure Jack wouldn’t’ve either. And speaking of-” He pulled out his phone and pulled up the website he and Jack had browsed during breakfast, “I have a very important question for you: can we get this bouncy castle for Jack’s birthday?”

He showed the photo of the dream castle to the two men.

“You mean a ‘bounce house’?”

“No, I mean bouncy castle. He was telling me all about wanting a slide one, he’d be over the moon if he got to bring his classmates around to go on one!”

“I suppose if we removed all my furniture and knocked down the walls, we could fit it in here,” Hotch said smartly. His eyebrows were raised as he looked away from the screen at Sebastian, who snorted. God, it wasn’t even that funny.

Once again, Rossi chimed in with his brilliant contributions, saving Sebastian from utter shame, “You know, we could have the party at my home.”

[be-ready-when-i-say-go]

A Family of Five- Part 6: Ready

Calum and Harlowe’s marriage hasn’t always been easy, but it has always been filled with love. This is a collaborative experience with In Sorrow and In Joy. Dad!Calum. Black OC.

CW: Over the course of this series, there are mentions of pregnancy, therapy, and postpartum depression. There is also 18+ Content (Smut)

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Luke finishes the last of the dishes. Noor’s at the bar, reading over her lines before the bus. Zahara dangles the keys to her car on her finger, waiting for Zeek to grab the charger for his tablet from his room. The house is quiet. He finds himself wondering how long that it will last. The question is answered a minute later when a shout rings out, “Babe!”

“There goes the silence,” he chuckles, wiping hands on the dish rag. “Yeah?” he calls out, taking the stairs two at a time to the bedroom. 

You turn around, dressed in black jeans and your pajama shirt. “Where’s that heart button up shirt?”

“That’s actually Calum’s shirt,” he grins leaning up against the frame of the door. 

A groan falls over your lips. Out of habit, you reach up and fix the bun of your curly hair and mutter to yourself. Of course, your favorite shirt to steal wasn’t actually Luke’s. He probably took it from Calum’s case on their last tour, last year, and only just recently realized that it didn’t belong in your closet. You could go without the shirt. But it annoys the crap out of you, that you couldn’t finish the outfit that you had been planning for days now for the first day back to school. 

“Now that I think about it. That’s definitely his t-shirt too. Forgot to give it back,” Luke states. 

You look down at the gray t-shirt covering your body. “So, you’re telling me, Harlowe’s gonna call asking for this shirt eventually.”

He shrugs. “Only if she knows the shirt is gone.”

You roll your eyes, peeling off the shirt and stealing inside the blue button up of Luke’s. “Honesty, one of these days y’all need to go through your closets and figure this shit out.” You’ll call Harlowe. She’ll know where that heart button up is. And more importantly, she’ll be willing to trade. 

“You and Harlowe end up stealing stuff from us!” he laughs. “It’s not all our fault.”

“Shush, I said that you two need to figure out what belongs to who and then she and I can figure out what’s up for trading and what has to stay. You didn’t let me finish.” Tossing the shirt at Luke, you laugh a little at his flail, startled by the action. “Start a load of laundry please. Use the kid’s detergent. Harlowe’s skin is sensitive.”

“For one shirt?” he jokes, his high pitched shout cracking a little on the the word ‘one’. “I’ll at least wash some of the kids stuff too.”

“That’s the idea!” you shout to his retreating figure. With the last of the shirt buttoned, you pick up your phone. As you open to your recent messages, Harlowe’s name is right at the top. 

The phone rings twice before you can hear her shouting in the background. “Esha, it doesn’t even take me this long to put a face on in the morning, c’mon. You’re beautiful and I will fight anyone that says otherwise.”

Calum’s laughter filters in from the background before his voice fills the line. “You’ve reached Harlowe’s phone. She’s currently helping Esha figure out mascara. Can I take a message?”

“She’s really letting Esha wear makeup to school, huh?” you ask. The debate on whether Esha could wear makeup to school was definitely a long one. You remembered just a couple months ago when it first started, during the summer. Harlowe and Calum feared she’d go off the deep in, but didn’t want her to feel like she couldn’t explore in the world of make up or self expression. You just had no idea that they had agreed on anything yet. Granted, you all kept up well, some things inevitably would fall through the cracks. Between getting syllabi together and raising kids, some news unfortunately fell to the waste side. 

“It was a long battle. We agreed to mascara and lipstick. Nude lipstick though. Specifically a nude lipstick.”

You nod. “Sounds like a smart choice.” 

More laughter floats in from the background. “Keep looking up, you’re not going to poke yourself I promise,” Harlowe chuckles.

“But I could!” Esha retorts. “This is scary.”

“So,” Calum says, “I know you called for a reason.”

“I was trying to see if a certain item of clothing could be up for trades. It appears that I, really Luke, but by extension me as well, have a certain t-shirt that belongs to you. And a certain heart button up shirt was not Luke’s, which is disheartening.”

“The gray one with Conway studios on it?”

“That’s the one.”

“She was looking for that last night. Hold on second.” There’s muffled talking in the background. “So, while Harlowe’s sad about losing the heart button up, she’s willing to trade.”

“It’s your shirt, technically.”

Calum laughs. “She has taken my closet. Nothing is mine anymore except my shoes. If she could wear those, she’d probably take them too. Like right now, she’s in my green plaid pants. It’s a great outfit, but I was the one that pulled the pants down this morning.”

“You’re going to the studio! You know you would’ve opted for jeans anyway,” Harlowe bellows.

“I would’ve at least like the option, baby. At least give me the option.” There’s a shuffling sound and Harlowe finally speaks.

“Ignore him, girl. He’s just pissy this morning.”

“So tonight we’ll trade shirts. I had this whole first day look planned, but of course, the shirt I wanted, wasn’t Luke’s shirt.

“Okay, normal table. I’ll see you then.”

__

Even before opening the door, you know what the place smells like, sounds like. You and Harlowe have been coming here every Wednesday before the twins were born. It’s ritual to walk in, hearing the clack of pool balls on the smooth red velvet and a white buzz of voices. It’s ritual to smell beer, but also the famous cheese fries cooking in the back. The place is old, but it somehow feels right. No, this wasn’t always your cup of tea. But Harlowe fell in love with the place, her second collection of poetry was birthed here. So on Wednesdays, this is where you two sat, chatting about the week previous, the week ahead. Talking about husbands, and kids. Talking about students and universities. You two worked at different schools. You do this for cheese fries, the laughs, the gossip. But more importantly, you do this for her, because she needed something to look forward to after the post partum depression from Esha. 

Inside, you spot her afro at the bar, “the normal table.” “If that’s a virgin rum and ginger ale, today was fine. But it’s a virgin Caribbean Rum Punch, someone’s trying to fuck themselves up,” you laugh, sliding into the bar stool next to Harlowe. 

She laughs, slinging an arm across your shoulders, resting her head for a moment onto your shoulder. “Yo got me. Just ginger ale. How were your classes?” She straightens, pulling her arm away. 

“There’s a freshman in my 300 level class. The fear was real in there eyes, looking at the syllabus.”

“How did they get into that class?”

You shrug. “No one asked for an override into class. My assumption is that they thought they were hot shit and signed up.”

“Didn’t even check RateMyProfessor, I bet,” Harlowe grins, flagging down a bartender.

The man walks over with an easy grin, closing his eyes and taking a deep breathe. “Let me guess.You’re going to order a plate of cheese fries. Ranch dipping on the side.”

“It’s like we’re regulars or something,” Harlow laughs. 

“Or something,” he chuckles, then turns to put the order in. 

“Well not all of us teach poetry and fiction. Some of us have to have reading lists a mile long,” you counter. 

Her laugh fills the room practically. “You make the syllabus. It does not have to be a mile long. You clearly just like suffering and taking your students down with you.”

Feigning shock, you gasps, turning around. “I don’t need this kind of negativity in my life.”

She chuckles, watching you. “Go ahead then. Run from the truth. But who’s the one that complains everything you have to reread those sections--you.”

“I cannot believe you’d read me like that in this here fine establishment.” This causes both of you to laugh, Harlowe falling into you a little, her laughter bouncing around in your eardrum. “How were your classes?”

With a smile resting on her face, she leans onto her elbows, toying at the glass. “Good. One girl came up to me after class and said she had signed up specifically for my section of poetry workshop because I was the only Black professor. Like I know this isn’t Kansas, to use a really dated expression, anymore. Like I know this isn’t the States, but it still means a lot be there for someone that needs it.”

“When’s your Fiction workshop?”

“Tomorrow. I’m teaching that in the morning and then the second section of intro to creative writing in the afternoon.”

“Must be nice,” you tease. 

Harlowe barks a laugh. “I’m not the one that spent years getting their Ph.D. in History, only to bitch about being the exact thing they wanted to be. So yeah, it is nice to enjoy my job.” Both woman laugh and the steaming bucket of fries is placed between them. Two glasses of water also thuds against the worn wooden counter. 

“How are my babies though?” There’s something in the way she asks that. You watch her face as she rummages into the depths of her bag. You catch nothing on her face. She pulls out the black button up and hands it over to you. You wipe your hands on a napkin and find the soft gray cotton in your backpack. You guys trade shirts.

“My babies are good.”

Harlowe huffs, biting hard into the fried potato. “Oh hush, I’m their aunt. They are effectively my children too.”

“What do you know that I don’t know?”

Harlowe shakes her head, reaching for her drink. “If I tell you, I break code.”

“It’s irksome that you know things before me,” you sigh. But you respect it. Your kids and Harlowe have a code. Though you desperately wish you weren’t always the last one to know about things, you understood. Sometimes the kids wanted to handle stuff by themselves, they didn’t want to always come to you or Luke. They maybe felt embarrassed having to go to their parents about everything. 

“They know they can talk to you, girl. They know.”

“I’m just the last to know. I feel so left out.”

“If you think Te Koha, Esha or even Nikau even tell me everything, you’re wrong.” Harlowe downs the her glass. “Children will not tell parents everything. Did you tell your mom everything?”

“Hell no.”

“Exactly my point.”

The first plate of fries is just about empty. Harlowe’s ordered a second drink when a presence slides up to the left of you. The cologne is familiar. As you giggle at Harlowe’s story about the disaster at the printer today before her class, you feel Luke’s hand resting gently on your lower back. You wondered when they would come up. When you walked in, you made a beeline for Harlow at the bar. Luke went to the table Calum had on the floor somewhere. You guys always do this. Split up, just for a little bit to have a little time away from each other. To talk all the junk you couldn’t do when your spouse was right there. It was always nice to have these moments away, to yourself, to be quiet and listen to Harlowe dramatically retell her adventures of the day or week. 

Her story finishes, an exasperated sigh falling over her lips before he speaks. “Can I get a pretty girl like you a drink?”

With an eye roll, you gently press into his chest for a quick hug. “Buy us another round of fries, and then we’ll talk.”

He laughs, palm brushing up and down your satin covered back. “Sounds reasonable.” 

“Ranch on the side for my friend here,” you add on, gently tapping his chest. 

“Please,” Harlowe adds, batting her eyelashes. 

“I’m right here,” Calum laughs, settling down next to her. 

“Are you buying me french fries?” she shoots back, resting her head into his chest. 

His arm wraps around her, almost protectively. “I’m the one you go home with.”

She reaches up, tapping the end of his nose with her finger. They’ve always been way more affectionate. You pretend to gag, before burying your face into your glass of water. She just buries herself deeper into him before raising her middle finger to you. “That’s rude!” Luke interjects, voice turning up into a laugh. 

As the second and third, due to Calum’s ordering, basket of fries comes out. It feels like old times, like being twenty three again during the summer before your second year for your Master’s program. When you forced Harlowe to get up on that dinky stage and read her poems. When Calum and Luke approached the two of you at the end of the night. It feels like you’ve got nothing but time, nothing by belly laughs and Harlowe and Calum’s antic, the lovingly nagging, the teases, you and Luke’s quiet moments, whispers. It’s nothing but being twenty three again. 

Until a phone chimes. The time of youth is over. You finish off the last few fries, cleaning off your fingers. Luke’s hand slides into yours. It’s Harlowe’s phone and she sighs. “Gotta get back to relieve Te Koha of babysitting duties,” she mutters. 

Calum leans in close to her, “Can I come home with you?” He’s only a few beers in this evening. Nowhere near as far as he can go.

“Hmm,” Harlowe chuckles, nails dragging under his chin, “Depends on how well you handle three kid.”

“Some might say I’m an expert,” he laughs. 

“An expert in making them,” Luke jokes, with a whistle. 

“That’s all you,” Calum teases. “Some of us made the choice a lot time ago to shoot blanks.”

“We are not having this discussion right here,” you interject. 

Harlowe pushes on Calum’s shoulder, to get him walking towards the door. She digs into his jacket pocket, retrieving the kids. “I’ll talk to you probably in an hour,” she laughs. “Good luck, getting your drunk giant home.”

“Do not remind me,” you call before adding, “Love you.”

She shouts over her shoulder. “Love you too. I covered half the bill.”

“I covered half,” Calum corrects loudly. 

“Will you be quiet and walk you drunk piece of man. Let’s go. Kids. Kids. We gotta get to our kids.”

You drive the two of you back. Luke hums quietly along to the radio for a while. His leg bounce. You watch him at a red light. “What’s up?” you ask, pressing your palm into his denim-cladded thigh. 

“Do you know what’s up with Ra?”

You had noticed she was way more quiet than usual. This is whatever Harlowe knew but you did. Luke continues, his voice panicked. “I tried asking her what was up, but she wouldn’t budge. I’m not sure if you know.”

“I don’t know either.”

His sigh is heavy. You can imagine his fingers carding through his hair as the stress settles onto his forehead. “Is it college stress? Boy trouble? If it’s boy trouble, I’m kicking someone’s ass,” he murmurs. 

“Call Harlowe too.”

Luke chuckles, some of the tension leaving his shoulders. “Yeah, I can’t forget her. What do you think it is?”

You don’t even want to try and think about that, what darkness is potentially overcoming your baby girl. Your grip on the steering wheel tightens. You’d go through hell and back for your kids. Sure you weren’t always the most affectionate person, but you’d be damned if your kids were going through some shit and didn’t at least know you were in their corner for them. The rest of the drive you and Luke try not to envision all the terrible scenarios. Had someone hurt her? Touched her the wrong way? Was she failing a class? Did something happen to a friend? Did she think that you and Luke weren’t there for her anymore?

With the car parked in the driveway, you two climb out of the car and share a concerned glance before walking inside. Ra’s chilling on the couch, Noor passed out in her lap, the TV’s on. It’s not barely nine. “You’re free of being pretend mom,” Luke says softly. 

Ra looks up with a small smile. “How were drinks?”

“Good. Anything happen here?” you asks.

“If it had, trust I would’ve called. After you guys left after dinner, we all finished up some homework. Or rather they finished up, and then Zeek showered and start drawing. Noor and I watched some TV. She had those physical fitness test today, so she’s pretty exhausted I guess.”

Luke nod, kissing both their foreheads. “We’ve got her. Finish up that work, yeah?”

Ra nods. “How many pints, Dad?” she laughs. 

He shakes his head. “Hush. Only a few more months and then I’ll take you out.”

“Oh, God, please spare me that embarrassment.”

“Okay, so Auntie Harlowe can take you out on my dime, how about that?”

She grins. “Now you’re talking.”

Luke pulls her in for one last hug, kissing her hair. “Go finish your work, missy.”

As Ra ascends the stairs, you wait until she reaches the first landing before stopping her, a gentle hand on her back. “Hey,” you start, looking into her eyes. The twinkle is gone. She looks tired. “You know I’m here right, for you. Both your dad and I are. You can tell us anything.”

She nods, lips pursing close. “I know. Thanks, Mum. Got a paper to finish though.” She lifts her thumb over her shoulder to the stairs, to her room, to her escape. You nod. She turns and takes them two at a time. She’s not ready. You can’t force her. 

It’s another two weeks. Zahra walks in through the door behind Noor and Zeek, closing the door behind her. “Hey guys,” you call out, tending over the pot of pasta. 

Zeek kisses your cheek and Noor buries herself in a giant hug. Ra doesn’t round the corner. You peek around and see her leaning against the glass, hands covering her face. Her shoulders shake once, twice. She’s crying. Before you can set yourself in motion towards her, she throws herself into you, tears staining her cheek, streaking her make-up. “Fuck,” she whimpers, shaking against you. 

Your heart thunders in your chest. “Hey, hey, hey, it’s okay.” Part of you is frozen. What the hell is happening? But the other part is ready to fix whatever it is. Whatever is heavy in her soul. “Talk--talk to me, baby. I’m right here,” you attempt to soothe. 

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I know,” she hiccups. “I know emotions are totally not our thing. But god, I’m so tired of holding this in anymore.”

The two of you stand there, you rubbing at her back and she sobs into your skin, her tears feeling like fire. What else could you have done to get her to open up sooner? What else could you have said? “You’re ready now,” you whisper. “It’s okay.”

It takes a few minutes for Zahra to collect herself. Her cheeks are streak a little. But she takes a deep breathe. “Did my mascara run?”

You shake your head, a smile cracking through the fear. “No. Told you that shit would hold.”

She laughs. The two of you head into the kitchen, you hand her some tissues. She’s much taller than you, taking her height from Luke. You have to look up at her a little. Rubbing her arms, you find yourself at lost for words. Wait until she’s ready, you think to yourself. Wait until she’s ready. Zeek hands her a glass of water. “Your face didn’t melt too bad.”

“Thanks,” Ra mutters, taking a sip. “And you’re still a pain in my butt.”

“I’m the best pain,” he smiles, hugging her. 

“Can I talk to you and Dad, when he gets here?” Ra says quietly behind her glass. 

You nod. “Of course.”

Luke arrives home about an hour later. Just as dinner is finished. He immediately notes the pink to Zahra’s face and flashes you a look. You respond with a gesture of your hand, telling him to wait, to not jump the gun. But Zahra knows when her hug is a few seconds longer than usual. Dinner goes by nicely, though Zeek does make one comment, “So we’re not going to discuss the emotional breakdown or?”

“Shove your mouth with pasta or there’s gonna be another breakdown and not from me,” Ra smiles. 

Zeek huffs, “No need to take my head off, okay?”

Noor reaches over, holding Ra’s hand, while shoveling more food onto her fork. “Some of us know our manners,” she quips. 

Luke and you try to swallow the snickers. Your children did learn from the best. Zeek and Noor get excused from the table. You know the kitchen’s a mess but that can wait. Zahra looks up from her empty plate. “So, like, what if I said I wasn’t sure I was straight?” she asks all in one breathe. 

You blink for a second, all the air rushing out of your lungs, before you smile. “I would say I’m very happy you told me.”

She looks to Luke. He takes her hand between his palms. “I would say that I love you no matter what. Straight or not, you’re still my daughter and I love you dearly. And it’s mighty brave of you to admit that.”

Zahra blinks rapidly, eyes welling up again. “It’s--” her voice is thick, she takes a moment. “It’s strange. To always have known something was different with me. Not just skin color or religion. But like something different. I don’t have a label for it. And I tried to push it down, ya know? Not think about it amongst all the college application deadlines, and dances, and school work mixed in with my job. I just….it’s been too long for me not to say something.”

You hand her a napkin. She dabs under her eyes. “You don’t need a label, sweetie. You don’t have to be afraid of us. We will always love you.”

“Always?” she questions. 

“Of course,” you and Luke chorus. 

“So, on top of that, I also don’t think artsy is my thing, Dad. I like the idea of Med school.”

Luke grins, placing one hand over his heart, faking a groan of pain. “I still got two more shoots at one of my kids turning to the arts.”

Zahra laughs looking over to you. “Every Brown parent’s dream, isn’t it?”

You nod, laughter bursting out of you. “Maybe just a little bit. I don’t care what you do, just as long as you love it, sweetheart.”

“That’s really a one two punch,” Luke jokes, later as the three of you clean the kitchen. “Really breaking your old man’s heart.”

You slap his bicep. “Now’s not the time.”

Zahra hugs him though from behind, cheek squished by his back. “I figured if you guys could handle me being a giant question mark in the sexuality department then maybe changing from arts to sciences would be easier to swallow.”

Luke turns in her embrace, wrapping her up tightly. “Yeah, a good way to deliver the news.” You let your cheeks lift, watching Zahra happily rests in her father’s arms for a beat or two longer before going back to putting the dishes up. It’s no longer heaviness in her shoulders, she no longer drags. That makes you happy.

Not even two hours later though, there’s a knock at the door. Luke answers it, his laughter erupting from him. You watch as Harlowe comes barreling down the entryway, a rainbow flag in her hands. She wraps Ra up in as she hugs her, rocking them both side to side. “Welcome to the club!” Harlowe laughs. 

Calum, Te Koha, Esha and Nikau follow in slowly behind her. If you had to equate the two of you to weather, Harlowe is a hurricane and your just the run of the mill thunderstorms. But you wouldn’t have her any other way. Esha walks over, prying her mother away from her life long friend. “So, we’re going to pride together or what?” Esha jokes, giving Zahra a hug. Esha has been out as pan for a year now. Calum and Harlowe took her to a few pride events since then. 

Ra laughs, “Yeah, yeah I guess we can.”

Te Koha steps dish out a hug too. “That’s very brave and you. I’m proud,” he says quietly. Zahra and him are in the same boat, not straight, not gay, just questions, just queer. Te Koha has not said anything. She hopes this pushes him. You watch their silent conversation before Nikau hugs her too and it ends. 

“Momma brought you cake,” Nik informs to Ra. 

She laughs. “Of course, you did Auntie Harlowe. Only you.”

“I’ve been quiet for weeks! Weeks, I told you i would not say anything until you came out. But I hope you’re ready because now, I’m not holding back!” Harlowe laughs, walking into the kitchen. That’s when it comes evident that her rainbow clips are holding back her two-strand twists from her face. You laugh at the detail, but happily take the slice of cake she hands you. 

“Thank you,” you say to Harlowe as the kids chat in the background. Ra’s still wearing the flag. “Thank you for being there for her.”

“It’s what I’m here for. I do not take the title aunt loosely.”

“Clearly,” you mutter, motion to the cake and the flag. “You make that abundantly clear.”

[unforestalledreturn]

HOW I RUN MY BLOG.

SPEED:  My speed can vary depending on my muse for a particular thread, but unless stated otherwise, I will reply to a thread no longer than a week. If it has been over a week, then I a) lost the thread b) my tracker borked c) forgot to hit ‘post’. 

REPLIES: As stated above, I try to reply to my role plays within a week, although more often than not I respond within a day. If you see that I have responded to someone’s thread multiple times but not yours, it just means I have a good muse for it at the time. It does not mean I like you, or our thread any less.  If I have not responded within a week, this is your invitation to message me on Tumblr or on my discord. So many threads have been eaten by the void and it can be hard for me to keep track of them all.  Replies range from 2-5 paragraphs. Rarely do replies grow longer (but they do on occasion). I do not mind shorter replies, but if I have spent a good afternoon making something nice, it is not encouraging to receive the role play equivalent of ‘k’. Small note: If a thread has not been responded to in over a month, I do untrack it from my thread tracker. I would keep it forever, but due to Tumblr changes, there are only so many threads I can track at a time. This does not mean I have dropped the thread. It just means I may need a quick message that you are still interested in the thread. 

STARTERS: You wanna write me a starter? With or without plotting I am 10000% cool if we are mutuals. And if we are not, it does not mean I do not wish to interact with you. I do not pay attention to my notifications, so I am not always aware of new follows. You are always welcome to come into my messages and be like: “YUKA PLS I DESIRE THE THREADS”. I don’t scare easy :) If you are not comfortable writing starters, I am more than happy to make one. While I do not make starters out of the blue, I will if requested. My starters tend to be around 5-6 paragraphs long to set up the background and the like. I do not expect replies to match this. 

INBOX: Go for it! I do not know of a single person who does not like getting inbox surprises. Almost all the memes I have reblogged are always open (tagged with #meme). IC random interactions are also delightful. If made a thread, however, I ask that we move it to keep things nice and tidy. 

SELECTIVITY: I am not overly selective. But there are times where I may not be interested in a thread and may even prioritize certain threads over others. When it comes to OCs I am a little more cautious and do need background information to start interactions.  This is NOT a mutuals only blog. Some starter calls/inbox calls will be mutuals only, but those are specifically tagged. 

WISHLIST: My wishlist is under the tag #wishlist. 

HONEST NOTE: I am here to have fun. I do not do drama, I do not do call-outs or police people over the morality of roleplay. You will see intense themes on this blog. I do NOT tag triggers automatically. If, however, you like the content of my blog but there is something that genuinely upsets you, I WILL tag on request. Just shoot me a message.  But honest and genuinely-- I do not tolerate hate. If towards me or someone I know of, I will not interact. Roleplay is a hobby, not a chore, not competition, not a test of morality. If there is something you dislike about my blog to the extent you would be inclined to engage in dramatic, or hate-inciting behaviors, please unfollow me. 

Finally, and on a more positive note-- I love to roleplay. I love to write and test my creativity. So if you even have an inkling of wanting to interact but have no idea how PLEASE TALK TO ME! We can brainstorm together and come up with a nice plot.  And if it does not work out? If you lose interest but feel really bad about dropping a thread? IT IS OK! I am here to have fun, not make you dread being on your dash. I do not take offense if you do not reply. While it is really nice to have a heads up, it is not necessary. Again, fun first. 

TAGGED BY: stolen from @sadistic-second

TAGGING: Continue the thievery >:D

[mainexiii]

Always Be With You Forever Day6 Young K x OC

“Soo hyun came back to Korea to see her family, it's been 5 years since she went to the U.S to study, as she stepped her feet in Korea, memories came flooding back, will she be able to forget the tragedy that almost cost her life and killed her boyfriend or a miracle will happen?“ Also posted in AO3 = Mainexiii

also.. im lazy asf so i did not prood read all of this, hence, a lot of grammatical errors coz English is not my primary language. 

I’m having this strange feeling when I walk out on the arrival area at the airport, Jinnie my younger sister waving at her hands rapidly as if I can not even see her, I smile at her and waves back. “Soo hyun! Woah, I really missed you”, teary eyed she hug me tight and kiss my right cheek. “ yuck! You just smudged your lipstick on me, come on!” we laughed and went out of the airport, I was wiping my cheek when Jinnie asked a lot of things about my 5 year vacation in the U.S, well, it’s not just a vacation, I barely lived there during my college years and never came back to Korea.. I did not answer her question and just continue to walked until we reach her car, the both of us are silent the trip to my house, it’s not easy to talk about what happened years ago, it’s too hard to recall my memories that I’ve kept hidden inside my brain just to survive. “Jinnie-ya..can we please not talk about the past? I’m still not ready okay? Please..for me?” you gaze at her direction at holds her other hand and squeeze it. She heaved a sigh and squeeze back my hand. “ Okay.. you know.. after all these years without contact from us and your friends, one of these days you’ll find out about something and you have to be prepare for it”. I was confused about what she’s talking about and just shrugged it off. “ Wait.. is mom setting up a man for me to marry?, if that what it is.. then drop me off right now” I giggled but Jinnie is damn serious right now. “I hope so tho, but unfortunately that not it. I want you to stay strong, okay? She smiled and opened the radio. I panicked at her sudden action “Turn it off!” I screamed at her and she immediately turned off the radio. Jinnie apologized and stopped the car, Jinnie tries to calmed me down by caressing my back, took a deep breath and fix my hair and make up,I don’t want to let my mom see me like this, still a mess after all these years away from home. I face Jinnie and smiled, “I’m fine, Jinnie .. I’m sorry for startling you, I know all for you are worried about me and I’m sorry for everything, I hope you understand what I’ve through. Jinnie hugged me tightly and smiled and gave me an understanding nod. I'm meeting my family at the province with takes three hours of driving, I went by so familiar places and I feel that my heart’s going to burts with all these happy and sad memories with him.

8 years ago when I met Young hoon, everybody calls him brian. We went to the same high school and I was a transferee, he was the class president and he was assigned to help me everything to adjust to the new school, he took me a tour around the whole campus and introduced to different clubs, he was very helpful and nice, obviously the whole class loves him. I was bullied once when I was on my way to home on my first day of class, the kids who seemed to be rebels are ganging up on me , they took my wallet and ripped my school bag thinking they’ll find anything worth to steal, I was frozen walking the whole time and a girl from my class pat me at my back “ Hey, is this yours?” she turned over my lost items including my money, the only thing I did was hugged her and cry. She laughs and hold both of my shoulder, “It’s okay! I already took care of those bitches, they wont bother you anymore” I nod still crying. “Stop crying will you!” she offered her hand and introduced herself, “ I’m Hana, and you must be Soo hyun right?” confused, i looked up at her cause she’s quite tall “how did you know me?” I asked, “ Girl, we’re on the same class!” she replied, “ Oh, I did’nt notice you” doubting that she’s lying. “Brian gave you a tour around the campus?” she asked as we start walking outside the skirts where the bitches brought me, I didn’t even know this place, i felt my cheeks hotness and touch them, I smiled at the thought of Brian, he’s tall, handsome and I’ll figure out the rest, I was smiling the entire time when Hana confronts me, “Yah! don’t tell me you like Brian too?” she stopped facing me crossed arms, what the hell? I’m having a rival here already?! I stare at her her blankly, “ So what? You like him too don’t you? I gave her a question look, “ Bitch no! Brian’s my first cousin so don’t worry, I smiled at her reply and continues to walked when I saw my parent’s car near our apartment. “oh my parent’s already here” I glanced at her and pointed our apartment, “ I lived there!” I smiled at her took her hand, “ I’ll introduced you to my parents sometime” she smiled and shake my hand, “okay sure, but to tell you honestly, Brian has alot of admirers so good luck my friend..” she laughs and I slapped her back. She fakes a pain and laugh again seeing my red face, “ that’s not it,! I don’t like him at all! “ we we’re laughing and my parents called me to go up now, I wave at them and says thanks to my new found friend.

We arrived at the the province and my whole family welcomes me outside the house. Mom walks towards me as I opened the car door and hugs me tightly, I didn’t know I was crying until she wipes my tears, “Thank you for coming back” mom whispers while crying, seeing my mom, dad and two other siblings in front of me wont let me stop crying , I missed them so much that it hurts, everything hurts. We went inside and talk about everything excluding him. The day went by so fast I forgot I'm jet-lagged, mom prepared me a tea to help me sleep. I just want to take a rest now, I hope I’ll dream of him again, that’s the only thing that keeps me reminding of his face, I wished every single day to see him even in my dreams only, I missed him so much I think I will never moved on.

I woke up and look at the time on my phone, it’s already 9 am and I’m so freaking hungry. I climb out of my bed and I noticed a wedding invitation card at my bedside table, I open it and sees the fancy gold emboss font “Kang Hana and Park Sungjin” wow, how did she even know I’m back.”They did really end up together huh,” you smiled and recall little memories with them. I did not open the entire invitation since I don’t have the guts to see them. I took a shower, letting the water run down my body and close the clog to let the water full up the bath tub, I closed my eyes and recall the memories with him, I have to be strong, it’s been 5 years and I just cant accept the fact that he’s gone, I tried dating during my college years but none of them worked out.

After a year of being friends with Brian I decide to make the first move, it’s our last year in high school and I don’t wanna missed the opportunity, I know there’s something going on between us, but we just keep it casual, we’ve spent a lot of time together, holding hands, bus trips while holding hands, eat at cafe’s holding hands, watch busking holding hands and more holding hands, that’s it. We we’re contented about us just like that. We exchange stories about everything at our school’s rooftop. We wants to be a singer someday, play with a band, he’s good at guitars, basses, he was already a trainee at a company so most of his time are just in school, us going out and training, he rarely sees his family since he have been living in the dorm with his soon to be members. It’s fun spending our youth just like that. When I got the courage to ask him out, he already plans something, he brought me to the roof top and picnic basket, he let me sit down and runs at the back of the corner of the roof top to get his guitar, I was so excited I cant stop smiling all the time, he tuned his guitar and smiles at me widely, that the best thing that I liked about him, his smile that can lit up a dark world. He started singing one of his original songs, I listened at him looked him in the face and mouth “ I like you”, he stopped singing and walk towards me giving me a peck on the lips, I squeel covering my whole flushed cheeks. We spent the whole afternoon talking about our future and to travel around the whole world, Brian loves travelling as much as I do, we planned to go to Busan, Daegu and Jeju Island after our graduation. It’s the last day of our graduation and made our first trip to Busan, I was so excited spending my time with him, we ate and ate, went to the beaches, visit historical site. That feeling can never be replace by anyone. We’ve visit a lot of libraries around Seoul preparing for our college exam, he used to say that he loves me everyday, but I cant let out those words because I was unsure if it’s already love I am feeling for him,” it’s okay if you still don’t love me, as long as you let me love you, I’m okay with that” he smiled and hold my hand. It’s been 6 months since we had a trip outside Seoul, I was busy at school while Brian is busy preparing for their debut, Brian is amazing at multitasking, he went to school while practicing his bass skills, he’s so amazing at managing his study hours, practices and me. He always had a time for me, I mean everything, we eat breakfast together since my dorm is also close to his. Even when I’m sick, he can still take care of me, and that’s when I realized that I have loved him all this time, unsure of the feeling .. I shook the bad thoughts away and said my first I love you on his birthday, He keep on jumping and took me by his arms, hugging tightly. He kissed me passionately and I feel my hot cheeks probably flaring at this new feeling, he pulls away and widely smiled at me, “ We should go now” he says holding my hand leading me down stairs and went outside, “ oh wait, my gift for you” I hand him the box containing a couple dream bracelet. “HAPPY BIRTHDAY! You greeted him again with a hug and attached the bracelet on his right wrist. “ Thank you, really,”he hugged me tightly, he love giving tight hugs, his a hugger.

After our final exam, we had planned going to Jeju Island, just for one day since it’s expensive going there. I had pack my bag and prep up myself and called Brian, “ Bri, where are you now” I asked, looking around to see if I miss anything. “I just arrived downstairs, you coming down now?” he replied. “yeah, see you downstairs” I locked up my door went went downstairs.

We arrived at Jeju Island , the both of us feeling excited, we started to wander around , asked some locals what to ride to go to our accommodation, we took the bus that travels for 30 minutes to our place, we’re both excited as we planned the whole trip for months, we listened to some music on his ipod when I notice the sky is getting darker, I was nervous when it started raining heavily, the bus driver went on slowly to avoid accidents. The traffic light went red and the bus stopped, I hold Brians hand and lean on his shoulder, he felt the tension and my hands are shaking, “ You okay? Are you cold?” he ask with a worry look. I just nod and he brings his arms around my shoulder to pull me closer. The traffic light went green and as the bus driver starts to drive, I heard a loud bang! And I black out..

chapter2

I woke up feeling my whole body aches, mom rushes to hold my hand and asked if I was okay. She was crying while calling the doctors. I didn't know what's happening, I only remember Brian and I was on the bus and I blacked out. Brian and I was involved in an accident , fortunately... I was okay ,nothing serious happened but Brian,  he was comatose. I felt my whole world turns into darkness, i immediately went to Brians room and cried for hours.

Days gone by, weeks turns into months...

Brian still not awake, he's condition is not getting good and i blame myself for it. If it weren't for me.. He would've been laying for months in this awful room.

I was with him the entire time, i helped his family taking care of him, i rarely went to school and because of it. . . Im about to fail all my subjects due to absences .

I went to my school to inform that I will be taking a break and also informed Brian's school. I went back to the hospital and as I was about to enter Brian's room , I heard the doctor and Brian's parents talking about his condition.They decided to end Brian's life support.

My whole world shattered .

How can they do this to their own son? !

How can they take a life without taking chances!

This is not fair !

I burst into the room and beg for chances, to give Brian chance to live. I was crying while tugging his mom's coat,

" please don't do this ! I beg you ! Please .."

We we're both crying the whole time and she explained to me the consequences if we let Brian stay like that forever ..

" Soo-ya, we dont want Brian to suffer too, his condition is not getting good his body is so weak right now . I dont want my child to suffer like this .." I saw the sadness and sorrow in her eyes, the pain of watching his son getting weak.. I also can not stand watching Brian suffer, but I can not let Brian lose his life without even trying. I won't .

But the decision is not mine to make.

They're going to end his life the day after. I have to be with him on that last day , my heart aches to much there's no tears left to cry .

My heart is too numb.

D-Day

Brian's whole family is waiting for me at the hospital, while me .. Still at home, crying my heart out, " I thought there's no tears left" I mumbled.

I get up packed my clothes and documents and book the earliest ticket and went straight to the airport.

Brian's mom keep on calling me but I ignored and sent everyone a message that I'm boarding bound to America and never to contact me. I turned off my phone and cried myself to sleep.

I just lost the love of my life and im going to a unfamiliar place and tried my best to forget him.. But how can i? When I left my heart and soul in Seoul .

I finished taking a shower and went outside to grab some brunch, I found a cafe that serves American brunch sets and went inside . I keep on thinking the wedding invitation, I miss my best friend so much and she might hate me forever if I wont go to her wedding, I don't know what to do anymore .

Someone sat infront of me, I raised my head and saw Hana crossing her arms while glaring at me . Im so shock I almost spit my food,  " Hana! " I get up and hug her . She hug me back and gave me a wide smile.

"I missed youu Soo-ya!!!! " we hugged tightly and sit down. " Soo! It's been years.." She said giving me a faint smile "I know.. It's been years and I missed you too,  and I'm sorry Hana ..for everything"

"I understand you Soo, I know the pain that you went through but it's not worth it,  you made yourself a mess,  after all these years, no one knows where on America are you, you wont let us comfort you, you completely shut us down in your life.. And im telling you Soo, all those tears .. It's not worth it."

The pain that i've felt all those years.. I know, i did not help myself overcoming it. It was so overwhelming i kept myself busy working and studying, just to forget Brian .

But it did not help, because at the end of the day.. Brian is the only one who i think of. My love for Brian is irreplaceable. I blame myself everyday until my heart don't let any people inside it.

"It's not worth it Soo, it's the time for you to moved on and be happy, because it's not your fault okay?" I tried to remain calm for a few seconds, i wont let my tears be visible for this is the day that i have to let my old self go and open a new door and let people inside it. I take Hana's hand and squeeze it "Thank you Hana, i'll try my very best"

We went outside the cafe and walk towards the parking lot, she have to run some errands for her wedding tomorrow and bid goodbye as she went inside her car.

As I was going to the opposite direction, Hana's car stopped beside me she roll down her window. "Soo! I have to tell you something tomorrow, please come okay?! It's very important and you deserve to know it, please come okay?" She said and I answer her with a smile and nod and . She smiled back and drive away.

I gather my thoughts about everything, it's time for me to moved on and be happy again it's been years and there's too many people that i've pushed away. I shouldn't let myself be forever like this, it's time to say goodbye to Brian.

It's Hana's wedding day at 12pm and there's still a lot of time for me to visit Brian's grave. But.. I dont know where he was buried. I'll just ask Hana later after the wedding.

I arrive at the wedding hall and went to the bride's room. Hana was talking a picture with my high school friends and i feel so guilty losing contacts with them, Hana notices me as well as my H.S friends, their faces look shocked to see me and turns into an apologetic smile, I composed myself and greet them warmly, they hug me tightly and atleast i felt that they really miss me.

I turn my attention to Hana and praised her with compliments, the girls and we're catching up when the Host is announcing to start the wedding, we went out of the room and went to our table. As the wedding starts , I wander if im seeing familiar faces at the event and my eyes landed on Brian's mom, she was looking at me and give me a warm smile and a nod, i smile back and my heart skip a beat seeing her, it was so nerve wrecking... I always feel so attached at Brian's mother, during my stay at the hospital she also takes care of me when my mom is not around, we share stories about Brian and our trips and i felt her happiness as we talk about Brian.. I shrugged memories away. On the middle of the wedding the announcer says that there will be a surprise perfomance of a band called Day6, I looked at Hana and her face turned pale while she look at me, I'm confused at the sudden reaction and I looked at my friends , seeing their faces the same reaction as Hana while looking at me, suddenly i feel nervous and ask what is happening. They can not answer me and just keep silent when another stage appear and there i saw a familiar man with four more people each holding their instruments, the band starts singing when the man holding a bass put it down and went in the middle of the stage and hug Hana while singing, I stand up to see a clearer view and i froze .

No way this is happening, i was still frozen when the man singing averts his eyes on me, i recognized the same eyes, nose and lips, it's Brian. It's Brian! How is this possible? He's dead! Brian..is dead. My tears started to fall and notice Brian's reaction, he give me a small smile and finished singing. My kness are weak and i grip the table to lean on, my friends help me to sit down, and tries to calm me.

How can i calm when the man i grieve for years is alive?! I can not gather my thoughts my mind went blank as i was about to leave the venue .. Someone stop me by holding my arm, i face that person and my heart shatters to see him this close to me. I just let my self cry as he holds both my shoulder , the overwhelming feeling makes me unconscious and I blacked out. Again.

Chapter 3

I woke up hearing different voices , i open my eyes and saw Hana still in her wedding dress.

"GOD SOO! YOU'RE AWAKE! she hugs me tightly and cry.

It wasnt a dream..

Hana explained everything , They we're supposed to end Brian's suffering on the day that i left, but Brian's mom change her mind and give another chance for Brian to wake up, they keep on calling me to tell me the news but i already went abroad. After a month of intensive prayers a miracle happened and Brian woke up. Yet they still cant reach me. After months on theraphy, Brian decided to went after me on America but i  never told them where i live even my family didn't know. Brian eventually became busy because of training and catching up homeworks for school, and tried to move on from me too. He debut in a band two years ago and became known globally, which ofcourse I did'nt know because I shut myself from the universe...

My mind went blank,  all those pain and rejection and guilt , those feelings that ruined me..i cried and cried until i calmed down, Hana left me in the hotel room and went back to the venue. I lay down overthinking about Brian, how do i react when i see him again, that..if he still wants to see me ,but i want to see him badly my heart aches for him,  he probably hate me for leaving him. I hate my self too. All these years of heart break, i feel so pathetic. I heard  knocks on the door, i went down the bed and open the door...and Brian stands there, I took a step backwards as he went inside and lock the door. I can only hear our breathing standing face to face ,no one tries to speak.

We just stare at each other,when he took a step forward and holds my hand. The moment our skin touches all the memories with him came flashing back and all i can do is cry. He pulls me in a tight hug as i sob inside his arms. I keep on crying on his shirt as i feel the warm liquid on my head, i look up at him and saw him crying too. We cried in each others arms, we lay down the bed, he hugs me closer and stroke my hair still crying. No talking just tight hugs.

Chapter 4 Brian’s POV

After the accident i woke up in the hospital and never saw soo hyun again.. She went away unknowingly what happend to me , she thinks IM DEAD. We can not contact her phone, email we didnt even know her address in the states. She shut everyone down. Occationaly she sent letters to her family without the return address. That's the only communication that they have. She never came back.

I tried hard to finished my studies and training and finally i debuted with my band. I still cant forget her i think i will never forget her , she took my heart with her and i never dated anyone else , my friends even think im gay . Everything reminds me of her, my dream bracelet, the rooftop, the shirts she gave me on special occations, our favorite restaurant, she's everywhere. I cried so many sleepless nights thinking about her, i miss her so damn much . And eventually i set aside my feelings and focused on my work and studies ,and i graduate finally, i think of her every single day, so many what if's, she might be happy right now, she must've moved on . Thinking about her with another man makes my heart beats faster, i should be with her, she should be with me celebrating life. But she never came back.

It's Hana's wedding day, im not supposed to be at her wedding because of conflict of schedules but it was cancelled so i went and surprised her.

But i was the one whose surprise.

Soo hyun, the love of my life, is here.

We made eye contact, i can see her eyes full confusion, hurt, mixed emotions. I smile at her and she rushed to the door. I chase her calling her name and grab her arms, she froze standing looking at me and cry. As i was gonna hug her she collapsed.

I went to her room after Hana explained everything, she cried and cried as I hug her tightly . God i missed her so much i cried along with her, we didnt talk and i just let her cry her heart out. She fell asleep still sobbing. I watch her intently, i still cant believe it's her, i never thought she's coming back into my life again, she must've felt guilty about the accident she blamed herself all these years thinking that i was dead.  

"I'm sorry you went all through that" I stroked her hair, planting small kisses, i hug her tightly and she open her eyes, looking at me without blinking ,intently fixed her gaze on me, i smile at her and touch her cheeks..

"It's not a dream right?" She kissed my hand

"No babe, i'm real and alive" I cupped her cheeks and trails small kisses on her face and gently kiss her lips.

"I think it's time for us to be happy, you should let go all the burdens, let's start a brand new chapter of our life,okay? I missed you babe, i missed you a lot" i kissed her again this time passionately to let her feel safe and that im here with her.

" I love you Bri, thank you for being alive"

" I love you more Soo, thank you for coming back"

[fromthedeskofelizabeththird]

Fracture 6/10

Please note that this chapter references torture

If you like Juyeon, go love on @yoosungshoodie, since Juyeon is her OC and gave me her blessing to use her. The banner comes from @kiserusmoke!

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Epilogue | AO3| Masterlist

There’s something else. I believe that whoever left the note is an employee of C&R.

“C&R?”

Suddenly, Seven’s mouth was dry and he mourned the soda Vanderwood scrubbed from the floor.

“I asked my security team for the full details of who came and went to the apartment today and the last people to leave were Nari, Juyeon and housekeeping, in that order.”

“I’ll look into it!” He cried out, hoping his enthusiasm masked his concern. “Don’t worry about---”

He hung up before Jumin could even respond and hopped out of his chair to gather together as many maps and files as he could carry.

“Hey, hey,” protested Vanderwood, “what are you-” He flinched as Seven threw car keys in his direction.

“Come on! We have to go.” “Go? Go where?”

Seven frowned over the top of the mountain of research in his arms.

“If there’s a mole in C&R, we need to warn V. There’s no telling exactly how much they might know or use to their advantage...it could jeopardize the entire investigation,” he said. “There’s a safe house not too far from the castle, so come on, we need to hurry!”

Vanderwood frowned, glancing from the messy floor to his flustered expression. Neither mentioned that the safehouse Seven referred to came into their possession in the earlier days of the Mint Eye investigation, nor that every single team to use it was MIA.

“Fine,” he said. “But just so you know, this means the photographer guy owes us double.”

Jihyun arrived at the castle boundary at midnight, which was strangely apt the more he thought about it. The outhouse he had previously used as a camp had changed a good deal in the last few months, which he supposed made sense. It belonged to the cult in the castle, after all, perhaps intended as a sentry post or something far more sinister. Either way, the last time he saw it it contained little more than a handful of water bottles, a worn bible and a pamphlet or two. He had been careful not to disturb the shelves much on his last visit, sniffing at the water in the bottles before taking a tentative sip. Whether or not it was clean was anyone’s guess, but at the very least it didn’t make him sick. Now that he was back, it had a few new boxes filled with musty uniforms and somebody’s shoes. In the far corner was a crate of wine bottles, though he recognised none of the labels.

Assuming the inner workings of the castle had not changed too much, the guard rotation changed at five o’clock every morning. He did not have the luxury of time, though, and after taking the tarpaulin from the back seat of his car and stretching it across until he was satisfied its dark shape was almost invisible in the forest, he shrugged on one of the newer looking sets of robes from one of the outhouse boxes.

He reached for his phone before leaving, sighing at its low battery and reaching to dial Nari’s number. He paused, though, taking in each of his missed calls from both Luciel and Jumin. Even considering the best case scenario: that Luciel was the only person looking for him, Nari’s phone was not at all compromised and she was being kept in a relatively safe environment, he did not know her well enough to presume her response to the revelation she was in danger. The worst case scenario, on the other hand, was one he did not want to entertain: that he was being traced by multiple hackers and had been for some time, Nari’s phone was compromised and had been bugged since her death.

He threw his phone into the river, watching it disappear into the darkness as he pulled up the hood of his robes.

A few hours from then everything would be changed forever, and though the optimism of it was clear even to him, he hoped it was for the better.

Ordinarily, Jumin took his good instincts for granted; he was confident making increasingly difficult business decisions and planning the future of C&R in an ever changing climate. Items and industries that dominated their accounts in previous years no longer held any value and keeping the company ahead of the game was as much about intuition as it was careful research.

When it came to Nari, though, he felt scrambled; every negative possibility equally as plausible as the next. Deep in his gut he knew there was something strange about Nari’s disappearance. Perhaps she was in danger, or had left him the note only as an afterthought.

It seemed almost distasteful to prefer the scenario where she was in danger, and yet he spent the night waiting for a callback from Luciel that ultimately never came.

After their argument, he had scooped up Nari’s engagement ring, meaning to give it back to her when they next spoke. In her absence, though, he placed it on his bedside table and hoped that when he woke up it would all be a bad dream.

Come the next morning, Luciel had not returned his call and any to Nari went straight to answer machine. As much as he wanted to dial her over and over again until she answered, the off chance that she genuinely meant to leave held him back.

He hoped he was wrong, considered that as he put on his tie the next morning. Before leaving for work, he put the engagement ring in his pocket, smoothing his fingers across the metal in the backseat of his car.

It took him half the journey to draft a message and even then it was only half complete:

We need to talk.

Nari woke early, the time on her phone screen one that would ordinarily leave her groaning and pulling the covers over her face. This time, though, she all but flew out of bed, changing into her clothes from the previous day and carefully folding the itchy nightdress. To say it was a relief to be out of it was an understatement; as she rinsed her face in the bathroom mirror, she saw that her neck and collarbones were red and blotchy from the irritation.

After dressing for the day, she dialed Driver Kim’s number and sighed when he did not respond. She doubted he was still asleep, for that particular time of day perfectly matched Jumin’s daily departure for the office. Juyeon did not answer either and Nari sank onto the bed, logging in and out of the messenger to no avail. She remembered the number Ray had written down for her as an afterthought and for a moment or two considered calling him; he had, after all, offered her an ear morning or night. It was very early in the morning, though, and surely he had a home to go to.

By something of a coincidence, he answered her question not long afterwards; barreling into her room with a tea trolley while she scribbled notes in her organiser. She had several appointments that afternoon that quite possibly needed rearranging, though the scent of Darjeeling made it more difficult than usual to pay much thought to problems beyond the castle walls.

“Good morning,” said Ray, “did you sleep well?”

He lifted the teapot into his hands as he said so, only turning to pour the tea when she nodded.

“I feel much better today,” she said, accepting the cup he offered. “I’ll be out of your hair in no time!”

It was good tea; its warmth spreading from the top of her head to the tips of her toes. At first she did not notice Ray’s expression of conflict.

“About that,” he said, “I received word from your driver this morning.”

“Is he alright?”

“He will be better soon,” he said, “don’t you worry!”

He seemed reluctant to tell her any more than that and, as a consequence, her imagination ran wild. Suddenly all she could think of was Driver Kim standing in Jumin’s office describing the events of the previous day; Driver Kim bed bound with the flu; Driver Kim receiving word of an emergency in C&R. Each possibility was worse than the next and Nari cupped her hands around her teacup, pushing each dark thought to the back of her mind.

Even so, she did not know what Ray meant by ‘better’. 

“Our lady meant for you to take breakfast in the garden today,” said Ray, turning to her with a grin. “I wasn’t sure of your preferences, so I filled in a few of the blanks myself.”

“Will your boss be coming to eat with us?”

She had seen so little of the castle that she found herself increasingly curious of it. Were all of the rooms like her own? What sort of person was in charge? All she knew of the owner came from the few references Ray had made. Those small details were not particularly helpful in forming either an opinion or mental image, however, and Nari feared she had invented so much of the owner and her personality that the reality would leave her disappointed.

Ray had not expected her to ask such a question; it was written across his face. Almost immediately she wished she had never asked, for the owner surely had a busy schedule too and her overnight stay had inevitably left a few noses out of joint.

“Ah,” she said, “it doesn’t matter. I’ll grab my coat.”

When it came to his son, Chief Han liked to think that he knew him the best. Business was in the boy’s DNA and even as a child he had understood the proper order of proceedings for any given eventuality. His engagement to a commoner had come as a shock to everyone, Chief Han most of all.

Sometimes he forgot the circumstances of Jumin’s birth; forgot Jieun. Before Jumin, she had been the person he thought he knew best of all, only to learn otherwise when it was far too late.

“What was it you wanted to speak to me about?” He asked, sitting back in his chair to properly observe the man opposite. Jumin had skipped most pleasantries when they arrived at the restaurant, not even bothering to read the menu. In the end, Chief Han was the one to order coffee and light refreshments, wondering why he had been summoned for a meeting on such late notice.

“I wanted to talk about Nari,” said Jumin, his own cup untouched.

Retrospectively, he should have seen it coming. He had learned the hard way how difficult weddings were to organise, especially when the bride did not come from a privileged background as he had. More than one of his brides to be had ended their relationship without ever making it down the aisle, in part because of the influx of offers from media outlets and other companies. With this in mind, he had taken Jumin’s engagement as an opportunity to pursue every business deal and proposal he had previously dismissed. If the unreasonably short deadline didn’t strain their relationship, the more ridiculous of his suggestions surely would.

So far, Nari had not only been flexible, but almost excessively so. Chief Han knew it was only a matter of time before his requests became intolerable and doubtlessly that was why his son had insisted on a meeting. Perhaps the girl had already left him and his strategy had finally blossomed into fruition.

“I see,” he said, helping himself to coffee. “How is my future daughter in law?”

“Don’t speak as if you don’t know,” said Jumin, “I expected this sort of behaviour from my mother, not you.”

That was a low blow and Chief Han grimaced into his coffee cup before setting it down.

“I did not expect for my son to resort to petty insults,” he said, “and yet here we are.”

“As far as I can see, you have two options,” said Jumin, shrugging off the barb. “You give my wedding a wide berth and we start again with a clean slate.”

“Or?”

“Or I leave my post at C&R.”

Only then did Chief Han realise exactly how far he had underestimated his son. It was true that business was in Jumin’s DNA, but in his arrogance he had forgotten that outmaneuvering people was too. He had no idea if Jumin was serious or calling his bluff and that uncertainty was dangerous, as he was almost certainly aware.

Suddenly Chief Han was thirty eight again, with clammy hands and a fluttering stomach, staring down the mother of his son. It had been a long time since anyone backed him into a corner in such a fashion and for Jumin to do so twice in only a matter of months left him oddly sentimental, a fact that must have transferred to his face.

“Is something funny?”

“No, no,” he said, “it’s just that the way you said that...it reminded me of someone else.”

Only after he arrived at the castle did Jihyun realise any of the flaws in his plan. He had not thought very far beyond his arrival, heart thumping with adrenaline at the thought of breaking Nari out of one cell or another.

A lot had changed since his last visit to the castle, though. The staff he once knew by identification number had since been promoted, whether to a different division or rank, and many of the chambers that had been barricaded off were now fully realised. Worse, from what few tidbits of information he could glean from other acolytes, the saviour had devoted most of her attentions to the control room and a guest on the third floor.

The gardens were new; all manner of brightly coloured flowers where before there had been plain earth. There were mazes and archways, fountains carved out of stone and pathways so well worn that it was difficult to believe how recent they actually were.

Halfway through, towards the castle, he rested a hand against a tree and sucked in one breath and then two. His chest was tight, his mind foggy, and worst of all he did not know where he planned to go next.

No one he had talked to knew much about the mysterious guest on the third floor, only that she was important to the cause and being treated as a VIP. The obvious answer was Nari and Jihyun did not know if he should be relieved or not. Not one of the answers he had received confirmed or denied her involvement in the organisation and, as foolhardy as it was, he refused to accept it. There had to be a better explanation than Nari betraying the RFA.

He had thought about confronting Rika; begging and bartering for Nari’s life. Luciel’s words, though, were clear in his mind, that his plan was reckless to the point of suicide. Jihyun supposed he agreed with him, but there again, none of his imagined attempts at saving Nari ended with him going home. At some point, he had made peace with the fact that the chances of him leaving alive were slim to none.

If he was completely honest, he was ready to die; ready to rest his body and his conscience.

As if in response, someone called out from the garden.

“This place,” they said. “It must take you such a long time to maintain it!”

It took everything he had not to run to her the moment he saw her; Nari, her hair loose about her shoulders, hugging herself as she walked the main path to the pavilion in the center. Two steps ahead of her was a man in magenta clothes, pointing out individual flower beds as he walked.

“These are Lily of the Valley,” he said, stopping to kneel and lift one by the root. “Here-“

He twisted the stalk in his fingers as she turned to see, forming a simple chain that he lowered onto her head. Nari had not been expecting it, that much was clear and she took two steps back at his touch.

“Perfect,” said the man in magenta, turning to the side and giving Jihyun a clear view of his face. He had bleached his hair and his eyes were a different shade, but it was unmistakably him: Saeran. 

“Oh,” said Nari, reaching up to the flowers in her hair, “I...thank you!”

Jihyun had no idea what Saeran was doing in the castle, nor what exactly they had planned for Nari. She did not appear to be in any immediate danger, though, which left one possibility.

A possibility that became far more apparent as someone behind him clapped a hand to his shoulder.

Breakfast that morning was no less extravagant than the one from the day before. Someone, possibly Ray, had assembled a feast under a large pavilion in the center of the garden, surrounded by sweet smelling rose bushes.

Nari wished she had several more heads so that she could better admire the flowers, and her heart skipped a beat when Ray placed a crown of lilies on her head. She was not sure how to thank him for the gesture and stammered a thank you before approaching the breakfast table.

“Is something the matter?” Asked Ray, noticing her hesitant steps.

“Oh it’s...it’s nothing,” she said, blushing a bright red at her own transparency. “I just thought Juyeon would be here.”

The prospect of her own increasingly complicated schedule and the absence of Driver Kim left her more desperate than ever to see Juyeon. Perhaps Juyeon had passed on a message to either Jumin or C&R already. At minimum she must have gotten in touch with everyone they had arranged to meet.

“Oh, don’t worry, your assistant will be here soon,” said Ray, reaching to pull out a chair for her, “she told me that she had business to attend to and will join us as soon as she’s done.”

That did sound like Juyeon, though Nari hesitated before accepting the seat he offered. The castle, the grounds, Ray...it was all like something from a fairy tale and at the back of her mind she had a strange feeling about it. Perhaps because it was so idyllic, she felt more inclined to seek out its darkest secrets.

“Are you alright, Miss Song?” Ray asked after she had been silent for quite some time.

“I,” she said, a sudden rush of guilt when she noticed the concern on his face. “It’s nothing. Thank you for this meal!”

She accepted the chair he offered and watched as he reached for a tea set, preparing her Darjeeling just as he had before.

“If there is anything I can do to make you more comfortable, just say the word.”

Nari sighed at that, wondering how she could explain to him-to anyone- her feelings from the past few days.

“Do you ever just wish that you could live your life again? The same years, but with different choices,” she said, absentmindedly running her fingers over the empty spot where her engagement ring used to be.

It was a question that had lingered at the back of her mind even before she entered Rika’s apartment. Before she even graduated high school. Just saying it out loud made it seem like nonsense, though, and she chuckled as Ray positioned a fresh cup of tea in front of her.

“I’m sorry,” she said, hiding her face behind the cup, “that probably sounds ridiculous...I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have-“

“Oh no!” Ray said, snatching up her hands in his. “I understand completely. Before I came here, I was…”

He shuddered at the thought, though tried -and failed- to pass it off as laughter.

“I was weak before,” he said. “Our Lady, she gave me purpose again, showed me the truth. I only wish I had known then what I know now, but spreading the word about everything we’ve accomplished here..well...it’s comforting. Surely there are others waiting to be saved as I was.”

Nari had yet to meet the manager of the castle grounds, but she thought she got a feel for her as she glanced around the garden. Only someone with a good deal of ambition and a kind heart would build such a unique environment and reach out to those in need.

“I think,” said Nari, squeezing Ray’s hand, “I’m going to like your boss.”

Believer B401 was far from pleased and Jihyun did not need to know the inner workings of the castle to guess why. He had frogmarched him out of the garden without so much as a word, pushing him through a side door and locking it behind them both. At first Jihyun thought he had been caught, only for Believer B401 to chastise him about his lack of discretion in regards to their guest.

“How do you mean to explain your robes,” he snapped. “Mister Ray gave us clear instructions!”

In a way, he was grateful for the interruption. Left alone to his devices he would almost certainly have acted without thinking.

“I’m sorry,” said Jihyun, “I’m on the intelligence team and only returned to the castle today.”

As excuses went, it seemed to do the job. Believer B401 let out a sound of annoyance and hit him in the shoulder.

“Don’t let it happen again,” he said. “If you jeopardize the operation, the Saviour might never forgive you.”

“What’s so special about the girl?” Jihyun asked, knowing exactly why Nari was important, but willing the acolyte to reveal more. Did they plan to recruit her? Was she a hostage, as her picture had implied? Just how did Rika plan to use her?

Unfortunately, he was out of luck in that regard. The acolyte did not know anything.

“All I know,” said Believer B401, “is that they put her under the care of Mister Ray and Miss Jenny.”

“Mister Ray?” He repeated, louder than he meant to.

“Ah, of course, you probably missed the ceremony. Mister Ray was the man in the garden.”

“Mister Ray,” said Jihyun, sounding out the name and wondering at its origins. There had to be a reason Saeran had chosen such a name…

And then there was the other question burning away at the back of his mind. If Saeran was Mister Ray, then who was Miss Jenny?

“Ahhhh, I always get the dirty jobs.”

Believer C607 leaned her head against the bars of the cell, taking in the shivering form of the prisoner.

“Hey,” she said, giving him a tentative nudge with her toes, “hey wake up.”

Despite her efforts, he lay still and she motioned for the nearest acolyte to open up the door. The cell smelled quite strongly of sweat, medications and other things she did not want to think about and she wrinkled up her nose in disgust as she stepped inside, taking extra care not to dirty her shoes.

“You had better start talking,” she said, kicking over the bucket of water they had positioned in the corner. The prisoner gasped as water spread across the floor of his cell, chancing a look at her as he repostioned his weight.

He froze on the spot as he took in her face, eyes suddenly desperate with recognition.

“J-Juyeon,” gasped Driver Kim as he reached to grab her by the waist, crumpling the magenta fabric of her blazer, “Juyeon, we need to get out of here, Miss Song-“

He groaned as she kicked him away, realisation setting in too late.

“First of all, don’t touch me with those filthy hands,” she said. “And secondly-“

She stepped back out of the cell and smiled at the second acolyte; a new girl whose hands shook as she held up a tray of instruments.

“If you want to leave here alive,” said C607, taking a set of pliers, “you will call me Miss Jenny.”

AUTHOR’S NOTES:-

Jumin’s Mum’s name is Ji Eun and she shows up in my other fic The Other Woman

My headcanons for her (or rather the head canons and backstory I put together for vabverse) are thus:

Like basically she is also from a chaebol family except all of her brothers went into the top positions and her parents wanted her to get married because it was like?? The 70s?? Maybe even the 60s man idk how old she is anyway, she studied corporate law and took on a job with chief han, since he thought she was hot and she used him to get a job

She planned to use her position at C&R to prove she was good enough for a job at her parent’s own company, all while taking C&R apart from the inside

She fell for chief han though and agreed to marry him, later stabbing her family in the back and ruining their company instead

And then she had jumin and chief han started seeing another woman while she was pregnant

She left when jumin was like 3/4. She said if was for work and a new opening but in truth she wanted him (Chief Han) to change and see sense

I bet she made it super hard on chief han’s other girlfriends

Like they’d sneak around her and lie and she’d be like... Cut the bullshit, i know youre screwing my husband

Blackmailing them through various means. Paying them off.

Jieun works in business law and im betting she created So Many Contracts with the Worst fine print

Chief Han’s lovers (the ones who have illegitimate children) receive this tiny ass stipend but come public about it and they’ll be sued and lose their home

Eunha got her bitchiness from Ji Eun

I love her.